Mayapur Times: Nov-Dec 2019 Newsletter
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Mayapur Times is a newsletter of the Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir. The newsletter aims to inform and inspire the local ISKCON community by reporting monthly activities, events, developments and news. You can download the November – December, 2019 issue here: Click here to download the Nov-Dec 2019 issue!

The post Mayapur Times: Nov-Dec 2019 Newsletter appeared first on Mayapur.com.

If work is worship is a butcher also worshiping by slaughtering animals?
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Answer Podcast


 

Transcription :

Transcription: Suresh Gupta

Question: If work is worship, is a butcher also worshiping by slaughtering animals?

Answer: Bhagavad Gita 18.46 says,

yatah pravrttir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah

(By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.)

Often this is translated as “Work is Worship” but that is not what Krishna says. If we simply consider work as worship, then we could say that the donkey is the greatest worshipper because the donkey works so hard. On the other hand, “Work is Worship” is a valid and valuable ethical principle which teaches that everybody should work diligently, responsibly. Nobody should think that “My work is too small and worthless and so it should not be done”. If we are contributing in any role in the society then we have to do it properly and at the same time, nobody should be looked down upon for the kind of work they are doing. Everybody is contributing in their own way and so, all forms of work should be considered valuable. Therefore, in that ethical sense, “Work is Worship” is a valid principle but it is not a philosophical principle and is not a teaching of Bhagavad-gita.

Teaching of Gita is – By your work worship the Supreme. This essentially means that God is not disconnected from the world. Some people think, in order to worship God, one needs to renounce the world, go to a secluded place and worship God. Even Arjuna thought in this way and wanted to give up his kshatriya duty before the Mahabharata war.
If we look at the above verse, in first half, Lord Krishna is talking about connectedness of the world with God, that is, yatah pravrttir bhutanam (the whole world has come from God) and then, yena sarvam idam tatam (by Him the whole world is pervaded). Therefore, when we work in this world, we can worship the Supreme through our work. The stress in this verse is on the connectedness of God with the world and connectedness of our work with God.

Having said that, it is also important to note, what we do in this world affects our consciousness. There are certain works like the work where one has to kill animals daily which if seen from an objective perspective, means that such people have to desensitise themselves to the pain of other living beings, stop seeing those animals as living beings and see them just a source of income. This attitude will diminish their consciousness. If I am not conscious of your pain, then that is actually a decrease in my consciousness. If one cannot perceive the consciousness of beings around them, how can one perceive the consciousness of the Being who is beyond us. Their consciousness will get shrunk, it will get diminished and will not expand towards God. Everything comes from God, but everything does not take us to God. There are things in this world which take us away from God also.

I was in Australia and one person asked me, “If God is good then why are the good choices so few and bad choices are so many in this world?” I answered, “That is how it is in any multiple-choice exam, five options – four are wrong and one is correct.” This does not mean that the student could sue the teacher saying, “You gave me four wrong options, my chances of getting right is only twenty percent but to pass I need forty percent. You are responsible that I failed.” This is not a valid argument because the teacher has also given education to the student. The student has to study, and the choices are not guess-work, the choices are based on intelligence and study.” Similarly, in this world, we have to study Vedic scriptures and understand which actions take us towards and which take us away from God. We then need to choose actions which takes us towards God.

If somebody is a butcher, then what should they do? It is good if they at least think of God when working. Srila Prabhupada, at one time said, if somebody is alcoholic and they cannot give up alcohol then let them think that the taste of alcohol is Krishna. Everything attractive comes from God, so the taste of alcohol which the alcoholics find attractive also comes from God. If they think like this, then one day they will become a devotee of Krishna. Prabhupada is not saying that by drinking alcohol they will become devotee of Krishna, but thinking about Krishna while drinking, that thought of Krishna will stimulate the spiritual connection. Similarly, if somebody is a butcher and they cannot give up their profession, for whatever reason at that particular time, then at least they should do some activity to worship God, connect themselves with God and give the fruits of what they are earning in his service. By doing so, some level of connection will be established with God. It should be noted that butchery in itself cannot be a form of direct worship and is not going to take the butcher towards God. In BG 18.46, Krishna says, “Worship the Supreme with your work”, which means apart from direct worship, your work can also be engaged in worship. Different works have different consequences and effects on the consciousness. Hence, not all work can be equally considered to be a form of worship. The choice of profession is to be based on how it affects the consciousness. Will our work increase our consciousness towards God? Will it increase our receptivity for God?

