Mantra Card
→ Japa Group

Often the restless mind pushes a sadhaka to engage in "sightseeing Japa" When this happens the Holy Name transforms into background music to accompany one's primary engagement of surveying the various "colors and shapes" of the landscape. The inattentive chanter thus slips into distraction and commits nama-aparadha.
Fixing the eyes on a "mantra card" helps prevent this. This traditional way of improving concentration entails chanting the holy name while gazing at a written form (usually Devanagari or Bengali) of the maha-mantra.

From Art Of Chanting Hare Krsna
by Mahanidhi Swami

The perfect soul mate!?
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 14 September 2012, Pretoria Arts Campus, South Africa, Lecture: The perfect soul mate)

kartik_2014 (98)Love and hate are kind of natural sentiments in this world; everyone has it. I hate Mondays, for example. I do not know what you think about Mondays but I hate them!  Like that, everyone has got something they hate and something they love and it is quite obvious. So that is the first principle – love is everywhere. People love things, they love places but more than that, they love other people, and they love other people the most. People get all sentimental when it is about mum and dad and things like that.

Love is here, in this world but is this love free from hatred? Does it even exist? Is there any relationship where there is some love but which is also free from hatred? That is not so easy, “Oh God, I just hate the way he leaves his socks lying around!” Or, “I hate the way she does this and that.”

So, in this world, love and hate come together and that is a point to consider in light of the perfect soul mate. If you think that somewhere around the corner there is a Cinderella or something… I never met Cinderella yet, I’m sorry. Or some prince on a white horse…. who has a horse these days? Who can even afford it? These things all exist on the level of our desire, since we desire it like that. We desire the fairytale, a perfection, but where is it in real life?  In real life, you have got to make do with the best there is, and that is more or less how it is.

So whenever I see something like the perfect soul mate and exploding hearts, then I think, ‘Yeah, today it is going to be all rosy and so on and tomorrow, it is going to be something else!’

It is said that when falling in love, you meet a new person and this person looks full of amazing qualities, entirely like an ocean. After a while, you walk around that ocean and find out that it is only a pond and you don’t bother seeing that person again! What can be said? A lot happens in the mind. We dream in the mind of what we want and then we project our dreams into reality but reality has nothing to do with that dream. Sometimes it looks like it is happening, and at other times it does not.

So, where to look for the perfect soul mate? And love, it is possible? Surely love is the best quality we have but can we develop it? Before we talk about relationships, what about us? It begins with ourselves. If we are not full of love, then how can we expect a relationship which is full of love? It will not work, it is not possible. Only those who are themselves full of love and free from hate, only they can become perfect soul mates, and no one else.

SwansSo you can look at the world and you may think, “Every pot has its lid, everyone has his perfect counterpart.There is one person in the world, just somewhere around there and that is the one for me.” That is rubbish! It does not exist. It is not like that at all. It is give and take. On a material plane, as the paper blows away, so does love –  it flies away in the wind! What to do?

Only when you are spiritually realized, can you have pure love. Only when you see that there is another world other than this world –  an eternal world where we belong and where everybody belongs, then you can develop loving relationships together. Then you can have a world free of hatred. Otherwise, what do you do in this world? Everybody has seen enough hatred.

So that is what we have to get rid of. Not, “I love my dog and I love my little turf and what is in between my wall, and the rest of the world I hate.” That is not love. No, love means all inclusive; it means we have to be all inclusive. When love goes together with hate then it is not love.

Today, you can have a relationship with someone and it will be all love and the hate is for the neighbours, but that will change.  One day, the love will be for the neighbours and the hate will be in your relationship, and that is when furniture starts flying… So true relationships begin when we ourselves become pure, free from hate!

 

Perth Gita Study
→ Ramai Swami

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Perth is a spread out city and the growing temple community lives far and wide in various suburbs.

Abhiseka das and Dasikha devi dasi are two devotees from India who now live in Perth. Every Saturday evening they organise Kirtan and Bhagavad-gita study.
On the night I came more than 40 devotees attended. It was fairly packed up but blissful nonetheless.
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How could I ever leave his service!
→ travelingmonk.com

“My dear Lord. O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But your servant Narada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my [...]

Iskcon Hungary, Altar renovation news: Latest visit to the wood…
→ Dandavats.com



Iskcon Hungary, Altar renovation news: Latest visit to the wood carver (Album 50 photos)
I have been fortunate to spend time with my spiritual master,HH Śivarāma Swami since he has been back from India. He is investing an immense amount of energy in the making of Radhe Syama’s beautiful new altar in New Vraja Dhāma, Hungary. He is excited, dedicated, and personally sacrifices a lot to make everything happen.
See them here: http://goo.gl/an38mo

Somewhere In The Persian Gulf… (60 min video) This…
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Somewhere In The Persian Gulf… (60 min video)
This sixty-minute documentary shows the Birth of Bhakti-Vriksha In The Middle-East. At the very beginning of the twenty-first century, somewhere in the Persian Gulf region, a Deity of Jagannath appeared in a coastal town surrounded by desert. After carrying the Lord onto a chariot, a group of Indian expatriates are pulling the chariot by hand in the same ancient procession as in the Lord’s home across the Indian Ocean. This film shows the remarkable spread of devotion to Krishna from two ISKCON members in the early years of the new millennium, to two thousand practicing devotees in just one one decade, in just one country of the Persian Gulf region. No name is mentioned to identify the country, which is a strictly Islamic state; nor are the Hindus in this film trying to convert their Muslim hosts. Yet, the Bhakti-Vriksha approach to preaching is shown not to be restricted to Indians. Vijaya Venu-gopal Das explains in his running commentary that the same approach has been established in several countries of the ex-USSR. “There are no Indians there”, he says, and yet Bhakti-Vriksha (the tree of devotion) program has proved to be working in Russia, In Argentina, in China, and as is portrayed in this film, now also in the Middle-East.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/YPg7qz

