Gaur Purnima at ISKCON Gaya (Album of photos and videos)
On 21st March afternoon ISKCON Gaya celebrated Lord Chaitanya Appearance day. Festival started with vaishnav bhajan and kirtan followed by abhishek. More than 108 bhogas offered to Lord Chaitanya. Jagdish Shyam Das (General Manager, ISKCON Gaya) addressed the audience about the past times of Lord Chaitanya and special gift of Lord Chaitanya to all the living entities. After gaur arati Prasadam distributed. On 24th March ISKCON Gaya will celebrate Flower holi…
The intelligent people of kali yuga will do devotional service to the Lord and how will they do this, by the process of yagnas and sankirtan. There are many kinds of yagnas but the most appropriate yagna for this kali yuga is Hari naam sankirtan, congregational chanting of the holy names. Lord Krishna’s leela in […]
In his grand vision for New Vrindaban, Srila Prabhupada regularly described cow protection and local agriculture as the “main business” for its residents.
March 21st, 2019 – On the auspicious birthday of Lord Caitanya, Gaura Purnima, in the ISKCON Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir in Sridhama Mayapur, four qualified candidates accepted sannyasa from His Holiness Jayapataka Swami in order to further spread the mission of Mahaprabhu. Sannyasa is the renounced order of life accepted by many followers of the […]
Can’t beat Hare Krishna FREE food! (Album of photos)
Organizers in Auckland NewZealand. invited our Food for life program to be part of tonight’s vigil, as thousands took the opportunity to farewell the 50 Muslims gun down in their Mosque while in prayer last Friday.
Sannyasa is the renounced order of life accepted by many followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself accepted sannyasa in order to further the spread of the sankirtana movement.
Iskcon Mayapur: March 21st, 2019 - On the auspicious birthday of Lord Caitanya, Gaura Purnima, in the ISKCON Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir in Sridhama Mayapur, four qualified candidates accepted sannyasa from His Holiness Jayapataka Swami in order to further spread the mission of Mahaprabhu.
HG Sarvajaya Madhava Prabhu from Kalachandji’s Sankirtan Team distributes a Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada’s Japa Box and Radha Krishna key chain to Miss World 2017 - Manushi Chhillar.
Hari Bol!
For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of February 2019. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5
Continue reading "NASN February 2019 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter → Dandavats"
Celebrating Gaura Purnima in London (4 min. video)
Parasuram dasa: The greatest day of the year – Gaura Purnima
The greatest yajna in Kaliyuga – Sankirtan
The appearance day of the greatest Avatara – Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Distributed by the greatest guru – Srila Prabhupada
Performed on the greatest street in the world – Oxford Street
During the busiest time of the day – 1pm
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, who appeared in this Kali-yuga to inaugurate the Yuga dharma for this age – Sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared at Sridhama Mayapura, in the city of Navadvipa in Bengal, on the Phalguni Purnima evening in the year 1486 AD. His father, Sri Jagannatha Mishra, a learned brahmana from the district of Sylhet, came to Navadvipa as a student.
He lived on the banks of the Ganges with his wife Srimati Sachidevi, the daughter of Srila Nilambara Chakravarti, a great learned scholar of Navadvipa. Their youngest son, who was named Vishvambhara, later became known as Nimai Pandita and then, after accepting the renounced order of life, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
The wonderful pastimes performed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the city of Navadvipa and in Jagannatha Puri are recorded by His biographers. The early life of the Lord is most fascinatingly expressed by the author of Chaitanya-bhagavata (Sri Vrndavana Dasa Thakura), and as far as the teachings are concerned, they are more vividly explained in the Chaitanya-Caritamrita (by Sri Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami).
How to celebrate Gaura Purnima in London ? The greatest day of the year, Gaura Purnima
The greatest yajna in Kaliyuga , Sankirtan
The appearance day of the greatest Avatara , Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhhu
Distributed by the greatest guru , Srila Prabhupada
Performed on the greatest street in the world , Oxford Street During the busiest time of the day , 1pm Gauranga!!!
“So now we have got very great responsibility to spread this message all over the world, and in London you have got now a good chance to preach in the most important city of the world.”Srila Prabhupada letter to Yamuna 3/07/1969
Play for New York's Bhakti Center festival "Roots of Kirtan". Written and directed by Gaura Vani. Based on the book, "Sri Caitanya's Life and Teachings: The Golden Avatar of Divine Love" by Satyaraj Das (Stephen J. Rosen). Featuring Yadunath, Jai Giridhari, Jahnavi Harrison, Jaya Jagannath, and Gaura Vani. Music by Tulasi & Namras Sutaria, Charlie "Govind" Burnam, Yamuna Bihari and Radha Krishna. A video by Gaura Vani Official.
