Planet ISKCON

After Śrīla Bhakti Charu Mahārāja departed there was an unimaginable outpouring of intense despair and grief by the worldwide devotee community. Later, when Mahārāja’s vapu was placed in samādhi in Māyāpura, his dear godbrother Ambarīṣa Prabhu along with his good wife Mother Svāhā Devī offered to build the samādhi temple.

Question from: Debendra

Answer Podcast

Transcribed by: Anupama Kulkarni (Pune)

Question: Why does Krishna talk about controlling the senses to Arjuna when the purpose of the conversation seems to be to incite Arjuna to fight?

Answer: The mention of fighting in the Gita is only contextual. Essentially, Gita’s purpose is to elevate Arjuna to understand the fundamental truths of life, purpose of life and harmonize with that purpose. Krishna does not simply want the destruction of the Kauravas. If that were the case, he could have done it himself with his own supreme power. In fact, Krishna shows in his universal form that all the Kauravas are destroyed by him in the form of time (kala).

In the Gita, Krishna wants elevation of Arjuna to a higher consciousness and through Arjuna Krishna wants to elevate all of us. Krishna wants that Arjuna understands that he is a soul and as a soul his duty is to harmonize with God in loving devotion. Five-thousand years ago when the Gita was spoken, the way for Arjuna to harmonize was by fighting the war because it was Krishna’s will. Contextually, Arjuna’s duty was to fight the war but essentially, Arjuna’s duty (and for us) is to love and serve Krishna.

To elevate our consciousness and relish ultimate happiness, we need to control our senses because if the senses are not controlled, they keep us trapped in material things e.g. enjoying the material forms, touches, tastes, sounds etc. Krishna talks about the necessity of sense control so that a person can practice the path of yoga (ultimately bhakti yoga) and rise to that spiritual level where he can experience loving harmony and happiness.

To summarize, Gita is not a book of violence or silence but a book of transcendence. For attaining transcendence, one has to practice sense control. In Arjuna’s specific case, for acting at the transcendental level, he needs to fight. That is why Kr

End of transcription.

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North York/Brampton

 

Day 2

 

I began today publicly, with a Zoom class to Mauritius on the topic of “Gossip — Me and My Big Mouth.” People find it an interesting conversation piece. The practice of gossip is subtle but very toxic. As pointed out by one of my sisters, Pauline, “It does show that people are socially interacting.” Pauline clarified that she doesn’t believe the exercise of gossip is healthy and wholesome, just that it shows a sign of life.

 

Pauline, by the way, attended our first session of part two of Ratha Yatra. Held at Earl Bales Park, this marvelous green space is located just around the corner of her home so her visit was convenient. I had the chance to introduce her to our crowd and reluctantly, out of shyness, said a few things on the microphone.

 

“This is my little sister (I believe she’s 61) and she does hair, but she has found me to be a useless client.” (Laughs). I show off my shaven head. Pauline is such a sweet person. Incidentally this festival, the Ratha Yatra, is a reflection of an actual family reunion. Yes indeed, Krishna’s actual family — Balarama, his brother, and Subhadra, his sister, take a journey to the north, to Kuruksetra, during a solar eclipse where friends and more relatives have this extraordinary reunion.

 

To the best of their ability organizers pulled off the event once again in a powerful devotional way.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

South, East and North, Toronto

 

The 49th

 

This year’s 49th annual Ratha festival, like 2020, was a modified version; all because of Covid. We are still not allowed to have major gatherings where participants can be close and, besides that, our people are loyal to mask wearing. Despite obstacles, after a year or more of keeping away from each other, we did come together on some meaningful level.

 

Instead of our usual chariot-pull on Yonge St. (and there are usually three chariots) we comfortably seated our three prime deities of Krishna, His brother and sister in a rented red convertible and went for a spin to three locations — an urban parking lot near the lake and two Hindu temple parking facilities. It was good to connect with the pandits and administrators of those temples. Most of all we all connected with friends of the pre-Covid times. It was like a family reunion, meeting again with congregates from different directions.

 

One notable moment for me was when a young high-school student asked a few questions. We went to the side when he wanted to understand what the Vedas say about atheism. It seemed he was inclined towards this particular philosophical leaning. In response, I expressed there is a level of realization in the line of brahmavad where energy of an immense power can satisfy those certain people of an impersonal approach. Three levels I spoke about. Something called bhagavan realization is the ultimate approach, where there is a recognition of superior intelligence connected to that divine personality.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

The GBC Executive Committee released a statement regarding a recent GBC decision on how to proceed with the controversy regarding Lokanath Swami. 

