ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 06/03/2018
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ECO-Vrindaban New Vrindaban ISKCON cows gardens Prabhupada

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 06/03/2018

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes cow protection, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Founder-Acharya.

Participating Directors: Anuttama, Chaitanya Mangala (chair), Jamuna Jivani (board secretary), Makara, Olivia, and Ranaka.

Participating Advisors: Bhima, Jaya Krsna, Kalakantha, and Kripamaya.

1. 2019 50th Anniversary of Cow Protection in ISKCON

The Board and advisors reported the following as some of the ways the 50th anniversary of cow protection can be commemorated in 2019:

  • Publish a feature article in the January 2019 issue of Back to Godhead magazine
  • Hold the North American ISKCON Farm Conference in New Vrindaban
  • ECO-V organize a cow appreciation festival
  • IMCPA produce a publication about the 50th anniversary
  • Mukunda Swami will be release a book on cow protection

2. 2019 3rd North American ISKCON Farm Conference

Some directors would like to see a few well known personalities (both from within ISKCON as well as outside professionals) commit to participating in the 2019 North American ISKCON Farm Conference. In order to give ample notification for the event, a subcommittee consisting of Jamuna Jivani, Jaya Krsna, and Kalakantha was formed to identify possible dates that can be discussed at the IMCPA organizational meetings in DeLand, Florida later in June.

3. ECO-V Farming and Cow Protection Apprenticeship Program

Jamuna Jivani proposed the idea of ECO-V starting an apprenticeship program for devotees serious about getting trained in farming and cow protection. This opportunity would give participants the chance to acquire skills and experience, and potentially offer ECO-V a pool of candidates who could assist with the cows and gardens. A subcommittee consisting of Jamuna Jivani, Jaya Krsna, Olivia, and Ranaka was formed to further discuss the idea.

How I Met Swami Bhaktivedanta
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Hare KrishnaBy Haridas Das

In September 1965 I went up to Ananda Ashram, an hour and a half out of New York City. I went there mostly to get out of the city. The Indian guru who presided at the Ashram I had met before in New York at a Yoga Society. Many of my friends were involved with him studying Raja Yoga, a form of meditation. They were very enthusiastic and tried to persuade me to come uptown with them to their meetings. There was a lecture by the guru of the Ashram and a girl read from book. Then another meditation, this time with everyone concentrating on a circle drawn on the wall. I couldn't do it. The circle kept changing it's size and shape, and after a while began to fill with strange forms. My attention drifted to the faces around the room and all of them seemed involved with the circle. I looked out the window through the lacy curtains to the lake. It was green and misty and beautiful, and even if I couldn't get interested in Raja Yoga I felt happy to be out of New York City and into the country. Continue reading "How I Met Swami Bhaktivedanta
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From Krishna’s Castle to Trafalgar Square – A Food Love Story
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Hare KrishnaBy Louise Guthrie

Holborn is a strange place to build a castle. Not only that, but I can’t seem to find it. Surely Krishna’s Castle must be here somewhere, because, not only does this fantastic Food Fort commendably provide 1,500 free meals a day to those in need, but it (most importantly) has an official London postcode and address. However, as we all know, London street-numbers are not necessarily any more visible to the naked eye than hidden castles, and those door-numerals that are apparent don’t necessarily follow in sequential order. Continue reading "From Krishna’s Castle to Trafalgar Square – A Food Love Story
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Sun Love Feast – Jul 8th, 2018 – Vedic discourse by His Grace Rohini Priya Prabhu
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About His Grace Rohini Priya Dasa
Once again we have the opportunity to get the association of His Grace Rohini Priya Dasa at ISKCON Brampton. His Grace Rohini Priya Das Prabhu graduated as a doctor of Medicine from Mumbai University but decided to dedicate his life in the service of Lord Krishna.  He is a senior Brahmachari (monk) at ISKCON's Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir at Chowpatty, Mumbai, India. He is currently serving as the Vice President at ISKCON Chowpatty in Mumbai.

For the last 19 years, he has not only been practicing Krishna Consciousness but has been actively distributing the message of Bhagavad Gita to thousands of engineering, medical students and other professionals all over India.

