Jasomatinandan Prabhu suffered a third stroke Basu Ghosh Das:…
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Jasomatinandan Prabhu suffered a third stroke
Basu Ghosh Das: This is to let you know that Jasomatinandan Prabhu ACBSP suffered a third stroke, the second since this past June, and is presently recuperating in the hospital at Ahmedabad.
Gopal Krishna Maharaj is presently there at Ahmedabad. He just returned from his two month tour of Russia, the USA, and Canada for the program at Kurukshetra, where he installed the Deity of Ananta Shesha in the ground below the proposed Krishna Arjuna temple, construction on which will begin shortly (plans were already approved by the local Government – the land was also given by the Haryana State Government - the State in which Kurukshetra is situated), and changed his program out of concern for Jasomatinandan Prabhu’s health.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19514

HH Danavir Goswami’s health is poor right now and so he…
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HH Danavir Goswami’s health is poor right now and so he has made arrangements to focus on his recovery. If you would like to help, we encourage you to offer your sincere prayers and kirtans for a speedy recovery; however, the request is being made that we give him and his assistant their space so he can focus on his health. If you have a message for Danavir Goswami, you can email (rasikananda@rvc.edu) and we will pass the message along when the time is appropriate. No other information is available at this time, but we will definitely keep everyone posted with the latest updates. Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada: “But you are not a woman; you are a…
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Srila Prabhupada: “But you are not a woman; you are a Vaishnava.”
One of the loving exchanges Yamuna had on several occasions with Srila Prabhupada related to his teasing her, or as she used to say, “trying to get a rise out of her,” by quoting the Chanakya Pandit verse, “Never trust a politician or a woman.” Another variation was when he would purposely make a statement about women being less intelligent. This may have started in San Francisco, but specifically she mentioned that it occurred in London, then in Madras and Bombay. Once, she was riding in a car with him, and he quoted the Chanakya verse and then turned around to look directly at her with an almost impish smile on his face. When she didn’t react, he repeated it and looked around again in the same way. Yamuna simply smiled and said, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada, you are certainly correct.” Then some time passed, and Srila Prabhupada praised her to show that he in fact saw no distinction on the basis of body, but saw her as an eternal spirit soul sincerely engaged in practicing and promulgating Krishna Consciousness. Yamuna: I had numerous exchanges which illustrated Srila Prabhupada’s demeanor and mood with regard to my position as a woman. However, one such series of exchanges is what I call the Chanakya Pandit episodes. I was present on four occasions when Srila Prabhupada repeated the Chanakya adage: “Never trust a politician or a woman.” On each occasion, Srila Prabhupada looked me in the eye to see my response. On the last occasion, in Bombay in 1973, he quoted the Chanakya shloka again, heartily laughing in front of a small group of men. Then he said, “What do you think, Yamuna?” Immediately I retorted: “Of course, it is true, Srila Prabhupada,” whereupon he became grave, looked at me with great feeling, and said, “But you are not a woman; you are a Vaishnava.”
Read the entire article here: https://goo.gl/AifTH1

Questions About Rādhārāṇī and the Origin of the Jīva
→ The Enquirer

Q: As far as I understand, we’re all female by our original position. The only male is Krishna. Does this mean that when we back to Godhead, will we become gopis? 

 
A: Femininity is not a matter of biology or genitalia.  Femininity is a state of being, associated with but not identical to female physical gender.  
 
All things are feminine in relation to Krishna, because all things are dependent on him, like a wife depends on the stability of the husband, and all things receive his energy and develop it into something beautiful to expand his world, like a wife receives a seed from the husband and develops it into a wonderful child. 
 
The femininity of things in relation to krishna is why the most original and primal associates of krishna are female in form, the gopis. But each one of them manifests many forms to associate with krishna in many ways, and some of them are male forms. The female nature is not bound to a female form, it can also express itself in a male form. Thus the gopis are not the only companions of krishna. He is also surrounded by gopas sometimes, who are actually expansions of the gopis, and thus also essentially feminine, though expressing that nature in a male form.
 
