Planet ISKCON

Sravanam Kirtanam Festival in Villa Vrndavana, Florence, Italy (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: For a transcendental blis...

Saturday (July 7th) morning program in Bucharest.

Festival Hare Krishna - with a nice note from the photographer.
Dave Bledsoe, photographer: The Hare Krishna Movement came to the United States in 1965 and had tremendous impact on our culture. Sadly, said impact has not always reflected kindly on the Krishna’s. Anyone who watched a television or movie comedy in the 70’s and 80’s can attest to this. The parade today along 5th Avenue was filled with joy, fellowship and love. You can see it reflects the broad swathe of cultures, ethnicities and religions here in NYC. The only stereotype which was remotely true was that I DID find myself chanting along a time or two…honestly, you just can’t help yourself!
Hare Krishna Parade 2014: https://goo.gl/sYeGcX

Vaishnava Festival in Minsk, Belarus (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: All persons in this material world are suffering fr...

Devotees chant and distribute books at the Warped Tour (Album with photos)
Giriraj Swami: Today I spent two hours at the Warped Tour, a tour of rock concerts, in Dallas. What an event—what a gathering! And what an experience! For me some highlights were kirtan with the devotees, led by Vrnda Priya, and meeting the brahmachari book distributors, who give out thousands of books every day on the tour.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qe5zC7

Festival Panihati 2018 in New Santipur, Poland (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Instead of actively taking part in polit...

Bhakti-sastri 2018 opening ceremony (Album of photos)
This year’s Bhakti-sastri opening ceremony was held on July 5. The classroom was filled with 34 students from 9 different countries. There were representatives from South Africa, Moldova, Nepal, Thailand, UK, Ireland, India and other places. Everyone, regardless of age, gender or nationality was filled with enthusiasm and strong desire to study Srila Prabhupada’s books under the guidance of experienced senior devotees
Find them here: https://goo.gl/RSKfVH

(The following is an excerpt from an unfinished book about my life in Krsna consciousness. It details the history of how big book distribution began in Iskcon, a history which has not been chronicled in any Iskcon publications. The scene takes place in Vancouver, Canada, November of 1971.) At this time in Iskcon (1971) big book distribution had not yet begun. We only distributed Back to Godhead magazines (BTG’s) on the street. We usually got donation of 25cents per magazine. If we were lucky, we might occasionally get a really big donation of 50 cents. We thought it was difficult to get that much money from most people so we didn’t usually ask for it. Continue reading "The Unknown History of Big Book Distribution
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After a month I really loved the svami (Mrs. Agarwal relates). I felt kind of protective in a way, and he wanted to go to Philadelphia. But I couldn't imagine—I told him—I could not imagine this man going to Philadelphia for two days. He was going to speak there, and then to New York. But he knew no one in New York. If the thing didn't pan out in Philadelphia, he was just going to New York, and then there was no one. I just could not imagine that man … it made me sick. I remember the night he was leaving, about two in the morning. I remember sitting there as long as he could wait before Gopal took him to Pittsburgh to get on that bus. Gopal got a handful of change, and I remember telling him how to put the money in the slot so that he could go up to the bus station to take a bath, because he was supposed to take a bath a few times a day. And Gopal told him how to do that, and told him about the automat in New York. He told him what he could eat and what he could not eat, and he gave these coins in a sock, and that's all the man left us with. Continue reading "Butler, Pennsylvania: The First Testing Ground
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Chant and dance in ecstasy! Experience the bliss! Just let go! Many a time we may have felt heightened exhilaration during kirtan or other devotional activities and wondered if it was some form of ecstatic symptom like bhava! If it was bhava, does that make one a maha-bhagavat? If it wasn’t, what was it? An uninformed student may think he has reached the acme of his devotional career with such a feeling and wondered if there is still more bliss ahead. The whole range of emotions we feel here on earth have their original and full expression in Goloka-Vrndavana, and while we experience bursts of elation while performing sadhana-bhakti, it is worthwhile noting how materialistic people also obtain occasional joyfulness bordering on ecstatic, though it would be improper to compare with devotional happiness. Continue reading "Goosebumps and bliss!
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July 4th Parade Grand Success in Ojai, California!
Our entry in the parade is unlike any other float. We are colorful, large, innovative, captivating, transcendental, and very auspicious. This year we introduced Vayu Hasti (the huge inflatable elephant) to the public which includes the sound of an arriving elephant that allows him to declare the grand arrival of Lord Jagannatha’s chariot! This was greeted with big smiles and a robust applause of appreciation!

It is an arduous journey for a seed to grow into a plant and ultimately into a fruit yielding tree. Left alone in the wild, a seed may not grow as it falls on a rocky ground instead of soil. There may be too little water or too much, not enough sun light, temperatures may […]

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Today the Supreme Court of India ruled that no one should be barred from the Jagannatha temple in Puri because of his faith or nationality, providing legal support to Srila Prabhupada’s long-standing desire that his disciples be allowed to enter, as described in the following excerpt from my forthcoming book about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu:

Srila Prabhupada was concerned that his foreign disciples were not allowed entry into some Hindu temples, notably the Jagannatha temple in Puri. In April 1974, Syamasundara Brahmachari invited Prabhupada to visit the Jagannatha temple, but Prabhupada replied, “I have not visited Jagannatha Puri because my men are not allowed to see the deity. When you arrange that we can visit the temple with my disciples then I can come immediately. . . .

“It is very regrettable that these European and American boys who are purely Vaishnava and who follow all principles are not allowed by the rascals to enter the temple. As stated in the Padma Purana, arcye visnau siladhir gurusu naramatir vaisnave jati buddhir.

