Planet ISKCON

The special characteristic of Madhvacarya's doctrine is that it very clearly defeats the faulty mistakes of the Advaita perspective. By maintaining this forceful position, the distress caused by impersonal philosophy falls to the wayside, allowing one to understand and appreciate the Lord's personal form. Therefore, in order to bring about safe and sure benefit for the conditioned souls who are weakened from the onslaughts of Kali-yuga, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the doctrine of Sri Madhvacarya [by adhering to his lineage]. But by doing so He did not minimize the importance of the other three Vaishnava doctrines in any respect. All forms of savisesa-vada (philosophy of eternal distinction) are relishable, for it will certainly bring eternal auspiciousness.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Vaishnava Siddhanta Mala, Chp 5

Don’t even glance at the external things of this world, whether they
belong to you or to others, whether they are as splendid as millions of suns and moons, or whether they possess a great flood of good qualities, Renounce them¡ Give up all conventional peaceful composure, and without caring for anything else, always remember Sri Sri Ra?dha?-Krishna and reside in Vrinda?vana.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-7, Translation.]

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 March 2013, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 8.12.6)

Pure devotees of the Lord are only interested in satisfying the senses of the Supreme Lord, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.2). They are not concerned with the material world because they appreciate that in the material world, everything is only temporary and therefore any relationship that we have with the material energy, will not endure and therefore it will be painful.

Whatever we have, we become attached to and then it will disintegrate in the course of time. That’s the nature of anything material, so what is the point? “I love my beautiful sandcastle; it is so wonderful. But it will not last; it will be destroyed; so many dreams.”

But the love for these dreams comes from the heart because there is a natural need within the living being for happiness and fulfillment. In this material world, we are always experiencing some emptiness within the heart, always experiencing some yearning, some longing for something, some hope that maybe it will happen. Whatever it is, whatever we want, “Maybe I’ll become rich… maybe I’ll become famous… or rich and famous! Maybe one day I’ll wake up and I’ll be beautiful… it’s doubtful but maybe somehow or other, a miracle will happen, you never know! It could happen, therefore, just wait, just in case. Hold onto to that little straw because maybe it will happen and I so much want it to happen. Oh yes, maybe my love will appear. Yes, the one that is my perfect match, the one that is designed for me, that one!’

Of course, that one doesn’t exist; there is no perfect match, it doesn’t exist! It becomes a boxing match sooner or later. It’s not a perfect match, it is not like that. It’s hard work to make relationships work. You cannot say that there is a marriage that just works. No, you have to work for it. It’s hard for relationships to work and then still you don’t really get what you were dreaming of. That’s the material world!

Anyway some say, “Yes, but better a blind uncle than none. Better something than nothing at all!” Okay yes, we want something after all. Alright have it, if you want to settle for something but let that something that you want out of the material world not interfere with your eternal progress! So it cannot be sinful because when we fulfill our desires in a sinful way, then we become bound up by the laws of material nature.

na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ, (SB 7.5.31)

“Come one, don’t be a square! Yeah, it’s okay, everybody’s doing it, everybody.”

Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās, and the blind are leading the blind. Te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ, and the result is that we remain bound up in chains. The whole world is doing it and they all just remain bound up in chains, in this material world. The three gunas, sometimes known as the three qualities of material nature, other times known as the three ropes that bind us; that is what will happen.

So the pure devotee doesn’t even bother with such things. The pure devotee is thinking about Krsna. Krsna is important, Krsna’s desires are important, Krsna’s glory is important, Krsna’s service is important, Krsna’s name is important, tadīyānāṁ samarcanam (CC Madhya-lila 11.31); anything related to Krsna is important. Tadīyā, anything related to Krsna. The Ganga because of the dust of Krsna’s lotus feet. Tulasi Devi is related to Krsna, ‘tulasī kṛṣṇa-preyasi,’ anything related to Krsna.

‘ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ
viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param
tasmāt parataraṁ devi
tadīyānāṁ samarcanam,’ (Padma Purana, quoted in CC Madhya-lila 11.31).

Lord Siva said to Parvarti in the Padma Purana, ”Of all that are worshipable, the Supreme Lord Visnu is the ultimate worshipable entity. But greater still are those personalities and things that are related to him in service.’ That is wonderful!

 

Janmejaya Das has made many Rathayatra Carts including the ones at New Govardhana, New Varshana and Christchurch temple. This year, Jamal Arjuna from the Bhakti Centre on the Gold Coast, asked him to make a smaller cart for the Rathayatra parades there.

