Sunday feast at Radha Gopinatha temple on 17-1-16

Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save”

The post Narada Muni – Not kalah-priya, but krishna-priya appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By the end of this year, the Christchurch temple will be rebuilt on the same land as before the earthquake.

In the meantime, the devotee community has been renting a hall to hold Sunday programs and festivals. Even though not the temple, the atmosphere is spiritually surcharged by the enthusiasm of the devotees.

Friday, January 15^th, 2016
Houston, Texas

Thursday, January 14^th, 2016
Houston, Texas

Wednesday, January 13^th, 2016
Houston, Texas

Tuesday, January 12^th, 2016
Houston, Texas

Monday, January 11^th, 2016
Houston, Texas

Giriraj Swami continued reading and speaking from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11.

“Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that by attentive chanting one can become free from all the other offenses—and that by inattentive chanting we allow all the other offenses to flourish. So it is critical that we chant with attention. When we are calling Krishna’s name and Krishna asks, ‘What do you want?’ we can pray,  ‘I want to hear Your holy names.’ We don’t have to ask for something very distant. We can ask for the thing that is most important at that moment—that we can hear the holy names. So that can be our prayer while we are chanting—’Please allow me to hear You. Please allow me to fix my mind upon You.’ And when we actually do that, everything changes. Then we get the real effect of becoming free from false ego and becoming situated in our actual positions as eternal servants of Radha and Krishna and Their dear devotees.”

Kirtan in Dallas
Talk on SB 2.1.11 in Dallas

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

I pray to one day love Krsna! The words ‘love Krsna’ cannot be used so cheaply. It takes great effort in devotional service, it takes effort to sacrifice and to go step-by-step from the initial stages of having some faith to learning to associate with devotees. Over how many years have I made so many mistakes in associating with the devotees? How then could I properly chant Hare Krsna and properly engage in devotional service?

What to speak of anartha nivriti, of the heart becoming purified… What to speak of getting some determination in devotional service… What to speak of getting some taste… What to speak of getting some attachment to Krsna… What to speak of getting ecstasy… What to speak of love… What can I speak on love for Krsna!!

By Mahatma das

As it is said, “Pray as if everything depends on God and act as if everything depends on you.” This is what Prabhupada did and Krsna definitely answered Prabhupada’s prayers. Personal responsibility towards preaching is empowering. Prabhupada’s god-brothers went to preach in England in the 1920’s and came back saying that the westerners are too fallen to take up Krsna consciousness. Fortunately, Prabhupada didn’t think this way. He took personal responsibility to spread Lord Caitanya’s mission. Remember, ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses. If the world is not Krsna conscious, we need to look at ourselves. Whenever devotees made excuses and told Prabhupada that people were not receptive or that they were difficult to preach to, Prabhupada always said that the problem was not with the people they were preaching to; the problem was with us. Continue reading "Who’s To Blame?
→ Dandavats"

By Kesava Krsna dasa

The waking process may take some time. If it is very rare to attain bhava where our true eternally awakened self is developed, shedding the gross and subtle dream body, then only a greedy, hungry effort, anxious to adopt all positive awakening procedures may expedite matters. Lord Krsna states: “After many births and deaths, he who actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knows Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” BG. 7.19. While we are awakening, any acquirement of mercy can be passed on to other sleeping souls, to sound gentle informed alarm bell talks. When awakened souls gather to converse about the awoken reality personified [Krsna] and His nearest and dearest, such enlivening chatter will keep us awake and entice us towards Krsna Prema. “O Narada, I am not in Vaikuntha nor am I in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees glorify My name, form, qualities and transcendental pastimes.” Padma Purana. In the meantime while we are here staying awake, perhaps we can also, like Maha-Visnu, observe the incredible workings of this dream world, if even as a reminder to keep alert, or to be interestingly occupied. Continue reading "City of nine gates
→ Dandavats"

Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra Chennai (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If one somehow or other chants the holy name of the Lord (Hare Krishna) when he meets with an accident and dies, he will be saved from hellish life after death. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.15 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/WfCzGL