He also travels widely to USA, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal and Canada and delivers various seminars on Krsna Consciousness.  He also delivers various seminars in Universities and other ISKCON centers



Chant: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare 

And Be Happy!!

ayur harati vai pumsam
udyann astam ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-ksano nita
uttama-sloka-vartaya


Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one
who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.
 ~ Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.17





11.00 - 11.15      Tulsi Puja
11.15  - 11.30     Guru Puja              
11:30 - 11:55     Aarti & Kirtan            
11.55  - 12.00    Sri Nrsingadeva Prayers
12.00 - 1:00     Vedic discourse
  1.00 - 1.30      Closing Kirtan
  1.30 - 2.00     Sanctified Free Vegetarian Feast

COMING UP AHEAD

Yogini Ekadasi
Fasting.....................on Mon Jul 9th, 2018
Breakfast................  on Tue Jul 10th, 2018 b/w 5.45am – 9.17am


Every fortnight, we observe Ekadasi, a day of prayer and meditation. On this day we fast (or
simplify our meals and abstain from grains and beans), and spend extra time reading the scriptures
and chanting the auspicious Hare Krishna mantra.By constantly ‘exercising’ our minds through
regular japa we can train our senses to push the threshold of contentment.
English audio glorification of all Ekadasis is available here 


Festival of India - Sat Jul 28, 2018

ONGOING PROGRAMS

Adult Education At The Temple
ISKCON Brampton offers various courses and Seminars for adults. The courses take a personal approach to learning. It encourages the student not only to study thoroughly the contents of Srila Prabhupada’s books but also to clearly understand the philosophy and practically apply it. The course focuses on behaviour and character, nurturing students in appropriate Vaishnava values.
Professionally designed and presented, it draws on the principles of Krishna consciousness
and the best of progressive education. In this way, it is true to ISKCON’s heritage and at the
same time relevant to its mission in contemporary society.

For further information, please contact HG Prema Gaurangi Devi Dasi @ premagaurangi.jps@hotmail.com


Sunday School

To register,contact us
Email:sundayschool108@gmail.com
Call:647.893.9363

The Sunday School provides fun filled strategies through the medium of music, drama, debates,
quizzes and games that present Vedic Culture to children. However the syllabus is also designed
to simultaneously teach them to always remember Krishna and never forget Him.
The Sunday School follows the curriculum provided by the Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture (BCEC).


Monthly sankirtan Festival(MSF)
“One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.”(Previous Acaryas)
Every member of ISKCON should have the opportunity to make advancement in Krishna
consciousness by preaching.We encourage everyone to come out and participate and make
Srila Prabhupada happy.

Please contact:
Dharma Dasa- dharandev58@gmail.com-647.892.0739(Mississauga and Brampton regions)


The Mentorship Program

Please note that registration in the Mentorship System is now a mandatory requirement for all initiation requests at ISKCON Brampton.It

1.Facilitates  and nurtures devotees aspiring for first and second Initiation.
2.One-on-One personal follow up on a regular basis.
3.Systematic training to devotees in matters of Philosophy, Sadhna, Vaishnava behavior, etiquette, Lifestyle and attitudes.

To find details please click here


Gift Shop

Are you looking for some amazing gift items which are less expensive and more beautiful for your
loved ones for festivals or many other occasions??
Our boutique is stocked with an excellent range of products, perfect for gifts or as souvenirs of your
visit. It offers textiles, jewelry, incense, devotional articles, musical instruments, books, and CDs
inspired by Indian culture.We're open on all Sundays and celebrations marked in our annual calendar.

Gita 18.17 When we act without false ego, we stay free of reactions
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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Bhagavatam study 93 1.17.24-30 Avoid both extremes of taking everything in scripture only literally or only metaphorically
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Podcast


 

The post Bhagavatam study 93 1.17.24-30 Avoid both extremes of taking everything in scripture only literally or only metaphorically appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018
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Brampton, Ontario

Dedications

The plan is to walk a length of the Bruce Trail tomorrow, but today I couldn’t find the time.  Good clear walking hours would have been in the night.  Instead our brahmachari monk team from Toronto drove over to the household of Rajarsi and Ragini who held a kirtanchanting session at their home in honour of Jayapataka Swami, a senior godbrother.  He is having all kinds of physical challenges and we thought it good to call on some help for healing from the Supreme.  The event was held in their private home in Brampton, and many people came.  Some very rich prasadamwas served at 8:00 p.m., a little late, and caused a little ache in the belly when so late, but we are grateful.  I was exceedingly happy to see such devotional acquaintances not seen since the seventies and eighties.

Honourable mention must go to a person who was a rock in the bhaktipublishing department.  Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, began a regular journal called, “Back to Godhead,” in 1944.  For a time, there was a lull in publication, but it was revived in the late ’60s.  Called “The backbone of the Hare Krishna movement,” this publication enjoyed a period of decades of dedication by senior photographer and advisor, Yamaraja, who recently passed away from cancer.

Yamaraj was always kind to me every time I met him at the temple in Alachua near Gainesville.  He was a gentle soul and a determined monk.  He is a kind of hero who fought two demons, cancer and the Kali-yuga, with his publication work.  https://iskconnews.org/back-to-godhead-magazines-quiet-hero-yamaraja-das-passes-away,6617

May the Source be with you!
0 km


New Vrindaban Days – Chapter 4
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New Vrindaban ISKCON 50th Anniversary Banner

New Vrindaban Days

As New Vrindaban enters its 50th anniversary (1968 to 2018), I wrote this series of articles for the Brijabasi Spirit in an attempt to give the reader not only an “understanding,” but more importantly a “taste,” of what life in early New Vrindaban was like – through the stories of one devotee’s personal journey.

The title of the series, “New Vrindaban Days,” is in tribute to the wonderful book “Vrindaban Days: Memories of an Indian Holy Town” written by Howard Wheeler, Hayagriva Das. He was one of Srila Prabhupada’s first disciples, a co-founder of New Vrindaban, and, a great writer. As with Hayagriva’s book, this series focuses on a period of time in the 1970’s.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Chaitanya Mangala Das, for spending untold hours assisting me in refining my writing for your reading pleasure.

I have been asked to describe certain aspects of early New Vrindaban Community life such as the nature of the austerities, what it was like for a new person coming here, cooking, anecdotes about particular devotees, etc.

I attempt to tell these stories in some semblance of a chronological order, beginning with my first meeting with devotees in 1968, leading to my arrival in New Vrindaban in late 1973 and carrying through to the official opening of Srila Prabhupada’s Palace in 1979.

Advaitacharya Dasa

Chapter 4: Fired Up – We Depend on Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra

Advaitacarya New Vrindaban Bahulaban ISKCON 1974

Bhakta Emil (pre Advaitacarya Das) & his brother Billy at Bahulaban in New Vrindaban, early 1974.

It is December 1973 and I have been chanting Hare Krishna for the better part of two years. I have just returned to NYC where I live, after visiting New Vrindaban for the first time. The idea is that I will get my belongings and return to New Vrindaban where I will officially join the Hare Krishna Movement. At home I do rapidly begin to experience life shaking “movements” but they are neither taking place in a motor vehicle nor are they part of the spreading of the chanting of Hare Krishna.

World travelers are familiar with maladies that carry exotic names like India’s “Delhi Belly,” or Mexico’s “Montezuma’s Revenge.” At the time I am nowhere near being a world traveler nor am I familiar with the above mentioned exotic labels. I have experienced severe stomach disorders in my twenty years but nothing like those that consume me for the better part of the next two weeks. While visiting New Vrindaban I may have heard mention of issues with the drinking water, but this is beyond an issue.  For two weeks I cannot even think of leaving my bed and bodily fluids are leaving my body through every avenue of exit faster than I can put them in.

When I’m finally able to get on my feet, I call Kirtanananda Swami and let him know why I have been delayed. He gets a good chuckle knowing exactly what I am going through. Right before we hang up he asks, “Do you think you could bring a few things we need?” I tell him sure and he lets me know he will make me a list.

The next day I call back and am shocked to get a list that includes sheet rock, insulation, and a host of various building materials, as well as items like bulk spices, rice, and other food items. It takes me days to do the shopping and there is so much I have to rent a trailer to get it there. The Swami makes it clear that he will be happy with whatever I can get off the list but I am trying to make a good impression and anxious to help build New Vrindaban in any way I can, so I get everything he’s asked for. The total bill comes to over two thousand dollars – or more precisely – every penny I have in the world.

Bahulaban early 1970s New Vrindaban ISKCON

The Bahulaban Farmhouse, early 1970s.

