Monday, October 1st, 2018
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Toronto, Ontario

Orange T-shirt

Karuna and I were walking through the drizzle on Bloor Street, when it dawned on me that we had to pick up speed in order to meet my drama teaching committee.  “Let’s take the subway,” I urged.  So we entered at the Ossington entrance.  While on the not-so-full train, a native woman, middle-aged, next to me, started to talk.  I guess my clothes stood out—a pumpkin type of shade.

“Did you know it’s ‘Orange T-shirt day’?” she informed.  

“Well no, I didn’t.  Could you tell me about it?  I think I’m celebrating.  I’m always dressed in orange.”  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Shirt_Day

She smiled and went on to explain that it’s an annual recognition of the plight of First Nations people who, as children, were forced into horrific residential schools throughout Canada, and the U.S., and how they suffered terribly for it.  I expressed that I was well aware of their woes.  I was a fan of Buffy Ste. Marie and her music, especially her song, “My Country Tis of Thy People You’re Dying.”  It details the unfair deal the native people received at the time in history when the country, as we know it now, was being shaped.   https://youtu.be/bTqV1pnQoos

I also mentioned that on a recent flight from Philadelphia, I watched what I could of a feature film—with no headphones—of a young native man who grew up in Shield territory and who was forced into the oppressive school system.  I told her I liked it but it got cut short because the plane landed.   http://www.indianhorse.ca/en/film/cast

“The boy went on to become a shining hockey star.”  The woman beamed with a smile.

Karuna and I then had to exit the subway train.

May the Source be with you!
6 km



ISKCON New Vrindaban Seeks Three Executive New Directors
→ ISKCON News

“New Vrindaban is not your average temple – it’s a very big and complex project, because it has so many departments to take care of,” says search committee chairperson Vrindavan Das. “So instead of having one temple president take care of everything, we are restructuring and creating a management team of three ‘executive directors’ who will work as a team.”

A loan from God – A Krishna conscious perspective about losing a spouse to suicide
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Hare Krishna Shaunaka Rishi Das, an Irish-born Vaishnava and Director of the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies, spent many years caring for his wife Keshava, who had chronic fatigue syndrome. In her mid-50s and suffering from depression, Keshava took her own life, with questions over the medical response leading to a traumatic two-day inquest. Shaunaka, who has never publicly told this story before, has found comfort in the Vaishnava concept that she was ‘on loan’ to him from God and eventually had to be returned. In this programme, he reflects eloquently on death, mourning and letting go from a Vaishnava perspective, with presenter Mark Dowd, who lost his own brother to suicide.
(This post has been viewed 1532 times so far)

School students in Tallinn, Estonia visit the Iskcon Temple…
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School students in Tallinn, Estonia visit the Iskcon Temple (Album of photos)
On September 25th, we were visited by a teacher with Karl hay at the top of the western gymnasium. There was a lot of students. A few months ago, I visited their school myself, and now they’ve come to visit us in Krishna’s temple. It was a very nice meeting. We told them about Krishna, the highest personality of God and how God is one, but he has many names. And that religion is one: to love this one God and express it with your actions, thoughts and words. Which also means showing respect and compassion for all and everything (because everything is a particle of God). The students chanted Hare Krishna and went deeper into the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita.
If anyone wants to visit our Krishna temple or invite us to visit, please address me.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/NKFhF3

Joyfully Being Alone
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Hare KrishnaBy Karnamrita Das

Though we are social creatures that need interaction with others in good spiritual association, the importance of being alone with one's thoughts or taking the time to reflect on life is crucial. Some people aren't comfortable being alone or don't know what to do with themselves or how to use the time other than to watch someone else living their dream on T.V or in a movie, or to sleep, play a game of solitaire, or lament they don't have a friend to be with, or something "fun" to do, etc. I doubt there is a class in school on how to be alone and be happy, or how to sit in nature and observe, or in general, "being," rather than doing. Continue reading "Joyfully Being Alone
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Q&A with KKS: Projects in India
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 January 2018, Brisbane, Australia, Q&A Programme)

You stayed in Vrndavan and Mayapur where you were in charge of many projects such as building Prabhupada’s samadhi. What was that experience like?

I have the karma for such things. I could relate to India after having lived there for so long, and I understood how to deal with such things. Getting involved in big projects like those, I had to spend lots of time with lawyers who were fighting big cases and I had to complete many business transactions – make contracts, break contracts and so on. My father would have laughed if he had been around for this, that I had escaped from the family business to India, only to be getting back into the business world. You could say that my karma caught up to me!

The article " Q&A with KKS: Projects in India " was published on KKSBlog.

Who Is Bhagavatam?
Giriraj Swami

During a preview of Viva Kultura in Gauranga Hall in Houston, the person playing the elderly gentleman who introduced Srimad-Bhagavatam walked down into the audience and presented me the volume: Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto, Chapters 1–8.  Somehow I was deeply touched by that act, and I carried the book with me back to my ashram in Carpinteria, where I keep it on my bedside table. (Later, Indradyumna Swami told me that the elderly gentleman was played by Sitala and Hari-sauri’s daughter, Rasarani.)

So, last night, I opened the book randomly, and I was struck by the profound verse and purport that I found:

idam bhagavatam nama
  puranam brahma-sammitam
uttama-sloka-caritam
  cakara bhagavan rsih
nihsreyasaya lokasya
  dhanyam svasty-ayanam mahat

“This scripture named Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and it is compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful, and all-perfect.” (SB 1.3.40)

Purport: “Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu declared that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the spotless sound representation of all Vedic knowledge and history. Therein are selected histories of great devotees who are in direct contact with the Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna and is therefore nondifferent from Him. Srimad-Bhagavatam should be worshiped as respectfully as we worship the Lord. Thereby we can derive the ultimate blessings of the Lord through its careful and patient study. As God is all light, all bliss, and all perfection, so also is Srimad-Bhagavatam. We can have all the transcendental light of the Supreme Brahman, Sri Krsna, from the recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, provided it is received through the medium of the transparent spiritual master. Lord Caitanya’s private secretary Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami advised all intending visitors who came to see the Lord at Puri to make a study of the Bhagavatam from the person Bhagavatam. The person Bhagavatam is the self-realized bona fide spiritual master, and through him only can one understand the lessons of the Bhagavatam in order to receive the desired result. One can derive from the study of the Bhagavatam all benefits that are possible to be derived from the personal presence of the Lord. It carries with it all the transcendental blessings of Lord Sri Krsna that we can expect from His personal contact.”

Now I pray to realize the truths I read in the verse and purport, that “Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna and is therefore nondifferent from Him” and that “One can derive from the study of the Bhagavatam all benefits that are possible to be derived from the personal presence of the Lord. It carries with it all the transcendental blessings of Lord Sri Krsna that we can expect from His personal contact.”

And I thought of Srila Prabhupada’s words shortly before he departed from our vision, as recorded in one of his last purports in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.13.54):

“We should discuss Srimad-Bhagavatam daily as much as possible, and then everything will be clarified, for Bhagavatam is the essence of all Vedic literature (nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam [SB 1.1.3]). It was written by Vyasadeva (maha-muni-krte) when he was self-realized. Thus the more we read Srimad-Bhagavatam, the more its knowledge becomes clear. Each and every verse is transcendental.”

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Two celebrities try to advance a revolution in favor of the cows.
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Two celebrities try to advance a revolution in favor of the cows.
Chrissie Hynde and Mary McCartney: Talking About a Revolution (From National Geographic’s website)
Chrissie Hynde: The word ahimsa comes from Indian Vedic culture, and that’s where this whole cow protection thing comes from. There are four principles: never kill cows, milk cows by hand, give oxen meaningful work, and cows must suckle from their mothers. These are all followed by the Ahimsa Dairy Foundation, based in Rutland.
To read the entire article please click here: https://goo.gl/azQLU5

Living with Srila Prabhupada
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“Bless My Son”
Living with Srila Prabhupada.
By Rukmini Devi Dasi.
The ultimate anxiety for every parent is how their child will fair in the world. Srila Prabhupada’s mother wanted him to study in London and become a barrister, akin to the current day I.T. specialist who scores a job in the USA. However, Srila Prabhupada lovingly describes how his father’s ambition differed. Gour Mohan De wanted Abhay (Srila Prabhupada ’s birth name) to be skilled in mridanga and the art of knowing and sharing the sacred scripture, Srimad Bhagavatam.


Read More...

Control – The Body, Bodily Conception & Freedom
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Control - The Body, Bodily Conception & Freedom.
By Mukundanghri Das.
Everything in Julie’s life had spun out of control. Her dream job as a hotshot corporate banker had turned into a nightmare. It kept her working late into the night. The heels and the power suit in the Sandton high-rise building felt no different to a prison suit in a jail cell. There just wasn’t enough hours in the day. “God, why?” she murmured to herself in frustration. “Why am I not in control?” Julie contemplated resigning from work. But it filled her with guilt for the family she has to take care of.

(This post has been viewed 1118 times so far)

Activating the Will of God
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How many of us hide behind the will of God as an excuse for inactivity or laziness? And how many of us attribute our successes to our efforts alone? The Vedic scriptures teach us that nothing in this world moves without the will of God. He is the creator, controller, overseer of multifarious universes, the benefactor of speech, intelligence, talent, and everything else without which we would be considered useless; however, do we just sit back, waiting for God's will to save or direct us without endeavor, or do we activate His will?


