Planet ISKCON

Who am I? - this is an eternal question asked by many.

According to science, "I" is a combination and connection of neurons and neural activity in the brain. Brain has approximately 80 billion neurons and each human being is unique because these neurons snap and interact differently. The flow of information is different for different individuals hence the individuality and hence the difference in reaction and memory. Our taste, love, desire etc all stem from these connections, essentially transfer of electrical and chemical impulses between neurons. In other words, "I' and the feeling of "I", implied here, is reduced to chemical and electrical properties.

Besides, not sure what science tells about the reason behind a particular type of synapses or connection? Why is it connecting differently for different people? To me, it just explains the mechanism (the how and what) but not the why? For that again, we have to look elsewhere for the answer.






Hare Krishna

Harinama by ISKCON Ljubljana devotees, Slovenia, 10 March 2018 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind to the conditioned souls that if they call upon Him by speaking His holy name, even unintentionally or unwillingly, the Lord is inclined to destroy innumerable sinful reactions in their hearts. Therefore, when a devotee who has taken shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet chants the holy name of Krsna with genuine love, the Supreme Personality of Godhead can never give up the heart of such a devotee. One who has thus captured the Supreme Lord within his heart is to be known as bhagavata-pradhana, the most exalted devotee of the Lord. SB 11.2.55, text
Find them here: https://goo.gl/bEjoWh

Japa Seminar by Mahatma Prabhu (video)
Improving the quality of the hearing and chanting of the Holy Name is the interest of al...

Bhaktivedanta High School Construction.
Ramai Swami: Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula at New Govardhan is in the process of constr...

A senior member of Mayapur passed away.
Senior resident brahmacari of Mayapur & a disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami, HG Narottam Das Brahmacari passed away on the auspicious Papamochani Ekadasi day (13th March) at Mayapur.

By Taru Das

You see, the horrible truth to the matter is that every devotee is a potential maha thief. It is hard to trust anyone, save and except the self-realized souls, to be alone in the same room with maha prasadam. That is why the maha cabinet is necessary. Without it, none of the maha prasadam would ever live to see the sun rise. I believe that the situation is much more acute at New Vrindaban than in other temples around the world. I remember that in the first temple I stayed, there was a refrigerator full of left-over prasadam that was always open to the public. But in New Vrindaban, it is pretty hard to come up with anything in-between meals. Continue reading "Confessions of a Prasadam Addict: Every devotee is a potential maha thief
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Kishore Badal, chairman of the Hindu Coordinating Council (HCC) of Gauteng , South Africa, forwarded an invitation to ISKCON to participate in their 26th Shivratri Walk. Various temples in Johannesburg were also invited to participate in the walk with various floats to honor Lord Shiva, the topmost Vaishnava. The organizers had also asked the ISKCON devotees to provide the lunch for the public and all the walkers. Caitanya Dasa, temple president of ISKCON Lenasia, welcomed the invitation and immediately gave approval and funding.



The post Daily Darshan: March 15, 2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

• Lord Kapila says that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement
• Attachment should be to those who are self-realized or who want to be self-realized
• One should associate with like minded souls who have the same purpose in life
• A man is known by the company he keeps
• Real friendship is with those on the path of self-realization
• To know who a friend is you have to be learned

Ecstatic Harinam Sankirtan in Atlantic Ave subway station, New York City, Wednesday, March 14th (Album of photos)
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Satya and Russian bhava in Vrindavan. In a dream, Srila Prabhupada told her to study his books. She is taking now the course on Srimad Bhagavatam with full enthusiasm and inspiring all the youngers…

By Acarya Dasa

I tried to explain to him that we were not promoting any sectarian religion, we are just servants of the Lord and we don’t believe in any caste system either. But he turned a deaf ear and on top of that he raised his voice and called 10 to 12 young boys from somewhere. All of them started yelling at us, “Go away! Leave this place!” They were about to beat us so we moved towards the hotel where we were staying. Somehow the hotel owner got news of the incident. Within no time these boys reached the hotel by following us. The owner got scared that a riot might break out, and asked us to vacate the place immediately. We were faced to answer this big question: Where to take shelter in this terribly cold night? Continue reading "One Day A Knife Pulled To Your Neck And The Next One Being Garlanded!
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By BBT Marketing, Communications and Innovations Department

