Planet ISKCON

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Madhu Pandit, a disciple of Sri Gadadhara Pandit, established the temple of Gopinatha in Vrndavana, India. Before Srinivasa Acharya, Narottama dasa Thakura, and Syamananda Prabhu went to bring the books of the Goswamis from Vrndavana to Bengal, Madhu Pandit blessed Srinivasa Acharya by giving him a garland from the Sri Gopinatha Deity.

The Deity of Gopinatha was discovered at Vamsivata by Paramananda Bhattacarya, who entrusted the Deity’s worship to Madhu Pandita. On the altar in this temple are Deities of  Gopinatha, Srimati Radharani and Her sister, Ananga Manjari. Madhu Pandita arranged to have this temple built.

Vajranabha, the great-grandson of Krishna, originally installed Lord Gopinatha in Vrndavana. When the Muslims raided Vrndavana in 1670, the original Gopinatha Deity was taken to Jaipur.

[Narasimha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers to Narasimhadeva 5.18.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on 5.18.9 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

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[Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 December 2017, Sydney, Australia, Bhagavad-gita 1.1)

Dhrtarastra was blind; not just physically blind but also spiritually blind. This is because he did not understand the goal of life. Bhagavad-gita says that we are all also blind in that way:

om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah (Bhagavad-gita As It Is – Introduction)

It says that we have taken birth in the deepest and darkest ignorance. It acknowledges that we do not know what the goal of life is. We sometimes think that life is just for playing. Once Prabhupada saw a sign in New York next to a playground that said “Kid’s play land,” then Prabhupada pointed towards the entire city and said, “Adult’s play land!”

We must remember that the goal of this life is to use what we have for the service of Krsna, instead of using our resources on pointless things. The Pandavas understood this very clearly – before the battle of Kurukshetra, both Duryodhana and Arjuna went to Krsna for assistance to ensure their respective victories. Duryodhana reached Krsna first, however found Krsna resting in his quarters. So he decided to sit next to Krsna’s head where he could immediately ask Krsna upon waking up. Arjuna arrived later, and sat next to Krsna’s feet. Krsna was lying on his back, so when he opened his eyes, he first looked towards his feet and saw Arjuna. When Krsna asked Arjuna what he could do for him, Arjuna explained their precarious position with the impending war and how he was making a request to get Krsna’s assistance in the war. Krsna agreed to this, but said that he himself would not fight, only his army would. So Krsna gave Arjuna a choice, between himself and his powerful army. Arjuna quickly chose Krsna, and hearing this Duryodhana was ecstatic, thinking, “Oh, Arjuna is such a fool! He must have been in the sun for too long because no one can stand against Krsna’s army! Today I scored big time!” So even though Duryodhana left happily, it was Arjuna who truly put his faith in Krsna.

So this really is, in spirit, the summary of the Bhagavad-gita that we must put our faith in Krsna! Even though we are not fighting in Kurukshetra, we are still fighting with the three modes of material nature, our senses, our mind, and so on. So somehow we have to take control and engage our mind and senses in the loving service of Krsna.

The purpose of the Bhagavad-gita is to remind people in this material world that just like Arjuna, who was affected by the world and was struggling with it, we are also the same. The knowledge that Arjuna was receiving from Krsna is the knowledge that has been given to all of us. Srila Prabhupada came and presented the Bhagavad-gita AS IT IS (emphasis added); no compromise. He presented us with the highest standard, just like Krsna presented it to Arjuna. So our temples are dedicated to bring everyone to the point of surrender to Krsna where Krsna must always come first. And in this way, we will attain success in life, by fulfilling the purpose of the Bhagavad-gita!

The article " Fulfilling the purpose of Bhagavad-gita " was published on KKSBlog.

“I would believe only in a God that knew how to dance.” - Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
A few days ago, I went for a long walk with a very dear friend. We were so absorbed in our talks that we forgot the time. All of a sudden, we found ourselves surrounded by the pitch-black night.
A recent hurricane had torn off the branches of many timeworn trees and uprooted numerous others, leaving us an ominous path back home. Fortunately, my friend had a mobile phone with torchlight function, and our eyes were thus firmly fixed on the bumpy ground ahead. When we finally emerged out of the dense forest, both of us spontaneously stopped, as if on cue.

Harinama in Kiev, Ukraine (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: To know simply “I believe in God,” that is not sufficient. The ultimate goal is to attain very intimate relationship or love of Godhead. That is required. Of course, to know, to believe in God, to accept God, that is all right. It is better than the atheist. But that is not end. You must develop yourself. You must… You should not simply make God as your order-supplier, but you should be order-supplier. When I become order-supplier to God, that is my perfection. And so long I keep God as my order-supplier, that is not bhakti. Generally, people keep God as his order-supplier: “O God, give us our daily bread,” “O God, I am in distress, "O God, I am in difficulty, "O God, I am…” God supplies them. God is supplying. Eko bahunam vidadhati kaman. But that is not ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is that you should supply God. God will be dependent on you. That is bhakti. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 20.137-142 – New York, November 29, 1966
Find them here: https://goo.gl/4byKuW

“Afraid to Surrender” by HG Mahatma Prabhu - April 16, 2018 (4 min video)
If we are afraid of love - and surrender is another word for love - Krsna will bring into our lives the very things we fear will happen if we surrender. So what we fear will happen if we surrender then appears in our lives, because this is what we are focused on and this is what we expect will happen.

A Honor And A Privilege (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Yekaterinburg is situated within the Ural region in the middle of Russia. It was founded in 1723 and named after the Russian emperor Peter the Great’s wife, Katerina. It is one of the most important economic centers in Russia with a population of 1.5 million people. Devotees in Yekaterinburg have a temple, a cow protection program, 2 restaurants and a small gurukula. They all cooperate nicely in gradually developing Krsna consciousness in their area. It was an honor and a privilege to spend 3 days with them.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EFP637

Earth Day Book Distribution in Greater Sacramento area. Srila Prabhupada book distribution ki jaya! (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Even Brahma is bewildered, what to speak of ordinary men like us. So Krsna-lila, to understand… There is no need of understanding. Simply you love Krsna, then the whole business finished. Just like if you touch fire, if you understand it or not understand it, the warmness is there. Similarly, either you understand Krsna or do not understand Krsna, it doesn’t matter. Simply if you love Krsna, then your life is perfect. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversation – April 11, 1969, New York
Find them here: https://goo.gl/WQcX1Q

Harinama Sankirtana in Union Square park Sunday April 22nd (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Pradyumna: “Purport: In the human society, all over the world, there are millions and billions of men and women, and almost all of them are less intelligent because they have very little knowledge of the spirit soul.” Prabhupada: This is our challenge, that there are millions and trillions of men and women all over the world, but they’re not at all intelligent. This is our challenge. So, the Krsna consciousness movement may be taken by others as crazy, or we challenge that “You are all crazy men.” Therefore we have got a little book, “Who is Crazy?” Because they’re thinking that “These shaven-headed boys and girls are crazy,” but actually they are crazy. Because they have no intelligence. Why? They do not know what is spirit soul. This is the animal consciousness. Dogs, cats, they think that they are the body. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.2-3 – Los Angeles, May 20, 1972
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9UvjyZ

Mayapur Dham Development by Hari Sauri Prabhu, Personal secretary of Srila Prabhupada who is sharing with us at this time informati...



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

Each temple had about 25-35 devotees in attendance, and as usual the Lord was greeted with an arati, abhisheka and kirtan. Jananivas and Braja Vilas prabhus both spoke and presented an inspiring video. But the real miracle began when devotees started making their pledges. Each temple raised over $30,000 U.S. for a total of $60,000 in pledges, an unheard of amount for any program in this region. Continue reading "TOVP Euro Tour Days 4 and 5: Wroclaw, Poland
→ Dandavats"

It is impossible for a materialistic person like Ravana to touch Srimati Sitadevi, just as it is impossible for anyone within the material world to enjoy the energy of the Lord no matter how they try to exploit it for their own pleasure. What Ravana touched was illusory, just as the enjoyment of those in the material world is only an illusion that leads to suffering. Devotees of the Lord, however, honor, respect, and worship Srimati Sitadevi, knowing her glorious position and praying for her mercy. Continue reading "The Dearmost Wife of the Supreme Lord Ramacandra
→ Dandavats"

[Earth Day Talk at Lotus Meditation Center, Denver, USA]

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[Narasimha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers to Narasimha 5.18.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on Bhagavatam 5.18.8 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

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Kadamba Kanana Swami: The essence of the process that we are following in this movement is the chanting of the holy name. This process is the yuga dharma – the dharma (religion) for this age of Kali. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has made this chanting of the holy name widely available to us and also added his extra mercy. The holy name has been chanted widely throughout the millennia but in this particular millennia, there is the added mercy of the Lord himself. Therefore, now it is very easy and quick for us to chant Krsna’s name and attain the results.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 December 2017, Govinda Valley, Australia, Initiation Lecture)

The essence of the process that we are following in this movement is the chanting of the holy name. This process is the yuga dharma – the dharma (religion) for this age of Kali. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has made this chanting of the holy name widely available to us and also added his extra mercy. The holy name has been chanted widely throughout the millennia but in this particular millennia, there is the added mercy of the Lord himself. Therefore, now it is very easy and quick for us to chant Krsna’s name and attain the results.

It is described by Rupa Goswami that in other kali yugas, there are also incarnations of Vishnu who teach harinam sankirtan. But because Vishnu is not the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot invest the name with the special mercy by which prema (love) is very quickly attained. So in those yugas, the chanting is going on, but it is difficult; the progress is slow. But now, the progress is very quick as the added mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is rapidly invoking Krsna prema.

In the first initiation, the main focus is the holy name – that is the essence! The spiritual master chants on the beads first to invest them with his blessings and the blessings of the entire parampara (disciplic succession), coming from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is then that he invests his special mercy on us. Therefore, even though one has been chanting before, where the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu is still available to all, the spiritual master invokes the entire parampara’s prayers during an initiation, which is very powerful!

The article " Special mercy " was published on KKSBlog.

Today, Jahnu Saptami, is the disappearance anniversary of Arca-vigraha dasi, a renowned artist from South Africa who left her cancer-ridden body in Vrindavan twenty-four years ago. Her desire that other devotees also have a proper facility to spend their last days in the beautiful spiritual atmosphere of the holy dhama inspired the creation of the Bhaktivedanta Hospice. The year of her departure, Bhurijana dasa’s Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada glorified her and Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna’s mercy upon her:

My dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you. We pray that your powerful preaching potency continues forever.

As I write this, Mother Arca-vigraha is still alive. By the time this offering is read by the devotees, she will be gone. She now lies bedridden within her Ramana-reti house; her thin, almost white hair is cropped close and with sikha. The May Vrindavan heat glares, and her body burns as if filled with poison from one thousand scorpions. Only her left arm near the shoulder is fat, for there the cancer spreads from her lymph gland. The rest of that arm lies thin and useless at her side, like the arm of a doll, but burning with pain.

“ ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ in the material world are the same thing. [They] are mental creations. All is actually distress, for we must die. Human life is meant for Krishna consciousness. Why should we lose this chance? A Krishna conscious person is not under the laws of material nature.” (All quotes are from a 1969 New Vrindaban lecture by Srila Prabhupada.)

Arca-vigraha was a famous South African artist. She took initiation from His Holiness Giriraj Swami years ago and developed deep faith in you, her guru maharaja, Krishna consciousness, the holy name, Vrindavan dhama, and the Vaishnavas. Now, in her final days, her face is gaunt; deep crevices rim her eyes. Yet she is neither miserable nor morose nor fearful. Mother Arca remains either silently Krishna conscious or jolly.

“One who is Krishna conscious is never afraid or disturbed in any condition of life. This is the effect of Krishna consciousness. Therefore Narada is trying to convince Vyasadeva, ‘You preach Krishna consciousness. Whatever you have so far written is useless. Now you write something that by reading, one will become immediately Krishna conscious.’ Srimad-Bhagavatam is so nice that by reading, immediately one can capture the Supreme Lord within his heart. Our whole program is that Krishna is very kind, always kind upon us.”

She hasn’t eaten any solid food for about seven weeks and has been subsisting on less than 500 milligrams of juice a day. Her life has been sustained by krsna-katha, which she longs to hear constantly. And Mother Arca still preaches. Despite her pain, as long as she can speak, she greets all with good spirits, encouragement, and Krishna conscious advice: “Most problems don’t seem important from this perspective, do they?” “The body is useless, isn’t it?” “Jaya, jaya Sri Radhe-Syama!” Devotees approach her to offer solace but find shelter in her Krishna conscious strength.

