Monday, January 22, 2018
→ The Walking Monk


Toronto, Ontario

It’s Who You Know

The acclaimed “Hare Krishna” film documentary is playing at the Cineplex downtown but I’m going to miss it.  I had the pleasure of seeing it in Nevada City this last summer.  The other reason for not viewing this masterpiece this evening is that I have to catch my flight, Air Canada Flight 42 to Delhi and beyond.  I’m on my way to holy destinations.  To be more precise, it’s Mayapura that I’m going to.  This is the birthplace of monk, Sri Chaitanya, the king of kirtan.

Laksman drove me to Pearson Airport to assist with extra luggage—costumes and props for our production “Many Mothers, Many Fathers.”  The personnel at the check-in said, “You’re over-weight.  You’ll have to transfer some content to the lighter bag (a duffle bag, in fact).  Laksman and I proceeded to go and do that transfer. They have a weigh scale facility and counters for adjusting your baggage. An employee came over, a familiar face—someone I had met at the airport before.

“Never mind this. You don’t have to deal with this nonsense. Here, I’ll check you in. You’re ‘The Walking Monk’, aren’t you? I’ve read your blog,” said the accommodating lady. She continued, “You travel a lot, don’t you? I’ve seen you around. Hare Krishna!”

Naturally, I was elated by this, and I would have been even more exploding with joy had she said, “You travel a lot…I’ve seen you walking.”

Anyway, good enough!

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Gita 16.03 Giving appropriate honor promotes harmony, demanding excessive honor disrupts harmony
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 16.03 Giving appropriate honor promotes harmony, demanding excessive honor disrupts harmony appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

How 100 “Hare Krishnas” transformed my Lonely New York City Experience.
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Julia Djeke

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to admit that I was lonely. I couldn’t use the word “suffering” because that’s reserved for the “real” sufferers like the homeless, orphans, and abandoned veterans—so I found prettier, more poetic ways to describe my sadness. But something happened that night that I did not expect: I started to remember the feeling of community. I realized that a separation had occurred, quite unconsciously, between my communing self and the isolated person I had become. I had chosen to abandon people because New York City had abandoned me—and by making that choice, I divorced myself from the chaotic mess of human beings. Continue reading "How 100 “Hare Krishnas” transformed my Lonely New York City Experience.
→ Dandavats"

Sankirtan is life changing! And it is infectious! – The joy of sharing Krishna with others!
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Ganapati Govind Das

ISKCON Of CT has been around for more than 35 years and during that time, the small congregation has been using a small house in East Hartford as a Temple. The presiding Deities are Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi, along with Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai. The congregation has been actively distributing books for many years, but the year 2015 brought a dramatic change in the history of ISKCON CT. Continue reading "Sankirtan is life changing! And it is infectious! – The joy of sharing Krishna with others!
→ Dandavats"

27th January 2018 Disappearance Day of Sri Ramanujacharya…
→ Dandavats



27th January 2018
Disappearance Day of Sri Ramanujacharya
Ramanujacharya (1017-1137) was the principal acharya (spiritual teacher) in the Sri sampradaya, one of the four main lines of Vaishnava teachers and disciples. His Vedanta-sutra commentary — Sri-bhasya — establishes the doctrine known as Vishishtadvaita, “qualified nondualism.” A staunch proponent of the philosophy of personalism, he taught that although the Supreme Lord and the individual souls are qualitatively one, there is still a difference between them, for the Lord is infinite and the living entities are infinitesimal.
Srila Ramanujacharya traveled extensively throughout India, teaching personalism and defeating proponents of monistic philosophy. He founded seventy-four centers of Sri Vaishnavism and initiated seven hundred sannyasis (renounced monks), twelve thousand brahmacharis (celibate students), and thousands of householders, including kings and wealthy landowners.

