Planet ISKCON

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The post Manthara-Kaikeyi – How manipulators mislead appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by H.H. Kavicandra Swami in ISKCON Vrindavan, 18.03.2018 (video)

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HG Bhurijan Prabhu in Iskcon Ujjain, Mar 20, 2018 (video)

• Bhaktivedanta Manor temple president Srutidharma prabhu’s aggressive brain cancer
• We never know when the material energy will reveal one of its facets to us
• We need to always be ready and not be complacent in our Kṛṣṇa consciosuness
• Keep Srutidharma prabhu in your prayers
• The right mood of prayer: „My dear Lord, if you so desire….”
• Noone is indispensable
• Our choice is how we respond to the inevitable

Opening day, 2018 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show (Album with photos)
The devotees make beautiful arrangements to remind everyone of Krishna.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ouZb1o

ISKCON Newcastle center in South Africa (Album of photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: We have been staying near our ISKCON Newcastle center in South Africa. Last night we had a pre-Ramnavami program with the devotees there. It’s a nice yatra, and they have a nice property which they’re developing. They already have a large hall, which they built, and a house behind it which they use as a temple, but they’re going to build a proper, purpose-built temple shortly.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/iSHnpS

The presentation about book distribution done during the first day of the GBC meetings in Mayapur. Amazing facts and figures. What other organizations do for their book printing and distribution, be dissatisfied, book distribution means high sadhana, One Word Team, Success is not mystery - is a recipe, "Glocal", plans and strategies and much more. Continue reading "Book Distribution Tsunami
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Preaching program in Stuttgart, Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Even if you find in devotee something bad, and his behavior is not in the standard, but because he is Krsna conscious, he has no other business, he is sadhu. Api cet suduracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak, sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg. 9.30]. He is sadhu. He is saintly man. Even if you find some defect in his character, because he is sticking to Krsna consciousness, he is saintly. Krsna says. How is that, a saintly man has got some this bad character? So that answer is next verse: ksipram bhavati dharmatma sasvac-chantim nigacchati kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati [Bg. 9.31] “Yes, there are some defects. It is right. But it will be very soon finished.” Just like you make the switch off, electric fan. So after the switch is off, still it is moving. But that movement is not real movement because the switch is off. It will stop very soon. Srila Prabhupada – June 22, 1975, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/xTpDSW

Lucid Pure Vegetarian Restaurant - Grand Opening Today, 21 March 2018 (Album with photos)
Sunnyside Mall - Shopping & Retail · Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/REKwm3

Watch this amazing 3D video rendition of the TOVP Master Plan for a look at the future of ISKCON Mayapur, by Srisha das and Bhakta Pavel.

Check out other amazing videos in our Video Gallery or TOVP YouTube Channel.

The post TOVP Master Plan Video appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.



The post Daily Darshan: March 21, 2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post Prayers to Rama 1 – May my devotion flow to you undiluted and undistracted appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Congregation program at Los Angeles, USA]

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The post Is bhakti a conditioned attraction of the mind or the natural attraction of the soul? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Sunday feast class at Los Angeles, USA]

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The post How the mind tells its stories by inducing forgetfulness, faith and feelings appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post If bhakti is beyond the modes, why do we need to come to the mode of goodness? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post How to avoid judging others? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Kurukshetra- Jagannath Rath Yatra 2018 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: We must be purely chanting. But we should not be disappointed, even impure. Therefore we must have fixed chanting process. Because we are not in the pure stage. Therefore, by force, just like a boy in the school. We had this training in our childhood school. Our teacher would ask me, “You write ten pages, handwriting.” So that means practicing ten pages, my handwriting will be set up. So if we do not even follow sixteen rounds, where is the question of chanting Hare Krsna? So don’t be artificial; don’t be a showbottle. Be real thing. And that is wanted. If you want real benefit of spiritual life, don’t be showbottle. If one can chant purified offenseless, once krsna-nama, he is free from all material bondage. Once only. –From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.26-30 – Hawaii, January 23, 1974
Find them here: https://goo.gl/337YPd

When A Hare Krishna Meets Muslims! (3 min video)
(Activate the subtitles in English) Ramachandra Dasa in ISRAEL.
Watch it ...

