Planet ISKCON

Villa Vrindavana Yoga Center is providing yoga enthusiasts an authentic experience in a spiritual community, as well as a non-judgemental, pressure-free zone where they can decide how deep they want to dive.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “The living being can never possess attributes like Shiva, Vishnu or Lord Krishna. A living being can become godly by developing the seventy-eight-percent transcendental attributes in fullness, but he can never become a God like Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna. He can become a Brahma in due course: - Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28 purport” Continue reading "The unique position of Lord Shiva
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Hariharan Iyer: The great sage Maitreya continued: Out of his causeless mercy, the exalted personality Lord Śiva, a great devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa, continued to speak to the King's sons, who were standing with folded hands

These photos by Aradhya Gauranga prabhu of the TOVP Pujari Floor illustrate the size, beauty and quality of every aspect of the floor, from the individual rooms to the walkways in-between them, to the chandeliers, pillars and ceiling panels.

 
[See image gallery at tovp.org]  

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit us at: www.tovp.org
Follow us at: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch us at: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
View us 360° at: www.tovp360.org
App at: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts at: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed at: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Buy from us at: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/
Support us at: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/

The post TOVP Pujari Floor Photo Collection appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

The following photos by Thakur Saranga das show Srila Prabhupada, Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and Sri Sri Radha Madhava on Their tour of the Pujari Floor, during which the rooms were individually offered to Them, as well as ceremonial offerings participated in by ISKCON leaders and Prabhupada disciples.

 
[See image gallery at tovp.org]  

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit us at: www.tovp.org
Follow us at: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch us at: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
View us 360° at: www.tovp360.org
App at: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts at: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed at: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Buy from us at: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/
Support us at: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/

The post Interior Pujari Floor Opening Ceremony Photos appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

This January, Prefect Maurizio Falco and Deputy Mayor Elena Baio of the Italian city of Piacenza received representatives from the main religions in the area, including ISKCON devotees Raghunath Das (Renato Dacarro) and Pritha Dasi (Paola Rossi).

My sister—19-year old, wheelchair-bound, muscular-dystrophic Madana-mohana-mohini dasi--was the No. 1 female book distributor in Pune, India last December.

“On His return from Gaya, Mahaprabhu came by way of Kumarhatta, the birthplace of His guru, and began to roll on the ground in ecstasy there, as the ground became wet with His tears. Finally He collected some dust from that holy place and bound it in the corner of His upper garment, saying, “This […]

The post Isvara Puri -Disappearance appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Seventy-five seminars were presented during this year’s Iskcon Leadership Sanga.
The Iskcon Leadership Sanga is held in Mayapur every two years and is arranged by a sub-committee of the GBC called the Strategic Planning Team.
This year about eight hundred devotees from around the world attended. The sanga went for seven days and each day devotees came for a morning presentation and then went to one of seventy-five seminars that were presented.

Vaishnavas make sacrifices for the benefit of others (video)
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Radhanath Swami today in Iskcon Mayapur

Answer Podcast

The post When different paths have stark differences how can all paths be valid and how can we explain our path offers something more? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The Iskcon Leadership Sanga is held in Mayapur every two years and is arranged by a sub-committee of the GBC called the Strategic Planning Team.

This year about eight hundred devotees from around the world attended. The sanga went for seven days and each day devotees came for a morning presentation and then went to one of seventy five seminars that were presented.

Today is the disappearance day of Sri Isvara Puri. He was such a perfect disciple of Sri Madhavendra Puri that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Krishna Himself, was pleased to accept him as his spiritual master. Later, Lord Chaitanya visited Isvara Puri’s birthplace at Kumara-hatta and collected some earth from the birth site, which He kept very carefully and ate a small portion of daily. Thus He showed us how a faithful disciple worships a spiritual master who has faithfully served his spiritual master perfectly.

On this auspicious occasion, we pray that Sri Isvara Puri and his disciple Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will bless us with devotion to the spiritual master.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of January 2020. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5 Continue reading "NASN January 2020 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
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For the pleasure of all devotees worldwide we present this amazing updated 360° panoramic CGI image of the completed TOVP Temple Room by Shrisha das of the TOVP 3D Modeling and Visualization Department.

You can manually go around, up or down, and zoom in and back to see the incredibly ornate details of the beautiful altar and floor designs, Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasasana, etc..

TOVP Temple Room 360° Panoramic View

The post Updated TOVP Temple Room 360° Panoramic View appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Hold onto your seat, watch this video, and prepare to be amazed, inspired, delighted and totally enthused by this TOVP 2020 Progress Report by Sadbhuja das.

