Preaching in the workplace
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Kesava Krsna Dasa

Some devotees think, that because they are devotees, they must preach instantly to whomever they meet. Perhaps if we had the required force of purity, we could effect changes in people’s hearts on first contact. The reality is however, that not everyone has the required sukrti to appreciate our words; we have to create it for them. Being in the workplace alongside the same faces, day in, and day out, can present challenges for a devotee keen on preaching. Simply letting everyone there know one is a devotee, who always has a superior say on any issue, will more likely cause others to think we are highly opinionated, and indifferent, who have lost the ability to socialise properly. This will lessen, or even destroy any chance of developing the required sukrti for them, to hear Lord Chaitanya’s messages. Continue reading "Preaching in the workplace
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Give to Live
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Hare KrishnaBy Karnamrita dasa

The idea that it is better to give than to just receive (to just be "on the take"), is a universal truth understood by people of all religions. In addition people understand that giving is actually getting, or by giving you are nourished and benefited. In a broad sense we can tell people that Krishna consciousness is all about learning how to give, rather then just being an exploiter. So people should be encouraged to begin the process of giving somewhere, somehow, to someone. Ultimately from our vision giving to God and saintly persons is the highest giving (because we receive the true benefit of giving), yet everyone has to begin, and should be encouraged. In many places in the Gita different levels of giving are recommended according to the consciousness of the people involved. Everyone should understand the ultimate purpose of giving----pleasing Krishna and realizing our eternal nature as a servant, cooperator, or giver to God. Continue reading "Give to Live
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What were the sources based on which the sages who wrote the Lord’s pastimes?
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Answer Podcast


Download by “right-click and save content”

The post What were the sources based on which the sages who wrote the Lord’s pastimes? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

How do laws of nature invalidate design – don’t laws require a designer?
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Answer Podcast


Download by “right-click and save content”

The post How do laws of nature invalidate design – don’t laws require a designer? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Health Update, 09 March 2016
→ KKSBlog

Dear Vaisnavas, friends, my family and all,

I want to express my gratitude to all of you for your kindness, your prayers and good wishes in this trying time. It has been about a month since I was diagnosed with a tumor in the rectum. In two operations, the cancer affected areas have been removed. Initially doctors were recommending a follow up treatment of chemo and radiation combined. I must say that I had great difficulty in my mind to surrender to such a hellish treatment, which may destroy cancer and the rest of the body as well and I decided not to do it and instead rely on Krsna and natural treatment. Yesterday I met with the doctors and in conclusion, they gave their blessings for this, providing that I submit myself to regular check ups which I will do. There is obviously a risk that cancer will come back once it has started, but we leave that up to Krsna.

Meanwhile I feel greatly relieved and more close to my heart following a natural path and investing in my own Krsna consciousness and sharing it through writing. Now I need six more weeks of recovery from the operations and one more procedure to improve the urine flow.

Then I can try to resume a ” normal” life. I am planning to take it easy, listen more to the body and travel less, stay longer in one place, follow a health regime and focus on writing.

I can’t just pick up from where I left off. There will be many events and  programs that I was scheduled to attend, I may attend some and others not. It has to do with my own energy levels, preserving them and letting them dictate what to do and what not. I have been on a recovery program before, so I am familiar with it. Please forgive me if I can’t be available as much as before. It is easy to get swept up in stream of activity, but that is not what I need.

Meanwhile I am looking forward to meeting many of you personally somewhere at some given point in time. You are all wonderful people, I am living by your prayers and kindness.

