Planet ISKCON

Due to unusually cold weather attendance was down at our first festival in Ahmedabad last night. But we made up for it with our preaching on a popular talk show the same evening. Several million people watched “G Television” as myself, Sri Prahlad das and Syama Premi dasi spoke for 40 minutes about Srila Prabhupada [...]

"There is no "secret" to Japa; it is a struggle. There is no easy shortcut. The secret is to surrender to the struggle. The secret is to be afraid of death and to take it as very urgent that you must chant Hare Krsna. We used to have a slogan, "Chant while you can," on some posters and show a scary picture of a graveyard. So we have to think like that: "Chant while you can." That is the secret."

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

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He who gives up the company of ordinary people, keeps no servants or followers, agitated with a desire to serve Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, constantly sheds tears, his hands placed on his cheeks and lives in Vrindavana, is the most fortunate of all persons.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-33 Translation ]

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2010, Mumbai, India, Lecture)

Transcribed by Madhumati Devi Dasi

When you  see women as lust objects then how can you look after them!? You will not protect them; you will use them as though they are not human beings; as if they don’t deserve a man to support and protect them throughout their life…

You don’t care! You just care to get them in bed and when they are pregnant, you line-up an abortion and go for the next and another one and then another one. In this way, you become more and more selfish and you become less interested in the well-being of all those women with whom you are having sex with. Maybe, you will get bored with women and try men for a while or maybe you will try something else!

 

 

 

Giriraj Swami and Radhanath Swami spoke at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital Annual Day.

“A devotee is concerned for people’s suffering. Srila Prabhupada showed his concern by giving us the message of the Bhagavatam and giving us the holy name, but he was also concerned for our health. He would sometimes nurse his disciples—such as His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja—when they were physically sick. He signed his letters, ‘I hope this letter finds you in good health’. But his approach was holistic: body, mind, and soul.” —Radhanath Swami

Giriraj Swami
Radhanath Swami

Belo Horizonte is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of the country. -- Read more ›

More than 5000 people had participated in Rath Yatra -- Read more ›

Kanpur, is the largest industrial city of Uttar Pradesh and one of the largest in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kanpur Nagar district and Kanpur division. -- Read more ›

Promotion and dissemination of religious literature from ancient times were considered sacred and civic duty of every sincere believer -- Read more ›

Vaishnava Society for Krishna Consciousness is always open to dialogue and cooperation with other religious organizations and traditions. An example of this dialogue serves famous acharya: six Gosvamis, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Prabhupada. -- Read more ›

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Holy Name Meditation Podcast

1968 January 11: "You state that I am your life. This means you are my body and so neither life nor body can be separated because on the Absolute platform there is no such distinction."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 January 11: "You say my visit will be the biggest event since the Roman Invasion. Actually this will be so. If England is prepared, they will receive something sublime which they cannot produce in their own country, neither in Manchester, Glasgow, nor Edinburgh."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 January 11: "Many persons are regularly attending our classes and following the regulative principles and chanting Hare Krsna. That is the success of our preaching work when there is this result of more persons joining, so I am confident that things are going on."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 January 11: "Since you are now leader, you must be the perfect example of Krishna conscious devotee. How is that? Follow the regulative principles very diligently, maintain the highest level of standard in routine work such as rising early, cleansing, chanting, temple worship, street sankirtana, etc. And always keep the devotees satisfied."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 11: "Organize printing of our foreign books. For so many years you have been there and nothing has been printed. This is not a very good sign. How there can be preaching without books?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 11: "Now I want that our books and magazines be printed profusely and distributed all over, so do this very nicely, I think that will be your great credit. If these books are introduced among the student class they will have powerful effect."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 January 11: "Now Krsna is sending you new devotee to help. He is a good boy, now utilize him properly. He is sincere, learned, enthusiastic and qualified. Keep him nicely engaged."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 January 11: "The only fear I have is that you may fight. Please do not. That will ruin everything we have done. Now push on this glorious mission without letting it be hampered by any personal differences."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

I loved sitting down and just soaking in the sounds from the temple. The people singing, the ringing of the bells, the blow of the conch shell were some of the sounds that I remember the most. I saw people from all over the world, Australia, Europe and different parts of the US coming to the Vrindavan temple. -- Read more ›

