Websites from the ISKCON Universe
In attached photo:
From left to right:
Canadian stage director Valerie Kuinka, her husband Richard Margison, the honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau & Bhakta Dustin Hiles.
by Jaya Govinda Dasa (GKG)
Bhakta Dustin, a Hare Krishna devotee, was given the honour of singing the National Anthem to open the first holiday caucus dinner of the recently elected Canadian liberal government.
Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau along with his wife Mrs. Grégoire-Trudeau, affectionately known as “Sofie”, hosted the gala event of almost three thousand elite guests.
After singing the Canadian National Anthem opposite the legendary Richard Margison, one of the most critically acclaimed singers on the international stage today, Bhakta Dustin and Richard were ushered to the prime minister’s table by several staffers at the specific request of the honorable prime minister.
Although Bhakta Dustin didn’t get a lot of time to speak with the Prime Minister, he did get to speak at length with the prime minister’s wife Sofie, “who is truly an amazing women and truth seeker” says Bhakta Dustin.
“She said that the difference between Justin Trudeau and Harper, is that Justin leads with devotion, “Bhakti”. I was so inspired. After our long conversation we both, with folded hands, paid our obeisance’s to each other and she said “Hare Krishna!”
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE: We have been eating healthy organic food for 4 or 5 years as part of my wife’s Ayurvedic wellness program due to her long struggle with weak health. Unfortunately, because of my rare encounter with serious health problems and a strong “kapha” constitution, I have been more cavalier about taking care of myself. Her weak constitution and immune system has forced her to be much more conscious of the importance of diet, sleep, exercise, balance, and peace of mind. So now I am also being forced to do all the things I should have been doing as maintenance for health, and more so with a special diet and treatment for cancer.
I am no evangelist about any topic, yet I can speak with some conviction about a few subjects, and am sharing them with you—gently, as food for thought. I hope you take it in that spirit. I feel I am putting love and prayers into my words and pray they may have the power to bless my readers. I have expressed this many times in my writing. Wishful thinking perhaps, and yet, for me, this is my intention in writing and living. Every day I feel compelled to share my inspiration with the prayer that it will be encouraging and meaningful to you. I feel this is what it means to be a spiritually oriented person.
It takes money and time to eat right and exercise, and even if we do, we may still attract some catastrophic illness. I remember reading an account several years ago about a health enthusiast and advocate for a strong wellness program who was shocked when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was saying, “How can this be happening to me, since I am doing all the best things for my health, and have been for twenty years?” The better thought is, “Why not me?”
By Madhava Smullen
A group of preschool children, along with their devotee parents and grandparents, bustled excitedly into Gopal’s Garden Homeschool Co-Op for their graduation party on November 5th.
The event had ISKCON New Vrindaban president Jaya Krsna Das calling the Co-Op “community building at its best.”
Gopal’s Garden was established in New Vrindaban, West Virginia – Srila Prabhupada’s first farm community — in 2007 by Ruci Dasi. It runs to eighth grade, and teaches thirteen students in total.
Its preschool, which cares for eight children aged three to five, was an individual effort launched this April by New Vrindaban residents and parents Sundari Dasi and Mercy.
“We decided to do it as soon as my son Sanjaya and Sundari’s daughter Bhumi were the right age, so that they could be together, and play and learn with other children in the community,” says Mercy, who was born and raised in New Vrindaban and wants to pursue a career in teaching.
Mercy assists head teacher Sundari, who moved to New Vrindaban from Bangalore in 2011 and holds a Montessori teacher training certificate. Under their care from 12:30 to 3:30 each day this year, the children learned basic ABCs, counting, colors, arts and crafts, how to share, hand-eye coordination and speech development along with spiritual projects that put Krishna in the center.
The teachers’ children Bhumi and Sanjaya both attended the recent graduation party at Gopal’s Garden to celebrate their first year of school, along with Malini, Pranaya Keli, Rama Lochana, Nadia, and Harilila. Arjuna, who was absent because he was traveling with his parents, also completed the year.
The event ran from 6 to 8:30pm, beginning with everyone offering ghee lamps together to Lord Damodara, along with the classroom deities of Radha Krishna and Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.
A video presentation entitled “Glimpses of Gopal’s Garden Preschool” followed, showing the young students’ heartwarming participation in Krishna conscious festivals throughout the year.
“For our first festival of the year, Pushpa Abhisekha, we had a picking party with the kids where we picked a bunch of local flowers here in New Vrindaban, then they pulled off the petals and showered the deities with them,” says Mercy. “It was so sweet.”
Next, the children participated in ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Rathayatra by helping to make outfits for their classroom Jagannath Deities, decorating a small cart that community members came together to build, and pulling it while having an ecstatic kirtan. All the parents then made a special offering of cupcakes and cookies to Lord Jagannath, and distributed them to the children.
On Janmastami, the students got to bathe their Radha Krishna Deities in saffron water, and take turns pushing them on a special Jhulan Yatra swing that had been constructed for the occasion.
And on October 25th, a week before Halloween, the teachers and parents got creative and held a Krishna-ized Halloween party with all the children dressed as demons from Srila Prabhupada’s book Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead. The parents then ascended a stage with their child and narrated the pastime of how Lord Krishna dispatched that particular demon.
Meanwhile in honor of the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival to the West, the children got to decorate a construction paper “Jaladuta” ship and glue blue cotton balls around it to represent the ocean.
After the video depicting all these activities, the children stood and sang classic gurukula songs like “My Name is Aghasura,” “Krishna’s Devotees Had A Farm,”and Mercy’s own composition to the tune of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” – “Krishna Has A Little Calf.” They also demonstrated their “ABCs.”
