Websites from the ISKCON Universe
with Madhava prabhu Read more › 
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu belongs to the spiritual world, and His methods for propagating the sankirtana movement are also imported from the spiritual world. Srila Narottama dasa thakura has sung: golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana, rati na janmila kene taya. This states that the sankirtana movement has nothing to do with this material world. It is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vrndavana. Narottama dasa thakura laments that mundane people do not take this sankirtana movement seriously. Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Read more › 
Kirtana forever: Auckland NZ. with HH Indradyumna Swami Read more › 
When Maharani Berg opened her third Good Karma vegetarian restaurant in the DeLisle community near Pass Christian recently, she thought only a few people would show up for the soft opening. The response caught her by surprise. “One hundred people came in that night,” she said. “It was the first time I ran out of food for an opening. I didn’t expect that many people to be there.” Ingredients come mostly from Oriental stores and includes locally grown produce. “In the summertime we have a lot of vegetables coming out of our garden at the farm where I live,” she said. “I plan all the food and every day is different. I see what grows in the garden locally and seasonally.”
The farm is part of the the New Talavan community, which is affiliated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly referred to as the Hare Krishna movement. Read more › 2014 04 05 SB 10 42 15 38 Breaking of Sacrificial Bow Gaur Krishna Prabhu ISKCON Chowpatty
Abhaya Carana das and his wife Jayanti devi dasi lived in New Zealand and were rendering service at the Wellington temple at Newlands. Last year Kaliya Krsna from New Gokula Australia asked if they could come to the farm and help with service there.
One of the most incredible perks of being part of the TKG Academy is the vibrant community around the school, Sri Radha Kalachandji Dham. This community celebrates the major Vaishnava festivals regularly. Here, students, alumni, parents, supporters and all the families worship Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda on the auspicious occasion of Gaura Purnima.
5,000 years ago, Sri Krishna’s friend Arjuna asked Him a question.
“Oh Krishna, what are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is merged in transcendence? How does he speak, and what is his language? How does he sit, and how does he walk?” BG 2.54
On March 31st, the TKG Academy students had a chance to ask similar questions to two Vaishnavas, His Holiness Giriraj Swami and Rtadhvaja Swami, whose consciousness is completely merged in Krishna.
“What is your favorite food? Your favorite pastime? Your favorite color?”
Giriraj Maharaja’s favorite color is blue, like Krishna and Rtadhvaja Maharaj’s is yellow for Gauranga.
Students also asked other questions they had been wondering for some time. “What does Krishna like most in Vrindavan?” “How do we give up material desires and attachments?” “Why did Krishna let Kamsa kill his baby brothers and sisters?”
The Maharajas lovingly and patiently answered the questions, tailoring their answers to young children’s understanding.
One student asked, “When did you first meet Srila Prabhupada?”
Giriraj Maharaj answered, “March 31st, 1969.”
Wait! Today is March 31st! The students worked to figure out how many years it had been. It had been 45 years since Giriraj Maharaj had first met Srila Prabhupada! Wow, what an auspicious day for his visit.
Rtadhvaja Maharaja’s years of practice as a teacher showed when he only answered those whose hands were raised quietly. He ended the session with a brain teaser for the young ones to figure out.
We always look forward to their visits, and are grateful to get a chance to spend some time with them. If you didn’t already know, Giriraj Maharaj’s favorite food is rasagulla.
Spring time means time with plants and flowers! Our March days began with offering flowers, leaves and nuts to the Deities, and reciting the Bhagavad Gita verse 9.26. “If you offer me with love and devotion, a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will accept it.”
In Science, the 2nd to 3rd graders were immersed in hands-on plant projects, growing, describing, and observing.
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, December 2013, Pretoria, South Africa, Caitanya Caritamrta Lecture)
The nature of Srimad Bhagavatam is that it is ever fresh. It is never old; it is never stale but ever fresh! It is going on right now – Bhagavatam. There is no limit to the Bhagavatam. The demigods have a Bhagavatam of 100 000 verses. We have 18 000 verses and they have a 100 000. There is more and more… and more will be revealed. Bhagavatam will be revealed from within the heart because dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 25.57) – true religious principles are not found within the scripture alone but they are hidden within the heart. Within the heart these things will be revealed.
So we read Srimad Bhagavatam and then we live by Srimad Bhagavatam and then Srimad Bhagavatam becomes revealed to us, gradually. This is the system of how to change our lives. That is the idea. Only then will we know Srimad Bhagavatam. You cannot know the Bhagavatam just by reading. By reading, you scratch the surface but you cannot know; just as you cannot know Vrndavan by just buying a ticket, going there and walking around. One may say, “Radhe Radhe,” but we cannot know. We cannot penetrate into Vrndavan unless we live like the eternal residents of Vrndavan, unless we become pure devotees then we can perceive Vrndavan.
With Their soft flower-petal hands Sri Ra?dha?-Krishna carefully watered the trees and vines from the time of their first sprouting. They nourished them and made them grow and, at the proper time, married each vine to an appropriate tree . When They saw new flowers beginning to blossom, They became delighted and spoke many playful joking words. Let us bow down and offer our respectful obeisances to these trees and vines of Vrinda?vana forest.
