Planet ISKCON

1972 June 20: "If we are able to make a whole generation of our children into fine Krsna Conscious preachers, that will be the glory of our movement. But if we neglect or if we lose even one Vaisnava - that is very great loss."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

The famous rock group the Scorpions singing "Jaya Guruveva" (Across the Universe).

1975 June 20: "It is my habit to see that money is not being squandered. We are collecting with great effort, if money is spent unnecessarily, I feel very badly. Now I am very much doubtful. I think there has been some cheating."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 20: "Yes, I shall arrange to pay. Don't worry. This I have already said. Why are you speaking of a loan when you have already taken two lakhs from the Book Fund? What do you mean that you want another loan?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 20: "My mission started by selling my books, and still whatever money we are getting it is coming from selling my books. You simply have to apply your brain to selling my books - then you will have plenty of money."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

On Sunday 15 June, London's most famous landmarks were brought to life in a dazzling display of sound, music and colour, as thousands of devotees came to the streets of London's West End to celebrate the 46th annual Rathayatra festival. Three chariots began their journey in Hyde Park and were pulled by hand to greet a huge gathering of devotees, visitors and tourists in the city's iconic Trafalgar Square. 

Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction message and I will be happy to make you a member:

rasa108 ::_::{.at.}::_:: gmail dot com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player is needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer; if you are using Google Chrome it will automatically play, so if you don't want to listen, mute your speakers.)

“Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?" - PAUL MC CARTNEY; JOHN LENNON

When I was 64, I first published this blog. Today, June 22, is my 67th birthday, and I find the message I share here even more important, as over the last year and a half I have had to literally stare death in the face. Growing up in the 1960s I naturally remember the Beetle’s song, “When I’m Sixty-Four.” Yeah, after 47 years of bhakti practice those old songs (and ad jingles!) are still floating around in my subconscious mind. This Beetle’s ballad is a love song about staying together despite aging that Paul McCartney wrote at the advanced age of 16. As a person involved in marital and premarital education this is an important topic for me (and my wife of 24 years). When I was 16 I couldn’t even imagine being 25, what to speak of 64! I was an only child with very limited experience with older persons. After living in Berkeley, California for a few years and then moving into the temple, when we went to San Francisco for street sankirtan (group chanting), I was taken back seeing all the old people! Berkeley is a college town and I was hanging out with only the young, and when I moved into the temple, the oldest person was 23

In any case, on my birthday, I thought the subject of aging, suffering, and being 64--and now 67--would be a good blog topic. Of course, most anything can be grist for the writer’s mill (we usually notice those things we are focused on), but this one was a natural candidate. Thus I wanted to find the words to the Beetle’s song, but before I began my Internet search, my dear friend, Dulal-Chandra Prabhu, sent me the lyrics and wished me a happy birthday. I wished him a happy birthday back, since his birthday is the same as mine—with THE SAME YEAR! How interesting and rare is that—especially among close friends! In 2010 we celebrated our 60th birthday together, and amidst fun and games, we went around the room to compile a list of shared personality traits and devotional histories. Though we have a number of differences, our wives and friends found an amazing amount of shared traits and experiences.

My general thoughts when writing are to share what I am going through, experiencing, thinking about, or inspired by, in a way that I pray may have relevance to you, my readers. Birth, disease, old age, and death, being shared by all embodied beings, are very rich and important topics. Called the four-fold, or four, miseries of material life, they are listed in the Bhagavad-gita verses (8-12) from the 13th chapter, as part of understanding the process of spiritual knowledge.

Since the soul is eternal and is never born or dies, speaking of these four miseries isn’t considered by devotees to be morbid or a topic to avoid in polite conversation.

read more

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 09 May 2014, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England, Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.23.36)

One can never be complacent! One can never think, “I’m there, first initiation! Yeah. I’m there, second initiation! You know, bra-ma-na!” and casually forget to put the brahmin thread back, “Oh, it is still hanging there (on the ear).” (Laughing). And then, you know – sannyasa!

