(Kadamba Kanana Swami, April 2010, Radhadesh, Belgium, Lecture)

Time gradually forces us to rely on Krsna! We can no longer rely on our reflexes; we can no longer rely on our wit as our memory is fading day-by-day. An old man with a T-shirt, I met him in Johannesburg airport some years ago, and it said, “Done it all! Seen it all! Heard it all! But can’t remember it all!” Yes, a great T-shirt!

He said, “You like it? I designed it myself.” Which made it even more authentic, you know. So in this way, old age is certainly a factor in the life of a vaisnava but it works favourably! Whereas for the materialists, it is just limiting him further and further, and diminishing all his means to happiness! But for the devotee, it brings him to the one pointed root of just relying on Krsna, taking shelter of Krsna and realising that it is Krsna who provides!

Rtadhvaja Swami, Jayadvaita Swami, Giriraj Swami, and other devotees and guests were present at this ceremony, in which Giriraj Swami awarded second initiation to Krishna Kirtan Das, from Ventura, and first initiation to Brent Pyeatt, from Bellingham, WA, who received the name Balabhadra Das, and to Nick Pritchard, from LA, who received the name Narottam Das.

“Srila Prabhupada had a press conference during the pandal program in Calcutta. A lot of the reporters were in that atheist-communist mood. One of the reporters asked, ‘What is the use of spending all this money on this big elaborate arrangement? What are you going to achieve by this?’ The implication was that we could have used the money to feed poor people or do some charitable work. Srila Prabhupada replied, ‘What will it achieve? It will achieve hearing. This whole elaborate arrangement that you are seeing has come from hearing. Some young men and women heard from me, and because they heard they have been inspired to make this arrangement.’ And that is a fact—everything begins from hearing. And then, as Srila Prabhupada would say, following his Guru Maharaja, ‘One who hears nicely can speak nicely.’ So, we are not manufacturing anything new, we are simply repeating what we have heard from Srila Prabhupada and our predecessors.”

—Giriraj Swami

Rtadhvaja Swami
Jaidvaita Swami
Giriraj Swami

Here is another inspiring exchange with Srila Prabhupada about Hare Krishna Land, Juhu. —GS

Tamala Krsna: You always came out victorious—always. I have never seen you defeated. In Bombay it was absolutely impossible. It seemed to be impossible.

Prabhupada: Nobody encouraged—not a single man. Who could see that such a big project would come up?

Tamala Krsna: Only you could see that—you and Radha-Rasabihari. I was . . .

Prabhupada: Still, I was determined: “No, this place is very nice.”

Tamala Krsna: They should write a book about that.

Prabhupada: Yes, it is worth writing, history.

(Room Conversation, June 18, 1977, Vrindavan)

Early July morning picking.

The last few weeks have been VERY busy in the gardens. We have had many new volunteers.  A family from Maryland came to work and camp in the garden.  Currently we have two volunteers from WWOOF (world wide opportunities on organic farms) that have been helping with our abundant harvest of green beans.  The Roots & Shoots 4-H Cloverbud Club came and spent a day touring the gardens and picking flowers.  The kids had a wonderful time and learned all about farming and flowers.

Ohio County 4-H club Cloverbuds in the garden

The first week of July we planted four varieties of squash.  This is the last big planting until fall.  Our sweet potatoes are looking great and the vines are filling in all the spaces in their beds. Twice a week we harvest herbs and greens for the temple (lettuce, kale, swiss chard, and arugula).  This week brought us our first full sized red tomatoes and bitter melons. Our current pick list also includes red raspberries, peppers, beets, basil, oregano, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, dill, and tons of green beans.  Two of our local contract growers have been also making weekly deliveries or carrots and cilantro.

Just a few of the green beans we have been picking this week.

Both the Teaching Garden and the Garden of Seven Gates are bursting with beautiful flowers.  The temple staff has been picking hundreds of marigolds for garlands and a variety of flowers for vases. As we move further into the summer harvest we hope to have more volunteers to continue to provide the community with a bounty of vegetables and flowers.

Fresh cut flowers for the temple and palace.

Over the past weeks, the international media has been reporting about an escalating political situation in Ukraine, which is now close to a civil war. The government has launched a massive military offensive on the insurgent-controlled parts of Eastern Ukraine, using heavy weaponry, aviation, and troops to subdue their resistance. Many ISKCON centers and hundreds of devotees are also seriously affected by the conflict.

And here is the link: http://youtu.be/Q7r8Qtxfjrk

The post Never stop chanting appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post July 15th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

BY THE GBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Dear Friends and Members of ISKCON,

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

The tragic news of the deaths of several devotee pilgrims from Russia last month who died when their bus drove off the road and into the Bhagirathi River in the mountainous Himalayan region in India has brought us great sadness.

