Transcendental Cruise (Album of photos)
Ramai Swami: Disciples of Vedavyasapriya Maharaja organized a boat cruise for the devotees. I was also invited and more the 170 devotees booked on the boat named “The Lady” which left from Southport Marina on the Gold Coast.
The cruise, which lasted four hours, went up and down an inlet between Stradbroke Island and the mainland. The whole time was spent in kirtana, readings and wonderful prasadam prepared by Maharaja’s disciples.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/36Kfbh

By Visakha Dasi

In terms of our personalities and abilities, no two of us are alike. Why should we be? And why would anyone want us to be? Variety, Srila Prabhupada tells us, is the mother of enjoyment. Whatever our personality, whatever our talents, Prabhupada wants us to use them in Krishna's service. Yet when we learn from Prabhupada's teachings that women are to be chaste, tolerant, shy, and subservient, it may seem that while men have variegated personalities, women's personalities are expected to be uniform. But in fact, in their service to Krishna, women's personalities differ from one another's as much as men's. To accept the wonderful variegatedness inherent within each of His devotees, Krishna is unlimitedly variegated. Srila Rupa Goswami describes Krishna's personality in his Bhaktirasamrita- sindhu. Krishna, he says, is dhirodatta, or grave, gentle, forgiving, merciful, determined, humble, highly qualified, chivalrous, and physically attractive. He is also dhiralalita, or naturally funny, always in the bloom of full youth, expert in joking, free from all anxieties, domesticated, and submissive to His lover. Continue reading "Unity Among Diverse Personalities
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By Purushottam Nitai Das

Bilvamangala Thakura was a wealthy south Indian Brahmin and belonged to a cultured family. But he got attracted to a prostitute named Cintamani. The attraction soon became attachment. And as it happens when we get attached to worldly enjoyment we lose our intelligence and subsequently our dignity. The fire of lust was so intense that he was not at all moved when his father died; in fact standing near the pyre of his father he was engrossed in the thought of Cintamani. The body of his dead father did not bring tears to his eyes but his eyes were eager to see the physical beauty of the lady. Continue reading "Lust blinds love liberates
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By Sri Nandanandana dasa

As we look over the various cultures and religions of the world, we may ask if all religious systems are divine. Though they seem to conflict with each other on various points, still there are many areas of truth in which they all agree. Or you could say that some of the same essential truths can be found within each of them. And by a careful comparison, we can trace the essence of that truth back to what was originally explained in the Vedas, the oldest of all written texts, and, more importantly, what was the most developed of all cultures and philosophies. In this way, we can also trace these essential truths back from one religion to another, and how the Vedic culture influenced Zoroastrianism, which influenced Judaism, which influenced Christianity, which influenced Islam. Continue reading "How the Essence of Religions Came From Vedic Culture
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The post Daily Darshan: June 24th, 2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Scientists and scholars from the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) will host the “Consciousness in Science” Conference - a multi-disciplinary exploration of its possibilities and challenges. The event will be hosted at the historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, Florida, USA on the weekend of 18-19 January 2019.

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Srila Prabhupada’s mercy continues to bless and nourish our international movement in a myriad of ways, and the global Ratha-Yatras are indeed a prime example of but one such benediction. Srila Prabhupada’s grace has transformed the once-rare opportunity to pull the ropes of the beautiful chariots of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra into an international phenomenon for devotees the world over.

We in Toronto’s Hare Krishna community are exceedingly fortunate to have had the opportunity to present this Ratha-Yatra festival for the past four decades where thousands enjoy the festival amidst the association of great Vaisnavas and ecstatic kirtans.

We would like to humbly invite everyone to join us this year, on July 14th-15th, 2018 for our 46th Annual Ratha-Yatra here in Toronto.

Festivities will kick off on Friday, July 13th as we celebrate the Festival of the Golden Moon, a 12-Hour Kirtan, featuring many kirtaneers from around the world! We will be blowing the roof off New Remuna Dhama (ISKCON Toronto) with this 12-hour kirtan marathon. Once again, the special event is planned for Friday, July 13th from 10:00am to 10:00pm. This kirtan event is not to be missed!

Of course, this precedes the big weekend! Toronto’s Ratha-Yatra has the unique distinction of being accredited by Madhuha das, the organizer of the traveling Festival of India tour, as being the largest Ratha-Yatra in North America with close to 40,000 people in attendance and a veritable plethora of Srila Prabhupada’s books sold each year!

Some of the unique features of Toronto’s Ratha-Yatra include:

A Parade Right Through Downtown Toronto
A “Bhajan Kutir” with Non-Stop Kirtan
“Yoga Meltdown” – A Mini Yoga Festival
Live Cooking Demonstrations
Internationally-Acclaimed Arts & Entertainment and much more!

Most significantly, Toronto’s Ratha-Yatra presents a unique and wonderful outreach opportunity. Thousands of Torontonians observe the parade as it proceeds down Yonge Street and dance with us when the kirtan reaches its climax in the famous “Toronto Tunnel”.

Immediately following the parade, festival-goers enjoy a kirtan-filled ferry ride over to Centre Island, where celebrations continue for the rest of the weekend. While on Centre Island devotees will be able to enjoy the association of a number of distinguished personalities! The Centre Island festival-pavilion will also host a children’s area featuring fun and wholesome, Vedic-themed activities and events. All in all, Toronto's Ratha-Yatra will offer everyone a chance to experience a unique festival promoting simple-living and high-thinking, with kirtan on the streets, underground, and on the water!

We hope to see you at the big event! Hare Krishna!!!

Disciples of Vedavyasapriya Maharaja organised a boat cruise for the devotees. I was also invited and more the 170 devotees booked on the boat named “The Lady” which left from Southport Marina on the Gold Coast.

The cruise, which lasted four hours, went up and down an inlet between Stradbroke Island and the mainland. The whole time was spent in kirtana, readings and wonderful prasadam prepared by Maharaja’s disciples.

The much-awaited annual pre-Ratha-Yatra 12-Hour Kirtan is just a few weeks away. Featuring kirtan leaders from around the world, this is certainly a day not to be missed! Being held on Friday, July 13th from 10am to 10pm at the Toronto Hare Krishna Temple at 243 Avenue Road, it promises to be the best 12 hours of your life!

Book the day off work or school as this is your opportunity to immerse yourselves in 12 amazing hours of the transcendental vibrations of the Maha Mantra accompanied by singing, dancing, drumming and clapping.

World renowned kirtanyas will be descending on Toronto from around the world, including Madhava Prabhu from Switzerland and Amala Kirtan Dasa from Brazil and many more! Make sure you come early as your favourite kirtanya might be chanting earlier than you expect!

Don’t forget to invite and bring your family and friends on Friday July 13th, 2018. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Destination of Faultfinders
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada: Only those averse to Lord Hari and whose only assets are their defective material senses find fault with vaishnavas. Lord Krishna states in Bhagavad-gita that his devotees never perish. Can those who worship the Lord without deviation ever fall down? They certainly achieve perfection. Since our vision is polluted we find fault with others and thereby ruin ourselves. When we thus become materialists we become bereft of service to guru and Krishna. We think of the trouble of others because we ourselves are in trouble. Because we are full of faults we find fault with others. If we can correct ourselves we will find that we have no time to find fault with others. W* — From Amrta Vani, collected teachings of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Compiled in Bengali by Sri Bhakti Bhagavat Mayukha Maharaja. Adapted and translated into English by Bhumipati Das and Isvara Das. Touchstone Media. Mumbai. 2004. Page 229.
This is from Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu #427 magazine.
To read it all: https://archive.org/details/bindu427

Sunday Feast Class on Life is a Living Classroom by Bhuta Bhavana Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai (video)

Harinama and prasadam distribution in Auckland New Zealand (Album with photos)
Kalasamvara Das: So sweet, so sweet it can’t be beat,
Giving out the mercy in the form of the holy names and Krsna prasadam what a treat.
By the desire of Srila Prabhupada and the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu He wanted us to give to everyone we meet.
Sweet, sweet, sweet like the Lord’s lotus feet.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/vd6TP3

The event was organized by Braja Govinda Das, a Sydney-based disciple of Tamal Krishna Goswami, who wanted to give Fijian devotees the kind of international kirtan experience they hadn’t had before.

On June 16, 2018, ISKCON Melbourne had the privilege to receive very distinguished guests Hon Matthew Guy, Leader of the Opposition from Victorian State Parliament, Andrew Bond local candidate from Albert Park, and Katie Allan a candidate from Prahran and other prominent members from Indian community.

TOVP update (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: Here you can see the continuation of the GRC embellishments going around the dom...



