Distributing Mercy during Thaipusam in Malaysia
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BY JAI SITA RANI DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - Thaipusam is an annual event where hundreds of thousands of Tamils all around the country visit Lord Murugan temples to fulfill their vows.

In Malaysia, in the Batu Caves Murugan Temple and Penang Waterfall Hilltop Murugan Temple, Thaipusam is a grand festival.


On Tuesday, while about 1.5 million devotees were believed to have paid their vows in Batu Caves Temple, about 1.2 million devotees chose the Penang Waterfall Hilltop Murugan Temple.



ISKCON devotees from various parts of Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sungai Petani and Ipoh took this opportunity to distribute books as well as food during this festival.

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Picnic Kirtan
→ Ramai Swami

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On a public holiday in Auckland, the temple organised a kirtan picnic at Mission Bay.

Many families and children came and the Harinama Ruci brahmacaris led ecstatic chanting through the market stall area.
At the end we had a sit down bhajan, which was followed by varieties of sumptuous
prasadam.
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What is the price tag?
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 October 2014, Sydney, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.4.43)

Mokṣonmukhī sukṛti (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 22.45 Purport) is pious activity that leads to liberation. So we have pious activities like renunciation, austerity and knowledge. These kinds of pious activities liberate us from material entanglement. If one engages a lot in these things, then in the next life, you are sort of easily aloof from so many things – not so entangled, not so attracted. Because of previous piety, because in the last life we have performed these austerities, we have cultivated detachment and we have cultivated knowledge, therefore we see deeper. Knowledge basically means to see deeper than the surface.

Just like, I just mentioned to someone this morning. Whenever your mind is attracted to something, just look for one thing – the price tag! What is the price tag because everything has a price tag!

Like, there is a beauty queen, the most beautiful girl in the world. A fair, beautiful maiden and she loves you. Aww… you son of a gun! You are a lucky fellow, right? But… look at the price tag. If she is the most beautiful girl in the world, she can get a dozen guys and she is going to be quite demanding! An ordinary house will not do. It will have to be a mansion at least. You may have to get a degree and a second job at the same time to work for all that, you son of a gun. You see the point? So when we look at the price tag then it does not look as good as it looked at first sight. So knowledge helps us to look deeper at things. What are the consequences of things? Nothing comes alone. Everything has consequences. Everything!

kks grey hairThat is the reason why those in knowledge are attracted to renunciation because they say, “Why bother with all these complications? The enjoyable part is attractive but look at the price we have to pay, all the consequences… No, that is not worth it. Then we better forget it.”

Thus, the renunciant is born. Save the headache and the hair… That is why those whose hair has gone grey begin to develop a little more interest in renunciation because they have tried it. They have tried it all and they paid the price. Then they think, “Well, it is okay, no thanks.” So like that, knowledge can come from practical experience in life and knowledge comes from scripture.

Simple Living, High Thinking
→ travelingmonk.com

Govardhan Eco Village, situated in the Sahyadri mountains near Mumbai, is a model ISKCON farming community and retreat center. Yesterday my festival team and I took a break from our preaching and visited the community. We were treated to a 4-hour tour of the 75 acres, which include a beautiful temple, a gurukula, a center [...]

Hare Krishna in Kolkata, February 2, Kolkata
Giriraj Swami

02.02.15_Kolkata“After the tremendous success of the pandal program in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada wanted to put on a similar program in Kolkata. So he sent Tamal Krishna Goswami and I from Bombay. When we got to Kolkata, Tamal Krishna Goswami said. ‘You raise the money and I will spend it.’ So, I said. ‘Allright.’

— Giriraj Swami

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Radhanatha Swami
Giriraj Swami
Anuttama Dasa

Sunday feast in Iskcon Guyana Crane Temple (Album 5…
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Sunday feast in Iskcon Guyana Crane Temple (Album 5 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Simply by taking prasada and taking part in chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, ordinary persons are being considerably elevated. Saubhari Muni regrets that he had bad association even in the deepest part of the water. Because of the bad association of the sexually engaged fish, he fell down. A secluded place is also not secure unless there is good association. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.6.51 Purport).
See them here: http://goo.gl/LnDSwl

Lord Nityananda’s Appearance Day Sunday February 1, 2015…
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Lord Nityananda’s Appearance Day Sunday February 1, 2015 (Album 44 photos) Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, Hoyte Schermerhorn, Brooklyn, New York
…If one takes shelter of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda, follows Their instructions to become more tolerant than the tree and humbler than the grass, and in this way chants the holy name of the Lord, very soon he achieves the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and tears appear in his eyes.
See them here: http://goo.gl/DqMG3R

The following transcriptions have been uploaded.
→ The Spiritual Scientist

How have so many languages come up worldwide when developing a computer language requires so much effort?

Do we need to introspect whether we are progressing in our spiritual life?

How does Ishopanishad mantra 17 refute impersonalism?

When opulences are disqualifications for devotion, why does ISKCON preach to the opulent?

Why do we need to be in the mode of goodness to practice bhakti?

Why do we need to justify the Pandavas’ actions? Isn’t “Krishna told them to do it” enough reason?

If consciousness of the couple at conception determines the nature of the child, will a child born through rape be evil?

Why does Krishna emphasise consciousness at death which is much more uncontrollable than consciousness while living?

When Krishna had said he wouldn’t lift weapons in the Kurukshetra war, why does he say in Gita 11.33 that the Kauravas are already killed by him?

When can a devotee seek honor instead of being humble?

If we have canine teeth for eating meat, then doesn’t it go against the regulative principle of no meat-eating?

Is scriptural knowledge needed only when devotion is dilute and not when devotion is pure?

Where does Vishishtadvaita fall in the six systems of philosophy?

Is experience a pramana if one’s experience contradicts scripture?

Does Krishna control us through remembrance and forgetfulness just as computer controls through zeroes and ones?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hare Krishna! From Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir: HH Romapada…
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Hare Krishna! From Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir: HH Romapada Swami
I’ve heard from a couple of devotees who have served Prabhupada, particularly Hari Sauri, that when mistakes were made in serving Prabhupada, he was lenient in forgiving a mistake when made the first time, accompanied by an explanation of what should be done. His expectation was that the mistake wouldn’t happen again. If it happened again, the person who made the mistake the second time was sorry…far more sorry than the first time!
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15387