Whilst at Manchester Rathayatra I was told about a wonderful event that was to happen the following day, made even special as it involved some great devotees who have enhanced and brought great joy to my life due to their smiling lotus face and enthusiasm for Krishna Consciousness.
Sadly I found out a little too late to change plans and attend in person however I feel the need to share this wonderful news as HH Mahavishnu Swami accepts 4 amazing devotees as disciples and welcome them to the greatest family in the world that of the devotee’s:
Robert Mavers was given the name Mantra Chaitanya Das
Lee Keen an amazing devotee who always greets me with a smile and no matter how busy always stops for a chat was given the name Lila Jaggannatha Rather Yatra Das, given his great association with Rathayatra
My dear friend Bhaktin Shireen who is just by her presence and smile an inspiration and who’s welcome will always bring you running back for more is now Sri Radha Devi Dasi
And finally Hari Dasi whom I met briefly at Manchester Rathaytra and who’s family is an inspiration as to how all devotee families should be and who’s name encapsulates her completely is Hema Mukhi Devi Dasi
It is a special day that will change their lives forever and so I wish to pass on my blessing’s to them all and pray that Krishna’s love increases in their hearts each day and in this lifetime they return back home.
A notation also is the news that another two lovely devotee friends got initiated Matty was given the name Bhima Das and his wife Lainey was given the name Jai Sri Radha Devi Dasi and I extended the same heart felt blessings
After his stay in Holland, Kadamba Kanana Swami travelled to Serbia and arrived at the Fruska Gauranga Summer Camp on Monday afternoon (7 July). Devotees were eagerly awaiting his visit. On day one, Maharaj gave a short seminar (two lectures) on Sri Caitanya Candramrita by Prabhodananda Sarasvati, which was accompanied by lovely bhajans.
On the second day of his stay, a Ratha Yatra festival was held in Novi Sad, the capital of the province Vojvodina. Together with Sacinandana Swami, Prahladananda Swami, Bir Krishna Goswami and Pankajangri Prabhu, Maharaj led devotees in kirtan along the town’s main streets. The ambassador of India also attended the festival. At one point, near the end of the Ratha Yatra procession, the devotees came to a square where loud music was playing on stage, so Kadamba Kanana Swami started leading a fiery kirtan and all the devotees joined it.
On day three, a ten hour kirtan took place where Maharaj sang twice – once in the morning and again in the evening. After his wonderful evening bhajan, he left us with these thoughts that just like in Bengal, where the discussion stays in the bus throughout the day although those who started it already left the bus, in the same way, we should continue to chant and pray even when he leaves us the next morning.
At three o’clock on Thursday, Maharaj departed for his next destination, Villa Vrindavan in Italy. After the kirtan weekend in Italy, Maharaj visited Radhadesh and participated in the kirtan course. Over this past weekend, he attended the Ratha Yatra in Prague!
