Radha Raman Festival
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Hare KrishnaBy Indradyumna Swami

On the kind invitation of Pundrik Goswami, of the Radha Raman temple in Vrindavan, we have been invited to participate in his week long service to the famous deity of Radha Raman. Today we participated in a parade through town and many arotikas in the temple. We had the honor to lead kirtan in front of Radha Raman and take full prasadam from His plate. Participating in the seva this week is a unique opportunity, for in the early days of our movement Srila Prabhupada often encouraged his disciples to learn deity worship from the Radha Raman temple. One special mercy was that I had darshan ( from a distance ) of a Govardhan-sila worshipped by Gopal Bhatta Goswami. We thank our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, for gradually revealing to us the glories of this transcendental abode. Continue reading "Radha Raman Festival
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Book Distributors Break Down Barriers With New BBT Language Cards
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Hare KrishnaBy Madhava Smullen

“Kindly help me,” was Srila Prabhupada’s heartfelt request to devotees in Los Angeles in 1975. “Print as many books as possible in as many languages as possible, and distribute throughout the whole world. Then the Krishna consciousness movement will automatically increase.” Today, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust has translated Prabhupada’s books into 89 languages, but there are still unique challenges in getting them to people. What if you’re a book distributor in a foreign country? Or you want to share books with foreign-language speaking immigrants in your own country? Continue reading "Book Distributors Break Down Barriers With New BBT Language Cards
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Hare Krishna the Movie Coming Soon to Theaters in Latin…
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Hare Krishna the Movie Coming Soon to Theaters in Latin America!
The independent Documentary Film: “HARE KRISHNA! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It All,” had its world premiere at Illuminate Film Festival on June 3rd in Sedona, AZ. It sold out in 30 minutes and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film. This was followed by a North American release in theaters beginning in New York City on June 16th, 2017, where the opening weekend saw the Film have the highest weekend per-theatre average of box office proceeds among all reported releases in the USA. In India, which started on December 15th, the Film has been playing on over 400 screens across the country.
Now the Film is making its way around the world and is the time for Latin America to have a glimpse of Prabhupada’s greatness! With your help, we would like to cause an IMPACT in Latin America with this Film.

Here is how you can help:

1. Suggest responsible, well educated and dynamic persons to work with us on marketing and distributing the Film.
2. Pass on any contacts you have in the film distribution industry or contacts you have with movie theater owners.
3. Study our Outreach Guide & Toolkit and follow its instructions
4. Promote the Film on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Radio, TV and every possible means of communication.
5. Recruit the help of celebrities to promote the Film.
6. We already have the Film with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Director John Griesser (a.k.a. Yadubara das) said at the release of the Film, “It is exciting beyond words to revisit Prabhupada’s extraordinary life and share it with others in a Film I feel offers rare insights into his multifaceted personality and enduring message of happiness and hope.”

A variety of American publications agree:

“An uplifting spiritual experience regardless of one’s personal beliefs or religion.” - Red Carpet Crash
“HARE KRISHNA! achieves a cinematic flow that takes you out of the theatre and into the moment.” - LA Yoga
“…effectively summons an evocative moment in time.” - LA Times

We are counting on you to make this Film a complete success throughout Latin America.

Please get involved today by replying to this email.

Gratefully,

Lilananda Dasa
Lilananda.acbsp@gmail.com

New year’s eve at ISKCON Zagreb, Croatia (Album with…
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New year’s eve at ISKCON Zagreb, Croatia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna, one can be freed from all undesirable habits. This is the means of awakening all good fortune and initiating the flow of waves of love for Krishna. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 20.11)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/HxdkxY

Sri Krishna Pushya Abhisheka
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“*Krishna was just a toy in the hands of the Gopis, so one day the Gopis decided that we shall decorate Him. Pusyabhisheka means a ceremony to decorate the deity profusely with flowers, ornaments, cloths. After there should be lavish feasting and a procession through the streets, so that all the citizens should see how […]

The post Sri Krishna Pushya Abhisheka appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Sacramento Bhakti Yoga: TYM’s Book distribution report for…
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Sacramento Bhakti Yoga: TYM’s Book distribution report for the entire 2017. Thanks to all the devotees, well-wishers and sponsors. We beat last years record!
BBT CUMULATIVE REMITTANCE TOTALS
January—November 2017
TYM (Sacramento Bhakti Yoga) gave more than $13.252
to Srila Prabhupada’s Book Trust (USA) for 2017.
$3600 more than 2016. More than a 36% increase this year.
More than 28 Srimad Bhagavatam sets went out and more than 2500 books got distributed.
Thanks to all devotees, sponsors, and well-wishers!
Donations were about $11,000 in total.
Prabhupada: That is the most successful. Wherever book distribution is going on nicely, that is successful.
Because people are in gross ignorance. They are taking this temporary life as everything. Very horrible condition. We are trying to explain what is the actual life.[Moring Walk - 1975 Denver]

Transcendental Visit
→ Ramai Swami

I was invited to lunch with Bhakti Caru Maharaja during his recent visit to Sydney. This was arranged at the home of one of his disciples. I must say that it was so nice because his disciples are such good cooks.

