Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Krishna Valley in Hungary…
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Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Krishna Valley in Hungary (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Those who are advanced and highly qualified and are interested in the essence of life know the good qualities of Kali-yuga. Such people worship the age of Kali because in this age, simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can advance in spiritual knowledge and thus attain life’s goal. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 11.5.36)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ZXA2SG

YUGA DHARMA ASHRAM VISIT – July 2018
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YUGA DHARMA ASHRAM VISIT - July 2018 (Album of photos) “In this Age of Kali, Lord Sri Krishna Himself descended as Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to preach the eternal religion of Krishna Consciousness through the process of chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra which is the only religious principle for this Age.” Fortunate again to join up with Rama Raya prabhu and the NY Harinam devotees.

Gita 18.35 To hold on to thought-patterns that hurt us is to abuse our determination
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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Bhagavatam tenth canto study 12 – 10.2-31-36 Krishna’s lotus feet make the insurmountable material ocean insignificant
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Bali Rathayatra Parade
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The Bali Rathayatra was celebrated by at least 4,000 devotees who came from all over Indonesia to participate. 

The parade itself was on the second day and everyone assembled in front of one of three chariots –  Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balarama and Lady Subhadra. Many other devotees accompanied big murtis of Gaura Nitai as well.

The route, which lasted for 2 hours, went onto the streets surrounding the park in a central part of Denpasar. It was certainly ecstatic to be in the kirtan and when we got back the festivities went into the night.

Learning to be tolerant
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 January 2018, Brisbane, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.20)

Tolerance is a quality of the mode of goodness, which is the mode of detachment. This is in contrast with the mode of passion which is one of attachment. In this mode of passion, we want things to go our way and our way only. We have the story of Dhurva Maharaj for example. When Dhruva Maharaj found out that a Yaksha had killed his brother, he entered into the mode of passion where out of anger, he started killing all the Yakshas. This was until the two elderly personalities came by, one being his grandfather Svayambhuva Manu, who were totally aloof and unaffected. Here, Dhruva Maharaj was reminded that Krsna is extremely satisfied with his devotees when they greet others with tolerance and mercy! So similarly, we must also learn to be withdrawn from all such things in the world. When we are in the mode of passion, we are deeply affected and so all these reactions follow us around. It is at this point that tolerance becomes very hard. So in this way, we must try to properly pursue the path of Krsna consciousness and enter the mode of goodness; qualities such as tolerance will then come by much more easily.

The article " Learning to be tolerant " was published on KKSBlog.

Selfie – Self = IE – Two things that technology provides and two things that spirituality provides
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[Talk at Bhakti Lounge, Wellington, New Zealand]

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20 – Nandapriya-Zaza
→ Successful Vaisnavas – Personal Development for Hare Krishnas

In this episode with Nandapriya Prabhu we hear… Why did he not tell other devotees in Georgia that he was translating the books? How he hand-bound the books in his home. What is was like to be part of the first Russian devotee trip to India. How he found time to translate Caitanya Caritamrita when […]

The post 20 – Nandapriya-Zaza appeared first on Successful Vaisnavas - Personal Development for Hare Krishnas.

20 – Nandapriya-Zaza
→ Successful Vaisnavas – Personal Development for Hare Krishnas

In this episode with Nandapriya Prabhu we hear… Why did he not tell other devotees in Georgia that he was translating the books? How he hand-bound the books in his home. What is was like to be part of the first Russian devotee trip to India. How he found time to translate Caitanya Caritamrita when […]

The post 20 – Nandapriya-Zaza appeared first on Successful Vaisnavas - Personal Development for Hare Krishnas.

