Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Deena Bandhu Das: Please join us in prayers! Just heard that a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, my Godbrother, Isa Das (left side of V...
Podcast
The post Bhagavatam tenth canto study 55 -10.10.10-14 Narada curses not impulsively, but after deep reflection appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Life with the cows (6 min video)
Malini is born in a Vaishnava family in Sweden. She speaks about her relationships and experiences with the cows at Almviks gård.
The five powerful practices in The Living Name, a new book by Sacinandana Swami, can enliven the chanting of the Holy Name and turn it into a dynamic and transformative experience.
The Sri Saraswat Gaudiya Vaishnava Sangha, a gathering of 55 Gaudiya Maths celebrated the 181st Appearance day of Srila Sacchidanand Bhaktivinod Thakur at Surabhi Kunja, West Bengal, on Saturday September 22nd.
[Talk at Yoga Now studio, Chicago, USA]
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The post Understanding “emotions”, “negative emotions” and “overcoming negative emotions” appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
According to an Indian proverb, there’s nothing that a goat won’t eat and nothing that a madman won’t say.
A video by Simple for the Simple.
A video by ISKCON Desire Tree.
Preaching program at the Temple New Purushottama kshetra, ISKCON Dnipro Ukraine (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If one som...
My Spiritual Journey towards Krishna Consciousness | The Journey of Self Discovery | Mahajan Dasa (15 min video)
The devotees are chanting happily at Fontaine des Innocents during the recent Ratha Yatra Festival in Paris (3 min video)
Performing arts company Natya Nectar is set to deliver the wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita to audiences across India – before going to Broadway in New York and beyond.
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Bhaktivinod Thakura was a high court judge and he was so expert in his work that when he wanted to take retirement the government pleaded him not to do so.
“A brahmachari should be quite well behaved and gentle and should not eat or collect more than necessary. He must always be active and expert, fully believing in the instructions of the spiritual master and the sastra. Fully controlling his senses, he should associate only as much as necessary with women or those controlled by […]
The post Brahmacari Ashrama appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Harinam Utsav 2018 Mumbai (Album of photos)
“Come one, come all, chant the names of Lord Krsna,” said Lord Nityananda even to the most downtrodden. This holy name of the lord is non-different than him. Chanting his glories with all your heart in the association of like-minded devotees will yield the ultimate satisfaction for Lord Gauranga. Here are some moments of sankirtan we enjoyed.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/59Yzxt
Bliss In The Buckeye State (4 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Our show in New Albany, Ohio was attended by a number of government officials, including the mayor of the city. After the program, he very kindly told us, “Your show is better than any Broadway theater.”
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/PvkZFg
Answer Podcast
Transcribed by: Sudeep Naik
Question: While being in family life how can we be detached?
Answer: The word detached sometimes have a negative connotation. Sometimes people think that if I become detached I will become uncaring, irresponsible but detachment does not mean becoming uncaring or unfeeling. It simply means that we do not let anything control our feelings.
Dhritarashtra was attached to Duryodhana, and because of his attachment he just went along with whatever Duryodhana wanted. Duryodhana acted viciously and Dhritarashtra consented to that. In Mahabharata when Yudhishthira becomes a king, Narada Muni comes to meet him. Normally when we meet someone we generally say – “how are you”. However, Narada muni asks similar question but in a more informed way. He says, “O King, are you pursuing dharma, artha and kama in balance? Do not pursue dharma at the expense of artha and kama, do no pursue artha at the expense of dharma and kama and do no pursue kama at the expense of dharma and artha.” Dharma refers to our religion or spirituality, artha refers to our profession, kama refers broadly to our family. Mahabharata is telling us to pursue all these three in balance.
By detachment, if we think that I will only be pursuing dharma and neglecting artha and kama then that is a misunderstanding. We have to pursue all three. However, some people are workaholics. They pursue artha so much that they neglect their family, their spirituality. They just become super achievers in their profession but they become utter failures in their life. Their families break apart, children go on a wrong track and they are unhappy. Success in one area of life cannot compensate for failure in another. Professional success cannot compensate for family failure. Similarly, family success cannot compensate for spiritual failure. All these three are separate tracks and we need to progress on all these three tracks in a harmonious way and see that Krishna as God is not just limited to dharma.
