Prayers for HH AMIYA VILAS SWAMI
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Hare Krishna Dear Maharajas, Prabhus & all Devotees, We would like seek the prayers for the recovery & well-being of Senior Sanyasi Disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedant Swami Srila Prabhupada, HH AMIYA VILAS SWAMI MAHARAJ. Maharaj was diagnosed with cholesteatoma a disease (that can be fatal if not treated) of the ear in
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Amazing 360° Panorama of the Completed TOVP Nrsimhadeva Wing
- TOVP.org

The TOVP 3D Department has recently finished a 360° panorama view of the completed Nrsimhadeva Wing. Srisha das and Pavan Gopa das have rendered their collection of cgi images into an all-encompassing and awe-inspiring picture of the entire hall and altar, viewable from left to right, up and down, and zoomable in or out.

In October, 2023 all ISKCON members will be joyfully celebrating the much- anticipated opening of the completed Nrsimhadeva Wing of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP). Although our beloved Mayapur Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva will not be relocated into Their new home until the three-month-long TOVP Grand Opening festival from December, 2024 until Gaura Purnima, 2025, this historic event will send a signal out to the world that the TOVP will soon be opening.

To help promote awareness of the event, excitement and further financial support, we have released this inspiring 360° panorama. We encourage our readers to please financially support the opening of the Nrsimha Wing in October by sponsoring a Nrsimha Brick with your name inscribed and placed under the Lord’s altar or one of several other sponsorship options such as doors, artwork, murtis, etc.. Go to the Give To Nrsimha 2023 Campaign page for more information.

View the 360° panorama at the following link: https://truevirtualtours.com/panorama/p-360-with-the-lord

  Note to Viewers: To view properly, hold down your mouse left button to go up or down, left or right, and use the scroll wheel to zoom in or out.

 

 

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Professor Kenneth Cracknell, Friend of ISKCON and Champion of Religious Pluralism, Passes Away
→ ISKCON News

It is with great sadness that we report that Reverend Dr. Kenneth R. Cracknell, a Methodist Christian scholar, theologian, professor, and friend of ISKCON passed away on October 26, 2022. Kenneth was a was a British specialist in interfaith dialogue and the Christian theology of religions. His career included pioneering the interfaith relations work of […]

The post Professor Kenneth Cracknell, Friend of ISKCON and Champion of Religious Pluralism, Passes Away appeared first on ISKCON News.

December Book Distribution
Giriraj Swami

My dear devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

In a letter to me dated December 1971, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Go on increasing books, and go on increasing my pleasure.” December is a special opportunity to focus on Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we distribute books—and thus increase his pleasure. As he wrote in the same letter, “I am most pleased especially to hear that you are distributing many books.”

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
  yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso ’nkitani yat
  srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah

“That literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung, and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.” (SB 1.5.11)

Now let us cooperate to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s desire, which is the desire of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the parampara, and distribute such transcendental literature for the benefit of all—and be blessed by their sublime mercy.

Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Magnificent Palace For Sri Sri Radha Damodar in Gurugram – Haryana, India
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By Radhikakrpa dd A famous Sanskrit shloka reads   Gurur Brahma Gurur VishnuGurur Devo MaheshwaraGuru Sakshat ParabrahmaTasmai Shri Guruve Namah Meaning   Guru Brahma – Guru is Brahma also called as Generator, Guru Vishnu means Guru is Vishnu (Vishnu is the Lord who is called organizer), Guru Devo Maheshwara means Guru is the Maheshwara (Shiva or the
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Moksada Ekadasi, Gita Jayanti and the TOVP, 2022
- TOVP.org

Moksada Ekadasi, observed on the 11th day of Shukla Paksha (the waxing phase of the moon) during the lunar month of Margashirsha, is a very special Ekadasi in two regards: it is the all-auspicious day on which Lord Sri Krishna spoke the Srimad Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra at the place now known as Jyotisha tirtha, and anyone who gifts a Bhagavad Gita away to a deserving person on this day is bestowed profuse blessings by Sri Krishna Bhagavan.

