Hare Krishna! 1st North American ISKCON Medical Professional…
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Hare Krishna! 1st North American ISKCON Medical Professional Retreat
This retreat is a forum for all physician devotees and those within the medical field to gather and experience enlivening fellowship. We will be deeply honored by your presence. The retreat is open to all premed students, medical students, students in other medical disciplines, interns, residents, and fellows as well. The program will feature inspiring talks by HH Romapada swami and HG Anuttama prabhu and group discussions will be facilitated by HG Vraj Vihari prabhu. We will have ecstatic kirtans, wonderful prasadam and plenty of time to associate with one another and experience the beauty of Gita Nagari dhama and its cows.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17194

Sabbatical Course Bhaktivedanta Manor Deepen your spiritual…
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Sabbatical Course Bhaktivedanta Manor
Deepen your spiritual roots this year…Immerse yourself in a transcendental adventure - Sabbatical Course 2015/16 This two part, 6 month course is for those who are familiar in the practice of Krishna Consciousness and want to explore it further by diving in to deepen their spiritual roots. The first half of the course starts in the heart of spiritual practices, India. You’ll be living among 150 monks in the world-famous flagship center of training & education - ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai! An opportunity to delve in the innumerable number of seminars, practical workshops & training courses available - all taught by some of the best teachers across the globe. But not only that, the adventure continues when you can take part in pilgrimages to various Holy spots including Vrindavan, Mayapur & Jagannath Puri - so you can really get a glimpse of the spiritual world! On your return from India, starts the second half of the course, based at Bhaktivedanta Manor. This part of the course is mainly focused on completion of the Bhakti Shastri degree, where participants get to spend quality time studying Nectar of Instruction, Nectar of Devotion, Sri Isopanisad & Bhagavad Gita As It Is. You will also gain a healthy exposure to a variety of outreach programs at the Manor to develop practical skills such as public speaking, team leadership, managing projects.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17190

Bhaktivedanta National School in Tripura: Training future devotees
→ Mayapur.com

Bhaktivedanta National School Ananda Bazar, Tripura ISKCON Tribal Care (ITC) Initiative   By ITC Communications In the 40’s, missionaries introduced Christianity to villages in Assam and converted most of the people in the area.  Along with churches and chapels, they opened Christian schools. Devotee children have been attending them due to lack of any other […]

The post Bhaktivedanta National School in Tripura: Training future devotees appeared first on Mayapur.com.

ISKCON Nepal relief message by HH Jayapataka Swami
→ Mayapur.com

I along with other TOVP Exhibit members were in the Lotus Building attending TOVP exhibits conference on April 25th at 1.00 pm in Sridham Mayapur when the building began to shake. We quickly left our conference room and moved to Prabhupada’s park. While we were there, I was informed that a massive earth quake had […]

The post ISKCON Nepal relief message by HH Jayapataka Swami appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Harinama in Yekaterinburg, Russia (Album with…
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Harinama in Yekaterinburg, Russia (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: My Dear Master! Yekaterinburg was founded in 1723 and named after Peter the Great’s wife, Catherine I. It is now Russia’s 4th largest city. It is also home to a thriving community of Krsna conscious devotees who regularly do harinama throughout the beautiful city. As a result of such chanting and dancing, devotees are popular amongst the citizens, who often greet them with the words, “Hare Krsna!” It is all happening by the grace of SrilaPrabhupada. My dear master! May your glories be sung throughout the 3 worlds!
See them here: https://goo.gl/4HgDRa

Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna Documentary Retells Life Of…
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Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna Documentary Retells Life Of Founder
“Acharya: The Life and Legacy of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada” is now in the final stages of production. The slated premiere date is Sept. 17 in honor of the 50-year anniversary of Prabhupada’s arrival in the United States. Das, the spiritual name John Griesser prefers, has been working on the film for two years. He and a staff of 40 producers, filmmakers and editors began production one year ago. “I think coming up with a really good script (has been the biggest challenge),” Das said. “That’s the foundation of any film. It has to be something that is going to grab people’s attention and make them want to know more about Prabhupada.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17182

Hare Krishna! My dear fellow prabhu/mataji, is it you the pure…
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Hare Krishna! My dear fellow prabhu/mataji, is it you the pure devotee? An ancient story retold for the devotees
By Citraka dasa. “Prabhus,” the temple president said, “I have incredible news. I have just been told, without any room for doubt or question, the following. A pure devotee is amongst you!” Vaishnava das, a faithful servant of Srila Prabhupada, for many years serving as temple president in a temple community of devotees, had just returned from a visit to a nearby hut which an older sannyasi had chosen as his base for his writing in preparing for his next preaching tour duties. He had approached him with heavy heart to get some advice for the difficult times his temple was going through. A famous Iskcon temple had fallen on hard times.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17179