It is not that we worship Krishna only when we go to temple, Bhagavad-gita offers us an inclusive vision of God. Krishna says “sva-karmana tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah” (by your work worship the divine). It means that we do not see our family members as just family members but seen them that they are entrusted to us by God. They are also God’s part. Our children are not our children alone, but they are God’s children. We can serve God by taking care of them also. We have certain talent, ability, which we use in our profession. Those talents are gifts given by God to us. Arjuna had archery skill, he excelled in that skill and used it in Krishna’s service. God is not just limited to dharma. If we have proper attitude of service, then artha and kama can be permeated with bhakti bhava. Bhakti integrates dharma, artha and kama, in a spiritual trajectory of our life.
End of transcription.
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[Congregation program at Chicago, USA]
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The post The time to understand time is now appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 January 2018, Brisbane, Australia, Q&A Programme)
Can you tell us a bit about the time you entered into the grhasta ashram. How was that a factor in your spiritual life?
Generally sanyasis do not speak about their purva janma (previous life) but since you are asking, I will briefly tell you. I was married for 24 years before I took sannyasa. My former wife is also from the Netherlands and she came to Krsna consciousness 1 year after I did. Even though she was drawn to Krsna consciousness, she was not so sure about the movement initially, specifically with respect to the movement’s attitude towards women, which was a little difficult for a capable lady from the West to swallow. But she made it. Anyways, so I was in the grhasta ashram for all those years that I stayed in India.
Were you pushed to taking sannyasa or did you jump?
It was more of a natural progression for me. I was married for a very long time but somehow it worked out that we never had any children. I lived in Vrndavan which is a holy place and after spending so much time there, it somehow started to feel like vanaprastha. So what else was there for us to do? Grow old, hand in hand? I was a leader and a temple president for some years where I had started managing things, but eventually my role was one of managing and coaching people. So it was going in that direction for me where the next step seemed one of spiritual leadership as I was dealing more and more with people.
The article " Q&A with KKS: Changes in ashram " was published on KKSBlog.
Photos of a recent event in London: On Friday 21st September, Sivarama Swami opened up about his life as a Monk in an interview with filmmaker Ravinol Chambers at Bridewell Hall. It was a great evening which finished off with Mantra-meditation and a delicious Vegan dinner. 
Harinama Sankirtana in Union Square park Wednesday September 26th (Album of photos) Srila Prabhupada: One must engage his tongue in the service of the holy name. Our Krishna consciousness movement is based on this principle. We try to engage all the members of the Krishna consciousness movement in the service of the holy name. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.16 Purport) 
New Prasadam outlet at Isodyan guest house opened today in Mayapur.
For only Rs.100, a grand lunch prasad with a menu of 12 items will be served at the new AC prasadam hall at the ground floor of Isodyan bhavan . At the inaugural function today with kirtan, all the management members, division heads honored prasadam and gave blessings for the success of this endeavor by Mayapur Guest house . With the increasing number of guests, this additional venue for prasadam will be highly welcomed by the guests. Next time, on your visit to Mayapur, make sure to have lunch in Isodyan guest house. 
Radhanath Swami: Yoga is often misunderstood as merely breath control, asanas or exercises; for some it is about practising some rules and regulations based on morality and for others it is cultivation of scriputral knowledge. But the real purpose of Yoga is to fix our mind on the Supreme.
Mayapur Academy: The Deity Dressing Unit in Hindi has started this week. Students first learned the theories of art as well as the importance of not scratching the deities head, not even a practice head. The students were asked to first pin pieces of paper to their classmates head to stress the importance of treating the deity as a person.
Each student receives so much hands on assistance during this unit. Head facilitator Kurma Chaitanya prabhu and his assistant Krishna Kanta prabhu spend time with each devotee to make sure they understand how to demonstrate each of the principals of art they have learned earlier in the week. Mayapur Academy would also like to thank the dedicated translators and helpers Bimala Prasad prabhu and Ananda Lila mataji. 
On 18th Septembar 2018 H.G. Adi Purush Prabhu took Sannyasa at ISKCON Ujjain Temple from H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja. His new Sannyasa name is: Bhakti Dayita Adi Purush Swami. 
