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By Vibhava Krsna Das This article is not to glorify the material relationship I shared with my father or how he struggled in his life for his family or for that matter even his service to Srila Prabhupada (he would have never liked that) but I wrote this to share with you that this process of Krsna Consciousness works. It works even with the most down-trodden and sinful people like me. Continue reading "“Overcoming Death through Mercy – A tale of a Silent Book Distributor”
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Answer Podcast
Transcription :
Transcriber: Dr Suresh Gupta
Edited by: Sharan Shetty
Question: Why can some people readily accept Krishna’s supremacy, and some can’t?
Answer: There are three broad categories of people when it comes to practicing religion: (i) nominal religionists (ii) emotional religionists (iii) rational and emotional religionists.
Nominal religionists are the ones who worship a particular devata because they are born in a particular family or due to a particular situation. There is a religious instinct which is present in everyone and that religious instinct gets expressed according to circumstances. For nominal religionists, that religious instinct neither has an intellectual foundation nor a strong emotional connection, mainly because it is circumstantial. However, later if such people get an intellectual conviction or some emotional experience, then such people are quite open to change. For them religious instinct was there but was circumstantially directed towards a particular devata. There was no personal investment of their own consciousness in that particular object. If they hear the scriptural explanation of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition about how Krishna is God, how Krishna is the source of all gods, then they accept it.
People approach religion for different reasons. Some come due to a sense of cultural belonging. They experience a feeling of connection when they perform aarti with others, see people dress in a traditional way, watch them execute acts of devotion which they have seen their ancestors do. Some may go just to connect with others socially. There are also psychological factors since some people visit a temple simply because they feel good.
The other extreme is where people have a very strong emotional connect with a particular form of worship like worshipping a demigod, or some baba etc. If such people are told that Krishna is God, it shakes the very basis of their connection because they are very much emotionally invested. It is only when they also connect emotionally with some devotee or with something within Krishna bhakti that they may be inspired to change.
A third category is of those who have both emotional and rational connection. Such people are not only emotionally connected with the particular form of worship, but they also have a rational philosophical understanding about it. In such cases, if somebody rationally presents the philosophy to them, they may take it up and change what they are doing. In such cases, the preacher should be sensitive enough and should not hurt them emotionally by blaspheming their present belief or practice.
Srila Prabhupada used to approach people by appreciating them no matter at what stage they were and would connect them to the process of Krishna bhakti. The gap between their present belief and Krishna consciousness can be bridged if our presentation does not strongly challenge their existing belief. Generally, nobody from a broad Hindu tradition will object to that Krishna is God. However, the difficulty arises when they are unable to fathom the higher philosophy about Krishna being the Supreme Personality of Godhead and all the demigods being subordinate to him. That is why, in general it is best not to focus on those aspects, at least initially.
Generally, when people are completely nominal in their early religious practice they may change easily. When people are completely emotional, it is almost impossible to change. If people are somewhat rational and emotional, then it is best to start with the rational aspect. We can talk about existence of soul, reincarnation, about the need to gain knowledge from the Vedas and progressively its practical application in specific scenarios of life. If presentation is not rational, they may become irritated. When we have to take people from where they are to the next level, then we may have to carefully point out the dos and don’ts. Most importantly, give reasons for that. If somebody is rational, it is quite likely that over a period of time, they will come closer to Krishna.
End of transcription.
