Planet ISKCON

1971 July 9: "GBC members are simply to see that things are going on. Other centers have got president, secretary, etc. and they are managing separately. That is the formula. And most GBC members are householders. You also may be elected. The position is open to all grhasthas."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 July 9: "Now you GBC members, and other leaders must become very serious to actually give the human kind the greatest welfare. Your task ahead is very huge, but it will be quite simple and easy if you simply do as I am doing."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 July 9: "I think the convent is suitable for us and it is possible we can purchase it. How much financial help you require from the BBT you can talk on this and we should do the needful."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Mahavishnu Swami's Crazy Evening Harinama at Glastonbury 2014
http://youtu.be/aRzOXOV69kw


Glastonbury 2014 Wednesday Eve Street Party!

After hours of kirtan in the Hare Krishna Mantra Experience we took it out onto the streets! Continue reading →

CC Adi 7.1 Lord Caitanya is the Ultimate Goal of Life, Durban, South Africa.mp3

Via Skype conference July 8th. (English/Russian)

The post What relevance do samskaras have to Gaudiya Vaisnavas and other questions appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Conversation with Saumya dd on how ISKCON can care more for its members and devotees who are no longer active appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

After a film company gave young Dom Dwight the task of travelling the world in pursuit of the best ingredients for a cup of coffee, he finally ended up in the Manor's New Gokul farm to sample the cow's creamy milk! After declaring that the Manor's cows were the 'happiest in Britain', he concluded their milk was of the highest quality. The mini documentary received coverage in the Daily Express newspaper. Read more ›

The Great Vishnu, transcendentally situated in a place beyond winning and losing

Three weeks ago I was in Cologne, Germany. We were celebrating the 10th annual Hare Krishna chariot festival there. For four hours we sang and danced our way round the town in the sunshine while members of the team threw rose petals from the top of the wagon, and another handed out smoking sticks of incense. The locals loved it.

It was a Saturday, and the German football fans were getting ready to watch their national team play another game in the sun. Luckily the fans were happy enough to take part in our singing as our procession passed them, standing in groups or filling the pubs noisily to bursting point. They may not have been so accurate with their choice of lyrics to sing back at us, but they cheered us on.

Last night those fans would have been enjoying something close to religious ecstasy, with their 7-1 defeat of Brazil. And last night the Brazilians would have been feeling, no doubt, considerable pain of loss, as their national team passed into football history as losers of the greatest defeat of the World Cup. What an upset for such a footballing nation.

Yet although football is a religion for some, it does not contain all the ingredients that a religion does. Religion, ultimately, is to help us not to become too depressed in our sad moments, and not too elated during our happy ones. Too much of emotional extremes – and not being able to cope in between – is one of the factors leading to stress; and from stress comes depression.

With 53 million prescriptions for depression being handed out in the UK in 2013, there’s an awful lot of people that could do with something to help them get through life. I don’t know what its like in Germany for depression (although there’s probably significantly less depression nationally this morning) but no doubt its comparable. So without medication what is the solution for stress-induced depression?

Religion can also be a cause for mood swings – especially when the religion is the man-made type – as many religions are, but genuine religion, as found in the Bhagavad-gita, will always take us above the ups and downs of life, the winning and losing and the happiness and distress of changing fortunes.

So the people of Brazil can change their fortunes immediately – or their perceptions of their fortunes – by taking to the other thing they like to do, singing and dancing in the streets, and by adding the Hare Krishna chant to their music.

Being based in Machester Temple, starting with Morning Program and class by Sutapa prabhu and others, they will go to a different town each day to do Sankirtan and then in the evening, they would participate in the local Namahatta! The towns include Sheffield, Preston, Liverpool, Bolton and Birmingham before heading back home to the manor. The whole reasoning behind the trip was to make an offering to Srila Prabhupada, who stressed the distribution of his literatures more than anything else in this movement. Read more ›

GITA SEVA BIO I joined ISKCON in 1983. From 1985 I translated Srila Prabhupada's books to Serbo-croat for about 6 years. I also served as a temple cleaner, pot washer, cook, temple president, bhakta leader, communications officer, congregational preacher, teacher, mentor, and life coach. From 2001 I served at ISKCON London as an executive secretary, Life Coach and Counselor System Coordinator.