Once again,
Thank you very much
Your friend and servant,
Kadamba Kanana Swami

Sankirtana is for everyone! Titiksu dasa: I would like to share…
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Sankirtana is for everyone!
Titiksu dasa: I would like to share one story from the UK about some non devotees doing book distribution.
In Rochester, we have an ISKCON charity shop. Many charities raise funds in the UK by renting a shop and selling old clothing and other items donated by the public. Its traditional that people wanting to do something to help charities volunteer their time to help in these shops, and in Rochester they have volunteers like this. They are not devotees and not even vegetarians or anything. During the Marathon, Mukunda put a book table outside the shop and had these volunteers man it. He had written on some cards a few lines about the different books so they could tell interested people. If anyone was more seriously interested they were to be directed to Mukunda. In this way books were going out and the volunteers were getting very happy! Soon the most popular job in the charity shop was manning the book table. He couldn’t get them to stop.
This proves the point that anyone can be engaged in SKP, even non-devotees!
Your servant, Titiksu dasa

Transforming Your Workplace into the Spiritual World
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Hare KrishnaBy Mahatma das

Let’s start with the good news: we can be Krsna conscious anywhere. And here’s the bad news: there really isn’t an ideal environment for being Krsna consciousness. I hear you saying, “How can you say that?” What about the temple, what about Vrndavana and Mayapura, what about a Rathayatra Festival?” Yes, those would seem to be ideal environments for developing Krsna consciousness. But let me ask you a question: Does everyone who goes to Vrndavana, or a temple, or to a Rathayatra become Krsna conscious? Most people do, but one can even fall into maya in the Lord’s personal presence. The panacea of the age is the maha-mantra. It is the yuga dharma, it is the best way to be Krsna conscious. Does everyone who chants Hare Krsna become Krsna conscious? The impersonalists don’t. They chant to become one with Krsna. And I would be embarrassed to tell you how many rounds I have chanted in my life and not even thought of Krsna while His name was continually coming from my lips. Continue reading "Transforming Your Workplace into the Spiritual World
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Preaching program in Nepal with Mahavishnu Swami (Album with…
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Preaching program in Nepal with Mahavishnu Swami (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: How can we think mundane thoughts and at the same time chant? Two things are happening, and one will conquer. As maya is working to drag you from Krishna consciousness, you can challenge maya by chanting Hare Krishna. (Lecture on Bhagavad-gita, 3.6.10, Los Angeles 1968).
Find them here: https://goo.gl/23V4RW

Transcription help needed for Mayapur classes
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Hare Krishna.

This is the thirteenth year that we have been coordinating transcriptions of the Srimad-Bhagavatam lectures given in Mayapur during the Gaura Purnima festival. All are being posted on dandavats.com and the audio files are available here:

http://www.mayapurtvarchives.com/p/downloads-2016.html

Various devotees have helped transcribe over the years, but at the moment we are looking for volunteers to help for the next two weeks.

Kindly let me know if you are able and willing to help.

Your servant,
Ananda Tirtha Das
ananda.tirtha.pvs@pamho.net

Gunagrahi das Goswami Health Update – Official. Fortunately,…
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Gunagrahi das Goswami Health Update - Official.
Fortunately, there has been no increase or spreading of the cancer to any other areas of the body or where the cancer is presently, such as the lungs and lymphnodes.
Maharaja is in good consciousness and receiving association of senior devotees daily. He is very grateful for all the love and support being expressed worldwide.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/95Ag7d

Radha Kunda Seva: February 2016 Photos and Updates (Album with…
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Radha Kunda Seva: February 2016 Photos and Updates (Album with photos)
Today is the most auspicious Maha Shiva Ratri day. Lord Shiva, in his form of Gopeshvara Mahadeva, is the guardian of the Dhama and it is only when he opens the door to the Dhama that one is allowed to live and serve there. Six years ago, on this very day the deal was finalized for the purchase of our land in Govardhan. Now construction has begun on a temple on the land. And our Padma Charitable Trust parcel is waiting and ready for the construction of a kitchen to begin. On this day honoring Lord Shiva, we are praying to him that he open the door so that we can be allowed to continue serving the Dhama and the Dhama Vasis.
This month we share with you the news of Guru dasi’s passing. She had been ill and weak for many months. Your sponsorship of her allowed her some basic comforts in her final days, and we are happy to report that her passing was peaceful and auspicious. We are posting photos of her cremation ceremony. It was beautiful to see how her daughter and friends came together to honor her and chant the Maha Mantra for her eternal spiritual benefit.
And as always there’s our favorite news each month - the cleaning and prasadam distribution are continuing unabated each and every day. All glories to the combined effort of many Vaishnavas both on the ground at Radha Kunda and around the world for coming together to do this service.
Jai Jai Sri Radheeeee, Shyam! Gopeshvara Mahadeva Shiva Shankara ki, Jai!
Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com.
Your servants, Mayapurcandra dasa, Campakalata Devi dasi, Padma Gopi Devi dasi, and Urmila Devi Dasi.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Thvfh0

March 9. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 9. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada’s Expectations for Us.
Prabhupada is always the instructor for his disciples. There is usually an edge of chiding in his voice, but it is still gentle and loving. Of the disciple, Srila Prabhupada writes: “… A disciple cannot disobey the order of his spiritual master, that is the relationship between the disciple and his master.” He gives the example of Arjuna who surrendered to Krishna “without any vanity regarding his own erudition, and without any reservation.” If you relax your defenses and allow him to instruct you, even in how to fold a cadar, then your relationship will be smooth. You will not become aggravated and neither will he become displeased; you will quickly learn how to do things his way. The spiritual master is to train you to be expert in spiritual activities, including the details of how to fold a cadar. As soon as you resist, thinking you know how to do something, or that he is too demanding, then there will be trouble.
Prabhupada wants us to understand the difference between the temporary, material world and the eternal, blissful world of Goloka Vrindavana. This is the life-work that Prabhupada wants from us, to somehow fill our minds with more and more Krishna and less and less maya. And Prabhupada is with us in our attempts to hear about Krishna. It is the basis of our relationship with him. Srila Prabhupada spoke specifically of Krishna. He described His flute and the feelings of separation the gopis experienced. Prabhupada was fully absorbed in Krishna. He wrote in KRSNA Book, “The spiritual masters should enrich the devotees to the highest devotional perfection. Feeling constant separation while engaged in the service of the Lord is a perfection of Krishna consciousness.” (KRSNA, Vol. 1, page 231)
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

Is Bhakti Dormant in the Jīva?
→ The Enquirer

The question is: “Is Bhakti something dormant / forgotten in our souls, and we have to wake it up / remember it by sādhana?”

The question arises in connection to Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu’s definition of sādhana-bhakti not as a means to create perfection, but to manifest something eternally perfect. The question is also related to Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu’s explanation of why realized bhakti (Bhāva-Bhakti) is so rare.

Śrī Rūpa explains that Bhāva-bhakti (realized bhakti) is so rare for two reasons: (1) It cannot be created by any effort, (2) it has to be received from Krishna, who is timidly reluctant about giving it, for in giving it he gives his very self.

This indicates certainly that Bhakti is not something we possess, nor something we even have the capacity to create. It is something we must obtain, something we must attract to manifest in our hearts.

In describing Vyasa’s Samādhi, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam also very clearly describes bhakti and jīva as distinct, different entities. Śrī Jīva analyses this section extensively in Tattva-Sandarbha. Bhagavān has three potencies, seen by Vyāsa as jīva (subjective consciousness), māyā (a me-based / selfish perception for consciousness), and bhakti (a Bhagavān-based / loving perception for consciousness). Neither māyā nor bhakti are “in” the jīva. The jīva, however, is “in” them! Vyāsa definitely saw the jīva situated in māyā, but saw that it could be placed in bhakti by a sādhana of hearing and chanting about Krishna.

Then what is “inherent and dormant within us”? The potential for bhakti is! Consciousness is designed to be an agent of bhakti, that is our essential and eternal svadharma and svarūpa (“Jīvera svarūpa hoya kṛṣṇera nitya dāsa”).

Here is a good analogy to clarify all this.

The jīva is like a garden field. Prema-bhakti is the flower. The seed for the flower is not inherent in the field of the garden, it has to come from somewhere else, but the potential to grow flowers is inherent, and you could say “dormant,” in the garden field – waiting for, needing the seed. 

