Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Jagannatha’s Ratha yatra in SALEM (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The letters of the holy name have so much spiritual potency that they act even when uttered improperly. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.59)
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Michigan Rathyatra (19th July, 2015) (Album with 84 photos)
Photography Courtesy: Arjun Bhattacharyya
Srila Prabhupada: Even a faint light from the holy name of the Lord can eradicate all the reactions of sinful life. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.63)
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CC daily Podcast:
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Bhagavatam-daily Podcast:
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What is the “superior nature” inherent in the jīva?
Pure sentience. This nature is described as “superior” because sentience is superior to the insentient objects of external reality.
Why would a jīva forfeit her superior nature?
She is mesmerized.
By what?
She is mesmerized by the desire to enjoy the fascinating qualities of the inferior, external world.
Why would the jīva be attracted to an inferior world?
She has not made herself aware that there is anything better. She has beginningless ignorance of the beauty of the Supreme Person.
What is the result? Why is it described as a “forfeit”?
The result is that the jīva, “falsely identifies herself as a part of the insentient external world.” Charmed by the fascinating qualities of māyā, she imagines the inferior to be superior, and the unnecessary to be necessary. Thus she becomes bound and contained within insentient external objects and takes superfluous material incarnations confined to temporary cycles of existence.
Śrī Jīva writes the above in Śrī Tattva-Sandarbha, while explaining one of the Bhāgavatam’s verses describing Vyāsa’s realization (1.7.5):
“He also saw jīvas [living entities] forfeiting their superior nature to falsely identify themselves as a part of the inferior external reality, due to their desire to enjoy her three mesmerizing qualities.”
— Excerpt from
This is Gauḍīya Philosophy:
Tattva Sandarbha of Śrī Jīva Goswāmī
Rendered in English
by Vraja Kishor dās
VrajaKishor.com
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam recounts how King Pṛthu was glorified during his coronation ceremony. In Canto Four, Chapter 16, Text 17, we hear this:
मातृभक्तिः परस्त्रीषु पत्न्यामर्ध इवात्मनः
mātṛ-bhaktiḥ para-strīṣu, patnyām ardha ivātmanaḥ
He will treat his wife
as if she were half of his own self,
and treat all other women
with the same devotion he shows his mother.
This verse illustrates the ideal behavior of men towards women.
The most important important woman is one’s own wife. How should she be treated? As if she were one’s own self. Whatever the husband enjoys, the wife must enjoy. He may not enjoy anything separate from her or displeasing to her. Whatever the wife suffers, the husband takes as his own suffering, and dedicates himself to relieving that suffering.
He should have no concept of a life separate from her, for she is ardha-ātma – half of his very self. He should make no plans that do not benefit her. He should strive for nothing that is not in her interest.
How should a man treat women other than his wife?
“Matṛ-bhakti“ – He should have bhakti for them – he should be devoted to them.
In what manner? What type of devotion?
“Matṛ-bhakti” – He should show them the respect, courtesy, deference and service that he would show his own mother.
– Vraja Kishor dās
The Rathayatra parade and festival at New Govardhana started a little earlier this year at 10am. This was because the afternoon was filled with various functions in the main tent outside the temple room.
WANTED – Transcribers for Sadaputa Archives
In an effort to collect, preserve, and disseminate his vastly important legacy, the Sadaputa Archives has several projects underway, one of which is to present our collection of his recorded lectures in book form to facilitate serious study and research. To accomplish this we need to first transcribe almost 100 lectures and are looking for experienced transcribers that would be able to give some of their time for this.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18529
Holy Name Meditation Podcast:
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Maha Harinam Stockholm 2015 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2.1.11)
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Hare Krishna! NASN June 2015 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of June. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18525
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Hare Krishna! We Believe In The Ridiculous
For those who have faith in what Krishna is capable of, possess the greatest fortune. This fortune consisting of flying pigs, a tortoise with an itchy back, and a giant-stepping dwarf are giant leaps of faith, made normal. The fortune of faith helps us understand Krishna’s playful nature, even when He delineates Vedic thought. “Rise above the flowery words of the Vedas” He says. If all of these Avatara pastimes are fun, we can only imagine how fun Krishna must be. With Krishna around, it is alright to believe in the ridiculous, the unbelievable, the insane, the irrational and every other belief system that keeps us rooted here in misery and scepticism.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18522
Harinama in Moscow (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age, hearing is more important than thinking, because one’s thinking may be disturbed by mental agitation, but if one concentrates on hearing, he will be forced to associate with the sound vibration of Krishna. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.24.35)
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Rathayatra at ISKCON New Govardhana - Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari, 19 July 2015 (Album with photos)
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ISKCON Hyderabad Rathayatra 2015 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Those who are advanced and highly qualified and are interested in the essence of life know the good qualities of Kali-yuga. Such people worship the age of Kali because in this age, simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can advance in spiritual knowledge and thus attain life’s goal. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 11.5.36)
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Rathayatra Festival in Riga, Latvia’s capital (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting in order to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the name of Krishna. Although his complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and His confidential companions. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 11.5.32)
