TOVP Daily Victory Flag Sponsorship – An Ideal Kartik Seva
→ Dandavats

Hare Krishna Devotees can sponsor a flag for the appearance day of an acharya or their guru, a relative’s birthday, a wedding anniversary, in memory of a deceased relative, or any other special occasion. Or simply for the seva of the Lord and to glorify the TOVP. Not only individual devotees, but ISKCON temples, zones, farms, preaching centers, restaurants, etc. can also participate.

Annual Turkish Namahatta Retreat
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Hare KrishnaBy Nrsimha Krsna das

We organized 4th annual Turkish Namahatta camp on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey. Our special guest was HH Sivarama Swami and also there were 7 devotees from Hungarian Yatra came along with him. It was the most crowded namahatta event for us and some days we reached 70 visitors in the place. Actually, it was the best retreat we have ever organized in terms of attendance, hotel itself, staff of the hotel, weather conditions, and many other aspects. Devotees had opportunity to get HH Sivaram Swami’s wonderful association. Everybody served in a very good mood and athmosphere was joyful. Along with Sivaram Swami we had HG Ananda Caitanya Prabhu, HG Shyam Bihari Prabhu, HG Manjari Mataji, HG Jitendriya Prabhu, HG Brijbasi Mataji, HG Sri Gokul Mataji and HG Pandita Mataji. Every day we started the day with Mangala Arati and after guru Puja HH Sivaram Swami lectured about “what is bhakti?” It was a wondeful serie based on Brihad Bhagavatamrita. Continue reading "Annual Turkish Namahatta Retreat
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If we don’t feel like practicing bhakti, should we pray to Krishna for help?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

The post If we don’t feel like practicing bhakti, should we pray to Krishna for help? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Anatomy Of Autonomy
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Hare KrishnaBy Gauranga Darshan Das

In the material world, a conditioned soul, due to his false ego, is generally not comfortable to think of oneself as a ‘subordinate’ to anyone including God. But it is in the best interest of a soul to accept subordination to God and His representatives at various levels. Submissiveness to the Supreme Lord, the bona fide spiritual master and their transparent representatives constitute one of the vital aspects of spiritual advancement. Srila Prabhupada writes, “A spiritual master knows very well how to engage each disciple in a particular duty, but if a disciple, thinking himself more advanced than his spiritual master, gives up his orders and acts independently, he checks his own spiritual progress.” (CC Adi 7.72 Purport). Continue reading "Anatomy Of Autonomy
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Dharmsala Rath Yatra 2018 & Preaching to the Lamas
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Hare KrishnaBy Aseem krishna Das

Dharmsala is a beautiful hill station in Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh. Located at a height of 4800ft. from sea level, it is situated on the slopes of scenic dhauladhar mountain range. The view of these mountains from our host's roof in Dharmsala is really fascinating. Dhauladhar's snow covered peaks decorate this valley just like a mighty crown. It’s rich flora and fauna renders the landscape even more beautiful. Dhauladhar range is a paradise for worldwide mountain trekkers and Paragliders. Banana, Papaya trees, guavas, pumpkins, amala, various citrus fruits, pomegranates to name a few and also various aromatic flowers grow abound. Continue reading "Dharmsala Rath Yatra 2018 & Preaching to the Lamas
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Терпеливо ожидая поблизости…
→ Traveling Monk

«Нужно принять прибежище духовного учителя. Как пылающий лесной пожар ждет туч в небесах, надо ожидать милостивой тучи духовного учителя».

[Лекция Шрилы Прабхупады в Лос-Анджелесе 2 января 1969 г.]

 

Waiting patiently by your side ….

“One has to take shelter of spiritual means. Just like the blazing fire in the forest has to wait for the clouds in the sky, similarly, one has to wait for the merciful cloud of the spiritual master.”

[ Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles. January 2, 1969 ]

Demons in krishna-lila 3 – Trinavarta – Giving up useless argumentation
→ The Spiritual Scientist

[Class at ISKCON, Seattle, USA]

Podcast


 

Podcast Summary


 

Video:

The post Demons in krishna-lila 3 – Trinavarta – Giving up useless argumentation appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Mothers and Kids
→ ISKCON News

It is an odd development of the modern world that being excessively anxious about our children is considered a virtue. We consider ourselves good parents if we make life easy for them, reward them for the smallest achievement, and are anxious for their safety and well being at all times.