Maharaja told me that he would be travelling to Noumea, New Caledonia, to have a program in a conference hall of a prominent hotel there.

I thanked him for making the effort to spread Krsna Consciousness in that part of the world, which in my role as a GBC, I also oversee.

Ambarisa Prabhu Invitation to the Chakra Installation Ceremony, 2018
- TOVP.org

Ambarisa prabhu officially invites one and all to the historic and momentous installation ceremony of the Chakras onto Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s domes on February 7th, 2018.

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

Below is a general invitation flyer for the ceremony which you can copy and share with other devotees online and print and post at your local temple. We hope you can attend this historic occasion.

Installation Ceremony Invitation can be downloaded by clicking the button below.

DOWNLOAD PDF  

The post Ambarisa Prabhu Invitation to the Chakra Installation Ceremony, 2018 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Almviks Gard (Jarna, Sweden): Every Monday all the children and…
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Almviks Gard (Jarna, Sweden): Every Monday all the children and some adults come together and do seva for the cows. We brush them, milk them, feed them and clean the barn. Afterwards, we take prasadam together at different devotees homes. Everyone becomes happy and enlivened by serving Krishna’s cows! (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Bo33ZH

HG Dharmadhyaksha Prabhu ACBSP left his body. Rasangi Devi Dasi:…
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HG Dharmadhyaksha Prabhu ACBSP left his body.
Rasangi Devi Dasi: My dear Godbrothers and Godsisters, I am sad to report that Dharmadhyaksha das left his body today at around 6:15 PM. As you may know he has had mini-strokes, high blood pressure and other issues and was in a skilled nursing facility receiving round the clock care. I saw him this week and read scripture to him while listening to chanting. His son Maitreya has been visiting him regularly which made him so very happy. Dharma has dome some amazing service for our Srila Prabhupada by preaching in the universities all over California during the mid 70’s. He was a brilliant man who used his intelligence to serve a higher cause and always wanted to help this planet heal from hypocrisy and violence.

Saturday, December 30th, 2017
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Ajax, Ontario

Good Crew, Good Brew

I was quite amazed by the turn-out of family and supporters for Kiran, age twenty-four, who was recently deceased, the cause being car collision related.  Hundreds of people came, mostly from the Guyanese community, to attend the last rites ceremony, done Vedic style in a crematorium/funeral home in Ajax.

The love which emanated from parents, siblings and friends was quite powerful.  Upon hearing the eulogy, I could understand he was quite the kind-hearted type and you could see the reciprocation pouring out.  I wish I had known him better.

They are good souls who enter into the course of your day to make your day.  And so, after the funeral, my world, for the rest of the day, was filled with mostly the younger set, the cast and crew of our production of “Many Mothers, Many Fathers.”  A good crew.  A good brew.

What a co-operative group it is, an international one, consisting of Canadian born to Israeli, Ukrainian to Mexican and Indian.  The story, “Many Mothers, Many Fathers,” is centered around a king—Chitraketu—of the Surasena dynasty who lost his son to poisoning.  Out of the tragedy comes a reconciliation of jealous exchange and conflicting relations.

The young boy, Nimai, six, who plays the dead son, is stunningly good at doing just that—playing dead.

I guess we all do that—play dead—for the soul (the real me) does not perish.

May the Source be with you!

3 km



Friday, December 29th, 2017
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Toronto, Ontario

Cold

I spoke to someone from Florida today, Dattatreya, a magician, and he told me they have a cold snap like everywhere else in North America.  Temperatures there are at 3 or 4° Fahrenheit.

“Imagine then how we are doing up north?” I asked.

In speaking to others, Mother Nature appears to be showing an ugly, fierce side.  In Fort McMurray, the plummeting figure was -54° Celsius, outdoing the lowest temperatures of the furthest north.  Fort McMurray is the place in Alberta known for its oil enterprises, with its tar sands nearby.  That news came from Abhidheya in Vancouver.

