Planet ISKCON

By Madhumati Pushkarini

Srila Prabhupada tamed our ‘ritual conditioned’ Indian minds. Here we learn how our activities are not aimed at gaining piety or good merit but only bhakthi, Krishna bhakthi or devotional service towards the Lord. Coming from a traditional family in India, the land of myriad ceremonies, rituals and customs, my mind was conditioned to all of it. Quite naturally. As a child I rarely questioned about anything we were ‘asked’ to do such as offering obeisance to parents first thing in the morning, then the deities at home, refraining from tea, coffee, watching TV only in rationed quantities and so on. In fact I got so conditioned to all of it that I would feel guilty when I would sway away even a bit. But very soon the innocent mind started questioning and finding most of the rituals as superfluous, drudgery. They would just not fit in to my ‘civilized’ life style any longer and at the very first instance I chose to give it all up with practically little or no guilt at all. Those that lingered on like visiting Ganesha temples on Tuesdays or visiting the Hanuman temple on Saturdays were rituals which did not interfere much with my ‘other’ life! Continue reading "Beating the ‘ritualistic’ mind
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By Gandhari Devi Dasi

We are seeing that now more Iskcon centers are celebrating Holi with burning of Holika and throwing the colored dye festival. So there are some points to be mentioned about these celebrations. I was requested by a senior mataji to share this information. So if there is anything incorrect please excuse me and add your comments. I will share something about Holi from Vedic point as much as I have learnt. The coloured dyes are supposed to be thrown with love signifying blessing to the person "may auspicious, wealth, prosperity accompany you" It is not a wild jombory done in an indiscrimanetory way. It is a sign of jubilation that Holika is killed and Prahalad is saved. So it is signifying victory of good over evil. So in that sense it is spiritual. Another significance is that it is also the beginning of spring. So as there is so much colour in nature inspiring the pro-creative spirit of in all beings including the plants, trees, animals and humans. After the Holi season all the other appearances of other incarnations of the Supreme Lord Krsna comes forth in the new Year besides the Varaha Avatar who places the earth back into its axis before holi. Holi in that way signifies the end of the winter, dark, gloomy season. Continue reading "Throwing Coloured Dyes on Holi
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By Jatayu dasa

I made all my own decisions, I was my own man, but I was also unhappy. I wanted to break away completely from the material world. I wanted God in my life. I want to try it, I thought. But what if I failed? What will I have to give up? I was really scared now. I will have to give up rock and roll and I will have to follow rules and regulations. But deep down inside, my hearts said try it. Scared I was but I took a few steps. And wow, it worked, kind of. I didn't become a saint and I didn't see the white light but I did begin to feel an inner peace. I took another step and fell down. And it hurt. I took another step and fell down. What now? I tried again and started to walk. I began to realize that Krsna was everywhere, even in my own life. I began to understand that Krsna was a person and that I had a relationship with Him, a loving relationship that was eternal. I was actually becoming happy. Sometimes even tears of joy came to my eyes. I even gave up rock and roll, and I survived. Today, I'm still scared but I keep taking those next steps. I still fall down and I still get back up. I'm succeeding in spiritual life. But I did not do it alone. I always found the greatest source of strength from my devotee friends. Of course, I had to reach out to them; they could not read my mind. I had to ask for help. Continue reading "Scared to become a devotee
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The post Gaurangera sange-gane, nitya-siddha boli mane appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Flame Of Eternal Love (video)
“The Flame of Eternal Love” a documentary about Srila Prabhupada and the development of the Society for Krishna Consciousness in the USSR.
Anchor: Sofia Ignatova. Actors: Alexey Sviridov, Acyuta Priya, Nimai, Vrinda. English Anchor voice: Jaya Madhava Prabhu. English voice: Alisa Tchebotareva. Music: Yury Dimentyev. Sound: Vibhavari das. Written and directed by: Arjuna das.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/dBBjcy

On the land, which they have offered to Srila Prabhupada for ISKCON’s 50^th anniversary, devotees plan to develop a Krishna conscious community that offers the best of both urban and rural worlds. Located in a fast-developing suburb called Hilliard, it’s flanked by upcoming million-dollar homes and neighboring land owned by banks.

“Bhagavad-Gita As It Is” audio is now available for free to listen on iPhone and Android using the Mixcloud App. It is narrated by Titiksava Karunika Das (San Diego, CA). It has powerful and live voice with dramatic background music. The complete project was produced by Kamlesh Patel (Irvine, CA).

The ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry (CDM) has been actively helping devotee communities around the world for the past twenty years by providing necessary resources for the furthering of Srila Prabhupada's vision. Due to this service many congregations have grown in numbers and in quality. Thousands of devotees and newcomers have benefited.

Astronomy of the Bhagavat Purana - The Vedic / Hindu world view ( 3 videos)
Radha Mohan das: My explanations are based on the works of Sadaputa das (Dr Richard Thomson), and also, references from the research of Danavir Goswami.
The purpose of my presentation is to glorify the Srimad Bhagavatam: presenting the 5th Canto, chapters 16-26, in an accessible way that can be appreciated by those devoted to the Puranas as well as those familiar with modern astronomy.
It is also in tribute to the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, the huge ISKCON project under construction in Mayapur, West Bengal.
Watch them here: https://goo.gl/u9NMzU

A new e-book by Chaitanya Charan das Belong addresses our heart’s longing to belong to something bigger than ourselves – a longing that is nourished and fulfilled by the Bhagavad-gita’s transformational message of spiritual love. While presenting that message in accessible 300-word nuggets, Belong shines the light of the Gita on many themes important for our inner growth.

Is life on earth pointless? It seems we spend it working hard for “vanity” — for nothing better than vapour —KC SOC (UK) presents a special interview with Jayadavaita Swami based on the meaning of life and his new book, 'Vanity Karma'.

The Govardhana Retreat has been going on since 2000 – the first with only thirty students under the trees surrounding Giriraja (we still remember having to crawl under a barbed wire fence to get to our spot!), the most recent with almost a thousand students, now at a rented ashram.

The post Daily Darshan : February 12th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Court in Session (video)
Questions and Answers on Krishna Consciousness with Shaunaka Rishi prabhu about he importance of actually doing the work of unpacking our core principles and committing to them with daily consistency. Kudos to Pandava Sena Alumni for a top-notch venture and production.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/2zQxaZ

Wise-Love, a Book Trailer Video (2 min video)
“In this short book trailer about Wise-Love, a new book written by Pranada dasi, we’re invited to feel the hope of Wise-Love (Bhakti) and its transformational power. Wise-Love is an introductory handbook presenting Bhakti in new lights, attractive language, and a manner relatable to a Western audience. It comprehensively covers the core tenets of our philosophy true to siddhanta, yet its short, thematic chapters are easy to assimilate for an outside reader.”
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/UXwzpf

Yatra to SVARNA VILLAGE.
Svarna is a big village away from cities and towns blessed with abundance of water due to big ponds and canals. Agriculture is main occupation in the village. There are hundreds of acres of arable lands around the village. It is a very ancient village dating back to 12th century. There is a huge Vishnu (Vallabhacharya) temple and a Shiva (Bhoga Lingeshwar) temple. The village has the highest literacy in the Prakasham district. But the younger generation is mostly settled in towns and cities due to which we find mostly old couple or single individuals in big houses leading a life of lonesliness. The main food crops cultivated here are paddy, peanuts, corn and vegetables and cash crops like cotton, chilli and tobacco. This village is considered one of the richest in the district. In spite of all favorable conditions for agriculture farmers are frustrated because of the modernized agriculture which demands investments in high usage of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and mechanization.
On January 11, 2016, the Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra team arrived to the serene village in the afternoon. This was their 53rd village. A small team went to announce about the evening program while others were at the book table interacting with the villagers. The Yatra bus abuzz with activities as soon it was parked. In the evening devotees set out for the harinaam through almost all main streets of the village. The nagarsankirtan met with mixed response–some people received us with reverence while others were totally indifferent and some people followed us for some distance and a few made offerings in different forms to the Lordships. The program was planned in a well-furnished village function hall in the center of the village. Somehow until 7.30 pm no one arrived to the hall putting us in anxiety. A little later two young men enthusiastically arrived having heard the announcements. They told that the farmers usually return to their homes around 6.30 pm from their farms. Then they take their bath followed by dinner. It is after this that they come for such programs by around 8 pm and stay until midnight if required. As predicted, the village folks started arriving by 8 pm and in no time the hall was full. Everyone heard attentively and later appreciated the program, especially the solutions offered to the modern agricultural problems. Many took the copies of power point presentations and video presentations. We were told that there were some Ayyapa festivities on the same day and many farmers were involved in that program; otherwise there would have been better turnout. The young men requested us to visit their village more often. The proceedings gave immense satisfaction as we got opportunity to deal with young men genuinely interested in spirituality.

