Websites from the ISKCON Universe
By the North European BBT TeamAll our mass-distribution titles are simultaneously produced as print books and ebooks, and we're now working on the audiobooks.
The ebook team is also converting our entire back catalog of over 1000 titles in 45 languages into ebooks. We now have 216 ebooks in 23 languages, each in three flavors.
Continue reading "North European BBT Annual Report
→ Dandavats"
June 20th is World Refugee Day and it is Refugee Week up until the 24th of June. Food For All’s great friend Jennie Matthias has released a new single in support of World Refugee Day 2022. All proceeds will go towards supporting refugees in London, by offering them food, work, and rehabilitation. You can help […]
The post Food for All Supports World Refugee Day appeared first on ISKCON News.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Home Visits
Visvambhar mentors international students from India and they are receptive, indeed, to Krishna Consciousness. Each morning while in Winnipeg, being accommodated in a quaint temple at 124 Hazelwood Ave., a portion of those students embark on a walk in the area of St. Vital. It is one of those sections of Winnipeg settled by the French.
My meals are provided by congregants, which I am grateful for. The zonal supervisor within ISKCON Zone 1 (Canada and six northern states) is Vrnda, a sincere and competent manager and devotee. She is steering people in the area in a good direction.
Kirtan is something I do in practically all the households I visit. In one home we were without musical instruments, so we innovated and I used the refrigerator as my drum. It worked quite well. I could hit different intonations due to the different compartments within, the highest pitch coming from the freezer compartment up top.
The final visit today was at the home of Philip Wilford, whom I haven’t seen in thirty-nine years. His home is one he seriously and artistically works on. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s a haven of a place within seventy trees planted on a small lot, resembling a solemn and meditative cave. St. Francis is there in wood, as an inspirational deity.
Conversations went so fine at all the home visits.
May the Source be with you!
3 km
Transcona, Manitoba
Reunited with Billie the Parrot
It was with great pleasure that I could see Daruka, my support person for my fourth walk across the country, and also the second half of the third trek. This meeting with Daruka was very special, in his home area of Winnipeg/Transcona. His parents, especially his mother, wanted to meet me. Sometime in the past, I prayed for her when Daruka told me of her physical challenges. That touched her, even though I never met her. Although skeptical about her son getting “involved in a cult” years ago, she warmed up to Krishna to a degree and got curious, so Daruka drove me to their home along with Billie Jean, his blue-fronted Amazon parrot.
Here’s what I wrote about her in the book, The Saffron Path:
“When Daruka joined me on my third Canadian walk, Billie Jean came along too. It was not my intent to interfere with their strong bond, but since we were going to be travelling companions, I thought I would offer a gesture of friendship by petting her head. My attempt failed and I became a regular beneficiary of serious “kisses” from her sharp beak. My attempt at having her perch on my shoulders was also met with defeat, as the darling usually gifted me with her posterior blessing. I forgave the aggressive behaviour because she played a key role in our efforts to share the message of simple living and high thinking.”
I re-tested Billie Jean in seeing if she remembered me. Indeed, she did. On the backyard patio of Daruka’s parents’ home she climbed on my arm and rested on my shoulder for a good hour. What a trooper she is!
I want to thank the Winnipeg students for taking me on that Bishop Grandin Greenway for a walk.
May the Source be with you!
4 km
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Another Mercy Day
Rain is prevalent these days, but somehow or other the presiding God of all Gods seems to make way for some walking to take place. Thank you, Krishna. The water from above appears to get tossed around intermittently. It’s not a solid downpour. I understand, though, that Manitoba farmers are unhappy about the collective wetness.
During some rain, I had the pleasure to get interviewed indoors by R. Jamnu Radio, with host Apna, at 10 am. Initially it was going to be a twenty-minute talk, then it was stretched to thirty minutes. The questions and subsequent answers were compelling enough that our conversation went on for an hour.
The questions (at least some) were: How did you go from being a Catholic to becoming a devotee of Krishna? How did ISKCON come into being? Tell us about your walking and your book, “The Saffron Path.” How do you deal with negativity and a world so materialistic?
Apna began with some history, my history, but she eventually ended up delving deeper into philosophy. It was good.
I also made home visits and in between delivered Zoom classes from our very precious literatures, Bhagavad-gitaand Bhagavatam. One stop was at Affinity Restaurant, downtown. I do not frequent restaurants as a habit, but when someone invites, and it’s a plant-based food outlet, I will accept. This Buddhist business became our venue for meeting friends and supporters of our community. The food was good and healthy, and the company was sweetly Vaishnava.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
Lorette/Winnipeg
The Airy Prairie
I could not resist going down an endless prairie dirt road for the friendly skies of Krishna – blue clouds, great air, and no stop signs or intersections to worry about. The road I chose is located where I’ve been staying; I didn’t catch the name of it but it is edged by lots for new housing units. Out of nine lots, seven are sold and one of them is already under construction, at least the foundation. Three men were up and at it, hard hats and all. They were surprised to see a spec of saffron ambling along in the distance. As I got closer to the working crew, I waved. They reciprocated. I shouted, “Good luck with the project!” A second handwave followed. I guess they appreciated the encouragement. While in the prairies, I thought for a moment about the B.C. mountains and the Frazer River. Perhaps it was Paramatma, God in the heart, sending a message – “you have a Zoom call to tend to with the Vancouver community – a class on the Bhagavatam.” So, I rushed back to the home of my hosts, Amit and Priyanka, for that monthly call.
It was a sweet call. Here we were reading a portion of the ultimate literature, commenting on it with reflections deep. A great way to air out the mind.
Amit took me to St. Vital, a subsection of Winnipeg. Once I settled, I took to an urban stroll with Manitoba maple lining the streets; earth-toned rabbits running all around.
My day completed with a Zoom call with our east-coast devotees at this time, a bi-weekly Gita Chat.
What a perfect day!
4 km
Hare Krishna, Jai Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra Maharani! All glories to Sri Mayapur Dham Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Lord Jagannatha after being away from the eyes of everyone from Snana Yatra day, the Lord emerges very beautifully after 15 days of recovery to give Darshan to all […]
The post Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Seva Opportunity 2022!!! appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Every summer, on the Second Saturday of June, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) presents their jubilant annual Ratha Yatra (Festival of the Chariots) Parade down Fifth Avenue. The procession of colorful chariots begins promptly at 12:00 PM from the corner of 45th Street and 5th Avenue and proceeds down Fifth Avenue, to Washington […]
The post New York City Ratha Yatra Procession (video) appeared first on ISKCON News.
The Devotee Care initiative has been expanding worldwide since 2015. Many hundreds of devotees have taken the Devotee Care course. Find it and everything else devotee caring at devoteecare.org/ This course can be a great boon to your temple, devotees, and congregations and you can host it at your temple. The Devotee Care committee can supply […]
The post Devotee Care Expanding to a Temple Near You appeared first on ISKCON News.
History was made in Watford’s famous Cassiobury Park on Saturday 11th June. After local devotees gathered en masse along Watford’s bustling high street for hari nama chanting, for the first time they made their way to the park’s entrance to greet the cart carrying Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra. After a joyous Ratha Yatra procession around the […]
The post First-ever Ratha Yatra at Watford’s Cassiobury Park-UK appeared first on ISKCON News.
CHURCH OF BETHLEHEM – May 19, 2022 The Barcelona Temple has been receiving Ukrainian devotee refugees, one of the devotees is Nirmala Prema, who has been participating in our programs for several weeks with her inspiring voice. One day Nirmala passed by the Church of Bethlehem and listened to the children sing. She decided to […]
The post Refugees Sing Holy Name in Barcelona appeared first on ISKCON News.
This month’s construction photo update includes photos of work being done in the Nrsimha Wing on the corridor doors, domes, and ceilings, production in the GRC (glass-reinforced concrete), and GRG (glass reinforced gypsum) workshop, the entranceway elephants, and the bas relief panels. Construction is full steam ahead as we race to the completion and opening […]
The post TOVP June 2022 Construction Update with Pictures appeared first on ISKCON News.
Here are a relevant verse and purport from Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.24.13):
etavaty eva susrusa
karya pitari putrakaih
badham ity anumanyeta
gauravena guror vacah
“Sons ought to render service to their father exactly to this extent. One should obey the command of his father or spiritual master with due deference, saying, ‘Yes, sir.’ ”
Srila Prabhupada explains, “Two words in this verse are very important; one word is pitari, and another word is guroh. The son or disciple should accept the words of his spiritual master and father without hesitation. Whatever the father and the spiritual master order should be taken without argument: ‘Yes.’ There should be no instance in which the disciple or the son says, ‘This is not correct. I cannot carry it out.’ When he says that, he is fallen. The father and the spiritual master are on the same platform because a spiritual master is the second father. The higher classes are called dvija, twice-born. Whenever there is a question of birth, there must be a father. The first birth is made possible by the actual father, and the second birth is made possible by the spiritual master. Sometimes the father and the spiritual master may be the same man, and sometimes they are different men. In any case, the order of the father or the order of the spiritual master must be carried out without hesitation, with an immediate yes. There should be no argument. That is real service to the father and to the spiritual master. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has stated that the order of the spiritual master is the life and soul of the disciples. As a man cannot separate his life from his body, a disciple cannot separate the order of the spiritual master from his life. If a disciple follows the instruction of the spiritual master in that way, he is sure to become perfect. This is confirmed in the Upanisads: the import of Vedic instruction is revealed automatically only to one who has implicit faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and in his spiritual master. One may be materially considered an illiterate man, but if he has faith in the spiritual master as well as in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then the meaning of scriptural revelation is immediately manifested before him.”
On this occasion, I pray to become a proper servant of my spiritual master, or spiritual father, Srila Prabhupada, and of all his other servants.
Hare Krishna.
Your aspiring servant,
Giriraj Swami
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 5 May 2019, Melbourne, Australia, Bhakti Vriksha Talk)
The acaryas were so absorbed in chanting that they did not want to do anything else. When Gaura Kishor das Babaji was chanting and would get hungry, he would simply eat some clay from the Earth. He was hungry, but he did not want to be distracted by going elsewhere to eat since he wanted to keep on chanting. How can we understand this, how can we understand such a high taste for chanting?!
It is said in the Sri Caitanya-carita by Murari Gupta that, “Gopinatha Acarya took the path of hearing Sri Nama Japa. Then fully intoxicated with Krsna-prema, Gopinatha would again and again cry out His names. He thus created a wave of song, dance and music, on which he would dance like the ocean flooding its shores.” Now, that is what you call chanting japa, right?! You are making a wave of a song, dance and music in chanting japa? This is another level! So, here we can see that there are levels of japa that we cannot even imagine, but the acaryas are writing about it! And then we are reading it and now we are imagining it. In this way, we get a little glimpse of what might be coming in the future.
We are maybe not yet chanting with pure love, but there is some hope. Through the spiritual master, we first become free from our temporary material conditioning. And then, we develop our eternal and ecstatic spiritual nature. So let us see how we progress in this movement, it is going to get more and more ecstatic as each day passes by!
The article " There is hope! " was published on KKSBlog.