Websites from the ISKCON Universe
The independent film 10,000 Saints, which includes scenes shot in the Manhattan Hare Krishna Temple “The Bhakti Center” and features ISKCON devotees, was released on Blu-Ray, DVD and streaming services on October 6th. Based on the novel by Eleanor Henderson, it is directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini of the Oscar-nominated American Splendor.
Hare Krishna! The virtues of demon’ crazy
Srila Prabhupada’s keen observation picked out the demon word in pan’demon’ium and demon’strate. He likewise slotted in words befitting his siddhantic stance. Democracy did not escape his scathing, if not light-hearted censure. What could be said about it? Democracy as we know it is a free for all conciliatory tool to suit the wishes of disparate views within the precincts of law and order. To date, no two nations who espouse and have fully-fledged democratic institutions have gone to war with each other. That it enables the most deadly and despicable foes to talk rapprochement and co-operate for the good of peace and stability, seems a tangible way of curbing bloodthirsty enmity. It seeks to channel the murderous tendency via the political route, where weapons be replaced by oral deliberations, and consensus be put into law.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=2333
When I lay down in my comfortable apartment in Budapest, all I could see are images of little children lying on the dirty floor of Budapest’s railway stations waiting for their transfer to a new, safer and better life.
NY Union Square Harinama (Album with photos)
The “most happening place” in the city. Dedicated devotees engaged in following Srila Prabhupada’s simple process of Harinama, Book distribution and Prasadam distribution. So inspiring to be in the company of such focused and serious devotees, especially the youngsters, who amazed us by their sincerity, determination, humility and sweetness. Rama Raya prabhu is managing wondefully in Aindra prabhu’s footsteps. If you’re in the city please do join them, you will be very nicely welcomed and thoroughly enlivened. Photos by Dvijapriya dasi.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/E28WmU
Written by Vasanti dd
As the transcendental dust-storms (caused by the lotus feet of the devotees jumping in ecstasy for Lord Jagannatha) were beginning to settle down in Soweto and the glowing embers of the initiation yajna were simmering down in Pretoria, the devotees of the Cape Town yatra were preparing to finally get the answer to the question that had been buzzing in the air for weeks, “When is Kadamba Kanana Swami arriving?”
In the late afternoon of Tuesday, 22 September 2015, Maharaj gracefully arrived in the Mother City of South Africa and was warmly welcomed by a calm reception of disciples. Things, however, were not to stay that calm for very long at all…
After a short time to settle-in and catch his breath, Maharaj made an appearance and initiated (through a full-swing one hour kirtan and an hour’s lecture from Bhagavad-gita 7.17), the first of the many jam‑packed morning and evening programs that were to follow for the rest of the week.
Wednesday was filled to the brim with ecstasy with three (almost) back-to-back programs. We started-off with a morning class from Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.42 followed by a fun-filled afternoon program in the Bhakti Yoga Society hall at the University of Cape Town where Maharaj gave a wonderful talk on Stress Management and Vedic Lifestyle and also spent a lot of time afterwards engaging in questions-and-answers with the eager and inquisitive students who stayed behind to cash in on the nectar.
The last stop for the day took us all the way out to the beautiful Stellenbosch yatra where the devotees had some nice downtime to chat with Maharaj before the students arrived for a kirtan straight from the spiritual world, a charismatic talk in true KKS style and a feast of ecstatic prasad. Meanwhile, back at the temple, excitement was starting to build up about the next day’s scheduled program which was, by far, one of the highlights of Maharaj’s visit …
Thursday morning started-off with a lecture on verse 1.3.43 of Srimad Bhagavatam. The weather was absolutely perfect and the hustle and bustle was building up as devotees started streaming in from all over Cape Town in anticipation of the blissful day that lay ahead.
