Planet ISKCON

What is a good bhajan, does the mood of the kirtana leader influence the kirtaners, when should the kirtana leader direct other musicians, are western tunes ok to sing?

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Harinama in Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia (Album 14 photos)
There may be so many impediments for a person who is chanting Hare Krishna. Nonetheless, tolerating all these impediments, one should continue to chant so that at the end of one’s life one can have the full benefit of Krishna consciousness. Bhagavad-Gita 8.5 Purport.
http://goo.gl/y8QRwH

Maha Harinam with Guru das Prabhu,during Halloveen in Mexico City
(Album 33 photos)
Pure devotees chant the Hare Krishna mantra, and simply by hearing this chanting from a purified transcendental person, one is purified of all sinful activities, no matter how lowborn or fallen one may be. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.126 Purport)
http://goo.gl/BFnSqc

Jaipur, ‘The City Of Victory’ (Album 225 photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The final album of our parikrama to Jaipur takes us to various spots throughout the city; the famous Amber Palace on a mountain overlooking the city, to Kanak Vrindavan where Radha Madhava, the original deities of Jayadeva Goswami, are worshipped and to a house program at a devotee’s home. Everywhere we continued kirtan and katha as we explored the “City of Victory” and it’s historical and devotional significance.
http://goo.gl/pjbxT8

Durvasamuni’s asram HG Bada Haridas kirtan part 1

From: vignesh P
if one is suffering from serious disorder ,which is very painful ,at that time will our chanting and devotional service help us reduce pain

Answer Podcast

From Keshava Kashmiri P

Bhagavatam says  "If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another."

then why at other places ,in sastras ,like for eg

In the Padma Purana, in the Vaishakha-mahatmya, in a conversation of Narada Muni and King Ambarisha, it is said: (quoted from hari bhakti vilasa ,eleventh vilasa ) .

"When He is worshiped with devotion, the Supreme Personality of Godhead responds by fulfilling all desires. He gives beautiful wife, good children, long life, kingdom, residence in Svargaloka, and final liberation. "

and there are many more such statements in sastras ,where such material doses are given like good wife ,svargaloka and long life . when bhagavatam clearly says ,such material benefits are impediments to attain devotional service to krishna ,and thus as 10.88.8 says , devotees at times also their material possessions ,as a mercy of lord ,then why such transcendental devotion to lord ,is brought down to some material benefits by the same scriptures ,as it is seen from the verse quoted above from HBV .

what is the result of those who worship lord hari ,do they lose their possessions or become rich in their possessions ,as above things seems contradictory . please explain .

Answer Podcast

From: Vivek Kikaan P
I am new in KC, so asking this question. Please tell that if we try to control lust forcefully to be faithful to Krishna's Love, then, is that a temporary Mental state, a rise in consciousness or a forceful harm to our shaking consciousness?

Answer Podcast

Filmed by Filip Cargonja and Kuva Zakheim. Edited by Hladini Hilary Zakheim.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.15

“The day of Gopastami, or the day that Krishna and Balarama were given charge of the Cows instead of the calves, marks a very significant change in Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan. It is stated in Caitanya-caritamrta that in the kumara age, from birth until the age of five, Krishna made vatsalya rasa successful. In other words in the first five years of Krishna’s pastimes he especially nourished the mood of the elders who had parental affection for Him. Then in the pauganda age, from six to ten, He made sakhya rasa successful. Along with His friends He engaged in taking the cows to pasture. And this marks the importance of Vrindavan. For the first time Krishna and Balarama and their friends sport in Vrindavan.”

Gopastami, Dallas

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 31 March 2012, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.15.26)

The etymological meaning of the word ‘guru’ is heavy. So is it, that there is some personality sitting on the vyasasana who is a heavy dude, ‘Okay guys, get your act together! With all this sense gratification, you are just attached to material things! When are you going to get serious in Krsna consciousness?’

Is that the meaning of a guru being heavy? Well, sometimes maybe but not necessarily. The meaning of guru being heavy is that the guru is ultimately so heavy that you cannot move him from his position, since he stays fixed at the lotus feet of Krsna! I mean, others are light; so light that sometimes they get shaken on the path if you give them a little push, like a boat which has been put out of its course by the wind…

But, the spiritual master is heavy and he is there, at the feet of Krsna. As time goes by, he has not changed since he is still there; still serving Krsna; still talking about Krsna; still chanting Hare Krsna and so many things have happened:

Disciple, ‘I mean, oh Lord, I didn’t see you for a long time. So many things have happened!’

Guru, ‘And in the course of that, what about Krsna?’

Disciple, ‘Yeah, I’m still into that but things have changed a bit.’

But for the spiritual master, nothing has changed, nothing! It is just the same and it is a great relief to know that there is someone who is still just doing it! There is someone who is still a devotee, and is still chanting Hare Krsna; someone who just did not change and that we find shelter at his lotus feet. It is not about, ‘Is he the greatest intellectual on the planet? Can he quote more verses than anybody else? Can he explain the most complicated philosophy? Does he know the most stories?’

I guess with this, it speaks for itself – this is all kindergarten. That is all I will say about it. We are not taking these things too seriously. And it is also not about the external, ‘My guru is skinny and your guru is fat.’

These things do not matter since it is mentioned that one should not judge the spiritual master by his external appearance. One should see that he is firmly fixed onto the lotus feet of Krsna. Therefore by connecting with him, we will also be fixed because he is always there. Anytime we connect to him then we are also automatically connecting to the lotus feet of Krsna!

