Planet ISKCON

Houston ISKCON 50 (Album with photos)
It’s beginning! Did you know about ISKCON 50???? A huge milestone…
See them here: https://goo.gl/O7yBau

Varnasrama series.

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Varnasrama series from Turkey.

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The President of Colombia received the Bhagavad Gita.

Hare Krishna! The Rare Gift supported by Cooperation & Collective Management
Bhakti Caru Swami : (Class given 9/12/2015 at Dallas) The purport of the verse is that even Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu — He is God himself, Krsna Himself — He felt, alone, unable to do this task. He felt. So this is the position. You are cooperating; therefore I am getting the credit. Otherwise alone what could I do? Ekaki amara nahi paya bolo. Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself wanted our cooperation. He is God, Krsna. And therefore cooperation is very important thing. Nobody should think that “I have got so great ability. I can do.” No. It is simply by cooperation we can do very big thing. “United we stand; divided we fall.” This is our…. So be strong in pushing on Krsna consciousness, and Krsna will help. He is the strongest. Still, we must be combined together.
Listen to it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19790

http://bit.ly/1Y2af4N

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Hare Krishna! Body & Soul (audio class)
Narayani Devi Dasi: One of the main teachings of the Bhagavad-gita is the distinct difference between the body and the soul. We will compare the nature of both and how this understanding can help us achieve a better quality of life and ultimately complete self-realization. The body is a machine, like a motor car is a machine. I am within this body as the driver is within the motor car. So, the first thing is to understand that that I am not this body and I am not this mind. I am a spirit soul. I have projected my identity onto this temporary material body and material mind, but I am eternal.
Listen to it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19784

Harinama at Coolangatta - 13 September 2015 - ISKCON New Govardhana - Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/KLfglj

Effects of Tolerance
Sudarshana Devi Dasi: When people trouble/irritate us, give us pain, speak with us angrily, our normal natural tendency is to retaliate. The golden words, “No counteraction is the best counteraction”, gets evaporated from our hearts and all we want to do is to take the judgement rod in our hands and punish the people who offend us. But if we introspect ourselves, how many times were we peaceful after such retaliation? Did it do any good to us or the people who offend us? The answer is always a “No”. It only caused us more pain and suffering, and made others more and more inimical to us. So neither do we progress spiritually or materially, nor do we help other souls to go close to Krishna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19781

New video - “How to satisfy everyone” from LightOfGodhead
Flow of the video:
1. Sharing: How each of us are serving someone or the other.
2. Though we are situated in our natural position of serving, why we are not always satisfied?
3. Real satisfaction comes in serving Krsna/people in relation to Krsna.
4. Sharing: Some examples of how devotees were satisfied serving Krsna.
5. Why by serving Krsna we feel satisfied?
6. Analogy: By watering the root of the tree, we satisfy all the parts of the tree.
Watch it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19777

And then, the day finally came. It was inevitable.

There seemed no way to become a true Hare Krishna without it.

It happened in an empty bathtub, in the bathroom of that small house on the San Diego temple property. Wielding the electric razor was a latin teenage brahmacārī with a Krishna ponytail that would reach down to his knees when he untied it – one of the guys from the greyhound bus that had come on the tour with Inside Out, Quicksand, and Shelter. We stepped into the tub wearing “gamcha,” Indian equivalents of towels.

I looked down at the whiteness of the porcelain.

He clicked on the razor and set to my head.

Clusters of hair fell reluctantly. Each bunch that came off my head removed another bit of my former identity – and sent it to cling to my feet, as if desperate in the final throes of hopelessness.

It was exhilarating. There was no turning back. Now I was 100% committed, and there was no way to hide it.

I was bald.

I had a Krishna pony tail.

I was a Hare Krishna.

Guṇagrahi Swāmī, the man in charge of that same greyhound bus, had given  me permission to shave up and dress in saffron. So, when I stepped out of the tub I changed into the orange-pink Hare Krishna robes.

And the transformation was complete.

Vic DiCara was gone. All my nicknames were gone, they couldn’t apply to this new being. The only name that now fit was Bhakta Vic. And even that would soon have to go.

I looked out the bathroom window into the yard to see short, round Umāpati Swāmī exiting the temple’s side door and climbing the steps on the outside of the building, leading up to the men’s ashram.