Due to unusually cold weather attendance was down at our first festival in Ahmedabad last night. But we made up for it with our preaching on a popular talk show the same evening. Several million people watched "G Television" as myself, Sri Prahlad das and Syama Premi dasi spoke for 40 minutes about Srila Prabhupada establishing Krsna consciousness in the west and how Lord Krsna's teachings in Bhagavad Gita can solve the problems of modern society. We also went into great detail about the glories of chanting Hare Krsna and ended with a sweet kirtan. What bliss! -- Read more ›

“This man continued giving us biscuits and bananas every day for close to two weeks. So it’s like he used that way to drag so many people. And we loved the man, so every day he [saw] us there singing and dancing, chanting “Hare Krishna” until he left my village and he told us he was going back to India.” -- Read more ›

Presentation to senior health workers at the amazing Peacock Clinic in Nottingham.

The post How knowledge of the soul is relevant to health (Part 1) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) India  invites ISKCON devotees to participate in a 2-day seminar on the “Merits of Organized Book Distribution.” It is scheduled to take place on Jan 31,2014 and Feb 1, 2014 at ISKCON Tirupati. It is being conducted under the expert guidance of Vaisesika Dasa Adhikari.

The post January 11th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Recently there was a picture of Samba on the Brijabasi Spirit Throwback Thursday.  Naturally it reminded me of him. What he will be best remembered for is that he was a trucker who hauled in much of the materials that manifest as what most devotees would now recognize as New Vrindaban.

He took initiation from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 and helped build the Palace. All that marble you see at the Palace was hauled in and Samba made frequent trips to New York and other places to pick it up.

He was especially active in the 1980s when the lodge, Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Candra  temple and all the associated building were constructed. We had our own cement mixer for the floors and curbs and  a paving brick factory where all the pavers used in the parking lot were made. All that material was hauled in as well as the gravel substrata under the roads.  Also a lot of the construction materials that were used to build the structures.

Samba was so dedicated he would be at the gravel place when it opened in the morning. He would haul gravel all day until it closed. He would dump the gravel on a lot we purchased at Rte 88 and 250.  Then when  the gravel place would close he would reload the materials onto his truck and haul it the rest of the way  into New Vrindaban because he could get more done in a day that way.

When the lake by the temple, then called Kaliya Ghat,  was being built he was involved.   A large hole was excavatedIn order for a lake to hold water it needs a clay liner and the clay on site wasn’t suitable so he was trucking it in. He would dump it and the man (or in this case,  kid, our current ECOV director Chaitanya “Chaits” Mangala then age 14 ) on a dozer would smooth it out to make the liner.

BTW other members of the crew were Varsana Maharajah overseeing, Pippalada,  grader operator,  Murti, truck driver, Kaliya Krishna, trucker,  Sarva Saksi back hoe  and Samba, son of Hayagriva,  also just  a kid at age 12, dozer.

They would run in shifts around the clock and  a leader at the time said he couldn’t fall asleep unless he heard the equipment running.

Some of Samba’s ashes were spread in the ghat so the next time you watch a Swan Boat Ceremony, remember Samba.

Samba was also a devotee of Tulasi and spent a lot of time caring for Her.

After Srila Prabhupada left the planet and Kirtanananda took over Samba left for a few years. He got cancer and moved back to New Vrindaban to leave his body. He was set up in a room in what is the guest quarters now of the temple.

While there he was chanting furiously, so intently that a prominent leader  told him that because he had done so much service and was rightly situated in the temple that he didn’t need to worry so much about chanting so hard. Samba waited until the leader left the room then went right back to chanting furiously.

At the end there was a sannyasi who was visiting and standing next to his bed holding his danda. With his last breath Samba reached out, grabbed the danda , and left his body.  Those of us at the time who were hard core householders appreciated that although it is proscribed that at some time we take up the sannyasa life of celibacy, traveling and preaching, Samba only had to endure that for the shortest possible time, one breath, as we figured grabbing the danda was taking sannyasa. It was another thing to admire him for.

Curiously, although India is often associated with ideas of peace and tolerance, no Indian has ever been awarded the Peace Prize.

The newly launched website DevoteeClassifieds.com - is a place where devotees (and their friends) can buy and sell items amongst themselves, whether it be a house, a car, furniture or children’s books.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Orthodox Christians and all citizens of Russia who celebrate Christmas.

