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Hare Krishna! TOVP Tour Daily Diary: Day 5 to Day 12
$230,000 Raised in New Goloka Dhama, $200,000 Pledged from Denver Temple, $250,000 pledged by Mr. and Mrs. Vora’s friends and many more victories from the traveling TOVP team’s tour in North American Temples and Communities. Also Jananivas Prabhu’s 71st Birthday Celebrated and Deity Seva Seminars given.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16437
Better late than never, we present to you video recordings from the Sankirtan Festival which took place in Simhachalam, Germany at the end of December last year.
Courtesy of Antardvip Das
Hare Krishna! GBC College – First Residential Session Completed
“It’s been a life-changing experience to attend these GBC College sessions,” said Gauranga Simha Prabhu, Co-director for ISKCON Mayapur. “This training has motivated me in such a way that I want to rededicate myself to serving the movement of Srila Prabhupada with more seriousness and vigor.” After the initial three days of association with the HH Radhanath Maharaja, HH Giriraj Maharaja and HH Bhakti Charu Maharaja, the participants (figuratively) rolled up their sleeves and explored the nuts and bolts of effective communication in the “Conscious Leadership” course by Brajmohan Prabhu.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16432
Hare Krishna! Gaura Purnima on Oxford Street
Oxford Street is one of the most busiest streets in the world for tourists and shoppers. And Gaura Purnima is the most important day of the year so it only makes sense to have a Rathayatra festival down this street at peak time. Srila Prabhupada visited Soho street with a view to buying a temple, he was sick, lying down in the car, he asked Jaya Tirtha Prabhu one question, ” how far are we from Oxford street?” Just about 20 yards, “buy it”.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16429
Hare Krishna! Report from the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir
This morning after an amazing Srimad Bhagavatam class by Her Grace Daivi Shakti Mataji (above), one of the earliest pioneers of our Krishna Balaram temple, the devotees visited the Radha Vamsi Gopal Temple, where Srila Prabhupada stayed before moving to Radha Damodar. Secluded, serene and sweet is the only words to describe Radha Vamsi Gopal temple. Deena Bandhu Prabhu gave a wonderful description and the devotees visited Srila Prabhupada’s room 3 floors up.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16426
Hare Krishna, For the pleasure of their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhav, Pancatattva, Sri Nrisimha Dev, Sri Jagannath Baladev Subhadra Maharani and Srila Prabhupada, Mayapur Local Preaching (MLP) went to Sri Jagannath Puri for a six day tour from 10th to 15th March. 70 Bhakti Vriksha members went for the trip and by the mercy of […]
The post Puri Tour by Mayapur Local Preaching appeared first on Mayapur.com.
The post A second reading of Padyavali with Govinda Maharaja appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
The post Reading Padyavali with Govinda Maharaja appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
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Gunarnava prabhu (first temple president) and Surabhi prabhu (the devotee architect who designed and builded the Krishna Balaram Mandir) share nectarean memories about the beginings of Iskcon Vrindavana. (55 min video, but there are two more following)
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/JgBtT8
On the evening of Monday, March 23rd, the temple filled up again to hear Jananivas prabhu speak on Deity worship. For almost two hours he spoke, bringing great happiness to all the devotees present.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 12 – Jananivas Prabhu Deity Seva Seminar appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
On the morning of Sunday, March 22nd, the Lord’s Padukas and Sitari were greeted at the temple with kirtan and an abhishek and arati, and placed on the altar. In the evening we made our TOVP presentation to the Hillsborough community.
This temple was built and started by His Holiness Bir Krishna Goswami in the 1980’s in the rural area surrounding Raleigh, North Carolina, and has grown to become a community of dedicated servants of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabu. After kirtan, Radha Jivan and Jananivas spoke to a gathering of about 60 devotees, inspiring and giving them a vision of the importance of Sridhama Mayapur and the TOVP project. Despite having their own temple and school building project to raise funds for, the community altogether pledged $230,000 for the TOVP, sacrificing their own needs.