Somehow, I received sannyasa here at Bhaktivedanta Manor, in this very spot. I tell you the truth – the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime (Laughter). So here we are, back once again. I remember sitting in the yajna and I was sweating. It was not because of the heat of the fire, it was because of the heat of the vow!

I was 44 years old and I thought to myself, “You are always too bold, always! You always get yourself in big trouble and this time, you really did it!” (Laughter) “Are you really sure that you want to go through with this!? It will look so stupid if you stand up and walk away right now.”  So I sat through it and I took the danda although my heart was pounding and yes, it was done; there I was!

A TV crew was also here and then they asked me afterwards, “Do you feel any different now?” Well, I sure did and I told them, “It is just like when someone gets married. When someone gets married and you ask them straight after the marriage if it feels any different. Yes, it does, now you have responsibility.”

So, once you have this danda you have this responsibility. So, after the third initiation, you know, three stars. And then, over time you become a guru, then four stars. And then you get tempted to want a fifth star – I am God! (Laughter)

So it is hard but realize that sannyasa is just an opportunity, a good opportunity, to finally get serious about spiritual life. That is what it is!

 

Giriraj Swami and devotees in Carpinteria and Durban shared memories and realizations of Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja via Skype.

“One of the main things I learned from Goswami Maharaja was that love is not just sentimental words and offering obeisances and garlands but it is expressed in the details of one’s service—details like serving one dhokla at a time to ensure that you get them warm, and to not speculate. I was thinking to bring a few at a time so I could leave you and Goswami Maharaja alone to discuss privately as far as possible, but I was speculating, and he immediately cut through all of that. He taught us not to speculate and to show our love in the details of our service.

—Swarup Damodar das

 

Various Devotees
Giriraj Swami

This is my latest video, although I’ve not been doing so many giving a flavor of this years London Rathayatra.

Filmed on my smartphone.
Enjoy

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS Founder-Ācārya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda The Following Lecture On Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4, Chapter 6, Brahmā Satisfies Lord Śiva, Text 28, Was Given By His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami In Iskcon Ujjain, India. Oṁ namo bhagavate Vāsudevāya Oṁ namo bhagavate Vāsudevāya Oṁ namo bhagavate Vāsudevāya Fourth Canto Chapter 6:(...)

With Gopal Krishna Goswami. Read more ›

On Sunday 15 June, London's most famous landmarks were brought to life in a dazzling display of sound, music and colour, as thousands of devotees from across the country came to the streets of London's West End to celebrate the 46th annual Rathayatra festival. Three beautifully decorated Rathayatra chariots began their journey in Hyde Park and were pulled by hand to greet a huge gathering of devotees, visitors and tourists in the city's iconic Trafalgar Square. 

As an author, I am often asked questions about the different kinds of writing that devotees can engage in. One genre whose authenticity comes up for questioning is the genre of autobiographical writing in Vaishnavism. The most prominent example of this kind of writing is The Journey Home by His Holiness Radhanath Maharaj, but several other devotees have also written or are writing their memoirs or autobiographies e.g. Diary of a Traveling Monk by His Holiness Indradyumna Swami, Lost and Found in India by Braja Sevika Devi Dasi and Urban Monk by Gadadhar Pandit Das.

In this article, I address common questions about autobiographical writing.

Are there any precedents for this kind of writing in Vaishnavism?

Yes, there are many.

Some examples of sharing one's own story of spiritual evolution to encourage others on the path of spiritual evolution are:

1. In the Bhagavatam (1.4 and 1.5), Narada Muni shares his own story with Vyasadeva

2. In the Mahabharata (Vana Parva), Marakandeya Rishi shares his story with the Pandavas, Narada Muni and even Krishna himself.

3. In the Gaudiya tradition, Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote his Sva-likhita Jivani, a significant portion of which deals with his pre-devotional and non-devotional life.

4. In ISKCON's official magazine, Back to Godhead, Srila Prabhupada encouraged devotees to share their stories in the feature "How I came to Krishna consciousness."