Vraja Kishor

www.vrajakishor.com


Tagged: Bhakti, Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, dormant bhakti, inherent bhakti

Gopisvara Mahadeva
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“Each day I worship Gopisvara Mahadeva, who is situated on the bank of Yamuna. That same Gopisvara was worshipped with deep devotion by the gopis, and he quickly fulfilled their desire to attain a supremely precious jewel in the form of the embrace of the son of Nanda Maharaja .” [ Srila Raghunatha das Goswami, [...]

Dancing Out Of Joy
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“In a variety of ways, the inauspiciousness of the earth is destroyed by the feet, the inauspiciousness of the directions is destroyed by the eye-glances and the inauspiciousness of the heavens is destroyed by the arms of a Viṣṇu-bhakta dancing out of joy.” [ Hari-bhakti-vilasa 8.288 ]

England, February 2016: Recordings
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Kadamba Kanana Swami visited England from 01-08 February. Please find recordings below. 

Visit Flickr to see the photos.

Download ALL.

KKS_UK_02Feb2016_ChineseSanga_Lecture

KKS_UK_02Feb2016_ChineseSanga_Kirtan

KKS_UK_03Feb2016_HomeProgram_Kirtan

KKS_UK_03Feb2016_HomeProgram_Lecture

KKS_UK_04Feb2016_Manor_SB_10.2.21_Little-Kamsas

KKS_UK_04Feb2016_Soho_LunchProgram

KKS_UK_05Feb2016_Crawley_Kirtan

KKS_UK_05Feb2016_Crawley_Lecture

KKS_UK_05Feb2016_Manor_SB_10.2.22_More-Kamsa

KKS_UK_07Feb2016_Leicester_Morning_Kirtan

KKS_UK_07Feb2016_Leicester_Morning_Lecture_5.14.2_Finding-the-right-position-in-KC

KKS_UK_07Feb2016_Leicester_TempleProgram_Lecture_SB_1.3.28_Start-a-revolution

 

Thrilling To See!
→ travelingmonk.com

On Vijaya ekadasi we visited Nityananda vat, near Madan Modan temple, on the banks of the Yamuna river. My old friend, Anup Goswami, who is a direct descendent of Lord Nityananda, once again allowed me to chant 16 rounds on the original beads of Srila Jiva Goswami. He also gave us darsan of the jewels [...]

Tuesday March 1st, 2016
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Tuesday March 1st, 2016
Mayapur, India

Worry for Gain

I’m going to wear my theatre cap right now.  It is a remarkable challenge in dealing with local Bengalis (all nice people) who have been given technical responsibility to set up the stage arrangements.  Is working with them a challenge?  Challenge #1 They know no English. Challenge #2 is their old equipment, worked into the ground – so to speak.  Challenge #3 is that they may get things done; on their own time (Perhaps that has something to do with hot weather).  Challenge #4 is that they are used to doing things in their own way.  Our dress rehearsal was disastrous from the technical side.

These hurdles caused a bit of rough sleep last night.  I was anxious, to say the least, right up to the last moment before show-time.

It becomes an impetus to develop your faith in the Sublime.  You convince yourself that you did the best you could.  So what happened is the technical crew actually felt our sense of urgency, and that we were going to settle for nothing less than pakha (perfect) arrangements.

The lights went up for the stage.  The lights were lowered for the green rooms.  My hands-on technical personnel, Nick and Mandala, were moving things along.  Actors for the play, ‘Krishna Is’ were ready.  Manoram, the magician opened the show and all went as pakha as it could possibly be.

The crowd of one-thousand-plus was very pleased.  The worry paid off.  I say that because the opposite extreme – over-confidence – never helps you win the game.

Trust in Krishna does!

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Monday Feb 29th, 2016
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Monday Feb 29th, 2016
Mayapur, India

Love Trails

“Every path hath its own personality,” I mentioned to Abhay as we reached a juncture, turned a corner, and allowed our feet to feel all the different stones.  Our eyes were excited by the blackness of those stones.

