Planet ISKCON

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HG Jananivas Das describes his experiences during the TOVP North American fundraising tour. Please watch and feel inspired to donate for the wonderful project.

Donate here: http://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/

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Rathayatra Festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: It is the spiritual master who delivers the disciple from the clutches of maya by initiating him into the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In this way a sleeping human being can revive his consciousness by chanting Hare Krishna. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 9.61 Purport).
See them here: https://goo.gl/lMp5iI

Hare Krishna! Musical Symphony at 50th Anniversary on the song “Yadi Prabhupada Na Hoito” (12 min video)
Lyirics: If Srila Prabhupada had not come, what would have happened? How could we have passed our lives? Who else would have distributed the unlimited mercy of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga all over the world? Which other compassionate person would have endeavoured to deliver the miscreants , sinful, impersonalistic and voidistic people in the West? Who else would have come to distribute Harinama to them? Who else would have come forward to transform them into civilized beings? Who else would have taught them how to worship the Deity form of Lord Hari day and night with arati-kirtana, and how to conduct the Ratha-yatra and
other grand festivals?
Watch it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19110

Hare Krishna! Vote of Thanks by Radhanath Swami at 50th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s Jaladuta Yatra (10 min video)
Vote of Thanks by HH Radhanath Swami at 50th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s Jaladuta Yatra at Netaji Indoor Stadium on 13th August 2015. On Thursday August 13th, ISKCON temples worldwide celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the westward journey of founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who, at the age of 69, left India this day in 1965 to introduce Krishna-consciousness to the West.
Watch it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19106

Jayapataka Swami Glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to USA Over the past 50 years, approximately 75,000 ISKCON devotees have received initiation. There are 2,000 home study (Bhakti Vriksa) groups meet regularly (consisting some 30,000 devotees). There are 7 million worshippers attend ISKCON centers annually. Since its establishment ISKCON has published and distributed 516 million books, and gave out 3 billion plates of sanctified vegetarian meals (prasadam) worldwide. Today, there are 1,000 public harinama chanting parties going out on the streets worldwide every week, and 6,000 Vaishnava festivals held every year globally in ISKCON Centers annually. Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19100

Written by Gopali dd

From the kirtan festival in Villa Vrindavana, Italy, Kadamba Kanana Swami travelled to Vienna on 14 July. Paramesvar picked him up from the airport and brought him to the new temple near Bratislava where the temple room was packed with disciples and eager guests – some of them were from the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. Devotees were anticipating beautiful bhajan which quickly turned into wild kirtan, followed by a deep thoughtful lecture.

While Guru Maharaj was being fetched from the airport, Jahnavi and Kristina were trying to string together the most beautiful garland, but the roses were so big that even the biggest needle in the house would not go through. However, with the expert help of Mukunda Prabhu, the garland was successfully completed.

The lecture started with the theme of corruption and the strong influence of the age of kali, and continued with explaining the secret gift of the maha mantra – the rest you can hear by yourself (recordings to follow shortly). After the program at Bhaktiloka, Guru Maharaj went to Modra to rest and prepare for another active preaching day.

In the morning, after abhisek, puja and breath-taking decoration of Giriraja’s altar, Guru Maharaj took his simple breakfast consisting of avocado, dates and bananas. Yogesvar and I cooked lunch for him, which included his favourites: chapattis and endive. Jahnavi and Mukunda offered the most delicious sandesh ever, made from the milk from one of the twelve cows they so exemplary take care of. The next point on the agenda that afternoon was harinama and a lecture in Vienna. The Harinama Ruci kirtan party could not miss the Vienna harinama and along with other devotees, they expertly enlivened the city and gave support to Guru Maharaj.

Then we proceeded towards the Ananya Yoga Studio and its name inspired Guru Maharaj to speak about ananya bhakti, pure bhakti. Thursday was a darshan and resting day, and many fortunate disciples including Jada Bharata, Kristina, Pato, Paramesvar, Mukunda, Jahnavi, Marcel, Ada and Yamunacarya had the chance to personally speak to Guru Maharaj.

