Planet ISKCON

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.

Hare Krishna! Sharing Faith
Saunaka Rsi Das: The word conversion can bring images of determined zealots haranguing a fallen soul to turn to God or images of profound change, deep truth, joy, and connection. In the Vaishnava tradition it includes a personal spiritual journey, a sharing of experience and realization, and, in modern times, institutional allegiance. As attitudes in the world change towards ‘organized religion’ and wanting to be ‘spiritual, but not religious’, we explore the Bhakti practice and ways of thinking about conversion, change, and transformation, and how they may apply in a modern context.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19570

Yamuna Devi recalls Prabhupada
Yamuna: The first time that I assisted Srila Prabhupada in the kitchen was in New York on the occasion of my sister’s wedding. Srila Prabhupada cooked in his apartment in a small galley kitchen with counters on both sides. He gave me the singular task of making a very difficult preparation called aloo kachori. It’s one of the most complex pastries to cook properly because it has to cook for a long time without becoming greasy, which is almost impossible. For nearly eight hours I made aloo kachoris while Srila Prabhupada single-handedly cooked a fourteen-course wedding feast in his small kitchen. In the course of cooking for that feast, I made many mistakes. It was my very first day, and the first mistake I made was to wear a short skirt and a little T-shirt. Sitting crossed-legged I said, “Swamiji, may I have a cigarette?” He popped his head out of the corner and said, “Go wash your hands.” I washed my hands. Then he explained the four prohibitions in Krishna consciousness: no meat eating, no gambling, no illicit sex life, and no intoxicants. A short time later I said, “Swamiji, may I have a glass of water?” He said, “Go wash your hands.” Then he explained that the first and foremost principle in cooking was to engage our senses in the service of the Lord. He said that we should cook for Krishna with love and devotion and not think about our senses, our tongue, our sense of smell or our belly, because we were cooking for Krishna’s pleasure. A short time later I said, “Swamiji, it’s very hot in here.” I was fighting perspiration. “Go wash your hands.” In this way he introduced me to the simplest, most rudimentary principle of external cleanliness. He also explained a simple touch of internal cleanliness and said, “We can serve Krishna through the art of cooking when we are externally and internally clean.”

ISKCON Communications Director Anuttama Das and Bhumi Project Director Gopal-Lila Das presented a proposal for a new ISKCON Environmental Initiative at the North American GBC meetings in Chicago this August. The proposal was unanimously accepted, and if successful will see ISKCON temples reducing waste, and increasing renewable energy use.

Hare Krishna! Prasadam via Amazon!
Svavasa Dasa (Temple President): A wonderful thing just happened. Tadit and I had a meeting with a rep from Amazon.com. They are launching a new program for their Prime Amazon customers in So. Cal. for take out food. We were picked as one of their vendors for take out within a three mile radius of the temple. This is really a big step up for us since they are a premier company for delivery goods as I’m sure you know. They will take our menu put it on the Amazon site and give their customers an app and then the customer sends us their order through the special app, we put it together and Amazon sends their delivery man to pick it up and deliver it to the customer. Amazon will supply us a Kindle reader hooked up next to our register were the order will come in from a customer.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19567

https://youtu.be/yTGkRXRIbHs

The post Krsna-lila dd’s clip on Keleti railway station and devotees bringing a ray of happiness appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Cows on the “Mooove” - videos from the recent translocation of some happy cows.
In the first group of cows to travel from ISCOWP West Virginia to ISCOWP Florida were Abhay, Akshobhya, Padmaganda and Meenakshi. Their trip is described in the first video. Indraneela and Lila were the second group to go and their story is told in the second video. We are trying to move each cow with their best friend or friends.
Watch them here: http://goo.gl/m7qTx8

Harinama by the Krishna devotees cheers up Muslim refugee children in Hungary (3 min video)
We are not Muslims, Hindus, Jews or Christians. We are not Afghans, Syrians, Germans or Hungarians. We are all migrants on our journeys, seeking love, peace and happiness. – A short film about the power of an act of humanity recorded at the Budapest Railway Station, in the flashpoint of the refugee crisis in Hungary.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/0NDhHs

Krishna Balarama Rath Yatra in Queens, New York (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna mantra is specifically mentioned in many Upanisads, such as the Kali-santarana Upanishad, where it is said: “After searching through al the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting of Hare Krishna.” (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 3.40 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/3ZWsLm

Hare Krishna! The nature of a Mahatma
Gaura Govinda Swami: “The Western world means countries where the people are gross materialists, who have no Krsna consciousness, no God-consciousness at all. Therefore, who is able to spread Krsna consciousness among them? It is completely impossible, unless, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana, one is empowered by Krsna’s sakti and becomes krsna-sakti-pusta-parikara. That is guru-tattva. One who is sad-guru, sri-guru, a pure Vaisnava, sadhu mahajana is krsna-sakti-pusta-parikara. He is Krsna’s eternal associate. He is nourished by krsna-sakti. Without krsna-sakti no one can spread Krsna consciousness alone, by his own strength. It is impossible. Therefore, there is definitely no doubt that Srila Prabhupada was empowered by Krsna, empowered by Mahaprabhu. He had received the full mercy of Krsna, Mahaprabhu and the previous acaryas — Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, and all other sadhu-mahajanas, who gave him full power.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19563

Hare Krishna! Bus party experience
Recently we commenced monthly book distribution venture by our temple bus in the interiors of Maharashtra, India. It is really an exhilarating experience to realize Srila Prabhupada’s statement in Srimad Bhagavatam: It is the duty of a mendicant to experience all varieties of God’s creation by traveling through all forests, hills, towns, villages, etc., 1) to gain faith in God and 2) strength of mind as well as 3) to enlighten the inhabitants with the message of God. SB1.6.13
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19557

The post Daily Darshan – September 4th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Balaram Jayanti Class – HG Parividha Dasa – 29.08.2015