Wednesday, November 15th, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario

Fresh New Body

Kaustuba from Ohio sent me a comic image of two monks.  One is the student, the other the master.

Student says humbly, “O Master, is it proper for a monk to use e-mail?”

Master answers, “Sure…as long as there are no attachments!”

I shared this laugh with the others in our room where we hold the morning class.  Today’s was a recording of our guru, Prabhupada, speaking from the Bhagavad-gita, 2.14, giving emphasis to the fundamentals of wisdom.

“The ultimate check is death,” he said in regard to the verse.  What is to be considered is the lengthy journey all souls traverse through, from one body to the next, until making good of life.  The verse is one of the strongest endorsements of the soul’s transmigration.

I recall in the summer of ’73, some months after I joined the ranks of monks in Toronto, how a few of my hometown friends sought me out in our humble abode at 187 Gerrard Road, in a rented house.  Bill Wicken was one.  He was one grade my junior in high school.  He was super curious to find out about life’s mysteries.  There was also Ted Van Grinsvan, a family friend, also eager to know what direction to take with this existence.

In both cases, I was making the point from this verse—the word of Krishna—that the embodied soul continually passes from childhood, to youth, to old age.  At death, the process continues.  The atma, soul, moves on into a fresh new body.

I don’t know if I convinced Bill and Ted of these concepts.  I wonder where they are now?

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Tuesday, November 14, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario

What A Life!

I’m feeling a bit grounded just being in one place for two consecutive days.  It’s a good feeling.  With that is a sense of privilege as a resident of an ashram (monastery).  What an honour it is to live the life I am living, sometimes on the road and sometimes not in the field but in a safe home!

How fortunate I am to be that early riser and to live out that opposite kind of existence.  Like the verse from the Gita which expresses such uniqueness.  It is from Chapter 2, Verse 69:            
ya nisa sarva-bhutanam
tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani
sa nisa pasyato muneh

            “What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.”

I was reflecting on this in the course of my evening walk just before I should have been in bed.  I was thinking, You lucky dog! You have a lifestyle that allows you peace and mental comfort!

The major pain I feel, frankly, is the conflict I see in others.  As I walk along Yonge Street, which at 9:30 p.m. is mostly a time for the young and a place for the young.  I hear quite prominently the two words “like” and “f—-” coming from the mouths of the pedestrians around me.  My ears have a hard time with those too-often expressions.  Again I think how blessed I am to have the uttering of God’s names in the environment I’m usually in.  In the ashram, no problem.  On the street, no problem also because I’m chanting in the course of my walking.

What a life!

May the Source be with you!
6 km 


Monday, November 13, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario
Getting the Best Food Out
Hardcore for Humanity: Life Giving Meals Funded by Hardcore, an article by Brittany Rudyck from Friday, November 10, 2017, for Beatroute http://beatroute.ca/2017/11/10/hardcore-for-humanity/ 
“EDMONTON – The connection between hardcore music and the Hare Krishna tradition can be traced back to ‘80s to bands like Youth of Today, Shelter, and of course, Cro-Mags. The tradition, once hailed by bands like the Beatles, caught the eye of those in heavy scenes around the New York area seeking a lifestyle free of intoxicants, animal products or liberal sexual lifestyles. Known by many as “Krishnacore,” the fad appeared to peter out by the early ‘90s, at least in mainstream recognition.  
Fast forward to 2017 in Edmonton, where Mattie Cuvilier, who has been a motivating force in the Edmonton hardcore scene for years, has been hosting Hardcore for Humanity since 2010 with hopes of raising money and helping the less fortunate.  
“We’ve worked with a number of different charities; it changes year to year,” explains Cuvilier. “The last two years we’ve been working with Food for Life. With this organization, it all goes to the food and can have a bigger impact. You can see it all at work. It’s an open book.” 
Guitarist/vocalist for Cruciferous, Johnny Jagajivan has a long and fascinating relationship with punk rock and the Hare Krishna movement, one that perhaps could be its own article.
Jagajivan has been with Food for Life since its Edmonton inception in 2014. The international non-profit food relief organization now serves meals once a month at Boyle Street Community Centre. 
“Food for Life itself is interesting with its history and ties to ‘80s hardcore,” explains Jagajivan. “I’ve been to all of the Hardcore for Humanity shows and played – I think – the second one.
We’re feeding 150 people with three hundred dollars and it’s a serious meal: rice, a dish called choley (also known as chana masala) which is chick peas and tomato sauce with Indian seasoning, a samosa, a salad and an Indian dessert with sugar, cinnamon and raisins.” 
Hardcore for Humanity serves this meal before the live music aspect of the event to be transparent and also to share the sense of community it hopes to foster. Adding the hardcore bands to the event is also part of Cuvilier’s dream of bringing the Edmonton local hardcore scene back to life. 
“This upcoming event has one of the most hardcore line-ups we’ve done in awhile,” he says.
“I wanted it to be about the charity but also about hardcore. Devoting energy to the scene in Edmonton and giving it space.”  
Enjoy a vegan meal with your family November 17 at the Sewing Machine Factory (Edmonton) at 7 p.m. The all-ages meal is a suggested $10 donation; all proceeds go to Food for Life. The show is 18+ and features performances byFeeding, Suffer Me, Cruciferous, and Underbite.”

