Planet ISKCON

In Bhagavad Gita 6.47 its stated: And of all yogīs, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself and renders transcendental loving service to Me – he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

Bhagavad Gita 9.27

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me. http://www.vedabase.com/en/bg

Most significantly for ISKCON members perhaps, Vatican Council II redefined how the Catholic Church sees and engages with the non-Catholic religious traditions. Thus, it was appropriate that ISKCON representatives took part in a series of events hosted by Catholic organizations in Washington, D.C. from May 19-24 celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of Vatican II.  

The Supreme is defined in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś ca, or, “The origin of everything is the Supreme Brahman.” Therefore the origin of lust is also in the Supreme. If, therefore, lust is transformed into love for the Supreme, or transformed into Kṛṣṇa consciousness – or, in other words, desiring everything for Kṛṣṇa – then both lust and wrath can be spiritualized.

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kāma eṣa krodha eṣa
rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ
mahāśano mahā-pāpmā
viddhy enam iha vairiṇam

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.

http://www.vedabase.com/en/bg/3/37

Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī did a lot of revolutionary, controversial things. All of them were done to hammer home specific philosophical points that were extremely relevant to the audience he was dealing with in early 19th century Bengal. Adoption of Sanyassa and Saffron, for example. Wearing of the “brahmana’s thread” and śikha. He did this to boldly and vividly demonstrate the point that a Vaiṣṇava can play any social role.

He also completely changed the description of the Paramparā, causing a huge controversy that persists to this day. “Paramparā” means, literally, “higher and higher” and refers to the “one after another” succession through which a school transmits its values and ideas. Bhaktisiddhānta described the Paramparā in terms of the major teachers who influenced the development of his branch of the Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava school. Most people, however, think of “paramparā” solely as dīkṣa-paramparā, and take the word dīkṣa to mean the official acceptance of a student by a teacher (instead of the deeper meanings, “transmission of light/knowledge.”). These people accuse Bhaktisiddhānta of falsifying a paramparā for nefarious reasons. Such people, in my opinion, are utterly unimpressive, and merely wish, for whatever reason, to cast mud on a great person. Bhaktisiddhānta simply wanted to emphasis that what is important in a school is not their official membership in a family tree (seminal or ideological). What was important to a school were the ideas and values themselves. Therefore he identified the paramparā not as the family tree of his lineage, but as the idealogical tree – showing the major teachers.

To set the record straight, the dīkṣa paramparā of Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Varshabhanavi Daitaya Dāsa is as follows (as told by Akincana Krishna das Bābājī, who learned it from Dina-bandhu dasa Bābājī, disciple of Gaura Kishor dasa Bābājī and thus guru-bhai (“godbrother”) of Śrī Bhaktisiddānta):

Bhāgavatam 4.12

athāyajata yajñeśaṁ
kratubhir bhūri-dakṣiṇaiḥ
dravya-kriyā-devatānāṁ
karma karma-phala-pradam (10)

As a king, Dhruva conducted ceremonies to give generous charity as a means to worship the Lord of Sacrifice who is the essence of all wealth, all rituals, all gods, and all endeavors, and who bestows the fruits of all efforts.

sarvātmany acyute ’sarve
tīvraughāṁ bhaktim udvahan
dadarśātmani bhūteṣu
tam evāvasthitaṁ vibhum (11)

By this fiercely powerful devotion he worshipped the Flawless Supreme Soul in all Souls, and was able to actually see the Supreme Soul as the soul of all things.

Dhruva’s version of “sacrifice” (yajña) was not slaughtering animals.

Where does the idea of slaughtering animals as sacrifice even come from anyway? “Sacrifice” means to give up something important. Animals are extremely important because they are our natural “cars” (think Horses, Bulls, Elephants, Camels, Donkeys, etc), ploughs, protectors, and food sources (even for vegetarians, think of milks and eggs, for example). Animals are natural wealth. The idea of killing them in a Sacrifice was a way of saying, “I am giving up what is important to me, because I trust that you (the gods to whom the animal was sacrificed) will take care of me.”

Its a bit of a bad idea though, since the animal is not exactly just an insentient bit of wealth, but is also a living creature who doesn’t want to get killed.

There are far better ways to offer sacrifice (yajña). Dhruva’s way was to give enormous amounts of wealth away to his citizens, on behalf of Viṣṇu. He would hold a huge, delightful festival and ceremony honoring Viṣṇu, with kīrtan and Viṣṇu-kathā. Then he would give fabulous wealth to all the attendees, with utmost respect.

Instead of offering the wealth into a fire, he was offering it to his citizens. What is the point of a fire, anyway? The fire is a way of removing something from our world and transferring it to a different state/world. (Fire transforms matter into energy). So fire is a bridge, symbolically, from humanity to the gods. Sacrificing something into a fire is like giving it in charity to a god. Dhruva’s idea, however, was to give it more directly to god by giving it to people.

