Planet ISKCON

[Youth meeting at Bhakti Bhavan, Melbourne, Australia]

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[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]

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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.

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.

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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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[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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[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]

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

Prabhupada Marathon 2017 - Are You In? (2 min video)
Get in the right mood for Prabhupada Marathon!

The post Daily Darshan: 20 November, 2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

ISKCON-London - Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara’s 48th Anniversary Event - Temple President Invitation (video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/vp3dqB

Presentation at Nagpur, India (Album with photos)
On 15th Oct 2017, Gaur Gopal das gave a motivational talk at ICAI Nagpur bran...

Harinama at Surfers Paradise - 19 November 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If a devotee once utters the holy name ...

Maha-Mantra Featured at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Moscow.
Married couple and Krishna devotees Vadim Eremeev and Kira Sergeeva delivered a beautiful, soaring acoustic performance of the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra, the bhajan “Jaya Radha Madhava,” and the chant “Sarva Mangalam” at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Moscow this October.
The songs soundtracked a collection by well-known fashion designer Ksenia Seraya on October 25th, showcasing spring-summer 2018 fashions.
Seraya is good friends with Vadim and Kira, who are members of the indie/hard-rock/trip-hop band Shakti Loka, and met devotees in the 1990s and 2000s respectively
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/PKVzqY

Do not become angry!
Kadamba Kanana Swami: In the chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.25 about the passing away of Bhismadev, in the purport to the verse there is a list of challenges for society at large to improve their quality of life. The first challenge is, “Not to become angry!” We remember Upadesamrta, the Nectar of Instruction Verse 1, vaco vegam manasa krodha vegam, one must control the pushings of anger. So even when anger is pushing, one must somehow or other subdue it. Bhismadev also said that in order to conquer anger, one must learn to forgive because it is very difficult to judge with two types of measurements – measurement for others and different measurements for ourselves. For ourselves, there are so many explanations for our mistakes, “It wasn’t really my fault. It was just circumstances. I didn’t intend it that way…” whereas for others, “How could they do that! This is outrageous.” We judge them different and the same extenuating circumstances are not being considered so Bhismadev points out that we must learn to forgive. We have to see that others make mistakes because then we can overcome anger.

Forgiving is not necessarily the same as forgetting. If someone has committed an abominable activity, we may forgive but it does not mean that we forget. We will remember but we will also keep a special eye – if someone puts his fingers in the money box then after that we keep him at a distance from the money box obviously. So forgiving and forgetting is not necessarily the same. Also, there may be a point when we forget, it depends on the seriousness of the offence.

Sometimes though, anger is required. Sometimes, it is necessary to send out a signal that from now it is too much. This has to stop. BANG, fist on the table! Everyone needs that also. It is not that anger per se is bad. Those who are envious sometimes deserve anger. Those who are envious of devotees, we need to sometimes check it with anger. That is also there. But Bhismadev is referring to uncontrolled anger. Controlled anger has a place. Srila Prabhupada would also get angry at times but his anger was always related to Krsna and to whatever was favourable to Krsna. When there was neglect, Prabhupada was not tolerating that. He would point it out!

SP writes : “When the Lord came, He was pleased with everyone; therefore it is stated here, krtsna-prasada-sumukham. The Lord knew that even the offensive doormen were His pure devotees, although by chance they committed an offense at the feet of other devotees……..On the part of the Lord there was no offended mood because He does not accept any offense created by His sincere devotee. But a devotee should be very cautious of committing offenses at the feet of another devotee. The Lord, being equal to all, and being especially inclined to His devotee, looked as mercifully at the offenders as at the offended. This attitude of the Lord was due to His unlimited quantity of transcendental qualities. His cheerful attitude towards the devotees was so pleasing and heart-touching that His very smile was attractive for them.” [SB 3.15.39 purport] Continue reading "Art of resolving conflicts amicably
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Taking Responsibility To Move Forward
Dhirasanta Das Goswami: Once there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango available, from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are most exposed to the sun are the sweetest. So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin, he managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but in attempting to go back down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground.
Fortunately, he caught a branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help, they immediately came with a ladder and sticks but could do little to help him.
Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived - a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious as to what he would do, since he was very famous for solving many people’s problems in the area, sometimes very complicated ones. He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone, and threw it, hitting the hanging man.
Everybody was surprised. Hanging mango lover started to shout, “What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?”
Sage was silent. Then again, he took a stone and threw it so that it hit the man in the tree. The man was furious, “If I could just come down, I would show you…!” That’s what everybody wanted, that he comes down, but how?
Now everybody was tense, what would happen next. Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked up another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man in the tree completely flipped out and developed a great determination to come down and get revenge. He then used all of his skill and strength and somehow managed to reach the branches which were safe enough for him to climb down, and he made it! Everybody was amazed.
“Where is the sage?” - exclaimed the rescued man.
“Oh, he is a wise man, so he didn’t wait for you to beat him,” said the villagers.“I will really smash him completely when I get hold of him,” said the man.
“Hey, wait a minute, he is the only one who helped you, he is the one who provoked you, who induced you to help yourself,” said one of the villagers.
Mango freak stopped for a second, thought a little and admitted, “Yes, all your good intentions and compassion didn’t help me, but the sage expertly induced me to do my best and save myself, I should be thankful rather than angry.”
So this is an instructive leadership story. A real leader (teacher) helps you, sometimes in strange ways, to take initiatives in your life. You have to move forward. You have to make your best effort if you want extraordinary results. The best leader helps you to be responsible for your life.