On Friday before noon, Maharaj sang bhajans in our temple room and afterwards, we packed and set-off for a ride to Prague for a stopover. On Saturday (18 July), Maharaj travelled to Munich for Ratha Yatra and then returned to Prague for Ratha Yatra which took place on Sunday. During our drive, Maharaj entertained us by reading his horoscope which was indeed full of beautiful qualities, yogas, constellations and descriptions. Again, it was an amazing time with Guru Maharaj and we all are looking forward to have him back next year. All of you are welcome to come as well!

Visit flickr to see more photos.

Hare Krishna! Powerful Feminine Qualities
Harivilas Das: The seven opulences listed — fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience — are considered feminine. If a person possesses all of them or some of them he becomes glorious. So this doesn’t just mean women can have these qualities; men can have these qualities too. If a man is famous as a righteous man, that makes him glorious. So that’s interesting! The first quality is called kirtiḥ. That means fame. So what makes a person really famous? The fact that they are a devotee and very righteous. It is not because they are rich or powerful. They become genuinely famous if they are a righteous person; because they followed the principles of dharma.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19097

Hare Krishna! Protection for a Single Woman: Following Sita
Often times, women practicing Bhakti who are without the protection of a male family member owing to various reasons beyond their control, do find themselves wondering about how they can adapt to this recommendation from the Vedas. Just like there are numerous examples in our scriptures about women being nicely protected by male family members there are also examples of women who had to live without that. Now what did those women do? How did they live their lives? Where did they find their shelter? Reading about their example can be very pacifying for a heart seeking proper direction.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19094

Harinam in Vienna, Austria (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada had such an ambitious plan to change the world, because harer nam harer nama harer nama eva kevalam: “Harinama is the only way for spiritual perfection in this age.
See them here: https://goo.gl/tKfg1F

Come Dance With Us! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement is so attractive that if presented nicely people cannot help but chant and dance with us. We are experiencing this daily along the Baltic Sea coast in Poland, where just like the spiritual world, every word is a song, every step is a dance and there is a festival every day.
See them here: https://goo.gl/MNvuNP

Question: I read all the stories about Krishna but can’t tie the images in my heart with most of the images people seem to paint. I thought that Krishna doesn’t age beyond 14, and Rādhā too. So why does everyone paint them like adults with so many curves and sexy looks?

Krishna and his Gopīs manifest themselves as fully blossomed youths. They are “nava-yauvana,” “nitya-kiśor.” This means they are exactly on the border between adolescence and youth. In Sanskrit, youth (yuvana) begins and adolescence (kiśor) ends at 16. So they manifest themselves as “16-year-olds,” eternally.

This is a little misleading because our modern culture in many ways postpones emotional development due to the extensive schooling we put ourselves through, thus “16” describes something that feels a bit younger to us than is actually the case with Rādhā and Krishna. It’s also misleading because Sanskrit literature acknowledges the phenomenon that not every human being matures at the same rate, and generally, more exceptional individuals mature faster. They say the maximum maturity rate for the most exceptional individuals is about 150% of the norm, and they say that Krishna and his associates mature at this maximum rate. This means that when Krishna had only been 8 years into his manifestation on Earth, he had already mentally and physically matured to the equivalent of a contemporary 12 year old (which, again, is still older than it sounds to us in our modern concept of age).

So, when they describe Krishna as eternally manifesting the age of 16, we should know that this is equivalent to what we would probably experience as being someone in his “early-mid-twenties.”

Why?

Because 16-24 is the ideal age for romance!

What’s so important about romance?

Romance is the most intense form of love, because it includes all other forms of love, but surpasses them all in intimacy.

Love is the essence of joy, and joy is the meaning of life – the essence of why consciousness even exists. ānanda-maya. 