Kuvera had previously explained to him (texts 5 and 6) that Viṣṇu is the essence of all beings. So, by offering his service and wealth to his citizens (or whomever happened to attend his festivals) he was directly sacrificing his enormous wealth to Viṣṇu.

So, by serving people, Dhruva was serving Viṣṇu. Do note, that he did so explicitly. He called them to Viṣṇu-kīrtan and kathā and then served them in Viṣṇu’s name, in the “fiercely powerful” (as befitting his warrior personality) consciousness that “these people are, essentially, Viṣṇu.”

The result of this practice, is that he actually was able to see Viṣṇu in everyone.

SB 06.04.13-14 Help Everyone Remember Krishna

Kindly transcribed by Sarasvati Priya DD]

From Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir

Date: February 21, 2015 Speaker: HH Prahladananda Swami
Subject: S.B.6.4.13-14

_________________

VERSE 13 antar dehesu bhutanam atmaste harir isvarah sarvam tad-dhisnyam iksadhvam evam vas tosito hy asau

TRANSLATION: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated as the super soul within the cores of the hearts of all living entities, whether moving or nonmoving, including men, birds, animals, trees and, indeed, all living entities. Therefore you should consider every body a residence or temple of the Lord. By such vision you will satisfy the Lord. You should not angrily kill these living entities in the forms of trees.

PURPORT: As stated in Bhagavad-gita and confirmed by all the Vedic scriptures, isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd dese ‘rjuna tisthati the Super soul is situated within everyone’s heart. Therefore, since everyone’s body is the residence of the Supreme Lord, one should not destroy the body because of unnecessary envy. That will dissatisfy the super soul. Soma told the Pracetas that because they had tried to satisfy the super soul, now they should not displease Him.

VERSE 14 yah samutpatitam deha akasan manyum ulbanam atma-jijnasaya yacchet sa gunan ativartate

TRANSLATION: One who inquires into self-realization and thus subdues his powerful anger-which awakens suddenly in the body as if falling from the sky-transcends the influence of the modes of material nature.

PURPORT: When one becomes angry, he forgets himself and his situation, but if one is able to consider his situation by knowledge, one transcends the influence of the modes of material nature. One is always a servant of lusty desires, anger, greed, illusion, envy and so forth, but if one obtains sufficient strength in spiritual advancement, one can control them. One who obtains such control will always be transcendentally situated, untouched by the modes of material nature. This is only possible when one fully engages in the service of the Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita 14.26

mam ca yo ‘vyabhicarena bhakti yogena sevate sa gunan samatityaitan brahma bhuyayah kalpate

“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the spiritual platform.” By engaging one in devotional service, the Krsna consciousness movement keeps one always transcendental to anger, greed, lust, envy and so forth. One must perform devotional service because otherwise one will become victimized by the modes of material nature.

________________________

HH Prahladananda Swami:(Pranama Mantras)

I’m happy to have this opportunity to say something about Krishna Consciousness.

In these two verses it mentions that we should see everyone equally. Although externally we see so many different bodies, internally there is a soul. Along with the soul, there is the super soul. The whole world is manifested according to the desires of the soul through the agency of material nature, which is directed by the super soul.

Krishna knows our desires, just like one can understand the flavor of a flower by smelling it. He’s arranging everything accordingly. Specifically, in the human form of life, we have a choice. We have a choice to orientate our desires towards life, towards the spiritual conceptions of life. Or we can remain in the ignorant misconceptions of misidentifying ourselves and others with the gross material body. If one orientates himself towards the light, then gradually one will come to the light.

Krishna tries to convince Arjuna from the very beginning of Bhagavad Gita that we are not the body. Not only are we not our body, but no one is their body. Although we seemingly have a very intimate relationship with this body, it is all due to a kind of imagination. It is a virtual reality that we are observing and experiencing, but actually it has nothing to do with our spiritual personality.

The material world, as we have heard before, is just like a dream for the soul. Not a very pleasant dream, it’s more like a nightmare. We are dreaming that we are going through birth, old age, and disease, and then we are dreaming that we are dying. The dream repeats itself over and over again in 8,400,000 species of life. The soul, more or less, is trying to experience some kind of happiness in this material existence. pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam (SB 5.5.8) The whole material happiness is based upon “I am male, you are female. I am Tarzan. You are Jane. I am Mickey Mouse. You are Minnie Mouse. I am Romeo. You are Juliet. I am Krishna. You are Radha.” So everyone is dreaming like that and trying to squeeze some pleasure out of our so called lila in the material world.