Sundari and Mercy then presented proposed plans for improving the preschool in 2016.
“As next year will be more focused on academics and learning, we will introduce a worksheet program, teaching the kids how to trace and write letters so that they can start learning how to write their own names,” says Sundari. “We’ll also start teaching them the Spanish and Sanskrit for English words they’re learning.”
Health will also be a priority. There will be more outdoor games, and yoga taught by Sundari – who has a diploma from Bangalore’s VYASA yoga university – so that the children can burn off their energy and learn motor skills. Lunch time, instead of consisting of store-bought snacks as it did this year, will feature a full meal such as rice, dahl and bread cooked by a different parent each day.
Inside the classroom, individual cubbies will be installed for each child to learn to put away their jackets, shoes and personal items.
And as always, Krishna consciousness will be a priority: a proper altar will replace the current dovetailed bookshelf. “We also want to have a couple of Laddhu Gopal Deities, so that the children can learn to dress Them and offer their food to Them,” Sundari says.
To conclude the graduation program, the children were presented with certificates. Finally, principal Ruci Dasi and president Jaya Krsna Das spoke, thanking Sundari and Mercy for their dedication and enthusiasm and praising how the school has brought the community together.
“It’s wonderful to see the kids hugging each other when they come in, and to see all the parents becoming friends,” said Jaya Krsna. “Many of them would not even know each other if the pre-school didn’t exist, as they live several miles apart from each other.”
He was glad to see the preschool training the children so early in life in Krishna consciousness, in a way that would be a challenge for their parents to do with their busy schedules. He also appreciated that the preschool gave parents, especially mothers, some much needed free time in which to rest, chant, or engage in other activities, while feeling assured that their children are being nicely taken care of.
Weeks after the graduation event, Jaya Krsna is still bubbling over with enthusiasm and appreciation for the preschool.
“For me, it’s just Krishna’s magic,” he says. “These kids are our future; and so the preschool is doing nothing less than building the future of New Vrindaban.”
Iskcon temple attacked in Bangladesh, 2 injured.
Unidentified gunmen on Thursday night hurled a crude bomb inside International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) temple in Kaharol’s Bahuchi village and opened fire at its entrance, reports said.
But locals caught one of the attackers - Safayet Hossain - in possession of a crude bomb. And later the police arrested Safayet.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/T7iu0K
Preaching program at King’s College London Dental Institute, London.
King’s College London Dental Institute, often found at the top of the national leaderboards for Dentistry, regularly invites speakers to inspire their students. On November 30th, 2015 they hosted Radhanath Swami alongside Ash Parmar, a world-famous cosmetic dentist (who has appeared on shows such as This Morning and Extreme Makeover), to give a seminar on the art of decision-making.
Due to his experiences, elaborated on in his autobiography, The Journey Home, Radhanath Swami was requested to speak about ethics, morality and compassion in relation to medically treating people. From the outset, Professor Woolford was impressed: “It was fascinating to hear the silence when the Swami was talking. The fact that people were genuinely listening; I wish I had that much silence in my lectures when I give them on crown and bridge work!” he laughed. Radhanath Swami told the students “cleaning our teeth is natural, but we also have to clean our heart.” He added that “If we don’t examine the deeper principles in life, we will develop the plaque of bad habits.”
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/grrYk1
Bhakta Dustin, a Hare Krishna devotee, was given the honour of singing the National Anthem to open the first holiday caucus dinner of the recently elected Canadian liberal government. Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau along with his wife Mrs. Grégoire-Trudeau, affectionately known as “Sofie”, hosted the gala event of almost three thousand elite guests.
On December 10th, unidentified gunmen hurled a crude bomb inside a Namahatta center in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, where thousands of congregational members and guests have gathered from all over Northern Bangladesh. “Luckily, it did not explode,” said ISKCON general secretary of Bangladesh Caru Candra Dasa, “however, the attackers opened fire at the entrance, injuring two people.”
By Urmila Devi Dasi Celibacy trains adolescents for self-restraint, whether they stay single or get married. It develops their inner strength, self-control, and good character. It also fosters good health and a fine memory. Without celibacy we can never realize that we are spirit soul, distinct from the body. Sex reinforces the illusion that we are these bodies. Sexual attraction and its extensions in family and society are the main knots that bind us to material identification. Vedic education aims to free the child from these knots so the adolescent can act on the spiritual plane. Children, of course, have no knowledge of sex. How do we train them to value celibacy before they reach puberty? By association and environment. Modern educators know well how children's early impressions influence their later moral behavior. And these educators are passing on their decadent moral values to our children. For example, the New York City public school board recently introduced textbooks in the first grade that show families with two "mommies" or two "daddies," to get children used to homosexuality. Continue reading "Teens And Celibacy
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New Ramana Reti, Iskcon Alachua: the real example of the United Nations!
Mukhya Devi Dasi: In 1974 Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to an Indian disciple who had complained to him that he felt American devotees were looking down on him. Srila Prabhupada said “Why be affected by bodily relationships? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised us…that we have to become humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree. Then we can execute our service and chant Hare Krsna. If Indians are bad, then I am also bad, as I am an Indian. But they have accepted an Indian as their guru. So Indians are both good and bad according to the behavior…Don’t be afflicted by all these external features of our bodily relationship. Be steady in Krsna consciousness and do your duty, and you may be blessed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krsna and make your life successful. We are neither Indian nor Americans; our real identity is that we are servants of Krsna.”
