Planet ISKCON

Dasyam, sakhyam and atma-nivedanam. (English/Turkish)

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Harinama in Moscow (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “My dear lord, what kind of mantra you given have Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this maha-mantra!” (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 7.81)
See them here: https://goo.gl/GwJZYG

Detroit ISKCON celebrated its 30^th Annual Rathyatra on Sunday July 19^th with its largest attendance ever – an estimated 10,000 visitors. There were many highlights of the day, including grand opening ceremonies, amazing kirtan by Gaura Mani, Gopal and others, five hours of captivating stage entertainment, jammed packed Kidz Zone featuring Vedic crafts, live cooking demos and so much more. 

Hare Krishna! ISKCON Community Pays Tribute to Former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam appreciated the services rendered by ISKCON such as Bhagavad Gita Book distribution, Promoting people to become Vegetarian and ISKCON’s Food for Life Mid-day meal program. Further he also inaugurated Bhaktivedanta Hospital for Heart Center which is part of ISKCON activities. On behalf of the entire ISKCON Community we would like pay tribute for the former President of India. It is a great loss for India.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18685

Hare Krishna! The one who startled India with kirtan
One morning, soon after our arrival at Kailash Seksaria’s home, Srila Prabhupada called on a male devotee to chant the new melody of Gurvastakam. After two lines of the prayer, he asked him to stop and then requested another devotee to continue. The same thing happened, and he asked another devotee to chant, with the same result. Then he asked me to lead the prayer, and he did not stop me. So later, I asked him why he had done that, and he replied: Learn to listen. You cannot follow nicely unless you hear nicely, and you cannot lead nicely unless you have learned to follow nicely.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18682

The Restless Mind - How can we control it (5 min video)
Our mind is restless and fickle in nature. It is turbulent in its actions and tenacious in its selections. It is extremely difficult to control because it is strongly bound to desire for habituated sense gratification.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/wVLpNA

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Rathayatra in the City of a Hundred Spires (Prague) (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: To chant the holy name of Krishna one does not need to speculate on the philosophical aspects of the science of God, for one automatically becomes ecstatic and without consideration immediately chants, dances, laughs, cries and sings just like a madman. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 7.79 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/YsyLtf

Hare Krishna! A special home preaching program in Camarillo, California
One main area that was discussed was the need to better ourselves in three “S” areas- sanga (association), sadhana (devotional practice) and sadachara (character). The speaker quoted- “If one loses money, nothing is lost. If one loses health, something is lost but if one loses character, everything is lost.” The topic of hatred and religious intolerance rampant in the world today was also touched upon and the speaker enunciated beautifully how greed is leading to proprietorship of things that don’t belong to us in the first place. He specifically talked about the ‘simple living, high thinking’ model which is much needed in today’s society. Focusing on students, he encouraged them to think deeper since they would be the leaders of the future and to follow a path based on compassion and care was of prime necessity.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18679

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730 strong “transcendental army” gathers at the field for an epic battle! (5 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Today our ranks swelled to 730 devotees as buses arrived from all over Europe. We held an istagosti where the many services connected to our preaching work at Woodstock were divided up. It’s an exciting time as we begin one of ISKCON’s biggest and most influential programs. But as great as it all is, we remember and keep close you our hearts, the fact that we are simply instruments in the hands of Srila Prabhupada and our previous acaryas. Narottam! Srinivas! Syamananda! Please send us your blessings too! You are our heroes in spreading Mahaprabhu’s samkirtan movement!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/MNhMhO

Consciousness is “light” (jyoti) because light illuminates the world and makes it perceptible. External objects are described as “dark” (tamas) because they are insentient. Yes, this is a dualistic paradigm, but is nonetheless useful and accurate because it describes the situation in the external world – which in fact is a dualistic reality.

Infinite lights shine upon the dark world, but the peculiar thing about consciousness-light which is different from ordinary light is that it is “svayam-jyoti” – a light that illuminates things only for the light-source (svayam-jyoti, btw, also means that it can illuminate itself to itself). Someone in a different city reads a Harry Potter novel, for example, and their consciousness illuminates the book to themselves. I don’t learn all about the goings on of Hogwarts as a result of someone else reading the book. I don’t see what you see, only you see what you see. [note: it IS possible to see what others see, but only if one looks inward properly]

Therefore the world is “dark” even though it has infinite points of light in it. The world only becomes bright to us, only insofar as we shine our own light upon it.