Radharani’s Palace (2 min video) This is a brisk…
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Radharani’s Palace (2 min video)
This is a brisk two-minute drop of nectar from Srimati Radharani’s magic abode. The use of drone technology to rise into the air in Varshana’s sunset creates a perfect mood for darshan of the supreme feminine Godhead.
The devotional ascension, in synergy with the superb score by grammy award-winner Ilan Chester, takes the viewer up the palace’s fortress with an ease that bhakti alone can provide. Such an effect is hoped to make you ready for a view of infinite beauty and grace — Her name is Radha, at the feet of Whom only the dark Lord of Braja known as Shyam, agrees to bow His head.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/UMG1oh

Ekadasi, Swathi Natchatra and Kirtan‏
→ ISKCON Scarborough



Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!


Upcoming events this week:

1) Wednesday - 17th December- Saphala Ekadasi - fasting from grains(wheat, rice etc)

2) Thursday - 18th December- Swathi Natchatra- Grand Abhishek will be performed on Lord Narasimhadev - Program at ISKCON Scarborough at 6.30 pm

3) Saturday - 20th December - Kirtan at Hindu Sabha temple(9225 The Gore Road, Brampton, ON L6S 5Y8). Radha Murari group will be performing kirtan from 3 pm to 4 pm


ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7

Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

website:

www.iskconscarborough.com

Iskcon wants MHA to consider relaxed visa norm for ageing…
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Iskcon wants MHA to consider relaxed visa norm for ageing members
Iskcon governing body commission member GK Goswami and president of Iskcon, Baroda, BG Das, met MoS Home HP Chaudhary on Tuesday and requested for a considerate view to be taken of the cause of their some foreign devotees who wish to breathe their last in India. Iskcon pointed out to the minister that it has a group of foreign devotees who are aged, have spent long time in India with it and now wish to be here till they die.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/OSgWfU

Different types of Charity (48 min video) The fact of life is…
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Different types of Charity (48 min video)
The fact of life is that money comes in one hand and soon after it leaves from the other. Money does not stay with us for long. So you have a choice of either wasting it on material possessions or spend it wisely in the service of Lord Krishna.
It is important to realize that everything, including your money, belongs to Lord Krishna. You are just a caretaker for a very short time. You can spend it in the service of Lord Krishna by donating to his temples or devotees who are engaged in His service.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/9dNQzi

Harinama in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 13, 2014 (Album 105…
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Harinama in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 13, 2014 (Album 105 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If one uses the vibration of the holy name for the benefit of the material body, for material wealth and followers, or under the influence of greed or atheism — in other words, if one utters the holy name with offenses — such chanting will not produce the desired result very soon. Therefore one should diligently avoid offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.60)
See them here: http://goo.gl/sqDex4

Harinama in Moscow, Russia (Album 38 photos) Srila Prabhupada:…
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Harinama in Moscow, Russia (Album 38 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If a devotee once utters the holy name of the Lord, or if it penetrates his mind or enters his ear, which is the channel of aural reception, that holy name will certainly deliver him from material bondage, whether vibrated properly or improperly, with correct or incorrect grammar, or properly joined or vibrated in separate parts. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.60)
See them here: http://goo.gl/4mPUh5

Celebration of achievements of Gurukula students in ISKCON New…
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Celebration of achievements of Gurukula students in ISKCON New Govardhana - Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari (Album 48 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: While dying, Ajamila chanted the holy name of the Lord, intending to call his son Narayana. Nevertheless, he attained the spiritual world. What then to speak of those who chant the holy name with faith and reverence? (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.49)
See them here: http://goo.gl/lqrbzG

Is Krishna “Our Heavenly Father”?
→ The Enquirer

Krishna is not really “our heavenly father.”
Brahmā is our heavenly father, the Pitamaha, the Param-Parajapati. At best we can perhaps say that Viṣṇu, being the mother/father of Brahmā, is the supreme father. Viṣṇu is also a “father” in the sense that his seed impregnates nature, thus activating the living entities merged in her. And perhaps since Viṣṇu is an expansion of an expansion of Krishna, therefore we can say that “our heavenly father’s mother/father’s origin of his origin is Krishna.”
Besides splitting spiritual hairs, it is important to differentiate Krishna from “our heavenly father” because Krishna is not concerned with responsibilities and enforcing morality and so forth, as a “father figure” is. The purpose of existence is bliss, and Krishna, the original existence, is simply involved in sharing bliss with his distinct parts and parcels. He is not interested in fathering anyone. In fact he prefers to be a child and experience the fatherly love of Nanda.
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Gita 18.35 – Use in meditation the capacity to separate contemplation from situation seen in worry
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Holy Name Meditation Podcast:


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Gita 02.38 – To reconcile the Gita’s contradictions, recognize the multi-level nature of its discussions
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Gita verse-by-verse Study Podcast:


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