Planet ISKCON

Srila Prabhupada’s youngest son Vrindavanchandra De prabhu, left his body last night around 10.30 pm at his residence in Kolkata.
Deena Bandhu Das: He was suffering from cancer last few months. He was present with Srila Prabhupada when he boarded the Jaladuta in 1965. I took him for Radha Kunda Snan many years ago.
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New Vrindaban Days

As New Vrindaban enters its 50th anniversary (1968 to 2018), I wrote this series of articles for the Brijabasi Spirit in an attempt to give the reader not only an “understanding,” but more importantly a “taste,” of what life in early New Vrindaban was like – through the stories of one devotee’s personal journey.

The title of the series, “New Vrindaban Days,” is a tribute to the wonderful book “Vrindaban Days: Memories of an Indian Holy Town” written by Howard Wheeler, aka Hayagriva Das, one of Srila Prabhupada’s earliest disciples, and a great writer. As with Hayagriva’s book, this series focuses on a period in the 1970’s.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Chaitanya Mangala Das, for spending untold hours assisting me in refining my writing for your reading pleasure.

I will attempt to tell these stories in some semblance of a chronological order, beginning with my first meeting with devotees in 1968, leading to my arrival in New Vrindaban in late 1973 and carrying through to the official opening of Srila Prabhupada’s Palace in 1979.

In this article there may be some topics describing my life before meeting the devotees. They are only meant to give the reader insight into the background and mindset of the author.

Advaitacharya Das

Chapter 1: Every Journey Begins With a Single Step

It’s 1968 and I’m fifteen years old. The cover of one of the national magazines has done a feature article on the hippies. Hoping to fit in and perhaps experience the “free love” culture, my young friends and I tear holes in our jeans and work shirts and board the subway from Queens, NYC to Manhattan’s Lower West Side. We make the rounds through the streets of Greenwich Village trying to look as hippie as possible and eventually wind up in Washington Square Park. There are hippies everywhere and our curiosity is peaked when someone gives us a flyer blaring “Have a Marijuana.” Well it wasn’t “free love” but the idea of having marijuana amongst the hippies that day did have a certain appeal.

The person that handed us the flyer pointed to the other side of the park where we could hear rock music blaring. When we arrived there we found the rock band, “David Peel and the Lower East Side,” promoting their new album “Have a Marijuana.”

David Peel, ranting, raving and howling about running away from home, living on the East Side, and smoking marijuana was about as much hippie as these fifteen year olds had ever seen. Our minds were blown. Surely, this is as hippie as it could get. Or so we thought.

We wander across the park until we hear clanging and singing coming from somewhere out in front of us. As we draw closer we come upon something that goes way beyond anything we expect from hippie-dom. These people are not hippies. They might not even be from the planet Earth. They walk round and round in a tight circle banging tambourines and singing what seems to be a foreign nursery rhyme over and over.

Their heads are shaved bald except for long ponytails. They all seem pale, underweight, and are covered in bed sheets. The only thing I can imagine is that they have all escaped from Creedmoor, the cities’ famous mental institution, and have wound up on the Lower West Side. Besides clanging on tambourines intermittently one of them blows into a large conch shell making me think they may be some strange sect of Vikings.

Another corners a person near me and tells him if he just sings this song he can, “Stay high forever.” One more approaches us with an invite to visit their center on Second Avenue. Coaxing us by saying, “We’ll be serving refreshments.” Refreshments?  I think. Is he kidding?  There might be traces of whatever these guys are tripping on in the ”refreshments” and though we are interested in getting high – being completely out of our minds is not something we are anxious to try.

It is almost two years later and I have been living primarily on the streets of Brooklyn. On this ice cold New Year’s Eve night I am stumbling around Times Square with three of my buddies waiting for the “magical ball” to drop. We are all severely intoxicated and have been in multiple fights and were chased by police on our way to Manhattan. We are stumbling up 42nd Street when dead ahead of us I spot what I remember to be one of the bed sheet weirdos from Washington Square Park those years before. He is wearing a winter coat and a strange hat that has flaps that come down the sides of his head.  Orange cloth covers his legs and what appears like a large cloth purse drapes his shoulder. Because I am vaguely familiar with these guys – and none of my friends are – I take the opportunity to show off in front of my pals.

“Hey fellas, check out Gunga Din.”

I head straight for the devotee with my three buds close behind. We surround him like a hot dog in a bun with me, their leader, getting right up in his face. I glare directly into his eyes as my friends shuffle intimidatingly around him and I break the silence.

