Websites from the ISKCON Universe
A devotee-owned company, Ra Vino Industries, based in Mumbai has created a line of personal and home care products with Ayurvedic properties, using the panchagavyas – milk, ghee, curd, dung and urine – of indigenous cows.
Her Grace Labangalatika Devi Dasi.
Pancha Tattva Dasa: Last week, at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai, I had the good fortune to meet Mother Labangalatika, an early disciple of Srila Prabhupada, whose son Dwarkadish also had Srila Prabhupada’s association. There is a famous picture of Dwarkadish being guided by hand in his writing lesson by Srila Prabhupada. Mother Labangalatika was there to get some tests. She was frail, but her mind was agile, and she was full of love for Srila Prabhupada and the devotees.
Adelaide Ratha Yatra 2019 (Album of photos)
ISCKON Adelaide celebrated its 6th Annual Rath Yatra on the 26th of January, 2019 as part of the Australia Day Parade. After years of trying to have its own ratha, they finally procured a decrepit one from ISKCON Perth. As the chariot (chassis of an old truck), was too big and dilapidated, planning, reconstruction and restoration of the chariot began in earnest fashion as soon as it landed in Adelaide. The chariot had to be downsized too as the council had set legal limits on its height at 4.2 meters due to tramlines crisscrossing the city. Engineering works were brought to a halt soon after starting, when our friendly welder Antonio Rodrigues of Portuguese descent, who has a soft spot for India and its culture, fell victim to a minor industrial injury.
Melbourne Bhakti Vrksa (Album of photos)
Ramai Swami: Whenever I visit Melbourne temple I like to go to some home programs if ...
Our longing for equality points to our spirituality (Based on Gita 05.18)
Chaitanya Charan Das: In our times, equality is considered one of the most cherished values. Few things provoke as much indignation as incidents of discrimination – or even allegations of discrimination. Such outrage is healthy, for it helps create a world where everyone has equal opportunities.
Still, what is the basis for our longing for equality? Intuition, we might say – we innately feel that everyone should be treated equally. Yes, but what is the basis of that intuition? In other words, what is the worldview that grounds this intuition in a coherent living framework? The prevailing worldview of materialism offers no basis.
I was distributing books in Melbourne and approached a young man wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I was showing him the Science of Self Realization and explaining the contents. He was interested and wanted to take the book, but said he had no money. I mentioned that we use card readers for credit cards.
Flowers From Heaven (Album of photos)
The Flower Festival at ISKCON Chowpatty was especially nice this year with the attendanc...
The 50th-anniversary celebration of Srila Prabhupada’s appearance on Oahu, Hawaii. The celebration took place on the 20th of January, 2019 (Album of photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/3dtgnw
Krishna you are mine. Date - 26th January 2019. Location - Mumbai 
Whenever I visit Melbourne temple I like to go to some home programs if possible. Fortunately, there are twenty seven Bhakti Vrksa groups (meaning fruit-bearing tree of bhakti) in the suburbs where regular gatherings take place.
The evening usually starts with kirtan, then lecture and prasadam. The program was hosted by Sridhar prabhu and everyone was quite enthusiastic in participating and asking questions.
Ratha Yatra Cart 6th Generation under construction! (Album of photos)
Ratna and team at it again, building a new Rath Cart.
New Gokula, Australia (2019) (Album of photos)
New Gokula is one of the most beautiful farm communities we have ever visited. Surrounded by beautiful hills, this place is a real wonderland of Australia. Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda’s beauty cannot be described in words. The place is filled with peacocks and cockatoos and many other beautiful birds. Wherever we looked, we saw cows are grazing. We had a very wonderful time with the loving devotees there. Please relish the pictures of this beautiful place which gives us a glimpse of the real spiritual world.
https://goo.gl/xE2aqV
Bless Your Enemy.
HG Mahatma Prabhu: The highest kind of forgiveness is to pray for the welfare of your offender. If you hope he will suffer in some way for his misbehavior, you haven’t yet totally forgiven. On the other hand, as mentioned before, bringing a criminal to justice doesn’t have to mean you are taking revenge.
A devotee is always everyone’s well-wisher. If your offender receives the blessings you prayed that he receives, you will be happy if you have truly forgiven him/her.
Are you willing to forgive those who have hurt and offended you? If you are not, you are also guilty – guilty of the crime of ‘unforgiving.
Hare Krishna! Film UK London Premiere Highlights (7 min.video)
Srila Prabhupada: Our Society is like one big family and our re...
The Consciousness In Science Conference Was A Great Success!
