All India Padayatra NEWS (Album of photos)
By Acarya Dasa and Prajeesh Prabhu.
On 23rd August 2018, All India Padayatra reached Tandalwadi village after travelling about 10Km. We are staying at one small temple and a nearby house. In the evening we did harinam sankirtana in the village. Local people attended sandhya arati in front of the temple.
For the pleasure of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara, Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev we would like to announce the book distribution score of All India Padayatra on 23rd August, 2018.
Mahabig Books - 19
Big Books - 04
Medium Books - 02
Small Books - 128
Total Books - 153.
Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara ki Jai…
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai.
Find them here: https://is.gd/nrQZGL
When I tell you that the Naimisharanya meeting of sages some fifty centuries ago is of great importance to us today, you may doubt. After all, the meeting was so long ago and in a forest in India, so you naturally wonder what relevance it could have today. And just who were these sages? A sage, we know, is supposed to be a wise man, one who can answer life’s deepest questions. But so often we see the so- called sage depicted as an impractical, even foolish, old man who receives some ritual respect, smiles benignly, and gives sentimental or cryptic answers to questions from his disciples and admirers. Sometimes such a sage or guru will write books or deliver speeches or attend conferences on the brotherhood of man, world peace, unified religion, and so on. But rarely do intelligent persons consider these quasi- spiritualists and their assemblies and literatures as competent to offer feasible solutions to the world’s problems. Continue reading "A Question Of Authority → Dandavats"
Since we’re just a month away from the World Holy Name Festival, we’re presenting ideas for temple Presidents and devotees to make the most of this spiritual event.T he World Holy Name Festival organising team has carefully curated a list of inspirational ideas which can be taken up by one an all, alone or with family or with friends. Continue reading "One month to go for the -World Holy Name Festival. Are you ready? → Dandavats"
To spread Krishna’s teaching abroad required someone who was both an exemplar of the Bhakti tradition yet flexible enough to adapt its teachings to a world governed by science and technology. Abhay had that balance: a devotee raised in strict Vaishanva fashion yet also educated in chemistry and economics, a person with his feet on the ground and his heart surrendered to God. He had no pretenses about being sent by Krishna, but his determination to do what his guru had asked was unshakeable. He agreed with Keshava Maharaj: the strength to do the impossible would come from above. He just had to agree to become the instrument, and becoming a sannyasi was the first step. Continue reading "Strength from Above → Dandavats"
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, March 2018, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture)
How can we help people deal with their aggression and anger?
This is dependant on the seriousness of one’s anger and aggression. If it is very serious, then the person may need counselling. Krsna consciousness cannot resolve psychiatric or psychological problems. By chanting the Hare Krsna Mahamantra, one becomes purified, and eventually both psychological and psychiatric problems can disappear. But it is important to remember however that people who are intensely affected by such problems, whether it be anger or depression or something else that falls into such a category, it requires proper attention and time to heal. So it is best in such instances for people to seek professional help. This is the reality, even though though there is a lot of shame around that, which is very unfortunate.
Anger is a big problem and can spoil many things. This is the very nature of anger; it wants to break; it wants to destroy! So people who have an anger problem tend to destroy their own lives as well as the lives of people around them. So this is not good. But this is just a normal part of life as we are not perfect.
We are all under the influence of the six enemies of the mind – kāma (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (illusion), mada (pride or madness or foolishness) and mātsarya (envy). These weaknesses will be there in everyone in this world – your spouse, your children, your neighbours, your colleagues, everyone and everywhere. Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Thakura explains that these six enemies are always attacking us like the bugs buzzing around our head. They are always present in this world and we cannot escape them.
So what are we going to do about that? It is not that, “Oh some people have these problems, but I do not.” No, if you think you do not have these problems, then you are deeply having one of them, illusion. So as devotees, or as aspiring devotees, there must be some willingness to change. Being a Vaishnava does not just mean “From now on, I promise to chant sixteen rounds and follow the four regulative principles.” That is perfect, but not exactly all we need to do. We need to go deeper and say, “From now on, I am ready to change. I am ready to actually change my heart and overcome my own shortcomings.” I understand that this is not an easy process, but it is certainly required to advance in Krsna consciousness.
bQuestion: How can we practically keep our intention above our emotion?