The numerous benefits of lavender contain its capability to get rid of mental tension, alleviate painful sensations, disinfect skin, treat respiratory troubles, and so much more.

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

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Rasa Rasika dasa

The day began in 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII decreed the adoption of the “Gregorian calendar”, which moved New Year’s Day from the end of March to Jan. 1.

The holy abode of Jagannatha Puri, through the eye of a camera. Jaya Jagannatha! Kindly become visible to us. Jaya Srila Prabhupada! You so kindly gave us the spiritual world.

Be A Fool

I passed through 61 April Fools in this one life.  At the Tuesday Sanga, the evening’s presenter, Praharana, spoke on how we are all more or less fools for being in this world of suffering.  She, however, explained that joy could be had by taking to the spiritual component.  Her message spoken at the ashram was well received.

It was only after the time of her presentation that I went on my daily walk.  Vrindavan, one of our dedicated devotees in our community here, drove me at my request, to his home.  From there I would walk back to the ashram, a mere 6 KM distance.  I recall when I first tackled the longer stretches for training.  A couple of my colleagues at that time thought I was slightly foolish to go on a 22 KM trek (a first), and to do it on a winter afternoon when a snow storm suddenly hit.  I had lost directions while trying to reach my destination point, the home of a friend.  Eventually I was found through the aid of a call by payphone.  No panic, it was fun being a fool.  Anyways, it was all done for the training perspective. 

1969 April 3: "You should take the indication given by Krishna: the press is already there, the press worker is coming, and the scholar has joined. Don't you see the indication by Krishna?."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1972 April 3: "N.B. Regarding changes made in GBC zonal management. I do not favor these changes. Tell them to stop everything. Why they have done this without consulting?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 April 3: "There is no other literatures like ours in the world, and this information, 'Here is God, just see Him,' this clear understanding of God is not available anywhere else but from our books."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 April 3: "Today is Tuesday so I hope that the court case will be heard. If the judge takes seriously that the land must be given to one of us, that will be a great success."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 April 3: "Regarding the house at Puri – the place of Srila Prabhupada. I understand that Sripad B.D. Madhav Maharaj is also eager to purchase, so I do not wish to make a competitive price."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 April 3: "If we cannot utilize the land then why purchase it at such expenditure? Self help doesn't mean Rs 10,000 spent monthly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 April 3: "Why are the cows suffering from no good shelter? I sent $5,000 and then $4,000 previous to that, for construction for the cows. Why have you not built them something solid?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Indradyumna Swami: The holy abode of Jagannatha Puri, through the eye of a camera. Jaya Jagannatha! Kindly become visible to us. Jaya Srila Prabhupada! You so kindly gave us the spiritual world. Read more ›

Samir Becic, 4 times Number 1 Fitness Trainer in the world and his Health Fitness Revolution team created a list that is the first of its kind- the 10 Fittest Religious Leaders in the U.S. Health Fitness Revolution believes that spiritual health is a key component of total body health. We also believe that spiritual leaders cannot achieve their full potential without being physically fit. Healthy body = Healthy Spirit. This is why we are bringing you the list of the Fittest Spiritual Leaders in America. Read more ›

ISKCON Vallabh Vidhyanagar - Gujarat, had celebrated Gaura Purnima festival on 16th March 2014 for which we have created a video Read more ›

With Jayapataka Swami Read more ›

For those with a deeper vision, Aindra Prabhu spent most of his life chanting Hare Krsna in Vrindavana, serving his Deities, doing parikrama and his final act of service was to fall down in front of his Gaura-Nitai Deities. I am sure a flower airplane appeared and took him back to the spiritual world.

To expand ISKCON’s preaching mission Srila Prabhupada created sannyasis. Thus the Ministry for Sannyasa Service has established a website to provide information about potential sannyasis to the ISKCON community and to get feedback in order to help in the candidate's training.

At the 2014 Annual General Meetings of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission in Mayapur, the GBC resolved that devotees wishing to take initiation from an ISKCON guru will be required to first pass the ISKCON Disciple Course. The resolution will not be effective until Janmastami 2015, so that ISKCON leaders throughout the world will have time to put the proper systems in place to make the course widely available.

Niranjana Swami and the Balinese devotees spent a wonderful day doing kirtan at Tirta Gangga, Bali. A video by Guru Gauranga Das.

A video by Dwarkadheesh Krishna Das.

India is the world’s largest producer of milk. But in 10 years, we will be forced to start importing it. And the Indian cow will no longer exist.

Niranjana Maharaja: Bhagavatam-class.

The post How the brahminical class can lose their prowess appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Russian/English Skype conference on sadhu-sanga, being one’s own guru and the mystique of blessings appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Rath Yatra or the Car Festival is a huge Krishna conscious festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India Read more ›

Material affairs have herein been compared to an ocean of poison. They have been described in a similar way by Srila Narottama dasa thakura in one of his songs: samsara-visanale, diva-niSi hiya jvale, judaite na kainu upaya "My heart is always burning in the fire of material existence. and I have made no provisions for getting out of it." golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana, rati na janmila kene taya "The only remedy is hari-nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vrndavana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this." (Srimad Bhagavatam——5:1:22——-purport). Read more ›

The post April 3rd, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

[Kindly transcribed by Swetha Ganeshan Mataji] Download the audio for this lecture here: Download From Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir! Date: March 16th, 2014, Sri Gaura Purnima Speaker: HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja (missing) HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja: After Krishna leaves, which seems to be imminent. So then Krishna said, I will come back. I will come […]

The post Gaura Purnima Lecture – HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja appeared first on Mayapur.com.

2014 03 26 SB 10 41 26 40 Making Devotional Service with Devotional Service Candramauli Swami IS

New Vrindaban’s Transcendental Throwback Thursday – 04/03/14.

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

This week’s challenge: There are twelve devotees who faces can be seen in the photo. How many can you identify?

Extra Credit: What occasion was being observed and what festival was being celebrated?

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.

“We were all at the departure gate, and Srila Prabhupada went down the ramp to board the airplane. All the devotees were crying. I asked Arundati dasi, ‘Why are all the devotees crying?’ She replied, ‘Because Srila Prabhupada is leaving.’ Then I had a doubt: maybe this is the one thing about Krishna consciousness that is not perfect—the spiritual master has to leave. But she told me that Srila Prabhupada had said that on the absolute platform, meeting and separation are the same—both are occasions of ecstasy. That struck me as a perfect answer, but I wasn’t sure how practical it was. Then one day we were chanting in front of the Copley Square subway station, and  I suddenly felt Srila Prabhupada’s presence. It felt like he was really there. I became emotional, and I realized it was true—on the absolute platform, there was no difference between meeting and separation.”

Seeking and Serving the Pure Devotee, Sunday Program, Dallas

“The body is one, but different parts of the body are considered superior and inferior. This is called acintya-bhedabheda philosophy. ‘simultaneously one and different.’ The anus and the genitals are part of the body, and the brain is also part of the body, but the brain is superior to the anus and genitals.”

(Lecture Nairobi, Kenya, November 1, 1975)

 

(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.)

I had the good fortune Sunday to spend time with a devotee friend and neighbor, along with her two visiting daughters—one out of college and looking for work, the other, soon to finish high school and already accepted at a college of her choice. I love to share my experiences and what I have found is valuable with others—anyone who is interested to hear and discuss—but especially to devotee young adults and teens. In my life growing up, and later as a devotee, I suffered for want of wise elder guidance, and basically had to wing it by trail and err.

Though my life has worked out well in many ways, I feel I could have had more skills to help others and be further along spiritually had I had help. Admittedly, we all have our personal journey and ways we are given to learn our own lessons (even with guidance) through personal experience and trying various endeavors. Never the less, I know that having supportive, kind, and experienced mentors can make one’s path more fruitful, one’s decisions better informed—if one is willing to listen. Remembering my own lack of guidance I feel inspired to share what I have learned in life, both my mistakes and successes. This is one reason I write, and in this case, enjoyed speaking to our guests.

I found the young ladies to be very open-hearted and humble. This caused me to think about the importance of humility on our lives. I have written a fair bit about this, as has my wife, but today I am looking at humility as a means of being open and grateful, and how there is real, and shadow humility. I shared with my two young friends that my behavior as a young devotee appeared to many to be humble, or unassuming, and I was willing to do almost anything. However, as I learned in my thirties, my so-called “humble” attitude was more a result of being beaten down by agents of the material energy as well as feeling bad about myself than arising from any spiritual understanding.

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"In addition to these four prohibitions (yama), there are positive regulative principles (niyama), such as the daily chanting of sixteen rounds on japa-mālā beads. These regulative activities must be faithfully performed with enthusiasm. This is called tat-tat-karma-pravartana, or varied engagement in devotional service."

From Nectar Of Instruction
Verse 3 purport