In preparing for the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies’ Consciousness in Science 2019 conference opening ceremony at the University of Florida’s Harn Museum on Friday 18th January, so much interest arose that it was necessary for the organisers to curtail advertising efforts. The 225 capacity auditorium would not suffice. Spilling out into an overflow room that was streaming the event live, a total of 400 consciousness and science enthusiasts, scholars and students enjoyed an inauguration by Lauren Poe the Mayor of Gainesville, followed by keynote talks from eminent scientists, Professor Stuart Hameroff and Brenda Dunne.
After a remarkable start to the event, the conference retreated to the tranquil and historic Thomas Centre for two days of lively talks and breakout discussion groups. 20+ countries were represented from six continents, with some travelling from as far away as Australia, India and Russia. The atmosphere was electric, with a broad array of highly esteemed guests, including 50 devotee scholars holding a PhD or MSc qualification.
The primary objective of this conference was to gather together as many devotee scientists as possible from around the world, and to provide them with a platform to share their research ideas, as well as to connect with fellow devotee scholars. In a letter to Rupanuga dasa on February 14 1976, Srila Prabhupada stated that, “…we require many PhDs for our Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Study (BIHS).“
To read the complete article please click here: https://goo.gl/47LJ3j
Book distribution in NY, Penn Station Subway A C E, January 23, 2019
Super ”MahaTattva” stack (14 Maha big books in one shot)! Beyond amazing!
Mahotsaha prabhu distributes a “saptarishi” set and a “Prabhupada Lilamrita” set together!
In preparing for the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies’ Consciousness in Science 2019 conference opening ceremony at the University of Florida’s Harn Museum on Friday 18th January, so much interest arose that it was necessary for the organisers to curtail advertising efforts.
A video by Karuna Productions. Article about Tulsi Gabbard's running for US presidency: https://iskconnews.org/vaishnava-hindu-congresswoman-tulsi-gabbard-to-run-for-president-in-2020,6823/
“I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad-gita because its teachings have inspired me to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country,” said Gabbard after the swearing-in ceremony to be a Congresswoman in 2013.
A video by ISKCON New Vrindaban Land of Krishna.
A film by Ananta Vrindavan. English with Russian subtitles.
Cow Protection in Gurukula Education (4 min.video)
Bhakta Priya Dāsa explains the importance of cow protection and how students of Bhaktivedanta Academy are being educated in taking care of cows.
By TOVP staff In 1971, as a young devotee in Calcutta, Giriraja Swami approached Srila Prabhupada, “I have been trying to understand what your desire is, and two things seem to please you the most: distributing your books and building the big temple in Mayapur.” Prabhupada’s face lit up, his eyes opened wide, and he smiled, saying: “Yes, you have understood… If you all build this temple, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.” Continue reading "TOVP 2018 Achievements Overview
→ Dandavats"
2018 was a landmark year for the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium both in terms of construction achievements and fundraising. And the entire TOVP Team is grateful to all the devotees worldwide without whom this would not have been possible. As our motto states, we are “Raising Lord Caitanya’s Temple by the hands of every devotee.” With only three years left to its scheduled completion and Grand Opening we call on all ISKCON devotees to keep their focus on this project and continue to support our efforts for this collective offering to Srila Prabhupada in 2022.
Below is a list of our major achievements for 2018.
2019 promises to also be a very event-filled year. While ongoing finishing work on the temple continues, several new fundraising campaigns will be rolled out such as the Pillars of Devotion campaign to sponsor the 108 pillars in the temple, the Guru Parampara Deities campaign to sponsor the acharya murtis, the #Giving TOVP Matching Fundraiser in May, the TOVP Ambassador Rewards Program to enlist devotees to help fundraise and also receive transcendental rewards, and more. Our fundraising goal for the year is $10 million.
Please remember, this is not just another temple project. 2022 is the Grand Opening of Srila Prabhupada’s cherished and greatest preaching project in the world and the new home of our beloved Deities Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva and Sri Nrsimha at the World Headquarters of ISKCON, on the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON Mayapur. This is spiritual history in the making, and all of us shall take the credit for this accomplishment which will far outlive us, as millions of people pass through the doors of the TOVP for generations into the future.
In 1971, as a young devotee in Calcutta, Giriraja Swami approached Srila Prabhupada, “I have been trying to understand what your desire is, and two things seem to please you the most: distributing your books and building the big temple in Mayapur.” Prabhupada’s face lit up, his eyes opened wide, and he smiled, saying: “Yes, you have understood… If you all build this temple, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”
We again thank each and every one of you for your support and sacrifice in the yajna fire of building the TOVP. We wish you a very happy, Krishna conscious year ahead and a blissful Gaur Purnima on this 532nd Gaurabda celebration of the appearance of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TOVP 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
Support us at: www.tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities
The post TOVP 2018 Achievements Overview appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium has 108 pillars within it, appropriately named the Pillars of Devotion. Of these, the first ten located inside the main entrance are called the Sravanam Pillars and will be clad with sandstone embellishments custom made in Jaipur to give them their beautiful detail. The remaining temple pillars will all be marvelously clad in decorative marble.