The sankritan warriors then began their preparations: sun block and tilaka boldly painted on; mrdangas, djembes and harmonium straps fastened tight around the shoulders; kartalas and whompers, ready for action with books/flyers locked and loaded into book bags, ready for launch …
Maharaj hopped into the passenger seat of a bright, cherry-red Toyota Etios and zoomed-off around the mountain leading the devotees, in a convoy of cars, towards the tropically majestic, crystal-blue oceans and pearly-white sands of the Camps Bay suburb of Cape Town.
The devotees exploded into Camps bay, instruments blaring, colorful garments swaying to and fro with smiles as wide a Cheshire cats as they sang the Holy Names from the heart. Maharaj led the devotees all around Camps Bay as the ecstasy grew from strength-to-strength.
Some book distributors broke off to meet the curious and jolly crowd of onlookers who had started gathering… some people even came running out of restaurants asking for books!
It seemed as though the bliss would never end…
After what felt like (and probably was) hours we eventually settled down on the grass, overlooking the ocean, for a delicious ekadasi feast. We then ended the day off with a little more kirtan. What a day indeed!
The week ended-off just as fully and busily as it started with sweet talks and dramatic narrations from Maharaj in appreciation of the Lord and his amazing devotees, starting with the appearance day of Lord Vamanadev on Friday, 25 September (morning class at temple and evening at HG Medhavi prabhu’s home), followed by the appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur on Saturday, 26 September where Maharaj spent the day aptly doing justice to the glories of the great acarya and last, but certainly not least, the disappearance day of Srila Haridas Thakur on Sunday the 27th where Maharaj spent a lot of time glorifying Haridas Thakur and emphasizing the importance of properly and sincerely chanting the Holy Names.
As things started to wind down on Sunday, evening Maharaj went to a nearby old-age home to visit Mrs. Retrout, a beloved elderly lady who used to frequent the temple when she was in better health. Since she has been struggling with her health the devotees have been visiting her at the retirement village to try and lift her spirits and Maharaj’s visit most certainly brought a lot of life back to her eyes.
The Sunday Love Feast Prasad was finished and packed away and the party was officially coming to an end. At the request of bhakta Rama, Maharaj sat down at the harmonium once more and gladly showed Rama a tune or two attracting a small group of devotees who sat and reveled in the last few moments of Maharaj’s precious association before he left to get ready for the next long haul to Australia…
It was visit filled to the brim with nectar, mercy, bliss, ecstasy and all the good things the association of a pure devotee brings.
Recordings to follow shortly…
KK Bindu #360: Can an ant touch the Moon? The answer in this issue of Bindu is yes!
The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu e-magazine was just released. Topics include:
* IMPORTANCE OF HIGHER ASSOCIATION – Instructions from the writings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
* NOTES ON THE BHAGAVATA – Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode speaks about the mentality necessary for understanding Srimad Bhagavatam: “most readers are mere repositories of facts and statements made by other people. But this is not study. The student is to read the facts with a view to create, and not with the object of fruitless retention.”
* FIRE OF SEPARATION – A verse composed by Srila Rupa Goswami describing a prayer to Krishna from his cowherd boyfriends of Vraja.
* RESPECT TO ALL – Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja comments that a sincere devotee will see everyone except himself as a devotee.
* WHEN WILL I GO TO VRINDAVAN? – A fresh translation done for this issue of Bindu from a song by the Gaudiya poet Radhamohan Das.
* THE ANT AND THE MOON – Is it possible for an ant to touch the Moon? A first time translation done for this issue of Bindu from a little known Sanskrit book called, “Subhasita-ratna-bhandagara”.
