New Vrindavan Village Co-op Sundays 12 PM
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

nv village coop

New Vrindavan Village Co-op is a consensus based community gathering of individuals who are working towards a more self-sufficient life style. In line with two of the four pillars of Prabhupada’s vision for New Vrindavan, our focus is agriculture, horticulture, agroforestry, natural building, renewable resources, healing arts, crafts, living off the land with local economies and cow protection.

We serve as a think tank and work force for ECOV, who has a very similar mission. In weekly meetings we discuss, organize and prioritize projects we wish to work on. We serve as a place for co-ordination and co-operation between the community members, ECOV and ISKCON.”

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NV Village Co-op Meeting on Sunday January the 12th:

THE AGENDA WAS:

1. Fence Proposal for Teaching Garden
2. Food Production Contracts
3. Food Production Manager
4. Food Production Facility
5.Housing Projects
6. Marketing

Meeting every Sunday at 12 PM

The Office of Communications for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness launched its brand new website
→ Dandavats.com

The site was conceived by Anuttama Das, the International GBC Minister of Communications, and Keshava Das, the North American Director of Communications. It was created by Murari Das and Devaprastha Das. According to Keshava, the website will help to remind devotees that “as a movement, we play a role in a much larger world.” “We want to encourage our leaders to think of ourselves as not an insular religious group, but as playing a bigger role in the communities that are temples and centers are in,” he says. -- Read more ›

Harinam in Vishnu Kencana Garuda Cultural Park – Bali Indonesia (Album 28 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

On the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad holiday yesterday, Harinam team went to Vishnu Kencana Garuda Buses Sarbagita use. Along the way we are allowed to harinam and distribute prasadam cake on the bus. Garuda Vishnu Kencana is located in the famous Unggasan Vishnu and Garuda statue measuring 12 meters and 18 meters are able to pick a lot of tourists to the place. That day the place was so crowded by tourists. " Harinam was well received there and some of them come to dance and sing with us. Photo by Kanai Hall das and Nagarivika -- Read more ›

Nelson’s (Motueka in the South Island of New Zealand) Hare Krishna community celebrated the Ratha Yatra for the first time!
→ Dandavats.com

Nelson's Hare Krishna community celebrated the Ratha Yatra festival last week, the first time the event has been held in Nelson. Ratha Yatra marks the journey of Lord Jagannatha across India. It is celebrated worldwide besides its spiritual home Puri, a city in eastern India. Nelson's Hare Khrishna community is based in Motueka. -- Read more ›

Srila Prabhupada Disciple Profile: Haripuja Devi Dasi
→ Dandavats.com

Haripuja devi dasi attended the Art College of Pittsburgh in 1970-71, where she learned to hand-design advertisements. Being the age before computers, this art form would later allow her to hand-correct Srila Prabhupada’s book negatives. Her real desire was to learn fashion design. Haripuja prabhu tried many things before coming to Krishna Consciousness such as modeling, traveling, and yoga. She was searching for answers about God and this world. Upon meeting the devotees, satisfying answers convinced her to join the temple in Pittsburgh in 1971. Within a year, she took initiation. -- Read more ›

New Communications Website to Build Relationships
→ ISKCON News

The Office of Communications for ISKCON launched its brand new website, communications.iskcon.org. The site’s main purpose is to serve as an initial touchpoint for outside parties. It allows groups such as the media, academics, neighbors and the interfaith community to find contact details for their local ISKCON communications liaison, and to get some basic information about what ISKCON is and what it does.

And the winner is…… The Bolivian Blue Marble!
→ Dandavats.com

As ISKCON's flagship project The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium's representatives put it: "The day has come. The suspense is over. After over a year of correspondence, negotiations and near failure, the blue marble has finally been ordered." On behalf of the ToVP Sadbhuja Das is in charge of carefully and personally selecting only the best materials from around the world in order to build a temple that will last for “much more than a life time.” -- Read more ›

Mayapur, January 2014
→ KKSBlog

mayapur sunriseWe will catch up on reporting on events taken place in January.

