Planet ISKCON

It was a stunningly beautiful day in Helen and we had a wonderful day of music, dancing, association, and food!! Thank you to all of the devotees for all of your wonderful service! Read more ›

Harinama is the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord as shown to us by Srila Prabhupada. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu introduced the sankirtan movement 500 years ago and it is the spiritual process recommended in the Vedas for the age of Kali, the age we now find ourselves in. From the beginning of the Krishna consciousness movement in the West, Srila Prabhupada directed the devotees to chant congregationally in the temple as well as in the parks and streets of the towns and cities Read more ›

Or introducing the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra in a more acceptable way for the western mind... Read more ›

An historic early 20th century chateau, surrounded by 80 hectares of forests and pasture. Srila Prabhupada’s original quarters where he stayed during his visits to New Mayapur in the 1970s are preserved in the temple. Read more ›

O King, the pastimes of Lord Ramacandra were wonderful, like those of a baby elephant. In the assembly where mother Sita was to choose her husband, in the midst of the heroes of this world, He broke the bow belonging to Lord Siva. This bow was so heavy that it was carried by three hundred men, but Lord Ramacandra bent and strung it and broke it in the middle, just as a baby elephant breaks a stick of sugarcane. Thus the Lord achieved the hand of mother Sita, who was equally as endowed with transcendental qualities of form, beauty, behavior, age and nature. Read more ›

2013 09 11 Srimad Bhagavatam 10 24 14 Understanding Lord’s Intention and Appearance of Lalita Sakhi

Warmer Than A Fireplace

Vancouver, British Columbia

There is something warmer than a fireplace which has a block of hardwood crackling in a dancing fire.  That warmth I’m referring to is a group of people who are tightly knit together in spirit.  This has little or nothing to do with people holding hands and hugging and feeling each other’s body heat. It is not warm temperature, rather warm temperament that we are looking at.  In fact, cool heads often times have attached to them warm hearts.

In the conference room of Loon Lake’s retreat centre our group of like minds glanced through mammoth windows to admire the body of water as placid as you could imagine.  Your spruce, pine and cedar trees are also to be adored, if not explored.  But not now!  Exploration can come later, at break time.  First, we chanted before a make shift shrine of Gaura Nitai deities and a picture of our guru, Srila Prabhupada.

I then read a passage from the book, “Blazing Sadhus”.  The contents of the passage saw a bit of the laughter warmth; more than was already there.

Brahmananda (an early student of his) was consulting a lawyer to help renew the Swami’s expired visa.  He explained to Swamiji that one way to solve the problem was to go to Canada, stay for some months, re-enter the USA and reapply.

“That is too much botheration,” Swamiji said.

Brahmananda then said, “Well, the only other way is to marry to an American citizen.”

Sitting with us was a pleasant mannish woman who, along with a lady friend, who had been attending classes regularly for weeks.

She said, “Well, I can marry you if it will help.”

“No, no.” Swamiji laughed.  “I am sannyasi, I cannot marry.  But thank you.  That is nice service attitude.”

This reading started and stoked up our sessions of discussion. We went for review of past business, discussed our publication sales and succession planning – principally.  It was apparent that some of our leaders are too exclusive with their members; that inclusiveness is lacking.  In other words, it’s important to demonstrate personalism at all times; to emphasize ‘togetherness’, the team spirit.  Connect well with your community.

I was obliged to attend “Enchant” at the Unity Yoga Studio off of Commercial Drive in Vancouver.  Here the attendees are warmly receiving  the maha mantra and then returning it.  We all got to dancing and I must admit the body heat was rising.

It’s the company you keep that makes all the difference in your life.

May the Source be with you!

6 KM

A Few Of Us

Loon Lake, British Columbia

A few of us leaders of Krishna Consciousness converged at Loon Lake located near Maple Ridge.  It’s the venue for our AGM - Annual General Meeting for Canada.  The place is pristine, near a mountain’s summit.  Lodges, cabins, are made from the local logs.  It’s totally rustic; a perfect setting for thought, review, inspiration and planning.  Actually the place is a research centre for UBC, University of British Columbia.

Anubhava from Montreal and I, while waiting for others to turn up, got adventurous and helped ourselves to the short journey across the lake by way of a rope ferry.  Then we explored a trail around the lake.  We were disappointed to find no loons in the water.  Wildlife seemed in slumber to the exception of a few chipmunks and bird.  Cedars and pines are tall and erect.  Anubhava and I were dwarfs as we trekked amidst ferns and other humble plants.  A maintenance person informed us that snow comes in such quantities that boards are leaned against cabin windows otherwise the snow bursts through, breaking glass.