One time, Srila Prabhupada was coming back from a doctors appointment in Los Angeles. On the way back, he saw the title of a movie called, “Is there sex after death.” When Srila Prabhupada came back to the Temple, he gave a lecture. In the lecture he mentioned that he had seen the title of the movie, “Is there sex after death.” Srila Prabhupada said to his disciples that they should go and tell everyone that there is sex after death, in 8,400,000 species of life. Srila Prabhupada said that if the materialists understand that, they won’t be afraid of death anymore.

We are trying to create this imaginary world where we are in the center and the rest of the world revolves around us. The sun comes up in the morning to shine on us, and the moon comes up in the evening to shine on us. Everyone else is more or less an actor in our grand play. This is known as illusion. Krishna says that actually:

anaditvan nirgunatvat paramatmayam avyayah sarira-stho ‘pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate
(BG 13.32)

Those who can see with the eyes of eternality can see that the soul is eternal, transcendental, and beyond the modes of material nature, despite contact with the material body, oh Arjuna. The soul is neither entangled, nor is he doing anything.

Of course we are doing something. We are desiring. The only problem in this world is that we do not know what to desire. According to our circumstances, if we desire to serve Krishna, dadami buddhi-yogam tam (BG 10.10), then Krishna will supply the intelligence by which we will be able to serve Him. What is that service? There are nine processes of devotional service.

sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam

These are the nine methods or activities that we can perform in order to serve Krishna. Even more important than any of these particular types of service, is the mentality of being Krishna’s servant. It is not only externally doing some activity, but is doing it in the mood of service. Therefore Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said that:

naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro naham varni na ca grha-patir no vanastho yatir va kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah
(CC Madhya 13.80)

This is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is God, Himself. His mood is that He is the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna. Who are the servants of Krishna?

samam sarvesu bhutesu tisthantam paramesvaram vinasyatsv avinasyantam yah pasyati sa pasyati
(Bhagavad Gita 13.28)

One who can see the super soul accompanying all living entities in all bodies and knows that neither the soul nor the super soul in the destructible bodies is ever destroyed, actually sees.

We may see with the vision that, “I am this body. I am male. I am female. I am born in this country. I have these particular qualities.” It is all an imagination. The imagination is not that there doesn’t exist the body, rather the misidentification with the body is an illusion. If I want to utilize my body in order to play the pastime of trying to become Radha or Krishna, then the result is that I simply remain in illusion. If I want to enter into the pastimes of Radha and Krishna, then I, nimitta-matram bhava savya-sacin, (BG 11.33) become an instrument for Krishna’s service. What is that service?

yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa
(CC Madhya 7.128)

Whoever we meet, we should try to help them become conscious of Krishna. As soon as we meet anyone, immediately our first thought is, “My dear Lord, please give me the intelligence to help this particular soul advance in their relationship with Krishna.”

It’s not that we don’t see externally what particular body or mentality that someone has. Obviously there are different bodies. There are different mentalities. That does not mean that we are not their servant, the servant of the soul and the super soul. How we serve will depend upon time, place, and audience. That service has to be directed by guru, sadhu, and sastra. Our aim, whatever we do, is to try to help them invoke their awareness of and love for Krishna.

It is not only certain persons within our society who have the role of guru. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has asked every human being in this universe to become guru. He did not say that guru means sitting on a big chair handing out beads to people. He said that guru means that whoever we meet, we try to help them become conscious of their relationship with Krishna. That is actual guru. We may take different positions or identities, but they are simply to help us help others become conscious of Krishna.

gurur na sa syat sva-jano na sa syat pita na sa syaj janani na sa syat daivam na tat syan na patis ca sa syan na mocayed yah samupeta-mrtyum SB 5.5.18

That anyone, if we are a guru, teacher, if we have some relatives, if we’re a father or a mother, if we’re an important person, we should tell them about Krishna. Somehow or another we should help them make some advancement, give them some prasadam. Give them the holy name. Give them one of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Smile at them and think of Krishna.

Somehow or another, when we meet our wife, we should not think “I am husband. I am controller. Just see my prowess.” When we meet our husband, we should not think, “What can I get from him? How can I trick him? I love you.” We should immediately think, “I am your servant. How can I serve you? How can I help you become Krishna Conscious?”