One may also ask a similar question, “Can a woman, who is a prostitute, worship God by being in prostitution?” Certainly not because same prostitution may be causing some family to break apart. It may also cause this woman to do abortions and kill a life. Is that worship then?

There are things which connect us with God and there are things which disconnect us from God. Even if we cannot give up the things that disconnect us from God, at least, we should take up things which connect us to God. That is the beginning which will keep us on the spiritual path. However, if we start thinking that the things that disconnect us from God (like being a butcher, being a prostitute) are my connections with God, then we are fooling ourselves.

End of transcription.

The post If work is worship is a butcher also worshiping by slaughtering animals? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Из Гарга-самхиты
→ Traveling Monk

In the Garga-samhita there is a beautiful exchange between Nanda Maharaja and Srimati Radharani as they cross paths in Bhandiravan, one of the principle forests of Vrindavan:

Srimati Radharani spoke: “O noble one! This divine form of Mine is very difficult to see, but for one who has seen it, nothing is out of reach. Ask Me for a boon!”

Bowing his head, Nanda Maharaja humbly replied:

yadi prasannasi tada bhaven me
bhaktir drdha kau yuvayoh padabje
satam ca bhaktis tava bhakti-bhajam
sangha sada me ‘tha yuge yuge ca

“Millennium after millennium, may I have firm devotion to You and Krishna. May I always live in the company of Your pure devotees and may my devotion to them equal my devotion to both of You.”

“So be it!” said Srimati Radharani, Vrindavan’s queen.

[ Garga Samhita, Canto One, Volume Three, Chapter 16, Text 11 ]

 

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How is the Bhagavad gita applicable for students?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast


 

Transcription :

Transcription: Suresh Gupta

Question: How is the Gita applicable for students?

Answer: Primarily, the biggest relevance of Gita is in terms of the mind. In student life, there are so many different pressures that come – studies, parent’s expectations, stress of assignments, peer pressure etc. – that our mind can go wild due to hormones rising in our body during teenage. If we can learn to manage our mind, we will be able to do better.
Arjuna was a great warrior but his mind went wild at the start of Mahabharata war. He could not function properly or carry out his duty. Comparatively, the specifics of Arjuna’s wild mind maybe different from ours, but on hearing the message of Gita he could calm the mind. Thus, all of us should study the Gita regularly and understand its core message – that we are not our body and we are not our mind also.

We are different from our mind and Gita gives us a lot of practical guidelines on how to manage our mind. If we can learn to manage our mind, we can create a better life for ourselves. As students, we spend so much of our time on waste thoughts. Our time is not only spent in activities like studying, experiments, assignments etc., but our time is also taken by our thoughts. For example, if you go in a lab and greet another person but that person snubs you, neglects you or worse, insults you, then this single thought can dominate your mind for the next one hour. You will be sitting in the class but not one word spoken by the teacher will go in your mind because you will be thinking of revenge (next time in front of everyone I will snub this person). Externally you may appear to be in the class, but your mind has taken you somewhere else. Stray thoughts, wild thoughts take so much of our time. If we could manage to regulate our thoughts, we would save a lot of time.

Similarly, worry takes up so much of our time. Worry is essentially the interest that we pay on loans we have not yet taken. The problem may or may not have happened, but we spend time thinking about all the possibilities about – what if it happens or that happens? If we practice bhakti and understand Gita, we will learn that the Gita teaches us: Do not focus on “what if” rather focus on “what is”. “What if” means – what if this happens, that happens etc. “What is” mean – what is the exact problem right now, what is the right thing to do, what should I focus on right now? Therefore, in the Gita, there are a lot of powerful resources by which we can manage our mind, face all the stresses of student life and very responsibly create a brighter future for ourselves.

Along with that, Gita also gives us overall purpose and direction for our life. We all have talents and careers to look after. There are three questions pertaining to our talents and careers – (i) what to do (ii) how to do (iii) why to do. Gita gives us higher inspiration for our life by answering the most important question why to do (third one in the list).
In Gita 18.46, Lord Krishna says,

yatah pravrttir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah
(By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.)
Krishna says, “Through your work, worship the divine.” We can actually do our work in a way, that it takes us closer to Krishna and as we grow internally, we see that whatever abilities and talent that we have, it can be used in Krishna’s service. What we are is God’s gift to us and what we become is our gift to God. If we learn in this way then as a student, we can contribute more and more. Irrespective of the path we have chosen in our life, if we have spiritual purpose, then that will inspire us to do much more in whatever work we are doing. When we work in spiritual consciousness, we develop a mood of service and contribution. The light of God can shine through each one of us and if that light shines through us, it can make our life and our world better. Not just better, but also brighter.

