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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)
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“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 […]
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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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(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.
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.
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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.
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.
Представляем официальный трейлер нашего первого полнокупольного фильма в формате 360 градусов под названием «9 шагов к вечности», показ которого сейчас проходит в полнокупольном кинотеатре в Шри Майяпур-дхаме в Западной Бенгалии, Индии!
Данный фильм был создан нашей собственной командой режиссёров иммерсионного кино из департамента выставок ХВП с использованием (с разрешения) картин из архива Би-би-ти и уникальных работ в формате 3D и 2D нашей группы талантливых художников со всего мира. В настоящее время фильм доступен на английском и бенгали!
Главным вызовом для нас было самостоятельно обучиться производству полнокупольных видео, но мы это сделали! А сейчас – создавать более длинные и качественные полнокупольные фильмы.
The post Отдел экспозиций ХВП представляет … appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Presenting the official trailer of our first Fulldome 360 film – 9 Steps to Eternity, now playing at the Mayapur Fulldome Theater in Sri Mayapur Dham, West Bengal, India!
This film was developed by our in-house team of immersive film makers at the TOVP Exhibits using (with permission) paintings from the BBT Archives, and unique 3D and 2D content by our talented ensemble of international artists. Currently in English and Bengali languages!
The challenge was to learn the fulldome production pipeline on our own, but we did it! Now to make bigger and better Fulldome films
The post TOVP Exhibits Presents … appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
В первой части данной статьи мы объяснили, что, если говорить в общем, причина строительства ХВП (или любого храма Вишну/Кришны) заключается в том, что духовное возвышение общества важнее любого мирского служения телу, такого как помощь бедным, открытие больниц и т.д. В этой части мы еще глубже раскроем данную тему и назовем несколько конкретных причин.
Истории из шастр подтверждают вышеизложенный момент, и мы можем сами испытать это в своей собственной жизни. Цель жизни – любовь к Богу, все остальное является результатом этого. Как написано в шастрах, нитйо нитйанам четанаш четананам, единственный верховный, вечный и наделенный сознанием нитья, Бог, поддерживает Свои бесконечно малые обладающие сознанием частицы, нитьянам. В этом нет ничего удивительного, потому что Он – наш божественный Отец. Как Господь Кришна говорит в «Бхагавад-гите», йаджнартхат кармано ’нйатра, все жертвоприношения следует выполнять для Вишну, это принесет нам счастье в материальном плане и высшее освобождение – достижение духовной сферы.
Таким образом, можно возводить неограниченное количество храмов Вишну, даже наш собственный дом может стать храмом. И то невероятное благо, которое человек получает от строительства здания храма Господа, такого как ХВП, несопоставимо ни с чем другим. Об этом Вы узнаете из цитат из «Агни-пураны» и других шастр в третьей части данной статьи. Но вначале, назовем некоторые важные причины, почему мы строим Храм Ведического Планетария:
Посетите ХВП: www.tovp.org
Читайте о ХВП: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Смотрите о ХВП: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
Загрузите приложение ХВП для мобильного телефона: www.tovp.org/ru/announcements-ru/new-tovp-phone-app-goes-live/
Подпишитесь на новости ХВП: https://goo.gl/forms/ojJ2WcUUuqWh8bXt1
Поддержите ХВП: www.tovp.org/ru/donate/seva-opportunities/
The post Зачем строить ХВП? Нам действительно нужен еще один храм? Часть 2 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
In Part 1 of this series of articles we explained that the overall reason for building the TOVP (or any temple of Vishnu/Krishna) is that the spiritual upliftment of society is more important than any mundane services to the body like helping the poor, opening hospitals, etc.. In this part we will elaborate further and present some specific reasons.
The recorded histories in the shastras prove the above point, and in our own personal lives we can experience this. The goal of life is love of God; everything else comes as a result. As stated in shastra, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam, the one supreme eternal, conscious nitya, God, is maintaining His infinitesimal eternal, conscious parts, nityanam. There is no mystery in this because He is our divine father. And as Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, yajnarthat karmano nyatra, all sacrifice must be performed for Vishnu and that will bring about our happiness on the physical plane and ultimate liberation into the spiritual plane.
So there can be unlimited temples for Vishnu, even one’s own home can be made so. And the astounding benefits of personally helping to build an actual temple structure for the Lord like the TOVP are incomparable to anything else as you will read in Part 3 of this article from the Agni Purana and other shastras. But first, here are some other important reasons as to why we are building the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium:
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 Why Build the TOVP? Do We Really Need Another Temple? Part 2 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
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The post Bhagavatam tenth canto study 52 – 10.9.13-17 Krishna’s form appears finite but is infinite appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
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The post Is not trusting those who have cheated us a weakness of the mind? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Giriraj Swami read and spoke on Bhagavad-gita 9.14 during the Sunday Krishna Fest.
“This verse is the summary of the previous verses. The Lord tells Arjuna that those who are purely in Krsna consciousness and do not know anything other than Krsna are called mahatma; yet there are other persons who are not exactly in the position of mahatma but who worship Krsna also, in different ways. Some of them have already been described as the distressed, the financially destitute, the inquisitive, and those who are engaged in the cultivation of knowledge.” (Bhagavad-gita 9.15 purport)
[Talk to Yoga students at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, Chicago, USA]
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