So, Krishna and Rādhā naturally manifest at the ideal age for relishing their divine romance to the fullest. And that is why artists throughout the centuries have rightly depicted them in romantic, curvy, voluptuous shapes, with wanton, love-laden, flirtatious glances and poses.

Some modern cartoons depict Krishna as very, very young. Take “Little Krishna, Darling of Vṛndāvana” for example. This is because these cartoons are mostly aimed at children. They are inaccurate, and are very shy about Krishna’s romantic nature – preferring to depict him more as an intelligent hero whose most eyebrow raising moments are simply childhood mischief. This is a very child-proof version of the Supreme Absolute Enjoyer of Existence – Śrī Krishna! The traditional, racy paintings are more in line with how ancient and classical Sanskrit and Bengali literature actually describes Rādhā and Krishna.

Tagged: age, Krishna, teenage

Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement is so attractive that if presented nicely people cannot help but chant and dance with us. We are experiencing this daily along the Baltic Sea coast in Poland, where just like the spiritual world, every word is a song, every step is a dance and there is a festival every day.

The devotees in these photos have happily logged in over 120 hours of harinam this summer. Our legs are getting a little wobbly now, so please everyone pray we can continue for another two weeks delivering the sweet sound of Krsna’s holy names to all those who cross our path. “As the rising sun immediately [...]

Today is our 40th harinam of the summer. With two weeks still to go, we have distributed 280,000 invitations to our 35 festivals. Not including the great Woodstock Festival, more than 150,000 people have attended our events. Throughout the summer several thousand books have been sold and prasadam has been distributed like a river flowing [...]

One who is a perfect chanter has repented all his misdeeds. Big one or small one, all his misdeeds get nullified.

Lokanatha Swami

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Hare Krishna Festivals UK: Croydon Rathayatra 2015 (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/7Kt1Jf

Here is how it looks the painting finished…

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, September 2008, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture)

We have to always be strict with our lazy mind because our mind will say, “Well, you know, you can’t be fanatic,” which translates to, “Oh well, let’s just be lazy!”

So the tendency to be a little lazy about standards and rules is very strong in all of us and we should never think that that will not happen. It will happen in spiritual life that laziness comes out.

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Hare Krishna! ISKCON Birmingham host 8hr Kirtan festival in honour of 50th anniversary celebrations
Taking place just days after the formal inauguration of ISKCON’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Kolkata, the eight hour kirtan event brought together top kirtaneers from all over country, which really embodied the spirit of a whole UK yatra. HH Prabodhananda Saraswati Goswami Maharaj from Sri Vrindavan Dham also participated in the programme as a special guest. Organised by Birmingham Pandava Sena, hundreds of devotees from all over the UK attended the event. ISKCON Birmingham is renowned for its annual 24 hour kirtan event, which is attended by thousands of devotees.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19091

Hare Krishna! Launching of the book “Values of Life”
We are pleased to announce the launching of the book, “Values of Life” today in New Delhi by Smt. Hema Malini, Member of parliament in Lok Sabha and famous film actress. This book is published by ISKCON Delhi. We express our gratitude to Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), for allowing the use of translations and lectures by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Values of Life has also been compiled from the books and lectures by H. H Radhanath Swami Maharaj, H. G Radheshyam Pr, Dr. Sahadeva Das and H. G Shubha Vilas Pr. Values of Life is inspired by H. H Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj for introducing it in school curriculum as a moral science book. This is the third book in the same series and currently this series is being taught in 30+ schools across India.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19088