Additional Note from the Walking Monk: Food For Life has been in operation by Krishna devotees and helpers since the ‘70s and was initiated by the Hare Krishna leader A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

May the Source be with you!
5 km


Sunday, November 12, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Bragg Creek, Alberta

Wanting to See

Jagajivan and I were hoping to spot some elk, or maybe a moose.  The sign on Highway 762 reads, “Moose next 10 kilometres.”  Okay, let’s hope.  It’s early.  The sun’s not up yet.  It’s quiet.  We’re making no noise except for the gentle footsteps made on the road, and the snow laying on the pavement muffles any sound.

For me, sighting wildlife of the magnitude of moose, elk or caribou is auspicious.  It excites me.  It would not be like having a vision of a coming avatar, but it’s getting there.  Seeing an avatar, God Incarnate, would be Divine Darshan, a spiritual vision, a genuine God experience.

I guess I will settle for a viewing of His reps, the devotees.  In yesterday’s session of meetings, I had the pleasure to see all twenty-five of them, men and women with a mission, a focus on improving performance in life skills.

Prabhupada, our guru, compiled a statement on the seven purposes of his mission, ISKCON.  The first purpose addresses checking the imbalanced lives in which we live.  To clarify the point, most of us give little of no attention to our spiritual cultivation, rather we are focussed on the physical end of things.  To gain an equalizing balance, it is necessary to invest in the soul.  Two souls.  The one which is in the heart and a second one at the ends of the legs—spelled sole.  Heart and feet.

Well, we did not see wild ‘game’, as hunters would say, but we did see angels.  In fact, we spent hours with them—Krishna’s devotees.

May the Source be with you!

5 km


Saturday, November 11, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Bragg Creek, Alberta

Remembrance Day

I recall my dad telling wartime stories of the Nazi invasion into the Netherlands (his place of birth), of loss of life, of mistrust, of curfews and scraping by on meagre means.  He was 20 and wasn’t aware of his future, whether he would live out the war or whether parents and siblings would survive.  It was a great time of uncertainty and fear, and you weren’t sure where your next meal was coming from.

Fortunately for the Dutch, it was a homeland of innovation and greenhouses, but still many folks in the cities did not have those commodities that the rural areas had. Rationing of food, living frugally and resorting to the tulip bulbs as food is a hard reality for post-war kids to wrap their minds around, what to speak of millennials and those in-between.

My description almost makes light of the gruesomeness of war but it is an inevitable reoccurrence within humanity.  On this day, Canadians honour Remembrance Day, a meditation for the soldiers who gave up theirs lives, and those who sacrificed in other wars in recent times, and to my mind, ancient times right up to the ancient epochs, including our Indigenous First Nations. The minute or more of silence designated for the lost lives and the wounded cannot suffice for the sacrifice done.  We are speaking of a countless number of entities—countless.

