Websites from the ISKCON Universe
By Mohan Luthra The first thing that has changed about the Bhaktivedanta Manor Gurukula is that it is no longer called that, it is now simply referred to as the Gurukula – The Hare Krishna Primary School. This is part of the story that has seen big changes happen over the last year and a half Continue reading "All change at Bhaktivedanta Manor Gurukula – Can you help?
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Indulekha Devi Dasi: Vatsala Prabhu, our spiritual brother, left his body tonight. His whole world was serving at the Indian Festival, whenever I had contact with him he always lived and spoke about this service. Sending my sympathy and support to His Daughter and the rest of the family.
Srimati Tungavidya Devi Dasi, wife of Trikalajna Das, left this world from Sri Vrindavan Dham due to an accute cardiac arrest on 14 December 2020 at 4:20am. Around 1980s, she served Sri Radha Madan Mohan of ISKCON Washington DC with all her love and dedication while Trikalajna Prabhu served as the Temple President. She constantly served the deities and preached zealously bringing many lost souls into Krishna consciousness. She was extremely loved by the local devotees. Both Mataji and Trikalajna Prabhu served briefly in ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor during a time of turmoil, where they campaigned to save the temple.
Every year after kartika the VIHE holds the Holy Name Retreat and the Govardhana Retreat at the foot of Giriraja. However, as many of you might have expected, we will not have the retreats at Govardhana this year BUT we have decided to present to you a wonderful online retreat helped by our esteemed speakers HH Sacinandana Svami, HG Bhurijana Prabhu, HG Jagattarini Devi Dasi, and HG Madhavananda Dasa so that you may start the new year with Giriraja's blessings. The dates are January 2-6, 2021.
We look forward to welcoming you all to the farm over the Christmas and New Year period. It will be a festive time at the farm. As well as our regular temple program (which can be found on the website), we will also have daily lively kirtan and will be serving sumptuous prasadam.
More than 20000 students are expected to participate in this event. The state government of Jharkhand in India has already declared this as an official event and has directed all Government schools to take part in this event.Read More...
By Chandan Yatra Das Holy town of Udupi is famous for its most revered Sri Krishna Udupi Temple. Udupi is said to have attained the status of Vaikuntha, because the Lord Krishna came here from Dwarka and stayed here in response to the desire of His pure devotee Sri Madhvacarya. This temple was founded by Sri Madhvacarya (A.D. 1238–1317), one of the greatest Vaishnava saints and proponent of Dvaita philosophy of Vedanta. Near Udupi there is a small village Pajaka Ksetra, which is the birthplace of Madhvacarya. This area of India is sometimes called Parasurama Ksetra. Continue reading "Sri Udupi Dhama Yatra
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Absorb yourself in the magical elephant procession in Sri Dham Mayapur. You will see great images and fun moments of this wonderful festival
Parividha das: This comedy was staged in the late nineties at the ISKCON annual Summer Festival in Radhadesh. After seeing photographs of this performance, several devotees requested that I share a video of the play
Saint Jamestown, Toronto
No Time to Ease Up Till Night
It was the second Sunday night in a row that I took a walk to Isabella Street to meet Vallabha and Michaela, the great couple that worked on our film, “Rolling the Dice.” My intent on the visit, which was outside their apartment for Covid safety, was to bring them a token of appreciation in the form of cake prasadam. Also, we needed to set some schedules to fine-tune our production. It was our first film.
My day was like a live-wire of bhakti, devotional service. At 6 a.m. I chatted with Vrishabanu, from India, on strategic planning topics. At 9 a.m. a Zoom call was scheduled with our community in Buenos Aires, to talk about the relevance of drama as a cultural avenue, especially for children. At 1:15 p.m. I was Zoomed for another session on “Tales from the Trails,” to our New York City community. It was hard for me to stop talking about that one. At 3 p.m. a third Zoom call for the day entailed getting our leaders together from our North American North zone, to see how to implement stricter safety measures in our temples due to the virus. At 4 p.m. I called one of my assistants from the west coast, talking over secretarial needs including dictation on the book, “Krishna in the Maple Leaf.” I also managed time for cooking some items in between all this, for Govinda’s dining hall.