Bhagavatam-daily Podcast

ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry Damodara Newsletter.
An initiative started by the Malaysian devotees over a decade ago enabled them to reach over 100,000 people last year. ISKCON’s Congregational Development Ministry wants to offer you the opportunity to celebrate this pastime, not only at the temples, but by going out to people’s homes and public places, involving as many people as possible. This program encourages the collective participation of congregations by suggesting a combined effort in reaching out to others. It has been an outstanding success in many Yatras around the world. The idea of the program is simple: to encourage devotees to create visiting teams and perform the Damodara worship (offering of candles, singing the Damodara-song and hearing the narration of the pastime) in as many places as possible. This is a great opportunity to establish and cultivate new contacts and strengthen previous ones. Please read on to learn about the glories of this Damodara month and the exponential scope of this simple but effective program.
http://goo.gl/w1pnc4

Latest Newsletter from Ahimsa Foundation For Cattle Protection.
AFFCAP is an independent, third party, non-profit organization which certifies goshallas to a basic standard of care and protection. It does so by registering and inspecting goshallas, while keeping records of every animal for life. This undertaking ensures that: “No animal is being made available, knowingly or unknowingly, for Slaughter”.
http://goo.gl/CkRBaj

Mini-Govardhana Puja in Copenhagen but still super ecstatic :) (Album 19 photos)
The Krishna consciousness movement supplies materially stricken people with the medicine of the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and the diet of prasadam. The centres of the Krishna consciousness movement are the only established hospitals that can cure man of birth, death, old age and disease. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 10.51 Purport)
http://goo.gl/9x5b0g

Writing on Palm Leaves: A Brief History.
Paper is has been used in India only for about a thousand years. Before that the main writing materials were birch-bark, palm-leaves and copper-plates.
Palm-leaf has been one of the most important materials used for writing purpose in India historically. The palm tree, which gives palm-leaves for manuscripts, is of two types — Shritala or talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) and Kharatala or tad or palmyra palm (Borassus Flabelliformis).
The former gives leaves that are long, smooth and supple. This species of palm grows abundantly on the Malabar coast, in Bengal, Myanmar and Ceylon.
The Kharatala or tad leaves, on the other hand, are thick and they have a tendency to break very easily. The fibres of the Shritala leaves are more resistant to decay than the Karatala leaves. It is because of these reasons that Shritala leaves have been preferred to Kharatal leaves for writing manuscripts.
To prepare palm-leaves for writing they were first dried, boiled in
water and then dried again. Then they were smoothened and polished
with a stone or conch-shell. The leaves were then cut to size, which
varied from 15 cms to 1 metre in length and 2 to 10 cms in breadth.
The method of using pen and ink on palm-leaves was used mostly by the Vaishnava Acharyas.
Palm leaves could not be bound. One or two holes were bored in the leaves and then cords were passed through them. The manuscripts were generally placed between two wooden boards and the cord passing through the holes were wrapped round the boards.
(facts taken from Vidya Prasarak Mandal website)
http://goo.gl/7vrWby

"Urge for Urj"
“Urge for Urj” is what devotees in Dallas say when they are longing to hear kirtans lead by Urjasvat.
About a year ago I received a phone call from the temple line. It was an older gentleman and he had many wonderful questions regarding Krishna Consciousness. He told me his very nice life story about how in the 70’s he joined the temple for perhaps 8 months and had the time of his life. He said that Urjasvat Prabhu was his Bhakta Leader (spiritual coach) at the time and that he really valued that time he spent with Urjasvat Prabhu. At the time he was just getting out of the military and was getting much more interested in spiritual life. At some point he moved out of temple due to some previous attachments but later became ordained as a Catholic priest. His said that it was only due to remembering the instructions of Urjasvat Prabhu regularly that he was able to stay a celibate Catholic monk for 11 years. He said, “Urjasvat Prabhu may or may not remember me but I know that when I die and leave this world I will probably be thinking of him.” This gentleman called again a month ago and randomly came across me, he was calling temples to chit chat about Krishna. In his call he lamented about not being able to make advancement and surrendering and was comforted when he was told that Krishna is very kind and looks for any excuse, without breaking the rules, to take us back to the spiritual world. This is what the Lord revealed to Gopa Kumara in the Brhad Bhagavatmrta. This story and another one as well brought him to tears of joy, jaya. His 3 children are all grown up and he is now getting more encouragement in chanting Japa. He was a very pleasurable man to speak on the phone with.
http://goo.gl/Ji5mbp

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VRINDAVAN DIARY 2014 By Sacinandana Swami
I am sitting here in Vrindavan and many realisations have come forth to me. The most stunning one up till now is that Krishna is really here. He is real! And He really comes to someone who calls out for Him. He comes personally. How else would you explain what happened today? It is even better to call out for Radha. After all Vrindavan is Her kingdom.
http://goo.gl/Uzf37c

Vrindavan Kartik 2014 (Album 232 photos)
“Oh Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from My eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in your absence.” This is the perfectional stage of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.51 Purport)
http://goo.gl/h72Ugn

Vraja parikrama….you can never get enough Vrindavana! (Album 95 photos)
“If one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, then very quickly he is cleansed of all offences. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God.”
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.31)
http://goo.gl/O1YA4u

12 Hour Kirtan 2014 Hare Krishna Baltimore (Album 58 photos)
“As a result of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one makes such great advancement in spiritual life that simultaneously his material existence terminates and he receives love of Godhead. The holy name of Krishna is so powerful that by chanting even one name, one very easily achieves these transcendental riches.” (Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.28)
http://goo.gl/8NVugJ