Born to be a kirtaniya (1 min video)
Amazing little bhajan of a 2-3 years old baby, probably imitating the ecstasy and passion...

On 17th May 2018, Vaisesika Dasa gave a talk on “Keys to Inner Fulfillment” @ Intel HQ in Santa Clara, California. This talk was part of a series on Mindfulness & Conscious Living. More than 250 employees attended his talk (including both in-studio audience & global audience). Everyone deeply appreciated how he connected engineering minds employing their terms of reference, and shared practical ways to better handle work, stress and relationships, leading to a more productive & fulfilling life.
Find the photos of the event here:https://goo.gl/QBzWNV

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Hare Krishna! the movie in Liverpool.
Krishna Kripa das: Jude brought two ladies who were friends of hers to see Hare Krishna!, and they were very impressed with the film. I said some people think Srila Prabhupada had some kind of charisma that attracted many followers, but the truth is Srila Prabhupada had something genuine to offer them spiritually and those who accepted it came to realize it and wanted to serve him and share his gift. The two friends both agreed that that was really clear in the film.

Meet Jemma, a real gem!
Krsna Kripa das: In Sheffield, I chanted for an hour and a half by myself and another hour and a half with Sutapa Prabhu’s party. While I was chanting alone a young lady with a happy expression on her face looked in my direction, and I offered her an invitation to our festival. She said she already had the invitation, and she also had gotten a book on yoga which was one of her interests. I explained that Bhagavad-gita was the ultimate yoga book which explained the whole philosophy behind yoga, and which described four different kinds of yoga, and I tried to impress upon her that any serious spiritual aspirant should have a Bhagavad-gita, and this opportunity to get it should not be missed. She gave £5, and she took the Gita, and we continued our discussion about spiritual topics. She mentioned she liked to sing, and I asked her if she liked the Beatles. She said that her father was really into the Beatles, and so I explained to her about how Chant and Be Happy told of the conversation between George Harrison and John Lennon with our spiritual teacher, Srila Prabhupada, about chanting and meditation. She gave another £2 and took that book too.
I told her we were going to chant with a whole party of people at 3:00 p.m., and I invited her to join us. She did for five minutes or so. She said she had to work the night of our event, but that she would come for the last hour and a half. People as favorable as this Jemma who teaches dance in Sheffield are rare! In fact, when she told me her name was Jemma, I said, “That must be because you are a real gem!”

Harinama Sankirtana in Auckland, New Zealand (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If you think of Krsna twenty-four hours, then you’ll become fully Krsna conscious, and your life is successful. Don’t allow anything. This requires little practice, abhyasa-yoga-yuktena cetasa nanya-gamina [Bg. 8.8]. I should not allow my mind to go, to think of any other subject than Krsna. Now we have got so many books. So whenever you find time… You must find time. There is so much time. So read all these books or chant. But when you are hungry, you take prasadam. When you are sleepy, take a snap. Not very much, just to refresh. And go on, either chanting the beads or reading the books or talking about Krsna. In this way, always remain in Krsna consciousness. Smartavyah satatam visnuh. Krsna consciousness means to remember Visnu always, twenty-four hours. Some way or other. Type for Krsna, write for Krsna, go outside for Krsna, sankirtana party, sell book for Krsna, bring money for Krsna, spend for Krsna. Krsna. That’s all. Everything Krsna. This is Krsna consciousness.Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.14-15 – May 31, 1972, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Wz5W9m

Preaching program in Turkey By Sivarama Swami (Album with photos)
Pradyumna: “If the ear is not engaged in the service of the Lord by hearing about Him in the Bhagavad-gita or in the Srimad Bhagavatam, certainly the holes of the ear will be filled up with some rubbish.”
Prabhupada: Yes. This is the secret. We have got the ears, and we have got the sound also. Just like we are reading this book. So if we don’t fill up our ears with this transcendental sound, then it will be filled up with some rubbish things. It cannot remain empty. Either you fill up with transcendental message, or you fill up with rubbish nonsense. Two ways. So if you take care that your earholes are always filled up with the transcendental message of Krsna, so there is no scope for rubbish things to enter into it. So therefore our attempt should be twenty-four hours hearing. Kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31]. Twenty-four hours. As soon as you get time, read books, discuss amongst yourself, [indistinct]. Don’t fill up the ears with rubbish things. Then advance will be choked up.
June 17, 1972, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Uwpwhd

HH BB Govinda Swami’s Seminar on Brhad Bhagavatamrta, Australia, May 11, 2018 (video)

Food For Life - Nepal (Album of photos)
Thank you Rojina Pradhan and family for the generous contribution of NRs. 1,08,000/- ...

Holy Name Retreat in New Vrindaban (Album of photos)
We attended the Holy Name Retreat by HH Sacinandana Swami in New Vrindaban this year with hundreds of other blissful devotees. We had several seminars and workshops and people from many parts of the country joined in this blissful experience and celebrated mother’s day by cutting a gigantic cake made by Lakshman Poddar. Please come with us to the beautiful New Vrindaban where the merciful Deity Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra resides.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/o4TdMH

By NRR Community Development Team

(3.5 MB, 52 pages PDF document) From more than 1000 Devotees, 508 Total Responses, September 2017. The Community Development Initiative (CDI) is organized by a team of community members in conjunction with the New Raman Reti Board of Directors. Our vision: A loving and well connected family of Krishna devotees, spiritual aspirants, and friends fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s Mission. Our Mission: To empower and assist our congregation to live happily in New Raman Reti by giving devotees a voice and building a shared vision which will maximize the long term potential of our temple and community Continue reading "New Raman Reti Community Survey Results
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By Gaura Shakti Das

This link will open a 17MB PDF document with photos and descriptions from NRR's history. Many can see that this just barely touches all the projects and aspects that make NRR special. There are so many devotees and projects we really need to appreciate for bringing us to where we are today. Continue reading "New Raman Reti’s History
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By Mukhya devi dasi

The second Community Development Conference was a big success this past Saturday. There were over 100 devotees in attendance, and another 25 facilitators. The essence of the day was moving into specific focus groups of individual interest, and meeting together to see what is working, what is needed, and what being more involved would look like. The teams went through exercises together as a preview of what the actual committees (which will be identified based on a form everyone filled out called “My Offering” commitments) will be doing in conference 3. Continue reading "New Raman Reti’s Community Development Conference a big success!
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His Grace Mahabhagavat Das is a disciple of His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari. Mahabhagavat Das along with his spouse are very senior well respected devotees in Toronto and are often associated along with the names of Vaisesika Prabhu for expanding the Sankirtan initiative across the GTA and South Western Ontario. Together as a family they have made preaching their life mission and will go beyond their limits to ensure that Srila Prabhupada’s books are being distributed.

[Bhagavatam class at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, London, UK]

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Many times Srila Prabhupada says that in this world love is but lust. Below are a few examples;

Lust is only the perverted reflection of the love of God which is natural for every living entity. But if one is educated in Krishna consciousness from the very beginning, that natural love of God cannot deteriorate into lust. - BG 3.41 Purport

If we become attached to this narration, we will experience the bliss of spiritual love and thus reject the perverted reflection of that love, which is called lust. - SB 10.33.39

This material life is simply based on lust; we want to enjoy this world, and we love this material world because we want to gratify our senses. This lust is a perverted reflection of our love of God. - On the Way to Krishna, Ch. 5

Here we love -- a man loves a woman, or a woman loves a man -- but there is frustration. After some time they are divorced, because their love is a perverted reflection. There is no real love in this world. It is simply lust. - Journey of Self-Discovery, Ch. 4

On the surface, it sounds like we should not love anyone since it is lust anyways and that we should just try to love Krishna or if we see two people who say they are in love we discredit or discourage them or the idea of love in this world. We can, as devotees, also become cold and without feelings towards one another in the name of love vs lust and justify our cold-hardheartedness towards others' with these verses. If we do this then we are doing a disservice to Srila Prabhupada.

We hear so much about love and compassion and sometimes we can get into a frame of mental rigidity in the name of following guru and shastra and miss the point. So let us examine these verses little carefully.

Certainly, love in this world is lust if not properly applied. Love becomes lust 'primarily' if we love someone to satisfy me (my senses only). The key word is 'primarily'. However, if we love someone in such a way that it 'primarily' pleases Krishna and then that pleasing of Krishna pleases me, then that is not lust but a path towards pure love. In other words, to the degree we love someone to primarily please Krishna versus pleasing myself, then that love becomes pure.

Bhakti yoga or Krishna consciousness is actually all about loving God and loving all living beings so to say love in this world aka lust is predominant is correct but the solution is not "not to love" but purify our love from loving for my sake to loving others' for Krishna's sake.

When we see everyone as part and parcel of Krishna, and in that mood we love someone and serve that someone, then such love and service centered around Krishna will actually nourish us internally and help us traverse the path towards God quicker.

Hare Krishna

King’s Day Maha Harinam with HH Kadamba Kanana Swami and many other devotees from all over Europe (video)

Spirituality & Wellness event in Mumbai (Album with photos)
Gaur Gopal Das shared dias with Indian Film Actress Manisha Koirala, at Global Exhibition on Services, India (GES) on 17th May 2018 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
GES is one of the biggest global events of the Services Sector organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Services Export Promotion Council(SEPC)-India and Maharashtra Government.
The session entitled ‘Celebrity Session,’ discussed Spirituality & Wellness and was moderated by Mr Mangalam Maloo from CNBC-TV18.

8am every Saturday morning at the Loft. Astanga workout with Mike! Great way to begin your weekend!

Ecstatic Harinam Sankirtan in Union Square park Thursday, May 17th (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: What we are requesting you? “You think of Krsna. Chant Hare Krsna.” That’s all. Where is the difficulty? We don’t say, “You think of that, this of that, to this demigod, that demigod.” No. We don’t say. What is the use of other demigod? We show all respect to everyone, even to the ant, but that does not mean that any demigod, any damn, any rascal, should be worshiped as God? No. That is not possible. We can show respect even to the insignificant ant. Trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna [Cc. Adi 17.31, Siksastaka 3]. That may be another thing. But we cannot accept anyone as God. That is not possible. That is knowledge. That is knowledge. Be convinced firmly, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]: “Bhagavan means Krsna, nobody else.” Kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah yajante anya-devatah [Bg. 7.20]. Anya-devatah, accept as God, they are accepted by the rascals, hrta-jnanah, those who have lost their knowledge. So don’t be lost of your knowledge. Stick to Krsna and accept His words as it is. -Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 16.1-3 – January 29, 1975, Honolulu
Find them here: https://goo.gl/YMRXZn

Sunday’s menu is sounding divine!
Whose up for sweet chilli falafel wrap, Israeli tahini couscous salad, Tomato eggplant curd curry, fresh Mescaline salad, middle eastern lemonade topped off with Banana date almond and milk pudding with vegan cream custard. Geeeeezzz! This is all just for the $5 you will pay!

“Don’t forget we are servants”
BB Govinda Swami: We have always heard the statement that God works in mysterious ways. We’ve always heard the statement that we have our plans and Krishna has His plans. So I can only say that we should continue to endeavor sincerely and we should wait for Krishna to reveal His hand.

On this day twenty-four years ago, Mother Arca-vigraha passed away, in Vrindavan, and to honor the occasion, I share a remembrance of her by Raghava Pandit das:

When I think of Mother Arca and her myriad of good qualities, I am reminded of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to one of his disciples: “Do it enthusiastically, with the courage of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali mother.” I was fortunate to see both these sides in her—her nurturing affection and her courage—in her pursuit for excellence.

I first met her some days before the first Ratha-yatra festival in Durban, while she was painting swans on the chariot. We were told that she was a famous artist in South Africa, Aileen (Angel) Lipkin—hence I became interested in seeing her at work. As I made my way to the makeshift workshop, I stood some five meters away from the chariot and watched her work. I marvelled at her perfection, her deft control of the brush and steady hands. I could see that art was the core of her life, that she probably woke up and went to sleep thinking of it.

It was late at night, and there were not many devotees around. One of the first things that struck me was that she was totally absorbed in her service. I was reminded of Arjuna striking the eye of the bird perched on the tree by his teacher Drona. When asked by the teacher whether he saw the tree or the sky before he took aim, Arjuna replied that he only saw the eye of the bird. In the same way, I felt like Mother Arca was seeing only the swan she was painting, and nothing else.

When her meditation broke, she became aware of me standing there and welcomed me with a beautiful smile. My hard heart softened with her simple smile. She was a beautiful person, an angelic person, but when she smiled she became even more so.

“Those are perfect swans, and you’re making it look easy painting them,” I said.

“They are beautiful, aren’t they?” she replied. “You want to try painting one?”

“I don’t want to spoil your work,” I laughed, while thinking to myself that the service required not only skill but also bhakti and that I was sadly lacking in both. She was a genius: one who makes the difficult look ridiculously easy, giving the impression that it is effortless.

On the first day of the Ratha-yatra festival, when I saw the chariot going down the promenade, it looked like a piece of art in motion. In retrospect, I feel that Mother Arca was a swan-like devotee in our midst. The swan that moves gracefully on a lake is a picture of elegance. What is going on beneath the surface is hidden from the eye. We don’t see the hard work done by the swan’s webbed feet, which creates the graceful motion that we admire. The swan’s movement is an ideal metaphor for expertise and excellence. In the same way, Arca was an emblem of these twin traits, but she kept them hidden from general view.

I was in awe of her absorption. When she was working on the chariot, it was not unusual for her to go to sleep in the early hours of the morning. It was obvious that she was inspired and hence forgot everything but her work. Although my interaction with her was brief, when I walked away, I felt inspired to emulate her dedication and perfection in my own service, which was mostly book distribution and Deity worship. She truly was able to inspire others by her example.

The following year, I met her on a flight from Bombay to South Africa. She had resolved to relocate to Vrindavan and begun acquiring property to build a house there. It was a sign of her courage, that she was willing to leave her comfort zone and move to unknown territory. The Indian philosopher Patanjali once said, “When you are inspired by some great purpose, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”

When we met in the aisle of the plane, she was so happy and greeted me with such love and affection that I was taken aback. Anyone observing us would have thought we were the best of friends. I wasn’t accustomed to receiving such warmth in the association of devotees.

I had fallen seriously ill while in Vrindavan; a typhoid attack had left me emaciated, and I pondered how I would be able to take care of my health. She showed such concern that her loving magnetism and care had me narrate the details of my illness to her. And then, oblivious of anyone around us, like a caring mother, she began giving me recipes for foods to prepare to help me recuperate. It was as if my own mother had appeared before me in the form of Mother Arca. She herself was ill, having been diagnosed with cancer, but she appeared to be more concerned about me than about herself.

I’ve forgotten most of what she told me that day, but what stayed with me was the love and empathy with which she spoke to me. Throughout the entire conversation, she didn’t say anything about herself. It was all about giving advice on how to recover.

She was a teacher of compassion, love, and fearlessness. She was not bound by the codes of an institutional religious framework but lived like a Mother Theresa in our midst, giving hundreds of devotees hope. Radhanath Swami put it aptly: “Religion is meant to teach us true spiritual human character. It is meant for self-transformation. It is meant to transform anxiety into peace, arrogance into humility, envy into compassion, to awaken the pure soul in man and his love for the Source, which is God.”

One of the things she mentioned I should eat was a rich pea soup. Fortunately for me, while she was in Durban, she prepared the soup for Indradyumna Swami, who had taken ill and was being nursed back to health by her and some other devotees. I sometimes took lunch with him, and one day I was lucky to receive a healthy portion of her soup. It was absolute nectar. A later attempt by me to emulate her efforts went in vain. The soup dish flopped, and I was left to rue my efforts. But I persisted, and now every time I make that soup, I think of her. I feel that my pea soup can withstand tough competition from the best cooks. Perhaps it’s her mercy.

What was her magic ingredient? Surely it was her bhakti. I believe that she was a pure devotee masquerading before us like an ordinary soul. Maybe I was so neophyte at the time—and even now—that I couldn’t fully appreciate her glories.

I remember meeting HH B.B. Govinda Swami and telling him about Mother Arca’s magical pea soup and my failed attempt to replicate her efforts. Maharaja, with his wry sense of humor, replied, “Raghava, if you don’t have bhakti, use extra ghee.”

I subsequently heard that Mother Arca nursed HH Giriraj Swami back to health when he had taken ill in Johannesburg. Sometimes I feel that only she could have done that service. She took the “bull by the horns,” so to speak. Those of you who have had some experience serving Giriraj Swami know that, among other things, you must have your “ducks in a row.” So it was not surprising that devotees were reluctant to step forward and take ownership of the problem—after all, it was a matter of life and death. But with profound service comes profound mercy. Arca took that risk; she stood up for that service, and the resultant grace from her spiritual master opened the doors to liberation and transported her to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. It was a glorious lesson in guru-bhakti. Her guru-bhakti was extraordinary, and I believe it was her very nistha in guru that carried her beyond the threshold of birth and death.