When we pull up at the bottom of the driveway at Bahulaban, it’s like Christmas. Many of the devotees I had been pulling firewood over the ice with three weeks earlier come to greet us. Bhakta Mark (Madhava Ghosh), Bhakta Busby (Haridhama), Bhakta Dennis (Damodara Pandit), and Bhakta George (Jalakholahali) empty the trailer and carry the supplies into the temple building.

We quickly find out in the three weeks we have been gone the single men have moved three miles up the road to live in the isolation of the original Vrindaban farm. The look on my brother Billy’s face belies the fact that he is not happy to be leaving us and going up the road. None of us expected this.

Eventually I make it up to the Swami’s cabin and ask him what living space I should move my stuff into. He tells me that I should go to the temple and ask for the acting temple president, Radha Kanta.

When I enter the building I find two devotees sitting at the base of a wall with one playing a harmonium and the other chanting. I sit for a while listening to them and after a few minutes they realize I am waiting to speak to them and finish up.

“Excuse me. The Swami told me I should find Radha Kanta.” I say.

The devotee who had been chanting answers back in the heaviest southern drawl this NYC kid has heard on anything other than a TV set. “I’m Radha Kanta. What can I do for you?”

“My girlfriend and I have just moved here. The Swami told me to ask you where we should live.”

Radha Kanta looks stunned. “He told you what?”

“To ask where we should live.”

He turns his head to look at Devakinandana, the harmonium player. He turns back to me.

“He told you to ask me where you should live?”

“Yes.”

Again he turns to Devakinandana, and then back to me, “SON – OF – A – B…CH. He knows there’s no place for you to live.”

I make it back up to the cabin with the news. It seems that there is an abandoned box truck in the parking lot and it is suggested my girlfriend and I stay in the truck until an apartment comes vacant. Hopefully it will only be a few days.

Truth be told the box truck is a bit rustic and even a tad romantic. We have just moved from New York City. Knowing New Vrindaban is more or less a frozen tundra we arrived loaded up with plenty of blankets and warm clothes, all of which are in the truck with us. Throughout the night we are so cold we put everything we own on top of us. It is still unbearable. Thankfully we are still alive when 2:30 AM rolls around and it is time to get up for the morning program.

Later, I make a case for wanting to stay alive long enough to render some service and we are given a small lantern like heater to bring to the truck for our second night. Success! It casts a beautiful light and actually warms the truck. We get o good night sleep but wind up waking up late for the morning program. I rush out of the truck to the bath house.

What is called the “bath house” is actually the furnace room under the temple building. The temple building at Bahulaban is a farmhouse over 100 years old. When I say the words “furnace room” it is not like any furnace room that most of the readers have ever seen. The door is made of old boards barely nailed together that drags along the ground as I open and close it. Inside is a dirt floor and the furnace itself is a large old wood burner that requires large chunks of logs.  The walls are stone blocks and the taller devotees have to bend over inside the room so that they won’t bang their head on the rafters. On the dirt floor against the stone wall there are two wood pallets which I have to stand on to be out of the mud while I bathe. A large red plastic barrel that was purchased in bulk from a Pittsburgh pickle factory holds the ice cold water I will scoop from and pour over my head.

But, enough of that. It is 4 AM and I am late for Mangal Aroti. I drag the door open and a devotee rushes out past me. He seems to give me a strange look on his way past. I think it must be because I am even later than him. I remove my muddy boots, hoping to keep my clothes out of the mud and climb up onto the pallet. I plunge the cut out plastic gallon milk container into the water and cringe as I pour bucket after bucket over my body. The one off the top of my head makes it feel as if my head has cracked in half. The one that runs down my back makes my entire body rock. I would describe what the additional scoops do to me but by that time I am so traumatized that I don’t comprehend anything else that is happening to me. In a state of pain and delirium I desperately clutch a towel to dry myself, get dressed and run up stairs across the snow and ice to enter the temple building on the ground level.

Along the side of the temple building is the Tulsi greenhouse. I enter the greenhouse darting the twenty feet in the direction of the well that lies toward the back of the room. To the left is the side door into the actual temple farmhouse. The first room I step into is the prasadam room. As I go through the side door, just to my right is a small doorway covered with a lotus arch that leads into the temple room, an extension that has recently been built onto the farmhouse. I can hear that the Samsara Prayers are just ending. At least I will be catching 2/3 of the arti. Instead of going to my right and into the temple room I instead make a left turn and rush to a mantel piece where a bowl of tilak sits just below a large mirror.