The post Daily Darshan: June 23,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Our "Paramahamster" comic strip follows an enthusiastic devotee as he navigates a 9 - 5 work day in the corporate world. Please check back weekly for new episodes!

The ISKCON Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture (IMCPA) is busy bringing Krishna conscious farm projects around the world together to share best practices in a series of regional conferences. They hope to hold gatherings in six continents by 2020, culminating in a global summit.

Harinama and Prasadam distribution in Summer Solstice at Stonehenge - 21st June, 2018 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sr...

In the early months of 1969, before they had managed to establish a temple, Shymasundara das had carved the beautiful deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra. And so it was, in July that year, five months before the Radha Krishna Temple was opened in Bury Place, the first London Rathayatra proceeded from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square.

Nandapriya Das, born Zaza Ujmajuridze, was born in Tbilisi, Georgia – a country beautifully set between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea with a culture as ancient as its language, came out with his new music album. Besides being a musician, he is a successful oncologist, working in Denmark.

The Story of Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi

Once Bhimasena, the younger brother of Maharaja Yudhisthira, asked the great sage Shrila Vyasadeva, the grandfather of the Pandavas, if it is possible to return to the spiritual world without having observed all the rules and regulations of the Ekadasi fasts.

"Breathe Again," from my "Summer Krishna" album. Filmed in Mayapur, West Bengal, on the bank of the sacred Ganges river. A special shout-out to all the cool kids who made this production possible, both in the audio recording and in the music-video production.

By Samapriya dasi

How can one understand the esoteric personality of Srimati Radharani? She is the principal inspiration for the Lord, and only confidentially revealed in the Vedic scriptures. Yet, She takes shelter within the deepest realizations of pure hearted bhakti yogis. Lord Sri Krsna is bewildered by the profound brilliance of Her transcendental qualities and thus awakens a yearning within Himself to exhibit, absorb and experience Her divine nature. The influence and presence of Srimati Radharani, the embodiment of the Lord's hladini shakti, is expanded in the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Continue reading "Srimati Radharani- The Origin of the Sankirtan Movement
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By Radhanath Swami

In 1971 I was a devotee of Lord Siva, I was traveling from the area Pashupatinatha to Amarnatha for a pilgrimage in month of August. Very crowded third class train, didn’t sit down for about 40 hours. Finally the train stopped and I wanted to somehow or other to move, so I crawled over people’s heads, somehow I pulled myself out of the window, because I had these attachments. The train started moving and I tried to get back in and it was so very crowded, no window to fit a human being inside. So the train left and I was in this unknown place. I asked a sadhu on the railway platform - where is this. He said this is Mathura, today is Janmastami! So he took me to Janmasthaana where I spent the whole day. Continue reading "A wonderful story about Sri Sri Radha-Gopijanavallabha
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By ISKCON Mayapur

Srila Prabhupada states in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam5.7.1: “The water of the Ganges is called patita-pavani, the deliverer of all sinful living beings. It is a proven fact that a person who regularly bathes in the Ganges is purified both externally and internally. Externally his body becomes immune to all kinds of disease, and internally he gradually develops a devotional attitude toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” The purifying properties of the Ganges water are not only acknowledged in the Vedas, but also by modern science. In 1896 the British bacteriologist Ernest Hanbury Hankin published a paper in which he describes the extraordinary antibacterial properties of the waters from the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Continue reading "The Ambrosia of Love of Godhead
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“The waters of the Ganges are always carrying the flavor of tulasi offered at the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, and as such the waters of the Ganges are ever flowing, spreading the glories of Lord Krishna. Wherever the waters of the Ganges are flowing, all will be sanctified, both externally and internally.” –Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Chapter […]

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The making of a special set of Sri Sri Radha Madhava/Ashta Sakhi fiberglass murtis has recently commenced.

The purpose of these murtis is specifically to place on the altars with the Pancha Tattva and Guru-parampara murtis for decorating the area as well as to determine how all the murtis on all the altars fit nicely together in Their places. This will make the altar complete and give us indications for future work to be done.

Additionally, these murtis will also serve the purpose of designing and measuring new Deity outfits.

The post Sri Sri Radha Madhava Murtis in the Making appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

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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 Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi Fasting.....................on Sat Jun 23rd, 2018 Breakfast................  on Sun Jun 24th, 2018 b/w 5.36am – 10.45am 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.



The post Daily Darshan: June 22,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.