Planet ISKCON

HH Mukunda Goswami’s address to the North American Farm Delegates at the meeting in Florida (2 min video)

5th Annual Education Conference in Alachua (Album of photos)
Gopi Gita: This weekend was the 5th Annual Education Conference i...

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Iskcon London’s announcement (3 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Simply we have to desire to please Him, and not desire anything for ourselves. Then we become simply instruments for His will. This is the important essence of Krishna consciousness. Letter to Atreya Rsi, October 20, 1973.

Home program in Cuenca, Ecuador (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Even while engaged in various activities, devotees whose minds are completely absorbed at Your lotus feet, and who constantly hear, chant, contemplate and cause others to remember Your transcendental names and forms, are always on the transcendental platform, and thus they can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.2.37)
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«Important Kirtan Points»
Hare Krishna, everyone! I’m BB Govinda Swami and I’m visiting Bhaktivedanta Manor and I was requested to give a brief interview for Kirtan Space. I was requested to speak on important points, points that I feel are important about kirtan.

“This is love. This service that you are doing, this is also love.”
Kadamba Kanana Swami: It is interesting that when speaking of prema (pure love for Krsna) in the Srimad Bhagavatam, the example is given of the intermediate devotee, the madhyama-adhikārī. Not the kanishta-adhikārī (the neophyte), but of the madhyama, someone a bit more advanced, a devotee who has shown determination. It is provided: īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.46). This says that for the madhyama-adhikārī, he has prema for isvara (Lord), friendship for the devotees and indifference for the envious. So it is interesting that the word prema has been used for the madhyama-adhikārī. Now, prema comes at the end of the ladder of the nine stages of bhakti, from sraddha (faith) to prema (pure love for Krsna). So how is it that the madhyama-adhikārī can already have prema, considering it is the uttama-adhikārī who is the advanced devotee. This is because prema is not like flicking a light switch that can suddenly be changed from the darkness of ignorance to “I love Krsna”! There is a lot in between where that Krsna prema is developing and growing.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 May 2016, Vrndavana, India, Bhagavad-gita 3.34)

It is interesting that when speaking of prema (pure love for Krsna) in the Srimad Bhagavatam, the example is given of the intermediate devotee, the madhyama-adhikārī. Not the kanishta-adhikārī (the neophyte), but of the madhyama, someone a bit more advanced, a devotee who has shown determination. It is provided: īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.46). This says that for the madhyama-adhikārī, he has prema for isvara (Lord), friendship for the devotees and indifference for the envious. So it is interesting that the word prema has been used for the madhyama-adhikārī. Now, prema comes at the end of the ladder of the nine stages of bhakti, from sraddha (faith) to prema (pure love for Krsna). So how is it that the madhyama-adhikārī can already have prema, considering it is the uttama-adhikārī who is the advanced devotee. This is because prema is not like flicking a light switch that can suddenly be changed from the darkness of ignorance to “I love Krsna”! There is a lot in between where that Krsna prema is developing and growing.

So our movement is operating on this goal of attaining love for Krsna. Prabhupada was very generous in that regard. For instance, we may remember the famous story that Srutakirti prabhu told us about massaging Prabhupada. It started with a large group of devotees receiving Prabhupada at the airport. Since they had not seen Prabhupada in a very long time, everyone was crying when Prabhupada arrived, except for Srutakirti. He had dry eyes with not a single tear. So when he was massaging Prabhupada later that day, he expressed to Prabhupada, “I am such a fallen soul Prabhupada. Everyone was crying at the airport when they saw you, because they were full of love for you. But I am just cold, and I have no feeling in my heart. No love at all. What do I do?” Prabhupada responded with absolutely nothing. The next day however when it was time for the same massage, Prabhupada finally gave the answer to Srutakirti, “This is love. This service that you are doing, this is also love.”

