Planet ISKCON

[republished from 08-15-2009]

When the student is ready
the guru is sent to help--
by the grace of Shri Krishna
our spiritual life revived.

Wandering by karma
throughout the vast Universe
sometimes as a great demigod
down to a lowly bug.

read more

Hare Krishna! A Child Sent by Krishna
In a little house in the Tollygunge suburb of Calcutta, a male child was born. Since he was born on Nandotsava, the day Krsna’s father, Nanda Maharaja, had observed a festival in honor of Krsna’s birth, the boy’s uncle called him Nandulal. But his father, Gour Mohan De, and his mother, Rajani, named him Abhay Charan, “one who is fearless, having taken shelter at Lord Krsna’s lotus feet.” In accordance with Bengali tradition, the mother had gone to the home of her parents for the delivery, and so it was that on the bank of the Adi Ganga, a few miles from his father’s home, in a small, two-room, mud-walled house with a tiled roof, underneath a jack-fruit tree, Abhay Charan was born. A few days later, Abhay returned with his parents to their home at 151 Harrison Road.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19612

Hare Krishna! A Special Recipient of Srila Prabhupada’s Mercy
Giriraj Swami: For Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja this year, I wish to tell you about his dear friend and staunch devotee Mr. P. L. Sethi. May this story inspire you in Srila Prabhupada’s service—in Krsna consciousness. Mr. Sethi replied, “No. Why should we stop?” Mr. Mhatre threatened, “Well, you can build it up, but I will come in the night with fifty gundas [hooligans] and break it down.” And Mr. Sethi turned to his son, who was by his side, and said, “Brij Mohan, bring my revolver and my rifle.” Then Mr. Sethi said to Mhatre, “Don’t bring fifty gundas. Bring a hundred. Bring two hundred. I have two hundred and fifty cartridges.” He was that staunch. Then he and his son—he with rifle in hand, his son with revolver—stayed up all night, in the pouring rain, to complete and protect the project. And no one came to disturb the work.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9828

Janmashtami day at Shree Krishna Balarama Temple - ISKCON Vrindavan (Album with photos)
1. Gurukulis performance 2. Abhisheka on the kitchen of Krishna hall 3. Sponsor’s Abhisheka in Krishna hall 4. Main Krishna’s abhisheka in the temple
See them here: https://goo.gl/Ku1NOJ

Hare Krishna! Honoring Srila Prabhupada
Radhanatha Swami: When Srila Prabhupada began his book distribution he was the only distributor. He would take his magazines and just go from tea shop to store at his old age trying to convince people to accept the message of Krishna in the form of Back To Godhead Magazine. And in a few years he created the largest publisher in Indian literature in the history of the world. Hundreds, of millions of books have been distributed. Sometimes tens and thousands of Bhagavad-Gita distributed in one day, by those who are touched by his spirit of compassion. We can speak on this subject for many many hours, days, weeks, months, years and life times. What was Srila Prabhupada’s motivation? Selfless, unconditional love for Krishna. Selfless unconditional love and compassion for you and me to share the highest treasures of the spiritual world, which can be easily attained by simply orchestrating our propensities and life, in a spirit of devotion, toward Krishna and chanting his holy names. On the basis of the holy scriptures, Srila Prabhupada established everything he said.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=13034

Hare Krishna! Appearance day of HDG Srila Prabhupada
An excerpt from the Prabhupada Lilamrta about Srila Prabhupada’s mother, Srimati Rajani Devi. Abhay’s mother, Rajani, was thirty years old when he was born. Like her husband, she came from a long-established Gaudiya Vaisnava family. She was darker-skinned than her husband, and whereas his disposition was cool, hers tended to be fiery. Abhay saw his mother and father living together peacefully; no deep marital conflict or complicated dissatisfaction ever threatened home. Rajani was chaste and religious-minded, a model housewife in the traditional Vedic sense, dedicated to caring for her husband and children. Abhay observed his mother’s simple and touching attempts to insure, by prayers, by vows, and even by rituals, that he continue to live.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=11858

