Planet ISKCON

Hare Krishna! Do We Complain Too Much?
While performing our services according to ability and inclination, mistakes will be expected. The tendency to highlight those as faults can be habitual, which has the effect of being caught up in a cobweb. If we persist in complaining about faults, thinking we are still advancing in spiritual life, without any ill effects to our health or well-being, will solidify to become steel cables. The fact that the mind is attracted to flying towards the sores of others’ mistakes is evident the Lord is displeased. Such behavior is really a selfish activity. How so? More often than not, if we are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but due to our own estimation of it, and we have the power to revoke it by becoming more Krsna conscious.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=2018

Medical Practitioners Meet and Retreat At Gita Nagari Yoga Farm
More than 50 ISKCON medical practitioners—doctors, nurses, medical technicians, Ayurveda experts and other healthcare professionals—gathered at the Gita Nagari Yoga Farm in rural Pennsylvania on September 25-27 for a three-day event, the “North American ISKCON Medical Professionals Retreat.” The event was organized by four doctors, Lila Manjari dasi, a Psychiatrist from Columbus, Ohio; Premvilas das, a physician of Internal Medicine and his wife Lalita dasi, a physician in Family Practice and Palliative Care, both from Columbus; and Acyuta Gauranga das, a Vascular Surgeon from Detroit, Michigan.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/OWo8dN

FATAL FAT
Chaitanya Charan Das: Obesity and all other indulgence-induced problems originate from the presumption that material enjoyment is the only enjoyment available to us – and so we must have it, whatever the cost. But the Vedic scriptures – and indeed all the great spiritual texts – inform us that this presumption is a misconception. We are intrinsically spiritual beings. Our deepest fulfillment comes from having a satisfying relationship with God. The unlimited inner happiness thereof is our birthright, but being spiritually uninformed, we are searching in vain for that infinite happiness in the realm of finite matter. Most people assume that they can’t enjoy life because they don’t have enough money. But obesity statistics show that, even if they get all the money in the world to eat whatever they like as much as they like, still they will not be able to enjoy unlimitedly because their body limits their capacity to enjoy – inescapably.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=2202

GaurangaGifts.com launched
Mayapur Tourism has announced the launch of its online shopping portal Gaurangagifts.com.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20142

More than 50 ISKCON medical practitioners—doctors, nurses, medical technicians, Ayurveda experts and other healthcare professionals—gathered at the Gita Nagari Yoga Farm in rural Pennsylvania on September 25-27 for a three-day event, the “North American ISKCON Medical Professionals Retreat.”

Book distribution and Harinama in Israel (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Q2pkoU

The post Bh. Mike asks to hear about taking vanaprastha at 50 appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 19 September 2015, Midrand, Johannesburg, Lecture)

When one corner of the spiritual world becomes covered by a cloud of illusory energy then Krsna cannot be seen, nāhaḿ prakāśaḥ sarvasya, yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ, mūḍho ’yaḿ nābhijānāti, loko mām ajam avyayam (Bhagavad-gita 7.25), Krsna becomes covered by his yogamaya energy.

āvṛtaḿ jñānam etena, jñānino nitya-vairiṇā, kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya, duṣpūreṇānalena ca (Bhagavad-gita 3.39), Krsna becomes covered when lust is burning in the heart. In this way, the living being resides in this covered portion of the spiritual world. Somehow, due to the illusory energy, living beings are thinking that they are in the material world but Srila Prabhupada pointed out that we are actually in the spiritual world right now. There is nothing separating us from the spiritual world other than our own illusion.

It is not that after a lot of hard work in devotional service, after chanting many, many rounds and after being a very good devotee then may be/possibly/theoretically speaking it could happen that at the end of this life, one might actually go back to Godhead… and it is a long, long journey. No, it is instantaneous.

It is not a physical journey, it is a journey of becoming aware of that other dimension and once that other dimension is there, we are there – it is not like a long drive to the spiritual world…

The post Daily Darshan – September 30th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Kirtan Fest Brazil
One of the most expected events of ISKCON Brazil provides us with a great deal of enthusiasm and makes sure that there is no other way except get the shelter of Maha Mantra Hare Krishna. This year, KIRTAN FEST will give even more emphasis to the chanting of the holy names with lectures conducted by Purushtraya Swami, Yamunacarya Goswami, Lokasaksi Prabhu and Setukara Prabhu who dedicated their lives to this sublime process. The kirtans will be even more inspiring with the participation of large Brazilian kirtanyas, besides the presence of Amala Kirtan Das and Krishna Gour Das. The prasadam will be prepared by the best-known chefs of ISKCON Brasil and their famous dishes. Children will have a special space: KIRTAN FEST KIDS, with activities. All this will take place in New Gokula, Radha Gokulananda’s house.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20135