In Mayapur, the new year was greeted by a Kirtan Mela that featured Kadamba Kanana Swami and Lokanath Swami. The Kirtan Mela was held in Prabhupada Park which is behind the Lotus Building. The program started at 7 pm on the eve and continued until after midnight. Despite it being a cold night, a large crowd turned up which were mostly international members of the Mayapur community. A huge fire and melodious kirtans kept them going. At the stroke of midnight, a fireworks display lit up the sky.

In the first week of the new year, Maharaj presented a three-part Caitanya Caritamrta seminar to the Russian devotees. Each seminar was two hours long. Unfortunately, part one of the seminar was not recorded, however parts two and three were and are available for download below.

Maharaj continues giving Srimad Bhagavatam classes and doing other programs whenever possible. On Sunday (12 January), he was invited to a program at the house of Doyal Gauranga Prabhu, a resident of Mayapur. On Monday (13 January), Maharaj spent the morning with students of the Kirtan Academy. There was kirtan, a Q&A session and a discourse on Caitanya Caritamrta. The Kirtan Academy is a relatively new concept in Mayapur and you may read all about it on their website. Recordings from these two programs will follow shortly.

Maharaj’s service with the TOVP project is ongoing and as part of it, this week he had to travel to Abu Dhabi and to Johannesburg, to meet with engineers. In this short visit to South Africa, he will present the lecture at the Sunday program (19 January) at the temple in Durban which also coincides with the Chandra Yatra festival of Sri Sri Radha Radhanath.

We would like to acknowledge the following devotees who have assisted with photos and recordings for the blog in recent times: Bhadra Balaram Das, Pradyumna Misra Das, Vibhu Caitanya Das, Candrasekhara Das and Malini dd.

 

Audio recordings

KKS_Mayapur_31 December 2014_Kirtan

KKS_Mayapur_1 January 2014_CC Seminar_Russian_Part 2

KKS_Mayapur_3 January 2014_CC Seminar_Russian_Part 3

KKS_Mayapur_January 2014_Lecture_Russian_SB 5.10.6

 

Photos

Here are pictures from all the programs mentioned above as well as darshans of Sri Giriraja. If you cannot view the slide-show, then please visit flickr.

Anniversary of the Juhu Temple Opening, Evening Program, January 15, Juhu, Mumbai
Giriraj Swami

01.15.14_01.Juhu“Srila Prabhupada wanted this temple to be opened in his presence. So much of his valuable energy and time were dedicated to opening this very temple. He fought for it, he struggled, he personally collected for it, but it was not possible to open it while he remained in this world. So these devotees—many devotees—but I am thinking now how personally His Holiness Tamal Krishna Maharaja and His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja took this as their gift to Srila Prabhupada that was inviolable. They had to do it. So these two events were so strongly fixed in their consciousness that the opening of this Radha-Rasabihari Mandir was on an equal level to placing Srila Prabhupada in samadhi.”—Bhurijana dasa

01.15.14_02.Juhu01.15.14_03.Juhu01.15.14_04.Juhu01.15.14_05.Juhu______________________________________________

Gopal Krishna Goswami
Bhurijana dasa
Radhanath Swami
Narottamananda dasa
Vishvadevi dasi
Giriraj Swami
Jagjivan dasa

 

“Associate with Devotees”?
→ The Enquirer

Śrī Rūpa advises that one of the five most powerful practices is sajātiyāśaya-snigdha Śrī-bhagavat-saṅga. The first three words, sajātiya, āśaya and snidgha describe the tope of bhagavat-bhakta we should seek saṅga with. āśaya means “worthy of sheltering” – so in other words, they should be more advanced than us. That’s pretty common knowledge. The other two are less commonly understood. Sajātiya means “from the same mold” – in other words we should associate with more advanced devotees *who we actually have things in common with.* For example since I am a musician it is powerful for me to associate with advanced devotees who are also musicians, or since I am a brainy-type, it is powerful for me to associate with advanced devotees who are studious and scholarly in the same subjects I am into. Etc. The third word is “snigdha” which means “soft” and means that the advanced devotees we have stuff in common with should be soft towards us, in other words soft-hearted, affectionate, kind. When those three things are there, the association is very powerful and it quickly and powerfully inspires our divine inspiration towards Krishna-prema.