By Yudhistir Govinda Das

ISKCON Communications & SP125 Committee are happy to inform you all that the Government of India has issued the rules and a notification to legally recognize the Rs 125 commemorative coin being minted by the Government on the historic occasion of Srila Prabhupada's 125th Vyasa Puja (birth anniversary). The Indian government's official Gazette Notification is attached herein for your kind information. Continue reading "Govt of India Notifies Srila Prabhupada Coin
→ Dandavats"

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Excerpt from the video: Is Bhagvad Gita Hindu ? Ft. Chaitanya Charan Prabhu | DigiKarma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5K-UZZwXAg

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In this interview with Bhadrasena Prabhu we discuss The Loft approach to sharing Krishna consciousness in the West. We also discuss how the Vedic Contemporary Ashrama fits into that strategy. Some of the topics we cover.. Challenges typically faced by men today as they become devotees How to help devotees deal with different issues as […]

The post SV34-Bring People to Krishna consciousness in the West – Bhadrasena Prabhu appeared first on Successful Vaisnavas - Personal Development for Hare Krishnas.

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Excerpt from the video: Is Bhagvad Gita Hindu ? Ft. Chaitanya Charan Prabhu | DigiKarma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5K-UZZwXAg

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The Beaches, Toronto

 

Turned Red

 

Recently a couple and their mother moved to Toronto, settling in the east and in Pickering. Anuttama and Sveta purchased a house there and are now settled in the area and ready for service. Anuttama’s specific portfolio is to function as the book distribution coordinator for our north zone, which is several northern states and also includes Canada.

 

Anuttama has this passion for making the books of Prabhupada available. They have changed him and made him a better person so he strongly believes in sharing the wisdom.

 

This afternoon, on the eve, so to speak, of Toronto’s Chariot Festival, the family came to whisk me away to a special place. I promised them I would show them the boardwalk in the beaches area; the trail taken by Prabhupada himself in 1976, along Lake Ontario. It goes for over a two kilometre stretch and is very popular for pedestrians.

 

We merely stepped over it but mentally, or meditatively, acknowledged its significance. We had our first prasadam picnic and took a dip in the lake for a quick refresher. It was a trite frigid for Anuttama and when we came out his natural tanned body turned red before our very eyes. Something wasn’t right. He got nauseous and dizzy, causing him to lie down in the sand. Lack of sleep, having just landed from a job assignment by plane, and little to eat over the past few days, he determined, contributed to the sudden attack. Life is fragile. Anyway, he’s doing fine now. Just seeing Anuttama’s behavior normalize was a great relief. Jagannath (Krishna) has protected him.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

University Ave., Toronto

 

Touching On Gossip

 

To be more accurate I spent three and a half hours at Mount Sinai hospital, located on University Ave. That was done to meet various medical and social workers to prepare me for the coming left knee surgery. The date is set for July 20 and I feel, after having met the professionals, that I can go back to Mount Sinai with confidence of step and depart there with crutches. The healing begins from there.

 

On the topic of healing, well, it’s something I feel we all need to undergo. First let’s address the bigger and deeper problems of lust, anger, greed and jealousy. Let’s hit these characters face-on, change them if possible, and look not necessarily too the knee but to a newer me.

 

I had the good fortune to take the lead on discussions on the topic of gossip. I was on Zoom with devotees from Trinidad today and we talked about confronting gossip, rumor mongering and faultfinding. It was great. One quote that was really loved was, “if gossip was food there would be a lot of overweight people.”

 

Here’s my little contribution or my definition of gossip: Gossip: that most evil of weapons and, although it can be polished, it will act like a boomerang and come to haunt you! (Something to think about).

 

May the Source be with you!

5 km

 

Christie Pits, Toronto

 

Some Bad News

 

It’s a bit of bad news coming from South Africa. As I understand it, some action, based in racism, is going on; a lot of looting and more. Sad really. At our Durban temple most of the residents there have vacated and fled for safety. Our deities of Krishna have been taken away, under protection. I’m even receiving email, personally, since I know the people there, asking about refugee applications for Canada. The country is going through lots of fear.

 

It’s somewhat hard to comprehend when we experience a relative peace here. I have had a fairly full day of devotional activities, some of it related to the upcoming weekend festival of Ratha Yatra. After that, I asked Karuna Sindhu to drive me to Christie Pits in order to walk a self-forced three kilometres back to the ashram. I walked along Bloor in a part-meditative way; for South Africa.

 

At one point I took to a bench for a break. A young Sikh gentleman on his Uber run stopped his vehicle and parked it after seeing me there. He came over and asked if I was in meditation.

 

“Yes, of sorts, chanting the powerful mantra on my beads.”

 

“When did you start this?”

 

“In 1973.” He was blown away.

 

“Do you go to India?”

 

“Yes, every year but not now due to Covid.”

 

The fellow’s surname is Singh and is generally interested in the path of devotion, the path of peace. My prayers and thoughts go to his well-being and that of South Africa.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

Woodbine Beach, Toronto

It’s All About the Service

 

From the Introduction of Bhagavad-Gita:

 

We can easily see that every living being is constantly engaged in rendering service to another living being. A living being serves other living beings in various capacities. By doing so, the living entity enjoys life. The lower animals serve human beings as servants serve their master. A serves B master, B serves C master, and C serves D master and so on. Under these circumstances, we can see that one friend serves another friend, the mother serves the son, the wife serves the husband, the husband serves the wife and so on. If we go on searching in this spirit, it will be seen that there is no exception in the society of living beings to the activity of service. The politician presents his manifesto for the public to convince them of his capacity for service. The voters therefore give the politician their valuable votes, thinking that he will render valuable service to society. The shopkeeper serves the customer, and the artisan serves the capitalist. The capitalist serves the family, and the family serves the state in the terms of the eternal capacity of the eternal living being. In this way we can see that no living being is exempt from rendering service to other living beings, and therefore we can safely conclude that service is the constant companion of the living being and that the rendering of service is the eternal religion of the living being.

-        By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

May the Source be with you!

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Over the years, devotees have expressed interest in knowing more about The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust’s book editing policies and practices, especially in making corrections to Srila Prabhupada’s books after his physical departure.

This year, we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the appearance of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, born in 1896 in Calcutta. Leading up to his Appearance Day or Vyasa-Puja on August 31st, ISKCON News is commemorating the occasion with a series of articles glorifying his achievements, contributions, and qualities.   Srila […]

The post Srila Prabhupada: The Greatest Communicator appeared first on ISKCON News.

Not only did Prabhupada directly focus on winning people’s hearts and bringing as many to the process of bhakti as possible; but he was also an expert in creating and sustaining, as the Communications Ministry puts it, “favorable environments for advancing the goals of the Krishna consciousness movement.”

Dear Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru Maharaja. As we close in on a year of the painful disappearance of our dearest spiritual master, Srila Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja, we humbly invite you to join us for the first Tirobhava Mahotsava on the 24th of July, […]

Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Charu Swāmī Triobhava Mahotsava  “He lives forever by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him.” A 4-day event July 18-24, 2021 Attend:  On Zoom  ID: 961 5660 3663 Passcode: 123456 Watch Live on: www.mayapurtv.com https://www.facebook.com/gbcspt  https://www.facebook.com/bhakticharuswami   Full Schedule   

The post Remembering Bhakti Charu Swami: Triobhava Mahotsava | Zoom | July 18-24th, 2021 appeared first on ISKCON News.

Remembering Bhakti Charu Swami: Triobhava Mahotsava. On Zoom from July 18-24th, 2021. 

The primary reason for a failure in world peace is a lack of knowledge of the formula for peace. As Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed”.  In this regard, Srila Prabhupada, in his book “Krishna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System” remarks that once he had […]

The post The Formula for Peace appeared first on ISKCON News.

Florida is (pre-Covid) a season of Rathayatra festival parades that take over the crowded beaches or towns, typically with eight events across the state: at the Gasparilla festival in Tampa, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Clearwater Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Tampa Bay, and Orlando.  This year, fewer events are scheduled with the Daytona Beach parade […]

The post Florida’s Season of Rathayatras: Upcoming Clearwater Beach September 18th appeared first on ISKCON News.

Florida is (pre-Covid) has a season of Rathayatra festivals: with typically 8-10 events across the state! More info: http://festivalofchariots.org/events/

For the month of May through June this year, a preaching tour occurred across the region of Baluchistan; a rural mountainous southwest area of Pakistan.  The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Pakistan has three temples, including in Karachi, Larkana, Sindh, and in Hyderabad, Sindh as well as and five centers: in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Thari […]

The post ISKCON Pakistan is Growing appeared first on ISKCON News.