Planet ISKCON

ISV Harinaam in Palo Alto - August 17th 2018 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: It is the duty of the mahatmas to chant the H...

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, October 2009, Vrindavan, India, Lecture)

Love means to put our ideas aside for someone else. When we love someone, we will put our own agenda aside and just try to please that person and we will only do for that person what he desires. So, our love for Prabhupada has to show in how much we are ready to put our own agenda aside and embrace his agenda and do what is dear to him. That is where our love will show…

The article " Our love for Prabhupada " was published on KKSBlog.

Rathayatra Festival by ISKCON Latvia (Riga etc) (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Even while engaged in various activities, devotees whose minds are completely absorbed at Your lotus feet, and who constantly hear, chant, contemplate and cause others to remember Your transcendental names and forms, are always on the transcendental platform, and thus they can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.2.37).
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UCF Orlando 2018 - Festival of Chariots (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The mango fruit is different from the name of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting, “Mango, mango, mango.” But the devotee who knows that there is no difference between the name and form of the Lord chants Hare Krishna, and realizes that he is always in Krishna’s company. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.2.36 Purport).
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Shivananda Sen, he was taking all the 200-300 devotees from Bengal to Puri. They were walking so many days. And a little dog just started following. And that dog… he wasn’t a kind of pedigree, beautiful kind of dog. He was just the kind of dogs that you find in the streets of India. He followed. He followed. And Shivananda Sen just saw with such compassion – “If this spirit soul in this dog, if he sees Lord Chaitanya, how much he will benefit! I must serve him nicely.” Continue reading "Differentiating material and spiritual attachments
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"Prabhus," the temple president said, "I have incredible news. I have just been told, without any room for doubt or question, the following. A pure devotee is amongst you!" Vaishnava das, a faithful servant of Srila Prabhupada, for many years serving as temple president in a temple community of devotees, had just returned from a visit to a nearby hut which an older sannyasi had chosen as his base for his writing in preparing for his next preaching tour duties. He had approached him with heavy heart to get some advice for the difficult times his temple was going through. A famous Iskcon temple had fallen on hard times. Continue reading "My dear fellow prabhu/mataji, is it you the pure devotee? An ancient story retold for the devotees
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The dialogue of Bhagavad-Gita was transmitted as a live commentary from the heart of Sanjaya to Dhrtarastra. Such mystical ability did not require communication masts or radio waves, but the grace of Guru, in this case Srila Vyasadeva. Srila Prabhupada writes: “….one has to understand Krsna not directly but through the medium of the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the transcendental via medium, although it is true that the experience is still direct. This is the mystery of the disciplic succession. Therefore by the grace of Vyasa, Sanjaya’s senses were purified, and he could see and hear Krsna directly." Continue reading "Mystic Understanding
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 17 August 2014, Goloka-dhama, Germany, Janmastami, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.41.6-10)  

We remember the pastime of when Krsna first came to Mathura and he met a garland-maker, Sudama, who offered Krsna many nice garlands, sandalwood and other things. That garland-maker actually used go to Vrindavan regularly to collect flowers, so he had previously met Krsna and made offerings to Krsna with flowers, so that garland-maker was already recognized by Krsna as a devotee. At the end, he adorned Krsna and Balarama with beautiful garlands and they looked very beautiful. Then the two Lords offered to the surrendered Sudama, who was bowing before them, whatever benediction he desired. Sudama asked the Lord for unshakable devotion – devotion that could not be destroyed by anything. Then he asked the Lord for friendship with the Lord’s devotees and for transcendental compassion for all living beings. So this garland-maker was very intelligent. What would we ask for if we would suddenly, unexpectedly meet Krsna? What would we ask? It would not be so easy, ‘Well, Krsna, okay, give me love of God!’  But we can see the example of Sudama who was thinking much deeper about the matter than we are. Love of God is very good but Sudama asked to be given unshakable devotion, as he knew maya is very strong and did not want be affected by anything. Unshakable devotion means love of God!

This is very nice – this garland-maker who seems to be, in a way, a background personality; there is not a whole chapter in Srimad Bhagavatam dedicated to the garland-maker who offered some garlands to Krsna. But just see how profound his thinking is and how important unshakable devotion is, how important friendship with the devotees of the Lord are and how important transcendental compassion for all living beings is.

To approach Krsna we require blessings. Janmastami is an opportunity to approach Krsna and to really enter into Krsna’s reality. We are going to spend time remembering various pastimes of Krsna over the next few days and all these activities are actually taking us into Vrindavan because it is through remembering the activities of Krsna that we are getting entrance; as Jiva Gosvami explains, Vrindavan is a state of consciousness. So we are looking for blessings just as Sudama received benedictions from the Lord and asked for the unshakable devotion.  Like this, we are gradually preparing ourselves so may we all be blessed by such a meditation of Sudama.

The fact is that by committing ourselves to Krsna, by focusing, by giving ourselves, by making offerings to Krsna – even if only for a day: chanting, cooking, hearing, intensely focusing on Krsna the entire day – then we will find that our relationship with Krsna has become so much nourished and strengthened that we realize that this Janmastami is not just a festival where we get enlivened by the association of devotees and a wonderful program until the next enlivening festival. No, we actually realize that if we really make a commitment to focus on Krsna, to really get serious, just for a day, then this Janmastami makes a permanent change in our spiritual life. We are permanently coming closer to Krsna, so in this way, each Janmastami is another step closer to Krsna.

Janmastami is particularly meant for us as it is an opportunity to connect in a very serious way with Krsna and in service to him, because then it will be a great source of strength that will benedict us in our spiritual life. We build on that and then we surrender again and in this way we build up our spiritual strength.

Scriptures recommend performing of naimitika kriya – exceptional devotion practice, or special spiritual activity during special occasions that brings new life and that we bring back to our everyday routine devotional practices of nitya kriya. So doing something special on this Janmastami can renew our everyday practice, bring new life and at the same time because we have for one day functioned on a higher level of surrender than usual, we have come one step closer to making that permanent and that has the lasting effect. With this meditation we can begin our Janmastami celebration and get ready to come before Krsna. We are anticipating with great eagerness Krsna’s appearance day and hope everyone will have a wonderful Janmastami. Janmastami that will make all the difference!

The article " Janmastami is coming " was published on KKSBlog.

Otaki retreat center New Zealand 2018 (Album of photos)
Bhakti Explosion Retreat.
A wonderful weekend with HH Vedavyasapr...

First annual report of Bhaktivedanta Academy Mayapur.
We are very happy to present our annual report on the 2017-18 school year, corresponding to the Gaurabda year 531. Inside you can find the latest information about the development of the Bhaktivedanta Academy project on all its fronts. The report includes the following: Introduction Dean’s Letter Pedagogy and Didactics Leadership Curriculum Development Academic Results Year Highlights Varnasrama College Financial Report Student Testimonies
Bhaktivedanta Academy provides spiritual education through academic classes and hands-on activities in a natural outdoor campus which could rival a botanical garden. Our holistic experiential approach inspires students to become leaders in preaching Krishna consciousness.
Find it here: https://goo.gl/pfHLxx

A very nice choreographical Harinama (3 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: While the body is fit, why should we not chant the holy n...

