Planet ISKCON

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Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bhakti Center in New York City has been offering a new selection of virtual yoga teacher training and meditation teacher training programs, as well as training in Ayurveda and kirtan.

Lord Rama could have hated his stepmother Kaikeyi forever. And no one would have blamed him. Kaikeyi was so callous that the tears of her husband, Dasrath, did not melt her heart. She saw him dying but she did not care. She just wanted to satiate her false ego.  Her feelings, her emotions, her desires, […]

The post What We Get When We Take Shelter of Lord Rama? appeared first on ISKCON News.

This is the quality of the Supreme Lord, our eternal father. He is magnanimous. He does not hate anyone. He is the well-wishing friend of all. 

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) stands appraised and recognized with one of the highest honors in India – the “IGBC Green Champion Award 2020” during the 18th edition of ‘Green Building Congress’ organized from 29th – 31st October, 2020. ISKCON was unanimously chosen as a winner of the 7th IGBC Green Champion Awards under the category of […]

The post ISKCON Receives Prestigious ‘Green’ Award in India appeared first on ISKCON News.

ISKCON’s two projects, the Govardhan Eco-village and the Chowpatty Mandir in Mumbai have achieved the Platinum level IGBC green certification.

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“While Bhīṣmadeva was describing occupational duties, the sun’s course ran into the northern hemisphere. This period is desired by mystics who die at their will.” SB 1.9.29

“The perfect yogīs or mystics can leave the material body at their own sweet will…

In the momentous hour of leaving his material body, Bhīṣmadeva set the glorious example concerning the important function of the human form of life. The subject matter which attracts the dying man becomes the beginning of his next life. Therefore, if one is absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he is sure to go back to Godhead without any doubt. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā.” (8.5-15)

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Metpally is mainly an agricultural town with a population of 10,000. ISKCON’s activities began here a few years ago when Narahari Das from Chowpatty first started to come here.

“The Rising Sun: Vrindaban Samadhi Diary” by Alfred Valerio (Bhaktisiddhanta Das), now available on Amazon Kindle, recounts the story of how the Vrindaban samadhi, or mausoleum, for ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada was built. 

A video by ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team.

The series will be broadcast on their Facebook page, Youtube Channel and Mayapur TV from the 18th of February to the 29th of March. 

A video by the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team.

A video by Hare Krishna TV.

  What’s tradition? It’s simply an idea or practice that has managed to be passed on for some time. Google defines tradition as: “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.” Merriam-Webster offers other angles, defining it as “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (such as a religious […]

The post Gaudiya-vaisnavism, a Tradition of Innovation appeared first on ISKCON News.

Tradition in Gaudiya-vaisnavism is not a process of cutting-and-pasting external practices from the past. 

On February 9th, Prabhupada-disciple, beloved Grihastha Vision Team member and premarital counselor Karnamrita Dasa passed away after a long battle with cancer.  I saw the grim reaper in my dream, feeling no fear, I was curious to see him.Coming near, he pointed his bony, pale hand toward me.His other palm raised in blessing pose where it […]

The post Poem: Last Night The Grim Reaper Came For Me appeared first on ISKCON News.

Young devotess in Vilnius, Lithuania, a former Soviet country, made this video as a tribute to senior devotees who were fighting for them in Soviet Union, risking their lifes to get Srila Prabhupada Books.

Cosmic Theogony: The Personalization of Nature

by Ashish Dalela (Rishiraja Dasa)

Cosmic Theogony describes the Vedic trinity comprising the deities Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, which reflect the three aspects of the soul in Vedic philosophy, namely, cognition, emotion, and relation.

The trinity initially led to the worship of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and then to the three dominant forms of religion, namely, monotheism, monism, and polytheism prevalent today. It discusses the similarities between Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythologies and the Vedic one, as well as the conceptual foundations on which three types of calendars—solar, lunar, and sidereal—are based, showing how the number of months in a year, days in a month, and hours in a day are not an accident; they are rather based upon a science of concepts reflected in our language and our minds. The book also discusses the myriad similarities between world religions, using which we can create a tree of classification.

Author: Ashish Dalela (Rishiraja Dasa)
Published: July 12, 2018
Book size: 446 pages
Formats: Kindle, Paperback
 
BUY ON AMAZON  

 Note: All purchases through Amazon.com (US only) provide up to 10% royalty to the TOVP through the Amazon Affiliates Program.

