(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 08 April 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Rama Naumi Initiation Lecture )
There are sacrifices to be made in service. When one is just having a comfortable niche in Krsna consciousness and one is not challenged in service then we begin to feel dry. We begin to feel, ‘I do not know, it is difficult. I am trying to be a devotee but it is just so hard.’ So, we must feel that we are on the cutting edge, in service, in our practises, then there is life! Then we feel we are dancing! We are part of that dancing movement – dancing on the surface of the earth! That is the aim – dancing like Krsna’s puppet, in the hands of Krsna.
Thanks to Gajendra das and Denisse of Lotus Eyes Photography for capturing many of the magical moments at this year’s Sadhu Sanga Retreat in Boone, North Carolina. Words alone could not express the happiness and joy that 1,500 devotees felt in each others association while chanting Lord’s holy names for several days together.
Are you looking for unforgettable and different moments? We warmly invite you to come and dive into a transcendent night full of sublime experiences.
Whether you feel stressed, tired of the same old routine, want to improve relationships, feel unheard and lonely, or just curious about healthy life style, want to make new friends, experience a peaceful environment and want to expand your definition of yoga, you can expect an incredible evening of live spiritual music (kirtan), wisdom of the East and more, followed by vegan snacks!
Free Admission . Please feel free to bring your family and friends, it is open for everyone!
The Evening of Bhakti program is conducted on Saturday evening once a month currently. Please check our blog for announcements on the specific dates.
Listen to more kirtan recording from Evening of Bhakti here
Indradyumna Swami: More testament to the power of the holy names chanted in unison for days on end by loving devotees in a beautiful environment. Sadhu Sanga Retreat is a must for all American devotees in 2015! Read more ›
Indradyumna Swami: Thanks to Gajendra das and Denisse of Lotus Eyes Photography for capturing many of the magical moments at this year's Sadhu Sanga Retreat in Boone, North Carolina. Words alone could not express the happiness and joy that 1,500 devotees felt in each others association while chanting Lord's holy names for several days together. Read more ›
38 years ago on a Greek island I had a somewhat mystical experience and when it was shared with a group of young travelers, a lady from Brazil said "something wonderful is about to happen in your life! (no clue what)
This statement compelled me to travel for no apparent reason, my mind was set on southern France (little did I know that was where Srila Prabhupada was at New Mayapura)
After traveling for three sleepless days I ended up in Zurich without a place to stay, everywhere was full, as the sun set with all the energy I had I made it to a youth hostel. The Hostel manager said "Sorry we are closing and we are full" Please "I cannot walk a step further, if I must i'll sleep on your steps in that case", i replied. He said "wait I will check again.. he came back "yes there is one bed but you will not want to stay there!, it is the only remaining bed in the hostel" It is upstairs with the Hare Krishna's! "thats fine" I thankfully replied. (thinking, this will be diffrent)
When entering the room I could tell some of the devotees were a little unsettled about my moving in with them out of the blue, with out asking permission, one devotee looked at me when I entered their room and said "are you sure you are in the right place?" half jokingly I replied "unless there is another group of Hare Krishna's? yes" (one devotee might have even gone to see about having me relocated)
So Krishna brought me to Him without having ever spoken to a devotee, never having received a book, or visited a temple.. i walked into a room with a sankirtan party (some of the most successful big book distributors in the world for a long time) because I was extremely tired (also of mundane existence) and desperately needed a place to sleep, the rest is history. Read more ›
Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Krishna, which is feared by fear personified. SB 1.1.14 -- One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly to indicate something else (sanketya), jokingly (parihasya), for musical entertainment (stobha), or even neglectfully (helana). This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures. SB 6.2.14 Read more ›
Overview of scriptural history: Adharma present in SB, RA, MB and even CC
Overview of secular history: During Buddhism / Jainism’s reign in India for some 1000 yrs, more atheistic books were written in Sanskrit than in any other classical language … Battle against monism for 1000 years … Temple desecration during Islamic rule.
Don’t demonize the present:
Rupa and Sanatana G used their political acumen to act as shock-absorbers between Islamic rulers and Vaishnava community / culture
Bhaktivinoda T and Bhakisiddhanta S T didn’t demonize British rule or sympathize with the Independence struggle
Prabhupada saw the spiritual spark within the hippies despite their degraded condition
Don’t insist on the traditional – use the available in devotional service
Eg. Traditional gender roles vs Prabhupada’s engaging unchaperoned women in preaching and book distribution
Eg. Divine monarchy vs today’s political reality: democracy offers the most conducive environment for practicing and sharing KC
Demonization of the present ends in de-energization of our bhakti e.g. practising bhakti in an urban environment
Don’t let criticism of the social / cultural / political / economic situation deprive people of our universal spiritual message
In this first section [of the Chaitanya Shikhsamrita] the words "Lord", "God" and "Krsna" have all been used. The reader should not think that these words refer to separate entities. Krsna is the only form, the only object of worship by the soul. Krsna is the complete revelation of sweetness in God. When we consider Krsna in relation to other objects and need to emphasize his lordship, we use the word "Lord." That is why in the beginning the word "Lord" was used instead of Krsna. Lordship is nothing more than the natural control that Krsna displays towards the objects of his creation. In enumerating, the objects of existence, the word "Lord" is thus used: cit (conscious entity), acit (matter) and isvara (Lord, controller of both).