The red poppy has been the symbol of our fallen warriors for years now.  More recently the white poppy has come into use, and stands for the medics, chaplains, peripheral workers etc. who gave their all.  And with the hopeful coming-into-mainstream, the purple poppy, that acknowledges the innocent animals who perished in the cross-fire and on the front lines as part of the armed forces.  These images represent the truth of ultimate giving.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Friday, November 10th, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Bragg Creek, Alberta

A Soul is a Soul

Vincent and I took to the trail beyond Folk Tree Lodge.  Balance is the name of the bushy white dog who accompanied us.  Oh, he blended into the snow alright.  We could tell of his whereabouts by his bark.  The spruce around us also concealed.  The guy is friendly.

I'm just guessing it’s a he and made no effort to research the gender.  A dog is a dog.  A soul is a soul.  We are all souls for that matter.

The retreat at Folk Tree is a gathering of leaders from ISKCON Canada.  Same-gender relations was one topic we discussed.  The actual discussion surrounding same-sex persons began with a question.  “How do you, as a bhakti-yogi, a leader, respond to the query of acceptance of same-sex people versus rejection?”

The discussion led to this:  Regardless of one’s sexual orientation, everyone should have the opportunity to serve and love Krishna within an encouraging environment.  To advance the subject more, it was pointed out that those sexually active, whether hetero or homo, enwrap themselves in service to God and to the world.  The activity of seva, service, purifies, and hence, physical intimacy reduces.

With age and maturing we all tend to downscale on physical, or sexual, activity, unless of course you’re a monk and you abstain altogether.  That’s been my path all along and I'm totally at home with it.

At our retreat, more topics were held but that was one which is pertinent, in our modern times especially.  Let’s remember—a soul is a soul.

May the Source be with you!

7 km

Sunday Love Feast – Nov19th, 2017 – Vedic Discourse by His Grace Kratu Prabhu (Disciple of Srila Prabhupada)
→ ISKCON Brampton

About HG Kratu Prabhu
Kratu Prabhu was born in aristocratic Gujarati Gaudiya Vasihnava family on July 5, 1944.
His first exposure to ISKCON happened in 1970, at St. Louis. He later joined full-time in 1974, in Toronto. He met his Guru, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada in 1976, from whom he received a direct order for preaching Krishna consciousness. He and his wife were initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1977 in Toronto, Canada.

While in West, he worked as professional engineer for five years in Toronto. In Chicago he worked for Chicago temple as director of congregational preaching. He then became temple President of Vancouver temple in 1987. In 1993, he moved to Baroda, Gujarat and conducted college and school preaching. He also started a book distribution program by Bullock Cart for every town and village. In 1997, he became temple President of ISKCON, Delhi and continued house and pandal preaching programs.

In 2002, he became an initiating spiritual master in ISKCON and is ever since vigorously travelling and preaching all over the world and regularly visiting USA, Canada, UK, Europe and continuously preaching in India, conducting pandal programs, educational programs and devotional tours.






 11.00 - 11.15      Tulsi Puja
11.15  - 11.30     Guru Puja                                    
11:30 - 11:55     Aarti & Kirtan                                  
11.55  - 12.00    Sri Nrsingadeva Prayers         
12.00 - 1:00     Vedic discourse
  1.00 - 1.30      Closing Kirtan
  1.30 - 2.00     Sanctified Free Vegetarian Feast


COMING UP AHEAD

Moksada Ekadasi
Fasting.....................on Wed Nov 29,2017
Breakfast................  on  Thu Nov 30 ,2017 b/w 7.21am-10.21am

Every fortnight, we observe Ekadasi, a day of prayer and meditation. On this day we fast (or simplify our meals and abstain from grains and beans), and spend extra time reading the scriptures and chanting the auspicious Hare Krishna mantra.By constantly ‘exercising’ our minds through regular japa we can train our senses to push the threshold of contentment.
English audio glorification of all Ekadasis is available here 

ONGOING PROGRAMS

Japathon-Congregational Mantra Meditation

Next date is to be announced shortly!

The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His Energy to give protection to the conditioned soul.japa, when performed with focus and attention, can subdue the agitating effects of one’s mind and senses. The senses, of which the mind is also one, are constantly being stimulated by the external world  - by gross and subtle matter.
If you have not chanted before, and would like to participate in this program, we will be very happy to show how you can do this.
All welcome. We’ll loan you a set of Beads!