1967 July 21: "When you come to India, you must pack nicely and bring my trunk and also the tape recorder and finally the big Royal typewriter. I shall let you know my arrival news from India. Hope this will find you all right." Prabhupada Letters :: 1967
1969 July 21: "Unless a man is Krishna Conscious, his external advancement of knowledge has no value. So your present engagement is very nice; neither I think you can be better educated in the universities. A person who is in Krishna Consciousness is the topmost educated man." Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1969 July 21: "In a Krishna Conscious marriage the basic principle is to serve Krishna nicely and to help the partner advance in spiritual life. Husband and wife are true benefactors for one another and there is no question of any serious conflicts or separation." Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1969 July 21: "The hippy philosophy is nice in that they are disgusted with materialistic life. Therefore they want to renounce. Unfortunately, they have no good leader, neither they have information that there is another beautiful life in Krishna Consciousness." Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1970 July 21: "Early next year some forty of my students will visit Vaisnava temples in India and perform kirtana there. They are observing all the regulative principles and Vaisnava sadacara. People of India as well as the priestly order should receive them properly." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1971 July 21: "Yes, it is encouraging news that he is favorably inclined toward giving us land in Raman Reti. Another nice news is that all of you women are going out daily for preaching. Very good. Continue it whole heartedly." Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
Many people look for tangible and concrete things in life, but it is important to know that the so-called "abstract values" are even more substantial than those perceived through the senses – the true values which we should refer to in our life, such as compassion, freedom, happiness and Love. The empiricists are prone to "measure and touch" happiness, to grasp all the things in the world. Such attitude is not an evil in itself, it becomes such when a man ignore his spiritual essence, sometimes even denying it completely. As far as, according to the positivist criterion, happiness is not tangible, in its absence a person falls into the dark malaise and depression. Thus, lacking the feelings of compassion, charity, devotion to God and affection towards all His creatures, without solidarity with the creation, the experience of love cannot be realized. As a result, one's life turns to be boring and meaningless due to the lack of spiritual awareness. Why do we make mistakes and suffer so much? The reason is that we do not cultivate spiritual values sufficiently. Slowly forgetting these real values that substantiate the human life, one tries to compensate such values by attachments to the worldly projects and goods, as illusory as ephemeral. Thus, while creating one's false identity, a man lives in a sort of a perpetual alienation. In such a state of alienation, oblivious of his spiritual nature and ultimate destination, an individual lose the sense of life. Joy and sorrow, health and disease, birth and death follow each other as impermanent manifestations of existance. Therefore a spiritual being, incarnatedin the material world, despite an overwhelming aspiration for eternity, wisdom and happiness, experiences a considerable frustration, helplessness and fear because of an inability to access the bliss of its ontological nature, while struggling in the duality of the material world. A wise man does not dream of becoming happy due to the impermanet things of this world. In all the traditions, albeit with different words, it was stated that "man cannot live on bread alone." If we learn what to desire and how to value our life, we will become happy enjoying every moment of it, in spite of any psychophysical limit. By the grace of God, living in the prospect of immortality and love for God, a man can overcome loneliness and suffering so to experience fulfillment and spiritual satisfaction, always and everywhere.
Calgary’s 8th Avenue is the most promising thoroughfare for another chariot event. Café sitters and people strolling about could hear a distant booming of the bhangra and mrdanga drums. At 12 sharp, high noon, coconuts were ceremoniously crashed to the pavement sending exploded juices in different directions before the oncoming march of people chanting Hare Krishna.
I think anything ‘new’ bedazzles people. It challenges monotony.
So, for two hours, our parade went straight on 8th Avenue up to the armory, its usual route. This then makes it a pilgrimage because of the nature of the event. It is not a military march, a protest, or an aimless stroll. This festival, known as Ratha Yatra, is a reenactment of Krishna’s consort, Radha, attempting to lure Krishna back to His home rural village of Vrindavan. At least this is one aspect of the event.
Hundreds came to partake in this walk, which to my guess is a simple 3 to 4 kilometre stretch. My interpretation is an attempt to lure people away from their cars and get them on their feet. This is good. To me, Calgary seems to be a real car town, not so pedestrian prone, except for the trails along the Bow River. This is where you find runners, walkers, and cyclers a plenty.
Meanwhile, all went well with the parade, and the truck pulled a flat bed wagon, on which I sat part of the way. I am not getting lazy, it is on that wagon that the musicians sat churning out the mantra, along with a cheerful turbaned Punjabi man who tapped rhythmically on the two ends of his bhangra drum. Outside of the chariot this guy looked the brightest.
Rain has hit the prairies more than once, especially for farmers. It also makes conditions very conducive for mosquito proliferation. This is not everyone’s cup of tea. Our bus’s front window gets plastered by the bugs. The very faithful and dutiful, Dravanaksha, one of our chief drivers, pulled over the large heap of metal with precious cargo inside (22 nice teenage boys), and lathered with huge brush, water and soap, that expansive window, causing bountiful bodies of bugs to slide off. It didn’t take long, though, before a new splatter of bugs replaced the old ones.