"I am not in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees engage in glorifying My activities." It is to be understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not leave the company of His devotees. Padma Purana Read more ›

The volunteers at Bhaktivedanta Manor are an integral part of the community. After all, huge and spectacular festivals such as Janmashtami and Diwali would simply be impossible to have without them! Last Easter Weekend 130 volunteers stayed over at Buckland Hall in Brecon, South Wales where they shared a morning program and participated in a variety of outdoor and indoor fun activities, including a quiz. There were also presentations by, Akhandadhi das, Gaura Gopal das, Navadvip Chandra das, Sahil Agarwal (Chair of the Pandava Sena), Saurabh, and VrajaValasini das spoke on Deity worship. Just weeks later 200 adult and 3 Read more ›

Bhakti Caitanya Swami visits and preaches in Chita. Chita is a city and the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia Read more ›

The post July 9th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Srimad Bhagvatam Class – His Holiness Candramauli Swami – 26th June 2014 – 6.05.24

Listen audio...

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

Lecture Podcast

Hare Krishna,
It is our great pleasure to announce that Iskcon Perth’s Gita Group would be commencing another series of Bhagavad Gita Introductory Course this month. The course will run over 5 weeks (1.5 hours each Saturday) and will cover BG’s most important and essential topics in brief.

As we can all see the modern day society is groping with problems of all sorts. We do not know where and how to find solutions. And because of these disturbances of mind caused by ethical and social conflicts, indecisions, confusions, material miseries and sufferings etc, the life has become filled with restlessness, dissatisfaction and unhappiness. As we shall see, the Gita helps us make intelligent decisions in every sphere of our life. Bhagavad Gita is also an ultimate guide to step by step spiritual advancement. It contains words of wisdom and practical teachings that contain the answers to the above-mentioned condition of the present-day individual.

Many people in the past have sought help from this book in various aspects and fields of their life and have become successful in understanding themselves, the Supreme and the Supreme Dharma. Hence we encourage you all to please and register for this course and benefit from this timeless wisdom of Gita.

Bhagavad Gita Intro Course
19th July to 16th August

Day and time: Saturdays, 5 to 6.45pm
Venue: ISKCON Perth, 155-159 Canning Rd, Kalamunda
Course Fee: $25 for 5 sessions including prasadam (payable on or before the start date)

You are welcome to circulate this email to your friends and colleagues who might be interested to join the course.

For registrations please call or email-

Punya Sloka  0402 883 883
Raj Kiran   0410 159 789
Rupavati Radharani   0400 883 841

ip.gitagroup@gmail.com

Regards,
Gita Group

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast

The Lismore City Council committee in charge of the Festival of Lanterns asked the devotees from the Bhakti Centre to participate in their parade by bringing Lord Jagannatha on His Rathayatra chariot.

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

Transcribed by Radhadyuti dd

Our strength is not brahman-tejas (brahminical power). Our strength is to carry the mercy of Sri Caintanya Mahaprabhu. That is our strength. Our strength is to, somehow or the other, chant Hare Krsna and induce others to chant Hare Krsna. To become great qualified brahmanas is not so easy. Srila Prabhupada describes in his purports to the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam that it is an emergency in this age of kali. Therefore for the sake of emergency, we give positions to people although they are not really qualified; we give them positions of brahmanas, we give them positions of sannyasis. Prabhupada said we do this because we need leaders in society. We need leaders! But what is their qualification?

