Odana Sashti Seva Opportunity – Nov 29th, 2022
→ Mayapur.com

The Lord’s mercy comes in many forms and the story behind Odana Sashti is one amongst many to tell. Odana Sashti is a festival that marks the beginning of winter. During the Odana-sasthi festival the devotees dress Lord Jagannatha and Balarama with starched cloth. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering […]

The post Odana Sashti Seva Opportunity – Nov 29th, 2022 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

‘Live To Give’ Campaign Aims to Distribute 3 Million Bhagavad-gitas
→ ISKCON News

The Prabhupada Marathon has inspired book distribution throughout ISKCON since 1972. Now it is being celebrated as the Live to Give campaign.  This year our global team has set an unprecedented goal to distribute at least three million Bhagavad-gitas between September 11th and January 7th, 2023. Last year we distributed 2,805,444, smashing the goal of […]

The post ‘Live To Give’ Campaign Aims to Distribute 3 Million Bhagavad-gitas appeared first on ISKCON News.

Intimate relationship with cows
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 October 2022, Vrndavana, India, Govardhana-puja Lecture)

Imagine for a moment that all the cars in Vrndavana are replaced by cows. The Parikrama path would no longer be a road, but it would a nice soft sandy path like it used to be before. A Vrndavana filled not with vehicles but with cows. Bullock carts would become the natural means of transport. And in this way, the whole society becomes centered around the cows. Not only the Vaisya community, but obviously all the other various ashramas are also depending on the cows. Without ghee, there would be no sacrifice, and with no sacrifice, there would be no grains and so on. In this way, there has always been an intimate relationship with cows.

The article " Intimate relationship with cows " was published on KKSBlog.

When PRINCE got Srila Prabhupada’s books…
→ Dandavats



It was sometime in the very early 80's, and I was distributing books in the New Orleans airport. I often checked out the video game machine area, as it was often filled with friendly young people. On this particular day I noticed a group of young guys hunched over one of the game machines. I approached them with my usual lines and they all seemed friendly. They each listened attentively, gave generous donations and I passed out books and BTGs to each of them.


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H.H. Kadamba Kanana Swami Speaks About the TOVP
- TOVP.org

His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami, a senior disciple of Jayadvaita Swami and ISKCON initiating guru speaks about the glories of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium and the Grand Opening Festival scheduled for December 2024 through Gaura Purnima, 2025.

Please support the completion and opening of the Nrsimha Wing in October, 2023 by visiting the Give To Nrsimha 2023 Campaign page on the TOVP website.

 

 

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George Harrison’s Visit to Juhu—Remembering and Giving Thanks
Giriraj Swami

I will never forget the moment when I heard that George Harrison had passed away, one week after Thanksgiving in 2001. My strong feelings of separation surprised me—and made me think how important and dear George must have been to Srila Prabhupada and Sri Krishna. And I remembered my own little experience with George in Bombay.

In 1974, George came to visit Srila Prabhupada at Hare Krishna Land, in Juhu. He was wearing a white kurta and white yogi pants and had a plain bead bag. I took him around the property, and he expressed his appreciation for our work and encouraged us in our efforts.  When at twelve-thirty we heard the conch shell blow for raja-bhoga arati, we proceeded to the small temple shed, where George chose a pair of kartals and sang with the other devotees. Puri dasa, originally from Scotland, was doing the arati, and when he turned to offer the ghee lamp to the devotees and saw George, his hand started trembling so much that he thought he might drop the lamp.

After the arati, I arranged a full plate of maha-prasada for George and accompanied him to meet Prabhupada in his apartment. Prabhupada greeted him warmly, and I left them together and returned to my office.

“Prabhupada was behind his desk, with George in front of him,” Kishor das later described. “I barely remember what was said, but I remember the feeling of love that went back and forth between them. It was tangible. I didn’t really understand what this relationship was. I was young, and here was a big rock star, and a pure devotee of Krishna, and there was I somewhere. But I could just feel this feeling of love that went back and forth between Prabhupada and George.”

About two hours later, a pudgy twelve-year-old boy with glasses—the son of our friend and supporter Pranjivan G. Valia of the Hare Krishna house in the Juhu Vile Parle development—came to my small office at the back of the property. “I heard George Harrison is here,” he said.

“Yes,” I replied, “he is.”

“I want to see him,” he stated.

“Well, you can’t. He’s meeting with Srila Prabhupada.”
He looked me straight in the eye, sizing me up, and, concluding that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with me, turned, dashed to the stairs, and bolted down the steps.

Oh my God, I thought. He’s going to try to find him. So I bounded down the stairs in hot pursuit.

I ran across to the next building, and when I reached the second landing, in front of Prabhupada’s flat, I found the door ajar. The boy stood just inside, and beyond him George sat cross-legged with his back erect, like a yogi—a perfect disciple listening attentively at the feet of his master.

With the boy’s abrupt appearance, Prabhupada and George ended their meeting, exchanging some final words. George was gracious and appreciative, Prabhupada affectionate and kind. I was upset that the boy had interrupted them, but they took it as a matter of course. Maybe it was time for the meeting to end; maybe they took it as Krishna’s arrangement.