“Unique from the rest of the trails,” I added.

“They are going to put tar on the surface,” said Abhay.

“Don’t tell me!”

“That’s the plan,” said Abhay, a resident of Mayapur.

“To accommodate hardware,” I thought; hardware (meaning cars and scooters) and less software (meaning feet).

I wish I could love Krishnaas much as people love their vehicles.

On one of the trails nearby the local elephants do tread.  They, the two females, Visnupriya and Laksmipriya, have their daily strolls just like us.  They have their personalities too.  Vishnupriya, the slightly smaller, is feisty.  News got around that one time, while walking by, a woman (a pilgrim I suppose) just got too close to the giant mammal.  Vishnupriya picked her up at the waist with her powerful nose and tossed the lady in the ditch.  She ‘ditched’ her.

My sympathies go out to the woman who was thrown.  I am not aware of any serious injuries.  May the presiding deities of Krishna, in the name of Radha Madhava, give protection to all, as well as to the trails that connect people to each other, and to opportunities.  Each trail is unique and it carries with it the weight of trucks, people, and elephants.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Mind over matter
→ Servant of the Servant

We go one step above, consciousness is above mind which is above matter.

As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clearheaded science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about the atoms this much: There is no matter as such! All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.

- Max Planck - Quantum Physicist

Hare Krishna

Sunday, February 28th, 2016
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Sunday, February 28th, 2016
Mayapur, India

Fate is Hard

He wasn't a puppy, exactly, but still too young to call him an adolescent.  He was by his own, perhaps disowned by his mother. He may never have had and may never will have a master. He is too sickly to be wanted.  Like many of his type you might call him a ‘mutt.’  He is a stray dog; like so many in India.

We were walking a trail eastbound and there he lies part cuddled, part up.  He was flee-infected and was working with his snout to his leg, addressing the disease of itch.  
He was patchy-- bald in places-- and we felt sorry for him.

After the evening's fresh rainfall he had made the moist path his residence for the night.  Now that traffic picked up, like us trekkers, he would most likely move on, forever miserable in his existence.  He was ugly, and being that he was so young I personally wondered what chance he had for any kind of real life.

If he should live to puberty he may look for a mate.  Food will certainly be a priority.  He'll get sleep.  I assume he'll have some fights but hopefully the packs of jackals will be leaving him unnoticed.

Again, I felt for him.  I or we left him with a mantra as we passed by him on this quiet and sometimes harsh trail.  Fate is hard.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Saturday, February 27th, 2016
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Saturday, February 27th, 2016
Mayapur, India

A Change

It was a nice change.  I had been sitting in seminars and sinking in my chair during
administrative meetings.  The seminars were stimulating.  Lokanath Swami and Hari Bhakti led one on proper Sanskrit pronunciation and traditional melodies.  I had dreamt that such an arrangement would materialize.

Well it has!

Also, my friend from the UK, Krpamoya, led a seminar 'The Guru and How Spiritual Teachers Fit or do Not Fit into an Institution.'  Gurus can be quite independent unless guided and blessed by their peers.  That's where the topic became interesting.  When John Lennon spoke to our guru, Prabhupada, about spiritual masters - the conversation led to ‘what makes a guru bona fide?’ and one of the best tests to ensure authenticity is that he talks and lives every moment for the Supreme.

What really made me feel that I was a bit off-the-grid, of hearing and listening at seminars and meetings, was giving a presentation myself.  At the courtyard of a condo block I was invited by Noam from Israelto chant, speak, and take some great middle-eastern food.

For openers we chanted and then read theatrically from the book, 'Krishna.'  The evening was stirring with winds picking up as we sat in the courtyard.  It simply added to the dramatic effects.

After so many hours of hearing you feel rather driven to deliver, hence we have the program of shravanam (hearing) and then kirtanam (delivery).

May the Source be with you!