Today, I squeezed in 4 kilometres through Willow Grove subdivision, walking with 14 year old Jay. This was not at bug hour, but at midday. Sun and wind were forceful, though. Will anything be other than an onslaught in this world?
At 5:30 PM, the first Chariot Festival for Saskatoon kicked off. It was somewhat chaotic at the start, understandably so, and total order never really manifest, especially at our presentation time at the quaint Lakshmi Narayan temple. The building was crammed, joyfully, by yogis, Hindus, new agers, and bhaktas or devotees of Krishna. It was stuffy and seating was inadequate. However, I am forever proud of what one devotional couple can do in mobilizing a whole crew of people in a town curious as to what The Festival of India, and and Indian chariot for that matter, would look like. Kashyapa and Panchami organized this first event with lots of enthusiasm. The numbers of people that showed up surprised us. People liked what they saw and heard. An improved venue should be on the prairie horizon in the future. Once such a program begins, it is likely to perpetuate. We thank donors and all who physically contributed to the event.
I’m really satisfied with my new pair of Keen shoes. I picked them up from a shop on Danforth Street in Toronto. The clerk charged no tax, perhaps he was charmed by a monk.
I’ve had no issues with breaking into these shoes – no blisters or callouses. They are snug on the feet, but are a trite heavier than Crocs. For short term treks, such as the ones I’m currently going through, these shoes will be fine. Time will tell.
I’m in Regina. Our bus parked at the Husky Gas Station at night on Victoria Ave. when I decided to make my way to the local ashram on Retallack Street. These days, Regina and the province of Saskatchewan, are booming. Natural resources had something to do with that. Of course, it welcomes extra traffic. Road madness hustled hustled along Victoria, which is where I happened to trek. I had the fortune to walk a worn, unconventional trail where regular earth is as comfy for feet as asphalt is for tires. I really was in awe at the insistence of road rage next to me. I was glad when I finally reached the downtown which was quieter, and especially when a young oriental fellow asked about my assumed Buddhism.
“Actually, it’s Hare Krishna, with roots from India, and which also outdates Buddhism.” He gave a nod and then dashed off to cross the street and off to work, I assumed.
Our ashram in Regina is not in the best neighbourhood. When I asked some folks where the nearest drug store is and where I could get a particular prescription drug, everyone seems to know where legal drugs are located, and perhaps, the other kind as well.
Our bus tour group went on to do a performance once again – chanting, magic show with Dattatreya, and our drama, “Little Big Ramayan”. What a feel good program. That’s what this is all about, it is about community strengthening and reinforcement, that our little travelling road show offers. It is also effective as outreach. Newcomers have something experiential. I’m sure guru and Krishna are pleased. Our show was all done in barefoot, though, no shoes required.
The Unitarian Church just off of the Assiniboine River became the venue for our evening devotional show. It’s an impressive place. Limestone blocks give it that stately look. Roger, a member of the church, and our ‘on-site man’, was there to assist us in our preparation. He is just the right kind of guy for the job.
I see the devotion, bhakti, in him. I don’t believe that one group of spiritualists, even our own Krishna movement, has a monopoly on it. I will say that these common ground feelings run through my veins being in the presence of Roger and in such a sacred space.
When we say, “Krishna is everywhere”, just as someone might say, “Brahman is everywhere,” “God is everywhere,” “Divinity is everywhere,” what really is the difference in terms of perception?
Preparation for the evening program all culminated in a great show with an appreciative audience. The space and acoustics were great, as was the layout of the building’s interior.
Some temples I visit are cluttered with mismatched furniture and paraphernalia. This place was tastefully done with its placement of things. Perhaps the attendees felt the space to be cared for and that was one of the reasons for the joy they felt this evening.