2014 01 04 Prerna Festival The Power To Change Radhanath Swami ISKCON Chowpatty

The tragic events in Volgograd makes us wonder about the nature of terrorism. The saddest thing is that people explain or justify terrorism with God, and with the name of God.

In each stage of the TOVP’s construction, only the top quality materials are selected. The goal of which is to ensure the sturdiness of the temple for years to come.

The project has entered a new phase of construction beginning the new contract for laying the brick on the walls and on the floors. Maintaining the TOVP standards, only India’s finest brick was chosen. This layer will form a solid base upon which the marble and decorative cladding works will be added. Furthermore, the walls will serve as weather protection for all of the structural elements.

The brickwork reveals a new dimension of progress as the sterile construction site becomes gradually transformed into a recognizable temple. If looking closely, one could perhaps already see hundreds of devotees dancing in ecstasy as the sounds of mridangas echo triumphantly throughout the ether.

Houston, Texas

Strong Points

Billy Graham, a popular American evangelist, had never taken up the status as a monk, yet he is commendable as an influential spiritualist. 

His name came up in one of our meetings, when the topic arose about being proactive in the matter of maintaining integrity on the spiritual platform.  Billy Graham was once asked how he keeps going on as a successful inspiration and his response was capsulated in two points.  Number one, he would never find himself in a man and woman in a room alone situation.  And with number two, he remarked that he doesn’t handle money. 

This information is pertinent for those particularly in the renounced order of life. 

At our meetings I took note of other remarks of inspiration quoted from different sources:

“Any course is better than no course.”
 
“Show them a ladder and people will climb.”
 
“The rising tide raises all boats.”
 
“For succession, get the best people, give clear goals, and get out of the way.”
 
“Where attention goes, energy flows.”
 
“Better a good plan today than a better plan tomorrow.”
 
“Be tolerant and continue progress with determination.” (Srila Prabhupada). 
 
“Humility.  Yes, but be aggressive, be a lion on the chase and a lamb at home.” (Srila Prabhupada).
 
May the Source be with you!

4 KM

Houston, Texas

The Train and a Time

The timing couldn’t be more precise.  Running alongside our meeting room is this railway line; a train goes by periodically with a routine whistle blowing off.  It seems to strike at a critical moment, just when something profound is being said or a major item is being voted on, there blows the whistle.

I got somewhat familiar with those tracks of the train at predawn when I was ambling on the trail right next to it.

I’ve always liked trains.  Since knowing that our guru, Srila Prabhupada, spent ample time on this mode of transportation in his years as a family man (prior to being a monk), the locomotive reminds me of him.  India, where he did his travels, mainly to earn his family’s keep, have the most complex and active passenger train system in the world.

For me the sound of a train represents optimism in a certain way.  They are ancient relics of the past.  They are powerful.  Of course, there is a dark side – products of a residual industrial revolution.   They made a major change in the culture of our indigenous people.  Their construction killed many labourers .  In Hope, British Columbia, I recalled through my travels through there, a plaque reads that for every mile of constructed track, three Chinese labourers fell to their death.

When my colleagues and I have our meetings in India, a small lizard, what they call a tik-tik, crawls along the walls and often makes a sound at a point of affirmation.  Here, in Houston, we hear the toot of a choo-choo, at a moment when it’s so on queue.  It just appears to be such perfect timing.  It is beyond declaring that it’s a coincidence.

May the Source be with you!

3 KM

Giriraj Swami spoke to the assembled parents, students, teachers, and other staff at the Bhaktivedanta Swami Mission School in Lokhandwala, Andheri West, Mumbai.
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Bhaktivedanta Swami Mission School Talk

"Therefore chanting the holy name is the prime religious activity of a Vaisnava. From the holy name gradually blossom the Lord’s form, qualities and pastimes. The entire panorama of Lord Krishna’s pastimes is present in the holy name."
From Sri Harinama Cintamani
Haridasa Thakura to Lord Caitanya

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Don’t do anything! Don’t say anything! Forget everything you’ve seen! Remember the fair and dark divine couple that pains Kamadeva, flee the common people and go to transcendental Vrindavana!

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-32 Translation ]