Websites from the ISKCON Universe
PRESS RELEASE
New Delhi, Delhi NCT, India –14th January, 2020 – All Glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Macallum Ratha Yatra for Unity at Penang last Saturday. Highlights:
Fostered Unity amongst the Indian & Chinese Community at Macallum area.
Food festival with varieties of food (Satay, cotton candy, full rice meal, noodles & etc)
Wonderful performances by devotees.
Dragon & lion dance.
Fire show by Malaya Tigers.
Kirtan out of the world!
Srila Prabhupada in Malaysia book launch.
Cake cutting ceremony by HH Janananda Goswami.
Result: Blissful year with Guru & Gauranga’s mercy. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Photos and videos: http://bit.ly/35NrD5f
HH Kavicandra Swami: Someone liked Srila Prabhupada ‘s books!
HG Svavasa Prabhu - New Dwaraka 2019 Report - 1-13-20 (video)
Progress Report for ISKCON Los Angeles
Answer Podcast
The post Is the amount of grieving on the death of a loved one inversely proportional to one’s spiritual advancement? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
A popular Zoom conference, Wisdom of the Sages, has gone public and become a daily podcast, delivering transformational wisdom, Bhakti-yoga philosophy, and profound stories with fun and energy on Youtube, Instagram and most podcast platforms.
Praghosa das: In August 2009, at the tender age of 8, Jagannath moved to Sridham Mayapur with his Mum. He was admitted to Sri Mayapur International School, grade 2 class. His natural attraction to the holy Dham was instant! Jagannath was an all-rounder from his childhood - he actively participated in all sports (cricket, football, basketball, volleyball & table tennis) as well as devotional activities such as playing mrdanga, harmonium, kartals and singing. He was also blessed academically. 
Vaishnava marriage in Jandelsbrunn, Germany (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: “I have brought medicine to awaken very living being from perpetual sleep. Please receive the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and awaken. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.13.9 Purport)
Devotee families have their own unique offering to make to Krsna. Theirs is not an inferior brand of spirituality. Nor is marital happiness something shameful, as was often believed in the medieval ages of Christianity. God does not envy our enjoyment. But if we want our happiness to last, it has to be built on the principle of serving Krsna's enjoyment, because we are all His servants and cannot have lasting enjoyment by acting against our nature.
Prabhupada priya dd: A few days ago, while doing some writing at the University of Florida library, I took a break to chant my midday Gayatri, and as I looked out from the 4th floor over the Plaza of the Americas, I felt Srila Prabhupada’s presence very strongly. I could almost visualize him walking down the path between the library and the old chapel (now auditorium)
Pushya Abhisheka Day In Sri Dhama Mayapur (20 min. video)
Posted by Giriraj Swami on Sunday, January 12, 2020
Audio
The Holy Name and Bhakti Yoga (Right click to download)
Answer Podcast:
Download by “right-click and save content”
Transcriber: Dr Suresh Gupta
Edited by: Sharan Shetty
Question: What does simple living really mean?
Answer: Simple living primarily means living which does not agitate our minds. Simple living does not mean that everybody has to live without material conveniences or latest gadgets.
To understand the point, we can consider the example of one’s capacity to carry weight. For Person A, the weight lifting capacity maybe ten kg whereas for Person B it maybe twenty kg. Person B might be able to lift fifteen kg easily, twenty kg with little difficulty, twenty-five kg with great difficulty and thirty kg without any success. Similarly, the idea of simple living will be different for different people. What level of responsibility and material prosperity will disproportionately complicate our life will vary from person to person.
One of the problems with modern society is that it imposes same definition of success on everyone. Everybody is evaluated on the basis of the zeroes on their salary cheques, the size of their house, the price tag on their clothes, the number of cars they own etc. It is important to understand that different people are of different natures and if the same definition of success is imposed on everyone then people are unnecessarily brought under pressure which leads to severe problems of inferiority complex, depression, anxiety etc. Therefore, simple living essentially means living in a way which does not agitate our mind, and which helps one pursue one’s goals in life at a level that does not cause them stress.
Ideally speaking, simple living will vary from person to person. Important thing to know is that simplicity is not defined in terms of more possessions or lack of possessions. It is defined in terms of internal priority. If we are internally burdened, then it means we need to externally simplify our way. This is the primary criteria by which we can understand the meaning of simple living.
