Planet ISKCON

SB 07.09.48 Krishna’s Immortality 2013-05-15

Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.48 Krishna’s Immortality 2013-05-15 Los Angeles AKA No One Wants To Die

BG 04.23 This Civilization Is An Illusion 2013-04-28

Lecture – BG 04.23 This Civilization Is An Illusion 2013-04-28 Kraków

This short film was made in Russia in October 2015, by a small team of filmmakers who are passionate about sharing the culture of bhakti yoga with the world. It was shot on location in Moscow and Sochi, and profiles Jahnavi Harrison, who grew up with bhakti yoga and serves in the capacity of a kirtan (devotional call and response chanting) leader.

BMI-Bhaktivriksha in Bloomington, Illinois, USA conducted its first 10-week course of Bhagavad Gita As It Is for children from ages 9-16. The initiative was met with great enthusiasm, and all the twenty-eight children who participated in the program graduated and received their certificates during a ceremony on Saturday December 16^th.

On December 15, Mukunda Maharaja was discharged from Tweed hospital and is back at his residence on New Govardhan farm.

https://www.facebook.com/indradyumna/media_set?set=a.10210808633474866.1073742778.1321748113&type=3

Yesterday I took Sri Prahlada, who is visiting Vrindavan, to the Mystical Forest. Not far from Varsana is a forest of 5,000 year-old trees. Local Vrajavasi tradition says that the trees were planted by Srimati Radharani and Her girlfriends as a place of pastimes for Herself and Krsna. They are described as kalpa-vriksa trees – wish-fulfilling trees – able to fulfill all of one’s spiritual desires. As we hugged them I prayed for more service to my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, in fulfilling his wishes that the holy names of the Lord be spread to every town and village in the world. I also whispered in my prayer that one day, when he feels it proper, I might join him in his pastimes in the spiritual world, where all walking is dancing, all talking is singing and there’s a festival every day. From the Mystic Forest we proceeded to nearby Varsana to continue our parikrama. All glories to Sri Vrindavan dhama!

 

 The Mayapur Goshala is a very peaceful and serene place, allowing anyone who comes to have a wonderful experience of offering service and worship.

As the Hare Krishna Society builds a lavish new temple in India, it is struggling to control a faction in the city where the religion was born.

Iskcon related news from all over the world

H.H. Veda Vyas Priya Swami's SB class in ISKCON Vrindavan, Dec 20, 2017

Srila Jiva Goswami made his appearance in 1533 and disappeared from view at the age of 85 in 1540.

This traditional fruitcake is ideal for weddings, birthdays, or any special occasion requiring a luscious, rich cake. It can be kept for several weeks after baking.

Read More...

ISKCON Auckland NZ. Friday night Harinam, Chanting and dancing our way BTG.

While listening to the history presentation of NRR, from it’s very beginning to the present, we were able to see how this community has always worked together towards creating a better future.

Ananda Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi: As we approach the end of the year and prep for the next, it’s a natural time to be reflective.

Davender Bhardwaj: BMI-Bhaktivriksha in Bloomington, IL conducted a 10 week course of Bhagavad Gita As It Is for children from ages 9-16.

By Hari Narayana Das

One hundred Bhagavad-gita and other books were distributed during the event. Even though more than ninety percent of the audience were from other faiths they appreciated the clarity of the message in Bhagavad-gita as it is; one student later wrote in his blog that he started reading Bhagavad-gita and everyday he is getting new enlightenment; another senior gentleman who is the head of an organization and even though he is not a Hindu, he expressed that although he could not understand the Sanskrit invocation (Sri Brahma Samhita) he felt very happy within his heart when he heard it. Continue reading "International Bhagavad-gita Seminar, Gorontalo, Indonesia
→ Dandavats"

By Madhava Smullen

The encouraging atmosphere, expert techniques and lack of pressure yielded inspirational results. One devotee who felt too shy to distribute went along just to accompany his wife, but ended up distributing a hardback Bhagavad-gita for the first time ever. A new bhakta from the Krishna House, who also had never gone on book distribution before, distributed three Bhagavad-gitas and felt so enlivened that he now wants to go out regularly. New Raman Reti’s head pujari, who had never been able to distribute big books, was thrilled that she distributed four hardbound Gitas and can’t wait to do more. After the Sankirtan Festival, while honoring first-class prasadam together – an essential part of every MSF – devotees shared realizations. “I’ve been very focused on my own devotional life,” said one new devotee. “But now I realize the importance of showing compassion to others.” Continue reading "Sankirtana Seminar Gives Alachua the Book Distribution Bug
→ Dandavats"

By the MCO

“According to smrti regulation, the cow is the mother and the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one's mother, human society takes cow's milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains.” Continue reading "The Primary Citizens
→ Dandavats"

The post Daily Darshan:December 22,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

During the past weeks, I have frequently thought of the following verse and purport from Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.5.2):

              vidura uvaca
sukhaya karmani karoti loko
na taih sukham vanyad-uparamam va
vindeta bhuyas tata eva duhkham
yad atra yuktam bhagavan vaden nah

“Vidura said: O great sage, everyone in this world engages in fruitive activities to attain happiness, but one finds neither satiation nor the mitigation of distress. On the contrary, one is only aggravated by such activities. Please, therefore, give us directions on how one should live for real happiness.”