Answer: Keeping intentions above emotions is the battle of a sadhaka. Broadly speaking there are three aspects to it – (i) some emotions come from physical reality (ii) some from imagination (iii) some from a combination of both.
Let us understand with the help of examples.
Suppose I fell down and fracture my hand. I will feel pain. Now if I say, I will keep my intention above my emotion and will lift this big bag, I will be injuring myself. Thought of lifting a heavy bag with a fractured hand is stupidity. Similarly, if I want to wake up in the morning, but I slept very late, then physically waking up early may not be possible. When an emotion is arising from a physical reality, then we have to acknowledge that reality.
Next aspect is when the emotion is arising only from the mind. For example, I have slept enough, but still feel lazy. Some day when we chant we feel “japa should never end” while at some day we feel “japa never ends”! Such emotions are rising from the mind as there is no physical stimulus. This emotion is just a mood-swing. Such are the emotions that need to be resisted.
Sometimes a child falls down deliberately and starts crying to get attention. There is no need for crying but just to get attention child behaves so. That is the kind of emotion which is unhealthy and needs to be avoided. If we give to such emotions, we will tend to do unhealthy things.
Most often our emotions are neither of these two extremes. They do not arise only from the mind or only from the body. For example, if I am very particular about punctuality and finds that someone has not come on time. For a normal person, this situation will attract some negative reaction, but since I am very particular about punctuality, I become wild and overreact. Here the emotion has come both because of the situation and my particular disposition.
When we say keep our intentions above our emotions that means that the emotions are being stimulated by the modes without any basis in physical reality.
If I decide that I will not be angry on anyone, but if someone does something which upsets me, at that time I cannot wish away the fact that they have upset me. That annoyance, irritation will be there, and I will tend to overreact on this. For me it is important, but for others it may not be so important. In this situation, let me not respond immediately, calm down and then respond.
Sometimes, the emotion may determine that we should respond, but the emotion should not determine how we respond. So, a balance has to be maintained.
The more we come to the mode of goodness, the more we can perceive the reality and the emotion as two separate things. We cannot wish away the emotion, but understand that in a given situation, the emotion is excessive right now, so need to balance. In the mode of goodness, we can perceive things largely as they are. We do not let emotion alone determine the reaction, we respond in an appropriate way.
In order to be determined, we need to make a realistic plan. In the name of being determined, if we have unrealistic expectations from ourselves, then it is not going to work. It will also weaken our morale internally. When we decide, it has to be based on assessment of reality and acknowledgement, that when these things change I will do some adjustment. For example, I decide that I will read Bhagavatam for half hour every day. It’s a good determination, but sometimes life become so busy, what to speak of half hour, we do not have few minutes. So, the plan could be modified. If I cannot read half hour every day, I will read three and half hour every week. Some days I will read more. Determination should be there to get to the goal and not necessarily stick to a particular path to reach that goal.
Of all the festivals in Vrindavan, Lord Krishna’s favourite is the Jhulan Yatra.
During this season, Srimati Radharani and Krishna meet in the sylvan woods of Vrindavan, where the sakhis have prepared a gorgeous flower-bedecked jhula hanging from the high branches of a tall kadamba tree. The long golden ropes are entwined with jasmine and madhavi creepers and various fragrant flowers.
Syamsundar pulls Radharani onto the swing next to him or sometimes He jumps on to the swing unexpectedly causing her to start in surprise. The sakhis toss flowers on the Divine Couple and offer arati to Them. They serve sweet scented paan, garlands and spray cool rose-water.
The festival of Jhulan Yatra is observed by ISKCON temples all over the world.