Hare Krishna! Representing ISKCON in a religious assembly
On 27 September 2015 His Holiness Lokanath Swami was invited by High Highness Divyasinghdev Gajapati Maharaj, the current king of Jagannath Puri to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Swami Chidanand Sarasvati. More than 8,000 people had gathered from all over India to attend this festival in the land of Lord Jagannath. Moreover, it was a wonderful preaching opportunity to represent Krishna’s holy name in front of a large religious assembly. There were many organisations such as the Ramakrishna Math, Divine Life Society and Chinmaya Mission.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20130

Radhastami drama Monday 21 sept

Much of the Mongolian population lives below the poverty line and many families struggle just to get by. It is common, especially in the capital Ulaanbaatar, to see children who have been abandoned. They are typically a product of social upheaval caused by alcoholism, rapid urbanization and poverty. Little is known of the history of most of the 80 children in the orphanage Indradyumna Swami and his group visited in Erdenet. Many were abandoned at birth in hospitals, or left simply on the side of the road. (A video by Ananta Vrindavan.)

In 1996, several foreign devotees who were visiting Mongolia, held kirtan in the streets of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. They were immediately caught and deported. For almost 20 years now the streets of the country have remained silent of the singing of Krishna's holy names. ISKCON's renewed status as a religious organization, however, now allows devotees to sing freely everywhere with prior permission. (Video by Ananta Govinda)

1. The observable expansion of the Universe.
2. Origin of the cosmic background radiation.
3. The abundance of light elements.
4. Formation of galaxies and large-scale structure.

Carana Mitra, a Calcutta High Court Judge, wrote:

“I knew Thakur Bhaktivinoda intimately as a friend and a relation. Even under the pressure of official work as a magistrate in charge of a heavy subdivision he could always find time for devotional contemplation and work, and whenever I met him, our talk would turn in a few moments to the subject of bhakti and dvaitadvaita-vada and the saintly work that lay before him. Service of God was the only thing he longed for and service under the government, however honourable, was to him a clog.”

The appearance of Bhaktivinoda Thakur was observed by the devotees at Jagannatha Gauranga Mandir, Bali.

The amazing altar of Krisna-völgy/ New Vraja-dhama, Iskcon Hungary

Harinama in New York city in the company of elevated bhaktas! (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/S6aCmq

“How to conquer our attachments” (6 min video)
Do you find yourself stuck due to attachments, though earnestly you want to make spiritual progress? Srila Prabhupada sets us free by urging us to “lift our anchors”. Please watch this video where we discuss practical ways to conquer our attachments to be free to meet our Lord in the spiritual sky.
Flow of the video:
1. Only pure love qualifies us to go back to Krsna.
2. Discussion/Examples of how our attachments are blocking our progress.
3. How to let go of the anchor.
4. Example of two boats going in opposite directions.
5. Choice is ours!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/ZjaKZY

How to distribute prasadam to 5.000 in Paris, France, and be happy! (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/uhe9Sy

Hare Krishna! Before I Die…
Ananda Vrindavanesvari Devi: The Gita teaches that wherever our mind is at the time of death, that will determine our next destination. Better not leave that to chance as our mind is undependable. In a split second it goes off on any emotion, both good and bad. Before we die, therefore, we need to practice what state of mind we want to be in at the time of death. That’s the practice of Bhakti. If our heart is filled with affection for Krishna, then at that critical moment we will call out to Krishna, and place our heart, and therefore our mind there. Love conquers all, especially the mind. If we love Krishna, that is where we will go for shelter. And that is where we will go at the time of, and after, death.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20127

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Traveling and preaching in Mongolia (6 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: We’re on the road again, taking the holy names of Krsna to as many towns and villages as we can during our 3,500-kilometer journey through the remote areas of Mongolia. There’s a special satisfaction pioneering Krsna consciousness in a place where people have never seen devotees before, or heard of Lord Caitanya. Yesterday in Darhan people immediately crowded around us as we began Hari Nama, eager to hear our message and buy books. Some of them followed us back to a hall where we had a two-hour program. Step by step we are conquering the hearts of the people of this beautiful country.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/3IJGDu

Hare Krishna! Interview with Bhakti Rasamrita Swami – Pandava Sena Alumni
A special interactive interview with HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami. This session was a discussion on the modern application of Krishna Consciousness and took the format of an interview by Nanda Parkinson (Chat Show Host). We also had 30 minutes for QnA from the audience
Watch it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20123

The post Daily Darshan – September 29th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! Former Premier among 15,000 other guests at Australia’s Albert Park Iskcon Temple
The devotees thanked the former premier for helping in getting 500 K grant for Albert Park Temple’s “Kitchen Project” In his speech, Mr Baillieu thanked the Victorian Indian and Hindu community for their overall contribution to Victoria and Australia. During the informal chit-chat about the upcoming kitchen project, Mr Baillieu’s cooking skills came under discussion. ISKCON devotes said they would love to see Mr Baillieu’s cooking skills at the upcoming kitchen, and the former premier said he would be more than happy to oblige.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20119

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The post Can’t judging be a means of self-defense? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.