Planet ISKCON

Ratha Yatra Festival 2015, Sofia, Bulgaria (9 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/OVHdBE

Preaching program in Moscow (Album with photos)
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Sankirtan mission in Mongolia (6 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: As the first snows of early winter arrived here in Mongolia, we had a successful public program in the capital Ulaanbaatar. Afterwards we held an initiation in a traditional yurta in a forest outside the city. Now we are making plans to visit the more remote areas of the country, where the holy names of Krsna have never been sung and people have not heard the sublime teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/UMKcHG

Harinama in New York city, Times Square (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: It is the duty of the mahatmas to chant the Hare Krishna mantra and try to spread it all over the world to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, society is in such an uncivilized state that there are so-called mahatmas who are prepared to kill cows and children and stop the Hare Krishna movement. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.2.37 Purport).
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Written by Rukmini dd

It was dull, with almost a drizzle on Ratha Yatra morning (20 September), as the devotees who worked though most of the night put the finishing touches onto Lord Jagannatha’s cart. The neigbourhood kids gathered and spontaneously chipped in – diminishing lifetimes of karma with each untangled paper flower. Devotees live from festival to festival. As familiar faces were greeted with warm smiles, the energy intensified and within moments, the fire of kirtan was stoked. The very first sparks brought sunshine streaming out of the clouds in a burst of festive expectation. Kadamba Kanana Swami took the lead in straight fifth gear. Ropes in hand, Soweto was ready for a party.

The South African calendar is ablaze with Ratha Yatra festivals; from the famous Durban four-day celebration over Easter to the sweet Cape parade during the Christmas season, and host of others in Gauteng and in-between. Yet this Soweto Heritage Festival is especially significant. Just as the world knows Nelson Mandela, the world also knows Soweto. It is a global stage and the Ratha Yatra turns all eyes on us. Heritage day (24 September, a public holiday just a few days later in South Africa) is a celebration of culture and the Ratha Yatra sets the tone perfectly.

Soweto Ratha Yatra is also Maharaj’s brainchild. He had heard of how the Sowetan devotees had played a video of a Durban Ratha Yatra kirtan and danced all night in front of the television screen. “I don’t cry tears when hearing about the rasalila,” Maharaj once mentioned at a Sunday love feast, “but when I hear about those devotees in Soweto…”  Touched by that, Maharaj made every sacrifice to give them a Ratha Yatra. He personally nursed the maiden festival in 2007 through its infancy and dealt with all the teething problems. Now he inspires devotees to take on the service and give it their best. Eight years later, the festival gains strength and momentum and the Sowetan devotees are making it their own.

And the people of Soweto pour out onto the street, taking in the colourful celebrations with awe and joy (and sometimes confusion!). It is visually noticeable that there are more locals in full devotee garb that ever before. Maharaj keeps the pace of the kirtan lively so that no feet stays grounded for long. Very soon he calls out for Mahaprabhu Das, a Sowetan pioneer, to lead the kirtan. Mahaprabhu’s steady but powerful, all-time favourite melody rings out across his hometown. Brahmachari’s leap in the air and gopi skirts swirl in full colour, all to the beat of the djembe. Sweets rain down from the chariot and local children pile over each other in attempt to capture the maha-prasad.

We reached the festival grounds. It was an impressive improvement – colourful stretch tents for the kids, a dining area, a small Govinda’s take away and a main stage with cultural acts. In the Q&A, Maharaj spoke about the concept of karma, breaking it down to the basics. After a short energy packed kirtan in front of Lord Jagannatha, Maharaj headed-off to the main stage for the final kirtan. The heavens poured, forcing everyone to take shelter of the tent and of the holy name. Once inside, it was kirtan crazy! More than a dozen devotees were on stage with Maharaj, sharing the microphone. A spontaneous symphony with funk and style in true Soweto fashion ensued with jaw hanging bystanders on the sidelines.

The Krsna conscious pulse of Soweto beats fast and hard, with good omens for the future.

Visit Flickr to see all the full slide-show.

