Planet ISKCON

The individuality of the self is a central teaching in Vaisnava philosophy, but what is our practical understanding of this term? Individuality is present in all living beings on both a material and a spiritual level. This article translates how this concept needs to relate to education practices in ISKCON today. The author explores evidence in some of Srila Prabhupada' writings and scripture that deal with the issue of individuality together with some more recent research by academics in the field. With this data, the author builds a persuasive argument for devotees to become more aware of the individual, both in themselves and in others so that they may respond with respectful awareness to the individuals needs. Continue reading "Respect for Individuality
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Sitala devi dasi, a resident of Mayapur Dham, had been ordering deities for ISKCON since 1975. Many temples around the world have used her services to obtain their deities. In the 1990’s the devotees of New Raman Reti asked her to order deities in India for our Temple. “It took a while for consensus to be reached among devotees here as to who should be the Lords of New Raman Reti,” she says. “Once the decision was made, Radha Shyamasundar manifested pretty quickly - about a year from order.” Sitala prabhu’s main service was to place the order with the murti wallah and ensure that the carving was in accordance with the desires of the Temple community. The Pandeys of Jaipur were Yamuna devi dasi’s choice for deity sculptors. She had ordered ISKCON’s first deities herself from them. Continue reading "How Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar and Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Manifested in Jaipur
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Shortly before passing away in Vrindavan, a devotee requested her spiritual master to establish a “Back to Godhead” clinic there for Srila Prabhupada’s followers. The land is adjacent to the parikrama road trod by pilgrims during their devotional walks around Vrindavan. It is a sacred grove of mostly kadamba and tamala trees known as Giriraj Bhag (“Giriraj’s garden”). For five generations it belonged to the family of Sri Padmanabha Goswami, hereditary priests and caretakers of Vrindavan’s Radha-ramana Temple. Continue reading "Bhaktivedanta Hospice: Aid for the Journey Home
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Answer Podcast

The post Scripture glorifies association between seer and seeker – is association of equals also uplifting? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

On the last day of Purusottama month, many devotees in Adelaide assembled at the temple to worship and offer candles to the Lord.

A deity of Lord Purusottama was placed on the altar and devotees came forward to worship Him, as well as Radha Syamasundara, Gaura Nitai and Lord Nrsimhadeva.

This morning while chanting japa before my deity of Srila Prabhupada, I was struck by how merciful he had been to accept me as his disciple, appreciating that, despite all my failings, he will never let me go but would do whatever it takes to deliver me. As he said of his guru maharaja, “My spiritual master was no ordinary spiritual master—he saved me.” Thinking of Srila Prabhupada’s compassionate, selfless commitment, my hard heart melted.

Hare Krishna.

Your grateful servant,
Giriraj Swami

The post Daily Darshan: June 13th, 2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Solemn closing of Bhakti-Sastri and Bhakti-Vaibhava courses 2017-2018 and graduation of diplomas to students of the Vaishnava Acad...

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 February 2016, Bhaktivedanta Manor, London, UK, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.2.21)

After the Govardhana pastime, Krsna went to Govardhana Hill to inspect the damage done by Indra’s thunderbolts. During the seven days that Krsna held Govardhana Hill on his little finger like an umbrella, Indra, out of being disturbed, battered Govardhana Hill with thunderbolts. These thunderbolts were very serious and could smash mountains. So Krsna was concerned about Govardhana. But when Krsna went to check out the damage done to Govardhana Hill, Indra also appeared there.

When Krsna saw Indra, he said, “Indra, you are supposed to be a devotee. How could you act in such a demoniac way? That you were ready to kill. This is the behaviour of demons. If you are supposed to be a devotee, Indra, how could you come to this demoniac point of acting?”

Indra replied, “It is because I was proud.”

Krsna continued, “Yes, but Indra, a devotee is meant to curb pride with intelligence.”

Indra said, “Krsna, I was angry. So angry, that I lost my intelligence. Therefore, I was unable to curb my pride.”

So this is interesting. Sometimes, we may look at the sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita which describes the divine and the demoniac qualities, and think to ourselves upon reading the first part of the chapter (which describes the divine qualities) that, “This is us devotees!” And then we read the second part of the chapter (which describes the demoniac qualities) and think, “This is the neighbours.” (laughter) It is very easy to read this chapter and think in such a way, but actually, we need to consider how much of Kamsa there is in ourselves; how much of Kamsa is living in us. In that way, we can read the Srimad Bhagavatam in a more engaged way.

The article " Curbing pride with intelligence " was published on KKSBlog.

Srimad Bhagavatam class by H.G. Deena Bandhu Prabhu in ISKCON Vrindavan, 07.06.2018 (video)

New York Ratha Yatra 2018 (5 min video)
Since 1976, this attractive, beautiful, and bliss inspiring annual Jagannath Ratha Yatra festival has been celebrated by the Hare Krishna devotees on New York’s Fifth Avenue, the heart of New York City.

Sunday Feast Lecture By HG Radhika Raman Das on Bhagavad Gita 9.17 in ISKCON of New Jersey (video)
Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, 9.17: I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable oṁ. I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas.

After hearing so many complaints from so many devotees, Srila Prabhupada called a meeting of all the devotees. Practically all the devotees in the temple came into Srila Prabhupada’s room, and he listened very sympathetically to what every devotee had to say, and he was really concerned and wanted to improve things. At one stage the GBC for India protested: “Srila Prabhupada, my only intention was to execute Your Divine Grace’s will.” And Prabhupada replied a little sarcastically, “Is it My Divine Grace’s will that the devotees should be disturbed?” And he made a system. He named certain leaders—Tamal Krishna, Yamuna, me—and said that they should get together every week and discuss the problems, and whatever they decided they should write down in a minute book, and they should all sign and then do what they agreed. Continue reading "Everything for Krishna and nothing for me
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A dancing group joins the Harinama party in Ljubljana (5 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna mantra is specifically mentioned in many Upanisads, such as the Kali-santarana Upanishad, where it is said: “After searching through al the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting of Hare Krishna.” (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 3.40 Purport)

Increase the quality of your chanting. Increase the quantity of your chanting. Read more Srimad Bhagavatam. Read Caitanya Caritamrita. Read prayers. Acaryas have written so many prayers. Read prayers of acaryas. Pray to Krishna. Krishna will hear you, when you read the prayers of acaryas - He hears you. When you speak in your own words: “Krishna, help. Krishna, save me”, Krishna will hear you. Continue reading "“Walk through fire”
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To control the elephant is humanly impossible. So as soon as the baby elephant is born, the elephant trainer ties him with a rope to a pole. Initially the baby elephant tries his best to break the rope but because of his tender body he fails. The newly born elephant tries again and again but every time he fails. The baby elephant gets convinced that he is not strong enough to break it. He accepts it to be his destiny and continues to be tied. And even when he grows up acquiring a gigantic form he can still be tied by a rope. Although he can now easily break the rope but remains bound because since his infancy days his mind has been programmed to believe without any doubt that he does not have the strength to free himself from the bondage. Continue reading "When we the prisoners fall in love with our captors
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Ratha Yatra in Rijeka, Croatia (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: It is the duty of the mahatmas to chant the Hare Krishna ma...

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The post Is aversion always bad – isn’t Yamunacharya averse to sensual pleasure? (Vedic wisdom) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The post Daily Darshan: June 12th, 2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post Govardhana lila reflections (2) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Don’t Give-up Hope!
Dhirasanta Das Goswami: Once there was a man who decided to quit…
He quit his job, his relationship, and wanted to quit on life.
He went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

11 June - Planetarium Dome Stars and Ribbons Update (1 min video)
Sadbhuja Das: Work on the domes has been going on very well.
On the Planetarium Dome, almost all Star and Ribbon sections are completed.
Only two sections are left and will be finished in the next two weeks.
At the end of the month works on Nrshimha Dev’s Dome will also begin.

[Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Mira Road, Mumbai, India]

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The post We may be hurt, but we don’t have to stay hurt appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 January 2018, New Govardhana, Australia, SB 1.2.15)

As soon as we enter into the material body, the body begins to dictate many strong needs which are not possible to be denied. At the time of death however, when the living entity finally exits the material body, all of that falls away, leaving behind one’s immediate identification. Despite this, the previous reactions all remain stored within the consciousness. Therefore, at the time of death, it is not only the soul that exits the body but it is also the subtle body that goes along with this soul. And that means, that the same mind is accompanying us on our entire journey through the material realm, life after life. Since it is the same mind, all kinds of impressions from the unlimited previous lifetimes are stored within and are still acting upon us, day after day. So this means that even certain animal lives that we may have lived in previous births may influence our thoughts and actions today.

One can take the human form of life after being various species of animals. It is said that there is an evolution of consciousness when one reincarnates through these species. It is after three animal forms that one can finally come to the human form. Those who are influenced by ignorance come from the monkey form to the human form, those influenced by passion come through the form of the tiger and those who are influenced by goodness come through the form of a cow to the human form. So this is interesting how one develops in this life, originally from an animalistic mentality. One becomes completely concerned with their own feelings, where there is no sense of sacrificing for others. Generally speaking, we usually see this behaviour in many animals, except for when they are sacrificing for their young ones.

But animal life is very different from human life, in the sense that during an animal life, one is not making new karma. In animal life, one is only getting karma from previous lives. So the animal can do whatever it wants and there are no reactions. Human life, however, is of a different nature, because in the human form of life, we are responsible for our actions. Therefore, there are karmic reactions for everything we do. So there is an interesting mechanism available for a person who wants to be free from all moral limitations, and be freed from being chained by all these social impositions. However, all of that will lead us to the animalistic platform only. When we experience it, we realise that this path of freedom is not the path to liberation. It does not elevate us, and we reach that point of understanding that, “This is never going to work. This is never going to cut it for me!”

The article " The evolution of consciousness " was published on KKSBlog.

A report on ISKCON Leicester’s roof campaign on ITV News Central (4 min video)
One of Leicester’s most recognizable buildings, standing for almost a century and a half, needs urgent repairs to the roof. Its owners have launched a crowd funding campaign to rescue it - find out more below.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/AH8zTd

Sadhu Sanga Retreat 2018 (14 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: This year’s Sadhu Sanga Retreat in Boone, North Carolina, USA was the best ever. Over 2,000 devotees from all over the world attended and there were over 150,000 views of the live stream videos. Prasadam was served 3 times a day which amounted to 20,000 plates served over the entire event. There were 14 kirtaneers - some of the best in ISKCON - who melted the hearts of everyone who attended. Everything was 1st class: the organization, the facilities, the prasadam, the decorations, the sound system and the transcendental atmosphere.

NYC Ratha Yatra 2018 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The performance of sankirtana-yajna is a special concession for huma...

May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krsna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him. Just like a desire tree, a Vaisnava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet… he prays not for himself, but for all living entities—the gentle, the envious and the mischievous…This is the attitude of a Vaisnava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe. Continue reading "The Welfare Of Others
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A Native American storyteller named Ron Evans tells a tale that warms the heart of all who agonise over the effects of contemporary media. Ron visited Africa some years ago and was present the day electric lines were installed for the first time in a tiny village. Along with wiring came a gift from the local government: the village's first television. Ron describes how the entire village sat mesmerised for three days watching every programme. Then as if on cue, rose, turned off the set, and went about their business. Curious as to their motives, Ron approached the village chief and asked, 'Why did you stop watching the television?' The chief smiled and replied, 'We don't need the television. We have our storyteller.' Delighted but not completely satisfied by the reply, Ron commented, 'The television knows many stories, too.' The chief bowed his head thoughtfully, then looked up with a smile and said, 'Oh, no doubt the television knows many stories. But our storyteller knows us!' Continue reading "Spiritual Television: Is the World Ready for a True Spiritual Network
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