HG Madhava das Kirtan – Dundas Square- Toronto, Canada – 2014

“The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya in pursuance of the teachings of the scriptures enjoins all absence of conventionalism for the teachers of the eternal religion. It does not follow that the mechanical adoption of the unconventional life by any person will make him a fit teacher of religion. Regulation is necessary for controlling the apparent worldliness of conditioned souls but no mechanical regulation has any value even for such a purpose.

When you are placed into the sea, you have no control. You move according to the waves. This means that there is a power that is controlling you. However, if you put yourself in better circumstances, you will be able to control” (The Quest for Enlightenment, Chapter 6).

- Srila Prabhupada

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 05 August 2012, Stockholm, Sweden, Lecture: Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day)

Srila Prabhupada had installed deities all over the world. Each time, Krsna was there, Krsna was manifesting and Prabhupada was experiencing it. But during the installation of Krsna-Balarama, on Ramnavami in Vrndavan, Srila Prabhupada was so ecstatic that he personally did the aarti and became so overwhelmed with happiness as it was the ultimate victory. A time of success as he had returned from his mission.

During that very first aarti, Prabhupada was just beaming. He turned around towards the crowd… he just never finished the aarti… never blew the conch shell… he just started preaching to the crowd by describing the glories of Krsna and Balarama. One could say that Srila Prabhupada was over the moon!

So these Krsna-Balarama deities stand there on the central altar in our movement because as Prabhupada explained, “So many temples are there in the world and they may or may not close but never let an inch of Mayapur and Vrndavan temples deteriorate!”

There is no question that these temples are the main temples that we turn to. The Krsna-Balarama deity had received that amazing welcome from Srila Prabhupada and that amazing prayer from him too, “To shower all those who are under his care with Their mercy and blessings of devotional service.”

Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day Festival

Everyone is invited to celebrate the auspicious Lord Balarama Appearance Day Festival on Sunday Aug. 10, 2014

Schedule

4:30 PM          Bhajans
5:00 PM          Abhisheka
6:00 PM          Class
7:00 PM          Artika and Kirtan
7:45 PM          Feast

LORD BALARAMA’S APPEARANCE DAY

Balarama is a name of the Supreme Person, Who appears as Krishna’s brother. He is also in the category of God,   Krishna Himself is the origin of all other Personalities of Godhead.  Lord Balarama is the first expansion of Lord Krsna.

During Krishna’s childhood pastimes, Balarama also appears and plays like a human being with Krishna in the village of Vrindavan.

Whereas Krsna  always appears with a darkish complexion, like a bluish monsoon cloud, Balarama is always fair skinned.

Bhagavad Gita  states that when the earth was overburdened by demonic rulers who had amassed large military forces armed with deadly weapons to wage war for personal gain, Lord Brahma, the chief of the demigods in this universe, approached the shore of the ocean of milk. There, accompanied by Lord Siva and other celestial beings, he worshiped Lord Visnu, the supreme God of all gods. In response, Lord Visnu gave him instructions, which Lord Brahma in turn conveyed to the demigods. He told them that the Lord would soon appear on earth to diminish the burden of the world and that the demigods, to assist Him, should take birth in the Yadu dynasty. Lord Brahma further stated that Lord Balarama, who is also known as Sankarsana, would precede the Lord and serve Him in every respect:

vasudeva-kalanantah
sahasra-vadanah svarat
agrato bhavita devo
hareh priya-cikirsaya

“The foremost manifestation of Krsna is Sankarsana, who is known as Ananta.
He is the origin of all incarnations within this material world. Previous to
the appearance of Lord Krsna, this original Sankarsana will appear as
Baladeva, just to please the Supreme Lord Krsna in His transcendental
pastimes.” (SB 10.1.24)

Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
all glories to Srila Prabhupada.

The month of Kartika (Damodar) is fast approaching and this year will be our 28th Vraj Mandala Padayatra. We have one bullock cart and capacity for 7 devotees, 50,000 books and one month to wander through the twelve forests of Vraj.

If you are a little physically fit and up for a transcendental adventure please contact me via e-mail: foodforalluk@gmail.com

Enjoy the movie

Vraj Padayatra from Food For All on Vimeo.

If you are in a position to help sponsor books or Prasad the cost is:

20 books costs £1,
Prasad for one day costs £80.

Devotional service performed in the month of Kartika gives 100 times more benefits and performed in Vraj again gives 100 times more benefits. Of course the real benefit is to please Srila Prabhupada and get his mercy.

This Parikrama was originally started by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his close followers, and then re-established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in 1932.

HH Lokanath Swami started the ISKCON Vraj Mandala Parikrama in 1986 when the Indian Padayatra group entered Vraj after going from Dwarka to Mayapur.