Therefore, Prabhupada was very generous in such ways. There are other pastimes of intimate servants of Prabhupada whose minds were still not always aligned, and wanted to do something else, even while they were serving Prabhupada, a pure devotee. Now we can say things like, “Prabhupada is a unique personality who did the greatest work of bringing this movement forward for all of us.” But his servants, meanwhile, were also after a while, ready to do something else. So imagine how this point counts for all of us. We are engaging in devotional service and yet our mind may sometimes desire some other activity. This is possible. We may think to ourselves while chanting, “Do I really have to do it again? This is not even pure love.” But Prabhupada did not look at it in that strict sense, because even if it is not manifesting as pure love, regardless, it is still love.

The article " Defining love " was published on KKSBlog.

Kirtan Mela in New Dwarka, Iskcon Los Angeles (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “O Lord,” the demigods say, “the impersonalists, who are nondevotees, cannot understand that Your name is identical with Your form.” Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His name and His actual form. In the material world there is a difference between form and name. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.2.36 Purport).
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Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard at Iskcon Farmington Hills - June 24, 2018 (7 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: I have given the ideas....

London Rathayatra - 50th Anniversary - 24th June 2018 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: It is imperative that all devotees i...

Have you ever worked for someone who doesn’t have time for you? Krishna is the controller of everything, but He has all the time in the universe for you. And not only for you but for me too. That’s the beauty of Krishna. He is with all of us individually. Because the Krishna conscious person is regulated in his work, speech, sleep, wakefulness, and other bodily activities, he or she experiences no misery. This is practical. If someone undergoes some sort of stress, a friend might say, “Just take your mind off it; get engrossed in your work.” People do that as a kind of therapy. Here the Gita recommends we go on permanent therapy. Work for Krishna. You’ll get so absorbed that you won’t fear even death. Steadiness comes from being constantly engaged in serving guru and Krishna. In the spiritual world the gopis compete to serve Krishna. There is so much work to do for Krishna that you can be totally carried away. Love is both a verb and a noun. To feel perfect satisfaction, you have to practice loving Krishna. You have to serve Him. Continue reading "Practice Loving Krishna
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Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the founder and organiser of a large worldwide religious movement; that he developed it in just twelve years, all after his seventieth birthday, shows that he was not only practical, innovative and determined but also spiritually empowered. Although these are valid reasons to think highly of Srila Prabhupada, he always de-emphasised his own abilities, preferring to be judged on the more objective grounds of his bona fide allegiance to the teachings of the Vaisnava tradition he represented. He did not credit his preaching success to any special abilities of his own. As he once said, 'I don't claim that I am a pure devotee or perfect, but my only qualification is that I am trying to follow the instruction of the perfect.' Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada and the Vaisnava Tradition of Scriptural Commentary: Serving the Words of His Predecessors
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“Сердце мое вовсе не довольно, если  преданные, безразличные ко всем остальным духовным практикам и реализациям, желающие одного лишь личного служения Шримати Радхике, постоянно воспевающие Ее славу и поглощенный любовью к Ней, достигают  того же места на Вайкунтхе, что и иные преданные. Это так печально! Я не могу смириться с тем, что это конечное место назначения таких преданных, как Шри Нандарайа и Шри Яшода. Все-таки для них должна быть иная обитель, выше Вайкунтхи. Если есть такое место, пожалуйста, опиши мне его и развей мои сомнения”.

[ Уттара – своему сыну, Парикшиу Махараджу, “Брихат-Бхагаватамрита”, 2.121-22,24 ]

“My heart cannot be satisfied if those devotees who, being indifferent to any other spiritual practice and spiritual attainment, desire only the personal service of Srimati Radhika, and who perpetually sing Her glories and are immersed in love for Her, attain residence in merely the same Vaikuntha as so many other devotees do. This is a matter of great sorrow! And I cannot tolerate that this must be the final destination for devotees like Sri Nandaraya and Sri Yasoda. There must certainly be a suitable abode for them that is superior to Vaikuntha. If there is such a place, then please describe and deliver me from doubt.”

[ Uttara to her son, Pariksit Maharaja, Brhat Bhagavatamrta, 2.121-22,24 ]

The word "Acarya" in Founder-Acarya means that Srila Prabhupada is the ultimate teacher by his own example in ISKCON. Being a perfect teacher by example, therefore, everything he does is instructive because, as followers, we are meant to aspire to strictly follow his example. Prabhupada would oftentimes speak about the difference between following in the footsteps and imitating. He would say that following in the footsteps of the previous acaryas means that we follow the same path they themselves walked. It also means to follow their instructions. Therefore, mahajano yena gatah sa panthah....they leave behind instructions by which their followers can traverse the same path as they themselves also traversed. Imitating means that we try to artificially imitate the position of being fully realized without being fully realized. Continue reading "The Highest Compassion
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Bhimasena said to Srila Vyasadeva, “Only when I eat to my full satisfaction does the fire in my stomach become satisfied. Oh great sage, I might possibly be able to fast only once, so I beg that you tell me of an Ekadasi that is worthy of my fasting and that includes all other Ekadasis. I shall faithfully observe that fast and hopefully still become eligible for liberation.”

Srila Vyasadeva said, “Oh Bhimasena, one who can fast on the special Jyestha-sukla Ekadasi reaps the benefit of having fasted on every Ekadasi during the year. You should even give up drinking water on this particularly auspicious Ekadasi day. 

Oh Vrikodara (veracious eater), whoever fasts on this Ekadasi receives the merits of bathing in all the places of pilgrimage, giving all kinds of charities to worthy persons, and fasting on all the dark and light Ekadasis throughout the year, in one go. Of this there is no doubt.

Oh tiger among men, whoever fasts on this Ekadasi truly becomes a great person and achieves all manner of opulence and wealth, grains, strength, and health. And at the fearful moment of death, the terrible Yamadutas, whose complexions are yellow and black and who brandish huge maces and twirl mystic pasha ropes in the air for binding their victims, will refuse to approach him. 

Rather, such a faithful soul will at once be taken to the supreme abode of Lord Visnu by the Visnu-dutas, whose transcendentally beautiful forms are clothed in gorgeous yellowish garments and who each hold a disk, club, conch and lotus in their four hands, resembling Lord Visnu. It is to gain all these benefits that one should certainly fast on this very auspicious and important Ekadasi, even from water.”

When the other Pandavas heard about the benefits to be gained by following Jyestha-sukla Ekadasi, they resolved to observe it exactly as their grandfather Srila Vyasadeva had explained it to their brother, Bhimasena. All the Pandavas observed it by refraining from eating or drinking anything, and thus this day is also known as Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi.

ISKCON of Connecticut: Door to door book and Srimad Bhagavatam distribution in Farmington on the auspicious occasion of Pandava Nir...

2018 ISKCON Hartford RathaYatra (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If we simply place ourselves at the lotus feet of Krishn...

Krishna conscious program for children (video)

Real beauty.
Kadamba Kanana Swami: Human relationships become meaningful when Krsna is the priority. It is not good enough when Krsna is simply there in our lives. I mean, it is still nice that Krsna is there, but when Krsna actually becomes the priority, then it becomes significant to the point that everything will change. This is the unique feature of Srila Prabhupada, who truly made Krsna the priority and showed that consistently throughout his whole life. Many people in India have some affiliation with Krsna, so Krsna is obviously part of the culture of many people across the world. This is positive, very nice indeed, but that is not the same, not good enough. So Prabhupada came and gave us Krsna, making him the priority, and then suddenly, everything started to change – relationships started to change.

Hare Krishna Festivals UK: Sutton Harinam - 23rd June 2018 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: No one can be more pure than de...

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

Human relationships become meaningful when Krsna is the priority. It is not good enough when Krsna is simply there in our lives. I mean, it is still nice that Krsna is there, but when Krsna actually becomes the priority, then it becomes significant to the point that everything will change. This is the unique feature of Srila Prabhupada, who truly made Krsna the priority and showed that consistently throughout his whole life. Many people in India have some affiliation with Krsna, so Krsna is obviously part of the culture of many people across the world. This is positive, very nice indeed, but that is not the same, not good enough. So Prabhupada came and gave us Krsna, making him the priority, and then suddenly, everything started to change – relationships started to change.