It can be downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/bindu360
Join Padayatra Odisha 2015
This Kartik, please come and join the annual Sankirtan Padayatra in Odisha. This most ecstatic preaching program, in the sacred land of Mahaprabhu’s and Lord Jagannath’s pastimes, will begin on November 1st in Kantilo (60 km from Bhubaneswar) where the ancient Deity of Sri Nila Madhava resides by the banks of the Mahanadi. The padayatra will last until the 20th of November and will see devotees walking and chanting, with the bullock cart of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Srila Prabhupada ,through Nayagarh district stopping in a different village every day for kirtan, book distribution, prasad distribution and preaching programs. The villagers are especially interested to see and hear the experiences of Western devotees blissfully chanting Hare Krishna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20258
Hare Krishna! Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay foundation stone for ISKCON Golden Temple in Kondaveedu, AP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu would lay foundation stone for the first Golden Temple in the State by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on Vijayadasami Day (October 22). Preliminary works like construction of sheds and rearing of cows at the Cow Protection Centre (Gosala) began a few months ago at Lord Krishna’s temple close to Kondaveedu Fort of Guntur district with a budget of Rs. 200 crore in 80 acres of land given by the State Endowments Department. A rare idol of young Krishna, locally called as Venna Mudda Gopaludu (butter Krishna idol), was found during the excavations at the Kondaveedu fort belonging to the 13th century during 1998 it inspired ISKCON to construct a golden butter Krishna temple at Kondaveedu. It was sculpted during the period of Sri Krishnadevaraya and this golden temple is going to revive the religious cultural heritage of Kondaveedu.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20255
On the bright afternoon of 3rd October 2015, the chariot of Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra rolled down the roads of Old Kanpur, India, with hundreds of devotees dancing. People enthusiastically participated in the chariot pulling fiesta. Simultaneously young students of different colleges of Kanpur earnestly distributed books on the roads and the marketplace.
The World Peace Forum is a worldwide platform that brings together a large number of professionals of all backgrounds and from all corners of the Earth. Their recent meeting was held on October 2-3, 2015 in the European Parliament in Luxembourg and Germany, where ISKCON devotees were also invited.
Mongolia’s vast steppe is home to one of the world’s last surviving nomadic cultures. Situated between China and Russia, the Mongolian steppe remains mostly intact, and its nomadic way of life has been largely unchanged for generations. Some herding customs alive today pre-date the era of Genghis Khan. Slowly, however, the steppe’s landscape is changing, as more and more of its nomadic population move to urban areas in search of education, employment, and modern conveniences. On ISKCON-devotees 8-hour drive to Erdenet for their first public program in the city, they passed many nomadic people herding their cows, horses and sheep.
Spirit Matters a new YouTube channel developed by ISKCON devotees in New Zealand aims to give people insights into a more conscious way of living. The idea is to make it easy for people to learn about aspects of bhakti-yoga, mantra meditation and Krishna conscious living, and become inspired to enquire further about the knowledge they contain.
I’m born and bought up from Hyderabad, actually I love Krishna & I offer my prayers every day to Krishna & also for every time I love think about Krishna. My question is in Krishna consciousness can we should watch TV serial and movies? Or it is an offence?
The post Vikkas writes: appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
Taking rest after Harinama the in University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/kUO1ll
With ‘Vanity Karma,’ a Jewish swami comes full circle From Kohelet to Krishna - With his book ‘Vanity Karma,’ a Jewish swami comes full circle
“The idea of Krishna consciousness is that it’s not a religion one turns to by abandoning their religion, but it’s the essence of what religion is about: to cultivate one’s love for God. From that point of view, I’m a Jewish swami,” he said. “From another angle, this is the fulfillment of Jewish culture, if the purpose of Judaism is developing one’s love for God, and the chanting of God’s name is seen as an effective means for that. In my Jewish life I wasn’t particularly interested in God or convinced by God. By Krishna Consciousness, or Bhakti Yoga as it is also called, my life is dedicated to God’s service. “Does that make me more Jewish or less Jewish?”
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/mlI7W6
The post Daily Darshan – October 7th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Hare Krishna! ISKCON Prakriti Forum organizes international summit on environment and economy in Kerala
The summit is expected to be the “biggest gathering of its kind in Kerala this year”, the release said. Around 1,400 participants are expected at the summit, which will bring together distinguished scientists, entrepreneurs, industry experts, government representatives and students. Rajeev Dubey, HR and corporate services president of the Mahindra group; Shaurya Doval, MD, Zeus Capital; Ramchunder Singh, advisor to the President of South Africa and Brian Bloch, advisor to the interior department, the USA are some of the dignitaries who will attend the summit, the press release said.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20251
Only the Best Marble for the TOVP! (Album with photos)
Royal Blue marble from Bolivia that will be used on the Altars.
