Planet ISKCON

Meeting with god brothers and god sisters at the Manor.

By Vaisesika das

As heat purifies gold and increases its luster, so this simple austerity of reading Bhagavad Gita every day burns away the dirty coverings of the soul and brightens one’s spiritual luster. Start 2018 Stronger! Follow the 2018 Calendar, Read a chapter of Bhagavad Gita every day. This will make your life sublime. Continue reading "Start 2018 Stronger!!
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The Hare Krishna tree of New York in the news.
At a recent New York Times article a famous young businessman says: “ After brunch, I go to Tompkins Square Park, where I sit on a bench underneath a tree called the Hare Krishna Tree. The Hare Krishna movement was founded in the park in the 1960s, and I am always inspired when I’m in there. ”
As Sikhi Mahiti das observes: I often judge the result of our ISKCON outreach in terms of who is coming to our temple and how many. But, Srila Prabhupada has affected the lives of millions of people in ways we don’t normally hear about.
Here is an article about a high achieving entrepreneur who takes his inspiration for business by sitting under the Hare Krishna tree in New York City: https://goo.gl/NKqMn7

By Shrutadev Das

After I had read many of the books about Srila Prabhupada for a second or third time I found myself thinking, “Didn’t it say something about that pastime in another book?” And I would pull out a different book and read about the same event or time period from a different perspective. Or whereas in the Lilamrta it might say that Srila Prabhupada traveled to Australia and then back to Bombay but not give any details, in another book it would give the details of his trip. It was very enlivening, so I started to compile an outline of my readings. Gradually it developed into the Srila Prabhupada Lila Reading Guide. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada Lila Reading Guide
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The new year marks the organisational start of the Vyasa-puja & Kingsday festivals. In April 2018 we will again meet for two wonderful festivals and, of course, the mega harinama in Amsterdam during the Kingsday celebrations. You are again invited to join the party! Reserve your tickets and plan a trip to Radhadesh. Read more info on the official VP pages.

Don’t want to miss any news? Join the Vyasa-puja/Kingsday Newsletter

Festival dates

Join us from 26-30 April 2018 in Radhadesh. The Kingsday will be on Friday 27th and Saturday we will celebrate Nrsimha Caturdasi…

Thu 26 Apr	Arrivals & start
Fri 27 Apr	Kinsgday
Sat 28 Apr	Nrsimha caturdasi – Initiations & Cultural Program
Sun 29 Apr	Vyasa-puja
Mon 30 Apr	Departures (11:00 checkout)

Fundraising

We are happy to have Gopali dd again to oversee the fundraising for both festivals. You can already donate towards the festival.

• Donate by Paypal
• Donate by Bank

For fundraising questions:
gopali.dasi.kks@gmail.com

Vyasa-puja book

The Vyasa-puja book planning has started. You can send your offerings to be included in this book.

>> Send your offerings

The deadline 1st Feb 2018

Festival Registration

Starting from the 1st Feb 2018 you can register again for the festival and accommodation. Visakha dd will again, with her team, help to make your stay pleasant and as comfortable as possible.

You can reach her on vyasapuja@kksblog.com

 

By Abhimanyu Das

It is a miracle that this Rathayatra in San Juan on December 30th still happened this year after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the island of Puerto Rico. New Govardhana, the only Radha-Krsna temple in the Caribbean, had part of the roof of the main temple ripped off and debris was scattered all over the property. For some time, the devotees didn't even have running water, and they still don't have electricity. Despite all of these hardships, the dedicated New Govardhana community headed by Arisudana Prabhu has maintained the service of their Lordships Sri-Sri Gaura-Nitai, Sri-Sri Krsna-Balarama, Sri-Sri Prahlada-Nrsmhadeva, Sri Giri-Govardhana, and Sri-Sri Radha-Syamasundara. This was the fourth annual Ratha Yatra in Puerto Rico. Continue reading "Miracle in Puerto Rico!
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Lord Caitanya in the Land of Islam (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: I had many wonderful and amazing experiences while living in Vrindavan the past 4 months but yesterday’s program in the United Arab Emirates was no less profound or enlightening, for yesterday in Dubai we installed the deity form of the Lord. It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last; a number of devotees living here have deities. But just the fact that another two sets of Gaura Nitai deities were officially installed in the heartland of Islam was overwhelming for me. There are obviously restrictions here; mainly that we cannot preach Krsna consciousness to people of Muslim faith. But as our joyful kirtan in a small apartment merged with the sound of loudspeakers calling the faithful to the local mosques, my hair stood on end.
[ Photos by myself and Mohammed Ali Rashid ]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/nPa9bV

Answer Podcast

The post With artificial intelligence advancing rapidly, what will differentiate humans from future machines? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The boat festival at Damodardesh, Dubai (10 min video)
Beautiful festivity with Indradyumna, BB Govinda, Bhakti Vidyapurna Swam...

Abhiseka ceremony in Moscow, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Many people come and inquire whether they have to giv...

The post Daily Darshan: January 11,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Srila Prabhupada: Do you think it was easy for me?
“The mood was very sober, but Srila Prabhupada wanted to hear from everyone. He went around the room and asked each devotee what they thought was wrong in the temple. And each person gave their realization, and everyone else listened to that realization. And then Srila Prabhupada spoke. He said that we were all here because he had followed the instructions of his Guru Maharaja and come to the West. And then he added with great emphasis: ‘Do you think it was easy for me to leave India all alone and come to America?’ And none of us had ever really thought like that - whether it was easy or hard. We had just assumed that he had done that by Krishna’s mercy. Then he continued, 'Do you think it was easy for me when I was in Butler, Pennsylvania, and I opened the refrigerator, and there was cat food next to my vegetables? Do you think that was easy?” And all the devotees began to cry, because they began to understand what Prabhupada did for us, and it wasn’t easy. He came from a place where his mother was carried in a palanquin from one house to the other. He was from another culture, almost like another planet; and he yet came to the West with a trunk full of books and seven rupees.“

~ HG Yamuna Devi - A life of Unalloyed Devotion

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HH Bhakti Charu Maharaj on Mahabharat at Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple, Sydney (video)

Can Sexuality Be Spiritual?
Principles of Freedom - By Rukmini Devi Dasi.
“What’s the big deal about sex?” asked a student, “Why does religion demonize what seems to be a natural human expression? How can we expect the world to imbibe such a restrictive philosophy? Is it not harmful to our physical and psychological development if we exert such repression? Is sex not a spiritual experience?” A Bhakti Yoga session at university can sometimes feel like a battlefield. Our theme for the month, “Spirituality and Sexuality” had really stirred the arsenal. Honesty is usually the best ammunition yielding a thoughtful approach towards sacred texts and a broader vision of the world and ourselves. With this in mind, we approach the last principle of freedom: avoiding destructive sexual activity. Does spirituality deny sexuality?

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Congregational Book Distribution: Monthly Sankirtan Festivals
“Monthly Sankirtan Festivals are a great way to engage the entire congregation in book distribution,” says Vaisesika dasa. “At our temple, we combine the festival with a holy day on the Vaisnava calendar. Our meditation during the Monthly Sankritan Festival is that the sankirtan results are our special offering to the Lord.”
Sankirtan is a Sanskrit term which means the congregational chanting and sharing of the names and glories of Krishna, which is the recommended process for spiritual success. In the Hare Krishna tradition, sankirtan is associated with sharing our spiritual culture with the public via the timeless books, translated by Srila Prabhupada.
Vaisesika Dasa is the Temple President of the ISKCON Silicon Valley (ISV) temple as well as the North American Sankirtan Strategist. Over the last seven years, he has used ISV as a testing ground for different book distribution strategies. The Monthly Sankirtan Festival has proven so successful that Vaisesika is now training other temples in this strategy. The Monthly Sankirtan Festivals have spread to Boston, Houston, New York City, Washington, DC. , Toronto and now to Alachua, FL.
Vaisesika says that the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wanted everyone to conduct book distribution. He remembers that in the early days of ISKCON, the temples were managed so that even the cooks and pujaris had days when they went out on book distribution.
Why did Srila Prabhupada want all of his disciples to engage in book distribution? “Book distribution has so many benefits,” says Vaisesika. “The most important benefit is that it purifies the distributor. All service, including book distribution, should be performed in a way that purifies the servant. Then, the service expands to purify others who are able to take advantage of the sankirtan movement.”
At ISV, before a devotee is allowed to go out on book distribution, he/she must participate in a training seminar. The seminar focuses on how to perform book distribution in a way that is purifying. The most important principle is that we want to leave everyone with a good impression of devotees. This means that devotees must develop the intelligence to know who to approach and who to leave alone. Leaving everyone with a good impression also means freely distributing prasadam. Vaisesika says, “Book distribution is very purifying if we see ourselves as instruments. It forces us to see others as spirit souls and to treat them respectfully.”

A second benefit of book distribution is that it enlivens the devotees. Vaisesika quotes one of our previous acharyas, who said, “One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.” One who “has life” does not identify with the body, which is dead matter. Instead, he identifies as a living, conscious spirit soul. The third-class devotee identifies with the body. The second-class devotee, however, identifies as a spirit soul. Book distribution is the best preaching for a third-class devotee. By engaging in book distribution, the third-class devotee can advance very quickly to the second-class level and “get life.”
A third benefit is that book distribution forces devotees to move out of their comfort zone. Vaisesika says, “Book distribution is good practice for the time of death, when many of us will be out of our comfort zones.”
At ISV, the leadership emphasizes Vaisnava holy days as special opportunities to receive the Lord’s mercy and purification. Thus, the congregation enjoys the Monthly Sankirtan Festival even more than the traditional feast, because the members know they are on the fast-track back home, back to Godhead. The majority of the congregation participates in the Monthly Sankirtan Festival. On large festival days such as Gaura Purnima, over 240 congregational members will be on the streets, performing sankirtan. Vaisesika says that every member of ISKCON should have the opportunity to make advancement in Krishna consciousness by preaching. He says that he has tested the Monthly Sankirtan Festival concept at ISV, and it is now proving successful in other communities.

Harinama in Paris (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chantin...

By Sakshi Mohan Das

None other than HG Jashomatinadan Prabhuji Disciple of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada himself odered the construction of the ISKCON Temple in Kathwada in 2016. Known as the Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar Gaudham, the Vaishnav Temple has vigraha of Lord Krishna and Radha along with those of Jagannath, Baladev, Subhadra and also vigraha of Nityananda Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This is the first ISKCON temple in wich cow is worshipped along with Radha and Krishna. Themple is located on Sardar Patel Ring Road at the Kathwada village and it is a popular attraction not only for Krishna bhakts but also for tourists. Continue reading "ISKCON Temple of Gujarat in Kathwada, Ahmedabad- Enlightening and Elevating
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By Shyamasundara Dasa

"...as we were walking back to the ashram to honor prasadam I noticed some altercation was going on with the security guards. On enquiry I found out that they had caught a shoe thief and had garlanded him with a garland of shoes, as was the custom with shoe thieves" Continue reading "Murder and Mayhem in Mumbai
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The Schedule of Events for the Grand Chakra Installation Ceremony on February 7th, 2018 is now official. You can download it from the link below and view the entire event live on MayapurTV at: www.mayapur.com/media/mayapur-tv/

We request you also print it to post at your local temple and share on your Facebook Page and other social media. Become a TOVP Ambassador and spread the word.

Please note that the schedule times are for India and you will have to adjust that for your own time zone.

To sponsor an abhisheka for one or both Chakras go to:
https://tovp.org/donate/once-in-a-lifetime-chakra-abhisheka-seva-opportunity/

Schedule of Events can be downloaded by clicking the button below.

DOWNLOAD ZIP  

The post TOVP Chakra Installation Schedule of Events appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Answer Podcast

The post How can we communicate the need of regulation to people who are gung-ho about freedom and rights? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The post Managing the Mind (4) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Seminar at Govardhan Eco-Village, Wada, Mumbai, India]

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The post Managing the mind 4 – Training the mind by dividing and castigating appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

I am very close to my dear godbrother, Venugopal das, since we were young brahmacaris living and travelling together in the early days of ISKCON Australia.

Venu was diagnosed with terminal cancer a few months ago and will leave his body shortly.

Upon hearing of the situation I flew from Sydney with Pratapana, Jayasri and Camari to spend time with him at his home near New Govardhan. He was in such a Krsna Conscious condition that it was extremely blissful being in his ecstatic association.

Breathing Space.
Ananda Vrindavaneshwari Devi Dasi: Last week a dry cough gripped my breath and made it short. I had the experience we all have - appreciating something when it’s gone or not working well.
Breathing is the in and out of life that happens unconsciously until it doesn’t. The idea of my last breath became a reality. What do I breathe? How do I breathe? Can I do it better when I’m better? These were all questions that stayed with me as I slowed down due to shallow breathing.
That experience helped me create some breathing space in my life - the gift of illness is the gift of time. Nothing became more pressing than healing the cough and yet I needed to give it time by giving myself time to slow down and rest. Who wants to be sick? Too much to do! I should push on! I also couldn’t hurry up the recovery - the illness itself needed breathing space to find its feet and work itself through.

Breathing space is needed when we are sick and it is key to keeping healthy when we are healthy. Exercise and rest create breathing space for the body, listening and meditation make breathing space for the mind, and philosophy and reflections on life and death provide breathing space for the intelligence.

And the soul? How to make breathing space for soul? Answer: Intentional devotional service to Krishna, for His pleasure. Taking time to gaze at the beautiful Deity form of the Lord. Making a tasty vegetarian dish and offering it to Him with love and devotion. Joining a kirtan. Taking japa beads and walking or sitting with Krishna’s name. Listening to talks about Krishna. Sharing thoughts about Krishna through writing or speaking.

My favorite example of breathing space is Krishna providing it to Arjuna minutes before the great battle of Kuruksetra. It made all the difference for Arjuna. Keep breathing space close to the top of your new year’s resolutions list - to have some for yourself and to give to others. It’s guaranteed to make all the difference.

It's no secret that Srila Prabhupada wants the devotees to develop rural communities where they produce their necessities while centering their lives around Krsna.