On Polish Tour with His Holiness Indradyumna Swami. Yamuna Devi:…
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On Polish Tour with His Holiness Indradyumna Swami.
Yamuna Devi: “The first evening program we attended was just amazing. There was a little sankirtan in the town center when we got there which was wonderful and when the program started, Dina and I sat in the audience so that we could realize the visuals of it. They put up some flags and festoons from Puri, then a kirtan began with all the devotees on the stage sitting swaying back and forth in rhythm to the male singers. Two back-up singers, a man and woman, danced and sang with microphones and two gorgeous young girls danced in beautiful unison with the devotees in the background.
There was an astonishing situation in front of where Dina and I were sitting where a young of about 12 with Down’s syndrome sat with his father or grandfather in his late 60s, and as the evening went on the boy started clapping, then he started raising his hands in the air, waving them back and forth. And then to no avail the father tried to hold him down by his trousers, but the boy began to jump up and down in his chair. Finally a devotee girl from the stage picked him up onto the stage and danced back and forth with him. Everyone was so touched by that, it literally brought tears to our eyes. After the kirtan, they immediately launched into a Ramayana play with wonderful costumes which was narrated in Polish. Then after a lecture on the Holy Name by Indradyumna Swami—so Krishna Conscious, inviting, easy, and simple—an enthusiastic kirtan followed that pulled everyone into it. The audience comprised people from ages seven to ninety-seven there; literally the whole village turned out to come for this festival.”
- Excerpted from “Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion”

Hare Krishna Social Services in Raman Reti
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Hare KrishnaBy Mukhya devi dasi

Over the past month the urgency of having a well coordinated Devotee Care Group has been very clear. In just the past three weeks we have seen one devotee leave his body and four different hospitalizations for serious injury plus one at-home recuperation from a stroke. To best help the devotee and their family each case needs to be assessed. Do they need visitors? Prasadam delivery? Rides for shopping, doctor visits? Help paying the rent? The list goes on. While we have a team of very sincere devotee caregivers, we desperately need someone to coordinate them with the person in need. Continue reading "Hare Krishna Social Services in Raman Reti
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Bhagavatam tenth canto study 11 – 10.2.25-30 The devatas glorify the true nature of the Absolute Truth
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Gita 18.34 When one worldly desire trumps all other material desires, what results is determination in passion
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 18.34 When one worldly desire trumps all other material desires, what results is determination in passion appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Thursday, July 19th, 2018
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Terrace Bay, Ontario

Seagulls Above

A restful stay in the Holiday Motel in Sault Ste. Marie allowed for a rejuvenation of energy.  I told the boys in Room 25, where we slept, “You know the routine; I’m going down the highway.”  And while I did so, they showered and got ready, this time for a long scenic drive through vistas of Lake Superior, on the way to Terrace Bay.

There are always seagulls about—like the one that flew above me—gliding through a clear blue sky, not noticing me.  His pure whiteness seemed to flash on and off as he waved his wings up and down.  Motorists passing by on Trunk Road were the same, focused ahead.  I got my seven kilometres in before Marshall and Karuna picked me up for the long haul.  I did feel like I was flying, like a seagull.

A stop at Marathon was cherishable with the view of Lake Superior before us.  Marathon is a gold mining location, but the real gold, in my opinion, is rock, water and the cloud-smeared sky.  There I met a sixty-nine-year-old retired Canadian of oriental origin.  We talked.  He was fascinated with my tale of joining a monastic life in ’73 and being a pioneer, at least for Canada, of the Krishna Consciousness movement.  He related to our movements inception, the summer of love presence of our guru in Frisco, and the meeting of the Beatles in London.

I imagined him to be a retired businessman who’s travelling the country, looking at its wonders and feeling, “Now what?” as in, “What do I do with my life now?”

Our performance in Terrace Bay, at Michael King Centre, went super.  Just under 200 people came.  Not bad for a town of 1,500.  Great response!

May the Source be with you!
7 km



Thursday, July 18th, 2018
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Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Tweak Your Work

While the rest of our Vedic Mace troop got themselves showered and ready for a full day, I decided to take that early stroll near Ramsay and Minnow Lakes.  Darshan is a young Indian professional who hosted the monk portion of our group (we are thirteen now).  I decided to have some fun and go out and greet the sun. The chamomile is showing itself along the edges of the sidewalks here, where curvy pathways are laid out to circumnavigate some of the earth’s oldest rock and the many lakes found in the Sudbury area.  I looped back to Darshan’s for breakfast with everyone, after which we quickly left for our next destination, Sault Ste. Marie, population 72,000.