Since 2012, when ISKCON North America’s leaders unanimously agreed to work as one book distribution team with a collective goal, sales of Srila Prabhupada’s books have seen a dramatic increase. Remittance to the BBT grew 20% in 2012 and 2013, and 10% each year after that, from $700,000 in 2012 to around $2.1 million in 2016. The 2017 marathon was yet another major success, with nearly $2 million again remitted to the BBT in North America. In the U.S. and worldwide, devotees worked closely together, implementing ingenious strategies like Motel Gita, Monthly Sankirtana Festivals, and full set sales with the Go Matsya project. Continue reading "Not Just For Distribution: The Importance of Reading Prabhupada’s Books
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One of the senior resident brahmacari of Mayapur & a disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami ,HG Narotam Das Brahmacari passed away on the auspicious Papamochani Ekadasi day (13th March) at Mayapur. He joined ISKCON Mayapur in the year 1978. After 2 months of training in the New Bhakta department, he went to Kolkata Ratha yatra. […]

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[Congregation program at Corvallis, Oregon, USA]

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The post How we spend more time avoiding pain than seeking pleasure – and why we shouldn’t appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula at New Govardhan is in the process of constructing more high school facilities.

This includes relevant earthworks and building of eight classrooms, science lab, art studio, hard court outdoor basketball court, play areas and a toilet block.

This project is partially funded by the Commonwealth Government, offering $900,000 towards the construction costs. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $1,479,610.

The school, which now has well over one hundred students, expects most of the facilities to be completed by the end of this year.

 

By the BBT

Faithful followers of the BBT have adopted March 14th as “BBT Only Day” in recognition of a significant instruction Srila Prabhupada issued to all temples and members of the Society on March 14th 1974 in the included letter. As is evident from this letter: Srila Prabhupada was concerned that devotees (“centres”) producing his books independently was undermining and potentially threatening the viability of the BBT. ? “This must not go on” illustrates an unambiguous desire on his part to stop any printing of his books separate from the BBT. He stresses that he created the BBT specifically to be the exclusive medium by which his books, lectures, and so on, are to be published and made available. Continue reading "BBT Only Day Message
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“Big Buddha Experience”, Hong Kong (Album of photos)
O Keshava! O You who assume the form of Buddha! O Jagadisha! O You who dispel atheism! O Hare! All glories to You because Your heart is so full of compassion. Therefore You advocate non-violence as the supreme religious principle. Aho! You decry the shrutis which prescribe the performance of sacrifices that inflict pain upon animals.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tb4QrA

MAHARASHTRA, INDIA: MALEGAON DEVOTEES ORGANIZE A ONE DAY PADAYATRA, THUS TAKING 270 DEVOTEES OUT OF THIS WORLD
March 14, 2018
By Caitanya Jivan Dasa and Vitthala Dasa
The devotees of Malegaon nama-hatta center, under the guidance of Caitanya Jivan prabhu, Vitthala Prabhu and Vraja Prem Prabhu organized a first-ever one-day padayatra on February 11, 2018. Malegaon is village located in Muktainagar Taluka in the Jalgaon District.
Inspiration
Devotees got their inspiration from the one-day padayatra organized the previous December by nearby ISKCON Jalgaon. Ram Govinda Maharaja, who participated in that walk, urged us to do the same in Malegaon.
The Goal of Padayatra
The main goal of our padayatra was to make people aware of the importance of harinama and inspire them to take it up (Kali yuga kewalnamaaadhara). It was also to fulfill our Guru Maharaja’s desire to follow in the footsteps of the All India Padayatra by having walks in every village in India. And we wanted to distribute lots of books.

Preparations

Preparations started 15 days in advance under the guidance of the Jalgaon devotees. Sri Sri Gaura Nitai of Nasik BACE had taken their seats on the cart, ready to travel, with their cart drivers eager to serve Them. The devotees had decorated the cart and oxen with beautiful flowers and leaves.

Padayatra Day

About 270 devotees from nearby villages (Bodwad, Nimkhedi, Muktai Nagar, Jalgaon, Malegaon, Medhoda and Faizpur) assembled a the main square of Malegaon village where we had a small inaugural arati ceremony for Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, seeking their blessings for our first venture on the road. From there we walked towards Nimkhedi Jagannath Kutir. What made this padayatra special was that not only men and women were enthusiastically participating, but also many young children, jumping and dancing all the way, encouraging the adults. Onlookers were surprised to see children so happily chanting and walking; they would fold hands and pay obeisances to Their Lordships and the vaisnavas. The devotees of Nimkhedi welcomed us when we reached their village; they appreciated that we were walking on the day of Vijaya Ekadasi for the pleasure of Guru and Gauranga. After honoring some fruit prasadam and resting for some time we moved towards our destination, covering a total of about 17 kms. As we reached the Old Muktai Nagar temple at Prabhupada Niwas,Vraja Prema prabhu spoke about the glories of padayatra and how it had brought all of us together. Dhanvantari prabhu had sponsored the delicious feast that ended that blissful day, during which we distributed about 200 books.

Realizations

At the end of the day the varkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthala) shared their realizations:

– We felt like we were in the Dindi (the Padayatra of Lord Vitthala’s devotees).

– The deities of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai were very beautiful and this padayatra helped us remember our dear Lord Vitthala of Pandharpur.

– Padayatra filled us with enthusiasm and love for the holy names.

Acknowledgements

This padayatra was not a one man show but a joint venture of the devotees from Malegaon and Nimkhedi. It would have been impossible without the help and support of the following devotees:

Cart driving –Suryavanshi Ram prabhu, Vitthal prabhu

Kirtan singing – Aniket prabhu, Sagar prabhu, Chetan prabhu

Prasadam – Pundarikash prabhu, Umesh prabhu

Water seva – Ganesh prabhu, Malegaon devotees

Book distribution –Vitthal prabhu, Baliram prabhu and others.

Concluding words

The pleasure we derived during this padayatra was truly out of this world, and we realized why Guru Maharaja insists so much for us to organize more padayatras. We are eager to arrange many such padayatras in the near future.

More photos: https://goo.gl/dLMHMG

Arabic books from the souks of Algiers to the elegant boulevards de Paris (Album with photos)
Soon after setting up our BBT FEME booth recently in Mayapur, our Middle East panel draws in the crowds with Premadhan Prabhu, our Arabic translation co-ordinator from Lebanon (on the left), Rasamandala Prabhu (our well-wisher from Morocco), and finally Gaura Bhakta Prabhu from Algeria, who blissfully distributes the Arabic books from the souks of Algiers to the elegant boulevards de Paris…
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9FjPGC

What’s Death to an Atheist?
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking did not believe there was a need to invoke God for there to be a spontaneous creation of the universe. In his words, “Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in.”
In a 2011 interview with The Guardian newspaper, Mr. Hawking was asked, “What, if anything, do you fear about death?”
He responded, “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”
As spontaneous chance may have it, the computer of a genius brain we have come to know as Stephen Hawking stopped working last night. He died peacefully at his home in Cambridge, aged 76.
Mr. Hawking claimed to be an atheist and did not believe in an immaterial, intangible God, yet he had to contend with the tangible reality of death.
Krishna famously states in the Bhagavad-gita, 10.34, mrityuh sarva-haras caham, “I am all-devouring death,” who takes away everything in the end.
In a speech at the Olympia Theater in Paris, 1971, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, explained:
“If one does not see God, then, Krishna says, ‘I am death, cruel death, who takes away everything from everyone.’ The conclusion is that everyone sees God at every moment, but the atheist class, they do not accept that he is seeing God. .. The atheist can see God at his last stage as death, whereas the devotee sees God by his devotional service at every moment and every step of his life.”
In a letter to a disciple, Srila Prabhupada elaborates:
“So the atheist is a hypocrite himself when he says that he does not believe in God. He has to believe in God in the form of Death. A criminal hypocritically says that he does not believe in the Government, but a civil citizen abides by the law of the Government. The Government is present therefore both for the criminal and for the law abiding citizen. To the criminal the Government is present as force of law and order, putting the criminal in the prison house and giving the civil citizen all facilities for a peaceful life. ..“
"This appearance of God as Death before the atheist is also the kindness of the Lord. Both God’s killing and protection are the same because He is Absolute, but His mercy is shown to the atheist by killing and His mercy is shown to the theist by protecting; so both are seeing God in different features. This is the practical demonstration of the presence of God.”
This line of theistic reasoning, undoubtedly, would not have convinced the materialistic intellect of Stephen Hawking, who regarded death as no more than the sum of his brain’s neurons ceasing to fire.
Be that as it may, as fellow human beings, we wish Stephen Hawking well, whether (as he would have believed) he’s now just a particle of cosmic dust, or whether (as we believe) he’s an eternal spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna, on a grand journey, transmigrating to another body, evolving through various stages of consciousness.

• Finding the right camera angle
• Rehearsal of a vlog about the definition of love
• Getting the speed of speech right

• If someone’s guru is neglecting him or her the devotee should try to rectify the situation
• Communication is always the best approach
• We need to make sure that our relationship with our spiritual master is intact and mercy is coming; for that one should do service and follow the principles
• In today’s ISKCON there is a lot of familiarity and neglect in relationships with the spiritual masters
• Kṛṣṇa does not reciprocate if we do not have a proper attitude towards vaiṣṇavas and gurus
• We worship Kṛṣṇa through the guru, we are not guru worshippers as a personality cult

GAURA PURNIMA Celebration at Istanbul, Turkey (3 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: It is very difficult to push on this movement, but still we have to do it. And this is the highest yoga. If you push on this movement of Krsna consciousness, then you’ll be performing the highest type of yoga. Don’t be misled by so-called yogas. This is yoga. Yoga means cooperation, cooperation with the Supreme. From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 7.1 – March 17, 1968, San Francisco

A visit to he peaceful ISKCON Midrand temple, in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Album with photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: We are...