Photo credits: Ragalekha, Naimisaranya, Radha Jivan, Bhakta Nimai (Germany) and Jnana-samudra. 

 

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Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur Appearance day celebration in Mayapur (Album with photos)
Appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur was celebrated in Mayapur on the 26th September. A large murti of him was placed next to the Panchatattva altar. It was beautifully decorated with many flower garlands. Around 11:30 am, hundreds of bhogas were offered to him. Next, devotees chanted the pranama mantras of Guru parampara and offered him flowers three times (pushpanjali). HH Bhakti Nityananda Swami then performed an arati in his honor. Many Gurukul students attended this event. They participated actively in kirtana and bhajans which went on throughout the program. Devotees were extremely eager to have his mahaprasad. They finally received it although they had to stands in a queue for a short while.
Find them here: http://goo.gl/DWTh9d

The last instructions of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
“12 Verses of My Own Self-imposed Regulative Principles”
by Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura
The 1st Verse
(The Objects of Devotion Birth After Birth)
No matter whenever and wherever I happen to take birth, let my loving affection and attachment remain unshaken throughout each and every lifetime for the following things: for my divine spiritual master, for Sri Gauranga, for the detailed topics of pure devotional service (and the methods of its execution) as personally instructed by Him, for the holy places of pilgrimage such as Sri Navadvipa, Sri Kshetra, Sri Vrndavana, etc. , which are all blooming with divine sanctity due to His performance of wonderful pastimes therein, for the diksa mantra bestowed upon me by the divine grace of my spiritual master, for the holy name of Sri Hari, for the most beloved eternal associates of the Lord, for the sacred days of celebration throughout the year such as Sri Ekadasi, Sri Janmastami, Sri Radhastami, and the appearance/disappearance days of the great Vaisnava acaryas, for the Lord’s dear most devotees who strictly follow in the sacred footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami, and for the holy scriptures narrated by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami such as the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=13078

Vamanadev’s Appearance celebration in Mayapur (Album with photos)
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Hare Krishna! Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada
Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada furthered many of Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s projects: engaging householders in local preaching initiatives (nama-hatta); establishing the principle that Vaishnavas, even not born brahmans, are greater than brahmans (and are brahmans too); translating, explaining, and publishing important Vaishnava scriptures for the understanding of the contemporary audience; implementing the vision of a wonderful temple and spiritual city in Mayapur; and, perhaps most significant, fulfilling the desire and prediction that the holy names and teachings of Sri Krishna Chaitanya—Krishna consciousness—be propagated all over the world. “Lord Chaitanya did not advent Himself to liberate only a few men in India. Rather, His main objective was to emancipate all living entities of all countries throughout the entire universe and preach the eternal dharma.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=11916

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The post Rehearsal for and the night of Kirtan-yoga night in Budapest, Sept 25th. appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

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Appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur was celebrated in Mayapur on the 26th September. A large murti of him was placed next to the Panchatattva altar. It was beautifully decorated with many flower garlands. Around 11:30 am, hundreds of bhogas were offered to him. Next, devotees chanted the pranama mantras of Guru parampara and offered […]

The post Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur Appearance appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Influence On The Establishment And Development Of Iskcon
This paper aims to present the contribution of Bhaktivinoda Thakur to the establishment and development of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). It regards his personal life as the role model for the practitioners of Vaisnavism, and it considers his input in expanding preaching techniques, both innovative and traditional ones. Being born in a non-Vaisnava family, educated in Christian and Westernized Hindu schools and colleges, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, more than many other spiritual teacher in Gaudiya tradition, is the reference point for ISKCON, many of whose members have been born in and molded by the Western civilization. The historical context in which Bhaktivinoda Thakur commenced his spiritual quest can be portrayed as a time of serious encounter and conflict between Hindu traditionalists and a Westernized and secularized Bengalis intelligentsia.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9318

