Our "Paramahamster" comic strip follows an enthusiastic devotee as he navigates a 9 - 5 work day in the corporate world. Please check back weekly for new episodes!

Sat watching one of the UK leading comedians explain why God doesn’t exist and as always it’s observational. With all comedy the thing that makes it funny is the ability to take what we see and package it in such a way that it hits the funny bone.

So as the act continues the comedian started to back up the observation with what is acceptable science fact to add plausibility to the act. Indeed it would be hard in some ways to argue against the material being presented.

Isn’t this how science works?

We observe then extrapolate from this a conclusion, all observational and can be replicated time and time again to come up with the same observed outcome. This way it becomes true given other scientists can replicate and agree. So great universities are set up and these conclusions are presented and accepted after all I’ve seen it with my own eyes and they don’t lie.

Presentation is key and this way knowledge is gained

Yes we know are senses are imperfect and our eyes can be fooled by optical illusions; indeed animals can be found with better sight, hearing and sense of touch. But knowing this it is still widely acceptable to use these imperfect senses to conclude and come up with fact.

Reading Srimad Bhagavatam we see how Lord Krishna has made the material universe and material nature and how it works in great detail; and also in even greater detail how karma works in this material world.

It’s not understanding of karma that means we can observe and conclude, it’s hard to understand collective karma and also how great evil can exist. Indeed the comedian used these reasons as a basis to dispute the existence of a creator and why the principal of evolution is correct.

It’s easy to accept observational studies but much harder to accept the spiritual study, but understanding what happens not only to ourselves but what happens around us makes greater sense with real knowledge. And with this real knowledge we can apply it universally and get the same results. 

However it means we need to first accept that karma means as an individual taking responsibility for our own actions and that what happens to us is a result of both current and past actions. This is the difficulty as no knowledge of past actions are available so I can conclude being a nice person that these nasty actions against me are unjust and thus observational I can conclude there is no god.

Understanding this premise means that I can alter my reactions knowing not only why these things happen but there temporary nature, real knowledge and understanding helps one gain context.

Science is observational without real insight whilst vedic knowledge is observational with real insight, it took a comedy show to help me realise this.

“If one is capable the Bhisma-panchaka vow will be observed for the sake of love of God for the five days from the eleventh day (of the bright lunar fortnight in Kartika) up till the full moon day. The prescriptions for this have been given in the Vrata-Khanda-Kartika Mahatmya of the Padma-purana, in the Skanda Purana and in the Visnu-rahasya.”

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Relishing Tapovan (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we visited the forest of Tapovan where the young gopi girls of Vrindavan performed austerities to get Krsna as their husband. In that small, but idyllic set of woods, we heard how the girls ate simply for one month, bathed daily in the cold waters of the Yamuna river and prayed continuously to the goddess Katyayani. At the end of the month they went to Chir Ghat, some distance down the river, where Krsna fulfilled their deep spiritual desires. We relished our time at Tapovan!

Giving Thanks to Whom?
Mahesvara Das: At the end of this month the people of America celebrate the event called “Thanksgiving”. As the title implies, the whole purpose of this event is to stop and become consciously grateful for the things we have each been given. Traditionally people take this time to give thanks to God for the gifts of the bountiful harvest and the blessings of family, friends, and good health etc.
Of course, the holiday assumes an acceptance that there is a God to give thanks to. But for all those who reject the Vedic conclusion that the three stages of God realization culminate in the Personality of Godhead referred to there as Lord Sri Krishna, the whole concept of Thanksgiving becomes an absurd event.

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Fifty years ago, in 1969, three couples – Mukunda and Janaki, Gurudas and Yamuna, and Shyamasundara and Malati – were inspired by Srila Prabhupada to start the first ISKCON center in London.At the time, London was the music capital of the world, with bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Moody Blues conquering global pop culture.