A blind uncle is better than no uncle but HG Moksha Lakshmi Devi has chosen the best! (6 min video)

Program in Dundee town (Album with photos)
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: We did a little program last night in a town in South Africa ...

Govinda Swami: Clean Vraja Campaign Update!!
When I came home to Vrindavan I wrote a note that explained my personal crisis while being here … due to the prevailing insane situation in Vrindavan.
After my post, many friends from around the world commented, shared wonderful ideas, and offered their time, expertise, and commitment to help the ecological and heritage crisis that we are facing here in Vrindavan.
I started thinking.
Hey !! Please don’t laugh. I can still think .. a little
First I sat down with Indradyumna Maharaja to think of the folks we know who have been very successful in their services in Vrindavan.
We first met with Padmanabha Goswami of Radha Raman Mandir, one of our oldest Vrindavan friends, who is a recognized activist for the ecology and culture of Vrindavan.
Then we met our Vrindavan temple president Pancha Gauda Prabhu who has so successfully served and developed Vrindavan Temple for nearly 30 years.
Then we met Rupa Raghunatha who is the driving force of Food For Life Vrindavan and the world famous Sandipani Muni School for underprivileged girls.
Rupa has built schools and gives A to Z care for 1,400 young girls in Vrindavan and manages a staff of over 300 persons.
And then we met Jagatananda Prabhu, a very old friend with whom I shared my early days of Krishna consciousness in Toronto. We have probably not met since 1980.
Jagatananda is a teacher, scholar, writer, Sanskritist, master of Bengali language, translator and the editor of the internet newspaper Vrindavan Today.
In all the discussions we shared ideas and agreed that;
If we wish to attain the cherished goal of restoring Vraja we will need the assistance of the varied members of civil society in Vraja .. as well as the enforcement of the law of the land by the respected officers of the Indian Government.
On the first point;
Pancha Gauda and Rupa Raghunatha prabhus both run huge organizations. At present they are both in the process of creating better professional systems to manage their organizations.
Rupa Raghunatha has already engaged an international consultant to guide the restructuring of Food For Life Vrindavan and it has given fantastic results.
This last February his consultant visited Vrindavan and guided the FFLV team in their second training.
And, while the consultant was in Vrindavan, Rupa called together a group of prominent Vrindavan citizens and spent an afternoon of consultant guided brainstorming.
The conclusion of two hours of work was fantastic.
Now our desire is to again invite the consultant, pull more members on board, and chalk out a real plan for our work in Vraja.
And on the second point;
In India, we have a Prime Minister of the nation.
In each state, we have a Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister of our state Uttar Pradesh is a sadhu named Yogi Adityanatha. He is the Mahant of the Gorakhpur Temple Pith and has long been involved in national politics.
He is the president of an organization dedicated to the development of Vraja Bhumi .. and his vice president is a wonderful retired senior officer of the police. His name is Sri Shailesh Jha Kant Mishra.
He is the direct secretary to our state Chief Minister.
Mishraji is quite an amazing individual. He is a disciple of Devraha Baba, a renown saint who passed from this world around 1990.
At the time of his passing, he is said to have been between 300 and 400 years old.
Five generations of Mishraji’s family were disciples of Baba.
Baba instructed Mishraji to never purchase a house or own a piece of property during his life, instructed his wife never to purchase gold, and told him that one day he would be called to serve the sacred land of Vrindavan.
And in his retirement, he was requested by the Chief Minister to come to Vraja and serve.
Thus for him, this is a sacred service that has been given to him by his guru maharaja.
Through Pancha Gauda and Rupa Raghunatha, I have heard that Mishraji has agreed to be a part of the Vrindavan partnership development team and will assist in giving proper guidance and support to the committee.
He has said that until he dies he will be dedicated to the service of Sri Vrindavan Dham.
And folks … that is very good news.
So, in conclusion .. the ball is rolling … in a great direction.
I will keep all of you updated when I hear that there is any more information.
Your prayers, hearts, voices, arms, professional abilities, references, will all be needed to make this long-term dream come true.
Hare Krishna and good morning from Vrindavan !!
Yours in service,
BB Govinda Swami

Deena Bandhu Das: On Sunday, we celebrated the Disappearance Day of Baba Madhava Das who gave Vrinda Kunda to ISKCON. Celebrate with...