Hare Krishna! A Vaisnava Soldier Departs
What a more auspicious day than Janmashtami day to leave this mortal world, surrounded by loving family, devotee friends and the holy names of Krishna. This is the atmosphere in which Sankirtan Prabhu departed on September 5th 2015 at 10.15am, at his sister’s home, Vanamali Devi Dasi, in Lungern outside Zurich, Switzerland, his native country. The last words Sankirtan Prabhu uttered as he prepared for departure were, “When I hear Srila Prabhupada’s bhajans and his singing I feel that he is calling me to…” Sankirtan Prabhu met the devotees while traveling around the world in the early 1980s when he came across Srila Prabhupada’s books in Peru, Bolivia. He later travelled to Australia and New Zealand and finally met his initiating spiritual master, Lokanath Swami.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19602

HH Bhakti Caru Swami – Brahma Samhita Part 1 – 30.08.2015

"....when Hare Krishna mantra is vibrating on your tongue, and you are hearing attentively, then your consciousness becomes clear, or Krishna consciousness, and there is no question of Maya or hazy consciousness."

Letter to Haripuja dasi
25th June, 1972

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”

TEXT 18

tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam
samahitam sura-sutena devi
dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam
kastha yathananda-karam manastah

SYNONYMS

tatah–thereafter; jagat-mangalam–auspiciousness for all living entities in all the universes of the creation; acyuta-amsam–the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never bereft of the six opulences, all of which are present in all His plenary expansions; samahitam–fully transferred; sura-sutena–by Vasudeva, the son of Surasena; devi–Devaki-devi; dadhara–carried; sarva-atmakam–the Supreme Soul of everyone; atma-bhutam–the cause of all causes; kastha–the east; yatha–just as; ananda-karam–the blissful (moon); manastah–being placed within the mind.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter, accompanied by plenary expansions, the fully opulent Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is all-auspicious for the entire universe, was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki. Devaki, having thus been initiated by Vasudeva, became beautiful by carrying Lord Krsna, the original consciousness for everyone, the cause of all causes, within the core of her heart, just as the east becomes beautiful by carrying the rising
moon.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As indicated here by the word manastah, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was transferred from the core of Vasudeva’s mind or heart to the core of the heart of Devaki. We should note carefully that the Lord was transferred to Devaki not by the ordinary way for a human being, but by diksa, initiation. Thus the importance of initiation is mentioned here. Unless one is initiated by the right person, who always carries within his heart the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot acquire the power to carry the Supreme Godhead within the core of one’s own heart.

The word acyutamsam is used because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sad-aisvarya-purna, full in the opulences of wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, beauty, and renunciation. The Supreme Godhead is never separated from His personal opulences. As stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.39), ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan: the Lord is always situated with all His plenary expansions, such as Rama, Nrsimha, and Varaha. Therefore the word acyutamsam is specifically used here, signifying that the Lord is always present with His plenary expansions and opulences. There is no need to think of the Lord artificially as yogis do. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah (Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.1). Yogis meditate upon the Supreme Person within the mind. For a devotee, however, the Lord is present, and His presence need only be awakened through initiation by a bona fide spiritual master. The Lord did not need to live within the womb of Devaki, for His presence within the core of her heart was sufficient to carry Him. One is here forbidden to think that Krsna was begotten by Vasudeva within the womb of Devaki and that she carried the child within her womb.

When Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure, unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Krsna. The appearance of the form of Krsna anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhama. Dhama refers not only to Krsna’s form, but to His name, His form, His quality, and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.

Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki, exactly as the setting sun’s rays are transferred to the full moon rising in the east.

Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the body of Devaki from the body of Vasudeva. He was beyond the conditions of the ordinary living entity. When Krsna is there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as Narayana, and incarnations like Lord Nrsimha and Varaha, are with Him, and they are not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this way, Devaki became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Devaki became the residence of the Absolute Truth, but because she was within the house of Kamsa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or like misused education. When fire is covered by the walls of a pot or is kept in a jug, the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated. So Devaki was kept within the prison walls of Kamsa’s palace, and no one could see her transcendental beauty, which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality ofGodhead.

Commenting upon this verse, Sri Viraraghava Acarya writes, vasudeva-devaki jatharayor hrdayayor bhagavatah sambandhah. The Supreme Lord’s entrance into the womb of Devaki from the heart of Vasudeva was a heart-to-heart relationship.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

We have gathered here at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna to remember and celebrate His appearance within the world. According to Vedic literature, Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). He is the Absolute Truth, the origin of all that exists. And He is realized in three features, nondual (advaya), as explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma, or Bhagavan.”

