Planet ISKCON

Hare Krishna! The unique position of Lord Shiva
Srila Prabhupada explains, “The living being can never possess attributes like Shiva, Vishnu or Lord Krishna. A living being can become godly by developing the seventy-eight-percent transcendental attributes in fullness, but he can never become a God like Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna. He can become a Brahma in due course: – Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28 purport”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16250

Harinama and Ocean of nectar in Kathmandu, Nepal (Album 45 photos)
See them here: http://goo.gl/jQ6wFE

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

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Hare Krishna! The Times: March/Campaign For The Yamuna: An Epic Opportunity
The disheartening implications of the Yamuna crisis and the heartening networking of environmental and devotional groups in the campaign to save it have brought upon us a great opportunity. At this moment over 50,000 Yamuna enthusiasts march to Delhi with a prediction of 100,000 by the 22nd of March, Brajabasins, Sampradayik and Vyasa acaryas, yogis, agricultural union members, dancing children from Maan Mandir, Barsana, to secure a long term mandate in government policies to allow India’s most sacred and famous river, the Yamuna to return, unimpeded to the Homeland of Braja.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16247

Carefully selected moments from ISKCON’s International Navadwip Parikrama 2015 (21 min video)
This twenty-one-minute video shows carefully selected moments from ISKCON’s International Navadwip Parikrama 2015. The event took place on 22-28 Feb, and was organised by the ISKCON World Headquaters at Mayapur Dhama. Mayapur TV cameras followed the pilgrimage, and requested BhakTV to produce a short video taster for the Internet. The video is not a day-by-day account. It covers the opening day and the final day of the week-long event. It provides a flowing narrative that is woven into the landscape. This includes chosen, easily digestible snippets from lectures given by senior members at some of the many sacred spots that punctuate the dusty trails, across West Bengal’s endless green paddy fields. “Editing this video has given me a strong desire to do the actual walk next year … on my own two feet.” Vasudeva Das, BhakTV.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/AzWOHg

The post Radha Govinda asks about Prabhu-datta-desh, Radhika giving up attachment to partners and Zeyneb about svarupa appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Krishna Mountain, Excerpt 20th-29th min. (from a 60min documentary) (9 min video)
BhakTV: Twenty-five kilometers west of the Indian holy town of Mathura in North India, amidst twelve forests in the land of Braj, is a long, narrow, and intriguing hill. Roughly ten kilometers long and barely a couple hundred meters wide, Govardhan Hill enjoys the odd privilege of having throngs of pilgrims walk around it day and night, seven days a week, summer and winter, three hundred-sixty-five days a year.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/7Ftb67

Mayapur Village Kirtan (3 min video)
Yesterday I ventured into the village temple on Taranpur Road. It was their annual seven-day festival, in the wake of Gaura Purnima. Two days were set aside exclusively for nama kirtan but, as fate had it, I arrived at the very last performance on the second night. It was soul-stirring…
The next evening I was back for more , this time with an assistant, two HD cameras on stands, a GoPro on steadycam, and suitable lighting equipment.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/DrQMHV

Once in a Lifetime Darshan - TOVP tour brings bliss in Iskcon Dallas (Album 51 photos)
See them here: http://goo.gl/BZJacd

Hare Krishna! Appeal for volunteers: 50th Anniversary celebrations
The Global Office for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of ISKCON has appealed for volunteers who can serve on the International Team for this milestone event in the history of ISKCON. “The celebrations are being planned across six continents in 75 countries, and are being organised by a team of volunteers,” explained Romapada Das, the International Coordinator for the 50th Anniversary. “But we need more volunteers to ensure that these festivities create the maximum impact around the world.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16244

Hare Krishna! Freedom through the Holy Name
Srila Prabhupada: The human being has a particular type of business. That business is to study and discuss the bhagavata life. That is our natural business. We should try to understand Bhagavan, God. The relationship between Bhagavan and the bhakta, or devotee, is called bhagavatadharma. The business of human life is very easy: Simply hear about Krishna. Krishna is Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we are part of Krishna. Suppose I have forgotten my home. I left my home a long time ago and have forgotten my father. So if somebody reminds me, “Do you know such-and-such gentleman? He is your father. You were playing in such a way, your father was helping you …” In this way, if he simply talks of my father, I will remember my home. Similarly, we have forgotten our relationship with Krishna. If we simply hear about Him, then we will remember.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16240

Srila Prabhupada, Our Founder-Acharya Seminar - HG Suresvara Prabhu (video - seminar)
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/fp5tM3

The post March 18th, 2015 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Bhagavatam Stories Day 01 01 by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on 2014-12-25

“A person who has developed detachment can give up the bondage of material society, friendship and love, and a person who undergoes great suffering gradually becomes, out of hopelessness, detached and indifferent to the material world. Thus, due to my great suffering, such detachment awoke in my heart; yet how could I have undergone such [...]