Below is the ancient history of this most powerful Ekadasi that frees one from all sins, spoken by Sri Krishna to Yudhisthira Maharaja.

It’s recommended to chant extra rounds and stay up all night chanting and hearing the Lord’s glories. It is also auspicious to donate to Vaishnavas and Lord Krishna’s service on Ekadasi and we invite our readers to consider this Indira Ekadasi to donate towards the Give To Nrsimha 2023 Fundraiser. We are focusing on the completion and opening of the entire Nrsimhadeva hall and altar by the Fall of 2023 as a forerunner to the Grand Opening of the TOVP in 2024 when all the Deities will be relocated into Their new home. Please go to the Give To Give To Nrsimha 2023 Fundraiser page TODAY and help complete this offering to the Lord.

  NOTE: Moksada Ekadasi is observed on Saturday, December 3 in the US and Sunday, December 4 in India. Please refer to your local calendar through www.gopal.home.sk/gcal.

  View, download and share the TOVP 2022 Calendar​.

 

The Glories of Moksada Ekadasi

From Brahmanda Purana

Yudhishthira Maharaj said, “O Vishnu, master of all, O delight of the three worlds, O Lord of the entire Universe, O creator of the world, O oldest personality, O best of all beings, I offer my most respectful obeisances unto You. O Lord of lords, for the benefit of all living entities, kindly answer some questions that I have. What is the name of the Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha (November-December) and removes all sins? How does one observe it properly, and which Deity is worshipped on that holiest of days?
O my Lord please explain this to me in full.”

Lord Sri Krishna replied, “O dear Yudhishthira, your enquiry is very auspicious in itself and will bring you fame. Just as I previously explained to you about the dearest Utpanna Maha-Dwadasi , which occurs during the dark part of the month of Margashirsha, which is the day when Ekadasi-devi appeared from My body to kill the demon Mura, and which benefits everything animate and inanimate in the three worlds, so I shall now relate to you regarding this Ekadasi that occurs during the light part of the month of Margashirsha.

“This Ekadasi is famous as Moksada because it purifies the faithful devotee of all sinful reactions and bestows liberation upon him. The worshipable Deity of this all auspicious day is Lord Damodara. With full attention one should worship Him with incense, a ghee lamp, fragrant flowers, and Tulsi manjaris (buds).

“O best of saintly kings, please listen as I narrate to you the ancient and auspicious history of this wonderful Ekadasi. Simply by hearing this history one can attain the merit earned by performing a horse sacrifice. By the influence of this merit, one’s forefathers, mothers, sons, and other relatives who have gone to hell can turn around and go to the heavenly kingdom. For this reason alone, O king, you should listen with rapt attention to this narration.

“There once was a beautiful city named Champaka-nagar, which was decorated with devoted Vaishnavas. There the best of saintly kings, Maharaj Vaikhanasa, ruled over his subjects as if they were his very own dear sons and daughters.
The brahmins in that capital city were all expert in four kinds of Vedic knowledge.

The king, while ruling properly, had a dream one night in which his father was seen to be suffering the pangs of hellish torture in one of the hellish planets ruled over by the Yamaraj. The king was overwhelmed with compassion for his father and shed tears. The next morning, Maharaj Vaikhanasa described what he had seen in his dream to his council of twice born learned brahmins.

” ‘ O brahmanas,’ the king addressed them, ‘in a dream last night I saw my father suffering on a hellish planet. He was crying out in anguish, “O son, please deliver me from the torment of this hellish condition !” “Now I have no peace in my mind, and even this beautiful kingdom has become unbearable to me.

Not even my horses, elephants, and chariots, nor the vast wealth in my treasury that formerly brought so much pleasure, give me any happiness. Everything, O best of the brahmins, even my own wife and sons, have become a source of unhappiness since I beheld my father suffering the tortures of that hellish condition.