“The pure devotees, if they are put into difficulty, they think, ‘This is Krishna’s grace. It is Krishna’s grace.’ They take it in this way. ‘I was to suffer hundreds of times more due to my bad activities in my past life, but You are only giving me a little of it. So it is Your grace.’ ”

We do not know when Krishna will actually take Mother Arca. She almost left just after Gaura-purnima, and we rushed to her bedside at 11:00 p.m. to find her gasping and wheezing and unable to breathe. The cancer is gradually closing off her windpipe. But Krishna wouldn’t take her then. She is now quite ready to go and awaits His call. She chants more or less constantly in her mind.

“Hypnotized. It is so nice—hypnotized! Otherwise, why are these boys working so hard? They can earn money, but they are hypnotized here. Krishna is so nice. He is all-attractive. He hypnotizes His devotee. Just like the Pandavas. They are all Krishna’s friends. Narada met Krishna, and because he was a devotee, he could speak to Krishna with a little criticism: ‘My dear Krishna, by becoming Your devotees, have Your Pandavas become happy? They have lost their kingdom. Their wife has been insulted, and now they are banished for twelve years. Is it a very good thing? But the wonderful thing I see, in spite of all these inconveniences, is that they have increased their love for You!’ So Narada is asking, ‘What kind of hypnotism You do I don’t know. In spite of being placed in so many inconveniences, their love for You has increased.’ That is the position of a bhakta.”

Both her breathing and swallowing are now strained and painful. I used to ask her if she had anything remaining to accomplish within the world of matter. Her last anxiety was spiritual, to finish the remaining true-to-size drawings for the 6’ x 3’ panels at the back of your samadhi mandir. She wasn’t physically capable, but she strained and sat up and directed the remaining work to its end. “See, I told you I’d finish!” No further work remains for Mother Arca-vigraha within this world.

“Anyone who has associated with Krishna consciousness, he cannot forget . . . He cannot give it up. If one once surrenders sincerely, ‘Krishna, I am Yours,’ Krishna will never leave you. He will protect you.”

Prabhupada, you have already bestowed your mercy on this fine devotee, Mother Arca-vigraha. We, out of affection for her, nevertheless pray to you for her eternal welfare. We also beg you to continue giving us the association of exalted and exemplary Vaishnavas.

Praying to serve you eternally,
Bhurijana dasa

*  *  *

Devotees can read about Mother Arca-vigraha in the chapter about her in my book Many Moons: Reflections on Departed Vaishnavas and in the section “Mother Arca-vigraha—An Inspiration” in Chapter 2 of my book Life’s Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective.

May Mother Arca-vigraha’s mercy shower down upon us all.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by Drutakarma Prabhu in Los Angeles, 4-20-2018 (video)

THE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR WORLD!!! (1 min video)
Sivarama Swami: A threat bigger than Nuclear weapons and Terrorists … a threat WE need to be conscious of!

During a blisful initiation ceremony in the San Diego Temple, Giriraj Swami performed the initiations of Bhakta Will Southall who received the name Vaisnava dasa, Bhaktin Usha Madan who received the name Urjesvari dasi, and Bhaktin Farida Sharafutdinova who received the name Saraswati Devi dasi.

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Kirtan (Right-click to download)
Initiation talk and name giving (Right-click to download)

In Canto Twelve of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhumi, Mother Earth, says this: “Although in the past great men and their descendants have left me, departing from this world in the same helpless way they came into it, even today foolish men are trying to conquer me. For the sake of conquering me, materialistic persons fight one another. Fathers oppose their sons, and brothers fight one another because their hearts are bound to possessing political power. Political leaders challenge one another: ‘All this land is mine! It’s not yours, you fool!’ Thus they attack one another and die.”
On the other hand, those who are enlightened use everything in Krishna’s service, knowing well that the world and everything in it belongs to Him.

Vaisesika Dasa

Unconditional love.
BB Govinda Swami: We should be prepared to open ourselves up. We should be prepared to take down our guards. We should be prepared to dismantle our protective fences that we have around us. And we should say:
“I’m ready to serve You. So You just please do to me whatever is necessary so that I would serve You purely”.

Vishoka Dasa: Jayananda would often show a playful mood. He wasn’t just all work and no play. He would often say things and do things that reminded us that service to Krishna was fun and spontaneous, and just as Krishna has an amazing sense of humor, so do His devotees have a lively sense of humor.

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