An Impetus to Eternal Life, June 3, ISKCON, East Hartford, Connecticut
Giriraj Swami

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGiriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17.

“Generally we think, ‘Old age—how terrible; disease—how terrible.’ But if those serve as an impetus to our Krishna consciousness and thus help us realize our eternal, blissful life with Krishna, they are favorable. So we should learn to take every situation as Krishna’s mercy—as an opportunity to remember Krishna more. Actually, everything we experience in this world is meant to help us think of Krishna more. Sometimes in difficulty a person’s Krishna consciousness is accelerated. When things are going well we may think we don’t need God, but then when things go wrong we realize that we do need Him.”

SB 2.3.17, ISKCON Hartford

Bath Rathayatra, UK 2014 (Album 50 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

A glimpse of Lord Jagannath on the chariot is considered to be very auspicious and saints. The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled, is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages. This event will allow people to have glimpse of mystic India, illustrating the festival in full glory. Rathyatra is a great festival because of its ability to unite people in its festivity. The Rathyatra festival has become common in most major cities of the world. It has been regularly organized in various cities of England (London, Crawley, Birmingham, Liecester, Cardiff). This is for the 4th time it is being organized by “Bath Hindu Community” in Bath on 7th June, 2014. Read more ›

Harinama- Summer Spa Season Opening in Piestany and Gauranga Festival in Bratislava, Slovakia (Album 38 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion. SB 11.2.40 Read more ›

ISKCON Disciple Course
→ Welcome to the official site of ISKCON Perth

Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I would like to inform you all that we are planning to have the above course next week facilitated by HG Aniruddha prabhu, temple president of Melbourne temple and regional secretary for Perth. Prabhu is arriving on 11 and will be doing the course from Thursday onwards.

This is a well designed course and the student will gain a lot of knowledge from this course. In fact Its a compulsory for all the new devotees to do this before they take initiation from 2015. Also good for the older devotees to deepen the understanding of the process.

I would  strongly recommend all the leaders and preachers to do this course.

For course details check the link “ISKCON Disciple Course“.

THE COURSE HAS LIMITED SEATS. SO FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.

Registration is essential

Suggested Donation:  $40 for the entire course including all the course materials.

I know this is a bit intense to commit for 16- 18 hrs over four consecutive
days. But its worth doing this.

So please register your interest.

ITS ESSENTIAL THAT DEVOTEES ATTEND ALL 4 SESSIONS TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT.

Please reply to me or call me to secure your place. Please call me soon to
avoid disappointment

–
Sita Rama Lakshmana das

Disciples Course v2-page-001

 

Radha Nagar Kirtan Program
→ Mayapur.com

By the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, Mayapur Local Preaching received another invitation for ‘kirtan mela’ program at Krishnanagar, Radha Nagar Natun Baroary on 02.06.2014, just after Shaktinagar Kirtan Mela on 28.05.14. They where to have 3 days of continuous programs, ISKCON was the first to inaugurate with auspicious Harinam […]

The post Radha Nagar Kirtan Program appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Video recordings from Czech, May 2014
→ KKSBlog

Kadamba Kanana Swami visited the Czech Republic from 20-25 May 2014. We are grateful to the Czech devotees who not only took pictures and voice recordings but also video recorded all programs that were done by Maharaj. Lectures are given in English followed by translation into the Czech language.

 

KKS_CZ_Prague_21 May 2014_Harinam

KKS_CZ_Govinda_21 May 2014_Kirtan

KKS_CZ_Govinda_21 May 2014_Lecture

KKS_CZ_temple_22 May 2014_SB_4.28.38

KKS_CZ_Govinda_22 May 2014_Kirtan_On_the_hill

KKS_CZ_temple_22 May 2014_BG_7.20

KKS_CZ_temple_23 May 2014_SB_4.28.39

KKS_CZ_Prague_23 May 2014_Harinam

KKS_CZ_farm_24 May 2014_SB_8.15.29

KKS_CZ_farm_24 May 2014_Kirtan

KKS_CZ_Harinam Mandir_24 May 2014_Kirtan

KKS_CZ_Harinam Mandir_24 May 2014_Lecture

KKS_CZ_temple_25 May 2014_SB_4.28.41

 

 

 

How Maya can refer to both Krishna’s energy in general and to his inferior energy in specifice
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Krsna  has  one  great   energy,  which   is  called  maya   in  many   places   in  the scriptures.  Maya  means the  external manifestation of Krsna,  by the  definition "miyate anaya,"  --"that  by  which   things   are  measured". Krsna  cannot   be  understood  except through the  agency  of maya.    Learned men  divide Krsna's  energy  into  the  superior, spiritual energy  (cit sakti)   and  inferior  or material energy  (maya  sakti).   Actually the superior energy  is the  inconceivable energy.  The inferior  energy  is its shadow.      That inferior  energy  is the  controller of the  material universe. The  maya  sakti  which  is condemned in spiritual discussions is this inferior  energy,  not the spiritual energy.

Chaitanya Shikshamrita, Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Srila Prabhupada Designs A Horse Driven Cart For Use At New Vrindaban – May 1969.
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Srila Prabhupada Designs A Horse Driven Cart For Use At New Vrindaban.

Srila Prabhupada’s First Visit to New Vrindaban – May, 1969.