Then Savyasacin of Brampton told me last night at our play practice that Toronto and other cities around are speaking about possibly cancelling the New Year’s celebrations due to such intense, frigid situations.

The conditions are such that I’ve not been bearing the extreme outdoors, but I’ve been taking those walks of mine inside our temple room.  It seems to work, although the air quality outside is probably better.  Probably sterilized.  It’s quite remarkable just how extreme it can get.

Mother Nature, you definitely have some might.  Thanks for teaching us tolerance.  It takes me to Verse 2:14 from the Gita.  “The dualities of the world need to be accepted.”  It’s a lesson in life.

May the Source be with you!

4 km


Thursday, December 28th, 2017
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Toronto, Ontario

A Loss, But Not Lost

A young man, Kiran, 24, a member of our community, suddenly lost his life in an auto accident while on his way to work.  While this may be just another one of those news items, one that we often become insensitive to because it is a story repeated over again and again, it really shakes the ground you stand on when it’s close to home.

“Kiran used to attend the temple when he was much younger,” said his distraught mum, Srimati, when I spoke to her over the phone.  “The car spun out of control when someone hit him.  It’s very hard.”

You could hear the pain in her voice as we conversed.  It’s understandable.  A soul comes into your life, is your dependant for a quarter of it, and so the attachment is very real.  Then if you have one of those families where the lifestyle is a wholesome one, your dependant starts doing things for you and eventually a beautiful reversal takes place.  In your senior years, he/she looks after you.  You have him/her and you have God.  You’re not lonely and you’re attached to the love given.

It then becomes difficult to have one such person suddenly drop out of the picture, although the Divine friend, God-in-the-heart, remains as a blesser and a guide.

We, the friends of the family, are compelled to be totally behind you and support you through prayer and mantra.  There are many folks in this world who lose family through mishaps of a shocking kind and we give our hearts out to you.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

2017 – In Appreciation. Ananda Vrindavaneshwari Devi Dasi: As…
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2017 - In Appreciation. Ananda Vrindavaneshwari Devi Dasi: As the new year just started I am appreciating many things gained in 2017, especially all the different devotees who brought joy and inspiration to my life. I was therefore delighted when I came across a verse from the Caitanya Caritamrita (a biography on Lord Caitanya, the great revolutionary teacher of Bhakti in the 15th Century). “Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “Out of all auspicious and beneficial activities, which is best for the living entity?” Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “The only auspicious activity is association with the devotees of Kṛṣṇa.” Madhya 8.251. Auspicious and beneficial - words that are not used a lot these days. Friendship with devotees, opportunities to sing and dance together, to study together, and to serve together brings good fortune and great benefit to our lives. It’s considered the best of activities for us, and the only auspicious one! So thank you, dear devotees, for creating many opportunities for sanga (association) all around the DC metro area. Thank you for gathering at the Temple on Sundays and Festivals, and weekdays for service, for meeting in Silver Spring and Georgetown for Harinam (outdoor kirtan), for the sweet Saturday program at the Institute, for Bhakti Yoga DC in the heart of the capital, for Bhakti Clubs and Krishna House at UMD and George Mason, for satsang in yoga studios, for seminars and japa retreats, for the Baltimore Temple and Radha Madhava, for Jiva Daya and their love of books, for Nama Hatta’s (small home groups) that meet weekly, for home programs that happen here and there, for Sunday School and Krishna Kids, summer camps and kirtan trips, for the Bhakti Lounge on Sundays, for Gita and Bhagavatam study groups, for Soundcloud and Sages, for Instagram darshan, for growing FFL, for celebrations and pujas - in times of joy and sadness, for Sunday Serve, for book tables and bakeries where we gather and talk and laugh, for our two cows, Gita and Vani, who love us all and for our neighbors in Richmond and the wonderful ahimsa milk farm at Gita Nagari. Thank you Srila Prabhupada for starting all of this. You have given us the gift of friends, mentors, teachers and gurus on this kevala ananda kanda, this path of spiritual joy. May we always appreciate that - and them.

