Visiting Slovakia, May 2014
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Bhaktiloka (17)Report by Gopali dasi

On Friday (16 May), Kadamba Kanana Swami flew from Germany to Vienna (Austria) which is near Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. On Sunday morning, he presented a lecture at the Bhaktiloka centre in Bratislava and narrated a story from the Hamsa Dutta. The story was about Krsna missing the residents of Vrindavan and Lalita sending a swan messenger to Krsna, trying to inform Him about the dangerous health state of Srimati Radharani who was in high fever due to separation from Him.

In the evening, a program took place in Vienna that started with a long bhajan session followed by a lecture in the German language. Guru Maharaj spoke about his journey to the East and his first impressions of India. About fifty guests came to see and hear from Maharaj. A wonderful feast cooked by his disciples was served and thereafter, Guru Maharaj drove back to Slovakia. On Sunday, a program was held in the most famous yoga-centre in Bratislava where Guru Maharaj led another wild kirtan with devotees bursting in the happiness of kirtan. A captivating lecture about Jagai and Madhai followed and again, the program ended with wonderful prasadam. The next day, Guru Maharaj took rest in the morning and for the remainder of the day, he offered himself to his disciples who were eager to see him and have darshans with him. On Tuesday at noon, he headed to Czech Republic.

 

Photos

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Bhaktivedanta Academy Closing Ceremony (7 min video)
→ Dandavats.com

Mukhya devi dasi: Congratulations to the students of the Bhaktivedanta Academy on the completion of their school year. I attended their closing ceremonies last Friday and was overwhelmed by the love and dedication of the teaching staff, the joy of the children and seeing just how much Krishna consciousness they were all learning. The middle school students have learned every verse of the Sri Gurv-astaka prayers in Sanskrit and English and each student chanted perfectly one verse for the ceremonies. Even among mundane education systems it is so rare to get the kind of personal input that our teachers at BANA give their students, what to speak of combining that kind of care with Vedic knowledge and understanding. All glories to the parents who sacrifice their time helping this school thrive and their income sending their children for this very specialized spiritual education. It is all paying off producing a generation of devotees who are powerful and intelligent in ways we have not yet seen. Read more ›

Prasadam distribution to those afflicted in Kahrimani, Orahovica, Sarajevo and around (Album 33 photos)
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900 hundred people got prasadam, on each of these days. One young man Kerim, member of "Crisis stuff Nemila", helped devotees in all the places, he even distributed prasadam by himself. Therefore, devotees invited him to our Sunday feast and he came. He associated with devotees, heard Madhukanta prabhu's lecture about glories of Krsna prasadam, received Srila Prabhupada's book and box of maha prasadam, he danced in kirtan and stayed overnight in our temple. Our Hungarian friends, who served tirelessly for 10 days, went back home on Monday. They even refused our offer to show them Baščaršija (Old Sarajevo) and around the city, explaining that they came only to do service. Serving together in FFL was very deep and emotional experience for all of us, and we sincerely hope that they will come back soon. FFL Phase 1 was a marathon for many enthusiastic devotees who took part. They served tirelessly from 5 am until 10 pm for 15 days! 6000 people got prasadam in total for this phase 1 of our prasadam distribution! We will take a short break to reorganize and continue very soon! Please keep supporting, donating, offering your services for phase 2. Stay tuned, FFL Bosnia is coming back soon! Read more ›

Harinama in Moscow, Russia (Album 20 photos)
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Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the paramparä system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self? SB 10.1.4 Read more ›

Harinama in Zurich (Album 7 photos)
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With Niranjana Swami and Prithu Prabhu. Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Äryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required. SB 3.33.7 Read more ›

Strive for nirbandhini mati even during vaidhi bhakti
→ The Spiritual Scientist

The mentality during vaidhi bhakti  of exclusive  cultivation of devotion with  the aim of achieving bhava  bhakti, and  the  mentality  during bhava  bhakti  of  intense cultivation with  the  aim  of achieving prema, is called  nirbandhini mati  or undivided attention.  If such  concentration exists,  then  very  quickly    the  devotee attains   perfection.  In other words the devotee must  make   an effort  corresponding to the goal he wishes  to achieve. From  the  very  beginning of  practice, the  devotee must   adopt this  concentrated attention, and should beware of  giving  it up due to inattention.