Now I was just like him.

His head was bald, my head was bald.

He wore saffron colored robes, I wore saffron colored robes.

He was a Swāmī – a fully dedicated devotee, and I… well not quite yet. But soon! I hoped that Guṇagrahi Swāmī or someone else might make me a Swāmī, and give me one of those awesome staffs. I expected I might have to wait for two or three years.

Then I would be perfect.

Tagged: Hare Krishna, krishna ponytail, shaved head

The post Daily Darshan – September 14th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Mangala Arati – Balaram Jayanti 2015 – 29.08.2015

Preaching in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: “Maharaja, if you wear the traditonal clothes of Mongolia for your first few days in our country you will gain the sympathy of our government who granted you a special visa,” said the temple president of Ulaanbaatar. “The people will also appreciate,” he continued, “and be inclined to hear the message you have brought.”
See them here: https://goo.gl/OgqwTj

Pṛthu would ask, “What is the practical difference between a person who bases their identity on an externalized, false self, and a person who bases their identity on you, the internal root of their self?”

Having already explained that people with externalized self-concepts exhaust and frustrate themselves with external endeavors, Viṣṇu now explained the fruits obtained by the others. “Those who see me as the eternal essence of their root identity,” he said, “develop sincere interest in me, and great adoration for me. This gradually fills their hearts with satisfaction and peace.

“Their inner satisfaction makes them completely lose interest in external attractions. Their broadened minds see equal value in everything, which brings them into unity with the completely placid state of spiritual oneness.”

“Why do they see everything as being of equal value?” the emperor would ask.

“They attain this beautiful vision,” Viṣṇu explained, “because they know the soul to be the origin of everything in this world – every object, every perception, and every action. Thus everything seems equally valuable, for everything is based on their soul. Yet they also realize that all these things are extrinsic projections from the soul, who can only glance at them from afar. Therefore everything seems equally worthless.”

Viṣṇu recapped his message, “The placid state of spiritual oneness arises when you become indifferent to good and bad. You will become indifferent to good and bad when you are illuminated by the knowledge that everything good and bad is nothing but your soul projecting consciousness into extrinsic identities, activities, and objects that flow incessantly from the fascinating qualities of external nature. You will become illuminated by this knowledge when you bind your heart to me as the root of your very identity.”

The emperor felt a surge of inspiration to strive for this. Viṣṇu cautioned him that it need not involve giving up his important duties as a protector of others. “O Hero,” he said, “You should see everything and everyone as a reflection of me, and serve and protect them all! Your senses and mind should experience the same value in pleasant and unpleasant things and people, regardless of whether they seem to be superior, average, or inferior!”

“What will become of a king who dedicates himself to protecting the people?” Pṛthu might wonder.

“One who truly protects his subjects,” Viṣṇu replied, “receives a sixth of the credit for their good deeds; but one who merely taxes without truly caring for his subjects receives the discredit for all their foul deeds. To truly protects and not exploit his subjects, a leader follows the moral principles established by great philosophers, and helps his followers do the same. The world quickly comes to adore such a person, and all perfections place themselves within his grasp.”

Pṛthu looked at Viṣṇu with eyes that overflowed with grateful love. Viṣṇu looked back at him with the same vivid affection. “O Indra of Mankind,” Viṣṇu said, “I am difficult to captivate by sacrifices. I am not easily attained by self-sacrifice either. And I am merely neutral towards those whose consciousness is neutral towards everything. But I am completely captivated by people who protect others in this manner, as you do so well. Your wondrously affectionate character has captivated my heart. Ask a benediction from me, anything you like. Please.”

Tagged: Bhakti, Enlightenment, external self-concept, internal self, prithu, true self, Vishnu

Our long awaited dream to visit Mongolia came true today. As our plane circled the airport waiting to land at Ulaanbaatar I was surprised to see that the barren brown landscape, which stretched as far as the eye could see, did not contain a single tree. I also noticed all roads leading out of the [...]

"This is the test, how we are becoming free from these two concept of life. If there is still the concept that "I am this body, and anything belonging to this body is mine," then you have to chant very cautiously to make progress. That's all. These ten kinds of offenses you should guard against."