Speaking on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.47 on January 22, 1975, in Juhu, Bombay, Srila Prabhupada appealed to us not to be preoccupied with the temporary miserable and happy conditions of life but to put a permanent end to the real problems of life and make our lives successful:

“Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, says personally, ‘These are your miseries.’ What? Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi: [birth, death, old age, and disease (Gita 13.9)] ‘Repetition of birth and death.’ This is your real misery of life. What you are thinking as this misery or that misery are all temporary. They are all under the laws of material nature. You cannot get out of it. . . . So long as you are under this material nature, you have to accept this birth, death, old age, and disease. This is your real misery. We are thinking of temporary miserable conditions. Shastra says, ‘You don’t require to adjust temporary material misery or happiness, because they will come and go. You are destined to a certain type of miserable condition of life, a certain type of so-called happy life. They will automatically come and go, just like seasonal changes.’ Agamapayino ’nityas tams titiksasva bharata (Gita 2.14). We are very much happy when we are in a very good condition of life. But that will also not stay. That will also go away. Then miserable condition. Cakravat parivartante sukhani ca duhkhani ca. Sometimes happy, sometimes miserable. So, if you are actually interested to get out of miserable conditions, then try to get out of these four miserable conditions of life: janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi. That is intelligence. Don’t be bothered with the temporary miserable or happy conditions. They will come and go. Tams titiksasva bharata. If you cannot bear, then try to tolerate. That is the qualification of a brahman. Satyam samo damas titiksa, tolerance. We should not be disturbed—‘Now I am in miserable condition.’ Tolerate. The miserable conditions will come in this material world. Don’t be very much happy when you are in happy condition of life; neither become mad in miserable condition of life. Chant Hare Krishna and make your life successful. That is required. This is the propaganda of this Hare Krishna movement, or Krishna consciousness.”

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

What makes some people resilient and some people weak? It’s primarily because of the way they look at things, especially when they go wrong. 

Badrinath is famous as one of the larger Char Dhamas of India;. They are Ramesvaram, Jagannath Puri, Dwarka and Badrinath. Situated high in the Himalayas on the banks of the Alakananda river Badrinath has been visited by great saintly persons since time immemorial. The deity in the temple is self-manifested from a salagram sila and is two feet high. Nearby is the cave where Srila Vyasadeva wrote down the Vedic scriptures. The border of China is only a few meters away.

A video by Mikey Jay.

A prayer for the blessing of all of humanity released in collaboration with Radha Krishna Records. The prayer is taken from the prayers of Prahlad Maharaj as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam 5:18:9 The song was produced by Shammi Pithia and Jag (a.k.a Jagannatha Suta) and released as part of the Mantra Lounge Vol. 2 release from Radha Krisna Records Music video is by Raj Hirani at Filmwork Studio.

Srila Prabhupada’s disciple HG Vidarbha-Kanya Devi Dasi left her body yesterday, November 8. She was initiated in 1970 in Philadelphia! In the photo, she is in a green sari holding her son Nimai Chandra! She was previously married to Vrndavan Chandra! He has asked for the devotee’s prayers for her!

Request for prayers for the ISKCON Gangasagar temple where a severe cyclonic storm has reached now. 11 devotees and 40 workers are there for upcoming temple construction work. Your intense prayer can save many lives of Sagar Island, West Bengal, India.

An Indian health ministry official said the city's pollution monitors did not have enough digits to accurately record pollution levels, which he called a "disaster".

The landmark effort is the first time a Bhakti Sastri degree has been offered in French on such a worldwide scale. With twenty-nine countries where French is the official language, it’s an important step.

Visitors can book a full experience, walking through the elaborate recreation of Vrindavan, as devotee guides take them back 5,000 years ago to the pastimes of Lord Krishna described in the Vedic scriptures.

Harinama - The Topmost Yoga! (Album of photos)
Amazing Kirtan Experience at Yoga Festival in Necochea, Argentina!

Vrindavan Parikrama

Day 8 circles around Vrindavan. Blessed is the land of Vraja, where the creator of the universe, Lord Brahma, dwells in the form of a mountain range in Varsana, to have the dust of the Divine Couple Sri Sri Radha-Krsna’s lotus feet on the head: where the maintainer, Lord Visnu, has assumed the forms of Govardhana and Visnu-parvata: where the moon-crested Lord Siva has taken up residence as Nandisvara Hill in Nandagrama: and where Sri Uddhava, the best of Hari’s servants, lives as a blade of grass, a small shrub or a creeper on the bank of Kusuma-sarovara.

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Sringar Vat

Kesi Ghat

Vamsi Ghat

Photos

Photos by Svasti-Gopinatha, Tamala Krsna, Gauravani, Padmanabha, Zoltan, Gopali, Tamala Krsna, Tattva Darsana and others

Braja Parikrama 2019 Schedule

• 1st Nov – Govinda kund, Tribhuvanatha Samadhi, Nrsimha temple Puncari
• 2nd Nov – Gosvami Temples Vrindavana
• 3-5 Nov Jaipur
• 6th Nov – Yavat, Vrindakund
• 7th Nov – Sanket, Anjanoka
• 8th Nov – Vrindavan Parikrama
• 9th Nov – Unchagaon
• 10th Nov – Rest
• 11th Nov – Kamyavan
• 12th Nov – Garuda Govinda, Rama Tala

The article " Day 8 – Braja Parikrama 2019 " was published on KKSBlog.

The Bhaktivedanta Research Centre in Kolkata was happy to welcome HG Ananga Mohan Prabhu from the ISKCON Kolkata Temple at the library. He was fascinated to see the rare collection of the library especially the handwritten songbook of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. He was notified about the recent projects in which he showed great interest. Overall he was very satisfied to see the progress of the BRC

New Temple Construction In Mauritius (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Krishna’s Lila in Vrndavana is prakata or manifest Lila, and the same is going on eternally in the spiritual realm, which is known as aprakata or nonmanifest. Krishna’s planet and Krishna’s pastimes are going on eternally, and the same is manifested before the conditioned souls at certain intervals, once in one day of Brahma, exactly as the sun is visible for 12 hours once a 24 hour cycle of and night. When the sun is visible it is called prakata, and when the sun is not visible that is called aprakata or unmanifested. Non-manifested therefore does not mean there is no existence, but the terms are used in relation to the visibility or nonvisibility to the limited conditioned souls. Letter to Shyamasundara, May 14, 1970.

Bhisma-panchaka is five days dedicated to Bhismadev, The son of mother Ganga and his father King Shantanu-Bhismah santanavo birah. He is the Grandfather of Pandavas, descendant of Great king Bharata in Kuru dynasty .The period falls in the last 5 days of the month Kartik,the resounding 5 days of chaturmasya. It is said to commemorate […]

The post The Passing Away of Bhismadeva-Bhisma Panchaka appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Rolling in Govardhana’s dust (Album of photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: Today we did a partial Govardhana parikrama. We are going to do the whole parikrama over 4 days, so as to absorb as much of the lilas and moods as possible. Today we went from our place in Govardhana town, through Annakuta Ksetra, stopping at the Balarama temple in Anniyor village, then at the Gopala Prakata Sthali, visiting the Radha Govinda temple at Govindakunda, and then to a special private place for katha and darshan of the hill, overlooking the kunda.
Find them here: http://bit.ly/2WTV4ji

After Maharaja’s talk Papa Yedeva gave a talk and surprisingly he quoted few verses of Bhagavad-gita in his speech. He spoke on eating habits for human beings and offering to Krishna. He confirmed the supremacy of Lord Krishna also. Towards the end of his speech, he mentioned that he is building a Church in the outskirt of the city and planning to keep a deity of Lord Krishna also so African people can be introduced to Krishna Consciousness. This seems to be a big milestone as at the moment practically there is no presence of Krishna Consciousness in the country. Continue reading "Congo gets Lord Damodar’s mercy on Diwali day!!
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Extraordinary Beauty (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: This photo album shows the extraordinary beauty of Kishori-kunda where Srimati Radharani would take Her bath each morning while living at Yavat with Her ‘husband’ Abhimanyu. Many wonderful pastimes have taken place there, including King Kamsa turning into a Vraja-gopi upon touching the sacred water of the lake one day! There are also photos of our visit to Ter Kadamaba, where Krsna herded the cows 5,000 years ago and where Rupa Goswami wrote Upadesamrita 500 years ago.
Find them here: http://bit.ly/2pUUSUN

Kartik inspirations 2019 (audio)
Thoughts and realizations for spiritual advancement during Kartik by HH Sacinandana Swami from Vrindavan.

A Kartik vow fulfilled!
HG Vaisesika Das: Fulfilled our Kartik vow today at Govardhan by completing our group reading of Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead; as well as Srimad Bhagavatam 8th and 9th Cantos. Hare Krishna!

A Kartik vow fulfilled!
HG Vaisesika Das: Fulfilled our Kartik vow today at Govardhan by completing our group reading of Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead; as well as Srimad Bhagavatam 8th and 9th Cantos. Hare Krishna!

HG Pippalai das, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada left his body.
Jaya Gouranga Das: My Godbrother Pippalai das left his body Wednesday, November 6, 2019.

Like Earth Day and other International events, #GivingTuesday is a worldwide occasion to encourage people at least one day a year to be charitable to causes they support. It takes place the first Tuesday after the observance of Thanksgiving in the U.S. and this year falls on December 3. Last year, on short notice, was the first time we attempted to take advantage of this event in the U.S., and our efforts yielded over $50,000. This year we are going worldwide with this fundraiser and our goal is to double that figure by raising $108,000 for the Grand Opening of the Pujari Floor on February 13, 2020.

On this International Day of Giving please give generously to complete the Deities’ Pujari Floor and complete this monumental project by 2022. There will be several options to make donations from different parts of the world on the website page. You can sponsor an altar brick, a Square Foot or just make a general donation. If you have an outstanding balance on your previously made pledge you can also use this opportunity to make a payment. No amount is too small and we are grateful for your support.

DONATIONS TO THE TOVP FOUNDATION IN THE U.S. ON FACEBOOK WILL BE MATCHED DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR!!! Read more on the link below.

Please become a TOVP Ambassador and tell all your devotee family and friends to also participate in the TOVP #GivingTuesday International Fundraiser to open the Pujari Floor in 2020 and complete the TOVP by 2022.

Use the link below for more information. The donation portal is now open in case you wish to donate before December 3. Thank you for your support.

The TOVP International #GivingTuesday Fundraiser

The post The TOVP #GivingTuesday International Fundraiser 2019 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Answer Podcast

The post How can we heal from the loss of a loved one? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

This open access book provides both a broad perspective and a focused examination of cow care as a subject of widespread ethical concern in India, and increasingly in other parts of the world. In the face of what has persisted as a highly charged political issue over cow protection in India, intellectual space must be made to bring the wealth of Indian traditional ethical discourse to bear on the realities of current human-animal relationships, particularly those of humans with cows. Dharma, yoga, and bhakti paradigms serve as starting points for bringing Hindu—particularly Vaishnava Hindu—animal ethics into conversation with contemporary Western animal ethics. The author argues that a culture of bhakti—the inclusive, empathetic practice of spirituality centered in Krishna as the beloved cowherd of Vraja—can complement recently developed ethics-of-care thinking to create a solid basis for sustaining all kinds of cow care communities. Continue reading "Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics – New book available for free download
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namo gaura-kisoraya sakshad-vairagya-murtaye
vipralambha-rasambhode padambujaya te namah

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja (the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati), who is renunciation personified. He is always merged in a feeling of separation and intense love of Krishna.”

In 1849, Srila Gaura Kisora Dasa Babaji left grihasta life after the death of his wife. He moved to Vrindavana and took initiation from Sri Bhagavata Dasa Babaji, a disciple of Sri Jagannatha Dasa, Babaji. For over thirty years Gaura Kisora Dasa stayed in Vrindavana performing bhajana

Babaji felt inspired by the Divine Couple to see Sri Navadvipa Dhama. He visited all the lila sthanas of Lord Gauranga in Gaura Mandala.

On 19 November 1915, Srila Gaura Kisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja joined the eternal blissful pastime of Gandharvika Giridhari. His beloved disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, established his samadhi on the banks of Sri Caitanya Matha’s Radha-Kunda, near Lord Caitanya’s Yogapitha in Sridhama Mayapur.