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!
Gaura Purnima Decorations 2019 (Album of photos)
Dina Dayal Das: Gaura Purnima decorations have become my annual service that I look forward doing.
Srila Prabhupada famously challenged his disciples by saying: “Double it”
Therefore we’re always trying to beat the previous year’s design… and it’s possible with the help of enthusiastic team of devotees.
Thanks to all participants!!!
Meet Astasakhi dasi a gardener & flower artist in Iskcon Sweeden (9 min. video)
Astasakhi dasi tells about growing organic vegetables and about her flower art at ISKCON - Almvik, Sweden.
New Iskcon sannyasi!
With great joy we celebrate the entrance
into the sannyasa ashram of our beloved Priti Mahasaya.
Bhakti Arjava Priti Vardhana Swami—ki Jay!
Question: Isn’t it useless to share spirituality with people who have no spiritual interest?
Answer: There are three broad categories: (i) deep seekers of spirituality (ii) open to spirituality (iii) not interested in spirituality.
Let us discuss first category, where people are seriously looking for spirituality. There are some senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada who actually left their home in search for God and travelled across the world. They were very seriously seeking God. However, most of us may not have gone out searching for God. At least I did not, rather God’s devotees came searching for me.
In the second category, there are large number of people who do not think they are searching for spirituality simply because they do not know, what is spirituality. These people may have particular conception about spirituality and based on that they may feel that spirituality is not for them especially in today’s world. These people may be open to spirituality but at the moment they are not interested because they do not really know about spirituality.
The third category of people are just not interested in spirituality.
Number of people is very small in the first category, reasonable in second category, but huge in the third category. Therefore, with respect to the third category, all we can do is we give them some agyaat sukriti (unknowingly acquired spiritual credits). We can do this by giving them some prasad or spiritual books which they can keep with them and probably read. This way we can help start their spiritual journey with some baby steps. If we push them too much, they will be alienated.
We cannot push people too much if they are not interested. We can only open the doors for them which lead to spirituality. However, sometimes what happens is, we open the doors and if they refuse to come in then we bang the door in their face saying, “You are a materialist, you will go to hell and suffer”. We should not do this.
At the end of our interaction, if the person does not become interested in bhakti, he should at least feel that he met a nice person. Such appreciation itself is also good for them. Thus, for most people in third category even if we just give them a positive perception of Krishna bhakti, that is also good enough.
For those in the second category, His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj in one of his lectures has said that the beauty of a preacher is in finding out what the obstacles between a soul and Krishna are and how to remove those obstacles. It is not just about giving a lecture or plainly asking people to come to the temple but maturely addressing the barriers coming in their way of bhakti. It could be due to cultural reasons that they do not feel comfortable with some bhakti practices. It could also be due to some intellectual misconceptions. Or due to some practical requirements in their lives and many other things.
Most of our outreach will be for people in the second category.
When dealing with these three categories of people we can follow the instructions given in Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.46,
prema maitri krpa upeksah
yah karoti sa madhyamah
It says, those who are envious keep a distance from them, those who are innocent show mercy to them and those who are devotees make friends or be friendly with them.
Some people we meet are already spiritually rewarded. It is because they are continuing from their previous life. We may find few people like these as well.
How do we know whether somebody is from second or third category? When we invite people and if they constantly keep saying “no” then we may have to let them go. However, if these people say “no” but they open up and provide a reason, then we can try to address their concern. If they are open to having their conceptions examined, then we can help them to come to a better understanding.
Gaura Purnima; The Divine Appearance Day Of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. >Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appears when a devotee sincerely cries for His appearance. It is the urgent call of Draupadi that made the Lord appear and cover her with cloth. Similarly, it was Advaita Acarya’s calling in “a thunderous voice” that shook the Lord’s seat in Vaikuntha and made Him come down to the material world. On His own, He has no interest in this world – only when the devotee calls Him does the Lord come.
Life coach and vlogger Jay Shetty (Ghanashyam Das) sat down with Ellen to talk about his journey from being a monk to becoming one of the most popular motivational speakers in the world.