Brahman is the impersonal effulgence that emanates from the transcendental form of the Lord, Paramatma is the localized feature of the Lord, within the heart, and Bhagavan is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna Himself, full in six opulences.

The form of Krsna is not material. Our bodies are material, distinct from the soul, which is spiritual. The Bhagavad-gita (2.13) explains,

dehino ‘smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” The soul is a nonphysical, nonchemical particle of spiritual energy, and it is the soul that animates the body. As long as the soul is in the body, we say the body is alive. Actually, the body is never alive; the body is just a machine. But it appears to be alive when the soul is present to animate it. And when the soul leaves the body, the body has no capacity to act, to function, and then we say that the body is dead. In conditioned beings, such as us, there is a distinction between the body, which is made of material energy, and the soul, which is composed of spiritual energy. But in the case of Krsna, there is no difference between His body and soul. Being absolute, His body and He are the same. In our case there is a difference between us and the body, because our real identity is the soul. If someone’s father passes away, he or she will cry, “Oh, my father has left. My father is gone.” Although the body of the father is there, why do we say, “My father has gone”? Intuitively we know, especially at a time like death, that the body that’s lying there in the room is not the person. The body is just a bag of chemicals. The real person is the soul who has left the body, and so the children and other relatives and friends cry, “Oh, he’s gone,” because he is the soul, not the body.

But in the case of Krsna, He and His body are not different because He is absolute. There is no difference between His inside and His outside. He is completely spiritual. The Brahma-samhita says, isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah: “Krsna is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body.” Anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam: “He is the origin of all, but He Himself has no origin. He is the prime cause of all causes.” That is Krsna.

Continue reading "Sri Krishna Janmastami, September 2, 2007 Ojai, California
Giriraj Swami"

Sri Krishna Janmastami morning program at Los Angeles (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/59q4Nl

Sri Mayapur Janmastami Day Darshan (Album with photos)
Simply beautiful!
See them here: https://goo.gl/cV462V

The post Daily Darshan – September 5th, 2015 – Janmastami Day appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! The Gifts of His Divine Grace
Jayadvaita Swami: In just a dozen years, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada gave the world a legacy that will last forever. Generally speaking, gross material accomplishments win immediate popular applause, but they are also quickly forgotten. Although an intellectual contribution may take longer to be widely acclaimed, its benefits are more profound and long-lasting. A spiritual contribution, however, though perhaps least appreciated immediately, is ultimately the most profoundly significant and enduring. Therefore, let us try to understand and appreciate the myriad spiritual contributions of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19598

Hare Krishna! Sweetest Description of Janmastami-lila
Srila Kavi Karnapura: Cymbals, damru drums, bherries, and big drums vibrated auspicious sounds hi specific melodies. A celestial concert of precise poetical meters, proper rhythms, and metrical compositions suddenly manifested there. The musical ensemble inspired the society girls to sing and dance in mirth and merriment. Though not good singers, by the will of the Lord they sang with great virtuoso. Then” wonderful songs filled Nanda Maharaja’s heart with joy. The combined vibrations of brahmanas’ chanting Vedic hymns, the recitation of Purank lore, and the panegyrists’ prayers transformed the ethers into sabda brahman, The joy of Krishna’s birth celebration taxed the drains of Nanda’s capital city as they swelled to the brim with milk, yogurt, and other auspicious liquids. Soon rivers of this nectar flooded the streets of the town and permeated the entire atmosphere with a sweet fragrance.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19595

Krishna’s invitation needs an immediate attention!
How many of us remember our days in our mother’s womb? Although we spent 9 months there but we remember nothing. How many of us can recollect each and every moment of our life which we have spent till now? Of course we can remember in bits and pieces but not in entirety. In fact if we retrospect our life’s spent moments then it will pass in a flash. What does it convey? That the moment which is very precious to us now will lose its relevance in future and we will forget it. Not that we forget many incidents of this life but the Vedic books tells us that we have forgotten many lives which we have lived here in different forms and in different species.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19592