Many geneticists view that modern man developed and came out of Africa where they migrated across lands to settle in ancient India. From there they spread out in all directions, even into Europe. This is called the “Out of Africa” theory. This certainly helps contradict the Aryan Invasion Theory, which proposes that the Vedic Aryans were not indigenous to the region of India, but came from the Caucasus Mountains, bringing their culture into India. However, over the past several years, an increasing number of finds have been made that suggest modern humans also lived in other regions besides Africa, and at older dates. Continue reading "The Out of Africa Theory Versus the Vedic View
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Someone could question, “Why should Krishna listen to the prayers of a devotee? So many people are praying to Krishna; why should Krishna listen especially to a devotee? Is that not also partiality?” Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that of all of Krishna’s qualities, the quality of being affectionate to His devotees, bhakta-vatsalya, is considered the supermost, the emperor that conquers over all the Lord’s other qualities and reconciles all contradictions. So, being partial to His devotees is not a fault (dusanam) in Krishna, but an ornament (bhusanam)—His most exalted quality. He has no desire other than to please His devotees. Just as the devotees have no desire other than to please Krishna, Krishna has no desire other than to please His devotees. Continue reading "Bhakti Comes from Bhakti
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Caturmasya and Monsoon is upon us, and the Samadhi Dome is quite damp inside because there was leaking from the Kalash base at the top. We repaired that. But we needed a de-humidifier, which is not a cheap. The Museum roof leaked too, because of damage during a hailstone storm some months before, aggravated by monkeys sporting up there. We’ll have to replace the fiberglass. Vyasa Puja is coming up soon. Srila Prabhupada is sitting right here in Vrndavan in his divine eternal resting place. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Mandir, Vrndavana
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Srimad Bhagavatam reigns supreme!
On Monday Divya Naam Das and his family went out door to door in Pinner. Given that it was the first day of the month of Bhadra they went out with the specific objective of wanting to try and glorify Srimad Bhagavatam to some receptive souls. It was not long before they met one such family to whom they presented the glories of Bhagavatam and the family immediately welcomed a full set of the Srimad Bhagavatam including the golden throne into their home. It was an exhilarating experience to see the magic of Srimad Bhagavatam and Srila Prabhupada work in front of their eyes. The wonderful family gave £199 donation for the set and throne.

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Initiation ceremony in Prabhupadadesh, Italy (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “As fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes, without fail, all the reactions of one’s sinful activities. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.18)
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Newcastle Retreat, UK (Album of photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: We had a very nice retreat near Newcastle in England. It was o...

TOVP Fountains Underway!
Sadbhuja Das: Recently, we were visited by one of the best custom-made fountain manufacturing compani...

This was one of Srila Prabhupada's qualities. He was very careful not to discourage anyone through criticism. If they were capable of dealing with it then he would chastise them. Otherwise, he was the greatest transcendental diplomat there ever was. His only goal was to infect as many people as possible with love of Krsna. Continue reading "His only goal was to infect as many people as possible with love of Krsna
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The best parents are good role models for their children. They demonstrate the spiritual way of life through words and deeds, understanding that children learn what they live. They seek out other parents or families trying to raise God-conscious children. In this way, they create a much-needed support system. Truly “It takes a village to raise a child.” (Ancient African Proverb). Continue reading "Parenting as Service to God
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Some people fantasize about accumulating immense wealth and dream of what they would buy if they only had enough. To them, happiness hovers elusively on the other side of that new car, that big house, that diamond necklace. While many of us will say, "Money can't buy happiness," do we really believe it? If not money, what is the solution to our hankerings? What is the greatest treasure that will bring true happiness? And how do we acquire that treasure? Srila Prabhupada answers these questions in one of his purports, which recounts the story of a fortunate brahmana who sought the best benediction from Lord Siva Continue reading "The Best Benediction
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Pershore Plum Festival & Rathayatra - 27th Aug 2018 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” If one practices chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, he is naturally expected to chant Hare Krishna when he meets with some accident. Even without such practice, however, if one somehow or other chants the holy name of the Lord (Hare Krishna) when he meets with an accident and dies, he will be saved from hellish life after death. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.15 Purport)
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Sri Balarama Jayanti 2018 Radhadesh (Album of photos)
The form of Lord Balarama Powerful Lord Balarama is sixteen years old, full of the luster of youth and has a fair complexion the color of crystal. He wears blue garments and a garland of forest flowers. His handsome hair is tied in a graceful topknot. Splendid earrings adorn His ears and His neck is splendidly decorated with garlands of flowers and strings of jewels. Splendid armlets and bracelets ornament Douji’s graceful and very strong arms and His feet are decorated with splendid jeweled anklets. Lord Balarama’s beauty is enhanced by the earrings touching His cheeks. His face is decorated with tilaka made from musk, and His broad chest is ornamented with a garland of gunja. Balarama’s voice is very grave and His arms are very long, touching His thighs
Find them here: https://goo.gl/RJaZwL

Photos from Balarama Purnima 2018 at ISKCON-London.
Please find below photos from Balarama Purmina 2018 at the ISKCON-London R...

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