Planet ISKCON

New Year's Eve Kirtan Fest 2014 in Mayapur. -- Read more ›

Lecture Podcast

An inspiring video by the brachmacharis of Yurlovo ashram about the book distribution leaders in Russia. 

Death calls my dog by the wrong name.
A little man when I was small, Death grew
Beside me, always taller, but always
Confused as I have almost never been.
Confusion, like the heart, gets left behind
Early by a boy, abandoned the very moment
Futurity with her bare arms comes a-waltzing
Down the fire escapes to take his hand.

“Death,” I said, “if your eyes were green
I would eat them.”

For what are days but the furnace of an eye?
If I could strip a sunflower bare to its bare soul,
I would rebuild it:
Green inside of green, ringed round by green.
There’d be nothing but new flowers anymore.
Absolute Christmas.

“Death,” I said, “I know someone, a woman,
Who sank her teeth into the moon.”

For what are space and time but the inventions
Of sorrowing men? The soul goes faster than light.
Eating the moon alive, it leaves space and time behind.
The soul is forgiveness because it knows forgiveness.
And the knowledge is whirligig.
Whirligig taught me to live outwardly.
Shoe shop. . . pizza parlor. . . surgical appliances. . .
All left behind me with the hooey.
My soul is my home.
An old star hounded by old starlight.

“Death, I ask you, whose only story
Is the end of the story, right from the start,
How is it I remember everything
That never happened and almost nothing that did?
Was I ever born?”

I think of the suicides, all of them thriving,
Many of them painting beautiful pictures.
I think of boys and girls murdered
In their first beauty, now with children of their own.
And I have a church in my mind, set cruelly ablaze,
And then the explosion of happy souls
Into the greeny, frozen Christmas Eve air:
Another good Christmas, a white choir.

Beside each other still,
My Death and I are a magical hermit.
Dear Mother, I miss you.
Dear reader, your eyes are now green,
Green as they used to be, before I was born.

Filed under: Poetry

As the rising moon dispels darkness, so too did the Golden Avatar Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appear in this world to bestow infinite light, hope, and love. Day by day, the worldwide bhakti revolution He ignited accelerates, as the background noise of doubt and fear is drowned by the vibration of sacred mantra. A video by the KRIYATE group.

Would Hare Krishnas wear Karen Walker? Probably not. The designer’s show focused on just that: Krisha-style clothes.

New Vrindaban’s Transcendental “Throwback Thursday” – 01/09/14.

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

This week’s challenge: Name the three devotees who can be clearly identified in the photo.

Extra credit: With a little patience and determination, you might be able to ID a few more.

Post your best guesses on the “who, what, when & where” in the comment section at the New Vrindaban Facebook Page.

Technical stuff: We share the photo Thursday and confirm known details Sunday.

Let’s have a bit of fun and see who knows their New Vrindaban history!

Logan Laplante is a 13 year-old boy who was taken out of the education system to be home schooled instead. Not only was he home schooled, but Logan had the ability to tailor his education to his interests and also his style of learning, something traditional education does not offer. As Logan has mentioned, when he grows up he wants to be happy and healthy. 

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

14 01 04 Chaitanya Charitamrita By H G Bhakti Brihat Bhagavata Swami Maharaj ISKCON Juhu

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

1969 January 9: "I am very much anxious for getting my books published. But I do not know how I will get them published. I do not mind for the profit concerned. But I want to see them published."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 January 9: "Simply we have to see that in our books there is no spelling or grammatical mistake. We do not mind for any good style, our style is Hare Krishna, and such literatures are welcomed, read and respected by bona fide devotees."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 January 9: "These boys and girls have understood what is austerity and what is the difference between matter and spirit. Though they may be dressed in rags, still they are more exalted than kings."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 January 9 : "That is the secret of my success, those who are helping me are sincere, they have done the work. A little sincerity is very difficult thing in this age of hypocrisy and bluff."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 January 9: "If you take the royalty it will be personal interest in money and trade, and this will deviate your principle of sannyasa. Sannyasi lives by begging alms for the bare necessities of life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 January 9: "Everyone should adore our members as honest. These dishonest methods must be stopped. It is hampering our reputation all over the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 January 9: "Money collected for feeding people in India should be collected under ISKCON Food Relief. Not any other name. Every farthing collected for that purpose must be used for that purpose."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 January 9: "Everyone must be full-time engaged and the best engagement is to sell books. All should attend classes 2 or 3 times daily, chant 16 rounds, and go out for street sankirtana."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

Answer Podcast

From Sushant Kulkarni

Answer Podcast

From Rekha Mathkarr Mataji

I believe and trust Krishna and follow all the scriptural regulations, but what we are experienceing weather wise in united States is beyond tolerance. Since last two wks.there are snow storms after snow storms. People are striended at airport unable to rich there destination. Schools are closed. People are unable to go to work. Elderly people like me are unable to see Dr.and stuck at home unable to get groceries.
How do you apply Gita wisdom in such situations?
Is there anything left to us other than keep praying?

