Planet ISKCON

The process of Krishna consciousness is practical dharana, or spiritual concentration. By seeing paintings of Krishna, we use our sense of sight for God; by chanting and hearing we engage the tongue and the ear; by offering incense to Krishna we engage our sense of smell. All the senses can help us engage in dharana, leading to advanced states of meditation and absorption. The holy name is particularly effective in this regard. That's why Krishna says that of austerities He is the austerity of japa, private chanting, especially while counting on beads. Continue reading "Hatha Yoga and the Bhagavad-gita
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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[Congregation program at Brisbane, Australia]

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Ratha Yatra at Saranagati, Canada (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Lord Krishna stresses the importance of remembering Him. One‘s memory of Krishna is revived by chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krishna. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-Gita 8.8 Purport)
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Mantra Therapy Retreat to Scenic Hungary.
Mantra Therapy, the dynamic, contemporary Sanga Group for professionals, celebrated its 8th Anniversary with a special Spiritual Retreat at the beautiful New Vraja Dham in Hungary. 28 attendees, many on their first ever retreat, embraced Bhakti Yoga, immersing themselves in Temple programmes, Motivational Workshops, Meditation, Martial Arts, Hiking, and signature Mantra Therapy style Kirtans. The group were also blessed with a special seminar by Sivarama Swami, and got to experience the “simple living, higher thinking” way of life at Krishna Valley first-hand. The relaxing excursions to different places, including the majestic Lake Balaton, resulted in a noticeable transformation in the hearts, habits and thinking of the attendees. It was certainly a magnificent miracle to witness! Mantra Therapy continues to serve the UK professional community by making spirituality relevant, accessible and applicable, through its regular workshops and retreats.

True Devotion
Dhirasanta Das Goswami: Once upon a time, the residents of a small village were affected by a famine; the villagers were already poor and had a tough and hard life. Thanks to the famine, they now had to battle with starvation and various diseases.
The village priest was a 70-year-old man who was a great devotee of Krishna; he was moved by the condition of the villagers. As each day passed by, their condition worsened.
Since the famine started, the villagers would visit his
temple thrice a day and pray to Krishna to fulfill their wishes or at least reduce the problems caused by the famine. They would hold a massive prayer service every Sunday in the hope that God would listen to their prayers. As their condition grew worse, they turned even more towards God.
One day, the priest could no longer bear to see the pain of the villagers; he wondered why God was not answering their prayers even when they were so devoted to Him. So he intensely prayed to God, saying:
“Dear Krishna, why are You not answering the prayers of these poor villagers who are so devoted to You? Until now I have never asked You for anything, but today I ask that You help them. Please make all the villagers happy, fulfill all their desires.”
That night he had a dream where Krishna spoke to him and said, “These villagers are not my true devotees and therefore I did not answer their prayers. They can fool you through their show of devotion, but they cannot fool me. However, you are a true devotee and I will fulfill your wish by making them all happy.”
The next day the whole village itself changed into a happy village. Although the priest did not understand why God was not happy with the devotion of the villagers, he was extremely happy to see his wish fulfilled and thanked God for it.
Soon after, the priest noticed that the number of villagers visiting the temple slowly started reducing; finally no one wanted to visit the temple. The priest implored the people to come and visit the temple that they had frequented in their troubled times, but everybody had some excuse or another for not visiting. The priest was very sad to see this. He then understood what God meant by true devotion. He realized that most people come to God only to have their wishes fulfilled and forget Him once their wishes are fulfilled.
Most people stop doing spiritual practice when their desires are fulfilled, but the real seeker is the one who continues his spiritual practice through good as well as bad times.

Rocking in Dublin with Huntertones Band from New York (5 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: If the surface of the globe is overflood...

Overstimulated But Existentially Bored!
Visakha Dasi: “Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote over 170 years ago: ‘Boredom is the root of all evil.’”
“To Kierkegaard, boredom is not just feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity; boredom is not just a sense of emptiness due to an absence of stimulation. Boredom, he wrote, is the result of an absence of meaning in one’s life. This understanding explains why people today are overstimulated but existentially bored. In 2017, global spending for entertainment reached $2.2 trillion, yet there was also an increase in boredom and unhappiness.”

“Kierkegaard was clear about what would end his boredom: ‘What could divert me? Well, if I managed to see a faithfulness that withstood every ordeal, an enthusiasm that endured everything, a faith that moved mountains; if I were to become aware of an idea that joined the finite and the infinite.’”
“Interestingly, Kierkegaard had seen boredom as ‘the despairing refusal to be oneself.’ And what Prabhupada stressed – practically demanded – was for us to be ourselves, that is, to act as spiritual souls, tiny parts of God replete with God’s qualities of eternality, joyfulness, and cognition. Constitutionally the soul is meant to give pleasure to God and His devotees, and such pleasure-giving service is fresh because Krishna is nava-yauvana, ever fresh. Giving this sort of pleasure gives us the greatest pleasure. And this attitude is stimulated by spiritual love, love that is not motivated by personal gain. Surely it is due to our lack of realization of our spiritual identity and spiritual activity that boredom exists at all in this world.”