[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-11, Translation.]
Please click here for more photos
Rtadhvaja Swami and Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Kabe Habe Bolo by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
“This is the aspiration of the devotee who is making advancement—to relish the ecstasy of the holy name. Not as a selfish desire, but as a sign that Krishna and the acharyas are pleased, that they have granted him admittance into the nectarean realm of pure chanting. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentions specifically, ‘after grasping the feet of a saint who constantly relishes the flavor (rasa) of devotion.’ ‘Grasping the feet’ can be taken literally, but ‘grasping the feet’ can also mean holding tightly to the instructions and following them.” —Giriraj Swami
A living being who lives in the mundane world has four defects: (1) he is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a propensity to cheat others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No one with these four imperfections can deliver perfect knowledge.
- Srila Prabhupada, Sri Isopanishad Mantra 1
Greetings from the Garden……
It has been another busy week in the garden. Unfortunately, the April showers are keeping us from doing much planting and tilling. In the teaching garden post have been put in for the new fence. The plan for the teaching garden is to have 1/3 flowers, 1/3 greens, and 1/3 perennials & herbs. In the Garden of Seven Gates we planted Cayuga and Mars grapes this week. They are genetically the most resistant to black (also called brown) rot the bane of Eastern grape growers.
Some of the perennial plants to look forward to in the Garden of Seven Gates include: blueberries, red raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, bush cherries, grapes, honey berries, elderberries, and asparagus.
The newest addition to the perennial fruits in the garden are goji berries. The picture above is of goji berries, they are also know as the wolfberry. Goji berries are often used in traditional Chinese medicine. They are usually cooked or dried before eating. The berries are high in nutrients and are believed to have many health benefits. You can grow goji berries in your home garden they grow well in containers and in your garden soil. They can be pruned as bushes or trained to grow on a trellis.
Over the next few weeks we will be planting fruit trees, flowering bushes, perennial fruits, and hopefully if the rain holds off spring vegetables. Until next week, happy gardening.
This month, we would like recognize Neeraj and Kavitha Bhatnagar as our Donor Spotlight.
During the winter break, while all was quiet and peaceful at the end of the temple block known as TKG Academy, a storm erupted. The bus tour coming from Mexico descended upon the playgrounds. Nearly twenty youth, along with many of our own youth from Dallas, decided to give the school grounds some tender loving care. I was out of town and you can guess my reaction when I returned and saw the transformation that had occurred. I was elated!
The new ramps which had been installed during the summer break, needed priming and painting. During the first part of school, Joseph Clark who had been coming to the Wednesday classes, came several times and began the painting. We found it a bit difficult to have fresh paint in the porch area when children were around so he was asked to come back to paint during the winter break.
And then the service hungry youth appeared. Manorama Dasa has long been known for taking temples by storm with his energetic, talented youth. Some of our devotees here in Dallas realized that the grounds at the school needed raking and that the ramp painting needed to be completed. Someone told me that Krishna Mangala Dasi along with her children and many of our young men and women, gathered the bus tour youth together, and tackled the job.
Mother Jayanti says, “I wish to thank all of those persons who were involved in this project. This is the sort of work that makes an old woman happy to see accomplished. I just wish that I could have been there to thank these devotees personally. “
Procession celebration in Krishna Balaram Mandir. Read more › Brilliant as the Sun, my summary of the first nine cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam is now available on Amazon Kindle.
The post April 7th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Our Vision: To create an environment where people and animals can practice natural living and higher thinking, in an atmosphere of love and trust, for the pleasure of Shree Krishna. Philosophy: Our motto at Hare Krishna Valley is “natural living, high thinking”. Natural living means that we live a comfortable, uncomplicated life in harmony with nature. By reducing our “wants” to “needs”, we manage to live in a peaceful state of mind. Peace of mind is a prerequisite to true happiness.
The needs of all humanity can be amply supplied from Mother Nature. At Hare Krishna Valley we aim to develop a self-sufficient farm community in which we gratefully receive our gifts from the earth and in return protect the earth from unnecessary harm. Our project includes an investment in bio-dynamic farming, a plan for a humanitarian dairy, protection of wild life, forest regeneration and developing solar energy. Read more › Damodara Dasa, damodara.d@gmail.com
The post To participate in Radha Syama’s service contact appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
Off Road Pictures presents: Hare Krishna by Shivali Bhammer . Directed by Hasinth Pathirana. Produced by Arjuna. Read more › 
What is the last verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam? "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Hari, the congregational chanting of whose names destroy all sinful reactions, and the offering of obeisances unto whom relieves all material suffering." SB 12.13.23. Pandu Putra Prabhu from Italy (bravissimo!), and Saksi Gopal Prabhu lead the Kirtan on the streets of London. Enjoy the movie, Read more › by Madhava Smullen
Lilasuka with glasses.