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Gita 01.02 Sanjaya addresses not just the content of Dhritarashtra’s question but also its intent
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 01.02 Sanjaya addresses not just the content of Dhritarashtra’s question but also its intent appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Lessons from Narada’s travel to the North
→ Servant of the Servant

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, first canto, chapter six, Narada Muni describes his own journey to spiritual emancipation. What do we learn? Below are few of my thoughts;

  1. From the death of the mother of Narada, we learn that the Lord is the Supreme controller and we the insignificant jivas are but like puppets under a puppet master. All activities good and bad that happen in my life happens by the will and sanction of Krishna.
  2. Because Narada as a boy served the great Bhakti-vedantas, when he was alone wandering he had the know-how to approach that which is invisible. In other words, his association with the Lord actually was possible because the Bhakti-vedantas taught Narada how to approach the Transcendent Lord. If not for them, he would be lost and not be realized himself. Therefore, without the mercy of a pure devotee, Krishna will not manifest.
  3. Krishna is all independent and not subjected to anyone's thoughts or prayers yet He reveals Himself to Narada thus confirming the idea that He is the eternal well-wisher of all Beings.
  4. Krishna is non-material thus He is approachable ONLY if we become non-material or spiritual. That is why Narada muni was advised by Krishna that He cannot be seen by anyone who has material desires. If we want to serve Krishna, we have to become pure of material dualities of gain and loss.
  5. Nama-Sankirtan is the essence of Vedanta and Narada after losing sight of Krishna decided to chant the Holy Names of the Lord constantly with no material attachments. We also have to follow in his footsteps. 
  6. Patience is a virtue. From the first contact of Krishna to becoming His eternal associate took more than 4.3 trillion years for Narada so we also have to become patient and wait for the mercy of the Lord (we should not feel entitled).
  7. After a long wait, Narada successfully became Narada. Krishna does not abandon His bhakta therefore Krishna as Bhakta-vatsal always protects His devotees and delivers the devotee to Himself. We should have this confidence that at the end of it all - Krishna never disappoints!
Hare Krishna

The Conch – Why we love New Govardhan
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Hare Krishna New Govardhana is leading a way of alternative living: simple living, higher thinking. Everyday here in New Govardhana is fresh and vibrant. We have opportunities every day to serve the Lord and His devotees. Srila Prabhupada said the purpose of life is to know one’s own self. Living here on New Govardhana is coming closer to fulfilling the purpose.

Moving forward
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, March 2018, Durban, South Africa, Human Relationships Lecture)

Krsna is always showing us the next step in our spiritual lives. So if it is clear that the next step is that you should be doing more, then we should take that step. If you feel, “Krsna is showing me that the next step is to develop love for him“, then do it!

You have these karate movies where the young karate character come out and makes all these moves and he is going really fast on all sides. But then an old Kung-Fu master comes out and does not make all these moves, but instead just has this one concentrated move. And then all of a sudden, everyone is flying in all directions and gets knocked out. (laughter) So in the beginning, we are like these young karate guys trying to run around, but we lack depth and we lack the real concentration and focus. We are trying to be busy for Krsna, trying to always chant, read and so on. But what we really need to work on is to deepen ourselves through our relationships and go deeper in our commitment to Krsna. This is the beginning step and it helps us in making Krsna the real priority. After all, he is the Supreme!

Nothing is really important except Krsna. We must truly understand this. Even in our relationships – our marriage, our friends and our families – if it does not help us go deeper in our relationship with Krsna, then what is the point of it!? Otherwise, we are just creating a beautiful illusion for ourselves, which is totally meaningless. If we are not trying to make our children Krsna conscious, then what is the point of having them? If we want to give our children Krsna consciousness, we cannot do it by dictation. We cannot do it by rules, “You must do this. You must not do that.” Such harshness will not work in the long run. Instead, we must pass Krsna consciousness through inspiration, by setting an example. Kids never do what you say, but they do what you do. So we must attempt to the best of our ability to be a devotee and conquer them with devotion; only then they will be amazing devotees.

If somebody has nice qualities, it impresses us. A thousand lessons from a book about moral behaviour would not work as much as the impressions from an inspiring person would. Relationships are a big thing! So if you are looking to engage in relationships and starting a family, you have to aspire to be spiritually advanced. 

The article " Moving forward " was published on KKSBlog.

OMBUDS Programme in the UK. ISKCON UK has established an Ombuds…
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OMBUDS Programme in the UK.
ISKCON UK has established an Ombuds program so devotees can raise concerns, dealing with interpersonal conflicts and find clarity on ISKCON policies and practices. The team are from different parts of the UK and are a diverse group of devotees. They have been trained by Vraja Vihari prabhu from ISKCON Resolve. The idea is to work towards “zero barriers”- so that members of ISKCON should be able to raise, in good faith, concerns they have, and discuss how they can be addressed.
An ISKCON UK Ombuds will listen to you and help you consider the various options you have in dealing with a matter or issue, big or small. ISKCON UK Ombuds are totally confidential (except imminent risk), independent of Management in their capacity of Ombuds, neutral, and informal (conversations are off the record).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR CONTACT DETAILS PLEASE WRITE TO: ISKCONOMBUDSUK@GMAIL.COM

Bhadra Campaign Inundates the World With Srimad-Bhagavatam Sets!…
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Bhadra Campaign Inundates the World With Srimad-Bhagavatam Sets!
Overall the campaign was a heartening success in spreading the glories of the Bhagavatam.
“Everybody we met was eager to help preserve this transcendental knowledge,” Malini says. “And I can only imagine the impact all around the world. Just the presence of the Srimad-Bhagavatam in everyone’s home will gradually increase their consciousness to a higher level, and they will start appreciating spirituality more and more.”
The campaign was also an enlivening experience for devotees.
To read the entire article please click here: https://goo.gl/p4owsH