The midterm GBC meetings about to begin at the beautiful Iskcon…
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The midterm GBC meetings about to begin at the beautiful Iskcon temple in Kanpur, UP, India (Album of photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: We are now at the fabulous ISKCON Kanpur temple in UP, India, at the GBC meetings. It’s an amazing temple, that has only be open about a year, being run by His Grace Devakinandana prabhu.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/QVR72B

Ratha Yatra and Prayers for Tsunami Victims of Sulawesi, Indonesia
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Hare Krishna Gorontalo (Hulontalo) is an Indonesian province on the island of Sulawesi. It was created on December 5, 2000. Historically, it has been a center for the spread of Islam in Eastern Indonesia. Gorontalo City is also known as "The Land Under Medina's Porch".) Gorontalo province is located on the peninsula (Gorontalo Peninsula) on the northern part of Sulawesi, located in the western part of the province of North Sulawesi. The government of Gorontalo holds annual Karawo festival and this year devotees in Gorontalo were invited to participate in the Parade.

The Odyssey of Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The most beautiful collection of rejection letters!
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The Odyssey of Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The most beautiful collection of rejection letters!
“Looking back, I don’t know what it was—youthful folly, divine inspiration, some chromosomal glitch in the DNA sequence—I don’t know what it was that prompted us to take this on…. We just felt compelled….We had faith in Yamuna.
We had faith in the fact that prasadam was so central to Prabhupada’s mission—that if we could do this, then we could die peacefully. I am not saying that in any kind of metaphorical way. I truly think that it was a service that we could look back on and say, ‘You know what? If nothing else happened, I helped to get that done.’
So we got somebody to pay for copies of the manuscript and sent them out [to publishers]. To this day I have at home the most beautiful collection of rejection letters from every publisher in America. They are the most heartfelt, 'This is incredible research’; 'It’s extraordinary’; 'Good luck to you’; 'I have no idea what to do with it’; 'I don’t have any ideas for you’; 'It’s fantastic.’
But who wanted to publish it? Who wanted to read 1,000 pages on Indian vegetarian food with all of these descriptions of Lord Krishna and this guru [Srila Prabhupada]?”
- Yogesvara das, from “Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion”

Cultivating the mood for studying Bhagavatam
→ The Spiritual Scientist

[Bhagavatam study program at Seattle, USA]

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Podcast Summary


 

Video:

The post Cultivating the mood for studying Bhagavatam appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Taking shelter through chanting
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Taking shelter through chanting.
Kadamba Kanana Swami: The purpose of chanting is about taking shelter. Everyone needs shelter in this world; we know that very well. But where is our shelter other than at Krsna’s lotus feet? That is our situation, there is no other shelter! Everything else is illusory shelter. Real security and shelter is found in Krsna and that is the essence of spiritual life.


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When Mother Lorrie visited her son, Jayapataka Swami, in Mayapur…
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When Mother Lorrie visited her son, Jayapataka Swami in Mayapur
Haridhvani Devi Dasi: In 1995 I went to India and that year was the 25th anniversary of HH Jayapataka Swami taking sannyasa, so his mother actually came to Mayapur at festival time. I and a few other ladies got the chance to take care of her while she was there. We would try to see to her comforts- is she hot, is she thirsty, is she hungry, would she like to go shopping? It was nice because we figured that Maharaja would be pleased if she was happy and cared for so we did our best.


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Where is our shelter other than at Krsna’s lotus feet?
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, December 2010, Cape Town, South Africa, Morning Lecture)

The purpose of chanting is about taking shelter. Everyone needs shelter in this world; we know that very well. But where is our shelter other than at Krsna’s lotus feet? That is our situation, there is no other shelter! Everything else is illusory shelter. Real security and shelter is found in Krsna and that is the essence of spiritual life.

When we are new in spiritual life then we think we are advancing – we feel we are advancing, we feel things are changing, we feel our life is changing, we feel we are getting serious… but after we are involved for a longer period of time, we feel that we are not making any progress at all. Why is that!?

In the beginning, our progress is very measurable. It is about how many principles we are following – three, four, two? Or how many rounds we are chanting? It can be measured. But later, it is different because later, it is about the state of purity of the heart which is more difficult to measure.

Throughout the centuries, the culture of worship of Krsna has been existing in India. The worship of the Krsna was preserved within the culture. But what about the state of the heart? That is another matter. That you will not get from culture alone. Culture does contribute because within culture, respect and worship of Krsna is there and even the name of Krsna is there. But the state of one’s heart is what Krsna is asking for. At the end of Bhagavad-gita (18.66), Krsna says to surrender unto him, sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja.