So, this is something to take upon our head: Our acute lack of qualification and the urgency to become more qualified.  We have just been given these positions out of emergency and that for once in our life, we should begin to embrace the principles very seriously and not only four regulative principles but also the principles of vaisnava behaviour and so on. Because that is a brahmana; brahmana means principled life and that is a great challenge for us because it means that we have to change. So Krsna consciousness means a great commitment to change and we are given the systems by which we can change.

 

"We should always be very grate­ful to Krishna for giv­ing us the Hare Krishna mantra, and we should show our grat­i­tude by chant­ing it as much as pos­si­ble. That way, we will bond with Him, which is our heart’s great­est desire."

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Every wedding guest gets a book. A new initiative to distribute books at the Manor weddings is under way. The wedding guests at Bhaktivedanta Manor often includes many people that might not normally visit a temple. They enjoy their visit and often request tours and have many inquiries. Thus the temple wanted to make sure everyone gets a small book to take away with them. Over last two months they have already distributed 2000 books. Read more ›

Vaisnava means one who is able to sit down anywhere, under any conditions, and be happy. He wants only a place to lay down, a little prasadam, and if there's a little service he can do, gladly let me do it for Krishna, that's all. As long as we are thinking I want this, that is not to my liking, or if I adjust things a certain way everything will be better, these thoughts are material. Devotional service is not conditional.

So stop this dreaming state. Try to understand things with the light of your intelligence, and if your are sincere in this way, without a doubt Krishna will give you full facility to understand Him and become freed of the bondage of ignorance. Nowadays it seems many of the older disciples like yourself are having difficulty. If you do not set the example for the younger students and take the responsibility for instructing them in the right line, how will things go on?

Try to always study our books and see our philosophy from different lights of directions, become convinced yourself of this knowledge and without a doubt all of your difficulties of mind will disappear forever and you will see Krishna face-to-face.

- Srila Prabhupada letter July 8 1972

SB 10.37.9 Narada Muni and Lord Krishna, Durban, South Africa.mp3

It is very important that devotees who are travelling must have a travel insurance which will cover any accidents or flight delays or unable to catch your flight due to accident or other issues. This you can buy from your airline company which you are flying or outside insurance companies and this is valid for few days the insurance company will cover you for any accidents, train delays ,baggage lost ,accidents,hospitalization etc. You must have a comprehensive medical insurance (atleast for Rs 3 Lakhs) which will cover you for accidents ,hospitalization etc etc this is non-negotiable .You can do this from india or your home country where you are resident. Do not disregard this as you are important to everyone of us and your life is also precious for us and we always pray for your safety and safety of your family. Read more ›

1966 July 8: "Sasthi. Society's balance $28.00. Electric light fitted today and there was about twenty men attending. It is encouraging. The collection was $15.00. One boy Gerald was very much interested."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1967 July 8: "I am old man. There is no certainty of my life, and at any moment I can collapse and it will not be surprising. But I wish to leave some of my spiritual children who have so kindly joined me in faith and respect so that they may work, and this philosophy of Krishna Consciousness may be broadcast all over the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1969 July 8: "Hare Krishna means 'Oh Hare, Oh Radharani! Oh Krishna! Please engage me in Your service so that I can get relief from the service of Maya.' Service we have to render, and the whole process is to accept the superior quality of service in Krishna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 July 8: "When I see young American boys becoming qualified Brahmins, I am pleased and my Guru Maharaja becomes pleased. So you must live up to the standard. First and foremost is cleanliness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 July 8: "Regarding your question of dancing-show; whatever it may be, it may not deviate from the real Krishna Consciousness program. We are Hari Kirtana men, that's all. We can attract people by some gorgeous show, but inside there must be strict purity and seriousness, otherwise, they shall be attracted by a gorgeous show only."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 July 8: "Vaisnava means one who is able to sit down anywhere, under any condition, and be happy. He wants only a place to lay down, a little prasadam, and if there's a little service he can do, gladly let me do it for Krishna, that's all."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972