8am every Saturday morning at the Loft. Astanga workout with Mike! Great way to begin your weekend!
New Saturday Yoga Classes!
Ecstatic Harinam Sankirtan in Union Square park Thursday, May…
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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
Free Spirit Festival this Sunday!
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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”
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“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.
Remembering Mother Arca-vigraha, a Swanlike Devotee
Giriraj Swami
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…
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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…
Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Mandir in Vrndavana gets waterproofing
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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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If we are not the doers, then are our mistakes actually our mistakes?
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Answer Podcast
The post If we are not the doers, then are our mistakes actually our mistakes? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
How can meat-eaters reincarnate in human bodies, as past life memories cases suggest?
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Answer Podcast
The post How can meat-eaters reincarnate in human bodies, as past life memories cases suggest? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
North America’s 21st annual Vaishnava-Christian…
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North America’s 21st annual Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue.
Twenty-five people attended the dialogue, with a theme this year of “Monasticism from the Vaishnava and Christian Perspectives.” Christian participants included the Abbot and several monks from a local Catholic monastery, a Protestant minister, a husband and wife team of Christian scholars, and several professors from the Washington D.C. area. A coroner and a sculptor rounded out the varied group. Among the Vaishnavas were ISKCON Communications Director Anuttama Das and his wife Rukmini Dasi, who founded the dialogue. Joining them were religious studies professor Garuda Das and his wife Krishna Kanta Dasi; Ravindra Svarupa Das, who holds a PhD from Temple University; and Sraddha Dasi, who has a Masters Degree in religious studies from Harvard.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/Ds9VeH
Inis Rath Island Revival (7 min video)
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QA sesion in London 2018
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this body is but a bio-chemical machine
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The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy. – BG 18.61
I was reading a book on medical resuscitation and how they bring the dead back to life. The book, in one part, talks about the human body. Below is the excerpt;
The human body is an incredibly complex machine composed of different components, each with a specific role that enables this machine to function. Like all machines, the body needs fuel to produce energy, which it uses to sustain its biological activities, also known as metabolism. This fuel comes in the form of the foods we eat, but the food alone does not sustain us. Once consumed, these raw products must be burned and converted into energy. This combustion process requires a constant supply of oxygen, the same an engine needs a mixture of oxygen and fuel to combust. The fuel in the engine is supplied through a gas tank while the oxygen is injected through vents and in both cases, when they meet, combustion takes place. This creates the energy that enables the other components, such as the wheels, power steering, and lights, to function, but the combustion process also produces waste products. In a car, the waste products are pushed out the through the exhaust system; in the body the gastrointestinal track functions like the gas tank, taking in food that comes from the stomach, while oxygen is supplied through the lungs acting as massive vents. This entire process in both the car and our body is stimulated by the intake of oxygen. Thus, like a car,if our activity revs up as we run, we need far higher levels of oxygen in order to burn more fuel and keeps the cells and organs working .- By Dr. Sam Parnia, M.D. from the book Erasing Death, page 37-38
The author (lead of the AWARE study) categorically explains how the body is but a machine. The next natural question is - who drives the machine (the body), we get the answer in the Bhagavad Gita –the soul.
Hare Krishna
“Who is Pure Devotee?” by HG Mahatma Prabhu
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“Who is Pure Devotee?” by HG Mahatma Prabhu - May 16, 2018 (5 min video)
You speak of pure devotee, that he is saktyavesa avatara, that we should obey him only—these things are the wrong idea. If anyone thinks like that, that a pure devotee should be obeyed and no one else, that means he is a nonsense. We advise everyone to address one another as Prabhu. Prabhu means master, so how the master should be disobeyed? Others, they are also pure devotees. All of my disciples are pure devotees. Anyone sincerely serving the spiritual master is a pure devotee.
Tips for Moms (and Dads)
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Tips for Moms (and Dads)
What are some of the qualities of a devotee of Krishna? The Caitanya Caritamrita gives a list of 26. As parents, it a great list to work with:
1 kind to everyone, 2 does not quarrel with anyone, 3 fixed in the Absolute Truth, 4 equal to everyone, 5 faultless, 6 charitable, 7 mild, 8 clean, 9 simple, without material possession, 10 benevolent, 11 peaceful, 12 completely attached to Krsna, 13 has no material hankering, 14 meek, 15 steady, 16 self-controlled, 17 does not eat more than required, 18 sane, 19 respectful, 20 humble, 21 grave, 22 compassionate, 23 friendly, 24 poetic, 25 silent, 26 expert
Art Of Tolerance – By HH Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami
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Art Of Tolerance - By HH Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami (28 min video)
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Shri Krishna Says - “Oh Arjuna! The temporary appearance and disappearance of happiness and distress, it happens just like the changing of the season. It arises due to contact of the senses with the sense objects. It is constantly changing, tolerate it and move on. Some problems need to be tackled immediately, some problems need to be ignored, some problems need to be tolerated and we cannot do anything about it. Therefore all of us have to realize that the forces that are evade against us are much more powerful than our ability to cope with them each and every time”
Harinama in Düsseldorf, a city in western Germany (Album with…
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Harinama in Düsseldorf, a city in western Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Take advantage of these books, this knowledge, this prasadam, and this chanting. Be happy, and go to Krsna. It is such a nice thing.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/vDAZt7
A few pics from “Soul Expressions” event last week…
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A few pics from “Soul Expressions” event last week in the Manor, UK. (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In a memo, Prabhupada said to one devotee: “Your material formulas will not help you. Krsna consciousness means to become mad after Krsna and to follow the order of the spiritual master. Quoted in BTG #29-05, 1995
Find them here: https://goo.gl/bd7wdt
Daily Darshan: May17,2018
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The post Daily Darshan: May17,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Dvaipayana dasa asks whether the daydreaming is equivalent to a spiritual state
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Kirtan-fest in Riga, Latvia’s capital, filled the city and our…
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Kirtan-fest in Riga, Latvia’s capital, filled the city and our hearts sweet taste of holy name (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If a living entity is developed in Krsna consciousness and is merciful to others, and if his spiritual knowledge of self-realization is perfect, he will immediately attain liberation from the bondage of material existence. PURPORT In this verse the words daya jivesu, meaning “mercy to other living entities,” indicate that a living entity must be merciful to other living entities if he wishes to make progress in self-realization. This means he must preach this knowledge after perfecting himself and understanding his own position as an eternal servant of Krsna. Preaching this is showing real mercy to living entities. Other types of humanitarian work may be temporarily beneficial for the body, but because a living entity is spirit soul, ultimately one can show him real mercy only by revealing knowledge of his spiritual existence. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, jivera ‘svarupa’ haya-krsnera 'nitya-dasa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] “Every living entity is constitutionally a servant of Krsna.” One should know this fact perfectly and should preach it to the mass of people. If one realizes that he is an eternal servant of Krsna but does not preach it, his realization is imperfect. >>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 4.29.1b
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Scenes from Hungarian leadership sanga
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Vyasa-puja Festival 2018 – Media
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The Vyasa-puja & Kingsday festival happened again in Radhadesh & Amsterdam from 26-30 Apr 2018. Here you can find an overview of all the media that was recorded during those events and a few morning classes leading up to the festival. More media will be added to this post once they become available so be sure to check again at a later date!
