Planet ISKCON

Written and Produced by Michael J Martin & Gareth Wakeham, Directed by Michael J Martin. Produced by Alfie Ambrose

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

I remember in Vrindavan when we were listening to a lecture in our temple, sometimes there were a lot of ants in the temple and not small ones but those big ones with the tweezers on their nose. So when they would come for you, you could see them coming. So everyone would sort of wait till they came close and then flick them back to where they came from because no-one wanted an ant bite. But, the ant would immediately turn around and come straight back; they have a compass. Then we would like try to divert it to our neighbour. So while the class was going on, people were sending ants from one person to the other. In this way, we managed to detour the ant but they were determined to go on their path. They have a will of their own, that means they are individuals and they have a strong desire!

So all living beings have an individual nature. If all living beings have desires then all living beings have a heart and all living beings have bodies. The Supreme Lord also has a heart and he also has desires but some say he has no body! But all living beings have a body and if there is a body in the creation, then these qualities in the creation must also exist in the creator! Therefore the Supreme Lord is a person also. He has his divine energies and at the same time, he is a personality. So those who understand that the Supreme Person is full of love, ultimately to enter into a loving relationship with the Supreme and this is the highest state a living being can achieve.

Love is such a thing that when you are very small, it is only your mother and that goes on for quite some time. The father is sort of there on a second level, second place, sorry to say. But overtime, that can all expand and then there is family – your brother, your sister, friends and then community. Practically, your sense of identity is increasing. But ultimately, the highest state of love is where we see that the whole purpose of the creation has a loving purpose and that behind this world, is the loving Supreme Lord and that we develop our loving relationship with the Supreme Lord.

The post Daily Darshan – September 11th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Lord of The Universe And His Day Out Part 1, A Short Film

All-Attractive Viṣṇu, the powerful and carefree master and the true objective of all sacrifice, was pleased by Pṛthu’s ceremonies and appeared before the emperor along with powerful Indra. Glancing towards Indra, Viṣṇu said, “Here is the one who disrupted your hundredth horse-sacrifice. He seeks your forgiveness, so I think he deserves it.”

“Should I really forgive his immoral deeds?” Pṛthu seemed to wonder.

Viṣṇu encouraged him not to by angry. “Oh god of humanity,” he said, “the best humans, good people with good intellect, don’t hold onto malice towards anyone.”

“How is that possible?” the king would surely wonder. “How can they feel no malice towards those who cause them harm?”

Viṣṇu explained, “They know the difference between their true self and its body.”

“So?”

“People who don’t understand the difference between the self and its body work very hard, and for a very long time, to secure what their bodies desire, but in the end wind up with no profit except their sweat. Such frustrated and irritable people are very easily moved to malice.”

“If the body is not exactly the self, what is it?” Pṛthu would ask.

“The wise know that the body is the tangible result of our self-ignorant desires. This is why the wise are not terribly attached to the pleasures that might be acquired by their body.”

“How does this lack of attachment make them less malicious?” Pṛthu would ask.

“They are not terribly attached to pleasures connected with their bodies,” Viṣṇu reiterated. “So, they are not disturbed and moved to malice if someone or something presents a disruption or obstacle to such things. They are, wisely, not excessively defensive of their household, assets, or lineage.”

“If the body is not the true source of identity,” Pṛthu would ask, “what is?”

“The true source of identity is a singular, pure, self-luminous entity; not limited by any characteristic or quality, but sheltering distinct characteristics and qualities. It spreads everywhere, and its all-witnessing sentience cannot be impeded. Beyond the false-self, it is the supreme self of the self.”

“Does the false self have any relation to the true self?” The emperor would want to know. “Does the limited self have some relation to the Supreme Self?”

“Yes!” Viṣṇu affirmed. “The wise know themselves to be situated within that Supreme Self. The unwise determine their identity by looking towards the qualities of their external bodies, but the wise determine their identity by looking inwards toward the Supreme Self who is the ultimate root of all individuals.”

Inspired by and following in the footsteps of the artists Jackson Pollock and Aelita Andre, Lower Elementary students expressed their artistic talents and had loads of fun! I wish the pictures could capture the sounds of their giggles and laughter as they splashed the paint onto their boards.

Giriraj Swami and Vaisesika dasa read from Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead during the festivities.

“The art of focusing one’s attention on the Supreme and giving one’s love to Him is called Krsna consciousness. We have inaugurated the Krsna consciousness movement so that everyone can satisfy his propensity for loving others simply by directing his love toward Krsna. The whole world is very eager to satisfy the dormant propensity of love for others, but the various invented methods like socialism, communism, altruism, humanitarianism, and nationalism, along with whatever else may be manufactured for the peace and prosperity of the world, are all useless and frustrating because of our gross ignorance of the art of loving Krsna. Generally people think that by advancing the cause of moral principles and religious rites they will be happy. Others may think that happiness can be achieved by economic development, and yet others think that simply by sense gratification they will be happy. But the real fact is that people can be happy only by loving Krsna.”

— Krsna, Preface

Janmastami, Krsna Book Reading

Sri Krsna Janmastami, a most sacred and auspicious day for Vaisnavas, has just been celebrated. It was grand and festive. TKG Academy students, since the beginning of the school year, have been preparing for this special occasion in many ways.

Each class, including students from Kalachandji’s Sunday School, prepared posters, portraying verses from the Brahma Samhita prayers, with which they decorate the Temple hallway.