Whichever field we choose, that is secondary, but what consciousness we are working in the field, that is primary. If we can make ourselves a little more disciplined, more mature, more patient, we can do so much more in our life. All that can happen if we simply become connected to Krishna. Devotion to Krishna will certainly give us the strength to do better in life. This improvement can be marginal or dramatic. Discovering how much better we can do is life’s ultimate adventure and Gita invites each of us to embrace that ultimate adventure.

End of transcription.

Transcription in Hindi
प्रश्न: छात्रों के लिए भगवद्गीता कैसे सार्थक हो सकती है?

उत्तर: छात्र जीवन में गीता की मुख्य प्रासंगिकता है – हम अपने मन पर नियंत्रण कैसे करें। एक छात्र के रूप में, हम जीवन में कई सारे दबावों का सामना करते हैं – पढ़ाई-लिखाई, गृहकार्य, कक्षा में अव्वल आना, माता-पिता की अपेक्षाऐं इत्यादि। इन सब दबावों और किशोरावस्था के दौरान हमारे शरीर में तेजी से होने वाले बदलावों के कारण, छात्रों को अपना मानसिक संतुलन बनाने में कठिनाई हो सकती है। यदि हम अपने मन को नियंत्रण करना सीख लेंगे तो कक्षा में हमारा प्रदर्शन श्रेष्ठतर हो पाऐगा।

हम अपने मन से भिन्न हैं, और गीता हमें अपने मन को नियंत्रित करने से सम्बन्धित कई व्यावहारिक दिशानिर्देश देती है। यदि हम अपने मन को नियंत्रित करना सीख सकते हैं, तो हम अपने लिए एक बेहतर जीवन का निर्माण कर सकते हैं। छात्रजीवन में, कई बार हम अपना अधिकांश समय व्यर्थ के विचारों पर व्यतीत करते हैं। यदि हम अपने विचारों को नियंत्रित करना सीख जाऐं, तो हम अपना बहुत सारा समय बचा सकते हैं।

इसी प्रकार, व्यर्थ चिंता करने में छात्रगण बहुत सारा समय गँवा देते हैं। चिंता अनिवार्य रूप से उस ऋण का ब्याज है जो हमने अभी तक लिया ही नहीं। गीता हमें ऐसे शक्तिशाली संसाधन प्रदान करती है जिनके द्वारा हम अपने मन को साध सकते हैं, छात्र जीवन के सभी तनावों का सामना कर सकते हैं और पूर्ण उत्तरदायित्व से अपने लिए एक उज्ज्वल भविष्य का निर्माण कर सकते हैं।

गीता हमें अपने जीवन के लिए एक समग्र उद्देश्य और दिशा भी प्रदान करती है। हर छात्र के पास कोई न कोई प्रतिभा है और हर छात्र किसी न किसी व्यवसाय को आने वाले जीवन में अपनाएगा। हमारी प्रतिभा और हमारे व्यवसाय से संबंधित तीन प्रश्न यहाँ अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण हैं: (i) हम क्या करें (ii) हम कैसे करें (iii) हम क्यों करें। प्रथम दो प्रश्नों का उत्तर तो हमें मिल जाता है जब हम डिग्री लेकर अपने शिक्षण संस्थान से बाहर निकलते हैं। किन्तु गीता हमें इन तीनों में सबसे महत्वपूर्ण, तीसरे प्रश्न का उत्तर देती है – कोई भी कार्य हमें क्यों करना चाहिए।

गीता १८.४६ में कृष्ण कहते हैं, “अपने कर्म द्वारा परमात्मा की पूजा करो।” हम जो हैं वह हमारे लिए ईश्वर का उपहार है, और हम जो बनते हैं वह ईश्वर को हमारा उपहार है। हम अपने जीवन में चाहे जो भी मार्ग चुनें, किन्तु यदि हमारा उद्देश्य आध्यात्मिक होगा, तो हम जो भी कार्य करेंगे, उसमें अपना अधिक से अधिक योगदान दे पाऐंगे। इसका कारण यह है कि जब हम आध्यात्मिक भावना से कार्य करते हैं, तो हम सेवा और योगदान की भावना विकसित करते हैं। यदि हम चाहें, तो भगवान की कृपा हम में से किसी के भी माध्यम से प्रकट हो सकती है और हमारे जीवन को श्रेष्ठ से श्रेष्ठतर बना सकती है।

End of transcription.