Everywhere we go we are experiencing the same miracle of devotees and temples sacrificing their own needs for the greater good of the organization, with faith that the Lord will reciprocate and provide what they need. Serving Mayapur and the TOVP serves all our needs as the rising tide raises all the boats, or feeding the stomach nourishes the entire body.
Prasadam was then served to the devotees to their full satisfaction.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 11 – $230,000 Raised in New Goloka Dhama appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Saturday, March 21st was a day of traveling, flying to North Carolina to the community of devotees in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
We arrived too late in the evening for any temple greeting and went straight to our accommodations at the house of Aditya Narayana prabhu and his wife.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 10 – Travel to Hillsborough, North Carolina, New Goloka Dhama appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
On Friday, March 20th, the TOVP presentation took place to an audience of about 75 devotees. The Padukas received an abhisheka during an ecstatic kirtan while Jananivas placed Lord Nrsinghadeva’s Sitari on everyone’s head.
Temple President Tusta Krishna prabhu introduced the TOVP Team consisting of Jananivas prabhu, Radha Jivan prabhu, Vraja Vilas prabhu and Sunanda prabhu. Radha Jivan spoke for some time and introduced Jananivas who inspired the devotees to serve Sridhama Mayapur and the TOVP project. Radha Jivan then, once again, made an appeal for pledges and, although a smaller congregation than Alachua and Dallas combined, $200,000 in pledges was raised. After the program prasadam was served to all the devotees.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 9 – $200,000 Pledged from Denver Temple appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
On 26th March, we had a Prabhupada katha lecture in Mayapur Temple by His Excellency P.B Acharya (the governor of Assam, Tripura and Nagaland). He’s a Vaisnava born in Udupi, Karnataka and had the fortune of serving Srila Prabhupada at his house in Bombay for 40 days. During that time he had many memorable experiences […]
The post Prabhupada katha lecture by His Excellency P.B Acharya appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Even after all this criticism, the mountain-dwelling Śiva remained quiet and did not retaliate. Angry Dakṣa, on the other hand, ritually sprinkled himself with drops of water in preparation for pronouncing a curse: “Whenever sacrifice is offered to the gods, Indra and his followers will receive portions but Bhava shall not – for he is a god unfit to be counted amongst the gods!”
The leaders of the assembly had tried to stop Dakṣa from pronouncing this curse, but this only made him more angry, and he stormed off for home.
Śiva was not angry, but his great devotee Nandīśvara became red-eyed and blinded by rage. He pronounced a terrible curse upon Dakṣa and all the Brāhmaṇas who did not protest Dakṣa’s behavior: “You who are so superficial and external that you bear hatred towards Śiva – a Blessed Being who hates no one – will become fools, completely ignorant of philosophical truth! You will make a mockery of righteousness, while actually being completely addicted to mundane pleasures common to any ordinary household. Without any true realization, your comprehension of the Veda will be limited to rituals that promise materialistic, selfish gains. Dakṣa is already such a fool! His intellect is external, and mistakes the body for the self. Not knowing his true self-interest, he is like an animal interested only in reproducing with women. Therefore, he should look like an animal! Let him soon have the head of a goat!
“He has the learning and intellect of an ignorant fool, dull and obsessed with selfish deeds. Therefore he shall suffer again and again in this world of birth and death! And those who tolerated his insults of Gentle Śiva will suffer the same fate! Anyone who bears hatred towards the Destroyer shall become a bewildered fool intoxicated by the honey-fragrance of the Veda’s enchanting promises of material power and pleasure. You foolish so-called Brāhmaṇas will eat anything and everything just to nourish your fat bellies, and you will pursue so-called learning, austerity, and vows just to earn money to lavish upon your body and senses. May you all wander in this world like beggars!”
[Bhāgavatam 4.2.17 ~ 26]
Vraja Kishor dās
PS – Nandīśvara is a synonym for Nandikeśa, who the Purāṇic Encyclopedia defines as: “Chief of the Bhūta-gaṇa of Shiva” saying that he once took the form of a monkey and cursed Rāvaṇa.
From Dallas, our next stop is Denver, Colorado, home of Sri Sri Radha Govinda, Gaur Nitai and Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.