We send our prayers and support to their families. We pray that those who lost their lives and those that were injured will be given full spiritual protection by the Lord.

Reflecting upon this recent accident, we also remember the terrible plane crash that took the lives of six devotees from the Chowpatty community in Mumbai who were flying to the Himalayas. Both events remind us how dangerous this world is and how we must strive to protect our fellow Vaishnavas from harm.

Years ago, Srila Prabhupada had sober words to share after the death of a devotee who drowned diving and swimming in the dangerous headwaters of the Ganga. Prabhupada instructed that we should remember how fortunate we are to have taken up Krishna Consciousness, and that “we should not take unnecessary risks.”

This order also applies when traveling to visit holy places. While driving is dangerous everywhere in the world, it is especially so in India where more than 100,000 people each year die in automobile accidents.

Some of the isolated Himalayan holy places where ISKCON devotees occasionally visit are particularly dangerous. These include Badrinath, Kedarnath, Muktinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. The roads to these places go for many miles over treacherous curves just inches away from steep, deep gorges. Landslides are common, the roads are poorly maintained, and are often without any guardrails. In addition, drivers are often poorly trained and poorly supervised.

Thus, the Executive Committee of the Governing Body Commission, concerned with the safety of our fellow Vaishnavas, announce the following Advisory Notice. We request that local temple communities post this notice where appropriate and share it through your local websites and newsletters.

Advisory Notice

Devotees and friends of ISKCON are advised to take extra precaution in planning visits to holy places in India, taking all possible steps to ensure the safety of themselves, their families, and their traveling companions.

We particularly advise pilgrims to take caution when visiting isolated holy places in the mountainous regions in India including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Muktinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. This is especially true for new members and visitors to India, and for devotees organizing tours for others.

Anyone who chooses to visit these places should do so only after fully deliberating upon the risks involved.

India is full of spiritual havens connected with the pastimes of Lord Krishna, Lord Caitanya, and the Lord’s many avatars and devotees. Visits to most of these tirthas are relatively safe; some are less so.

Thus, remembering Srila Prabhupada’s loving words “to not take unnecessary risks,” we strongly advise that ISKCON members apply extra care and caution while visiting any of these holy places, and we pray always for your safety.

GBC Executive Committee July 15, 2014

Anuttama das, Chairman
Praghosa das
Sesa das

2014 07 12 Chetana Festival Chat With God Kalindi Mataji ISKCON Chowpatty

Listen audio...

This talk is a part of the "Fascinating Mahabharata Characters" series. To know more about this course, please visit: bhakticourses.com

Just Keep Going?

Most of the time, if you are struggling to practice bhakti-yoga you will hear this advice: “Don’t give up, just keep going.”

There is some value in this, but also a flaw.

If a monkey is struggling to pull a banana out of a jar, we can praise the virtue of his tenacity, and that tenacity might even evoke the compassion of an onlooker — but tenacity itself doesn’t get the banana out of the jar.

In any endeavor, including bhakti-sādhana, brute-force is not as wise as efficiency.

We can try to sweat it out and keep trying to chant more (and more) “rounds” of mantras. But it would become easy to chant hundreds of rounds if we had strong attraction to Krishna. So where should the effort primarily go, to the number of rounds or to the quality of attraction to Krishna?

The distinction is not always so clear, because one of the ways to develop more attraction to Krishna is to chant his name more often. But it is really a question of focus. The focus should not be on upholding an externally measurable huge quota of sādhana. The focus should be on deepening our actual feelings of affection for Śrī Krishna.

This is why, next to chanting Krishna’s name, the most important of all sādhanas is to hear the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam from those who can relish its beauty. Exposing ourselves to the beauty of Krishna revealed by the realized speakers of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam will cause us to fall in love, really, with Krishna. Then, with relatively little effort, our chanting will become attentive, emotive, and copious!

So chant an amount that is a realistic challenge for your current level of realizing the beauty of Krishna, and simultaneously hear the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam every day from people who are clearly, deeply in love with Krishna and cannot stop discussing him.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 April 2014, Durban, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.34)

Transcribed by Radhadyuti dd 

It is interesting that in the purports of the Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhuapda describes the mode of goodness. Then Srila Prabhupada does not say that you have to be in the mode of goodness, which is impossible. How can we be in the mode of goodness? He says you have to associate with the mode of goodness! So, that we can do!

And by associating in the mode of goodness, we cultivate the mode of goodness. Of course, there are so many rules – sit properly, eat properly, chant properly… everything properly, properly, properly. But this willingness to change must be there. That sense of rebelliousness, “I want to do it my way,” is a sign of passion and ignorance.

We see that the demigods are situated in the mode of goodness; they are always trying to do things properly. We read scriptures and that willingness must be there:

We must approach a bonafide spiritual master in a humble and submissive mood. A mood willing to hear and willing to change!

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast