Planet ISKCON

This twenty-one-minute video shows carefully selected moments from ISKCON's International Navadwip Parikrama 2015. The event took place on 22-28 Feb, and was organised by the ISKCON World Headquaters at Mayapur Dhama. A video by Vasudev Das.

Young religious environmental leaders from around the world, including four ISKCON devotees, attended an environmental “convergence” and march in Rome at the end of June. The event was put on by Our Voices, a New Jersey based international organization created to encourage religious communities to put pressure on political leaders for the upcoming 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

United Nations - Remarks by Xiuhtezcatl, indigenous climate activist and Youth Director of Earth Guardians at the opening segment of the High-level event of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change (29 June 2015).

Harinama during a festival in Czech Republic (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the Age of Kali, there is no religious principle except chanting Krishna’s name. It has been ascertained from all the scriptures that Krishna’s holy name is the essence of all mantras. (Renunciation Through Wisdom, 5.1 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/sRxCrn

On Sunday, June 28th, we arrived at ISKCON Houston at the home of Advaitachandra and Kalasuddha prabhus. They are leaders in the U.S. of the Bhakti Vrksha programs, helping devotees all across the country to organize their efforts in this regard. Their home was like Vaikuntha; every inch of wall-space was covered by either a photo of some Deities or guru, or a picture of the Lord in one of his incarnations. Their Pancha Tattva Deities were cast from the leftover metal used for the original Pancha Tattva Deities in Mayapur. The TOVP presentation was the same evening and we rested a bit before heading over to the temple.

The Houston temple is a magnificent temple recently built and inaugurated, although the Deities, Sri Sri Radha Nila Madhava, some of the largest Radha Krishna Deities in the world, have been there for many years. Two sets of Gaur Nitai Deities are present, along with a large Govardhan sila.

We arrived at the temple and it quickly filled with 300+ devotees and congregation members. After the abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari, the TOVP Team, which again included Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus, spoke in earnest about the TOVP project, inspiring everyone to make large pledges to help. The devotees met the call to help with almost $1 million in pledges that evening! Prasadam was then served to all the Vaisnavas.

All Glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 102: Houston, Texas TOVP Presentation appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

June 25th, 2015.

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The history of the Detroit Temple, Devasadan, is known to many, and within that history lies the seed of the fruition of Srila Prabhupada’s vision of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. As the story goes, as told by Ambarisa prabhu at all of his TOVP presentations, he joined ISKCON in Detroit which is a center for car production in the U.S. His great-grandfather was Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company.

He was sitting with Srila Prabhupada in his room in the temple with several other devotees, and they were discussing the Mayapur project. He had just financed several million dollars worth of renovations to the newly acquired Fisher Mansion, now Devasadan Mandir, and Srila Prabhupada was extremely pleased with the results. Srila Prabhupada then turned to Ambarisa and asked what he thought of the Mayapur project. Although not knowing anything about Mayapur, as a dedicated disciple, he replied that he thought it was a very good idea. Srila Prabhupada then spoke his famous and prophetic words, “So, you can help finance.” These words stuck deeply within Ambarisa’s heart and he has carried them with him ever since. Thus, the Detroit temple represents a most important aspect of the roots of the TOVP project. The presiding Deities are Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, and Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra.

On Saturday, June 27th, before the evening TOVP presentation, we had a tour of Devasadan Mandir, formerly the Fisher Mansion. It was a huge mansion, one of the largest and most unique in the U.S. at the time, with pure gold embellishments on the walls throughout the structure, each room representing a different International theme with appropriate structural designs and carvings. We ended with a visit to the original diorama theater created during Srila Prabhupada’s time. After the tour we were taken for a lunch program at the home of Nityakrishna and Nitya Kishori prabhus, attended by the TOVP Team including Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus.

When we arrived at the temple for the TOVP program the special presentation room was filled with devotees chanting the holy names and the crowd increased to almost 300 during the evening. An abhisheka was performed for the Padukas and Sitari and the TOVP presentation began after a heartwarming introduction by Jagad Guru prabhu, the Temple President. The Team spoke to all the devotees and a special feeling arose in everyone’s hearts because of the closeness of Devasadan Mandir to the TOVP project. Pledges started coming in and devotees started becoming ecstatic. In the end $1.6 million was pledged by the assembled devotees, after which prasadam was served.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 101: Devasadan Temple (Detroit) TOVP Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

On Friday, June 26th, we arrived in Detroit, Michigan at the home of Temple President Jagad Guru das and his wife Radha devi dasi, and were served the most wonderful varieties of International cuisine at lunch. A TOVP presentation had been arranged for that evening in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit, at a large temple building recently purchased by the devotee community there. 200 devotees and congregation were expected.

We arrived to a packed temple with kirtan going on and quickly set up our displays, etc. and began the presentation with an abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari. Radha Jivana and Jananivas prabhus then spoke to the devotees, many of whom were new and from the local South Indian community, about the TOVP project and its importance. The pledges began to come in and within a short time almost $210,000 was pledged. Prasadam was then served to all the Vaishnavas.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 100: Arrival in Detroit, Michigan/Farmington Hills TOVP Presentation appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

We arrived in Columbus, Ohio on the evening of Wednesday, June 24th, and stayed at the home of Prema Sindhu and Lila Valisini prabhus. The next day, Tuesday, June 25th, we moved to the home of temple president, Naveen Krishna and his wife Vraja Bhakti (named Radha Madhava House).

We visited the small Columbus temple and then made our way to a rented hall for the TOVP program. The hall filled with about 200 devotees and congregation members who enthusiastically performed a puspanjali ceremony for the Padukas and Sitari, after which Radha Jivan and Jananivas spoke about the TOVP project. The inspired crowd was moved to pledge over $300,000 to the TOVP, after which prasadam was served.

After the program we visited the home of one of the temple managers, Prema Vilas and his wife Lalita. Before departing the next day Jananivas performed a Lakshmi Nrsimha installation in Naveen Krishna’s home and we visited the home of Shyamesvar and Pinki.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 99: Columbus, Ohio TOVP Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

The small devotee community in Richmond, Virginia is run by temple president Divyanam das, and he and his wife Premalatika devi dasi, along with their two children Kulashekhar and Mahatma, hosted us in their home.

The TOVP presentation on Tuesday, June 23rd was in the home of Subala Sakha das and Krishna Pramodni devi dasi and was attended by 40+ devotees. An abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari was first on the schedule during kirtan, after which Radha Jivan and Jananivas prabhus spoke to the group of devotees. Unexpectedly, we raised over $100,000 in pledges from this small assembly. Prasadam was then served.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 98: Visit to Richmond, Virginia appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

On Sunday, June 21st, we were scheduled for two TOVP presentations. The first was at New Hastinapura Dhama in the U.S.A.’s capital, Washington, D.C.. This is also one of the original temples established by Srila Prabhupada and, in fact, the main Deities of Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan were the first Radha Krishna Deities in ISKCON. Alongside Their Lordships are Gaur Nitai and Sita, Rama, Lakshman and Hanuman.

The mid-day program in New Hastinapura began with an abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari in the presence of 300+ devotees and congregation members. Anuttama prabhu, the local GBC, then introduced the TOVP Team which also included Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus. They all spoke with great earnest and candidness, inspiring the crowd to make their financial commitments to the TOVP project. The fundraising ended with $over $350,000 in pledges. The program concluded with prasadam.

Immediately following the New Hastinapura program we made our way to ISKCON Baltimore, home of Sri Sri Nitai Gaursundar and Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra. This is also one of the original temples established by Srila Prabhupada. Although only a small house, He once visited and commented that Nitai Gaursundar were the most beautiful Gaur Nitai Deities in the world. Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra arrived in Baltimore at a later time and are the original Deities carved by Mahesvara prabhu for the New York temple under Srila Prabhupada’s guidance. They continue to be New York temple’s Rathayatra Deities.

The small temple was filled to capacity when we arrived and many devotees who could not fit were outside. After an abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari we quickly went into the TOVP presentation. Radha Jivana and Jananivas prabhus both spoke, as well as Anuttama prabhu the local GBC, and encouraged the devotees to make their pledges to the TOVP despite their own multi-million dollar new temple project underway. $120,000 was raised after which prasadam was served. As a special mercy, the Padukas were brought out to the new temple section of the property for Their blessings.

