Hari Naam Shobha Yatra at Geeta Colony, East Delhi : 14-09-2014 (Album 45 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

One should take shelter of Krishna-Balarama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose protective power is so great that it cannot be equaled in the material world. However powerful the reactions of one's sins, they will immediately be vanquished if one chants the name of Hari, Krishna, Balarama, or Narayana. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.16 Purport) Read more ›

Ratha Yatra Berlin 2014, Germany (Album 72 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

"Authorities who are learned scholars and sages have carefully ascertained that one should atone for the heaviest sins by undergoing a heavy process of atonement and one should atone for lighter sins by undergoing lighter atonement. Chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, however, vanquishes all the effects of sinful activities, regardless of whether heavy or light." (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.16) Read more ›

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-09-15 11:51:00 →

1972 September 15: "On the whole, they should not be given any power unless they are my initiated disciples, but try to keep them as consultants. Our process is slow but sure. Our big centers started with only a handful of men and because they were determined to expand by recruiting the local men, that has been their success."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

World Holy Name Week-Harinam in Ubud, Bali (Album 55 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Most my picture here are people that walk around Ubud and showing their interest toward our Harinam. Many people out there are waiting for the devotees to giving them holy name, Srila Prabhupada's books and prasadam. Not only is the chanter of the mahā-mantra purified, but the heart of anyone who happens to hear the transcendental vibration of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is also cleansed. Even the souls embodied in lower animals, insects, trees and other species of life also become purified and prepared to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious simply by hearing the transcendental vibration. This was explained by Ṭhākura Haridāsa when Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired from him how living entities lower than human beings can be delivered from material bondage. Haridāsa Ṭhākura said that the chanting of the holy names is so powerful that even if one chants in the remotest parts of the jungle, the trees and animals will advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply by hearing the vibration. (Nectar of Instruction 4, Purport) Read more ›

Bhagavad Gita Morning Class to 2.5 Million People in Moldova (Album 13 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Indradyumna Swami: This morning I was the special guest on one of Moldova's most popular morning television talk shows. Jurnal TV interviewed me for 15 minutes with an estimated audience of over 2.5 million people. In my short talk I stressed the importance of spiritual life and how Bhagavad Gita can solve many of the problems we face in modern society. I also elaborated on how God is a person and real happiness can only be achieved by reviving our dormant love for Him. I concluded by explaining the meaning of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It was short, sweet and to the point. Thank you Srila Prabhupada for allowing me to be your representative. [ Photos by Mahavan das ] Read more ›

Home Deity Worship Seminar, Sydney, Australia (Album 99 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

With HG Nrsimha Kavaca Dasa. "For one who wants liberation from the fruitive reactions of material activities, the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, or glorification of the name, fame and pastimes of the Lord, is recommended as the most perfect process of atonement because such chanting eradicates the dirt from one's heart completely." (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.12). Read more ›

October is Kirtan Month!
→ Bhakti Lounge - The Heart Of Yoga in Wellington

kirtanmonth2014

Kirtan + Dinner
Wednesdays & Sundays 6pm
Each evening will introduce a fresh topic for contemplation interwoven with music, mantra and meditation.
Wed 1 Oct Jumping Power for Life’s Hurdles
Sun 5 Oct What is Kirtan?
Wed 8 Oct Chant 4 Change
Sun 12 Oct Roots of Kirtan
Wed 15 Oct Intro to Yoga Psychology
Sun 19 Oct Being for Real in a World of Labels
Wed 22 Oct Sweeter and Smoother Relationships
Sun 26 Oct The Heart of Yoga – 6 Hour Kirtan*
Wed 29 Oct Happy Heart Everyday Wednesdays
Wednesdays $10/$5 for students w ID
Sundays Koha

Yoga + Kirtan + Dinner
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Sundays 5pm
A warm-up 45 minute Vinyasa Flow Yoga Class to free the body, then fly high into the Kirtan Programme at 6pm.
Tuesdays & Wednesdays $12
Sundays Koha

Drumming Workshop + Dinner
Tuesday 7 & 14 October 6pm
Learn introductory techniques to the Mridanga, a two-sided clay drum originating from India. If you have your own mridanga please bring it, otherwise some will be available.
$10