The scriptural examples refer to great souls. Today’s devotees are not on their level, so how can the example of those souls be relevant?

Then whose examples would be relevant? Scriptural precedents of neophyte devotees? That raises the obvious question: would scripture record the example of some neophyte seeker who never rose to the level of becoming exalted? And even if somehow scripture did contain such an example, that example would be subject to dismissal with the charge: this was just a neophyte devotee and so was not an example to be followed.

So the net reasoning becomes: the advanced devotee is too advanced to be an example for us and the neophyte devotee is too neophyte to be an example for us. Such an argument is a lose-lose discussion, something like a rigged toss: Heads I win; tails you lose. Does that sound reasonable?

While scripture cautions us against imitating great souls, that caution is primarily when those souls do something against standard scriptural moral or spiritual principles eg. Shiva drinking bhang and Krishna dancing with the gopis. But as a matter of general principle, scripture tells us that the behaviour of great souls is what we have to follow e.g. Bhagavad-gita 3.21 yad yad acharati shreshtas ... and Mahabharata Vana Parva 313.117 mahajano yena gatah sa panthah.. 

So unless scripture gives a specific caveat against doing something that the great souls have done, we can reasonably and safely consider scriptural precedents as examples to be emulated. While emulating their example, we don’t claim equality in spiritual stature with those great souls; we simply gain authorization for following in their footsteps, while acknowledging that our footsteps are lilliputian as compared to their giant footsteps.

 Would such autobiographical books focus on the author and not convey the essence of Krishna consciousness?

That’s a possibility, but it’s by no means an inevitability.

Without a clearly stated and universally accepted definition of what comprises the essence, this charge is vague and insubstantial. To understand what the essence is, ISKCON devotees can rely primarily on the books of Srila Prabhupada. Let’s consider the example of The Journey Home. It talks about the difference between the body and the soul, the chanting of the holy names including specifically the Hare Krishna mahamantra, the superiority of bhakti-yoga over other forms of yoga and indeed over other forms of sadhana, the four regulative principles, Krishna as the sweetest manifestation of divinity higher than the impersonal brahman, the supreme charm of Vraja and the unparalleled compassion of the pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada. Anyone who has studied the teachings of Srila Prabhupada can easily recognize that these are the essence of the message that he gave to the world through his books.

Srila Prabhupada was resourceful in using outreach strategies that could ensure that Krishna's message reached the world. Thus, whereas his spiritual master's Western outreach was centered on the book "Sri Krishna Chaitanya" by Nishikant Sanyal, he chose to center his own outreach on the Bhagavad Gita. And he encouraged his followers to be similarly resourceful: to present the message he gave in the language of the people. Thus, for example, he asked devotee-scientists to present our philosophy in scientific language. And he approved wholeheartedly books such as "The Scientific Basis of Krishna consciousness" by Dr T D Singh (Bhakti Swarupa Damodar Maharaj) - and even wanted that book to be distributed vigorously. If one is obsessed with imagining that the essence of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is something esoteric, then this book would fall far short of such an essence: it focused primarily on one point - the existence and intelligence of God, Krishna, as the Supreme Scientist. In fact, in terms of coverage of essential themes of Krishna consciousness, Journey Home would score far higher than The Scientific Basis of Krishna Consciousness. This comparison is not meant in any way to minimize the latter book, but simply to point out that books based on contextual outreach strategies have been recommended and appreciated by our founder-acharya.

If one neglects this strategic dynamism demonstrated by our founder-acharya and stays locked in some frozen definition of the essence of Krishna consciousness, then one may end up committing offenses to many of Prabhupada's learned and dedicated followers, who by their books have brought intellectual respectability to our tradition amidst the contemporary intellectual ethos. Some such books are Searching for Vedic India by Devamrita Maharaj, Mechanistic and Non-mechansitic Science by Sadaputa Prabhu and Human Devolution by Drutakarma Prabhu. What to speak of offending venerable Prabhupada's followers, one may even end up offending Prabhupada himself, because some of his books such as "Easy Journey to Other Planets" could be accused of not conveying the core truths of Krishna consciousness.