“You’re bald aren’t you?” I demand.

He has no reaction and just stares back into my eyes.

“You’re bald, right?” I press.

His head is covered and I know my friends have never seen a guy wearing bed sheets having a bald head with a ponytail. I see it as a great opportunity for a laugh.

“I’ll tell you what. Take off your hat and if you’re bald I’ll give you a dollar.” He stands firm. Now, although I know this poor fool must be wondering whether or not we will become violent, that is not my intention at all. In my mind I’m just playing with him. I’m thinking I am completely serious and if this guy takes off his hat I will definitely give him a dollar. He doesn’t. I press on.

“I’ll tell you what. You take off your hat, and if you’re bald, I’ll make every one of these guys give you a dollar.”

I’ve made up my mind. I am completely serious. If he removes his hat I will be sure to make all of these thugs give him a dollar. The devotee stands firm without a visible response. I press my face even closer glaring directly into his eyes. He doesn’t flinch but instead stares right back into my eyes. I turn to my friends and begin laughing with all of them chiming in.

I turn back to the devotee, “Okay, boss. You’re cool,” I say and we proceed on our way.

You may be wondering why I would tell this story. It doesn’t reflect very well on my character or the condition of life I was in. I tell it because this story tells about beginning a journey with a single step. As we walked blindly into the night, trying to grab life by the throat in the cold and the near midnight New Years Eve crowds of Times Square, I could not know that my entire life’s direction had just been altered. Srila Prabhupada said if you take one step toward Krishna He will take ten steps toward you.

So, how was my intimidation of one of Krishna’s Sankirtan devotees taking a step toward Krishna? In the teachings of His Divine Grace we find stories of people offering service to Krishna even in their mind and Krishna accepting that service. I have always believed the moment on 42nd Street was my first step in this lifetime toward Krishna. In my mind I had decided that I would give a dollar to Krishna. I also decided that I would engage my friends in giving something to Krishna. Even though I was acting foolishly and without any understanding I had, in my mind, in essence offered something to Krishna. And, every journey begins with a single step.

It is now 1972 and a lot has gone on in my life. I have been on a month long journey hitch hiking back and forth from Colorado, in and out of three different High Schools, in and out of the United States Navy, and have moved back into my parent’s house. My brother Billy and I have a room on the third floor where our friends often stop by for “leisure” activities. On one evening one friend stops by on his way home from work carrying a magazine.

“Damn, I was walking to the subway on Main Street, Flushing and I ran into a whole caravan of those Hare Krishnas. I tried avoiding them by crossing the street but they had “scouts” out walking around and one of them grabbed me. I gave her a quarter just to get rid of her and she gave me this magazine.”

The magazine, “Back to Godhead,” was left in my room and used for the next year as an agricultural device to separate seeds from leaves and most of my time was spent following the Grateful Dead fueled by various substances. Miraculously, in the middle of one of my rock and roll meditations in front of the stage I experienced an epiphany. In the middle of a song, hearing the words, “Remember the peace that you had on the mountain, and come back to the love that you had here with me,” I came to understand at the core of my being that I was somehow living in the presence of an all knowing God who was not only aware of me but also loved me immeasurably.

I did ponder in the middle of this, what I believed to be a Divine encounter, that I was not receiving a message from the Divine but, was instead simply hearing a lyric being sung by a rock and roll band. And, that the source of my Divine encounter was likely being caused by the little orange pill I had taken on my way into the show. While considering in this way my long forgotten catechism lessons immediately kicked in. “Well, is this a rock band I am watching and listening to, or as I had been taught as a child, was I watching and experiencing the energy of God?” Catechism 101 – Who is God? Answer – God is everything! So if there was a Supreme Being who was to be found in everything was I experiencing a rock and roll band and a little orange pill or was I actually interacting indirectly with God?

Euphoric waves of loving energy wash over me whenever my internal journey dares take me nearer to my initial conclusion. There is a God that is aware of and loves me. I am hooked. I believe. When I return home after each concert I sit alone in the kitchen pouring over the Bible. My girlfriend thinks I’m going crazy. Everything I see begins having this God in the center. I hear a love song. I think of it in relation to God. I see the love of my family and friends. Same thing. The Bible? I accept it. Who begat who and Jesus is the son of God – I’m with it. But, what I really want to know is who is this Being calling out to me in the music?