No bugs makes it pleasant.  As always, the biggest pest is the mind.  This thought, of the mind’s dictation, was expressed by myself in the documentary, “The Longest Road” released 10 years ago by the National Film Board.  The film was a re-enactment of my first walk of ’96.  I was recorded saying that while doing the long sojourn you may end up feeling very fatigued yet no pest is more pronounced than the mind.  That’s why the chanting.  That’s why you keep the best company with good support.  That’s why you immerse yourself in the promising stories of “The Ramayan”, “The Mahabharat” and other Puranic tales of righteousness.

Also when in a terrific natural setting as Anubhava and I find ourselves in, it just makes for the best environment to believe in such Divine presence.  We just felt really blessed.

I should also not fail to mention one of the accelerators in spiritual life – the prasad in the form of a hot soup, and butter on bread with roasted sesame.  The sun went down.  The fireplace was lit. What more can  you want?

May the Source be with you!

9 KM

We Were in Many Places

Burnaby, British Columbia

Squirrels.  There’s hardly a time in the year when you won’t find them scurrying about.  And now, with the fall clearly in its full blown manifestation, they are preparing for the coming cold.  They are going nuts – gathering them.  But by the creek near our ashram in Burnaby there appears little sing of life unless you consider the greenest of algae to be that.  The occasional bubble surfacing indicates the sign of life below.  “Have heart,” I think.  I was probably submerged in that same murkiness sometime in the past, perhaps in the same creek, under the same algae.  I was in another form of life before and I could have easily been there causing bubbles.

I had walking companion Pancha by tree and shrub nurseries as we admired the diversity of them.  Here too, I can so perceptively see myself as a bush of sorts in the past.  There I could have been rendering service by dint of my natural aesthetics giving beauty to someone’s classy front lawn.

We also noticed a mushroom, golden in colour.  Likely I was that in a previous existence.  From a mushroom to a squirrel, I’ve been there, done that. Each successive life that we adorn the soul with according to the evolutionary system is slightly more evolved in sensitivity and sophistication than the previous life.

By the laws of karma we travel through a series of lives. Then as a human we reach reason and enter the realm of responsibility.  If we foul up after great opportunities in the human form we come to the ebbtide of our journey going in reverse through experiential lives.  Fortunately opportunities for gaining human existence will avail themselves.  Eventually we hope to end samsara, the cycle of birth and death and make a linear ascension to a place of the soul’s freedom, moksa.

When trekking and seeing various life forms it’s hard to avoid the connection we have with each others as we share the same habits of eating, sleeping, playing, defending and mating.

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

If we look in a mirror and find a stranger looking back at us, we will be disturbed.

That’s what sometimes happens to us when we take a close look at ourselves using the mirror of introspection.

We all have a certain picture of ourselves: who we are and what we stand for.  But the mind often makes us act in ways that are contrary to our values. The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) cautions us that the mind can be our worst enemy. The mind acts as our enemy by alienating us from ourselves, by expanding the yawning chasm between what we wish to stand for and where we actually stand. It increases this distance by carrying us away on the waves of its impulsive emotions towards unprincipled actions meant for short-term pleasures. When we repeatedly give in to the mind, we keep changing in small and big ways. During our occasional moments of introspection, we suddenly realize that we can no longer recognize ourselves – the present me bears little similarity to me.

Gita wisdom reassures us that the present me is not the real me. We are actually souls, who are forever pure, being eternally the parts of the all-pure Krishna. Whatever be our present conditions and conditionings, that is only peripheral to our true identity as souls.

Bhakti-yoga offers us a time-honored method to start living in harmony with our nature as souls. When we start practicing bhakti-yoga, the resulting devotional connection with Krishna provides us an inner stronghold, a deep and rich inner fulfillment that counters the lure of outer pleasures which alienate us from ourselves. Over time, the stranger in the introspective mirror disappears and we recognize ourselves for the beauty and the glory that Krishna has provided us in the status as his beloved children.

***

06.06 - For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.

 

"You taught the importance of performing one's chanting without inattention. Inattention is counted as one of the aparadhas. Even if one successfully overcomes all the other offenses in chanting, and one is chanting continuously, love of God may not come. One should know that the reason for this is that one is committing the offense known as pramada, or inattention. This offense will block progress to prema."