Find them here: http://goo.gl/NXnvyD
HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at ISKCON Mayapur on 2015-10-04, Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 06.15.20-23
The devotees in Bali celebrated Srila Prabhupada’s arrival into America by re-enacting his journey on the Jaladuta.
There’s a very old tradition of rituals in our Hare Krishna movement. Rather than being what people sometimes describe as ‘empty rituals,’ they are ceremonial offerings of service to the Divine, pleasing to the eye and ear, and satisfying to the heart. On a daily basis we keep them quite simple, but on special occasions we can create very elaborate and colourful festivals. The groundbreaking ceremony for the building of a new temple is one such occasion. A fire sacrifice is held, and a small statue of Ananta Sesha is buried deep down in the earth, directly beneath where the main altar will be.
This week, one such ceremony took place in Parsippany, New Jersey. It’s an important event because new temples come once in a lifetime for a community, particularly one built in a traditional style. Watch the short video here.
Hema Mukhi Dasi
In this short video you will see and hear Hema Mukhi Dasi leading our Saturday Night Harinam in Leicester Square.
Hema Mukhi is very actively involved doing service for the UK Festival Team that goes all over the British Isles and sometimes into Europe, organising exciting Hare Krsna Festivals. The Festival programme was begun by Tribhuvanath Prabhu many moons ago and is still going strong under the direction of Giridhari Prabhu, Ratnavali Dasi and many others….
I really like it when Hema Mukhi leads Kirtan as she always chants loudly and clearly, using simple and sweet melodies.
She also chants in a humble and unaffected manner, avoiding the Krsnos and Ramos that have now infected our Societies Kirtan’s worldwide.
Come and join the Saturday Night Harinam Parties whenever you have the time.
Please remember your kartals and mrdangas 
Prasad Distribution in Paris September 27th 2015
The French Revolution of 1798 is regarded by western historians as one of the most important events in human history. The revolution sparked off at the magnificent Place D’ La Republic, this is the location where another type of revolution was to happen, the Krishna Prasad “feeding of the 5,000”.
A revolution of consciousness, the Hare Krishna revolution. Referred to as the “spotless” Purana, the Bhagavatam is “directed towards bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilisation (SB 1.5.11)” 1.5.1
At this revolution almost 7,000 young people got a free plate of delicious subji, pakoras and a puri, and got to hear the Holy Name.
The Revolution of 1798 came about due to the popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy and similarly Lord Caitanya’s movement is open to one and all, even a dog can take part.
Lord Caitanya’s movement will always be street based, and centered on the free distribution of Bhakti.
A special thanks to the French devotees who came for the Harinams, including Mandakini prabhu, and the team of English householders with their children
Your servant Parasuram das
Our preschool days are busy with various activities. Our mornings begin with Sadhana class. Sometimes we go on Harinama, chanting Lord Krsna’s Holy Names around the temple community, accompanied by musical instruments and feeling delighted; sometimes it’s a more solemn Japa walk. We also learned many stories and a song about Srila Prabhupada.
During art class we made necklaces for Srimati Radharani and a drum to accompany our chanting of “Radhe Jaya Jaya Madhava Dayite”.
In Language Arts we covered the first letter cluster. We made a snake and sun for ‘s’, a mouse and monkey for ‘m’, an alligator and apple for ‘a’ and a turtle and tiger for ‘t’.
For the math session we made a chart with the numbers 1-10, and decorated them with the matching number of sequence. We learned about the different types of coins and played pretend Bakery.