On  Papamocani ekadasi day, Govinda ghosh, an eternal associate of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu disappeared. Gopinath jiu (Govinda Ghosh’s beloved deity) held Kusa grass in His fingers to perform Shraddha ceremony of Govinda ghosh. This was as per His promise to Govinda Ghosh and this practice is continued till today. Shri Govinda Ghosh was known for […]

The post Govinda GhoshO n Papamocani ekadasi day, Govinda ghosh, an eternal associate of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu disappeared. Gopinath jiu (Govinda Ghosh’s beloved deity) held Kusa grass in His fingers to perform Shraddha ceremony of Govinda ghosh. This was as per His promise to Govinda Ghosh and this practice is continued till today. Shri Govinda Ghosh was known for his sweet kirtans at the annual Jagannatha Ratha-Yatra festival. He and his two brothers, Vasudeva and Madhava, are eternal associates of Shri Chaitanya and Shri Nityananda. The Lord would immediately begin dancing whenever the Ghosh brothers would sing. The Ghosh brothers preached throughout their lives with music and song. As Kalavati-sakhi, Govinda Ghosh sings sweetly for Radha-Govindaji in Goloka Vrindavana. His samadhi is in the 64 Samadhis Area. appeared first on Mayapur.com.



The post Daily Darshan: March 14,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

By Chandan Yatra Das

Nashik is one of the most principal places in the lila of Sri Sri Sita Ram Laxmana. It is here that Laxmana cut the nose of Surpanakha, the sister of demon Ravana. Nashik means "nose", and thus this city got its name. In Nashik at a very holy place called Panchavati, Sri Sri Sita Rama Laxmana spent about one year of their exile before Ravana kidnapped the mayaic expansion of Sita Devi from here. Exact spot where Sri Sri Sita Rama Laxmana lived in Panchavati (Kalaram Mandir), Ram Kunda where Lord Ramacandra used to take His bathe, Sita Gumpha where Laxmana hid Sita in this cave while Lord Rama fought with Khar, Dushan and their 14000 rakshas warriors, Tapovana where Laxmana performed tapasya to kill Ravana's son Meghnath (Indrajit) are in Nashik. This is the place of Dandakaranya forest as mentioned in Ramayana, Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.79.19-21 and Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya lila 9.3.11-16. Continue reading "Nashik Dhama Yatra
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By Sri Nandanandana dasa

As we associate or practice the chanting of this maha-mantra, it will purify us from our bad habits, addictions, and negative thought patterns, and help us rise above the more debased tendencies that we may have. It will help us reach our higher potential, think more clearly, give us peace of mind, realize who we are and how best to live our life, and so on. It can also protect us from dark forces that may be lurking nearby, and that may try to pull us down into unwanted thoughts and activities or experiences. Socially, it will also raise the consciousness of humanity, help reduce the tendency toward crime, assaults, robberies, rapes, corruption, greed, lying, and so on. It will help put humanity on the right track. It can clear our consciousness so that we can recognize the various levels of the illusion around us, the basis of wicked activities, and show us how to be free of such things. Therefore, the sound of the holy names needs to be broadcast or chanted through the streets of towns and cities. This is easy when people gather in groups to do this and practice chanting together. It will bring a subtle and spiritual relief to those who hear it, and also help pave the way for a more positive future for society, and provide spiritual development for those who join in the chanting. Continue reading "The Holy Name is the Incarnation of God for the Age of Kali-Yuga
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Nirmala Krishna Das: Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.

By Bhaktisiddanta Swami

Peter Cosgrove: Governor General, Lieutennat General, Chief of Army, Commander, Royal Australian Regiment. Due to the arrival of the Australian royalty in an entourage of 4 cars and a Mercedes limo, the main thorough fare (Rajadhirsen Marga) adjacent to Ra-dha- Parth-sarathi Mandir, was blocked off. Sir Peter Cosgrove, along with his wife, Lady Cosgrove, was the first ever Governor General of Australia to visit an Iskcon center, accompanied by such dignitaries as Her excellency Ms. Harinder Kaur Sidhu, the Honorable High Commissioner of Australia to India and a team of nearly 15 Australian High Commission officials, guarded by security agents, wearing dark suits, sunglasses and communication earpieces. Also, 100 Indian security personnel and police officers were on hand. Continue reading "Peter Cosgrove Australian Governor General Visits Iskcon New Delhi
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The post If we fight against obstacles to serve Krishna in a particular way, are we not dependent on Krishna? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Godfamily meeting]

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(Due to interrupted net connection, this video has been uploaded in two parts)

The post Appreciating Radhanath Maharaj’s contributions in the light of ISKCON history appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Congregation program at Portland, USA]

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The post When the higher taste doesn’t seem higher appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.