Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Hare Krsna Dear devotees and well-wishers, Please accept our humble obeisances. Mayapur Tourism, ISKCON Mayapur’s travels and tours division, is happy to announce the launch of its improved website ‘www.visitmayapur.com’. Sri Mayapur is the birth place of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu- the most merciful form of Lord Krsna who distributed Krsna prema to […]
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Hare Krishna! Sri Mayapur International School: English teaching position available
We have a service opportunity for a Secondary School English teacher starting August 2015. If you have successful teaching experience with students aged 12 to 16, and would like to serve in Sri dham Mayapur we can offer you small mixed ability classes of well behaved devotee students, an attractive remuneration package and the opportunity to serve with a team of devotee teachers in a beautiful campus, next to Mayapur goshalla.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17706
The Amazing London Rathayatra!
Date: Sunday 14th June 2015
Details:
Route Map
47th London Rathayatra is Sunday 14 June.
Assemble at Hyde Park, South Carriage Drive 11.30am
Procession departs 12 noon
Arrives at Trafalgar Square 2.30pm
Festival in Square until 5.00pm
Festival Features:
Talks
Bhajans
Dramas
Stalls
Books & Paraphenalia
Free Vegetarian Prasadam Feast for all
Getting There
Dearest Reader,
Before start of procession the horse guards parade past the chariots
Everyone is welcome to Rathayatra.
The procession assembles just inside Hyde Park – 500 yards west of Hyde Park Corner.
You will clearly spot the three colourful carts as you approach. There are three or four kirtan (singing and instrument) sections, each with dancers.
You can pull the ropes on the cart (which bestows liberation) but please follow the instructions of stewards and staff.
The cart leaves Hyde Park promptly at mid-day and arrives at Trafalgar Square around 2.30pm.
This can feel like a long journey on a hot day and a OAP van is provided at the rear of the procession for the infirm.
Bring a bottle of water to refresh yourself along the way.
If you can, please come and enjoy the start of the procession before the Deities arrive.
London Festival in Trafalgar Square after the procession
The Deities come out of the temple to freely distribute Their loving glances to anyone and everyone.
Wherever the Lord appears He is accompanied by His beloved devotees and friends.
If you are also there then you will surely benefit eternally.
Thank you very much for reading. Look forward to seeing you at the festival!
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/67Wyhe
Hare Krishna! The Sublime Essence of the Lotus Feet
Placing the attention on the lotus feet with a reverential attitude can dispel mundane preoccupations of the ego, such as desires born out of vanity, pride and greed. Suffering, affliction, pain, fear and discontent fade away as body and mind become purified through attaching the mind to the lotus feet. The illusion of separation from the divine fades away. It is believed that upon first glance at the lotus feet, it is possible to perceive — via the senses — fresh lotus blossoms. Even to gaze upon the lotus feet can illumine the soul. In the act of falling at the lotus feet, touching the lotus feet, gazing upon the lotus feet or surrendering to the lotus feet, the ego can be subdued in favor of a higher state of awareness. The phrase “contacting the lotus feet of a guru” means to connect with a spiritual master to follow his teachings. It is considered an act of divine grace to be attracted to the lotus feet. By taking refuge at the master’s lotus feet, the devotee can receive innumerable spiritual benefits, just as he might attain through making pilgrimages, fasting, doing charitable acts, performing austerities and engaging in yogic disciplines. Sometimes the lotus feet are referred to as “a pool of sacred nectar that grants salvation to the world-weary pilgrims on the path.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17700
3rd June On 2nd June (Snana yatra day), devotees from all over Mayapur visited Rajapur Temple to participate in the annual abhishek of our most beloved Lordships Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra. The festivities started early in the morning with a beautiful darshan of their Lordships, and a grand ceremony of bringing Them to Their snan vedi, […]
The post Snana yatra celebrations appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Hare Krishna! The mercy factor
Kadamba Kanana Swami: We can think of our heart as a palace with many rooms. Slowly, we open more rooms and we have to turn all these rooms into temples. But as long as we have any ideas of wanting material things, that means that we still lock out some rooms from Krsna – that is where our obstacles are. Everyone has some barriers otherwise we will all be ecstatic prema bhaktas, rolling on the ground in ecstasy. So, we may have some personal agenda but we minimize it more and more.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17697
Indian Actress Rituparna doing Lord Jagannath Abhishek
The post Daily Darshan – June 3rd, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Rajapur Jagannath Snan Yatra 2015 Photo Slideshow (4 min video)
The Snana Yatra is a bathing festival celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the month of Jyeshtha. It is an important festival of the Jagannath devotees. This is the first occasion in the year as per the Vaishnava calendar, when the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, Sudarshan, and Madanmohan are brought out from the Jagannath Temple (Puri) and taken in a procession to the Snana Bedi. There they are ceremonially bathed and decorated for a public audience with the devotees.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/cyb6JX
Journey to the mountains for a rejuvenating weekend of kirtan and yoga at our beautiful retreat in Otaki. Experience the magic and mystery of kirtan, guided meditations, morning yoga, and delicious vegetarian meals. Don’t forget to bring your instruments (and voices) for a kirtan jam session and a special party on Saturday night!