Hare Krishna! The Life of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur
He was always charitable to brahmanas and equally befriended other castes. He never showed pride, and his amiable disposition was a characteristic feature of his life. He never accepted gifts from anyone; he even declined all honors and titles offered by the government to him on the grounds that they might stand against his holy mission of life. He was very strict in moral principles, and avoided the luxurious life; he would not even chew betel. He disliked theaters because they were frequented by “public women.” He spoke Bengali, Sanskrit, English, Latin, Urdu, Persian, and Oriya. He started writing books at age 12, and continued turning out a profuse number of volumes up until his departure from this world.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17917

2015-09-25 Night of Kirtan-yoga night in Budapest (66 photos)
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Preaching program in Russia (Album with photos)
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The post Daily Darshan – September 26th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Vamana Dev Appearance Day – Sep 25th 2015

Middle Elementary students have been working on their Science: Body Unit.   They start the class by singing Mother Mrgakshi’s famous song:  I know I’m Not This Body, and studied important verses from the Srimad Bhagavad Gita reminding them of the same.  2.13 – The body changes every day.  2.22 – we change bodies as we change old clothes.

Detailed analysis of the digestive, respiratory, nervous, circulatory, muscular & skeletal systems are in progress! Students brought TWENTY TWO library books to do their research from!  They are completing experiments to visualize how the different organs work, made skeleton and muscular crafts, practiced transfering blood types with colored water, and will be cooking healthy body-friendly foods in order to end the session.    Take a look at the pictures to see some of their work.

Next Stop:  Perot Museum Body Exhibit next week.

The devotees at Radhava Madhava Temple started holy name week by inviting the other temple devotees in Bali to attend all day kirtan.

Each centre was represented by their best kirtan leaders and the devotees chanted and danced to each group.

Special attendees were HH Kavicandra Maharaja and HH Bhakti Raghava Maharaja who  led kirtan to the delight of the assembled vaisnavas. 

Hare Krishna prabhu, please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you for doing the amazing service which is your blog! Although I'm not a daily visitor, I've drawn a fair amount of inspiration from it and have relished sending others to it in the past.

Your servant

Our vegan dessert cooking class is next Friday (2 Oct. 2015) at 6pm till 8pm. Contact us now & save yourself a spot. Bookings essential, please email theloft.akld@gmail.com to book Cost: $20 Student ID $25 waged Please visit the Cooking class details!

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Inauguration MOSA - Museo Arte Sacra - Villa Vrindavana, Florence, Italy (Album with photos) Villa Vrindavana’s Renaissance salons host MOSA, the Museum of Sacred Art, an artistic space that is quite unique in Italy. The gallery displays impressive artistic works portraying religious and devotional subjects from ancient India lore and its epics. Here are displayed imposing works by the Italian contemporary artist Giampaolo Tomassetti, together with other beautiful pieces of art by other international painters. The varied styles reflect different artistic traditions from the great regions of India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Orissan, Kerala and Tanjore). The collection includes original sculptures from different areas of the Far East. With its permanent exhibition and its periodic initiatives, MOSA also encourages interfaith dialogue, where art is man’s universal language. MOSA also has a gallery in Belgium at Radhadesh, a Durbury, in the Ardennes region. The MOSA Villa Vrindavan is open to the public at the following times: Saturday and Sunday: guided tours at 10:00 and 16:00 Find them here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20066

In honor of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur’s Appearance Day tomorrow, Bhaktivedanta Research Centre is pleased to share this special album with you. (Album with 12 photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/mGsWLQ

Hare Krishna! Mayapur Gears Up for Marathon 2015
As 2015 is the 50th year of HDG Srila Prabhupada’s entry into western land, ISKCON Mayapur is making all the arrangements to make 2015 book distribution marathon a mega event. So, it was announced that this year marathon will be celebrated from 1st October, 2015 to 31st December, 2015 for a period of three months. ISKCON Mayapur conducted an event on 23rd September to encourage devotees to engage in book distribution. The event was inaugurated by HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj, HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami Maharaj and HG Pankajanghri Prabhu. HG Pankajanghri Prabhu highlighted the importance of book distribution as major service to Lord Krsna. He went on to say that if a devotee fails to engage him/herself in the service of book distribution, their service is not considered beneficial.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20063