Planet ISKCON

Answer Podcast

The post When does determination turn into obstinacy? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The post How small conflicts become big – Daksha pastime analysis (3) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Wish you would have been here.

Wish you would have been here.

As of Friday this podcast is moved from sivaramaswami.com to sivaramaswami.media.

As of Friday this podcast is moved from sivaramaswami.com to sivaramaswami.media

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

Grihastha Life (10 min video)
Chaitanya Charan Das: Isn’t fear of entanglement in grihastha life desirable?
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/wYhihY

Lord Vishnu to be on the cover of the Sri Isopanisad!
Ramesvara: In 1974 the artists and I had thought for the reprinting of the Isopanisad that we would have a new picture on the cover.
Instead of Lord Vishnu we would have a picture of Krishna on the cover.
Again I had the good fortune to present that idea to Srila Prabhupada.
He rejected it. He was angry.
Prabhupada said, “I have specifically chosen Lord Vishnu to be on the cover of the Sri Isopanisad. I want this book to be attractive to people of all philosophical persuasions, even Mayavadis and Vedantists.
“All the different philosophical schools have to see Vishnu on the cover of Isopanisad. Krishna they won’t buy. What is wrong with you? Whose idea is this?”
Prabhupada was so involved in selecting the artwork, choosing the size, the number of pages per book, the design of the book.
Prabhupada’s genius was that he was taking books of the highest philosophy and making them popular.
Philosophy books aren’t popular.
Philosophy books don’t sell anywhere in the world.
But Prabhupada’s genius was to have these gorgeous art paintings, carefully chosen, to insert in philosophy books to sell them to average persons all over the world.
This was genius marketing on Srila Prabhupada’s part.
He was in charge. He planned this.
You could not make a change if he didn’t approve it.
—Ramesvara
.

BBT Brazil’s Crowdfunding Success for Large-Scale Bhagavad-gita Print.
You have Srila Prabhupada’s request to publish his books on Krishna consciousness as much as possible to reduce ignorance and suffering in the world. In addition, you have the followers of Srila Prabhupada with that same desire, asking you to please publish Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada’s most popular and important book, at an affordable price, so that it can get popularized as much as possible. It seems obvious what you have to do: publish the book of Srila Prabhupada. But nothing is easy. You are the president of a BBT Brazil that does not have the financial resources for a large-scale print (what is necessary for a book to be cheap), a BBT Brazil in which the distribution of books by devotees, is almost non-existent. What would you do in the face of this dilemma?

This situation was actually experienced by Nanda Kumara president of BBT Brazil. Asking himself what to do, he says that one day he had an “epiphany”.

“When replying to a devotee who asked the possibility of joining a number of people for an advance purchase and a possible impression, I thought: why not try a crowd funding campaign?”

Better than to have BBT team organizing a platform for crowd funding, Nanda Kumara considered it better to use existing platforms, and there was only advantages: if the daring goal of R$151,000 (46,000 USD) was not reached, the platform would return all the money to all supporters at no charge to BBT. Another advantage is that it would transmit great professionalism and confidence to those who wanted to invest.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/bF5t44

Agnideva Prabhu’s health update (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: One of my main objectives in coming to Australia was to visit Agnideva prabhu in the hospital in Sydney. Myself and Sri Prahlada dasa spend over an hour with him this afternoon in ICU. He had triple-bypass heart surgery 2 days ago. He was unable to speak, but squeezed my hand tightly as Sri Prahlada led kirtan and I shared some pastimes of Lord Caitanya with him. When I mentioned how so many devotees around the world were praying for him and donating towards his medical expenses, tears rolled down his cheeks. He will be in ICU for another week and then rehab for 2 months. Although his discomfort was obvious he managed a smile just before we left. If you would like to contribute to his care please visit:
www.gofundme.com/agnidevadas
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cAfDZk