Sunday School
To register,contact us
Email:sundayschool108@gmail.com
Call:647.893.9363

The Sunday School provides fun filled strategies through the medium of music, drama, debates, quizzes and games that present Vedic Culture to children. However the syllabus is also designed to simultaneously teach them to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. School
The Sunday School follows the curriculum provided by the Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture (BCEC).

Monthly sankirtan Festival(MSF)
“One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.”(Previous Acaryas)
Every member of ISKCON should have the opportunity to make advancement in Krishna consciousness by preaching.We encourage everyone to come out and participate and make Srila Prabhupada happy.

Please contact:
Dharma Dasa- dharandev58@gmail.com-647.892.0739(Mississauga and Brampton regions)

The Mentorship Program

Please note that registration in the Mentorship System is now a mandatory requirement for all initiation requests at ISKCON Brampton.It

1.Facilitates  and nurtures devotees aspiring for first and second Initiation.    
2.One-on-One personal follow up on a regular basis.
3.Systematic training to devotees in matters of Philosophy, Sadhna, Vaishnava behavior, etiquette, Lifestyle and attitudes.

To find details please click here

Gift Shop

Are you looking for some amazing gift items which are less expensive and more beautiful for your loved ones for festivals or many other occasions??
Our boutique is stocked with an excellent range of products, perfect for gifts or as souvenirs of your visit. It offers textiles, jewellery, incense, devotional articles, musical instruments, books, and CDs inspired by Indian culture.We're open on all Sundays and celebrations marked in our annual calendar.

Syama Kunda’s Brijabasi Spirit Interview – November 2017
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

 

Where is your hometown? 

Syama Kunda was raised in Cambridge, Maryland.

When & where did you get married? 

While living in Maryland in 1969, Syama Kunda met his wife Girindra Mohini, the youngest girl of 10 siblings. When he was 16 and she was only 15, they were married by her minister father.

When did you first meet devotees?

Syama Kunda initially saw the devotees chanting on the streets of Greenwich Village, New York City while on his way to Canada. He thought they had taken too many drugs. Later, while in a mall in Denver, CO, Syama Kunda and his wife met Kamalavati Dasi (also a long time NV resident), who gave them their first book: “Krsna, The Reservoir of All Pleasure.”

What initially attracted you to Krishna Consciousness? 

Syama Kunda was a Beatle kid and had been listening to George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” regularly. In 1971 while working in Denver, he met some vegetarians. One day while visiting their home, he saw a Krsna Book on their counter. The attractive red picture of Radha and Krsna standing together, grabbed his attention and he asked:  “Where did you get this?” They said a few Hare Krsna devotees had come by yesterday. Syama Kunda was searching for real love, the love of sisters, brothers and friends. The Beatles songs inspired Syama Kunda & he felt if the Beatles were into Hare Krsna, it was worth checking out.

When & where did you first join ISKCON? 

After receiving the booklet on Krsna in the mall, Syama Kunda and his wife decided to go to the Sunday Feast at the Denver temple. Here Syama Kunda approached the Denver temple president about moving in and becoming a full time devotee

When/where did you first hear about New Vrindaban? 

Syama Kunda first read about New Vrindaban in a Back to Godhead magazine. The temple president of ISKCON Denver, who happened to be Tulsi das (who lives in NV), suggested that since Syama Kunda was a married man with a son, they go to New Vrindaban where there was space for families and that his talents as a carpenter would also be much appreciated there.

When did you move to New Vrindaban? 

Syama Kunda and family moved to New Vrindaban in 1971.

When & where did you get initiated? 

Syama Kunda was initiated on Janmastami day, 1972 at the Bahulaban temple in New Vrindaban during the Bhagavat Dharma Discourses given by Srila Prabhupada. Both he, his wife, along with Mother Kunti devi (Karnmarta’s mother) were all initiated the same day.

What is your favorite part of New Vrindaban? 

In the early days at New Vrindaban, Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra were Syama Kunda’s favorite part. Currently, his favorite part is Radha Kunda at Govardhan Hill near the Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple. This Holy Dham is non-different from Krsna. And when everyone is engaged in devotional service, New Vrindaban is non-different from the spiritual world.

What were your main services in each decade, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, current? 