Puri, Orissa Yatra 2018 – Inauguration Ceremony (Album of…
→ Dandavats



Puri, Orissa Yatra 2018 - Inauguration Ceremony (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Radha-Krishna. Radha’s name is first. Why? Nobody can be better devotee than Radharani. As soon as Radha’s name is there, Krishna is more pleased. That is the way. If we glorify the devotees, before the Lord, He’s more pleased than to glorify Himself, He directly. Hawaii, March 24, 1969
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Zm31bs

Disappearance Anniversary of Srila Ramanujacarya
→ Dandavats

By Jananivas Dasa

Our proposition is to the Ramanujacarya followers because they are very, very strong, especially in South India they are prominent, purifying all of the world actually. It is mentioned in the Bhagavatam that when pure devotees appear in South India they then maintain the pure principles of bhakti. Continue reading "Disappearance Anniversary of Srila Ramanujacarya
→ Dandavats"

Preparation of Flags for TOVP Installation Ceremony
- TOVP.org

The victory flags for the TOVP domes are now being prepared for the installation ceremony to be hoisted along with the Chakras. This is called Dhwaja Rohan.

Each flag on the dome has a different size based on shastric measurements from the Matsya Purana. Once completed, they will be further decorated with auspicious Vedic symbols like the Sun and Moon.

To sponsor an abhisheka for Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s and/or Lord Nrimhadeva’s Chakra please go to:
https://tovp.org/donate/once-in-a-lifetime-chakra-abhisheka-seva-opportunity/

The post Preparation of Flags for TOVP Installation Ceremony appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Tulasi Arati with Lyrics and Meaning
→ ISKCON News

In the Skanda Purana there is a statement about tulasi, as follows: "Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hearing about or simply by sowing this tree, there is always auspiciousness. Anyone who comes in touch with the tulasi tree in the above-mentioned ways lives eternally in the Vaikuntha world."

Mumbai Fest gets “Krishnaized” (Album with…
→ Dandavats



Mumbai Fest gets “Krishnaized” (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: I’m in Mumbai for the weekend to participate in Mumbai Fest; a large event celebrating the heritage, culture, art, cuisine and music of Mumbai. Today the program was inaugurated with all major television, radio and newspapers present. I had the chance to meet and speak with many dignitaries. On Sunday I’ll be among 7 spiritual leaders holding a ‘Peace Forum’ at the event. Each of us will speak for 10 minutes on how to achieve peace in the world. The Vice President of India and the Minister of Culture will be in the audience, as well as millions of people watching on TV. Srila Prabhupada, please bless me to be your proper representative and speak the absolute truth as you would do.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/PZWWqv

Advaita assumes a four-armed figure.
→ Dandavats



Advaita assumes a four-armed figure.
Rāghava Paṇḍita continued,
“A wise person once told me that Advaita Gosvāmī stayed in Mathurā during His pilgrimage because of the beauty here. At that time there was a worthless brāhmaṇa in Mathurā who invariably spoke ill of the Vaiṣṇavas. That was his worst habit. He was a proud scholar and a wicked man, so the inhabitants of Mathurā feared him.
Once he spoke harshly about the Vaiṣṇavas in front of Śrī Advaita Prabhu.
Advaita became so furious that His lips began to tremble and His eyes grew red. He shouted at the brāhmaṇa,
‘O wicked man, today you will not escape from Me. I shall sever your head from your body with this cakra.’
Advaita assumed a four-armed figure, and the brāhmaṇa began to tremble in fear. He folded his hands and tried to pacify Advaita by saying,
‘O Lord, punish me as You like. Unfortunately, I have lost my good intelligence, and not understanding vaiṣṇava-tattva, I have committed unlimited sins. Please be kind to me and save me from these sins.’
The brāhmaṇa began to cry helplessly, and Advaita concealed his four-armed form. Seeing the wretched condition of the brāhmaṇa, Advaita felt pity for him and decided to bless him. Advaita spoke in sweet words,
‘The sins which you have committed will send you to hell,
but I will tell you what you must do now. Admit your guilty mentality, give up all pleasures, and engage yourself in nāma-sañkīrtana. Serve the Vaiṣṇavas with your heart and soul and be very cautious in your dealings with them. Engage yourself in worship according to the standards of pure devotion and do not tell anyone what you have seen today.‘


Read More...

