As part of its ongoing efforts for child safety, ISKCON’s North American Child Protection Office will kick off 2016, the year of the society’s 50th anniversary, by holding its first annual “Safe Temple” awards. The awards will be held at the annual Governing Body Commission and Temple Presidents’ meetings in Houston, Texas during the second weekend of January 2016.
$10,000 cash prize! Essay Competition prize Winner Announced! Gambhir Watts, the judge of the “Bhagavad Gita as it is” Essay competition, announced the prize winner on 27 February 2015 at the prize giving ceremony. The prize winner is: Helena Widolf Congratulations! Well done!
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/vMgylZ
A new Krishna Conscious application
Vaishnava Reader 108 is a feed reader application that lets you
access vaishnava digital content from hundreds of vaishnava feed
channels. From Temples to Bhajan mandalis, from ISKCON News to
ISKCON Desire Tree, from Dandavats to various Maharaja feeds, get the latest from upto 500+ vaishnava feed channels from around the
world.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15929
North American Education Conference
Dear Devotees, Parents, Educators and Students,
Please accept our sincere obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
It gives us immense and profound pleasure to invite you to the
North American Education Conference
ISKCON Houston, July 30th through August 2nd, 2015
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15923
Hare Krishna! The Prabhupada Global Kirtan Revolution website has been launched!
Our initial offering is to invite temples to submit kirtan recordings from past and present kirtan chanters. We aim to have every temple featured by ISKCON’s 50th anniversary. Please visit the site to hear and be a part of creating this offering for Srila Prabhupada! Sincerely, your servants The Prabhupada Global Kirtan Revolution team.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=12210
Hare Krishna! Sannyasa Waiting List
As on 1 March, 2015, the following are the candidates for sannyasa along with their respective waiting periods: Adi Purusa Das (GGS) (Bhubaneswar) 1 year Adwaitacharya Das (GGS) (Bhubaneswar) 2 years Agnideva Das (ACBSP) (Caribbean) 2 years with conditions Akincana Das (BSDS) (Odisha) 2 years Amala Bhakta Das (ACBSP) (Los Angeles) this year with conditions Ambarish Das (GKG) (Russian Federation) 1 year Ananda Caitanya Das (BCAIS) (Baltics/Russia/US) this year Ananda Vardhana Das (BVG) (Baltics/Finland/Europe) 3 years Asit Krsna Das (GGS) (India/Hong Kong/China/Taiwan) 2 years Bhaktipada Das (SRS) (Hungary/Romania/Turkey) 3 years
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15917
THE LIFE OF A DEVOTEE Krishna Kirtana dasa
In 1998, KK was diagnosed with renal failure. He was eventually put on dialysis and underwent a kidney transplant in 2004 with a kidney donated by Malini. Unfortunately the kidney was gradually rejected and he returned to dialysis. He then opted for home dialysis four or five days a week. The six hours connected to the machine is not wasted, as he constantly reads, hears and chants. All these setbacks have not deterred KK. He regularly attends the temple and gives some Srimad Bhagavatam classes. He is also a member of the New Govardhana Advisory Board and the Financial Committee. He has recently been requested to co-ordinate the men’s mentorship programme. Krishna Kirtana, Malini and Family - Ki Jaya!
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/xzcDY0
Interview with Madhava Prabhu
Q. How did you end up becoming a kirtaneer?
M. When I was 18, I asked my parents to send me to Vrindavan. I wanted to join the 24-hour kirtana. It was the early 90’s and its director Aindra dasa, trained me. He forcibly gave me the understanding to chant and follow sadhana, as I was a rebellious teenager at the time, only interested in the musical aspect of our culture. Every day he pounded hard on my ego till a year later I submitted. He literally made me. Yet, in the year 2000 I lived in the UK where I started to do kirtana with Sivarama Swami. He would invite me to Hungary, England and Ireland several times a year. I worked as a carpenter during those years, and I would travel the weekends.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/1hwgbD
HEALTHY MOO!
