Planet ISKCON

We are pleased to announce that ISKCON Brampton will be having the first children's festival of chariots (Ratha Yatra) in August 2013.  Join us along with your family and friends for this special occasion. Gage Park is located at the intersection of Main St. S. and Wellington St. West in the historic downtown of Brampton. Free underground parking is available beneath City Hall.
The program includes the following:
10:00 am              Opening Kirtan by the Hladini Group
10:45 am              Opening Aarti
11:00 am              Parade – Pulling of the Chariot in the Park
12:00 pm              Final Aarti                    
12:30 pm              Performance by the ISKCON Brampton Sunday School Kids
12:30 pm              Yoga Meltdown (bring your own yoga mat) 
1:00 pm                Closing Kirtan by Gaura Shakti Group 
2:00 pm                Program Ends

There would be lots of fun activities for everyone: gopi dots - traditional face painting, crafts, yoga meltdown, Q & A, kirtan, dance…… and much more.

You are invited to bring 'bhoga' - vegetarian food offerings (no onion, garlic, eggs, vinegar) for Lord Krishna. We request that you bring offerings in new 1-2 serving sized aluminum foil containers. Offerings should be fresh and homemade (Nothing bought from store please). Lord Jagannath must be the first to taste your offering, therefore, no tasting or sampling. For more information regarding bhoga preparations, please contact Vidyanidhi Prabhu. 

There is always opportunity to serve. Volunteers are needed for set-up, directing Ratha, prasadam distribution, clean-up. For more information on how you can serve, please contact Aindra Dasa by email vdussoye@gmail.com or call 905-636-9466. For sponsorships, please contact Mother Krsna Smaran (kavitabalram@yahoo.com).

Yoga means to link with God in loving exchange. Lord Krishna teaches in Bhagavad-gita (6.47) that the highest yogi is “he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service.” The Rathayatra Festival is a potent transcendental stimulus for developing love of Godhead. The Rathayäträ procession - The children’s festival of chariots is a spectacular parade of the hand–pulled chariot carrying Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra amidst energetic singing, drumming and dancing - can attract even the materialistic person. By becoming attracted to the Supreme Lord in His form as Jagannatha one loses his attachment to the illusory happiness of the mundane world. Thus simply by seeing the Deities, simply by hearing the transcendental sound vibration of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, or simply by tasting foodstuffs offered to Krishna, anyone can begin his progress back to Godhead without difficulty. And by applying his energy in understanding the Krishna consciousness movement and participating in glorifying the all-blissful Lord of the universe, one can revive one’s eternal loving relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lord Balarama Appearance Day - Tuesday August 20th @ 7:00pm

Please mark your calendar for this special event. August 20th @ 7:00pm celebrations of Lord Balarama Appearance day at ISKCON Brampton.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarama is His second body. They are both one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Balarama is the first bodily expansion of Krishna, and He assists in Lord Krishna's transcendental pastimes. He is the source of the entire spiritual world and is the adi-guru, the original spiritual master.

He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Krishna. He Himself helps in the pastimes of Lord Krishna, and He does the work of creation in four other forms called the catur-vyuha (four armed) forms known as Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Anirudha. He executes the orders of Lord Krishna in the work of creation, and in the form of Lord Sesa He serves Sri Krishna in various ways. In all the forms He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Krishna. No one can approach Krishna without first getting the mercy of Baladeva.

Details about the program will be announced soon. 

67 pics: New Govardan Family Picnic, August 1 2013

Don’t let the unfinished exterior put you off. http://flic.kr/s/aHsjHf6ETw

Lessons from the Teachings of Lord Caitanya 3, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.mp3

This past month has been eventful at the TOVP. There have been meetings with managers, architects, engineers, pujaris and artists, all coming together to make critical decisions about designs and construction.

Each department brought their own unique perspective. One of the most discussed topics were the altars. Placement of the deities and murtis were visualized with the help of prototypes and scaled models. Considerations included room for pujaris to manoeuvre, location of altars within allotted space and visibility of deities for pilgrims. The meetings continued and the team of professionals made decisions ranging from the structural integrity of the temple to the future of several architectural components of the building.