Schedule: Each festival can be the focus for a five-day week, with a concentration each day on one of the five most potent items of devotional service as related to that festival. This program is flexible and can be used in other ways. For example, it is entirely possible to take one item of devotional service and concentrate on it for more than one day, or even an entire week. And, some people might want to only spend one day on a festival. Continue reading "Lord Ramacandra’s Appearance Day: Activities and Resources For Teaching and Guiding Ages 2-18
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Russian-speaking ISKCON leaders from all over the country (and beyond) assembled in Moscow, in January 2018, for continuing their Zonal Supervisor course, an offering of the GBC College for Leadership Development. The group, which included among others Russian GBC Acyutatma Prabhu and three Russian sannyasis, had already gathered in Sochi, in the south of Russia, in June 2017, and now again came together to continue the training. Continue reading "GBC College in Russia – Second Residential Session
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The post Daily Darshan: March 20, 2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Answer Podcast

The post Can capacity to find faults be an empowerment from Krishna? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post When the mind is restless, how are performers like archers able to focus on one point? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Lost Angles, USA]

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The post How philosophy and experience harmonize in bhakti appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Congregation program at Los Angeles, USA]

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The post How chanting works on the mind – and how the mind works during chanting appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 18 October 2017, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.3.17)

As eternal servants of Krsna, our natural position is to render service. Our happiness lies not in any other endeavour, but only in service. As soon as we try to become the master ourselves, we are in an artificial position. Since we are not very good masters, we have to ‘pretend’ and start hiding our defects.

We start on the wrong footing. If we only started properly from an early stage in life, we would be strong. However, we do not. We pick up bad habits even before we are adults. Then, by the time we are grown up, we are thoroughly fixed in all kinds of nonsense.

Srila Prabhupada liked using the words ‘nonsense rascal.’ In India, this is a big thing to say this to someone. I saw a certain senior devotee once calling a bank manager ‘nonsense rascal’ and then that devotee had to change his bank – that was it and it could not be fixed. So, it is a big thing to call someone ‘nonsense rascal’ in India but it sums it up really nicely!

A rascal is inclined towards all kinds of activities that are not beneficial, inclined towards activities that will bring suffering upon themselves and others; therefore it is nonsense – his actions do not make sense.

So if one comes to the point where one can actually admit, “I am a nonsense rascal!” this is the beginning of becoming a devotee. I get the question asked a thousand times, “How do I become humble?” Well, today I am answering it in a way that I have never answered it before. I say, “Admit to yourself that you are a nonsense rascal.” Then it is up to us to also understand, “Yes, I have all these foolish attachments somehow. Foolish attachments I developed that I have no benefit for whatsoever.”

This is our situation – being addicted to many things that are in fact sinful; life after life this is our situation. It is not necessary to do anything in this life to develop this addiction to sinful activities; it is already there. Even children are not as innocent as they look and neither are we for that matter. Srila Prabhupada understood this and in one sense he was not shy to point it out by saying things like ‘nonsense rascal’. He was not shy to point out the defects and yet somehow, he was not rejecting anyone in the end. Rather, he was welcoming everyone. That is the essence of Lord Caitanya’s movement!

The article " A humble beginning " was published on KKSBlog.

GBC approved Sastric Advisory Committee's Paper on Rama-navami Fasting. In this paper, we present research on the length and type of fasting for Rāma-navamī from sādhu, śāstra and guru. We also examine related items such as the concept of completing one’s fasting vow, specific calendar considerations, a comparison with other viṣṇu-tattva appearance days and Ekādaśī, and practices in some ISKCON centers. We then make recommendations at the end of the paper of general principles which we apply to ISKCON leaders, ISKCON members, and suggestions for the calendar listing. Continue reading "Rama-navami Observance & Fasting
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