Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Watch the making of the amazing Vedic Cultural & Educational Center at Govardhan Ecovillage (11 min video)
Temple made from stone.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/gZzf6g
Om Sri Surabhi Campaign (16 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: “Therefore the world is suffering, so much sinful activities. The greatest sinful activity is cow slaughter, and they are committing. They do not know what will be the result. Such brain, stool, stool-bound brain. Thorough overhaul is required. That we are doing. Otherwise the stool cannot be cleansed.” [February 19, 1977, Mayapur]
“There should be a thorough overhauling of the social system, and society should revert to the Vedic principles, that is, the four varnas and the four asramas.” [SB 4.29.54]
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/mv4H9J
Lecture Podcast:
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The post April 17th, 2015 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.
On Friday, April 10th we paid a visit with the Padukas to the home of Kamalalochana and Kundalata prabhus for kirtan and lunch prasadam.
In the evening a program was arranged by Surendra and Sukshma, our hosts in Ottawa, in their home. 50 devotees attended for kirtan, darshan and abhisheka of the Padukas, a lecture by Jananivas prabhu and prasadam.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 30 – Visit to Kamala Lochana’s Home and Program at Surendra’s Home appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
On Thursday, April 9th Jananivas, Vraja Vilas and Sunanda prabhus brought the Padukas to the home of Vanamali prabhu and his family where they also had prasadam. In the evening the Temple President, Shankar prabhu, arranged a program in his home for darshan of the Padukas and a lecture by Jananivas prabhu attended by about 25 devotees.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 29 – Programs at the Homes of Vanamali Das and Shankar Das, Temple President appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
On Wednesday, March 8th Jananivas and Sunanda prabhus visited the home of Shyamakund and Ananda Rupa prabhus for prasadam and darshan of their Deities, after which they departed from New Jersey with the Lord’s Padukas for the first stop in Canada, Ottawa, the Nation’s capital.
They were greeted by Guru Prasad prabhu and joined by Vraja Vilas prabhu, and taken to the home of Guru Prasad and his family for prasadam, and then driven to their accommodations at the home of Surendra and Sukshma where they would stay for the next four days while in Ottawa.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 28 – Visit to Shyamakunda’s Home, Arrival in Ottawa, Canada and welcome by Guru Prasad prabhu and his family appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
12.04.2015 H.G.Sankarshana Prabhu_SB-5.19.8
After the New Jersey weekend TOVP presentations, on Monday and Tuesday, April 6 and 7, Radha Jivan and Vraja Vilas prabhus left New Jersey ahead of the others and Jananivas and Sunanda prabhus visited various devotees’ homes at their request for prasadam and sanga.
Visits included the homes of Madhupati prabhu (the Temple President of both New Jersey temples), Ramachandra prabhu and his family, and Murali Krishna prabhu and his family.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Days 26-27 – New Jersey Home Visits appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Is the Supersoul actually expanded in every heart or is it an appearance of expansion?
What happens to the Supersoul after death and after liberation?
Does Prabhupada’s instruction ‘do as I have done’ mean there’s no need to innovate in preaching”
Why did Yudhisthira agree for a second gambling match after the disastrous first gambling match?
Why did the virtuous Bhishma fight on the side of the vicious Kauravas?
Why did Krishna not protect Yudhisthira from errors of judgment?
Who was Yuyutsu? How did he come from the Kaurava side to the Pandava side?
Did Vikarna get any good result for trying to defend Draupadi’s honor?
Did Karna have to choose the side of evil due to his past karma?
What does the Gita’s inverted tree metaphor signify?
In monozygotic twins where do the differences come from?
Can God create a stone that he can’t lift?
Rudra hurled himself towards Dakṣa’s sacrifice in the vanguard of an army of monsters, roaring with horrible eagerness for destruction and wielding a spear forged of death’s death. Even the anklets on his feet roared!
At the sacrifice, night approached far too early. “What is this darkness?” everyone worried. They discovered that a dust storm was approaching quickly from the north. “What is raising all this dust?” The brāhmaṇa couples began asking one another. “There is no wind. It cannot be raiders, because Prācīna-barhiḥ is still the powerful king, enforcing law and order. There are no herds of cows… Is this dust a sign that destruction is upon us?”
Prasūti and her daughters – who were terribly aggrieved by the loss of Satī – spoke out, pointing at their husband and father, Dakṣa, “This man’s wickedness is certainly the cause of the disaster that approaches! This so-called ‘forefather’ completely dishonored his own faultless child, Satī, while all his daughters bore witness!