TKG Academy students also opened the performances on the main stage. Preschool through 1^st grade students sang about Krsna and Balarama going to the forest with Their friends and cows. 2^nd through 9^th grade students chanted the bhajan “Bhajahu re mana” by Govinda Dasa Kaviraja and enacted a dramatic narration of its meaning.

 View the full gallery: Offerings and Abhishek Similar to earlier years, ISKCON Mayapur had a week filled with festivals glorifying Srila Prabhupada on occasion of His Vyasa puja. The bramacharis, other temple staff, international devotees, Bhaktivedanta National School, and Sri Mayapur International School all held their own celebrations. These festivals enabled many devotees to read […]

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The post Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasapuja Gallery appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja 2015 at ISKCON-Delhi (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/JBssP6

Bhadra Rupa, alias Luis De La Calle, is signed to Sony World Music, has performed at theaters around the world, and is a member of the US, British, and Japanese national flute associations. At his music academy in Geneva, Switzerland, he teaches students how to play devotional songs by Vaishnava composers like Narottama Das Thakur.

Inauguration of New Seminar Hall (Album with photos)
Inauguration of New Seminar Hall by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj at ISKCON New Delhi.
See them here: https://goo.gl/N8q6xN

Hare Krishna! The Absolute Nature of the Vedic Literature
The Seed Verses of Bhagavad Gita (Bg 10.8-11) The word seed suggests that it has the potential to grow into something bigger then itself. The verses that are accepted as the “Seed” verses of the Gita do exactly that. They are also sometime referred to as the Catur-Sloka because there are just four (Catur) seed verses (Slokas). The 700 verses of Bhagavad Gita are generally accepted as the summary study of the entire body of Vedic knowledge. Yet within the Gita these “Seed verses” are acknowledged for how nicely they summarize the essence of the Gita’s message into four concise sutras. Now consider these four powerful Sanskrit verses provided below. If you can enter into their profound meaning, you will have effectively attained the highest stage of realization that the entire cannon of Vedic literature points towards.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19708

Transcendental soldiers in the service of His Divine Grace!

"The smallest act of kindness worth more than the grandest intention." (Oscar Wilde)

Hare Krishna! Who Are All These People? And What Kind of Monotheism Is This Anyway?
Rukmini Devi Dasi: Do you sometimes come to the temple and wonder about who are all these figures on the altar? Is this some kind of idol worship? Are we not supposed to ask? And we hear that Bhakti is a monotheistic tradition: How is that, when there are eight different figures on the altar? If you were raised in a tradition different from Bhakti, (and most of us were…) this kind of worship is likely to feel a bit foreign or even uncomfortable to you. Rukmini Walker will try to unpack how the Bhakti tradition itself explains this important core practice, as given by our line of teachers.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19703

Jammu and Kashmir High Court bans sale of Beef in the state
On Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir High Court imposed ban on sale of beef in the state. A Division Bench of State High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Janak Raj Kotwal today banned sale of beef in Jammu and Kashmir.
The ban came after a Public Interest Litigation against cow slaughter filed by Advocate Parimoksh Seth. The PIL said that slaughtering or killing of bovine animals were an offence punishable under Section 298-A and possession of such slaughtered animal an act punishable under Section 298-B of the RPC.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/HGI9Mv

https://flic.kr/s/aHskk5WVrk

The post Scenes from the Janmastami/Vyasa-puja weekend in Krsna Valley appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Harinama in Union Square Park, New York (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: A Vaishnava should not try to minimize anyone else’s position. It is better to remain humble and meek and chat the Hare Krishna mantra. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.17.10 purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/2WHs4r

The post Daily Darshan – September 10th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 15 August 2015, Vrindavan, India, Bhagavad Gita 17.1)

Srila Prabhupada said that surrender means to surrender to all the little things; to all the small things. It is not just one big surrender, “Krsna, I am offering you my life!!”

We can make a very dramatic announcement but the reality is that it is in the little things that we do not surrender. The little things matter! Therefore worship of the spiritual master goes beyond offering flowers or incense. It is in every action that we worship the spiritual master. Every action of our life is an action of worship.

Sankarshan Nitai das Krishna lila – Aug 31st 2015

Hare Krishna! Appreciating Sankirtan Prabhu’s frontline literary outreach
Chaitanya Charan das: The feature that struck me most about his writing was what could be called its inter-disciplinary scope. He brought bhakti wisdom into a mature dialogue with the yoga tradition in his book Bhakti-Yoga Pilgrimage and with contemporary psychology in his other writings. Drawing pertinent points eclectically to address various current concerns, he then insightfully illumined the underlying issues with the light of aptly distilled devotional insights. Overall, he was one of the pioneers in our movement in striving to penetrate the huge and largely untapped self-help genre of writing. With a heavy heart at the departure of a fellow author and friend, I seek his blessings for continuing in my own small way the literary legacy of our tradition.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19700

Hare Krishna! From Kibbutz To Krishna
One evening in 1978 Dorit and her husband saw a television program featuring Murari Chaitanya Das, a Hare Krishna devotee who had just become the ping pong champion of Israel. He was openly speaking about his experience of Krsna consciousness and Dorit was impressed. On the beach the next morning her husband saw a Hare Krishna devotee and stopped him, thinking him to be Murari Chaitanya. The devotee, Locanananda, told him that their spiritual leader was presently visiting Israel and invited him to come to a public program where the guru would speak. So they went, and Dorit listened attentively. The guru’s words inspired her to start practicing Krsna consciousness. Her husband went along with it.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19696

Today 6,000 devotees arrived at the Black Sea for the Russian Yatra festival. It seemed like an ocean of Vaisnavas were present at the opening ceremony this evening!