Yatra to SVARNA VILLAGE.
Svarna is a big village away from cities and towns blessed with abundance of water due to big ponds and canals. Agriculture is main occupation in the village. There are hundreds of acres of arable lands around the village. It is a very ancient village dating back to 12th century. There is a huge Vishnu (Vallabhacharya) temple and a Shiva (Bhoga Lingeshwar) temple. The village has the highest literacy in the Prakasham district. But the younger generation is mostly settled in towns and cities due to which we find mostly old couple or single individuals in big houses leading a life of lonesliness. The main food crops cultivated here are paddy, peanuts, corn and vegetables and cash crops like cotton, chilli and tobacco. This village is considered one of the richest in the district. In spite of all favorable conditions for agriculture farmers are frustrated because of the modernized agriculture which demands investments in high usage of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and mechanization.
On January 11, 2016, the Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra team arrived to the serene village in the afternoon. This was their 53rd village. A small team went to announce about the evening program while others were at the book table interacting with the villagers. The Yatra bus abuzz with activities as soon it was parked. In the evening devotees set out for the harinaam through almost all main streets of the village. The nagarsankirtan met with mixed response–some people received us with reverence while others were totally indifferent and some people followed us for some distance and a few made offerings in different forms to the Lordships. The program was planned in a well-furnished village function hall in the center of the village. Somehow until 7.30 pm no one arrived to the hall putting us in anxiety. A little later two young men enthusiastically arrived having heard the announcements. They told that the farmers usually return to their homes around 6.30 pm from their farms. Then they take their bath followed by dinner. It is after this that they come for such programs by around 8 pm and stay until midnight if required. As predicted, the village folks started arriving by 8 pm and in no time the hall was full. Everyone heard attentively and later appreciated the program, especially the solutions offered to the modern agricultural problems. Many took the copies of power point presentations and video presentations. We were told that there were some Ayyapa festivities on the same day and many farmers were involved in that program; otherwise there would have been better turnout. The young men requested us to visit their village more often. The proceedings gave immense satisfaction as we got opportunity to deal with young men genuinely interested in spirituality.

February 12. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada’s Manifestation of Steady Bhava.
The Vaisnava acharyas have minutely delineated all the various manifestations of ecstasy. In this regard, there are eight kinds of bodily symptoms which occur when a devotee feels love of Krishna, and Prabhupada mentioned them in one of his early essays:
In the beginning, there may not be the presence of all transcendental ecstasies, which are eight in number. These are: 1. being stopped as though dumb; 2. perspiration; 3. standing up of hairs on the body; 4. dislocation of voice; 5. trembling; 6. fading of the body; 7. crying in ecstasy; and 8. trance.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati comments that even if a pure devotee does not manifest these eight symptoms of ecstasy, he may still be fully qualified to chant the holy names. Sometimes pure devotees restrain their ecstatic symptoms because people who do not understand them may become afraid or blasphemous. Also, sometimes people who recognize these symptoms, but who have not attained bhava themselves, will imitate them in order to get a reputation as an ecstatic devotee. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati concludes that it is more important to demonstrate detachment. Furthermore, the steady symptoms of bhava as described in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (Nectar of Devotion), are important criteria for knowing if one is advancing in spiritual life.
Srila Prabhupada fully displayed these steady symptoms of bhava at all times, although he occasionally manifested the different bodily manifestations of the eight symptoms.
One symptom of steady bhava is proper utilization of time. Srila Prabhupada followed a daily schedule of his own making. He was always on time, although he was not fanatical about it. He was always using his time to serve Krishna no matter what he was doing. To this end, Prabhupada felt that his schedule enhanced his own meditation and practice.
Pure devotees of Krishna meditate on Krishna’s schedule. Krishna performs various pastimes with His eternal associates according to the time of day. Krishna’s day is divided into eight main periods, and within these eight periods there are more minute divisions. Pure devotees fill their minds with remembrance of Radha-Krishna by meditating in this way.
Similarly, Srila Prabhupada’s daily schedule is well known to his devotees. We can meditate on Prabhupada at different
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Question: How can we take prasādam without being totally hedonistic? Is it possible to deeply experience the prasādam without reinforcing the experience of sense gratification?

My Answer:

I think this subject is too advanced for most of us. Most of us are not tyāgīs (renunciates), and even those of us who are supposed to be renunciates live in air-conditioned buildings, sleep on beds, etc. etc, so let’s be real. It’s good enough to eat relatively simply without making every little body-function into a gigantic drama.

Better if we stop trying to mimic external things associated with spiritual advancement and start trying to really grasp the essence of spiritual advancement by ever-more frequently and deeply concentrating on Sri Hari Nama and Sri Hari Līlā.

Sri Rupa Goswami unequivocally states:

rucim udva hatas tatra janasya bhajane hareḥ |
viṣayeṣu gariṣṭho ‘pi rāgaḥ prāyo vilīyate || BRS 1.2.254 ||

“Affection for sense objects, however deep it may be, is gradually destroyed by developing taste for Hari-bhajan.“

He says this immediately after stating that pursuit of renunciation is unnecessary. It happens automatically and naturally for a bhakta.

So, in short, the right way to eat prasādam is to chant Hare Krishna and hear Srimad Bhagavatam often and deeply. Then you will naturally and sincerely be able to appreciate prasadam properly. Otherwise you will just be trying to mimic someone other people respect. 

Vraja Kishor das

www.vrajakishor.com

Tagged: maha prasada, prasadam, renunciation, Sense Gratification

Gita verse-by-verse study Podcast

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, November 2015, Vrindavan, India, Video Interview)

Good and bad things happen to everyone in this world – no one is exempt. This is the nature of a world where everything has two sides – everything can be used for pleasure and everything can be used for pain. We should see this dual nature of the world and understand that we are not in the right place. And for this reason, we should get out of here and go back to the spiritual world where there is no pain but only pleasure! The best way to go back to the spiritual world is by the process of serving the vaisnavas. Because through devotional service we will engage in the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. Then we can go back to Godhead. Then, no more bad things will happen to good people there!

Raghunatha Dasa couldn’t live after Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left this world. So, he came to Vrndavana to end his life by jumping off Govardhana Hill. Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis affectionately received him. They convinced him to live on and enlighten all the Vrajavasi Vaishnavas with Shriman Mahaprabhu’s Puri pastimes. For three hours a day on the banks of Radha-kunda he spoke about Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Raghunatha Dasa Goswami’s daily bhajana included: chanting 64 rounds japa; doing manasi-seva in his spiritual body; worshiping Govardhana Shila; bathing thrice in Radha-kunda; offering one-thousand obeisances to Krishna; offering two-thousand to Vaisnavas and embracing them; resting ninety minutes, and some days not at all. He ate only one leaf cup of buttermilk daily.

Atheists argue that God cannot exist because there is so much tragedy and evil around us. If God is all good, evil cannot exist and because evil exists, God cannot exist. If we look at this world objectively, the atheists are indeed correct. There are tragedies taking place every instant and with social media, it is more glaring now than ever. People more and more are losing faith in a higher power as a result of difficulties around the world.

In my opinion, losing faith in God is a bigger tragedy than all other tragedies put together. But we have to keep reminding ourselves, this world was created by God not as a place of permanent happiness but a transient place of correction. Of course, this has to be accepted as an axiomatic truth (that cannot be fully tested) - much like when we assume the laws of the physical and natural world around us are constant at all places and times. There is no way to test if light behaves the same way it did at the time of Big Bang versus today or that light on the earthly domain is the same as the light in distant galaxies. Yet practically every leading physicist from renowned universities such as Harvard, Oxford etc accepts the constant nature of light. Otherwise, no theories can be formed or explained.

Similarly, in order to understand God’s creation, the axiomatic truth is that this place was created as a place of “corrective behavior” and not “paradise”. People who believe or want to create “paradise” in a “correctional facility” will not be able to accept “non-paradise” ways of this world. In a correction facility, there will be punishments to correct and rewards for corrective behavior. There can be times of distress and times of relief from distress. Similarly in our world both global and personal, we can experience distress and relief from distress and both are meant to correct us.

So what are we correcting? – this very attitude of rebelliousness towards God’s supreme dominion. We don’t like His supreme dominion and we don’t want to hear about it or do anything with it. we (the individual) like to be independent and be the supreme dominion of our piece of land, property or people. This very attitude has landed us in this correctional facility.

