Festival of Lanterns
→ Ramai Swami

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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.

Many New Govardhana devotees also came and everyone pulled the Lord through the streets that were lit with hundreds of lanterns. There was a crowd of about 30,000 along the route and all got the mercy in the form of the Lord’s darshana and the holy name.
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A state of emergency
→ KKSBlog

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

Transcribed by Radhadyuti dd

KKS_seriousOur 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 Will Bond With Him
→ Japa Group


"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

New initiative: Every wedding guest gets a book now in Bhaktivedanta Manor!
→ Dandavats.com

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 ›

Vaishnava is simple at heart
→ Servant of the Servant

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

A note of caution for all visting devotees to Sri Dham Mayapur
→ Dandavats.com

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 ›

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-07-08 16:31:00 →

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

6th Palanquin and Harinam Festival for the year at Sri Jagannatha Mandir , Kuala Lumpur (Album 21 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

On the 28th June Sri Jagannatha Mandir , Kuala Lumpur Harinama Team organized a festival of Harinama Sankirtana ,Palanquin Procession , Book distribution, prasadam distribution in Bandar Kinrara , Puchong ,Selangor . This is the second year at Bandar Kinrara introducing the Holy Name and 35 devotees participated in this Harinama . Devotees , children and residents followed Sri Gaura Nitai and Srila Prabhupada in the palanquin ,singing along in harmony and dancing joyously on the streets with kirtan lead by HG Siva Caitanya Das .Every other house made an offering to Sri Gaura Nitai .It ended at a residence home with an ecstatic kirtan ,bhoga offerring and arati to their Lordships . The harinama was very well received in Bandar Kinrara and it proved to be a potential area for devotees to continue preaching . Read more ›

Mahabharata Talk on YouTube
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das


Earlier this year I gave a talk  about my book Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest,  a ‘fast-paced, cinematic’  rendition of India’s ancient epic. You can watch the first part at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzeWfpdU454 

Mahabharata Talk - 1 of 3
Andy Fraenkel's talk at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling, WV about his book Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest. The book received a Finalist Award from...
YOUTUBE.COM

It’s in three parts - on Youtube search for Andy Fraenkel to access the other two.

The book just received two Finalist Medals from the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.  The term ‘Indie” refers to Independent artists. The book awards are mainly selected from small presses, independent publishers, books published by universities  and self published authors. It’s said, “If its cool, creative and different, it’s Indie.”
My hope is that MahaTEQ will eventually replace William Buck’s ambiguous rendition of Mahabharata that so many professors are accustomed to using. To bring this goal one step closer, I am asking for your help.

If you googled Mahabharata, my site comes up on pg 3. Buck’s book is on page ONE.  Please help MahaTEQ  get more visibility.  I humbly request that  you visit my site -  http://mahabharata-project.com -  to help bring it up to page one next to Buck's. You might also do a search on Google for it.

A big - THANKS!
Ys, Sankirtana Das 






3500 devotees for the Jagannath Ratha Yatra at Bhaktapur, Nepal, 5th July 2014 (Album 422 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Bhaktapur, also Bhadgaon or Khwopa, is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, about eight miles from the capital city, Kathmandu. Bhakta Naresh: Jagannath Ratha Yatra at Bhaktapur 5th July 2014, Saturday. Organized by Iskcon Bhaktapur. Huge number of Participation. About 3500 devotees attended this Ratha Yatra. After Ratha Yatra there was a Stage Program with Dances, Drama, Glories of Lord Jagannath by His Grace Patri Prabhuji, Fire Dance Performance, Small Concert and Video Presentation of the Jagannath Temple located in Bhaktapur that had been taken in care of ISKCON BHAKTAPUR.. Jaya Jagannatha Swami. Read more ›