ISKCON Online Launched
→ ISKCON News

In 1970, Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter: "So go on with your organization for distribution of my books through press and other modern media and Krishna will certainly be pleased upon you. We can use everything—television, radio, movies, or whatever there may be—to tell about Krishna…." In this spirit, on April 21st, a group of dedicated devotees led by Gopal Bhatta das, Pancharatna dasa launched the ISKCONOnline.com project.

A big thanks to our Nrsimha Caturdasi sponsors
→ Mayapur.com

Hare Krsna devotees!! This year we had a large number of devotees who came forward and donated generously for Nrsimha Caturdasi celebrations. We thank them all on behalf of ISKCON Mayapur. May Lord Nrsimhadev keep showering His mercy on all of you. Below is the list of sponsors along with sevas sponsored.   Festival preparations […]

The post A big thanks to our Nrsimha Caturdasi sponsors appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! The Oldest Existing Copy of Sri Caitanya…
→ Dandavats.com



Hare Krishna! The Oldest Existing Copy of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta
Indradyumna Swami: In an old temple tucked away in a street near Loi Bazar in Vrindavan is the oldest existing copy of Srila Krsna das Kaviraja Goswami’s epic Caitanya Caritamrta. Over 350 years old, it sits in a cabinet in a room near the alter. In 1982, Sri Harishan-kara dasa, the head priest, donated 475 precious manuscripts that had been with the temple for 400 years to the Vrindavan Research Institute. But he kept the Madhya-lila portion of the Caitanya Caritamrta. His son, Govinda Sankar Sharma kindly invited us to take darshan of the presiding deities, Sri Radha Nanda-kumara, as well as the old copy of Caitanya caritamrta. Visiting the ancient temple, seeing the old deities and touching the historic book made for yet another amazing day in Vrindavan. But mercy is meant to be shared – so here are our photos of the visit.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17219

Hare Krishna! The Oldest Existing Copy of Sri Caitanya…
→ Dandavats.com



Hare Krishna! The Oldest Existing Copy of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta
Indradyumna Swami: In an old temple tucked away in a street near Loi Bazar in Vrindavan is the oldest existing copy of Srila Krsna das Kaviraja Goswami’s epic Caitanya Caritamrta. Over 350 years old, it sits in a cabinet in a room near the alter. In 1982, Sri Harishan-kara dasa, the head priest, donated 475 precious manuscripts that had been with the temple for 400 years to the Vrindavan Research Institute. But he kept the Madhya-lila portion of the Caitanya Caritamrta. His son, Govinda Sankar Sharma kindly invited us to take darshan of the presiding deities, Sri Radha Nanda-kumara, as well as the old copy of Caitanya caritamrta. Visiting the ancient temple, seeing the old deities and touching the historic book made for yet another amazing day in Vrindavan. But mercy is meant to be shared – so here are our photos of the visit.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17219

Hare Krishna! The 400th Anniversary of Sri…
→ Dandavats.com



Hare Krishna! The 400th Anniversary of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
In the Caitanya-caritamrta Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has quoted more than 90 different sources (among them he quoted Srimad-Bhagavatam the most – 404 times). The book consists of 62 chapters (“paricchedas”) divided into three parts (“lilas”) and 11.555 verses, out of which 97 Sanskrit slokas were composed by the author himself, 933 Sanskrit verses were quoted by him from many different sources and the remaining 10.525 bengali verses (“payaras”) were, of course, composed by Srila Kaviraja Gosvami.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17215

What Really Happens to the Plastic You Throw Away
→ ISKCON News

We’ve all been told that we should recycle plastic bottles and containers. But what actually happens to the plastic if we just throw it away? Emma Bryce traces the life cycles of three different plastic bottles, shedding light on the dangers these disposables present to our world. (A TedEx video.)

Colorful and blissful Harinama in Yekaterinburg, Russia (5 min…
→ Dandavats.com



Colorful and blissful Harinama in Yekaterinburg, Russia (5 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Harinam samkirtan in the city of Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great. Three hundred devotees descended on Yekaterinburg with loud voices, musical instruments and synchronized dancing. The effect of such mercy is difficult to explain in words. Hopefully this short video can begin to explain the joy and happiness felt by both devotees and onlookers alike. All glories to the chanting of Sri Krsna’s holy names!
Watch it here (Choose HD): https://goo.gl/h5IKW6

A Dynasty of Destruction
→ The Enquirer

Śrī Bhāgavata 4.8.1 ~ 5:

Having finished his explanation of why Satī bore Śiva no children, Maitreya continued to describe the decedents of Brahmā.

Several did not develop families, because they preferred to direct their energies to higher things. These were the Sanaka quadruplets, Nārada, Ṛbhu, Haṁsa, Aruṇi, and Yati.

One line of Brahmā’s decedents was destructive. Deceit, the wife of Immorality had a boy named Hypocrisy and a girl named Fraud. These two children were kidnapped by Lawlessness (Nirṛti), who has no children of her own.

Hypocrisy and Fraud gave birth to a boy named Greed and a girl named Shameless. Greed and Shameless gave birth to a boy named Anger and a girl named Hostility. Anger and Hostility gave birth to a boy named War and a girl named Slander. Slander and War produced Fear and Death, who produced Retaliation and Annihilation.

It is important to know the basics about this dynasty of destruction. By hearing three times about this dynasty, we purify ourselves of these bad qualities.

Comment: The root of destruction is Immorality, who expands via Deceit. Therefore if we can simply be honest we can avoid proliferation of immorality and the destruction it brings.  Honesty (satyam) is therefore a primary religious principle, included by Patāñjalī (in the Yoga-Sūtra) among the five essential self-disciplines.

Deceit has two manifestations: Hypocrisy and Fraud. Hypocrisy is a type of deceit because we say one thing but do another, we do not live up to our claims, and we do not fulfill our promises. Breaking a promise is included as hypocrisy. Fraud is outright, intentional deceit – misrepresentation.

Hypocrisy and Fraud are dear to Lawlessness, so dear that she kidnaps them from Immorality and raises them as her own children. Lawlessness has no children of her own because there is absolutely no fruit from lawlessness, only chaos and destruction. But she adopts Hypocrisy and Fraud as her own and expands her destruction through them.

Hypocrisy gives rise to Greed, because hypocrisy is leniency towards oneself, while trying to discipline others. This leads to the attitude, “I deserve forgiveness, but no one else does.” This leads to, “I deserve to be happy, others do not.” This leads to Greed.

Fraud produces Shamelessness. Indeed it is impossible to successfully tell boldface lies (Fraud) if one is modest and has shame. So, to support itself, fraud leads to shamelessness. The more shameless we are the better fraud we can commit.

Greed and Shamelessness lead to anger and hostility. “I deserve things, others do not” (Greed) leads to anger at the fact that often others get things and we do not. This anger would remain simply as anger were it not for shamelessness. With the help of shamelessness Anger can be accompanied by Hostility. Hostility means “Oh, you got something I want? Now I will ruin you, so that you drop it, and I can pick it up.”

Anger and Hostility lead to War and Slander. Slander is the subtle form of war. Both Slander and War are the attacks, the way we try to ruin others so that we can take what they have.

Slander and War produce Fear and Death, not just for the victim of the slander and war, but also for the perpetrator. In war everyone dies and everyone becomes afraid, the party who started the war as well as the party initially attacked. Why? Because Fear and Death give rise to Retaliation and Annihilation.

Annihilation is the end result.

So, we must by a reign, a muzzle on our Deceit, for without being Deceitful our immorality cannot grow stronger. Honesty will make immorality weaker. Therefore the greatest sin is to lie and deceive.

*

The Sanskrit:

Irreligion – Adharma

Deceit – Mṛṣā

Hypocrisy – Dambha

Fraud – Māyā

Lawlessness – Nirṛti

Greed – Lobha

Shamelessness – Nikṛti

Anger – Krodha

Hostility – Hiṁsā

War / Quarrel – Kali

Slander – Durukti

Retaliation – Yātanā

Annihilation – Niraya

Vraja Kishor dāsa

VrajaKishor.com


Tagged: Anger, Deceit, Destruction, Fraud, Hypocrisy, Lying, War

How Shankaradeva spread bhakti in Assam
→ The Vaishnava Voice

assam

People in traditional attires play their drums during an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Record at a field in Titabar town in the northeastern Indian state of Assam January 6, 2013. A total of 14,833 Assamese people attempted to enter the Guinness Book of World Record by playing the drums for 15 minutes non stop, organizers said. (Photo by Utpal Baruah/Reuters)

Assam is a state in the far east of India which has an interesting history of Vaishnavism. Practically every village in the state has a small, covered arena for the performance of daily nama-sankirtan. Hardly a day goes by without the residents coming together for singing the names of Krishna.

Probably the most famous expounder of bhakti was Shankaradeva, born in 1449. In 1481 he went on pilgrimage and visited Vrindavan and many other places. He spent some years in Jagannath Puri then returned to the far east of India in 1493.

Almost as soon as he returned, a teacher named Jagadisha Mishra visited him from a distance and gave him a copy of the Bhagavata Purana with a commentary by the 13th century scholar Sridhara Swami. He also stayed long enough to teach him.

Shankaradeva became inspired to teach devotion to Krishna, kirtan of Krishna’s names, and a path of initiation known as ekasharan. His teachings, plays and songs became very popular and remain so until today. The story of Shankaradeva and the results of the proliferation of his teaching over several hundred years are a remarkable example of how one person can spread bhakti to thousands. There is a well-known story about his abilities:

The story of the Elephant in the Lime-pot: The King held many debates in his court between the Pandits and Shankaradeva. King Naranarayan once asked the court poets to give him, in one day, a condensed version of the entire ten cantos of the Bhagawat Purana. When all Pundits said it was not possible to do so in such a short time, Sankara took up the challenge and accomplished the feat in one night.

After he had condensed the substance of the ten chapters of the Bhagawat Purana into a small booklet, he put it into a small wooden box. Then over this, he painted with hengul-haital (yellow and red) an elephant squeezed inside a circle. He called it Bhurukaat Haathi- meaning an elephant squeezed into a lime-pot! This scripture was Gunamala. The pleased King Naranarayana honoured Shankaradeva.

Below: The state of Assam in modern India

514px-India-ASSAM.svg

 

 


Chandan Yatra – The Festival of the Hot Season
→ ISKCON News

Chandan Yatra at Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan. Chandan Yatra is a festival which is being celebrated during the hot season. Temple Deities all over the India are being covered with sandal wood paste known for it's cooling effect. This video brings you both the festival atmosphere and the sneak view of the preparation behind the altar curtain. For more videos visit us at www.VrindavanExperience.com

Spring Presentations Show Steady Improvement Throughout New Vrindaban Departments
→ New Vrindaban

By Madhava Smullen

ISKCON New Vrindaban and Eco-Vrindaban’s latest Department Head reports, on March 14th, showed that devotees were continuing to cooperate together with encouraging progress towards crystallizing Srila Prabhupada’s vision.

Co-GBC and MC for the day Anuttama Das introduced the event, explaining that since 2011, INV and ECO-V’s Boards of Directors and their managers and staff have gathered to communicate accomplishments of the past year and plans for the upcoming one.

But two years ago, they decided to make the gatherings open for all New Vrindaban residents and well-wishers to participate in. Sure enough, a sizeable group of residents were present, including longtime resident Varshana Swami, who offered a beautiful invocation that set the mood and intent for the weekend.

New ECO-V chairman Bhima Walker then introduced ECO-V’s department heads, beginning with interim Flower Garden manager Vidya Dasi. Vidya’s plans for the year included maintaining all the flower gardens; giving guests the experience of picking flowers and making garlands for Krishna; and creating an inviting atmosphere by adding benches, garden art and well-designed flower beds to the front of the temple.

Next, Ananda Vidya Das and his wife Lalita Gopi Dasi from Cow Care and Milking described how they get 30 gallons a day from their seven milking cows – enough for all the temple’s needs -- and supply the Deity kitchen with butter, ghee, yoghurt and curd. They reported high standards of cow care, announced that two new calves were expected soon, and were glad that the milking barn’s ceiling had been insulated to make winters serving there easier.

 

Brand new ECO-V Project Manager Mukunda Das, who will be moving to New Vrindaban in May, said that initial teams had already been but together to discuss plans for an eco-village and food processing facility; and that he would be working on eco-friendly housing beginning with one demonstration home.

 

Bhakta Richard of the Ox Program reported that the three young teams of Isan and Balarama, Hari and Priya, and Manu and Nandi are all making great progress in training with the yoke and learning commands. In addition, oxen moved into the rebuilt Bahulaban ox barn at the end of last year; ox cart designs have been presented by carpenter Vyasasana Das; and a turnstyle that can run a saw or mill with ox power has been acquired.

 

Gopal’s Garden, the homeschool co-op run by Ruci Dasi, reported a new preschool for two to four-year-olds, a fundraising drive for improving its playground, and input from many members of the community. Proving that it does indeed take a village to raise a child, they teach such subjects as dramatic reading, literature, poetry, Deity worship, kirtan, art, and music. The school also has a charming new logo featuring youthful Krishna playing His flute.

 

ISKCON New Vrindaban community president Jaya Krishna Das then introduced INV by sharing its new mission statement: “To please Srila Prabhupada by promoting his vision for New Vrindaban through steady development of Simple Living, Holy Pilgrimage, Community Outreach, Spiritual Education, and, above all, Loving Krishna.”

 

Local brahmachari Bhakta Trevor with Community Outreach was first up for INV. He reported that he maintains regular Harinam Sankirtan and book distribution in Wheeling and Pittsburgh; is starting home programs in Morgantown; and plans to start a Krishna Club at West Virginia University, where students are already chanting. He also holds a weekly kirtan at Wheeling’s new age store The Noble Source, where the owner chants and keeps Prabhupada’s books. He has done all this, he said, through making friends and building loving relationships.

 

The super-busy Vrindavan Das reported on the three departments he oversees, beginning with Communications, in which he talked about making friendships with locals and students; inviting the Mayor of Wheeling and Moundsville City manager to Festival of Colors and Rathayatra; developing an attractive monthly newsletter; and having regular articles published on ISKCON News, Dandavats, Brijabasi Spirit, and also in the secular media.