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast

Its pretty obvious what’s wrong with eating meat – you have to kill other living beings to get it. But its not so obvious why other foods are forbidden on the plates of yogis.

Some are easy or obvious. Wines and so on, for example, obviously have a fuzzing effect on the mind and a liberating effect on animal instincts. So a yogi avoids intoxication (or, in some yogic disciplines, engages it very systematically). But there are some prohibited foods that just seem mysterious. Garlic and onion is the most popular. Actually Carrots are also included in the group classically, but for some reason that gets overlooked.

Garlic-abstainers will often quote fabulous stories about how these vegetables originated from the corpse of a slain cow, or the blood of a demon, or some variety of tale. We are going to ignore these, because they do not appeal to logical persons. They are meant for the masses who simply require a vivid storyline.

Some claim that these foods cannot be offered to Krishna, and therefore devotees cannot eat them. However, I haven’t heard such claims ever accompanied with actual authentic evidence from a śāstra. I don’t know for sure that such authentic evidence doesn’t exist, but I do know for sure that no one saying “Krishna won’t accept garlic/onion/carrot” has ever given me an actual source quote substantiating the claim. The best general argument I’ve heard is that devas (divinities) are, of all the senses, most sensitive to smell. This is why everything involved in religious ceremonies (flowers, incense, oils, and so on) smells good, and its why things that “smell bad” (not sure how carrots would fit in here) are not part of religious things. Anyhow, I think a lot of people would be really shocked to actually make a deep survey of the Sanskrit sourcebooks and discover the wide varieties of food and drink Krishna reportedly enjoys, many of which contain substances forbidden to the practitioner.

Still, there is a valid reason why certain vegetables should be avoided:

Every substance in the world has a specific effect on you when you perceive it. Its just the way the world works, food included. Each food has a different effect on you when you ingest it. We don’t even notice it most of the time. If your room is filthy you don’t notice a little extra disorganization in your top shelf, but if you are trying to keep your room very clean and organized, you notice things right away. Similarly our psychological nature is so radically disturbed by things like FaceBook, text messages, billboards, talk shows, and video games that we really have no idea at all if something as innocuous as garlic might or might not have some effect on our mind.

So perhaps its a bit myopic for an aspiring yogi to insist on fastidious abstinence from onions, carrots, garlic and so on, while at the same time indulging his eyes in the comparatively raucous stream of images, videos, and ideas from FaceBook and Twitter on an iPhone in a movie theatre? Yes. Priorities, please.

Still, if you are one of those very few people who really sit down and want to focus your mind clearly on mantra-meditation, you will rightly want to not only govern (or abandon) your addictions to the internet and so on, you’ll also want to double-check your choice of vegetables.

What garlic does (and I guess presumably onions and carrots too, although I have to admit that in my personal experience onions seem innocuous compared to garlic, and carrots similarly innocuous compared to onions)… anyway, what garlic does is make the mind “fuzzy.” In yogic terminology it aggravates “rajas” - the effect of which is to disturb clarity of mind, and make it more easily distracted by “interesting” ideas and plans.

There are a few non-yogi, modern-medical-type people (like Bob Beck) who have also noticed this. And it’s not just an Indian thing, Romans (like Horace) and Chinese (like Tsang-Tsze) also noticed this. But as for you and I… we should also be able to experience it. And we can. But here is what you would have to do to notice it:

(a) For one month abstain entirely from: internet, video games, television, movies, newspapers and casual reading.

(b) During this time abstain of course from intoxications, meats, and sexual activity of any sort.

(c) During this time, abstain also from garlic (and why not also onions and carrots).

(d) Try to meditate for an extended period on a single mantra, with great focus.

The purpose of this cleansing month is to “organize the room of your mind.” Then, after one month of this, eat a nice big dose of the forbidden veggies (while still practicing the A andB). And take a note how how it makes you feel when you try to do D.

When you compare your mantra meditation in the few days at the end of the month, with your mantra meditation after you feasted on garlic like a cured vampire, you’ll notice for yourself that this is for real, Garlic and so on really does make a difference to the quality of your concentration.

But you’ll also notice that unless you are regularly doing A and B pretty fastidiously, it doesn’t really matter.

So, my advice?

Focus on D, the mantra.

If you do, you will want to try your best to do A and B.

If you do, C will make a difference, too.

Priorities please, not checklists for being “on the team.” Thanks.

Hare Krishna.