Walking to the couples place was relaxing. I delight in finding a new route each time I venture there. There are so many choices. I just keep the required distance and chant during the process.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
243 Avenue Rd., Toronto
Locked-in With the Fruits and Veggies
Today I committed to time in the walk-in cooler where we keep produce of fruits and veggies but also flowers and greens. The lifting, stretching and reaching, to some degree, compensated for the day’s no-walking program. The sorting out had to be done and the coolness of the fridge made me feel as if, indeed, I was outside.
By the way, the cold rain and wind of the out-of-doors was a deterrent for me. First and foremost, the cleaning and setting things up for the sake of efficiency was my impulsive service to Krishna. It is service and activity that keeps sanity in place. Lack of function is truly harmful in a person’s life. Being busy is the greatest blessing.
Apart from making this achievement today I succeeded in gaining sponsors for Gitas. I’m “on a roll” now. Three major sponsors came through today; as was the case yesterday. Yes, numbers do count, even in spiritual life. After all, it is recommended to chant sixteen times around on the japameditation beads.
Also, in monastic life we are expected to work with numbers such as ten and four. They are, respectively, the approximate hours which a monk (or nun) should rest at night and the time at which one arises for sadhana activities, routine devotional practices. Working with figures is a standard procedure for those of us in a disciplined lifestyle. It provides a solid foundation for building upon one’s spiritual life.
May the Source be with you!
0 km
The Annex, Toronto
His Name is Prince
The sun was hitting the rooftops, and people too, and it was beckoning people to come out of hiding. Yes, people like me. At 9°C who wouldn’t go for a stroll with Friday night optimism in the air. I set out for Bloor Street.
At Hot Docs movie house the curved art deco. awning shelters a homeless crew. How many? I don’t know. They do seem to hoard a lot of paraphernalia. It’s a bit unsightly with it sprawled out, including a half dozen comforters or so.
One of the blanket proprietors did see me as I passed by, giving more attention to the “stuff” than the people there. He shouted, “Haribol!” and it compelled me to turn around to see its source.
“Oh, yay, I know you!” I remarked, seeing a fellow who turned 40 last summer. He was a troubled fellow, one who frequented our temple in the past. Later on I received another “Haribol” from one of the Sharma’s just outside their Indian boutique called “Priya’s.”
It was a full “Hare Krishna” that greeted me at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst. There at the corner on a chair with his bongo drums was a Nigerian who sat there with all smiles. “I used to hang out with the Krishna’s in New York. I even had a shikha(tuft of hair at the back).” He said.
“That’s remarkable,” I replied. He was happy and then began chanting the full maha mantra to the beat of the drum. Pedestrians got to hear the sacred sound. That’s fortunate for them. The person’s name is Prince.
May the Source be with you!
5km
243 Avenue Rd., Toronto
Peace On Earth
The express postman left a parcel for us about a week ago. We had been waiting for it and it just so happened that he left it at the wrong door. A passerby in a nearby address noticed it sitting right by the door. It’s surprising that no one bothered to pick it up off the street and run away with it during the entire week. It appears that there are still some honest people in the world. This pedestrian did spot it and brought it to a proper door where he found one of us.
Wow! Really! What if a snow storm came and buried the parcel? Thank God for the occasional saint!
Speaking of weather, it has been quite mild for this time of year. Temperatures are in the plus, just above freezing. Unfortunately I’m not getting much of the action. With assignments such as an overhaul in the kitchen, I didn’t once get a whiff of the outside air until before bedtime. God, is the air good. Let me rephrase, “God is the good air.”
These days are fine in the sense that Gitas are going out and getting distributed. That good Lord that I’m talking about is pleased when the most famous dialogue of all time, between Himself and the soul (represented here by Arjuna) is being shared. Surely in these times of stress people could use some good guidance as is delineated in the 700 verse masterpiece. We could all use a little more “Peace on Earth.”
May the Source be with you!