This topic of surrender is very big. It is a very big challenge to rise to that occasion. To really say, ‘Now it’s only Krsna!’ Otherwise, the danger is there that we think of other ways to take shelter. Therefore the more we take shelter of the holy name, the less we need to take shelter in other things.

The article " Where is our shelter other than at Krsna’s lotus feet? " was published on KKSBlog.

Demons in krishna-lila 2 – Shaktasura – Overcoming Lethargy
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Podcast


 

Podcast Summary


 

Video:

The post Demons in krishna-lila 2 – Shaktasura – Overcoming Lethargy appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

TOVP Daily Victory Flag Sponsorship – An Ideal Kartik Seva
- TOVP.org

Every Nation in the world has a flag that they raise each day as a tradition to symbolize the values of the country and the dedication of its people to those values. Many Institutions and groups use flags to display their identity to the public. There are also flags for special occasions like festivals, etc. In Vedic culture flags are commonly used on temples, even to the present time such as in Jagannatha Puri where the temple flag is raised daily displaying the Sun and Moon dynasties. Even Arjuna used a Hanuman flag on his chariot during the battle of Kurukshetra.

With the above in mind, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium management have decided to officially roll out a daily Victory Flag raising tradition starting Kartik, 2018 (October 25th) that will continue unabated for hundreds of years into the future for generations of ISKCON devotees to observe for as long as the TOVP stands, and we are now historically at the very start of this important transcendental custom. Raising the TOVP Victory flag daily will symbolize the glory and victory of the spiritual headquarters of the entire universe, Sridhama Mayapur. It will symbolize the victory of Srila Prabhupada as Mahaprabhu’s representative who established the yuga dharma throughout the world and whose fame is spread all over the three worlds, as we sing daily at guru puja. It will symbolize the victory of the Sankirtana movement over the forces of Kali and the dense darkness of ignorance that covers the minds of a misguided civilization. It will symbolize the Hare Krishna explosion that is spreading throughout the world, inundating the fallen souls with Krishna prema.

This will also begin the TOVP Daily Flag Sponsorship Seva wherein three new flags (raised daily by a devotee personally going to the top of each of the three domes) can be sponsored by devotees worldwide. We have prepared a daily flag raising calendar going up to the Grand Opening of the TOVP in 2022 and you can be a part of the historic beginning of this unique tradition. Along with the great satisfaction of sponsoring the TOVP Victory Flag, we will also ship it to you anywhere in the world as your personal memorabilia and reminder of your seva. Every day three new flags will be sponsored, raised and shipped to the donors.

Devotees can sponsor a flag for the appearance day of an acharya or their guru, a relative’s birthday, a wedding anniversary, in memory of a deceased relative, or any other special occasion. Or simply for the seva of the Lord and to glorify the TOVP. Not only individual devotees, but ISKCON temples, zones, farms, preaching centers, restaurants, etc. can also participate.

Each flag is red and will bear the standard logo of the Sun and Moon dynasty (see article photo). The sponsorship cost is $501 for either the Lord Nrsimhadeva or Planetarium dome flags and $701 for the Pancha Tattva/Radha Madhava/Guru Parampara dome and dates are now available going all the way to Gaur Purnima 2022. Certain calendar days like the appearance days of the Lord and the great acharyas will be more to sponsor, and Gaura Purnima 2022 will be a special sponsorship that will include multiple flags offerings throughout the day. The flags on that day will be offered at a special Homa yajna prior to being raised. All sponsorships must be paid in full at the time of making your date selection. Donations from this flag raising seva will help us to meet our construction deadline during the MISSION 22 Marathon for the next 3½ years.

To sponsor a TOVP Victory Flag go to the link below to see the available calendar dates and select the date you would like, the name or occasion for which it is being sponsored and to make your payment. This sponsorship will require a full payment at the time of selection.

This tradition will continue for hundreds and thousands of years and you are at the very beginning of this unique seva. And what a better time to sponsor a TOVP Victory Flag than Kartika. For sponsoring a TOVP Victory Flag and serving the mission of the Sankirtana Movement you and your entire family for generations past and future will receive the blessings of the Lord:

“Please note that every farthing of this money will be employed in the service of the Lord, and the Lord is so kind and grateful that He will bestow upon you benediction at least ten times more than that you have done for Him.”

Srila Prabhupada

Please click on the link below to go to the TOVP Daily Flag Sponsorship Seva page and choose your date(s) today:

SPONSOR A DAILY FLAG FOR A TOVP DOME NOW

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