New Raman Reti is perhaps the most homogeneous blend of different nationalities in one temple in our movement. It’s part of the vibrancy of this community. The skills and talents and experiences combining together in service to Krsna that we find here creates a spiritual energy unique to our temple. It’s a cause for celebration, and sometimes it’s a challenge. When two people whose first language is not English communicate with each other in English, nuance can be lost and sometimes there is a mistaken perception of what’s being said. We all need to be extra sensitive to each other here, take a bit more time to communicate carefully and calmly; try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a minute before assuming they are wrong. We take time to cleanse our hearts in the shower of the holy names every day; we want to be cautious about throwing dirt right back over us by hanging out in the bodily identities of nationality, gender, intellect, profession, etc. We can be the real example of the United Nations, all operating under the Bhakti flag, if we keep everyone’s desire to serve Krsna and guru front and center.
THREE OUT OF THE SIX OF OUR LONDON YATRA’S LEGENDARY DEVOTEES RETURN TO LEAD OUR SATURDAY NIGHT HARINAM PARTY. London (28-11-2015)
What follows is a short video of three of the six original devotees sent to London by Srila Prabhupada in 1968. Shyamsundar prabhu, Gurudas prabhu, and Malati prabhu. All three of them took part in the joyful evening of Street Chanting. Each one of them took turns to lead the kirtana.
OVER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DEVOTEES WERE INSPIRED AND ENLIVENED BY THEIR PRESENCE…
PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE THIS EXCITING VIDEO PREMIER…
HARINAM SAMKIRTAN “OUR VERY LIFE & SOUL”.
WE HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY IT – AND THAT IT WILL INSPIRE AND ENCOURAGE YOU IN YOUR DEVOTIONAL SERVICE…
By Dayal Mora das
The time was coming around for the temple to send me to India again. Finally! I have the great fortune to serve as brahmachari leader at Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara Dham and I have been serving here for three and half years. I’m into Harinam and it’s a blessing that I can call this service one of my main services.
It was not difficult to choose a destination to request since I had recently seen Parasuram’s video from a Vraja Mandala Parikrama, or Padyatra, from 2010 which was super inspiring and I had been immediately attracted. (https://vimeo.com/10101860) What could be a better means of honouring the forests of Vraja than walking amongst them, chanting Harinam with an ox cart and two beautiful bulls from which tons of prasadam and books are distributed to the Brij Basi’s? We simultaneously visit the many ancient holy places dating back to the The Supreme Lord’s manifest pastimes on this planet as well as please the local inhabitants of this worshipable tract of land, a people undoubtedly very dear to Lord Krishna. And all of this during the month or Kartik!
In my previous life before coming to devotional service and ISKCON, I had oftentimes preferred travelling a little off the beaten track. In this way I found that one gets to see the reality of each place, meet the people who live there and there is an added element of excitement and adventure.
Thus this program seemed to be my cup of tea and surely a good program to invoke the blessings of Srila Prabhupada, the Vaisnavas and the residents of Vraja! I wrote to Para and got a place on the tour. By the Lords grace I was on my way to Vrindavan.
I hadn’t been too mental during the build up to the parikrama, I had decided to simply get out there and do the best I could, however from time to time I naturally did ponder briefly about how My body would hold up in the conditions, after all I had never been on padyatra before. My service was to perform sankirtana for 6 hours a day covering up to 25 km and it wasn’t clear where we would be taking rest in the evenings.
Kartik was as late as it gets this year with it beginning late October and finishing 25th November. With a nice crew of 6 souls we hit the road the day after we landed in India. I managed to pick up a walking harmonium and a mosquito net before setting out, both items I felt were absolutely essential for one month on the road in Vraja.
For those not familiar with the Vraja Mandala Parikrama, ‘parikrama’ means ‘to circumabulate’ and in doing so we honour and show respect to the object we are circumambulating. According to Lokanath Swami’s new book Vraja Mandala is 168 miles, not including internal parikramas. We would encircle the entire area of Vraja on foot.
Surprisingly even to myself the daily routine came very naturally and we happily traversed kilometre after kilometre constantly hearing the Holy Names vibrating in the ether around us. In fact it was The Holy Names which carried us through the quiet and busy roads, towns and villages and I was simply fortunate enough to be on the ride. Out of the 6 man crew, three of us usually were available for the service of chanting before the oxcart. As well as myself there was Vaikuntha Prabhu from Russia who had been on the tour several times before, as had Loka Saranga Prabhu from Czech. I soon realised that all the members had performed this yajna for several years in succession I and began to wonder if the same was going to happen to me. In addition we were joined a couple of weeks into the parikrama by one devotee from Nigeria, another brahmachari called Tribuvanath. Arjuna and his good wife Krishna Mayi would hand out books and bananas on the move whilst Para drove the ox-cart.
Me and Loka would take turns beating the mridanga, Vaikuntha would bash the cartels and we would alternate the singing. Vaisnavas are very tolerant and the team were kind enough to allow me to sing my little heart out for hours on end playing my new squeeze box with great enthusiasm! I felt that as the month drew on our relationships became very sweet through this chanting and every day we were overcoming obstacles and sharing experiences. Performing service together and serving one another is the way to build friendships in Krishna Consciousness.
It would take too long to describe all the sacred places we visited, needless to say they were all beautiful, enriching and purifying to see, smell and touch and pay obeisances to. As a city based front liner I found great joy in being out in the countryside for a change away from the bustling areas of Mathura and Vrindavan. What bliss we experienced chanting all day from dawn, which was when we would usually set off, until dusk when we pull in to our final stop for the evening. Our daily bath in the Holy Name was glorious.