 
 
Q: Some say Rādhārāṇī  is a part of Krishna, some say They’re equals, some say She is the “energy” of Krishna. This is not so clear to me.
 
A: She is the original, complete root of Krishna’s energies. Energies are an integral part of the energetic, and they are equal in importance, for neither one has any relevance or meaning without the other. So all three descriptions of Rādhārāṇī are correct: She is a part of Krishna – they are equal in all respects, and she is the energy of Krishna.
 
Q:  Krishna is the only male, His consort is Radharani, but at the same time we all belong to Him. This makes me confused. 
A: Rādhārāṇī is the complete root of all Krishna’s energy. This means that she is the ultimate root of everything. You and I are jīva atma- we are tathastha shakti, one of the energies Rādhārāṇī manifests for krishna. So our place in relation to Rādhā and Krishna is that we are a part of what Rādhārāṇī creates for krishna’s pleasure. Our role, therefore, is to assist her and her expansions.
We belong to Krishna because she belongs to Krishna and, in the ultimate analysis, we belong to her.
 
 
 
Q: Another issue which makes my mind busy is the creation. As far as I understand, there is no time when we were not. We always were, are and will be as parts and parcels of God. But at the beginning, we were in our original, spiritual position. Then we wanted to “have” or “dominate” something, and God created this material world for us. But shouldn’t be our original position perfect? If we were with Krishna, if our souls know what is like to be with Him, how could we want to dominate something or someone? Because if there is full satisfaction, then why want something else? Doesn’t that mean that being with Krishna was not so satisfying?
 

A: you are right. This understanding is very confusing, and doesn’t really work within the logical boundaries established by śāstra. Here is a short attempt to clarify:

We are “jīva.”

The jīva is an eternally manifest individual consciousness (ātmā), described by Sri Caitanya (cc m.20.117) as “anādi bahirmukha” – begininglessly extrinsically oriented.

The word anādi (“without anything previous”) literally communicates that there was no “prior” state “before” we became extrinsically oriented (a.k.a. “entered the material world”). Then why!? Why are we extroversive? Why are we in the material world?

It is not by chance or whimsy. It is a result of our intrinsic constitutional nature, our intrinsic individual personality. Our individual nature makes us, from the very “beginning,” interested in the extrinsic world (anādi bahirmukha). This interest in extrinsic things is possible only because we do not begin with any experience of anything at all, intrinsic or extrinsic. If we began with an experience of the intrinsic reality centered on All-Attractive Krishna, we would not be able to explore any interest in anything extrinsic, because the bliss of experiencing Krishna is “sandrānanda viśeṣa” – it completely obliterates awareness of any other massively inferior form of happiness or fascination. Therefore Sri Jīva Goswāmī describes the jīva as anadi-bhagavad-ajnāna (“beginninglessly unaware of the All-Attractive”).

This is fairly abstract philosophical stuff because it involves causality that is not time-based, but is consciusness-based, or personality-based (our involvement in the extrinsic world is the result of who we intrinsically are, not the result of some event we participated in.) Prabhupāda illustrated it and made it easier to grasp by often using a narrative that involves “leaving Krishna” and “returning to Krishna.” There is no problem here, and no fault in Srila Prabhupada. This narrative is useful, but we are at fault if we give the illustration more importance than the concept being illustrated.

– Vraja Kishor

Tagged: jiva, origin of the jiva, Radha, Radharani, Srimati Radharani

Harinama in Moscow, Russia (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada:…
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Harinama in Moscow, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Although Sukracarya was a strict brahmana addicted to ritualistic activities, he also admitted, nischidram anusankirtanam tava: “My Lord, constant chanting of the holy name of Your Lordship makes everything perfect.” (Srimad Bhagavatam, 8.23.16 Purport).
See them here: https://goo.gl/7c2XQd

