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The post How can we cultivate humility without becoming negatively self-centered? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

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Answer Podcast

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The post What does the Pandavas didn’t deserve to live mean in Bhagavatam in 1.9.12? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post What is the difference between repentence and self-blame? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Devotees conduct kirtan in a Christian church, New York (1 min video)
In late September, a few friends and I were asked to organise and participate in an interfaith prayer session in New York City. Members from The Bhakti Center led kirtan for an hour. It was a beautiful evening.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/L7bYie

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Untitled Lecture)

The quality of humility and the quality of being able to develop love of God come together. It is not possible to develop love of God if there is no humility in our hearts. A person who is proud, how can he hear!? His ears are blocked because he is overwhelmed by his own ideas that he cannot even hear what everyone else says. But if one is humble, then one can think, ‘Yes, I need mercy.’

So a humble personality is eager to hear and being eager to hear from superior personalities also brings about special dynamics. When people are eager to hear then the mature vaisnava who speaks opens up his heart. He will automatically, by the eagerness of the audience, become very enthusiastic and he will find that there are so many realizations in his heart that he did not even know he had! Because in the relationship between vaisnava’s, the mood is very intimate and close and one of deep friendship; a mood of acceptance. An envious person cannot accept.

A envious person will always find some reason not to accept others, he will always find some quality that is not allowed, something wrong, ‘You can’t sit like that, you can’t look like that, you can’t speak like that…’ and so on and so on. Just on some external feature, an envious person will reject. Basically anyone who is not supporting them, adoring them, recognizing their greatness – such persons are undesirable.

So humility is the quality where one is ready to see good in others and recognizes that everyone can make a contribution which can be appreciated. So amongst vaisnavas there is an atmosphere of appreciation.

Hare Krishna! Sadhu Sanga Bliss – Raval, Chinta Haran and Brahmanda Ghat
In continuation with Vraj Parikrama, HH Subhag Swami Maharaj took a group of devotees to Raval, Chinta Haran and Brahmanda Ghat. Buses left straight after mangala arti, all devotees were requested to attend the arti in order to invoke an auspicious start to the yatra. In order to seek the blessings of Srimati Radharani we firstly visited Raval Dham. After taking darshan and praying for Her mercy, we proceeded to Chinta Haran. The presiding deity here is Chinta Haran Mahadev. As stated in the Bhagavatam, ‘vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh.’ We therefore prayed to Lord Siva that we can follow in His footsteps and increase our attachment to Krishna and His holy Dham.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=21184

The post Daily Darshan – November 5th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at ISKCON Mayapur, Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 06 16 38

Hare Krishna! Live in Kolkata (3 videos from the performance of Parividha Prabhu in Kolkata)
Lokanath Swami: Seeing Parividha’s performance in Kolkata at the 50th-anniversary celebrations, reinforced that I have always felt when I watch his performances. They are no frivolous and no-nonsense performances which are an inspiration to one and all. They display his deep sincerity and are filled with emotion and spiritual devotion, which have a soul-stirring effect on the audience. The videos in turn bring to life that which we are always longing to see. Once again, salutations to Parividha and we hope to see many more of his performances in the future. Bhakti Charu Swami: I appreciate your artistic talents. You are a very talented singer and the way you present Krishna Conscious themes in Western tune is very appealing. This kind of presentation can be a very effective means to especially attract Westerners to Krishna Consciousness. I wish that devotees all over the world would take advantage of this very powerful method of preaching.
Watch them here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=21181

Further Intimate Understanding of Srila Prabhupada (con’d)

The King of Mountains (12 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Going on Govardhan Parikrama is always a highlight for every pilgrim who visits Sri Vrindavan Dhama. This was certainly true for our group of 350 devotees, who assembled at Radha Kunda at 5 AM in the morning to begin circumambulating the sacred mountain, so dear to all Vaisnavas. Softly chanting on our japa beads we walked the 23-kilometer path praying to Giriraja to bless us with service to the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara and eternal residence in Their holy dhama. By the time we finished we were literally running down the sacred path in great joy and happiness.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/DJcieK