15-month-old Moo, affectionate pet of Sue Fulton and family from Fernvale, suddenly became very ill recently and could no longer eat or walk. When the vet suggested contacting the devotees for a sling to lift him, they did this. (Without getting a sick calf up, they usually die.) Gita Govinda devi dasi gave Sue the sling, and maintained contact throughout Moo’s ordeal. Though the vet gave him antibiotics, as the days went by, he was not improving and she thought he would depart.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/BiUJsz
Hare Krishna! ISKCON 50th Anniversary
Mukunda Goswami: The government of the city of New York has a good memory. It installed a metal sign glorifying the incident of what was probably the first outdoor mahamantra chant in the West. The plaque is located in Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan, New York City on a cyclone fence that surrounds the elm tree, under which Srila Prabhupada stood, conducting the kirtana. The metal sign mentions that date of the event, and goes on to read that the poet Allen Ginsberg was present. Signed by the Mayor of New York City, the metal plaque includes the logo of New York’s Park and Recreation Commission. The visitor also reads that Hare Krishna people still visit the location, thus acknowledging the site’s significance.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15914
Hare Krishna! More donations for the TOVP
Rajan Jani prabhu, an ISKCON devotee from Kenya Africa, donates for a Golden Gratitude Coin ($108,000 U.S.) and promises another $400,000 before the finish of the project. He has been a great supporter of many ISKCON projects and now feels the ISKCON Mayapur temple is a crown that will decorate the body of ISKCON for the coming years. His message to the world is everyone should feel blessed to participate in building this temple. He has also encouraged his son to donate a large amount of money to the project.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15911
Hare Krishna! Sannyasa Initiation of His Holiness Bhakti Prema Swami
His Grace Ganga Narayan Prabhu received initiation in the family of His Divine Grace Srila ACBS Prabhupada from His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami. He came in Krishna Consciousness in 1994. Since then, when he was 27, he is serving in the mission of His Divine Grace. He sings Vaishnava bhajans melodiously and beautifully explains their purports. He focuses on establishing loving relationships with devotees and everyone else. He preaches in English, Hindi and Bengali in Ujjain and many other places of Madhya Pradesh especially to college students.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15908
Rajan Jani prabhu, an ISKCON devotee from Kenya Africa, donates for a Golden Gratitude Coin ($108,000 U.S.) and promises another $400,000 before the finish of the project. He has been a great supporter of many ISKCON projects and now feels the ISKCON Mayapur temple is a crown that will decorate the body of ISKCON for the coming years. His message to the world is everyone should feel blessed to participate in building this temple. He has also encouraged his son to donate a large amount of money to the project.
Once a disciple told Srila Prabhupada that it is very difficult to control the wandering mind during japa. In reply, Prabhupada said:
What is the use of controlling the mind? You have to chant and hear, that's all. You have to chant with your tongue, and the sound you hear, that's all. What is the question of mind?
sri-bhagavan uvaca kalo ‘smi loka-ksaya-krt pravrddho lokan samahartum iha pravrttah rte ‘pi tvam na bhavisyanti sarve ye ‘vasthitah pratyanikesu yodhah “The Blessed Lord said: Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people. With the exception of you [the Pandavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be […]
Hare Krishna! International book distribution award ceremony
An international book distribution award ceremony was held on 3rd March during the Morning lecture. HG Vijaya Prabhu and HG Pragosh Prabhu facilitated the award distribution ceremony. HH Jaya Pataka Maharaj was the guest of honor and he enlightened the audience with his words before distribution of awards. He told about the amazing potency of Srila Prabhupada’s books as just by reading them, people have taken to chanting Hare Krsna Mahamantra and practice of devotional service.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15903
March - April AFFCAP newsletter.