Hare Krishna! Srila Prabhupada’s journey to US via Nagpur
On the 24th of July 1965 His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada embarked on his epic journey to New york by boarding the Calcutta mail via Nagpur in Mumbai. Srila Prabhupad wrote in his diary, ”To start for Calcutta by the Calcutta Mail via Nagpur. Starting from Bori-Banrer at 19 hours in the evening. Vide Ticket Dt 24/7/65. Luggage booked. Receipt No. A116695 paid Rs. 12/20. ISKCON devotees in Nagpur are very proud of the fact that Srila Prabhupad travelled to “New York via Nagpur”. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this day 25/7/15, the ISKCON Nagpur devotees went back in time to recieve His Divine Grace traveling on the same train station at platform no.3 in the same train arriving at the same time around 10.30 in the morning.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19085

Burfi, the Queen of Fudge!
Kurma das: I can honestly say that I’ve cooked more fudge than any other one preparation in my 35-year kitchen career. Different versions of the same basic recipe, often prepared in 2,000-5,000 piece batches, have been devoured with delight at innumerable expos, food fairs, alternative life-style events and catering programs. I’ve supplied the recipe hundreds of times to “fudgeaholics”. Here’s the original almond variety, immortalised in print. You should know that the best-tasting fudge requires top quality unsalted cultured butter, premium quality cream and, most important, full-fat powdered milk.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/GjTCVH

Nightshade free / Potato free - French Fries! Using green bananas is the perfect potato replacement for those wanting to stay away from those nightshade vegetables. Green bananas really do taste just like potatoes and can be prepared the same way you would use potato in any recipe. smile emoticon Instructions: Peel the green bananas and then chop into french fry shapes. Place the fries in hot oil and fry until nice and crispy. That’s it! Salt them, offer them to Krishna and serve immediately!

Eggless Meringue! Made from Flax Seeds! (4 min video recipe)
INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup Flax Seeds, Raw and unprocessed
6 cups water
That’s all you need to prepare the meringue.
Tip: Make sure to strain out gel as soon as it is done or else it will get more thicker and you won’t be able to strain.
Through this video demonstration, learn how to make Flax Seeds Gel and turning Flax Gel into Meringue!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/fLWqro

Hare Krishna! Interview with Srila Prabhupada’s Grand-Nephew – Sankarsan Prabhu
I went to see him as a visitor. I did not know that he was born in our family. But I had heard from my father a long time back that that man, Abhay Charan, (we used to call him ‘Abhay Kaka’) had went abroad. We knew that very well. But Prabhupada never informed us that he came back with all the foreign disciples. So, I went there, and Prabhupada asked my name. I told him my name, and he said, “Oh, you’re coming from Taliganj?” My name then was Gauri Shankar. My calling name is Shankar. So when I told him my name, immediately he was very pleased. He said “very nice, very nice. I saw you when you were a child.” Maybe when I was 1.5 years old, he used to visit Taliganj and he saw me at that time. I don’t know, but he told me. He named all of my family members, and asked how they are and he said, do you know that I was born and brought up there? I said, No, but I have heard it from some of your brothers and other members.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19082

Hare Krishna! Remembrance of S.Prabhupada Jaladuta Yatra 50 yrs ago by His youngest Son Vrindavan Chandra Dey (13 min video)
Srila Prabhupada was related to the Mullik family, who were very rich in North Calcutta. They gave some accommodation to Gaur Mohan De, to do some business on their property, as well as a place to stay, in North Calcutta. Then they admitted Srila Prabhupada at Multilal Sil School. This was very near to his house, just 5 minutes by foot. He used to go to school every day by foot. Multilal Sil School, on Mahatma Gandhi Road, in North Calcutta. It is a very old school where Srila Prabhupada used to go. Gradually, after passing school, he went to the Scottish Church College.
Watch it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19078

Hare Krishna! Bhakti Charu Swami Glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to USA
Video of HH Bhakti Charu Swami glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to USA in a packed Netaji Indoor Stadium which seats 12,000 people. To inaugurate the ISKCON 50th Anniversary year, on August 13th in Kolkata a grand celebration was held with the participation of thousands of devotees from 108 countries, spiritual leaders and dignitaries such as the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Watch it here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=19075