Answer Podcast

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[Talk at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia]

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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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[Youth meeting at Melbourne, Australia]

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[Corporate talk at Hotel Chapellis for O’Neill Group employees, Melbourne, Australia]

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Question: “Can we pray for something that would be favorable for our service?”

Giriraj Swami: “Suppose I don’t have a car to go to the temple. Can I pray to Krishna to give me a car so I can get to the temple? In the Bhagavad-gita (7.26) Krishna says, ‘O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.’ He knows what is best for us, more than we ourselves do. So our prayers should be tempered with that understanding. There is a very nice prayer by Maharaja Prithu in Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.20.31) that I sometimes recommend to devotees: ‘My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have forgotten their real constitutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous of material happiness in the form of society, friendship, and love. Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me.’ This is a perfect prayer.”

Question-and-answer booth, Ratha-yatra (Right click to download)

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, March 2018, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture)

How do I deal with a relationship where there is a lot of friction?

Such things are all a matter of stars. Astrology can show us how people’s karma is composed. It basically calculates different elements in a person’s nature which allows us to get a view of what kind of karma that person has. So when two people come together, astrology allows us to see if there is compatibility between those people. Sometimes when such calculations take place and the result comes to maybe ninety percent, and we conclude that since this is a really good score of compatibility, there will be less friction in the relationship. While this may be the case, this is still not the essence.

We can have very compatible karma, but the real question comes down to if the other person in the relationship is serious about their spiritual life. This always comes first because we can sit very happily together in maya, but what good is that? “We never fight. We are peacefully watching all the rubbish that plays on our TV.“ So what is the benefit of this? So in this way, a little friction can be favourable. If there are no frictions in a relationship, then there is chance we may become complacent. A little push or a little poke is sometimes exactly what we need to get out of our lethargic state of consciousness. To need someone to push us is not necessarily bad.

People often come ask me about marriage and they tend to go straight for the compatibility. I personally first want to see Krsna consciousness. If I see that the commitment to grow in Krsna consciousness is very serious between two people, then I say, “Such a serious commitment to spiritual life is very rare to find.” When such a serious commitment exists, then the two people will manage it all, even if there is friction. Still, this could be avoided. We could try to grow and rise above it and there would be a lot less suffering then. But it is difficult to be alone, and so we all look for mutually supportive relationships. Or at least a “live and let live” type of relationship. This is certainly very important.

The article " Live and let live " was published on KKSBlog.

Will Artificial Intelligence take over the world?
What are the long-term threats to society posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Will they come to dominate us? But, even before that, can we allow them to make life-and-death decisions? What does it mean to augment humans beyond natural physical and mental limits? These were the questions posed by a multi-faith consultancy event: Faith and AI organised at the St George’s Centre at Windsor Castle. Faith representatives, including Akhandadhi das, met with Gila Sacks, the government’s Director for Digital and Tech Policy along with other top academics in the field of AI. The aim was to consider the implications of the growing use of AI in many decisionmaking aspects of our lives. Some of these seemed alarming, and the group suggested that we may not be developing our policies of ethics quickly enough to keep pace therewith. Many of the participants had fascinating insights, and it is hoped that in follow-up sessions a broad understanding of the unique nature of what we call human consciousness can be formulated.

Ladies’ Away Day!
Once a month, the ladies’ residence (ashram) at the Manor, organizes teambuilding activities for the residents. In spirit of the theme “Keeping it Spiritual”, the ashram split into groups and each chose one of the three different aspects of Sadhana (spiritual practice), Sanga (association) and Samraksha (cow protection): Sadhana - we read, discussed and reflected on some of the prayers of Queen Kunti and sang kirtan on a specially organised ashram away day. Sanga - Siddhi-lalasa dasi facilitated a Q&A to address and advise us on challenges faced along one’s spiritual journey. Samraksha - The wonderful New Gokul farm team facilitated a visit from the residents; they fed, groomed, massaged, sang to and gave time, attention and love to the beautiful cows. Other initiatives included: • ‘Quote of the Week’ on the ashram noticeboard, sharing meditative gems to inspire introspective reading; • Recycling to actively reduce waste. and • Once a month coming together to watch a movie with a spiritual theme.