Then Krishna says dadami buddhi-yogam tam (Bg 10.10). I’ll give you intelligence so that twenty-four hours a day you cannot help but think about me. Then the whole world turns into Krishna’s pastimes because we are actively engaged in Krishna’s pastimes. This is the lila of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is not some small little lila where there are some unusual people called the Hare Krishnas, or the hairless Krishnas. It is not some unusual group of people with some unusual dress and lifestyle that keep on chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. They can’t stop because they have no brains.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

“Excuse me, sir?” “No, I can’t. I have to keep on chanting. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna.as soon as I stop chanting I start thinking. If I start thinking, who knows what’s going to happen!” No, it is not some unusual group of people murmuring some words because they have no brains. We are actually giving people Krishna directly.

nama cintamanih krsnas caitanya-rasa-vigrahah
(CC Madhya 17.133)

Krishna and His name are non different. We are not simply chanting Hare Krishna. We are asking Krishna to engage us in His loving service. But that’s what it is. It’s loving service. That service is all pervading. We cannot love Krishna without loving all living entities. We cannot love all living entities unless we are actually trying to give them Krishna. If we meet a devotee, especially, if we’re not enlivened and happy then that means that we are in maya.

In other words, especially when we meet the devotees, we immediately have to remember Krishna and Krishna’s service. As we become absorbed in that meditation and that service attitude, then Krishna will be there. As soon as we forget that actually, I own nothing, I’m not this body, this body belongs to Krishna, all the things that I have belong to Krishna, I belong to Krishna. Therefore whenever I meet someone, I offer them my service to help them become Krishna Conscious. Then naturally, I’ll remember Krishna.

If it’s in the mood of devotion, in the mood of service, guided by guru, sadhu, and sastra, then the result is that we will remember the ecstatic acharyas in our disciplic succession. We will remember the ecstatic six goswamis. We will remember the ecstatic Pancha Tattva. We will remember the ecstatic residents of the spiritual world. And in every moment, in that way, we will actually be making progress in going back to the spiritual world. The more consistent and enthusiastic that mediation becomes, then the more Krishna will give us the intelligence of how to perform that service with more enthusiasm and determination. Then all of the anarthas and aparadhas will simply vanish in the ecstasy of devotional service.

When we chant Hare Krishna we will actually mean it. We’ll actually believe that there is a Krishna. There is a Srimati Radharani. And there is something called Their loving service. Gradually, we will develop that desire to obtain their loving service. That’s the whole purpose of what we are doing, to increase our desire to enter into the loving service of Krishna and His associates. That opportunity is at every moment. We don’t have to wait until tomorrow, or for better circumstances. At every moment we have that opportunity. It’s simply a question of taking advantage of the great opportunity that we have in each moment, especially in the sankirtan movement, as given to us by Srila Prabhupada by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Although we may not be very much enlightened or enlivened, but if we chant Hare Krishna and actually ask Krishna pleadingly, “Please engage me in Your loving service.” We may not have any idea what that means. But because we heard that it’s very nice then we can ask Krishna, “My dear Krishna, I don’t know what Your loving service is or who You are, or Srimati Radharani. I don’t know how to serve Your associates. Please reveal all of this to me. Without Your mercy, I have no opportunity to learn how to understand any of these things. By the mercy of Your representative, I have learned something, at least theoretically. Please make all of this realized so that I can actually do something for my spiritual master and the disciplic succession. So that I actually become enlivened and enlightened in devotional service, and neither pretend that I’m Radha and Krishna, or Tarzan or Jane, or pretend that I’m some great devotee, some realized soul handing out benedictions to the audience.”

Actually, one should think, “I have no devotion. What do I know about Krishna or His loving service? But I’m begging my spiritual master and Krishna to reveal these things to me.” When Krishna sees that we are actually taking the mission of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu seriously, and introducing the chanting of Hare Krishna to others with devotion and determination, then gradually Krishna will reveal Himself through His holy name.

As soon as we forget that, then at once we will say, “Oh, here’s my friend, here’s my enemy. Here’s a good person, here’s a bad person. Here is someone I like, someone I do not like.” At once we are in a whole different world of imagination.

sanaih sanair uparamed buddhya dhrti-grhitaya atma-samstham manah krtva na kincid api cintayet
(BG 6.25)

Gradually, step by step with determination and full conviction, we have to withdraw our minds from these misconceptions and practice this art of devotional service. It is not that when we try, Maya says automatically, “Oh, you are such a nice devotee. Now you can think of Krishna forever.” Wherever the mind wonders to due to its flickering and unsteady nature, bring it back to Krishna’s service and into the service of helping others become Krishna Conscious. It’s guaranteed that Krishna will give us all of His mercy. It will gradually become easier and easier to remember the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

mat-karma-krn mat-paramo mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah nirvairah sarva-bhutesu yah sa mam eti pandava
(Bg 11.55)

“My dear Arjuna, one who is absorbed in my pure devotional service with devotion, without any material misconceptions, becomes a real friend to every living entity and becomes everyone’s servant by giving them the best service.” They give them the source of all knowledge, all beauty, all fame, all renunciation in the form of the holy name, Srila Prabhupada’s books, prasadam, and by simply being kind to people and helping them make advancement in Krishna Consciousness. This will transform the world.