Our ever grateful obeisances are due to HH Kavichandra Swami and HH Ramai Swami, the GBCs of Indonesia, for their support and guidance to always look for new avenues for sankirtan. Our humble obeisances to HH Subhag Swami for his inspiration and always reminding us of the importance of the Sankirtan movement of Mahaprabu and for inspiring us with the dedication of Sriman Jayananda Prabhu, for bringing us closer to Srila Prabhupada and keeping us united in family of ISKCON. Continue reading "Jagannath Ratha Yatra on Bandung Light Festival 2017
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Krishna's peace formula was presented in the form of a song called "The Peace Formula," which was written and sung by ISKCON devotee, Sankarshan Das Adhikari. It's interesting to note that Sankarshan Prabhu is joined on the chorus by members the Island Baptist Church from South Padre Island, Texas who sing along with great enthusiasm and energy. The Peace Formula was very much appreciated in 2015 by Barack Obama when he was president of the United States. Continue reading "UK Radio Station Broadcasts Krishna’s Peace Formula
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 September 2016, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.25)

In this chapter, the passing away of Bhismadev, in the purport to this verse there is a list of challenges for society at large to improve their quality of life. The first challenge is, “Not to become angry!” We remember Upadesamrta, the Nectar of Instruction Verse 1, vaco vegam manasa krodha vegam, one must control the pushings of anger. So even when anger is pushing, one must somehow or other subdue it. Bhismadev also said that in order to conquer anger, one must learn to forgive because it is very difficult to judge with two types of measurements – measurement for others and different measurements for ourselves. For ourselves, there are so many explanations for our mistakes, “It wasn’t really my fault. It was just circumstances. I didn’t intend it that way…” whereas for others, “How could they do that! This is outrageous.” We judge them different and the same extenuating circumstances are not being considered so Bhismadev points out that we must learn to forgive. We have to see that others make mistakes because then we can overcome anger.  

Forgiving is not necessarily the same as forgetting. If someone has committed an abominable activity, we may forgive but it does not mean that we forget. We will remember but we will also keep a special eye – if someone puts his fingers in the money box then after that we keep him at a distance from the money box obviously. So forgiving and forgetting is not necessarily the same. Also, there may be a point when we forget, it depends on the seriousness of the offence.

Sometimes though, anger is required. Sometimes, it is necessary to send out a signal that from now it is too much. This has to stop. BANG, fist on the table! Everyone needs that also. It is not that anger per se is bad. Those who are envious sometimes deserve anger. Those who are envious of devotees, we need to sometimes check it with anger. That is also there. But Bhismadev is referring to uncontrolled anger. Controlled anger has a place. Srila Prabhupada would also get angry at times but his anger was always related to Krsna and to whatever was favourable to Krsna. When there was neglect, Prabhupada was not tolerating that. He would point it out!