When there, we went to White Pines Theatre to meet Greg Marshall, our sound guy for the night.  We chatted with him by his motorcycle while we waited for our second van to appear—the van with the artists.  Speaking with Greg was invaluable, just as much as it was talking to a seventy-two-year-old
man after the show.  He was like an avatar, God sent!  I had been praying to Krishna for some direction for our show.  

“How are we doing?  What are we doing that is wrong, or right?”

Well, the Sault Avatar spoke his mind.  “It was too long,” he said, referring to the forty-minute chant at the end.  

Yes, we did go overboard with the length.

“You mentioned the Beatles in one of your talks, why not sing one of their songs?”

Good point!  We did make many pitches for the pure culture of India, but not enough relevant stuff for our predominantly Canadian audience.  The venue was top notch!  So was the show—performance wise. We need to do some more tweaking before the staging in Terrace Bay.  

May the Source be with you!
7 km



Tuesday, July 17th, 2018
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Sudbury, Ontario

To Sudbury

I was sad to see the railway station in Huntsville closed.  Not enough passengers to warrant having the Iron Horse operating. Too much obsession for the automobile, I imagine.

One advantage to driving is you can see some wildlife, like we are experiencing, then you can stop, turn around and sight the creature for a second time. That happened.  On our way to Sudbury, I spotted a bear cub foraging. He was quite close to the road and appeared to be all by himself.

I happened to look out the window when he was showing his hungry side. Unfortunately, he must have dashed off after Marshall, our driver, made a quick U-turn.

Bears love this time of year for the food.  When our group of monks pulled over for a call of nature, we became like bears and ravaged the wild raspberry patches at our disposal.

Our destination today was Bell Park, at Ramsay Lake, in Sudbury.  What a great spot and facility!  The path along the lake is a portion of “The Great Trail.” For me the city of Sudbury is memory lane.  It was here that I met five Krishna monks at Christmas in ’72.

I relayed that message to the audience tonight, letting them know I had been a fine arts student at Cambrian College, and how my cousins owned and operated the popular Rocky Mountain Ranch just north of here.  The people were a gracious crowd.  Organizer Dr. Jani was pleased.  Mayor Brian Bigger also came to offer a message of goodwill.

May the Source be with you!
4 km



Return Ratha Yatra in Myitkyina, Myanmar
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Return Ratha Yatra in Myitkyina, Myanmar (Album of photos)
Iskcon Myanmar: Myitkyina is situated North of Myanmar, 70km from the Chinese border. Most of the population is Christian in the locality. As usual for the past years, devotees from around the country congregated in Myitkyina to celebrate the annual Ratha Yatra celebration.

Krishna is mine and I am His
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Hare KrishnaBy Urmila Devi Dasi

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada: If one is actually Kṛṣṇa conscious, he cannot have any enemies. Since his only engagement is to induce others to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, or God, how can he have enemies? If one advocates the Hindu religion, the Muslim religion, the Christian religion, this religion or that religion, there will be conflicts. History shows that the followers of religious systems without a clear conception of God have fought with one another. There are many instances of this in human history, but systems of religion that do not concentrate upon service to the Supreme are temporary and cannot last for long because they are full of envy. Continue reading "Krishna is mine and I am His
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8th year Rathayatra @ Iskcon Netrakona, Bangladesh
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Hare KrishnaBy Srigarbha das

With over ten thousand people taking part, this year was the biggest ever Ratha Yatra held at Netrakona, Bangladesh. Jagannath ballav Temple, ISKCON Netrakona celebrated its 8th Jagannath Ratha Yatra festival from the 14th till 22th of July with grand success.. Around 8 years back this centre started with only three brahmacharis- Jayram Das, Tulsi Das and Anantadev Das, simply distributing Srila Prabhupada books. No facilities for accommodation, practically going hungry at times having nothing to eat or surviving for days on puffed rice and boiled potatoes. By their hard work and their firm faith in Srila Prabhupada words and strict adherence to the instructions of their Spiritual Master Srila Subhag Swami Maharaj , today the Jagannath ballav temple has over 35 enthusiastic brahmacharis serving full time, a moderate temple hall with a sitting capacity of 100 or more, a kitchen that can serve more than ten thousand plates of maha prasadam at a time last but not the least, a contingent of sincere and simple hearted devotees which keeps the very temple bubbling with life, In the beganing of this year year the temple opened Govindas restaurant and jai Nrishma Sweets. Continue reading "8th year Rathayatra @ Iskcon Netrakona, Bangladesh
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TOVP Hires Cushman & Wakefield to Manage Completion of the Project
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Hare KrishnaBy TOVP staff