Devotion can be applied in all facets of life. It is not limited to how you execute some rituals, or how you put out your mantra. It is an implementation in all you do. Check 9.27 from the Bhagavad Gita.
My friend, Gaura, and I, took a short trek under the spit of rain in Toronto. Not ignoring the dripping trees, we noticed a black cherry tree. Again, this is right in our neighbourhood where such juicy bounties can be found just hanging right there. Strange that humans generally take so little interest in what is so natural and so ‘under your nose’. So be it. Leave the organic stuff for the squirrel, the raccoon, or the odd monk, and let humans access the GMO’d commercial bought, what we call, ‘food’.
Not long after black cherries darkened the lips, Gaura and I returned to the temple ashram and sat for a Bhagavatam class conducted by Kaliyapani, a long time devotee from the UK, reminding all those attending that the goal of life is liberation, freedom from ongoing births in this world. The class was well delivered.
Those of us who have routined ourselves to devotional activities for some years now, put a life of bhakti, devotion, above liberation itself. Just to give an example of what I’m talking about, when I arrived at Thunder Bay for its annual Festival of India, I came to this realization regarding liberation. What did I see there at Marina Park off of Lake Superior? I saw crowds of happy people, about 6,000, engrossed in spiritual culture. The food, the dance, music, pretty clothes (very colourful), incense, spiritual books, popcorn, lemonade and ice cream were all featured. Thunder Bay bursts with bhakti this time of year, and my great fortune to be here serving others by simply giving the message of Krishna Consciousness, allows me to touch the tip of liberation, or better still, to ride on its back. Freedom truly comes from serving and telling others of a better life that is alien to that mundane greedy existence of our modern world.
"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons peform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions." Read more ›
Yesterday the School Preaching Department of ISKCON Mayapur had a Nadia Gaurav Festival, this was a humble endeavor by His Holiness Bhakti Purushottam Swami Maharaj to spread the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to all the educational institutes of Nadia. The books depicting the life history of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were distributed to all the […]
Great afternoon at Temple Street UK. Initiation (diksa) is the transmission of transcendental knowledge (divya-jnana). The meaning of diksa is to surrender and follow the instructions of the genuine spiritual master who is an authorized representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Read more ›
From Govinda Maṅgala by Duhkhi Shyamdas
Duhkhi Shyamdas, also known as Duhkhishyam, lived in the late 1500s. He was a disciple of Srila Shyamananda Pandit and an accomplished poet. He was born in the village Hariharpur in the Kedarkund district, about sixteen miles east of Midnapore. His parents were Srimukha De and Bhavani. Read more ›
Krsna's sublime form is as identical to Him as His holy name. Remembering and chanting Krsna's name immediately invokes His beautiful form in the mind, and both dance there harmoniously like inseparable partners. Read more ›
The New govardhana Family first picnic of the year July 19th 2014. Krsna's sublime form is as identical to Him as His holy name. Remembering and chanting Krsna's name immediately invokes His beautiful form in the mind, and both dance there harmoniously like inseparable partners. Read more ›
Photography Courtesy: Arjun Bhattacharyya. Lord Krsna is the nondual Absolute Object who perfectly manifests Himself through the four features of name, form, qualities and pastimes. Each one of these features is fully potent and able to express Him in totality. They exist and are sustained by the Lord's sandhini potency, and they are eternal and transcendental. As Lord Krsna attracts all living entities, similarly the holy name, which is not different from Him, also attracts everyone. Read more ›
Every day we chant the holy names of the Lord for hours along the beaches of the Baltic Sea coast. Each evening thousands of people attend our festivals and many chant along with us. We are happy and satisfied serving the mission of our glorious spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. “When people properly glorify the Supreme [...]