Wouldn’t such writing be a form of self-glorification that is opposite to the principles of bhakti?

Yes, it’s possible. But writing autobiographically doesn’t necessarily have to be self-glorificatory. In fact, when an author uses an autobiography as a vehicle to go on an ego trip, such autobiographies rarely become popular, even in the mainstream culture - hardly anyone likes an egotist. To be done effectively, autobiographical writing is a delicate and elusive skill that has to be learnt by finding. developing and sticking to a non-bragging voice.

Moreover, the essential principle of bhakti is neither self-glorification nor self-condemnation, but Krishna-glorification – and doing whatever is required for that.

The Mahabharata on one had condemns self-glorification as poison in the Karna Parva and on the other hand contains many instances of self-glorification by even virtuous characters, whenever the context calls for it. For example, Arjuna praises his own prowess when Yudhisthira asks him in the Bhishma Parva how quickly he can defeat the Kaurava forces; when Krishna cautions him in the Drona Parva that reaching Jayadratha on the fourteenth day would be a near-impossible task; and when (during the same incident in the Karna Parva that contains the condemnation of self-glorification) Arjuna assures Yudhisthira that he will soon slay Karna.

What to speak of the Mahabharata, even the amala-purana, the Bhagavatam contains several instances of self-glorification such as when Bhishma calls himself a pure devotee (1.9.22: ekanta bhakteshu).

The purpose of a devotee's speech is neither self-glorification nor self-vilification, but Krishna-glorification. If Krishna's purpose can be served by glorifying one's own abilities so as to raise the morale of others in Krishna's service (as is done by Arjuna and Bhishma), then self-glorification can also be used according to the principle of yukta-vairagya.

 What is the need for this kind of autobiographical writing?

Because it has special authenticity in the contemporary cultural-intellectual ethos known as post-modernism.

In modern times (which are now considered outdated in the West), people there had faith in reason and science, which they considered as reliable means to certain knowledge. Prior to modern times, people had faith in revelation and scripture, but that faith was assaulted by science which apparently showed certain mistakes in the biblical scriptures. However, science didn’t reign on the human intellect for long; the influential works of historians of science like Thomas Kuhn have shown how science is not objective and how scientific theories are formulated, popularized and accepted based on the prevailing cultural and intellectual biases. Consequently, people in today’s post-modern times have faith neither in science nor in scripture as a reliable source of knowledge; they view with deep suspicion any source of knowledge that claims to be absolute. They consider all claims to final, indisputable knowledge as flawed and base their lives solely on experience, and so consider as authentic those teachers who speak based not on dogma but on experience. The enduring popularity of “Autobiography of a Yogi” is a testimony to this attractiveness of experiential spirituality. Many Mayavadis, Buddhists and Christians have popularized their philosophy by presenting it according to post-modern sensibilities, but not many people have done the same for Gaudiya Vaishnavism. In fact, the post-modernist fascination with experiential spirituality opens a great opportunity for us to share Krishna consciousness, because bhakti-yoga is highly experiential; it gives direct perception of the self by realization (pratyakshavagamam, Bhagavad-gita 9.2). Acknowledging this experiential potency of bhakti, Sanatana Goswami enthrones experience as the highest of all pramanas (ways of acquiring knowledge).

So sharing our experiences in our search for bhakti and the practice of bhakti enables us to tap a hitherto untapped opportunity to share Krishna consciousness opened by post-modernism. Through this genre, we can get around the post-modernist phobia towards value judgments and exclusivist ideologies, and skillfully and sensitively assist people to gain appreciation for the bhakti core of Krishna consciousness.