I stick my finger into the bowl and raise my eyes to the mirror. In my reflection I do not find myself but instead what seems to be Al Jolsen in blackface. I am completely covered in an oily soot with the only bits of white appearing when I blink my eyes. I try rubbing it off to no avail. I’m in a panic. I decide to pull my chadar down over my face and run back across the prasadam room, going under the arch and through the six foot long walkway, into the temple room.

The temple room is about twenty five foot square. As I enter the room the altar of Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra is to my left and quickly behind me as I enter the room to pay my obeisance. I rise up chanting with the other devotees careful to keep my face completely covered by the hood created by the chadar. At the end of the Arti I rush out before the rest of the program and back to my truck chalet. Again I have to make a case for staying alive through another night without succumbing to poisonous fumes.

It is suggested we leave our belongings in the parking lot truck and sleep each night on the floor of the incense warehouse, until a place comes available.  As we slept in the incense warehouse during our visit three weeks before, we not only feel comfortable, but we are also fairly confident we will make it through the night without dying.

Bahulaban New Vrindaban ISKCON Cow Barn

Oceans of mud outside the cow barn at Bahulaban in New Vrindaban, mid 1970s.

I have no discernible talent so I spend the first few days with my brother, Bhakta Bill, and Bhakta Atticus (Tapanacharya Das) pulling mud down the drive way. We are not pulling mud with a back end loader or a bulldozer. Instead the devotees have furnished us with planks of wood about 24 inches long through which they have drilled a hole in the center. Through the hole they have wedged a broom handle and tried nailing them in. We are using these make shift squeegees to drag mud from behind the cow barn, across the patio, down the driveway and across the road. In total the distance is about the length of half a football field. Progress is more than just slow.

Soon enough everyone realizes how futile it is and eventually I am sent off to help in the wood shed. The wood shed is a tin roof on poles made of the trunks of small trees sitting under a large willow tree and extending out off the side of a ten foot by ten foot cinder block building painted ugly green, which serves as the women’s bath house.

Under the roof there is a “buck saw,” an implement wielding a thirty inch spinning saw blade used to cut logs into eighteen inch lengths. After the frozen logs, which have been dragged in by the horses, are cut they are then split into sizes small enough to fit into the wood stoves used in different locations. Four barrels split fine for the Deity kitchen, fifteen pieces to be carried up the hill to “householder heights,” eight pieces for the Swami’s cabin, and of course – some choice, dry wood for the nice people now sleeping on the floor of the incense warehouse.

Settling in over the next couple of weeks is made easier by the fact that the incense warehouse has its own wood stove. Not being familiar with what a wood stove should actually be, I am completely unaware that the one we have is really no more than a large tin can with a slide open top. A top that I might add, in retrospect, is obviously defective.

I have fallen into a comfortable groove. Each day in the shed I am sure to pick the choicest wood for our stove. After the brahmacari working in the warehouse leaves for his three mile walk to the Vrindaban farm each evening, I bring our wood to our chalet. The evening program is attended by all of the devotees. As a part of my nightly routine I first rush to the warehouse to fill the wood stove with hot burning locust wood. Next I proceed to the bathhouse, and then rush to the temple for Tulsi Puja. I am comfortable knowing after the program – and hot milk prasadam – I will return home to a spot on the floor of the warmest, most fragrant place in all of New Vrindaban.

On this snowy, frozen night I enter the bath house to find a new devotee from the Boston temple standing in his Brahmin underwear on the pallet. Uttamauja is the largest devotee I have ever seen, standing well over six feet tall and weighing at least 350 pounds. I undress, place my clothes on the shelf and make my way to the pallet. As the ice water splits my head in half the door of the bath house flies open and I look up to see Amburish, the head of the cow barn, standing in the doorway with a look of terror on his face.

“FIRE!” Amburish screams.

“Where?” I plead.

“Incense warehouse,” he responds.