Determination is vital either in material or spiritual life. This determination exhibits a devotee’s hankering and sincere desire for attainment of the perfectional stage of devotional service. Lord Brahma, the original first living being was entrusted with the service of engineering the material world, based on the raw ingredients provided by the Lord, under His direction and empowerment. In the course of his creation, Lord Brahma faced five obstacles, from which we too can derive lessons that pertain to our own practice and execution of devotional service. Lord Brahma first created the five ajnana-vrittis of elements of nescience, such as self-deception, the sense of death, anger after frustration, the sense of false ownership, and the illusory bodily conception, or forgetfulness of one’s real identity [SB 3.12.2]. After which, the patriarch felt dissatisfied at having to perform the thankless task of further implicating the living entities into ignorance. Continue reading "Deadly D’s to determination
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Every year the Aqua Foundation Group organizes the World Aqua Congress (WAC) on a theme related to environment and invites excerpts of papers from speakers from all over India. During the XI World Aqua Congress, this year, ISKCON Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV) was awarded with the prestigious Aqua Excellence Award in the category of ‘Green Housing – Social Sector’. Jadu Thakur Das, Head - CSR, GEV received this award from Dr. Vandana Shiva, the famous author, activist, pioneer and Scientific Advisor. The Award Ceremony was conducted during the Inaugural Session of XI World Aqua Congress, cantered on the theme of ‘Water & Environment’’ on the 9th November 2017 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The conference was attended by various corporate heads, Government authorities, university professors, NGOs etc. Continue reading "ISKCON Govardhan Eco Village Won the Aqua Excellence Award 2017 in the XI World Aqua Congress
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The devotees rent an auditorium and many devotees from ISKCON Mayapur come to participate in the program. They perform dances, musical presentations, and dramas, and senior devotees speak. There is also kirtan and prasadam distribution. During the month of Kartik, the Bhakti Vriksha Department conducts Damodara Programs, in which attendees hear about Damodara lila and offer lamps. In 2016, the Damodara Programs were so successful that the Mayapur Bhakti Vriksha Department engaged over 100,000 people in offering lamps to the Lord. All of these programs are very effective for attracting the local people to become a part of Mayapur’s Bhakti Vriksha. Continue reading "The Networking Tree of Lord Caitanya
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Countless people come to ISKCON Mayapur from all over India and the world, and ISKCON Mayapur has a number of preaching endeavors to attract these people to Mayapur and to preach the science of Krishna consciousness to them. ISKCON Mayapur’s preaching targets all people, both those from far away lands and those who reside within […]

The post The Networking Tree of Lord Caitanya appeared first on Mayapur.com.

We’ve had extensive coverage of the parikrama on Facebook with daily livestreams and photos. The video and audio recordings are still to come but in case you are not a Facebook user, here are all the photos again.

The KKSBlog Facebook account has reached its maximum number of friends (5000) and therefore cannot accept further friend requests but please “follow” us. All our posts are public and they will appear in your newsfeed if you are following us.

Day 1 – Brahmanda Ghat and Raval

Day 2 – Surabhi Kund and Govardhana

Day 3 – Madhuvana

Day 4 – Initiations

Day 5 – Sanketa Bihari and Anjanoka

Day 6 – Sudevi Mandir and Unchagaon

Day 7 – Prema Sarovara and Barsana

Day 8 – Rama Ghat and Chir Ghat

Day 9 – Harinama in Vrindavan

Day 10 – Boat trip to Mathura

Parikrama photos by Rasacarya Das.

Answer Podcast

The post By contemplating the consequences of sensuality, if we practice bhakti, is that bhakti at the level of fear? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.4.30 at ISKCON, Melbourne, Australia]

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The post How small conflicts become big – Daksha pastime analysis 3 – Understanding the filters people bring to a relationship appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Youth meeting at Bhakti Bhavan, Melbourne, Australia]

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The post Pursuing our loudest desires is not freedom – pursuing our deepest desires is appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Talk at AusCrystals, Melbourne, USA]

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The post 3 As to bring out the best in you – Awareness Association Appreciation appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.4.30 at ISKCON, Melbourne, Australia]

Podcast

Podcast Summary

The post How small conflicts become big – Daksha pastime analysis 3 – Understanding the filters people bring to a relationship appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

After visiting Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne temples, the ToVP team went to Sydney. The function was held at the North Ryde School of Arts hall, which the temple management use to fund raise for their new temple out west.

The event went well with Ambarish Prabhu and and his wife Svaha Devi Dasi giving  speeches about the need to help finish the Temple of Vedic Planetarium. Braja Vilasa Prabhu asked every to donate generously and took pledges from the nearly 100 devotees who attended.

The post Daily Darshan: 21 November, 2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Indradyumna Swami in Australia, at the Iskcon Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple, 18-11-2017 (video)
W...

Ratha Yatra Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: O my Lord! Persons who chant the holy na...

HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu’s First Visit to Wellington. HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu needs no introduction. From Australia to America he has given talks on spiritual subjects at universities like Princeton and Cambridge and companies like Intel and Microsoft. This time, it was New Zealand’s fortune to welcome this spiritual scholar of ISKCON’s leading intellectual body to the capital city of Wellington. The highlight of this visit was his intriguing seminars to the Wellington’s Journey of Self Discovery (JOSD) and Bhakti Sastri students and the wider Vaishnava community. Continue reading "A Remarkable Experience in Wellington, New Zealand
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 18 September 2017, Mauritius, Arrival Lecture)

Then we have to take inspiration from our previous acaryas. Advaita Acarya was around 85 years old when he was given the role as one of the main dancers in Lord Caitanya’s Harinama Sankirtan party and Haridas Thakur was in his 70s and he was another one of the main dancers. They danced in ecstasy, out of taste and spiritual strength. Vakreshwar Pandit would dance for 72 hours.

Then we have the six Goswamis. When people would just see Sanatana Goswami, they would become ecstatic. He was always speaking about Krsna and he was always himself, no strategy was needed for him to preach.

Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami dreamt of how Lord Nityananda was always moving like an elephant, he was decorated with pearls and diamonds, he was chewing betel nut and was chanting, “KRSNA KRSNA!” and around his feet were a swarm of little gopas who were also chanting, “KRSNA KRSNA!” Then Krsna Das Kaviraj fell to the ground to pay obeisances to Lord Nityananda and Lord Nityananda ordered him to go to Vrndavan, which he immediately did. He was at that time in his 90s and he wrote, “It is a miracle that I am writing. I have become half blind and my memory is finished!” In such a state, he wrote the Caitanya Caritamrta which is full of ecstasy. He also said that whether something is religious or irreligious, if it is not Krsna Conscious, it is sinful.

Srila Narottam das Thakur took his inspiration from Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami and got completely absorbed in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya.

Then, we skip many generations and we find Srila Visvanath Chakravarthy Thakur who took his inspiration from Srila Narottam das Thakur and the Srila Baladev Vidhyabhusana took inspiration from Srila Visvanath Chakravarthy Thakur and explained how Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is connected to Madhvacarya. Then he described how Nanda Maharaj’s house had waterfalls on the walls and so he could look directly into the spiritual world. Jagannatha das Babaji Maharaj would chant for 72 hours on ekadasi. For us 16 rounds are exhaustive. It takes just two hours and we complain. Now imagine chanting for 72 hours. These personalities were just amazing!

Then we have Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, who was a district magistrate, at the same time wrote books and also had 13 children whom he brought up in Krsna Consciousness.

We also have Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur who was so learned and intelligent and dedicated his life to setting up and establishing what is right and what is wrong. Then comes Srila Prabhupada, the Spiritual master of all of us.

If we think about Caitanya Mahaprabhu and all the previous acaryas and see where we are today, there is a huge difference. We all have different moods of service but chanting should be there always and we have to be faithful devotees of the Lord.

Answer Podcast

The post Does Krishna know which choices we are going to make? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Vyasapuja offering at Melbourne, Australia]

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The post Appreciating HH Radhanath Maharaj’s visionary outreach appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Congregation program at Melbourne, Australia]

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The post How conscious intention raises bhakti to the level of a relationship appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Participate in the Gita Jayanti Book Sponsoring Marathon. Live on mayapur.tv

We plan to distribute 5000 Bhagavad-gitas with the help of book sponsors.

You may sponsor the following book-packets with Bhagavad-gitas and other Srila Prabhupada books:

1. 18 books 12.000 HUF / 40 EUR
2. 26 books 20.000 HUF / 65 EUR
3. 21 books 30.000 HUF / 100 EUR
4. 27 books 31.000 HUF / 100 EUR
5. 55 books 50.000 HUF / 165 EUR
6. 108 Hungarian hard bound Gitas 108.000 HUF / 350 EUR
7. 108 Hungarian soft bound Gitas 120.000 HUF / 400 EUR
8. 108 Hungarian hard bound delux Gitas 200.000 HUF / 650 EUR

Budapest Temple: 02 Dec, Saturday from 10.30am and 5pm Live webcasts!

You are welcome to participate in the reading, the blessings that go with it and the feast after the yajna. If you wish to attend any of the above programs or would like to just sponsor books for free distribution or for any further information please contact Asta Sakhi devi dasi:
tel.: +36 30 600 1459,
e-mail: Asta.Sakhi.SRS@pamho.net

[Hall program at Melbourne, Australia]

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The post Strengthening the bonds that liberate appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.4.28 at ISKCON, Melbourne, Australia]

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The post How small conflicts become big – Daksha Pastime analysis 2 – Ego causes desensitization appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.4.28 at ISKCON, Melbourne, Australia]

Podcast

The post How small conflicts become big – Daksha pastime analysis 1 – Unprocessed resentment causes explosion appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.