Planet ISKCON

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Chowpatty, Mumbai]

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The post When things don’t make sense, look for a deeper sense appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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

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The post Managing the mind 1 – The many meanings of the word ‘mind’ and their correlation with the Gita’s understanding appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

BB Govinda Swami: Gopa Kumara asked “How can I chant with pure love?” And they said “Well, if you want to chant with love you must know the Srimad Bhagavatam.” This shows that basically Gopa Kumara had traveled through all the levels of the material cosmos. He had even been Brahma but still he has not been scientifically trained in the science of loving Krishna. We can imagine he was even Brahma. But he did not understand the science of Krishna. He even went to Brahman by the power of his chanting but still he didn’t know how to get to the spiritual world. Then the merciful associates of the Lord said:

The post Daily Darshan: January 08,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Sponsor GITA (4 min video)
Iskcon Nepal: Help us reach your family, your village, your town. Help us create cultural awareness ...

Kartamashayi – “The Boss” (The Eternal Prince).
by Jaya Govinda dasa: Govinda Dasi, the original Prabhupada disciple was in Vancouver the past summer and she mentioned that she has a Kartamashayi Deity. Immediately my ears perked up when I heard her say that because I also have one.
When I told her that I have one of the original ones that Srila Prabhupada chose, she was interested in seeing it. I explained to her how I managed to acquire Him.
In 1992, perhaps 1993, when I was operating the Hare Krishna Place Cafe in New Westminster, B.C., Radha Damodar Prabhu used to love coming there for lunch. He told me about his Kartamashayi Deity and asked me if I would like to have Him reside in the cafe. He said Prabhupada liked these Deities to be in preaching centers and restaurants. Naturally I graciously accepted such a wonderful offer. He then told me the history of how he acquired Him.
When he was a brahmacari, he was sent from Vancouver to Denver. There was a Kartamashayi Deity there at the time which he started to take care of. In the meantime he married and had two sons of which the first he named after the Deity Kartamashayi. When he and his family left Denver for California primarily for gurukula for his boys, the temple president of Denver asked if he would like to keep the Deity as he took such good care of Him and off they all went to California.
Radha Damodar told me that there were six of these Deities that Srila Prabhupada had personally choose and he named some of the temples where they were.
Later Radha Damodar and family moved to Vancouver and stayed for about a decade and of course he brought along his Kartamashayi Deity with them. Later when he and his family were moving to Alachua he asked me if I would like to keep the Deity which was still in the Hare Krishna Place as it was not practical for him to take him to Alachua. Of course I immediately accepted his generous offer.
Later on Nara Narayana Prabhu, the early disciple of Prabhupada visiting from Los
Angeles overheard me mention that I had an original Kartamashayi Deity. He was very curious to see it. He told me that he was the one who made them at Srila Prabhupada’s request and that only a few were cast. I was a little skeptical at first because his story didn’t quite fit with what Radha Damodar told me. Nonetheless I showed him my Kartamashayi.