The post Why can some people readily accept Krishna’s supremacy and some can’t? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2018/05/will-god-understood-science-future-science-modern//
https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2018/06/soul-mind-intelligence-false-ego-interact//
https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2018/07/can-bhakti-wisdom-help-us-become-forgiving//
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“The residents of Vrindavan, including Srimati Radharani, decided to go to Kurukshetra to see Krishna. Krishna—or Jagannatha, His sister Subhadra and brother Balarama went from Dwaraka to Kurukshetra on a chariot. When they got to Kurukshetra the residents of Vrindavan met them and they were filled with ecstatic love to see Krishna again after a long separation. But, Srimati Radharani felt that She could not enjoy serving Krishna the same way at Kurukshetra as She did in Vrindavan. This was because in Kurukshetra Krishna was dressed as a royal prince, there was the clatter of chariots, there were horses and elephants, whereas Vrindavan is a very sweet pastoral place. So Radharani’s mood was. ‘I am the same Radharani and you are the same Krishna but We cannot relish our time together in this opulent kingdom of Kurukshetra so please come back to Vrindavan.’ The eternal spiritual mood of the devotees while pulling the chariot with the ropes is that they are bringing Krishna back to Vrindavan.”
[Talk at ISKCON Silicon Valley, San Jose, USA]
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The post Gita applied Chapter 1 – Duryodhana’s illusion is short-sighted, Arjuna’s illusion is far-sighted appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
As well as the kirtan procession, some fifteen boats filled with devotees glided across the Yamuna to Sringar Vat as the sun began to set.
We all have an enemy within us: our dark side. This dark side is comprised of our lust, anger, greed, envy, arrogance and illusion. Such dark drives are stored as impressions in our mind.
#Spanish 2018-02-23
Chatigram (Chattogram), Bangladesh, was blessed by the divine appearances of some of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabu's important eternal associates such as Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi Thakur, Sri Basudev Dutta Thakur, Sri Mukunda Dutta Thakur, Sri Dhananjaya Pandit, and so many other great souls.
Witness people in Washington DC greeting Danuman. A video by ISKCON Desire Tree.
On Saturday March 23, 2019, ISKCON of Richmond received an inspiring visit from National Convenor for National Ganga Mission, Dr. Snehal Donde, who gave a talk entitled “The Agony of Rivers”.
Mahavusnu Swami reveals the secret of his unique hat during a prasadam distribution event to children in Umlazi, South Africa.
Since 2016, the ISKCON Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture has been organizing farm conferences all over the world, to share best practices, create networks, and inspire new projects. Now the fruits are starting to show, with more exciting plans on the way.
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In total, over fourteen thousand DVDs in the four North Indian languages have been distributed since January.
By Yugala Kishor Gour das In the MetaVision period Mohan filmed many Krishna Conscious events, seminars and festivals. He even went on an European Tour, recording different temples and their local activities. All these were recorded on a semi professional system called Sony U-Matic. These tapes can not be played on your normal house VHS and/or Betamax systems, they are simply to big. Measuring 3/4 inch. According to several devotees, whom I have spoken to, this archive ended up on Inish Rath in Northern Ireland, brought there by Tribhuvanath prabhu. Some devotees claim to have seen the tapes there. But they are not there anymore and here is where my search stalls. My request is for anybody who knows the whereabouts of these tapes or knows something of them to contact me. This would be such a great help and very much appreciated. Continue reading "The Missing Tapes of Mohan prabhu
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By Sarah Keogh Over this period of Lent we’ve spoken to priests, minister and Senators already, asking them ‘what’s it all about?’ What is the meaning of life? What impact does religion have on a person’s everyday life. Sarah Keogh was joined by Praghosh, who is the representative for ISKCON, the Hare Krishna movement here in Ireland, and he also began the Govinda restaurant chain over 20 years ago. Praghosh explained what the Hare Krishna movement is, and what he believes life is about. Continue reading "The View Of An Irish Hare Krishna On ‘What It’s All About’
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This year Vyasapuja festival of HH Jayapataka Swami is special in two ways- being the 70th birthday celebrations -Bhimarata Santi and after a gap of one year of Maharaja’s not present in Mayapur, (2018 Vyasapuja was held in Chennai), this year again Vyasapuja will take place in his home, Sri dham Mayapur. Vyasapuja festival message […]
The post HH Jayapataka Swami Vyasapuja Festival 2019 Invitation! appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Chatigram (as mentioned in C.C.M.) or present Chattogram was blessed by the divine appearances of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's eternal associates Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi Thakur, Sri Basudev Dutta Thakur, Sri Mukunda Dutta Thakur, Sri Dhananjaya Pandit, and so many great souls. 