Initiation Lecture
Los Angeles, December 1 1968

“Kirata, Huna, Andhra, Pulinda, Pulkasa, Abhira, Sumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa [ Mongolian ] races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.” [ SB 2.4.18 ]

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 27 June 2015, New York, USA, Bhagavad-gita 9.33)

Question: You mentioned the shooting incident. I am curious to know how this specific experience affected you in a personal way, if it is not too personal to share?

I will keep it simple. I do not want to speak about the material side of it, you know, the conspiracy, who pulled the trigger and all that. That is for the tabloid newspaper so we leave that out. I could see that the ultimate cause of all this was Krsna, so I did not get into the mood of who did it! It was Krsna who sent this to me.

It was not just a freak incident. There were people who were trying to get rid of me and that was really what was going on. And I sort of thought, ‘What is wrong with me that people want to get rid of me? Why is that? What did I do?’ I started thinking about that. Of course, whoever resorted to means of shooting someone in the back is not a person of good character. That is quite obvious. I might possibly call him a bit crazy; someone who goes to such an extent. But still, what did I do to agitate this crazy man to that point!? I had to ask that question, ‘What is it in me that caused this?’

For a long time, I had been the leader of our temple in Vrindavan; I was in charge for a long time. Everyone who needed to buy something had to come through me and I had got used to it; I had all the strings and I had gotten used to it. I tried to be reasonable. I thought that was how I should be. I thought that I should be reasonable with people. So I tried to be kind of what I thought is reasonable, to be what is commonly accepted to be reasonable. But you know, what is your criteria for what is reasonable!? It is not so easy to determine.

So I attempted to be reasonable with everyone because I was controlling so many facilities. People would come all day and ask, “Can I use this, can I have that or can I do this?” And I had to decide. So I tried to be reasonable but it was by my criteria and maybe it was not always reasonable to others and people were left dissatisfied and I could see that I needed to change. I had to stop the impersonal attitude and become more personal and more sensitive to people. You cannot just leave some one completely dissatisfied to the point where it just begins to fester and like ferment inside. I could see that I had to change, and become more sensitive and try to satisfy everyone.

So I changed, something changed. I am more conscious of it and trying to be more conscious of it. So even when someone wants something crazy, I try to deal with it in a personal way whereas before, I would have just said no. At the same time, it forced me to be humble for a while. I got reduced by the whole experience – I lost my power, lost all power and I could barely lift my arm for two years before I could function. So I was reduced, thrown back on myself and it also gave me some time to sort of look more at what was inside.
Was life so much about all the external achievements!? You know, your identity becomes so mixed with your achievements – I had done all these things therefore I had control of all this and that. Then I had nothing left – no money, no car, no energy and just reduced. I have always been someone with lots of energy so in whatever I do, I just throw all my energy at it. So if you take everything away, no problem, just with my energy I will be back, I am that kind of a person, you know, a high energy person. But at that time, even my high energy was gone. I had nothing except what was inside, that was all.

So I was forced to have a real good look at what was inside; the love I had inside, and I realised that it was not that much. It was less than I thought I had; I did not have that much. So it forced me to deeply reflect, which was beneficial. I would not be here and I would not be doing what I am doing now if that incident did not happen. Now I try to live a life not for myself but for other people, and give as much as I can, and I do not think I would have been able to do that in the same spirit as I am doing it now, without having gone through that experience. Anyway a very serious aspect; a very serious topic…

 

Gopal’s Garden Preschool, headed by New Vrindaban residents Sundari Devi Dasi and Mercy Mack, has been filled with action packed projects and fun this summer.

Starting in March of this year, the preschool began with Sundari Devi Dasi and Mercy teaming up to build a healthy and interactive place to bring their children during the daytime. Eventually, the other mothers in the community joined to support, and now there are all together 6-8 students who come regularly throughout the week.

Gopal’s Garden Preschool days include bhajan and prayers with a little dancing if the mood is right. Then they continue with playing, snacks, and indoor activities such as finger painting, coloring, and learning projects. Sundari Devi also introduces Vaisnava songs and stories towards the end of the school day before they go outside to play.