We can organize the sankirtan movement but the basis of it has to be that service to Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement. Srila Prabhupada once wrote to me. He said, “I don’t want buildings, I don’t want money, I don’t want any of these things. I simply want to see that my books are being distributed. Because you are doing this, I am pleased.”

So we should live in Srila Prabhupada’s books. We should distribute them in many different ways. That will please Srila Prabhupada and the previous acharyas. It will please Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers. That will please Radha and Krishna and Their associates. That will please everyone. Above everything, it will help us return to our eternal relationship with Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada once wrote to me. He said, “The boys and girls in your country are generally good souls. That’s why they have taken birth in such a nice country. So now let them utilize everything in Krishna’s service. That will make their life perfect. As Krishna sees that you are working seriously to help bring His other children back to the spiritual kingdom, then He will bestow all of His blessings upon you. Krishna is never ungrateful for our efforts to serve Him. Rest assured.”

Let us take that opportunity with whoever we meet today. Let’s have that meditation of how we can help. “Please, Krishna, please Srila Prabhupada, please devotees, please spiritual master and others, give me the intelligence by which I can serve this soul and help them to become Krishna Conscious.” That will transform our society and eventually the whole world.

Hare Krishna. Thank you.

Devotee question:

The devotees, do they want to stay in this world or do they want to go back to Godhead? What is their actual desire?

Prahladananda Maharaj: If one is engaged in preaching the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, then one is already in the Spiritual World. Tripurari Maharaj once asked Srila Prabhupada, “If we distribute your books, will we develop love of God?” Srila Prabhupada’s answer was, “Because you love Krishna, therefore you are distributing my books.”

The more we do these activities, one day we will realize that we are already in the Spiritual World. It’s simply a question of unalloyed, uninterrupted service to Krishna. Whether in Goloka Vrindavan, here in Mayapur, or in Brooklyn, NY

narayana-parah sarve na kutascana bibhyati svargapavarga-narakesv api tulyartha-darsinah
(SB 6.17.28)

As Lord Siva told Parvati, “Whether the devotee is in heaven or in hell, it makes no difference to him because he has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna.” For us, it means that we are spreading the sankirtan movement all over the world. If not all over the world, then at least with our family, friends, and whoever we meet. Then we will become perfect.

Devotee question: Maharaj, you mentioned misidentification with the material and subtle bodies. Can you explain how we misidentify with the subtle body? I can understand with the material body.

Prahladananda Maharaj:

We simply like what the mind is telling us. As soon as the super soul sees that we are attached to what the mind is telling us, then He puts us in illusion. Srila Prabhupada writes that, “As soon as the soul decides he wants to enjoy the material energy, then he is supplied with lusty intelligence to make plans of how to enjoy and avoid suffering. Then the lusty intelligence acquires a false ego. Therefore one misidentifies himself with the mind and senses. He thus becomes entangled in the activities of sense gratification.”

Thank you very much. Srimad Bhagavatam ki jaya. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya. Gaura Premanande Haribol.

The Leaders in New Zealand met at New Varshan in Auckland for the annual general meeting.

On Nrsimha Caturdasi the small Prahlad-Nrsimha, riding on palanquin, circumambulate their temple three times. 
 

The Harinama Ruci party led the chanting. 

It was a joyful experience (https://youtu.be/QBUwVKZFbJI):

At the end of the final parikrama,just before the feast, they have a fireworks show for the pleasure of the deities.

You can get the highest experience of love of Godhead (krishna-prema) simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord.

Madhuri Devi joined Caitanya-candrodaya andPrema Sankirtana Prabhus and I on harinama. 

Then later Veera and Priyanka joined us. It was Veera's birthday, and I was happy to see Veera and her friend chose to go on harinama on her birthday. What a way to celebrate! What a way to purify one's birth!
 

 Ladies danced.

Even Nitai Charan Prabhu, the temple president, danced.

It at the Burngreave Ashram, a multifaith chapel and library near city center. 

Every Thursday, they have lunch at 12:30 p.m. followed by a chanting session scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., which in reality goes for two or more hours.

I saw at least two new people sing for the whole two hours, which really impressed me.

The Sheffield Ratha-yatra was a wonderful experience.

This year it was in a park and not the city center, but there were many park goers there who were exposed to it. 
 

Mariana, a follower of Indradyumna Swami, who I stay with in Sheffield, got to both make and put on the garlands for Lord Jagannath.
 

One couple watched the stage show for awhile. I waved to them as they were leaving, and the lady seeing me waving, raised her hands like a devotee dancing. 

The devotee girl dancing in the kirtana, seeing the lady with her hands raised, invited her to dance, and thus she stayed a little while longer, dancing with the devotees. 
 

The Hare Krishna Festivals team added a lot to the event.

On the Saturday between my harinamas promoting the Sheffield Ratha-yatra and the Ratha-yatra itself, I joined with Manchester congregational devotees in doing harinama and promoting the Manchester Ratha-yatra the following week. 

As we had plenty of singers, I distributed a lot of flyers. 

Thanks to Agi Holland for her pictures.

When I expressed my surprise at the number of shoes, they said that was not the full extent of it. They opened the closet door and said, “There are more shoes on the racks in there, and the two big blue containers are full of shoes!”

Cleanliness is one of the pillars of religion, and thus this advice found in a devotee's bathroom is appropriate:

Keeping all kinds of trash from being stuffed in the public toilets is always a problem. One British train company addressed this in a detailed sign affixed to the toilet:

harer nama harer nama

   harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nasty eva nasty eva

   nasty eva gatir anyatha

Ringo Starr From The Beatles Gives A Big Hare Krsna At The 2015 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Concert (1 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/e6XLMO

Hare Krishna! Meetings, Resolutions… and Chanting: Boston City Council Hears the Mahamantra!
The meeting, conducted in council chambers with full attendance of council members and the presence of small galleries of municipal aides, local journalists and community members, was called to order by Council President Bill Linehan, who promptly turned the meeting over to Michelle Wu. She read a brief description of the ISKCON Boston temple, then introduced the invocation speaker, Partha Biswas (Parama Rupa Dasa). Parama Rupa and Bhaktin Karuna Randolph each presented a councilor with a beautiful and fragrant garland, after which Temple President Pyari Mohan Dasa gifted each with a copy of “Bhagavad-Gita As It Is”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17723

Inevitable Time album is available at http://www.radhakrishnarecords.com/pa... as well as iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, CD Baby etc. More information about the album, pictures and other lyrics at www.inevitabletime.com

PK was released in Dec 2014 and went on to become the highest grossing Indian film of all time. Using an alien named PK (drunk) and a journalist as its central characters, the movie exposes the shenanigans of godmen and the gullibility of their followers. But in its negative stereotyping of religion, it mixes superstitions with meaningful spiritual practices and reduces God to an irrelevant cipher.

I remember back in the sixties when the words ‘take courage’ were the ubiquitous advertising slogan for a beer of the same name. Quite a nifty publicity idea, I suppose, but a few years ago when it was resurrected in a TV campaign it was banned. The censors quite rightly concluded that encouraging us to drink beer to increase our confidence might not be the best example of social responsibility.

Courage means standing up for what we believe to be right. Intoxication, on the other hand, tends to make us blur the boundary between right and wrong. We need a clear head for that kind of discrimination, as I have discovered over the years when facing my own challenges. For me courage has been more about staying true to myself than standing up to others, in making what I believe to be the right moral choices.

As a young man I became a Krishna monk, renouncing the lifestyle choices of my friends, my family and indeed myself up until that point. It was a radical step. I took vows to give up many of the worldly pleasures I had pursued till then, such as intoxication, illicit sex, meat-eating, and other such things. I donned the orange robes and moved into a temple. Soon after that I actually joined the famous Hare Krishna chanting parade up and down Oxford Street, which took a certain amount of courage, I have to say.
That was well over thirty years ago, and now I am married with children, but I still find myself having to draw upon my inner strength and courage to maintain my principles. For me this is about choosing truth over illusion, the true self or spirit as opposed to the body and its pleasures.

I believe happiness comes when I choose to follow spiritual teachings rather than my own ever-demanding senses and mind. This I find brings an inner fulfilment far more profound than the flickering joys of sensual indulgence. So I shall continue to take courage, although not the Dutch variety, to make the right moral choices. And also to join the Oxford Street crew from time to time as well.

Sitting down for brief periods can help us recover from stress or recuperate from exercise. But nowadays, our lifestyles make us sit much more than we move around. Are our bodies built for such a sedentary existence? Murat Dalkilinç investigates the hidden risks of sitting down.

Chennai is raising an army to fight the war against plastic.

Mayapur Tourism, ISKCON Mayapur’s travels and tours division, has announced the launching of its improved website www.visitmayapur.com. Sri Mayapur is the birthplace of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu- the most merciful form of Lord Krishna who distributed love to even the most fallen through the chanting of the Holy Names.

Hare Krishna! Grand Ratha Yatra 2015 in Sri Lanka
ISKCON Batticaloa located in eastern province of Sri Lanka celebrated its second annual Ratha Yatra on 23rd May 2015. Batticaloa is located in Eastern province, a predominantly tamil dominated region. More than 2500 people participated in this grand event. The procession started at Trinco Road and ended at Hindu College grounds in the heart of the city.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17718

"Mindfulness is just like exercise. It’s a form of mental exercise."

Radha Krishna Temple, 7 Bury Place, London, England, 1978
Srila Prabhupada: “My activities in London were begun as early as September, 1968. I sent six of my disciples there, all of them young couples, husband and wife, and none of them more than 26 years old. These boys and girls first started Sankirtana Movement in London and there were very nice reports about them. Even the ‘Times of London” printed one article with the caption 'Hare Krishna Chant Startles London.“ "In London there are many Indians, especially Gujaratis and Punjabis. All of them were astonished to see how American boys and girls were preaching Hare Krishna Mantra. They were invited to many centers both by the Indians and Europeans, but it was very difficult to find out a suitable house there in the midst of the city. My Guru Maharaja liked to start centers in the busiest part of a city.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/58mVOA

Hare Krishna! “Make him puris if he wants puris”
Sometimes Srila Prabhupada affectionately spoke about his father. When he did, it was always with great fondness. “My father would make sure that whatever I wanted I would get,” he said. “Even if it was in the middle of the night and I wanted puris, my father would say to my mother, ‘Make him puris if he wants puris.’ Sometimes my mother would resist, but my father would make her do it. It was like that. I don’t know. Maybe my father knew. He was always doing things like that. Then my mother would have to comply with him.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17715

Harinama Yatra - Nitay Gauranga: 02.06.2015 Rome (12 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: The name Krishna and the Personality of Godhead Krishna are identical. There is no difference in the absolute realm between the name, form or person of the Absolute Truth because in the absolute realm everything is transcendental bliss. (Srimad Bhagavatam, Introduction)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/wpFqzS

Harinama Sankirtan in downtown Denver last night. (2 min video)
So many enthusiastic people jumped right in to chant & dance with us.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/IQA37j

What is the best way to ease someone's pain and suffering? In this beautifully animated RSA Short, Dr Brené Brown reminds us that we can only create a genuine empathic connection if we are brave enough to really get in touch with our own fragilities.

TOVP: Art Department in Action! (Album with photos)
The amazing murtis pictured here are mockups of the 8 demigods that will overlook Lord Nrsimhadeva altar, offering prayers as described in SrimadBhagavatam. 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.
See them here: https://goo.gl/f7xKf3

The post Gaura Nitai dasa asks why one should cultivate good qualities when they are manifest anyway as a result of cultivating bhakti appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

With the appointment of the United Kingdom’s first women bishops, Reverend Libby Lane as Bishop of Hull closely followed by the Reverend Alison White being appointed as the Bishop of Stockport, it was never going to be very long before observers of the Church would become interested in anything they said that appeared to be coming from an exclusively female perspective.

These two bishops, and may God bless them, are the first females to hold that title in the history of the Church of England, although the very first in the Anglican Communion worldwide was Katherine Jefferts Schori in the USA back in 2006.

In the UK, the fact that one of the longest-surviving establishment bodies, the Church, saw fit to change a long-standing tradition was the big news of the early part of this year. Many journalists wrote that the Church was ‘finally coming of age’ and ‘doing the right thing’ by removing what they saw as the largely contrived and antiquated block to women holding the post.

The fact is, of course, that 30% of the Church’s vicars are now women, and that proportion has been growing for a decade. Many say that the CofE wouldn’t be able to survive without them. At one-third I can believe them. Christianity, although still popular, has seen falling membership within the established denominations, and less men coming forward to become clergy. The need of the hour has seen women taking up a valued role in the structure of the Church – roles they are more than suitable for.

It is quite common to see a 60/40 women/men split of attendance to religious services. I have experienced this myself. Sometimes women outnumber men by 2-1. It makes sense that women play whatever role is needed within a religious body whose membership is disproportionately women . Their natural abilities in pastoral care and the nurture of faith suggest that their role has been downplayed for a while.

But this post isn’t about the role of women in the Church. Its about what happens when observers think that the changing make-up of the Church automatically produces a change of theology. I was interested in this piece about ‘God the Mother’ and although it might be seen to be appropriate for the changing times, the fact is that the principle of God as Mother has been articulated for many centuries – by men.

Whether Shekinah, the feminine spirit of God in Judaism, or as ‘Mother of God’ in Catholicism, the feminine nature of God and that which emanates from God, has always been there. As a Vaishnava writer, I must also add that the existence of the notion of God and Goddess is much older than both of those religions.

Where there is a missing element in theology, there will always be an unconscious move to fill the gap. Theology changes ceaselessly until it finds a resting place, and that resting place is where perennial conundrums of philosophy are solved.

Whether or not we have female bishops (and I’m glad we do) it seems the right time to welcome back God the Mother.