And, then it happens. By chance I pick up the magazine lying in my room for a year and I look at the cover. “Back to Godhead: Godhead is light, nescience is darkness. Where there is Godhead there is no nescience.” I open it struggling to see past the pictures of the bed sheet weirdos and read only the words.

In the reading of one magazine all the ideas that I ever had about God and the meaning of life come together as clear as day. All my questions answered. The conclusions of my heart confirmed. I lie alone in my bed that night and having never even been preached to directly by a devotee I begin to chant, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

 

 

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

We are currently living in an age where everyone is over-educated and has a degree that is not going to bring them much benefit in life. In fact, it is going to take them away from Krsna. We become proud and start to think that, “Oh, I have a master’s degree, so now I am a master!” At that point, one can no longer put their faith in anything else because as an academic, they try to cut everything to pieces and begin to question Krsna consciousness. Well, where is the benefit in that if one is trying to develop faith in Krsna?

It is not that we should have blind faith, where there is no logic or argument. But at one point, such questioning has to stop! This is because it is not by intellect that we will determine whether Krsna consciousness is true or not. We can dice, spice, philosophise and analyse to try to figure out the whole package to support Krsna consciousness, but Krsna is not understood through intellect, he is attained through mercy when he is pleased.

 Krsna stated in the Bhagavad-gita at 10.10, dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ. Krsna says that he provides us with the intelligence by which we can come to him. So, intelligence is certainly a factor. Krsna also said in the Bhagavad-gita at 10.8 that one who is truly intelligent worships him with love as that person understands that Krsna is the source of everything material and spiritual:

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo


mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate


iti matvā bhajante māṁ


budhā bhāva-samanvitātaḥ

Worship with love cannot be attained by theoretical intelligence alone. It requires that we understand Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and our position as krsnera ‘nitya-dasa – eternal servants of Krsna. Therefore, as eternal servants, our natural position is in service. Our happiness is only attained in such service, not in any other endeavour.

The article " Our natural position " was published on KKSBlog.

[Talk at Ohio State University, Columbus, USA]

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Srimad Bhagavatam Class by H.H.Lokanath Swami at ISKCON Vrindavan, yesterday, 02.04.2018 (video)

Royal Military Academy consults leading devotee.
Kripamoya Das was invited to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to attend a workshop staged by the British Army’s Centre for Conflict Research. The event attracted participants from the fields of religion, academics, and the Army. The day featured panel discussions with serving British Army officers as well as practitioners from a wide range of faith traditions in the UK.

First Aiders in Iskcon UK.
Tutorcare, a vocational training provider, awarded pass certificates to 12 community devotees who t...

Sacred Sounds Retreat 2018 (14 min video)
The annual Sacred Sounds Retreat at New Govardhan, Australia attracts devotees from all over the country. The unique and beautiful forested area around New Govardhan provides a perfect background setting for kirtans that go on for hours and hours. Aside from the morning program, the festival is focused wholly and solely on chanting the holy names with some of ISKCON’s most renowned kirtaneers. Everyone agreed this year’s festival was the best ever!

EastEnders star ( a famous British TV programme) visits Manor.
EastEnders’ new star Madhav Sharma, who plays the part of Arshad Ahmed, paid a visit to the Manor. He discovered that he shared the same school as Srila Prabhupada, namely the Scottish Church College in Calcutta. Madhav, a Royal Academy trained actor, enjoyed standing on the Manor theatre stage and decided to recite a portion of one of William Shakespeare’s plays!

Ombudsman Programme for ISKCON UK.
It’s one thing for an organization to say they care for its members, and another to act on such statements. ISKCON UK is establishing an Ombuds program so devotees can raise concerns, dealing with interpersonal conflicts and find clarity on ISKCON policies and practices.
Vraja Vihari das from ISKCON Resolve, has been training up a team to work in this capacity. They are from different parts of the UK and are a diverse group of devotees, including His Holiness Dayananda Swami, Prabhupada Prana dasa, Chandra dasi, Gomati dasi, Guru Carana Padma dasi and Ananta Vijay dasa.
The idea is to work towards “zero barriers”- so that members of ISKCON should be able to raise, in good faith, concerns they have, and discuss how they can be addressed.
ISKCON UK Ombuds are totally confidential (except imminent risk), independent of management in their capacity of Ombuds, neutral, and informal (conversations are off the record). iskconombudsuk@gmail.com

The Ballad Of John And Yoko - with Shyamasundara in the background (3 min video)
This brief, but it seems, official video of th...

By The GBC

Whereas when Deity worship is done properly following the rules of worship and maintaining strict cleanliness and punctuality, the worship is enlivening to devotees; Whereas, it has been seen that in temples where the worship is below the required minimum standard, it is often a result of zonal leadership, temple management, and/or the head pujari not knowing the proper standards of worship; Whereas GBC members and other leaders of ISKCON may not have the time to learn appropriate standards for ISKCON centers; Whereas, the maintenance of public Deity worship in an ISKCON center is the responsibility of the management of that center, under the supervision of that center's zonal authorities, but ultimately it is the responsibility of the GBC Zonal Secretary and the GBC Body; Whereas Deity worship is one of the five primary angas of bhakti and therefore of primary importance in a sadhaka’s progress in spiritual life; Whereas other primary activities of ISKCON, such as book distribution, have standing annual presentation time to the GBC and discussion on ISKCON Deity worship at our centers is similarly worthy of the GBC Body’s attention and awareness; Resolved: Each year at the AGM in Mayapur, the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry will be allocated a minimum of 1 hour, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, to present a report of Deity worship in ISKCON, particularly with a focus on Radha-Krsna worship. Continue reading "ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry Standing Annual Presentation to GBC Body
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By The GBC

Resolved: That the ISKCON Law governing the commencement of worship of Deities in ISKCON centers shall be amended to include the following: ISKCON centers proposing to commence worship of Radha-Krishna Deities must ensure that their proposed head pujari is well-versed and sufficiently trained in required minimum standards of worship for Radha-Krishna in ISKCON. In order to achieve this, the candidate for head pujari must be a graduate of the Mayapur Academy. Continue reading "Radha Krsna Deity Worship Standards
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By The GBC

Resolved: 1. The ISKCON International Office for the Prevention of Leader Misconduct (PLM Office) be established as a permanent ISKCON organizational entity subject to review by the GBC Body (as with other Offices and Ministries). The PLM Office Director will be responsible to the GBC EC through the ISKCON Executive Secretariat. 2. The immediate goals of The PLM Office will be to draft a document of ISKCON International Policies and Procedures for a) preventing Leader Sexual Misconduct b) responding to complaints and c) conducting investigations. 3. The PLM Office will collect and provide educational resources, assist Zones in establishing investigative teams to respond to and manage complaints, and research successful programs for education, support and recovery. 4. The Policies and Procedures document shall be developed for review by the GBC at the 2018 Midterm General Meeting. The Deputies will be requested to review this document before it is submitted. At the 2019 Annual General Meeting, a final version of the Policies and Procedures document will be submitted for approval by the full GBC Body. Continue reading "Establishing The ISKCON International Office for the Prevention of Leader Misconduct (PLM Office) as a permanent ISKCON managerial entity
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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Sadbhuja Das: We recently began fixing the stars and ribbons on the domes, starting with the Planetarium dome.
Works are happening fast and we have already completed 3 segments.
Each segment has been sealed and waterproofed. They have been so well executed we won’t ever have to go there again!
Premavatar Gauranga Prabhu is working on the next 3 segments.

THE CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE: Thanking Jayasri and Pratapana.
Vinod Bihari dasa: With great pleasure and a sense of deep appreciation, we would like to thank Jayasri devi dasi and Pratapana dasa for their support of Srila Prabhupada’s gurukula at New Govardhana and their desire to see the school being equipped with all the necessary facilities to ensure a high standard of education in the senior school years.
Our gurukula is currently undertaking the construction of the high school facilities that include eight classrooms and study spaces, the art studio, the science lab, the full-size outdoor basketball field, play areas, pathways, gardens and a new toilet block. This project will assist our students in learning and our teachers in providing a top quality education in both the conventional sciences and Krishna consciousness – helping our students to become compassionate, competent and confident people within the society at large. At the same time, this nurtures their connection with Krishna and engagement in devotional service.
To assist with the construction of the high school facilities, Jayasri and Pratapana have decided to donate $100,000 towards the building project. They will also provide the school with a friendly loan to cover our required contribution towards the project.
Jayasri says, “It is our strong desire in helping support this initiative that the new school has sufficient resources to continue to attract and maintain dedicated passionate teachers who can bring out the very best in every student. Success attracts success. If the students reach their potential on all levels, if they are happy, peaceful and flourishing academically and spiritually, society in general will take note and want to know our formula. It is such an inspiring project.”
On behalf of all the students, parents and staff, we express our sincere thanks to Jayasri and Pratapana for their generous support.