A Title Wave Of Kirtan (4 min video) Indradyumna Swami: Chanting…
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A Title Wave Of Kirtan (4 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Chanting Hare Krishna in the association of other devotees is the process for self-realization in this age of Kali. At the Bhakti Sangam festival in Ukraine we experienced the full effect of the process while chanting and dancing with 4,000 devotees for many hours each day!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/ulQAVB

Hare Krishna! Astounding Feat for ISKCON in Malaysia With the…
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Hare Krishna! Astounding Feat for ISKCON in Malaysia
With the soothing blue lights radiating over the recently opened Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple of Devotion and Understanding in Penang, it felt like being in a land where the dreams comes true. And it was indeed a dream come true for Srila Prabhupada’s desire to see a temple like that in Vrindavan built in Malaysia. “I want a temple like this” he remarked when he was in Malaysia from 3rd to 7th May in 1971. And in Malaysia, we now have two new temples opened within just a difference of a couple of days. One in Penang and another in Ipoh. Absolutely gorgeous deities were installed in both temples.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19509

Hare Krishna! The Party That Never Ends ( The Monsoon Swing…
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Hare Krishna! The Party That Never Ends ( The Monsoon Swing Festival – A Short Film)
The scattered moonlight appeared like pearl belts taken from the deities of the directions, broken by the steady wind, and broadcast on the earth out of respect for the land of Vrndavana. It appeared as if all the stars in the sky, in great bliss, left their positions to come and offer respects to the land of Vrndavana. Pieces of rustling silk cloth from the goddess of the sky formed the rooftops of the kunjas and hung down quivering like tongues trying to lick the dust of Vrndavana. The nets of pearls hanging from that cloth were swinging gently in the soft breeze and pleasantly resounding like tinkling ankle-bells
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19506

Hare Krishna! ISKCON Communications statement against…
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Hare Krishna! ISKCON Communications statement against caste-based discrimination
Perhaps most significantly for members of ISKCON and the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533) himself demonstrated his opposition to caste: among his inner circle of confidential, trusted associates and followers are counted Haridasa Thakura, Rupa Goswami, and Sanatana Goswami—all considered untouchables, by birth or circumstance, according to the prevailing caste system of their day. Following the example set by his predecessors, Srila Prabhupada was unfaltering in his belief that no one should be denied opportunity on the basis of birth or caste. At the same time, Prabhupada was also critical of some efforts to eradicate caste-based discrimination through political slogans and shallow calls for equality, or by attempting to expunge the Hindu tradition of any mention of varna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19498

Astounding Feat for ISKCON in Malaysia
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY JAI SITA RANI DEVI DASI

Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple of Devotion and Understanding (TODU) in Penang
SEBERANG JAYA - With the soothing blue lights radiating over the recently opened Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple of Devotion and Understanding in Penang, it felt like being in a land where the dreams comes true. And it was indeed a dream come true for Srila Prabhupada's desire to see a temple like that in Vrindavan built in Malaysia.  "I want a temple like this" he remarked when he was in Malaysia from 3rd to 7th May in 1971. And in Malaysia, we now have two new temples opened within just a difference of a couple of days. One in Penang and another in Ipoh. Absolutely gorgeous deities were installed in both temples. In Penang, the presiding deities have been named by HH Jayapataka Swami with a very apt and lovable name that is used by most devotees here to call their children - Kana, a pet name of Krishna, hence the name Krishna Kanaiya. Sri Sri Radha Krishna Kanaiya together with the older Sri Sri Gauranga Rai deities looked absolutely magnificent and just their presence in the spectacular and artistic temple made it look like being in Vrindavan. Deena Bandhu Prabhu a Vrindavan Dham resident described this temple as the "Pearl in ISKCON" taking after Penang which is know as the "Pearl of the Orient".
Sri Sri Radha Krishna Kanaiya in TODU, Penang
Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga Rai in TODU, Penang
In Ipoh, a smaller temple was inaugurated and Sri Sri Parama Karuna Nitai Gauranga deities were installed. We have been very lucky to have the marble Gauranga and Nitai deities in places that Srila Prabhupada visited in Malaysia i.e. Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Teluk Intan and Penang. Indeed the seeds planted by Srila Prabhupada has sprouted and with our travelling deities Sri Sri Jagannnatha, Baladev and Subhadra Devi going on ratha yatra to the nooks and corners in Malaysia over 20 times in a year, it is just a matter of time before we inundate Malaysia with love of Godhead. 
Sri Sri Parama Karuna Nitai Gauranga in Ipoh
Sri Sri Doyal Nitai Gaura Hari in Teluk Intan
Sri Sri Nitai Sunder Gaura Hari in Kuala Lumpur
Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhatra travelling deities in Malaysia
Interestingly, the opening of these temples coincides with  ISKCON’S 50th anniversary. These offerings of love from the Malaysian yatra to mark the significance of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada's maiden visit to USA in 1965,  is made even sweeter with the launch of the philately stamps during the opening of the TODU temple. 