He will go over the wonderful progress in the areas of Art and Embellishments to the TOVP such as marble work, GRC (Glass Reinforced Concrete) production, GRG (Gypsum Reinforced Concrete) production, cast iron work, murtis, balustrades, tilak symbols, bas-reliefs, elephants and much more. And the grand finale is the Upcoming Works section displaying the future Vayasasana for Srila Prabhupada, Singhasana for the altars, and computerized visuals of the altar, walkways, pillars, and walls of the inner temple hall as well.

You’ll probably want to watch it a few times to let it all soak in. This will be a reality in two short years!

Please share this video with your friends and relatives through email, Facebook, etc. and get the word out: The TOVP is Coming – 2022!

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit us at: www.tovp.org
Follow us at: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch us at: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
View us 360° at: www.tovp360.org
App at: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts at: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed at: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Buy from us at: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/
Support us at: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/

The post TOVP Progress Report 2020 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Those who are intelligent know that everything is supplied by Krishna. So why not depend on Krishna only? Why so many other attempts? Therefore Krishna says,

vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-sakha hy anantas ca
buddhayo ’vyavasayinam
        [Gita 2.41]

Vyavasayi means one who knows business particularly. Vyavasaya. Or one who knows confidently, “This is the cause; this is the effect.” Those who know that Krishna is the origin of everything are fixed up in Krishna. Vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha. One. Just depend on Krishna. They who do not know this depend on so many things. Buddhi avyavasayina.

So, if we want to be Krishna conscious, we shall fix up our mind on Krishna. And how to become fixed up—that art will be given to you by the spiritual master. Therefore Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says in connection with the explanation of this verse, vyavasayatmika buddhih means to take the words of the spiritual master as one’s life and soul. That is vyavasaya . . . That is called vyavasayatmika buddhih. Visvanatha Cakravarti says that “Whatever I am ordered by the spiritual master, that is my life and soul. I don’t care for liberation. My only business is to serve my spiritual master.” And in the song we sing, Ye prasade pure sarva asa. Ye prasade means, “By his mercy, all our desires are fulfilled.” Ye prasade pure sarva asa.

So, this is our process, to depend on Krishna. “Depend” does not mean I shall remain idle. Depend means to work according to the direction of the shastra. Sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya, tinete kariya aikya [Srila Narottam dasa Thakura].

—Srila Prabhupada, talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.24, July 14, 1974, Los Angeles

Dear Devotees and friends

Kindly pray for Dukhi Radha Mataji a disciple of HH Partha Sarathi Das Goswami who was killed this morning in a house robbery.

She was a stalwart book distributor. May Lord Narasimhadev give strength to the family especially her daughter, Raksha, who is in a critical condition in hospital.

May our Beloved Sri Sri Radha Radhanath welcome Dukhi Radha Mataji into Their embrace.

-devotee care team, Durban
—–
Durban - Chatsworth police have launched a manhunt for the four men who stormed a home in Kharwastan on Monday, strangled a 72-year-old woman to death and assaulted her 40-year-old daughter before fleeing with money and jewelry.

Police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala said that the men entered the home on Robin Road at around 7.15am on Monday and attacked the two women.

“She was strangled to death. The suspects fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money. Charges of murder and house robbery are being investigated by Chatsworth SAPS”.

Garrith Jamieson the spokesman for Rescue Care Paramedics said that by the time emergency services arrived at the women’s home, the pensioner was already dead and the 40-year-old seriously injured after being attacked.

“Paramedics arrived on scene to find the woman in her 70’s had passed away due to the injuries sustained during the home invasion as well as a woman in her 40’s who sustained serious injuries. Advanced life support paramedics are working on the scene with police to stabilize the injured woman before transporting her to hospital,” he said.
Source: https://is.gd/G4vOGy

Transcribing Srila Prabhupada’s Words (13 min. video)
Harikesa das describes a somewhat difficult process to transcribe Srila Prabhupada’s dictations.

Answer Podcast

Transcription :

Transcription: Suresh Gupta

Editing: Keshavgopal das

Question: When people today are so untrustworthy how can we develop relationships?

Answer: There are two extremes. One is being naive and the other is being cynical. Being naive is believing that everybody is a wonderful person and hence trustworthy. If we are naive, we will be smashed, betrayed and may end up being cynical. Being cynical is also a very dark place to be in. There was an atheistic philosopher who was asked whether he believed in hell. People thought, since he is an atheist, he will not believe in hell, but he said, “Of course I believe in hell. Hell means other people.” He almost became a misanthrope, hating humanity. In Los Angeles, America, I saw a car in front of me and the bumper had a sticker written, “The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog.”