End of transcription.
The post What does simply living really mean? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN NAIROBI (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: All glories to the chanting of Hare Krishna mantra or Krishna sankirtana movement. All glories. All victory. How it is victory, all victory? If you chant this Hare Krishna mantra, then the dirty things which have accumulated in your heart due to material contamination will be cleared off. (Purport to Siksastakam)
Seminar on humility in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia (Album of photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: We have been in Irkutskfor some days, having a seminar on humility. The response from the devotees has been wonderful
The latest tour by ISKCON Youth Ministry saw youth help put on four Rathayatras in the Caribbean, and some become inspired to take on active roles in the Hare Krishna Movement.
A new year and the festival season is about to start again as we look forward to the spring of 2020. We can already hear the distant voices and see a glint of orange robes flowing through the streets. But first…
2 big festivals from 24 – 28 April 2020.
4 nights and 5 days of celebrations, chanting, kirtan, harinams and cake 
If you are coming, let us know, so we can welcome & accommodate you! Registration starts on the 1 Feb 2020. Be quick as available spots are limited. Registration is on a first come first serve basis and accommodation and festival fees will need to be prepaid. Read the FAQ for more info.
We’ve got you. Click here to visit the official Vyasa-puja pages. Or find answers on your burning questions in our lengthy FAQ.
Stay updated by joining the newsletter or the FB group.
The article " Vyasa-puja & Kings Day 2020 " was published on KKSBlog.
In 2020 we are celebrating the 15th birthday of KKSBlog, the official website for news and media about Kadamba Kanana Swami. We have grown from a simple blog to a thriving community; website, shop, social media, Youtube channel, Facebook page and Twitter. Supported by a dedicated team that tries to bring you the best.
Because many of our new and existing viewers are searching for ‘Kadamba Kanana Swami’ on Facebook and other social media we are rebranding the name. The Twitter account name is now Kadamba_Swami.
The next rebrand is the name of our Facebook page. Currently it is known as “kksblognews” and this has served us well through the years. But when analyzing the numbers we found that most of you are not looking or searching for KKSBlog. So we are about to change the name to Kadamba Kanana Swami so its more easily found.
When the change is made we will inform you so keep an eye on our facebook page for the latest rebranding efforts.
The article " Name change FB page KKSBlog " was published on KKSBlog.
If you’re looking for mantra music beyond traditional kirtan – say, a fun, sunny mix of soft rock, folk, and funk via the French Riviera and the Pacific Rim – you might want to try out Confused Soul’s new single “Madhu,” with its sing-alongability and joyful sax refrains.
When Srila Prabhupada came to Kolkata with Maharaja, Thakur Maa came to him. She asked Srila Prabhupada why he had taken her child, and requested him to kindly return him back to her. Srila Prabhupada asked Thakur Maa, “How many children do you have?" She told, “I have seven children”. Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Thakur Maa you are a tree and you have seven flowers. I am asking you to give me one flower for offering to Lord at his Lotus feet”. To this, Thakur Maa said, “Ok I have given you one flower to offer it to the lotus feet of the Lord, happily”.
Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HH Bhakti Charu Swami in ISKCON Ujjain (video)
Answer Podcast
The post How can we use technology in a way that harmonizes with our spirituality? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
1970.
In this photo that’s Shymsundar in front and Guru Das in the back (names misspelled in the photo blurb). They accepted the awards for the first Apple Records release, ‘Radha Krishna Temple Album London’. Their awards were Top Group- Britain and World, Best LP and Best single.
Left to right: DJ Tony Blackburn, Shymasundar, Guru Das, Lulu, Cilla Black, Cliff Richards, and David Bowie.
Harinama Sankirtan brings rain in Australia (3 min. video)
“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.” Bhagavad-gita Chapter 3 -TEXT 14.
