Planet ISKCON

Hare Krishna! Save The Cow Kirtan Mela and Small Farm Training Center at New Talavan
Nine years running, this year is the second year the festival hosted a 24-hour kirtan! Sri Nama Prabhu, with us through the darkness and the Transcendental Sound Vibration sent into the night, emanating from New Talavan which sits in the middle of all the ill-effects and results of the material world – slaughterhouses, the “entertainment” of illicit sex, soil erosion, government corruption, the legal and illegal drug industries that prey on the human Soul, the human rights abuses… Yes, Nama Prabhu, smack in the middle of Kali Yuga. Sri Krsna appears in the form of His name and Sri Nama has His own reason for being there! The organizers, a very busy group of devotees – residents of both Alachua and New Talavan, gave us this Mercy. Nectar for the fallen, conditioned Souls.
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The post Daily Darshan – October 19th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

New Dvaraka—Guru Puja—01 August 2015 Devamrita Maharaj

Hare Krishna! Climate Change and the Ecology of our Hearts
Karuna Dharini devi dasi: Scientists and politicians will certainly grapple to put forth a positive solution for the problem of climate change. Meanwhile devotees need only try to make this earth as nice as possible in the form of Krishna conscious environments such as nice temples, big kirtans, eco-friendly farms, prasadam restaurants, etc., in order to encourage others and our own selves in self-realization. At the same time we keep in mind that Krsna has meant this planet for our rectification, not for permanent residence. The ecology of the heart is the beginning of any hope for external change. Ecology devoid of the study of humanity’s relationship with the Supreme Living Being will always be the study of living beings in a crisis.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20550

October 19. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Ramamurti Mishra: His Holiness Bhaktivedanta Gosvamiji really knocked me down with love. He was really an incarnation of love. My body had become a skeleton and he really brought me back to life – his cooking and especially his love. And his devotion to Lord Krishna. I was very lazy in the matter of cooking, but he would get up and have ready. Dr. Mishra appreciated that Prabhupada, cooking with the precision of a chemist, would prepare many dishes, and that he had a gusto for eating. Ramamurti Mishra: It was not bread he gave me – he gave me prasadam. This was life, and he saved my life. At that time I was not sure I would live, but his habit to eat on time, whether I was hungry or not – that I very much liked. He’d get up and say, “All right, this is bhagavat prasadam,” and I would say, “All right.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#19

Dr. Mishra had been suffering from bad health when Srila Prabhupada came into his life, and Prabhupada’s arrival seemed the perfect medicine.

Few people have asked me what is humility? I give an answer but for some reason I am never satisfied with my answers. Below is an answer Prabhupada gave to a devotee Harivilas das.

Humility means that you are convinced beyond any doubt that there is nothing in this world, absolutely nothing in this world, not your money, not your family, not your fame, not your gun, not your education, nothing that will save you except the mercy of Krishna. When you are convinced like this, then you are humble - words of Prabhupada as recalled by Harivilas das

Prabhupada, I gather, is basically saying any number of material security or plans to safeguard one's self is futile but to take shelter of Krishna is the only way. Real humility begins with acknowledging one's own helpless nature and at the same time acknowledging Krishna's supreme dominion and in that mood to take shelter of Krishna.

Hare Krishna

There is a very prevalent notion that we will attain self-realization / enlightenment / liberation / Vaikunṭha / Vraja Prema (call it what suits you best) by the mercy of Krishna / Rādhā / Guru / Vaiṣṇava alone. “It’s all up to the mercy of the Lord.”

This is wrong.

If our enlightenment is up to Krishna, then why are we not enlightened? It would have to be that he wants us to suffer? He can enlighten us whenever he likes, but he doesn’t – so what would that say about him? He prefers us to be ignorant and unfulfilled? What kind of “Supreme Person” is that? That is obviously wrong.

It is true that enlightenment/ prema cannot be generated by the individual soul. But it is not true that the individual soul has nothing to do with attaining enlightenment / prema. A cup, for example, does not create water – but it would be ridiculous to say that the cup has nothing to do with a cup full of water. The individual soul is consciousness, which is like a “cup” for knowledge (vijñāna) and love (prema). The soul cannot generate pure knowledge or pure love on its own, but that doesn’t mean it’s own efforts and constitution have nothing to do with its attainment of enlightenment / prema!

Our “cup” has its open end facing the wrong way. It points down, away from the flow of divine knowledge and love. Therefore it doesn’t fill up. Our job, our effort is to turn the cup around – set it right-side-up, and then the downpour of divine mercy fills it!

It is not anyone else’s job or capacity to turn the cup around. Only the cup can set itself right-side-up. The “cup” is consciousness, which is synonymous with will. Krishna has established eternally independent conscious-wills (“souls”), and does not tamper with their individual will. Only we can adjust our own consciousness by our own will. We cannot produce divine knowledge or prema, but we can (and must!) adjust our own consciousness so that it “points the right way” to receive the constant flow of divine knowledge and prema that springs from the Original Person, Śrī Krishna.