9 km

Friday, Feb 26th 2016
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Friday, Feb 26th 2016
Mayapur, India

Human Need

Jananivas is a dedicated priest in Mayapur.  When a samskar, or a ritual, needs to be executed he’ll be only too happy to deploy himself.  Now when I say dedicated it is no joke.  He and his identical twin joined Iskcon many years ago and have lived in Mayapur for forty years.

An extraordinary monk!

I had an obligation to fulfill and I needed Jananivas’ help.  A friend from Canada, Danapati, had lost his wife.  She had perished before the year ended in 2015 and I was asked to carry those ashes to merge with the Ganges River.

Jananivas made use of kusha as an ingredient, along with honey, panchagavya (five substances from the cow), and some grains.  The ashes were placed in a clump of Ganges silt along with the ingredients.  The clump was shaped to accommodate those ingredients and then more mud was placed over top to cover everything.

This procedure was also repeated by two other participants.  A father of 55, Arjuna, placed his 21 year old son’s ashes in the same way.  This was the son who tried to stop thieves from entering their home when he was shot to death.  Tragic! Giri-Gopal from Guyana also partook with his Mum’s ashes.  She had been struggling with illness for years.

The mantras used were a final send-off and a communication with Vishnu while all three sets of ashes were made to float until merging.  Jananivas directed us to take a full bath in the sacred river.  I moved on more to the current of the water to meet another monk and friend, Jayadwaita Swami.  The three of us participants then returned to our schedules.

A closure was put to a human need.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Thursday Feb 25th, 2016
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Thursday Feb 25th, 2016
Mayapur, India

Heavy Rains

Heavy rains had come the night before leaving pools, puddles, and minor flooding.  You had to watch where to walk.  An outdoor shopping mall with devotional paraphernalia could not be accessed.  It was one big mud river, so it seemed.  The mall was set up as a tempting maze. It was the route to the food.

The food - oh yes - the food.  It comes across as delicious each time.  During the ABM an extra 1300 people need to be fed.  The prasadam (sanctified food) draws the crowds twice a day.  I get the chance to walk from table to table and connect with the South Americans, Chinese, Africans, Europeans, Indians, and even the Americans.

I enjoyed the seminars on rural living and how to get there, as well as a seminar on
guru/discipleship.  I also received, from the maze I was talking about, a copy of the annual Padayatra news.  From a booth, Gaurangi, from Francehanded me the glossy journal.

Overseeing this publication is Lokanath Swami, a monk from India.  He is credited for
conducting padayatras (walking festivals) in Indiaand around the world.  There’s a forty-year history of these events which usually includes a bullock cart and a party of walking chanters.

It was Lokanath who told me of the Padayatra journal featuring this humble servant on the cover. Actually he told me, “You are left, right, and centre.”  The main story is the feature of my walk in the north-east of the USA last fall.

What an honour this is!

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Wednesday, February 24th, 2016
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2016
Mayapur, India
 
We All Suffer

Albert Schweitzer had once indicated that the happiest times are when you are in good health and in bad memory.  He was quoted by Tamohar, my dear friend from Florida, who conducted a seminar on why people suffer, even those who are spiritually devotional.

First of all, he began to explain, that some people enter a spiritual domain with unrealistic
expectations.  Suffering continues for people as a residual effect from karma in the past.  As we sometimes hear Christians say, 'Accept Jesus and all your sins will go away.'  Now that may happen but it may take some time.

It cannot be assumed that you go, 'Abra Kadabra' and, poof, all that's negative has disappear. Krishnastates it very clearly that the physical world in which we live is wrought with dualities-- extremes.  What we need to consider is that the spiritual process that we have adopted offers us the tools whereby we can learn to maturely accept difficulties.  We learn how to cope.  And when we exercise COPE there will be HOPE and we'll never have to say NOPE.

You will never have to refuse a challenge, which may come in many shapes or forms.  The mature way to receive a challenge, or oncoming suffering, is to say, 'Here is a test that the Universe (God) is giving me, and for all the wrongs I've done I deserve much worse.'  This is a healthy attitude.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016
Mayapur, India

Coming Together

The local dentist, Keshava, who resides for some time with us in Canada, arranged a get-together for bhakti-yogis from Canada.  It’s an annual reunion.  It bonds us as a unit in a small segment of the globe.
 