Since Carpentry was his forte, in the 70’s Syama Kunda was instrumental in the construction of the facilities at Bahulaban which were needed to expedite the building of Srila Prabhupada’s palace: This included the first barn (the home of the first cows and many of the first devotees), the utility building (which comprised housing, the mold shop, the marble shop, the wood shop), along with the guest house. After leaving New Vrindaban in the 80’s, Syama Kunda went on to renovate the Tucson, Arizona temple and later on he spent considerable time in the Los Angeles temple working on a number of renovations, including Srila Prabhupada’s bookcase in the temple room.

What was your favorite service? 

Although he only spent his early years in New Vrindaban as a pujari, it was by far his favorite seva. He fondly remembers waking The Deities every morning before work and then putting Them to rest in the evenings. Sunday was the most special day. He would roam around New Vrindaban to gather flowers, branches and even moss to decorate the altar so that it would appear just like the forests of Vrindavan. Each Sunday he would strive to make the decorations more and more opulent.

Anything specific you’d like mentioned about your family?

Syama Kunda was happy that 8 of his children were born in New Vrindaban Dham. His daughter Vishakha was the first girl born here. He was also very grateful that his son, Kiba Jaya, had the opportunity to personally stand near Srila Prabhupada and receive a cookie from his hand. Kiba jaya also got to travel to India. Syama Kunda feels very grateful that his family had the opportunity to participate in Krishna Conscious village life in the early days.

Anything in particular you’d like us to highlight not covered above?

Although Syama Kunda began his devotional life in New Vrindaban, after leaving he spent a lot of time in the Los Angeles temple which became his 2nd home. The more he gazed upon Rukmini on the altar (Rukmini-Dwarkadish), the more She captured his heart. She made Syama Kunda cry for Krsna. So the highlight for him was working at the LA temple while begging for the mercy of Sri Sri Rukiimini-Dwarkadish.

Any advice to newer and future residents?

In the beginning of New Vrindaban, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books was put on the back burner in order to do the needful for the development of this Holy Dham. He felt there was a lot of misunderstanding of Prabhupada’s teachings that has since been rectified by the increase of focus on reading Prabhupada’s books. Please take 20 to 30 minutes every day to read HDG Srila Prabhupada’s books. This keeps us in a personal relationship with him.

 

Krishna is great because He is a perfect gentleman!
→ Servant of the Servant

We all know and come to learn that this world and life is temporary. We may live at the most for hundred or so years. From a cosmic time scale, hundred years is practically negligible. Our gains and losses, pains and pleasures - all of it is practically negligible. We may glorify our accomplishments and feel sorry for our losses but great saintly people view life as a great leveler. In that sense, we are always advised to tolerate, as there will be good days as much as bad. Despite the utter insignificance of our human existence, still believe it or not, Krishna who is the all-knowing Being facilitates and sanctions our desires in this world.

A desire to see the sunset or speak to a girl or buy a toy or get a particular type of job or mow the lawn or express anger and hate or travel the world or buy a house or an ant collecting food or a bird building a nest or a plant blooming a flower or an amoeba trying to reproduce or Indra enjoying with celestial woman or myriad other desires which from the cosmic sense is utter meaninglessness. An atheist who denies the existence of God is also given all facilities to deny God. Krishna is so kind He also satisfies those who are utterly against Him. Krishna gives the atheists’ His own resources and the intelligence to voice their opinions against Him. Even though we exist amongst billions of species and our life span is practically negligible, still Krishna takes care of every single minute detail of our life of every single living being!

This shows His magnanimity and this shows to me His true greatness. He is a perfect gentleman who is truly liberal and who loves and cares for all the desires (even though insignificant) of all living beings of all times who are for or against Him!

Thank you Krishna!

Hare Krishna

100,000 Youtube subscribers for an Iskcon devotee (Album with…
→ Dandavats



100,000 Youtube subscribers for an Iskcon devotee (Album with photos)
Gaur Gopal das received an award from YouTube for getting 100,000 subscribers. Thank you for everyone who has subscribed and watched his videos so far! Without you none of this would be possible. It’s so encouraging to see the continued support that he has as he tries to create an online community centred around love, gratitude and happiness.
Special thanks for Bhavik Patel, Paresh Kocharekar, Mabick Thappa, Sankarshan Charan das and Vinay Raniga for their support and strategy to grow Gaur Gopal das’ online presence. Mabick has especially excelled in creating high quality films!
YouTube is a platform that has been inspiring people with a purpose to share their message for over ten years now. We want to thank them for this award as it excites and encourages us to what’s possible in the future. If you haven’t subscribed to Gaur Gopal das’ YouTube channel, please do so now. Thank you for joining the ever expanding community. Let’s make a difference!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/m4DJ22