Toronto's Hare Krishna community is very excited to once again be welcoming Vaisesika Dasa and Nirakula Devi Dasi to our community from August 24th - 27th! Their visit will be punctuated by a whirlwind four days of festivals, classes, and book distribution! The official schedule is as follows:
Friday, August 24th to Monday, August 27th
7:30-9:00 am
Srimad Bhagavatam Class daily
Saturday, August 25th
1:00-5:00 pm
111th Monthly Sankirtan Festival at Old City hall
Saturday, August 25th
6:00 pm
Balaram Appearance day festival at ISKCON Toronto
Sunday, August 26th
4:30-5:45pm
Kids kirtan with Vaisesika Prabhu *please see poster below*
Sunday, August 26th
6pm onwards
Sunday Feast at ISKCON Toronto
*** As always, all temple events will be broadcast live!***
Stars of this world are mortal beings, they are infinitesimal. Their name and fame stays with them for a limited period of time. In fact Krishna is the original superstar because he has all beauty, all strength, all intelligence, all wealth, all renunciation and all fame. No one other than the Supreme Lord can possess all these qualities in totality. And along with this the Lord has the most important quality and i.e. he is Bhakta Vatsal i.e. he is very kind, very magnanimous, very loving and very caring to all his devotees. Continue reading "Why to become fan of lesser mortals who shatter our emotions? → Dandavats"
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Ishopanishad teaches us that we should be very careful. We don't say that you shouldn't advance in material education. You can advance, but at the same time, become Krishna conscious. That is our propaganda. We don't say that you shouldn't manufacture cars or machines. But we say, "All right, you have manufactured this machine. Employ it in Krishna's service." That is our proposal. We don't say to stop it. We don't say that you cannot have any sex life. But we say, "Yes, have sex—for Krishna. You can have sex a hundred times to produce Krishna conscious children. But don't create cats and dogs." That is our proposal. Continue reading "Dangerous Education → Dandavats"
Sectarian and political disputes are common not only today but occurred even during the time of Sri Parashurama, an empowered incarnation of the Supreme Lord who appeared several ages before Lord Ramachandra, millions of years ago. The kings at that time, proud of their strength and fighting for absolute power, revolted against the spiritually advanced sages, who generally guided government. Since these kings had offended the devotees of Lord Krishna and deviated from the path of righteousness and care of the citizens, they had to be punished. Sri Parashurama fulfilled that mission. Continue reading "Lord Parashurama’s Revolution → Dandavats"
Hare Krishna! Please accept our humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!
ISKCON Scarborough will be celebrating the Appearance day of Lord Balarama on Sunday 26th Aug 2018. The actual Balarama Jayanti falls on Saturday 25th Aug 2018.
Program starts at 10.30 am on Sunday. On Sunday, devotees will also prepare and offer 64 varieties of dishes to Lord Jagannath , Lord Baladeva(Lord Balarama) and Mother Subhadra as a wonderful way to welcome the Lordships back to ISKCON Scarborough after they were out of the temple after snana Yatra and taking part in the 6th Annual Jagannath Festival on Aug 18th 2018 at the Millikan park.
We welcome you, your family and friends to this auspicious event coming Sunday at ISKCON Scarborough
Who is Lord Balarama?
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarama is His second body. They are both one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Balarama is the first bodily expansion of Krishna, and He assists in Lord Krishna's transcendental pastimes. He is the source of the entire spiritual world and is the Adi-guru, the original spiritual master.
Descend of Lord Balarama
Whenever Krishna appears in the material world, He is accompanied by His associates and paraphernalia. Five thousand years ago when Krishna descended into the material world, He was first preceded by Baladeva.
When Baladeva appeared as the seventh child in the womb of Devaki, she could understand that this was a divine child and this made her all the more concerned about His safety. Even Kamsa could sense His potency and he became fearful, thinking he may have been tricked by the prophecy that he will be slain only by the eight child of Devaki. At this time Krishna instructed Yogamaya, His internal potency, to transfer the unborn child from the womb of Devaki to that of Rohini, one of the other wives of Vasudeva, who was hiding from Kamsa in the house of Nanda Maharaja in Gokul.