As the Svetasvara Upanishad (6.23) says,

yasya deve para bhaktir
  yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
  prakasante mahatmanah

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of the Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”

In my interactions with Arca, I expressed myself openly. This was very unusual for me, because generally I am not comfortable doing so and struggle to express my deepest sentiments. But then again, she made devotees feel loved and wanted and drew them out of their cocoons. Devotees were happy to be dependent on her mercy, and I think it’s one of the reasons she could instantly win people’s hearts. One never felt like one was being judged in her presence. She felt genuine joy upon seeing devotees, and she had the uncanny art of making them feel special—as, in fact, they all are. If I was offered a benediction by the gods to have any of her qualities, I would ask for her quality of love that she had for the devotees.

The following year, I visited her at her house in Vrindavan with Kalindi. I thought it would be nice to see their interaction and to see her “love in motion.” As I witnessed the love between them, it occurred to me that every devotee must feel loved in Arca’s presence. Before long she engaged Kalindi in making a bandh gobhi [cabbage] salad, which she relished with delight. It was one of her favorite dishes.

At one point, while we were eating, she turned to me and said, “Isn’t this nice?”

I must admit that I pretended it was. With my Indian upbringing, I considered salad too plain, and I hadn’t developed a taste for it.

While in Vrindavan then, we used to visit Arca every other day. I was struck by the courage and determination she must have had to build a house in Vrindavan. It is said that uncharted waters are a courageous person’s playground. Being a Westerner in a woman’s body, she could not have found it easy. But she fought against all odds and built her home as an offering to her spiritual master; that in itself is testimony to her tenacity to accomplish her goals.

I wondered whether I would not have thrown in the towel in the face of all the wheeling and dealing that needs to be done to accomplish a task like that in India. While at her ashram, I saw that she wouldn’t allow the workers to take advantage of her. She dealt with them with a firm hand and was very particular about cleanliness. I am sure those fortunate devotees who served her closely would easily find in her personality the twenty-six qualities of a devotee.

When Arca passed away, it was as if a shining jewel had left this world. I remember Giriraj Swami and other devotees glorifying her at the Radha-Radhanath temple, and I, caught in the euphoria of it all, also began to pray to her for her mercy—and I still do.

Arca’s mercy comes to me in the most mystical ways. Just before leaving this world, she was painting flowers in various colors, which her daughter Sara was selling to raise funds for Arca’s house. When I saw them, I fell in love with one particular painting. I marvelled at how someone in a state of advanced cancer could paint so beautifully. But that was Arca: she never gave up in the midst of adversity. I secretly desired one of her paintings, but I had gradually forgotten about it as I moved house in Johannesburg.

Then, one day, I heard that my Italian neighbors were emigrating after having lost their twin children in an accident. I paid them a visit to offer my condolences, and there hanging on the wall was my favorite painting of flowers by Arca. I began to preach her glories to the distraught couple, and out of their generosity, they gave me the painting. I felt that Arca was coming to me in that painting, teaching me one of the greatest lessons I still carry with me in my sojourn through life: “Never quit, no matter what.”

Arca did those paintings at an advanced stage of her cancer. But no one would know. Just looking at the painting gives me happiness, and it still hangs in my living room as a testament to her creativity, passion, and zeal. She talks to me from that painting in the midst of my struggles, telling me to never quit, no matter what.

Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gitas in Arabic profusely distributed!
In the photo: Visiting Saudi Arabian family clearly joyful to be getting the Arabic Gita from Mahotsaha Prabhu in New York City. These new Gitas just arrived in New York only a few weeks ago, and he has already distributed the first full carton of 28 copies himself. He just wrote of the personal happiness he is feeling from this type of sankirtan and said he always has one of these Arabic Gitas in his hand while simultaneously begging to meet someone to take it…

By Parvati devi dasi

Last few months we cleaned the whole dome from top to bottom in preparation for waterproofing on the dome. We have just received the materials and hope to finish the job before the rainy season. We got some special silicon for in between the tiles, reputed to withstand the expansion and contraction of our Vrndavan extreme heat and extreme cold. Then, after any excess is cleaned up, the whole dome will get coated with a clear sealant to protect it from environmental pollutions so it stays white. We might have to keep scaffolding up there for some time. Sorry for the inconvenience. It’s a long, tedious process. We also look after the Bhaktivedanta Swami Marg signs and Bhaktivedanta Swami Arch, and are doing an overall cleaning, repair and painting soon. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Mandir in Vrndavana gets waterproofing
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