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Well known and beloved by all Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Candravali devi dasi, beginning days SF devotee, left her material body this morning in California. Please offer loving prayers on her behalf and for her grieving children She had delightful interactions with Srila Prabhupada in USA, Mexico & India. (She is on the right holding a baby in the photo)
Shayan Darshan Of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath;5th July 2015
Huge Harinama in Haifa, Israel (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: This Krishna consciousness movement insists that everyone take to this path by adopting the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. The preachers of Krishna consciousness go from door to door to inform people how they can be relieved from the miserable conditions of material life. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.14.39 Purport)
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Hare Krishna! Bengal celebrates Rath Yatra
The streets reverberated with chants of “Hare Krishna” as thousands of devotees from across the world pulled the decked-up chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra during the annual “Rath Yatra” (chariot festival) celebrated here on Saturday. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid obeisance to Lord Jagannath at the start of the Rath Yatra at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple on Albert Road. Banerjee flagged off the festival with a tug on the rope as believers sang and danced all the way to the rhythmic beats of cymbals and drums. “This year Nabakalebara Ratha Jatra is being celebrated. This is very special. Let us maintain communal harmony during festivals,” she said.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18513
Hare Krishna! New Talavana / New Orleans: 40th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada visit
Once on a hot Mississippi summer day, on a Friday afternoon, August 1st, 1975, the New Talavana farm received one of the most precious gifts of all, a visit by the pure devotee of Lord Krishna, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada! After departing from Sankirtan Puri (New Orleans), Srila Prabhpada’s arrival was met with lively kirtan and Guru Puja, in the original farm house / temple. After Srimad Bhagavatam class and a question and answer session with his disciples, Prabhupada went to His simple farm house quarters, where later this relaxed picture was taken of the famous kitchen “cooking past time” .Before His departure for His flight the next morning out of New Orleans, Srila Prabhupada was escorted on a walking tour of the farm, during which many instructions were given about farming and cow protection.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18510
Hare Krishna! Chinese Books have Arrived
Responding to the enthusiastic (and we mean fervent) requests of sannyasis, temple presidents, and sankirtana parties throughout the Western world, we are ecstatic to announce that the first three beautiful Chinese titles have just arrived in our warehouse. Exquisitely produced, these long-awaited titles are now ready for immediate distribution to the millions of Chinese-speakers who are (a) residents of their own massive urban communities, (b) tourists visiting the world’s major cities, or © students in one of the colleges or universities in North America or elsewhere
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18507
My first gurus were my father and mother, who taught me how to think and feel.
My first Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-bhakti-yoga guru was Prabhupāda, Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī, via his books – especially the Śrī Īśopaniṣad and Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is.
My first personal mentor was Ray Cappo (now Raghunātha dāsa). He did a good job, considering that he was all of only six months or so more “self-realized” than me! With his help, I decided to visit ISKCON temples and there met my next group of personal mentors. Quite soon, though, I realized that a lot of them were blending Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism with their own western secular and religious samskaras and upbringing – so I began narrowing down who among them I truly considered to be my guru.
Soon Raghunātha introduced me to Śrī Dhanurdhara Swāmī, and I immediately considered him to be the ideal guru for me. He initiated me with the various Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava mantras, took me under his wing (essentially, I lived with him for four or five years), personally taught me the Nectar of Devotion sentence by sentence, connecting it to the Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu verse by verse, and also tutored me verse by verse, section by section, theme by theme in Bhagavad-Gītā. He exposed me to real, Vṛndāvana bhakti and gave me an undeniable thirst for Vraja-prema, and he remains my constant well-wisher and guide to this day.
My wife, Śyāma-Sakhi, is also my guru. Without scholarship or pretense she teaches me how to apply the principles of bhakti to daily life, and how to be a human being. She steers me away from the dangerous rocks and whirlpools as we cross the ocean of nescience.
I also consider Srī Satyanārāyaṇa dās Bābājī my guru. He is always there to answer almost any question, no matter how detailed or complex, with exact and confident reference to the śāstra as revealed by Śrī Jīva Goswāmī. In particular he is directly guiding my study of Śrī Jīva’s Ṣaḍ-Sandarbha.
Vraja Kishor dās
By the discussion that arose from my previous posts on this topic (Traditional vs. Modern Approach and the followup) I came to realize that I was in error to depict the dynamic as if it was a problem limited to ISKCON and Gauḍīya Maṭha. I realize now that many, many gurus outside those institutions also have thousands of disciples. My apologies there for assuming the dynamic to be relatively limited to ISKCON and the Gaḍīya Maṭh.
Also there were many gurus in the old days who had thousands of disciples (though I think it is still correct to say that it was much less frequent). So, it would have been better not to present the issue as “Gauḍīya Maṭh vs. others” or “Traditional vs. Modern” but simply as “many disciples vs few disciples.” Had I done that, I think the point I was trying to communicate would have been clearer and easier to grasp (the point is: it’s easier to take care of a few disciples, and in the long run the knowledge being transmitted transmits to more people).
Also, to make the original posts much more clear – some clarification needed to be made between “official” guru and “functioning” guru (sometimes the way we use the word dīkṣa-guru and śikṣa-guru refers to this difference). Often one person can go around and inspire thousands, thus becoming the guru of thousands in some official or theoretical way, but my main point is that there needs to be a low student-to-teacher ratio between the disciple and the person doing the real day to day help with their study and practice. Everyone accepts the concept that low student-to-teacher ratio is much more effective than a high ratio.
Vraja Kishor dās
Holy Name Meditation Podcast:
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