New Vrindaban Daily darsan @ January 16, 2014.
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

01

If you desire to easily get vast wealth, a beautiful wife, good children, a palatial home and the other opulences that don’t come in this world without a struggle, and if you desire krishna-bhakti, which carries liberation in the palm of her hand, then simply reside in the spiritual realm named Vrindavana.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-34 Translation ]

Please click here for more photos

 

 

Your body is your temple
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 December 2013, Midrand, South Africa, Evening Lecture)

prabhupada chanting and talkingTo be part of this movement means to become thoroughly honest, it is said. Thoroughly honest, it is not about not speaking a lie but it is more about being completely dedicated to speaking the absolute truth, Krsna, and not hiding it! Krsna, it’s about Krsna. Not ashamed (laughing)!

“What’s that there?”  (pointing at tilak)

“Oh that, oh, it’s nothing much”.

“No. What is it actually?”

“Uh…vaisnava tilak”.

“Oh, what is that?”

That is sacred clay, from a sacred place, Gopi-candana. It is placed there (on the forehead) and it is said that between the two lines, Lord Visnu resides, om kesavaya namaha! In this way, in twelve places, the Lord is installed on our bodies. In this way, our body becomes a temple, a sacred place which is to be respected. A sacred place which is meant for worship and nothing else!

ISKCON Cares Starts with “I” Learn to Care
→ simple thoughts

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During a recent visit to one of the Sanga’s held in London I was asked by one of those attending if it was possible to visit their terminal ill farther in many ways an continuation of the request made to me by my Guru Maharaja.

It was a busy visit with a maha-clean of Radharani’s bakery and also the opportunity to give the evening class, so we made an arrangement to visit in the evening before my return to Wales.
Arriving I could see the crumpled diseased body which was suffering the pangs of a deteriorating body; unable to communicate it’s hard not to be moved by the suffering the material body goes through.

It was so nice as we started a small kirtan and as some of you know I’m no expert indeed I’ve been nicknamed the Kirtan killer but it was nice that the elderly gentleman responded indeed you couldn’t help but be moved by the families sincerity, love for their farther but most of all their seeking of spiritual guidance (something I am immensely disqualified to do) in order to keep their farther connected to Sri Krishna.

Followed was a small Gita class I gave the follow on from the previous evening’s class I gave, then came the questions and their was a lot. It is hard to see a anyone suffer even more so if it’s a loved one; and we forget what a physical and emotional toll this takes especially if one has taken up the often thankless task of looking after their loved one.

I had two realisations:

1) The need to make sure that we have support and regular devotee visits to sick and terminal ill individuals

2) That we have and offer support to the families

It reminded me that the earliest recorded infirmary (hospital) was not the large institutions we see today, but were connected to the monasteries; at large people understood that the body would die and would make sure the soul was well cared for.
As devotee’s we need to make sure that the body does not have to take birth again filling the air with the transcendental sound vibration of the maha-mantra; as in a vast majority of cases the hearing is the last thing to go to hear the blissful names of Sri Krishna makes the greatest of difference.

I’ve in my nursing years seen many spirit souls leave their body, often you see the pain in the facial features or the hollow emptiness of the eyes; but when the mahamantra and words of Sri Krishna are present there is bliss and a brightness in the eyes uncharacteristic of most souls experience of death.

They explained his joy in offering Tulasi Arati but now looking at the disease riddled body it appeared useless; my advice continue Please continue, Sri Krishna will remind him of the joy he felt offering Arati to Tulasi Maharani he will I am convinced remember.

Leaving I promised that on my return to London I would visit again, as they dropped me off at The Manor we spoke for some time in the car park; of the painful discussions ahead; it was nice to hear such openness indeed we do need to be honest in speaking about our struggles in Krishna Consciousness.