During the short visit to Baltimore we managed to fit in visits to several devotees’ homes in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.. The list is provided below:

Jaya Gaursundar das and Kaumadaki devi dasi
Amrita Ford and her husband
Dharmaraja das and Bhavika
Dixit and Kalindi
Dhiren and Nita
Mayur Mistry
Surabhi devi dasi and Shanker

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 97: New Hastinapura (ISKCON Washington, D.C.) and ISKCON Baltimore TOVP Presentations appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Presenting Krishna consciousness in a cultural way in Niechorze, Poland (Album with 100 photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The lighthouse in Niechorze, Poland on the Baltic Sea guided sailors safely to shore for centuries. Now Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement, in the form of our transcendental festival, is helping people to cross over the vast ocean of material existence. The two days we spent with our program next to the lighthouse attracted thousands and thousands of people. May they continue their spiritual journey back to Godhead and arrive safely one day in Sri Vrindavan Dhama.
See them here: https://goo.gl/9jQrwD

Hare Krishna! Photos for ISKCON 50th Anniversary Magazine
The magazine is mainly pictorial, and we really need good quality high res photos, urgently now, to be able to complete the layout. * do you have high resolution quality photos of Temples, deities, devotees, festivals, prasadam, etc., for the 50th Magazine; * if you are willing to assist with this service, do you have an online folder or gallery that you would be willing to let us browse through so that we can choose photos we are interested in; * or you could email us low res images you think may interest us, and we will let you know which ones we choose before procuring the high res images from you; * can you provide us with contact details of other devotees who are photographers?
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18338

Hare Krishna! San Francisco Airport Arrival Lila, 1974
Devotees of all sizes, shapes and colors from all corners of the universe (and perhaps from even beyond) merged together in the bliss of Prabhupada’s famous “airport arrival lila,” completely oblivious to the unbelieving stares and wide-eyed wonders of the unsuspecting passengers. Flowing robes and dangling beads decorated the long corridors like the colored flags and festoons waiting to greet Lord Krishna upon His triumphant arrival in Dvaraka. Sannyasis, grhasthas, brahmacaris, mothers and babies all united together in their love for Srila Prabhupada. It was like a big happy family reunion with everyone present, save and except the kind and well-wishing father whose eagerly anticipated arrival would make everything complete and fully satisfying to everyone.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18335

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The narrators, bards and singers then came forward. Knowing that they wanted to glorify him, Pṛthu smiled and spoke to them with a voice as grave as thunder. “Bho Narrators! Hey bards and gentle singers! I have not yet manifest my qualities, so why should you already make me the object of praise? Do not praise me yet, or your words would be baseless.”

“But it is obvious you will manifest great deeds in the future,” they might protest.

So Pṛthu said, “If in the future I will do things worth singing of, beautiful singers, wait for the future and glorify me then. In any case, the truly cultured prefer to sing of the Supreme Subject of Poetry, rather than singing about abominable things.”

“You are not ‘abominable’!” the singers would say. “Brahmā declared you an expansion of the Supreme Subject of Poetry!”

So Pṛthu said, “Even if I am an expansion of the Supreme, I still should not encourage you to praise me. A person who really has good qualities would never encourage admirers to glorify him, for that would destroy his good qualities; and a person who doesn’t really have good qualities unwittingly makes a fool of himself by accepting praise. That’s why people who are truly powerful and famous hate to hear their own praise. Those who are truly exalted are very modest and feel that even their great achievements are seriously flawed and ‘abominable’.

“My dear narrators and singers, I am very sorry. I have not yet shown any greatness in this world, so how can I be so childish as to ask you to describe my deeds?”

— Translation of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.15.21 ~ 26
by Vraja Kishor dās
VrajaKishor.com

Neelam is a doctor who lives at Ashmore on the Gold Coast. Her daughter, Sakhi is studying medicine at university and her son Krishna is finishing high school.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 June 2015, Bhaktivedanta Manor, United Kingdom, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.18.40)

Today, I am focusing on mercy, especially the mercy of the spiritual master who is in our life and connecting us with Krsna.

I am thinking now of Giriraja das brahmacari, at that time who was in Bombay, fighting the case with Mr. Nair over the land. At one point, Giriraja was in some public function where many dignitaries of Bombay were present. As he went back to the car, he stepped into the car and then suddenly this gorgeous, beautiful young lady sat right next to him. And not just next to him but really next to him!

His mind was affected and started spinning and he thought, “I am going to fall down. This is it. I am going to fall down.”

Then he thought, “No, but how could I? Prabhupada will be disappointed when he will hear about it.”

So this relationship saved him at that time. That lady was a prostitute sent by Mr. Nair… a Ramacandra Khan story. Anyway so, the protection of that relationship, of the personal relationship with the spiritual master, is not a luxury, it is our saving grace!

BY MATHURALILESVARI DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - When Srila Prabhupada arrived at the Commonwealth Pier in Boston fifty years ago in 1965, he did not know if he should turn left or right. With only forty Rupees and a trunk containing Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagvatam, Srila Prabhupada carried the instructions of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur close to his heart. In a poem that he penned upon his arrival in America he said, ”O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands. So if You have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as You like.” 

2015 marks the 50th year of Srila Prabhupada’s historic arrival in United States of  America. His arrival in the USA created a world-wide revolution. Hare Krishna became a household name. Malaysia, a small country often referred to as the country between Thailand and Singapore was not excluded from receiving Srila Prabhupada’s mercy. In 1971, Srila Prabhupada made his maiden trip to Malaysia on his way to Sydney, Australia.

To commemorate this most historic occasion, the devotees in Malaysia put together a two-day festival to celebrate and remember Srila Prabhupada’s contribution to this world and at the same time further distribute Srila Prabhupada’s mercy to all those who are yet to receive it.

On the first day of the celebration, the festival was inaugurated by HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami - President of ISKCON Malaysia, Gopal Dasa - Srila Prabhupada’s disciple who visited Malaysia in the early days with Srila Prabhupada and Loka Bandhu Gauranga Dasa - a disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami and Deputy Minister in the Federal Territories Ministry of Malaysia. Simhesvara Dasa, the Regional Secretary of ISKCON Malaysia delivered the opening speech and spoke about the various achievements of ISKCON Malaysia since its inception in 1979.

Kripa Sindhu Dasa, the Temple President of Sri Jagannatha Mandir Kuala Lumpur and Param Brahma Dasa, Temple President of ISKCON Ipoh were instrumental in organizing this festival.

The festival continued with a Mahabharata quiz for school children. More than 250 school children from the vernacular Tamil schools took part enthusiastically in this quiz. Every student that attended was presented with a Bhagavad Gita. Everyone went home a winner in their own way.

A food and fun fair with devotees selling delicious prasadam was indeed a crowd puller. Malaysia is known for its spread of delicacies due to its multi cultural society. It was such a hit that the stalls ran out of supply earlier than expected.

On second day of the celebration, the festival started with a Harinam in the city center. Devotees gathered in a Krishna Temple in Brickfields and danced their way through the busy streets of Kuala Lumpur singing the holy names. Upon arrival at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Kuala Lumpur everyone was soaked with Srila Prabhupada katha by Gopal Dasa and HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami. Gopal Dasa described how he volunteered himself to come to Malaysia when Srila Prabhupada asked who could preach in this part of Asia. Gopal Dasa was visibly in tears as he recalled how wide Krishna Consciousness has spread from just a handful of devotees when he first came in the 70s to a hall packed with devotees, with more than 30 centres nationwide and 34 ratha yatras annually. Both pioneers travelled through time to enlighten the audience with the glorious yesteryears on how ISKCON was established in Malaysia. The wonderful and inspiring pastimes that made the younger generation realise how much they owe to the earlier generation of devotees for paving the path to enable them to slide through the path of bhakti with lesser obstacles. Every youth felt eternally indebted to these pioneers.

A senior member of the ISKCON Malaysia congregation, Tyaga Caitanya Dasa and his team released a multimedia presentation which traversed through time of Srila Prabhupada’s remarkable journey in introducing Krishna Consciousness to the world and the many success events Srila Prabhupada had achieved in the following years up till now. The festival for the day continued with a maha abhishek for Srila Prabhupada followed by Guru Puja.  