We know that the ultimate end our true identity is one of being a spirit soul.  'I am not this body.' I ultimately have no ties with race, gender, creed, or nationality.  Still at the same time while we roam through this world, in this body, there is an identity related to the land in which we are born.

It is hoped that every individual contributes to the land in which we live.  There is an expectation to fulfill some obligation; whether one is a spiritual seeker or not.  The relative practical reality is that we have a body which is conditioned in some way.

So here we are, a few people who came together-- people who are karmically linked-- to do some spiritual things in union. We ate prasadam together. We chanted together.
We chatted. We had a good time.

The Russians do it, the Bengalis do it.  The Chinese do it, etc.  Why shouldn't those from the land of the maple leaf come together?

We all look for reinforcements in life.  Even those on the spiritual path require
encouragement. You do not advance on just your own strength.

When walking this morning I was considering the mechanics of my body, especially the legs, and how that part of my anatomy has so many components, each component assisting another. Even my eyes have to be somewhat watching what's ahead.  If there's a depression or a pothole on the way, when I see it coming I will connect with the brain and hence make adjustments in the mechanical operation of things.  These are all helpers.

Comradery is essential in achieving a surge of inspiration.  Assistants or helpers are there for us to take advantage of.

May the Source be with you!

7 km

Deeper Connections at Forefront of New Vrindaban’s ISKCON 50 Celebrations
→ New Vrindaban

By Madhava Smullen

In July 1966, after braving thirty-five days at sea on a cargo ship, two heart attacks, and months of struggles in New York’s Bowery with little money to his name, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Some of his main purposes for the Society included “to systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large,” and “to bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna.”

Fifty years later, residents of his first rural community, New Vrindaban, are celebrating his Society’s Golden Jubilee with a packed year of events that intend to spread spiritual knowledge and deepen connections with devotees, the general public, and local municipal leaders.

Senior Prabhupada disciples, Soma das and Jaysri dasi, bathe Nrsimhadev and Prahlada Maharaj on Nrsimha Caturmasi 2015.

The first event will be a two-day festival on May 20th and 21st celebrating the 30th anniversary of the installation of New Vrindaban’s Nrismha-Prahlad Deities, the only full-sized such Deities in North America.

Sculpted and molded by local devotee artists and installed in 1986, the ferocious half-man half-lion Lord with His deep black skin and golden mane stands seven feet tall.

“We plan to invite devotees from all over North America to come celebrate this unique festival with us,” says ISKCON New Vrindaban president Jaya Krsna Das. “Together, we’ll bathe the full-size Deities of Lord Nrsimhadeva and Sri Prahlad in an abhisekha ceremony. And we will ask senior devotees to come and share their memories of the installation.”

The first stage reading of The Ramayana by Kripamaya Prabhu, June 2015

Next, on June 3rd, 4th and 5th will be the premiere of a two-hour epic Ramayana musical by longtime New Vrindaban resident Kripamaya Das.

Devotees from neighboring cities will join New Vrindaban residents and students in the audience, packing out West Liberty University’s 230-seat Kelley Theater in nearby Wheeling.

“I’ve been working on this off and on my whole life,” says Kripamaya Das, who began his dramatic career with New Vrindaban’s Brijabasi Players in the early 1980s. Currently enrolled in a music and theater program at West Liberty, he is delighted to finally see his dream come to fruition. And on a professional stage, with a cast of some fourteen students and devotees, no less.

“We plan to invite some theater directors and producers to see it, and if they like it, we hope to go on to have it produced in Pittsburgh or enter musical festivals in New York,” he says.

Kulimela 2016 Schedule

From June 15th to 19th, meanwhile, will be one of New Vrindaban’s biggest festivals of the year. The tenth anniversary of the first Kuli Mela will be celebrated back-to back with an event that was born from its bhajan kutir -- the 24-Hour Kirtan festival.