And as we parted way’s they asked that no matter what happens would I still visit, indeed it reminded me that this is the key to Krishna Consciousness friendship’s, a listening ear, understanding without condemning and a willingness to just be their.

If we want to show that ISKCON Cares then in my humble realisation it starts with:

“I learn to CARE”

The Sankirtan Movement of Lord Caitanya Will Always Be Street Based
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“It is so simple that you will miss it!”, said Srila Prabhupada to Tribhuvanath Prabhu. I can still hear the words in my ear as if it was yesterday and still hear Tribhuvanath’s laugh as he told us the story.

He left the planet about 12 years ago, what I saw in that devotee was a kind person who took the words of His Divine Grace in a serious way. Srila Prabhupada wanted us to be happy.

In the Juhu temple he stopped my wife Moksha Lakmi on the stairs “So you are chanting Hare Krishna?,” (yes Srila Prabhupada!)”are you happy,”(yes Srila Prabhupada).

Check out the smiling faces of the devotees and non devotees

Jai Srila Prabhupada.

House’s of Parliment honour the Gita
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The Bhagavad Gita being honoured at London’s Houses of Parliament
The appearance day of the Bhagavad Gita is to be celebrated every year from this time forth at the House of Commons.

Can you imagine just 100 years ago the topic would have been “how to turn India away from it’s primitive books”, and last year in Russia there was the concept of banning the Bhagavad Gita.

Tribhuvanath Prabhu’s Festival team and Food For All crew performed Kirtan for half an hour to a packed house.

Jai Srila Prabhupada,
your servant Parasuram Das

A Direction for the 50th
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das



I started to write an appeal to devotees to help generate an interest in my recently published book Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest. I knew that I needed the help and blessings of all the devotees in order to create a tipping point that would spark a general interest in the book and the points it raises.

In looking at the direction I wanted to take with my book, I realized there is a broader issue for our society to look at.  As devotees, we always want to provide the answers to societies ills. But more importantly, we must first formulate the right questions for people to consider. In other words, how do we create buzz?  What type of conversations can we initiate which will be of interest and relevancy to the greater society?

Of course,  devotees around the world are making remarkable impacts every day. Now, as we approach the 50th, we need to focus on and broaden our influence in these areas, such as: kirtana, vegetarianism and prasadam distribution, yoga, the Hindu community, academia, promoting books, the media, Mayapur, festivals and cultural events which appeal to the public,  giving people an understanding of what is real leadership, what is dharma, and to appreciate Srila Prabhupada’s Herculean efforts to make Krishna Consciousness available all over the world.

By the 50th I mean both the 50thanniversary  of Srila Prabhupada’s journey to America and the founding of ISKCON.  Because, pardon my bluntness, the story and achievements of an individual always trumps that of an organization totting it’s own horn. 2015 has to be as important as 2016.  They are both part of the same story. We should take thorough advantage of both of these years.  (I’m sorry I don’t remember where, but I recently read a statement on a site that Prabhupada’s stepping off the Jaladutta onto the Boston pier was the most monumental event of the 20thcentury.)

I keep reading about meetings and conferences devotees have, but how are they communicating the planning and inspiring the rest of the Society? Is the planning inclusive? The main thing, since this is only a year way, is that right now for all devotees to be in the conversation about in the 50th  and to develop and promote individual and temple initiatives on the local level.

Fortunately, the dust has settled on much of the controversy that has plagued our Movement for the past 25 years. We can move forward with confidence. At this time let all lovers of the Holy Name join forces and move forward on the things we can agree upon. Let’s have a little experiment.  Let devotees put away their differences for three years and see what happens. This mood of cooperation would be very pleasing to Srila Prabhupada and would make a wonderful collective gift for him for the 50th.  We all need to be involved.  

Amaze yourself. Each day, move a little beyond what you think you can do.  Let’s use the 50thto catapult Krishna Consciousness into the 21th Century.

And by the way, please visit my site about the book www.Mahabharata-Project.com   Thanks.