ISKCON Scarborough – Special program coming Sunday
→ ISKCON Scarborough

Hare Krishna!
Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

We are honoured to invite you and your family to ISKCON Scarborough coming Sunday (9th Feb) to celebrate 2 wonderful events - Appearance day celebrations of Lord Varahadev and Lord Nityananda Prabhu.

Varaha Dvadasi:
Dvadasi is the twelfth day of the waning or waxing moon.
Varahadev is Krishna's boar incarnation. He assumed the form of a boar to lift the drowning planet Earth from the Garbhodaka Ocean with His tusks. The demon Hiryanyaksha had thrown the planet Earth into this ocean, but the Lord killed the demon and saved the Earth.
The actual Appearance day anniversary of Lord Varahadev (Varaha Dvadasi) falls on Thursday- 6th Feb 2020 and the fasting will be observed one day before on Wednesday - 5th Feb 2020 during Bhaimi Ekadasi.

Nityananda Trayodasi:
Trayodasi is the thirteenth day of the waning or waxing moon.
Lord Nityananda Prabhu, whose name literally means, “eternally blissful”, appeared around 1474 AD in the village of Ekachakra, near Mayapur, West Bengal.
He is the eternal companion of Lord Caitanya and both are worshipped together as Lord Krishna and Lord Balaram. In the same way that Lord Balaram is considered the original spiritual master, so is Lord Nityananda.
Lord Caitanya is the most merciful incarnation of Lord Krishna, but Lord Nityananda, however, is even more merciful and compassionate than Lord Caitanya.
No service is too small to go unnoticed by Lord Nityananda, and no sinner too bad not to qualify for his benedictions. Lord Nityananda gives the mercy to understand and approach Lord Caitanya, who in turn gives the mercy to approach Srimati Radharani, who blesses us with love of Krishna. So, the worship of Lord Nityananda is most important to Gaudiya Vaishnavas seeking the mercy of Radha-Krishna.
The actual Appearance day anniversary of Lord Nityananda Prabhu falls on Friday- 7th Feb 2020. Fasting is until noon on this day.

Program on Sunday – 9th Feb 2020
10.15 am to 10.40 am - Tulasi puja & Guru Puja
10.40 am to 11.00 am - Grand Abhishek performed on Gaura Nitai deities
11.00 am to 12 noon - class
12 noon to 12.30 pm - Arti
12.45 pm to 1 pm - 1 round chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra
1 pm - Free Vegetarian feast (Prasadam)


ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough, Ontario,
Canada, M1V4C7
Website: www.iskconscarborough.org
Email:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com
scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

Dear Mahatma prabhu
→ Traveling Monk

Dear Mahatma prabhu! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I hope you won’t mind a godbrother glorifying you in honour of your appearance day celebration, which is still some days away. I’m sure the demigods sing your praises, so why not me? You are an illustrious disciple of our glorious spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, so we as his followers have a solemn duty to recognise your unique qualities and service to His Divine Grace.

Your many seminars on diverse subjects of devotional service are attended and heard by thousands of devotees. In so many ways you are a spiritual master, a life coach, a transcendental psychologist, a best friend and well-wisher of so many of us. Through various preaching programs people join this great movement. But the secret is to carefully guide them step by step through the process of devotional service. That includes educating them, helping them overcome obstacles on the path of Krsna consciousness and teaching them how to remain enthusiastic at all times. You are an expert in helping devotees in all these facets of Krsna consciousness. We all thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And I have no doubt that Srila Prabhupada is also grateful for all the service you have rendered to him through the years. He is smiling graciously upon you today!

You are a wonderful example of all that you teach. That is why devotees have so much faith in you. That is why I look up to you and try to follow you. You have an uncanny ability to see and understand what each devotee needs and you take whatever time is required to help them. You are very personal with everyone. That is very rare in this day and age.

Then there are your kirtans! You were a famous and much sought after kirtan man long before many of ISKCON’s famous ‘kirtaneers’ appeared on the scene. You were an inspiration for them as they made their own valuable contributions to spreading the holy names. Please keep watering our seeds of devotion with your melodious voice and expert musical skills.

My prayer is that your many followers and well-wishers will join together to support your services to ISKCON and the general public. You are getting older now, 70 years of age today, and shouldn’t have to be personally raising funds. That service should fall as a privilege to those who love you and can appreciate the positive changes you are making in their lives and can make in the lives of so many people in this world.