When I showed Him to Nara Narayana, he immediately recognized Him as being one of the ones he made. He showed a certain design feature that only he, being the sculptor would notice. I was reassured that I had one of the original ones. I was quite excited to confirm and to clarify Radha Damodar’s testament and I even had Nara Narayana put his signature on the inside of the Deity as He is hollow.
Now back to Govinda Dasi.
When I showed my Kartamashayi to her, she told me that the color had been changed which it had. He had been repainted a few times and I even had another devotee re-paint Him again as He was looking a little tarnished. Then the following day she came to my door and told me that she couldn’t sleep very well the previous night. She was a little disturbed that Kartamashayi was not the right color. She then told me that Srila Prabhupada personally instructed her on how to paint Him with the proper color and some of the detailed features.
She then told me that she and Nara Narayana worked on making about a half dozen of these Deities in Los Angeles. He did the casting and she painted them. She was one of the first artists in ISKCON.
After hearing this interesting information, she then offered to re-paint my Kartmashayi which delighted me beyond no limits. We arranged to acquire the paint and other necessary materials to do the work. She did a wonderful job bringing Him back to His original and proper appearance. I couldn’t resist having her put her signature on the back of His base.
She then told me about the story of Kartamashayi and how They manifested. The original Deity of Kartamashayi used for the cast was that one from that Montreal Deity in the picture. Govinda Dasi spent a lot of time in Montreal with Srila Prabhupada. Gopal Krishna Goswami also told us that if he or anyone wanted to see Srila Prabhupada at that time, they had to go through Govinda Dasi. She was Prabhupada’s secretary. It was at this time that she witnessed that Srila Prabhupada used to talk to that Deity in a very personal way. Sometimes he would talk to Him and he would laugh and display other emotions. Something very intimate seemed to be taking place between Kartamashayi and Prabhupada. She had no idea but some very intimate exchanges were taking place.
Anyway at some point Srila Prabhupada asked her to go to Hawaii to help her husband who was already there trying to open a center. Naturally she was very attached to being with Srila Prabhupada and didn’t want to leave him. Finally she negotiated a condition to Srila Prabhupada. She would reluctantly leave Srila Prabhupada and go to Hawaii if she could take Kartamashayi with her. Prabhupada agreed!
When she was on her way to Hawaii she stopped in Los Angles and it was then that Prabhupada asked Nara Narayana to cast some Kartamashayi Deities for the few different temples in ISKCON by using the one Govinda Dasi had with her. So he did and Govinda Dasi painted Them according to Prabhupada’s personal directions.
She told me that when she saw all the fresh new Kartamashayi Deities lined up and the original one beside them she felt that the original one looked a little faded and she was thinking perhaps she should take one of the shiny brand new ones with her instead, but then she thought, “no.. this one was Srila Prabhupada’s.”
To this day she still has Him with her in Hawaii and I have one of His original expansions.
The attached picture is from last Radhastami. Kartamashayi is standing in the Lord’s Lotus Pond while Radha Madana Gopal circumambulate Him on their Swan boat. Each year I place Kartamashayi on the top of His Janmastami Cake for thousands overseeing the Janmastami festival. After all His name which suits His pose means “the boss.”
Your servant in Lord Krishna’s service,
Jaya Govinda dasa
(New Gokula Dhama)

Keepers Of The Flame Of Bhakti.
Karnamrita Dasa: KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: Although this expression is most often used by our Christian brothers and sisters, I totally relate to its exclamation in relationship to what or who I am, or at least, aspire to be: A Keeper of the Flame of Bhakti, or A Keeper of the Flame of Spirituality. Personally, I see this as a responsibility for all followers of Shri Chaitanya and those who represent him. I visualize a flame burning brightly in my heart, or raising a torch in my hand to dispel darkness. To me, this is inspiring! “Lead me from untruth to truth! Lead me from darkness to light! Lead me from death to immortality.” [Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 1.3.28] This is my meditation and affirmation on being a keeper of the flame.

Harinama at Byron Bay - 03 January 2018, Iskcon New Govardhana (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: “I have brought medicine to awaken very living being from perpetual sleep. Please receive the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and awaken. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.13.9 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/x3tyFh

Sunday program, Jan 7 - 2018, Krasnodar ISKCON, Russia (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna mantra says, “My dear Lord Krishna, my dear Lord Rama, O energy of the Lord, Hare, kindly engage me in your service.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.69 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/shNLV7

Kirtan Fest at ISKCON Calgary, Canada (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One has to continue chanting the Hare Krishna mantr...

World Holy Name Festival team gears up to welcome delegates at their booth in the ISKCON Leadership Sanga to be held between February 4th and 11th 2018 in Sri Mayapur Dhama. Continue reading "World Holy Name Festival team prepares to welcome ISKCON Leadership Sanga delegates
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This first verse of the siksastakam, particularly resounds for me, when I go on sankirtan. All the wonderful features, and blessings of this verse become manifest. Especially, the ocean of bliss that one can experience when giving out a tiny particle of Krishna consciousness. So, no matter what the material circumstances are, it's just worth it to taste this bliss. In fact, we could surmise that this is what drove Srila Prabhupada on, when he faced the austerities of coming to the West. The reciprocation of mercy from the Lord. After all, at one point in Vrndavana, after being attacked by a cow, he, in his own words, was wondering if he should have taken sannyasa.Later on, surrounded by his loving disciples, appreciating their devotion, and care for him, he said that nobody knows Krishna's plan. Here he was in the US; Krishna had bestowed upon him, followers, recognition, and other opulences; so after all that struggle, he had been very blessed by Krishna. That is the reciprocation that to some degree, anyone who sincerely tries to give Krishna to others, can expect. Continue reading "Why distributing books has saved me for 43 years
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Bhaktivedanta Manor school children participated in an inaugural ceremony to mark a new chapter in their school's history. The primary school has been situated at Bhaktivedanta Manor for the past 35 years. Due to various challenges associated with the building of the new Haveli on the site and the required demolition of 2 of the classrooms, the school has been relocated into a new temporary premises just 5 min from the temple . The renovation of the existing buildings took over 8 months to complete, and involved top architects, structural engineers, 2 major building contractors and a big investment from the temple. The new site gives extra facilities to the children and the teachers. "The most important feature of the new site is the fact that the children are totally safe, protected and have lots of space of their own to let their imaginations bloom!" spoke the Headteacher Guru carana padma dasi. The temporary permission to house a school on the premises is only for 2 years. Let's see how the school develops in this time. There is a possibility it could be extended. Continue reading "New Site for Bhaktivedanta Manor School
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“Krishna Consciousness is so nice that if one takes part in it in either ways, like hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying, or even simply by eating prasadam, the transcendental effect will be visible…If you continue like this I am sure you will make rapid progress in Krishna Consciousness.” – Letter to: Lynn, Calcutta, 23 November, […]

The post Our Secret Weapon appeared first on Mayapur.com.

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 12/17/2017

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Participating Directors: Chaitanya Mangala (chair), Kripamaya, Ranaka, and Vraja.

Participating Advisors: Jamuna Jivani (secretary), Kalakantha (partial attendance), Makara, and Olivia.

1. Ranaka’s Monthly Report

• At the Temple Barn, Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi are currently milking 6 cows: Jamuna, Surabhi, Parvati, Laxmi, Sita, and Malati. Milk production is approximately 20 gal. per day.
• Ananda Vidya continues to produce approximately 15 lbs. of butter, 15 gal. of yogurt, and 1/2 gal. of ghee on a weekly basis, and delivers them to the temple kitchen.
• Malati gave birth to a heifer named Gopi Katyayani last week. Shortly after giving birth she came down with what is commonly referred to as “milk fever,” which is caused by reduced blood calcium levels. She improved after the vet injected her intravenously with calcium and steroids, and has reentered the milk herd in a normal condition. The vet suggested that, in the future, we administer calcium gel as a precaution for all of the cows when they give birth. This will now become standard practice.
• Sriya and Anjali are both due in February. Subhadra is due the end of May.
• There are now three heifers residing at the Temple Barn: three-month-old Lalita, 11-month-old Vamsika, and newborn Gopi Katyayani.
• Jaya Radhe and Usha are still residing in Nandagram with Madhu for breeding.
• Last Sunday, we had a gathering at the Temple Goshala of 11 local New Vrindaban devotees and five members from the Catholic group, Wild Church WV. There was a nice interfaith service followed by dinner in the temple prasadam hall.
• Ray is about halfway finished with replacing the siding around the front entrance to Gopal’s Garden school building. Work will resume when weather permits.
• Ray picked up the materials needed for the greenhouse repairs at Vidya’s and Nandagram. He will work on them this month.
• Ray has been working on projects at the ghee plant during the cold, wet winter months.
• Caitanya Bhagavat has been working with Hari Chand in the ox program for an hour each morning, along with daily Nandagram herd care.
• Caitanya Bhagavat, Ray and Ranaka have scheduled a walk around at Nandagram next week to decide on a proper fencing scheme to divide up the barns and pastures there and to discuss the best place to build a permanent loading chute.
• Suchandra, along with her partner Ryan, have agreed to take on the responsibility of overseeing the food and flower gardens for the 2018 growing season.
• Ranaka will meet with Mukunda dasi and Radhanath das to coordinate their activities for the coming season.

2. Fall 2017 Joint Board Meetings Recap

Chaitanya Mangala reported on the joint board meetings that were held November 10-12:

• There were several changes to the regular schedule. Saturday morning ECO-V presented along with Gopal’s Garden, the Spirit Garden, and the Village Council. INV will be the main presenters in Spring 2018. This helped the presentations go more smoothly, as it allowed each group to have more time to share their information.
• The new Yoga Shala created a warm, relaxed, and inviting setting.
• The recent passing of Syama Kunda prabhu deeply affected the overall mood and created a very sober atmosphere throughout the weekend. His memorial ceremony was moving and greatly appreciated by both his immediate family members as well as his extended spiritual family in the New Vrindaban community.
• There was a Parikram tour Sunday morning that went well. Participants visited Tattva & Amritanam’s property, Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha’s Mandir, Srila Prabhupada at his Palace, & Govinda’s Restaurant kitchen.
• The service appreciation ceremony moved to Saturday, and Sunday afternoon was reserved for an open conversation and a presentation by Professor Burke Rochford. This time we honored Rasalila Dasi & Ranaka Dasa.
• Ranaka’s wife, Elena, helped organize and distribute the gift t-shirts. The Palace Peacock design was quite popular with the recipients. The ECO-V Board wants to specifically thank Elena for volunteering to do this service.

3. ECO-V Website Update

Jamuna Jivani resumed work on the website from earlier in the summer, and Makara also volunteered to help with this project. They are gathering some more material and writing the last of the content. They aim to have everything to the web designer within the next week.

4. Online Cow & Cowherd Campaign

ECO-V’s new Facebook campaign consists of two weekly posts; one featuring a cow, and the other a cowherd/gardener/staff. These posts provide information about their personality and history (for the cows) and about their service, history, etc. (for staff). This was the idea of Sukhayanti and Nila Gopal, and they are putting together the content, with the help of the ECO-V team. This has been a very popular campaign, as many Facebook users have been reading and appreciating these posts.

5. Cow Adoption Request

The Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary, located in PA, has requested ECO-V to adopt five of their cows, as the director, Dr. Sankar Sastri, is nearing retirement. In order to understand the situation more fully and to be able to make a clear decision, Ranaka will find out:

• more about the age and health of the animals, as well as what the sanctuary’s expectations and financial contributions would be
• what ECO-V’s capacity is to care for these cows, as well as how that might impact a timeline and trajectory for its own herd
• INV’s interest in fundraising to help cover the costs for the long term care of these animals

6. Gita Nagari Grant Request

Devotees at Gita Nagari are building a new feed area and manure storage facility for their cows. The total cost is $268K. They were successfully awarded a grant of $134K from the USDA. It is a cost share grant so they have to raise the balance. Dhruva Maharaja dasa, the President of Gita Nagari, asked if ECO-V would help them complete the project.

WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes support cow protection throughout ISKCON, especially with our sister organization at Gita Nagari.

RESOLVED: The ECO-V Board authorizes a grant up to $10K to Gita Nagari for help with the completion of their new facility, contingent upon confirmation of their ability to raise the remaining funds.

For regular updates please visit and like the ECO-V Facebook page.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 October 2017, Canberra, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.27.25)

The essence of spiritual life is simple – to render some devotional service to Krsna. This does not require very complex philosophical understanding. However, there are some injunctions which require analysis, for example, “One who does not give to charity according to the customs of the scriptures and who does not accept from charity are considered to be in the mode of ignorance.”

So giving to charity is very important. We have to be charitable because if we are not and we just hold onto things, we develop a deep attachment to matter. Therefore we have to give in charity but it must be done according to the scripture, otherwise what benefit is that charity? If we just give charity to the poor what will the poor do with that charity? If they engage in sinful activity then nobody will benefit. They will not benefit and you will not benefit.

I saw a ghastly scene in Calcutta. Near the Howrah Bridge, under the flyover, there are colonies of lepers. They do not look very nice because their fingers and their noses are gone. They look intense and naturally, we feel some compassion but also a little fear of getting too close. As I walked past, I saw how one of them picked up a stone and smashed the head of a sleeping dog. They killed the dog right, there in front of my eyes and later when I had to walk back on the same road, I saw that they were cooking the flesh of the dog on a fire. It is a sinful little world there!

So, it not just poverty but they are deeply rooted in the mode of ignorance and endure the suffering that comes with it. It is not so simple to help, to be charitable. Mother Theresa would just take the beggars off the streets and offer them a bed. That was very good but how are we going to change their heart?  How are we going to actually remove those sinful inclinations which brought them down to their ghastly situation?

Those kinds of questions come up in Krsna consciousness. In this way, we can see that to give or to accept charity is a complication. If one accepts charity and uses even one cent of that charity, then one will get some of the karma by which those funds were attained, unless one offers it to Krsna. By offering to Krsna, we can purify. Yes, that is true but still to offer things, which have been obtained from a sinful source to Krsna is not recommended.

Now in this age of Kali, it is very difficult because everything is tinged with sin. If we have to do a security check on whoever gives a donation to find out where the money came from and whether any sin was involved, it will become too complicated. But when the drug dealer starts to regularly give money to the temple then at one point it becomes a problem where you have to say, “Well, this is not ideal,” and it becomes a cut-off point. When a butcher gives a donation, we accept it to purify that butcher, to give him a chance to be saved from hell but at the same time if we just get a direct pipeline of money coming in from the slaughterhouse, then it becomes a bit compromised. So like this, even living according to scriptures is not just cut and dry.

The TOVP management has arranged for a live broadcast of the Grand Installation Ceremony of the Chakras onto Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s domes on February 7th, 2018 through MayapurTV. Now every devotee will have an opportunity to view this occasion live right from the comfort of their own home and with their entire family.

This momentous and pivotal occasion, perhaps the most important in ISKCON’s history to date, represents the completion of a ten year phase of construction and the beginning of the remaining phase of construction of the TOVP as we approach the Grand Opening in 2022. It heralds yet another milestone of achievement in our cooperative effort to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s strong desire to build this unique temple and establish Sridhama Mayapur as the spiritual capital of the world, nay, the universe, from whence the sankirtan movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began and Krishna prema flows.

The address to access MayapurTV is: www.mayapur.com/media/mayapur-tv/

A link to download the Schedule of Events is below and we request you 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 Watch the Live Broadcast of the Historic TOVP Chakra Installation Ceremony appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

(photo by Laura Fasulo) KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: Although this expression is most often used by our Christian brothers and sisters, I totally relate to its exclamation in relationship to what or who I am, or at least, aspire to be: A Keeper of the Flame of Bhakti, or A Keeper of the Flame of Spirituality. Personally, I see this as a responsibility for all followers of Shri Chaitanya and those who represent him. I visualize a flame burning brightly in my heart, or raising a torch in my hand to dispel darkness. To me, this is inspiring! "Lead me from untruth to truth! Lead me from darkness to light! Lead me from death to immortality." [Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 1.3.28] This is my meditation and affirmation on being a keeper of the flame.

More than ever before in my life, this is what I want to stand for, and share, and be, and promote. Though admittedly this has waned in the last year, I keep being reminded of it, and now this is the direction I want to take. With this new year, I am reaffirming my commitment. Thus, I write and speak with the prayer to do this service of giving light and encouragement to deal with our worldly desires and nature in the context of spiritual growth—transforming our human life into the life of the soul. Easy to say, I am well aware, yet for me, I need to keep high aspirations always in mind and in my prayers for my highest prospect. Otherwise I may just settle to get by as I have for so many years.

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Maintenance of ISKCON is in the hands of the next generation by Bhakti Charu Swami. Published on Jan 5, 2018 (video)

Srimad Bhagavatam Class 11.6.34-35 By Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty on 6th January 2018 (video)

Sivarama Swami: Yoga has lost its soul! (2 min video)
What Yoga REALLY is?

The Wall Street Journal: Psychologists Shouldn’t Ignore the Soul!
David H. Rosmarin: When I was an intern, patients frequently asked if they could talk to me about God.
In my first six months as a predoctoral psychology intern at McLean Hospital, I was approached by at least 10 patients asking essentially the same question: Can I speak to you about God? They wanted to discuss their problems not in psychological terms but in spiritual ones. I guess the yarmulke on my head suggested I was an appropriate person to offer guidance.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/kmLzj6

New Varshana’s Ratha Yatra (6 min video)
Prananatha Das: New Varshan devotees held a Ratha Yatra Festival today, pulling the Rath cart around the farm. This was the first time that many of the devotees and guests saw our new, Govardhan Hill. You won’t believe your eyes!! (Thanks to the hard work of Saci Suta and his wife, Ananta Krishna. ).
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/DoV3Lq

Prabhupada had planned the takeover of Russia long before he ever went to Russia.
Govinda dasi: He used to sit and turn the globe, and he would meditate on the different countries.
And he would say, “Brahmananda, you shall go to Russia. Goursundar, you shall go to Japan. Somebody else, you shall go to South America.”
You have to understand, we had no money, we had no manpower, we had nothing.
We were a handful of teenagers, 10 people in their early 20’s who were rather eccentric, all of us, because we had rejected our cultural values and we were following him like a Pied Piper, and he was telling us about these different countries we were going to go to and open temples.
He had his plan. It was not haphazardly done.
I have a beautiful picture of Prabhupada sitting and turning his globe.
He did it a lot. He meditated on the globe.
He looked at the different countries. You would see him doing it a lot, and he was planning.

He had planned the takeover of Russia long before he ever went to Russia.

This is a part of what he knew he had to come to this world and do.

We just didn’t know what all he was doing, although sometimes…in Montreal when we had a lot of time and he would talk, he used to talk to me about his different plans.

We had no money. We lived in a little flat. We had rats too.

There was nothing and yet he was telling me how he was going to have a world sankirtan party, and he also told me how he wanted to have a big auditorium where people could come and watch bhajans and hear bhajans and see plays and Krishna conscious things rather than going to the cinemas.

He felt the cinemas were drawing people into another world.

He had plans of doing this.

And when I go to Bombay and I see that great big auditorium, I say, “He said he was going to do this.”

It’s just like if I’m a pauper and I tell you I’m going to build Disneyland, and that’s what it was like.

But I never disbelieved anything he said, I just listened.

I was just always listening to him, and he liked to talk about what he was going to do.

And he talked about many things.

—Govinda dasi

The appearance of Govardhana hill in New Varshana. (Album with photos)
By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada!!
The residing Deities are Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari installed by Srila Prabhupada 1972.
Work in progress.
One night Sacisuta Prabhu one of the older devotees of New Varshana, Auckland, NewZealand had a dream about Govardhana hill. And when he woke up from his dream he said to his wife Ananta Krsna dd I’m going to build Govardhana hill and as you can see by the photos Sri Giri Govardhan! is fulfilling his desire by manifesting himself by His causeless mercy.
Today we sprinkled dust from Braj over Govardhana.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/CSUpqf

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped with the prayer name brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca. Thus it is clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead respects and protects the brahmanas and brahminical culture, as well as the cows; in other words wherever there are brahmanas and brahminical culture, there are cows and cow protection. In a society or civilization which there are no brahmanas or brahminical culture, cows are treated as ordinary animals and slaughtered, at the sacrifice of human civilization.The specific mentions the word gave by Prthu Maharaja is significant because the Lord is always associated with cows and His devotees.In pictures Lord Krishna is always seen with cows and His associates such as the cowherd boys and the gopis. Continue reading "Will Veganism save the cows?
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*Absolutely no offerings will be accepted after April 15, 2018.* Offerings must be in English. Please restrict the length to a maximum of 3,000 words. Please omit all diacritics on words that can be found in the VedaBase. It’s easier for us to put them in. If you quote a verse from outside the VedaBase or compose original Sanskrit, please include diacritics. Do not "recycle" an offering — no offerings from previous years will be accepted. The Vyasa-puja book is meant for glorifying Srila Prabhupada, not venting grievances. The BBT reserves the right to reject an offering it deems inappropriate or to ask for a rewrite. When writing an offering on behalf of a temple or other unit, please try to write in such a way that the other devotees in your unit can also identify with the offering. Continue reading "Call for homages for Srila Prabhupada’s 2018 Vyasa Puja Book
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In the previous months at the old center some neighbors were disturbing the programs in different ways, devotees could not have kirtans, and there were other obstacles that discouraged guests from visiting the old temple. Eventually Temple President Prabhu Das suggested to the community to find another place in which they could properly glorify Sri Krishna loudly, without restrictions. They then began to look for another place. A few short weeks later they found out that a nearby building, in which they had previously done some Food for Life programs, was now empty and that they were looking for somebody to rent it. Continue reading "New Center in Torino
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The post Daily Darshan: January 07,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Adi Purusa Das, the TP of Canberra temple, invited me to a kirtan program on a Saturday night. Even though on that day it was nearly 40 degrees, quite a few devotees attended the evening of blissful chanting.