The Four Goals are Unnecessary
→ The Enquirer

The first goal, kāma, is not just “pleasure,” but it is happiness itself. It is  the underlying motivation for everything we do, and the ultimate objective of all the other goals. Consciousness itself has direct access to such kāma pleasure, described as ānanda, but since we are enamored with external existence we neglect to seek this kāma within our natural being, and make efforts to discover it outside ourselves. This necessitates the three other goals…
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The second goal, artha, is not just stability but wealth, abundance, and prosperity. We resort to Artha when we need some way of bolstering and fortifying our external concept of pleasure. For example, everyone likes to play on the playground, but after a while we get hungry and need to eat. Having a supply of food, or some way to get food, is a primary example of artha. 
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The third goal, dharma, is morality in the sense of accepting a certain role in society and not violating the limits of that role. The need for this dharma only arises when our concept of kāma is directed to the resources of the external world. To illustrate… we like to play on the swing, and we have enough food and drink in our lunchboxes so we can play for a long time, but there are other people who also want to play and eat, so now we need some sort of morality concerning how to take turns on the swings and not steal each others lunchboxes.
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The fourth goal, mokṣa, is freedom – the ability to rest, give up activities, and be liberated from  responsibilities. This one is required because the quest for external kāma is exhausting and we need to rest. After playing on the playground for a long time, even with sufficient food and drink, and good manners and morals, eventually we get tired of it and need mokṣa – a break. A chance to just go in a corner somewhere by ourselves and stop everything, fall asleep, and recoup. 
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The most ambitious form of mokṣa is to entirely cease external existence altogether.
– Vraja Kishor dās
VrajaKishor.com

Tagged: Artha, Dharma, four hindu goals, goals of life, kama, moksa

Bhagavatam first canto study 5 – 1.2.1-1.2.8 – The Bhagavatam’s speaker and subject are radically exalted
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Lecture Podcast:


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Seberang Jaya – Temple Update 28/4/2015
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY SIMHESWARA DASA

Paintwork on schedule

SEBERANG JAYA -  Some updates for you on the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple of Devotion
 & Understanding building project, Seberang Jaya, Penang. August 29 is confirmed date for opening of temple.

Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga Rai

We will also be offering the mezzanine level in honor of ISKCON Founder Acharya HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. This mezzanine level will have exhibits on Srila Prabhupada in Malaysia, when HDG visited in 1971 and some international exhibits. There will also be a room where guests can take personal darshan, sit and meditate on the holy name in the presence of HDG. We are especially giving this service to ISKCON YOUTHS OF MALAYSIA to see how they can put up an exciting gallery on the mezzanine floor. As for naming the gallery we would like to hear from you which of the foĺlowing you like best in relation to Srila Prabhupada and the gallery and if you would likw to propose another name. Thoughts are "Prabhupada In Malaysia", "I want a temple like this" and "He built a house in which the whole world can live in".

Also appended are some pictures on progress update. Your good wishes and support form the success of this wonderful project for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Krishna and His devotees. While updating you on this project we also pray to the current presiding deities at the project site, Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga Rai for the safety and shelter of the victims of the Nepal earthquake.

Srila Prabhupada's room

Granite on mezzanie Prabhupada gallery floor

Ornament work on Dasavatar altars

Granite laying

Granite laid on main temple hall

You Can See Him Only When You Use Your Heart Before Your Eyes…
→ The Enquirer

The gods said, “When the previous epoch came to a close, you took within your belly the creation you had created. You are the origin of it all, the personality reclining on Śeṣa – the king of snakes, who floats in cosmic water. Perfected people constantly contemplate you in their hearts, for you can only be perceived directly by the soul itself. Yet now you appear on the pathways of our two eyes, moving among your dependents to disperse our difficulties.”

The divine singers, Garndharvas, said, “The hosts of gods led by Rudra, like Brahmā and Indra, and all the sagacious experts led by Marīci, are fragments of your fragments. This entire universe is just a toy compared to your majesty. Unto you, the Eternal Lord, we offer respect!”

The learned Vidyādhara said, “We attain our desired bodies and then our lame intellect, infatuated with your external energy, claims them as our property and true identity. We wander far afield on ill roads trying to experience pleasure in external objects, because we are bewildered about who and what we really are. Nonetheless, even we can be delivered if we even begin to enjoy the nectar of your kathā.”

The Brāhmaṇas said, “You are our true ceremony. You are our true offering. You are truly the fire consuming the offering. You are our mantra, our wood, our sacred grass, and our sacred vessels. You are the true attendee at the ceremony, the true master of ceremony, the true gods being worshipped, the true ancestors being worshipped, the true soma nectar, the true butter-oil, and the true sacred animal.

“As the great wild-boar your tusks lifted the world from the bottom of the universe, like an elephant playfully lifting a lotus. When the yogis glorified you, you roared with your tail raised, and we realized that you are the very substance of the Veda and the entire purpose of all our ceremonies.