The outdoor activities include sandbox, swing set, and field trips out beyond the preschool.

During this summer semester, the children got to participate in devotional and festival projects such as making Ratha Yathra Jagannath cart and holding a pushpa abhisek for Radha Krishna.

Sundari and Mercy believe the Preschool has been a great success so far and they have had a great time putting it together. The two mothers try to teach everything with a Krishna conscious aspect to it which makes each day very special, creative and innovative. They both feel Krishna brought the two of them together to satisfy Prabhupada’s wishes for the devotee children to be cared for properly. As Srila Prabhupada mentions in a Letter written in 1972, “…If children are allowed to play just like Krishna was playing with his cowherd boyfriends, then little ABC, then see the deity and have arati, then take little prasadam; in this way if they are always diversified, they will be always jolly and become fixed-up devotees at young age. And small children, they learn better these things from their mother and women in general.”

Gopal’s Garden Preschool will commemorate in November for a sweet graduation to congratulate the children for participating in this first year’s projects! Details will be provided on the New Vrindaban website.

Both teachers thank Srila Prabhupada for all of his wonderful books and teachings he made available to pass on to the this next generation.

“We hope and pray our efforts please Srila Prabhupada!!” – Sundari and Mercy 

New Vrindaban’s autumn 24 Hour Kirtan – held during the sacred month of Kartik — is rapidly catching up to its summer cousin in popularity. Up from 100 attendees in 2011, this year’s festival is expected to attract over 400, looking for the authentic Vrindavan Kartik experience without having to travel seven-and-a-half thousand miles.

“Many devotees go to the original Vrindavan in India for Kartik,” says organizer Vrindavan Das. “But they can also get the same experience and benefit in New Vrindaban – as Srila Prabhupada often said, ‘New Vrindaban is non-different from Vrindavan.’”

ISKCON devotees will arrive from Toronto, Montreal, New York, Baltimore, Washington D.C. , Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Chicago and beyond. They’ll be joined by several student groups from local schools like West Virginia University and Cincinnati State Community College, eager to see what the increasingly popular practice of kirtan is all about.

A special inauguration kirtan will set the tone on Friday October 30^th from 6pm to 9pm at Prabhupada’s Palace, where devotees will seek the ISKCON Founder-Acharya’s blessings.

At 9:30 the next morning, everyone will gather outside Radha-Vrindabanchandra’s temple for a tour of Vrindavan’s holy places: Kusum Sarovara, Manasi Ganga, Radha Kunda, Shyama Kunda, Radha Gopinath Mandir, and Govardhana Hill, which have all revealed themselves at New Vrindaban too. At each spot, senior devotees will tell stories of the Lord’s pastimes. And of course, no Vrindavan experience can be complete without a visit to Krishna’s cows at His goshala.

Next there’ll be a large Harinama Sankirtana procession to Prabhupada’s Palace, where devotees will see the bongo drum Srila Prabhupada played at the Western world’s first public kirtan in Tompkins Square Park, New York. They’ll then escort the drum to Radha Vrindabanchandra’s temple, where the 24 Hour Kirtan will officially begin at 10:00am.

A host of renowned kirtaniyas will lead the chanting, switching every hour or half hour, including Ajamila, Amala Kirtan, Amala Harinam, Bhaktimarga Swami, and Karnamrita Dasi – who is originally from New Vrindaban. They’ll be joined by resident kirtaniyas Rupanuga, Gauranga Prasad, Lilasuka, Ananda Vidya and others, as well as a special one-hour kids’ kirtan.

Throughout the day, devotees will offer ghee lamps to a special form of baby Damodar and His mother Yashoda – but the highlights will be the 8:00am and 8:30pm group lamp offerings while the Damodarastakam prayers are chanted. The bonding created by hundreds of devotees offering their glowing golden lamps together in the cosy warmth of the temple room, safe from the chilly autumn weather, encapsulates the sweetness of the Kartik 24 Hour Kirtan.

“There is a transcendental Vrindavan atmosphere,” Vrindavan says. “You can feel that the room is filled with love and devotion for the Lord and his devotees.”

Meanwhile, delicious prasadam breakfast, lunch and evening snack will be served, along with hot tea; and spontaneous sangas with devotees discussing the Lord’s pastimes or reading the “Krsna” book together will pop up throughout the day alongside the kirtan.

The chanting will continue through the night, and finally end at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning.

“It’s a wonderful, transformative experience,” says Vrindavan. “Many people who come to both the summer and Kartik 24 hour kirtans say they prefer the Kartik one, due to the meditative, reflective and connecting atmosphere. Because Kartik is a very auspicious month, during which the merit of devotional practice is increased, the mood is particularly focused. Everyone really gives themselves to the chanting.”

https://flic.kr/s/aHskjFD91k

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Amazing cake made by devotees of Bhaktivedanta Manor (UK) as a tribute to Srila Prabhupad for his journey to USA.

HH Gopal Krishna Goswami and HH Lokanath Swami go to Padayatra together.

Hare Krishna! 4 AM : It’s God o’clock! – A Short Film
Spirituality varies according to the time of day – and we feel it most in the morning. One might expect spiritual souls to have God on their mind all day. But a new study says people are at their most religious in the morning.[1] Researchers at the University of Connecticut, using data from the ongoing SoulPulse study which collects data using participants’ smartphones, tracked spiritual awareness in real-time during participants’ normal daily activities. A total of 2,439 people in the US took two surveys each day for two weeks between November 2013 and May 2015. The results, which will be presented at the 110th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA), showed that being at work reduced participants’ spiritual awareness.
Watch it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19769

Hare Krishna! It Was Fifty Years Ago Today
On September 13, 1965, Srila Prabhupada wrote the following prayer on board the Jaladuta steamship bound for America. I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krishna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you. Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, who is very dear to Lord Gauranga, the son of mother Saci, is unparalleled in his service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. He is that great saintly spiritual master who bestows intense devotion to Krishna at different places throughout the world.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19766

Saturday - Harinam in Tel Aviv (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 20.21)
See them here: https://goo.gl/kgukxY

Varnasrama series from Turkey.

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Varnasrama series.

The post Is it good to be good in a world where impudence reigns appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

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Akrura is a life coach, success teacher, lecturer, and seminar leader. He also performs spiritual music. He loves helping clients succeed by working with them to find solutions that exactly meet their needs, in a way they feel good about. Served in London for ten years. Had over 2000 coaching sessions with over 900 clients and hundreds of lectures and courses in 33 countries worldwide. Published

Preaching in Mongolia (10 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Wearing traditional Mongolian coats at the request of local authorities, we spent our first day in the capital of Ulaanbaatar exploring the country’s ancient customs. In the evening we held a blissful program at our local ISKCON temple for devotees and guests alike. Our initial impression of Mongolia was thus filled with the resonating sound of Buddhist mantras and the sweet singing of Krsna’s holy names. Tomorrow we head for the ancient city of Kharakhorum where we’ll perform harinam samkirtan for the first time ever. A great adventure in service to the Lord!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Ty4omQ

Hare Krishna! ISKCON 50th Anniversary team looking for Webmaster and Social Media Manager
Preferably a graduate who has experience in creating or maintaining websites, and has used content management software Past experience in creating and maintaining websites must be demonstrated with a proven track-record in using Wordpress Knowledge of HTML would be an advantage, but not necessary Working Hours: Four to six hours a week. How to apply: The ISKCON 50 Webmaster will report to the International Coordinator for ISKCON 50 and will work under the guidance of the International Executive Committee.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19760

Hare Krishna! The Asset of the Gaudiya-Guru-Varga
Gour Govinda Swami: “These three desires are antaranga-karana, the internal cause of Krsna’s appearing as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and it was unfolded in the Gambhira with His very intimate associates. That is why the Deity of Radha-Kantha is there. Radha-Kantha is kisora-krsna, the very beautiful, eleven-year-old Krsna in Vrajabhumi. Whatever lila Krsna performs in Vrajabhumi, His svayam-rupa-lila, is Radha-Kantha’s lila. The pure, loving conjugal dealings of Krsna with the gopis is sadhya-vastu. That prema is the asset of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, and it is relished more in viraha-bhava, in the mood of separation, which is known as vipralambha-rasa.” A lecture delivered by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja at an evening program 24 July, 1995, Paris, France.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19757