“I do not know what makes the management take this attitude. If you can remove this restriction you will do a great service to the Gaudiya Vaishnava community. According to shastra, anyone who wears tilak and sikha and kunti over and above the Vaishnava dress or Vaishnava sannyasi must be accepted, especially while chanting Hare Krishna mantra with bead bags. Kindly convince them and induce them to allow these Vaishnavas to enter the Jagannatha Temple.”

Jaya Jagannatha!

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Podcast

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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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Excitement is ramping up for “MAN-tra,” ISKCON’s first ever Men’s Retreat, to be held in New Vrindaban and headlined by Bhaktimarga Swami, Gaura Vani, and comedian Yadunath Das. The event is subtitled “Being a KC Guy in the 21^st Century,” and is gathering hype as the place to be this fall.

Harinama in Bondi, New South Wales, Australia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Others, who are not devotees, may think, “How can people devote so much time simply to talks of God?” The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is simply the repetition of three words, Hare, Krishna, Rama, but still devotees can go on chanting this Hare Krishna mantra twenty-four hours a day without feeling fatigued. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.13.1Purport)

Distribution of books, prasadam, and the Holy Name (Album with photos)
Auckland, New Zealand: Friday nights festival, giving ...

A visit to the beautiful ISKCON Trivandrum, Kerela (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: No one can be more pure than devotees...

If you haven’t and are able to help in some way, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. https://bit.ly/2KOLxpX

The Supreme Court asks Puri Jagannath temple to allow visitors irrespective of religion.
DECCAN CHRONICLE, Jul 5, 2018, New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Puri Jagannath temple to consider permitting every visitor irrespective of his religious faith to offer respects and make offerings to the deity subject to regulatory measures. The court will extend this to other temples also in due course.

Press man: Do you know how many followers [of your movement] there are in the United States now?

Glorification of Shabari - A lecture by HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, May 2018 at Hampi Yatra (video)

Looking for the Bliss by Mangalananda prabhu (4 min video)
We were kids back then
Just looking for the bliss
A ragtag band of transcendentalists
It was Vishnu Johnny
And the white-trash yogi

In the lives of great persons there is always opposition and apparent road blocks in accomplishing their goals or mission in life. Whether through another person, an accident, their own body or mind, or some natural disturbance, what appears on the surface to be an impediment is passed through and the glory of the person is revealed. Practically we can see that great success in any undertaking or field is not accomplished without passing through many setbacks and even failure. In the personal growth or success literature such perseverance and determination in the face of what seem insurmountable odds are part of any great person’s story. In Christianity we have Judas who betrayed Christ but was actually a facilitator of his mission to sacrifice his life to benefit others. Haridas Thakur being whipped in 21 market places, or being tempted by a prostitute sent by a envious person, only added to his glory as the great teacher of the holy name. Continue reading "The Importance Of Opposition And Life Reverses
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In-Dependence Event. The Darshan Room (Right click to download)

While I was leaving the Dallas Fort Worth airport on July 4, a large American flag flying in the wind caught my eye, and I was surprised by how happy I felt. I reflected on how fortunate we were to live in a country where we have freedom of religion, and how Srila Prabhupada said, “America has been so good to me to give me money, men—everything. I have no designation that ‘this is my country,’ but because they have given me so much facility, I cannot forget my obligation to them. I want to make them happy and through them the whole world.”

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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Podcast

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[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Belgaum, India]

Podcast

Podcast Summary

Video:

The post Daksha-Shiva conflict 3 – How our mind makes us sectarian – Hindi appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Hari Bol
Jai Srila Prabhupada,

Have you ever wondered what it takes to feed all the visitors who attend London Rathayatra; enjoy the video and find out all amazing organization and volunteers that make the prasadam everyone enjoys.

We start our Scandinavia Tour today , we are looking for everyone’s blessings
Your servants
Food for All team

Vaishnava Summer Festival “Baltic 2018”!
We are pleased to announce the dates of the Vaishnava Summer Festival “Baltic 2018”!
The Festival will take place in Dubingiai, Lithuania on July 24 – 30, 2018.
Make a celebration for your soul – join this amazing, full of fun and awesome Festival!
Baltic Summer Vaishnava Festival and Kirtan Mela 2018 invites all to get to know the Vaishnava culture, the ancient Vedic tradition. Lectures by disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, lectures for beginners, vegetarian food, enchanting kirtans (musical meditation), devotee association, colorful environment, beautiful nature, morning meditations (from 4.30 am!) and many other spiritual entertainments!

We invite to participate both advanced bhakti yogis and the curious ones who want to explore this amazing culture!!
For more information: https://goo.gl/ZR9fTj
Photos from Vaishnava Summer Festival “Baltic 2017”: https://goo.gl/j6ro91

Scenes from the inauguration of the 25th anniversary of New Vraja Dham, Krsna-völgy, Hungary (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Spiritual enlightenment is possible by the mercy of the spiritual energy of the Lord. The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is first addressed to the spiritual energy of the Lord, Hare. This spiritual energy acts when a living entity fully surrenders and accepts his position as an eternal servitor. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.9.6 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/sqkPAa

Cooking for Ratha Yatra (11 min video)
Parasuram das: Cooking is one of the devotional arts and it becomes a major operation when cooking for many thousands, as was the case with the London Ratha Yatra on the 24th of June. Please see how it all unfolded - from Krishna’s castle kitchen to Trafalgar square.

Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness (video)
Practical Gita Wisdom by HG Vaisesika Dasa - ISKCON of Silicon Valley, USA.