Don’t let our desire to use something for Krishna become greater than our desire for Krishna (Based on Gita 09.26)
Chaitanya Charan Das: While driving to meet someone special, suppose we get a desire to offer them a special gift. But we get so caught in searching that gift that we lose our way and fail to reach for the meeting. By our mistaken priorities, we end up undermining the very relationship that we wanted to sweeten.
His Holiness Lokanath Maharaja Speaks About the #Giving TOVP Worldwide Fundraiser 
The Onion (an American satirical digital media company and newspaper organization) prints an article about the devotees of Krishna and …is 100% correct!
To read the “article” please click here: https://is.gd/8RlVlL
This week as we head to the start of the #Giving TOVP 10 Day Worldwide Matching Fundraiser from May 7th (Akshaya Tritiya) until May 17th (Nrsimha Caturdasi), His Holiness B.B. Govinda Maharaja speaks about the importance of the TOVP and participating in this 10 day window of opportunity to make a donation to the project.
The #Giving TOVP 10 Day Worldwide Matching Fundraiser will be an incredible, never before done online event to raise funds, large or small, from every devotee, whether they have already given to the TOVP or not. Ambarisa prabhu will match all donations up to $125,000, thus doubling the income to the TOVP during this fundraising event to help complete the TOVP by 2022.
For more information, go to the TOVP #Giving TOVP Fundraiser page. You can also become a TOVP Ambassador by downloading the flyer from the website page and posting it on the internet, emailing it to your devotee friends and relatives, and posting at your local temple. We want the participation of every ISKCON devotee and congregation member worldwide.
MISSION 22 MARATHON KI JAYA! THINK 22 -> TOVP NOW!
Visit us at: www.tovp.org
Follow us at: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch us at: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
Phone App at: http://tovp.org/news/announcements/new-tovp-phone-app-goes-live/
Mailing List at: https://goo.gl/forms/ojJ2WcUUuqWh8bXt1
RSS News Feed at: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Buy from us at: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/
Support us at: www.tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities
The post His Holiness B.B. Govinda Maharaja Speaks About the #Giving TOVP Worldwide Fundraiser appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Answer Podcast
The post Why did Vidura not instruct Dhritrashtra to apologize to the Pandavas and to thereby become offense-free for practicing bhakti? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
While I was in Brisbane recently, I caught up with my old friend and god-brother, Bhanu Maharaja, who was on a tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Maharaja gives wonderful classes and I enjoy listening to his scholarly presentation of Krsna Conscious philosophy. I had the opportunity to have lunch with him at Madhavi Prabhu’s house, where he was staying.
On another evening, I was invited to dinner with Viraja Krsna Prabhu and family, who were originally from Fiji. Needless to say, the prasadam was fantastic.
Touchstone Media’s ‘Pauranic Caritavali’ celebrates the glories of the true legendary heroes from the Puranas.
The unique feature of this convention will be multiple panelists and presenters with experience in homeschooling.
“The principle of Prabhupada’s time was that everybody had the hope – even the expectation – that every moment could be magical in Krishna’s service."
The London College of Vedic Studies serves as the educational department of ISKCON-London, offering a wide range of educational, spiritual and practical courses, seminars and workshops aimed at developing character, personal fulfillment and spiritual progression. 
Your Only Chance!
HH Sacinandana Swami: There is a reason why we are here in this world and why we often feel bewildered and afraid. It is because we have turned away from Krsna. Srila Jiva Gosvami gives an analogy: in Indian villages people used to gather in the evening and sometimes an entertainer would stand before a lantern and use his hands to project shadows on a wall while telling a story. Sometimes children and simple villagers would then become afraid because of seeing demons and witches on the wall.
New Facility For The Youngest Gurukula Students in New Govardhan Farm, Australia.
Syamala Gopa Kishori Dasi: The gurukula pres...