“When the end comes,” Prasūti declared, “Śiva’s matted hair scatters, as the points of his spear pierce and scatter the protectors of the dimensions. He dances with weapons aloft in his hands, waving like flags, and his loud, mad laughter is thunder that cracks the dimensions. His anger is unbearable, impossible to even look at! The frowning of his eyebrows and bearing of his fangs destroys the sun, moon, planets and stars. How could anyone, even the Creator himself, expect any good fortune after angering him?”
Everyone expressed agreement with Prasūti and her daughters, with eyes full of fear. Dakṣa himself, though very powerful, became afraid as thousands of terrible monsters approached from all sides, on the ground and from the sky. Rudra’s hosts fell upon the huge arena of sacrifice, with reddish scales and jaws of yellow fangs, like legendary crocodiles. Brandishing many cruel weapons they quickly surrounded everyone and destroyed the arena. They tore down the beams of the sacrificial hall, destroyed the women’s quarters, the guest’s quarters, the fire’s quarters, and the kitchen. They tore down the sacred boundary, shattered the offering pots, and extinguished the fires by pissing on the altars. They arrested the sages and threatened to turn their wives into widows.
The gods tried to flee, but were quickly arrested. Rudra’s Maṇimān arrested Bhṛgu, while Caṇḍeśa and Nandīśvara arrested Pūṣā and Bhaga.
They made all these gods and guests watch as they rounded up the priests and gleefully stoned them while they tried to flee, in vain.
— Śrī Bhāgavatam 4.5.6 ~ 18
Vraja Kishor dās
Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 05 April 2014, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture: The secret of spiritual advancement)
Krsna is our solution. Krsna will fulfil our desires. Everything we need, we find it in Krsna and if destiny does not go our way, “My dream, it didn’t work out. Everything, it all collapsed!” It is all right, accept Krsna’s will and somehow or other, tolerate it. If it is difficult, then know, “Krsna wants me to bear this difficulty and this will make me strong.” We know that if life was so soft and if life was so easy what we would become…
Once, I was on a train. I had to carry a suitcase of cash in India so I traveled by train in a first class, air-conditioned compartment. It was more expensive that flying so nobody goes there. In that compartment, you have a button at your seat and when you press it, a servant comes running. There was another man in the compartment and this man, his finger was like always on the button and the servant would come and the man would ask, “Do you have a cushion?” And the servant would go bring a cushion and then the man would ring the bell again and ask for another cushion! In the end, he had like twenty cushions! He was sitting propped up with many cushions. This man was very fat also so I was looking at him and wondering if he had any bones. More and more, I began to think that if you get too many cushions in life, you become like a jelly-fish! You become like very soft and weak when life is too cushy! You have to fight a little bit.
You know, with children also, if you shelter them too much then they don’t learn to deal with life and they become very helpless. So, come on, grow up and deal with the world; make the best of it; and what you cannot control, tolerate! That is life! So, we cannot shelter people too much and we cannot shelter ourselves too much. It is simple, when difficulties come, we accept. We try to make the best of it and for the rest… accept! This is Krsna consciousness, this faith that our happiness lies with Krsna. When I am faithful to what Krsna wants with my life then it will work and when I go for other things, it will not work! Then one can overcome personal weaknesses and one can get strength.
Deepak prabhu and Nitu mataji from Perth participate in a Bhakti Vrksa program. Occasionally, they also invite devotees to their house for arati, kirtan and prasadam.
Does the small group in ISKCON serve the local temple, or does the temple serve the small group? Who serves whom?
It’s a question that’s often asked in organisations, especially in charities or campaigning groups: Does the local branch of a charity serve the national office, or does national office serve the branch? Do finances and resources flow from the branches back up to the head office, or from head office down to the branches?
In many organisations that are not functioning all that well, there will be complaints about head office by the branches, while head office will complain that the branches don’t seem to be performing well. Who is right?
The answer lies in the organic way that organisations grow, and the very word “branch” provides a clue to the answer. Back in the days when our English language employed more colourful expressions drawn from nature, we used to favourably compare organisations to trees.
The reason is of course, because when people agree to work together and function as one unit, they do grow like trees. They grow from a single idea – a seed – by a passionately committed individual; the intensely focused dedication of early co-workers, and, when successful, they grow up straight and strong, producing many branches.