“ ‘Where can I go, and what can I do, O brahmins, to alleviate this misery? My body is burning with fear and sorrow! Please tell me what kind of charity, what mode of fasting, what austerity, or what deep meditation, and to which Deity must I perform service to deliver my father from that agony and bestow liberation upon my forefathers? O best among the brahmins, what is the use of one’s being a powerful son if one’s father must suffer on a hellish planet? Truly, such a son’s life is utterly useless, to him and to his forefathers.’

” The twice born brahmins replied, ‘O king, in the mountainous forest not far from here is the ashram where a great saint Parvat Muni resides. Please go to him, for he is tri-kala-jna (he knows the past, the present, and the future of everything) and can surely help you in your gaining relief from your misery.’

“Upon hearing this advise, the distressed king immediately set out on a journey to the ashram of the famous sage Parvat Muni. The ashram was indeed very big and housed many learned sages expert in chanting the sacred hymns of the four Vedas (Rg, Yajur, Sama, and Arthava). Approaching the holy ashram, the king beheld Parvat Muni seated among the assembly of sages, adorned with hundreds of tilaks (from all the authorized sampradayas) like another Brahma or Vyas.

“Maharaj Vaikhanasa offered his humble obeisances to the muni, bowing his head and then prostrating his entire body before him. After the king had seated himself among the assembly Parvat Muni asked him about the welfare of the seven limbs of his extensive kingdom (his ministers, his treasury, his military forces, his allies, the brahmins, the sacrificial offerings performed, and the needs of his subjects). The muni also asked him if his kingdom was free of troubles, and whether everyone was peaceful, happy and satisfied.

“To these inquiries the king replied, ‘By your mercy, O glorious and great sage, all seven limbs of my kingdom are doing very well. Yet there is a problem that has recently arisen, and to solve it I have come to you, O brahmana, for your expert help and guidance.’

“Then Parvata Muni, the best of all sages, closed his eyes and meditated on the king’s past, present and future. After a few moments he opened his eyes and said, ‘Your father is suffering the results of committing a great sin, and I have discovered what it is. In his previous life he quarreled with his wife and forcibly enjoyed her sexually during her menstrual period. She tried to protest and resist his advances and even yelled out, “Someone please save me! Please, O husband, do not interrupt my monthly period in this way!” Still he did not stop or leave her alone. It is on account of this grievous sin that your father now has fallen into such a hellish condition of suffering.’

“King Vaikhanasa then said, ‘O greatest among sages, by what process of fasting or charity may I liberate my dear father from such a condition? Please tell me how I can relieve and remove the burden of his sinful reactions, which are a great obstacle to his progress toward ultimate liberation.’

“Parvata Muni replied, ‘During the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha there occurs an Ekadasi called Moksada. If you observe this sacred Ekadasi strictly, with a full fast, and give directly to your suffering father the merit you thus attain, he will be freed from his pain and instantly liberated.’

“Hearing this, Maharaj Vaikhanasa profusely thanked the great sage and then returned to his palace to perform his vrata. O Yudhishthira, when the light part of the month of Margashirsha at last arrived, Maharaj Vaikhanasa faithfully waited for the Ekadasi tithi to arrive. He then perfectly and with full faith observed the Ekadasi fast with his wife, children, and other relatives. He dutifully gave the merit from this fast to his father, and as he made the offering, beautiful flower petals showered down from the devas who peered out from behind the clouds in the sky.

The king’s father was then praised by the messengers of the demigods and escorted to the celestial region.

“As he passed his son, while traversing the lower, middle and higher planets, the father said to the king, ‘My dear son, all auspiciousness unto you!’ At last he reached the heavenly realm from where he realized his newly acquired merit, began to perform devotional service to Krishna or Vishnu, and in due course returned back to home, back to Godhead.

