Planet ISKCON

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

by Jai Sita Rani Devi Dasi Kirtan Mela Malaysia 2014

Whatever is going on around you, just give as much time as you can to the Holy names.
Keep on chanting with great attention to the sound thus you will find inner spiritual strength to rise above the material energy that surrounds you.

Glimpse into the exciting adventure of the Mexico Bus Tour 2013. 31 youth, 20 days, 14 festivals, 1 bus. Check out our connetcing article: http://iskconnews.org/youth-to-make-a-difference-on-mexico-mission,4700/ 

As early as January 1968, he was issuing specific instructions about the community to his disciples: “The Ashram may be named as "ISKCON-Nagari or New Vrindaban.” And from May 1968 – the year when New Vrindaban was established -- he issued a string of letters to his disciples describing exactly how he envisioned the community. 

With just two days to go, and the arrival of some of our guest kirtaneers, the mood is getting set as we heard from Ojasvi Dasa in UNITEN yesterday. So get excited and get ready for the

ADIVAS (Inauguration Ceremony) 

FRIDAY 28/11/2014 

SRI JAGANNATHA MANDIR, KUALA LUMPUR

 

This is a prelude event ushering in auspiciousness for the Kirtan Mela Malaysia event on 29/11/2014 and 30/11/2014

ISKCONMALAYSIA.COM

Catch Mickey as he embarks on an epic journey across India. 

Around forty North American youth aged 17 and up will spend this Christmas and New Year’s on the adventure of a lifetime. Traveling 7,000 miles all the way from Alachua, Florida to Cancun, Mexico and back on ISKCON Youth Ministry’s Krishna Culture Tour bus,  they’ll stage festivals and change lives all over Mexico.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 October 2014, Vrindavan Dham, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.13.22)

In the beginning of our spiritual life, we come with lots of enthusiasm. Then, after some time, we lose that initial fire and we come in a realm of struggling with all the high standards of Krsna consciousness. We do not feel the same inspiration that we had in the beginning. Then, what do we do? At that point, what can we do?

Srila Prabhupada explains that one must chant in a mood of a helpless child.  So, when we become helpless, when we realize, ‘Actually, I am not a great devotee, I am struggling, it is not easy! It is very challenging, maybe too challenging!’  Then, all we have left is to look for mercy, as much mercy as possible, because it is mercy that can change us. On our own strength, we are lacking, we do not have the determination and conviction to just act on the level of pure devotion even after hearing all the good instructions. Then, all that is left for us to do is to look for as much mercy as possible. Because, through that mercy, we will change and we will get a desire!

It is not difficult to be a pure devotee if we would want to be, the problem is that we do not want to be. We are holding onto our material conditioning and therefore we do not get nourishment from devotional service. But, by mercy, we can go beyond! Therefore, with time, as we are realizing more and more how much we are falling short in being pure devotees, more and more, we become eager for mercy. That mercy is available in so many ways: in service, in hearing from the vaisnavas, in prasadam, in giving donations – in so many opportunities and so many forms. One has to be eager to look for it, to take it and to look for opportunities.

In the Caitanya Caritamrta, there is a famous story of Gundica marjana, the cleansing of the temple, where all the devotees were cleansing and competing with each other. Some did very well and others did little less well, and Lord Caitanya would chastise those. But there was this one Brahmana, who suddenly saw the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in front of him, and he took the pot of water which was meant to wash the temple and instead, he washed the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and drank that water!

Lord Caitanya complained to Svarup Damodar, ‘Look what your Bengali vaisnava has done!’  Svarup Damodar, being the senior most of Bengali devotees, took him and threw him out of the temple, but that devotee danced the whole way because he drank the water from Mahaprabhu’s feet. No one else saw that opportunity! So we have to be awake to see the opportunities – ample opportunities – here and everywhere in the world created by Srila Prabhupada. Let us take advantage!