Yet although the trunk of a tree, being the biggest, looks the strongest part, it can only remain strong if all of the trees smallest parts, the leaves, are also doing their job.
How a tree works is ingenious. The leaves of the tree trap the energy of sunlight with their green chlorophyll, and the astonishing process of photosynthesis then transforms water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen that pass down into the trunk. Invigorated by this, the trunk soaks up water and sends it back up to the leaves. Every part of the tree is working and the entire structure is functional. It continues to grow.
If the trunk doesn’t do the big stuff, like raising water from deep underground all the way up to the top of the tree sometimes fifty or more feet in the air, the tree will die. And if the leaves don’t do their sunlight catching, the tree will also die. The trunk serves the leaves and the leaves serve the trunk. Biological symbiosis makes a completely functional system.
Any organisation with many branches functions like this. That is, any functional, growing, balanced organisation.
The original roots of an organisation – the regional headquarters or a national office – serve its branches and the branches serve the head office, or in our case the head temple or national ISKCON structure.
If the head office provides nothing for the branches, they become weak and stop growing. If the branches provide nothing for head office it also becomes weak, or in many cases, begins to conserve valuable resources for itself. It gets weak all the same; it just takes a little more time. Only by each part of an organisation performing mutual service for the other parts can natural growth happen.
How do they work together?
Every organisation is different of course. There are those that are very ‘Trunk and Roots’ orientated. The branches simply serve as agents to collect money for the big stuff that is conceived and executed from head office. Many charities work that way. Oxfam, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, the Red Cross, all operate with their numerous branches raising funds which are sent to a head office that makes campaign decisions and then disburses the funds accordingly. Religions can be like that too. All decrees, innovations, directives and appointments come from a supreme governing body, and funds flow from the supporters in the branches to a central body from where they are apportioned and disbursed.
Other organisations have a very small head office and leave it up to the branches to be innovative, self-funding and locally directed. Some religions function like this too. They expect their branches to run on enthusiasm, to be self-sustaining, and to have a wide spectrum of theological understanding.
Observers comment that these different styles of religious organisation suit different types of people. Each has inherent strengths and weaknesses.
Our question, as followers of Srila Prabhupada is: “What kind of organisational structure did Srila Prabhupada want? Luckily for us, Srila Prabhupada was an extremely intelligent organiser as well as a scholar and a saint.
His many instructions for running ISKCON are well documented and were put into effect even in the early years of the movement. He considered that “organisation and intelligence” would preserve the movement he’d started, and that these two essentials, as well as spiritual strength resulting from: ‘rising up from sleep before four in the morning, chanting sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra, gorgeous deity worship, going out on the sankirtan party, holding festivals and scrutinisingly studying and discussing my books’.
Srila Prabhupada not only translated the scriptures from Sanskrit into English for the first time in history, and travelled constantly guiding his early followers; he managed all the affairs of his movement through correspondence and telegrams. So ISKCON functions with balance between trunk and branch, with a good deal of regular reciprocity between them, yet tending towards complete autonomy for the branch when it reaches the level of ‘ISKCON centre’.
Yet for each group to prosper, it is essential for it to have a great deal of spiritual nourishment flowing up from the trunk of the ISKCON tree. Preachers, teachers, book distribution, local festivals and good advice in both personal spiritual practise and outreach activities, will all help the group members, and through this the group will grow strong.
The group leader can invite preachers to come until the group members themselves are knowledgeable and proficient enough to conduct the courses that are recommended for a good understanding of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Some funding is required for this, but if each member can contribute to the transport cost of the preacher this will be very helpful.
(Taken from The ISKCON Small Groups Handbook)
Bhagavatam-daily Podcast
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Gita Verse-by-verse Study Podcast:
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CC daily Podcast:
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Opportunity:
ECO-Vrindaban is a non-profit organization serving in the New Vrindaban community, located near Wheeling, West Virginia, USA.
ECO-V promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.
We seek an individual with a strong knowledge of gardening, a passion for community and environment, who can handle both the challenges of managing community gardens and maintaining positive relationships with New Vrindaban residents, pilgrims and guests.
Duties:
• Oversee vegetable and flower garden facilities and staff
• Handle department related logistics and budgets
• Serve as an educational resource for local gardeners
• Coordinate garden volunteer activities
• Act as an organizational liaison and representative
All potential candidates must be:
• Excited to develop Srila Prabhupada’s vision for self-sufficient farm communities
• Passionate about environmental and food production issues
• Physically able to handle work in the gardens such as digging, lifting, bending, etc.