Pejawar Paryaaya Mahotsava Udupi 2016 (Album with photos)
Basu Ghosh Das: Please find pictures taken by myself of the Pejawar Paryaaya festival here at Udupi yesterday, Monday, January 18, 2016
Find them here: https://goo.gl/n9A3Lm

KK Bindu #367, “The Final Words of Bhakta Kavi Gopal Krishna”, plus more …
The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu e-magazine was just released. This issue includes:
* IRRESPONSIBILITY IN BHAKTI – In this excerpt from a letter to a disciple,
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada strongly speaks about the principle of guru.
* THE FINAL WORDS OF BHAKTA KAVI GOPAL KRISHNA – The story of the last day and final prayers of this great Odishan Gaudiya Vaishnava poet.
* NAMA-TATTVA: NAMA IS ALL POWERFUL – a verse from Skanda Purana.
* “MATAJI” – From the life of Srila Lochan Das Thakur
It can be downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/bindu367

New Zealand Yatra 2015 Sankirtan Marathon (7 min video)
New Zealand has a population of 4.4 million and over one month we distributed over 19,000 books! We had 5 full time travelling sankirtan parties and 1 part time going all over the country.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/O4WCYE

A sincere sweeper in the street is far better than the charlatan meditator.
[Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work.]
Anyone who is in the material world is certainly possessed of the impure propensity for lording over the material nature and for sense gratification. Such polluted propensities have to be cleared.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/klwOH7

What makes us act selfishly?
Answer by Radhanath Swami.
Question: The caring attitude is pleasing to everyone, but generally the default attitude in this world is one always thinks selfishly. So is it an inbuilt script of the mind that makes one think selfishly?
Radhanath Swami: The false ego misconceives: “I am this body, I am this mind, I am the controller, I am the proprietor, and I am the selfish enjoyer.” This is foundational to all material complications. It impels us to put ourselves above others and act selfishly. And when we continue to act in that way it becomes a habit. According to how we habituate ourselves, by making those wrong choices, we become more and more engrained in that way of thinking.
That is the way any habit works. For example, if you smoke a lot of cigarettes you become addicted, and the more you smoke the more you become addicted. The habit becomes a craving, and then it is very difficult to do anything without feeding your habit. When you are in the middle of it, you cannot really understand the effect of what you are doing because you are so much a slave of the habit. So that is exactly the way the ego works. Our selfishness, our arrogance, our greed, our selfish passions, our anger, and our envy – as we make choices to feed these habits, they become stronger and stronger and stronger.
But when we associate with saintly people we began to understand what we really want in life and what our condition is. And then we will take the medicine and the way of life by which we can become liberated from these habits of egotism. Chanting of the Holy Names is the simple medicine that will cure one from all the symptoms of ego, ignorance and selfishness.

The post Daily Darshan : January 19th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Leicester Sunday Program.

The post The preaching spirit appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

By Dravida dasa January 18, 2016

Dear follower of Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Kindly submit your homage to Srila Prabhupada for his Vyasa-puja book by April 15.

Also, this year, in observance of the fiftieth anniversary of ISKCON’s founding, we have been requested to ask everyone who submits an offering to work in something about that theme.

In addition, if you’re a direct disciple of Srila Prabhupada, please check out www.sptributes.com to learn about a Vyasa-puja book open to all his disciples. The deadline for submission to this book is also April 15.

The standards for submitting an offering to the traditional Vyasa-puja book (the one published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust) are as follows:

————

*Absolutely no offerings will be accepted after April 15, 2016.*

Offerings must be in English.

Please restrict the length to a maximum of 3,000 words.

Please omit all diacritics on words that can be found in the VedaBase. It’s easier for us to put them in. If you quote a verse from outside the VedaBase or compose original Sanskrit, please include diacritics.

Do not “recycle” an offering — no offerings from previous years will be accepted.