November 5. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
We can be certain that Prabhupada did not reveal everything on his mind to us. Even if we were to ask him, “What do you think of when you chant, Prabhupada?”, it is unlikely he would reveal his innermost state. There is a sastric statement that when a pure devotee appears in the world, he is not really seen by the people. His appearance is compared to a cloud in relation to the moon. The moon is actually stationary in the sky, but it appears to be blowing across the sky with the clouds. It is an optical illusion. Similarly, a pure devotee often appears to be an ordinary person moving through the world, but actually his mind is fixed only on Krishna. “One should not try to understand the mind of the acarya.” This should be a stabilizing reminder to us. Although we want to know our spiritual master as deeply as possible – we will listen to him and pray to him and study his books to find out exactly what he wants from us – we should be careful not to look for so many hidden meanings, or to speculate on esoteric principles. Prabhupada will give us what we need to know.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490

Narrotama Kirtan Utsava 2015 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: For a devotee, liberation is no problem at all. The impersonalists undergo severe penances and austerities to attain mukti, but the bhakta, simply by engaging himself in the bhakti process, especially in chanting Hare Krishna, immediately develops control over the tongue by engaging it in chanting, and accepting the remnants of foodstuff offered to the Personality of Godhead. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 3.25.33 Purport)
Find them here: http://goo.gl/W3Pbwb

Seminar on Vaishnava Sadachar by HG Dravida Prabhu (playlist with 3 videos)
Vaishnava Sadachar by Dravida Prabhu at ISKCON Mira Road on 2015-10-25 Watch them here: https://goo.gl/RzYKIu

Krsnaizing Halloween (Album with photos)
Even Halloween can be engaged in Lord Krsna’s service. At TKG Academy we celebrated the Fall Festival with the students dressed as characters from our devotional scriptures. The costumes included some of the Lord’s main incarnations, such as Lord Nrsimhadeva, Lord Vamanadeva, Lord Ramacandra along with His wife Sita, Their devotee Jatayu and Ahalya, Lord Parasurama and Kurma Avatar. There were other manifestations such as The Universal Form and Mohini Murti and some demigods, like Agni and Lord Siva. Lord Krsna’s personal weapon, the Sudarsana Cakra was present. We also had Lord Krsna Himself, in His original form as a cowherd boy in the village of Vrndavana, along with His mother Yasoda, His most beloved Srimati Radharani, other gopis and cowherd boys and the river Yamuna. We had some characters from the Mahabharata, such as Bhismadeva and Yudhisthira. The goddess Kali appeared in her very ferocious form and the most recent and merciful incarnation of Lord Nityananda joined as well. Everywhere you looked you were reminded of Krsna and His various pastimes. In fact, the students enacted those pastimes, according to the particular personality they were dressed as, thus further immersing our minds in remembrance of the Lord and absorbing our consciousness in Him.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/urbllr

SGGGPY to Mattampally Village – Lucky Seven !
On October 25, 2015, the inaugural day of Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra in ISKCON Hyderabad, several devotees from city had accompanied the Yatra devotees to the first village of Ramapuram. They had tasted the nectar of preaching in village. They did not wish to come back to the artificial life of city but were forced by their conditions. Again when they got the opportunity of weekend break, they fled towards Mattampalli in their cars.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/ZbQqMX

Update on Mukunda Goswami’s Recovery.
Mukunda Goswami is making a slow but steady recovery from the surgeries. While in ICU he was looked after 24/7 by a team of doctors and nurses to make sure that his vital functions were properly restored. Their particular concern was Maharaja’s lungs (risk of a pneumonia) from extended confinement to bed due to the hip fracture as well as possible clotting. Therefore the day after the hip surgery physiotherapists started gently but forcefully encouraging Maharaja to sit up and then to put weight on his legs and walk with the support of a frame. This was (and still is) very painful and difficult for Maharaja, but is paramount for his recovery.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/KBZfbm

Bhakti level - the new video game for brahmacaries :-) (1 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/p1SFBT

The traveling Sankirtan party reaches the remote lake Titicaca, Peru(Album with photos)
Situated in the heart of the Andes Mountains, almost 4,000 metres high up in the clouds, we facilitated the mercy of Lord Caitanya to reach the far off people of the floating islands in the middle of Lake Titicaca.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cscSPW

Rasanath is a former management consultant and investment banker who became a monk. Rasanath shares his incredible journey from his life as an "external achievement machine", to one rich in spiritual introspection, integrity, and true connectivity.