Along with my frozen head, my heart now also shatters. I leap from the pallet and in a panic reach for my clothes. When I pull the pants up I soon realize that I am swimming in Uttamaujas size 60 jeans. I grapple to hold the pants up and rush out barefoot into the night. Devotees stream past, going to and from the cow barn carrying buckets of water. I run to the burning building. The Swami is outside telling everyone to stand back. I can’t. I’m drenched not only in ice cold water but also in guilt. I know that this is the only source of revenue for the entire community and that I am responsible for the flames now soaring fifteen feet in the air. Ignoring his pleas I snatch a bucket of water from the hands of a nearby devotee, rush to the door and heave the water into the flames.

Unbeknownst to me, the essential oils burning inside do not mix well with water and although the flame initially dances briefly away, it comes roaring back, searing off my eyebrows and causing the skin of both ears to immediately blister. The devotees scream for me to stand back while the fire consumes the entire building and our rag tag fire line stands forlorn under the moon and frozen trees on the ice and snow.

Later, I sit weeping in the Swami’s cabin. The community electrician, Gadadhara, is in the room. Both try to console me but I am devastated.

“Bhakta Emil, it’s alright,” the Swami says.

“It’s not alright. The whole community is dependent on the incense business.” I cry.

“Bhakta Emil. We don’t depend on the incense business. We depend on Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra.”

Radha Vrindaban Chandra Bahulaban altar New Vrindaban

Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra on Their altar at Bahulaban in New Vrindaban, 1970s.

I can sense he is not blowing smoke. He believes it. He wants me to believe it. He is accepting of me and the guilt I am wallowing in leaves me completely.

“You and your girlfriend can stay with Gadadhara and Sarveswari. They have a loft in their apartment.”

Luckily all we personally own is still in the truck, so we have bedding and clothing. We trudge up to the top of the hill and enter the “apartment” Gadadhara has led us to. It is a single room no bigger than 12 foot x 12 foot with barely anything in it. He leads us to the “loft” – a 2.5 ft. wide shelf mounted ¾ of the way up the wall. Gadadhara sees the look on my face.

“Welcome to householder heights,” he says.

New Vrindaban ISKCON Bahulaban Welcome Sign

The New Vrindaban Welcome Sign at Bahulaban – circa 1973.

Festival Hare Krishna – with a nice note from the…
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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

Devotees chant and distribute books at the Warped Tour (Album…
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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

Bhakti-sastri 2018 opening ceremony (Album of photos) This…
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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 Unknown History of Big Book Distribution
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Hare KrishnaBy Mahatma Das

(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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Butler, Pennsylvania: The First Testing Ground
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Hare KrishnaBy Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

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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Goosebumps and bliss!
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Hare KrishnaBy Kesava Krsna dasa

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!
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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!

The Supreme Court and the Supreme Lord of the Universe
Giriraj Swami

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

 

Bhagavatam study 92 1.17.18-23 The cause of suffering is sometimes incomprehensible
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Gita 18.16 To think that we are the sole doers is to have deluded intelligence
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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ISKCON Scarborough- HG Rohinipriya das will be giving a special class today
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Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

We are very happy to inform you that HG Rohinipriya das prabhu will be at ISKCON Scarborough today (Fri - 6th July 2018) to give a special class.

Program starts at 6:45 pm.
Prabhu will also be joining us for the live weekly Radio program tomorrow from 8 am to 9 am.

Prabhu will also be taking part in a home program on Saturday evening and then be giving the class at ISKCON Brampton and ISKCON Toronto on Sunday.

Biodata of HG Rohinipriya das prabhu:

HG Rohini Priya Das prabhu graduated as a doctor of Medicine from Mumbai university but decided to dedicate his life in the service of Lord Krishna.

Prabhu, is a senior Brahmachari at ISKCON's Sri Radha Gopinath mandir at Chowpatty,Mumbai,India.

He is currently serving as the Vice President at ISKCON Chowpatty in Mumbai.

For the last 26 years he has not only been practising Krishna Consciousness but has been actively distributing the message of Bhagavad Gita to thousands of Engineering , Medical students and other professionals all over India.

He also travels widely to USA, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal and Canada and delivers various classes/ seminars on Krsna Consciousness.


We welcome you, your family and friends to ISKCON Scarborough today


ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7
Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com
website:
www.iskconscarborough.org

Harinama in Bondi, New South Wales, Australia (Album with…
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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)

The Supreme Court asks Puri Jagannath temple to allow visitors irrespective of nationality and religion
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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.