There are also many other pillars throughout the temple external structure along the parikrama path and these will be clad with sandstone. Pictured here are a few of the parikrama path pillars and the sandstone pieces that will be used, to give you an idea of their enormous size and exquisite detail and beauty.
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
Support us at: www.tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities
The post Pillar Work Progress appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Posted by Daily readings of Srila Prabhupada’s Books on Thursday, January 24, 2019
Surfers Paradise, a suburb of the city of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A vivid blue sky reflects in glass skyscrapers rising behind a beach of golden sand. Sparkling turquoise waves crash as cool young people ride the crest on their surfboards.
By Giriraj Swami Sri Gopala Gosvami was the son of Venkata Bhatta, a resident of Sri Rangam. Gopala Bhatta formerly belonged to the disciplic succession of the Ramanuja-sampradaya but later became part of the Gaudiya-sampradaya. In the year 1433 Sakabda (A.D. 1511), when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was touring South India, He stayed for four months during the period of Caturmasya at the house of Venkata Bhatta, who then got the opportunity to serve the Lord to his heart’s content. Gopala Bhatta also got the opportunity to serve the Lord at this time. Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was later initiated by his uncle, the great sannyasi Prabodhananda Sarasvati. Both the father and the mother of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami were extremely fortunate, for they dedicated their entire lives to the service of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Continue reading "Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s Appearance Day
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For Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s appearance day I thought to read a verse and purport about him from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Branches of the Caitanya Tree”:
TEXT 105
sri gopala bhatta eka sakha sarvottama
rupa-sanatana-sange yanra prema-alapana
TRANSLATION
Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, the forty-seventh branch, was one of the great and exalted branches of the tree. He always engaged in discourses about love of Godhead in the company of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
Sri Gopala Gosvami was the son of Venkata Bhatta, a resident of Sri Rangam. Gopala Bhatta formerly belonged to the disciplic succession of the Ramanuja-sampradaya but later became part of the Gaudiya-sampradaya. In the year 1433 Sakabda (A.D. 1511), when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was touring South India, He stayed for four months during the period of Caturmasya at the house of Venkata Bhatta, who then got the opportunity to serve the Lord to his heart’s content. Gopala Bhatta also got the opportunity to serve the Lord at this time. Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was later initiated by his uncle, the great sannyasi Prabodhananda Sarasvati. Both the father and the mother of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami were extremely fortunate, for they dedicated their entire lives to the service of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They allowed Gopala Bhatta Gosvami to go to Vrndavana, and they gave up their lives thinking of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Lord Caitanya was later informed that Gopala Bhatta Gosvami had gone to Vrndavana and met Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami, He was very pleased, and He advised Sri Rupa and Sanatana to accept Gopala Bhatta Gosvami as their younger brother and take care of him. Sri Sanatana Gosvami, out of his great affection for Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, compiled the Vaisnava smrti named Hari-bhakti-vilasa and published it under his name. Under the instruction of Srila Rupa and Sanatana, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami installed one of the seven principal deities of Vrndavana, the Radha-ramana deity. The sevaits (priests) of the Radha-ramana temple belong to the Gaudiya-sampradaya.
COMMENT
Actually, one of the families entrusted with the Deity service at the Radha-ramana Mandir has a history of relations with the line of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Visvambhara Gosvami’s father or grandfather had relations with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the family maintained relations with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and then Visvambhara Gosvami had very friendly relations with Srila Prabhupada. And he spoke very nicely about Srila Prabhupada. Now Visvambhara Gosvami’s son Padmanabha Gosvami is also very favorable to ISKCON. In fact, ISKCON devotees often honor prasada at his home at the Radha-ramana Mandir. I also took prasada there with His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami, and Padmanabha Gosvami showed us a letter that Srila Prabhupada had written to his father, Visvambhara Gosvami, about how all Vaishnavas should cooperate. So, not only does the Radha-ramana temple belong to the Gaudiya-sampradaya, but at least some of the sevaits have had close relations with the line of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
PURPORT (concluded)
When Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami took permission from all the Vaisnavas before writing Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami also gave him his blessings, but he requested him not to mention his name in the book. Therefore Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has mentioned Gopala Bhatta Gosvami only very cautiously in one or two passages of the Caitanya-caritamrta. Srila Jiva Gosvami has written in the beginning of his Tattva-sandarbha, “A devotee from southern India who was born of a brahmana family and was a very intimate friend of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami has written a book that he has not compiled chronologically. Therefore I, a tiny living entity known as jiva, am trying to assort the events of the book chronologically, consulting the direction of great personalities like Madhvacarya, Sridhara Svami, Ramanujacarya, and other senior Vaisnavas in the disciplic succession.” In the beginning of the Bhagavat-sandarbha there are similar statements by Srila Jiva Gosvami. Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami compiled a book called Sat-kriya-sara-dipika, edited the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, wrote a foreword to the Sat-sandarbha and a commentary on the Krsna-karnamrta, and installed the Radharamana Deity in Vrndavana. In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (184) it is mentioned that his previous name in the pastimes of Lord Krsna was Ananga-manjari. Sometimes he is also said to have been an incarnation of Guna-manjari. Srinivasa Acarya and Gopinatha Pujari were two of his disciples.