Since the experts and consultants working at the TOVP are spread across India, it can be difficult for everyone to gather together. However, when they do have the opportunity to convene in Mayapur, their combined talent and enthusiasm erupt into a passion to build an unparallelled temple.

The post August 2nd, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

An advanced devotee consequently does not distinguish between happiness and distress. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8):

Click here to read the July 2013 newsletter from our sister community, New Raman Reti, in Alachua, FL.

Please visit and “like” the ISKCON Alachua Facebook Page!

 

2013-07-21 Festival – Abhisekh Of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath – ISKCON Chowpatty

Many people treat bhakti as an optional part of life: “You like bhakti, you practice it. I don’t like it, so I won’t practice it.”

At a functional level, this understanding of bhakti seems correct. After all, people are free to choose whether to practice bhakti or not.

At a factual level, however, perceiving bhakti thus as a voluntary cultural hobby misses its universal essence: the longing of the heart for undying love. We all long to love and be loved.

Gita wisdom explains that this longing can be perfectly and perennially fulfilled if we direct it towards the all-attractive Supreme Person, Krishna. And bhakti-yoga is the process of spiritual discipline by which we can redirect the heart’s bhakti instinct, its longing for love, towards Krishna.  Over many lifetimes, we have been searching for love, a search that was essentially our bhakti instinct gone astray due to ignorance or intemperance.

Ignorance misdirects our love towards temporary objects instead of Krishna. But because all such things are temporary, whereas we  souls are eternal, our longing stays perpetually unfulfilled.

Intemperance lets our love gets dragged towards worldly objects even after we come to know that Krishna is the best object for our love. Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (06.45) indicates that the attainment of spiritual perfection often takes many lifetimes.

By thus understanding our existence as a multi-life search for love, we see life, that is, our present lifetime, as a part of bhakti. And we see the relegation of a bhakti to an optional part of life as a correct-seeming ignorance that sabotages our willpower to focus our love on Krishna.

When we reject this ignorance and bring bhakti to the center-stage of our worldview, then bhakti swiftly grants our heart everlasting fulfillment.

***

And when the yogi engages himself with sincere endeavor in making further progress, being washed of all contaminations, then ultimately, achieving perfection after many, many births of practice, he attains the supreme goal.

Insomnia

Toronto, Ontario

Insomnia hit hard once again. In addressing it I decided to put on my sneakers for walking. Before that, I donned rather large swimming trunks. Why? Well, it was raining out. Dhotis don't always score well in the wetness. Over the torso was a new gift, a dark blue XL T-shirt which reads, 'Volunteer for Festival of India.'

It was night time. Being summer the rain was warm, so little impediment is what I felt. My monk-in-cognito attire had purely to do with practicality; something I've learned from being a student of Srila Prabhupada.

Rain persisted. The walking persisted. The soft chanting persisted. It was a pleasant and liquid walk. I ended the walk just before midnight hoping to be fatigued enough. It just didn't come - the "feel" to sleep. The will was there.

I kept walking, but inside, now, in a dry setting, pacing back and forth. For a moment I dwelt on the curse that haunts me and then resigned to the fact that I'm giving more time to the mantra.

I ask for no pity. Everyone in this world has some deficiency, a personal issue, which might even cause one to reach for a tissue, a reaction.

We are reminded that along with this body, there's always some discomfort. That's clearly a message from the Gita - dukhalayam asasvatam.

Personally I wish that I didn't have to sleep. Think of the hours we could save and the service that could be rendered in that time! Introspectively I perceive those moments of wakefulness as precious because while the whole world is asleep, it appears only you and God are not.

10 KM

Devotees at our temple in Puncak, near Jakarta, Indonesia, are very keen on not only worshiping the deities but also looking after the cows and growing vegetables, fruits and flowers.

Verse 4.8: To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.

Krsna is saying here, that He comes to deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants. Those are some strong words and their meaning could very easily be misinterpreted to mean that the Divine which the bhakti texts speak of is not very compassionate. Nothing could actually be further from the truth.

This verse demonstrates exactly how loving and protective the Divine actually is.