On this auspicious day I fall at your feet, my dear godbrother, and wish you well in all your endeavours. May the Good Lord grant you many more years of preaching and counselling. I also offer my obseisances to all your fortunate disciples and loved ones.

Please always keep me in your prayers, as you are in mine!

With affectionate regards,
Indradyumna Swami

**********************

“Radha and Krsna. Radha’s name is first. Why? Nobody can be a better devotee than Radharani. As soon as Radha’s name is there, Krsna is more pleased. That is the way. If we glorify the devotees, the character of the devotees, before the Lord, He is more pleased than to glorify Himself, directly.”

[ Srila Prabhupada, room conversation, Hawaii, April 24, 1969 ]

https://www.facebook.com/indradyumna/posts/10216261894442982

Sri Ramanujacharya’s Appearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the appearance anniversary of Sripada Ramanujacharya, the principal acharya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada wrote that “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacharya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (Letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days of ISKCON in India, before we had Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is in Hindi, he would refer people to read the Hindi edition of the Gita with Sri Ramanujacharya’s commentary.

Prabhupada often told a story about Sri Ramanujacharya’s merciful, compassionate nature. As he related it in Ahmedabad in 1972, “The servants of Krishna take all risk for Krishna’s sake. Just like Ramanujacharya. Sri Ramanujacharya’s spiritual master said, ‘My dear son, the mantra which I am giving, you chant silently and you will be delivered. It is so powerful. Don’t chant this mantra loudly so others can hear.’

“Ramanujacharya thought, ‘If this mantra is so powerful that if others hear it they’ll also be delivered, then why not?’ He immediately went to the market and began to chant the mantra. So, his spiritual master became very angry, that ‘I told you not to chant loudly, so others may not hear.’ And Ramanujacharya replied, ‘My Lordship, I have done offense unto you. That’s all right. For this I am prepared to go to hell. But if this mantra is so powerful, I must speak it to everyone.’ ”

In this mood, following in the footsteps of Sripada Ramanujacharya, Srila Prabhupada broadcast the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita everywhere, to everyone.

We pray and aspire to follow in their footsteps.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Now Enrolling
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TKG Academy is now enrolling new and returning students for the 2020-2021 school year. Enrollment forms can be completed online at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJ04mn-FZLPC21gR786iFEUgEMskSW1RcyPF1eARUOlGNNHw/viewform Forms and a non-refundable […]

TOVP Pujari Floor Grand Opening Preview Video with Braja Vilasa Prabhu
- TOVP.org

Braja Vilasa prabhu, TOVP Director of Development, gives a preview of what’s to come when the largest Pujari facility in the world measuring over 2.5 acres with 20+ rooms, opens on February 13.

Heralding the relocation of ISKCON’s beloved world Deities, Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva and Sri Nrsimha to Their long-awaited new home in 2022, this historic event is another milestone in the construction progress of the TOVP. The entire five-hour celebration will be viewable live or recorded on www.mayapur.tv. Below is the complete schedule.

Grand Opening Schedule

9:00 – Svagata: Welcoming the Deities, Padukas and Srila Prabhupada
9:30 – Invocation Prayers
9:45 – Addresses by Senior Vaishnavas
11:30 – Vastu Puja/Homa Yajna
12:15 – Puspanjali for H.D.G. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
12:30 – Pujari Kaksha Udghatana: Pujari Rooms Opening
2:00 – Bhandara: Celebration Feast

The post TOVP Pujari Floor Grand Opening Preview Video with Braja Vilasa Prabhu appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

BHAKTI IN BALI
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BHAKTI IN BALI
Bali in the 1970s was a slow-paced, tropical island with its Hindu culture based around Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Its verdant rice fields, temples, gamelan music, dance, art and peaceful rural villages and social and religious life centred on the supporting family units. At this time it attracted around 300,000 international tourists.

nd non-different from lord Indra’s very own planet!

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WOODFORD REPORT: Last night a kofta ball saved my life!
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WOODFORD REPORT: Last night a kofta ball saved my life!
The yearly tradition of catering at the Woodford Folk Festival (an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, 72 km north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) continued once again. Twenty devotees from New Govardhana farm loaded up the bus with their camping gear and spent one week at the Folk Festival serving copious amounts of prasadam in the unique Govinda’s tent.