The Vyasa-puja book is meant for glorifying Srila Prabhupada, not venting grievances. The BBT reserves the right to reject an offering it deems inappropriate or to ask for a rewrite.

When writing an offering on behalf of a temple or other unit, please try to write in such a way that the other devotees in your unit can also identify with the offering.

Who may write an offering?

1) Governing Body Commissioners

2) Sannyasis

3) Authorized representatives of ISKCON temples, preaching centers, farms, gurukulas, BBT offices, and “others,” such as BTG magazine and ISCOWP (this is not a complete list). If there is some doubt, we will request you to send written authorization from your GBC representative.

4) No multiple offerings. For example, a temple should not enlist all its bhaktas to write offerings under the temple heading. Joint authorship (2-4 devotees) of a single offering is fine.

5) Please make sure you tell us where the offering originates. For example: New Vamsi-vata (the Madagascar farm community), NOT just New Vamsi-vata. If we don’t know where the offering comes from, we will not print it.

6) Always leave a double space between paragraphs. If you want some special formatting, submit your offering as an attached file in Microsoft Word or RTF format.

7) Submit your offering by emailing it to Dravida Dasa at dravida108@gmail.com.

Offerings may be submitted any time from now until April 15, 2016. We will confirm receipt of your offering by e-mail. If you do not receive a confirmation, resend it.

The BBT is not responsible for lost offerings.

————

Hoping this meets you well, I remain
Your servant,
Dravida dasa

January 19. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Honoring Prasadam. The way he taught in his Prospectus written in the 1950s for the League of Devotees, Swamiji gave prominent mention to prasadam. He invited members to live with him in the asrama, and he advertised the daily schedule. There were many times during the day when prasadam was served. The menu was described exactly. By studying that daily schedule, one can understand that prasadam is like attending arotikas, bhajanas, or Bhagavatam readings. Prasadam was not a material break in a spiritual day. It was another full-fledged, spiritual activity – a devotee was either chanting, or working, or honoring prasadam. Prasadam works. It makes you feel satisfied and free of sex agitation. Everything seems nice. You don’t want to argue with people. Prasadam helps to heal the ailing self. The atma is not only the soul; it is the mind, body and self. All of these will be satisfied by eating prasadam. When you honor prasadam, the body says, “I like Krishna consciousness.” The mind says, “I like it too, I am not agitated any more.” The self exclaims, “This prasadam was offered to Krishna. Swamiji says it is not ordinary food.” Prasadam is an item of faith, a sacrament.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=4

Diksha Diksha Diksha £250/Rs11,000 Diksha

Perception
Understanding
Background

How much does initiation cost?

If you ask those fortunate to have been given first and second initiation by Srila Prabhupada, their was zero exchange of money, no courses, indeed Srila Prabhupada showed the greatest mercy and grace to his young disciples.

I once asked a dear friend of mine what it was like to be initiated by Srila Prabhupada, he looked at me and gave me an honest and surprising answer; “I can’t remember I think I was still stoned, we did a lot of drugs back then and it was probably still in my system”

He explained that unlike today, most got initiated very quickly, he had only been in the movement a few weeks; but with a tear in his eye he said this was Srila Prabhupada’s greatest gift, his grace and mercy; his love touched your heart you would do anything for him.

Some years later I spoke to one of our amazing Sanyasi about his brahmana initiation, it was a beautiful story; he explained how he was helping build the temple and Srila Prabhupada sent for him. Looking at his nails he recalls how Srila Prabhupada questioned what sort of recommendation for brahman initiation is this just look at the nails. But somehow he recalled he got second initiation. Again he noted that Srila Prabhupada gave the greatest grace and mercy to his disciples, and again the words he touched my heart I have tried my best to be a good disciple. He showed me his nail brush, I always now carry this to keep my hands nice and clean.

Each noted how Srila Prabhupada gave them both a chance despite being under-qualified and having little knowledge; but this endeared them more leading to a lifetime of selfless service.

They remain humbled by such mercy

Is this mercy and grace still being shown, perception and practicality or modern corporate ISKCON would suggest not; now we have waiting times, forms, courses and exams. And some come with a cost; no course no diksha, no diksha unless you do a course and that comes with a price, you pay so diksha is now business. Mentorship is not about guiding to bring the best out of the individual working on their strengths to become life long practitioners of bhakti.

Indeed in my own early days, their was no courses, forms, exams, no standardisation; mentorship was their they were called senior devotees who were so inspirational they could convince you to change your ways and practice devotional life. Those who got initiation were recommended by the same senior devotees, it was simple and effective. Each had a place and a wonderful spirit of cooperation despite different backgrounds, educational and social upbringings.

I personally miss these days and more so miss these compassionate devotees who’s mercy and grace was as unlimited as that of their own Guru Maharaja, who later became my own Guru Maharaja and who’s instructions remain deeply embedded in my heart; this cannot be replicated or quantified by any form, course or exam.

Unalloyed love, the special connection between Guru and disciple cannot be artificially made and this includes mentorship.
However now we cannot get diksha, we cannot get first or second initiation without doing courses and filling out forms to monitor and make sure were good little devotees; so diksha now comes with cost; many effectively argue that corporate ISKCON is more interested in money and making of money than devotees, this is perception. But there is a good rational for this argument as diksha is withheld unless you do the course so first you must hand over your money.

And what about those who are not academic?

Well I guess pack up your bags and ship out, sadly many have I’ve lost count of those who love Srila Prabhupada but hate corporate ISKCON and leave; with no system to catch them, no mentor, no grace, no mercy.

It appears we have lost the example that Srila Prabhupada gave, lost his grace and mercy, his unlimited compassion and love; making the unqualified qualified not by forms or exams but by giving them a chance, giving them initiation.

Can we not do the same?

Can we not return to the beautiful spontaneous inspirational ISKCON that captivated me so many years ago?

And if were insisting on courses before initiation, can we give them at the same cost our founder Acharia charged?

Lets not reinvent the wheel and return to basics, love care and devotion

Otherwise we risk becoming the professional reciters Srila Prabhupada warned us against, who will only give out diksha or speak about how to become devotees only if you pay; diksha diksha diksha course £250/Rs11,000, no course, no money, no diksha

ponder

and as always thoughts

and may we return to the stage were we recite stories of how great and merciful our Guru Maharaja’s are giving us the greatest gift despite how unqualified we are.

Free Spirit Festival on Sunday 31 January 2016 from 5pm. Join us for an exciting evening with Devamrita Swami. $5 includes enlightening talk, kirtan and dinner. As a world traveller & international author, Devamrita swami is the kind of person to hear from if you really want to gain wisdom & strength to pursue “out […]

The post International Speaker visit 31 Jan 2016 appeared first on The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland.

Click here for schedule

The post Schedule of upcoming visit to Australia – Chaitanya Charan Das appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Accepting Reversals In Brahmaji’s Spirit Of Surrender -Radhanath Swami, SB 10.74.1

Honoring Prasadam 

“There is no division between the name and the named”(abhinatvaṁ nāma-nāmīnaḥ). This is certainly the Gauḍīya conclusion, but it does not mean that the name is just a sound with no meaning. It means that the the sound of the word is intrinsic to and inseparable from its meaning.

If the true Gauḍīya attitude is that name of Krishna has no meaning or is “beyond meaning,” why would the founding ācārya of the Gauḍīya school, Śrī Jīva Goswāmī, explain the meaning of the name in Tattva-sandarbha?

What’s a “Word”?

There is a difference between a sound and a word: a word is a sound that has meaning (viz. Śabda kalpadruma: sa ca dhvanyātmako varṇātmakaś ca).

Nouns are words whose meaning indicates a specific entity (viz. Bhāgavata Sandarbha: mano-grāhya vastuno vyavahārārthaṁ kenāpi saṅketitaḥ śabdo nāmeti).

There are two types of nouns, (1) those temporarily associated with the entity they identify, and (2) those intrinsically connected to the entity they identify. (Śabdaśakti Prakāśikā: ājānikaś cādhunikaḥ saṅketo dvividho mataḥ)

An example of the first type, if you call a person “Joe” long enough the word “Joe” comes to identify the person. This is a temporary, created association. An example of the second type is to name a town “Little Falls” because it is by a river with a small waterfall. Or to name a girl Summer because she was born in the summer and has a very warm personality. This is a natural association between the name and the named.

Eternal Descriptors of Eternal Entities

There are two types of nouns intrinsically connected to the entity they identify. The first consists of nouns like Little Falls and Summer – nouns relating to temporary entities. The second consists of nouns like “Krishna” “Hare” and “Rāma” – nouns relating to eternal entities. In the second case, the connection between the noun and the entity it names is eternal, and thus the name and the named are inseparable.

It is not an aparādhā to say that the name of Krishna is a word. It is an aprādhā to say it is an ordinary word, a sound temporarily associated with some meaning. If the name of Krishna was not a word it would not be called a “name.” The name is not an ordinary word, but it is simply an attempt to appear esoteric to say “the name is not a word,” or “the name is beyond meaning,” when everyone knows that a name is a noun, a noun is a word, and words are sounds that have meaning.

Great devotees like Śrī Gaurakishor and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said the name is made of letters. Letters form words. Everyone knows this. Everyone knows the name is a word, but what only the Vaiṣṇava’s know is that the name of Krishna is an “ajanika” word, an eternal noun for an eternal entity, and therefore “Krishna” and Krishna are indivisible (abhinatva).

How to Pronounce an Eternal Word?

Since the name and named are inseparable it stands to perfect reason that we cannot truly access one without the other. We cannot comprehend Krishna without comprehending “Krishna” (the word). And we cannot comprehend “Krishna” without comprehending Krishna. Thus ordinary people have absolutely no access to eternal words, which is why we doubt they even exist. It requires some comprehension of eternality before one can hope to pronounce and hear eternal words in their true form.

Thus we must start our endeavor to clearly understand Krishna. How do we do that? By contemplating śāstra under the guidance of someone who clearly understands śāstra (guru). For Gauḍīya’s the supreme śāstra is Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. So, by contemplating Śrīmad Bhāgavatam under realized guidance, we come to understand something initial about Krishna.

Once we understand something about Krishna, we don’t have to make any extraneous effort to try to think of Radha Krishna while chanting “Hare Krishna.” The entity being named naturally appears along with the sound of the name when it is an ajanika noun and we comprehend something about the entity.

In a sense, this works even with an ordinary noun. When you hear even an ordinary noun, like “Santa Claus,” do you not spontaneously think of christmas, a jolly fat man in a red suit, or whatever else you know or have associated with Santa in your memory? Similarly, if we know a little about Krishna by contemplating Bhāgavatam, then, by hearing “Krishna” we will naturally become aware of a flute-player with a peacock feather in his hair, who is the root consciousness at the origin of all existence (or whatever it is that we may have learned about Krishna from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam). In this, please note carefully that we are not paying attention to anything besides the name. It is by paying attention to the name that the named (who is inseparable from the name) manifests in the consciousness simultaneously with the sound of the name.

This still is not a direct transcendental realization of “Krishna.” It is not entirely mundane either. It is a mental association created by the guidance we’ve recieved from transcendent sources: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam via Śrī Guru. These glimpses of the meaning of Krishna make it far, far easier to concentrate attentively on “Krishna” without any strange misunderstandings of what “Krishna” indicates.

Attentive, non-misconstrued chanting of “Krishna” is often described as “inoffensive.” It is beyond nāma-aparādhā, significantly closer to the REAL name, śuddha-nāma, not just the sonic counterpart of it, nāmākṣara. Since it is closer to the real name, the real entity named can be more directly perceived in our contemplation of “Krishna.” This allows us to more deeply REALIZE the things we have heard from Bhāgavatam’s ślokas.

