Planet ISKCON

Dr. Catherine Cornille, Chair of the Department of Theology and Professor of Comparative Theology in Boston College, and author of numerous books on inter-religious dialogue, phoned ISKCON Boston with a request: Could she bring a large group of theologians to the temple on a site visit to experience a non-Western religious tradition?

If you are looking for an easy trick to improve your life and overall health, than look no further. Drinking lemon water first thing in the morning will have tremendous effects on your health.

Why did Bhima kill Duryodhana unfairly by hitting him below the waist during their final battle in the Mahabharata war?

Jobs Available

The Palace Lodge at the New Vrindaban Community is looking for a few good souls to fill various housekeeping and receptionist paid positions. If you are friendly and upbeat and like people, this could be a good fit for you.

We receive many wonderful guests who are thrilled to be here – many coming for their first time. If you would like to assist Srila Prabhupada in this very important service of facilitating pilgrims that come to New Vrindavan Dhama, please call 304 843 1812. Ask for Rasalila, Gaurabhakta or Vasudeva.

Thank you!

Nancy De Luca Stempel (Nandapatni Dasi) the Executive Director of the Learning Community International, a private school “Without Walls” claims her school’s unique learning style is a good fit for ISKCON children. 

Srimad Bhagvatam Class – His Holiness Candramauli Swami – 23rd July 2014 – 06-07-16

Serving up to 1,200 students a day, five days a week, the Krishna Lunch prasadam distribution program has flourished under Srila Prabhupada's vision. Krishna Lunch is served on the University of Florida's main crossroads, the Plaza of the Americas, which is the very place Srila Prabhupada lectured to over 500 students and faculty on his visit to Gainesville in 1971. 

The cashier may count millions of dollars for his employer, but he does not claim a cent for himself. Similarly, one has to realize that nothing in the world belongs to any individual person, but that everything belongs to the Supreme Lord.

(Srila Prabhupada, Bhagvad Gita-As It Is, 3.30 Purport)

(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player is needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer; if you are using Google Chrome it will automatically play, so if you don't want to listen, mute your speakers.)

Due to a compelling feeling that I needed to go, ten days before the Gita-nagari Rathayatra, I considered traveling there to help promote the Grihastha Vision Team’s new book, “Heart and Soul Connection,” and our September Couple’s Retreat. I don’t frequently have such inspired feelings to travel, but when I do, I try my best to act on them, since important results usually come. As it turned out, no one would have been available to man the table for very long had I not gone, and while I didn’t have a good spot to interface with a lot of people, I was able to talk with devotees throughout the day, sell some books, and interest a few couples in the retreat. Perhaps the biggest treat was spending time with my generous hosts and their family—Krishna serves many purposes with each endeavor!

Packing the night before, I brought the cases of books and my gear downstairs for easy loading in the morning. I am not the best organizer of time, and I ended up going to bed late, and getting up later than I had planning (cause and effect relationship, and thus my saying that “tomorrow begins the night before”). At the same time I have adopted an “expect the unexpected, yet everything always works out for the best” moto into my life and basic game plan for trips, as I am a “go with the flow” type person. This attitude helps me maintain my equilibrium and generally a peaceful disposition.

read more

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 27 June 2014, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.13.17)

In my travels, I visited a devotee’s house and he had quite an amazing altar. On his altar, he had deities of Radha Krsna which were from Vrindavan and 250 years old. In those days, there were a lot of details in the deities – they were very beautiful, they were very ecstatic. They were like in some sort of dancing pose but that was not everything. This devotee he had gone to India, and he had done some service in some of the places where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had performed his pastimes and some families in India, they still have some things that were used by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu directly.

He helped those families to clean these things and to make arrangements to preserve them better. As a result, they gave him little pieces; a piece of a the chadhaar of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a piece of a kaupina of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and a little chip off the shoes from Lord Caitanya which are in the temple in Dhameswara. In Navadvip, there is a temple and we know that when Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyas, he left his shoes for Visnupriya, his wife. She worshiped those shoes and those shoes are still there. The shoes are made of wood and they are in a silver casing. In order to preserve the shoes, they took them out of the silver casing and there were a few tiny pieces of the wood and this devotee got some of those. So he has all kinds of things like that – paraphernalia that were directly used by Caitanya Mahaprabhu and a piece of a turban of Lord Nityananda, directly Nityananda’s turban.

In Jaipur, there is a jacket of Madhu Pandit which made up of tulasi beads, it is very famous. This devotee has a little piece of it. This devotee has some shakti (power) to collect all these things. What an amazing amount of mercy is there on his altar! In this way, coming closer to Krsna. When we are eager to collect mercy, then we are eager in spiritual life. Everyone has some ability, some shakti – something that they can do. Some people distribute books. Some may say, ‘Ah, what will my seven books do?’ But it is not just about the seven books. We go out every day and because the books are distributed through personal contact, a person gets touched by that book and that is meaningful!

In the beginning of spiritual life, we get a little taste and then when we build it up more and more with service; and then Krsna, who is otherwise invisible to us, becomes more visible. If you make such an altar and you have so many holy places, Krsna becomes more manifest. So this is our business, to somehow or other, make arrangements through service – by serving Krsna to make him more manifest in our life then everything becomes meaningful! Otherwise it is difficult you know. Otherwise people look at us and think, ‘Look at them, they give up everything.’ Then we ourselves feel, ‘Look at ourselves. We are giving up everything.’ And all our focus is about giving up, then it is very difficult, how could we give up everything, for how long? But, if we are actually getting absorbed in serving Krsna and we discover more and more about Krsna, then everything gets quite amazing! 

