Planet ISKCON

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Seminar Podcast

Seminar Podcast

UK's Pandava Sena - a dynamic youth organization - has been established twenty years ago, in 1994, with the aim to protect Bhaktivedanta Manor from being closed down by the government. On April 12th, the Pandava Sena members has spent an evening remembering the historic pastimes, hearing from the original members of Pandava Sena, the stalwarts that headed up the campaign to 'Save the Manor'.

Upon its birth in 1994 out of necessity to protect Bhaktivedanta Manor from closure, the UK’s Pandava Sena youth group was a powerful force. 250 current members and alumni, ranging in age from 14 to 38, packed into Bhaktivedanta Manor’s temple room for its 20th anniversary on April 12th. They were joined by several senior devotees who had been long-time well-wishers.

The Northern European branh of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) announced the release of several new e-books in English and German.

Golden Gauranga and his dear associates glanced at thousands of devotees with eyes full of compassion. There was love in the air and it seemed like thousands of honey bees had finally found the treasure house of nectar.

Europe's first entirely chemical-free housing complex was recently built in the outskirts of Zurich.

A whirling fan offers small relief to the oppressive summer heat of West Bengal. Devotees working on site have accepted the austerity and continue on peacefully with their seva. In between gulps of water and wiping brows, progress on the mold of Gopal Bhatta Goswami punctuates each day with milestones.

The process of creating a deity is involved and detailed. What begins with sketches, moves to clay and ends in bronze requires months, if not years, of dedicated planning. The artists have now reached the fiberglass stage. After being covered in silicon, fiberglass was applied to the form to act as a supportive casing for the remainder of its development. The segments to follow include a wax form for making any necessary adjustments to the figure, a covering of fire proof material and then bronze casting. Gopal Bhatta Goswami is the first of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana to be sculpted and cast. Each juncture of this endeavor has demanded creativity and ingenuity from the art team.

As the sun sets on the Ganga, so the artists greet the evening in their fixed posts…huddled in the silhouette of their beloved Gopal Bhatta Goswami.

Lecture Podcast

Lecture Podcast

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjX9zYd7

The post Tuesday Preaching Program appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The dictionary informs us that racism “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.”

So basically we were on a demo where people wanted to see others beyond the gross bodily concept. Great let’s go a little further to the platform of the soul, so out comes the Prasad, the Holy Name and the books and a couple old rickshaws.

So we cooked up prasad for 1,000 people, subji, rice, cake and fruits. One person made the observation that the speakers at the demo were quite angry and forceful in their presention (as for many people racism can greatly effect their lives, racism because you are black or because you are white etc,) where as the “Harrys” give love.

The short video demonstrates that you don’t need too many resources to preach, cook some prasad and get a few friends together and have a good time.
Enjoy the movie.
Your servant
Parasuram Das

Mantra Lounge Album – Ramanavami – 08.04.2014

New Vrindaban’s Transcendental Throwback Thursday – 04/17/14.

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

This digital photo is a bit fuzzy and it’s challenging, but not impossible, to identify people in it.

This week’s challenge:  We are hoping someone familiar with the photo can share some history as well as the names of some of the many devotees in it.

Extra credit: What year was this photo taken and what was the occasion?

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.

There’s always a lot of action at Sydney temple, even during the week, both in the day and at night time. On my recent visit I was requested to give some classes on temple worship and on the last night I led kirtan between 7 and 9pm.

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

O brother, what kinds of enjoyment have you not already experienced in this world of birth and death? What kind of fame and worship have you not already attained in this world by scholarship, charity, and sacrifice? For today, O friend, simply accept whatever food comes unsought, look to see the good qualities in others and not their faults, do not put yourself forward, but remain obscure and unknown, and continually wander, without any companion, in this beautiful forest of Vrinda?vana.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-14, Translation.]

Please click here for more photos

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

In anticipation of Easter, one of the biggest celebration in the Christian religion, Southern Californian pastor Rick Warren talks about his son’s recent suicide and how people can overcome pain and despair.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 09 March 2014, Sydney, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.6.11)

sarva mahā-guṇa-gaṇa vaiṣṇava-śarīre
kṛṣṇa-bhakte kṛṣṇera guṇa sakali sañcāre (CC Madhya 22.75)

This verse is saying that all the good qualities are present within the body of a vaisnava. All the good qualities of Krsna are actually manifesting in the devotee. So it is interesting that we get the same qualities as Krsna. By serving Krsna, we get the good qualities of Krsna. By serving someone, you get the qualities of that person. It’s logical because whatever is important to that person becomes important to you. So if you serve Krsna, whatever is important to Krsna becomes important to you and the way Krsna conducts himself becomes important to us. In this way, we develop all the good qualities of Krsna by the grace of Krsna.

Sometimes it seems so hard to change. The ‘lower nature’ returns to haunt us, we easily slip back into bad habits, and annoying desires (which we thought were dead and buried) somehow re-appear.

People with cursory knowledge of the Gita’s philosophy sometimes ask: “When the world offers both pleasures and pains, why does the Bhagavad-gita call the world a place of misery?”

China and India have their eye on the energy potential of the vast Brahmaputra river. Will a new wave of "megadams" bring power to the people - or put millions at risk?

By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama.

This video is going to prove those wrong, who think science and faith cannot come together. Watch these guys at Charuvi Design Labs give shape to this unique amalgamation, in the most gigantic form possible. They used 26,500 bells to give shape to their dream of creating a huge Lord Hanuman structure. What’s more, this structure is interactive. When you touch Lord Hanuman’s (feet), the bells start chiming and the whole structure seems to be coming alive. 

found at http://www.dallasobserver.com/slideshow/hare-krishna-festival-of-chariots-41114978/

The root of sin is deliberate disobedience of the laws of nature through disregarding the proprietorship of the Lord. Disobeying the laws of nature or the order of the Lord brings ruin to a human being. Conversely, one who is sober, who knows the laws of nature, and who is not influenced by unnecessary attachment or aversion is sure to be recognized by the Lord and thus become eligible to go back to Godhead, back to the eternal home.

- Srila Prabhupada, Sri Isopanishad Mantra 1