Hare Krishna.

http://bit.ly/1GmaL7J

The post At the home of the Rasik family appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Daily Darshan – June 4th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at ISKCON Mayapur on 2015-05-31

Guru Maharaja narate story about life of Madhvacarya. Before Madhvacarya born, a crippled man go up his house roof and yell: "Vayudeva will appear.... Vayudeva will appear" then after that Madhvacarya was born, his parent give him name Vasudeva.

One day her mother take 5 year old Vasudeva to a place where a famous speaker of Purana gave a class. His mother and other people there quitely heard this speaker, but little Madhvacarya suddenly spoke: "Dear speaker, what Purana said is not what like you said". Then he began to explain about the verse and explain the meaning and everyone is agree with him. In one occassion his Father explain to him about the meaning of trees mentioned in Purana. his father skip one tree because he could not give the meaning. Madhvacarya knows it and asking his father "Father why you skip one tree?" and then he explained the tree meaning.

His father love his son Vasudeva very much, and he is very glad of Vasudeva inteligence. At the age of 7 year his father sent Madhvacarya to study under Acutya Preksa. Madhvacarya is very smart he understand the lesson very quickly and then playing for a whole day. Some said Madhvacarya swim like Hanuman, and wrestle like Bhima, but his teacher was not very happy because most of the time Madhvacarya just go out playing and never study. One day his teacher become very angry and ask him to repeat all the verses that already tought in the class, Madhvacarya repeat the verses perfectly and the mention the next verses for the next class, his teacher astonished and never bother him again.

Acyuta Preksa then initiated Vasudeva and gave him name Purnaprajna at the age of 11. Then Madhvacarya took sannyasa at the age of 12. He then travel around India and visited many holy places, had discussion with various famous people and strongly refuse mayavadi.

Later Madhvacarya go to Badrinatha to met Vyasadeva. He climb the mountain by jumping like hanuman, at first some of his disciple follow him but the can't keep up. Madhvacarya then met Vyasadeva and get teaching from Vyasadeva then Madhvacarya travel again with stronger teaching and travel all around India.

Please listen the audio for more stories of Madhvacarya.

Hare Krishna

“My child,” Svāyambhuva continued, “these followers of the god of wealth are not really your brother’s killers. It is destiny that creates a person, and destiny that destroys him. That is what creates everything, and what destroys everything, too.”

Dhruva would ask, “Why has the Supreme created so much destruction and death?”

Svāyambhuva replied, “No, no! He is not to blame for it. It is our own selfish ambitions that entangle us in the repercussions of trying to appropriate the beautiful world for ourselves. This world is his energy, and its rules are what creates, maintains, and destroys everything. He himself is equal to everyone. He is everyone’s true essence, true master, and true origin.”

Dhruva broke down in frustration, “I don’t like his rules, which have killed my brother!”

“My dear,” Svāyambhuva said compassionately, “learn to completely accept destiny, whether it brings life or death.”

“Why!?” Dhruva would ask.

“Because destiny is a system created by a person who wants the ultimate good for everyone in the world,” Svāyambhuva declared with a smile, “and also because fighting against it is useless. Even the creator of the world, Brahmā, has to follow this system like a bull follows the reigns tied to his nose.”

Dhruva was silent.

“When you were five years old,” Svāyambhuva reminded him, “you left your mother, with a heart broken by the insults of her co-wife. You went into the forest, and by your disciplines you saw him with your own eyes. Your worship of him granted you a place beyond anything in the three worlds. My dear, free yourself from all this hostility. Compose yourself. Look within yourself and search for that completely pure being who is singular, infallible, and transcendent. Do this, and you will realize that all schism is useless and fake. When you realize this, you will see your true self, and you will see the All-Attractive, who is the very essence of endless bliss and the wellspring of all energy. Supreme, transcendent devotion will flow from your true self to him, and loosening all the knots of ignorance tied tightly by selfishness and self-centeredness.”

Dhruva’s face regained its peace.

Svāyambhuva congratulated him. “You have conquered your true foe: anger. You are blessed! May you attain the supreme blessing! Do not forget what I have told you. Think about it often, King – just like taking medicine regularly to keep a chronic disease in check. People who become possessed by anger terrify the world. The wise, who value fearlessness and who value their true selves, should never let themselves become enrapt in anger.

“Out of anger you killed these pious gods, thinking, ‘they killed my brother.’ What you have done was an insult to the god of wealth, who is Śiva’s brother. Dear boy, go to him right away, seeking forgiveness. Offer your respects submissively and apologize. Do not allow the wrath of great beings to overtake our family.”

Dhruva thanked Svāyambhuva for his guidance, and Svāyambhuva then returned with his sages to his city.

Translation of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.11.24 ~ 35 [End of Chapter]

By Vraja Kishor dās

VrajaKishor.com

A new album by Ananda Monet published by Radha Krishna Records, London, UK.