  Residents of India will have to search for this book on www.amazon.in

Today is the day when we honor that personality who has brought the descent of Lord Caitanya into this world Shri Advaita Acarya, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is Mahavishnu, He is the personality who created this entire cosmic manifestation and knowing the purpose of the cosmic manifestations to send everyone back […]

The post Appearance Day Of Sri Advaita Acharya 19th Feb 2021! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

By Gauranga Das

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) stands appraised and recognized with one of the highest honors nationally- “IGBC Green Champion Award 2020” during the 18th edition of ‘Green Building Congress’ organized from 29th – 31st October 2020. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was unanimously chosen as a winner of the 7th IGBC Green Champion Awards under the category of 'Pioneering Institution in sensitizing the masses by going green'. Continue reading "ISKCON receives the 7th IGBC Green Champion Award
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We are showing you a small video clip of the embellishments some areas have been completed at the moment and also been worked on as well.
You will see the Nrisimhadev wing and Chatris. Some of the Chatris have been completed with balustrades and a peacock’s embellishments surrounding them.
And also a glimpse of the pink stone Jayapur Jali work on the outside of the windows. We will show you how Jali looks like from the outside and from inside as well. And we show you the Chatris night view with lighting as an example

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243 Avenue Rd., the Balcony

 

For the Family

 

Today is family day and it is celebrated as such in sections of the US and Canada, although not specifically on this calendar day for some locations. Fortunately, where I live, in Ontario, it falls on this day. As implied, it’s a day where family comes together. In the temple ashram,where I reside, we have ten residents but none of us are blood related. That doesn’t restrict us from carrying the spirit of a family. We are, after all, united socially and culturally under the shelter of Krishna and most of what we do we do in the consciousness of Him. I cannot say that 100% of our efforts are in full attention to the Source. That would be a lie. However, we endeavor to project all we do to his liking.

 

How do we know what God likes?

 

Those indications come from being trained by a guru. Also, much of the direction we take is from the sastra, scripture. For example, in chapter nine of The Gita, verse twenty-six, Krishna expresses his desire simply by explaining that if one offers a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water He will accept. The main ingredient to add to this list is the love, the bhakti. Nothing could be more important than that placement. It is in the gesture of kindness that the atmosphere becomes surcharged.

 

Some of the highlights for me on this family day was a delivery of a custom-made meal, by an admirable family, for our heart and palate, was chow mein, hummus, and a lemon/ginger drink — all homemade. When we say homemade then it qualifies as “family.”

 

May the source be with you!

2 km

 

Please view our new film, Rolling the Dice:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF3legHdMgI

 

 

243 Avenue Rd., The Balcony

 

Cold Hot

 

I stepped outside and winter was so there. Temperatures are not so severe. In some parts of the continent they can be brutal. Try Calgary, for instance. It often enjoys the warm chinooks coming from the Rocky Mountains, but sometimes residents receive the ultimate chill of -45°C, like the other day. Now that is cold and that lowness is shared by the prairie pioneers and the plains of the northern states like Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana and Alaska.

 

Weather, in general, is temperamental. It’s allowed to be. It has no choice.

 

Some of the people I meet from the tropics ask, “It’s cold where you live, isn’t it?” And I, and slight defensive tone, will reply, “Yes, and where you live it’s an unbearable hot hell.” Touché!

 

In the Bhagavad-Gita the weather and temperature are compared to the wayward condition of the mind. Arjuna remarks, “It would be easier to harness the wind than to harness the mind.”

 

Krishna agrees. At the same time he encourages Arjuna to endeavour at taming the mind to a reasonable degree, to avoid it slavery.

 

In that regard we can say, “The weather is permitted to be cold or hot, but the human being strives for not.”  We are all inclined to be emotional, however, we are also inclined to be devotional. For that to be achieved we shoot for maintaining an equilibrium — a balance.

 

Please check Bhagavad-Gita 2.14.

 

May the source be with you!

0 km

 

Please view our new film, Rolling the Dice:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF3legHdMgI

 

 

 

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto

 

Noises

 

I believe the train nearby makes a run every hour. Most neighbours become oblivious to it’s passing. It goes unnoticed in its routine, however, I sense it a good amount of the time. The window pane’s mild shaking makes it obvious to me. More irregular is the swift scurrying of squirrels over the roof. It’s one and sometimes two fellas making their pitter patter sounds. They are at play.

 

The level under me is the operation of Govinda’s dining. The dish washer is active less these days. Customers are all take-out comers and so disposable cutlery is used. Less noise for me, yet some voices do muffle their way through the ceiling. Sri manages the place. He has a distinctive voice.

 

The temple room, which is under the same roof, is rather quiet there days. Only in the morning hours from 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. are sounds maximized through Kirtan chanting, japa chanting and class where discussions are vibrated. I step in to become a good part of that.

 

Additional dynamics of sound come from the swishy noise of motorist whose wheels are ploughing through the accumulated wet snow. That’s pleasant enough. And when the snow is less wet outside and comes down consistently, like some days, it creates a beautiful silence as if nature is trying to tell a secret.

