Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Sri Sri Radha Madhava temple in Gianyar, Bali has a large devotee community of nearly 200. Many of the grhasthas have built houses near the temple so they can attend and serve the temple regularly. 

Today was a fabulous day in the Welsh capital Cardiff was Sri Jagannath came and blessed the street’s ending up in Bute Park; here is a small video of the days pastimes for you all to enjoy

Hare Krishna

The post Why sadhu and guru are essential for understanding sastra, the basis of all spiritual practices (Part 1) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

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.