In this way Balarama was born in Gokul under the protection of Nanda Maharaja.
Garga Muni the venerable kulaguru (family priest) of the Yadu dynasty revealed “ This child, the son of Rohiṇī, will give all happiness to His relatives and friends by His transcendental qualities. Therefore He will be known as Rāma. And because He will manifest extraordinary bodily strength, He will also be known as Bala. Moreover, because He unites two families — Vasudeva's family and the family of Nanda Mahārāja — He will be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa”.
With best wishes from,
ISKCON Scarborough 3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3, Scarborough,Ontario, Canada, M1V4C7
Today we are celebrating the beginning of Jhulana-yatra, which is steeped in the moods of Vrindavan. When I first began reading Srila Prabhupadas books I was struck by the following description in the introduction to Teachings of Lord Chaitanya: “Actually, Vrindaban is as good as the Spiritual Vrindaban, and therefore Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami says that underneath one of the desire trees of Vrindaban there is a nice throne decorated with valuable jewels on which Radharani and Krishna are seated. And His dear friends and the gopis are all serving Them: somebody is singing, somebody is dancing, somebody is offering betel nuts and refreshment, somebody is decorating with flowers.
“In India it is still a fashion of recreation to sit on a swinging throne, and, if it is moving, it is very refreshing. In each and every home they have a hanging throne, and when a man comes home from the office, if it is practical, it is moved from time to time and he becomes refreshed. So, similarly, the same system prevails, especially in the month of Sravana, July, when there is the function called Jhulana. During Jhulana, in all the houses—not only of Vrindaban but all over India—the people hang thrones. In every house and village they place Radha and Krishna and decorate Them with flowers and move the throne and offer dancing and kirtan. . . . The temples are decorated, and thousands of people come as spectators. Generally, people go to Vrindaban at that time. Krishna and Radha are seated on the throne, surrounded by His friends.”
And leading into these two paragraphs: “There is an acharya who describes Vrindaban: When my mind becomes cleansed of all dirty hankering for material enjoyment, then I shall be able to see Vrindaban! So Vrindaban is actually experienced by persons who have finished with material enjoyment. Everything is spiritual. This becomes revealed. . . . As you become more Krishna conscious, as you become more advanced, everything is revealed to you.”
Although I am still waiting for that qualification and that revelation, even in my present state I can, by divine mercy, relish some of the flavors of Vrindavan during Jhulan-yatra.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||
daily will eliminate fear, anxiety, depression,sadness,despondency,anger,and hopelessness. Instead, chanting will give mental strength, spiritual strength,freedom from anxiety,hope,equal-mindedness,positive feeling and above all inner peace and joy.
The only condition is to chant with sincerity of heart and take the effort to hear the sound clearly and distinctly in a mood of dependence on Krishna (not independence)!
Harinama Sankirtana in Union Square Park Tuesday, August 21st (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “My heart is always burning in the fire of material existence, and I have made no provisions for getting out of it. The only remedy is Hari-nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka-Vrndavana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.22 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/m4zx9
Jhulan Yatra in Iskcon Kiev, Ukraine (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: A devotee always thinks of the Lord continuously. While chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the words Krishna and Hare immediately remind him of all the Lord’s activities. Since his entire life is engaged n the service of the Lord, a devotee cannot forget the Lord at any time. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.6 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/VKJozU
Sixty book distributors in a mission to Brighton, UK (Album of photos)
On Saturday we made an exciting trip to the seaside town of Brighton! Fifty five of us boarded a coach, which left Bhaktivedanta Manor at 10.30am. Five more devotees came in their car.
What was really exciting and special about this trip was that we were all planning to set upon Brighton, armed with Srila Prabhupada’s books; the time bombs!
Eager to get there, we spent time singing bhajans, chanting and hearing realisations from our two special VIPs - HG Sutapa das and HG Visvambhara das. Both are very experienced book distributors and had many insightful and entertaining stories to share with us.