Friday 19th June – Sunday 21st June
We will leave 6pm Friday night and return Sunday afternoon
To register, email Kalyani at: kalyaniradha.dd@gmail.com
Journey to the mountains for a rejuvenating weekend of kirtan and yoga at our beautiful retreat in Otaki. Experience the magic and mystery of kirtan, guided meditations, morning yoga, and delicious vegetarian meals. Don’t forget to bring your instruments (and voices) for a kirtan jam session and a special party on Saturday night!
Friday 19th June – Sunday 21st June
We will leave 6pm Friday night and return Sunday afternoon
To register, email Kalyani at: kalyaniradha.dd@gmail.com
1.06.2015 H.G.Banabhatta Prabhu_SB-5.23.2
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Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 10.9 for the morning program.
“We are completely dependent on the association of devotees, because in their association we can chant the holy name, discuss Srimad-Bhagavatam, and make plans to spread Krishna consciousness. Our acaryas have prayed that if we have to take birth again, let us take birth in the home of devotees who have no other desire but to serve Krishna. Spiritually, we have all taken our birth in Srila Prabhupada’s home ISKCON—he built a house in which everyone can live. We should value every moment that we have to live in this home and value all the pure devotees in this household and hold onto their lotus feet and pray for their mercy that they will always keep us with them and engage us in Krishna’s service.”
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Youth Meeting at ISKCON, Melbourne
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Svāyambhuva Manu told Dhruva:
[15] “The five physical elements evolve into female and male life forms. Through intercourse, those life forms then fill this world with more female and male bodies. This is how people are created, and it is also how they are maintained and destroyed. All of it is just an interaction of Paramātmā’s external qualities.”
Why do the physical elements evolve into male and female life forms?
[17] Svāyambhuva explained, “The Supreme Person is the essential, original cause of all these evolutions in his external qualities, even though he himself is without any such external qualities. This whole world manifests and disappears because of him, like iron being moved by a magnet.”
What “magnet” does he use to cause this evolution?
[19] Svāyambhuva explained, “Time is the ‘magnet.’ The All-Attractive uses the energy of time to set his external qualities in motion.”
How does time come into contact with the external elements?
Svāyambhuva Manu explained, “His potency of individualized consciousness (the jīva) carries this energy into those qualities. It is only through them that his divine nature acts within this external world; he himself does not act here. It is only through them that things are killed and destroyed; he himself does not kill or destroy. All these deeds transpire merely by his distant separated energies. The true deeds of the Great Origin are certainly far beyond all this.
[20] “He is eternal and unchanging, but through the agency of time the Endless creates endings, and the Beginningless creates beginnings. It is only through the agency of people that other people are born, and it is they who kill one another. He certainly never takes sides. No one is his enemy. No one is his ally. Mortality affects everyone equally.”
Then why do some die young, while others live long?
[21] Svāyambhuva explained, “The individual conscious beings who become involved with the external world simply submit to the impartial rules he establishes, just as dust submits to the wind. Sometimes these rules diminish their lifespan; sometimes they increase it. He is not directly involved in either case. He is absorbed in internal affairs within himself, and his laws impartially reward and punish those absorbed in the external world.”