From Sushant P:

Answer Podcast:

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From Rambhadra Priya P:

The question is based on Srila Prabhupada's purport to Bhagavatam (2.6.20)

Answer Podcast:

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(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed)

[reprinted from 4-15-2012] Every year I’m so inspired by the feeling of spring as I watch its gradual unfolding like the stages of a lovely flower, from bud to full blown petal perfection, or a step by step, most profound, yet accessible concert, which carries one to a moving experience, difficult to convey to others. While the basics of earth, plants, flowers, trees, insects, animals, wind, sky, clouds, sun, moon, and stars are obvious, how they affect and teach me by the power of Krishna’s seasonal changes, can be challenging to express in fresh ways. This is my challenge every year as I am stirred by spring and the various natural transformations, yet because I have the desire to share something meaningful with you, making the endeavor to serve and give, I find new inspiration. This is what has come to me:

The cultivation of spiritual life is like setting different small parts of special lenses in place which enables us to view life from a new and deeper perspective. Beginning with the premise that there is a God, we are eternal souls having a relationship with Him, and that this is a purposeful universe gives us insights completely different from thinking consciousness is simply chemical, electrical reactions, and that life has no meaning. As quantum mechanics in physics has taught scientists that the act of observing something changes the phenomenon being observed, life reflects back to us according to our faith or belief about existence. This can be expressed in the words of Krishna in his Bhagavad Gita [4.11],

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Answer: Let’s consider the answer in three different ways.

1. Once a person read a novel for the first time in his life. On coming to know that the novel was written by an author, he asked, “Where is the author in the novel?” The above question is quite similar to that. The answer obviously is that the author is not in the novel; he created the timeline, the storyline and the characters in the novel, but he exists outside it. Similarly, God created time, space and everything, including all of us, who live within time and space, but he himself exists outside the fabric of time and space. So everything that exists within time and space needs a beginning, a cause, but God who exists outside it, needs no cause, for he is the cause of time and space; he exists outside the chain of creator and created.
2. The Vedic literatures provide us the definition of God: sarva karana karanam. “He is the cause of all causes.” This definition implies that, while tracing back the origin of all the things around us, the point where we stop is God. If God were to have an origin, then that origin would be God. Because even according to pure logic, the source of everything cannot have a source. So this question is itself illogical as it originates in an illogical understanding of the term, God.
3. Modern science has confirmed that our universe has a beginning, that it is not eternal. Most current scientific theories propose the origin of the universe to be a singularity, a point of infinite density, infinite temperature and infinitesimal size, a point that is beyond all conceptions of space and time, a point that is mathematically indescribable and physically unrealizable. And science has no reasonable answer to the question of where this singularity came from. Thus even so-called rational science cannot avoid ascribing inconceivable (we could say “irrational”) attributes to the origin of everything, but it is ascribing them to a lump of matter instead of God. So materialistic science and spirituality both require us to accept on faith their version of how the universe originated. But let’s examine: which faith is more reasonable? Does a lump of matter organize itself into a building or does an intelligent person organize lumps of matter into a building? All experience points to an intelligent person. So isn’t it logical that the organization, structure and harmony in the universe – the cosmic building we live in – require a Super-intelligent Person, not just a super-energetic lump of matter?

To summarize, no one created God because he exists outside the chain of creator and created, he is by definition the causeless cause of all causes and he is the most reasonable conception of the origin of everything.