The devotees and guests felt an immense appreciation for Srila Prabhupada and a stronger desire to further assist in his mission after this wonderful event.

Malaysia is definitely a success story. As a matter of fact when it comes to ISKCON, every country is a success story, every devotee is a success story. Such is the mercy and potency of Srila Prabhupada.

Tirupati Balaji dressed in diamonds, gold etc done once a year.

Srimad Bhagavatam 3-26-32 - The entire material manifestation began from sound, and sound can also end material entanglement .
TRANSLATION
When egoism in ignorance is agitated by the sex energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the subtle element sound is manifested, and from sound come the ethereal sky and the sense of hearing.
PURPORT
It appears from this verse that all the objects of our sense gratification are the products of egoism in ignorance. It is understood from this verse that by agitation of the element of egoism in ignorance, the first thing produced was sound, which is the subtle form of ether. It is stated also in the Vedānta-sūtra that sound is the origin of all objects of material possession and that by sound one can also dissolve this material existence. Anāvṛttiḥ śabdāt means “liberation by sound.” The entire material manifestation began from sound, and sound can also end material entanglement, if it has a particular potency. The particular sound capable of doing this is the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa. Our entanglement in material affairs has begun from material sound. Now we must purify that sound in spiritual understanding. There is sound in the spiritual world also. If we approach that sound, then our spiritual life begins, and the other requirements for spiritual advancement can be supplied. We have to understand very clearly that sound is the beginning of the creation of all material objects for our sense gratification. Similarly, if sound is purified, our spiritual necessities also are produced from sound.
Here it is said that from sound the ether became manifested and that the air became manifested from ether. How the ethereal sky comes from sound, how the air comes from sky and how fire comes from air will be explained later on. Sound is the cause of the sky, and sky is the cause of śrotram, the ear. The ear is the first sense for receiving knowledge. One must give aural reception to any knowledge one wants to receive, either material or spiritual. Therefore śrotram is very important. The Vedic knowledge is called śruti; knowledge has to be received by hearing. By hearing only can we have access to either material or spiritual enjoyment.
In the material world, we manufacture many things for our material comfort simply by hearing. They are already there, but just by hearing, one can transform them. If we want to build a very high skyscraper, this does not mean that we have to create it. The materials for the skyscraper—wood, metal, earth, etc.—are already there, but we make our intimate relationship with those already created material elements by hearing how to utilize them. Modern economic advancement for creation is also a product of hearing,and similarly one can create a favorable field of spiritual activities by hearing from the right source. Arjuna was a gross materialist in the bodily conception of life and was suffering from the bodily concept very acutely. But simply by hearing, Arjuna became a spiritualized, Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Hearing is very important, and that hearing is produced from the sky. By hearing only can we make proper use of that which already exists. The principle of hearing to properly utilize preconceived materials is applicable to spiritual paraphernalia as well. We must hear from the proper spiritual source.

Modi govt says to push for cow slaughter ban in India
India will use all its “might” to ban cow slaughter across the country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in a speech to spiritual leaders, as the government moves to fulfil a poll promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A renewed thrust by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protect cows, worshipped by majority Hindus, has led to a clamp down on beef trade run mostly by Muslims. India is the world’s second largest beef exporter and fifth biggest consumer.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/GgGSdU

June 25th, 2015.

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Hare Krishna! Bhaktivedanta Players 30th Anniversary (1985- 2015)
This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Bhaktivedanta Manor’s main drama group. It has been led chiefly by Jaya Krishna Das and Dwarka Puri das but over the years a great many other devotees of all ages and backgrounds have participated and given much of their time. Disciples of Srila Prabhupada pioneered the first dramas at Bhaktivedanta Manor during the early 1970’s. By 1985 the baton had gradually passed onto the next generation and The Bhaktivedanta Players in its present structure was born. Since then the Players have entertained and educated audiences consistently during all of the Manor’s major functions. Not only at festivals, but also on Sundays, community functions, Hare Krishna Festivals UK, universities and outreach events. Between 1995 and 2004 the Players performed The Ramayan at more than an hundred schools across the UK, in conjunction with ISKCON Educational Services.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18328