Soon after lunch, each and everyone of us armed ourselves with books and set off in all directions to find ripe souls and change lives forever while the harinaam team kept the energy high with melodious tunes of the maha mantra.
Many people from all walks of life were happy to stop and chat with us to find out more about what we were doing. They enthusiastically took books and wished us well. Many stood and smilingly gazed at the harinaam team, probably thinking that this trip to the beach was definitely unique!
After sometime, the sankirtan party and the book distributors moved on towards Brighton pier. This was a perfect opportunity to meet more people along the way and spread the mercy. Many onlookers danced to the kirtan.
As with all the MSFs, the children were encouraged to distribute books and many of them managed to do so successfully. They had a really fun time distributing books, playing on the beach and enjoying the coach ride. 245 books were distributed in less than 3 hours!
On the way back, we shared realisations and experiences. We all agreed what a fun day it had been, albeit short, and the highlight was that we had all been an instrument in helping many souls begin their journey towards Krishna. No doubt more trips like this will be planned in the future, so watch this space and it’ll be great to have you on board next time!
In praise of our dearest God-brother!
Bhakti Charu Swami: At a time like this we can’t help but recognize the extremely exalted spiritual position of our very dear godbrother, His Holiness Jayapataka Maharaja.
When the whole world was in total anxiety about the outcome of the very critical operation to transplant his liver and kidney, he seemed to be totally unperturbed and confident. He was waiting in Chennai for months for those organs to be available from a suitable living source. Therefore when they became available he seemed to be excited, rather than becoming worried, and when he was being taken to the operation theatre, his mood was of total confidence as if he knew without a shadow of doubt that the operation would be successful. The first operation, the liver transplant, was successful. We felt somewhat hopeful, then we started to get one after another good news: His kidney transplant also was successful, and after about 10 hours of surgery he was taken to the ICU. He was supposed to be under total sedation for two days. However, the next day they took him out of it and we got the good news that the transplanted organs were functioning effectively and the ventilator had been taken out and he was breathing on his own. We felt thankful to Krishna for listening to our prayers and became confident about his situation. When he came out of his sedation and regained his consciousness, the first words that came from his mouth were “Jai Jagannath”. The doctors began to wonder whether this was a miracle. Yes, it was indeed a most wonderful miracle - an inconceivable display of Krishna’s mercy upon His very dear devotee. The latest news is that the transplanted kidney has been functioning so well that he passed 1.2 liters of urine. Whereas before the operation he was having dialysis thrice a week. The operation had been totally successful. Today, he came out of his bed and sat down on a chair for 20 minutes in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. These are all a very sure sign of remarkable recovery. When you look back, we can see that Jayapataka Maharaja always had been an amazingly outstanding devotee. When Srila Prabhupada decided to take our movement to Mayapur, Jayapataka Maharaja fully committed himself to that project recognizing that it was the most important mission of our movement. He not only committed to that mission but dedicated his whole life to it. Life was not easy in Mayapur those days. Not only did they not have proper living facility but there was no resources to even take care of their day to day needs. However, that difficult situation did not discourage him, rather inspired him to continue to serve Srila Prabhupada with full conviction. Since then what he had done in Mayapur is known to everyone. After Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, he started to give imitation as one of the first eleven initiating spiritual masters. When most of the devotees who assumed that responsibility became victims of Maya’s allurements and fell down from the spiritual path, he carried on without slightest deviation. When he had the stroke in Mumbai in 2008, the possibility of his survival was practically nil. That evening Mr. Ashok Hinduja, the owner of the Hinduja hospital where he was being treated, came along with the chief medical officer of the hospital and the head of the neurosurgery department, to meet us at the Juhu temple and informed us that we should prepare ourselves for Jayapataka Maharaj’s departure from this planet that night. However, we saw how inconceivably his recovered. His body may have been affected by that stroke but his mind, intelligence and spirt was not at all affected. Rather his memory and intelligence became even sharper and his determination to serve became even more stronger. He started to travel around the world, preaching and making disciples and now through this operation in Chennai we can see how wonderfully Krishna is protecting him. All these wonderful happenings are definite indicators of an extremely exhaled devotee who has dedicated himself completely in the service of Krishna and is being taken care of by Him in the most wonderful way. Although we long to see Jayapataka Maharaj in his vibrant youthful form - shooting arrows to hit the bull’s eye, stick in his hand marching forward with a group of devotees following him to face the dacoits, swim across the Ganges like a champion swimmer, broadcasting the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in front of thousands of spellbound audience, but still we consider it to be our great good fortune that he is still with us to push Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission fulfilling the dreams of Srila Prabhupada. Just his presence gives us so much confidence and brings so much joy to our hearts. We are so thankful to Krishna for listening to our prayers and letting him be with us.
THE WAIT IS OVER!
It had been a long journey but Prabhupada's story finally made it to the big screen in June of 2017. There, the film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at the Illuminate Film Festival, and screened in multiple festivals across the globe. The film premiered publically June 16 in New York City and that weekend had the highest 'per screen average' attendance, beating out all other independent films in North America.
For the last 33 years, an enthusiastic group of ISKCON Youth has worked together each year for an entire month before the annual Jhulan Yatra festival in Mayapur. In order to prepare for the festivities, these dedicated servants of Sri Sri Radha Madhava work day and night to ensure that the Divine Couple and Their associates will be well served during the 5 day festival. The Jhulan Yatra team turn a dense forest of weeds and overgrown trees and plants into a magnificent flower grove decorated with winding pathways lit by lamps and fairy lights, colourfully lit waterfalls and ponds with fountains, blossoming flowers, trimmed bushes and multi-coloured lights. Continue reading "Jhulan Yatra – A Festival of Sweetness → Dandavats"
“Regarding Jhulan Yatra Ceremony, during these five days the Deities’ clothing should be changed every day, and there should be nice prasadam distribution and sankirtana as far as possible. If you are able to do it, a nice throne may be constructed on which the Deities can be placed. This throne may be swung gently […]
During the stage program of the inauguration, Smt Usha Bhardwaj w/o Late Sri Gopal Bhardwaja revealed that they met Srila Prabhupada for the first time in 1972 in Australia and their faith grew in spiritual life upon receiving personal care and affection from him. They became the first life members in Australia and felt inspired to contribute in building a temple at Bahadurgarh, their homeland(on the borders of Delhi and Hariyana, India). To them, however, Srila Prabhupada did not seem to be very interested at first. Continue reading "First life members of Australia felt inspired by Srila Prabhupada to open up a temple at their homeland- Bahadurgarh → Dandavats"
I am pleased to know that a special souvenir is being published by ISKCON-India on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami celebrations. ISKCON has been leading a spiritual transformation of the humanity by illuminating the world with the wisdom and grace of Shri Krishna's philosophy. Its members have been serving the humanity through its numerous philanthropic missions underlining the non duality of service to God and humanity. I convey my best wishes to the whole ISKCON family, as it prepares to celebrate the Janmashtami festival. I am sure that the festival will fill minds of all devotees with spiritual fulfilment and greater enthusiasm for service of humanity. May Lord Krishna bless our lives with peace, prosperity and happiness. I extend my best wishes for all the future endeavours of ISKCON. Continue reading "Prime Minister of India’s Message to Iskcon for Janmashtami 2018 → Dandavats"
By Mandaleshwara dasa
By The World Holy Name Festival Team
By Yogesvara Dasa
By Purushottam Nitai Das
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
By Aja Govinda Dasa
THE WAIT IS OVER!
It had been a long journey but Prabhupada's story finally made it to the big screen in June of 2017. There, the film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at the Illuminate Film Festival, and screened in multiple festivals across the globe. The film premiered publically June 16 in New York City and that weekend had the highest 'per screen average' attendance, beating out all other independent films in North America.
By Iskcon Mayapur
By Radhika krpa Devi Dasi
By Premanjana Das
By Narendra Modi