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Honorable Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari inaugurated the incubation centre and accelerator at Govardhan Ecovillage
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By Gauranga Das

Honorable Governor mentioned on this occasion, “The spiritual power of Govardhan Ecovillage and the prosperity and wealth of BSE along with the intellectual capacity of IIM Ahmedabad will lead to ultimate prosperity of India and not just of Palghar district and it will prove as a milestone. We wish that through Govardhan Ecovillage, message of serving the people in villages will go to entire India and to the entire world.” Continue reading "Honorable Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari inaugurated the incubation centre and accelerator at Govardhan Ecovillage
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How the “kitchen religion” uses food for good!
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By Amy Fallon

For many devotees, the journey involving Krishna consciousness often begins with food. “If you come here and you’re hungry, we’ll feed you – no problem,” says Ajita Cozzi, 57, the director of New Govardhana, a lush 400-hectare site that is Australia’s largest Hare Krishna farm. It's located in the village of Eungella in northern NSW. Followers of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), founded in 1966, sometimes referred to their movement as the “kitchen religion”. It makes sense when you see how Hare Krishnas, who adhere to a lacto-vegetarian diet, dish up food at restaurants and temples around the world. Their traditional “love feasts”, which started in the '60s, can involve huge scoops of dahl and rice, kofta balls and chunks of halva, a semolina pudding. Continue reading "How the “kitchen religion” uses food for good!
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Nitai’s Prema Sankirtana Festival Begins
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By Srimati Dasi

The body of Nityananda Svarupa was most enchanting. He glanced mercifully on everyone. Whether He was eating, sleeping, or wandering about, He did not waste a moment without sankirtana. Wherever He performed dancing and congregational glorification of Krsna, many people became overwhelmed with ecstatic love. Even the householders’ children, who did not know anything, uprooted large trees. They roared loudly, uprooted trees, and ran around exclaiming, “I am a cowherd boy.” Each boy possessed such strength that even a hundred people were unable to control him. The children would joyfully roar like lions and call out, “All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya and Nityananda! All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya and Nityananda!” Continue reading "Nitai’s Prema Sankirtana Festival Begins
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Nityananda Trayodasi – Friday, February 7th, 2020
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple!

Friday, February 7th marks the auspicious appearance of Nityananda prabhu who is best known for his compassionate nature. The name Nityananda means eternal happiness. He was the closest associate of Lord Krishna when he incarnated as Lord Caitanya over 500 years ago.  Together they helped spread the chanting of the holy names of the Lord far and wide. Nityananda Prabhu is considered to be the most merciful incarnation of the Lord. Nityananda prabhu's boundless mercy is highlighted by the most famous pastime of the deliverance of the perpetrators, Jagai and Madhai (click here to learn more about this pastime).

Nityananda Trayodasi is a celebration of that form of the Lord that teaches us practically, how to lead a life that is absorbed in loving devotion to Lord Krishna. He is the bestower of spiritual strength who along with other highly esteemed associates, helped spread the sublime chanting of the holy names.

Join us as we celebrate this amazing personality, Nityananda Prabhu! Festivities commence at 6pm and will include a special flower outfit darshan, a discourse, special bhajan (devotional song) and a vegetarian feast.


Pathology Lab Inauguration at Mayapur Community Hospital
→ Mayapur.com

HH Jayapataka Swami inaugurated the brand new pathology lab in the Mayapur Community Hospital. The Pathology department will be over seen by Dr. Bhaktin Kate, trained and educated in the USA and Dr.Santhosh Kumar Roy, who recieved his degree from the JIPMER University. The Mayapur Community Hospital has always been an important project, serving Mayapur […]

The post Pathology Lab Inauguration at Mayapur Community Hospital appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Ten Days of Jainism
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Ten Days of Jainism
HH Krishna Ksetra Swami: The International School of Jain Studies offers a ten-day (Dec. 27 to Jan. 7) introduction to Jainism each December-January for university students, especially those engaged in the academic study of religion. Jainism is a very ancient tradition, at least as old as Buddhism, with a rich literary canon and highly developed philosophy, centered around the principle of ahiṁsā—“nonviolence”. We were 23 students altogether, from several countries and varied backgrounds, including some undergraduates, some post-graduates, and some doctoral candidates doing research specifically on Jainism. The ahiṁsā ethic, so central to Jainism, was of particular interest to me, as I had been thinking and writing about this theme for the Cow Care book. A related interest was simply to learn “first-hand” about this lesser-known tradition to broaden my horizon of religious life, in pursuit of my interest in interreligious dialogue.