Prabhupadadesh ceiling and wall murals (Album with photos)…
→ Dandavats



Prabhupadadesh ceiling and wall murals (Album with photos)
Rudradeva das: “I enjoyed painting this ceiling mural very much, as it was a constant meditation on my spiritual master, and afforded me ample opportunity to concentrate on illustrating and producing his many transcendental qualities, through the medium of my oil paints. Along with the temple president, Guru-caran das, we decided to feature Srila Prabhupada in 8 separate activities, divided by an ornamental cornice (frame). The outside of the frame is in the form of an oval, with the temple room’s chandelier in the middle. In each of these 8 portraits, Prabhupada is seen predominantly displaying one of the qualities mentioned and sung every morning by devotees, in the Sri-Gurvastakam verses, the mangala arotik prayer. The frames are not placed in order, 1 thru 8, due to the shape of the panels comprising the oval, and of course, the different orientations of the photos they were taken from. So the order is random, but I think we chose well suitable representations, matching what we thought was Prabhupada’s dominant quality in these various activities, to match the corresponding Gurvastakam verse.

I used oil paint applied over stained-gesso-treated 3/8 inch-thick 5-ply cross-laminated wooden panels, the top layer being knot-free, of course. Instead of the usual method of applying the underpainting in acrylic colors, in this case I decided to create the underpainting in fast-drying oils, same as the over-layer(top layer). As you can see, 4 of the panels are tall (about 7 ft), and 4 panels are more squat, comparatively. I worked on all 8 panels simultaneously, first bringing all 8 to the completed underpainting stage, then working on 2 or 3 at a time, applying the final layers and details of the over-painting. The panels were not worked on "in-place” on the ceiling “Michaelangelo-style”, but rather, I painted them in a small room off the temple room proper. The ceiling of this makeshift studio was barely high enough to accommodate the larger pieces, which were also quite heavy to move around.

Upon completion of my work on all 8 panels, they were moved from my studio into the temple room and affixed to their place on the ceiling by a construction crew of about 4 men. After they were glued and riveted in place, I climbed the scaffolding to carefully caulk over the small screw holes made during the mounting process, and subsequently, touched-up and painted over the screw holes, to hide them.“

Upon completion of my work on all 8 panels, they were moved from my studio into the temple room and affixed to their place on the ceiling by a construction crew of about 4 men. After they were glued and riveted in place, I climbed the scaffolding to carefully caulk over the small screw holes made during the mounting process, and subsequently, touched-up and painted over the screw holes, to hide them.”

Sometime later, two wall murals were commissioned for the temple room, within 2 large circular spaces on one side of the temple room, flanking the main interior entrance to the temple. One was a copy of Murlidhara’s popular Krsna-lila pastime, and the other was copied from Ramanath das’ Gaura-lila, featuring ecstatic harinam sankirtan thru the streets of Orissa, with Lord Jagannath’s Ratha-Yatra cart in the background. The finished murals were well-received among ISKCON devotees and visitors. Madhusevita Prabhu, upon seeing it, was inspired to ask Rudradeva to come to Milan to do a similar project there (see Villaggio Hare Krsna ceiling mural). Radhanath Swami said, “This is the most beautiful temple room”.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/PL1rtb

Conference on Science, Religion and World Peace: A tribute to…
→ Dandavats



Conference on Science, Religion and World Peace: A tribute to Srila Prabhupada (Album with photos)
All credits for the event goes to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada for his unlimited blessings and to His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami (Dr. T.D. Singh), the visionary of the conference. We would like to thank Sri Prakash Angaria and Abhinandan Angaria for their constant support and for showing such high enthusiasm which was a key factor for the success of the event. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to all our volunteer friends who did wonderful service to make the event complete. We also thank all our sponsors and well-wishers for their help and support. We shall remain always indebted to all disciples of Srila Prabhupada for their blessings and guidance. We also would like to thank all the devotees and friends (who are unnamed) for their invaluable support.