 

 

 

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Often I find myself struggling to think of new things to say about Japa that haven’t been said already – I try to use quotes from Srila Prabhupada or senior devotees and occasionally video and audio but still it can be a struggle.
Actually, the whole reason I started the Japa Group all those years ago was because of a quote I read where Srila Prabhupada was saying that we should write each day about our realisations in Krsna consciousness.
I don’t have many, but I have a few about Japa and one thing is for sure – we need to take Japa very seriously and make it the priority in our day over everything else.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17

“The  devotees in Hong Kong had arranged for a Rolls-Royce to pick up Srila Prabhupada at the airport. One of the reporters that came to the press conference asked him. ‘You are supposed to be a spiritual person, why are you riding in a Rolls-Royce car?’ Srila Prabhupada replied. ‘As spiritual master, I am the representative of God. In the kingdom of God everything is made of spiritual gems. Actually, they should have received me in a vehicle made from spiritual gems. Even if they had received me in a solid gold Rolls-Royce, it would not have been good enough. But, because this is all they could offer I had to accept it.’ And then Srila Prabhupada said to me. ‘What else can you say to such envious people?’ But there is truth to what Srila Prabhupada said—there is always truth to everything he said.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17, Leicester

Gita Verse-by-verse Study Podcast

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Bhagavatam-daily Podcast

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Hare Krishna! TOVP WORLD TOUR 2015-2016: Day 1 and Day 2
On Thursday, March 12 around 6:30pm the Lord in the form of His Padukas and Sitari arrived at Radha Jivana prabhu’s home to an ecstatic reception kirtan led by devotees from the Gainesville Krishna House. The Padukas and Sitari received an abhishek, and Jananivas prabhu received a foot washing and spoke about Mayapur and the TOVP project to all the assembled devotees.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16236

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Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila chapter 8.

isvara-puri gosañi kare sripada-sevana
svahaste karena mala-mutradi marjana

Translation: Isvara Puri, the spiritual master of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, performed service to Madhavendra Puri, cleaning up his stool and urine with his own hand.

—CC Antya 8.28

Giriraj Swami: You can see the contrast — Ramachandra Puri was so proud that he thought he could instruct his spiritual master and Isvara Puri was so humble that he was willing to clean up his stool and urine. So the one who is very proud is actually fallen and the one who is humble is actually exalted.

Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 8, Bhaktivedanta Manor

Western culture means complicated superficial culture. Western culture believes in industrialization and today all of the world is following this culture thinking it to be the most civilized culture. But if we look at data objectively, you will find all the diseases, depression, wars, natural resources depletion takes place in urban populated centers, not in places where there is no industrialization. In other words, the true cost of industrialization is our own physical and mental health.

On the other hand, people from the east are supposed to be more spiritual in tune with nature more. Unfortunately, more and more this is not the case any more. The art of simple living and high thinking is completely lost. Srila Prabhupada constantly preached the concept of a simple life on what he called "getting away from unnecessary necessities". People today are more connected with facebook than they are with their next door neighbors.

Anyways...here is a man who is showing us how to live a simple yet a very happy life - example is better than precept. From watching this video, I concluded, he may not be a university graduate but surely a very intelligent, sensitive and common sense individual - things you don't learn in universities.





Hare Krishna

Himalayan Harinam in Nepal (Album 57 photos)
See them here: http://goo.gl/6txdp8

HH Indradyumna Swami’s health update.
Indradyumna Swami: Dear devotees,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I would like to thank all of you for your concern, your care and especially your prayers during these last few days. As my dear friend Govinda Swami reported, I was recently diagnosed with Melanoma skin cancer, but the small malignant mole was successfully removed and further testing showed the cancer had not spread anywhere at all. I am presently recovering from surgery to the affected area. My doctors are happy with the results and told me today that I’ll be good to go in a few weeks time.
Krsna has been very kind to me and I have had many realizations over the past 2 weeks. I am more grateful than ever for the mercy of my spiritual master, the association of devotees, the holy names, service to my Deities, the chanting of my gayatri mantras, the abode of Sri Vrindavan Dhama and service to the samkirtan movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I wake up each morning and thank the Lord for a new day of service and the opportunity to come closer to His Lotus feet. I am infinitely more aware now how temporary life is and am determined to use every second of what remains of my life in service to guru and Gauranga. I feel a resurgence of dedication to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to me to, ‘preach boldly and have faith in the holy names.’ In fact, I feel my service to him has only just begun. Once again I thank all of you for remembering me in my time of difficulty. I look forward to your association for many years to come.
Your servant, Indradyumna Swami
“A person who has developed detachment can give up the bondage of material society, friendship and love, and a person who undergoes great suffering gradually becomes, out of hopelessness, detached and indifferent to the material world. Thus, due to my great suffering, such detachment awoke in my heart; yet how could I have undergone such merciful suffering if I were actually unfortunate? Therefore, I am in fact fortunate and have received the mercy of the Lord. He must somehow or other be pleased with me.” [ SB 11.8.38 ]

12-03-2015 The Important Role of Women in Society, Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa.mp3