We would usually be with or very close to the official Parikrama party, which this year consisted of 1500 devotees from all over India and the world. We were part of the main Parikrama party but at the same time a little separate which is understandable since we have a slightly different program. For example each evening we would drive the Harinam and oxcart into a village which the team may or may not have visited before in previous years.
Someway before the village came into view the banana throwing pastimes would begin in earnest as Para and Arjuna launched an untold number of yellow torpedoes into the sea of village children scrambling and diving, fighting and seemingly having the time of their lives in a frenzy of banana catching mayhem. Somehow the children would usually have advanced warning that we were coming and run out of the village to meet us on the road literally sprinting like anything to be amongst the first to get those bananas and books.
The same scene would be repeated in every village and we never tired from seeing the explosion of enthusiasm that these blessed children displayed at the prospect of receiving Thakurji’s mercy in the form of these bananas. It was incredible to see day after day how just like an army of untiring monkeys these children competed with great tenacity, and at the risk of life and limb (seemingly) they each pocketed one, two, three or more bananas. The bigger boys were the best catchers and the parents and village elders would look on in delight as their children revelled in the fun of the oxcart pastimes. The children look forward to the carts arrival every year.
We would then reach a suitable place in the village and whilst the kirtan continued Para and Arjuna would set up for the next instalment of the program, a movie! Thanks to the solar panels on the roof of the oxcart, batteries, a retractable screen, a projector and an amplifier, the oxcart is swiftly transformed into a mini cinema. All the village kids gather around, eyes transfixed upon the huge screen, the smaller ones at the front and the cooler, older ones with flashy shirts purchased in town would hang out at the back. The elders of the village often in the more traditional dress would be amongst the crowd. It seemed as if the whole village was there!
After 2 or 3 episodes of ‘Little Krishna’, the punching preaching movie would be shown. This year the movie shows scenes of the western world with all its glitz and glamour which seems so attractive, but as the film progresses it reveals the darker sides to western civilisation with is multitude of wars, violence, slaughter houses, drugs and discontent. Life is short and death is closing in for us all. Remain a Brij Basi and enjoy the best culture, your own culture, the culture which reminds us so much of the pastimes of Sri Krishna Himself. The very fact that this truth is being explained by a bunch of white skinned westerners adds weight to the message.
Once the movie concludes we pack up and prepare for rest as by this time it’s dark. If we are not invited in for supper by the friendly villagers we relish the opportunity to practice the sadhu style means of getting ones sustenance. Madhukari! Para would take me along as he showed me how to beg from door to door like a honey bee, taking from each family only one or two rotis and a little milk and in this way not being too much of a burden on any individual family in the village. A few doors later and we had a veritable feast to offer to Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara. We would then sit together on the cart munching down roti after delicious warm roti, made with freshly ground grains and cooked often before our eyes. Washed down with ample warm cows milk, what could be better after a good days preaching in the most sacred place on earth? Lord Chaitanya Himself walked this land and Krishna appeared and grew up amongst these people. How can we be much better situated? Laying back satisfied and excited about the next day and snuggled up in my sleeping bag I’m thinking how I could live like this forever.
Some other highlights of the Parikrama were:
Bathing in the various sacred kund’s which are so wonderfully available to all in Vraja, a far cry from the UK and its chlorine filled swimming pools!
We were able to visit some places off of the general Parikrama route such as Surya Kund which is a pastime place which Radharani Herself still visits daily and also where Gaura Kishore das Babaji Maharaja performed many austerities.
Blue cows! Although apparently becoming rarer to see in Vraja we saw them so many times in ever greater numbers and more closely. In fact on one of the last days we were only a few meters from one of these wild native creatures which is I suppose something between a cow and a deer. He seemed to like the sound of our harinam!
Our Govadhana Parikrama was a little different. Instruments in hand we circumambulated Giri Raj at breakneck speed in a rickshaw with the Holy Names streaming from the rear of the vehicle. “Don’t let Lokanatha Swami see me” joked Para as we hurtled past his Parikrama party!
However for me the topmost highlight was developing friendships and experiencing the Dham in the association of and serving alongside such cool devotees. They would not want to be glorified, but for me that association made the pilgrimage so nectarean. Now I understand a little better why these devotees cannot stop themselves coming year in year out on this ecstatic program and what an opportunity it is to do so! Maybe next time I could improve my capacity for serving them and make some real advancement.
“You have only spoken about good things, nothing went wrong?”, you may cry. Well surprisingly, aside from the usual day to day difficulties, it is true… except for the mad bull episode! We had to swap one of the bulls early on due to a leg problem but somehow or another we were given a replacement bull which was basically a psychopath. My first view of this bull was seeing this huge fearful beast running full pelt towards us in the campsite for the Parikrama party. I found out later that by this time it had already tried to kill Para and escape a couple of times. I was most impressed by Para’s determination the next morning to harness the insubordinate brute to the oxcart despite being run over more than once. Needless to say this grumpy, grouchy and overly paranoid excuse for a bull was also discharged later and swapped with a much more humble bull of good character who was willing to pull Their Lordships and Their devotees along the dusty roads of Vraja and thus advance in Krishna Consciousness. It was explained to me later on that these kinds of things happen from time to time when dealing with bulls, and I was informed of some historic instances that had occurred over the years which were both hilarious and far more frightening.
My deepest realisation was in regards to my long lost and forgotten eternal relationship with the Lord’s Holy Name which was to some degree improved and gratefully taken back to London for the benefit of the unfortunate souls there. Sri Harinam Sankirtan key jaya! Though certainly I’m still but a tottering infant stumbling along the long winding pathway back to Goloka Vrindavan, a month on the road in Vraja has graciously gifted me a greater taste for chanting the Holy Name of Krishna. Thank you so much Braja Bhumi Dham! Now I must distribute The Name with greater intensity and without false pride, and then hopefully by Her grace Srimate Radharani may invite me back again for more service one day soon for Her divine pleasure.