Like Dallas, this is one of the original 108 temples established by Srila Prabhupada which he personally visited and installed the Deities. We arrived on Wednesday, March 18th greeted by an ecstatic group of devotees dancing and chanting. The Padukas and Sitari gave darshan while kirtan continued, and finally Jananivas prabhu spoke about Mayapur and the TOVP.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 7 – Travel to Denver, Colorado, New Badarikashrama appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
The post March 27th, 2015 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Mangala Aratik Iskcon London
Lecture Podcast:
On Thursday, March 19th the Denver devotees congregated to observe the 71st birthday of Jananivas prabhu (and Pankajanghri prabhu).
Just as Srila Prabhupada came to America at the advanced age of 70 to bring the message of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and the parampara, Jananivas left India for the first time in 43 years to do “whatever it takes to build Radha Madhava’s new home.”
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 8 – Jananivas Prabhu’s 71st Birthday Celebrated appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
While traveling with us, Jananivas prabhu is giving Deity Seva Seminars and other talks at the temples in-between traveling.
On the evening of Tuesday, March 17th he gave his first Deity Seminar at the Dallas temple to another packed temple room of devotees eager to learn from him.
The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 6 – Jananivas Deity Seva Seminar appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Bhagavatam-daily Podcast:
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Gita Verse-by-verse Podcast:
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In the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna describes how He is the origin and opulence in all of creation. In verse 35 He states, “Of seasons I am flower-bearing spring.”
Indeed, after weeks of overcast and inclement weather, the sun has peered from behind the clouds, bringing all vegetation back to life! Spring is here and we are celebrating its arrival. After a week-long break, the preschool class learned about the four seasons and sketched a finger-painted exhibition of their characteristics.
Along with the Lower Elementary class, we went to the Dallas Children’s Theater and were entertained by the “Tales of Peter Rabbit.” Mr. McGregor even came out for a group picture!
The appeal of the beautiful stage scenery of the woods and the garden demanded an outdoor picnic. Tietze Park, with its climbing trees, provided the perfect natural ground for play on this beautiful, sunny spring day!
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 2010, Durban, South Africa, Lecture at Ratha Yatra)
There are many people all over the world who are all adhering to some religion and are worshiping God! They speak about intimacy and about getting close. One day, I was preparing a seminar on the topic of prayer so I had researched different things on prayer. I looked on the internet to see if I could find something general on prayer and I found a quote by one Christian priest who said, “Whenever I pray, I realize how far away I am from God…”
When I read that, I was thinking that we don’t have that! Whenever we pray, we feel very close to Krsna! All of us, although we are not very great devotees and although we do not have much love for Krsna, we do not feel so far away. Krsna is here! When we dance in front of the Lord, we know he is right here. So this is Krsna consciousness; it is immediately very intimate! A very intimate relationship with Krsna!
Naam Ramayana Podcast
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CC daily Podcast
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Daivi Shakti Mataji: history of ISKCON Vrindavan (55 min video)
Beautiful class and narration of the early days of Krishna Balarama Mandir, the donation of the land and more!
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/SPFEjG
Birmingham 24 Hour Kirtan 2015
In its 16th year running, it gives us great pleasure to invite you to our annual Birmingham 24 Hour Kirtan festival. This hugely successful event will host over 2,000 people during the course weekend and we will be serving vegetarian meals to all guests on both days. The kirtan festival is held in the beautiful surroundings of Radha Swami Rasila Satsang Centre.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16420
Community Dialog on the topic of a possible “Village Council” at the onsite Joint Board Meetings in New Vrindaban
The weekend of March 14 and 15, 2015 was a jam-packed, exciting and informative two days for NV. There used to be two weekends a year when the two Boards of Directors, namely ISKCON New Vrindaban ( INV) & ECO-Vrindaban would get together with their managers and staff so all involved could connect and communicate. Starting two years ago, however, the joint board members decided to expand these weekend gatherings and open them up for all New Vrindaban residents and well-wishers to participate as well.
During the weekend of March 14 and 15, the activities were divided into four sections:
And, in between, on Sat. evening there was a relaxed, yet informative event at Prabhupada’s Palace. Sankirtan prabhu gave his dramatic, visual powerpoint presentation called “How the Hare Krsna Mantra Came to the West”.
The account in this article is a glimpse into Saturday afternoon’s discussion, just one of the weekend’s events, to inform anyone who missed it. There will soon be a series of detailed articles written by Madhava Smullen who also participated in the weekend activities.
Of particular interest to the residents of New Vrindaban was a lively community dialog,, after lunch on Saturday March 14, 2015, which was well attended by many community members. Chaitanya Mangala introduced the topic of a possible Village Council for New Vrindaban, which is just in the idea stage with no details worked out yet. The proposed Council could ideally consist of a body of local devotees working together, where all residents could feel that they have an increased voice in their community of New Vrindaban.
Chaits mentioned how previously leaders of New Vrindaban had made valiant efforts to manage a community through a non-profit religious corporate structure, but this doesn't work because the required legal structures have restrictions that can’t be transformed into a broader democratic system. Therefore, we need to approach this from a broader perspective.
Chaits emphasized three buzz words for such a Village Council: small, local and simple.
"Small: Let’s just have a few people on the Council, at least to begin with. Later it can expand as needed."
"Local: The members should be available to regularly meet face to face, for optimum effectiveness and communication."
"Simple: Let’s create as few pre-conditions as possible, so as not to restrict the group from starting. They can develop the rules they will operate under as they move forward."
Then the discussion was opened up. Devotees were expressing themselves very respectfully, but frankly as well. Many remarked afterwards that this was a mature discussion coming out of people’s honest desires to have a “village voice”. That is, the residents of New Vrindaban want a voice in how the community is run, so they spoke up frankly, but also showed much appreciation for the current leaders and managers and all the challenges they’ve faced.
The feeling of resignation that is sometimes evident in NV over the years was mentioned as one of the many challenges. This apathy has different sources. There is much skepticism that things will change, yet others still have hope. Some devotees have complained that, in their opinion, New Vrindaban is being run as more of a corporation than a spiritual institution. Some asked what kind of influence would a Village Council really have on the decision-making process in New Vrindaban. The NV Advocacy Sanga has been discussing many of these issues for the last year and a half.
One devotee appreciated that this year has been identified by Jaya Krsna prabhu as the year of “deepening relationships”. Just as we have to continuously deal with the structure of the roads and buildings of NV, dealing with ongoing devotee relationships is also essential.
A suggestion came up for us to possibly study how a few successful intentional communities run and what their successes are based on. Mukunda das said, “Those communities, although they may not be based on spirituality, have many of the “0’s” in the equation, but we have the “1” (Krsna) to make it perfect. So we can still learn from them.”
An old friend and well-wisher of the Hare Krsna movement, Burke Rochford, a professor of sociology, was present at the meetings. He expressed that he sees these types of dialogs as very important. He said that since Srila Prabhupada had set up New Vrindaban as a community, as opposed to a city temple, that we have had to face certain special challenges. He has also come to understand that the voices of the residents need to help shape the direction of New Vrindaban.
There was a short discussion on the topic of the Sunday feast. People were expressing both sides, namely what enlivens and what sometimes discourages the devotees’ attendance.
Although many topics were touched upon, the themes that were recurring throughout the afternoon were the need for the residents’ voices to be heard and the challenge of rebuilding trust. It was suggested that a Village Council could address these types of concerns for a win/win situation.
The NV Advocacy Sanga announced that the Sanga will continue the discussion of a Village Council and try to come up with a solid proposal from their side. They also expressed their wish, along with the joint Board members, that this healthy, open discussion will continue in the community at large.
The third annual Bhaktivedanta Swami Lecture will be held today at the Business School of WITS University in Johannesburg. The speaker will be Bhuta Bhavana Dasa. Here’s the link to click to see the lecture streamed online.
Time:
Johannesburg: 7:30 pm
London: 5:30 pm
New York: 1:30 pm
The post Third annual Bhaktivedanta Swami Lecture today at WITS University appeared first on Jayadvaita Swami.
Harinama in Japan (Album 80 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet [SB 12.3.51] Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, one becomes free from the bondage of material existence and thus becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 9.14.48 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/1pw0R0