In science we learned about various land forms. We also made a book on the senses, describing their use and how they can be engaged in the loving service of the Lord Sri Krsna. We also learned about the three primary colors and how we can mix them to create other colors.
In Social Studies we focused on the differences between rural and urban communities and created a display of the typical characteristic of each.
Food For Life Nepal - update (Album with photos)
The situation is worst in Nepal at present: No petrol, No diesel and No LPG gas. Moreover, it is very difficult to find raw food items and even biscuits.
Although it is very difficult but Food For Life Nepal is daily feeding poor children.We use bike of our volunteers ( now vehicles are not available due to gas, petrol and diesel shortage.)
More than 630 poor children whom we provide the mid-day meal at their school are extremely thankful to our donors and contributors. Majority of them are no better than street children in this time of crisis.
Your small help can bring drastic change in their life. Please help Food For Life Nepal to feed those innocent poor children.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/JZmGbU
Hare Krishna! World Holy Name Week 2015 – Iskcon Indonesia
The Indonesian devotees took up this year’s World Holy Name Week with great zest. Youth from all the temples/communities united to perform a Harinama Yajna never before held. On the first day, a 12 Hour Kirtan at the Sri Sri Radha Madhava Asrama (Gianyar, Bali) with His Holiness Kavicandra Swami (Co-GBC for Indonesia), His Holiness Ramai Swami (Co-GBC for Indonesia) and His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami in attendance. Devotees from the 5 temples and 3 centres took turns to complete the 12 Hours. After that, up until the first of October, 6 Hour Kirtans were held everyday at all of Bali’s temples and centres. On the weekends, it was maha harinam time, with the highlight being the Maha Harinama at Double-Six (Kuta) Beach at sunset on the 27th, with at least 40 devotees in attendance. On the 2nd of October, 1 Hour Japas and 5 Hour Kirtans were held at all the temples.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20246
Classroom studies come to life when you get to see things with your own eyes and feel them with your hands. At the conclusion of the first six weeks of school, after studying the body, 2nd through 9th graders took a trip to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science to further solidify their studies through exploration and experimentation. Of course, many experiments were performed within the classrooms as well, but the excitement of a field trip can hardly be replaced.
We focused most of our time at the “Being Human” hall, as well as the “Sports” hall. Some of the highlights were the “Bio Lab” where students examined cheek cells and germ killers. Other attractions were using light beams to reveal the blood vessels beneath our skin, and racing various species across the running track. We also watched a 3D movie about the Wonders of the Arctic.
Time was short and we left with taste for much more – hopefully to be satisfied at a later time with another science unit.
By Madhava Smullen
Lord Krishna’s eternal consort Srimati Radharani is known as the Queen of Vrindavan. So what better place in the Western World to celebrate Her appearance day, Radhastami, than New Vrindaban?
Described by Srila Prabhupada as “non-different” from Vrindavan in India, New Vrindaban’s Radhastami festival on September 21st 2015 drew many devotees from neighboring states, as well thirty students with their professor from nearby Christian liberal arts school Bethany College.
Favored by devotees for its particularly sweet and loving mood, the festival began with the traditional temple morning program when Sri Sri Radha-Vrindabanchandra were revealed in a stunning new dark blue and silver bespoke outfit made in Vrindavan, India.
With Radha carrying an umbrella of marigolds from New Vrindaban’s gardens, Krishna leaning on a staff entwined with flowers, and both Their heads decorated with heart-shaped flower halos, Their Lordships were breathtaking to behold. And, of course, Srimati Radharani’s lotus feet were visible throughout the day, the only day in the year when She bestows this boon upon devotees.
Visiting for three days, Hridayananda Das Goswami brought his scholarly outlook to several classes explaining Radharani’s position as the feminine aspect of God, and Her qualities of compassion and devotion. He also shared memories of Srila Prabhupada’s 1972 visit to New Vrindaban during an evening program at Nityodita Das and Radha Dasi’s home.