Vyasa-puja Book
Download: Vyasa-puja book (pdf)
Photos
By Naimisaranya dd. The full album has been published on the KKSBlog page on Facebook. Here is a photo album by Gopi Ramana of Nrsimha Caturdasi: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7wTlKzyFF85Ts9G32



















Videos
Here is a batch of videos from the festival. If you cant see the videos below then check out this YouTube playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbe3DY7Rld_lyaBoi6h70UX-zAgUM7p95
Introduction & Festival opening – 26 Apr 2018
Drama – Time Machine – 26 Apr 2018
Kingsday Videos – 27 Apr 2018
Workshop “In search of identity – collectively and individually” – 28 Apr 2018
Drama by Syamananda – 28 Apr 2018
Nrsimha Caturdasi Bhajans during Abhiseka – 28 Apr 2018
Nrismha Katha – 28 Apr 2018
Drama “Am i a demon or a Vaisnava” – 28 Apr 2018
Vyasa-puja Ceremony – 29 Apr 2018
Initiations – 29 Apr 2019
Disciple Memories video
Classes
Guru puja & Srimad Bhagavatam 8.19.15-16 – 24 Apr 2018
Guru puja & Srimad Bhagavatam 8.19.17 – 25 Apr 2018
Srimad Bhagavatam 8.19.18 – 26 Apr 2018
Nrsimha Caturdasi – Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.5 – 28 Apr 2018
Vyasa-puja class CC 3.61-80 – 29 Apr 2018
Srimad Bhagavatam 8.19.19 – 30 Apr 2018
Srimad Bhagavatam 8.19.25-32 – 3 May 2018
The article " Vyasa-puja Festival 2018 – Media " was published on KKSBlog.
The goshala of New Govardhana farm just got some help (Album…
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The goshala of New Govardhana farm just got some help (Album with photos)
New Govardhana’s goshala fundraising dinner. A night full of entertainment and extreme generosity to help protect Krishna’s cows and build them a new home.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/z63BME
Scenes from walk in the Matra hills above Eger Hungary
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How reincarnation makes sense of our existence and that of animals too
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[Seminar at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, London, UK]
Podcast
Podcast Summary
Video:
The post How reincarnation makes sense of our existence and that of animals too appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Should Gita 3.27 be we are not the only doers?
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Answer Podcast
The post Should Gita 3.27 be we are not the only doers? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
If someone’s religion allows meat-eating, then is their eating meat a sin?
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Answer Podcast
The post If someone’s religion allows meat-eating, then is their eating meat a sin? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
New Zealand AGM
→ Ramai Swami
Every year, devotee leaders from around New Zealand meet at New Varshana, Auckland, for the AGM. This is held near the library at the school.
Many devotees who live in the area, taking advantage of the leaders presence, come to the temple to hear the classes and kirtans and get their association. The leaders also enjoy taking their association. Sumptuous prasadam is provided for all.
Simhachalam Brahmachari Ashram, Germany (Album of photos)…
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Simhachalam Brahmachari Ashram, Germany (Album of photos)
Ripping out the remainder, replacing the rotten beams and insulatin...
MotelGita reaches out to Community Colleges in…
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MotelGita reaches out to Community Colleges in Florida.
MotelGita recently put Bhagavad Gitas across 3 campuses of Columbia County Public Library & 4 campuses of Eastern Florida State College Library.
Students who are tomorrow’s leaders, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and engineers will be now really inspired by these books!
Srimad Bhagavatam Class by H.G. Mukunda Datta Prabhu
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Srimad Bhagavatam Class by H.G. Mukunda Datta Prabhu in Iskcon Vrindavana on 15.05.2018 (video)
This is a simple method
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Krishna Consciousness is a simple method. All you have to do is bow down before Krishna with faith and say, ‘My Lord Krishna, I was forgetful of You for so long, for so many lives. Now I have come to my consciousness; please accept me.’ That’s all. If one simply learns this technique and sincerely surrenders himself to the Lord, his path is immediately open.
- Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 7
Hare Krishna
The spiritual world is here!
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The spiritual world is here!
Kadamba Kanana Swami: There is another world than the one we live in. It is transcendental and is not subjected to the material influences of our world. There, Lord Brahma operates on a different time scale to ours where one of his days includes thousands of cycles of the four yugas – even one cycle of which in our world is considered to be a very long period of time. In fact, kali yuga does not even manifest in such higher regions of the universe. It is said that in the heavenly planets, there is always an atmosphere of treta yuga, however Lord Brahma’s abode is called satyaloka where there is a fully transcendental atmosphere. It is so transcendental that there is no varnashrama and all its citizens are of one caste – transcendentalists.
Vedic Roots Montessori Academy – Summer Camp Enrolment Begins!
