Why do some people during NDEs feel peace and don’t see Yamadutas? Doesn’t this prove that such experiences are just imaginations based on their subconscious conceptions?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Why is it that in the reported cases of NDE's in west and east differ, people in west report seeing things which are totally
different from what we know from the Vedas..........most people claim to be seeing themselves dead and gradually rising above rising above in a realm of total peace  (HG RSP's book "Positive thinker" has one such case mentioned)..... none of them claim to see
Yamadutas.....................does it not prove all of these to be seen only coz of the way their subconscious mind has been trained
throughout life?

Answer Podcast

Why did Lord Chaitanya not give the Hare Krishna mantra to Tukaram Maharaj?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

If lord Chaitanya is the spiritual master of Tukaram Maharaj then why is it that he was given a different Mantra than the Maha Mantra
though the Upanishads claim the maha mantra to be the only remedy for removing the effects of Kali.................................If it's
just because "Ram Krishna Hari" also is God's name only, then one may say that he'll chant that only because that's shorter and more
verifiable as whole village actually saw tukaram maharaj going back to Godhead.

Answer Podcast

Is the Absolute Truth like water that appears liquid to the impersonalists and solid to the personalists?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Some spiritual teachers give the example that how we perceive the Absolute Truth depends on our consciousness. Just as the same water appears liquid at one temperature and solid at another temperature, so the Absolute Truth appears impersonal at one level of consciousness and personal at another level. Is this a correct understanding?

Answer Podcast

Srila Prabhupada Cooks With His Disciples In Honolulu!!!
→ Dandavats.com

It was Saturday morning. He finished his morning lecture. He was in the process of moving off the Vysasana. He paused and looking out at all of us (about 80 devotees in all) and smiling said “All over the world - in all our ISKCON temples – we offer a very nice Sunday Love Feast. Here we are also doing. Yes? So tomorrow is Sunday. You are all invited – AND ( he paused for effect) I will cook!” Read more ›

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2013-11-27 04:30:00 →

1971 November 27: "The residents of Vrindaban are simply astounded to see our party chanting with great jubilation through the city streets. The Mayor and others are proclaiming I have done something wonderful, that Vrindaban is now world famous due to my preaching. So they are all very much appreciating their hometown Swami."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

ISKCON Scarborough – Wonderful class on "Exploring the Scientific Basis on Reincarnation" coming Saturday
→ ISKCON Scarborough

Hare Krishna!
Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!
We are extremely honoured to welcome HG Gadadhara Pandit das prabhu to ISKCON Scarborough coming Saturday - 30th Nov 2013.
It is also the day of auspicious Swathi Ntchatra which is the birth star of Lord Narasimhadev.
The program starts at 6.30 PM with a wonderful Abhishek that will be performed on Lord Narasimhadev followed by the class on "Exploring the Scientific Basis on Reincarnation" that will be given by HG Gadadhara Pandit das prabhu from 7 pm to 8 pm.
H.G Gadadhara Pandit Prabhu Biography:
Gadadhara Pandit Dasa (also known as Pandit) is a monk, lecturer and the first-ever Hindu chaplain for Columbia University and New York University. He speaks at the nation’s leading universities, yoga studios, and retreat centers, inspiring audiences with India’s spiritual wisdom. His unique approach combines teachings of the ancient classic, Bhagavad-Gita, with popular Hollywood movies such as “The Matrix.”

Pandit spoke at a recent TEDx conference at Columbia University and was featured in the NPR piece "Long Days and Short Nights of a Hindu Monk." He appeared in the PBS Documentary on the Bhagavad Gita, as well as The New York Times. He is also a regular contributor for the Huffington Post.

Pandit was born in Kanpur, India and moved to Los Angeles in 1980 as a child. After the collapse of his parents’ multi-million dollar family business, Pandit began to introspect on the deeper meaning and purpose of life which led him to join a monastery in India, in 1999. Today, he is an urban monk living in New York City and uses his life experiences, teachings of the Gita, mantra meditation, and vegetarian cooking to guide and encourage people to live more balanced and wholesome lives.

His life is chronicled in Pandit's autobiography: Urban Monk - Exploring Karma, Consciouness and the Divine to be released July 2013.


Some youtube links:


Other link:


With best wishes from,
ISKCON Scarborough 
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3, 
Scarborough,Ontario, 
Canada,M1V4C7 
Email Address: 
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com
website: 

www.iskconscarborough.com

Brahmā’s Bestiary
→ The Enquirer

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.10.37-39

Parīkṣit: What names and forms does Brahmā create in this world?

Śuka: He created the Prajāpatīs. Through them, he created the Manus (the forbearers of mankind), the Devas (gods), Ṛṣis (the scholars, especially the original seven sages), and the Pitṛs (“forefathers” who inhabit the netherworld). He created the Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Gandharvas, and Vidyādharas  (super-humans who have mastered various fine arts and sciences). He created the Asuras (demons), and Guhyakas (guardians of the netherworld’s wealth). He created the Kinnaras (a species that combines animal features with the human form), Apsaras (beautiful dancers and masters of erotic arts), Nāgas (dragons – supernatural serpents), Sarpas (a less advanced supernatural serpent), Kimpuruṣas (a species combining monkey and human features), Naras (humans), and the Mātṛs (“foremothers” who inhabit the netherworld).