The kumbhabhisekham ceremony for the Temple of Devotion and Understanding attracted over 10,000 people. Kumbhabhishekham is a Hindu temple ritual that is believed to homogenize, synergize and unite the mystic powers of the deities. Kumbha means the Head and denotes the Shikhara or Crown of the Temple (usually in the Gopuram) and Abhisekham is ritual bathing.

On the appointed day and at an auspicious time, the kumbha is bathed with the charged and sanctified holy waters in the sacrificial pot and, by a mystic process, these pranic powers trickle down a silver wire and enter the deity installed inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The deities, which was until then only a granite sculptured stone image, is believed to transform into a vibrant and vivid living representation of Their Lordships with innate beatitude, grace and grandeur, conferring divine blessings on all devotees.

Some devotees claimed to have seen Garuda hovering over the temple during this auspicious moment. But even more significant than this was seeing HH Jayapataka Swami being hoisted over 100 feet in a cherry picker crane to bless the kumbhabhisekham ritual. 

Just prior to the kumbhabhishekam ritual the ashtabandanam is performed to the deities inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Ashta means 8 in Sanskrit and Bandhanam means tying or fixing. Ashtabandhanam is the process of affixing an idol to its pedestal (peetham) with a clay-like paste made of 8 specific herbs mixed with wood lac, limestone powder, resin, red ochre, beeswax and butter. The paste is formed into long rolls about 2 cm thick and applied directly around the base of the idol, so that the cemented joints become watertight. This process is believed to keep the idol rejuvenated for a period of 12 years. When the Bandhanam is performed with gold (Swarnabandhanam), the rejuvenating power of the deity is believed to last for a period of 100 years.

The 'Ashtabandhanam' paste is pliable like rubber. Through repeated interactions with abhishekha dravyams - materials used to bathe the idol during daily worship like water, milk, buttermilk, sandal paste and oils - and atmospheric oxidants, the paste loses its flexibility, becomes rigid and gets riddled with a lot of fissures. Through these fissures, the abhisheka dravyams percolate and attack the Yantra embedded under the peetham, obliterating the Bijaksharamantras -- mantras of sacred syllables (bija) -- that are inscribed on the Yantra, and this is believed to contribute to the lowering of the pranic spiritual power of the deity with the passage of time.

This amazing RM7 million temple, which took six years to build, features 16 chatris (ornate pavilions) (similar to that in the ISKCON Krishna Balaram temple in Vrindavan as desired by Srila Prabhupada) with three main Puri style shikara domes and two octagon glass skylight pyramidal domes.

The inside of the temple is also fitted with acoustic wall panels and wall systems to provide acoustical treatment and beautiful aesthetics to its surroundings. Not forgetting the most beautiful and intricately carved Balinese teak altars not just for Srila Prabhupada and the presiding deities but also for all fourteen the smaller altars in the temple which houses the various incarnations of Krishna. The words he spoke in Malaysia to Bhakta Neo in 1971 just before he took his flight echoes in our minds, "Whatever you do, do it nicely". Yes, we have done it with all we have got and we hope he is pleased with our humble efforts.