Why do the living entities behave in unique, different ways, earning different rewards and punishments from Paramātmā’s impartial system?
[22] Svāyambhuva explained, “Some say it is due to cause and effect, karma. Others say it is due to each individual having a unique nature, svabhāva. Some say that is all fate and predestination, daiva. But certainly others say it is because each individual person has their own individual desires, kāma.”
None of these opinions are entirely correct or incorrect, because they all play a role in causing living entities to be individuals. But the root of all of them is kāma, individual desire and will.
[23] Why do they all have different desires? Svāyambhuva Manu explained, “The Supreme, who is beyond scrutiny and beyond examination, likes to generate many different types of energy. My dear boy, among these philosophers and logians, no one really understands his intention. He has his own reasons, and he manifests things according to his own liking. There is no causality superior to his will.”
Comments:
In 19, we see that time activates the external energy, and that time is carried into the external energy by the vibhakta-vīrya which VCT explains as the “individualized potency” known as jīva – individual souls like you and I. Time exists within consciousness (as does everything), so existing within the jīva’s consciousness, who herself is a distinct energy of the Supreme, time is carried into the external world and allows conscious will to set elemental evolution in motion. This concurs with the previous descriptions of initial creation given in the Second and Third Cantos.
19 also establishes that the separated conscious entities are denoted as such because they have independent free will. Their will is given autonomy by the Supreme, and allowed to operate on its own, separately from the Supreme Will. Of course it can, and should act in harmony with the Supreme Will. But this is not mandatory, nor does “harmony” indicate absolute uniformity and non-distinction.
19 also establishes that the things that happen in this world are not caused by “God.” They are caused by the inhabitants of the world, you and me. God is the remote cause, because he is the cause of you and I existing, but the direct cause is our own independent will.
20 confirms this and specifies that the Supreme is equally disposed impartially towards each and every one of his separated individual expansions of consciousness.
21 clarifies that different living beings experience different joys and sorrows, not because of God, but because of their own deeds. God is impartial, it is our own harmony or disharmony with his system (which also implies harmony with one another) which causes the impartial rewards and punishments.
22 seeks for the root of why the living entities should be individuals. The answer is that many factors are involved, but the root cause is kāma – individual taste, individual desire, individual will.
23 adds that the absolute root cause is the individual taste, desire and will of the Original, Self-Causing Being.
This is a translation, with comments
On Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.11.15 ~ 23
by Vraja Kishor dās
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, July 2009, Serbian Summer Camp, Lecture)
Question: I was thinking if I should ask this question. A confession goes along with it. I started Krsna consciousness twenty-one years ago and in spite of all my deficiencies, devotees have been very nice to me. After many years, finally I think that I am getting some taste and for hearing and chanting also. But, I feel that I have hit a wall or a ceiling. Upon analysing, I have discovered that I still have doubts which are preventing me form getting the real nectar in Krsna consciousness. Upon further analysis, to my horror, I have discovered that apparently I am not so happy with the idea that Krsna is controlling everything in my life. Even though I have begun to enjoy very much the association of devotees and the whole process of Krsna consciousness, I am constantly, no matter how hard I try, I am hitting this wall which prevents me from going further. I would very much like to know why this is so. So Maharaj, please tell me, what is wrong?
It is a fact that we have to give up all sense of proprietorship. At one point, we just have to accept that nothing is ours. In the Caitanya Caritamrta, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu tells to Sanatana Goswami that even his own body was not his. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “You have surrendered unto me. Therefore, your body is my property!”
We have to gradually come to this point when we say, “All right, all Your property!” We have to let go of the tendency to control our own destiny, to really say, “Okay Krsna, whatever You want!” Because, whether we have that mood or not, it is anyway going to be like that. Krsna will do what he wants. So, we are all struggling like that.
Yesterday, I used the analogy of Krsna being in the inner-chamber in our heart. We can think of our heart as a palace with many rooms. Slowly, we open more rooms and we have to turn all these rooms into temples. But as long as we have any ideas of wanting material things, that means that we still lock out some rooms from Krsna – that is where our obstacles are. Everyone has some barriers otherwise we will all be ecstatic prema bhaktas, rolling on the ground in ecstasy. So, we may be struggling with these limits, we may bump into the walls that you described but, if step-by-step, we try to surrender more, if we try to accept whatever Krsna wants, still in subtle ways we may have some personal agenda but we minimize it more and more.