Seberang Jaya, Malaysia Temple Opening (Album 136 Photographs)
Photography Courtesy: Arjun Bhattacharyya
See them here: https://goo.gl/rVMLS7

na mayy anāśite bhuṅkte nāsnāte snāti mat-parā
mayi ruṣṭe susantrastā  bhartsite yata-vāg bhayāt

King Purañjana then began to think of his past dealings with his wife. He recalled that his wife would not take her dinner until he had finished his, that she would not take her bath until he had finished his, and that she was always very much attached to him, so much so that if he would sometimes become angry and chastise her, she would simply remain silent and tolerate his misbehavior. Purport:

A wife is always supposed to be submissive to her husband. Submission, mild behavior and subservience are qualities in a wife which make a husband very thoughtful of her. For family life it is very good for a husband to be attached to his wife, but it is not very good for spiritual advancement. Thus Kṛṣṇa consciousness must be established in every home. If a husband and wife are very much attached to one another in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they will both benefit because Kṛṣṇa is the center of their existence. Otherwise, if the husband is too much attached to his wife, he becomes a woman in his next life. The woman, being overly attached to her husband, becomes a man in her next life. Of course, it is an advantage for a woman to become a man, but it is not at all advantageous for the man to become a woman.

http://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/4/28/19

Hare Krishna! Srila Prabhupada and some of his disciples talk about Janmastami, Montreal, August 16, 1968
So today is that auspicious day, Janmastami, when Lord Krishna appeared five thousand years ago in India, Mathura. Those who are Indian ladies and gentlemen present, they know very well where is Mathura. It is about ninety miles south of New Delhi. Mathura is still existing and it is eternally existing. Krishna appeared in Mathura in His maternal uncle’s house in a very precarious condition. That birthplace, Lord Krishna’s birthplace, is now maintained very nicely. One who goes to India, they see. So anyway, Lord Krishna appeared on this planet five thousand years ago. Krishna does not take his birth like us. So we shall invite today to speak about Krishna from our students, as well as all the members who are present here.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19588

Hare Krishna! Why Krsna Comes To This World
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
Lord Krishna: “One who knows the transcendental nature of My advent and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode.” Therefore Krsna says, “Just try to learn about the transcendental nature of My advent and activities.” The advent of Krsna it is a very important thing. We should try to understand Krsna, why He makes His advent, why He comes down to this material world, what His business is, what His activities are. If we simply try to understand Krsna, then what will be the result? The result will be tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so’rjuna: we will get immortality. The aim of life is amrtatvaya kalpate, to achieve immortality. So today, on the advent of Krsna, we shall try to understand the philosophy of Krsna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=10770

Hare Krishna! The Appearance of Lord Krishna
Giriraj Swami: Personally, He has nothing to gain. But He comes out of His mercy, to deliver us. The material world is compared to a prison house, and we, conditioned souls, are the prisoners. We are restricted, like prisoners. We can’t just go anywhere and everywhere, wherever we want. Liberated souls can travel anywhere in the universe. They don’t need spaceships or any other such contraptions. They can move about freely. But we, conditioned souls, are bound. We are not allowed to leave this planet very easily, and even if we do, we don’t really have any other place to stay. So we are bound, and at the same time we have to suffer.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=8819

This track produced and performed by George Harrison and featuring The London Radha Krishna Temple rose to number 16 in the UK singles record chart in 1970, and has become a timeless classic played daily in thousands of temples worldwide to greet the deities of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in the morning.

Hare Krishna! How to Celebrate Janmashtami
Where Vaishnava temples exist, festivities begin before dawn and extend all day until midnight, the exact moment of the anniversary of Krishna’s appearance. Events include kirtan, singing the Lord’s name along with other devotees; and japa, private, more intimate prayer. Some devotees cook a feast of over one hundred dishes, while others perform drama and dance. Some clothe and decorate the deity of Krishna while others string enormous flower garlands and other decorations for the temple. Incense burns, scriptures are read, and all but the young and the infirm fast all day. The deities are also bathed with a variety of auspicious liquids in a kind of ablution ceremony called abhisheka. Sometimes taking over two hours, this is performed with great pomp.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=13031

