Planet ISKCON

Govindaji!

My Mother Made Us Feel Valued and Included (6 min video)
Gopisvari Dasi shares how her mother raised her and her siblings in the most beautiful way. She made each one of them feel included and valued. Because she was always happy even with very little ...

By Urmila Devi Dasi

WE CROSS Oxford Street with five mrdanga drums, two loud and deep African drums, karatala cymbals, an accordion, and an electric guitar. Back To Godhead - The Hare Krsna MantraOur chanting party consists of over a hundred members, from so many countries and ethnic backgrounds that the diversity is startling. There are men in dhotis, in suits, and in jeans, women in saris, colorful dresses, and subdued business clothes. We race or dance down the street, singing as fast as we run, churning up waves of spiritual joy. The lead singer wears a wireless microphone on his head, and one member of the group carries a loudspeaker in a backpack. The electric-guitar player has his own speaker. So many devotees respond to the lead singer's chanting that all the words of the great mantra for deliverance Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare distinctly echo through the London streets.

In 1965, Srila Prabhupada had no Movement to manage.  He was relatively free to work on the Srimad-Bhagavatam, but he had other things that took up his time. 

Goverdhan Puja in the temple Courtyard, Shree Shree Krishna Balarama Temple - ISKCON Vrindavan (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EyNh0D

A walk around Vrindavan during Kartika reveals the beauty and sanctity of it’s ancient culture.

Here are some pictures of the wonderful Govardhana Puja celebrations taking place right now!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 17 August 2014, Goloka-dhama, Germany, Janmastami Class, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.41.6-10)

There are ten effects of Cupid mentioned by Srila Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur: first comes attraction expressed through the eyes, then the intense attachment in the mind and heart, followed by determination and loss of sleep! Next, one becomes emaciated, then disinterested in external things – one cannot do anything else anymore as one is becoming totally obsessed. Then comes shamelessness and finally when Cupid really hits, one becomes stunned and then totally mad. And when Cupid hits very, very hard then even death is possible.

However, in relationship with Krsna, it is said, that death does not happen but all these other symptoms do. Krsnadas Kaviraj Gosvami says that among the ten states of Cupid, death is inauspicious in relation with Krsna and it does not usually manifest in Krsna’s premi bhaktas, however they do manifest the other nine symptoms, culminating in becoming stunned in ecstasy.  It is said when Kubja saw Krsna in the city of Mathura, she became totally overwhelmed by Cupid – for her it was love at first sight!

In the description of the appearance of Cupid it is explained that suddenly Brahma found that a form had expanded from himself. Brahma looked at the form and he had no idea who the form was, so he asked the form, ‘Who are you?’ and the form replied, ‘I am Kamadev, Cupid, and I am shooting arrows in the hearts of all living beings!’  Brahma said, ‘Really?!’  Then Cupid began to shoot his arrows in all directions and all the demigods became totally overwhelmed and started developing all the various symptoms we just mentioned – they began to perspire and they became beyond themselves. Brahma also became affected and in this way once Cupid manifested in the universe, he turned out to be the most powerful in the entire creation. Brahma could not resist him and even Siva was getting agitated by the effect of Cupid. There was no living entity who was not affected by the arrows of Cupid and who did show symptoms in the body and in the mind. Therefore it is said that the Cupid is the most powerful of all.

But of course, we know that Krsna is Madan-Mohan, the one who can bewilder even Cupid and still greater than Krsna is that devotee of Krsna who can capture Krsna and that is Srimati Radharani, known as Madan-Mohan-Mohini. Madan-Mohan can steal away our mind from the affliction of Cupid which is very strong and we know that even devotees can be affected by his arrows to go astray. But it is Madan-Mohan that can take away the influence of Cupid which the demigods and even Lord Brahma, have not escaped. No living entity has ever escaped it, definitely not us! We know it, we know what it is like to be hit by the Cupid, we know the symptoms that are described but Madan-Mohan can save us!

 

We celebrate Govardhana-puja. “When the cowherd men of Vrndavana, under instruction of Krsna, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly king, Indra, the whole tract of land known as Vraja was threatened with being washed away by constant heavy rains for seven days. Lord Krsna, out of His
causeless mercy upon the inhabitants of Vraja, held up the hill known as Govardhana with one hand only, although He was only seven years old. He did this to protect the animals from the onslaught of water.” (SB 2.7.32)

And Srila Rupa Gosvami kindly blesses us: “May the left arm of Sri Krsna, whose eyes are like the petals of a lotus flower, always protect you. With His left arm He raised Govardhana Hill as if it were a toy.” (Brs 2.1.62, Cc M 18.38)

Hare Krsna.