So, hearing Bhāgavatam and chanting Krishna-nāma are symbiotic practices that go hand in hand. One doesn’t fully “work” without the other.

From Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī

I’ll end the post by referring to Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī’s statement:

atha śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhavet grahyam indriyai
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adah

“Śrī Krishna’s name and so on do not manifest within the reach of our senses. But if one is devotionally inclined, they will certainly manifest of their own accord on our tongue and so on.”

Sri Rupa says here that the true name of Śrī Krishna is not something that senses like a tongue can create. The tongue can pronounce the sound “Krishna” but cannot produce the eternal form of the word which is inseparable from Krishna. It is only when one has the proper attitude towards the name that the true name wants to manifest in our chanting, singing, or speaking.

To get a proper attitude towards the name, we have to clearly understand the person being named and our relationship to him. This is why I say that manifestation of the śuddha-nāma (pure, transcendental name) cannot be had without careful bhāgavata-śikṣā (study of the Bhāgavatam from a realized guru). This is why I say we have to strive to comprehend the Bhāgavatam and thus the meaning of “Krishna” so that we can chant more than the external sound “Krishna.”

Vraja Kishor das

www.vrajakishor.com

Tagged: Chanting, hare krishna mahamantra, hare krishna mantra, Mantra

Gita verse-by-verse study Podcast

Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Gita 08.25 – Yogi’s spiritual exit velocity needs to be greater than the world’s gravity pull appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By Drutakarma Dasa

Is There A Conscious Self distinct from the physical mechanism of the body? Is there a mind distinct from the brain? Those who answer yes to such questions are called dualists, and they are rare in contemporary science and philosophy. Dualistic solutions to the mind/body problem are perhaps hampered by, among other things, inadequate analogies and allegories on the topic in Western thought. Whether we turn to Plato's cave, to the formulations of Descartes, or to the proverbial little green man in the brain, there is apparently not enough substance to inspire the modern researcher of consciousness to seriously consider dualism. But if we turn to chapters 25-29 of Canto Four in the Bhagavata Purana, or Srimad-Bhagavatam, a Sanskrit text from India, we'll find the elaborate allegory of the City of Nine Gates. The sophistication of this allegory challenges modern researchers to take a second look at dualism. Continue reading "The City of Nine Gates
→ Dandavats"

The ULTIMATE Dharma: a short film (13 min video)
An adventurous short film of gratitude and devotion. From Dallas to Nepal, join the spiritual quest of two sincere devotees of Krishna. Film Offering by: HoofprintMedia.com
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/otSJA4

By Patita Uddharana dasa Adhikary (Patita Pavana dasa)

Nectar with a Touch of Printer’s Ink

There are so many wonderful articles on the net about the days of ISKCON Press by talented devotee writers that I collected them together—and, voila, a book self-manifested. I took the tour when Shrila Prabhupada first visited the press in ‘69. I witnessed His Divine Grace gently tapping the big offset Chef 29 printing machine and emphatically stated, “This is my heart.” Every word of the pure devotee is shastra. These words proved to be the title of a book.

Each day the artists—Baradwaja, Muralidhara, Jadurani, Parikshit and sometimes Devahuti—were upstairs in the studio. Adwaita was running the gigantic offset. Uddhava was moving from here to there organizing everything. Madhusudan and Narayani were typing away on the IBM electric in a tiny basement nook. Vaikunthanatha and me were downstairs in the basement—once a morgue—hand binding Ishopanishads of Nectar of Devotions or cutting BTGs. Or we could be found operating the folding machine upstairs once Adwaita had printed the sheets. Brahmananda was in the office with Swarupa seeing to the business aspect. Satswarupa was the temple president, and a very austere one. He was editing the Bhagavatams at the time, or working a job to pay the bills.

It was an important, albeit brief, era of ISKCON’s rapid forward movement. This Is My Heart puts those cherished times together through the words of the Prabhus who were either there or who were somehow associated with the period. Each one of the devotee writers has generously granted their permission to use their articles together for the benefit of ISKCON generations to come. The book is intended for free distribution. It is also stored at the Bhaktivedanta Archives and on the latest Vedabase (no photos in that edition however).