Like in my case, I was a grhasta but I did not have kids, it did not happen. Then at one stage, I began to wonder what are we going to do – grow old together… hand-in- hand, bone-in-bone. I thought what would the point be? So, I began to develop the desire to take sannyasa. I remember the ceremony at the Bhaktivedanta Manor and as I was sitting at the fire sacrifice, I had a moment of doubt. (Audience: Ohhhh!) No, doubt is a sign of intelligence, Kapiladeva says. I had a moment of doubt! I was thinking, “Why am I doing this to myself? I am forty-four years old. This is relatively young. I could have waited ten more years. Why do I want to do this now? Is it personal ambition or is it really the desire to serve Krsna?”
Anyway, since I was sitting in the sacrifice, I just carried on with it. What do you do? Then after I took sannyasa, some television crew came and they immediately put the microphone under my nose and said, “Do you feel any different?”
And I said, “If you would ask that question to a man who just got married, what would he say? He would say yes. I feel different now because I feel the weight of the responsibility.” So, I felt the weight of the responsibility there and then. So, this is the way that we gradually try to increase our commitment. First, we make an external commitment and then in order to survive that commitment, you have to fill it in. A sannyasi has to walk around with these heavy vows, such heavy vows – not to enjoy in this world, no sense gratification at all. It is quite strict! So, then I could see, “I will never survive this unless I really fill it in with some genuine attraction to Krsna.”
If we want to break out of a stagnated situation then we must make a commitment that is greater than where we are now. It does not have to be sannyasa but the commitment in service to Krsna must increase. That commitment in service to Krsna will force us to also make a greater internal commitment. And if again we find a wall then again, we must make a fresh commitment which is even greater which will force us to grow internally. It is in this way that we increase our surrender to Krsna and not so much by mental or intellectual adjustment. We cannot do it that way, we are just not strong enough but if we make a commitment, that will force us. If we take responsibility, responsibility will force us.
So, when there is stagnation, make more commitment in the service of Krsna. It can be in different directions – it can be in sadhana, in practical service; it can be in ashram; it depends on our individual situation. Then in the end, if at the end of our life, if there are still such walls and we still have not fully become perfect then there is this hope, it is called asa bandha, it is translated as “hope against hope”!
It basically means that even if there is no reason to have hope, you still have hope. We may have no reason to think that we will be successful, that we will go back to Godhead, and that we will get Krsna prema because we have not surrendered enough. You know it and I know it; we know it about ourselves. But we “hope against hope” that we may still get the mercy of Lord Caitanya because if he sees that we are really trying then he is very generous. So, this is the crux, we have to really try and if Lord Caitanya sees that we are really trying, then he will give us mercy, if he wants to…
So that is my meditation, that is why I took sannyasa. It is a risky business. Still, I hope that Lord Caitanya, at the end of my life, will say, “Well, he tried!” Everyone else will say, “He did not do very well. It was not very impressive. Maybe it will be better for him to do it one more time.” But someone will also say, “This is one of Prabhupada’s men.” So I also want to be a Prabhupada man. Prabhupada has prayed to Krsna that we can go back to Godhead. So I try to serve Prabhupada, I hope that he will also help.
Do you know that story about the horse race? The horse race is getting ready to start. Ladies and gentlemen, all the horses are lined up! Start sign and they are all are running. And it is material desire that takes the lead! Envy and greed are close behind. And they are storming down the tracks, storming down the tracks… and it really looks like material desire is going to win the race. Number one, material desire, is in the lead… in the lead! But then… look, look, look! From behind, from the left field, there it is – Prabhupada’s mercy, Prabhupada’s mercy coming down the side! And yes, yes, yes! Prabhupada’s mercy is moving on. Prabhupada’s mercy is, I tell you ladies and gentlemen, Prabhupada’s mercy is going to finish the race!!!
Somehow or other, hang in there!