Kuli Mela will epitomize New Vrindaban’s aim to build deep relationships during the 50th anniversary year, with “celebrating family” and “building community” as its main themes. Around 1,000 people from the first, second, and third generations of ISKCON are expected to attend for three days full of seminars, activities, bhajans, and entertainment.

Radhanath Maharaj playing mridanga at 24 hour kirtan 2013

For the 24-Hour Kirtan festival on the weekend, attendance is expected to remain high, with Kuli chanters like Amala Harinama and the Mayapuris joining senior Srila Prabhupada disciples such as Bhakti Charu Swami, Radhanath Swami, and Agnidev Das.

Of course, for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary, New Vrindaban devotees are also looking to do a large outreach event to connect with the local public. Residents have celebrated their own Rathayatra at New Vrindaban since 1973, but this year will see the first Festival of Chariots in local town Wheeling on Saturday July 16th.

Ratha Yathra Celebration in New Vrindaban 2015

Organizer Vrindavana Das will give interviews about the event with newspapers and TV stations in advance, emphasizing the importance of ISKCON’s 50th anniversary year and highlighting Srila Prabhupada’s achievements. On the day, New Vrindaban’s over five-foot tall Jagannath Deity will parade through Wheeling on his 30-foot high chariot, followed by a stage show on the Ohio River waterfront.  The show will include a welcome and lecture, a dance, a drama, and kirtan, followed by prasadam.

“This is about making ourselves visible to the public again,” says Jaya Krsna. “We already have the Festival of Colors on September 17th where they come to us, but with the Rathayatra we’re going to them. It’s our offering to the city and its residents.”

Srila Prabhupada visiting New Vrindaban in early 1970’s

ISKCON’s 50th anniversary is also the perfect time to reintroduce the “Prabhupada Festival” that was celebrated at Prabhupada’s Palace over Labor Day Weekend from 1979 until the mid ‘80s.

Hundreds of previous residents of New Vrindaban from its early days will be invited for the September 30th to October 2nd weekend event, and hosted as honored guests.

“It will be a revival of giving special attention to Srila Prabhupada and to the devotees who helped build his Palace and first developed New Vrindaban,” says Jaya Krsna.

During the festival, devotees will spend a whole day at the original New Vrindaban farm. There are plans over the summer to renovate the farmhouse where Srila Prabhupada stayed for one month in 1969, and to decorate it with photographs of old times. The festivities will take place under a pandal nearby, including devotees telling many stories of their experiences in those pioneering years.

Communications Director Vrindavan das welcomes the Marshall County Convention Bureau to New Vrindaban in September, 2015.

As well as deepening relationships with devotees and the general public, ISKCON New Vrindaban also wants to connect with local municipal leaders and dignitiaries.

Many will be invited to a VIP Dinner on October 27th, including the mayors of Wheeling and Moundsville, church, business, and law-enforcement leaders, deans of local universities, and celebrated artists in their fields. The event will include a delicious prasadam meal and a cultural presentation.

 “As we work hard to follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and gradually improve the image of his New Vrindaban village,” says Jaya Krsna, “We want to be good citizens, to connect with our neighbors. And in the process, we want to let them know about ISKCON’s 50th anniversary and Srila Prabhupada’s achievements.”

After ISKCON’s 50th anniversary, more celebrations are to come with the 50th anniversary of New Vrindaban in 2018. Plans include a book and film on the history of New Vrindaban, more efforts at reconnecting with current and previous residents, and a recreation of Srila Prabhupada’s famous Bhagavat-Dharma Discourses from 1972.

“As we celebrate the 50th anniversaries of ISKCON and New Vrindaban, we remember that Srila Prabhupada is our spiritual founder,” says Jaya Krsna. “He established New Vrindaban as a sacred village, he gave us so many grand visions and bold instructions, he visited four times, and it’s clear that this community is important to him. And today, of course, we can feel his presence so strongly in his Palace. Therefore our intention should be that everything we do here, we do it for him.” 

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