“O son of Pandu, whosoever strictly observes the sacred Moksada Ekadasi, following the established rules and regulations, achieves full and perfect liberation after death. There is no better fasting day than this Ekadasi of the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha, O Yudhishthira, for it is a crystal-clear and sinless day.

Whoever faithfully observes this Ekadasi fast, which is like cintamani (a gem that yields all desires), obtains special merit that is very hard to calculate, for this day can elevate one from hellish life to the heavenly planets. For one who observes Ekadasi for his own spiritual benefit, this elevates one to go back to Godhead, never to return to this material world.”

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Margashirsha-shukla Ekadasi or Moksada Ekadasi, from the Brahmanda Purana.

This article has been used courtesy of ISKCON Desire Tree

 

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

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TOVP Nrsimhadeva Wing Update: Braja Vilasa Das, November 2022
- TOVP.org

This new Nrsimhadeva Wing update video from Sriman Braja Vilasa Das, TOVP Co-chairman and Director of Development, will not only inform you but will fill your heart and soul with inspiration and tears of joy to see the work going on in this magnificent and historic project, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Scheduled for completion and to open in October 2023, this East Wing of the TOVP will house the beloved murtis of Mayapur Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva, worshiped for decades by Their deceased servitor, Pankajanghri Das. Unfortunately, he will not be present to witness such an important event, but we can still pray for him and continue to dedicate our energy to fulfill his desire to relocate the Deities into Their new home.

This opening marks the next stage of the TOVP, and is the precursor to the Grand Opening of the TOVP during a three-month-long festival from December 2024 through Gaura Purnima 2025. The influence of the opening of the TOVP will be felt worldwide and, as predicted by the Lord, will become the source of the universal outpouring of Krishna prema to every part of the Earth.

Help support the completion of the Nrsimhadeva Wing for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and our acharyas. Please visit the Give To Nrsimha Campaign page today. Hare Krishna!

 

 

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Odana-sasti
Giriraj Swami

Today is Odana-sasti, the date on which Lord Jagannatha is given a winter shawl. One year when Lord Chaitanya and His associates celebrated this festival in Puri, Pundarika Vidyanidhi, who is Vrsabhanu Maharaja, Srimati Radharani’s father, in krsna-lila, received some special mercy. His experience is instructive for us all.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “At the beginning of winter, there is a ceremony known as the Odana-sasthi. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to Lord Jagannatha. That covering is directly purchased from a weaver. According to the arcana-marga, a cloth should first be washed to remove all the starch, and then it can be used to cover the Lord. Pundarika Vidyanidhi saw that the priest neglected to wash the cloth before covering Lord Jagannatha. Since he wanted to find some fault in the devotees, he became indignant.” (Cc Madhya 16.78 purport)

And Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 16.78–81) describes the event: “Pundarika Vidyanidhi initiated Gadadhara Pandita for the second time, and on the day of Odana-sasthi Pundarika Vidyanidhi saw the festival. (78) When Pundarika Vidyanidhi saw that Lord Jagannatha was given a starched garment, he became a little hateful. In this way his mind was polluted. (79) That night the brothers Lord Jagannatha and Balarama came to Pundarika Vidyanidhi and, smiling, began to slap him. (80) Although his cheeks were swollen from the slapping, Pundarika Vidyanidhi was very happy within. This incident has been elaborately described by Thakura Vrndavana dasa. (81)”

From this incident we can learn that the Lord does not tolerate offenses against His servants, even from an advanced devotee, and that He chastises a devotee who commits such an offense even within the mind. We can also learn that a pure devotee accepts such chastisement from the Lord with great happiness, as a manifestation of the Lord’s mercy, of His love and care for His devotees—both for those who may commit such an offense and for those who may be objects of such an offense. A pure devotee thanks the Lord for rectifying him and preventing him from committing further offenses, and he feels great jubilation within his heart.

Hare Krishna.