The Goswāmī’s discuss this pretty thoughly when they define sādhana-bhakti, because sādhana-bhakti is an EFFORT, a “work” we perform. So they question whether this effort and work actually CREATES the goal (bhāva- and prema-bhakti) or if there is some other factor involved. Their answer is that our efforts do not literally create the goal (divine love), but they create receptivity in ourselves which can then absorb the goal (divine love), which descends out of compassion, mercy, grace.

• Vraja Kishor
• http://www.vrajakishor.com

Tagged: Bhakti, Enlighenment, Faith vs. Works, Mercy, Prema

There is a very prevalent notion that we will attain self-realization / enlightenment / liberation / Vaikunṭha / Vraja Prema (call it what suits you best) by the mercy of Krishna / Rādhā / Guru / Vaiṣṇava alone. “It’s all up to the mercy of the Lord.”

This is wrong.

If our enlightenment is up to Krishna, then why are we not enlightened? It would have to be that he wants us to suffer? He can enlighten us whenever he likes, but he doesn’t – so what would that say about him? He prefers us to be ignorant and unfulfilled? What kind of “Supreme Person” is that? That is obviously wrong.

It is true that enlightenment/ prema cannot be generated by the individual soul. But it is not true that the individual soul has nothing to do with attaining enlightenment / prema. A cup, for example, does not create water – but it would be ridiculous to say that the cup has nothing to do with a cup full of water. The individual soul is consciousness, which is like a “cup” for knowledge (vijñāna) and love (prema). The soul cannot generate pure knowledge or pure love on its own, but that doesn’t mean it’s own efforts and constitution have nothing to do with its attainment of enlightenment / prema!

Our “cup” has its open end facing the wrong way. It points down, away from the flow of divine knowledge and love. Therefore it doesn’t fill up. Our job, our effort is to turn the cup around – set it right-side-up, and then the downpour of divine mercy fills it!

It is not anyone else’s job or capacity to turn the cup around. Only the cup can set itself right-side-up. The “cup” is consciousness, which is synonymous with will. Krishna has established eternally independent conscious-wills (“souls”), and does not tamper with their individual will. Only we can adjust our own consciousness by our own will. We cannot produce divine knowledge or prema, but we can (and must!) adjust our own consciousness so that it “points the right way” to receive the constant flow of divine knowledge and prema that springs from the Original Person, Śrī Krishna.

The Goswāmī’s discuss this pretty thoughly when they define sādhana-bhakti, because sādhana-bhakti is an EFFORT, a “work” we perform. So they question whether this effort and work actually CREATES the goal (bhāva- and prema-bhakti) or if there is some other factor involved. Their answer is that our efforts do not literally create the goal (divine love), but they create receptivity in ourselves which can then absorb the goal (divine love), which descends out of compassion, mercy, grace.

• Vraja Kishor
• http://www.vrajakishor.com

Tagged: Bhakti, Enlighenment, Faith vs. Works, Mercy, Prema

I wanted to chant with care in my moral and spiritual feelings toward Nama Prabhu. Seeing Radha-Govinda helped because They are tenderness personified. I wanted to chant like a lover.

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 September 2013, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.36)

Real security is with Krsna. The more one places his faith in Krsna, the more everything becomes successful. This is what we see in Srila Prabhupada who came to the Western world with forty rupees and then had so many assets at the end of his life.

Some journalists would inquire about Prabhupada’s wealth. They were seeing him as one of those gurus who were exploiting and living-off the wealth of their disciples. So at one point Prabhupada volunteered, he said, “Yes, I have many cars. Yes, I have cars all over the world.” 

“Oh, the Swami has cars all over the world!” You can see the headlines, it is going to be good! But then he said, “Yes, my disciples are driving these cars everywhere to spread the message of the Bhagavad-gita.”  The journalists ripped up their notes and said, “This one will not make any article, useless!”

They tried to portray him as selfish, like an exploiter but instead, Prabhupada turned it around and just showed selflessness. He was simply maintaining all possessions in a selfless way – so many temples, so many buildings, so many cars and so many things but all in a selfless way. Yes rooms, large rooms but Prabhupada filled them up with devotees who would meet him there for darshan. So, no selfish use of any of the facilities – no such thing. Just all for Krsna, as much as possible!