 

Bhagavatam-daily Podcast

At the Laguna Beach Ratha-yatra, a young man asked me why God created us. He appreciated my answer, but then he had another question. “If God is all-knowing,” he said, “He would have known that some of us would become bad, and if God is all-powerful, He could have made us different. Why didn’t He?” I told him that because God created us to enjoy loving reciprocation with Him, we must have free will, because love is voluntary. As Srila Prabhupada explained, “It is not some mechanical process—if we force in such a way they will come out like this—no. We are persons, and Krishna is a person, and our relationship with Krishna He leaves open as a voluntary agreement always, and that voluntary attitude—‘Yes, Krishna, I shall gladly co-operate, whatever You say’—that ready willingness to obey is only possible if there is love. Forcing will not make me agree. But if there is love, oh, I shall gladly do it. That is bhakti, that is Krishna consciousness.”

On another occasion, Srila Prabhupada elaborated: “God is great, and we are dependent on God. Therefore the natural conclusion is that we have to serve God. This is the whole comment. Serving means with love. Now just like these boys, my disciples, they are serving me. Whatever I say, they are immediately executing. Why? I am an Indian; I am a foreigner. Two or three years ago I was not known to them, nor they were known to me. Why they are doing that? Because it is love. Serving means developing love. So unless you develop your love for God you cannot serve Him. Anywhere. Whenever you give some service, it is based on love. Just like mother giving service to the helpless child. Why? Love. So similarly, our life will be perfect when our love is perfect with the perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then it is all right. You have to learn this. This is Krishna consciousness: in a relationship with Krishna. Just like I am loving my disciples, my disciples are loving me. Why? What is the medium? Krishna.”

And again, in a lecture in Bombay: “Brahmacari means living under direction of guru, guror hitam [only for the benefit of the guru]. And guror hitam: how he can be simply thinking of benefiting the spiritual master. Unless that position comes, nobody can serve guru. It is not an artificial thing. The brahmacari, the disciple, must have genuine love for guru. Then he can be under his control.”

Why didn’t God force us to be good? Because without free will, without individuality, we would be unable to enjoy loving reciprocation with Him. And without pure, spiritual love, how would we ever experience the happiness for which we were created?

—Giriraj Swami

Guru, in sanskrit literally means heavy - heavy in their instructions to bonded souls, and heavy in that the guru does not budge away from the Lotus feet of Krishna.

When the guru speaks words which cut though our falsities of this world, that feeling is not very satisfying to the heart. But a person who is sincerely seeking the truth will acknowledge his unpleasant feeling and transform his heart. A person who is not sincere in order to avoid unpleasantness will brush those heavy words aside and continue with his ways. Such unfortunate people can never understand God no matter how much they chant, study scriptures, visit Holy places and or perform charity. What to speak of those who take shelter of false gurus?

I come across people many times who think Krishna consciousness is not practical, or only practical up to a certain level. Such people most likely approach Krishna for punya karma, morality or spiritual entertainment. Deep inside their hearts, they do not have the desire to give up their independent thinking and independent desires. Such people can never understand God!

Therefore the only way, one can understand God and be God conscious is to accept the heavy words of guru whole-heartedly without speculation and have faith that these heavy instructions can be followed at all times regardless of time and circumstance. The faith to follow instructions without deviation can be cultivated gradually over time by the sincere aspirant of the truth.

Srila Prabhupada is one such guru with heavy words and is one such disciple who emulated guru bhakti to the world without deviation. Below is an example of his heaviness in terms of instructions to his disciples. A sincere soul will be delighted to hear such instructions where as a frivolous soul will feel sadness reading it.