We try to shine our light upon other sources of light, but all we can illuminate is their projection into the external world of objects. This is because our light is fixed towards that external direction – we are “bahir-mukha jīva” – consciousness that faces outward. We try to experience and understand other people – the most valuable objects in existence – but we fail to penetrate beyond their mutable and mysterious physical, intellectual and emotional layers.

Direct experience of other sources of light (other “souls”) is not possible while our own light shines outward. Only when we illuminate our own inner reality can we be truly connected to other conscious, sentient beings – via Paramātma – a super-conscious being at the root of all conscious beings.

– Vraja Kishor
VrajaKishor.com

Tagged: Consciousness, dualism, jyoti, light

When people in the West throw their clothes away, their cast-offs often go on a journey east, across the oceans, to India’s industrial interior.

Modern science also supports this Ayurvedic claim that water stored in copper vessel up to 16 hours is able to considerably reduce the presence of harmful bacteria.

We had a wonderful Festival of India this month but the summer fun isn't over yet - join us for the
annual Summer Kids Camp, which is happening this year from August 4-7th (Tuesday - Friday every day).

You can register for any number of days! As always we have lots of fun activities planned out with sumptuous prasadam (vegetarian meansl) for all the children.

The registration is $25 per day or $75 for all 4 days. You can pre-register your child by emailing us at kids@torontokrishna.com or by clicking here for the registration form.

This tale of Pṛthu’s confrontation with the Earth Goddess continues from my previous post.

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“I will destroy you,” Pṛthu replied, “because you do not observe my orders.”

She would certainly wonder, “what orders did you ever give me?”

So he explained that he was referring to the standing order that the gods must reciprocate with sacrifices. “The people worshipped you and you accepted it,” he said, “but you refuse to grant us blessings. You are like a cow eating grass day after day but never giving milk. Such a creature should be punished and corrected, even if she is a cow! Your mind is so lowly that you refuse to fructify the seeds created by Self-born Brahmā, even when I ask you to!

“My poor citizens suffer from starvation! I will put a stop to their laments by feeding them your meat, sliced from you by my own arrows!”

The earth become absolutely terrified and wanted to cry out, “But I am a woman!”

Pṛthu stopped her by declaring, “You are not a woman – you are selfish! A selfish person has no compassion for anyone else and is therefore the worst person in the world – it doesn’t matter if they are a man, a woman, or transgendered! If a king kills such a person, it is not ‘killing’.”

She would cry, “But I am a cow!”

Pṛthu said, “You are pretending to be a cow! In truth you are a madly stubborn creature, and my arrows shall reduce you to food!”

“But I am the earth,” she would cry, “If you destroy me how will you keep from falling into outer space?”

Pṛthu said, “I will take care of that myself, by my own mystic power. I will personally become the ground upon which the citizens can stand.”

– Translation of Śrī Bhāgavata 4.17.22 ~ 27
A draft for Part 4 of Beautiful Tales of the All-Attractive

by Vraja Kishor

VrajaKishor.com

Tagged: meat eating, sacred cow, Vegetarianism

Everyone of you should be thoroughly convinced of the power of the Hare Krsna mantra to protect you in all circumstances and chant accordingly at all times without offense. Then advancement will be swift and you will gradually come to see everything clearly so that you may act for the pleasure of the Lord without uncertainty.

Letter to Damodara
January 10, 1971

Calgary Ratha Yatra & Festival Of India (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One must engage his tongue in the service of the holy name. Our Krishna consciousness movement is based on this principle. We try to engage all the members of the Krishna consciousness movement in the service of the holy name. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.16 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/cevAVI

Hare Krishna! Liberation Through Chanting
Srila Prabhupada: In our country Carvaka Muni has advised, bhasmi-bhutasya dehasya kutah punar-agamano bhavet: “Why are you thinking of your next birth? Another birth is not possible. We see that the gross body is burnt into ashes. And where is the soul? Who is coming back again? Don’t care for all these things.” Yavaj jivet sukham jivet: “Live happily. Eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy.” This philosophy is going on. “There is no mind, there is no intelligence, there is no soul, only this gross body, and as long as we possess this gross body, let us enjoy the senses.” This is called maha-vimoha, the greatest bewilderment. People have no education about how we are existing in the material world, how nature is working. They are thinking there is no life after this one, but that is not the fact. They are living in a very great entanglement.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18675

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Rathayatra in Leicester
The Leicester Rathayatra Festival of Chariots takes place this Sunday 2nd August 2015, for the second largest festival in the UK.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18672