Those are all wonderful species, but he also created monstrous entities like Rakṣas (primal natural spirits), piśācas (ogres), pretas (undead), bhūtas (ghosts), vināyakas (thievish goblins), kūṣmāṇḍas (globular spirits that possess entities), unmādas (lunatics), vetālas (vampires), yātudhas (man-eaters), and grahas (spirits that possess humans).

He also created sub-human species like birds, wild animals, domestic animals, plants, crystals, and reptiles.

He created every form of life in either of the two divisions (moving or not), or four divisions (those born from cellular division, seeds, eggs, or wombs), dwelling anywhere in the water, on land, or in the sky.

All of them experience fortune and misfortune as a result of their own actions.


This Is Actually Krsna
→ Japa Group

"So while you are chanting, you don't have to get to something else or go somewhere else or wait for "it" to happen, but you just have to realize that this is actually Krsna. Then, as you realize Krsña more, you get more into the chanting. You realize that the chanting is simply to chant Krsna's name, and you want to do it more and more."

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

The holy land of ecstasy
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 22 November 2013, Mayapur, India, Gurukula Lecture)

samadhiSrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur explains that the holy name naturally comes together with Sri Dham. Sri Nam and Sri Dham are together. It is said that without Sri Dham, the full import of the holy name is not revealed because the holy name is non-different from Krsna – abhinatva nama naminoh.

Therefore, wherever Krsna goes, Vrindavan is always there, Sridham Mayapur – the same. When Krsna travels, he is not limited with a suitcase of twenty kilos. He is not thinking, “Gees, what am I gonna take? Some cintamani stones… and some prasadam.”

It is also not that when Krsna comes to the material world that he has to leave the spiritual world and he puts a note on the fridge saying, “Gone to the material world, will be right back!” not like that. Krsna just brings the entire spiritual world with him when he comes to the material world.

krishna-arjunaSrila Prabhupada explains that in Kuruksetra, we have Partha-sarati Krsna who is the chariot driver of Arjuna. Then Srila Prabhupada called the deities in Delhi Radha Partha-sarathi. So in 1975, some devotees asked him that how was it possible to call these deities Radha Partha-sarathi, when this name implies Kuruksetra –  Arjuna, arrows, battlefield, horses, armies and chariots – and not Vrindavan, so why Radha Partha-sarathi? Prabhupad replied, “Wherever there is Krsna, Radharani is always there!” because the entire spiritual world comes with Krsna when he comes to this world.

Therefore, the combination of dham and nam is especially potent. Of course, chanting of the holy name, wherever in the world one is, one can chant Hare Krsna – whether we sit with the Eskimos in the North Pole, sort of waiting for the sun to rise after six months of night, finally it gets light and it is brahma muhurta – it is a long brahma muhurta also! But when one chants deeply, wherever in the world one may be, then one is also in Vrindavan or in Mayapur, that is the truth! But it is said that when we are conditioned and we cannot appreciate it fully.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta wrote in a letter that the kirtan in the house of Srivas Thakur, in the Srivas Angan, is going on every night but only few devotees can hear it. Some devotees hear it directly in the night, they don’t hear the jackals howling – as some of us do – no, they hear the kirtan actually. Others hear through the scriptures, it is the same! So for most of us, we are hearing about Krsna’s eternal pastimes, about the dham and about the kirtans at night, through the scriptures and not directly. That is also good.

indian elephantSo we come to the dham but how deeply can we appreciate that the dham is the spiritual world? “Oh, Mayapur, nice place, nice jackals…” At night, when I hear jackals, I think they are in ecstasy and they’re just ululating. I think elephants were pujaris in their last life who used to blow the conchshell, therefore as elephants they are making that loud noise, like a trumpet sound! Everything in the dham is very transcendental but who has the eyes to see?

In the previous year, when we were going to Mamgachi, we were going through a channel with the boats and there were these crows sitting in a tree. We were chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Rama and this crow was also chanting like, “Raam! Raam!” We are in the dham – these are not ordinary living beings, these are devotees. But how much can we see, when we are conditioned devotees?

Still, staying in the dham even for the conditioned devotee is very valuable because the dham can give chaya bhava – it lends ecstasy. Just by being in the dham, it lends us some ecstasy. And it is said, if it is lending for a long time, then eventually the dham will just let you keep it. We are borrowing from the dham some ecstasy and not giving it back; we hold it carefully and then we hope that the dham forgets that we got some and that we can just keep it!

 

 

Evening of Bhakti – Saturday, December 14,13 – 6:30 PM.
→ Gaura-Shakti Kirtan Yoga


While we have all become accustomed to seeing the typical images that are conjured up when we think of yoga, it can be an heart-opening experience to learn of bhakti-yoga - the yoga of love. 