Harinama Cintamani by Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Chapter 12 - Inattention While Chanting

Sincerity means whenever you have a choice between maya and Krsna, you always choose Krsna.

And what liberation do souls killed by Kalki get, and Nrsmhananda asks about the two versions of Sanjaya in scripture.

The post October 13th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Bhumi Devi Dasi: Recent pictures capture the progress of construction on two important parts of the new temple. They showcase the headway being made in the South West corner. The staircase tower is moving forward as the shuttering of form work is being done. The next layer is concrete with the following layer will being the blue tiles. The planetarium wing is also making great strides in it’s momentum Read more ›

We would like to wish you in advance for a very happy, blissful Kartik month. We, at Gauranga Travels take delight to welcome all the pilgrims to Sri Mayapur dhama during the holy month of Kartika. This year, a special event – Navadvipa Mandala parikrama is being organized to take full advantage of staying in […]

The post Gauranga Travels appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Vaiyasaki Das & the Kirtan Explosion Band: Last Sunday we were part of a massive yoga class and kirtan concert at the Botanical Gardens in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. We did the kirtan and Jai Hari Singh taught Kundalini Yoga to over 800 attendees. Dharma is spreading around the world and many eager souls are ready for it! We are trying to do our small part Read more ›

 

Srila Prabhupada Visits New Vrindaban – June 25th, 1976.

Excerpt from Hari Sauri’s Trancendental Diary.

No morning walk today. It seems that mornings are the worst for His Divine Grace’s health. Nevertheless, he attended the program in the temple and gave class.

* * *

At eleven thirty Ganendra prabhu came and massaged Prabhupada’s hands and feet again. Srila Prabhupada decided it would be the last time. He smilingly told him that the treatment was more painful than the disease.

* * *

The advance copies of the July edition of Back to Godhead magazine have just arrived. The BBT has printed a record one million copies and the articles are all excellent. The cover highlights the American Bicentennial celebration and shows a devotee chanting in front of a large, circular festoon colored red, white and blue and bearing in its center an American flag with “1776″ written in red underneath. Srila Prabhupada especially liked the editorial caption, “Declaring Our Dependence on God.” Prabhupada is very pleased with the whole magazine.

The layout of the main article shows finely detailed illustrations of two coins blown up to about six inches diameter on which the words “IN GOD WE TRUST” can clearly be seen. The following pages show some beautiful shots of His Divine Grace taken in his room in Mayapur. The article, in interview format, focuses mainly on good government and the need for a varnasrama society. The interview was taken during the March festival in Mayapur, between Srila Prabhupada, Ravindra-svarupa and Jagannatha-suta, the chief editor of BTG. Ravindra-svarupa prabhu had prepared for the interview by researching the American constitution and the Declaration of Independence at the U.S. Information Services Library in Calcutta. His intelligent questions regarding the current American political system had prepared the ground for some excellent responses from Prabhupada.

At about five thirty in the afternoon Srila Prabhupada asked Pusta Krsna Maharaja to read it out to him. Prabhupada had criticized the United Nations and the nationalistic mentality, suggesting a new philosophy for the whole world. “‘There should be one nation under God,’” Pusta Krsna read out, “‘and one world government under God as well. Everything belongs to God and we are all His sons. That philosophy is wanted.’”

Ravindra-svarupa had suggested that Americans might be wary of a central government because of the danger of tyranny. As well as this, he feared that division of labor would create envy between the classes. Prabhupada’s reply was that by implementation of varnasrama, the division of society into proper social and spiritual sectors, a person could be properly trained who would not be a tyrant, and thus a suitable government be set up. He said the point was to establish a common cause. If everyone saw themselves as servants of God there would be no envy or exploitation. Pusta Krsna read, “‘But if you do not know the common cause, then there will always be fighting. Just like in our Krsna consciousness society. You come to consult me about every activity because I can give you the common cause. Otherwise there will be fighting. The government should be very expert to know the aim of life, the common cause, and they should train the people to work for the common cause. Then they will be happy and peaceful.’”

Modern democracy was a stumbling block to the cause of unity, Prabhupada had indicated. Of course, Srila Prabhupada’s criticisms of what he often calls “demon-cracy” are well known to the devotees, and he outlined them in the interview. “‘If people simply elect rascals like Nixon, they will never find a common cause. Any rascal can secure votes by some arrangement, and then he becomes the head of the government. The candidates are bribing. They are cheating. They are making propaganda to win votes. Somehow or other they get votes and capture the prime posts. This system is bad.’”