“When this religious ceremony was devastated we eagerly waited for you to magnanimously give us your audience once again. O Lord of Worship, people who sing your name in nāma-kīrtana destroy all the obstacles to their worship. Our respects unto you!”

— Bhāgavata 4.7.42 ~ 47

Vraja Kishor dās

VrajaKishor.com

Vishnu_Varaha


Tagged: darshan, religious ceremonies, vision of god

Trying To Put Some Feeling
→ Japa Group

"I tried to bring the mantras into the mind, then down to the heart. I concentrated physically on my heart. How do you pray, anyway? It’s a difficult thing to do, but I was trying to put some feeling into chanting the mantras."

From Bhajan Kutir #215
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Nrsimha Caturdasi
→ Ramai Swami

narasimha_06IMG_1284IMG_1283

Lord Narasimha is fourth of Lord Vishnu’s ten incarnations. He is especially worshiped for protection as He appeared to protect his dear devotee Bhakta Prahlada from the asura Hiranyakashipu.

Hiranyakashipu had tried many ways to kill his son, Prahlada, but the Lord had protected him each time. Finally in anger Hiranyakashipu asked to Prahlada, “Where is this God of yours that you keep speaking of?” To which Prahlada replied, “He is present everywhere.”

“Then I will kill this Vishnu of yours,” and raised his sword to strike the pillar. At that moment the pillar burst open and Lord Narasimha appeared, as half man and half lion, to kill Hiranyakashipu and save his devotee Bhakta Prahlada.
Devotees at New Govardhana celebrated the Lords appearance day with great enthusiasm.
narasimha_14IMG_1282

Jaya Tulasi
→ Krishna Lounge

Hare Krishna! Finding Ultimate Meaning Just as Narada had guided…
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Hare Krishna! Finding Ultimate Meaning
Just as Narada had guided Dhruva, Srila Prabhupada encouraged people to serve God, thus delivering the remedy for their unsatisfied hearts. Whether they were full of material desires, just curious, or seeking genuine spiritual cultivation, the practice of bhakti-yoga – the means to rekindle one’s love for Krishna – gave them lasting happiness and satisfaction. Serious practitioners were able to give up their bad habits and addictions. Having received a valuable jewel, they lost their attraction to broken glass.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17176

Kingsday 2015: Videos
→ KKSBlog

kingsday 2015 (20)Social media has been flooded with video clips and photos of the Kingsday Harinama. Below are links to a few. You will need a Facebook account to access some of them. A very nice descriptive article written by Nandan may be found by clicking here.

 

Video

View video 1 on YouTube

View video 2 on YouTube

Facebook video 1 (Vondelpark)

Facebook Video 2 (Vondelpark)

Facebook video 3 (Rijksmuseum)

Facebook video 4 (African drummers)

 

Photos

Flickr album by KKSBlog

Facebook album by Harinama Ruci

Facebook album by Deva Sekharah Das

 

 

 

Sri Sri Laxmi Nrsimha Deity Installation in ISKCON Bukit Mertajam
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY SIMHESWARA DASA

BUKIT MERTAJAM - His Holiness Bhakti Vigna Vinash Nrsimha Swami and His Holiness Bhanu Swami, Co-Zonal Secretary for ISKCON Malaysia presided during the installation of Sri Sri Laxmi Narasimha beginning with Adivasa (preparing) ceremony at the ISKCON Bukit Mertajam temple.The installation ceremony was done in great pomp and splendour and was enjoined with ecstatic kirtan with about 300 devotees in attendance and the yajna was performed by the Mayapur gurukulis.

 



 

 

 

 

One Good Meal at the Hare Krishnas
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY SIMHESWARA DASA

SEBERANG JAYA - ISKCON Seberang Jaya@ Bhaktivedanta Cultural Centre devotees went on a harinam Hare Krishna Maha Mantra congregational chanting rounds to the Bala Murugan temple and the Ku Ching Tze Buddhist temple and distributed 500 packets of vegetarian Nasi Lemak.

While addressing the Stanford University graduates in 2005 Steve Jobs the apple co-founder and CEO reminisced "...I used to walk the 7 miles across town every week Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I LOVED IT."

Why are devotees distributing prasadam? On the spiritual path those that are most inclined to lead a peaceful existence that respects the value of all life often adopts the vegetarian lifestyle. It is in accordance with the yogic principle of ahimsa, which is to observe nonviolence and abstain from injuring any being in any way. However, in the process of bhakti-yoga, devotion goes beyond simple vegetarianism, and food becomes a method of spiritual progress. In the Krishna temples, food is offered to the Deities in a special sacrament, after which it becomes prasada or prasadam. This means the mercy of the Lord. Thus, the food we eat after it is offered to the Lord becomes a means for our purification and spiritual development. Devotional service or Krishna consciousness is often described as a process of singing, dancing and feasting. But the feasting is done with spiritual food, Krishna prasadam. ...from Steven Knapp