Planet ISKCON

Hare Krishna! Srila Prabhupada’s Transcendental Sweetness and Beauty
Two months later, on Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja day – 9 September 1966 – Srila Prabhupada held the first initiations in ISKCON. Michael Grant became Mukunda Dasa and Jan became Janaki Dasi, Srila Prabhupada’s first woman initiate and one of three ISKCON trustees. Three days later, Prabhupada performed a marriage ceremony for them. In those early years, Prabhupada established a personal, warm rapport with each of his disciples and nurtured them in spiritual life. This was true of both men and women.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17787

On Tuesday, May 19th we departed from New Orleans for Charlotte, North Carolina by airplane. We arrived and spent the rest of the day and evening quietly in the home of our host, Pavitra Gaura prabhu and his family.

The next day, Wednesday, May 29th we paid a short visit to the home of Sathish and Lalitangi Radha devi dasi and their two sons, Nimai and Prahlad for lunch prasadam, and spent the remainder of the day catching up with office and tour related work.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Days 69 and 70: Arrival in Charlotte, North Carolina appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

The amazing murtis pictured here are mockups of the 8 demigods that will overlook Lord Nrsimhadeva altar, offering prayers as described in Srimad Bhagavatam. The mockups are 2 ft. tall, but the size of the actual murtis when finished will be an astounding 9.8 feet!

On the second level of the altar, the railings between the murtis will be decorated with 3D panels illustrating the pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadeva. Each panel will be 6.5 ft. tall and, along with the murtis, cast in pure bronze.

The post Art Department in Action! appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

The all attractive prasadam distribution! :-)

Hare Krishna! Throughway to Happiness
Srila Prabhupada: Every one of us is searching after happiness, but we do not know what real happiness is. We see so much advertised about happiness, but practically speaking we see so few happy people. Happiness is generally perceived through our senses A stone, for instance, has no senses and cannot perceive happiness and distress. Developed consciousness can perceive happiness and distress more intensely than undeveloped consciousness.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17784

GRC is an abbreviation for glass fiber-reinforced concrete, the strongest and most environmentally retardant concrete in the world. The TOVP is being constructed of this material, as well as all the architectural elements and decorative items being used on the temple.

Now underway on the ISKCON property is the construction of a dedicated GRC workshop to create all the architectural and decorative items in-house. It will be situated behind the current temple beside the Prabhupada Garden. Its size is 131 ft. (40 meters) wide, 39 ft. (12 meters) deep, and 26 ft. (8 meters) tall for a total of 5,166 sq. ft. (480 sq. meters). Part of the in-house work will require an overhead crane which is arriving in about two weeks for this purpose.

One of the ingredients in the GRC, which arrived a few days ago, will be white sand from Rajasthan made of snow quartz grains. This will be used for the Jersey Panels, panels using this and other ingredients for the decorative/architectural items. Its pure white color will allow us to create these Jersey Panels in the clearest shade of white.

A definition of GRC is provided from Wikipedia:

Glass fiber-reinforced concrete consists of high-strength glass fiber embedded in a cementitious matrix.[1] In this form, both fibers and matrix retain their physical and chemical identities, while offering a synergism: a combination of properties that cannot be achieved with either of the components acting alone. In general, fibers are the principal load-carrying members, while the surrounding matrix keeps them in the desired locations and orientation, acting as a load transfer medium between the fibers and protecting them from environmental damage. In fact, the fibers provide reinforcement for the matrix and other useful functions in fiber-reinforced composite materials. Glass fibers can be incorporated into a matrix either in continuous or discontinuous (chopped) lengths.

The post Construction of the GRC Concrete Workshop appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Hare Krishna! First step towards siddha svarupa realization
In summary, impersonalist philosophers try to travel from a state full of desires to desire-less state, whereas devotees initiate their spiritual journey from desire (material desire) to desire of attaining Krishna. From that state, they travel uninterruptedly towards the final goal of Lord Krishna’s association in their choice mellow. Intense desire to attain Krishna awards them the liberated state while living in this material world, thus ensuring the siddha svarupa after leaving the present body. This whole process makes the desire to attain Krishna the first step towards the siddha svarupa realization in the spiritual world.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17780

Hare Krishna! Muslim Devotees of Krishna
The Vedic literature, the most elaborate exposition of spiritual knowledge, affirms that Krsna is the Supreme Being, the Ultimate Reality, the All-attractive Personality of Godhead. He can attract everyone—even persons who are direly warned to never approach Him. Although most of His devotees freely partake in His service, some have had to overcome all kinds of restrictions in order to attain the refuge of His lotus feet. Among the less-known and less-likely of Krsna’s devotees are several from Muslim backgrounds. They too, being irresistibly attracted by Krsna, have craved to sing and dance and play with Him, to go beyond formality and directly experience His being closer than the jugular vein.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17773

31.05.2015 H.H.Prabhodananda Sarasvati Swami_Panihati Mahotsav part 2

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"O Krsna! Thakura Bhaktivinoda has warned us that inattention is the main door into the house of aparadhas. O Krsna! Please let me taste some pleasure in Your names, so I can focus my full attention on chanting. May Your holy names become deeply impressed in my mind."