In the Skanda Purana 2.2.42, Sri Krishna Pusya abhiseka is described as one of the festivals observed for Lord Jagannath in Puri. The chapter gives an elaborate description of the rituals for observing the festival. In Skanda Purana 2.27.99, the pusya naksatra is also mentioned, wherein it is stated that on a thursday, Astami tithi, […]
The post Sri Krishna Pushya Abhisheka- When Simple unites Grand! appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Marvelous Pusya Abhishek 2020 in Mayapur (Album of photos)
On Sri Krsna Pusya Abhiseka, Srila Prabhupada stated that: “Krishna was just a toy in the hands of the Gopis, so one day the Gopis decided that we shall decorate Him. Pusyabhisheka means a ceremony to decorate the deity profusely with flowers, ornaments, cloths. After there should be lavish feasting and a procession through the streets so that all the citizens should see how beautiful Krishna appears.” (letter to Danavir, Delhi, 20 November 1971)
Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj at ISKCON Chowpatty on 11th Jan 2020.
Today I remembered an incident from New Delhi, perhaps in 1971. Gurudas and I had gone into a shop to make a purchase, and in the mood of saving Krishna’s money, I was bargaining fiercely. But he corrected me, citing a principle from The Nectar of Devotion—“Not Giving Pain to Any Living Entity.” Srila Prabhupada had written, “This is the statement of Mahabharata: ‘A person who does not disturb or cause painful action in the mind of any living entity, who treats everyone just like a loving father does his children, whose heart is so pure, certainly very soon becomes favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’
“In so-called civilized society there is sometimes agitation against cruelty to animals, but at the same time regular slaughterhouses are always maintained. A Vaisnava is not like that. A Vaisnava can never support animal slaughter or even give pain to any living entity.”
I had related the principle to giving pain to living entities outside the course of devotional service, but Gurudas made me realize that I should not cause pain to the mind of the merchant, whether he was overcharging or not, even in the course of trying to save Krishna’s money.
“Not giving pain to any living entity”—an instructive lesson that I have always kept with me.
Hare Krishna.
Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami
Transcriber: Sharan Shetty
Edited by: Keshavgopal Das
Question: Can you explain brahman and paramatma realizations in detail?
Answer: There are different ways in which these realisations can be understood like the sac-cit-ananda progression perspective given by Srila Prabhupada in Sri Isopanisad and another perspective is -Energies of the Absolute given by Srila Jiva Goswami in the Sandarbhas. Srila Prabhupada explains that both – atma and Supreme Lord are sac-cid ananda. Brahman realisation is when one starts perceiving that everything in the material nature is temporary and tries to think about something that must be beyond this which is actually eternal because we all have a longing for eternity and if nothing were eternal then from where would that longing come from. Why would we long to live eternally if there were no such thing as eternal life just like a person who has never seen gold would never desire for gold.
When one starts looking for the eternal and comes to the level of perceiving the eternal then he has perceived the sat aspect of the sac-cid-ananda feature of the Supreme Lord. Thus, perceiving the sat aspect is the characteristic of those who have realised the brahman but the important thing is, it is not that Brahman has only sat feature because brahman, paramatma and bhagavan are non-different and so they all have sac-cit-ananda feature. But the seeker who has realised brahman has realised only the sat aspect of the Absolute Truth. Progressively, when one moves forward and thinks that there is order in this world and realises it is controlled by a conscious being who is overseeing everything and keeping this order then one comes to the cit level. Here, one understands that there is a being who is supreme and the controller. At this level, one’s focus is on God as the controller of the material world and this is the paramatma realization. Beyond this when one evolves, he starts to think about the activities performed by the Supreme Being (most people think of what God can do for them but not about what God himself does in his abode). When one understands that the goal of existence is to be happy and therefore the Absolute Truth must also have this opulence of happiness in full, at that time, one comes to the bhagavan realisation where one understands that God lives with his devotees and performs many pastimes and in those pastimes rejoices eternally.
Srila Prabhupada explains that the realisation of the all-pervasive spirit in the sense that beyond this ever changing matter, there is some substratum which is eternal, is brahman realisation. Progressively, the understanding of the localized expansion of the Supreme Lord who although is present everywhere and can control from anywhere still he is present within the universe and from there he co-ordinates and controls it as explained in Brahma Samhita Chapter 5 Verse 35,
andantara-stha-paramanu- chayantara-stham
(All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time)
So, the understanding that he is present in our heart, present in matter and in that way, pervasive as a Supersoul, is the paramatma realisation and he being present as a transcendental person in his own abode is the bhagavan realisation. The brahman and the paramatma level are fragmental or partial realisation of the Absolute Truth. Srila Jiva Goswami gives another frame of analysis where he says that,
– Brahman realisation is perception of the Absolute Truth with no potency,
– Paramatma realisation is perception of the Absolute Truth with material potency and
– Bhagavan realisation is perception of the Absolute Truth with both material and spiritual potency.