Radha Kunda Seva: July 2018 Photos and Updates (Album of photos)
We are happy to report that this month was the culmination of years of persistent endeavor, ending in excitingly huge success. We have been working for several years to gain non-profit status in India so as to freely promote this service here. Up until now, we’ve only had non-profit status in the West. It has been a difficult, complicated and long process, but it’s finally come through! We are relieved and exuberant at this big accomplishment. As always the cleaning work and prasadam distribution continue daily thanks to your support, good wishes and Srimati Radharani’s mercy. On that note, thank you so much to our new patrons! We now have 3 more widows sponsored totaling us to 85 out of 150 sponsored! Right now we primarily need help with expanding our cleaning services around Govardhana, specifically on Parikrama Marg. Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com. Your servants, Campakalata Devi dasi, Padma Gopi Devi dasi, Sri Arjuna dasa, Urmila Devi Dasi, and Mayapurcandra dasa.
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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Answer Podcast

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Yesterday, I invited Rajani-priya (Rose Forkash), almost ninety-eight years old now, to accompany us to the Los Angeles Ratha-yatra.

In the car on the way back to Carpinteria after the festival, she said, “Giriraj—I want to thank you, thank you, thank you so many times for including me in today’s program. I needed it, I wanted it, and you gave it to me, so I must thank you again and again.

“I’m almost a hundred. It hasn’t been easy, but I have had wonderful people in my life—especially Prabhupada, a wonderful man. If I hadn’t lived so long, I wouldn’t have met so many wonderful people.

“I cannot tell you how much I enjoy being in the company of devotees chanting Hare Krishna.

“I am a very fortunate lady. It was an enjoyable, wonderful day, and I will remember it forever.”

At intervals along the way back, Rajani-priya broke into spontaneous singing of Hare Krishna, in Srila Prabhupada’s original melody. In the eleven hours since we had picked her up from her home, her energy and enthusiasm had not waned at all; rather, in her ecstatic mood, they had increased.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

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[Congregation program at Melbourne, Australia]

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The post Committing is not limiting – it is elevating appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Seminar at Community Hall, Melbourne, Australia]

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The post From ritual to spiritual 3 – Analysis of Krishna’s pastime with the ritualistic brahmanas – The brahmanis selfless devotion appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Melbourne, Australia]

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[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Melbourne, Australia]

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[Congregation program at Melbourne, Australia]

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The post Increasing willpower – by increasing the distance between us and our feelings, and our feeling and our actions appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Preaching program in Szombathely, Hungary (Album of photos)
Last night Sivarama Swami gave a presentation on Compassionate Liv...

Avanti House explores Faith Ethos.
Teachers and staff from the Avanti House Secondary School in Stanmore came to the Manor for a special presentation by Navin Krishna das (Nitesh Gor). Nitesh who is the Founder and Chief Executive, Avanti Schools Trust, explained “The purpose was to explore the faith ethos of Avanti schools.” All the attendees then received first class hospitality provided by the Visitors and Tours team and kitchen crew. ISKCON is the faith affiliate for the Avanti Schools.

Transcendental Art in ISKCON.
With the help of Bhaktivedanta Manor, in a new academic documentary Professor Gwilym Beckerlegge explores the importance of sacred books and ‘transcendental art’ in the life of ISKCON. The film is now part of the teaching materials of ‘Exploring Religion’ - the Open University’s latest introductory course in the study of religions. The film and the associated book are linked to the part of the course that examines religious texts, including oral traditions and art as well as sacred books. Professor Gwilym Beckerlegge is a member of the Department of Religious Studies at The Open University whose work centres on the study of contemporary Hindu movements.

We invite all of the devotees to come and take part in this years’ Jhulan Yatra festival. Adhivas will be held on Radha Madhava’s altar after Sandhya Arati, on Tuesday 21st August; then 22nd to 26th August is the festival at Jhulan Gardens [Srila Prabhupada Ashram, next to Goshalla]. The Deity Procession will leave the […]

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Pol’and’Rock - 2nd Day (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: As hundreds of thousands of people flooded the Pol’and’Rock Festival, Krsna’s Village of Peace went into action. From Ratha Yatra down the main avenue, to prasadam distribution and continuous kirtan in our Mantra Yoga tent, the sincere efforts of over 700 devotees caused a tidal wave of mercy.
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Why are sports so popular? According to Vaishnava teachings, everything here, including the sporting propensity, is an imperfect or distorted reflection of the original, blissful activities of all-attractive Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, although in this material realm sports may be attractive, their charm is illusory. We can’t enjoy the Real Thing here. At best we can try to squeeze pleasure out of a perverted representation, like a mirage in the desert. When it comes to genuine, pure fun or sport, Lord Krishna is the unrivaled champion, the unabashed connoisseur, as we see in Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.18.19: “Krishna, who knows all sports and games, then called together the cowherd boys and spoke as follows: 'Hey cowherd boys! Let's play now! We'll divide ourselves into two even teams.'" Continue reading "Sri Krishna and the Original Sporting Propensity
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"Both the Vaishnava theists and the materialists each present their own set of amazing stories. The choice is . . . which set of amazing stories to believe." It is the grand conceit of the materialistic worldview that “man is the measure of all things.” When we dig a little deeper, we find that this premise is based on a profoundly arrogant presumption, namely, that all reality can ultimately be subordinated to our sense perception and intellect. Continue reading "In Defense of the Vedic View
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