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I found inner peace with Hare Krishna
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By Rachael Nichol

'It was a calling' - Sunderland man reveals what life is really like as a Hare Krishna monk Daniel King describes his journey of dedicating his life to his faith and how it gives people a happier and more fulfilling life. In this fast-paced world that we live in, this Hare Krishna monk believes his lifestyle is the solution to a happy life. After living in a temple in Scotland for 13 years, following strict rules such as not drinking alcohol or eating meat, Daniel King has dedicated his life to his faith. Now Daniel, from Sunderland, has lifted the lid on what life is really like as a monk. The 39-year-old said: "It made a lot of sense to me, it was what I've been looking for. Continue reading "I found inner peace with Hare Krishna
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Does science come from spirituality or is it made by man?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

Transcription :

Transcription by: Suresh Gupta

Question: Does science come from spirituality or is it made by man?

Answer: Science, as a body of knowledge, is clearly a human product. If we consider scientific books, they are written by human beings. Scientific concepts (such as gravity), their explanation and their mathematical postulation have also come from human beings.

Spirituality is the study of the totality of reality, whereas science is the study of a subset of that reality. Science studies the physical reality and especially the measurable parameters within physical reality. If we consider total reality as a big circle, then physical reality is a small circle within that big circle and science studies that physical reality. Therefore, in that sense, we could say that science is the subset of spirituality.

However, it is also true that science studies certain things and spirituality studies certain other things. They both have their own focus. Spirituality is the study of consciousness and its source. Unless there were consciousness, there would not be the longing for understanding and we would not search for anything. The animals have existed for millennia, but animals did not develop science, and neither did they question as to why things exist or how things work. Why? Because we humans have a longing to understand and that longing essentially is for spirituality. That longing comes because the soul in a human body has developed consciousness by which he can think about such topics whereas animals simply think about their immediate need. For example, instead of Newton, if the apple had fallen on the head of a monkey, it would have simply picked it up and ran away. But when the apple fell on Newton, he asked the question, why does the apple fall? Although human beings too have a biological drive (just like the monkey), we also have a spiritual drive. Spiritual drive is basically the drive to make sense of things and to understand what-is-what? That desire to understand things, led to the theory of gravity, and further led to the development of science.

Hence, study of science and the development of scientific knowledge, ultimately comes from our longing to understand and know If we were simply insentient matter like a table, then just like a table does not understand anything but simply exists, similarly we too would have understood nothing. In fact, a table does not even understand that it exists. It exists without understanding that it exists; but we have consciousness and hence we seek spirituality.

Therefore, spirituality is the study of the totality of reality and science is study of subset of reality. If spirituality is defined as our longing for higher understanding, then that longing for higher understanding can lead us to spiritual understanding. But that longing can also lead to scientific understanding. Therefore, science is created by human beings, but the reason it is created by human beings is because humans have a longing for understanding and that longing for understanding comes from our spiritual nature.

End of transcription.

The post Does science come from spirituality or is it made by man? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

New Varshana Holi Festival
→ Ramai Swami

The management at New Varshana had the Holi celebration a little earlier than the actual date. This year it fit in very nicely with the long weekend and Auckland day on the Monday.

There were an estimated eight to ten thousand people who attended and the majority were westerners. The festival has become very well known throughout the area.

Apart from the throwing of dyes, there was lots and lots of prasadam served and as you can see from the pictures, everyone had a good time.

New Temple in the UK
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Jagannath Rides The Oceans

Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

We have 12 days to build the Jaladuta, please spread the word.


The mercy of Srila Prabhupada is freely available, Carpe Diem.


“Your program for extending Sankirtana Party activities to the nearby towns and cities and universities is very welcome. I have received similar good report of such extended Sankirtana Party tours or trips from many other centers in Europe as well as America. Lord Caitanya’s desire was that this chanting of the Holy Names be spread to every town and village on the face of the globe, and now His desire is being fulfilled. That is to your credit as sincere servants of the Lord.” 
Srila Prabhupada November 1970

https://mailchi.mp/08b83446bf47/new-temple-in-the-uk?e=eb62a8fca8

Have you any handyman skills, artistic skills, or some Laxmi to contribute. 


https://foodforalluk.com/donate/


We are renovating the interior of the ship.We need to transform the appearance this vessel to look life a certain medieval ship.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
 Your servants Food for All team