In a place made for misery, he told us, only the rascals try to make adjustments for peace by material arrangements. "They are mudha. It is not possible. Krsna has made it suffering. How you can become happy here? But these rascals will not understand. Within the suffering they will try to become happy. That is not possible. The toilet room he wants to make a Deity room. How it is possible? That is not possible. Therefore we should be careful not to make a friendship with our restless mind. Rather, it should be beaten with shoes and a broomstick and kept under control. - Srila Prabhupada- From "A Transcendental Diary Vol 5" by HG Hari Sauri Prabhu

For an untrained person, these words would be offensive. Prabhupada is comparing this world to a toilet and people who are trying to be happy in this world as rascals and mudhas (fools). Toilet, rascal and fool is not politically correct by modern day standards. If this world is a toilet, then all things of this world we consider sacred mainly wife, husband, children, relatives, money, house, job etc are also toilet.

Toilet means two things. (1) it is a place to shed our dirty nature (2) it is a stop gap place - finish your business and leave. So in that sense, this world, relationships and possessions are considered an impurity as it is materialistic and also temporary. In such a temporary material setting, what is the business of a pure spiritual being? From the vantage point of the pure spirit soul, he should finish (rather give up) his material business and depart to the eternal spiritual world where there is no misery.

So yes, on the surface Prabhupada's words can be heavy but an intelligent person will dig deeper to find the meaning behind his compassionate words. Such a sincere individual will take shelter of that compassion, will follow the instructions of Prabhupada, will achieve liberation from the shackles material bondage and eventually meet Krishna face to face.

This is the only way - there is no other way!

Hare Krishna

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.

Sri Sri Radha 15th Rasesvara Anniversary (Album 53 photos)
15th Anniversary of the Sri Sri Radha Rasesvara Ashram in Bali, Indonesia
http://goo.gl/oGZRPu

An original copy of Srila Bhaksiddhanta Sarawati Thakur’s “The Nadia Prakash”, His daily spiritual newspaper that was printed from 1927-1942. Sundaranand Vidyabinod prabhu, His secretary, had kept them nicely as part of his personal collection. Years later, they were entrusted to BRC and properly preserved and bound so that future generations may be able to appreciate and remember this remarkable service achievement of the Guru Varga.
http://goo.gl/yZ93WI

So sweet,so sweet,Lord Jagannath lotus feet (Album 28 photos)
In old age, at the time of death, the throat sometimes becomes choked with mucus or blocked by air. At such a time the sound vibration of Hare Krishna may not come out. Thus one may forget Krishna. Of course, those who are strong in Krishna Consciousness cannot possibly forget Krishna at any stage because they are accustomed to chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, especially when there is a signal from death. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.28.15 Purport)
http://goo.gl/Q1ktwS

by Jai Sita Rani Devi Dasi Kirtan Mela Malaysia 2014

The post November 26th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post Mayapura kirtan on November 22nd appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

- Devamrta, Niranjana and Sivarama Swamis.

The post Cc Adi-lila 4 Reading and discussion (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Realization is Manifested Through Humility and Devotion
We have the highest, most intimate and confidential of all knowledge in the Vedas in the Srimad Bhāgavatam, which is how we are not this body. We should give up the bodily concept of life. Of course, we read the beautiful pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna also. But when we come to this highest knowledge of body and soul, we want to skip through this because we already have heard it so many times. We want new tastes, new nectar, we want the juice of newer and newer subject matter of the scriptures. We feel we already know this and have heard it many times, now we want to hear something else. But the problem is we do not know.
http://goo.gl/6N7HOJ

Copter to ferry pilgrims for Panchkoshi ‘parikrama’ in Vrindavana!
A helicopter service will be launched on December 4 to ferry pilgrims on a ” parikrama” (circle) of the holy town in just eight minutes. The Agra-based Jet Star Charter and Helicopter Services will use the helipad developed for President Pranab Mukherjee when he visited Vrindavan to lay the foundation stone of the world’s tallest Sri Krishna temple on the Akshay Patra campus.
Meanwhile, residents besides “pandas” and conservationists are unhappy with the moves being made to “‘urbanize” Vrindavan. “Neither the move to make Vrindavan a tourist spot nor to change its original rustic flavour will succeed. The fervor of visiting temples cannot be matched with an aerial view. The numerous saints and ascetics living in Braj mandal are not too happy with move to modernize the traditional landscape of the holy town,”
http://goo.gl/oxYIzE

Surely the happiest Balinese style sweet bhajan you have ever watched by the blissful vaishnavas of ISKCON SAKKHI Indonesia (8 min video)
http://goo.gl/EqlnjU

Motherhood Lessons from Yashoda Mayi (7 min video)
Mother Yashoda was always present for her child Lord Krishna and personally took care of all his needs. She is an inspiration for us to follow in our mothering journey to raise Krsna Conscious children. There are various detrimental effects of a mother who maybe physically or emotionally unavailable for her children. We pray that we can follow Mother Yashoda’s footsteps and nurture healthy and spiritually sound individuals.
http://goo.gl/0PNsCw

Meet the future pure devotees presently under training in Iskcon’s Sri Mayapur International School (Album 22 photos)
Vaishnavas do not require to practice any yogic power to become materially powerful. Simply his surrender to Krishna makes him all-powerful. That is the position of Vaishnava. Vrindavan, August 4, 1974.
http://goo.gl/syYYCZ

by Jai Sita Rani Devi Dasi Kirtan Mela Malaysia 2014

"By chanting carefully, you get the strength to follow the orders of your spiritual master, as you associate with Krsna’s name. But we know that if you associate without offense, it is much more effective. Following the four rules and living in devotional service assures you of avoiding the ten offenses."

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 June 2014, Stockholm, Sweden, Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 22.75)

If sometimes, we feel a little dry in our Krsna consciousness – if sometimes we feel that chanting is good but difficult, if we feel like reading but we fall asleep, if we just feel, “What to do now?” then let us just preach. But – preach boldly! Not just give them a book but, reach out to them.

It was amazing – devotees would just go anywhere, in any situation. They would wait next to a flat which had an intercom system. They would stand next to the intercom and just when the door of the flat opens and someone comes out, they would say, “Oh it is okay, the door is already open!” to the speaker and just walk in. So many tricks! Somehow or other – bold, BOLD!

One devotee just walked in like that into the flat of a student of literature; that’s right, a student of literature! He was studying; his whole life was books and books.

The devotee walked in and said, “I have some books…”

The student said, “Books! Books! You have books!?”

“Yeah!”

So, devotees have a nose for these things. He did not show him just the one book but the full set; he sold him the full set! Now that person, that student, has become one of the head production managers of one of our BBTs. It had to happen. Books, books, books! So, if somehow or other we penetrate into people’s lives then miracles will happen for them and for us.

 

Music - MC Yogi: www.mcyogi.com. Dance & Choreography - Vrinda Sheth. Directed by Rasa Acharya Partin & Little Sky Film.

Bhagavatam-daily Podcast

Does Religion Cause War? (24 min video)
HH Jayadvaita Swami answers to the question we have probably all faced on occasions whether religion is the main cause of war, with the suggestion being made that the world would be a much more peaceful place if only there was no religion.
http://goo.gl/Ie3tgT

Below is a video of a Western devotee speaking in Tamil and distributing books to pilgrims at Kattaragama, the lagest religious gathering in Sri Lanka. This year more then 1.500.000 people attended the festival. Disciples of HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami were distributing books continuously for ten days (24h par day) in day and night shifts. On the last day they performed Nagara Sankirtan in front of 200.000 people. Majority of the pilgrims were Buddhists therefore the mercy of Lord Caitanya and the previous Acharyas was just indescribable.
http://goo.gl/qgn0n0

ISKCON-London’s 45th Anniversary Celebrations (Album 91 photos)
Odana Sasthi, the date on the Vedic calendar on which the original
installation took place, falls on Thursday 27th November this year.
A further celebration will take place at the ISKCON-London Radha-
Krishna temple on that date.
http://goo.gl/JgdsNb