According to modern psychology, the self is made of a combination of conscious and unconscious self. In the unconscious realm, there are collective and personal forgotten images. Images or memories that we collected from our culture, family and our own individual quarks over a period of time. We may not be aware of these intentionally but is a part of us. This is unconsciously present within us. The ego is a sum total of our conscious and unconscious self and this sum total (ego) is exhibited as our personality. Our likes and dislikes (personality) in daily life therefore are a reflection of our ego.

The model can explain many mundane attributes of a person,however, it does not answer what psychologists call the hard problem. Where does consciousness come in all of this? Scientists are not able to explain how a being experiences this phenomenal world. The quality of awareness (qualia) such as the redness in red or the sensation of taste or our passion for a particular work or person or love etc that which defines us is not quantifiable within the scientific community.

I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is deficient. It gives a lot of factual information, puts all our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet, physical pain and physical delight; it knows nothing of beautiful and ugly, good or bad, God and eternity. Science sometimes pretends to answer questions in these domains, but the answers are very often so silly that we are not inclined to take them seriously. 
- Erwin Schrödinger - Nobel Prize Winning Physicist

In fact it is said that Schrödinger was so fed up with the mundanness of science that he gave up hard science in later stages of his life. This is a testimony to how science is good at collecting and interpreting data but falls way short on explaining what makes us human. Most scientists' (my opinion) therefore cannot appreciate the simple things in life, unfortunately. What to speak of an unknown and unseen God!

Anyways, consciousness according to vedic theory is the symptom of the existence of an ethereal substance called soul. The soul is as real as matter (body) but only it does not hold material qualities such as decay or change. It is not affected by material elements of heat, cold, dryness, wetness etc. It is also not subjected to sensual and mental feelings of pain, pleasure, anger, depression etc. So if we remove the sensual, mental and material layers of our self, whatever is remaining is the subliminal soul.

The soul is experiencing this phenomenal world and the quality of awareness stems from the soul. The soul or the actual person is completely independent and in fact entire sense of being (consciousness) of thinking (brain functions), willing and feelings (from our heart) comes from the soul. The body and mind and the ego are windows for the soul to experience and relate with this world. Modern science says that the body+mind+ego=self or person. Vedic science says that soul=self or person and it uses the body+mind+ego as a vessel to experience this world.

Science cannot make any progress in this field of consciousness till they agree to the existence of a completely independent substance called the soul. If they do agree at some point in the future, then the entire field of science has to be re-written.

Hare Krishna

How I came to Krishna Consciousness - HH Bhakti Marga Swami (21 min video)

[Seminar at Govardhan Eco-Village, Wada, Mumbai, India]

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The post Managing the mind 3 – Understanding inclination, infatuation and intention appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Sastra Dana Sweden Report November/December 2017.
Mukunda das: 360 “Bortom födelse och död”
15 “Perfekta frågor och perfekta svar”
10 “En mästares ledning”
8 Bhagavad-gita
1 Srimad Bhagavatam set
Shastra Dana programme in Sweden has now existed over eight years.
From August 2009 - December 2017 we have distributed app 19.500 böcker.
Srila Prabhupada wrote to Cyavana das 26 December 1971:
”Distribution of books and magazines is our most important activity.
Without books, our preaching has no solid basis”
Special thanks to the following devotees for supporting the book
distribution:
HH Smita Krishna Swami, Sri Jayadeva das, Ella & Sune Hellström, Aja das & Pancavati dd, Magnus Hedström, Sten Bergil, Jayesh das, Muktarama das, Mikael Forian, Mikael Johansson, Robert Åkerman, Cathryn Claesson, Astasiddhi dd, Yogindra das, Bahulashva das, Dharani dd

The post Daily Darshan: January 10,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Bodybuilders in Russia become devotees (Album with photos)
Alexander Segolev of Chelyabinsk - master of Sports, judge of the Na...

[Seminar at Govardhan Eco-Village, Wada, Mumbai, India]

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The post Managing the mind 2 – Understanding how the mind affects our free will appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By the GBC

ISKCON center officials shall be responsible to ensure that any and all web sites published by the center prominently feature a picture of Srila Prabhupada on the introductory page. This picture should be larger than any other individual’s photo (such as the GBC, center President, or guru). Srila Prabhupada should be addressed by his formal name and title: “His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness,” or “ISKCON Founder-Acarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada”, or an equivalent translation. Continue reading "Founder-Acarya Foremost on ISKCON Temple Websites
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By the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

The GBC Body hereby encourages ISKCON managers to monitor the levels of the sound systems in use at their centers. The sound system should be adjusted so that it sounds clear, sweet and attractive as opposed to overly loud, distorted or painful. Whenever possible, the sound pressure levels should regularly be measured using sound pressure level meters to make sure that dangerous sound pressure levels are prevented. Such meters are available on mobile devices. Continue reading "Sound Systems Guideline
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