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple!
In 2018, VRMA has moved into its first fully licensed location in Scarborough, with a capacity to serve 32 children (ages 18m - 6 years). Enrollment is steadily increasing! VRMA aspires to eventually open multiple locations across the GTA, as well as explore expanding into grade school.
This summer, VRMA is hosting an exciting 7 weeks of SUMMER CAMPS: Jul 3 - Aug 17!
- Open for all ages up to 12 years
- Weekly themes include Sanskrit Slokas, Yoga, Gita, Cooking, Vedic Arts & Music and more
- Early-bird, Sibling and Bulk discounts available!
www.vedicroots.ca/summer-camps
info@vedicroots.ca
416-916-7005
The spiritual world is here!
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 December 2017, Gold Coast, Australia, Bhagavad-gita 8.20)
There is another world than the one we live in. It is transcendental and is not subjected to the material influences of our world. There, Lord Brahma operates on a different time scale to ours where one of his days includes thousands of cycles of the four yugas – even one cycle of which in our world is considered to be a very long period of time. In fact, kali yuga does not even manifest in such higher regions of the universe. It is said that in the heavenly planets, there is always an atmosphere of treta yuga, however Lord Brahma’s abode is called satyaloka where there is a fully transcendental atmosphere. It is so transcendental that there is no varnashrama and all its citizens are of one caste – transcendentalists.
So how insignificant are all the events that are taking place in our world!? How minute are they compared to the events of the spiritual world. Back when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was publishing newspapers, magazines and periodicals about the spiritual reality, he was asked by someone, “How can you publish papers about such a world all the time?” He responded that if newspapers can report about what is happening in one town or city, then why would we not report on the entire spiritual world! This is because the material world is only ekapadvibhuti (one quarter of the entire realm), whereas the spiritual world is tripatbhutam (three quarters of the total manifestation). So the spiritual world is by far much greater in every way!
In that world, more than half of the entire spiritual sky is taken up by Goloka Vrndavana and is therefore much larger than the heavenly planets of Vaikuntha which themselves happen to be much greater than the universes we know here. Yet somehow, the Lord makes the tripatbhutam (three quarters) appear in the ekapadvibhuti (one quarter), something which cannot be understood by our knowledge of physics or mathematics. So how is this possible?
There is the story that Narada told about the cobbler and the Brahmana. The cobbler was telling the Brahmana how his Lord could pull an elephant through the eye of a needle. The Brahmana refuted that this was not possible. But the cobbler was persistent and held that his Lord was amazing where he could do such things. He pointed to a banyan tree and to all the seeds that were scattered near the tree and said, “The Lord is so amazing that he can fit a whole banyan tree inside each one of these little seeds. If he can do that, then why can’t he pull an elephant through a needle?” So in this way the cobbler was not blindly believing in the Lord, but had a transcendental vision through which he could witness the Lord’s miracles around him in the material world. Such is a man of great faith. So Krsna has indeed manifested the spiritual world, a much larger dimension, within this material world, a much smaller dimension. The Lord is constantly manifesting his transcendental potency around us, through his holy name, through Govardhana and so on, and that is amazing!
The article " The spiritual world is here! " was published on KKSBlog.
**REGISTRATION CLOSED** Deity Worship Seminar – June 24, 2018
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple!
This seminar will cover various topics, including how to:
- pronounce mantras properly
- perform achaman (water purification)
- prepare bhoga (food) offerings
- use paraphernalia for worship
- apply tilak (sacred markings on the body)
- performing arati
Date: June 24, 2018
Location: 243 Avenue Road - Govinda's
The Glories of Sri Purusottama Month by Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura
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An article by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura from the Harmonist (published by Gaudiya math 2001). It is is superb and right to the point on explaining this month of Purusottama by the holy writings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
Read More...Yamuna asks about the role of antagonists like Jatila in Krsna’s pastimes
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Kirtan-mela and preaching program in Moscow, Russia (Album with…
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Kirtan-mela and preaching program in Moscow, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Love of God is not an ordinary commo...