Dear Friends of AFFCAP, Please find attached our March – April newsletter. We hope that you find something interesting in it. Please read the exciting news that the Government of Rajasthan has appointed a Minister dedicated to Cow Protection (Gopalan). This is big step in the right direction and let us pray that Govinda blesses Minister Otaram Devasi in his wonderful task. Subsequently, we have begun a discussion with the Government of Rajasthan’s Gopalan on working together protecting Rajasthan’s cows. There is still much to discuss but we are happy that a dialogue has begun. We are always happy to include new names on our mailing list and if you know someone who is interested in these topics, please send their email address to info@affcap.org
View it here: http://goo.gl/ZQIvXr
Hare Krishna! The Logician and Lord Caitanya
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, as the greatest logician of his day, was the professor of many sannyasis. He was an elderly gentleman, about the age of Lord Caitanya’s father, and so he felt some paternal affection for Lord Caitanya. He was also greatly struck by the personal beauty of the Lord, and he thought that it would be very difficult for such a beautiful young man to follow the strict rules and regulations of the renounced order of life. He therefore desired that Lord Caitanya hear from him the teachings of the Vedanta-sutras, the elevated philosophical codes which summarize the essential spiritual truths of all the Vedic literatures. Lord Caitanya tacitly agreed to this proposal.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15898
Hare Krishna! Early Miracles Of Caitanya Mahaprabhu
When Sarvabauma denounced himself as an offender and took shelter of Lord Caitanya, the Lord wanted to show him His mercy, so He manifested His four armed Visnu form. Then, just after this, He manifested His original two-armed Krsna form, with a blackish complexion and a flute near His lips. When Sarvabauma Bhattacarya saw this, he prostrated himself before the Lord. Then he arose and with folded palms offered Lord Caitanya prayers of glorification. By the Lord’s mercy, all truths were revealed to him, and he could understand the importance of chanting God’s holy names and distributing love of God everywhere.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15895
Hare Krishna! The Glories of Lord Caitanya
Revealing the Land of Krsna. Among the sacred cities of the world, Vrndavana is probably the least well known. Yet this small town in northern India ranks with Rome, Jerusalem, and Mecca as a center of worship. It was in Vrndavana that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, displayed His transcendental pastimes during His appearance on this planet some five thousand years ago. Over the course of centuries, the places of Krsna’s pastimes were lost to human memory, until they were rediscovered in the sixteenth century by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krsna Himself in the role of His own devotee.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15892
Hare Krishna! Lord Caitanya’s Mercy
God has decided to give an offer to uplift ourselves from this miserable condition of life. How? By giving personal loans of His special mercy. God is our father, our best friend, and our ever well-wisher. He is supreme, so He can give unlimitedly—so much that you can’t take it all with your limited potential. This is the offer from that Supreme Person who owns and controls everything. When we take a loan from any bank of this material world, we undergo tension and suffer mental disorders.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15889
Hare Krishna! Teachings of Lord Chaitanya
Srila Prabhupada: The philosophical sections of the Vedic hymns are meant to enable one to distinguish the Supreme Personality of Godhead from Maya. After indicating the position of Maya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is approached in pure devotional service. That is the purpose of philosophical speculation. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita in the 7th Chapter, Bahunam janmanam ante… “The philosophical speculators and empiric philosophers, after speculating for many, many births, ultimately come unto the Supreme Lord Krishna, and accept that Vasudeva is everything.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15886
An international book distribution award ceremony was held on 3rd March during the Morning lecture. HG Vijaya Prabhu and HG Pragosh Prabhu facilitated the award distribution ceremony. HH Jaya Pataka Maharaj was the guest of honor and he enlightened the audience with his words before distribution of awards. He told about the amazing potency […]
Hare Krishna! Lord Chaitanya and the Renaissance of Devotion
Why should God have to appear over and over again? After all, if God is perfect, shouldn’t He be able to establish religion perfectly? Shouldn’t once suffice for all? It is, however, the nature of the material world that all things decay in time, and while God is infallible, the human beings who receive and transmit God’s instructions are fallible. Consequently, the religious traditions God establishes become compromised and undermined by a worldly spirit, and so in time they disintegrate. When religion thus declines, and irreligion consequently rises, God descends to rectify the imbalance and restore the principles of righteousness.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15878