Hare Krishna! Sri Krishna Janmastami
Gour Govinda Swami: The Bhagavata says, to hear this transcendental lila-kahani of Bhagavan Krsna is all-auspicious. If you hear with full faith and concentrated attention, all of the material contamination in your heart will be purified. No other means is there. For this reason Bhagavan Sri Krsna descends here, though Bhagavan Krsna has His eternal abode in the spiritual sky, known as sac-cid-anandamaya-dhama, a dhama that is sanmaya, cinmaya, and anandamaya – full of eternality, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. He is always there, engaged, completely absorbed in transcendental lila, especially in rasa-lila He enjoys and relishes the mellow. Why will He come to this material world which is not His dhama, abode? It is completely opposite to that transcendental sac-cid-anandamaya-dhama. This material world is asat-, acit-, and nirananda-maya—it is temporary, full of ignorance and misery. Why will He come here? What business does He have coming here?
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=11849

Preparing Our Conciousness For Janmasthami-Radhanath Swami Maharaj Sunday Feast ISKCON Chowpatty

Hare Krishna! Observing Janmastami
The observance of Janmastami is accepted as a regulative principle in three ways: 1) the Supreme Lord becomes pleased when one observes it; 2) there are special sastric injunctions requiring its observance; and 3) it is a fault to not observe it. For the pleasure of Lord Vishnu, even great kings like Prahlad Maharaja faithfully observed the vow of Janmastami, which is very dear to Krishna. It is the duty of everyone to celebrate Janmastami every year, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the moon in the month of Sravana, when it is joined by the Rohini-naksatra, for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, who carries a cakra in his hand. Eating on Janmastami is equivalent to eating the flesh of a vulture, a crow, a hawk, or a human being. If one eats on Janmastami they get the reaction of eating all the sins of the three worlds.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=7537

"I want to take this opportunity to offer my deepest respects and gratitude to Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, who 50 years ago made the arduous journey from India to the United States to share Krishna with the Western world. Without him, I and millions of others would never had known about the all-attractive, supremely-lovable Lord Krishna," Tulsi Gabbard says.

How does the mind distract us while chanting? It is a concern for those who wish to chant, those who want to chant, those who are convinced that one should be chanting. Those who do not chant, those who do not want to chant, for them no problem. [laugher] The will, the desire to chant should be first of all stabilized. I will chant. I like to chant. I want to chant. I must chant!

Lokanatha Swami
ISKCON Nagpur
18th August 2015

“Nityananda Prabhu is more merciful than Mahaprabhu. Unless you get the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu you cannot get the mercy of Mahaprabhu, and unless you get the mercy of Mahaprabhu you cannot approach Radha-Krishna. This is our process. Moreover, guru is the manifestation of Nityananda or Balaram, so guru is more merciful than Krishna. He [...]

US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Offers Appreciation to Srila Prabhupada in Her 2015 Janmastami Message

Listen and/or download freely 12 tracks of the beautifully narrated and musically arranged Krishna stories.
These are Iskcon’s “Golden Avatar” Krishna stories by Krishna Kanti Prabhu (recorded during the 70ties)
Here: https://goo.gl/3TLenB

A small yet growing crew of dedicated devotees have been doing Harinama Sankirtana in downtown Vancouver, Canada, for over 200 days in a row now, chanting the Holy Names of God for two hours every week day after work and for three hours on weekends.

Everything is produced in time, stays in time and perishes in time. But there is a place and there are beings, completely beyond the influence of time. Everything is eternal there. No one ever dies or grows old. Time is not divided into past, present or future.

Climate change is a “pressing” global challenge and the poor people are ‘most adversely’ affected by it.

Hare Krishna! Assumptions…
Vraj Vihari dasa: Our minds are constantly making assumptions. We assume things about ourselves, about others, about our environment. With the help of Vraj Vihari dasa and instructions from the Bhagavad-gita, we’ll explore the assumption phenomena, and how to examine our assumptions and decide which ones to keep, which to be wary of.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19575

ISKCON of Washington, DC area
Looking forward to hosting Congressman Van Hollen, delegates Aruna Miller and Kumar Barve at the Janmastami celebrations tomorrow night.

This Divine Couple, Radha and Krishna, eternally engage in loving pastimes. These loving pastimes are enacted on the spiritual platform, which is free from the contamination of material inebrieties. The ocean of bliss, emanating from these loving pastimes, expands continuously. Every moment is a festival or a party that never ends.