 

As the snow fell tonight I asked Sri if he could hold up his phone camera for one minute and video me standing there, speaking about the benefits of practicing sankirtan, the sharing of the wisdom of Krishna. It was one take and I feel it went well. That was the last bit of noise made for my day, except for the train carrying its cargo and making a slight rattle on the window pane. It was almost 10:30 p.m.

 

May the source be with you!

1 km

 

Please view our new film, Rolling the Dice:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF3legHdMgI

 

 

 

Seaton Village, Toronto

 

Karn Gone

 

An American devotee from North Carolina, Karnamrita, passed away this week. He was one of our best counsellors; a sensitive person with a big heart. I would say he was a real brahmin. He was a student of Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement. He is survived by his devoted wife, Archana Siddhi. Here’s a poem:

 

Karnamrita

 

Karnamrita, A man who is missed

A man who believed morals should persist

For him family was at the top of the list

A principal which in early days we’d resist

 

A true brahman — devotee sincere

One who wanted things to be clear

As truth will always drive away fear

This loss puts the cheek to the tear

 

He fought a fierce cancer combat

Now the body is a mere new stat

So many, you could shake a stick at

Resilient soul moves to a new flat

 

He was determined in helping the other

His was a vision for the earthly sister/brother

And Archana — the indisputable partner

A support comrade like no other

 

All hail to this man of power

We’ll remember him at his glorious hour

Blessings to him with plural flower

Krishna’s mercy to come like a shower

            -Bhaktimarga Swami, The Walking Monk©

 

May the source be with you!

3 km

 

Please view our new film, Rolling the Dice:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF3legHdMgI

 

 

 

Ramsden Park, Toronto

 

An Uninvited Guest

 

A living creature couldn’t make it in the crawlspace between the two floors of our temple. Our renovation workers spotted an oily leak through the ceiling drywall. They felt obligated to open up the ceiling and, lo and behold, what was exposed was the remains of a raccoon. He was fairly decayed and dried up from time. The skull was intact as it was a good set of jaws staring right out at you as you look up. There was no use in asking him if his jiva (soul) was still there. He was gone for sure.

 

One thing to consider is that the raccoon ended up being positioned right beneath their Lordships, the deities of Radha-Krishna. Not a bad spot. Such mercy!

 

On that same evening I caught a few minutes with three other young men working on the renovations. They were about to retire for the day. I popped my head in to see the condition of the work and take a chance for a quick “hello” and “goodbye.” “Goodnight,” was more like it, coming from them.

 

Actually, I was getting ready for my night walk, I am a walker — someone who’s trekked Canada four times, the US once and a few other countries. I’ve done it to promote the walking culture; a chance to meet people. It’s the type of thing monks do.

 

One of the fellows asked, “Where do you train to be a monk?”

 

“Right here!” I replied. “Right in this building. That’s the reason for the new rooms — for learning and training. When the renovations are done will conduct programs like “Monk for a weekend.” Give it some thought!”

 

It looked as if they were thinking about it as they were wrapping up.

 

May the source be with you!

2 km

 

Please view our new film, Rolling the Dice:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF3legHdMgI

Seaton Village, Toronto

 

Sports Active

 

Amala Ratna is a highly devotional-type of person with a night job. She drives around from skating rink to skating rink in the downtown area for maintenance of those operations. They are all over the city and kids/adults are on a craze about gliding on ice. While walking on an average day I come upon these ice fields in parks and I’m sure, one day, I’ll have the opportunity to meet up with Amala and wish her a “Haribol!” Which means “say the name of Krishna!”

 

During a phone call today, I spoke with another Krishna-person from the States. He’s an old tennis pro, “Tennis,” he said “is gaining a lot of interest among the public.”

 

We both agreed that between tennis versus boxing one sport is truly more sattvic. Tennis is becoming popular because it’s one of the few sports where social distancing is honoured. I couldn’t agree with him more and I told him I do see enthusiasts playing in the courtyard in the dead of winter. My friend, who enjoys southern weather, is impressed.

 

For a brief trek at 12 noon, I teamed up with Victor. It was for the purpose of talking and walking. My mask kept me snug against the biting chill. We spoke about his skydiving experiences. Victor expressed it as being very liberating up there. He also mentioned that some people faint in the process and thus don’t have a good landing. “Media doesn’t often report the deaths from skydiving.”

 

“I’m glad you made it, Victor. Haribol!”

 

May the source be with you!

4 km

 

Please view our new film, Rolling the Dice:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF3legHdMgI

 

 

 

Podcast:

Video – Bhagavad Gita 4.11 Lord Krishna Belongs To Everyone 2/13/2021

The post Video – BG 4.11 Lord Krishna Belongs To Everyone 2/13/2021 first appeared on Prahladananda Swami.