Chaitanya Shikshamrita, Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Caring for Devotees
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY SIMHESWARA DASA
LANCHANG - Twenty one youths who attended the 4 days Youth Retreat from 22nd to 25th May at New Godruma Dhama farm at Lanchang, Pahang did not just go back after taking part in the very informative and practical seminars, field events, workshops, chanting, dancing, sadhana programme but also made it a point to give their time to associate and hear from Siro Suka prabhu who is under the care of the farm devotees. About two years ago Siro Suka prabhu had a bad fall while repairing the roof of his house. After some treatment at the HUKM hospital he was discharged and was nursed in his house. In September 2013 he decided to take shelter of New Godruma Dhama farm. Siro Suka prabhu's legs are paralysed and so caring for him can also be challenging. Nevertheless the devotees at the farm are doing their best.
I take this opportunity to thank Sevananda, Muralidhar Sham, Gopesa Govinda and Babu prabhus who are overseeing this service at the farm while having to see the function of the 400 acre orchard, cow protection farm and devotee haven. 
The New Godruma Dhama farm is also looking towards setting up a devotee care complex in the beginning stage to accommodate 4 persons. Those wishing to help out in any way such as construction cost, materials, personal labour, monthly donations, etc are welcome. The devotee care complex will cost around RM30,000 ringgit since we already have some building materials at the farm. Currently we are spending about RM700 a month for Siro Suka prabhu's expenses for medicine, periodic check ups, room cleanliness and maintenance, allowance for part time caregiver, etc. 
I pray that you take this seriously and see how you can help. Many devotees have passed away in very undesirable circumstances, not having the opportunity such as Siro Suka prabhu to be in the midst of devotee community. 
 
 

Burleigh Harinama
→ Ramai Swami

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Burleigh Heads is a famous beach side suburb on the Gold Coast. We have our Govindas restaurant nearby that caters to thousands of people every week and the devotees do regular kirtan on the promenade that runs parallel to the beach. 

Once a month there is a market set up where people buy trinkets and different types of food. Isvara das, from the New Govardhana area, organises a kirtan party that goes around the market and also along the beach.
As well as their market experience people are able to enjoy melodious Hare Krsna chanting.
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Mouthwash, Oral Cancer, and Distilled Essence of Rotten
→ Nityananda Chandra Das' Blog, ISKCON Dallas


Alcohol, or distilled essence of rotten (you must say it in an elegant and sophisticated accent), is known as a great sterilizer i.e. purifier, in our contemporary world.  In many places around the globe people do not feel the need to wash one’s hands with water after using the bathroom, when one can just squirt of foamy alcohol hand sanitizer.  However I always remember a class wherein Srila Prabhupada states that it does not purify but rather makes things impure.   Recent oral cancer studies had given some new insight.  But first here is an except by Srila Prabhupada. 
So the Vedic conception is completely different. The... According to modern science, they put things into alcohol to sterilize. Is it not?
Svarupa Damodara: Put alcohol in things.
Prabhupada: Yes. But it becomes more impure. Anything you put into alcohol, that becomes more impure, according to this.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.52 -- May 14, 1973, Los Angeles
In the study done by Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology with assistance from Glasgow University's Dental School it is revealed that not only does poor hygiene contribute to cancer risk but also regular use of mouthwashes that contain alcohol.  
     The NPR article can be found here.
It is interesting to note that is found that other intoxicating substances such as tobacco and betel nut contribute to risk of oral cancer. 
Just as impure things cannot truly clean similarly it is stated that hearing kirtan of the Holy Names of Krishna or about Krishna from those who have no faith that Krishna is God cannot purify us in any way and can in fact sometimes be detrimental to our spiritual growth.  The old adage is that milk, although nutritious, when drunk by a serpent becomes poisonous.  

The Service Of Chanting
→ Japa Group



Devotee: Sometimes we are so enthusiastic in service that while chanting we are also thinking of service.

Radhanath Swami: It is better to think of service than of sense gratification, no doubt. But when you do service, you should be thinking of service. When you do chanting, you should be thinking of chanting. You should understand that our service during the chanting of the holy name is to completely engross our mind in the sound of the holy name. That is our service at that time.

Turning boys into men
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 27 April 2014, Radhadesh, Belgium, Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya Lila 22.142)

Srila prabhupada 2Deal with the challenges – don’t cry. Don’t cry about what happens – just make it better. When everything goes wrong, rise to the occasion and face it. When everything breaks down, start again and do it better this time. Understand that Krsna is there, all the time. Without Krsna, it is not possible. Have faith in Krsna that he is there and that through all these struggles and challenges, he will be there and you will meet him at the end. He is there! We don’t see him but as we go through all these struggles for him, and we do it right, at the end we will meet him, for sure.

We remember what the Lord said to Narada Muni when he was still young. He had appeared for a quick darshan only to disappear after saying, “You will not see me again in this lifetime. But now you go on, through all the tests and trials, knowing that I’m there and at the end, we will meet!”

 A man must act in philosophy. A man must act in knowledge, because he is not meant to be so emotional that sometimes he cannot think. He is meant to stay cool and balanced internally. He is meant to absorb the knowledge of Bhagavatam and then purposefully move up in life, saying, “I will live according to this transcendental knowledge, knowing that every step of my life is an offering to Krsna.” That turns boys into men.

 

Raja Vidya – The Bhagavad Gita
→ Servant of the Servant

There are two things (1) belief (2) laws of nature.