We all have bad experiences with people but in between naivety and cynicism, is the courage to trust. We do not want to trust manually. Basically, if we are driving a car, it needs a brake and an accelerator as well. While driving through the journey of our life, doubt is like the brake and trust is the accelerator. To drive safely, we need both. If traffic is huge and car is wearing off the road, we need to press the brakes. Similarly, we should not trust naively but instead should doubt using our intelligence. The Bhagavata Purana says: Doubt is the sign of intelligence and intelligent person have doubts. However, doubt is not the only sign of intelligence. If we keep doubting always, that is like driving with our foot on the brakes all the time. A lot of fuel will be consumed, and the car will lead to nowhere.

We cannot live our life only by doubts. At the same time, we cannot live our life only by trust. Like we cannot drive a car which has only accelerator and no brakes. Just as we intelligently drive and look around to keep the car on track, similarly, we use our intelligence before trusting someone. The problem with trusting absolutely and opening our heart is that we become vulnerable to being cheated. We expect absolute guarantee that the other person will not disappoint us. However, if we are humble enough to admit then such a degree of trust, we cannot have, even from ourselves.

Life does not come with hundred percent guarantee at any time. However, we should use our intelligence and take small steps with respect to trusting other person by opening the door of our heart in a small way. If the reciprocation is well received, we put more trust and gradually things may become better. Some relationships work out well, some do not. Sometimes, different relationships work out best at different distances.

To summarize, we use two things: intelligence and experience. Intelligence will help us to make sense about the person and assess the amount of trust we can place upon them. Experience will help us to reciprocate accordingly and place more trust. Thus, by intelligence and experience we can have the courage to trust as a balance between naivety and cynicism.

End of transcription.

The post When people today are so untrustworthy how can we develop relationships? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

HG Bhakta Das ACBSP left his body Sunday.
Srila Prabhupada: For a sincere person to go back to home, back to Godhead, is not at all difficult. Especially Krsna in this age has personally appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very, very kind to the fallen souls. Papi-tapi jata chilo, hari-name uddharilo. His business was with all the papi and tapi. Papi means sinful, and tapi means suffering. So His business was papi-tapi? No. His business was with the most exalted personalities like… Sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda, sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta. They were all very exalted personalities. But all of their mission was to deliver the papi-tapis. Papi-tapi is everyone, in this age especially. But if we take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by His mercy we get everything. - May 22, 1975, Melbourne

Sridham Mayapur 2020 (Album of photos)
Walking with Radha Madhava’s elephants. Japa walk.

TOVP progress report (14 min. video)
Sadbhuja Das: I would like to share these wonderful videos, the first being the video presentation which was shown to the GBC of our progress that has happened over the span of last year. The second a nice small clip of the Pujari floor opening which occurred on the 13th of February of this year. We are quite happy with all these recent events and will continue on in achieving the end goal as soon as possible!

The real source of human intelligence (video)
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Bhakti Dhira Damodar Swami in Iskcon Mayapur

Let Me go and search for the calves,” Krsna said. “Don’t disturb your enjoyment.” Then, carrying His yogurt and rice in His hand, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, immediately went out to search for the calves of His friends. To please His friends, He began searching in all the mountains, mountain caves, bushes and narrow passages Continue reading "Srimad Bhagavatam class in Mayapur 10.3.14
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Answer Podcast

The post Which mirror can show us the soul? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 7 January 2017, Brisbane, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.4)

There are so many mantras out there? Why is the Hare Krsna mahamantra considered to be the most powerful one?

Mantras are all invested with power. Previously, there were sages, who by chanting mantras, could do many things. Some people were fighting with mantras. Now we think we are very sophisticated these days; we have missiles for instance. But in the old days, you could just chant a mantra and invoke a great power. So mantras are known to have all kinds of powers. People could light fire by mantras. 

But the mahamantra is the great mantra because it serves the ultimate purpose. ‘Krsna’, which is one word in the mahamantra, means the all attractive. There are many things that are attractive that we can all think of. We can go window shopping and see all those things which are good. But, nothing is all attractive. What is all attractive? There are people who are attractive, but did you ever meet someone who is all attractive? Well, Krsna is all attractive. So, the chanting of Krsna is focusing on the all attractive. ‘Hare’ means service to the all attractive. And ‘Rama’ means happiness, the result of serving the all attractive. 

So the mantra in this way helps us focus on the ultimate goal of life. Instead of wasting our time with things that are partially attractive, we focus on the all attractive. And by serving that, we approach the all attractive with love. The result of this is pure happiness. This is why the mahamantra is the greatest mantra. It gives us the greatest result; the all attractive. What more could we want? 

The article " The greatest mantra " was published on KKSBlog.