Since moving back to New Vrindaban three years ago, Lilasuka Dasi has used her people skills to inspire residents to care for each other and communicate positively with one another. This, she feels, is the key to the community’s recent attempt at rebuilding and growth.
Originally from Toronto, Lilasuka first lived in the rural West Virginia community between 1980 and 2000, teaching at the day school there.
She then relocated to Pittsburgh until New Vrindaban president Jaya Krishna Das, who calls her “the mother of New Vrindaban,” invited her back to head up the communications department.
From the way she talks about the community, it’s clear that Lilasuka loves New Vrindaban deeply. And that makes her ideal for the job.
“I know the ins and outs of New Vrindaban, and am friends with just about everyone, because I lived here for so long,” she says. “It’s ideal for a deep spiritual life, and is full of interesting people. I just like people, so I like studying them and figuring out how to work with them.”
Initially, the goal of Lilasuka’s department was to establish communications amongst a variety of external groups like the media, the local municipal departments, and the academic community.
And she does nurture a relationship with some, like the Marshall County Tourist Board, whose website advertises New Vrindaban’s festivals and lists Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold as one of the top six tourist attractions in the county.
But her first priority, she felt, was to focus on internal communications amongst New Vrindaban devotees and nearby ISKCON communities.
“A lot of people didn’t know what was going on in New Vrindaban — even those who lived here!” she says. “Now many devotees tell me that they are glad to see the regular updates about what’s happening.”
Lilasuka writes these updates herself and posts them once or twice a week on Brijbasi Spirit, an online newsletter started ten years ago which she has helped expand from an agrarian-focused publication to a broader community-wide news service.
“I post interviews with devotees, write articles about festivals, and announce seminars, new calf births and more,” she says. “I also write almost every day on the New Vrindaban Facebook page, and have helped to rewrite the community’s official website to make it more accessible.”
As well as keeping devotees informed, Lilasuka’s service has also naturally evolved into devotee care.
“My office has become like a revolving door,” she says. “People come looking for help or advice.”
Some come complaining about other devotees or management, too. Lilasuka encourages them to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. She offers to go with them to discuss their differences with other department staff, or with community president Jaya Krishna. She even helps couples who may be having difficulties in their relationships.
“A lot of misunderstandings come from miscommunications,” she says. She adds that her work has helped devotees embrace a positive attitude and has improved their support of New Vrindaban’s new leadership.
Lilasuka also provides practical care for New Vrindaban residents, and encourages others to help.
“It’s been snowing every day here for weeks, and some of the older devotees can’t even get out of their houses,” she says. “So I’ve been shopping for them or helping them to find rides. I have helpers too. One devotee drives some of the single women who don’t have cars into town to do their shopping every week.”
Lilasuka also recently arranged for the local Department of Health and Human Resources to give a seminar at New Vrindaban on how to apply for President Obama’s mandatory new healthcare plan. Around twenty-five devotees attended. Many expressed their appreciation for making the process a lot easier for them.
Lilasuka has also helped facilitate Canada-based homeopathic doctor Visvadhika Dasi to visit New Vrindaban every few months to care for ill devotees. All this kind of care and communication, she feels, is essential.
“New Vrindaban is such a big place,” she says. “Sometimes people can can get lost here, or feel like they’re not being looked after. There’s definitely a need for that, that I’m trying to fill.”
Lilasuka plans to continue building on this work. One of her most recent steps has been to join the New Vrindaban Community Advocacy Group, an organization formed in December 2013 and comprising of residents rather than management.
“We want to be advocates of devotees in the community who feel they don’t have a voice,” she says. “Our first topic is devotee care: we’ve already had volunteers help older devotees by bringing them basic necessities such as firewood and water.”
As far as communications is concerned, she’s working with North American ISKCON Communications Director Keshava Das on a new print and online newsletter, with news from New Vrindaban’s different departments.
She also hopes to add more staff to the communications department and to increase its outreach efforts amongst other local groups. Already, media communications for festivals is being handled by the aptly named Vrindavan Das.
Lilasuka is clearly excited by her service, and how it can help New Vrindaban in its current rebuilding phase.
“I think it’s making more people aware that working together cooperatively, caring for each other and communicating properly with each other is the key to helping New Vrindaban grow,” she says.
Mangala Arati – 30.03.2014 Iskcon London
Bhakti Lounge will be closed over Easter but back open on Tuesday 22nd April for Vinyasa Flow Yoga and discussion on the treasure chest of knowledge in the Bhagavad Gita. We will be open the next Sunday for Soul Feast, Anzac weekend. Hope you all have a lovely refreshing break :)
Invigorate your body, mind and consciousness for the upcoming week with our Super Yogi Sundays – it just couldn’t be a better line up!
5pm Yoga with Muni = core power and laughter at the same time :D
6pm Soul Feast = Beautiful, uplifting kirtan beats, consciousness expanding wisdom and foodthat will blow you out of this world!
Every Sunday starting April 13th.
Cost – from your heart. You give what you can, and what it’s worth to you. Simply for the love of it :D