A true hero will willingly submit to a superior hero with pride and dignity. Accepting defeat to a superior warrior is not a sign of defeat or shame but true chivalry. Similarly, it is only noble for a lesser person to submit his greatness to God’s Almighty greatness. If we can work in this mood of humility in front of God and all of His creation, then, as a true hero we will be released from this correctional facility.

So instead of trying to correct the correctional facility or find fault with the creator of the facility, it is in our best interest to correct our attitude and if possible teach others to correct theirs.

Hare Krishna

A simple Hare Krishna family (5 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: One who has got a helpful wife at home does not require to accept sannyasa. Letter to Krishnadevi, October 29, 1967.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/5GMfOI

The post Daily Darshan: February 11th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

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Belong addresses our heart’s longing to belong to something bigger than ourselves – a longing that is nourished and fulfilled by the Bhagavad-gita’s transformational message of spiritual love. While presenting that message in accessible 300-word nuggets, Belong shines the light of the Gita on many themes important for our inner growth:

Optimism: Our willingness is more important than our willpower
Resentment: Possibilities expand when we begin from where we are instead of where we should be
Happiness: Temporary relief from self-inflicted torture is not pleasure
Association: Our desires are not just linear, but also triangular
Temptation: We don’t have to defeat our lower desires – we can just let them lose
Discipline: Rules free you to be you
Devotion: Krishna is the master before whom we stand truly erect

These 121 reflections prompt the head and the heart to move closer towards belonging to the one in whom our potentials attain the fullest development and we find the deepest fulfillment.

The book is available on kindle here:

Belong

It can be ordered in hard copy by emailing voicebooks@voicepune.com
The earlier two books in the series are “The Gita for Daily Enrichment” and “The Eye to See the I.”

The post New book release: Belong – Gita daily series book 3 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

2016 Parikrama. https://flic.kr/s/aHskuaXvir

The post Scenes from Varsana parikrama appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

ISKCON 50 celebrations 2016 in Mumbai.
Devotees, congregation, wellwishers, and the general public filled Mumbai’s Jamnabai Narsee Ground to its 4,000-person capacity for a colorful glorification of Srila Prabhupada’s historic achievements this February 5th to 7th. “Srila Prabhupada famously stated, ‘Bombay is my office,’” says Western India Communications Coordinator Parijata Dasi. “So we were happy to host one of the first major ISKCON 50 celebrations in 2016, our Golden Jubilee year.” The event was organized by Sura Das, convenor of ISKCON 50 Mumbai, as well as all of ISKCON’s four temples in the city – Juhu, Chowpatty, Mira Road, and Kharghar.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/1IsiYl

In front of an ocean we realise how tiny we are! In the same way, as one advances in their relationship with God, their genuine appreciation and admiration of His character and qualities grows exponentially.

An app for Android smartphones, entitled “Krsna – The Sweet Lord,” is now available on the Google Play Store for free and promises to place the best of what ISKCON has to offer in the palm of your hand. The app, developed by ISKCON Juhu of Mumbai, received a soft launch for an internal devotee audience on December 14^th, when it was unveiled by Radhanath Swami at Mumbai’s Chowpatty temple.

Devotees, congregation, wellwishers, and the general public filled Mumbai’s Jamnabai Narsee Ground to its 4,000-person capacity for a colorful glorification of Srila Prabhupada’s historic achievements this February 5^th to 7^th. “Srila Prabhupada famously stated, ‘Bombay is my office,’” says Western India Communications Coordinator Parijata Dasi. “So we were happy to host one of the first major ISKCON 50 celebrations in 2016, our Golden Jubilee year.”

Harinam Sankirtan @ Brickfields, on the streets of Little India, Malaysia (Album with photos)
Shevaanni Pillai: Harinam Sankirtan @ Brickfields on 10/2/16. We had a very blissful time during Hari Nam today on the streets of Little India at Brickfields. We were joined by our special guest from Europe, Gaura Sundar prabhu. People were very charmed and attracted by the ecstatic melodies of the Holy Name. Most of them were very receptive and happily gave donations and accepted Srila Prabhupada’s books. There were some sporting people who also chanted on our microphone. One particular Chinese family loved the sankirtan so much, they even danced with us so spontaneously and enthusiastically! It was truly inspiring to see how Krishna’s mercy affected even the most unexpected people . This made us even more fired up to spread His glories. In total, we managed to distribute about 50 small books. Harinam Sankirtan Ji Jai! Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/mXZIXy