The following is an archival recording from a Govardhana Retreat in 2013 entitled ‘Learning form Govardhana Hill’

12.03.13 Learning from Govardhana Hill

By Ravindra Svarupa dasa

On the eleventh of July, 1966, in New York, Srila Prabhupada incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. By then, Prabhupada had already discovered an audience for his exposition of Srimad Bhagavatam, an expositon he characterised as 'a cultural presentation for the respiritualisation of the entire human society' (Bhag. Canto 1, Preface). In a further step toward the culture of 'respiritualisation', he established ISKCON. ISKCON was to be an exemplary society, within which the culture of Srimad-Bhagavatam would be realised and by which it would be spread to the rest of the world. One needs to become acquainted with two contrasting social ideals, or models, transmitted to us by Srila Prabhupada. The first is that of a society of Vaisnavas, of transcendental, liberated devotees who conduct themselves spontaneously in accord with the principles called sanatana-dharma. The second is that of a society of materially conditioned human beings who strictly conduct themselves in obedience to the injunctions of the Vedas under the system called varnasrama-dharma.

By Niranjana Swami

Management is a headache. It can be a very big headache. But I’ll tell you why I’ve taken up such a responsibility for so many years. It’s because I see it in relationship to serving Srila Prabhupada’s mission; because, I’m one hundred percent convinced that Srila Prabhupada wanted an institution. Institution means headaches. There’s just no way around it. I saw Prabhupada take those headaches. And I saw many other leaders, under Srila Prabhupada, taking those headaches. And, although it’s more than twenty-five years after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, I still see many of my godbrothers who take those headaches for one reason only—it’s a burden of love. That’s the only thing. It’s a burden of love for the spiritual master. Managers have to deal with some unpleasant things like problems and financial crisis or whatever, and then if they get more in to spiritual life, they are generally losing inspiration for dealing with these things. Why is it happening? Continue reading "Why is it so difficult to find people who will take responsibility?
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Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s Diwali Message 2015 (2 min video)
As we light our lamps on Diwali, may we meditate upon its deeper meaning, and choose light over darkness every day!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/f7kO12

The land in Sammamish, Seattle was bought many years ago but in the last 8 years a beautiful new temple has been constructed.

The are deities of Radha Nila Madhava, Sita Rama Laksman Hanuman, Gaura Nitai and Jagannatha, Balarama, Subhadra.

The Jagannatha deities were installed by Srila Prabhupada himself in 1968.

Mayesvara Dasa: The celebration of Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for the abundance of food we might otherwise take for granted.

Vatican Emissary Sends Divali Message of Goodwill.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, drafted a message to Hindu communities world-wide on the occasion of Diwali, or Deepavali, the Hindu or Vedic New Year. Cardinal Tauran led the Catholic delegation to the first Hindu-Catholic Dialogue in the United States. Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s Minister of Communications represented ISKCON at that historic event.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/7o42Dh

Govardhana Puja to Uplift Devotees with a Mountain of Sweetness.
It’s not something you see every day. A group of young girls and boys are huddled in the middle of the temple hall, some shocked and some cheering. They’re looking unbelievingly at the particularly effulgent boy at their center as he lifts an impossibly heavy burden. The young boys and girls might be made of cardboard, but their emotion and the divine pastime they’re portraying shines through as if it’s really there. The hill Lord Krishna’s lifting, fashioned out of cloth by artist Laksmana Dasi, looks like it weighs a ton. And above it, hanging high above the the temple hall, the demigod Indra grips a dark cloud and peers over the edge as shimmering icicle lights make it look as if it’s really raining through flashes of lightning.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/OjwNOK

By the GBC Strategic Planning Team

The GBC is pleased to invite you to the ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) 2016 in Sridham Mayapur, India, on February 24 – March 2. If you already attended a previous ILS you already know what an amazing event it was, with over five hundred ISKCON leaders in 2102 and more than a thousand in 2014; Consider some of the past successes of the ISKCON Leadership Sanga: We spent 8 days participating in over 85 seminars and workshops presenting valuable ideas on how to spread Krsna Consciousness and care for devotees. We learned about the GBC’s strategic plan and the work being done to implement it. We listened to Srimad-Bhagavatam classes given by our most senior leaders. We took part in unforgettable parikramas and kirtanas. We relished the association of so many devotees that are performing similar services.