“Fate” comes from Latin, where it means, “Spoken.”Like if a judge sentences a criminal, the sentencing is called a “Fatum”. The common people thought that the gods sentenced human beings to various rewards or punishments. This is a half-truth. The gods do enforce a sentence, but like a judge, they are not the origin of the need for a sentence to be passed. The criminal is the origin. Similarly the living being is the origin of the sentence declared by the gods as fate.
In short the word “Fate” should convey the understanding that the gods enforce certain results upon us, but that we are the root cause of the reward and punishment we experience.
“Destiny” also has Latin origins. “de-stinare” means to make something stable. In other words, when something is decided. Again, common people thought that the gods whimsically decided what rewards and punishments to bestow on people…
1966 May 28: "N.B. There was an incidence extraordinary. At 10 night when I was typewriting Paul became too much irritated and I stopped typewriting. It was unusual due to his abnormal condition. Better to take precaution in future." Prabhupada Journal :: 1966
1968 May 28: "Krishna and His representative are the same. Just like Krishna can be present simultaneously in millions of places. Similarly, the Spiritual Master also can be present wherever the disciple wants." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1970 May 28: "We have to maintain two lines parallel; namely the path of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the path of Pancaratriki. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the path for Paramahamsas, and Pancaratra path is for the neophytes. So we shall always keep these principles in view and maintain our centers on this standard." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1971 May 28: "You have introduced Tulasi in the Western countries and Tulasi is now growing very luxuriantly. May Tulasi be kind upon you and introduce you to Krishna, to be one of the assistant maid-servant gopis in Vrindaban." Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
1972 May 28: "We want to give the citizens the positive value of Krishna consciousness way of life, so we must always be preaching very strongly in the public. Therefore I approve your plan to run for public office." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1974 May 28: "I am not interested to spend money for your political party neither engage our men to divert attention from spiritual progress for political propaganda. So studying your letter thoroughly I have come to the conclusion you may stop the political program. It will not benefit our real spiritual position." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1974 May 28: "My only idea was to point out to the public that unless you have purified leaders there is no possibility of advancement even in the material condition. I had no idea to spend money and energy of our society in a way which is not our real spiritual life." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1975 May 28: "As much as possible, we want our books to be accepted by all learned circles of men. But, we cannot give books away free to anyone. They must be paid for." Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
There are sacrifices to be made in service. When one is just having a comfortable niche in Krsna consciousness and one is not challenged in service then we begin to feel dry. We begin to feel, ‘I do not know, it is difficult. I am trying to be a devotee but it is just so hard.’ So, we must feel that we are on the cutting edge, in service, in our practises, then there is life! Then we feel we are dancing! We are part of that dancing movement – dancing on the surface of the earth! That is the aim – dancing like Krsna’s puppet, in the hands of Krsna.
Indradyumna Swami: More testament to the power of the holy names chanted in unison for days on end by loving devotees in a beautiful environment. Sadhu Sanga Retreat is a must for all American devotees in 2015! 
Alachua, Florida 
Indradyumna Swami: Thanks to Gajendra das and Denisse of Lotus Eyes Photography for capturing many of the magical moments at this year's Sadhu Sanga Retreat in Boone, North Carolina. Words alone could not express the happiness and joy that 1,500 devotees felt in each others association while chanting Lord's holy names for several days together. 
38 years ago on a Greek island I had a somewhat mystical experience and when it was shared with a group of young travelers, a lady from Brazil said "something wonderful is about to happen in your life! (no clue what)
This statement compelled me to travel for no apparent reason, my mind was set on southern France (little did I know that was where Srila Prabhupada was at New Mayapura)
After traveling for three sleepless days I ended up in Zurich without a place to stay, everywhere was full, as the sun set with all the energy I had I made it to a youth hostel. The Hostel manager said "Sorry we are closing and we are full" Please "I cannot walk a step further, if I must i'll sleep on your steps in that case", i replied. He said "wait I will check again.. he came back "yes there is one bed but you will not want to stay there!, it is the only remaining bed in the hostel" It is upstairs with the Hare Krishna's! "thats fine" I thankfully replied. (thinking, this will be diffrent)
When entering the room I could tell some of the devotees were a little unsettled about my moving in with them out of the blue, with out asking permission, one devotee looked at me when I entered their room and said "are you sure you are in the right place?" half jokingly I replied "unless there is another group of Hare Krishna's? yes" (one devotee might have even gone to see about having me relocated)
So Krishna brought me to Him without having ever spoken to a devotee, never having received a book, or visited a temple.. i walked into a room with a sankirtan party (some of the most successful big book distributors in the world for a long time) because I was extremely tired (also of mundane existence) and desperately needed a place to sleep, the rest is history. 
Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Krishna, which is feared by fear personified. SB 1.1.14 -- One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly to indicate something else (sanketya), jokingly (parihasya), for musical entertainment (stobha), or even neglectfully (helana). This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures. SB 6.2.14 
Wonderful atmosphere for this big gathering of Srila Prabhupada's disciples still alive. 
Very successful program with a huge Harinama in Venice Beach. 
Originally posted on 