Hari Bol!
For more details about this greatest of ways to spend ones Kartik, you are please recommended to read Lokanath Swami’s new book named ‘Vraja-mandala Darsana’
I have been asked a few times upon my return to London about the austerity there in Braj. In the purport to Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is 17.16, His Divine Grace writes that austerity of the mind is performed by training the mind to always be thinking of how to good for others. So my humble recommendation is to go to see the 12 forests of Braj with the intention of doing good for others and taste the sweetness of this austerity for yourself.
Hare Krishna
Your servant
Doyal Mora das Brahmachari
Harinam in Los Angeles, California (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If the surface of the globe is overflooded with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, the people of the world will be very, very happy. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.10 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/DGYxfm
The post Daily Darshan : December 11th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.
December 11. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
We have often heard the phrase “love of Godhead.” How far this love of Godhead can actually be developed can be learned from the Vaisnava philosophy. Theoretical knowledge of love of God can be found in many places and in many scriptures, but what that love of Godhead actually is and how it is developed can be found in Vaisnava literature. It is the unique and highest development of love of God that is given by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. – (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Introduction) By following Prabhupada, I have learned that love of God is not attained cheaply. One may claim, “I love God,” but it is not so easy. Prabhupada said that the beginning symptom is obedience to God’s laws. Even if we follow the laws, though, we may be attached to material desires. We have to qualify before we can experience love of God.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3
HH Indradyumna Swami Class, Talavan Kartik Yatra 2015
On Obtaining Krishna-Prema
Thankfully, Maharaj was able to get a well-earned break on Wednesday, 18 November, and he pretty much spent the whole day delving into the magic of the Caitanya Caritamrta, particularly the Madhya Lila and the sweetness of Krsna. Around 4 pm, disciples started streaming into his room to get some intimate association and katha.
Maharaj continued from the morning of his reading of the Madhya Lila and sharing the nectar with the devotees. It was a highly esoteric conversation. Maharaj was speaking on the concept of ‘sthayi bhava’ and the various mellows of devotional service that were being unfurled in that famous, formative conversation between Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sanatana Goswami. Suffice to say, Maharaj was going very deep into the subject matter and it was wonderful to see Maharaj in his element, really relishing the subject matter as opposed to being preoccupied with managerial issues.
Maharaj outlined how there are two definitions of bhakti. One is the liberal, very broad definition and the other is the very high one. We stick with Srila Prabhupada’s liberal definition. Maharaj gave the example of us being like glasses with ink but when we add more and more water, eventually it becomes pure. The problem is we are not just adding water but also ink!! Laughter from the devotees.
Of course time is a big factor, when you age, you do think ‘I’m losing time, running out, life almost gone, what am I doing?’ Then we become submissive, you realise the truth of the situation. Maharaj gave the example of the American devotee who was doing harinama outside the room. This devotee had been religiously doing harinama every day. Maharaj explained how he knew this person from the 80’s and how he was a very different man then. But age makes one wake up like no one’s business.
One of the bhaktas then said that it would be nice if we could act so seriously when we were still young. Maharaj stated that there are some exceptional individuals who are serious from day one, case in point being HH Jayadvaita Maharaj who took sannyasa in his early 20’s and never looked back or like HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami who was fasting so much and sleeping so little that one of the devotees approached him about his severities, then the great Swami replied, ‘You don’t know what it is like in this big, passionate body.’
British disciple, Gurudas, then asked a question about the difference between direct service and indirect service. Maharaj explained that serving Krsna is also chanting. We do a lot of working with the material energy for Krsna, it may not seem as direct but it is no different. But then there will come a time when we will want more and more absorption so sannyasa ashram is there. He affirmed that as you become more senior, you will preach more and more. Even if you’re not a sannyasa, just keep preaching as a brahmachari.
BUT on the way to that stage, one will have to deal with the material energy for Krsna. Maharaj recalled his own experiences of buying marble from Rajasthan in the searing heat for the temple. There were these Nepali cooks who were singing horrible songs and they got a goat in front of his room and slaughtered it and cooked it on top of the room and offered it to him, not to mention the greedy marble contractors. So we have to deal with the heavy, external energy. So the external energy is heavy but it is seva for Krsna, so we do it.
After the enlightening discussion, Maharaj and all the disciples went for a nice evening stroll around the dhama and a tall South African devotee came along. Maharaj was talking with his South African disciple about the general management of the temple city project. To establish something in South Africa, you have to deal with the African element. Similarly in Bengal, you have to deal with the Bengali element. Therefore we need saintly people to build this place. Maharaj added that personally, he could not deal with the mechanics of the material energy for too long… it is not his constitutional position any more. He is more into hearing and chanting now.
Staying on the subject of management, Maharaj added that when you hire professionals, naturally their time is money so they want to move quickly and to a fixed schedule. Whereas with devotees, you have to juggle with so many needs and concerns. Of course, Srila Prabhupada also managed projects but made it clear it’s not for sanyasis. Only in emergency situations.
Eventually the devotees all decided to head back to Maharaj’s room. Gurudas Prabhu then asked if book distribution is a direct or indirect service. Maharaj replied that it is direct but if we are not glorifying Krsna, then it becomes heavy and external. Now there are good salesman and they may get some bliss, “I just sold 100 books!!!” But the principle is to glorify Krsna.