COMMENT
Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami ki jaya!
One story about Gopala Bhatta Gosvami is that on the eve of Nrsimha-caturdasi all the other Gosvamis and Vaishnavas in Vrindavan were preparing to worship their Deities and hold festivals. Gopala Bhatta Gosvami had only a salagrama-sila; he didn’t have a Deity with arms and legs and a body that he could dress and decorate. So, he was feeling deprived of the opportunity to serve like the other devotees who had Deities they could serve in these ways. And out of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s strong desire, a salagrama-sila became manifest in the form of Radha-ramana. Radha-ramana is considered the most beautiful Deity of Krishna. He is the one original Deity of the Gosvamis that has remained in Vrindavan, while the others had to be taken elsewhere for fear of the Muslim invaders. And near the temple of Radha-ramana in Vrindavan is the samadhi of Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami.
Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s uncle and siksa-guru was Prabodhananda Sarasvati. His samadhi is also located in Vrindavan, just off the parikrama path near Kaliya-ghata, which is quite near our Krishna-Balaram Mandir. So, often when we go on parikrama down the path near the Yamuna, we visit Prabodhananda Sarasvati’s samadhi and bhajana-kutira. And then we proceed to Srila Sanatana Gosvami’s samadhi. Srila Sanatana Gosvami was the most senior of the Gosvamis and was also a close associate and instructor of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. In fact, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami worked with Sanatana Gosvami to produce the great treatise Hari-bhakti-vilasa.
I feel that Gopala Bhatta Gosvami has been especially merciful to me on two occasions. On one, I visited his bhajana-kutira at Sanketa, a place between Nandagrama and Varsana where Radha and Krishna used to meet and sometimes perform rasa-lila. Gopala Bhatta would sit and chant underground in a deep cavern, accessible only through a long, narrow passage. At the end of the passage was a somewhat roomier place where Gopala Bhatta used to chant, now marked as his bhajana-sthala. I remember going there with Tamal Krishna Goswami and others on a very hot day and struggling to crawl through the passage to the bhajana-sthala. It was very difficult, but when I finally reached there, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was very merciful. He allowed me to chant with a glimpse of taste. And after all the devotees emerged from the cavern, I stole back in. I crawled back to Gopala Bhatta’s lotus feet, and I sat there chanting. I will never forget his mercy to me there, and I pray that he will enable me to chant with relish and love.
On the other occasion, the last time I visited Vrindavan, in Kartik of 1999, shortly before my surgery, I visited Gopala Bhatta’s samadhi near the Radha-ramana Mandir. We arrived just after raja-bhoga–arati, and the pujari was closing the doors to the samadhi-mandira. But he was kind enough to open the doors for us, to allow us darshan of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. He gave us some flowers and caranamrta, and invited us to stay for prasada. Thus our small party, along with some local sadhus, honored Gopala Bhatta Prabhu’s maha–maha-prasadam with great relish, and we even stayed to take a little rest before, filled with bliss, we continued on our way. So, Gopal Bhatta Gosvami is very kind.
Years later, when some of my disciples from Bombay went to Vrindavan on pilgrimage, they visited the samadhi. They told the pujaris about me, how my health no longer allowed me to visit Vraja, and asked for some prasada for me. And one of the pujaris kindly gave them a piece of cloth from the samadhi. It is very special. Now, twice a year, once on his appearance day and once on his disappearance day, we bring it out and touch it. So now we shall pass it around and touch it to our heads and to our hearts—and pray to Gopala Bhatta Gosvami for his sublime mercy.
Thank you.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s appearance day, July 31, 2002, Carpinteria, California]
Promotional Video for *Life’s Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective* by Giriraj Swami (2 min.video)
It is with sadness of the devotee community at Bhaktivadanta Manor to hear of the departure of Smita Mataji from the material body.
An inspirational personality who put service and her love of the devotees foremost in her life, assisting the volunteers who helped out in the bakery and Janmashtami festivals.
Who would look at treatments for devotees who were suffering both physically and spiritually, I feel blessed to have met and enjoyed her association and instruction.
It’s such devotees I personally take to heart and will miss
Hare Krishna
Abhishek Darshan of Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohanji at Goverdhan Eco Village Wada Mumbai. the exact replica of Sri Sri Radha Madan Moha...