Bhagavad Gita deals with the "laws of nature". It is not a belief system like other religions. Therefore the Gita is different from mundane religion because it does not profess dogmatic beliefs. Anyone can believe in anything and have a gathering and call it religion. We don't care for such man-made belief systems.

Now, one may ask how do you know the tenets of Bhagavad Gita (upon which Krishna consciousness is founded) are actually laws of nature? To answer this question, below are the fundamental laws of nature as enunciated in the Gita.
  1. We are spiritual beings encased inside physical bodies made of flesh and blood.
  2. We are all individuals with certain character and personalities. Our identity remains and does not become zero, black or dissolve into oblivion after death.
  3. When the body stops working, the spirit soul transmigrates into another physical body at death.
  4. Every activity in this world has a consequence.
  5. The entire creation animate and inanimate is produced from a Supreme Living Being
  6. The minute spiritual beings come from the Supreme spiritual being whom we call Krishna
  7. Purpose of human life is to stop assuming physical bodies and return back to our original spiritual nature with Krishna
Testing above assumptions/hypothesis
  1. Physical body is born, grows old and deteriorates. However, the sense of "self" is constant. So despite the changing body from birth to death, we still "feel" the "sense of I" is the same. Hence we can conclude that there is something more than the physical constituting the "self". The mind and intelligence cannot be accounted as "self" because even the mind and intelligence changes as the body changes. The sense of "I", however, never changes from birth to death and we call that spirit soul. This is a simple thought exercise. There is growing evidence in the fields of neuro-biology and psychiatry that consciousness is completely separate from the body and mind. 
  2. Past life memory is a concrete testimony to bullets 1, 2 and 3 above. It clearly shows that the person is a spiritual conscious being who maintains his identity and reincarnates into another physical body. Ian Stevenson and Jim Tucker have collected much evidence on this subject for the past half century. Hence one cannot ignore this phenomenon as mere chance or an anomaly. It has to be reckoned as valid scientific phenomenon. 
  3. The legal and justice system of this world is based on bullet 4 above. Why would the cosmic order also not be of the same nature? In fact any sort of order can be established anywhere based on the chain of action-reaction. Besides how else can one explain such contradicting occurrences of bad things happening to good people and vice versa. 
  4. Life comes from life. Bullet 5 and 6 above enunciates this point. Our daily experience of ourselves, and nature is enough evidence to prove this. Children are not born from dead mothers. Plants do not grow from rocks but from other seeds potential of growth. In other words, one living being gives birth to another. There is abundant evidence to prove this and none to the contrary. So in that sense this gigantic creation within which we exist has to come from an equally if not greater gigantic living being who is all powerful. 
  5. In order to test bullets 6 and 7 which states that Krishna is our father/mother and that we have to return to Him can be tested by merely following the standard of simple living/high thinking and chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra everyday.
Krishna Consciousness is not dogma. There is so much evidence around us and within us to categorically verify the truths as enunciated in the Bhagavad Gita. Only a stubborn lazy and short sighted individual will deny these laws of nature. By studying the Gita and living it with determination and patience, there is no doubt that one can directly experience a higher spiritual platform of life and eventually come in contact with Krishna. 

Hare Krishna

Remembering Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology (IFAST), Silver Springs, Maryland, May 31
Giriraj Swami

BTS“I asked Purusa-sukta Prabhu whether he had ever discussed with Bhakti Tirtha Swami what his mood was while chanting japa. Bhakti Tirtha Swami had told him, ‘I always like to chant near Srila Prabhupada’s vyasasana, and my prayer is that he will kick me in the head with his lotus feet.’ That was Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s mood: ‘My dear spiritual master, whatever it takes to make me a better instrument of your will, whatever it takes to make me a better servant of the devotees and the public, please do it. If you have to kick me in the head to wake me up, do whatever it takes.’ That was his mood. So I think I am going to go upstairs to Maharaja’s room and pray for two kicks: one from Srila Prabhupada and one from Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja.” — Giriraj Swami

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Giriraj Swami
Rtadhvaja Swami

We Have A Super-Excellent Process
Bhakti Charu Swami

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS Founder-Ācārya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda The Following Lecture On Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.14 Was Given By His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami In Iskcon Ujjain, India. tam imaṁ te pravakṣyāmi yam avocaṁ purānaghe ṛṣīṇāṁ śrotu-kāmānāṁ yogaṁ sarvāṅga-naipuṇam  Word for word: tam imam — that very; te — to you; pravakṣyāmi —(...)

Ravi Gupta On Bhaktivedanta College
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Radhika Ramana Dasa (Ravi M. Gupta) is an internationally known Vaishnava scholar who has been on the faculty of Bhaktivedanta College since it opened, in 2002. He teaches Sanskrit and a module on Jiva Goswami's Sad-sandharbhas. He holds the Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies at Utah State University.