Parvati devi dasi: We're about to regoldleaf the Samadhi Vyasasan which could cost around Rs.4.5 laks. This is a golden opportunity to donate whatever you can for this wonderful service.
Under the organization of Ministry of External Affairs Government of India and Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Prayagraj hosted at least one person from every country at the occasion of the sacred Kumbh festival. Kumbha Mela is unique and world's largest event in which hundreds of millions of spiritualists converge for a holy dip at the confluence of the sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and invisible Saraswati. UNESCO has recognized this festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the humanity. Continue reading "ISKCON Communications Devotee Meets Prime Minister of India at Prayagraj 2019 Kumbha Mela Global Participation → Dandavats"
Physician heal thyself!
Sanatana Goswami Das: In this age of Kali-yuga, the uncommon sights similar to the Srimad-Bhagavatam’s description of the Ajamila’s episode have become a commonplace. The incident took place in an earlier millennium when the Vedic culture was prominent and people in general, adhered to the injunctions of the Vedas while being dutiful in their prescribed duties. Ajamila himself, for that matter, was a strict brahmana, consistent in his daily practices and rituals. Thus, it is apprehensible that such a sight to be visible was uncommon and a strict brahmana’s being lured into it was even more uncommon.
By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
The philosophical sections of the Vedic hymns are meant to enable one to distinguish the Supreme Personality of Godhead from Maya. After indicating the position of Maya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is approached in pure devotional service. That is the purpose of philosophical speculation. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita in the 7th Chapter, Bahunam janmanam ante… "The philosophical speculators and empiric philosophers, after speculating for many, many births, ultimately come unto the Supreme Lord Krishna, and accept that Vasudeva is everything." Continue reading "Teachings of Lord Chaitanya → Dandavats"
Hare Krishna! Please accept our humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!
Gaura Purnima - the auspicious appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will be celebrated in a grand manner on Sunday- Mar 24th 2019 at ISKCON Scarborough.
The actual appearance day falls on Wednesday - March 20th 2019 - On this auspicious day, all devotees fast until moon rise.
Gaura Purnima means "golden full moon" signifying that: 1) Lord Caitanya was “born” during a full moon, and 2) The Lord blesses everyone with the soothing, moon-like rays of His sublime teachings.
Who is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu: Lord Caitanya is Lord Krsna Himself appearing in the role of His own devotee. He accepted the mood and golden complexion of Srimati Radharani, His consort and greatest worshiper.
Radha and Krsna became one to reveal the divine love of Goloka Vrindavan to the world.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's most important biographers, such as Shri Vrindavan das Thakur (Caitanya Bhagavat), Shri Murari Gupta (Caitanya Charita Mahakavya), Shri Locana das Thakura (Caitanya Mangal) & Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj (Caitanya Caritamrta) confirm this.
If we are to understand Shri Krishna, we must do so through Lord Caitanya. First the giver, then the gift.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the most merciful and munificent incarnation of the Lord, whose mercy surpassed the bounds of mundane discrimination in the matter of caste, colour and creed.
CC Adi 14.1:
“Things that are very difficult to do become easy to execute if one somehow or other simply remembers Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But if one does not remember Him, even easy things become very difficult. To this Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, I offer my respectful obeisances”.
The schedule for Gaura Purnima celebrations on 24th Mar (Sun) 10.15 am to 10.45 am - Tulasi & Guru Puja 10.45 am to 11 am - Abhisheka (bathing ceremony) will be performed on Sri Gaura Nitai 11 am to 12 noon - class on Mahaprabhu 12 noon to 12.30 pm - Arti 12.30 pm to 12.45 pm - Group chanting of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra 12.45 pm – Prasadam
We welcome you, your family and friends to take part in the wonderful celebration on Sunday 24th Mar 2019.
ISKCON Scarborough 3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3, Scarborough,Ontario, Canada,M1V4C7
Iskcon Mayapur: March 21st, 2019 - On the auspicious birthday of Lord Caitanya, Gaura Purnima, in the ISKCON Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir in Sridhama Mayapur, four qualified candidates accepted sannyasa from His Holiness Jayapataka Swami in order to further spread the mission of Mahaprabhu. 
By Mayapur Sasi dasa
Parvati devi dasi: We're about to regoldleaf the Samadhi Vyasasan which could cost around Rs.4.5 laks. This is a golden opportunity to donate whatever you can for this wonderful service.
By Govindananda das
By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada