Recordings – Mayapur, November 2017
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Please find below the audio recordings of lectures and kirtans by Kadamba Kanana Swami during his stay in Mayapur in November 2017.

Download all (1.1 GB)

KKS_Mayapur_09Nov2017_Bhajan_JayaRadhaMadhava

KKS_Mayapur_09Nov2017_Lecture_SB_8.3.16

KKS_Mayapur_12Nov2017_Kirtan_RememberingBrajaVallabhi

KKS_Mayapur_12Nov2017_ShortLecture_RememberingBrajaVallabhi

KKS_Mayapur_12Nov2017_Kirtan_Russian_SundayFeast

KKS_Mayapur_12Nov2017_Lecture_Russian_SundayFeast

KKS_Mayapur_14Nov2017_Kirtan_TempleRoom

KKS_Mayapur_15Nov2017_Lecture_Russian_SB_8.6.26

 

Parikrama

KKS_Mayapur_18Nov2017_Parikrama_Lecture_BhaktivinodaThakursHouse (With Candramauli Swami, Pankajhangri Prabhu and Bhakti Nrshima Swami)

KKS_Mayapur_18Nov2017_Parikrama_Kirtan_Suvarna Bihar

KKS_Mayapur_18Nov2017_Parikrama_Lecture_Suvarna Bihar

KKS_Mayapur_18Nov2017_Parikrama_Lecture_NrsimhaPalli (With Candramauli Swami, Pankajhangri Prabhu and Bhakti Nrshima Swami)

 

Nectar of Devotion lectures and House Programme – outstanding recordings.

Visit Flickr to see more photos

 

One of Srila Prabhupada’s disciple shares his motivation…
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One of Srila Prabhupada’s disciple shares his motivation for distributing books (6 min video)
Jiva-Natha das has been distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books for over 4 decades. Now living in Mayapur, India he continues to do so with the same enthusiasm. He shares how to be inspired to perform this important service for Srila Prabhupada; 1 book at a time.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/F3umX9

Remembering His Holiness Bhakti Vrajendra Nandan Swami
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Hare KrishnaBy Subhag Swami

I am very happy to hear that devotees are gathering together in Penang to pay their homage to His Holiness Bhakti Vrajendra Swami Maharaj and showing their love, affection, dedication and loving service to the cause of our society, mission of Sri ChaitnyaMahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada. He is definitely a great soul, Mahatma… I know him from Birmingham from early 70’s. He used to come to the Birmingham centre and whatever he gets, he used to help the centre as the temple used to have hard days during that period. Later on, he came to London and used to distribute book, to work very hard and everybody appreciated his service - because Srila Prabhupada says ISKCON is a preaching movement, and ultimately book distribution. Krishna says, “No one was or will be so dear to Me than one who preaches this Krishna Consciousness. Continue reading "Remembering His Holiness Bhakti Vrajendra Nandan Swami
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Back to Home
Giriraj Swami

Today Santa Barbara County lifted the evacuation order for the neighborhood of my ashram in Carpinteria, and Kuntidevi will be returning with the Deities and other items, to begin the arduous process of cleaning up the property, reestablishing the worship, and restoring the ashram to proper function. We wish her well in her endeavor, in difficult circumstances, by Srila Prabhupada and Their Lordships’ grace.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Sydney West Program
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There are many devotional programs going on in the greater Sydney area. Sometimes they are held in halls and other times at devotee homes. Generally, there is kirtan, lecture, arati and prasadam feast.

Recently, I was invited to attend a program in the home of Umesh Prabhu and his good wife Suman Prabhu. They have a beautiful dedicated temple room and about fifty enthusiastic devotees attended the evening.

Sri Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra 2017, Iskcon Klang, Malaysia …
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Sri Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra 2017, Iskcon Klang, Malaysia
(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/1csC1W

Iskcon Brisbane Temple: Thank you to the 25 wonderful (!)…
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Iskcon Brisbane Temple: Thank you to the 25 wonderful (!) devotees who came out to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books today. Below are pics of the training and practicing before hand.
Here’s the list of Srila Prabhupada’s frontline soldiers!
Darshan Grewal
Laksmi priya
Rajal
Kanchana
Aarya
Shivali
Caru candravali
Hari Varta
Hitashi
Divya
Niyati
Vasu
Gangesvara Caitanya
Saumya
Radheshyam
Dominic
Vrindavancandra
Dharmesh Porwal
Dauji
Tulasi Bhakti
Prema Nama
Saci mata
Shushank
Ranga
Adya Shakti
Find them here: https://goo.gl/dsC8Qu

Community by Design
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Hare KrishnaBy Danakeli dasi

Srila Prabhupada wanted us to show by example how to become freed from dependency on city life and satisfied with the village idea. “ But we are not going to develop a competitive farming enterprise for making money. The basic principle is to become independent of artificial city life ...Gandhi had this idea, the one defect was that there was no Krishna in the center. So the same idea of village organization , but keeping Krishna in the center should be introduced on our farm projects . ” Continue reading "Community by Design
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TOVP Australasia Tour Report
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Hare KrishnaBy TOVP staff

The tour stopped in the cities and communities listed below and achieved great success, being met by enthusiastic and supportive devotees who made small and large financial sacrifices according to their means for the project. The total amount of pledges exceeded $3 million U.S., an astounding amount considering the small size of some of the communities. All these devotees are to be thanked. Continue reading "TOVP Australasia Tour Report
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Celebrities and the media along with the public, in India, thrilled by the “Hare Krishna!” film
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Hare KrishnaBy Yadubara das

Actors Namitha and Veera reviews. Financial Express article. Bhanu Swami interview. Yadubara das⁩ interview with Hrishi K on radio one. Urban Asia interview. IANS Review. Movie Talkies Review. Vivek Bindra, a well known motivational speaker, talks about movies then HARE KRISHNA! Continue reading "Celebrities and the media along with the public, in India, thrilled by the “Hare Krishna!” film
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ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 12/03/2017
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ECO-Vrindaban New Vrindaban ISKCON cows gardens Prabhupada

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 12/03/2017

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

Participating Advisors: Bhima, Jamuna Jivani (secretary), Jaya Krsna, Kalakantha (partial attendance), and Makara.

1. Ranaka’s Monthly Report

  • Five cows are being milked by Ananda Vidya & Lalita Gopi at the Temple Barn: Jamuna, Surabhi, Parvati, Laxmi, and Sita. Milk production is approximately 17 gallons per day.
  • Asha has been retired from the milk herd and is now residing at the Valley Barn.
  • Malati returned to the Temple Barn and is due very soon.
  • Sriya and Anjali are both due in February. Subhadra has been confirmed pregnant and is due at the end of May.
  • There are two heifers residing at the Temple Barn: three-month old Lalita, and 11-month-old Vamsika.
  • Jaya Radhe has been moved to Nandagram for breeding with Madhu. Also, Usha is currently residing with Madhu.
  • Ananda Vidya continues to process approximately 15 lbs. of butter, 15 gallons of yogurt, and a half gallon of ghee on a weekly basis, and delivers them to the temple kitchen.
  • The Temple Barn had many guests over Thanksgiving, including Anuradha’s friends who volunteered during an evening milking. Also, Lilasuka and her extended family came for an evening milking.
  • Bhaktin Andrea has been coming every night to help with milking, as has Bhakta Kyle on occasion.
  • Ray completed the work on Dharma the bull’s outside pen expansion project at the Valley Barn. Dharma is content in his new outside space.
  • Ray replaced all of the old fluorescent bulbs and fixtures in the new vegetable processing room with LED lighting which is low-maintenance and energy efficient. In addition, he ran conduit and installed two electrical outlets, one of which services the new freezer.
  • Ray, with Robert’s help, replaced the old deck on the front entrance of Gopal’s Garden. With the help of Brikasanga, he is replacing the siding around the front entrance to the school building.
  • Ray will be handling repairs at the greenhouses at Vidya’s and at Nandagram this month.
  • Caitanya Bhagavat has settled into a winter program of working with Hari Chand in the ox program for one hour each morning, and caring for the Nandagram herd.
  • Suchandra cleaned out all the beds at the Teaching Garden and prepared them for winter by working them up and covering them with compost. Also, she finished planting 400 lily bulbs there. She will finish clearing the beds and digging out the dahlia bulbs at Vidya’s this month.
  • Robert cleared the beds at the Community Garden and readied them for next year.
  • In discussions with Robert, he shared that does not want to take on the responsibility of overseeing the vegetable gardens for 2018. That means ECO-V is still searching for a garden manager for the upcoming season.
  • 2017 Total Garden Yields

Produce delivered to the Temple Kitchen (does not include Freezer Stock):

  • Green beans – 336 lbs.
  • Cucumbers – 20 lbs.
  • Bitter melon – 30 lbs.
  • Summer and patty pan squash – 166 lbs.
  • Zucchini squash – 117 lbs.
  • Winter squash – 15 lbs.
  • Swiss chard – 78 lbs.
  • Basil – 7.5 lbs.
  • Kale – 23 lbs.
  • Lettuce – 8 lbs.
  • Carrots – 36 lbs.
  • Heirloom tomatoes – 122 lbs.
  • Roma tomatoes – 80 lbs.
  • Cherry tomatoes – 42 lbs.
  • Apples – 81 lbs.
  • Plums – 25 lbs.
  • Strawberries – 50 lbs.
  • Blackberries – 5 lbs.
  • Potatoes – 600 lbs.

Freezer Stock:

  • Green Beans – 54 gallons
  • Tomatoes – 33 gallons

Flowers:

  • Big marigolds – 27,000
  • Small marigolds – 25,000
  • Lilies – 525
  • Dahlias – 760
  • Zinnias – 1,500
  • Sunflowers – 575
  • Gladiolus – 75

2. Restructuring ECO-V

The Board explored ways we can encourage more people to get involved with ECO-V. Strategies suggested included:

  • Improve outreach to the local community
  • Connect with people from the WVU College of Agriculture
  • Build relationships with people from Grow Ohio Valley
  • Review wages offered
  • Continue to search within the broader community of devotees while making internal improvements within ECO-V and New Vrindaban in general
  • Attract WWOOFers – Start by offering room and board, then work to eventually be able to offer paid positions and offer training. Look for interpersonal skills within the existing staff to run such a program.
  • Look at possible interfaith connections
  • Reassess past experiences, consider how to highlight the uniqueness of the opportunities ECO-V and New Vrindaban have offer, and revise our methods of recruitment until we find the right people

3. Village Governance vs. Non-Profit Management

Chaitanya Mangala spoke in regards to the need to identify the differences between a village governance and non-profit management, and also to develop language that helps differentiate between the two so the New Vrindaban residents & well-wishers can continue to develop & evolve a proper “self-governing village.”

4. Board & Advisor Application

The Board discussed the possibility of adopting an application recently developed by INV for director and advisor positions and also to explore other ways of increasing involvement with ECO-V. Chaitanya Mangala will share the INV application so it can be considered at the next meeting.

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

All sorts
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, September 2017, Cape Town, South Africa, Evening Class)

I remember going door-to-door on book distribution and it was all okay until I came to this one house. The door opened and there was a monster – a huge guy, all leather clad, looking like an enormous Hells Angel. In those days, there were many of them.

I was thinking and I started to pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva, “Oh my god, how do I get out of here quietly?” but it was too late and the guy said, “What do you want?”

I go like, (high-pitched soft voice) “Book.”

He says, “Oh, how much?”

I said, “Twenty-five.”

He gave me twenty-five, took the book and said, “Get outta here!”

It is amazing. Sometimes you cannot believe who takes a book. You cannot calculate. You sort of try to figure out who is the one, who is the devotee? You look around the crowd and see one who has a nice smile but he says, “Not interested. No, thank you.”

A man in Boston said to me when I approached, “You cannot speak to me! We have not been introduced.” (laughter) I replied, “Please allow me to introduce myself.”

There are all kinds of people – nice people, crazy people, cold people, arrogant people, destitute people… People that just say that they have no money and people that really have no money. And there are also people that have no money but seem to be so nice that you give them a book for free.

Some book distributors, young men, specialise in young girls. They target only young girls. “Hi…” Blink, blink, blink! “Hi, how are you?” Anyway, those book distributors instead of carrying books; soon they will be carrying babies (laughter). What can we say? That is going on also.

When distributing books, one has to have a sense of being an instrument of the Lord and understand that the mercy is available to all…

Thursday, December 14th, 2017
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Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winterpeg, Manisnowbha


I looked out the window of Vishal’s home only to find a whiteness which has awakened a stillness.  It’s beautiful really.  Shanti!  There is peace.  Tranquility!  Tranquility of mind.

I don’t mind winter and it is usually full-blown here in Winnipeg.  One devotee from Kazakstan, who drove me to the airport, expressed, “It’s actually pleasant out today—only about -14° Celsius.”

Yes, that’s true, I thought.  Winter, especially in Winnipeg, is indeed ‘epitomized harshness’ so far as weather is concerned.  And December is that time of great reflection.  Walking by the Red or Assiniboine Rivers are ideal locations for this kind of reflection or introspection.

I tend to remember the image of the iconic two—Krishna and Arjuna—poised as teacher and student.  It was at this time of year that the dissemination of wisdom by Sri Krishna took place.  Arjuna possessed a mind of turbulence.  Krishna was calmness personified.  The weak required the strong.  Weakness is something to keep in check.

I’m especially excited to see Krishna charging with His horses, headed toward the enemy—the enemy ultimately referring to vice.  Lust, anger and greed are the vices identified.  This is the image I see in my mind’s eye after hearing the description in the Bhagavad-gita of Krishna and Arjuna setting out to task, to duty.

And when the opportunity arises to glance at the Gita’s cover depicting the two just before the charge, when Arjuna is at his lowest point, it beckons me to enter into the mysteries of life.

So, Winnipeg—your snow conjures up good thoughts.

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Wednesday, December 13th, 2017
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Winnipeg, Manitoba

What We Do Have

We have no temple or official centre for Krishna Consciousness, in Winnipeg, of substantial size as of yet.  Operations at 108 Chestnut Street have been running successfully under the careful guidance from Vrinda’s home for some time, and have more recently shifted to an area of St. Vital’s where a group of young couples reside.  They call this group the’Bhakti Village’ and I'm so proud of them for conducting courses in devotional education.  I'm confident we’ll see a steady growth and progression.  May speed be a reality.  Blessings!  Thank you Vrinda for being the teacher.

One of the younger householders, Vishal, and his wife, Ankeet, are hosting me.  As part of starting operations I thought to approach Vishal and say, “I have a quota of kilometres to walk.  Can you join me for an outside experience?”

Vishal is from India and is somewhat apprehensive about the Winnipeg ‘winter wonderland’.  “Let’s go!” he said, putting faith in the swami.  I made no conditions and put no time limits until well into the walk.  All went fine.  I then suggested one and a half hours.  It was a little more than he had in mind.  We just kept going, exploring streets and trails.  Twenty minutes became thirty, forty.  We were climbing with time.

“Okay,” I said when we reached the Hindu Temple at St. Ann’s, “What time are we looking at now?”  We were now well past the halfway point where we had needed to  turn around.  When we reached the finish point, his home, it was exactly 1.5 hours later.  Our chanting and chatting had caused time to fly.  What an achievement, Vishal!

We achieved a fine distance despite winter weariness.  We also came together as a larger group to discuss the power of devotion in the form of chanting.  Just ask Yamaraja!  From the Bhagavatam, Canto 6, he glorifies and gives a boost to chanting.

May the Source be with you!

6 km


Concern and Prayers
Giriraj Swami

I have been moved by the many devotees who have written me expressing their concern about the wildfires in the Carpinteria area and informing me of their prayers for me and the other residents. Your concern and prayers mean much to me, and I feel obliged to you all and offer you my heartfelt thanks. Your care is much appreciated, and you all are very dear to me.

Hare Krishna.

Your grateful servant,
Giriraj Swami

 

Govardhan Retreat 2017
→ ISKCON News

In the sublime atmosphere of Giriraja Govardhana, devotees immersed themselves in the magical world of Krishna’s pastimes in the association of Sacinandana Swami, Bhurijana Das, Jagattarini Dasi, Madhavananda Das and Adi Purusha Das during the annual VIHE Govardhana Retreat.