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 08 June 2014, Stockholm, Sweden, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.14)
We are not against material desires – no problem at all! Material enjoyment and material desires are no problem but no sinful desires and no sinful enjoyment are allowed. That is where the borderline is. There is scope for enjoying the material energy, it is not by renunciation that one can attain the spiritual world; it is by service and by love! By serving Krsna and developing love for Krsna, we can rise above this material energy.
It is only then that we will naturally lose the taste for the lower things. Sinful activities are to be given up and that maybe difficult at first because for a long time, we were accustomed to some forbidden activities. But those activities do not bring happiness, sinful activities bring us suffering and misery. They bring suffering, different types of suffering. So therefore, it is not much to give up really because what we really give up is suffering.
Even pious enjoyment can capture the mind! Even that which is allowed can still capture the mind and one starts dwelling on such enjoyment. Therefore, we see that some wise persons, they leave that also, they say, “Forget it, you know, why even bother with this enjoyment.” Because even desires for material enjoyment, which is allowed, can never fully satisfy the mind anyway!
"Srila Prabhupada, please bless us with a taste for the nectar of the holy name. This is the greatest gift. If we can carry on without your personal presence, but be aware of the power of the name, then it will be good for the whole world. Then we could serve you as we should."
From Here is Srila Prabhupada by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.7.33 during the morning class.
“Lord Siva said, ‘My dear beautiful Parvati, have you seen the greatness of Vaisnavas?’ He was referring to Citraketu. ‘Although you are beautiful and glorious, you cannot compete with the beauty and glory of devotees who are servants of the servants of the Supreme Lord Hari. They are great souls and are not interested in any kind of material happiness.’ Then he said,
narayana-parah sarve na kutascana bibhyati svargapavarga-narakesv api tulyartha-darsinah
‘Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation, and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.’ (SB 6.17.28)
“After Parvati heard Citraketu’s discourse and her husband’s (Siva’s) explanation, she became peaceful; she realized that Citraketu had not actually been offensive to Lord Siva, and she felt ashamed for having misunderstood him and cursed him.”
The problem with mainstream religion such as Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism is that at some point the practitioner has to give up rational thinking and just start to "believe". Rational thinkers including the empirical ones have a field day with such dogmatic belief. Actually, there is lot of unverifiable dogma in science too that forms the very basis of modern science. So there is dogma in both except in science belief or as they call it assumptions only form the basis for a theory but in religion the whole experience is on the mental platform (dogmatic) with no verifiable experience. Therefore as science is advancing especially through tech trinkets or science fiction gadgets, religion is losing its value.
Another reason I think religion is becoming less of a reference point in modern day living is because it has no practical relevance to people. For example what does religion have to say about social ills such as poverty? Is there a strategy to use religious values as espoused in popular scripture to solve poverty? How about household problems such as divorce or domestic violence? Do we have religious solutions? Rarely you will find a pastor or priest heading a panel dealing with social, political or economical problems. So mainstream popular religions are happy just to use God in manner of "belief" versus "non-belief". Beyond this there is little religion can offer to society today. I agree it is important to "believe" in a life beyond life as it provides some hope for the after-life but if mainstream religion does not offer real-world solutions confronting households and society at large, then religion will simply become a hobby of sorts or merely armchair philosophy.
Bhagavad Dharma, on the other hand as enunciaed by modern day saint Srila Prabhupada, provides us with practical methods or strategies to deal with mental, physical and spiritual problems on an individual level, community level and or global level. If we adopt the methods given by Prabhupada rest assured our social, economic and political problems can be solved and simultaneously cultivate our dormant spiritual attraction for God.
Below is a statement that provides a glimpse into the magnanimous thought of Prabhupada and how he saw Bhagavad Dharma's capacity to change the entire world.
"Human society, at the present moment, is not in the darkness of oblivion. It has made rapid progress in the fields of material comforts, education and economic development throughout the entire world. But there is a pinprick somewhere in the social body at large, and therefore there are large-scale quarrels, even over less important issues. There is need of a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship and prosperity with a common cause. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will fill this need, for it is a cultural presentation for the respiritualization of the entire human society" - Srila Prabhupada
We only have to accept his words and practically apply it in our lives.