At noon, devotees immersed themselves in the Vrindavan mood, gathering in the under-construction Radha Gopinath temple on New Vrindaban’s Govardhan Hill to sing kirtan before the small yet incredibly sweet presiding Deities.
As in the transcendental village She reigns over, many residents of New Vrindaban offered Srimati Radharani dishes they had made with love in their own homes, such as laddhus, baklava, and fruit salad. The preparations included a strawberry-almond cake baked by Lakshman Isvara Das in the shape of a lotus with twelve petals representing the twelve forests of Vraj.
While Radha enjoyed Her offerings, longtime resident Varsana Swami gave a class full of entrancing stories and revelations about Her pastimes with Krishna, including one wherein She beat the Lord in a wrestling match and pinned Him down until He conceded, “I surrender!”
As it was a beautiful day, all the devotees then sat outside on the grass of Govardhana Hill around the glittering waters of New Vrindaban’s Radha-Kunda, Shyama-Kunda and Lalita-Kund to honor a prasadam lunch prepared by the appropriately-named Radha Dasi. A bull was brought up by the resident cowherds and the recently completed ornate “moon tower,” where Radha and Krishna are said to go to survey Their subjects and property, added to the Vrindavan atmosphere.
Meanwhile back at Radha-Vrindabanchandra’s temple, two visiting sisters from Mexico, Hladini and Aindayi, were married to their respective husbands Nimai Pandit and Jacob with a fire yajna and a talk on love and marriage in Krishna consciousness by Hridayananda Goswami. With its beautiful natural surroundings and spiritual vibrations, New Vrindaban has become a popular wedding destination among devotees.
The evening featured an abhisekh bathing ceremony for the small Deities of Radha Vrindavan-nath, along with a New Vrindaban Radhastami special, in which each devotee gets to receive Srimati Radharani’s mercy by submitting their own individual offering to Her.
“Everyone was given the chance to offer Her a stick of incense, a ghee lamp, and a flower,” says ISKCON New Vrindaban president Jaya Krsna Das. “They then each wrote a special vow or prayer to Srimati Radharani, which were all collected and offered in a basket at Her lotus feet. Finally everyone got to take a balloon with a heart-shaped label at the end of its string, each marked with a different one of Radharani’s 1008 names, and place it on the altar.”
The festival also included ecstatic kirtans led by Shyamala Kishori from North Carolina and Shyamasundar Das from Pittsburgh.
It concluded with a multi-course feast cooked by Sundari Dasi featuring a coconut-sauce subji with Arvi, a potato-like vegetable from India that is said to be Radharani’s favorite. There was also an oatmeal-oregano bread; a baked dish called Handvo; paneer subji; pina colada ice cream, and another jaw-dropping cake from Lakshman Iswara in the shape of the steamship Jaladuta, in honor of the recent 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the U.S.
“Radhastami at New Vrindaban is so mellow and pleasing to the heart – hearing Radha's pastimes and having an opportunity to make our own offerings to Her fills us with oceans of love,” says resident Autumn. “And where else in world - besides Vrindavan, India - can one spend Radhastami on the banks of Radha-Kunda?”
Sivarama Swami talks about his personal experience as a refugee fleeing Hungary in 1956, about his recent encounters with Syrian refugees in Budapest, and about the ancient Indian scriptures' teachings of how to treat people who are "different" from us. A video created by Janos Kapcsos, Laszlo Tas Balogh, Gandharvika Prema and Krisztina Danka, Ph.D.
This is from a new outreach channel called Spirit Matters that aims to give insights into a conscious way of living, ultimately encouraging people to explore Krishna consciousness further. www.spiritmatters.me
Spirit Matters is a new YouTube channel that tries to give you insights into a conscious way of living. It's about making you think beyond your day to day routine.
I realized that envy is the most unfortunate aspect of human nature. Not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his or her envy, but they also wish to inflict misfortune on others.
How important is it to follow social niceties? Isn’t a spiritualist automatically moral? Does following such ethics contribute anything to the divine journey?