After several months of rigorous research, interviews and evaluation, Ambarisa prabhu selected the best of the best, the company he felt would be the most qualified and experienced to handle the needs of the TOVP project and bring the optimal results. Cushman and Wakefield have been a household name in the Construction industry for over one hundred years with over 45,000 employees now operating in 40 offices and 70 countries around the world. Continue reading "TOVP Hires Cushman & Wakefield to Manage Completion of the Project
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Bhagavatam study 109 1.19.34-40 When God remains anonymous through coincidences devoteees identify and glorify him
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When people are so confused that they can’t discern their own material inclinations, how can we engage them in bhakti?
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Answer Podcast

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Bhakti is not easy to obtain
→ Servant of the Servant

Krishna will easily give bhuki (material opulence), mukti (liberation) or siddhi (mystic perfections) since it does not directly deal with Him. However, bhakti is personal and hence confidential and bhakti (by bhakti we mean pure bhakti and not mixed) attracts Krishna. Because bhakti is directly connected with Krishna and that Krishna is easily purchased by pure bhakti, to attain pure bhakti is not so easy as attaining mukti, or siddhi or bhukti.

However, by the mercy of a pure devotee, bhakti is attainable hence this path in line from Lord Chaitanya is the most unique and special since no other path or dharma or religion awards pure devotion. It is by the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and His direct followers we have access to bhakti which otherwise is a close and shut case (not accessible).

Srila Prabhupada says in Chapter 1 Nectar of Devotion  "Devotional service can in fact be attained only through the mercy of a pure devotee. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 19.151) it is said, "By the mercy of the spiritual master who is a pure devotee and by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa one can achieve the platform of devotional service. There is no other way."

Hare Krishna

Arjuna and Karna. While the Battle of Kurukshetra was at its…
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Arjuna and Karna.
While the Battle of Kurukshetra was at its peak, Arjuna and Karna were fighting each other. It was a battle to witness, a flurry of arrows was being exchanged, and even Gods were witnessing this epic battle between the 2 warriors.
Arjuna would shoot his arrows and the impact of these arrows would be so much that Karna’s chariot would go back by 25-30 feet. People who witnessed this were amazed by the skills of Arjuna.
Karna was no less. When he shot arrows, Arjuna’s chariot would also shake and go back by 3-4 feet.
More than everyone, Krishna would applaud Karna every time his arrow hit Arjuna’s chariot. But not once did He applaud Arjuna’s skills!
At the end of the day, Arjuna asked Krishna: “Oh Lord, I have shot so many arrows at Karna’s chariot, it was being displaced like a feather in wind, but not once did you appreciate me. Rather, you would appreciate his skill despite his arrows just displacing my chariot a little”.
Krishna smiled and replied, “Oh, Arjuna, remember, your chariot is protected by Hanuman at the top on your flag, Me as your charioteer in the front and by Sheshnag at its wheels, yet the whole chariot would still sway and displace whenever the valiant Karna hit us with his arrows”.
“But Karna’s chariot is not protected by any such force, he is on his own, yet he fights valiantly”.
It is said that after the battle of Kurukshetra was over, Krishna refused to get off the chariot till Arjuna got down. Once Krishna alighted from the chariot, it caught fire and turned to dust.
Krishna said, “Oh Arjuna, your chariot was destroyed by Karna a long time ago, it is I who was still protecting it.”
“Never in your life have the arrogance to say that you have achieved big heights. If you have achieved something, it is the divine will, it is the divine intervention that has always protected you, cleared your path and given you the right opportunities at the right time”!

Make a life, not just a living – LIFE acronym
→ The Spiritual Scientist

[Talk at Bhakti Lounge, Wellington, New Zealand]

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