“Thus I began chanting the Holy Name and fame of the Lord by repeated recitation,ignoring all the formalities of the material world. Such chanting and remembering of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are benedictory. So doing I travelled all over the Earth fully satisfied,humble and envious”.
SB 1.6.26

Your servant
Parasuram Das

ISKCON's Governing Body Commission (GBC) began its strategic planning work to help ISKCON grow into a healthy, sustainable, world-class organization. Srila Prabhupada wanted the GBC to lead ISKCON through good governance and to establish global policies, and he wanted an expansive, thriving movement that served both the public and those who accepted its shelter.

Answer Podcast

Answer Summary: The holy name is dramatically different because it is God himself manifesting as divine sound – the difference can be understood through intelligence and confirmed through experience.

Answer: Out of His love for us, God manifests Himself as His holy name. The Padma Purana declares: abhinnatvam nama naminoh “There is no difference between the name of God and God Himself.” So the holy name is no ordinary sound; it is God Himself manifesting as sound.

Here’s an example to illustrate how a thing can be much more valuable that what it appears to be. A mother tells her four year old child to tear and throw into the dustbin all paper that he finds fallen on the ground in their bedroom. The child gleefully gets down to work, tearing and throwing away the papers. Suddenly the mother notices a five-hundred rupee note that had fallen from her husband’s pocket as he rushed to office that morning. The child also notices that note and picks it up to tear it. The mother screams in alarm, “Stop.” Taken aback, the child asks, “Did you not tell me tear all paper lying on the ground?” The mother hastily takes the note from his hand, keeps it safely in her purse and then replies, “But this is not ordinary paper.” The child looks at the paper in surprise. It looks just like the papers that he has torn. Seeing his incredulity, the mother says, “With this paper, you can get five hundred chocolates for your birthday.” When he actually gets the chocolates from the shop, then he realizes that the five hundred rupee note is no ordinary paper.

No ordinary material sound can provide the immense joy such joy just as no ordinary paper can get five hundred chocolates.

Similarly, those with undeveloped spiritual consciousness think that the holy name is just like any ordinary sound. But when they chant the holy names themselves and experience profound peace and immense joy, then they understand that the holy name is different from any ordinary sound, because no ordinary material sound can bring such joy, just as no ordinary paper can get five hundred chocolates.

God, out of His unlimited love for us, makes Himself easily available to us in a portable form that we can literally carry on our tongue-tip. Srila Prabhupada would say that when we chant the holy name, the Lord dances on our tongues.

Chanting can make a huge difference in our own lives and also make a substantial difference in the world too. There are a significant number of criminals and addicts and others habituated to self-destructive behavior who want to become better human beings, but don’t know how to change themselves. If they could be taught the process of chanting, they would be able to overcome their lower natures and become better human beings, and thus help make our world a much better place. Many such stories of inspiring transformation are described in the book Holy Jail compiled by His Holiness Candramauli Maharaj.

Chanting can not only make bad people good; it can also make good people better, helping them to become more focused and more selfless, thereby increasing their contribution to the world.

Thus, the holy name is hugely different from ordinary sound - and open-mindedly trying out chanting to realize that difference can make a huge difference in our life.

From Muralidhara Prabhu:

Would it be correct to say that, just as today’s computers can control many material aspects of life thru a combination of “zero” and “one”, Krishna controls and coaches the living entity thru remembrance and forgetfulness?

Answer Podcast

On August 6th, 2014, one of Srila Prabhupada's earliest disciples Madhu-dvisa Das (67) has passed away. In the video Madhu-dvisa remembers Prabhupada.

An internet person, Sean Fletcher tries to run from a broken relationship by taking a trip to Himalayas, but finds himself stuck in a small Indian town, Vrindavan, that turns out to be an unusual place. A movie by Vrindavan Experience is coming soon.

The museum features several permanent pieces including three large framed wooden depictions of Lord Krishna’s universal form, Lord Ramachandra, and the Dasavatar (Krishna’s ten incarnations). But its main offering is an annually rotating roster of exhibits that include sculptures, paintings, photography, video, and other art mediums.

UNNESCO lists the Vedic chanting as one of the important representatives of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A video by the UNESCO.

Gita wisdom reconciles the goodness of God’s creation with the weakness of his creatures by differentiating between our pure core as souls and the shell of impurities such as lust.

The post Conversation with some ladies on the importance of rituals, watching movies, the presence of deities and so on appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Eating organic is like eating two extra portions of fruit, vegetables daily.

True gratitude is beyond a superficial flattery of the ‘thank-you’ we hear daily. Heartfelt appreciation may be above utterances. It cannot be just switched on and off.

The post August 8th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

There are a number of herbs that are often used in everyday cooking that are also prized for their ability to calm the digestion system.