We warmly invite you to come and dive into an evening full of divine chants as you learn more about the ancient teachings of the yoga of the heart. The premise of the "Evening of Bhakti" is to hold a spiritually-soaked event for you. Whether you are completely new to the concept of bhakti-yoga or a seasoned veteran, you can expect an incredible evening of chanting, wisdom, dancing and more, followed by a vegan dinner. 

Please feel free to bring your family and friends, it is open for everyone!

Our next "Evening of Bhakti" will be taking place on Saturday, December 14, 2013 at the historic Hare Krishna Centre from 6:30pm to 9:00pm! Please note that the timings have changed to 6:30pm!  Our “Evenings of Bhakti” have been getting bigger and bigger.

**NEW** Now our Evenings of Bhakti will feature an exciting new change! Last Evening of Bhakti we officially moved to the grant temple hall, a much bigger and unique sacred space. Participants of our Evening of Bhakti had an opportunity to witness the sacred form of the Divine, as the temple hall features three incredibly beautiful altars. 

To help us plan properly for the number of guests attending, registration for the program is mandatory. Please confirm your attendance at: www.tinyurl.com/eveningofbhakti  if you haven’t confirmed yet. 

Admission is free but donations are encouraged to help support the program.

 We look forward to seeing you there!



Quietly Confident
→ Tattva - See inside out

I’m all set for a one-month break from computers, meetings and management (even monks can’t escape these things!). Taking full advantage of the festive season, we’ll travel the country sharing spiritual wisdom in the form of thousands of books; ancient writings which are ‘food for thought’ in a fast-paced world. Our approximate route: London – Norwich – Hull – Sheffield – Lincoln - Chesterfield- Stafford - Nottingham - Derby – Mansfield - Leicester - London (and a lot of smaller towns in between!). Last week I dropped off the books for our team in various locations. The sight of nearly four thousand books piled high to the ceiling was slightly bewildering! Would it be possible to stand in a bustling town-centre, stop people at random, and inspire the otherwise-engaged shoppers to seriously contemplate higher truths? Have we ambitiously over-ordered our stock? Will people really be interested? Where do we get the confidence to undertake such a task?

The modern self-development gurus teach us that confidence comes from within. You have to “believe in yourself”. If you are sure, others will be sure – your consciousness creates the reality. They tell us to be optimistic about our abilities, to pride ourselves in our strengths, and to have the conviction that anything is possible if we try hard enough. This ‘material confidence’ may work in a limited scope for a short time. Such confidence, however, which is rooted in self-assurance, will gradually deflate. We eventually realise that we’re not what we pumped ourselves up to be. In his prime, Muhammed Ali would proudly assert: “I am the greatest”. Later in life he realised his folly, declaring that he was in actuality the greatest fool for attempting to usurp the Supreme position.

Real confidence comes from humility. We realise our inherent limitations, but gain firm conviction from knowing that the all-powerful will of providence is on our side. With such transcendental back-up, anything is possible. One who is ‘quietly confident’, their surety grounded in humility and dependence, can achieve unimaginable things in this world. Pride, complacency and hopelessness are not found in their dictionary. Seeing themselves as merely instruments, their job is to just “get out of the way” and let the divine magic manifest. I’m trying to learn the art of being a ‘quietly confident’ ambassador of goodwill. By accessing the wisdom of Bhagavad-gita, people can flourish on all levels: physically, emotionally, socially and most importantly, spiritually. This is welfare work with a difference. I hope I’ll play a small part in connecting people to this spiritual powerhouse.


 

take a breath
→ everyday gita

Verse 4.29: Still others, who are inclined to the process of breath restraint to remain in trance, practice by offering the movement of the outgoing breath into the incoming, and the incoming breath into the outgoing, and thus at last remain in trance, stopping all breathing. Others, curtailing the eating process, offer the outgoing breath into itself as a sacrifice.

Extensive personal experience has revealed to me that taking deep, calming breaths can be the best thing to do when faced with any type of trying situation. Whether it be a heated argument, feeling out of place, becoming internally frustrated or even trying to curtail one's speech, it's amazing what breathing can do.

On a practical level, it calms one down. Now, it may not happen immediately, especially if one's emotions and feelings are quickly simmering, but by taking the time out to breathe, especially long and controlled breaths, the focus moves from the situation we face to the act of inhaling and exhaling.

In fact, my observation is that challenging situations result in me taking very short and shallow breaths. By consciously taking long and deep ones, the added benefits are numerous. More oxygen enters the body, one's attention is diverted to something else, and it just forces us to take some much needed time out.

That's why pranayama (control of the breathing process) is part of the yoga practice. Just as practicing different asanas (physical postures) help one to keep the body in healthy, working order, the breath has a huge effect not only on our body but on the mind as well.

This is one of the main reasons why I personally love the Gita so much. Not only is it practical but it answers a wide range of questions. From giving advice on how we can react positively to provoking situations to how we can find true happiness (and everything in between!), there's an answer to everything.

So the next time you feel yourself starting to lose it, take a breath. Taking that time out even for a few seconds or minutes could potentially give you a whole new perspective on the situation.