Decades ago, HH Indradyumna Swami met HH Vishnujana Swami and other devotees for the first time in his life right at the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. That started his spiritual journey. Many of us have heard of the famous 'Silver Spoon' story. So it was the dear-most desire of our heart that when Maharaja is in Michigan after such a long time, we would visit that place with him and hear the epic event that changed not only his, but in due course of time, many lives on this planet. So despite heavy rain we went on Harinam because maharaja called for it. We all gathered at the 'Krishna's Corner' of the University campus which is famous for Harinam and Maharaja joyfully lead a very ecstatic kirtan. The rain also made it's appearance from time to time, pouring down tears of ecstasy. Gradually a huge number of people joined and, dancing their way, they learned to sing Hare Krishna. Afterwords, came the moment we all have been waiting for. Maharaja asked everyone to follow his lead and took us under a nearby tree. Then he showed us where it all started. He narrated the whole story glorifying HH Vishnujana Swami. It was such a beautiful story, many of us were in tears. Please relish the pictures of this memorable day. Answer Podcast
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The post Bhagavatam tenth canto study 53 – 10.9.18-23 The kingdom of God is the kingdom of love appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
[Seminar at ISKCON, Naperville, USA]
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The post Role of self-confidence in bhakti appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Giridhari Swami: Devotees from Hong Kong, China and the Philippines came together at Vraja Eco Village to glorify Srila Prabhupada through their spoken offerings and song. Some devotees wrote offerings in advance, while others spoke extemporaneously. I could not help but be moved by their expressions of heartfelt appreciation for Srila Prabhupada and all that he done from them.
I was reminded of what Srila Prabhupada wrote about this own spiritual master in the preface pages of the Srimad-Bhagavatam:
"He lives forever by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him." 
In every adversity there is something to learn not only about ourselves but also about material nature and our progression in Krishna Consciousness; sometimes we share these thoughts other times we keep them to ourselves.
Last month I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, I knew all wasn’t well for a while as cronic fatigue set in and slow impairment of cognitive ability declined. But so much to do and after all it’s been a busy time so all will be well upto the point the body and mind collapsed, with the GP signing me off work whilst investigation were entered. So thyroid was the reason and a few weeks into treatment some slow recovery, however I still have to deal with some of the fallout.
As HH Mahavishnu Swami once said “the material body the embarrassment of the spirit soul’s
Indeed it is
But it has given me time to pause, think and gain insight, indeed so captivated by this material body we hardly question it as we progress manipulate and put so much emphasis on me an I untill difficulty. Indeed like many I started to take an interest in Krishna Consciousness due to difficulties why is it?
As my thyroid slowly slowed down I had no real cause for concern and similar in material life we go on with no concern; by good fortune intelligence kicks in and questions are sought until we get the answer needed. My suffering is simply because I wanted independence from Sri Krishna and enjoy, and due to continued participation in material nature we suffer.
So the cure.
For my thyroid it’s medication but it will be life long miss the medication my ability to function both physically and mentally will be compromised. As a devotee the cure for material suffering is a life time if japa and reading and studying along with sharing Srila Prabhupada’s books; so others like me can be cured.
Like me
So I was in denial that there was anything wrong, I’m just a little older and so….. there will be a reason not to seek help; same as when suffering in material nature well it’s like this….
But once we get to the point we sincerely ask and seek help it will be there, but it will be lifelong.
So during this period of absence from work by good fortune I got the association not only of my God Brother and his lovely family but also my own guru Maharaj, both good for the material body and spirit soul. Most notably the words of my guru Maharaj who said finally I was worthy of my name Dhirabhakta Das, but I noted that this does not mean I’ve achieved perfection simply that I must keep on going.
For in all of the recent illness I am reminded that the worst illness of all is not knowing Krishna
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 January 2018, Brisbane, Australia, Q&A Programme)
Since you accepted the sanyas order, you have been travelling around the world. Can you tell us a bit about your current preaching activities.
For the last 20 or so years, I have been travelling a lot. I started off as a sanyasi in 1997 and then in 2001 I became a spiritual master. Once I started to have disciples, I had ongoing personal relationships with people across the world. So naturally, my travels related to these relationships, so I could stay in contact with my disciples. One thing I do in my travels is to maintain these relationships, and through them, I am trying to push forward Krsna consciousness.
When I started in the movement, it was a very missionary movement, like that in Prabhupada’s time. It was really about changing the world. Nowadays it is not so much about that, but it is more about living a Krsna conscious lifestyle and finding a way as a devotee to be doing that. As a sanyasi, I am still a part of the missionary or revolutionary side of the movement. Here, I am trying to help people get situated in a nice spiritual life, like a nice boat, and after a while, I rock that boat in order for them to do something. Not just to live their life nicely, where they feed the family cat some prasadam and that all the flowers in the garden are offered to Krsna. This is nice, but we want something more than that. We do not just want the cat to take the prasadam, we want the whole world to take it! So this is my mission, to build this revolutionary spirit within all my disciples!
The article " Q&A with KKS: Current preaching mission " was published on KKSBlog.
Adult Education At The Temple