Apart from myself there were a few local kirtaniyas who led, such as, Gauravana das, Ananda devi dasi and Ayodhyadeva das. At the end everyone relished a wonderful feast cooked by Krsna Kirta das.

Mission Impossible (The Impossible Quest)
“IMPOSSIBLE is a word in fool’s dictionary.” Hope you have heard this statement oftentimes. Such inspiring statements invigorate one to do things that apparently seem to be beyond one’s capacity. But did you ever try to contemplate in what ‘context’ such statements could be used? And what could be the driving force that enables a person to make impossible things possible?
Scriptures proclaim that not a blade of grass moves without the permission and sanction of the Supreme Lord. Sure enough, this is no exaggeration, because every living entity is utterly dependent on the Lord in every walk of his life. So, without the sanction of the Lord, how does any insignificant mortal possibly achieve anything impossible?
Here is the formula to achieve the impossible. If one has a pure intent to render tangible service to the humanity selflessly, the Lord and His representatives help him in every possible way to make the impossible tasks possible. It’s the blessings and good wishes of great souls and the Lord that make one accomplish impossible missions, and not the individual’s determination inspired by one’s own whimsical desires. If one is obsessed to achieve one’s selfish ambitions that cause no good to others, his taking of so-called inspiration from such statements is merely passionate, if not imprudent. In fact, a selfish person’s desire to achieve impossible goals doesn’t cause any good to his own self. We see several examples in the scriptures like Hiranyakashipu and Ravana who tried to become immortal, which is impossible for any mortal being, causing great disturbance to people in general and ultimately ruining their own lives.

On the other hand we have an example from the Srimad Bhagavatam that describes the glorious sacrifice of a selfless soul who took up an impossible mission and made it possible by the power of his pure intent. Once upon a time there lived the great king Sagara, who was an ancestor of Lord Rama. He decided to perform a horse sacrifice. Indra, the king of heaven, being envious of Sagara had stolen the sacrificial horse and tied it near the hermitage of the great sage Kapiladeva. The 60,000 sons of Sagara went in search of the lost horse and found it near Kapila’s hermitage. They mistook Kapila as a thief and tried to attack him. The angry sage then burnt all of them to ashes. Ansuman, the grandson of Sagara then approached Kapila and begged for the deliverance of his forefathers. Kapila told that they could be delivered only when touched by the holy waters of river Ganges. Dilipa, the son of Ansuman tried to bring the Ganges to this world but died without success.

King Bhagiratha, the son of Dilipa, was determined to bring the Ganges to this world, and underwent severe austerities. Mother Ganges, being fully satisfied by his austerities, appeared before him. Bhagiratha then requested her to deliver his forefathers. But Gangadevi expressed her concern that her waters would be very forceful that the flow would pierce the surface of earth. She therefore asked Bhagiratha to find someone who is capable of checking her force. Bhagiratha then prayed to Lord Siva who agreed for this task, and thus helped the descent of Ganga devi. Simply by the touch of the holy Ganges, Bhagiratha’s forefathers were delivered and allowed to go to the heavenly planets.

Thus Bhagiratha with his determined will accomplished the impossible mission of bringing Mother Ganges to this planet. Thus, he not only delivered his forefathers but also every living entity that would come in contact with holy waters of the Ganges for the rest of eternity.

Similarly in our journey of life, we face many ups and downs and many missions that may seem impossible. But the lesson we learn from the descent of Ganga is to remain fixed in the goal of life, by the strength of higher virtue. Life is not worth living without seemingly impossible challenges. If one takes up challenges with pure motivation and determination, in a spirit of doing good to others, Lord favors him in all his movements and makes every circumstance in life favorable to him.

Srimad Bhagavatam Class in Mayapur, Jan 4, 2018, Canto 8.6.12 by Atita Guna devi dasi ACBSP.