0 km, but stretching took place
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The post Gita daily – Empower yourself with timeless wisdom appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Mandakini Devi Dasi: Dear devotees we are very sad to inform you that one of the first preachers in the Soviet Union Brahmananda Puri Prabhu left his body out of Covid. During that time where circumstances were extreme, he published Srila Prabhupada's books in clandestinity, at his own life's risk. He came from Armenia and became so enthusiastic after reading Srila Prabhupada's books that most of his village inhabitants became devotees. Let us all pray that he reaches safely the Lord's mercy guided by his heroic devotional service for Srila Prabhupada's mission. Read More...
King Malayadhvaja fathered one daughter, who had very black eyes. He also had seven sons, who later became rulers of that tract of land known as Draviḍa. Thus there were seven kings in that land.
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Learning many slokas at once is easier than learning one at a time… Don’t believe me… Check out this episode where we cover: the most effective time-tested technique for learning slokas why small children should learn many slokas… and why it doesn’t matter if they don’t understand them how to use “muscle memory” and “musical […]
The post SV32-Why it is easier to learn a whole chapter than it is to learn one verse appeared first on Successful Vaisnavas - Personal Development for Hare Krishnas.
Learning many slokas at once is easier than learning one at a time… Don’t believe me… Check out this episode where we cover: the most effective time-tested technique for learning slokas why small children should learn many slokas… and why it doesn’t matter if they don’t understand them how to use “muscle memory” and “musical […]
The post SV32-Why it is easier to learn a whole chapter than it is to learn one verse appeared first on Successful Vaisnavas - Personal Development for Hare Krishnas.
Enjoy these ancient mantras set to a sweet reggae tune. "Jiv jago" means "Wake up sleeping soul" as chanting these mantras will reawaken our long-forgotten spiritual identity.
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The post History of ISKCON and HH Radhanath Maharaj contribution – Hindi appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Srila Prabhupada repeatedly called the modern class of scientists “rascals” and “cheaters”, and accused them of speaking “nonsense”. The fact is, he was not against science as a principle, but he did not accept the authority of modern scientists whose constantly changing conclusions are based on imperfect sense perception and speculation. “We have our authorities”, he said, “and they have theirs”. And our authorities base their understanding on revealed knowledge descending through strict successional dissemination of the Vedic scriptures, which originate from God Himself.
However, Srila Prabhupada also exhorted his scientific-minded disciples to challenge the scientists and use science to prove the existence of God, consciousness, reincarnation and, of course, the structure and nature of the universe according to the Bhagavatam and other shastras, as well as the existence of the spiritual world. Without ‘science’ the Vedic conclusions can be misunderstood to be mere theology or mythology with no concrete, fundamental proof. This is the main purpose of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, aside from being a place of kirtan and worship, and the new home of Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva and Sri Nrsimhadeva.
“Apart from Puranas and Vedic literatures, scientifically it is the modern science, according to their way, we can convince. Puranas you may not believe the authority, I may not believe. But scientific truth has to be accepted.”
Room Conversation, March 31, 1977, Mumbai
We would like to announce the creation of our new Book Marketplace on the TOVP website where you can find publications by devotee scientists and scholars on all the above subjects, and more. The books are not being sold directly on the website, but links will bring you to the specific websites where they can be purchased. Our current selection of authors includes Bhaktisvarupa Damodar Swami, Danavir Goswami, Sadaputa Dasa, Drutakarma Dasa and Rishiraja Dasa. More will be added over time.
We encourage all devotees to visit our Book Marketplace and become educated on these subjects in order to arm themselves against the barrage of atheistic, mechanistic and impersonal conceptions that pervade all modern explanations of life, nature and the universe.
Visit the TOVP Book Marketplace now.
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
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News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
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Buy: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/
In the purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 5, Chapter 3, Text 8, Srila Prabhupada addresses the importance of acting to satisfy the Supreme Lord, specifically with regards to building huge temples. This answers the question sometimes put forward, “Why do we need another temple”? Of course, there are many reasons why the TOVP is important and why it’s needed, and below Srila Prabhupada points out one of the most important of these.
In this section of the Bhagavatam, King Nabhi performs a sacrifice to Lord Visnu to obtain a good son, and the Lord having personally appeared, the brahmanas performing the yajna offer prayers while regretting their materialistic intentions in performing the sacrifice.