 

Main Dome Superstructure Completed
- TOVP.org

The main dome stainless steel superstructure is now completed! This was a major undertaking and is a milestone in the progress of the TOVP.

Visually we can now admire its perfect roundness and how every segment and ring fits like a glove. Such a task and structure has never been accomplished anywhere else in the world; it is unique to the TOVP.

We would especially like to thank Mr. Chaudhuri, our senior engineer, for making every single section of the dome perfect.

The next challenging phase will be the mounting of the Kalash and, finally, the Chakra, which must be accomplished with as much precision and perfection as the dome. May we all pray together for the successful completion of this endeavor.

[See image gallery at tovp.org]

The post Main Dome Superstructure Completed appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Day 10: Setting Sun
→ Seed of Devotion

(To know more about this Duet, click here. We have switched and now I am writing first, Rukmini doing art in response.) 

Art & Words Duet: Day 10 
The Return 
Part Two - Setting Sun
(Note: this piece is fiction)

India was a trip. Literally and figuratively. Thirty-seven hours of travel over land, air, and the craziest backroads I could have ever imagined. By the time we reached our room in the village of Mayapur, I felt like I had just been in a washing machine and roller coaster combined. For 37 hours. And India itself, with its phantasmagoria of colors, sounds, and scents, seemed to leave me dizzy.

Then there was my dad. He needed to be wheeled around in a wheelchair. Strange. Every moment sitting in a taxi, plane, and rickshaw seat, even running to catch a connecting flight, my mind was on my father. I didn't know that kind of absorption was possible. I had never seen him look so weak. My mind kept replaying like a broken record back to that moment in the apartment when my dad told me, "We need to go, honey."

Go? Go where? To this strange country? For God's sake why?

Our first morning in India, two guests came to see my father. One was from China and spoke broken English - his face was wizened and his eyes sharp. The other was from Los Angeles, an old buddy who used to work with my dad. With each visitor I was at my dad's shoulder and observed the conversations.

The rest of the day I knocked out with jetlag.

The following days were a blur of a river of visitors. The flow was increasing with each day. Bengali villagers who spoke not a lick of English, wizened American Hare Krishna monks who wore flowing orange robes, and quite a few Chinese people - I guess my dad had done some outreach in China.

My dad began to shrink in size, becoming skin and bones. I barely left the apartment. My usual fire of curiosity to explore was extinguished and inside I felt like a cold fireplace. I was exhausted.

One day, my mom gently ushered me to come with her to the rooftop of our apartment building. We watched the sun set in silence, she stroking my arm the entire time. The river Ganga flowed off in the distance gleaming orange and pink in the evening. The last slice of orange slipped below the water of the Ganga. I reached up to brush my hair away from my face and felt that my face was wet. Then I sobbed in my mother's arms. The tears seemed bottomless, and when I went to bed that night I felt completely emptied out and exhausted and also strangely clean.





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A guru like Srila Prabhupada
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Untitled Lecture)

sp

Question: What happens to an aspiring devotee who may have read Srila Prabhupada’s books, read his lectures and loves serving and associating with the devotees but cannot find a spiritual master on the level of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada has said that the disciple should accept the spiritual master ‘as good as God’ and be ready to sacrifice their life to him. If such an aspiring devotee feels this way towards Srila Prabhupada but cannot find anyone who satisfies ‘as good as God’, is he then forced to take initiation from someone who he does not have full respect for?

I can appreciate the search for a spiritual master and who is like Srila Prabhupada. At the same time, I think that Srila Prabhupada was not an ordinary spiritual master. Of course, there are no ordinary spiritual masters but Srila Prabhupada was certainly more than a spiritual master! Srila Prabhupada was more than a sannyasi. Srila Prabhupada was such a wonderful, pure devotee of the Lord that such a spiritual master may not always be here and then we must take this as Krsna’s plan!

So if you are in this predicament in spiritual life and you need to make advancement, you can wait and wait… You have heard that guru means heavy so you are weighing and each one is not heavy enough because Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasavati Thakur said that a guru is heavy! But not heavy in the sense that he speaks heavy, he may or he might not, he may speak very sweet but he is heavy because he never changes his position. So every time you may find that no one compares to Srila Prabhupada, that may be but while we looking at the qualification of the spiritual master and we may wonder if he is powerful enough, we should also look at our own qualification as a disciple!

We should also look at our own situation and we are probably worse off than all these spiritual masters that we are looking at. We may look at the spiritual master and find something that may not be up to the highest level, but where are we in our progress!? We are in a position where we need all the help we can get and if we can find only Srila Prabhupada suitable to give us guidance, the problem is that we cannot directly ask him a question nor can he directly turn to us and correct us as we need it…

But, if we find a spiritual master, if we find a vaisnava who is truly a dedicated servant of Srila Prabhupada and mature in that service to Srila Prabhupada then we will find that vaishnava can help us very much to increase our relationship with Srila Prabhupada, as Srila Prabhupada had a relationship with his spiritual master and his spiritual master had a relationship with his spiritual master and like this, the whole sampradaya works. In our movement, Srila Prabhupada is the founder acharya and in that way, is always the guru of all the members of this movement. Some may have that relation with Srila Prabhupada by serving the servant of Srila Prabhupada, not to the exclusion of Srila Prabhupada but rather to enhance their relationship with Srila Prabhupada.

So one can spend a whole lifetime saying that they cannot find anyone as qualified as Srila Prabhupada and they do not accept any guru and in that way, they actually become our own guru. Once I heard a statement that one who is his own guru accepts a fool for a disciple!

Janmashtami poem Mother earth was burdened, laden with grief,…
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Janmashtami poem
Mother earth was burdened, laden with grief,
when all the gods gathered to pray for relief.
From high in the universe their descent was grand,
as the Lord’s pastimes were about to expand.
When Vasudeva rode with his new bride
on a chariot bedecked with gold,
There was heard a voice vibrating in the sky,
and the future was thus foretold.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19495

Amazing Feat for Temples in Malaysia
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY JAI SITA RANI DEVI DASI

Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple of Devotion and Understanding (TODU) in Penang
With the soothing blue lights radiating over the recently opened Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple of Devotion and Understanding in Penang, it felt like being in a land where the dreams comes true. And it was indeed a dream come true for Srila Prabhupada's desire to see a temple like that in Vrindavan built in Malaysia.  "Ï want a temple like this" he remarked when he was in Malaysia in 1971. And in Malaysia, we now have two new temples opened within just a difference of a couple of days. One in Penang and another in Ipoh. Absolutely gorgeous deities were installed in both temples. In Penang, the presiding deities have been named with a very apt and lovable name that is used by most devotees to call their children - Kana, a pet name of Krishna. Sri Sri Radha Krishna Kanaiya together with the older Sri Sri Gauranga Rai deities looked absolutely magnificent and just their presence in the spectacular and artistic temple made it look like being in Vrindavan. Deena Bandhu Prabhu a Vrindavan Dham resident described this temple as the "Pearl in ISKCON" taking after Penang which is know as the ""Pearl of the Orient".
Sri Sri Radha Krishna Kanaiya in TODU, Penang
Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga Rai in TODU, Penang
In Ipoh, a smaller temple was inaugurated and Sri Sri Parama Karuna Nitai Gauranga deities were installed. We have been very lucky to have the marble Gauranga and Nitai deities in places that Srila Prabhupada visited in Malaysia i.e. Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Teluk Intan and Penang. Indeed the seeds planted by Srila Prabhupada has sprouted and with our travelling deities Sri Sri Jagannnatha, Baladev and Subhadra Devi going on ratha yatra to the nooks and corners in Malaysia over 30 times in a year, it is just a matter of time before we inundate Malaysia with love of Godhead. 
Sri Sri Parama Karuna Nitai Gauranga in Ipoh
Sri Sri Nitai Sunder Gaura Hari in Kuala Lumpur
Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhatra travelling deities in Malaysia