From Aniket:

We know the story of lord vitthal at pandharpur.
It is said that pundalik was serving his mother and father, krishna came to meet him,but he gives brick to lord and request for wait till his service to his mother and father,after words he meet to lord and pray for stand to give darshan to all devotees,
how can we understand this?

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast

"As long as we chant as we have been taught we will not com­mit the first type of disruption, varna-vyvadhana. But a sub­tle form of this dis­rup­tion occurs when we don’t pro­nounce the mantra prop­erly. Srila Prab­hu­pada refers to a “hiss­ing sound” that is some­times pro­duced by a poor chanter and in a lec­ture he made a car­i­ca­ture of slurred chant­ing, and said “hurkr­ish hurkr­ish krishkr­ish” and said “Not like that. But with priti, with love."

by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
From Viraha Bhavan #140

Please click here for all photos

You may experience either happiness or distress. You may know fame or infamy. The lowest persons may insult you, or the saintly devotees may praise you. You may know poverty or great wealth. You may obtain all valuable things, or you may not obtain anything. Whatever position your past pious or impious deeds may place you in, just make Vrindavana your life and soul.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-30 Translation ]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 19.132.

“Being a Rupanuga doesn’t mean dressing in a loincloth and sleeping under a tree. The real essence is, as Srila Rupa Gosvami is described: sri-caitanya-mano-’bhistam sthapitam yena bhu-tale—he established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Chaitanya. He understood the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and was empowered to establish it on earth (bhutale). That is done primarily—not exclusively, but primarily—through writing, publishing, and distributing books. And this has come to us through parampara. Srila Prabhupada compared it to a train: ”This is the parampara system. My guru maharaja pushed me, I am pushing you, and you are pushing others. It is like a train.” And so the pushing through parampara continues. That is seen and experienced very vividly here: the whole temple is surcharged, and it is very enlivening.”

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 19.132, Sant Nagar, New Delhi

The Absolute cannot be enjoyed by sensuous exploitations to bring any profit to mind and body. All the profits accrued by offering our services to the Absolute are never meant for our temporary happiness depriving others of the benefit. The theme of the Vedanta actually deprives the human frame and subtle body, of the bliss, which are wrongly incorporated with the unalloyed absolute infinitesimals.

- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, The Vedanta – Its Morphology and Ontology 

As we usher in 2014, ISKCON News takes a look back at fifteen stories that helped to shape the last twelve months. While it was tough to single out only fifteen, we tried to narrow it down by selecting those that had the most impact on the whole of ISKCON as a society, as well as those that demonstrated ISKCON’s impact on the outside world. -- Read more ›

Being on dialysis I have the same benediction that Grandfather Bhisma had — I can leave my body any time I want. Stop the dialysis and 8 days later I am gone. Because of that I was allowed to register for hospice care. It is not active and activation would be the next step but for now I think I have at least another year before my liver fails so it is a contingency plan. Still one’s thoughts turn to the end game,

An email my sister:

Matt has an app on his phone that alerts him if his furnace is not working correctly. He got a message that the temp had dropped 10 degrees yesterday while in St Paul, MN so I went and sat at his home writing Christmas thank yous as waited for the Heating man to come over to fix it. Since quiet and by myself I had time to think of lots of our Dad, Paul stories, on what would have been his 92nd birthday. He sure liked to tell detailed stories! Just think he has been with Jesus Christ, family and friends for 20 yrs of eternity now! Wow, wonder what that will be like? Exciting future!! I can wait awhile still to find out, but have the hope of heaven since in a relationship with Jesus, so am thankful!

I was doing some Bible Study prep tonight and came across this passage in 2 Corinthians that always makes me think of Dad. He told me it was time to pack his tent up when preparing for his physical death, so know he was referring to this:

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

I think of our mother when I read the verses below as it seemed as she got sicker, her spirit seemed to stay positive and mind clear. We were so protected by God that she was that way with her head so full of tumors! Remember her last words were “Trust and Obey for there is no other way”.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Love, your sister Laura

Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever

with a never before released bonus track. -- Read more ›

Yesterday we traveled north through the jungle to the famous Adi-kesava temple which Lord Caitanya visited 500 years ago during His journey through South India. It was in the Adi-kesava temple that Mahaprabhu found a copy of the 5th chapter of the Brahma-samhita. The inner sanctum of the temple was constructed over 4,000 years ago. [...]

1970 January 8: "When I was in London, I was wearing on your cloak daily because there it was severe cold. But this side is very nice. It is not cold at all. So when I get back the coat surely I shall utilize it properly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 January 8: "Krishna is never approached directly. Krishna is approached through His bona fide servitors. Try your best to serve Krishna under the direction of your Spiritual Master and Krishna will surely help you in all respects."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970