Pusta Krsna Maharaja continued to read on.

“BTG: So if we don’t choose our leaders by popular election, how will society be governed?

Srila Prabhupada: You require brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. Just as when you want to construct a building you require engineers. You don’t want sweepers. Isn’t that so? What will the sweeper do? No. There must be engineers. If you follow the division of varnasrama, only ksatriyas are allowed to govern. And for the legislative assembly, the senators, only qualified brahmanas. Now the butcher is in the legislative assembly. What does he know about making laws? He is a butcher. But by winning votes he becomes a senator. At the present moment, by the principle of vox populi, a butcher goes to the legislature. So everything depends on training. In our Krsna consciousness society we are actually doing that. But in the case of politics they forget it. There cannot be just one class. That is foolishness.’”

In the article Prabhupada went on to say that the purpose of the government is to know God and to implement God’s laws for the benefit of the people. Ravindra-svarupa had asked, “But suppose the government is atheistic?” and Srila Prabhupada had responded, “Then there cannot be good government. Americans say they trust in God, but without the science of God, that trust is simply fictitious. First take the science of God very seriously, then put your trust in Him. They do not know what God is, but we do. We actually trust in God. They are manufacturing their own way of governing, and that is their defect. They will never be successful. They are imperfect, and if they go on manufacturing their own ways and means they will remain imperfect. There will always be revolutions, one after another. There will be no peace.”

Pusta stopped to show Srila Prabhupada the caption box next to one of his photos. “On this side it says ‘Leaders of government have to consult God, then they will rule perfectly.’” Then he read the last section.

“BTG: Has God also devised the most perfect government?

Srila Prabhupada: Oh, yes. The ksatriyas ruled the government in Vedic times. When there was a war, the king was the first to fight. Just like your George Washington. He fought when there was a war. But what kind of president is ruling now? When there is a war he sits very securely and telephones orders. He’s not fit to be president. When there is war the president should be the first to come forward and lead the battle.

BTG: So good government means first of all to accept the Supreme Being as the real ruler of the government.

Srila Prabhupada: You cannot directly accept the Supreme Being. You must accept the servants of the Supreme Being, the brahmanas or Vaisnavas, devotees of the Lord, as your guides. The government men are the ksatriyas, the second class. The ksatriyas should take advice from the brahmanas or Vaisnavas and make laws accordingly. The vaisyas should carry out the ksatriyas’ orders in practice, and sudras should work under these three orders, then society will be perfect.”

Srila Prabhupada sat back in satisfaction at the conclusion of the article. It was a strong and direct statement on organization in human society and it would be distributed to millions. He asked us, “You like this?”

We all agreed. It was very good and right to the point.

Other articles include the excellent essay Prabhupada saw in Hawaii entitled Simple Living and High Thinking, by Dharmadhyaksa dasa, which details the idea of varnasrama society; a one-page commentary by Jagajivana dasa titled Then and Now — The Right to Distribute the American Dream, which examines the original purpose of the first American settlers, their pursuit of a God conscious way of life and a ruling of the Supreme Court from 1943 affirming the right to sell religious tracts and literature; a one-page editorial under the section ISKCON NEWS on the tenth anniversary of ISKCON, which occurs on July 6th; a pictorial essay entitled Krsna Consciousness: The Spirit of ’76! (Prabhupada liked this heading very much); and an article entitled Curing the Crimes of a Lifetime by Bibhavati devi dasi, some of which Pusta Krsna also read out for Srila Prabhupada’s pleasure.

Just after 6:00 p.m. Prabhupada retired to his bedroom for a short rest, but he came out again at 7:00 to meet the devotees, who had gathered for his darsana.

This is the Wonderful Video of Building the Ratha Yatra cart which was Shipped from Sydney for the 2013 Saint Kilda Festival Hare Krishna Melbourne Ratha Yatra which was held at Catani Gardens Saint Kilda Read more ›

According to what I hear, the second edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is has five thousand changes. Here’s one that came up in a Gita class a few nights ago:

17.28 (first edition)

asraddhaya hutam dattam
tapas taptam krtam ca yat
asad ity ucyate partha
na ca tat pretya no iha

asraddhaya — without faith; hutam — performed; dattam — given; tapah — penance; taptam — executed; krtam — performed; ca — also; yat — that which; asat — falls; iti — thus; ucyate — is said to be; partha — O son of Prtha; na — never; ca — also; tat — that; pretya — after death; no — nor; iha — in this life.

