(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!
Indradyumna Swami: The day before Polish Woodstock we had Ratha Yatra through the center of the field where 700,000 people are slowly setting up camp. Afterwards people flowed towards our Krsna's Village of Peace to enjoy kirtan, prasada and a variety of events. Madhumangala das entertained 8 thousand people in our large tent with his band. Kirtan went on in our kirtan tent until 2 am. 
MILK IN INDIA, is not just a drink, it is an elixir. For almost every Indian — rich or poor — the idea of a daily glass of milk holds a potent and emotional charge. It speaks of parental devotion, well-being and health. This faith in the power of milk is well-grounded: it is the primary nutrient for the young and the old. Nearly 63 percent of animal protein in the Indian diet comes from dairy products. For vegetarians, there is simply no alternative. India, though being the largest producer of milk, is known for the quantity of cows rather than the high yield and quality of them. Thus the project, named 'Rashritya Gokul Mission', aims to promote locally bred cows as they are better suited for the Indian climate and are even heat resistant. Thus by switching to purely locally bred cows over cross-bred, it aims to increase the output of milk. 
Salem is a city and a municipal corporation in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the parampara system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self? SB 10.1.4 
Haryana Cabinet, which met under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today, approved the proposal to allot six acres of land belonging to Kurukshetra Development Board to ISKCON.
Earlier, it was decided that six acres of land of HIRMI situated in village Raogarh, tehsil Thanesar will be transferred to Kurukshetra Development Board free of cost and thereafter it would be transferred by Kurukshetra Development Board to ISKCON at collector rate. However, ISKCON would hand over the land earlier allotted at Jyotisar to Kurukshetra Development Board. As the HIRMI has transferred the said land free of cost to Kurukshetra Development Board, now the land would be allotted to ISKCON for a lease period of 99 years at a rate of Rs 38 lakh per acre. 
The tribunal had last year restrained the Uttar Pradesh government from cutting trees in the holy town of Govardhan.
The tribunal's order came after Mathura-based organisation Giriraj Parikrama Sanrakshan Sansthan filed photographs showing that municipal solid waste is being thrown on the roads as well on the sites of Govardhan Parvat.
The petition had sought a ban on cutting of trees in 3.9 hectare reserved forest land in Govardhan for widening of a mud road at the pilgrimage site. 
Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
For the first time in a long time, I feel I don't have mind peace. I live in Valparaíso Chile, and in April of this year there was a giant fire in the city, where 5000 houses were burn, among them was mine. It was a horrible experience. This was the first time I stopped chanting for some days, because every thing we had to do. I've have been chanting for 7 or 8 years.
I'm not mad at Krishna in anyway, I know it's just the material energy working as it's supposed to do. But besides I can feel that way, my family doesn't, and that's why I am so troubled. In my house my dad also had his work source, a not so small serigraphy studio. So in one day my family had no money and nowhere to sleep. Plus, we rescue 2 of our cats, but I lost my beloved one in the fire.
It is very difficult see my family like this, I do all I can but the money I make from my work is not enough. This problem has me overthinking, my rounds are not the same, I can't really focus. I feel like I would do anything for not thinking in that horrible day, but I can't.
I wish you could give me some advice. If someone passed through something similar, please let me know what you did. Any kind words will help.
Thank you. Bolo Hari. 
There may be discrepancies in pronouncing the mantras and observing the regulative principles, and, moreover, there may be discrepancies in regard to time, place, person and paraphernalia. But when Your Lordship's holy name is chanted, everything becomes faultless. SB 8.23.16 
Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society. SB 6.3.22 
Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Aryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required. SB 3.33.7 
O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge. SB 2.1.11 
The VIHE in Vrindavan was established to fulfill Srila Prabhupada's desire for an educational institute in Vrindavana. The VIHE in the holy Dhama provides an ideal facility and atmosphere for you to improve your sadhana, develop your devotional qualities, engage in serious study, associate with senior devotees, and receive training in practical skills relevant to management and preaching.
The VIHE also aims to preserve and disseminate standards Srila Prabhupada set for acting in Krishna consciousness and to deepen devotee's understanding, realization and appreciation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and movement. Thus, the Krishna conscious culture and values that Srila Prabhupada gave us can be passed on to successive generations. All courses are well researched and taught by senior devotees who have a deep understanding of the subject.