Krishna wants you to become a TOVP Ambassador and share all the news and announcements about this historic and magnificent ISKCON temple at our World Headquarters in Sridham Mayapur. This flagship ISKCON project will alter the course of world history and the reputation of Srila Prabhupada and the Hare Krishna Movement for generations to come. Now you can be a part of that momentum as we move forward to the Grand Opening in 2022.

My name is Sunanda das, and I’m the Communications Director for the TOVP. My service is to make sure every devotee in ISKCON remains informed and focused on this most important endeavor for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada. But I can’t do this alone and need your help. If you send me your name and email address I’ll add you to my TOVP Ambassador Team and will personally send you regular news, updates and announcements about the progress of the TOVP to get the word out to everyone you know and beyond. I’ll offer suggestions and tools how to do that through emails, Facebook, temple websites and bulletin boards, etc. to reach as many devotees as possible.

There are only two years left to the Grand Opening of the TOVP, and it’s so important for us all to keep this project front and center, even in the midst of our own temple projects. Read this quote from Srila Prabhupada that illustrates the idea that the TOVP is like the rising water that lifts up ALL the boats:

“The more you help develop Mayapur, the more Lord Chaitanya will bless your area of the world and it will flourish.”

So, make up your mind today to become a TOVP Ambassador and join my team. Send your name and email address to The TOVP Wants You!!! appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

New Release - New Extended Songbook.
HH Bhakti Gauravani Goswami: This a songbook that I prepared in the last two years.
Here is the link to a website where you can find all the information, a link to request paper copies, a link to download the book in e-book format and a link to download the mp3 files that accompany the songs. https://www.sacredsongsymphony.com/
Combining Philosophy & Music
From the very beginning of my devotional life, I had been intrigued by the bhajans that were sung in the temple. Sanskrit and Bengali seemed to be designed for glorifying Krishna. The combination of philosophy and music was fascinating. Over the next couple of years, I made myself familiar with many of the songs that our predecessor acaryas had composed, and I wanted to share them with others by combining sound with sight to enhance the experience. In those days a slide projector would have to do, involving many hours of preparing appropriate photographs, often taking close-ups from the paintings in Prabhupada’s books. That was in 1975, decades before computers would make audiovisual presentations a breeze.
Times have changed. With the advent of the digital age, the combination of images and sound has become as easy as can be. During the last decade (2010-2019), wherever I was invited to preach, I used to give PowerPoint Seminars about the songs of the Vaisnava acaryas. When participants approached me afterward, asking for CDs with the songs that we had studied, I had to disappoint them. There were none.
The requests did not stop and finally, in 2017, I began to contemplate how to go about it. I did not want to simply record some songs. That I had done in the past and, at any rate, there were already so many recordings by so many devotees available. If I were to embark on such a project, it had to be different. I wanted people not just to listen to the songs, I wanted them to imbibe the meaning and become inspired and encouraged to sing these bhajans themselves.
Each song needed a choir, who would invite the listener to sing along with them. And a songbook was needed that would offer more than just the transliterations and translations. Our Vaisnava songs are a treasure house of transcendental knowledge, and Srila Prabhupada was very much familiar with its contents. He used to quote from the acaryas’ songs hundreds of times in his books and lectures. The reader/listener should hear Prabhupada speak, and to this end, I have included in Sacred Song Symphony quotes for almost each of the 108 songs.
Digital recording has many advantages over analog technology, one being the tremendous flexibility it offers. Many devotees collaborated and lent their voices for the choirs, but the more the merrier. I would love to see the choirs grow, and expand the synergy more and more.

Hon'ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha Parliament House, Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh visited ISKCON Delhi Temple

Make the Material World Spiritual (video)
A westerner’s first, weird temple experience /what is Deity worship all about? / controlling body, words & mind / how to wake up in the morning / Aindra Das’s intense devotion / “it’s not for me first” / duty is the first step in mastering the mind / St. Valentine / can dented cans become undented? / dedicating all our activities / tiny brains / putting oneself in the center leads to suffering / Krishna saves Raghu from choking on a lozenge / the secret to success / making the material world spiritual

Festive Mood in Mayapur! (Album of photos)
Mayapur is getting painted with a festive mood everywhere. Attractive pandals, tents, variety prasadam outlets, exhibits, and most importantly, the feast of seeing all the wonderful moons of our movement together in Mayapur, Gaura Purnima festival is the highlight of the year in Mayapur. ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) setting is so creative, artistic and innovative and added with the various seminars on leadership skills that nurture a bright future for ISKCON.

Intricate Workings Of The Modes Of Material Nature (video)
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Radhanath Swami