Planet ISKCON

Today we observe Utthana Ekadashi. This Ekadasi has four names: Utthana, Haribodhini, Prabodhini, & Devotthani. Herein you will find suggestions for observing Ekadashi fast, Ekadashi time calculators, and inspiring pastimes and scripture. 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 17 November 2018, Ter Kadamba, Vrndavana, India, Parikrama 2018 Lecture)

There are many limbs of devotional service, 64 to be precise. By engaging in these 64 aspects, we can make so much spiritual advancement. The first is guru-padasraya – taking shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master. The second one is to accept initiation and receive spiritual instructions. The third is serving the spiritual master with love.

Before we reach love, we may serve out of fear. Why? Well, the sastras create a lot of fear in our hearts as it is very clear that we cannot disobey the orders of the spiritual master. If you do not follow the orders of the guru, your spiritual life will be ruined. If it is not too serious, then you just dry up and become slack in your practice. This causes some fear but there is another reason why we are afraid of the spiritual master. Never before has someone had such authority over us, not even our parents; not even the government or the national leaders have the same authority over us. Sometimes we may cut a few corners or cause civil disobedience, and others are just outright criminals. And as I am saying all of this, I realise that I am looking straight at a lawyer seated in front of me! (laughter) We experience our limitations. We practice these 64 limbs and try to serve our spiritual master not out of fear but by trusting him.

We must take the desire of the spiritual master and wear it like a jewel. Take it happily and not reluctantly. This relationship with the spiritual master must become our greatest treasure and we must have full faith in it. When Lord Nityananda goes into a liquor store, we do not question his motives. We have faith that He is going in there to give mercy. In the same way, we must have faith in our spiritual master. We must offer our whole existence in that relationship. We must become what he wants us to become, not what we want to.

The article " Wear it like a jewel " was published on KKSBlog.

In Jennifer Mishler's article she mentions ‘environmental harms of animal agriculture, often left out of climate change discussions—and most importantly—not addressed in climate policy or action.’ At first glance we might think yes, we would agree with that, we have heard it so many times that it practically rolls off our own tongues. But I ask you to hold on for a minute and pick out the various issues and wonder if we agree with the premise then. In the article the environmental harms are not specifically sited and hence we don’t know what is being referred to. It is clear throughout the article that the drive is towards a plant-based diet and a reduction if not elimination of animal agriculture. In this article I am not going to talk about all the many types of animal agriculture as that is not my focus, here I want to bring our attention to Cows or specifically Cow Protection or Gorakshya and how this might be affected by articles like this. So let me restate then my understanding of the article with cows in mind. The lobbyists are proposing a reduction in dairy production and consumption. Continue reading "Plant based Dietary Lobby groups bring attention to the cow in the room by proposing less cows and other animals
→ Dandavats"

Today is the disappearance day of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was a great devotee—a maha-bhagavata. He was a disciple of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and was very renounced. Earlier, he lived for many years in Vrindavan, roaming the twelve forests, chanting the holy names of Krishna, begging alms, and sleeping under trees. Later, after Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discovered Lord Chaitanya’s birthplace in Mayapur, Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja, the siksa-guru of Bhaktivinoda Thakura and parama-guru of Gaurakisora dasa Babaji, instructed Gaurakisora to move to Navadvipa-dhama.

There Gaurakisora resided on the banks of the Ganges and practiced devotional service with intense devotion and renunciation. Because materialistic men would come and disturb him with their desires for mundane blessings (asirvada), the babaji began to stay by a municipal lavatory, where the filth and obnoxious smells would discourage unwanted visitors. There he would chant in peace—in ecstasy. He would beg alms and cook in discarded clay pots, or eat parched rice with green chilies, or just ingest Ganges mud. Sometimes he would collect the discarded cloth from the crematorium, wash it in Ganges water, and use it to cover himself. His only desire was to be absorbed in the mellow of the holy name—in Krishna consciousness.

Gaurakisora was a siksa disciple and intimate friend of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. The Thakura arranged a bhajana-kutira for him on the same property as his own house in Godruma-dvipa. When the time came for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to take diksa, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura advised him to approach Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was the father of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and his first instructor in the spiritual science, but the etiquette was that one would not take diksa from one’s biological father. So Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura sent him to Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was highly literate. By the age of seven, he had memorized the entire Bhagavad-gita and could even explain its verses. He had a photographic memory, and in school he read all the books in the library. Just by reading them once, he could remember every word, and so the library purchased new books just for him. By the age of twenty-five, he had written numerous articles and published one book, Surya-siddhanta, for which he was awarded the title Siddhanta Sarasvati. So, he was highly educated and literate, and Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was hardly educated or literate at all.

The first time Siddhanta Sarasvati approached Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, the babaji refused to accept him. He didn’t directly say no, but he said, “I will ask Mahaprabhu.” When Siddhanta Sarasvati returned and told his father what had happened, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura encouraged him to persevere: “You must go back and beg him with all humility and earnestness to accept you.” So, he went back, but Gaurakisora dasa Babaji again refused, saying, “Oh, I forgot to ask Mahaprabhu. I am so sorry.” When Siddhanta Sarasvati returned home, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was most upset. He knew that Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was a pure devotee, a maha-bhagavata, and he urged Siddhanta Sarasvati to persist. He again instructed his son to beg Gaurakisora for his mercy, and he added, “If you fail this time, don’t bother to come back home.”

So, Siddhanta Sarasvati left the house and went to the Ganges. He felt so hopeless, he thought he might as well just drown himself in the river. Just then, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja appeared; he knew what was in his future disciple’s heart. Siddhanta Sarasvati just threw himself at Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji’s lotus feet in abject humility and complete surrender. Finally, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji accepted him. Siddhanta Sarasvati had shown that he was free from any tinge of false pride for being so learned and literate when his guru was uneducated.

Srila Prabhupada remarked that Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was illiterate and could not even sign his name, yet he became the spiritual master of Sarasvati Thakura, the best scholar of his time. And thus he proved the statement of the Vedas:

yasya deve para bhaktir
  yatha-deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
  prakasante mahatmanah

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23)

Although Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was hardly educated or literate, learned scholars and public servants would approach him with their questions on Srimad-Bhagavatam and other shastras, and with his realized knowledge he would answer their questions to their full satisfaction. Sometimes devotees would read various scriptures for him and he would comment on them from his deep spiritual realization.

Still, out of his great humility Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja refused to accept any disciples; Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura proved to be the only exception.

Gaurakisora dasa Babaji enjoined Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati never to go to Calcutta, which he considered “a bastion of Kali-yuga.” So Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati remained in Mayapur. In 1905 he took a vow to chant the Hare Krishna mantra a billion times. Residing in a grass hut near the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, he chanted the Hare Krishna mantra day and night. He cooked rice once a day in an earthen pot (or just parched the rice in the sun) and ate nothing more. He slept on the ground, and when the rainwater leaked through his grass ceiling, he sat beneath an umbrella, chanting. Locked in a small room, he chanted japa day and night, day after day, month after month, year after year. Finally, when he had completed his quota, he felt that he was ready to come out and preach. And to preach he went to Calcutta.

In a talk at the Ardha-kumbha-mela in Allahabad, Srila Prabhupada raised the point that Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji had instructed Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati never to go to Calcutta but that everyone knows he went to Calcutta. So, Srila Prabhupada questioned whether Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had disobeyed the orders of his spiritual master. “No!” Srila Prabhupada declared. “He was never in Calcutta; he was always in Vaikuntha!”

We pray to Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji:

namo gaura-kisoraya
  saksad-vairagya-murtaye
vipralambha-rasambodhe
  padambhujaya te namah

He is saksad-vairagya-murtaye, the personification of renunciation (vairagya); and vipralambha-rasambodhe, always merged in the ocean of the mellow of separation from Krishna (vipralambha-rasa). Padambhujaya te namah: “I offer my respectful obeisances unto his lotus feet.”

That was the mood of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja: he was always merged in that nectarean ocean of devotion in separation, and he had no care for his body or for anything material—just hari-nama.

He wrote a beautiful song that is completely in the mood of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. It is said that of the Six Gosvamis, Raghunatha dasa was the most attached to the service of Srimati Radharani—that he had the most intense desire to serve Srimati Radharani—and Gaurakisora dasa Babaji wrote a beautiful song in that mood. He begins with a refrain: kotai go premamayi, radhe radhe, radhe radhe—“Where is Radha, so full of love? Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe!” Then he proceeds to express the mood of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami in separation from Radharani, desiring and aspiring for Her service.

When Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja left this world, there was some dispute over what would happen to his body. His samadhi, of course, would become an important place of pilgrimage, and some of the heads of the local Vaishnava centers saw this as an opportunity to raise money—for their mathas and even for their own sense gratification. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati ran to the site, but when he arrived, some of the local babajis objected: “You are not a sannyasi; how can you give samadhi to such an exalted and renounced personality?” But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati responded forcefully: “I am the only disciple of Babaji Maharaja, and although I have not accepted sannyasa, I am a celibate brahmachari, not secretly addicted to abominable habits or involved with illicit activities. Who among you can say that in the last year he had no sex or illicit contact with a woman? Please step forward.” Everyone was silent. Then he challenged, “Who has refrained for the last six months?” Everyone was silent. Next, “For the last three months?” Again, silence. “For the last one month?” Silence. “The last three days?” Still silence. They had been exposed and humbled. Not one of the babajis was fit to even touch the transcendental form of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, and one by one they walked away.

But even then there remained some question about how to handle the body, which was still lying on the ground. Out of his great humility, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja had instructed that when he departed, his body should be dragged through the streets of Navadvipa so that it would be bathed in the dust from the feet of the Vaishnavas who had walked the holy ground of the dhama. So some of the townspeople proposed to take the body and drag it through the streets of Navadvipa. Such fools! Such rascals! But Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura stopped them. “Although we are fools and offenders,” he said, “still we can try to understand the true meaning of Babaji Maharaja’s humble request. After the departure of Thakura Haridasa, Lord Chaitanya Himself took the spiritually blissful body of the Thakura on His lap and danced. Following the divine example of Mahaprabhu, let us also bear Babaji Maharaja’s blissful body on our own heads.”

So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati took charge of the body and placed it in samadhi on the western side of the Ganges, across from Mayapur. In time, the course of the Ganges changed and its waters threatened the area of the samadhi. So Srila Bhaktisiddhanta brought the samadhi to Mayapur, to his matha. There he had created a replica of Vrindavan, with tamala trees and kadamba trees, with Syama-kunda and Radha-kunda, and with a small Govardhana Hill made of govardhana-silas. Most appropriately, he placed the new samadhi by the side of Radha-kunda, and that is where the transcendental remains of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji still rest today. One can go there and pray to him and feel his presence and get his mercy.

Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja is an ocean of mercy (all pure Vaishnavas are). I pray that he will help me to chant the holy name, to chant with taste. When I prayed to him earlier—and this may just be my speculation—I imagined that he said, “You must give up your offenses.” Then I was thinking, “What offenses? What offenses?” And then I imagined that he answered, “You must chant with attention.”

Of course, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura does state that inattentive chanting is the root of all other offenses and that, conversely, attentive chanting will destroy all the other offenses. “But how do I do that?” I asked. And the answer came: “You must try. You just have to make the effort.” And I suppose that is always the process—that we make our honest effort and depend on the mercy of the acharyas and Krishna.

In my case, however, my chanting sometimes becomes such a routine that I do not even make the effort to hear every word or every mantra. I just do it. I just go through the motions. So, I guess that is my challenge, my special order—to chant with attention.

Devotees often raise the question of chanting with quality. When on a morning walk a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada, “How can we chant with quality?” His Divine Grace replied, “The quality will come. For now, just chant as a matter of duty; chant your sixteen rounds. When the quality comes, there will be no force. You will have taste, and spontaneously you will desire, ‘Why sixteen rounds? Why not sixteen thousand rounds?’ Rupa Gosvami desired, ‘How shall I chant with one tongue and hear with two ears? Had I billions of tongues and trillions of ears, then I could enjoy it.’ ”

Srila Prabhupada said that quality means asakti, attachment, and that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu showed that quality: “Sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me: ‘Oh, I do not see Govinda. The whole world is vacant.’ Sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me. This is quality.” When one feels viraha-bhava, when one feels separation from Radha and Krishna, one is chanting with quality.

 Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji is an ocean of mercy, and we pray for his grace.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji’s disappearance day, November 22, 2004, Dallas]

Podcast:

Summary podcast:

Video:

 Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

Date:14th Nov 2021

Day: Sunday

Time: 11 am to 12 noon

Topic: The Great Awakening

Speaker: HG Rohinipriya das

Link to join the class from your desktop or laptop:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9150790510?pwd=Wk5GYXVRMkJmdk84MzZJRXBKYUgwUT09

HG Rohinipriya das

His Grace Rohinipriya Prabhu is a BACHELOR in MEDICINE & a BACHELOR in SURGERY (M.B.B.S) from BYRAMJEE JEEJEEBHOY GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE AND SASSOON GENERAL HOSPITALS (B.J.M.C), PUNE, INDIA. In the early 90s, he came in contact with ISKCON and consequently, joined the ISKCON Pune temple as a fulltime brahmacari. In 1995, he moved to ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai, India. He served as the Director of ISKCON YOUTH FORUM (IYF), ISKCON Chowpatty for many years. Then, he served as a Temple Management Committee(TMC) Member at ISKCON Chowpatty. He also served as a Member of the Committee for Spiritual Vision(CSV) at ISKCON Chowpatty. From 1996, he started travelling to Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, in addition to his services in Mumbai. He fills the lives of people with the joy of Krishna Consciousness, by his practical, mesmerising, scriptural discourses. He also counsels & guides many people, specially, the youth. He currently serves as the General Manager at ISKCON Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. Under his able guidance ISKCON Aurangabad is a dynamic and flourishing offering & tribute to Srila Prabhupada’s legacy and glory.

He visits North America regularly, especially, the USA & Canada and shares the message of the Bhagavad Gita & the Srimad Bhagavatam. He, also, travels worldwide for serving the people of all denominations. He has been actively distributing the message of the Bhagavad Gita to 1000s of Engineering & Medical students and other professionals all over India. He is an inspiration to many professionals & youth all over the world. He presents the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita & the Shrimad Bhagavatam in a very attractive, eloquent and practical manner.

ISKCON Scarborough

3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,

Scarborough, Ontario,

Canada, M1V4C7

Website: www.iskconscarborough.org

Email:

iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

ISKCON Mayapur will be conducting a Virtual Puri Parikrama for three days, from 14th to 16th November.  This is a zoom-based program of one hour every day from 8 pm to 9 pm. IST. Bhakti Purusottama Swami and many more senior devotees will be our guides to various holy places in Puri dhama. 

Yorkville, Toronto

That’s It

War is an ugly thing, an explosion of emotions. It is a clash of feelings, triggered by a major misunderstanding. The warring of the mind is enough; the subtle but destructive conflict within that everyone goes through. It’s a tug-of-war between mind and reason.

Today, people are honouring Remembrance Day, at least in Canada, when men and women from all over the world are revered for rendering an incredible sacrifice through war. Can war and combat ever be averted? In the Mahabharat, India’s best of two epics, details of combat are outlined in a rich display of emotions. It was Krishna who personally attempted to stave off a brewing madness between the Pandava and the Kauravadynasties. The attempt failed and in the crazed tug-of-war between greed and goodness, greed insisted on a fight, which it lost. In this scenario, like most clashes of interest, a time of calm, or a down time sets in, but for a brief space until the next flare-up.

As far as possible we try to keep at bay the madness of the world. We forget we are spirits and are not these bodies. It’s a case of false proprietorship. The body is not mine and all connected to it is not mine. Anything outside of my so-called acquisition is also not mine. We may have a quota in which to use but that’s it. No more. This point is made clear in the first verse of Sri Isopanisad. Stewards of a small portion we may require but that’s it. That’s it!

I would propose we battle the senses and mind, first, before tackling anything else. All praises to those who sacrifice for freedom.

May the Source be with you!

3 km

Oakville, Ontario

Walking and a Passing

I am not a happy shopper, but when it comes to going to that drug store that sells the unique ky boots, right there on the main street of Oakville, I have no qualms. The selection for shoes styles is not huge when it comes to ky boots, but they have a great fit and bottom. It was time to get a new pair for winter and a kind donor from Toronto made it possible to get this awesome black, comfy footwear.

I just had to show them off so my kind driving friend, Nanda, dropped me off after the purchase at Yonge and King. Those shoes had me flying. I was going at 5 km per hour. Mind you, Yonge St. walkers have always been fairly speedy. “Going with the flow” is what it was. Both knees were in sync.

When I did arrive home at the ashram, I learned about the passing of another GO BRO, Rajendranandana. Here is my offering to him. I call it Man of Bhakti Contagion.

It didn’t matter what was the occasion

He was always a man of bhakticontagion

An anti-Kali personality

In touch with the ultimate reality

A guy with an incredible smile

To see that you’d walk a long mile

For him cynicism was a sin

Positivity is what he indulged in

A Prabhupada person all the way

Humble steps, gentle breaths, made up his day

He was a detailed lila story-teller

Considering all his services – a remarkable fellow

(All you men, sign up for MANtra this weekend)

May the Source be with you!

5 km

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto

Come Around

I was pleasantly surprised to see a group of ladies suddenly appear. I guess I’ve not been around much when a slew of people come, but there they were, about nine of them, somewhat mournful. Something’s happened. And then one of them, a sister or a daughter of a gentleman, Oberoi by name (who’s not doing well at the hospital), revealed the reason for their visit.

Well, these ladies came at the right time. It was 7 a.m. and the group of us residents were poised to present dhiyas, or ghee lamps, to the beautiful image of Radha-Gopinatha, that is Krishna and Hiss servant Radha. We sang the song which honours Krishna as a baby.

The women then delighted in offering flower petals to Prabhupada, the guru, which is also part of the morning sadhana. They were so relieved when I announced it to the deities that these simple rituals were being dedicated to their relative. I offered them prasadam, a simple sweet. And as one of the women asked for an appropriate book to put under his pillow, I acted swiftly to hand her a book, “Dharma” by author, Srila Prabhupada.

At 8:45 a.m. Ryan came to visit. He’s going through “stuff,” but he’s advancing in Krishna Consciousness. “I’m trying to put in a good effort.”

At 11:30 a.m. two monks and an assistant from the Swami Narayana group arrived with sweets for our residents, which was very nice of them. We chatted and became acquainted with each other. We all agreed that extremism or fanaticism is very harmful.

All in all, I love it when people come around for strengthening their spirituality and engaging in devotional service.

May the Source be with you!

This Ekadasi has four names: Utthana – Haribodhini – Prabodhini – Devotthani, and it is the second Ekadasi (Kartik Shukla, light fortnight) in the month of Kartik. It is said that Lord Vishnu goes to rest for four months during the period known as Chaturmasya. Starting from Sayana Ekadasi, which is the first Ekadasi that […]

The post Utthana Ekadasi and the TOVP appeared first on ISKCON News.

This Ekadasi has four names: Utthana – Haribodhini – Prabodhini – Devotthani, and it is the second Ekadasi (Kartik Shukla, light fortnight) in the month of Kartik. It is said that Lord Vishnu goes to rest for four months during the period known as Chaturmasya. Starting from Sayana Ekadasi, which is the first Ekadasi that falls in the month of Ashada Lord Vishnu rests and awakens on the day of Kartika Shukla Ekadasi, which is why it is known as Utthana Ekadasi.

Ramsden Park, Toronto

Reflect, Reflect

A poem in honour of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

Reflect Reflect

Reflect, reflect on His Divine Grace

Mirror the values he’s put into place

Set into practice what he’s left us

Deliberate on his love, then discuss

Evermore is this our obligation

Of commitment and unbroken dedication

May we shine in his powerful glow

Like the formation of crystal, soft snow

Clean and clear directions he’s given

Moving us until we’re self-driven

Let us act with the same heart

With the same vision and make it our art

-Composed by Bhaktimarga Swami, The Walking Monk©

May the Source be with you!

3 km

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Prabhupada Remembered Through Speaking

As a speaker of Krishna Consciousness, I feel fulfilled. At the home of Kadamba Priya a group of students and families came to partake in a Sunday sanga and it was the occasion of an event not everyone understands. The date is, by lunar calendar, the passing anniversary of Prabhupada, our guru, and founder/acharya.

Few people know Srila Prabhupada and our gathering was no exception. He departed 44 years ago, so it’s no wonder that the young students in the room know so little. So, I delivered my message about his super but under-rated qualities and contributions, and the listeners were so attentive. Even the boisterous babies in the house (Kadamba Priya’s kids) were peaceful, for a time. So, it was magical. I felt like I was an instrument in doing Krishna’s will.

It was just prior to the talk that I was on the phone with friend, Radhanatha Swami (we do communicate despite the lock-downs) and we were exchanging what each of us was doing when we heard that Prabhupada left his body. It was chilling to go over. Then he said that we have the obligation to gravely share with the next and new generations the power this personality had. Prabhupada was and is powerful.

So, I felt the listeners in the home were really listening. It got through to their hearts. It’s not always the case. I did feel happy, especially with the questions that followed, not all to do with him, necessarily, but to do with their lives and how all questions can lead to relevant answers. Sri Krishna has the answers and it is Prabhupada who can be credited for making known the great voice of Krishna, through his books.

With the talk and feast completed, Kadamba and I hit the trail to the walking bridge. My last walk in New Brunswick. Moving forward.

May the Source be with you!

4 km

Speakers from Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Mauritius participated in the three-hour conference, which is a platform for an exchange of ideas and strategies on all matters of book distribution, publication, and innovation.

The new Devotee Care Team started in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in April 2021, is providing resources, assistance and association for residents of the large rural community. The team is run by Lilasuka Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who first moved to New Vrindaban in 1980 and has served there as a day school […]

The post New Vrindaban’s Devotee Care Team Provides Assistance and Association appeared first on ISKCON News.

The new Devotee Care Team started in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in April 2021, is providing resources, assistance and association for residents of the large rural community.

Sanka Das, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada known for his compassionate and giving nature, his cooking and gardening, his smile, and his “huge heart,” passed away peacefully on the auspicious day of Govardhana Puja, November 5th, in Alachua, Florida. He was 73. Sanka left during the Brahmamuhurta hour of 2:50am while looking at a picture […]

The post Srila Prabhupada’s Flower Boy Sanka Das Passes Away: “He Had a Huge Heart” appeared first on ISKCON News.

Sanka Das, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada known for his compassionate and giving nature, his cooking and gardening, his smile, and his “huge heart,” passed away peacefully on the auspicious day of Govardhana Puja, November 5^th, in Alachua, Florida. He was 73.

Podcast:

Summary podcast:

Video:

It is a small farm community, complete with flower and vegetable gardens, a couple of small greenhouses, a beautiful goshala right across the road from the temple, and then a larger goshalla down the road Continue reading "The Story of Nueva Vraja Mandala
→ Dandavats"

Below is a narration of a conversation between His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and Bhavananda prabhu in Mayapur, 1977:

In 1977 I was on the roof of the Lotus Building with Srila Prabhupada. He was walking the perimeter and chanting japa. At one point he stopped on the North side and was looking across the rice fields towards the Yoga Pitha temple. In 1977 it was open fields all the way to the Yoga Pitha. Imagine there were no other buildings of any sort. Prabhupada turned to me and said, “What is more important about a man? Where he was born or the activities he performed?” I replied that I thought the activities were more important. Prabhupada replied, “Exactly. So that is the birthplace temple of Lord Chaitanya and this ISKCON campus is the preaching activities of Lord Chaitanya. I want you to build a temple that is so wonderful that no one will go to the birthplace temple but everyone will come here to ISKCON”.

This story is a wonderful example of Srila Prabhupada’s preaching mood and dedication to the spreading of Krishna consciousness, specifically in this case through the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. And that mood permeated everything he said and did during his lifetime of serving the order of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati.

It also represents Prabhupada’s keen philosophical perspective of all aspects of life in relation to Krishna consciousness. He wasn’t a dreamer or a mere sentimentalist, but a thinker and visionary on the most practical and down-to-earth level, what to speak of the most sublime spiritual level. Everything had its place in proper Krishna conscious perspective and could also be explained in a practical and implementable way.

He said in simple and clear words, “I want you to build a temple that is so wonderful that no one will go to the birthplace temple but everyone will come here to ISKCON”. This is the order and command from Lord Caitanya’s Senapati Bhakta, our Commander in Chief. It must be fulfilled by all of us, his dedicated followers and servants.

We humbly beg all the worldwide ISKCON community to continue to offer your support to this project, now scheduled for its Grand Opening in 2024. Make a donation if you haven’t yet, make another donation if you have given already or fulfill your pledge as soon as possible. There are over twenty available donation options to choose from according to your means. And the Prabhupada Seva 125 India Govt. minted commemorative coin is now available.

Please visit the Seva Opportunities Page today and show your support and gratitude to Srila Prabhupada by building that temple to which the whole world will come.

“Now you all together make this Vedic Planetarium very nice, so that people will come and see. From the description in the Srimad Bhagavatam you prepare this Vedic Planetarium. My idea is to attract people of the whole world to Mayapur.”

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Follow: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch: www.youtube.com/c/TOVPinfoTube
View at 360°: www.tovp360.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://m.tovp.org/whatsapp2
Instagram: https://m.tovp.org/tovpinstagram
App: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/

Podcast:

Summary podcast:

Video:

Gopastami puja is observed on the eighth day of the bright half of Kartika month (Kartika Shukla Astami). Sri Krishna Puja and Go Puja are the main ceremonies of the day.

According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, on Gopastami day, Lord Sri Krishna and his elder brother Lord Balarama became qualified cowherds. Before this day, both looked after the calves.

The cows are given a bath and decorated with colourful clothes and jewellery. Devotees paint the horns of the cows with turmeric and put Sindhura on their foreheads. They also put hand marks on their bodies. Special food recipes and fresh grass are offered to the cows on Gopastami. Pradakshina around the cows (circumambulation) is a most beneficial ritual of the Gopastami festival.

Gopastami and Go Puja are celebrated with the utmost fervour in all ISKCON temples in India and abroad.

Source: Global Commons Alliance

Interview with Gopal Patel, Hindou Ibrahim, and Janine Benyus from the Nature’s Newsroom at COP26, Glasgow.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture, and land use are among the main emitters.

Source: Devotion Yoga 

I'm Cyril Wohrer, also known as Chandra. I'm from Los Angeles and Paris. I have a Masters's in the Study of Religion from the University of Oxford. I have an accumulated fifty thousand hours of mantra meditation, and I teach and am the Director of Studies at the Krishna West Theological Seminary. This channel is for those who are interested in yoga/Indian philosophy, meditation, God, inner peace, and a plant-based lifestyle.

Today is the disappearance day of Sri Dhananjaya Pandit, who is described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter 11, text 31:

nityananda-priyabhrtya pandita dhananjaya
atyanta virakta, sada krsna-premamaya

 “The sixteenth dear servant of Nityananda Prabhu was Dhananjaya Pandita. He was very much renounced and always merged in love of Krsna.”

Purport: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya, “Pandita Dhananjaya was a resident of the village in Katwa named Sitala. He was one of the twelve gopalas. His former name, according to the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (127), was Vasudama. Sitala-grama is situated near the Mangalakota police station and Kaicara post office in the district of Burdwan. On the narrow railway from Burdwan to Katwa is a railway station about nine miles from Katwa known as Kaicara. One has to go about a mile northeast of this station to reach Sitala. The temple was a thatched house with walls made of dirt. Some time ago, the zamindars of Bajaravana Kabasi, the Mulliks, constructed a big house for the purpose of a temple, but for the last sixty-five years the temple has been broken down and abandoned. The foundation of the old temple is still visible. There is a tulasi pillar near the temple, and every year during the month of Kartika (October-November) the disappearance day of Dhananjaya is observed. It is said that for some time Pandita Dhananjaya was in a sankirtana party under the direction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and then he went to Vrndavana. Before going to Vrndavana, he lived for some time in a village named Sancadapancada, which is six miles south of the Memari railway station. Sometimes this village is also known as ‘the place of Dhananjaya’ (Dhananjayera Pata). After some time, he left the responsibility for worship with a disciple and went back to Vrndavana. After returning from Vrndavana to Sitala-grama, he established a Deity of Gaurasundara in the temple. The descendants of Pandita Dhananjaya still live in Sitala-grama and look after the temple worship.”

May Sri Dhananjaya Pandit bless us all.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Today Special Gopastami Darshan of Radharani’s Lotus Feet! WHY DOES SRIMATI RADHARANI GIVE US DARSAN OF HER DIVINE LOTUS FEET ON GOPASTAMI? image source: Urban Devi    On this day, many temples in Vrindavana, and now throughout the world, show the Deity form of Srimati Radharani with her lotus feet visible. On all other days […]

The post Why Does Srimati Radharani Give Us Darshan Of Her Divine Lotus Feet On Gopastami? appeared first on ISKCON News.

The eighth day of Kartika’s bright fortnight marks an important day in Krishna’s Vrindavan pastimes, his initiation as a full-fledged cow-herder. This day, known as Gopastami, is the day Krishna graduated from spending his days herding calves to herding the cows. Srila Jiva Goswami’s Gopala Campu describes the occasion of Krishna’s initiation as a cow-herder, marking his passage from boyhood to youth.

"The eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kārttika is known by authorities as Gopāṣṭamī. From that day, Lord Vāsudeva served as a cowherd, whereas previously He had tended the calves."