Excerpt from “The Hare Krishna Explosion.”

Chapter 18 titled: “Paramhansa in the Hills.”

By Hayagriva das.

As the late May days pass—beautiful, lengthening days with brief afternoon thundershowers—Prabhupada gradually builds his community, throwing out ideas, planning, even designing a two-wheel cart for the workhorses.

“With this kind of cart,” he says, showing me a drawing, “you can more readily go up and down the road. It will be easy for the horses to pull.”

Read the rest of the chapter HERE.

Prabhupada Horse Driven Cart Drawing New Vrindaban 1969

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proof
→ Seed of Devotion

On my evening walk, I reveled at every step the poetry and power and perfection of nature. I marveled at the red-brown leaves of the maple tree and how when the sun shone through the leaves the tree seemed to be made of glowing embers. Or a field splashed with the soft white globes of dandelions. The towering castles of clouds in the distance made bright by the evening sun. The air was intoxicating - the fragrance of life. New leaves, flowers, grass, earth... Truly, God is a genius. I bent towards a bush covered in thousands of little white flowers. Each one was so perfect, delicate, exquisite in color and design. The only proof that I  need that God exists is to take a walk down my road. 
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A wonderful thing!
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 April 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Evening Lecture)

Panca-tattva_AltarThe Panca Tattva appears in this world because Krsna is in Vrndavan, his eternal abode, performing his transcendental pastimes. Why would Krsna bother with the miseries of the material world? People are praying, “O Lord,  O Lord  please, cure my sneeze! O Lord, O Lord, I’m so bored!” (laughter)

Do you think Krsna is going to deal with that?  Forget it! Would you deal with that? I would not! If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t! Absolutely not! So why would Krsna, who can do whatever he likes, bother with these things? He doesn’t! He is the Supreme Lord! He is spending his time with the blissful souls. Naturally! I would too. Why would you spend your time with sour grapes? (laughter)

So Krsna is absorbed in his transcendental sweet pastimes in the spiritual world, where life is fun eternally. Then he expands himself. Nityananda means ‘always blissful’. He is a specific mercy incarnation. Nityananda is ready to deal with anyone and everyone at anytime. It does not matter who it is. Nityananda deals with rogues, murderers… He approaches them and is ready to transform them.

Lord Krsna is absorbed in his eternal pleasure pastimes. Then one day, Krsna thinks, ‘For long I have not come into the material world and given love of myself. Wouldn’t that be a really wonderful thing?”

So Krsna descended into the material world, not expanding himself like he does many times. Yes, if we were God, we would not be limited by one form. So he is ananta-rupam – he has unlimited forms and as he likes, he can expand himself. But he chose to come in his own original form and he came in the form of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

The First 50th
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das


Next year marks the 50thanniversary of Prabhupada’s arrival  in the West.  This is the time for devotees to develop  projects as an offering for Srila Prabhupada in 2015. Think about some project that you would like to offer to honor Srila Prabhupada for his selfless and untiring efforts to help humankind. There should be hundreds and even thousands of events and projects manifested in 2015.

 IMHO, as ISKCON makes plans for 2016, equal attention should be paid to 2015 commemorating  Prabhupada’s historic journey to the West.  For 2015 I am planning to develop a power point presentation  to take to colleges, churches and various events to share Prabhupada’s story so that people may know of his remarkable contribution to humankind.

In the public eye, the story of individual effort always trumps the story of an organization.  People can certainly make a more visceral connection with Srila Prabhupada since they would be natural inspired by  his struggle against great odds.  (Look at how the world responded to the story of Nelson Mandela) And now especially as baby boomers head into their senior years (myself included), Prabhupada’s accomplishments will seem even greater.

We have to understand the potency of  STORY as way  of winning the hearts of people. STORY is a valuable tool.  This has been my personal experience as a professional storyteller and workshop leader for over 25 years.

And Prabhupada’s is a remarkable story.  He came with practically nothing save for the three volumes of first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam that he had prepared for the West.  He hitched a ride on a freighter, braved a month long voyage and struggled through a New York winter to present an ancient and venerable teaching to the West. And sociologically speaking, he came at a remarkable time when young people in the West were dissatisfied with materialistic culture and rejected the unprecedented wealth and education available to them.  

For 2015, we can each make some special offering. Imagine the impact of thousands, or tens of thousands of devotees all over the world,  sharing  Prabhupada’s story with the general public. 2015

Please visit www.Mahabharata-Project.comabout my new book. 

Huge Rathayatra at Brisbane 07 June 2014 (Album 266 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Coming from the New Govardhan farm, Lord Jagannath’s chariot pulled down Elizabeth, Creek and Adelaide Streets. Accompanied by sweet kirtan lead by Sri Prahlad Prabhu, we sung and danced our way to the colourful festival at King George Square. Kirtan, drama, boutiques, kids craft activities, face painting and delicious prasadam cooked by Garuda Prabhu were just some of the attractions enjoyed by all. We had the fortune to have the sanga of HH Vedavyasa Priya Swami, HH Ramai Swami and HH Mukunda Gosvami who graced us with their presence. The last Ratha Yatra in the Brisbane CBD was fifteen years ago when the Rath cart was entered as a float in the Warana Parade. However, this June was the first time that the city council closed down some of the main streets in the city just for Lord Jagannath. Read more ›