Also on this altar, this devotee had a deity of Lord Jagannatha, just Jagannatha. In Jagannatha Puri, they worshiped Lord Jagannatha in quite a special way – very elaborately! Lord Jagannatha is made of wood and in India there are termites which eat the wood. So anything made of wood is difficult to keep over the years as it just gets destroyed. So, deities of wood are more temporary than deities of stone, obviously. Therefore, there is a practice that approximately almost every nineteen years, a new deity of Jagannatha is carved which replaces the old deity and the old deity is put to rest in the ground by performing a ceremony. And what they do, is that inside Lord Jagannatha, in the region of the heart, somewhere in the trunk, there is a space, a hole, and inside there is what they call a brahma padartha. The brahma padartha is actually a salagram sila which is inside the deity. When the new deity is re-carved, the brahma padartha from the old deity is put inside the new deity.

So then this devotee had Jagannatha and inside there, was this Govardhana sila. So it was quite an altar. Not just some pictures of Krsna and everything is fine to offer something! No, everything was quite filled with special mercy and with special arrangements. That kind of effort is what makes the difference. When we do that then we live with Krsna. It is said in the Upadesamrta or The Nectar of Instruction, that the devotee must always live in Vrindavan by hearing, chanting, remembering and being constantly engaged! In that way, we are entering deeper into the spiritual realm until that becomes our reality and only then can we be peaceful in devotional service, when we live in the spiritual world!

As long as we live in the material world and are practicing a spiritual life, then it will be a struggle. But, we should try to live in a spiritual world and try to serve Krsna nicely there. Like the altar is the spiritual world, so when we serve on the altar, we are serving in the spiritual world. The Bhagavatam is Krsna and when we are reading the Bhagavatam then we are in the spiritual world. The name of Krsna is non-different from Krsna so when we chant the name then we are with Krsna. So, all these things are giving us access to the spiritual world. Sri Vrindavan Dham is the spiritual world. The essence is that we must somehow or other live in the spiritual world and then this Krsna consciousness will be blissful. Then our renunciation, our so called renunciation, will be no renunciation at all it is simply a means of staying free from material entanglement so that the material energy does not take too much of our time!

So it’s been a while since I’ve updated on were I’m at in my door to door home gita study and book distribution.

Firstly I’m still snowed under with demand although I’ve had to rethink and adjust my approach I was going to go chapter by chapter a systematic study but found it hard to keep individuals captivated (the one study style and systematic study does not suit all).

I have therefore gone with a more time consuming individual style allowing the person to choose the subject matter and explore them from the perspective of the Gita and it is proving more appealing whilst demonstrating the practicality of Krishna Consciousness.

One thing that has proved challenging is that some have been asking for the Gita’s perspective on war (naming mainly the conflict in Israel/Gaza) sadly the internet has proved unhelpful given they have quoted some senior devotees who appear to agree that death of civilians is a good thing as long as their muslim’s.

To promote Krishna Consciousness we need to show real understanding of what Krishna is saying to Arjuna on a battlefield, the setting is significant. The essence give up all false identification “I am” to give up all religions and to simply surrender to Krishna.

The comments come from loss a brother who was a member of the Israel’s diffence force a soldier and indeed that is sad Arjuna understood the nature of war how many even his friends and those who instructed him would be killed, for a soldier this is a possibility of war (not all soldiers return home to a heroes welcome). Arjuna was aware of the impact this would have on women who would grieve the loss of husband’s brothers and the social impact this would have. Indeed he didn’t want to fight knowing the grief. But for him not to fight would be more shameful than not.

I however highlight two difference’s:

Firstly the battle took place amongst equals fighting armed soldiers in combat away from a civilian population indeed their was no deaths of women and children (the civilian casualties in WW2 is shocking and never discussed especially in relation to allied bombing), indeed afterward tears were shed for the loss of life and distress placed especially on women as a class.

Secondly krishna was their to reastablish true principles of bhama

That in the evenings all fighting stopped and being gentlemen they could even go into each others camp break bread and discuss events like friends, and indeed making sure the needs of the civilian population was met, yes care in war.

Well I’ll leave it their preaching is always challenging and articals placed on the internet can make it more interesting.

I’ve also had this years Bridgend People’s First Diwali date confirmed the community hall is booked for Friday 24 October as usual it will be daytime from about 10 till 1 I’ve already had a kind offer again to make the cake the centrepiece (after the deities of course)

I’ve made a start on putting together a flier which will be e-mailed out to all group’s and will also invite those currently doing the home Gita course.

Again I will ask for any suggestions and advice from senior experienced devotees I would like to put on a small play but given the limited devotee number’s it will have to be a monologue I’ve struggled to raise any interest or help to date, however I’m hoping given given this is the third Diwali celebration maybe some skilful devotee will take pity on this old fool and help

Well that’s my update

At the St James Junior School in London, the number of students wanting to learn the language has grown by leaps and bounds.

Founded in 1979, Festival of India has been traveling from city to city putting on festivals and preaching to millions of people in the US. Although there's about 50 tons of festival equipment, what really makes the festivals happen are the 12 to 15 devotees that do the tour. This documentary gives us a glimpse of what these young men do and what happens at Hare Krishna Festivals of India.

A little of the history of the Hungarian yatra and questions and answers.

The post Meeting with the European bus tour youth (Part 1) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.