Shyamasundar and I accompanied George back to the temple shed for darshan of the Deities. He paid full dandavats, lying completely flat on the floor before Them for a long time, and then left.

The next year, on a morning walk in Sanand, Gujarat, Prabhupada recalled the meeting: “He is very nice boy—George. I have studied. Very good boy. He showed me in Bombay. He came to see me in Bombay, last year. He is keeping Jagannatha within his bead bag and chanting.”

I and many thousands—perhaps millions—of people are thankful to George for all the service he rendered to Srila Prabhupada and the Krishna consciousness movement, for making the holy name of Lord Krishna—the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—and the principles of Krishna consciousness so accessible to people all over the world and for attracting so many souls to the all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

TOVP 2023 Online Calendar Now Available
- TOVP.org

We are pleased to announce the release of the TOVP 2023 online calendar for both North America and India. Focusing on the opening of Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Wing in October, 2023, each calendar month displays a beautiful photo of Mayapur Nrsimhadeva by photographers Thakur Saranga das and Aradhya Gauranga das.

Using our state-of-the-art flipbook service, the calendars are available to view online, download, share and bookmark as a service to all devotees at no cost. To view the calendars, please use the links below:

North America Calendar: https://online.flippingbook.com/view/69520424/
India Calendar: https://online.flippingbook.com/view/70124187/

Please visit our flipbook collection.

 

 

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Meeting with His Holiness Partha Sarathi Das Goswami
Giriraj Swami

Last night I was blessed to visit with my dear godbrother His Holiness Partha Sarathi Das Goswami at his residence at Govardhana. Upon my arrival, he graciously greeted me with the verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.10)

bhavad-vidha bhagavatas
  tirtha-bhutaù svayam vibho
tirthi-kurvanti tirthani
  svantah-sthena gadabhrta

“My Lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage.”

For two and a half hours we had intimate talks about Krishna consciousness, which reminded me of Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 1.50):

tesam satata-yuktanam
  bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
  yena mam upayanti te

“To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

Purport: “This verse of the Bhagavad-gita (10.10) clearly states how Govindadeva instructs His bona fide devotee. The Lord declares that by enlightenment in theistic knowledge He awards attachment for Him to those who constantly engage in His transcendental loving service. This awakening of divine consciousness enthralls a devotee, who thus relishes his eternal transcendental mellow. Such an awakening is awarded only to those convinced by devotional service about the transcendental nature of the Personality of Godhead. They know that the Supreme Truth, the all-spiritual and all-powerful person, is one without a second and has fully transcendental senses. He is the fountainhead of all emanations. Such pure devotees, always merged in knowledge of Krsna and absorbed in Krsna consciousness, exchange thoughts and realizations as great scientists exchange their views and discuss the results of their research in scientific academies. Such exchanges of thoughts in regard to Krsna give pleasure to the Lord, who therefore favors such devotees with all enlightenment.”

Hare Krishna.

The Most Amazing God … Krsna!
→ Dandavats

By Brajanath Dasa The Lord is known as Bhava-grahi Janardana because He accepts service in devotional emotion if we are sincere, humble, and fully surrendered at His lotus feet (Bhagavatam: 8.23.2). The Lord is most pleased by the attitude of service rendered by a devotee, with unalloyed devotion. Devotion is a process that attracts Krsna
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Citraketu, Parikshit and Pastoral Abuse
→ Dandavats

King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: O learned brāhmaṇa, demons are generally sinful, being obsessed with the modes of passion and ignorance. How, then, could Vṛtrāsura have attained such exalted love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa? (6.14.1) Parikshit had heard a number of amazing things from Sukadeva regarding Indra’s cycle of follies that
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Official GBC Statement on Former BVP, Anirdesya Vapu Dasa
→ ISKCON News

ISKCON Governing Body Commission Society Under the Societies Registration Act, West Bengal Registration Number: S/74662 Regd. Office: Sri Mayapur Dist. Nadia, West Bengal, INDIA 741313 EC@pamho.net Official Statement of the Governing Body Commission Regarding Abuse in Mayapur and the CPO Decision Against (the former) Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, aka Anirdesya Vapu dasa November 24, 2022 […]

The post Official GBC Statement on Former BVP, Anirdesya Vapu Dasa appeared first on ISKCON News.

Give me Hope!
→ Dandavats



Give me Hope!
Today he sits on the sidewalk, in minus degree temperatures, holding a ragged sign which reads “give me hope.” It’s a familiar sight that I’ve become somewhat desensitized to; I don’t think I can truly understand his situation. Seeing him sleeping rough, a few people throw in some coins, someone else gifts him a Costa coffee, while an occasional passer-by stops to offer a few comforting words. All nice gestures. But, my heart says, what he really needs is hope. In that sense we are all beggars – we all need hope. Without the conviction of a brighter future what drives us to continue on in life? Hope, faith, inspiration and enthusiasm, which give us the hunger for life, are perhaps our most precious assets – if we have those, we have everything.