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Matchless Gifts is looking for a residential devote to preach in London, service include preaching programs, prasad distribution, and keeping the temple in order.
your servant
Parasuram Das
contact me on foodforalluk@gmail.com
Photo is off singer/artist Pete Doherty who kindly donated £2,500 last week
19 July 2014
Cathedral Gardens, Manchester
6th Ratha-yatra festival of chariots
Travelling up for the Welsh Valleys in the pouring rain to an even wetter Manchester City Centre to join the local devotees celebrate their 6th Ratha-yatra festival.
The cart arrived along with some amazing Prasadam by HG Parsharam Das who arrived at the same time as HH Mahavishu Swami and within a few minutes the festival started and Manchester rocked to the sounds of the Holy Names of Krishna.
Given how wet the day was the Manchester clouds broke and the sun came shining through, the children pushed a small Rath-cart whilst those a little older helped pull the slightly bigger cart; a short route but one that definitely was worth the long journey.
The sun shone up till I started my journey back to the Welsh Valleys, but the effort was well worth it, so I would encourage you all to join us all next year for Manchester 7th Ratha-yatra festival, and just to wet your appetite the video of this years should inspire you.
The Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA) has made a blue print to beautify the approach roads leading to the different heritage sites of Vraj, which fall under the Mathura District. While beautifying the approach roads, the surrounding lanes around the heritage temples will also be repaired. The plan also includes the building of public conveniences around the heritage sites. The plan includes Mathura, Vrindavan, Goverdhan, Nand Gaon,Varsana, Gokul and Baldeo. Gokul, Baldeo and Varsana don’t come under the periphery of the MVDA. Varsana will be soon included in the MVDA area, as the proposal of its inclusion has been resolved in its board meeting. Read more ›
"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons peform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions." 
Great afternoon at Temple Street UK. Initiation (diksa) is the transmission of transcendental knowledge (divya-jnana). The meaning of diksa is to surrender and follow the instructions of the genuine spiritual master who is an authorized representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 
From Govinda Maṅgala by Duhkhi Shyamdas
Duhkhi Shyamdas, also known as Duhkhishyam, lived in the late 1500s. He was a disciple of Srila Shyamananda Pandit and an accomplished poet. He was born in the village Hariharpur in the Kedarkund district, about sixteen miles east of Midnapore. His parents were Srimukha De and Bhavani. 
Krsna's sublime form is as identical to Him as His holy name. Remembering and chanting Krsna's name immediately invokes His beautiful form in the mind, and both dance there harmoniously like inseparable partners. 
The New govardhana Family first picnic of the year July 19th 2014. Krsna's sublime form is as identical to Him as His holy name. Remembering and chanting Krsna's name immediately invokes His beautiful form in the mind, and both dance there harmoniously like inseparable partners. 
Photography Courtesy: Arjun Bhattacharyya. Lord Krsna is the nondual Absolute Object who perfectly manifests Himself through the four features of name, form, qualities and pastimes. Each one of these features is fully potent and able to express Him in totality. They exist and are sustained by the Lord's sandhini potency, and they are eternal and transcendental. As Lord Krsna attracts all living entities, similarly the holy name, which is not different from Him, also attracts everyone. 
The Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA) has made a blue print to beautify the approach roads leading to the different heritage sites of Vraj, which fall under the Mathura District. While beautifying the approach roads, the surrounding lanes around the heritage temples will also be repaired. The plan also includes the building of public conveniences around the heritage sites. The plan includes Mathura, Vrindavan, Goverdhan, Nand Gaon,Varsana, Gokul and Baldeo. Gokul, Baldeo and Varsana don’t come under the periphery of the MVDA. Varsana will be soon included in the MVDA area, as the proposal of its inclusion has been resolved in its board meeting.