TEXT 8
ātmana evānusavanam añjasāvyatirekeṇa bobhūyamānāśeṣa-puruṣārtha-svarūpasya kintu nāthāśiṣa āśāsānānām etad
abhisaṁrādhana-mātraṁ bhavitum arhatiTRANSLATION
All of life’s goals and opulences are directly, self-sufficiently, unceasingly and unlimitedly increasing in You at every moment. Indeed, You are unlimited enjoyment and blissful existence itself. As far as we are concerned, O Lord, we are always after material enjoyment. You do not need all these sacrificial arrangements, but they are meant for us so that we may be benedicted by Your Lordship. All these sacrifices are performed for our fruitive results, and they are not actually needed by You.PURPORT
Being self-sufficient, the Supreme Lord does not need huge sacrifices. Fruitive activity for a more opulent life is for those who desire such material opulence for their interest. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: [Bg. 3.9]) if we do not act to satisfy the Supreme Lord we engage in māyā’s activities. We may construct a gorgeous temple and spend thousands of dollars, but such a temple is not required by the Lord. The Lord has many millions of temples for His residence and He does not need our attempt. He does not require opulent activity at all. Such engagement is meant for our benefit. If we engage our money in constructing a gorgeous temple, we are freed from the reactions of our endeavors. This is for our benefit. In addition, if we attempt to do something nice for the Supreme Lord, He is pleased with us and gives us His benediction. In conclusion, the gorgeous arrangements are not for the Lord’s sake but for our own. If we somehow or other receive blessings and benedictions from the Lord, our consciousness can be purified and we can become eligible to return home, back to Godhead.
Relishing the transcendental sweetness of Krishna Kirtana is only possible when one is actually advanced, towards perfection. Srila Rupa Goswami used to say, wishing if he had possessed millions of ears, and billions of tongues then he could chant the Hare Krishna mantra a little bit relishably. In the conditioned stage, we chant Hare Krishna mantra officially without any attachment and try to finish the rounds as soon as possible.
We would like to dedicate the last 18 days of this year to celebrate this festival! The Gita Challenge is ONLY 18 days – from 14th to 31st of December!
“As far as studying my books is concerned, I have already given the order. One hour in the morning class and one hour in the evening and if there is extra time during the day it may be used for studying but we cannot expect everyone to be studious.” Srila Prabhupada Letter to Rupanuga -- Sydney, 14 February 1973
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Bhakti Vinoda Swami - 13 December 2020. ISKCON Coimbatore.
By Srimati DasiLet’s face it. It’s not easy trying to live Bhagavad-gita in today’s world — it’s tough! And the taste is more often bitter/sweet than sweet/sweet. Govindadeva gives the practical essence of living Bhagavad-gétä in verse 18.66. The Kali-yugian heart has no trouble with the first half of the equation — abandon all varieties of religion. That’s very much in tune with today’s life standards. But the second half — surrender unto Me — that’s the tough part. Why do we find it so tough? Continue reading "The Bitter-Sweet Taste of Living Bhagavad-Gita
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Shri Saranga Thakura (Saranga Murari) lived in Mamagacchi, Modadrumadwipa (Navadwipa). Staying under a Bakula tree, Saranga Thakura served throughout the day to please his worshipable Deity. Single handedly, he would collect fruits, vegetables and firewood. He would also beg rice, cook, bathe, dress, and feed his Lord. After a full day of Deity service ,Saranga […]
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By Satya Medha Gauranga dasa Srila Prabhupada introduced the Krishna consciousness movement in the western world keeping in mind the time, place and circumstances. Srila Prabhupada was an expert preacher. He perfectly knew how to preach depending on the time, place and circumstances. This video shows glimpses of the extraordinary success that has originated from Srila Prabhupada's extraordinary preaching and outreach strategies. Continue reading "Preaching according to time, place and circumstance (3 min. video)
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Devotees around the world are aiming to distribute at least two million Bhagavad-gitas during the last quarter of 2020, as part of the Prabhupada marathon and the Live to Give campaign. The campaign will culminate with World Gita Day (also known as Gita Jayanti) on December 25th. To mark the occasion, there will be a […]
The post Live to Give Campaign to Distribute 2 Million Bhagavad-gitas by World Gita Day appeared first on ISKCON News.
