Sridama dasa and Giriraj Swami spoke at the festival where all the participants in the Devotee Care or “Mitra” program gathered in Andheri.

“Giriraj Swami wanted a system where his disciples could be properly guided, trained, nourished and sheltered even if he could not be physically present. We are all malnourished because of the material energy so we need to be nourished. We are all getting constantly bombarded by the material energy so we need to be sheltered. So, this program is where senior disciples, or for that matter any godbrothers and godsisters who are ready to extend themselves, help other devotees. The majority of us belong to the grhastha ashram or we stay outside the temple and a few of us stay in the temple. But, whether we stay in or out at some point we are going to have problems. Yes or no? Is there anybody who is not having any problems in this world? Then this is not for you, you can go.”

—Sridama dasa

Sridama dasa
Giriraj Swami

Pierre Edel  - vocals, guitars, bass
Lera Grin  - vocals

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Hasyagrami prabhu ACBSP left his body in Mayapur.
Balabhadra Bhattacarya Dasa: Hare Krsna dear matajis and prabhus, I have to share some sad but glorious news with you. My dear god brother and musical partner (Murari Band) for more than 35 years, Hasyagrami prabhu ACBSP, left his body in Mayapur some few hour ago. He and his wife Naradi were riding a motorcycle inside the Mayapur compound and according to Naradi he may have suffered a heart attack while operating the bike. Naradi only suffered a few minor brusies but Hasyagrami prabhu passed away in just a few minutes after the accident, with Naradi chanting the Holy Names during his last moments.
Above in the photo Hasyagrami prabhu on the right, seated with the guitar.

Please find below recordings from Kadamba Kanana Swami’s visit to Cape Town.

You may listen online by hitting the “play” button or download by right-clicking on a title and “save link as“.

KKS_CPT_ 21December2014_Kirtan_Snana Yatra

KKS_CPT_ 21December2014_Lecture_Snana Yatra

KKS_CPT_ 22December2014_SB_9.19.19

KKS_CPT_ 22December2014_Disciple Meeting_Reading of Pastimes

KKS_CPT_ 22December2014_Disciple Meeting_Lecture

KKS_CPT_ 23December2014_SB_9.19.20

KKS_CPT_ 23December2014_Evening Kirtan

KKS_CPT_ 23December2014_Evening Lecture

KKS_CPT_ 24December2014_SB_9.19.24

KKS_CPT_ 24December2014_Evening Kirtan

KKS_CPT_ 24December2014_Evening Lecture

KKS_CPT_ 25December2014_SB_9.19.25

KKS_CPT_ 25December2014_Kirtan

KKS_CPT_ 25December2014_Lecture

KKS_CPT_ 26December2014_SB 9.19.26

KKS_CPT_ 26December2014_Initiation Lecture

KKS_CPT_27December2014_Short Kirtan

KKS_CPT_27December2014_Evening Lecture

KKS_CPT_ 28December2014_Sunday Feast Lecture

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Auckland New Zealand Friday night kirtana (Album 42 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Spiritual enlightenment is possible by the mercy of the spiritual energy of the Lord. The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is first addressed to the spiritual energy of the Lord, Hare. This spiritual energy acts when a living entity fully surrenders and accepts his position as an eternal servitor. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.9.6 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/Wvm3e4

Sociologists of Religion
Prof Eileen Barker from the London School of Economics brought three Sociologists of Religion to the Manor. The delegation, from Sweden, included Prof Peter Akerback from Stockholm University, Sanja Nilsson studying for her PhD and Prof Liselotte Frisk from Dalarna University.

The members of the Krishna consciousness movement are fortunate indeed that blasphemy is no longer a capital crime in Britain. If it were, we would all have been burned a long time ago.

The post Manah-siksa seminar in Scotland – Concluding verses appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The Hidden Forest
During a function held at the House of Lords designed to raise environmental awareness within the Hindu community, a new book was launched on that same theme. Commissioned by the Bhumi Project and written and illustrated by Jahnavi Harrison, the Hidden Forest is a story of three generations of the same family on pilgrimage to Vrindavan from Delhi. The family rediscover the beauty and simplicity of traditional pilgrimage practices, and the need to preserve sacred sites for future generations.
The story can be downloaded at:http://goo.gl/A3nxBf

Committing to Spiritual Life
Radhanath Swami initiated 40 devotees from across Europe at the Manor, including 22 members of the local congregation. Included were Manor residents Bhaktin Jurgita, who is now called Yugala Priti Dasi and Bhakta Silvan, who is now called Sundar Jaganath Das. Initiation into ISKCON represents a commitment to spiritual life by dedicating oneself to the mood and teachings of Srila Prabhupada.

Harinama in Jackson Heights New York (Album 13 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When the chanting is performed offenselessly the Lord will automatically reveal Himself to the view of the chanter. The chanter, therefore, has to concentrate on hearing the vibration, and without extra endeavor on his part, the Lord will automatically appear. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.8.53 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/s224pr

The Gita Project UK
The Gita Project aims to donate sponsored copies of Bhagavad Gita As It Is to various institutions including prisons, hotels, airports, courts and hospitals. Many books have already been donated to different hospitals across London. The Lead Chaplain of Homerton University Hospital, Ms Robin Pfaff, expressed her appreciation for the books and immediately placed several copies outside the Chapel for easy public access. The Project is also developing a follow-up strategy with events including devotional music, discussion groupsand the sharing of sancified vegetarian food.

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The Oxford Debate
Radhanath Swami was invited to participate in an historic discussion by the Oxford Union, one of the world’s most prestigious debating societies. Other speakers that evening included Dr. Cornel West, a provocative American academic, activist and author, and Angela Davis a prominent political activist, author, and educator. The discussion was attended by 400 students and held in honour of the revolutionary campaigner of black rights Malcolm X who himself had come to the Union 50 years ago.
Other notable people who have spoken at the Union over the years include Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Winston Churchill and the former US President Ronald Reagon.

Saving Souls
Hari-dhama Das, who works for the London Ambulance Service as a Community Resuscitation Training Officer, has undertaken several projects at Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament in training their staff in emergency lifesaving skills. Both establishments set up HeartStart training schemes, looking at how responders care for someone having a heart attack, going into a cardiac arrest, choking and having a serious bleed.
Hari-dhama Das has placed over 20 defibrillators (the lifesaving machine that shocks the heart in a cardiac arrest). At Buckingham Palace more than 500 Royal Household staff have now been trained, for which they recently received a “Certificate of Excellence” from the London Ambulance Service .
Pictured: Hari-dhama Das with Stuart
Holden, Buckingham Palace’s Senior Health and Safety Advisor.

ISKCON Kolkata Newsletter January 2015
Gita Marathon began on 1st December, 2014. Till 7th January 2015 more than 10,822 Srila Prabhupada’s literatures have been distributed by the devotees of ISKCON Kolkata. Devotees are distributing these transcendental books by putting tables in different locations in Kolkata, one-to-one distributions and by collecting sponsorships to distribute Bhagavad Gita in schools. The book marathon ends on 31st Jan 2015
Read the entire document here: http://goo.gl/mk4Gtc

Jagat Palana Prabhu Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 19 152 20150110074444

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 09 November 2014, Mayapur, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1.19) 

We have seen cases where devotees were murdered. I know of a devotee who was murdered whilst chanting japa; it happened in South Africa. Everyone was stunned because this was evil. I mean, this was a devotee. We had a big gathering for the departure of that devotee and we discussed it in great depth. Many senior vaisnavas came for that occasion and discussed and finally, the conclusion was that sometimes it is not the body that is protected by Krsna but it is the soul that is protected by Krsna. Therefore this statement of the Bhagavad-gita (6.40) certainly applies at all times,

na hi kalyana-krt kascid
durgatim tata gacchati, 

A vaisnava is never overcome by evil; it is not possible even though it may appear like that. The soul is always protected and the soul will always attain the most auspicious destination!

So in this way, we can see that one who is taking shelter of Krsna, even when a little service is performed, is making so much advancement and one is immediately receiving the protection of Krsna. That protection of Krsna is very great for such a devotee. Even if mistakes are made, still he is not doomed but rather he is saved from doom. Soon thereafter, the devotee will attain the ultimate goal of life because Krsna will continue to make further arrangements for purification.

Therefore, once we have started this process, once we are on this path, then surely we will continue and continue, and the only thing that can temporary delay our progress is the result of vaisnava aparadha. That temporary delay can be for a long time, just like Daksa who had to suffer for a kalpa with the head of a goat. A kalpa is quite a long time. So in that way, vaisnava aparadha is the one thing that we must avoid and nama aparadha also. Then we can progress very nicely, automatically on this path of pure devotional service!

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One subject that has come up in the last week is the notion of ‘blasphemy.’ Its an old word which we hardly use any more in English, except when we’re referring to how religions other than Christianity get offended by cartoons. It wasn’t always like that. We used to take it very seriously.

I’m an occasional visitor to the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, and just a short walk from there is the spot where Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury, was publicly burned at the stake on the 21st March 1556. He died an excruciatingly painful death because his religious ideas did not sit well with the leaders of the day.