Answer Podcast

The post When things go wrong, how can keep faith and avoid feeling the pinch? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Villaggio Hare Krsna ceiling mural (Album with photos)
Rudradeva Das: “This large ceiling mural, comprised of 56 wooden panels, each approximately 200cm X 150cm X 1cm, has been my most ambitious painting project to date. It also took the longest amount of time to complete, around 5 years. The process went like this: After staining all panels with a terra-cotta colored gesso, I employed a small opaque projector in my darkened studio, to project my miniature drawings onto the proper positions of all panels, and then laid out the design with white pencil. Next it was time to block in the underpainting for all 56 panels. Unlike the ceiling I did in Prabhupadadesh 10 years earlier, where I used oil paint for all layers, this time I employed fast-drying acrylic from jars to get the underpainting laid-in. This worked well, in that this acrylic under-layer dried very fast, and if I blocked-in one panel, it was completely dry and ready for adjustments or changes within 20 minutes time. In the final steps of the overpainting and details, I used artists’ grade oils from tubes, Rowney and Winsor-Newton mostly. When all my painting work was finished, the panels were then affixed to the ceiling by Krsna-ksetra prabhu, employing an ingenious method of using scaffolding, beams, lifts, and precise measuring of spacing in between the panels, to achieve, with a minimum of touch-up by the artists, the appearance of a nearly-seamless mural spanning the entire length and width of the temple ceiling.

All-in-all, this lengthy project provided wonderful substance for meditation for an artist. On one-half of the mural: Krsna & Gopis, Krsna & His cowherd friends, baby Krsna & His parents, and Krsna accepting service from His devotees. And on the other half: The Six Goswamis, The Panca-Tattva, the modern Parampara, and modern-day devotees on Harinam sankirtan. So although ambitious and not always easy, this project was one of the best and most enjoyable services I’ve performed.

During the process, the temple president-GBC-overseer Madhusevita prabhu set deadlines for completion a couple times, but I was unable to meet them, so he kept giving me extensions. But the last one, to have it ready for Janmasthami 2014, was very tight and could not be again compromised. So when I saw that my pace was still too slow to meet this final deadline, we decided to audition some artists to assist me in the final stages. In this way, we finished in time, and the panels were mounted on the ceiling when guests arrived for Janmasthami Day. The aftermath of the project was me and my main assistant, Bhakta Francesco, climbing the scaffolding and touching up all the screw holes, joins, and last-minute corrections and minor improvements. This was done in the 2 months after Janmasthami. Below are some excerpts from an article in "Movimento ISCKON”, the devotee newsletter of the Italian community, Published a few months prior to the unveiling, by Vasudeva datta and Lalita devi dasi:
​
FINESTRE SUL MONDO SPIRITUALE (WINDOWS ON THE SPIRITUAL WORLD)
​
This is how Srila Prabhupada defined the conscious art of Krishna: a chance to look beyond the material. The name, the form, the pastimes and qualities of Krishna are situated on the absolute level. The artistic expression that translates painting a picture of Krishna and His devotees encompasses all these revelations and only a matter of realization divides us from receiving these gifts. Rudradeva Prabhu is undertaking a large painting service, with the collaboration of Bhakta Francesco, producing 56 panels that will occupy the area of ​​about 200m2 of the temple of Sri Sri Radha Ramana ceiling. The ceiling will be divided lengthwise into two halves: in one of these halves, there will be a further division of four parts to represent the four main rasas: Madhurya, Vatsalya, Sakhya, and Dasya. The other ceiling half will be comprised also of four equal divisions: The Panca tattva, the six Goswamis, the Parampara, and an ecstatic modern-day Harinam procession, staged in front of Srila Prabhupada’s present-day Samadhi Building, at ISKCON Vrndavana’s temple complex. Rudradeva prabhu humbly hopes that the final work will help devotees and people in general, to become inspired to continue or increase their spiritual quest, and upon entering the temple room and viewing these depictions on the ceiling, feel compelled to learn more about Srila Prabhupada, and Krsna and His associates.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/gvVPZN

Harinama at Coolangatta (the southernmost suburb of City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia) - 12 November 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The powerful hari-nama is so strong that even if one unconsciously or consciously they imitate; “Hare Krishna.” They have no intention to chant the holy name of Krishna, but they imitate or criticize, “Hare Krishna.” That also has effect. Calcutta, January 10, 1971.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/HN85ro

A Lecture by HG Shubha Vilas Prabhu at the Hare Krishna Temple in Melbourne: Stop Worrying and Start Living! (video)
Watch it h...

Harinam during the Car Free Day @Bajrasandi Park, Bali 19.11.2017 (Album with photos)
Chant Hare Krishna Maha Mantra and…… Be Happy!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/LRZEKC