To really understand what this verse means, it's important to understand what the words "pious" and "miscreants" mean as per the Gita. The pious, are those that are trying to live by the principles of humility, compassion, cleanliness, and truthfulness. They see everyone as spiritual sparks, worthy of their respect and try to live their lives as spiritual warriors who are empowered by grace. The miscreants, simply put, are those who try to destroy and hurt those who are trying to be pious.

I'd like to share a beautiful story that illustrates this point. In the great bhakti text known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, the life of a young bhakti yogi is described. At the tender age of five, a prince known as Prahalad became a great lover of the Divine. Despite his young age, he was greatly learned and shared his knowledge of bhakti yoga with his friends. However, Prahalad's father was, quite simply put, a terror. Thinking himself to be God, Prahalad's father (who was the king) would torture anyone who would say otherwise.

In fact, his father was so power mad and deluded that he actually started despising his own son since Prahalad accepted him to be his father, not God. Prahalad was continuously tortured in different ways such as being thrown off a cliff, into a pit of poisonous snakes, and was even fed poison. Every time though, by the grace of the actual Supreme, he was saved. This infuriated his father to no end.

Throughout all these trying times, Prahalad kept his calm and his faith never wavered. Can you imagine? Despite being exposed to such horrendous treatment, from his father no less, Prahalad never wished him any ill will. After so many failed attempts at killing his own son, his father demanded from him "Where is this Supreme you speak of? Is he in this pillar?" To this, his sweet son Prahalad replied, "Of course, the Divine is in everything." When his father rushed at the pillar with a weapon to break it, the Divine appeared and saved Prahalad once again.

I love this story since it illustrates just how personal and loving the Divine actually is. It also explains why He appears millennium after millennium. The Divine doesn't have to come personally to take care of trouble-makers, but he actually does so just to interact with those who are trying to love him. In fact, that's why the words "to deliver the pious" come first in this verse since it highlights what's dear to the heart of the Supreme.

That's how protective, loving and personal the Supreme actually is. So the next time you feel lonely or stressed, just remember: protection and care are just a mantra away.

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This Krishna consciousness movement offers a spiritual community that can bring about a peaceful condition in the world.

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Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction message and I will be happy to make you a member:

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ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

Holy Name meditation podcast

Yesterday we went out with harinam to greet the first wave of people coming to Woodstock. If the reception we got is any indication of what’s ahead there’s going to be a lot of nectar flowing the next few days!

Srila Prabhupada requested us to have a dozen devotees on Harinam,
2 mrdanga players,
8 karatal players,
1 melodious harmonium player and 1 tampora player.

Now I wish to focus on the “melodious harmonium”, and the singing of the mahamantra. This is a tune I refer to as the “Prabhupada tune”. My opinion now is to chant this tune in the key of F, if you are in a temple room environment…Asharp F C F. Just four notes. And if you are on the street (where the Sankirtan movement will always be based) then I suggest you chant in the key of G………..it goes like this C G D G.

Of course there are many tunes, many nice tunes, also many tunes that makes you feel that you are at a funeral, or tunes that yodel along.

This video was made at the begining of Harinam on the wet wet night in London and HH Danavir Maharaj led the kirtan C G D G for two hours without any change at all.

Sung by Govinda Prabhu,
Your servant Parasuram Das

For the old time New Vrindaban devotees who remember him, Vahna has left his  body.  We were notified 7/24/13 it may have been the 23rd. There will be a memorial service in about two weeks, details forthcoming.

He was 68 years old. He was preceded in leaving the planet by his father and his second wife Hladini. He is survived by his first wife Visvadhika, his son Rich (Sarthi)  and two grandchildren.

He ran a poetry magazine at the end of the beat era and was the original publisher of some of Allan Gingsberg’s poetry, that was the crowd he rolled with. He  was a poet himself and wrote hundreds if not thousands of poems.  He has a book of poetry available from Amazon.con, The blind receptionist and other poems.

He moved to New Vrindaban in the early 1970?s (that was before my time (1973)  so someone correct me if it was earlier) and was initiated by Srila Prabhupada.  He built the house across the road from the Madhuban temple and was married to Hladini  who lived with him there where she  was the pujari  at that time. His father was an early supporter of New Vrindaban.

He was a brilliant tortured soul who struggled with alcohol for most of his life. This caused him to avoid the direct association of devotees of whom he always spoke well and respected. As his son is going through his affects, he discovered a medical diagnosis that Vahna was schizophrenic and had some bipolar issues.

As his son said, he dealt with it by writing poetry, and had a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a bead bag in the other.  When he was at the funeral home making the arrangements for cremation, the director asked him if he wore any jewelry. He told him he always had his bead bag.  They looked and found his hand in his bead bag.

When he wasn’t drinking, and he would have periods where he could keep it together months or even years at a time as  in his early days at New Vrindaban, he was the sweetest person, who was always interesting to talk to.

To newer devotes all they would know of Vahna is seeing him walking from his house in Talaban to the Limestone General Store. Although he was walking there to get his booze, he had his hand in his bead bag as he walked.

He continued to live in New Vrindaban in Talaban until his passing. Once when Srila Prabhupada was here he told the devotees to just stay in New Vrindaban no matter what. While Vahna may have had his struggles, he did obey that instruction.  He also never deviated from the instruction to chant Hare Krishna.

Some Remembrances

Hari Sauri’s diary: New Vrindaban, West Virginia 07-02-1976

After a quiet day Srila Prabhupada was driven in the late afternoon to the Pittsburgh airport to embark on the next stage of his tour. Before we left we brought Vahna dasa, the owner of the house, in for a very brief darsana with Srila Prabhupada. To his credit, he was reluctant to come before his spiritual master because he has not been following the principles for quite some time.

Prabhupada appreciated his embarrassment and also his willingness to make his house available for his stay. He thanked him and gave him a garland and a few words of encouragement.

ANOTHER SHORT COMMENT FROM A DEVOTEE:

I have just found out about Vahna Prabhu’s passing. It came as quite a surprise. I am quite sure Hladini was with him in any way she could be to assist him in that most important of transitions. She always spoke of how earnestly and intently he desired spiritual life even in the face of all his conditional obstacles. She would sometimes say to see someone’s false ego was to see only what they are not, not what or who they truly are.

My condolences to all his friends and family.  From an aspiring servant .

ONE DEVOTEE GIVES THIS FUNNY COMMENT:

I think he was at first called Tulsi Bob because he took care of Tulsi (1973 or so?) for a brief time.

The post August 1st, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Lessons from the Teachings of Lord Caitanya 2, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.mp3

2013 07 20 – Srimad Bhagavatam 10 22 27 28 – Breaking the wall of False Ego – Radhanath Swami

Some people can't live without continuous external stimulation. Every few minutes, they check their cellphones for the latest stock prices or the breaking news or the cricket scores.

We may need to be in tune with the world, but we don’t need to be dependent on or addicted to external stimulation. That sort of tuning in to the world tunes us out of ourselves. It disconnects us from our core values, our cherished principles, our deepest priorities. It reduces us from conscious beings with meaning to reactionary robots geared for little more than survival amidst the relentless assault of daily upheavals.

Our awareness of current affairs may make others’ jaws drop, but that doesn't stop our heart from dropping. Our unawareness of our self slowly but surely pushes our heart into a free fall deep into the abyss of ultimate meaninglessness. The lack of answers to life’s fundamental questions like “Who am I? What is life? What actually counts in life?” saps at our vitals, making us empty shells that keep functioning based on appearance, not substance. The Bhagavad-gita (18.22) declares such lopsided obsession with a fraction of reality to be knowledge in the mode of ignorance.

We are souls whose true nature is to delight in an eternal loving connection with Krishna. The process of devotional service enables us to tune in to our true nature.

After we invest time regularly to tune in to our true selves, then we can tune in to the world in a way that is transformational. Externally we are able to act intelligently and productively for our and others’ best interests. And internally we are able to better realize spiritual truths. In this symbiosis of our outer and inner world we discover a life that is simultaneously stimulating and fulfilling.

***

And that knowledge by which one is attached to one kind of work as the all in all, without knowledge of the truth, and which is very meager, is said to be in the mode of darkness.

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