Planet ISKCON

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.19.32 - The real fortune of a living entity is to get Krishna bhakti.

“Mukunda and his wife, Janaki, were actually planning to go to India. It occurred to Mukunda that maybe he should ask the Swami whether or not there was something he could do for him before he went. The answer was, ‘Since you are going to the West coast, why don’t you see if you can open another center.’ That wasn’t exactly what Mukunda had in mind, but he accepted the desire and instructions of Srila Prabhupada. So, he came to collect my husband and me, who at that time, as members of the hippy tradition, were not married but were living together on the top of a mountain in Oregon. We were employed by the federal government to look out for fires. The only fire we were not thinking of was the fire of devotional service. So, they stopped and asked if we would like to join them to open a temple. And I, in my infinite wisdom, asked him, ‘What is a temple?’ And he truthfully answered, ‘It is a storefront painted white.’ “ — Malati dasi
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Malati dasi
Devamrita Swami
Vaisesika dasa
Rtadhvaja Swami

1947 July 13: "Religion of love is the true religious idea but if the approach is made through the service of mankind only, then the process is made imperfect, partial and unscientific. The true religion of love is perfectly inculcated in Bhagavad-gita."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1947-64

Jhulan Yatra- the Swing Festival of Sri Radha-Krishna - begins in a few weeks.

In Vrindavana during the springtime Holi festival Krishna performed this festival. It is the perfect object of meditation for those desiring a taste of devotion.

You can personally swing the Lords from Saturday August the 17th till Wednesday August the 21st at 7pm. nightly.

We hope you will join us.

Please view the following gallery: Ratha Yatra Procession ne of the major festivals in Sri Mayapur’s busy calendar is surely Jagannath Ratha Yatra – A “Festival of the Heart”. The Lord of the Universe comes out of His temple to give His audience to one and all. The possibility of rain didn’t prove to be [...]

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CC Adi 13.63 The Advent of Lord Caitanya, Durban, South Africa.mp3

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Click here to read the July 4th, 2013 newsletter from our sister community, the Gita Nagari Farm, in Port Royal PA.

Please visit and “like” the Gita Nagari Farm Facebook Page!

2013 07 04 Srimad Bhagavatam 10 22 01 Krishna tricks you to Surrender to him Candramauli Swami

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Comparing Notes

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami and I trekked along the Great Gorge. He liked it, it’s quite impressive. We even took to the aero car, a moving suspension unit that ski lifts you over a whirlpool of water. Who says that a monk can’t be a tourist and have some fun?

In all frankness we are far from being hermits. Our time together provided the opportunity to gain each other’s association. The exposure to the public is also good. Bhakti Chaitanya and I are both world travelers, although we travel in different directions and end up in different places. Generally we are always with people, formally, for meetings, and less so at festivals. Downtime is necessary, he just came from Siberia.

We compared notes. He said ticks are a big problem over there in Siberia. Many people die contracting fever from them. Also, Russian mosquitoes are huge and aggressive he said. He never heard of our vicious black flies that we have in Canada. The main principle is that there are many little vampires about in both lands in the raw of Siberia and Canada.

What about comparing the people? It seems that wherever there has been a communist regime, people are left with a curious mind, whereas capitalistic folks have become over stimulated. I leave it to you, the readers, to figure out who is who in this regards.

6 KM

Comparing Notes

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami and I trekked along the Great Gorge. He liked it, it’s quite impressive. We even took to the aero car, a moving suspension unit that ski lifts you over a whirlpool of water. Who says that a monk can’t be a tourist and have some fun?

In all frankness we are far from being hermits. Our time together provided the opportunity to gain each other’s association. The exposure to the public is also good. Bhakti Chaitanya and I are both world travelers, although we travel in different directions and end up in different places. Generally we are always with people, formally, for meetings, and less so at festivals. Downtime is necessary, he just came from Siberia.

We compared notes. He said ticks are a big problem over there in Siberia. Many people die contracting fever from them. Also, Russian mosquitoes are huge and aggressive he said. He never heard of our vicious black flies that we have in Canada. The main principle is that there are many little vampires about in both lands in the raw of Siberia and Canada.

What about comparing the people? It seems that wherever there has been a communist regime, people are left with a curious mind, whereas capitalistic folks have become over stimulated. I leave it to you, the readers, to figure out who is who in this regards.

6 KM

Hare Krsna my dear devotees, I hope your chanting is blessed and you are being able to chant with your heart.

Today I was listening to a class of a devotee from Vrindavan and he said some stories of how some devotees are so attached to the Holy names that they can't stop chanting for a minute - I thought it was a very good feeling to have because when we feel attached there is no need to think of anything else - our mind won't wander anymore and we will be able to give 100% to the Lord through chanting.

This is an amazing goal to achieve and it can happen to anyone, even the ones that are in the beginning of devotional service. The main thing is to hear the mantra and  the Lord Himself who is the His holy names come and join us & enter in our hearts and we can feel the eternal relationship of service with Him.

I pray so I can reach this level of service and I can chant with my whole heart absorbed in  the process.

Hoping you all have a nice weekend of chanting and service.

your servant,

Aruna devi

Hare Krsna my dear devotees, I hope your chanting is blessed and you are being able to chant with your heart.

Today I was listening to a class of a devotee from Vrindavan and he said some stories of how some devotees are so attached to the Holy names that they can't stop chanting for a minute - I thought it was a very good feeling to have because when we feel attached there is no need to think of anything else - our mind won't wander anymore and we will be able to give 100% to the Lord through chanting.

This is an amazing goal to achieve and it can happen to anyone, even the ones that are in the beginning of devotional service. The main thing is to hear the mantra and  the Lord Himself who is the His holy names come and join us & enter in our hearts and we can feel the eternal relationship of service with Him.

I pray so I can reach this level of service and I can chant with my whole heart absorbed in  the process.

Hoping you all have a nice weekend of chanting and service.

your servant,

Aruna devi

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 May 2013, Simhachalam, Germany, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.7.21)

So Christianity got rid of all these personal elements in the universe. We see how it became a vehicle of impersonalism and how impersonalism, in this way, gradually has taken over and how now, we again systematically have to begin to think in a personal way, which is difficult. Which brings us back to the topmost level of God consciousness – vaisnavism or personalism.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur states that even Christianity, in its original form, is also there in this personalist category and in that way, we can see that there is a history of personalism. There is a scholar, a devotee named Jan Olof Bengtsson who wrote a book. I forgot the exact title but the topic is the history of personalism in the Western world. He traces out exactly where personalism was existing. It’s a useful book, a little academic but useful; he’s a devotee.

So this personalism was everywhere in the world. But now, it is our business to very thoroughly appreciate it like that. Therefore we are appreciating all the great saintly personalities that have existed in the past – the demigods, the great empowered sons of Brahma, or other great personalities who existed in previous yugas – because it is by these personalities that auspiciousness has been created.

Sometimes, you get these kind of stories that a Buddhist’s stupa is broken somewhere is in the Himalayan mountains and suddenly, all these disasters start to happen in the world. Have you ever heard such stories? I have. Of course, we don’t believe so much in the benefit of Buddhist stupas but definitely we believe in the benefit of devotional service on the planet.

What if there would be no devotees on the planet? Then what would it be like right now? The influence of the devotees is felt. It’s greater than we think.  Sometimes we wonder, “What happened to all those books?” I forgot the number but it’s more than 500 million books that have been distributed up to this moment – all over the world.  And how many devotees do we have?

Oh no, many people have read these books. Many! There was some advertisement some years ago by Microsoft and we all had this little clip which showed a child taking birth in a hospital. And the child was shooting out of the womb – flying out of the window, flying in the sky and growing, growing! And as he was flying in the sky, there’s the whole changing of bodies diorama going on – like from a baby to a grown up to an old man and at the end, he lands in a grave – crash! That was clearly inspired by Prabhupada’s books – no doubt about it.

One day, you know I walked into a room somewhere and there was a Bhagavad-gita of Sai Baba. So okay, I had a look at it and there were whole passages that were copied from Prabhupada’s Gita – plagiarism!

Really! I mean, exactly the same you know, but, the only difference was that whenever Krsna was saying, “Surrender unto me,” then Sai Baba was saying, “Surrender unto ME!”

I could see that Sai Baba had also read Prabhupada’s books, without a doubt. So, there are a lot of people who’ve read the books and have used them for their own purposes – naturally.  They did it to Krsna and they did it to Prabhupada also.

In Bombay, there was a dentist who wrote a commentary to the Bhagavad-gita where Krsna was a dentist and Arjuna was a patient. I mean… what is this… what do you call this? I call it business! That’s all it is.  So, the Gita has been used. Krsna’s Gita… Krsna’s words have been used for people’s personal profit and Prabhupada’s words are also everywhere in society and used for people’s personal profit – but still these words act and they penetrate invisibly into all nooks and corners of society.

We can push it forward consciously in many ways but first, we ourselves have to overcome the contamination of impersonalism, the contamination of being Shakta’s, the contamination of being Surya’s, the contamination of being Ganapatya’s, the contamination of being impersonalists and become pure devotees of the Lord!

 

SB 1.19.31 - Like Maharaja Pariksit, one can attain salvation by submissively approaching the spiritual master and sincerely following his instructions. 

SB 10.14.37 Attached To The Drama – London 2011-04-04

‘external pastimes’ AKA Looking In the Honey Bottle

Concluding Speech – Niranjana Sw., Prahladananda Sw., Candramauli Sw., Gurudas Pr., Shyamsundar Pr., Malati Mataji – Pune Yatra 2004-01

Niranjana Swami, Prahladananda Swami, Candramauli Swami, Gurudas Prabhu, Shyamsundar Prabhu, Malati Mataji – Pune Yatra 2004-01

What is the purpose of the Hare Krishna movement? Nicely explained in this paragraph by Srila Prabhupada :

 

Make It Light

Toronto, Ontario

A day becomes light when a friend is in your company. That's how I felt in the presence of god brother Bhakti Chaitanya Swami, a New Zealand native who had come to visit us for the first time in Canada. He delivered a brilliant class based on the Bhagavatam concerning the book itself which is virtuous although from a literary point of view it may not be perfect.

The deeper you go in penetration of philosophy, the lighter appears a day's drudgery because you have entered the larger picture. And after that a fruit and smoothie breakfast was followed by grave topics of concern. When shared, grave topics appear to relieve some weight and pressure on the heart.

We also had a planned drive through of all the places that our mission made history in Toronto and including the pilgrimage sites where our guru, Srila Prabhupada, did tread. On Beverly Street a Victorian period home was the first location of Krishna Love Feasts in the city. That was in '69/'70. On 187 Gerrard Street, we pointed out to our monk guest, Bhakti Chaitanya the second location for Krishna Conscious activity - a rented house in the heart of Cabbage Town, a slightly more dodgy section of town.

We then ventured by car along Lakeshore Blvd to reach the Beaches area and the boardwalk where in '75 Prabhupada was taken for a sunrise walk. Bhakti Chaitanya was determined to touch with feet the path once trodden. It's always great getting out of a car and doing what's natural. The feeling in the heart becomes feather light when you know that a path is worn out for you. Starting a trail is hard work, treading a seasoned one becomes easy.

Bhakti Chaitanya along with driver, Savyasachin, parted and I went about my day in preparation of the busiest weekend of the year for the Ratha Yatra fest. The final hour before sundown I spent in the ravine catching up on chanting my prescribed number of beads on the strand of meditation which makes the day brighter, even in darkness.

6 KM

Make It Light

Toronto, Ontario

A day becomes light when a friend is in your company. That's how I felt in the presence of god brother Bhakti Chaitanya Swami, a New Zealand native who had come to visit us for the first time in Canada. He delivered a brilliant class based on the Bhagavatam concerning the book itself which is virtuous although from a literary point of view it may not be perfect.

The deeper you go in penetration of philosophy, the lighter appears a day's drudgery because you have entered the larger picture. And after that a fruit and smoothie breakfast was followed by grave topics of concern. When shared, grave topics appear to relieve some weight and pressure on the heart.

We also had a planned drive through of all the places that our mission made history in Toronto and including the pilgrimage sites where our guru, Srila Prabhupada, did tread. On Beverly Street a Victorian period home was the first location of Krishna Love Feasts in the city. That was in '69/'70. On 187 Gerrard Street, we pointed out to our monk guest, Bhakti Chaitanya the second location for Krishna Conscious activity - a rented house in the heart of Cabbage Town, a slightly more dodgy section of town.

We then ventured by car along Lakeshore Blvd to reach the Beaches area and the boardwalk where in '75 Prabhupada was taken for a sunrise walk. Bhakti Chaitanya was determined to touch with feet the path once trodden. It's always great getting out of a car and doing what's natural. The feeling in the heart becomes feather light when you know that a path is worn out for you. Starting a trail is hard work, treading a seasoned one becomes easy.

Bhakti Chaitanya along with driver, Savyasachin, parted and I went about my day in preparation of the busiest weekend of the year for the Ratha Yatra fest. The final hour before sundown I spent in the ravine catching up on chanting my prescribed number of beads on the strand of meditation which makes the day brighter, even in darkness.

6 KM

Millions of Ways

Mississauga, Ontario

My theme for the marathon walk in southern Manitoba has been dubbed as "a friend-raiser, not a fundraiser." Yet, today, for the sake of fueling, the coming Festival of Chariots financially, I took to raising cash, coin, card, or in kind to address the budget. My dear friends Rupa Manohar and Vishva drove us to the suburbs visiting annual donors.

At some obscure mall in the outskirts of Toronto's downtown, we popped in to a "Sara Lee" dress shop. We had a great chat with the owners in their back store room flanked by gorgeous evening gowns that were hanging all around us. For assistance it was mission accomplished. We then moved to a dental office to the head of the clinic who is a yearly contributor. Despite his extreme absorption with his profession he had enough time to drop everything for a few minutes (even his patients) to greet us and to leave us a generous donation. From here we shifted to a car dealership whom had never entertained a monk in his establishment before. Again, kindness was demonstrated.

Thank you all.

In the evening I slotted time for an hour long kirtan at Bhakti Lounge. This brought me to the downtown when I did not ask for donations but rather, time. Attendees were invited to the weekend spiritual festival. Being students, most of them are not in a strong position 'to give', but indeed they can contribute in some other way by serving the exotic free feast, keeping the grounds at the festival site clean, loading and unloading things. And if none of the above fits in, then at least a person's presence tells a whole lot about getting down to the spirit.

There are millions of ways to serve and millions of ways to surrender.

9 KM

Millions of Ways

Mississauga, Ontario

My theme for the marathon walk in southern Manitoba has been dubbed as "a friend-raiser, not a fundraiser." Yet, today, for the sake of fueling, the coming Festival of Chariots financially, I took to raising cash, coin, card, or in kind to address the budget. My dear friends Rupa Manohar and Vishva drove us to the suburbs visiting annual donors.

At some obscure mall in the outskirts of Toronto's downtown, we popped in to a "Sara Lee" dress shop. We had a great chat with the owners in their back store room flanked by gorgeous evening gowns that were hanging all around us. For assistance it was mission accomplished. We then moved to a dental office to the head of the clinic who is a yearly contributor. Despite his extreme absorption with his profession he had enough time to drop everything for a few minutes (even his patients) to greet us and to leave us a generous donation. From here we shifted to a car dealership whom had never entertained a monk in his establishment before. Again, kindness was demonstrated.

Thank you all.

In the evening I slotted time for an hour long kirtan at Bhakti Lounge. This brought me to the downtown when I did not ask for donations but rather, time. Attendees were invited to the weekend spiritual festival. Being students, most of them are not in a strong position 'to give', but indeed they can contribute in some other way by serving the exotic free feast, keeping the grounds at the festival site clean, loading and unloading things. And if none of the above fits in, then at least a person's presence tells a whole lot about getting down to the spirit.

There are millions of ways to serve and millions of ways to surrender.

9 KM

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:

rasa108 ::_::{.at.}::_:: gmail dot com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

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:

rasa108 ::_::{.at.}::_:: gmail dot com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

If you are in Toronto, please come!! It is just going to get more and more blissful!

BG 11.1 Beyond I Me and Mine, New Jagannath Puri, Durban, South Africa.mp3

The post July 12th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Rise and Fall of The Pink Building

Before the Palace Lodge, there was the Bahulaban Administration Building, aka the Guest House, known to some as the “Pink Building”.

Anyone who knows about New Vrindaban in the early 1980’s knows the “Pink Building”. This structure served many functions.  Upstairs were the guest house rooms and some residents’ rooms, as well as offices for some of the Brijabasis. The topmost floor was a men’s ashrama.  Downstairs was a big, marble-floored prasadam hall, the laundry room, the marble shop, bath houses, and a kitchen.  In other words, the pink building was the heart of downtown Bahulaban.

In the late ‘70’s and ‘80’s, the building was teaming with life.   Although there were not many guests in town, if someone’s parents ever came on a rare trip to spend the night, they would often get a room at the Guest House.

Rasalila dasi tells us, “We had regular short and sweet Bhagavad Gita classes before lunch in the prasadam hall in the pink building.  A great midday pickup.   And, in the mornings, during the Srimad Bhagavatam classes in the temple room, when your baby would kick up a fuss, the prasadam room was the place to go!”

Dharmakala spent some time in the “pink building”. As a matter of fact, she helped build it.

“One day, we had an administration building marathon.  Everyone had to stand in a long row, holding  up the wall of the pink building, while the construction crew came along and banged in the nails as quickly as they could. That’s how we put up the walls of the pink building!” relates Dharmakala dasi.

Dharmakala also recalls, “At a certain point in time, before we were allowed to have lunch, everyone had to go to the garden on the hill across the road from the temple, and work for a little while, clearing weeds or picking vegetables. We did a lot of work together. “

The Pink Building suffered a fire in  the late 1990’s, and it has been deteriorating ever since.  So, a decision has been made by the New Vrindaban Boards of Directors to put it out of its misery.  The demolition team will salvage as much of the building materials as possible to reuse and recycle .

Although it’s sad to see the Pink Building being demolished, it served Krsna and His devotees very well in its prime.  Pictures and pastimes of the activities in the pink building will remain in the hearts of many people.  It will be gone, but not forgotten.

If you have some Bahulaban Pink Building stories to share, please contact Lilasuka at 304 843 1600 ext 106 or lilasooka@msn.com

 

 

It was twenty years ago that the first Gurukuli Reunion was celebrated in New Vrindaban. This was an annual event that brought together second generation devotees who had grown up in and around ISKCON. Between 1993 and 2000 there were eight New Vrindaban Gurukuli Reunions.

2006 marked the inaugural Kulimela festival, held in New Vrindaban. In Sanskrit, “Kuli Mela” is “A Celebration of Community,” with an aim to inspire and empower a global tribe connected by shared experiences in loving service, Bhakti Yoga. This was a natural evolution of the Gurukuli Reunions, meant as a way for the participants to network and showcase their talents as well as to give focus and attention to the up and coming third generation.

Since then there have been 10 Kulimela events across the globe, in as diverse places as Radhadesh (Belgium), Moscow and Tomsk (Russia), New Mayapur (France), New Govardhan (Australia), New Varshana (New Zealand), New Raman Reti (Alachua, FL) & New Dwarka (Los Angeles, CA).

The 2013 festival will be held the first week of August at the Simhachalam Farm in Germany.

Plans are underway to bring this event back to New Vrindaban over the summer of 2015 and we are eager to see its return!

For more info, and regular updates, please visit and “like” the Kulimela Association Facebook page.

Lecture – Jayapataka Swami – Panihati and Initiation

Here are links to recently uploaded videos:

Householder Life: An Equal Opportunity For Going Back to Godhead, by His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari on June the 26th.

Question and Answer session by His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari on June the 27th.

The Qualities of a Disciple, by His Grace Keshava Prabhu on July the 8th.

Audio links can be found following the descriptions accompanying each video.

Rathayatra at New Govardhana is celebrated twice a year, in July and in January. Many years ago the Australian devotees asked Srila Prabhupada whether it would be alright to hold a Rathayatra parade in January because in Australia that is summer time. He said, yes, Rathayatra could be held at the traditional time and at other times of the year for the pleasure of Lord Jagannatha.

This year’s parade at New Govardhana attracted over 700 devotees and guests. There was also a small Ratha cart built for Lord Jagannatha, which the children pulled around the temple area.

It is said that Lord Jagannatha is very merciful and anyone who sees the Rathayatra parade, many lifetimes of karma are vanquished. If one remembers the Rathayatra at the time of their passing, that person goes back home, back to godhead.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 25 May 2013, Simhachalam, Germany)

Once I was staying in a particular town which has a path along a river and I used to take walks along that river during the day. So, one night I was dreaming… I was on a road that was leading to the path next to the river… I was not yet so close to the river. Suddenly, I saw a huge green snake in this river, in the European river. What was a huge green snake doing in a European river?

So, I was totally out of place and an enormous boa constrictor type of snake was swimming in the water. I was just looking at it, “Wow, look at that.” There were some ducks swimming in the river and he swallowed them just like that, “Wow this snake means business!”  And next moment, this snake suddenly crawled onto the shore so I turned around and said, “Okay, time to go.” And just as I was about to go, “whoop,” I just went straight into the air. I flew up into the air and then made a landing again, and then I woke up. What a dream!

When you have a dream like that, at first you don’t know quite what to do. Then later, it started to dawn upon me, that the snake was representing lust! This all-devouring sinful enemy lust that was swimming on that river and devouring various living entities that are swimming on the river of sense enjoyment. And then, when the snake came in my direction, I flew up into the air and then I was thinking, “What did that mean?” I was thinking, “Yes, I was too light,” and I tried to remember that as I was flying up, I was sort of thinking, “I am too light.”

Most people will not have that problem, in this modern world. I was too light and most people cracked the earth wherever they walked! Then something came into my consciousness, a sudden remembrance, a faint memory appeared, “too light”. Yes, when the bhakta is “too light”, when there is not enough weight in his worship, when he has not sufficiently become absorbed, then a devotee becomes “too light”.

That is just the opposite of guru. The word guru, as we may know, the etymological word is “heavy”. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains that the word guru means heavy because guru is always fixed at the lotus feet of Krsna and nothing can move him from that. That heaviness comes from his worship, from his devotional service. There is bhakta-ābhāsa which is sometimes translated as the dim reflection of a devotee and nāma-ābhāsa which is a dim reflection of the holy name.

So only in the beginning, yes when the absorption is not there, one becomes pliable. Absorption must be there and that is what gives us the spiritual weight.

 

 

 

SB 1.19.30 - The devotee of the Lord, like Sukadeva Gosvami, is honored more than the Lord Himself.

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