From Art Of Chanting Hare Krsna
by Mahanidhi Swami

Today we remember Sripada Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja on his birth anniversary–in New York City, his birthplace. I plan to speak about him at The Bhakti Center in Manhattan tomorrow morning, and the next day to visit the place where he grew up. His life was completely devoted to service to Srila Prabhupada–and through Srila Prabhupada, to all of us.

Hare Krishna.

His eternal servant,

Giriraj Swami

Krishna consciousness is spreading in New York through Harinama and book distribution (Album with photos)
New York Union Square Harinama.
See them here: https://goo.gl/eviJCL

SB 04.28.27 Nice grades, nice job, nice house, nice grave 2013-03-20

Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.27 Nice grades, nice job, nice house, nice grave 2013-03-20 Vrindavan

Tamal Krishna Goswami: “For China, Srila Prabhupada’s first instruction to me was to see that his books were translated into Chinese and distributed widely. He stressed that only after doing this would the field gradually become favorable for preaching. I proceeded, therefore, with blind faith in these words, and allready I am seeing within a short span of two years an increased interest in Krsna consciousness. Lately, some intelligent Chinese man and woman have even come forward and are now serving Lord Caitanya with great conviction.”
Read more: https://goo.gl/xFqRyI

Hare Krishna! HH Bhakti Charu Swami on HH Tamal Krishna Goswami
Tamal Krishna Maharaj joined Srila Prabhupada in 1968. Srila Prabhupada went to a place where the young Americans were living in the redwood forest near San Francisco. He was so aloof from the materialistic culture that he was living in the forest. But Srila Prabhupada went to that place and it was just love at first sight. He left everything. Even that commune that he was living in. He came with Srila Prabhupada to San Francisco after one meeting, maybe even just one sight of Srila Prabhupada, attracted him to his lotus feet. Then we see what an important role that he played in the Krishna Consciousness movement.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15698

Jayapataka Swami’s Health Update 05/06/15
We were at the hospital checking on Jayapataka Maharaja until now. Tonight he is breathing without the ventilator. His condition is stable and he continues to be in the ICU. Although he feels quite strong physically, his breathing progress is still going on slowly.
However, the doctors are currently once again trying to see if he recuperates his breathing capacity fully. This was Maharaja’s choice so we are attentive to his progress. This is in a way, a positive symptom but it is a matter of time to assess his overall situation and the pace in which he improves.
Read more: http://goo.gl/iWyYbJ

London Rathayatra INVITATION
On the auspicious occasion of ISKCON London’s Rathayatra festival, the team at both the Bhaktivedanta Manor and Radha Krishna Temple’s would like to invite you to join in the festivities this Sunday, June 14th, 2015. This year we will again have a VIP tent for our special guests and we would be very honoured if you would join us. This tent will have a meal, a personal guide to the festivities and a gift pack available to you. The VIP guest list will be by prior registration only. Rathayatra is a time for self-reflection and prosperity as Lord Jagganath, Lady Subahdra and Lord Baladeva are pulled by their devotees through the busy streets of London, blessing everyone who passes with their large gazing stare. Attendance of the festival is estimated at 5,000 people on the procession, and about 30,000-40,000 people pass through the square through the afternoon with more than 20,000 free plates of vegetarian food distributed to passer-byers.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17767

(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed)

[Republished from December 14th, 2012]
I began this blog with the first part of the title before I contacted an “industrial strength” flu, which then gave me illness eyes to emote through. Practically our entire community received this illness gift from a visiting sadhu, and many of us have been under the weather for 12 days or more. In any case, I have combined the two blog ideas since they are related. In other blogs (included in my book Give to Live) I have spoken about the positive and negative impetus for practicing bhakti. While today’s title emphasizes the negative, it is within the context of a positive, spiritual, worldview and an understanding of the blissful nature of the soul engaged in loving service to Krishna. Until we are self-realized devotees of Krishna, we have to continually be reminded about the shortcomings of the material world and the fallacy of trying to enjoy our senses. Why? Since we are all addicted to pleasuring our senses and material conceptions, we often have a difficult time breaking these bad habits. However, we can apply the adage, “Repetition is the mother of skill,” and gradually find our spiritual footing.