 

On Monday, June 6th, a wonderful ceremony was held to celebrate the graduation of six students from Sri Mayapur International School. Gourangi Gandharvika dd, Ananga Gopi dd, Shevaanni Pillai, Vrinda Carol, Bhavatarini Moreira and Nandarani Dasi have all successfully completed their Advanced level education (A-levels) in accordance with Cambridge International Examinations. The program commenced with […]

The post Recognizing our SMIS Graduates appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post June 19th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post Könyves András asks a series of questions about lying and honesty appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

1968 June 19: "Your sentiments expressed in this letter are transcendentally relished. Certainly you are mine and I am Krishna's, therefore you are also Krishna's. By following the disciplic succession, beginning from Krishna, everything becomes ultimately connected with Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1970 June 19: "The first and foremost thing is regular printing of our Back to Godhead magazines. Our next printing will be KRSNA, second volume, minimum 5,000 copies, but if we get good response on the first volume, then it may be increased to 10,000 copies."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 June 19: "I wish to send some free copies of KRSNA Book to George Harrison for distribution amongst his intimate friends as he likes. Recently I have recorded some songs. If you so desire, I can send them for George."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 June 19: "Now my desire is that I completely devote my time in the matter of writing and translating books, and arrangement should now be done that our Society be managed automatically. I think we should have a central governing body for dealing with important matters."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1972 June 19: "Now we have got so many students and so many temples but I am fearful that if we expand too much in this way that we shall become weakened and gradually the whole thing will become lost."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 19: "Just like milk. We may thin it more and more with water for cheating the customer, but in the end it will cease to be any longer milk. Better to boil the milk now very vigorously and make it thick and sweet, that is the best process."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 19: "You must encourage the students to read our books as much as possible. Let us concentrate on training our devotees very thoroughly by discussing always and in so many ways instruct them in the right understanding."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 June 19: "A difficulty has arisen in that we have not yet received visa permission from the Australian government. Do not go outside of India. I want to discuss on some important subject matter and want to meet you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

As the soccer world cup fever heats up, an African soccer star visits an elephant orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, to help draw attention to the importance of saving wild life in Africa.

Even if in the beginning one chants the Hare Krishna mantra with offenses, one will become free from such offenses by chanting again and again. Papa-kshayas ca bhavati smaratam tam ahar-nisam: one becomes free from all sinful reactions if one chants day and night, following the recommendation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Read more ›

As the soccer world cup fever heats up, an African soccer star visits an elephant orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, to help draw attention to the importance of saving wild life in Africa.

A video from Govinda Vision with a team of devotees: Alex Pashuk, Julia Pashuk, Pandu Das, Vaikuntha Priya Devi Dasi, Anastasia Remizova, Vaninatha Vasu Das, and Brahmacharis from ISKCON Minsk.

This video is about the 2013 devastating floods in Uttarakand, India, caused by uncontrolled dam-building, mountainside destruction, and other irresponsible human activities. To help their investigation, the film has been presented to the Supreme Court of India.

His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, ISKCON Governing Body Commissioner and initiating spiritual master, was accepted as a disciple by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1968. He quickly emerged as a leader in ISKCON, establishing temples around the world. As one of Srila Prabhupada's most trusted disciples, he also worked closely with Srila Prabhupada as his personal secretary. Read more ›

Devotees from all over the area came to participate in the annual abhishek our most beloved Lords in their forms as Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra. The festivities started early in the morning with a beautiful darshan of their lordships, and a grand ceremony of bringing Them to Their snan vedi, or bathing ground. Our pujaris, headed by HG Jananivas Prabhu, offered the first abhishek, of various substances such as milk, ghee, honey, yogurt, juices, and water. After the initial abhishek was started all of the devotees that had gathered in a long line came to give their offering of abhishek. The bathing continued for the next four hours or so, until the time came for the final shower. Read more ›

With Sivarama Swami. Read more ›

With Bhakti Chaitanya Swami. Read more ›

sadhu sanga retreat north carolina 2014 day 1 acyuta gopi

New Vrindaban’s Transcendental Throwback Thursday – 06/19/14.

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

This week’s challenge: There are no people in this photo and we’re looking for answers to when and where. Can you identify the location?

Extra credit: What year do you think it was taken?

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.

Listen audio...

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