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George Harrison Changed My Life!
→ Dandavats



George Harrison Changed My Life. “Well my time in Berlin was just starting, I hadn’t made many friends yet, so I was all by myself. All that I had to my name in possessions was a stereo and my Beatles records. So I played them nonstop. I started to get into the lyrics and not just the beat. I started wondering what was the meaning to the songs that George was singing, because they were much more than just songs. For instance when he sings, "My Sweet Lord,” he mentions Hare Krishna and Rama, I wanted to know what that was. I naturally went to the Krishna Temple in Berlin, talked to the devotees and got it straight in my mind what George meant. the devotees became my friends and when summer came they told me about the “Bhaktivedanta Manor” and their spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, was coming to England July 20, 1976 and would I be interested in going. I said yes.


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A Closer Look at Thanksgiving
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Mayesvara Dasa

But what was even more disturbing was that according to the Bible accepted by the priests as the “Word Of God”, it was recorded that God had specifically told Moses it was impossible for humans to see his face! How then could Michelangelo have the audacity to splash a Technicolor rendition of what he though God must look like across the front of their new church! Michelangelo convinced the priests to allow the paintings to stay by reasoning that God had also said he made man in his image and therefore if the Universe was very old, then God who created it must a very, very old man. It all seemed to make sense at that time but nobody would disagree that just because Michelangelo painted what he thought God looked like, his spectacular rendition of the Supreme Lord was still his own fanciful guess at what He looked like. Continue reading "A Closer Look at Thanksgiving
→ Dandavats"

Thanksgiving and the TOVP Giving Tuesday Campaign. Give thanks to Srila Prabhupada!
- TOVP.org

Dear U.S. TOVP Donors and Supporters,

Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krishna!

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, a holiday set aside to give thanks to God. This country has always attempted to have God as an essential part of the lifestyle and culture. Even U.S. currency has “In God We Trust” emblazoned on its front side declaring a National trust in the Creator. Srila Prabhupada appreciated this sentiment, but added that we must also learn to love God, and unless we know who God is neither love or trust are possible to the fullest extent.

What Srila Prabhupada gave us is a God we can both love and trust, Sri Krishna. He showed us who God is, what His name is, who His associates are, where He lives and what He does there, and so much more. And most importantly, Srila Prabhupada delivered to us the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is the most merciful incarnation of the Lord freely distributing the highest achievement of love for God, Krishna prema.

It is quite befitting, therefore, that we also use this time to give thanks to Srila Prabhupada, the emissary and senapati bhakta (commander in chief) of Lord Caitanya. Of course, we try to do that every day, or rather every moment in our hearts. But this time of Thanksgiving is unique in that in a few days the official worldwide day of giving, Giving Tuesday, November 29, will be upon us.

We humbly request all our readers to kindly consider this day as another opportunity to give thanks to Srila Prabhupada by helping to complete his most important and world-changing project, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium at ISKCON’s World Headquarters in Sridham Mayapur, India. You can sponsor another seva option, make a pledge payment, complete your pledge or just make a general donation. There is even an opportunity to have your donation matched on Facebook. Below are the different means to do this:

GIVING TUESDAY: NOVEMBER 29, 2022

Giving Tuesday Donation Methods

1. Facebook
To make a donation on Facebook that will be matched, you must go to the TOVP Foundation Facebook Page and be ready to enter your donation no later than 8am EST on November 29. There is $8 million in matching funds available, but the competition for that is stiff, so the timing is crucial. A few minutes after 8am EST the matching funds will be gone and your donation won’t be matched. I suggest you visit our Facebook Page in advance to read the full guidelines.

If you would like to sponsor a new seva option, visit the TOVP website Seva Opportunities page first to see the options available: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/ . You can pay in installments. Facebook donations are also transaction free and they provide the legal donation receipt. Please contact us afterwards about the amount donated towards a new sponsorship or pledge payment: (tovpfoundation@gmail.com).

https://www.facebook.com/tovpfoundation

2. PayPal Giving
If you are unable to donate on Facebook or prefer not to, you can use our PayPal Giving account. If you would like to sponsor a new seva option, visit the TOVP website Seva Opportunities page first to see the options available: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/ . You can pay in installments. PayPal Giving is also a no transaction fee donation, and provides the legal donation receipt. Please contact us afterwards about the amount donated towards a new sponsorship or pledge payment: (tovpfoundation@gmail.com).

https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2036619

3. TOVP Website
You can also make your donation/pledge payment or new seva option payment right on the TOVP website: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/ . The TOVP Foundation office will provide the legal donation receipt.

On behalf of Ambarisa and Braja Vilasa prabhus I want to thank you for your continued support and prayers for the successful completion of the TOVP.

Your servant,
Sunanda das
TOVP Communications Director
443-6217940
tovp2016@gmail.com

 

 

Open for Business: The TOVP Gift Store

Hundreds of beautiful gift items for yourself, your family and friends
Support the TOVP with every purchase

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TOVP Gift Store

 

 

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