Rugby personality Marc Ellis spends 3 days at the Hare Krishna Temple in Riverhead, Auckland, New Zealand.

On November 2nd, Mukunda Goswami was shifted from ICU to back to the  Coronary Care Unit, where his operating cardio surgeon, orthopaedic surgeon and medical team daily check on him.  Mukunda Maharaja’s medical condition is improving, although he still is in a lot of pain, aggravated by the need to sit up in a chair for his lungs rather than lie down in bed.

The post Celebrating the appearance eve of Radha-kunda appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Bhakta Gabor asks why its disrespectful to show your feet to someone or sit in class with your feet sticking out appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Narrotama Kirtan Utsava 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post Daily Darshan – November 4th, 2014 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! When Science leads to God
If you think strongly enough, you will be forced by science to believe in God: Lord Kelvin There is a perfect brain behind all the natural physical laws: Albert Einstein This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being…This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all, and on account of His dominion He is to be called Lord God, Universal Ruler: Newton God is the supreme cause of all causes. He is the designer, maintainer and destroyer. It is because of Him that the sun shines, crops grow, water flows, rains pour and we survive.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=21155

Hare Krishna! ToVP Networking at the WTM, London!
Seven years before the ToVP opens and much interest is found at the World’s biggest travel/tourism fair. Little doubt then that by the time Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Sri Pancatattva and Lord Nrsimhadeva move to their new glorious temple, we will have one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions to manage!
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=21152

Fremantle Rathayatra (Album with photos)
Ramai Swami: Fremantle is a suburb just south of Perth the capital of Western Australia. Every year the Council organises the Fremantle Parade, which comprises about 100 floats and marching bands.
The devotees were invited to participate about 5 years ago and entered with Lord Jagannatha’s Ratha Cart.
This year, the beautiful deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi rode through the streets to the accompaniment of kirtan from around two hundred devotees.
Find them here: http://goo.gl/yJEZxm

The Czech Summer Camp took place from 01-06 July. A detailed description of the event can be found by clicking here.

Below are the recordings courtesy of Antardvip Das. You may listen online by hitting the ‘play’ button. To download, right-click on a title and save-target-as.

Lectures

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_03July2015_CC_Antya_7.1

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_03July2015_SB_1.2.15

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_04July2015_Srila_Prabhupada_Katha

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_05July2015_SB_1.2.17

Kirtans

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_03July2015_Harinam_in_Jindrichuv_Hradec

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_03July2015_Short_kirtan_before_lecture

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_04July2015_Mangala_arati

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_04July2015_Nrsimhadev_prayers

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_04July2015_Short_kirtan_before_lecture

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_05July2015_Gurupuja_and_wild_kirtan

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_05July2015_Kirtan_after_initiation

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_05July2015_Kirtan_at_wedding

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_05July2015_Mangala_arati

KKS_CZ_SummerCamp_05July2015_Nrsimhadev_prayers

Iskcon Australia: Harinama at Byron Bay - 01 November 2015 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One who hears the transcendental sound vibration of the holy name of the Lord, Hare Krishna, also improves in health. We have actually seen that many brahmacaris and grhastas connected with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness have improved in health, and a luster has come to their faces. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 3.21.45-47 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/rm7Fqw

November 4. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
It is especially important for disciples not to try to second-guess their guru. I remember in the beginning days at 26 Second Avenue, devotees sometimes wondered, when does Prabhupada actually talk to Krishna? Maybe he does it in his sleep. For awhile, there was even speculation whether Prabhupada was even actually Krishna Himself. The disciple can only understand things rightly when they are explained by the acarya according to sastra and sadhu. It is stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta, “Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of Sri Caitanya, I know him also as a plenary manifestation of the Lord.” (CC Adi 1.44)
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490