There is a story about Ramanujacharya and a wrestler. This wrestler’s eye fell upon a very beautiful girl and instantly became so enamoured by her that he became her dedicated servant. Whenever she walked in the sun, he would hold a parasol over her head. If there was anything that she needed, he would bring it to her even before she could think of requesting it from him – he would already have everything ready for her. So in this way, he was always serving her with great attention.

One day Ramanujacharya came by and saw how this wrestler was serving the girl and he came to this wrestler’s ashrama and asked, “Why are you serving this girl?” The wrestler said, “Oh, because she is so beautiful.” So Ramanujacharya replied, “You call that beautiful?” If anybody else would have said this, they would have been in some serious trouble. But the wrestler did have some respect for a sadhu, so he did not take action but instead challenged Ramanujacharya, “Well if you say that this is not beauty, then you show me what beauty is?” Ramanujacharya accepted this challenge and when they met the next morning, he took the wrestler by the hand into back alleys, left and right, till eventually they walked through a back door and into the temple where they stood right before a deity of the Lord. Because the wrestler was accompanied by Ramanujacharya who was full of transcendental potency, the wrestler got a vision of the beauty of the Lord and he simply stood there, stunned. He realised what Ramanujacharya was getting at, and from that day on, the wrestler became a completely dedicated devotee of the Lord.

The beautiful girl started to notice, “What is happening here? The wrestler is no longer coming around with the parasol and with all the other things to please me, what is happening? He has now become so devoted to the deity of the Lord.” At first, she was feeling a bit neglected, but then she saw that the wrestler was actually extraordinary because he was such a dedicated devotee of the Lord. And as a result, she began to bow down to him and now she began to serve him! So in such a way, the whole relationship just changed when these two made Krsna the priority. Now, please note that it is not always that the man is the one who takes on the role of the spiritual leader. In a family, it could be the lady who is the devotee and then she brings the spiritual energy into the relationship. So I did not want to read a story and create some kind of a classic model and how we have to follow with that. But ultimately, whoever has the dedication to Krsna will lead in that relationship. But when Krsna is in the relationship itself, then everything falls into place.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, there is one of the catur-sloki. Initially, the Bhagavatam was spoken in four verses to Lord Brahma and then later, it was expanded into many verses. One of those four original verses to Lord Brahma said:

ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta
na pratīyeta cātmani
tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ
yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ

(Srimad Bhagavatam 2.9.34)

This meant that the value of anything is to be understood with respect to its relationship with Krsna. This is a very profound way of looking at things because one can immediately look at something and understand the real value of it. What is the merit in this for Krsna? If it does not have much merit for Krsna, then it is clearly not very important. That is a fantastic yard stick to determine the importance of anything. When we wonder of what we should do, we must as ourselves, “Is this valuable for Krsna? If it is valuable for Krsna, then it is very important. If not so valuable for Krsna, then not so important.” So this is how Krsna consciousness changes everything, including all our relationships. It gives individuals like us a purpose to serve, and therefore all our interactions with everyone must also have that purpose.

The article " Evaluate " was published on KKSBlog.

Adapted from Srila Narahari Chakravarti Thakur’s  Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara

After studying for a prolonged period in Vrindavan under the guidance of Srila Jiva Goswami and in the association of many exalted associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Srinivas Acarya along with his dear friends Shyamananda Prabhu and Narottam Das Thakur have been ordered to leave Vraja to preach and distribute the writings of the Six Goswamis. The following is a description from the night before they departed.