Srila Prabhupada explains, “Vidura asked Maitreya some common questions, which was not originally his intention. Uddhava asked Vidura to approach Maitreya Muni and inquire into all the truths concerning the Lord, His name, fame, quality, form, pastimes, entourage, etc., and thus when Vidura approached Maitreya, he should have asked only about the Lord. But out of natural humility he did not immediately ask about the Lord, but inquired into a subject which would be of great importance to the common man. A common man cannot understand the Lord. He must first know the real position of his life under the influence of the illusory energy. In illusion one thinks that he can be happy only by fruitive activities, but what actually happens is that one becomes more and more entangled in the network of action and reaction and does not find any solution to the problem of life. There is a nice song in this connection: ‘Because of a great desire to have all happiness in life, I built this house. But unfortunately the whole scheme has turned to ashes because the house was unexpectedly set on fire.’ The law of nature is like that. Everyone tries to become happy by planning in the material world, but the law of nature is so cruel that it sets fire to one’s schemes; the fruitive worker is not happy in his schemes, nor is there any satiation of his continuous hankering for happiness.”

In response, Maiterya narrated the Lord’s glories, quoting the demigods’ prayer to the Lord, “Simply by hearing about Your lotus feet with eagerness and devotion and by meditating upon them within the heart, one at once becomes enlightened with knowledge, and on the strength of detachment one becomes pacified. We must therefore take shelter of the sanctuary of Your lotus feet.”

Hare K

rishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Srila Jiva Goswami made his appearance in 1533 and disappeared from view at the age of 85 in 1540.

As a child, Sri Jiva took up the worship of Rama-Krsna Deities. Carefully decorating Them, and offering bhoga and arati, he served Them attentively. Even when playing, Jiva’s games were often connected with Lord Krsna’s pastimes.

Later, in a dream, Sri Jiva saw that Rama-Krsna had taken the forms of Nitai-Gauranga, and They were dancing. Giving him the dust of Their lotus feet, the two Lords then disappeared. Friends suggested that he go to Navadvipa to bathe himself in the coolness emanating from the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.

Sri Jiva enjoyed various pastimes with Nityananda Prabhu, touring the nine islands of Navadvipa and taking darshana of the holy places of the Lord’s pastimes.

Sri Jiva later traveled to Vrndavana, where he joined the company of his two uncles, Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana. Jiva stayed with Sri Rupa, who taught him Srimad Bhagavatam and gave him mantra initiation.

While in Vrndavana, Sri Rupa took up the service of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara. According to the Sadhana dipika, this Deity of Damodara was fashioned by Rupa Goswami’s own hand for his dear disciple, Sri Jiva.

https://www.facebook.com/indradyumna/media_set?set=a.10210801616779453.1073742777.1321748113&type=3

Yesterday my good friend Sri Prahlada arrived in Vrindavan. To enter into the mood of Vraja we decided to first do Govardhan parikrama. We began on the ‘outer’ 40-kilometer parikrama road, the path used by Srila Sanatana Goswami 500 years ago. We first visited Chandra-sarovara, a beautiful holy site, where the gopis spoke the famous ‘Gopi Gita’ which make up most of the 31st chapter of the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. There is beautiful lake there, as well as the samadhi of Sura das, the famous blind Vaisnava poet who appeared in 1487. There we chanted and prayed for his mercy that by following in the footsteps of our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, we might enter into the mysteries of pure devotional service. From there we proceeded to the general parikrama path. Along the way we encountered a number of old Vrajavasi friends that I have come to know through the years by wandering in the transcendental land of Sri Vrindavan dhama. We also made some new acquaintances! Hours later we finished our parikrama at Sri Radha Kunda.

 

 

Hollywood Actor Wills Smith is a follower of Bhagavad Gita.
The greatness of the Bhagavad Gita is that it is perhaps the most comprehensive and complete book of knowledge and philosophy that mankind has known in any language and culture. For thousands of years, the Bhagavad Gita has inspired millions of readers. Many greats over the years have praised venerable scripture.
A popular Hollywood Will Smith too is highly influenced by Bhagavad Gita and seems to have read 90% of the scripture. The Hollywood Superstar who is in Mumbai for the promotion of his movie ‘Bright’ had revealed this interesting fact and said that he has a high influence of Arjuna on him.
Read more: https://goo.gl/Y8Zv3U

Disciples Course Inspires Family Mood, Dedication to Prabhupada and ISKCON.
In August 2015, the course was made mandatory for ...

Drama | Dharmarakshak (50 min video)
A beautiful devotional blend depicting how Sanatan Dharma has been protected through ages ...

Christmas is…Not on Vaishnava Calendar :-)
by Yama Niyama Dasa Brahmachari
Please visit the link for the following audio Tracks:
Hope it kindles some jolly Krsna conscious Christmas spirit. :)
1. Simply Hell 01:42
2. Rudolph the Red-faced Materialist 01:27
3. Demons in the Age of Kali 01:26
4. Yamaraja is Coming to Town 01:46
5. Frosty the Nondevotee 01:15
6. A Visit From Lord Jagannatha 04:47
7. Believe There is God 02:05
8. In Front of the Altar 00:59
9. It Never Snows! 01:32
10. The Twelve Days of Krishna 03:39
11. Chopping Down the Coniferous Tree 01:38
12. Have a Brahmachari Christmas 01:55
13. Here Comes the Time of Death 02:04
14. The Krishna Song (Chapaties Puffing on the Propane Fire) 02:48
Read more: https://goo.gl/PaFdQf

Contemporary ethos exhorts us to be open-minded and excoriates the follies and perils of close-mindedness. Given that many people with narrow-minded, black-and-white view of things are intolerant and even violent, we do need reminders to be open-minded.

w website, http://www.iskcondisciplecourse.com/, has been launched for the ISKCON Disciples Course. Throughout the world, the course has been inspiring a family togetherness amongst devotees, as well as a strong dedication to Srila Prabhupada, their gurus, and Lord Chaitanya’s mission.

New Vraja Dhama, ISKCON’s 300 acre farm in Hungary, is the largest eco village in Europe. It is situated in a small village in the southernmost part of the country, 2 hours drive from Budapest. It was established in 1993 with the purpose of educating people about the values of self sufficiency, cow protection and a natural, God centered lifestyle.

Radhanath Swami Keynote Speaker at Accenture, London.
On November 5, 2017, Radhanath Swami was in London, serving as the keynote speaker for the fiscal year’s first South Asian Networking Meeting at Accenture, addressing over a hundred employees on the topic “Be the Leader You Wish You Had”.
Accenture is a management consultancy firm that provides services in strategy, consulting, digital technology and operations. They partner with more than three-quarter of the Fortune Global 500. More specific to the event, the South Asian Network is an inclusion and diversity network that brings together people from or interested in eight different South Asian countries. They hold events to help employees at Accenture understand the history and culture of the region, and to help those from that ethnicity understand that they can be as successful as anyone else at the firm.

Oliver (Olly) Benzecry, the managing director of Accenture’s business in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also attended the event as a speaker. He inaugurated the event by sharing a few words about the topic at hand – leadership. “As an organisation we flourish when people want to be here and people can be themselves in the workplace.” He went on to speak on four traits he felt a good leader had: a sense of shared purpose with their team, affinity and affection, they talk openly to the members of their team and they care. This underpins Accenture’s focus on being ‘Truly Human’, to not only work incredibly hard as a team, but care for each other deeply as individuals.

Olly’s leadership was also the focus of Radhanath Swami’s keynote address. The Swami mentioned a simple incident involving himself and Olly that had happened just before the event began. “I was so thrilled to hear the words of Olly” he began. “In the Bhagavad Gita, there is a very significant verse: a true leader is one who sets a direction for people by his or her exemplary actions. When I first arrived just a few minutes ago, I met Olly. We were taking for a few minutes until I requested if someone can show me to the restroom. He said, “I’ll take you.” But I insisted that someone else take me. Yet he insisted on taking me, although he didn’t even know the way! As I entered the restroom, I told him I’ll meet you back in the room of the event, but he again insisted to wait. And wait he did! Here is the Managing Director of Accenture for the whole of the U.K. and Ireland, waiting for a small Swami who hasn’t had a bank account since 1969 to use the bathroom. A good leader is one who cares for others, regardless of their position. It really moved my heart. That is leadership!”

After the keynote address, Radhanath Swami sat on a panel discussion with a handful of the Managing Directors from the firm. They shared their thoughts on inspiration and answered questions from the audience. Sevasti Wong, the Global Talent and Organisation Consulting Lead, shared that authenticity, being yourself and not being scared by failure, were important qualities of a leader. She also mentioned, “I loved the keynote speaker and what he spoke about, especially his position on expressing love and kindness in the workplace and our personal lives. His analogy of being a gardener was my take-home message.” Radhanath Swami shared a story earlier in the event, “The secret of a good garden is in one who personally loves his or her flowers and plants. Because when you take care of them with love, they release the energy of love. If you put together all the right fertilizers and scientific botanical method, you will see something beautiful, but you will not experience something great. When flowers are nourished with both expertise and love, they give out a vibration, that when you enter into that garden, something incredible leaves your heart. Leadership means we must pour love into people to unlock their gift to the world.”

Nnenna Ilomechina, the UKI Lead for Communications, Media and Tech, shared something similar to Sevasti. “Leaders should be authentic. This means they understand themselves and are comfortable with what value they bring to the party.” On Radhanath Swami she mentioned, “He was incredibly calming and took me into a zen calm place. I think that is very important in leadership. He put everyone in such a calm and relaxed place that it’s easy to follow that sort of personality.”

Another Managing Director, Kamran Ikram, who leads the UKI Executive Infrastructure Services, and who sponsored the event for the night, said, “Radhanath Swami very eloquently described how important it is to care about your team. True leaders are not just in it for themselves, but are in it for the whole team. His way of speaking and style of getting messages across is different to your typical corporate speaker. He talked about humility, about love and about being a servant. Those messages were valid, no matter if you’re a large private organisation, a government organisation or tiny independent self employed business!”

As the night went on, a range of employees from the firm bought Radhanath Swami’s The Journey Within and The Journey Home and had them signed. One of them was Helen Anderson, part of the legal team at Accenture. She mentioned, “I had an opportunity to meet the Swami at the end. We only managed to exchange short words about what I do and his event in my home town of Oxford, but the presence he has and the way he carries himself makes even the shortest interaction very meaningful.” This was echoed by Barry Elbashir, a Senior Manager, who spent a lot of time in Mumbai without knowing of Radhanath Swami’s work there. He told us that the Swami was…“extremely inspiring. His humility and rich experience going back through the civil rights movements. Being able to share those lessons and articulating so well what the meaning of life is was incredible. I found him really helpful and I had the pleasure of sitting for a few minutes with him which I found even more inspiring that the actual keynote address!”
More photos here: https://goo.gl/UdYZcq

The Andhra Pradesh/Telangana Padayatra Celebrated Their 5Th Anniversary.
December 21, 2017
Visnu Swami Dasa: In December 2012 I started padayatra without any experience at all. I thought that it might go on for a few days or even a month but by the grace of Krishna and the mercy of the Vaishnavas, we have been on the road for 5 years. I don’t know how it happened, it was like a dream.
At the moment we are walking in the Hyderabad urban area. Recently Bhakti Raghava Maharaj and Anandamaya Prabhu, in charge of the Hyderabad BBT visited us. On December 6th, to celebrate the 5th anniversary of our padayatra we distributed Bhagavad-gitas to the youth in the town of Chowtuppal in the Bhonagiri district.

So far in 2017 we traveled to 180 villages and towns and walked 1200 km. We distributed 14 sets of Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2,200 big books, 1,500 medium books and 25,000 small books. On December 5th our Gita distribution was sponsored by a local devotee which, helped us give many Bhagavad-gitas away for free.
More photos: https://goo.gl/csX3zC

Hare Krishna! Movie Screening at PVR Cinemas, Manisquare, Kolkata (Album of photos)
We saw the screening of The Hare Krishna Movie in Kolkata….at the second largest screen in India. In the audience were present HH Bhakti Charu Swami Mhj, HH Subhag Swami Mhj, HH Bhakti Prem Swami, HG Devakinandan pr, HG Isvara puri pr, HG Sankarshan Nitai Pr. HG Hridaya Chaitanya Pr along with the director of the movie HG Yadubara Pr (John Grisser ) and his wife HG Visakha Mataji. The evening witnessed a congregation of over a 1000 Devotees. All four screens in PVR Manisquare were house full. Some pics to remember the evening forever… Picture courtesy: Avanish Krishna Das.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9QUF5o

By Sri Bhakti Das

They placed Ratha Yatra posters throughout a large part of the city, they provided implements, part of the security, the stage, etc. Also, the Ratha Yatra appeared on all of its websites as an event co-produced by the Municipality. This was a truly historical event in Chile: That a Major together with her Municipality (public entity with great influence on political and social development) has taken the Ratha Yatra as its own festival; in other words, not only as an activity of the Hare Krishna movement. Continue reading "Santiago Municipality in Chile treat Iskcon’s Ratha Yatra as their own festival and provide all facility
→ Dandavats"