Planet ISKCON

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Above: Wakey wakey campers! Reading Music Festival, 1976. After two years on tambourine, I had been promoted to chief drum-banger.

This year, on a sunny afternoon in August, I will be celebrating my 40th anniversary of kirtan. On the sunny afternoon of August 24th, 1974 I sat down with a group of Hare Krishna devotees and had my first ever kirtan experience. They’d camped up in a field and, like they do, let me sit with them and try to follow along with the words.There are only three words, so it wasn’t too hard to sing along, but you do have to remember to sing them in the right order.

At some point, just when I was becoming filled with all sorts of new feelings I couldn’t yet comprehend, someone handed me a tambourine.I’d been accepted, I felt, as part of the group and thought to myself: “I’m playing tambourine with the members of the Radha Krishna Temple – cool.” (Or whatever word like ‘cool’ was in vogue at the time)

So for the past 40 years I’ve been singing kirtan. I have to tell you something: it works. Yes, it doesn’t quite make sense, just repeating three words over and over again. And yes,it should have driven me to distraction by now. But it hasn’t. Quite the reverse.

In fact, kirtan has been the solace of my life, the undisputed mood-lifter, the peaceful sound and the sonic energizer – all at the same time. I have been in kirtans in fields and forests, up mountains, down streets on foot and up rivers in boats. I’ve sung kirtan on the telly, in the homes and halls of the great and good of the land, and ‘performed’ it at pop festivals. I’ve sung in the pouring rain and the scorching sun. Its been the soundtrack of my life and of many thousands who I’ve known.

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Although we may die at any time in youth or old age, the older one is the more possibility exists that this day will be our last in our current body. Many accounts have been written about the regrets of those on their death beds. Most people don’t bemoan their lack of social standing, accumulated money, or accomplishments, but are focused on feelings of regret about how they used their time, or their unresolved conflicts in close relationships. Such unsettled emotions are centered on actions they did, or should have done, words they said, or should have said, etc. Our sense of regret or incompleteness partially makes up our desires which combine with our good and bad deeds to fuel our future births.

In my training in hospice work one service we learned to offer to the dying was to help them make peace with their past, or we could say, to have a life review before death. Eastern religious traditions speak about how at the time of death one experiences a panoramic life review from the soul perspective. This perspective has been strengthened for some people by the convincing testimony of those having near-death experiences. At such a time one can experience what is truly important (according to the level of one’s wisdom and guidance), and are reminded that whatever we do comes back to us in kind, and that there is a higher purpose to life than one’s personal selfish agenda. Therefore, the time we have in our life is a very valuable asset and needs to be used in the best possible way for the advantage of all. Hierarchies of benefits exist, from levels of material blessings to planes of spiritual obtainment, culminating in prema, or pure love for God.

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Sound- Dwarkadhish Das, Melody - George Formby, Lyrics - Mahamantra Das, Idea, vocal and ukulele - Parshuram Das, Video - DJ Achintya.

Celibacy is no longer a vexatious condition of religious life. It is now a considered choice individuals are exerting -- those not of the cloth or cloister but choosing nevertheless to test the frontiers of self-restraint and redirect their Eros towards other ends.

An innovative presentation of the law of karma by the Bharatnatyam dance group Maya choreographed by Dakshina Vaidyanathan performed at  TEDxTughlaqRd.

Drone flight over. A stunning video of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Temple in Washington DC, USA.

Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami in Saint-Petersburg (Russia) – Maha Kirtan (22.06.14)

New Vrindaban’s Transcendental Throwback Thursday – 07/10/14.

Each week we highlight an earlier era of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

This week’s challenge: There are at least a dozen recognizable faces in this photo. How many can you identify?

Extra credit: What’s the celebration and when was it?

What to do: Post your guesses on the “who, what, when, where & why” in the comment section at the New Vrindaban Facebook Page.

Technical stuff: We share a photo Thursday and confirm known details Sunday. Let’s keep it light and have a bit of fun!

Special request: If you have a photo showing New Vrindaban devotees in action, share it with us and we’ll use it in a future posting.

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

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 21 December 2010, Cape Town, South Africa, Lecture at house program)

The family of vaisnavas is somehow or other our support. Prabhupada made this movement a very personal one. In the beginning, we overlook how important relationships are because we are not used to it. In the material world, when a relationship does not work, you just cut it off and try another one… then another one and another one.

Now I’m not talking just about friendships. So many friends came and went in our lives in the material world but spiritual relationships are very different. Spiritual friendships are different because devotees are very rare. Therefore, devotees are precious and the relationship with the devotee is precious and once broken it is difficult to repair; not like a broken pot that can be glued back together.

Therefore with devotees we cannot just afford the mentality that if it does not work, get rid of this one and get another one! Because the day will come when we will need all the devotees. The day will come when we will very much depend on devotees because the vaisnavas are sustaining us in our spiritual life and without them it becomes so difficult. The day will come when all artificial behavior in our relationships will have to go because that cannot sustain us and time will test us. As they say, “It all comes out in the wash!” It means that sooner or later, it has to get real.

In the beginning, maybe one can have a Shakespearean performance of Krsna consciousness but at one point we need genuine relationships and genuine friendships. This is very important therefore we must be very careful to make sure we avoid unpleasant exchanges between devotees even for the sake of service. Sometimes, it may be necessary that a devotee is not doing it proper and you have to straighten him out.

We sometimes have to chastise but it is an unfortunate thing to do because in the course of it we may break a relationship. That is just one thought that comes to my mind: friendship between vaisnavas. Friendship is not just by declaration, not just Facebook friends or face-value friends, friendship means more.

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