Devotees around the world are aiming to distribute at least two million Bhagavad-gitas during the last quarter of 2020, as part of the Prabhupada marathon and the Live to Give campaign.
We sometimes get allured by the promise of free entertainment on the Internet. Because it seems free, we may spend far more time than what we might have otherwise spend on it. For example, we may watch mediocre movies that we would never spend money to watch. Though such movies may be free in […]
The post Free Entertainment, Expensive Entanglement appeared first on ISKCON News.
The worst part of such entanglement is that we don’t even realize we are getting entangled.
Sri Saranga Murari Thakura used to reside at Modadrumadwipa Mamagachi, where his Deities of Sri Sri Radha-Gopinath are still present. There is also a Bakula tree there which is perhaps existing since the time of Saranga Thakura. There is a local legend concerning this tree. One day when Mahaprabhu came there, He noticed that the Bakula tree in the courtyard of Saranga’s Temple was dying. So He asked Saranga, “This Bakula tree is dying, so what are you going to do?”
Saranga Thakura replied, “Besides Your mercy Prabhu, I don’t see any hope for this tree.” Then Mahaprabhu embraced that tree, which has remained healthy to this day and is now quite large.
Saranga Thakura had resolved that he would not accept any disciples but Mahaprabhu nevertheless repeatedly requested him to do so. Finally he relented and agreed by saying, “Tomorrow morning the first person I see I will initiate with the divine mantra.”
The next day, in the early morning, he went to take his bath in the Ganges. By chance a dead body came and touched his feet as he entered the water. Picking up this body he said, “Who are you? Get up.” From behind Mahaprabhu who was witnessing everything called out, “Saranga! Say the mantra in his ear!” Then when Saranga said the mantra into the ear of that dead child, the body became conscious. He said, “My name is Murari. I am your servant. Please bestow your mercy upon me.”
On the day when this boy was to be invested with the sacred thread he was by chance bitten by a snake and died. As he was only a boy, the custom was not to burn the body but rather to place it on a raft of banana trees and float it down the Ganga. When his parents received the news that their child was alive, they came there to take him home. However Murari declined to accompany them to his former home. He told them, “I will remain in the service of he who has given me life again, for I am indebted to him.”
According to Gaur-Ganoddesa-Dipika (text 172.) Saranga Thakura was previously Nandi Mukhi, in Braja lila.
vraje nandimukhi yasit
sadya saranga-thakkurah
prahlado manyate kaishchin
mat-pitraa na sa manyate
“The Vraja-brahmani Nandimukhi-devi appeared as Saranga Thakura. Some people think that Saranga Thakura was the incarnation of Prahlada Maharaj. My father (Sivananda Sena – the father of Kavi-karnapura) did not agree with them.”
His appearence is on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of the month of Asar. His disappearance is on the 13th day of dark fortnight af the month Agrahayon (Mrigashirsha – November-December).
243 Avenue Rd., Toronto
Path of Grace
My day finished with a piece of lightly sweetened carob cake. The topping of the day, not the cake (with no icing), was a continual cleanup in the temple’s pantry, some emailing, some calls to promote the Gita-drive known as “Give to Live,” and a call with Radhanatha Swami, something we regularly share.
My conversation with Radhanatha was private enough, however, we did cover conversations of a more sharing nature. First of all we were both participants in a forum of eulogies about our recently deceased Krishnanandini. She was a fine example of a great human being, a family person and a devotee of God.
We also talked about his childhood. He had a friend who lost his life in the icy waters of Lake Michigan, just off a cliff’s edge. Yes, we dwelled on the topic of death and birth. That’s common enough as themes for monk discussions—unless you’re the hermit-type where a little is said, a lot is seen and much is thought.
We left our call on the note of a west-coast friend we both share, an individual struggling with Parkinson’s. Oh, how tough is the world and life itself.
One other short list of items I will share with you all came from a person who is quite introspective. His sharing goes like this:
1. Everything changes and ends.
2. Things do not always go according to plan.
3. Life is not always fair
4. Pain is part of life.
5. People are not always loving and loyal.
His conclusion was that we should follow the path of bhakti, the path of grace.
May the source be with you!
3 km