 

In Marketing, Vrindavan outlined plans to launch New Vrindaban’s new website this year, and create an attention-grabbing brochure for the Palace of Gold and New Vrindaban which will be placed in visitors bureaus, local tourist attractions, and hotels. He also plans to place permanent billboards on two major highways to promote the Palace of Gold by mid May this year.

 

In Festivals, he said he planned to make national events of Nrsimha Chaturdasi and of Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance and Disappearance Days at his Palace. He also talked about plans to hold an early July retreat this year with Bhakti Charu Swami; open Rathayatra at New Vrindaban to the Ohio Valley public; and replicate Prabhupada’s Bhagavat Dharma Discourses. He also hoped to enhance national participation in Kartik, the 24 Hour Kirtans, Festival of Colors, and Festival of Inspiration, which expects a bigger crowd this year with Jayapataka Swami attending.

 

In an encouraging step towards succession, a father and son team presented next. Guest Lodge  manager Gaura Bhakta reduced prices for rooms and cabins, and plans to install lights to guide guests to the Welcome Center at night. He also hopes to increase guest visits during weekdays; and to have four new rooms with attached bathrooms on the ground floor by this year’s Festival of Inspiration.

 

His father Vasudeva Das plans to keep Govinda’s Restaurant open longer each year, from March 28th to January 2nd, to launch a new webpage for it, and to add new uniforms and name tags for staff.  He reported that Govinda’s used only in-house dairy for the past six months, and announced the arrival of new cook Sri Rupa Das from Mumbai; and new menu items such as Indian sweets, Italian lasagna and canelonis, and Mexican items like burritos.

 

Vasudeva also reported on the Devotee Kitchen, which is working on creating a balanced diet for devotees so that they get proper nutrition. The kitchen will be getting a new altar and a new oven this year. It is also mainly using New Vrindaban protected dairy and has dramatically increased use of locally grown produce.

In Palace Restoration, Gopisa Das has a plan to expand the parking lot of Srila Prabhupada’s Palace from 18 parking spaces to 80, with a bus turnaround. He also plans to complete the outer wall and upper steps this year, with the lower steps and entry railing to follow.

 

In Facilities, also overseen by Gopisa, the library, third floor residential rooms and hallway from the kitchen to the temple room were renovated, and frozen pipes and radiators fixed. This year, Gopisa plans to upgrade the temple and lodge’s electrical systems, and renovate the lodge bathrooms, restaurant kitchen, temple siding and entry doors, cabin roofs, and swan boat house.

In the Palace Rose Garden, Gopalasyapriya Dasi spoke about her plan to stop using chemical fertilizers and start using more natural methods with the help of Paul Zimmerman of the American Rose Society, who recently did the same for the famous Biltmore Gardens in North Carolina. This, she felt, would attract a lot of people.

 

Speaking for Varshana Swami, Jaya Krishna reported that the Land Management department is working on the Palace parking lot and improving roads, drainage, and the Govardhana Parikrama path; but that it needs qualified young personnel to replace Maharaja, who is suffering from health problems.

In 2015, Treasurer Laxmi Honest aims to make sure funds for helping devotees through capital improvements and housing are used for those purposes only. She will also provide all department heads with “monthly budget vs actual” reports so that they can understand where they can spend less and more.

A new addition to Congregational Development, Daya Gauranga Das, reported a team of five preachers and a plan to increase fundraising 14% this year. However, he also emphasized that the the focus of congregational development was not taking but giving, by sharing with people a spiritual solution to their problems. He announced that five “Lila Sthalis,” or places of the Lord’s pastimes, would be marked on the community’s Govardhana Parikrama path with dioramas and art, and that Dina Bandhu Das will launch an annual Braj Mandala Parikrama at New Vrindaban this May.

Last but certainly not least came the Deity Department, headed up by Abhinandana Das. This year it created a sustainable and reliable team of pujaris with a family mood of cooperation; maintained punctuality and high cooking standards; and renovated the Deity kitchen and pujari room. In 2015, the pujaris plan to re-launch the Deity sewing room to fix old and torn outfits; extend the dressing room to create more space for the Lord’s outfits; build a new house for Tulasi Devi; and facilitate a second ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry training course.

As the presentations ended, Jaya Krishna, in a generous guesture, offered everyone a bag of Govardhana dust and CDs from his recent Braj Mandala Parikrama in Vrindavana, India.

He also invited all to take a copy of the beautifully designed “Prabhupada’s Vision: Our Mission” poster, saying, “Please take one and put it up on your refrigerator or next to your altar so that we are reminded daily of what Srila Prabhupada wants from us.”

His request reflected how many board members, managers, and New Vrindaban residents left the presentations – newly energized and refocused on Srila Prabhupada’s vision for his first rural community.