Nakula Dasa asks how the eternally conditioned souls can become liberated if they are “eternally” conditioned
→ SivaramaSwami.com

  • In the material world nitya means for a very long time
  • If nitya-baddha takes to devotional service he can reach the spiritual world and become a nitya-siddha
  • The fish are always wet and we are wet when we go into the water. When we go to the nitya dhāma, we are on the eternal spiritual platform.

700 students receive Bhagavad-gita in Surat
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Romapada Das

Over 700 students of the LPD School in Surat received copies of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is at an event organized by ISKCON Surat on 18th January. The programme organized by Ramlila Das, a youth preacher in Surat, included skits, prayers, kirtana and a lecture by His Holiness Bhaktiprem Swami. Bhaktiprem Swami described how the Gita was the essence of all the Upanishads, and engaged the students in a question-answer session that was lively and interactive. “Our school is centred around total personality development, in addition to academic learning,” said Vijay Patel, the Principal of the school. “Students are taught the wisdom of our ancient Vedic culture in a manner that can be applied to their daily lives. That is why we were pleased to partner with ISKCON in distributing copies of the Bhagavad-gita to all our senior students.” During the kirtana that followed, most of the students participated in the singing and dancing in an enthusiastic manner. Continue reading "700 students receive Bhagavad-gita in Surat
→ Dandavats"

Learning to love according to the sastras
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu Das

In the preface to Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Beatle Guitarist and songwriter George Harrison wrote, “All you need is love (Krishna)”. I am glad that he specified what he meant by love. The Hare Krishna movement took roots in the Western World, by the grace of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Shrila Prabhupada, during a time of free love, which he came not to stop, but to redirect. He gave us the Nectar of Devotion, where he explained how “Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna.” Continue reading "Learning to love according to the sastras
→ Dandavats"

The Bhagavatam is the book of this movement!
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 August 2017, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja Evening Lecture)

Sometimes there are devotees, that when you ask them, “What have you read?”, they say, “Oh, many of Prabhupada’s books.” Then they give you a whole list of all small books: Elevation to Krsna Consciousness, The Perfection of Yoga. Then they say, “Well, I am trying to finish the Bhagavad-gita…” and then I ask, “Bhagavatam?” and they reply, “Well… not yet but I am planning to start it.”

Bhagavatam is the central core of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement. It is Bhagavatam that is the essence of all our literature. The Bhagavad-gita is simply the introduction. It gives us the basic philosophy. It describes the position of isvara (the Supreme Lord). It describes the position of the jiva (the living entity). It describes prakriti (material nature). It describes karma (cause and effect). It describes kala (time). Like this, Bhagavad-gita gives us the five main topics and the relationship between all those: (1) the relationship between the jiva and the Supreme Lord, (2) the living entity situated in prakriti – in the material world, (3) how to get out of this material world, (4) how the living entity is marginal energy and can be also in the spiritual world, (5) how in the material world everything is under the influence of time and under the influence of karma. All these things are explained in the Bhagavad-gita and it establishes our constitutional position as the eternal servant of Krsna.

That is very nice but it does not say much about Krsna. Although all knowledge is given in the Bhagavad-gita for going back to Godhead and for attaining the transcendental platform, what is missing is the nectar of Krsna’s pastimes on this planet, the nectar of Krsna’s activities. That is in the Bhagavatam! But one cannot understand Krsna’s pastimes on this planet unless one has read about the all the other incarnations of the Lord because one must understand how Krsna he expands himself – advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.33) – in his endless forms. So one must understand the endless forms of Krsna through the Bhagavatam and then Bhagavatam in the tenth canto describes to us everything about Krsna. Bhagavatam is the book of this movement!

Gita 16.02 Our godliness needs to be seen in our harmonious interactions with others
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 16.02 Our godliness needs to be seen in our harmonious interactions with others appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Wellington Bhakti Vrksa
→ Ramai Swami

Ambarish Maharaja das and Ananga Manjari devi dasi have been serving at the Wellington temple for ten years since coming from Pune, India.

Although both working, they seem to have boundless energy for preaching. In the last few years they have developed Bhakti Vrksa groups and Bhakti Shastri courses.

I was invited for an evening Bhakti Vrksa program and about sixty devotees came for kirtan, lecture, questions and prasadam.