Harinama in Moscow, Russia (4 min video)
Mahamsa: Also another party of five devotees, they have started on the bullock cart sankirtana, going village to village. And one person came to the temple in Hyderabad and met me. He said that “After your devotees had a program in our village, the farmers in the evening they were coming and doing kirtana instead of just…” Previously they were not doing anything, but now they are coming after farming. In the evening they are collecting and they are doing kirtana together. Prabhupada: Just see how quickly there will be response. Therefore I was insisting, “Go village to village, town to town.” Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction, prthivite ache yata nagaradi. Morning Walk – November 21, 1975, Bombay
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/eC11Sz

[QA session at Columbus, Ohio, USA]

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[Sunday feast class at Columbus, Ohio, USA]

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Srimad Bhagavatam Class by H.G.Sankarshan Prabhu at ISKCON Vrindavan, 01.04.2018 (video)
“If you have faith in one but disrespect the other, your logic is like the logic of accepting half a hen.”

Life Of A Devotee - Karuna Sindhu Das (28 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Actually, this world is like a hospital. We are all like sons of rich men running mad in the streets. Our Father, Krishna or God, is the wealthiest father, and we are all His sons gone mad. Someone is thinking, Oh, give him food, that will help, or give him house, or clothes, this or that – but the madness is still there. Actually, they have got sufficient of everything from their Father, but they have run off mad. So this kind of bodily welfare work will not help. The world is supposed to be a place for curing men of their varieties of diseases of madness and sending them back home, like a hospital. But men have now got the mistaken idea to make a permanent settlement in this madhouse! Just like the hog is eating stool and he is thinking, Oh, I am enjoying like anything, and when I am finished, then sex with any she-hog – wife, daughter, sister, it doesn’t matter – and for so many children I shall have to have big house, and on and on like this, all because of his madness that he thinks “I am enjoying.” So preach like this, and I think many people will appreciate our philosophy and gain respect for this Krishna Consciousness movement. Do everything very cleanly and nicely. Srila Prabhupada, letter – 18 February, 1972

• Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Hari-bhakti-vilāsa is quoted in Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Bṛhad-Bhagavatāmṛta is quoted in Prabhupāda’s purports
• According to oral tradition the Grantha-samādhi contains books written by the Gosvāmīs that are only suitable for liberated souls
• Gīta-Govinda is very popular due to its wonderful poetry but brings ordinary people misconceptions and ruins their spiritual lives

Who said you only needed the mahamantra! (9 min video)
From our friends at Comedy Ready: The Kirtan Kit!
Balaram Nityanand...

By Iskcon Nairobi

For the first time in the history of the Kenyan Yatra, the Lord of the universe Jagannatha along with His brother Baladeva and sister Subhadra devi came out in a beautiful procession to bless the jubilant and colorful people of Eldoret city, which is the principal city in western Kenya. This Rath Yatra was made possible by the joint effort of ISKCON KISUMU which is about 118km from Eldoret and ISKCON Nairobi which is about 318km away. The Main person behind organizing the event is the local Member of Parliament Dr.Swarrup Mishra who is originally from Orrisa, India and had a long cherished desire to bring Lord Jagannatha to his town Eldoret. The Jagannath deities with the chariot were brought from ISKCON Kisumu. More than 1000 devotees from across the country attended the Yatra, with guest of honor being the Governor of the area Mr. Jackson Mandago along with the Member of parliament Ms. Janet Sitienei. The G.B.C for West Africa H.G. Srinivasa Das from Ghana also graced the occasion. The maha mantra was heard vibrating through all the major streets of the city bringing joy and happiness to one and all. The Yatra culminated with a sumptuous feast for everyone. Continue reading "Western Kenya’s first Lord Jagannatha Rath Yatra
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By Hari Narayana Das

Festival of art and cultural carnival and ogoh-ogoh annual parade enliven the streets of Semarang, Sunday (25/3). Spatter rain did not dampen the intention of residents and tourists to enjoy the event. The purpose of this event is one, stimulating creativity of art and culture across religions, and the most important thing is to knit togetherness in diversity. Because those who join here were not just Hindus, just because ogoh-ogoh is their specialty. But there were also Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, Khong-hucu and Believers who were represented by MLKI (Majlis Luhur Pengha-Yat Kepri against God YME) and also Jagannath Ratha yatra participated on the event. All belong to Indonesia. Continue reading "Jagannath Ratha Yatra on Festival of Art and Cultural Carnival and Ogoh-Ogoh, Semarang
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