Lecture Podcast

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The post Govardhan Dashakam Meditation – Ten appeals for residence at Govardhan appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

November 12. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Today’s meditation is a general reflection on Prabhupada’s books. Prabhupada always did the needful – whatever was best for spreading Krishna consciousness. His own Krishna consciousness was mature; therefore, he wanted to give Krishna consciousness to others. As he preached, his own enthusiasm and attachment to Krishna increased more and more. Although he was perfect, the ocean of Krishna consciousness is always increasing. The BBT publishers list many of Prabhupada’s accomplishments in the “About the Author” section at the end of Prabhupada’s books. Finally they state, “Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution, however, is his books.” Thus we think of Prabhupada as a writer of transcendental literature. He was a translator and a commentator on sastra. He was a philosophical writer who carefully represented the parampara in modern English. His writing contained his personal experiences and realizations.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490

The seminars will cover a wide variety of topics such as book distribution, devotee care, communications, team-building, fundraising, temple administration, using social media and the internet in our outreach, inspiring talks on how to be a better leader, the importance of ISKCON, education, strategic planning, rural development and sustainable communities, Srila Prabhupada’s position as the Founder-Acarya, and much more. 

The post Govardhana-puja means cow protection appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The First Virtual Mantra Choir remixed ~ Happy Govardhan Puja 2015!

The post Daily Darshan – November 12th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Harinama in Podolsk (Album with photos)
Podolsk is an industrial city of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River. Srila Prabhupada: Kirtan means sometimes chanting with music, and sometimes speaking. Both of them are kirtan. Kirtayati iti ...

For the past seven years, Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji Mandir in Dallas has rung in the new year with an epic multi-hour community kirtan organized by second-generation devotees. This New Year’s Eve, the community is organizing a fifty hours of kirtan in celebration of both the 50^th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the US in 2015, and the 50^th anniversary of ISKCON’s incorporation in 2016.

New York City’s East Village got a lot tastier when Superiority Burger moved in. Its famous vegan sandwich is so mind-blowing that it challenges the very definition of the word “burger.”

Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic method for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions.

Mahatma das S.B.6.16.44 – Nov 9th 2015

With his new book “Chasing Rhinos with the Swami, legendary ISKCON pioneer Shyamasundara Das stopped by to talk to ISKCON News. At 73, he still has his thick shock of wild hair, and the wide grin, easy sense of humor and friendly nature that ingratiated him to major figures like the Beatles all those years ago, as he carried out Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to spread Krishna consciousness.

Prabhupada’s Books

Recently I read an article written by Satsvarupa Maharaja - he was asking himself the following questions.

Do you pay attention to Hare Krishna mantra when you chant? Do you have love for it?

This got me thinking about my own chanting and how much I have love for chanting - the answer was yes and no. Yes I like to chant, I wouldn't say I love to chant but I like it and I love it when I feel the Lord's spiritual energy.

It's an important point....we need to feel the spiritual energy of the Lord when we chant and then we will love chanting our Japa - and how do we get this reciprocation from the Lord? We need to give attention and give respect to Krsna (who is present in the Holy names) - then Krsna has something to reciprocate with.

Virtual Mantra Choir video, Giri Govardhan (11 min video)
A unique offering was presented to the sacred hill Giri Govardhana. Renowned UK musician and singer Jayadeva Das (John Richardson) has put together a virtual version of his Mantra Choir project ...

By Rsiraja Das

The first thing to be recognized in Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy is that Krsna is Reality. Srimad Bhagavatam states that there is a reality which is also the Absolute Truth. That reality is, however, understood in many different ways. Indeed, Srila Prabhupada writes at the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam that the concept of Absolute Truth and the concept of God are not on the same level. The concept of God is like the driver of a car who controls the car, but this concept does not explain how the car came into existence. The concept of Absolute Truth, on the other hand, is like the concept of car from which the car is created. The car is therefore “controlled” by the underlying abstract idea, and also produced from it. They key point is that it is not enough to know that God is the controller, but also to know how God created the world, and then to know the manner in which He exercises His control.

Mahendra das: We’re pleased to announce the release of “Joy,” Kirtan Raga’s first album of live kirtan recordings.