Websites from the ISKCON Universe
The Legacy of the Bhaktivedanta Institute: Toward Fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s Vision In 1974, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada expressed his desire to “establish a Vaisnava Research Institute” to present the science of Krishna Consciousness for an intellectual audience. The following year, Prabhupada requested his disciple, Dr. Thoudam D. Singh (Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja), […]
The post Fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s Vision appeared first on ISKCON News.
My name is Yuliia Mudrak, I am 25 years old, and I am from Ukraine. Before the war, I lived in Kyiv and worked as a certified preschool teacher. Unfortunately, many devotees had to leave their normal life in Ukraine due to the war. But at the same time, we’ve been able to see wonderful […]
The post Words of Gratitude From a Ukrainian Refugee appeared first on ISKCON News.
Mayapur Times is a newsletter of the Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir. The newsletter aims to inform and inspire the local ISKCON community by reporting monthly activities, events, developments and news. You can download the Summer 2022 issue here: Click here to download the Summer 2022 issue!
The post Mayapur Times: Summer 2022 Newsletter appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Meet the devotee who distributed 50,000 Bhagavad-gitas and 108 Chaitanya Charitamrita sets. The beginning of book distribution Krishna Bhava Das, from ISKCON Punjabi Bagh community in Delhi, is 68 years old, strongly built, having a sharp gaze of determination yet having an air of humility around him. He is the eldest in his family […]
The post Krishna Bhava Das, the Devotee Who Distributed 50,000 BG and More appeared first on ISKCON News.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 July 2012, Radhadesh, Belgium, Summer Festival Q&A)
We have a family, we have a language, we have a culture and so on, and it seems like all this is a part of ourselves due to some sense of belonging. This is described, however, in the Vedic literatures as our false identity. It is explained that our true identity is totally different – we have actually no connection whatsoever with the place of our birth or culture. If one considers the land of their birth to be a part of themselves, is thinking that their body is themselves. It is then very difficult to come to a position of spiritual understanding. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, sages describe their vision or their real identity of not being their bodies, but the eternal souls. So, they were not concerned about the destiny of their bodies as they were not considering their bodies to be their true identities.
We have the story of Sage Dadhichi. It is said that Dadhichi was a great, powerful, ascetic personality. At one point, the demigods wanted to make a particular weapon from the bones of Dadhichi, because, due to all the austerities that Dadhichi had gone through, his bones would make for very powerful weapons. So, for saving the community of demigods, Dadhichi had to sacrifice himself. So the demigods came and humbly asked Dadhichi for his bones. Generally speaking, if someone asks for your bones, you would respond with, “Oh yeah, you can have my bones!” (laughter as Maharaj clenches his fist indicating that this would mean a fight) So, in this way, most people would get defensive if someone asked for their bones. But somehow, Dadhichi was agreeable to this request. He simply asked the demigods to wait for a moment until he first gave up his body. So therefore, Dadhichi had an incredible attitude and he was completely undisturbed by such a request due to detachment to his body.
We are not Dadhichi, but at the same time, we can take some inspiration and remember that this world and everything in it comes and goes. So, this is not the main thing in life. We are not looking for suffering – we are not going to give up our bones to someone who wants them. But at the same time, if we can put the eternal spiritual reality n the foreground, if we could give it more importance, our lives would drastically improve. So, this is what we need to do.
The article " False Identity " was published on KKSBlog.
Hare Kṛishna! Please Accept Our Humble Obeisances, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! ISKCON Mayapur welcomes all you for a Festive Month! An all-auspicious Month and one you wouldn’t want to miss out! Festivals are the Summum Bonum of ISKCON. exude with colourful decorations, palatable feasts, elaborate rituals, kirtans, dance and dramas, the festivals make spiritual […]
The post Upcoming Festivities in Sri Dham Mayapur This August! appeared first on Mayapur.com.