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The month of Kartik in Sri Vrindavan Dham (Album with photos)
The month of Kartik in Sri Vrindavan Dham has such a sublime atmosphere that yearly it attracts large number of pilgrims and devotees from around the world. This may also be due to the benefit of any spiritual activity performed in Vrindavan during Kartik is multiplied thousands of times. This special month is also known as the month of Damodar as it commemorates the pastime of how the Lord allowed Himself to be bound by the love of His mother. The favorite activity of devotees during Kartik at the Krishna Balaram Temple is joining the throngs of devotees singing the Damodarastakam in unison during evening darshan accompanied by the offering of a flame. The lights are dimmed, revealing a beautiful scene of the eager faces of the pilgrims illuminated by the golden glow of circling ghee lamps.
The month also coincides with a number of festivals such as Diwali, Govardhan Puja, and the holy disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada. With the increased number of pilgrims, the chanting of the 24 hour kirtan crew reaches a fever pitch and takes the temple room to heights of ecstasy.
Another highlight of Kartik is the parikramas. Every year, His Holiness Lokanath Swami leads the Braj Mandala Parikrama, a walking tour of the holy twelve forests of Vrindavan, taking place over the entire month of Kartik drawing over 1,500 devotees. Vrindavan fixture Deena Bandhu Prabhu also leads smaller parikramas that leave and return daily from the temple to Vrindavan area holy sites.
Kartik is also marked in Vrindavan by its magnificent feasts. Daily prasadam is generally sponsored for all devotees, and on Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day a feast is served to almost 10,000.
For many, Kartik is a time to catch up with old friends. “And all those devotees are one of the best reasons to visit Vrindavan for Kartik,” says Deena Bandhu. “It’ll take forever to get from one place to another, because every few steps, you’ll met an old friend you haven’t seen for so long.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/K9p6Ro

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka - New York City Adventures!
Here Brajananda Prabhu sold a young lady both a Srimad-Bhagavatam volume 1 and a Science of Self-Realization. Initially she was not interested in getting a book, but somehow he convinced her to take Science of Self-Realization, and she gave five dollars. He told her if she threw in another five, he would give her the Bhagavatam, and so she did :-)
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/qIzOvE

Being with Srila Prabhupada Shyamasundar: By sitting next to him on that first morning, then I knew beyond any doubt. I had been reading Autobiography of a Yogi and Tibetan Book of the Dead and all those kinds of books that were prevalent in those days about yoga and mysticism. So, I had a little idea of what to expect in a spiritual master. Prabhupada didn’t levitate or he didn’t flash my eyes or make anything crazy to convince me. He just talked me into it. I just never felt so peaceful and at home. But that was my constant desire to be with him all the time, as much as possible. That was the best feeling I had ever had. And I had tried every kind of intoxicant there was, every kind of sensual thrill that was available in those days. And nothing matched that peace, that tranquility and exhilaration, of being with Prabhupada. That’s what I liked, the exhilaration and the excitement. He was almost like a pirate. We were all members of his crew. We were fearless too. When we were just starting out, he’d say, “You stay high when you chant. You get high when you chant. You get high when you chant. There is nothing to fear when you chant. There is nothing to fear when you chant.” Those were his main ways of selling us on this idea. And it worked. I mean, everybody experienced a high. Prabhupada would come every morning at seven to the temple room, and every evening at seven, and personally lead kirtan for an hour. We would have these hour-long kirtans every morning and every night, just the same, old standard melody, none of this fancy stuff. No “namo om vishnu padaya’s,” nothing about Gaura-Nitai or anything else, just straight “Hare Krishna.” The hippies off the streets that were there and the early fledgling devotees, we would just get loaded out of our minds. When Prabhupada would stop the kirtan, everybody would just go like this, you know: “Wow, I feel great.” And that’s what hooked us. He got us on that. And then he would lecture, but not long ones, fifteen minutes, simple. And then he would go upstairs. But every day he did this, for week after week. We lived a few blocks from the temple, and one time there was no money for rent. I was working as a carpenter and not making very much, and supporting a family. And a few of the other devotees, like Jayananda, who was a taxi driver, gave all their money. A few of the other devotees had jobs, but less than ten percent. Everyone else was a hippie. So there was never enough money, because we were feeding everybody on the streets every day, and there was rent to pay and gas to put in our cars to go out and do programs and so on. So we were really in a bind. There was no money for rent. We were behind about two months, and we were in very great danger of being evicted. The landlord had severely gotten down on us. Malati and I walked out on Ashbury Street one morning early to walk to the temple for kirtan. And there were all these hundred dollar bills blowing down the sidewalk, one after another. We were just running down the street picking up these hundred dollar bills. There wasn’t a person on the street. No one ever figured out where they came from. But these kinds of things we began to expect of Krishna. Another thing Prabhupada inculcated in us from the early days was if you take a risk for Krishna, stick your neck out to spread Krishna consciousness, Krishna must help you personally. And those who see Krishna closest take the biggest risks for him. And we tested that to the max. And it worked. We got to see Krishna. We got to see hundred dollar bills rolling down the street!