Iskcon Penang Gelugor: Hare Krsna, we are please to inform that ‘GITA’ (an NGO associated with ISKCON Gelugor) gave away 3,000 Bhagavad Gita’s to 28 Tamil Schools in Penang this morning at Auditorioum A Komtar, Penang. ISKCON Gelugor would like to thank HG Madhusudan prabhu and his core team in this first time, record breaking event! 25/07/2015 (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/z20a3s

SRI JAGANATH RATH YATRA @ Aruppukottai (Album with photos)..
On occasion of ISKCON NAMAHATTA ARUPPUKKOTTAT 1st year Anniversary-
First Ever ISKCON Rath Yatra in south Tamil nadu.
See them here: https://goo.gl/QdqSwf

Hare Krishna! Ratha Yatra 2015 celebrations in Mayapur
The nine day long annual Ratha Yatra celebrations in Mayapur ended on 26th July. Although the festival began on 18th, the festival preparations started much earlier. Special wooden carts were designed for Their Lordships Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra devi this year. People from different parts of the world visited Mayapur for the Ratha Yatra. Many people came from nearby areas. All of them and also the local devotees participated in the festival with great enthusiasm. The Ratha Yatra took place on 18th July. Dignitaries such as the Vice Chancellor of the Kalyani University and Pundarikaksha Saha were present on this occasion. In the early afternoon, there were classical dance and music events at Rajapur Temple.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18669

“My humble question is what is, according to your own realisation and practice of the divine path of Lord Gauranga associates, the best meditation and mood to receive the complete and topmost mercy of the Holy Name?”

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Hare Krishna! Lord Nityananda Delivers the Thieves
When I was eight or nine years old, my parents took me to the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. After meandering through myriad halls and galleries, we came across an exhibit of valuable gemstones in the Museum of Natural History. I remember being particularly struck by the famous Hope Diamond, a large bluish diamond pendant surrounded by small white diamonds. I was surprised that something could be so beautiful and so valuable. Although I’ve forgotten most of what I saw during my weeklong visit to the Smithsonian, I vividly remember my sense of wonder upon seeing such a unique jewel. Lord Krishna likes jewels too. Scriptures explain that He adorns His body with jewelry. He is famous as the wearer of the Kaustubha gem, and scriptures describe other forms or incarnations of the Lord as decorated with exquisite valuable jewels.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18665

ISKCON Vrindavan Ratha Yatra 2015 (Album with photos)
For the first time ever, Ratha Yatra in Srila Prabhupada’s home, Vrindavan Dhama! 5 hours of blissful chanting and dancing before Their Lordships and Srila Prabhupada!
See them here: https://goo.gl/JXtYlb

Ratha Yatra 2015 in Mayapur (Album with 163 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One is understood to be an eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he considers himself a servant of the holy name and in this spirit distributes the holy name to the world. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.16 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/UFsPrU

London Yatra: ISKCON50 Festival of Srila Prabhupada’s Arrival in Boston
Date: Thursday, 17th September
On 17th September 1965, Srila Prabhupada reached Boston’s Commonwealth Pier in hopes of fulfilling the order of his spiritual master. The ship was to stop briefly in Boston before proceeding to New York City. Fifty years on, on 17th September 2015, we will be commemorating this milestone at ISKCON-London with a range of festivities.
He took a short walk into the city and then returned to the ship. As he awaited the ship’s departure for New York, Srila Prabhupada composed a Bengali poem, entitled “Markine Bhagavat-dharma” (“Teaching Krsna Consciousness in America”). Being a pure devotee of Sri Krishna, Srila Prabhupada prayed, “I wish that You may deliver them. Therefore, if You desire their deliverance, only then will they be able to understand Your message.”
We would like to invite everyone to come and take part in this festival.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/o6OOJh

Ratha Yatra in New Vrajamandala (Album with photos)
Hare Krisna Spain Guadalajara
See them here: https://goo.gl/QOOn1L

Latest Nityam Bhagavata-sevaya Magazine is available
NBS#17 Features: 1) Vidura questions Uddhava Srila Sukadeva Goswami 2) The Most exalted Personality in the Vrishni Dynasty Sriman Purnaprajna Dasa 3) Uddhava remembers Krishna Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakur 4) Uddhava guides Vidura to take shelter of Maitreya Rishi Srila Sukadeva Goswami 5) Why did Uddhava refuse to become the Spiritual Master of Vidura? His Divine Grace A .C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 6) Why did Krishna send Uddhava to Badrikashrama? Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakur 7) Who is Maitreya Rishi? Srila Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasa
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18661