When one thinks of brahman, they have the conception of plain existence where the purpose of this existence is just to exist. They consider this entire material world an illusion and when one transcends it and attains brahman realisation, therein lies his perfection. This is the conception of brahman realisation where there is no activity, no energy needed for activity and there is passive existence.
Paramatma realisation is when one understands that there is an eternal reality which is governing this world and this world is not an illusion because while it exists ,it is real, and requires real controllership and that role is done by the Supreme Lord. In that way, one understands that the Supreme Lord has material potencies which means that the Absolute Truth has the capacity and the energy to control material nature.
Beyond that then there is the conception of the Absolute Truth having spiritual potencies which means that not only does God control material nature but beyond that he also has his own life in the spiritual world and in that life at the spiritual level, God delights eternally in performing pastimes. There is mention of the Supreme Lord’s spiritual energies in the Chaitanya Caritamrta – samvit, sandhini and hladini.
To understand God’s self-existence is very important which means that he has a life separate from his role here in this world and that self-existent potency of the Lord is revealed when we understand he has spiritual potencies. This self-existential glory is not talked about much in other scriptures of this world, it is primarily revealed in the Vedic scriptures.
Brahman, paramatma and bhagavan realisations can be further understood, in terms of increased proximities, with the example of a child describing a train. Consider a village where a railway track has been constructed for the first time and three children (who have never seen a train) are waiting near the platform to see that train. It is night time and very dark. Finally, after waiting for some time, they hear a whistle and then see a light approaching. Seeing this, one child gets excited and runs into the village declaring that he saw the train. When asked by the villagers, the child describes that the train is light and sound. The child is not wrong but since he returned early, he could not get the full experience of the train. The other two children are still waiting near the platform and when the train approaches closer and their eyes familiarise, they perceive that more than the light and sound, the train also has an engine, several bogies, wheels etc. Seeing this, one of the children runs towards the village and describes his version of train. Again, this second child’s description is not wrong but is incomplete since the train is more than that.
The third child waits and sees that after the train has halted, there was a person driving it with whom the child gets the opportunity to shake hands and who explains the child everything about the train. When this third child returns to the village, he describes everything about the train (the driver, the engine, various bogies, the light, horn etc). It is not about whose version is correct or incorrect; it is a matter of complete or incomplete. In this case, the third child got an almost complete perception of the train because he was patient enough to see completely till the end (of course, nobody can know Krishna completely).
To summarize, initially, when one seeks spiritual truth, by practising and with patience, one gets a realisation that there is an effulgent or pervasive light that is eternal, this is brahman realisation which is like the first child’s perception of the train where he thinks it to be just light and sound. Those who keep seeking, understand, that just as light comes from sun similarly the brahmajyoti is also coming from a source and that source is controlling the world, this is paramatma realisation which is like the second child’s perception of the train. At this level, the seeker treats the Absolute Truth as a conscious being but not necessarily as a personal object of love. Only when the third child waits long enough and meets the driver and shakes hand with him, he is able to develop a personal relationship. Otherwise one may have some idea that the engine has a driver but may not know anything specific about him. Similarly, at paramatma level one has the understanding that there is a controller but at the bhagavan level one develops a relationship with the controller and sees the controller as a person to be loved. As Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita 10.08
aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah
(I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.)
That is the aim of the devotees and that is what we can get by mercy of Srila Prabhupada, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Krishna if we can open-mindedly and determinately practise bhakti.
End of transcription.
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Answer Podcast
The post God usually acts in this world through secondary causes – what does this mean? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
During the morning puja, or worship, the Deity or a salagrama is bathed in pure ghee. Srila Prabhupada once explained the festival this way: “Krishna was just a toy in the hands of the Gopis, so one day the Gopis decided that we shall decorate Him.
Pusyabhisheka means a ceremony to decorate the deity profusely with flowers, ornaments, clothes. After there should be lavish feasting and a procession through the streets, so that all the citizens should see how beautiful Krishna appears.
Extraordinary artistry offered to Sri Sri Radha Madhava for today’s Pusya Abhishek!