The members of the Krishna consciousness movement are fortunate indeed that blasphemy is no longer a capital crime in Britain. If it were, we would all have been burned a long time ago.
That doesn’t mean it has been easy. In bringing religious ideas from one part of the world to another, particularly if you dress differently and attract attention to yourself by singing in the streets, you soon get to realise the level of tolerance in your own culture.

I remember the first time I was invited to lead a kirtan. I was seventeen and had not long shaved my head and donned the saffron robes of a brahmacari. It was Portobello Road on a Saturday afternoon, and I was happy to have been asked to play the drum and sing, leading the procession along the street lined with market stalls and packed with shoppers and tourists (see picture).

Not everyone shared my enthusiasm, though. It wasn’t long before a freshly chopped chicken’s head, complete with swinging entrails, came sailing through the air, hitting me full in the face. The butcher who threw it laughed loudly, and was congratulated by his friends for his good aim. I carried on singing, after a momentary pause to wipe off the blood.

It was a good introduction to the level of treatment I’d receive from then on. In the years to come I was to experience a wide range of insults and missiles: gobs of spit, Brussells sprouts and other lobbed vegetables, beer cans (sometimes generously half full), empty bottles, clumps of earth with tufts of grass, cups of urine, large stones – and even fireworks!

Not everyone likes religion, you see, and even when they do they like the one they know, not a foreign brand. And something as alien-looking as Hare Krishna with its strange-smelling incense, flowers, ‘tambourines’ and blue-coloured gods is as foreign as they come. Consequently, there are many who just want to express their considered theological opinion by throwing something – and its not always rose petals.

Many policemen, too, chose to express their philosophical preferences by arresting us for singing, usually on the pretext of the Highways Obstruction Act of 1863. Their treatment wasn’t always soft and gentle back in the 1970s. As far as selling books about God, I have lost count of the number of times I was arrested and locked up in a cell with one grey blanket (used).

But a devotee of Krishna has to be tolerant. As followers of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we have our role model in the example of Nityananda Prabhu, who tolerated even a wine pot thrown by a ruffian, that drew blood from his forehead. Tolerance, forgiveness and determination are qualities that serve messengers of God well.

What happens when the abuse is levelled not at the messenger but at God himself? In the ancient world, a world where they actually believed in a life after this one, and the distinct possibility of heaven or hell, the abuse of God was known as blasphemy. Of course, the idea of blasphemy largely depended on whether you were insulting the locally prevailing concept of God. If no-one around you believed in your God then they would not consider their insults to be blasphemy – it would be your idea of God that was blasphemy. Thus you had to be careful levelling charges of blasphemy against anyone, lest they turn the tables on you. It all got rather complex.

But here’s a question: can someone draw a picture, perhaps a cartoon, of Lord Krishna that would be considered blasphemy? Would the devotees of Krishna ever get so offended they’d go looking for some kind of retribution? I’m not saying never, but its highly doubtful, because the very concept of Krishna involves the understanding that he is quite capable of dealing with any animosity by himself. He forgave Shishupala one hundred times before he dealt with him – and even then it was an inside joke. Krishna may be Almighty God but he’s also the Supremely Compassionate and Ultimate Forgiver. Devotees remembering that will not become over-excited on his behalf.

Except on one occasion, that is. Not so long ago. It was when the American rock band Aerosmith released their 12th album Nine Lives. Their artist took a Bhaktivedanta Book Trust picture of Krishna dancing on the many-headed snake Kaliya and superimposed the head of a cat over the Lord’s beautiful face. The devotees were a little irate at this image theft and wanton manipulation and, it being the USA, they took the legal route and were given a generous settlement. That’s how to deal with blasphemy (and copyright infringement) painlessly.

Since the 1960s, when the devotees of Krishna first appeared in the public consciousness, the movement has undergone a radical shift in perception, at least in Europe. We have been accused of being everything from a witch’s coven (Weekend magazine) to a mind-control cult (The Sun). Like I said, it has not been easy. Its taken perseverance, tolerance and a lot of explaining to get us accepted, and even liked, as part of Britain’s multi-faceted spiritual landscape.

My message to anyone who wants to introduce a way of life and a belief system that is culturally alien to Britain: Have patience – you will need enormous amounts of it. Don’t expect everyone to like you – they won’t, just be happy if even a small number like your message. Don’t get offended if they don’t understand you or even if they insult you or your God. Just remember that you can always let God deal with it, and He doesn’t actually need you to get angry on his behalf. Attract people to your God by showing how happy your God makes you. If you’re not happy, it might be that you’re doing something wrong. Finally remember there’s only one Creator and Ultimate Source, the Origin of All. There’s no point arguing over his name – he has so many.