A first glance of Vrindavan upon our arrival in this transcendental abode yesterday. “Vrndavana is wonderful. The two sweet fair and dark splendors named Radha and Krsna are wonderful. Pure love for Their lotus feet is wonderful. He who has faith in Them and rises to the spiritual world is wonderful. The rare soul who [...]

Stratford Harinam (Album with photos)
More than 20 Devotees joined us on Harinam in Stratford to help promote the upcoming festival in the town
Find them here: https://goo.gl/50uhYp

Hare Krishna! Saturday Night Harinam in London 17th October 2015
One of the things I love about our two SKP leaders in London, Parasurama and Govinda Prabhus, is that they are always willing to invite younger devotees to lead Kirtan while out on Saturday Night Harinams. They only request that the Kirtan leader sings simple melodies that all the devotees can follow and that will also be memorable to the public. Last night the Kirtan in Leicester Square was led by young Madhava Anderson Prabhu, a former Kuli and the son of Krishna Dharma and Cintamani Dhama Prabhus. Then later on they invited Bhaktin Denia to lead us along Shaftsbury Ave and back through Soho to the temple at the end of the evening. See the video of Bhaktin Denia below
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20541

Hare Krishna! Why drink cow’s milk?
Romapada Swami: We can see from Srila Prabhupada’s example, that although cow-protection was very close to his heart, where he in fact had direct knowledge of the same set of facts as you, he himself did not give up drinking milk. Instead his response was to work very hard to educate people about cow protection. He wrote profusely and very appealingly about it in his books. He trained his western followers to appreciate the value of a civilization and economy based on cow-protection. He fascinated them by showing how to use milk-products to produce a variety of healthy and delicious foods and the transcendental benefits of offering them to Krishna in devotion. He inspired the establishment of model farm communities to demonstrate the merit of caring for cows. Whenever he met with prominent religionists or social leaders, he seized the opportunity to emphasize this idea and got his guests to reflect on the evil of exploiting and killing mother cow. He presented it not as a religious sentiment or dogma, but in a very scientific and logical manner he showed the spiritual and even economic benefits.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20538

Hare Krishna! Annual Midterm meetings of the GBC at the Govaradhan Eco Village in Wada
Praghosa dasa: The GBC is meeting at the Govaradhan Eco Village in Wada for their annual Midterm meetings. The main focus is on Strategic Planning and the ongoing effort in areas such as succession, expanding the preaching and edging ever closer to bringing the holy name to every town and village, devotee care, continuing the work of finalising the ISKCON constitution etc. In addition to all those strategic issues the GBC will also devote three days to discussing fundamental topics such as guru tattva in ISKCON.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20534

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Hare Krishna! Unity Among Diverse Personalities
Visakha Dasi: In terms of our personalities and abilities, no two of us are alike. Why should we be? And why would anyone want us to be? Variety, Srila Prabhupada tells us, is the mother of enjoyment. Whatever our personality, whatever our talents, Prabhupada wants us to use them in Krishna’s service. Yet when we learn from Prabhupada’s teachings that women are to be chaste, tolerant, shy, and subservient, it may seem that while men have variegated personalities, women’s personalities are expected to be uniform. But in fact, in their service to Krishna, women’s personalities differ from one another’s as much as men’s. To accept the wonderful variegatedness inherent within each of His devotees, Krishna is unlimitedly variegated. Srila Rupa Goswami describes Krishna’s personality in his Bhaktirasamrita- sindhu. Krishna, he says, is dhirodatta, or grave, gentle, forgiving, merciful, determined, humble, highly qualified, chivalrous, and physically attractive. He is also dhiralalita, or naturally funny, always in the bloom of full youth, expert in joking, free from all anxieties, domesticated, and submissive to His lover.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20529

Hare Krishna! IRSE Chairman Visits ISKCON Mayapur
On Thursday October 8th 2015, Mr. Satish Agnihotri, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), along with his associates, including the Chief General Manager, Mr. H.S. Yadav met with Ghanashyam prabhu during their visit to ISKCON Mayapur. They arrived Wednesday evening to Bengal on official business and made a special trip to visit the holy dhama. Being accommodated in our conch building VIP suite for the night, they attended mangala-arati Friday morning. Following the arati, Ghanashyam prabhu arranged to take them on a tour of the TOVP construction sites, therein. The railway executives then took the opportunity to explore the general Mayapur campus a bit in the fresh morning air. Afterward, they were treated to breakfast in the VIP lounge and spent the remainder of their visit discussing our Krishna conscious philosophy with Madhava Gauranga prabhu,Ghanashyam prabhu, Gopijana Ballabha prabhu and others in the adjacent VIP office.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20526

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HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at ISKCON Mayapur on 2015-10-11, Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 06.16.06