April 23rd Thursday Start 6am Holiday Inn Brentford, on canal near Thames.Go through London to Woolwich  past Houses of Parliament, London Eye, HMS Belfast, London Bridge ..30 miles arrive 10am Woolwich Woolwich 10am to Hernesbay  62 miles arrive 7pm , rest first night.
April 24th Friday. Day 36am start,Hearnsbay, Margate, Dunkirk to Zealand  7pm rest
April 25th Saturday Day 4Zealand to Amsterdam 
April 26th Sunday. Day 5 extra day Sunday Program on the deck
April 27th Monday. Day 6 Kings Day
April 28th Return Journey

Tuesday, January 28th, 2020
→ The Walking Monk


Toronto, Ontario

You Never Know

You just never know what happens in your own neighbourhood.  Not intending to go on an adventurousness stroll, I simply stumbled upon new things, like discovering tennis courts, quite substantial in size, on the other side of the railroad tracks.  I also never knew of a mysterious walkway that connects a city block in a residential area.  It was so obscurely located, who would even know it was there.  It just took the turn of the head at the right moment and there it was—a quaint alleyway, beckoning a pedestrian to use it or avoid it. https://www.instagram.com/p/B76WAEFglqp/?igshid=1sxe1yypmevqw

The most surprising thing to my eyes was seeing what was going on in another tennis court area.  These older men were out in winter jackets flickering their tennis rackets with the real thing—hitting tennis balls, and in the month of January with packed snow all about.  I know it's a mild winter but this is unheard of, at least unseen in Toronto.

The most exhilarating thing to not only see, but participate in, was near the Cottingham Elementary school.  As I was walking on the sidewalk next to the school's playground, with kids at play, I heard a few remarks like, "Oh My God!" and such, in regard to the rare monk attire.  The ball that a group of kids was playing with got out of control, and rolled its way from playground, to sidewalk, to street.  It halted right in front of a driver's car, now wedged against the front tire.  The driver was ready to go forward, not knowing of the fatal ball beneath, when I decided to step in. 

I stopped right there at the car held up my hand as if to say, "Don't move yet!" Then bent over to free the ball, held it up for the motorist to see, and then thew the ball back to the students. 

"Thank you," said their teacher. 

A good deed done.  I felt good. 

May the Source be with you!
4 km

So, you want to worship the universal form of Krishna?
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Krsna’s Deity and Krsna are not different. I was explaining this morning, Krsna has come, kindly, to accept your service as you can deal with Him. If Krsna comes in His gigantic form – Krsna has got gigantic form also, as it was shown to Arjuna – you will not be able to capture Him, neither you have any means to dress Him. Suppose the universal form of Krsna is there, and you have to dress Him, [laughter] so the whole cloth factory will be finished. [laughter] Is it not? How you can dress? You have no capacity to dress. But Krsna has kindly accepted a form, the Deity.


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Welcome Home, HH Jayapataka Swami
→ Mayapur.com

HH Jayapataka Swami returned to Mayapur after 3 months on 1 Feb 2020. Maharaja arrived at night 10:30 pm and eagerly welcomed by devotees. He was offered Maha dry fruits garland of Sri Advaita Acharya. He will be in Mayapur for the Gaura Purnima festival. Maharaja personally oversees the arrangements and comforts of his god […]

The post Welcome Home, HH Jayapataka Swami appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Visiting Mayapur for Festival- Advisory on Corona Virus
→ Mayapur.com

As we are gearing up for the upcoming festivities in Shri DhamMayapur, this post is intended to give Mayapur Community and devotees visiting Mayapur for festival, comprehensive overview and guidance on the Corona Virus outbreak which is already announced by WHO as a global emergency. In Mayapur, the presence of a wonderful local and international […]

The post Visiting Mayapur for Festival- Advisory on Corona Virus appeared first on Mayapur.com.

WSN December 2019 – World Sankirtan Newsletter. Pune No. 1 temple in the world! ISV No. 2!
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By Vijaya das

Pune was the No. 1 temple in the world, with 663,371 book points. Who would have thought twenty years ago that Pune will be on top? Back then, the temple had just a little center in the city, and now there’s also an enormous temple, an immense congregation, and over a hundred brahmacaris. ISV also had a huge marathon and ended up No. 2 in the world, with 161,211 book points. For 2019, ISV was No. 1 in the Western hemisphere. This is a temple no one lives in, except the Deities. It's a congregational temple, inspired by the famous Vaisesika Prabhu, completely fired up to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books Continue reading "WSN December 2019 – World Sankirtan Newsletter. Pune No. 1 temple in the world! ISV No. 2!
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