Money and an Illusory Sense of Security. Dhirasanta Das Goswami:…
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Money and an Illusory Sense of Security.
Dhirasanta Das Goswami: Money gives us a sense of freedom and ownership. We feel that with money, we can own anything or put a price tag on anybody’s services.
Ownership of something means total control of its existence from beginning to end. When we pay for a piece of land, we feel that we own it, although the land continues to exist even after the owner is long gone. How can you own something that outlives you?
Money also gives the idea that you are powerful and independent, blinding you to the fact that we live in a world of interdependence. We depend on farmers, cooks, drivers and the services of so many other people around us. Even an expert surgeon cannot operate on himself; he depends on others.
Why are most rich people arrogant? Because of the feeling of independence that money brings. The awareness of dependence, on the other hand, makes one humble. The basic human tenet of humility is taken away by this false feeling of independence.
Today, we have gone to the extent of measuring people in terms of their net worth on the money scale — “so-and-so is worth five hundred million” etc. Can money reflect the worth of a person? Calling someone a millionaire or a billionaire is not a compliment. You cannot assign a monetary value to human life.
When people lack faith in divinity, in their own abilities and in the goodness of society, they suffer from a deep sense of insecurity. Then, all that appears to provide security is money. Some among the wealthy feel insecure in relationships — they don’t know whether their friends are truly their friends or are just interested in their fortune. Money can only provide a temporary, illusory sense of security.
Wealth is attained through one’s skills and abilities, inheritance or through corrupt means. Each means of attaining wealth brings with it its own consequences. The very motive for corruption is peace and happiness. Yet peace and happiness remain elusive when the means are corrupt.
Due to the illusory notions of independence, ownership and security that it brings, money is considered a part of maya: ‘miyate anaya iti maya’ means 'that which can be measured is maya’. Hence everything in the world that can be measured is considered maya, money being one such thing. Human values are eroded when you try to put a price tag on all that cannot be measured, like love, truth, wisdom and life itself.
On the other hand, there are those who criticize money and blame it for all the ills of society. There are some others who even consider it as evil. Not only does possessing money bring arrogance, rejecting it does too. Some people who renounce money take pride in their poverty, just to draw attention and sympathy.
However, the ancient sages never denigrated money nor maya. In fact, they honored it as a part of the divine and thereby transcended the grip of its illusion. They knew the secret that when you reject or hate something, you can never transcend it.
They honoured wealth as Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Narayana. She is born out of Yoga (yogaje yoga sambhute). It is Yoga that transforms bad karma and brings out latent skills and talents. It also brings up ashtasiddhis — the eight perfections, and nava nidhis — the nine wealth’s.
It is this wisdom of Yoga that transforms one from arrogance to self-confidence, from meekness to humility, from the burden of dependence to the realization of interdependence, from craving for freedom to the recognition of unbounded-ness, from a limited ownership to a transcendental relationship with the whole who is Krishna.

Transcendental invitation! Indradyumna Swami: Recently Pundrik…
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Transcendental invitation!
Indradyumna Swami: Recently Pundrik Goswami of the Radha Raman temple in Vrindavan contacted Ananta Vrindavan das, one of ISKCON’s most well-known photographers and videographers and requested him to film a documentary on the worship of the famous Radha Raman deity. Pundrik Goswami will have the service of worshipping Radha Raman from January 2 – 9. Ananta Vrindavan will accompany him everywhere except the altar and the kitchen. Pundrik Goswami is also inviting myself and many other ISKCON devotees to be present for morning and evening programs. In fact, he has asked me to speak and lead kirtan in the temple on the evening of January 5. This is all an unprecedented opportunity to observe the high standard of deity worship in the temple.
Radha Raman is one of the most beloved forms of Lord Krsna. Radha Raman means ‘one who gives pleasure to Radha.’ The distinctive feature of Radha Raman is that He is a self-manifested form of the Lord who revealed Himself in His threefold-bending form to Gopala Bhatta Goswami, one of the famous Six Goswamis of Vrindavan.
While living in Vrindavan before coming to the west, Srila Prabhupada would often visit the Radha Raman temple. For many years he was a close friend of Vishwambar Goswami, an acharya in the line of Gopala Bhatta Goswami. On a number of occasions, Srila Prabhupada requested his disciples to learn the high standard of deity worship and vaishnava etiquette from the Radha Raman temple. We will be sharing photos of all the festivities.

New year’s eve harinam in New York – welcoming 2018!…
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New year’s eve harinam in New York - welcoming 2018! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “What to speak of others, even Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, personally descends to taste the nectar of love of Godhead in the form of the chanting of Hare Krishna.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.265 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ERb2cL

New Year’s Eve Maha Harinama – West End, London (Album of…
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New Year’s Eve Maha Harinama - West End, London (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Pure devotees chant the Hare Krishna mantra, and simply by hearing this chanting from a purified transcendental person, one is purified of all sinful activities, no matter how lowborn or fallen one may be. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.126 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EgZa5s