General update on the Domes
The TOVP domes are coming up very fast! On the main dome, the 9th and last ring is now 50% completed. The 3rd ring on the planetarium dome is almost finished and for Nrshimha Dev dome, the 3rd ring just commenced!
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/f0X0Kr
TOVP Plumbing System Underway
While in and of itself plumbing is not a glorious activity, when used in the Lord’s service it becomes a glorious detail to the TOVP project and an essential and important element in its all-around long-term preservation.
Piping work on the temple started last June, 2014 under the guidance of Gammon Construction. Recently, plumbing work started on the domes. This is to insure that, due to the impending approach of the rainy season, all excess water can be removed to prevent any damage to the temple structure. Using HPDE (High Density Polyethylene), a material with a high density-to-strength ration, this will be accomplished in a short time. On the temple floor workers are also closing/sealing piping within layers of brick.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/Lj7IbN
Vivaha samskara (Album with photos)
Thank Ilay Boyko for helping us keep this day in memory :)
See them here: https://goo.gl/g65rZv
This past weekend, our community was excited to have the entire TOVP team as well as Lord 
Harinama in Moscow, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Krishna, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 20.12)
See them here: https://goo.gl/ZLzWb0
A grove of Indian sandalwood trees
Once, a long time ago in India, there was a poor man who lived with his wife in a small cottage deep in a forest. Every day the man would pick up sticks from the forest floor, make them up into bundles then stack them carefully in a circle. Covering them over with earth he would burn them slowly until the wood had charred black. The result was charcoal – a fuel that was very light to carry but excellent for cooking. He made very little money from this trade but was satisfied with what he had. Not many visitors came into the forest because it was filled with wild animals, so sometimes the man and his wife felt lonely, but the forest was peaceful and they were happy.
One afternoon a stranger arrived at the door of the cottage. He was visibly exhausted and his brow was damp with sweat. “Can you help me please?” he asked the man, “I was out hunting and my horse galloped off – I’ve been walking for miles and I’m lost.” The charcoal-maker immediately gave the stranger a place to rest and some water to drink. His wife set about cooking a meal and the stranger began to feel at home, so much so that he fell asleep and spent the night as the guest of the man and his wife.
The next morning the stranger asked to be escorted to the edge of the forest. It was quite a distance to walk, but the charcoal-maker happily obliged. As the dense forest gave way to a path, the stranger revealed his identity. “What I did not tell you, my friend, is that I am actually the king of this region. I could see that you didn’t recognise me, and that all the kind hospitality you offered was from your heart. I am very grateful and I would like to offer you a gift. Please walk another mile with me.”
Walking on, they came to a forest from which came a wonderful fragrance. “This is my sandal-wood grove,” explained the king, “fifty of the oldest and finest trees – and I want you to have it.” The charcoal-maker was astonished that his guest had been the king, and even more surprised that he was being given his own personal wood. He thanked the king profusely and they parted company.
One year later, the king visited the sandalwood grove and discovered, much to his surprise, that all the trees had gone. Not one tree was left standing. Curious, he went deep inside the forest to visit the charcoal-maker. “So I see that you have made good use of the sandal-wood?” he asked the man. “Oh yes,” replied the man, “I made all of the fifty trees into charcoal.”
“But did you not realise,” exclaimed the king, quite aghast, “that just one twig of a single sandal-wood tree can be sold for the price of a hundred bags of charcoal? That the fragrant oil inside the tree is worth much more than the wood that contains it?” “No,” replied the man, “I’m a simple charcoal-maker…”
Moral: In ordinary consciousness we attribute a greater value to the body than the soul within. Not even knowing the value of the soul, we use our body as fuel and burn through it in seventy years, never capitalising on the sweet fragrance that could have been ours. The guru is the teacher who explains the difference between body and soul; then shows us how to obtain the real value of life.
Hare Krishna! Raga-bhakti
“In the beginning one has to render service strictly according to the regulative principles set forth by the revealed scriptures and spiritual master. By continuously rendering service through the process of vaidhī bhakti, one’s natural inclination is gradually awakened. That is called spontaneous attraction, or rāgānugā bhakti”. (CC Madhya-lila 22.153 purport)
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17692