To get your free download with illustrations, go to this page on the Suhotra Maharaja website and click on the link half way down the page. http://www.suhotraswami.net/abhaya-ashram-notes/

Here is what you’ll find:

Introduction “Books Any Man Would Be Proud to Have” ………. 8

Shrila Prabhupada on Printing ………………………………….. 16

The Business of ISKCON Press (Rameshwara dasa) …………… 28

Prabhupada Instructs the Artists ………………………………… 43

Prabhupada Visits Boston December 1969 (Nityananda dasa)….. 50

Shrila Prabhupada’s Boston Initiation Lecture..…………………. 69

History of ISKCON Press (Swarupa dasa)

Introduction ………………………………………………. 83

1. The Big Mridanga ………………………………………. 84

2. The Washington Peace Rally ………………… ………… 86

3. Saving the World from Godlessness ……………………… 89

4. The Cast of Characters ……………………………………. 92

5. Why the Press Moved from Boston Back to New York …… 95

6. “North, East, South and West”… ………………………….. 97

7. 32 Tiffany Place, Brooklyn ……………………………… 101

The MacMillan Miracle (Satyaraja dasa) ……………………… 105

George Harrison and the Krishna Book (Shyamasundara dasa)….. 111

Reminiscences of a Pandit (Pradyumna dasa) ……………………. 119

Thus Spake Krishna’s Artists:

(Govinda, Jadurani, Baradwaja, Pushkar, Bhargava) ………… 127

From Proofreader to Devotee (Mahamaya dasi) ………………….. 135

How I Met Swami Bhaktivedanta (Madhusudana dasa) ………….. 144

Two Poems from the Early Days (Patita Uddharana dasa)………… 146

I Just Want the Truth (Patita Uddharana dasa) ……..…………… 153

Letter from a Bookbinder (Patita Uddharana dasa) ……………….. 163

His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

Wedding Ceremony and Lecture Boston, 6 May 1969 ……………168

In2MeC (Diary Entries of HH Suhotra Maharaja)

1. How I Almost Missed My Initiation ………………………….. 180

2. Meeting David Allen …………………………………………. 184

3 Why Don’t You Write? .……………………………………….. 188

4. “My Name is Prabhupada dasa” ……………………………… 189

Letter from a Friend (Prabhupada dasa) .……………………….…… 206

The Story of Kushakratha Das (Pushkar Das Adhikary) ……..….…. 210

Crazy Peter (Giriraja Swami) ……………………………………….. 219

Prabhupada’s Lecture at M.I.T. …………………………………..…. 221

Shrila Prabhupada’s Indexer (Satyaraja dasa).………………………. 236

ISKCON Press Bulletin Board (Patita Uddharana dasa) ……………. 256

The Letter that Saddened Shrila Prabhupada (Govinda dasi) ……….. 264

The First of Many Lessons (Rameshwara dasa) …………………….. 267

“You Will Take Stones to Eat?” (Hari Sauri dasa) .………………… 271

The Purport behind the Purport (Shrutakirti das) …………………… 272

Here are a few reviews:

“I love this book.”

-Vaisheshika dasa Prabhu (conveyed verbally via Gaura dasa)

“This is My Heart is a relishable read. Oh, for the innocence and idealism
of those early days …”

–HH Bhakti Vikas Swami

“A great read and a wonderful collection of stories around the press and also great research on all the photos. Classic. You have done a great job compiling the stories about the printing history of Prabhupada’s books which brings things into great historical perspective.”

-Siddhanta dasa Adhikary

“I have just taken a few minutes to glance through your new book. Really, you have done an amazing job of assembling historical nectar and putting it together in a way that all devotees will relish for the many years to come.

-Bhakta dasa Adhikary

“This Is My Heart immediately captured my attention. It is a masterpiece of putting together so many small pieces of information to make a great picture of glorious ISKCON history.”