In this spirit, the statement, “and then you die,” can be added to any ordinary material activity or accomplishment in order to put life into a spiritual context. In other words, from the perspective of the eternality of the soul, how much value does a particular action or achievement have? Reading the obituary column is interesting from this perspective, since often the authors of the “accomplishments” of the so-called deceased, make quite a stretch in their praise, like looking for straws--at least it seems this way to me. If we were merely a temporary conglomeration of chemicals, then yeah, such narratives would be important, since that would be all there was to a person’s existence. One life and then you die—end of story! And even if, from a worldly or religious perspective, they are significant milestones, or extraordinary achievements, how much difference do they make spiritually? To me, that is the fundamental question to be asked in thinking of a person's, or our own, life. We all have things we feel compelled to do, and yet, as aspiring devotees, the art is to connect them to Krishna. As souls with a spiritual purpose to wake up from our conditioned dream, the only thing that truly matters is our real lasting enlightened self in a relationship of loving service to our Source, God, or Krishna.

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Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s signature in His Autobiography Svalikhita Jivani

Sunday lecture.

The post Summary of Sadhavo-hrdayam-mahyam (Part 1) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

We departed from Boone, North Carolina where the Sadhu Sanga Retreat took place for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Monday, May 25th, arriving at the home of Gopal Gauranga das and Anandini Radha devi dasi for evening prasadam. From there we went to the home of Shyamsundar das and Radhika Sundari devi dasi who were our hosts for the next few days. He coordinates the devotional programs in the Pittsburgh area from a rented room in a nearby Unitarian Church.

On Tuesday, May 26th we had lunch at Shyamsundar’s home and made preparations for the TOVP program that evening. Arriving at the program location, we set up our displays and enthusiastic devotees started arriving and filling the room. The program began with puspa abhisheka for the Lord’s Padukas and Sitari along with arati, after which Radha Jivan and Jananivas prabhus spoke to everyone about the TOVP project. The heartfelt presentation touched the hearts of all the devotees, and from this small but dedicated community we received $155,000 in pledges. The program ended with kirtan and prasadam.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Days 75-76 – Arrival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and TOVP Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Hare Krishna! The Most Intelligent Woman
Srila Prabhupada: Women in general are unable to speculate like philosophers, but they are blessed by the Lord because they believe at once in the superiority and almightiness of the Lord, and thus they offer obeisances without reservation. The Lord is so kind that He does not show special favor only to one who is a great philosopher. He knows the sincerity of purpose. For this reason only, women generally assemble in great number in any sort of religious function. In every country and in every sect of religion it appears that the women are more interested than the men.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17762

The Sadhu Sanga Retreat in Boone, North Carolina is North America’s largest devotee gathering attracting almost 2,000 devotees each year from all across America and Canada for kirtans and lectures by some of ISKCON’s favorite kirtan leaders and senior devotees. We departed from Charlotte, North Carolina by car on Friday, May 22nd for three days at the weekend retreat.

On Saturday, May 23rd we set up our elaborate TOVP table for the weekend to talk to devotees. Radha Jivan and Jananivas prabhus spoke around 1pm and the pledges started coming in all weekend. Many devotees had already seen us at other temples and made pledges. Others were waiting for us to arrive at their temples to make their pledges. Despite that, after two days (Saturday and Sunday) we received almost $225,000 in pledges.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 72-74 – The Sadhu Sanga Retreat appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Rathayatra Cart at Cooly Rocks On - 06 June 2015
ISKCON New Govardhana - Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari
Great fun for all at Cooly Rocks On, Coolangatta. 110 Photos.
See them here: https://goo.gl/5KDFUc

Radhanath Swami: Remembering Tamal Krishna Goswami (video)
His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1968 and served for many years as a GBC member. He preached Krishna Consciousness and established temples in many places around the world. He also served Srila Prabhupada as a personal servant and was with Srila Prabhupada during Srila Prabhupada’s last lila in this world. Tamal Krishna Goswami was also the author of several books including Servant of the Servant and TKG’s Diary.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/LgA8yJ

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Hare Krishna! A Historic One Day Long Kirtan in the Campus of Sri Badarinath Temple
By the blessings of H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupad and seek blessings of Lord Badarinath to extend the preaching of message of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the Uttarakhand, a Sankirtan Programme was organised by the Uttarakhand Namahatt of ISKCON DELHI. The Badari-Kedar Temples Committee Chairman & CEO was approached for permission through correspondence and they gladly honoured us with permission and other facilities.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17754

The post Daily Darshan – June 6th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.