But sacrifices, austerities and charities performed without faith in the Supreme are nonpermanent, O son of Partha, regardless of whatever rites are performed. They are called asat and are useless both in this life and the next.

Asat, of course, means “impermanent,” “temporary,” or false. The second edition has it right.

The post Change 4,528 appeared first on Jayadvaita Swami.

According to what I hear, the second edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is has five thousand changes. Here’s one that came up in a Gita class a few nights ago:

17.28 (first edition)

asraddhaya hutam dattam
tapas taptam krtam ca yat
asad ity ucyate partha
na ca tat pretya no iha

asraddhaya — without faith; hutam — performed; dattam — given; tapah — penance; taptam — executed; krtam — performed; ca — also; yat — that which; asat — falls; iti — thus; ucyate — is said to be; partha — O son of Prtha; na — never; ca — also; tat — that; pretya — after death; no — nor; iha — in this life.

But sacrifices, austerities and charities performed without faith in the Supreme are nonpermanent, O son of Partha, regardless of whatever rites are performed. They are called asat and are useless both in this life and the next.

 Asat, of course, means “impermanent,” “temporary,” or false. The second edition has it right.

read more

2013 09 29 Srimad Bhagavatam 10 24 31 34 Summary Of The Govardhan Lila Radha Govind Swami

"One reason why our japa goes through a ritualistic phase is the deep rooted tendency in our hearts of wanting to be in control of things. This is merely a reflection of our propensity to be the enjoyer, the root cause of suffering in this material world."

Radhanatha Swami

Worry accelerates our imagination. When we face problems, worry paints dreadful pictures of the many further things that may go wrong, thereby sucking our mental energy into those gloomy possibilities.

Saying that worry accelerates our imagination doesn’t mean that the problems we worry about aren’t real. They may well be real. But we can live only one moment at a time and we need to take things one at a time. Worry paralyzes our capacity to utilize the present, the only resource that we have to deal with issues.

Moreover, many of the scenarios that worry makes us agonize over are in fact imaginary – they are possibilities that may never become realities.

If while driving the accelerator gets pressed accidentally, we regain control is by pressing the brakes. The brake that slows down our hyperactive imagination is faith – faith in Krishna’s omnipotence and omni-benevolence. He is always in control and is always our well-wisher. He assures in the Bhagavad-gita (09.22) that he personally protects those who constantly meditate on him.

The stipulation that we constantly meditate on him is not a stiff demand meant to disqualify us, but a necessary condition meant to help us access his protection. When we redirect our thoughts from things that worry us to things that pacify us, worry loses its power to accelerate our imagination.

To facilitate this redirection, Krishna offers himself as a pacifying object of thought. He is the best object of thought, for he is all-attractive, embodying within himself everything attractive about everything. The more we choose to put our faith in him and habituate ourselves to meditating on him, the more we relish that attractiveness and develop a taste for it. Then faith no longer remains a brake for worrying thoughts; it becomes an accelerator for fulfilling thoughts.

***

09.22 - But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.

 

 

 

Samudra das and Nagara devi dasi run a surf, dive and clothing shop in the Sanur area of Denpasar, Bali. Actually the shop is in the front of the family house that Samudra and his brother Padma grew up in.

“The scriptures explain that if one begins acting according to one’s constitutional position, one develops all the qualities that help one act according to that position. Our eternal position is that we are naturally devotees of God and we naturally love God. And, naturally loving God means that you love everyone. So, the natural state of the soul is to give love and receive the love of others. As one begins practicing to do that, then all those natural qualities gradually become manifest. They are beautiful qualities. They’re the qualities that we are all attracted to. To love God means to love all of His parts and parcels—all of His children. And so many of these qualities have to do with how we relate to each other. It is very interesting.” —Gunagrahi das Goswami

Sunday Talk Dallas

Yesterday we took our harinam party into the Muslim quarter of Skopje, Macedonia. A little concerned I asked the samkirtan leader if there was any risk involved. “In our country,” he replied, “the problems are between Muslims and Christians. So far the Muslim community has not shown any hostility towards us.” Whatever apprehension I had [...]

Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we took our harinam party into the Muslim quarter of Skopje, Macedonia. A little concerned I asked the samkirtan leader if there was any risk involved... Read more ›

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