Jam Night Kirtan + Dinner
Tuesday 21 & 28 October 6pm
Bring your ukulele, tambourine, guitar, your own voice, come clap your hands, any instrument welcome! or sit back and absorb the Kirtan. Open for everyone.
$10

*6 Hour Kirtan! + Dinner
Sunday 26 October 5pm–midnight (includes 1 hour dinner interlude)
Indulge in the ultimate sound experience. A variety of Kirtan leaders & bands will lead us through a non-stop evening. Come by for as much as you can, for what promises to be an awesome night!
Koha


World Holy Name Week: Day 11 (the final day)
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY GAURAVANI DASA

KUALA LUMPUR - "Then the Bhattacarya asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "Which item is most important in the execution of devotional service?" The Lord replied that the most important item was the chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

PURPORT: There are nine items to be executed in devotional service. These are enumerated in the following verse from the Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.23):

sravanam kirtanam visnoh 
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam

Hearing the glories of the Lord, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering worship in the temple, offering prayers, becoming a servant of the Lord, becoming the Lord's friend, and sarvatma-nivedana, offering oneself fully at the lotus feet of the Lord — these are the nine devotional processes. In The Nectar of Devotion, these are expanded into sixty-four items. When Sarvabhauma Bhatttacarya asked the Lord which item was most important, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately answered that the most important item is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord — Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." - CC Adi 6.241

World Holy Name Week: Day 10
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY GAURAVANI DASA

KUALA LUMPUR - "My dear Lord, I have no problems and want no benediction from You because I am quite satisfied to chant Your holy name. This is sufficient for me because whenever I chant I immediately merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. I only lament to see others bereft of Your love. They are rotting in material activities for transient material pleasure and spoiling their lives toiling all day and night simply for sense gratification, with no attachment for love of Godhead. I am simply lamenting for them and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of maya." (SB 7.9.43)

TEXAS FAITH 133: Falling into Sin
→ Nityananda Chandra Das' Blog, ISKCON Dallas


Dallas Morning News,


Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.
Most of us agree on the difference between right and wrong. It is wrong to steal; it is wrong to commit adultery; it is wrong to kill.
The parameters of right and wrong are widely shared in most civil societies. But we often find ourselves, in the practice of everyday life, justifying little wrongs with the balance that we do greater good in some other area. And some of us, over time, begin to justify greater and greater wrongs as we accustom ourselves to lives of what we might call sin.
Think about how this happens in an individual. Is this the spiritual battle we are meant to fight, the push back against the slide into doing wrong? What draws the soul or mind toward sin, and what is the defense against it? - Dallas Morning News










NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

The third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is verses 37-43 concisely address this issue. That the soul is compelled by lust, the desire to enjoy the temporary, because it false identifies the self with the temporary.  "As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, the living entity is similarly covered by different degrees of this lust.  Thus the wise living entity's pure consciousness becomes covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.  The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.  Therefore in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.  The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.  Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Kṛṣṇa consciousness] and thus - by spiritual strength - conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust."
To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

Talk on “Life’s Final Exam” at Google, September 5, Mountain View, California
Giriraj Swami

09.05.14_GoogleThe following is adapted from Google’s invitation to the talk:

People usually try to avoid death—both the topic and the event. And why should we contemplate death and dying—how can we profit? As a friend of our speaker said shortly before his death, “When you get this close to death, you see that it is not what you thought. All our life we fear it, but when you are this close you see that it is not the end; it is a portal to opportunities beckoning us, beyond which we are able to see our true existence and nature—that we are all actually entities that don’t pass away. It is not something negative or destructive; it is the opposite of that—hugely life affirming. Life is for learning lessons, and death is our best instructor to teach us the most important of lessons, because it reveals the essence and purpose of our life and throws a light on our real spiritual nature.”

In this talk, Giriraj Swami, author of Life’s Final Exam, will present experiences of people who left their bodies in a heightened state of consciousness, so that we can use their valuable insights to make the best out of the rest of our lives.

Bio:

Giriraj Swami is an author, spiritual leader, and founder of the Bhaktivedanta Hospice and the Vrindavan Institute of Palliative Care in India, whose mission is to provide patients the best possible physical, emotional, and spiritual care. He currently resides in Carpinteria, California, and lectures throughout the world on Vedic philosophy and practice.