That night Srinivas remained in his bhajana-kuṭira while Narottam and Shyamananda went to theirs. Although Srinivas had spent the entire day having darshan of many vaiṣṇavas and deities, in the night he began to lament. Lifting his hands to the sky, he called out, “Providence has deprived me of this pleasure. Shall I, a worthless person, ever again see the deities of Govinda, Gopinath, Madan Mohan, Radha Vinod, Radha Mohan and Radha Damodara? Will Prabhu Sri Gopal Bhatta ever bring me back to Vrindavan or give me the opportunity to serve his feet again? Shall Lokanath Goswami, the incarnation of kindness, bestow his grace on me again? Catching hold of the hair of this sinner, will the gracious Bhugarbha Goswami ever bring me back again? Will Raghunath Das Goswami, the embodiment of kindness, ever again fulfil my desires? Srila Jiva Goswami is the light of the poor and the unfortunate people. Will I ever see his feet again? O associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, will you ever again bring such an unfortunate soul as me to Vrindavan and allow me to enjoy your company?”

His voice became choked with lamentation and tears flowed down his face. The similar lamentations of Narottam melted even the wood and stone. And who can describe the lamentation of Shyamananda? The thought of impending separation made each of them restless, and they could not sleep. By the will of Govinda, that night Srinivas fell asleep in the late hours. He had a dream in which he saw Rupa Goswami’s deity Sri Govinda leaving the temple and walking to Srinivas with the gait of an elephant. Defeating the beauty of the lotus flower, Sri Govinda’s beauty put hundreds of gods to shame. He was adorned with jewelry and wore the feather of a peacock on his head. He had long eyes and his body was well designed. The beauty of his face defeated the beauty of hundreds of moons.

Govinda Dev smiled and said:

ohe śrinivasa! kheda kara sambaraṇa śunite nā jani prāṇa karaye kemana

“O Srinivas, stop lamenting! You don’t know the pain that hearing you brings to my heart”

tumi mora prema-mūrti, nā jāna tā’ tumi nirantara tomāra nikaṭe āchi āmi

“Do you not know that you are the embodiment of my love and I am always with you?”

mora mano-‘bhīṣṭa ye tā’ aneka prakāre karilu prakāśa rūpa-sanātana dvāre

“My numerous desires have been manifested through Rupa and Sanatana.”

tomādvāre grantha-ratna kari vitaraṇa haribe jīvera duḥkha diya prema-dhana

“Through your distribution of these books I shall destroy the grief of mankind and give them the wealth of ecstatic love.”

ye jana la-ibe asi’ śaraṇa tomāra tāre āmi avaśya kariba aṅgīkara

“I promise I shall accept anyone who takes shelter of you.”

ha-iba tomāra śiṣya bhāgyavanta-gaṇa tā’ sabā la-iyā āsvādibā saṅkīrtana

“Whoever becomes your disciple shall be very fortunate; you should take them with you and perform congregational chanting.”

konamate kichu cintā nā kariha cite madhye madhye aiche more pāibā dekhite

“Don’t worry about anything. From time to time you will see me in this same way.”

After consoling Srinivas, Sri Govinda transformed himself into Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srinivas could not contain himself as he begged for a hundred eyes to see the form of the Lord. He worshiped the Lord’s feet by falling on the ground and Chaitanya placed his feet on Srinivas’ head. The Lord embraced Srinivas and bid him farewell for his journey to Gaudadesh. Then he abandoned his Chaitanya form and returned to the temple. Upon the disappearance of Govinda, Srinivas became emotionally torn and when his sleep broke he saw that it was dawn. After performing his morning duties, grief-stricken Srinivas exercised his patience and sat alone in a solitary place.

[ Srila Narahari Chakravarti. Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara. English translation by Sripad Kusakratha Das. Published by Krishna Library. Alachua, Florida. — Srila Narahari Chakravarti. Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara. Gaudiya Mission. Calcutta. 501 Gaurabda. Bengali. ]

[ Printed in Sri Krsna Kathamrita Bindu, issue 427, published by Madhavananda dasa with the scholarly input of Hari Parshad das Adhikary ]

Picture: Srinivas Acarya

Today we were blessed to observe Nirjala Ekadasi with about twenty devotees from the Mantra House program in Los Angeles. Not only did we chant many rounds together, but we also discussed many interesting points related to the practice and preaching of Krishna consciousness. “Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaisnava thinking . . . Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.12)

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,

Giriraj Swami