Maharaj then finished of the day with humorous anecdotes from his days doing books from cars.
HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaj ki Jai!
The world has now become an unsafe place for all. The thirsty bullets of the terrorists vying for blood of innocents have filled our life with fear. Today we can be killed anywhere – in restaurants, in parks, in planes, in offices and also in our homes.
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Bhakti Without Borders, a charity kirtan album featuring mostly second generation ISKCON singers, has been nominated for a Grammy – the biggest music recognition award in the United States. The album has been nominated in the Best New Age Album category, along with four other artists. It’s only the third time a kirtan album has ever been nominated, following Jai Uttal’s “Mondo Rama” in 2004, and Krishna Das’ “Live Ananda” in 2013.
Vraja Mandala Parikrama by Dayal Mora das
The time was coming around for the temple to send me to India again. Finally! I have the great fortune to serve as brahmachari leader at Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara Dham and I have been serving here for three and half years. I’m into Harinam and it’s a blessing that I can call this service one of my main services.
It was not difficult to choose a destination to request since I had recently seen Parasuram’s video from a Vraja Mandala Parikrama, or Padyatra, from 2010 which was super inspiring and I had been immediately attracted.
Vraj Padayatra from Food For All on Vimeo.
What could be a better means of honouring the forests of Vraja than walking amongst them, chanting Harinam with an ox cart and two beautiful bulls from which tons of prasadam and books are distributed to the Brij Basi’s? We simultaneously visit the many ancient holy places dating back to the The Supreme Lord’s manifest pastimes on this planet as well as please the local inhabitants of this worshipable tract of land, a people undoubtedly very dear to Lord Krishna. And all of this during the month or Kartik!
In my previous life before coming to devotional service and ISKCON, I had oftentimes preferred travelling a little off the beaten track. In this way I found that one gets to see the reality of each place, meet the people who live there and there is an added element of excitement and adventure.
Thus this program seemed to be my cup of tea and surely a good program to invoke the blessings of Srila Prabhupada, the Vaisnavas and the residents of Vraja! I wrote to Para and got a place on the tour. By the Lords grace I was on my way to Vrindavan.
I hadn’t been too mental during the build up to the parikrama, I had decided to simply get out there and do the best I could, however from time to time I naturally did ponder briefly about how My body would hold up in the conditions, after all I had never been on padyatra before. My service was to perform sankirtana for 6 hours a day covering up to 25 km and it wasn’t clear where we would be taking rest in the evenings.
Kartik was as late as it gets this year with it beginning late October and finishing 25th November. With a nice crew of 6 souls we hit the road the day after we landed in India. I managed to pick up a walking harmonium and a mosquito net before setting out, both items I felt were absolutely essential for one month on the road in Vraja.
For those not familiar with the Vraja Mandala Parikrama, ‘parikrama’ means ‘to circumabulate’ and in doing so we honour and show respect to the object we are circumambulating. According to Lokanath Swami’s new book Vraja Mandala is 168 miles, not including internal parikramas. We would encircle the entire area of Vraja on foot.
Surprisingly even to myself the daily routine came very naturally and we happily traversed kilometre after kilometre constantly hearing the Holy Names vibrating in the ether around us. In fact it was The Holy Names which carried us through the quiet and busy roads, towns and villages and I was simply fortunate enough to be on the ride. Out of the 6 man crew, three of us usually were available for the service of chanting before the oxcart. As well as myself there was Vaikuntha Prabhu from Russia who had been on the tour several times before, as had Loka Saranga Prabhu from Czech. I soon realised that all the members had performed this yajna for several years in succession I and began to wonder if the same was going to happen to me. In addition we were joined a couple of weeks into the parikrama by one devotee from Nigeria, another brahmachari called Tribuvanath. Arjuna and his good wife Krishna Mayi would hand out books and bananas on the move whilst Para drove the ox-cart.
Me and Loka would take turns beating the mridanga, Vaikuntha would bash the cartels and we would alternate the singing. Vaisnavas are very tolerant and the team were kind enough to allow me to sing my little heart out for hours on end playing my new squeeze box with great enthusiasm! I felt that as the month drew on our relationships became very sweet through this chanting and every day we were overcoming obstacles and sharing experiences. Performing service together and serving one another is the way to build friendships in Krishna Consciousness.
It would take too long to describe all the sacred places we visited, needless to say they were all beautiful, enriching and purifying to see, smell and touch and pay obeisances to. As a city based front liner I found great joy in being out in the countryside for a change away from the bustling areas of Mathura and Vrindavan. What bliss we experienced chanting all day from dawn, which was when we would usually set off, until dusk when we pull in to our final stop for the evening. Our daily bath in the Holy Name was glorious.
We would usually be with or very close to the official Parikrama party, which this year consisted of 1500 devotees from all over India and the world. We were part of the main Parikrama party but at the same time a little separate which is understandable since we have a slightly different program. For example each evening we would drive the Harinam and oxcart into a village which the team may or may not have visited before in previous years.
Someway before the village came into view the banana throwing pastimes would begin in earnest as Para and Arjuna launched an untold number of yellow torpedoes into the sea of village children scrambling and diving, fighting and seemingly having the time of their lives in a frenzy of banana catching mayhem. Somehow the children would usually have advanced warning that we were coming and run out of the village to meet us on the road literally sprinting like anything to be amongst the first to get those bananas and books.
The same scene would be repeated in every village and we never tired from seeing the explosion of enthusiasm that these blessed children displayed at the prospect of receiving Thakurji’s mercy in the form of these bananas. It was incredible to see day after day how just like an army of untiring monkeys these children competed with great tenacity, and at the risk of life and limb (seemingly) they each pocketed one, two, three or more bananas. The bigger boys were the best catchers and the parents and village elders would look on in delight as their children revelled in the fun of the oxcart pastimes. The children look forward to the carts arrival every year.
We would then reach a suitable place in the village and whilst the kirtan continued Para and Arjuna would set up for the next instalment of the program, a movie! Thanks to the solar panels on the roof of the oxcart, batteries, a retractable screen, a projector and an amplifier, the oxcart is swiftly transformed into a mini cinema. All the village kids gather around, eyes transfixed upon the huge screen, the smaller ones at the front and the cooler, older ones with flashy shirts purchased in town would hang out at the back. The elders of the village often in the more traditional dress would be amongst the crowd. It seemed as if the whole village was there!
After 2 or 3 episodes of ‘Little Krishna’, the punching preaching movie would be shown. This year the movie shows scenes of the western world with all its glitz and glamour which seems so attractive, but as the film progresses it reveals the darker sides to western civilisation with is multitude of wars, violence, slaughter houses, drugs and discontent. Life is short and death is closing in for us all. Remain a Brij Basi and enjoy the best culture, your own culture, the culture which reminds us so much of the pastimes of Sri Krishna Himself. The very fact that this truth is being explained by a bunch of white skinned westerners adds weight to the message.
Once the movie concludes we pack up and prepare for rest as by this time it’s dark. If we are not invited in for supper by the friendly villagers we relish the opportunity to practice the sadhu style means of getting ones sustenance. Madhukari! Para would take me along as he showed me how to beg from door to door like a honey bee, taking from each family only one or two rotis and a little milk and in this way not being too much of a burden on any individual family in the village. A few doors later and we had a veritable feast to offer to Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara. We would then sit together on the cart munching down roti after delicious warm roti, made with freshly ground grains and cooked often before our eyes. Washed down with ample warm cows milk, what could be better after a good days preaching in the most sacred place on earth? Lord Chaitanya Himself walked this land and Krishna appeared and grew up amongst these people. How can we be much better situated? Laying back satisfied and excited about the next day and snuggled up in my sleeping bag I’m thinking how I could live like this forever.
Some other highlights of the Parikrama were:
Bathing in the various sacred kund’s which are so wonderfully available to all in Vraja, a far cry from the UK and its chlorine filled swimming pools!
We were able to visit some places off of the general Parikrama route such as Surya Kund which is a pastime place which Radharani Herself still visits daily and also where Gaura Kishore das Babaji Maharaja performed many austerities.
Blue cows! Although apparently becoming rarer to see in Vraja we saw them so many times in ever greater numbers and more closely. In fact on one of the last days we were only a few meters from one of these wild native creatures which is I suppose something between a cow and a deer. He seemed to like the sound of our harinam!
Our Govadhana Parikrama was a little different. Instruments in hand we circumambulated Giri Raj at breakneck speed in a rickshaw with the Holy Names streaming from the rear of the vehicle. “Don’t let Lokanatha Swami see me” joked Para as we hurtled past his Parikrama party!
However for me the topmost highlight was developing friendships and experiencing the Dham in the association of and serving alongside such cool devotees. They would not want to be glorified, but for me that association made the pilgrimage so nectarean. Now I understand a little better why these devotees cannot stop themselves coming year in year out on this ecstatic program and what an opportunity it is to do so! Maybe next time I could improve my capacity for serving them and make some real advancement.
“You have only spoken about good things, nothing went wrong?”, you may cry. Well surprisingly, aside from the usual day to day difficulties, it is true… except for the mad bull episode! We had to swap one of the bulls early on due to a leg problem but somehow or another we were given a replacement bull which was basically a psychopath. My first view of this bull was seeing this huge fearful beast running full pelt towards us in the campsite for the Parikrama party. I found out later that by this time it had already tried to kill Para and escape a couple of times. I was most impressed by Para’s determination the next morning to harness the insubordinate brute to the oxcart despite being run over more than once. Needless to say this grumpy, grouchy and overly paranoid excuse for a bull was also discharged later and swapped with a much more humble bull of good character who was willing to pull Their Lordships and Their devotees along the dusty roads of Vraja and thus advance in Krishna Consciousness. It was explained to me later on that these kinds of things happen from time to time when dealing with bulls, and I was informed of some historic instances that had occurred over the years which were both hilarious and far more frightening.
My deepest realisation was in regards to my long lost and forgotten eternal relationship with the Lord’s Holy Name which was to some degree improved and gratefully taken back to London for the benefit of the unfortunate souls there. Sri Harinam Sankirtan key jaya! Though certainly I’m still but a tottering infant stumbling along the long winding pathway back to Goloka Vrindavan, a month on the road in Vraja has graciously gifted me a greater taste for chanting the Holy Name of Krishna. Thank you so much Braja Bhumi Dham! Now I must distribute The Name with greater intensity and without false pride, and then hopefully by Her grace Srimate Radharani may invite me back again for more service one day soon for Her divine pleasure.
Hari Bol!
For more details about this greatest of ways to spend ones Kartik, you are please recommended to read Lokanath Swami’s new book named ‘Vraja-mandala Darsana’
I have been asked a few times upon my return to London about the austerity there in Braj. In the purport to Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is 17.16, His Divine Grace writes that austerity of the mind is performed by training the mind to always be thinking of how to good for others. So my humble recommendation is to go to see the 12 forests of Braj with the intention of doing good for others and taste the sweetness of this austerity for yourself.
Hare Krishna
Your servant
Doyal Mora das Brahmachari
Flooded with a population of 4.6 million affected due to floods caused by heavy rainfall, the city of Chennai, capital of the Indian state Tamil Nadu has been declared a national disaster zone by the Indian government. With no power, food or water supply, life in Chennai has become close to impossible.
By Mahatma Das The Soul is Made of Faith. In this article I use the word belief as “a feeling of certainty about what something means.” I discuss how this feeling of certainty affects the way you look at things, and the way you look at things affects your actions. Therefore, in this sense things are less the way they are and more the way we are. Belief is fundamental to consciousness. In Chapter 17 verse 3 of the Gita, Krsna says the atma is made of faith. If someone doesn’t believe that the atma is made of faith, it just means they have faith (they believe) that the atma is not made of faith. Since that is also a belief, it proves that the atma is made of faith. What Do You Believe? If you ever find it difficult to keep your vows and promises or commit to something new, it’s possible you have beliefs that are preventing you from being more committed. If you believe something is difficult to do or if you believe something is possible to achieve, you are usually right, not necessarily because that’s true, but because of the way you think about it (or the way you think about yourself). Continue reading "How Your Beliefs Affect Your Commitments
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Fifty padayatras – traditionally a journey on foot accompanied by kirtan and spiritual book distribution – are being offered by the Padayatra Worldwide Ministry to Srila Prabhupada in celebration of ISKCON’s 50th anniversary. The offerings began on Gaura Purnima (March 16th) 2014, and will continue throu
5000+ years Hindu Devata Vishnu’s temple found underwater near Bali, Indonesia. Local call this new scuba diving spot at Pemuteran Beach as “Underwater Temple Garden – Bali”
By Adiguru dasa In Krishna Consciousness we hear many viewpoints about spreading the movement of Lord Caitanya. In reality there is not one fixed way to attract a conditioned living entity. A conditioned living entity who has achieved a rare benediction of having a human body has a unique existence and is driven by a unique desire and a unique fear. Preaching strategies differ from person to person and community to community. We need to understand the culture of a place and a counter-culture. The identification of culture and counter-culture help us to identify a right preaching approach. The standard Krishna Consciousness preaching programs are Harinam, Book Distribution, Bhagvad Gita study groups and Home Programs. There is unlimited attraction in Krishna Consciousness. These programs can be made relevant to any kind of culture and counter-culture in a society. A newcomer to Krishna Consciousness can be attracted to Harinam, Prasadam, a devotee, Caitanya Lila, Krishna Lila, Holy Name, association of Devotees etc. etc. Continue reading "Culture of Sharing
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By Krishna-kripa das
February 25: New York City
If a student gazed at me while I was singing, and I would stop and smile and say, “Have you heard of Krishna Club?” Then I would tell them about the club. I collected several names for the mailing list and sold a Chant and Be Happy.
Youssef chanted a tune he was learning, and I encouraged him to keep playing until he really got it down. Then I played my favorite tune, which was one of his favorites too. It was wonderful to see how he is learning the harmonium and the mridanga. He told me how he had met Radhanath Swami, and that he was thinking of taking initiation from him. It was inspiring to see his progress.
“We are thinking that ‘Krishna has got some mission, some purpose. Therefore He has appeared.’ No. It is His pastimes. It is pastime. Just like sometimes the governor goes to inspect the prison house. He has no business to go to the prison house. He is getting report from the superintendent. . . . Still, sometimes he comes: ‘Let me see how they are doing.’ It is called pastime. It is his free will. Not that he has become subjected to the prison laws and he has to come to the prison. No, not like that. But if the prisoners think, ‘Oh, here the governor is also in the prison. So we are equal. We are equal. I am also governor . . . ’ (laughs) The rascal thinks like that. ‘Because Krishna has come, descended, avatar, so I am also avatar.’ This rascaldom is going on.
“Because Krishna wants to fight, therefore some of His devotees come down to become His enemy. Just like Jaya-Vijaya, this Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa.
“Do you think they are ordinary living entity? If . . . Nṛsimha-deva, God Himself has come to kill him. Do you think they’re ordinary? No, they’re not ordinary. They’re devotees. But Krishna wanted to fight. In the Vaikuntha world there is no possibility of fighting, because everywhere there, everyone there is engaged in Krishna’s service. With whom He’ll fight? (laughter)
“Therefore He sends some devotee in the garb of enemy, and Krishna comes here to fight with Him—at the same time, to teach us that becoming enemy, enemy of Krishna is not very profitable. Better become friend. That will be profitable.”
Bhakti Vrksa in Sydney (Album with photos)
Ramai Swami: There are many Sydney devotees in Bhakti Vrksa groups who meet regularly and discuss aspects of Krsna Conscious life.
Once a month, four Bhakti Vrksa groups get together and have a program in a Wentworthville hall.
A number of devotee youth also participate in the kirtan, talks and taking of prasadam.
Find them here: http://goo.gl/oWSWWd
(English/Russian) https://youtu.be/dMog_cOZm7M
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BHAKTI MELA EVENT - DECEMBER 28, 2015.
This holiday season, ISKCON Brampton invites you to a spiritual gathering that promises to invoke euphoric vibrations of your soul through Drama, Music and Dance.
Please join us for an intimate holiday event, consisting of a spellbinding theatrical production by His Holiness Bhaktimarga Swami, enchanting kirtan with internationally renowned kirtaneers Gauravani and Ananta Govinda prabhus & mesmerizing bharatanatyam by Komala Kumari; A wonderful way to spend the holidays. No need to leave your children behind…separate children’s activities to keep the younger attendees entertained too. A full vegetarian dinner and beverages will also be served.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/Fbo9Du