-Vidyagati das Adhikary

“This Is My Heart is a very nice read for all Hare Krishna devotees. Ramesvara Prabhu’s input about how Shrila Prabhupada dealt with all the artists concerning the Krishna Book shows how Shrila Prabhupada felt about the art work in His books.”

-Satyahit dasa Adhikary

“This is My Heart is an awesome book. It has opened up many memories that were stuck and helped connect the dots.”

-Damayanti devi dasi

38th Anniversary Celebration of Iskcon Juhu, Mumbai (Album with 124 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: O my Lord! Persons who chant the holy names of your Lordship are far, far advanced in spiritual life, even if born in families of dog-eaters. Such chanters have undoubtedly performed all kinds of austerities and sacrifices, bathed in all sacred places, and finished all scriptural studies. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.33.7)
Photography Courtesy: Arjun Bhattacharyya
Find them here: https://goo.gl/MDHsHp

Varnasrama series in Leicester.

The post Do we recognise the need for devotees to be part of a varnasrama society (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Links: http://www.tattvadarsi.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tattvadarsi108/

Tattva Darsi means to see the absolute truth. We get our knowledge from the Vedic literatures. Our mission includes traveling to different schools and festivals in North America and providing books on yoga & meditation. Our home base is in Los Angeles, California. We are a group of monks who live together in a monastery. We have a temple open to the general public with spiritual music (kirtan), philosophy, and vegetarian feasts. Our society is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, founded by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

……………

This project is to present what we do as traveling monks, and a means to keep in touch with the people we meet both online and on the streets! (Universities, festivals, etc.)

We have been working on this project for almost five months now. Before it was just an idea of “we should make a website..” But now we are in full swing and have gathered content of our lifestyle and are trying to open it up to the general.

Our goal is to share with people the ancient teachings of spiritual India, the Vedas, which according to the Vedas is beyond all material designations. Its a spiritual tradition that has been practiced for thousands and thousands (and thousands) of years by monks, yogis, and spiritual conscious persons all over the world. Anyone can learn the ancient practices of yoga and meditation no matter who you are, or where you come from.

We as traveling monks come from an internation society for Krishna consciousness, founded by our spiritual teacher and guru, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Our guru has transplanted these teaching from the heart of India into the hearts of the western civilization, without compromise of its original spiritual identity. He has brought Bhagavad Gita as it is.

Over the past five thousand years the book Bhagavad Gita has been circulating through the minds of great thinkers and soul seekers around the planet. Which teaches the origins of meditation.

We as monks dedicate our lives to distributing this knowledge to awaken the hearts of today’s society of a meditative, yet practical way of life.

We hope that you would like to join us on our spiritual mission and keep up with us on our adventures throughout North America!

LA veteran book distributer Bhrigupati Das meets star basketball player Mamadou N'Diaye at University of California, Irvine, and gives him a book of Srila Prabhupada.

Prasadam Distribution for the 38th Anniversary of ISKCON Juhu (Album with photos)
To celebrate the 38th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Sri Sri Radha Rasbihari temple at Juhu, Mumbai devotees organized prasadam distribution in different localities.
HH Gopal Krishna Goswami, ISKCON Juhu Temple President Braja Hari Dasa and the devotees went around in these localities distributing prasadam while being accompanied by the Harinam Party.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/1Qo6mE

36th day Prachar Yatra Report.
If we closely observe the situation in the world it is full of exploitation: the ‘haves’ exploiting ‘have-nots’, strong exploiting the weak, masculine gender exploiting the female gender, human species exploiting the lower species, powerful country exploiting the weaker countries, irreligion exploiting religion, cities exploiting villages, man exploiting environment, etc. The list of exploitation is vast and gets longer as the influence of kali-yuga progresses further. The history is also full with such exploitative stories.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/fncyYA

Harinam Party in Surfers Paradise, Australia (Album with photos)
All happiness in the material world has a beginning and an end, but happiness in Krishna is unlimited, and there is no end.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/303uOj