• Willing to live in New Vrindaban, WV
The ideal candidate will have:
• A proven track record and expertise in gardening
• Management or leadership experience, preferably with a non-profit
• A regular practice of individual chanting and participation in temple programs
Compensation: This will be a full-time, salaried position subject to a multi-year contract.
Please send cover letter, resume and any inquiries to Ranaka dasa: dfintel@msn.com
Tatarstan Vaisnavas (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: It was with great sadness that we left Tatarstan yesterday. The small group of devotees pushing on Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement there - so far away from the rest of the world - are the sweetest devotees you could ever imagine. Please everyone send them your blessings!
See them here: http://goo.gl/aOvtcc
Saranagati’s Govardhana Academy Wins B.C. Green Games
Students of the Govardhana Academy in Saranagati, an off-the-grid Krishna conscious village in B.C., Canada, have topped the B.C. Green Games winners’ lists in both the secondary and elementary school categories this year. The Green Games are run by Science World, a Vancouver center that promotes science education. To enter, students had to create and submit a photo essay, video project or website that showed an environmental action project their school had undertaken.Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/8vHWVq
Sanskrit fever grips Germany: 14 universities teaching India’s ancient language struggle to meet demand as students clamour for courses
Will Germans be the eventual custodians of Sanskrit, its rich heritage and culture? If the demand for Sanskrit and Indology courses in Germany is any indication, that’s what the future looks like. Unable to cope with the flood of applications from around the world, the South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, had to start a summer school in spoken Sanskrit in Switzerland, Italy and - believe it or not - India too.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/xReoYl
Happy Harinam in Durban,South Africa (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, dancing in ecstasy and eating the remnants of food offered to the Lord are very, very important. One may be illiterate or incapable of understanding the philosophy, but if he partakes of these three items, he will certainly be liberated without delay. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 15.237 Purport).
See them here: http://goo.gl/CiUUK8
Vaishnava Song Meaning Podcast:
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Cocoa farmers for the first time in their lives experience what the result of their work tastes like. A revelatory video by Metrolopis about how globalization work. In response, watch how the Dutch people react to their first encounter with the source of their favorite candy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc80xiou_eM
He is a kathavachak (narrator of religious lore) with a difference. A devout Muslim by birth, Faiz Khan is a firm believer in the need to protect cows.
“When we read about Creation, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” Francis said.
Thirty years ago no one gave a damn. You could gum up a river with factory sludge, chop down rain forests wholesale, spray fluorocarbons into the air like a kid sprinkling confetti , and non one would say boo. No longer.
Students at ISKCON Saranagati, Canada, have topped the British Columbia Green Games winners’ lists in both the secondary and elementary school categories this year. The Green Games are run by a Vancouver center that promotes science education. To enter, students had to create and submit a photo essay, video project or website that showed an environmental action project their school had undertaken.
Students of the Govardhana Academy in Saranagati, an off-the-grid Krishna conscious village in B.C., Canada, have topped the B.C. Green Games winners’ lists in both the secondary and elementary school categories this year.
A Garden Manager For New Vrindaban
We seek an individual with a strong knowledge of gardening, a passion for community and environment, who can handle both the challenges of managing community gardens and maintaining positive relationships with New Vrindaban residents, pilgrims and guests. Duties: • Oversee vegetable and flower garden facilities and staff • Handle department related logistics and budgets • Serve as an educational resource for local gardeners • Coordinate garden volunteer activities • Act as an organizational liaison and representative
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16872
“Go Deeper to Find Jewels”
Madhavananda Das: The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu was just released. It includes: * REGULATED AUSTERITY – From a letter by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. * GO DEEPER TO FIND JEWELS – Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja speaks about the importance of giving up superficiality. * THE FIRST ATTRACTION - PART 14 – Continuation of a fresh translation done especially for Bindu from Srila Jiva Goswami’s Gopala Campuh, speaking about how Radha and Krishna first met.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16868
Navadwipa Mandala - evening program (Album with photos)
Iskcon devotees from Russia, visiting the Holy places in India blend nicely wit the local population and happily chant and dance together enthusiastically!
See this nice gallery here: http://goo.gl/egSg2n
The post Smaranam appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.