Meet the Hare Krishna monk running one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Cardiff
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Carly Squires

Atma has won several food awards, including The Observer’s 'Best ethical restaurant in Britain' title, and it also provides space for healthy living activities such as yoga and meditation. "We are called the kitchen religion, because we place a lot of emphasis on food. Everything we see, tough and smells affects our consciousness and how we think and feel. Everybody's got to eat. You know you have come to the right religion when you have got a big plate of food in front of you." The cafe, which closed the doors at its previous Church Street location in April, advocates the principal of ahimsa - a belief, central to the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, that all living beings have a spark of divine energy and that to hurt others is ultimately the same as hurting oneself. Continue reading "Meet the Hare Krishna monk running one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Cardiff
→ Dandavats"

ISKCON Scarborough – HG Kratu Prabhu will be giving a special class tomorrow
→ ISKCON Scarborough



Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!


His Grace Kratu Prabhu - a disciple of His Divine Grace A . C . Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada will be gracing us with his presence tomorrow- 17th Nov 2017.

Program starts at 6.45 pm sharp!

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.30.34

Even a moment's association with a pure devotee cannot be compared to being transferred to heavenly planets or even merging into the Brahman effulgence in complete liberation. For living entities who are destined to give up the body and die, association with pure devotees is the highest benediction.


Bio data of HG Kratu prabhu:

Kratu Prabhu was born in aristocratic Gujarati Gaudiya Vasihnava family on July 5, 1944. His father was an ardent vaishnava and his mother persistently chanted 16 rounds of Hare Krishna maha-mantra. His wife Her Grace Amrita Devi Dasi is also initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada.


During high schooling years, he became president of the students union and went on to receive a bachelor degree in engineering from the M.S. University, Baroda. He also achieved a Masters degree in Engineering from St. Louis University, Missouri USA.


His first exposure to ISKCON happened in 1970, at St. Louis. He later joined full-time in 1974, in Toronto. He met his Guru, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada in 1976, from whom he received a direct order for preaching Krishna consciousness. He and his wife were initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1977 in Toronto, Canada.


While in West, he worked as professional engineer for five years in Toronto In Chicago he worked for Chicago temple as director of congregational preaching. He then become temple President of Vancouver temple in 1987. In 1993, he moved to Baroda, Gujarat and conducted college and school preaching. He also started a book distribution program by Bullock Cart for every town and village. In 1997, he became temple President of ISKCON, Delhi and continued house and pandal preaching programs.


In 2002, he became an initiating Spiritual Master in ISKCON and is ever since vigorously travelling and preaching all over the world.

A warm invitation goes out to you and your family to join us tomorrow.

With best wishes from,


ISKCON Scarborough

3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7


Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

website:
www.iskconscarborough.org

AN INTERESTING DREAM LAST NIGHT & MY PRAYER FOR DIVINE HELP and INITIATIVE
→ Karnamrita's blog

Author: 
Karnamrita Das

I HAD AN INTERESTING DREAM LAST NIGHT. I was able to fly and was looking at all the sights of the planet. It was fun, but I wasn't very satisfied with the experience. Then as I was attempting to help someone in a seedy part of town, I was captured and injured. As my new master was putting me in a cage, he freed the former resident of the cage to make room for me, who happened to be my wife. I awoke as she was telling me the rules for living in the cage.

I relate this dream to my wife's difficult health throughout our marriage, and how now it is my turn. At the same time, one of the important ideas now, is to keep a good sense of humor and laugh a lot. That is very healing. I feel such gladness and gratitude

read more

From bondage to bonding – Redefining our relationships
→ The Spiritual Scientist

[Talk at Goldcoast, Australia]

Podcast

Podcast Summary

Video:

The post From bondage to bonding – Redefining our relationships appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Hearing Krishna katha leads to trance
→ Servant of the Servant

When we first hear, we gradually start to accept the message. As we hear more, we not only accept but start liking the message. In other words, we become attached to the message. If we continue our hearing, our attachment will lead to chanting/recitation and eventually to remembering.

This remembrance,however, is periodical at this point. So we continue our hearing. As we hear more, our remembrance leads to recollection of the memory. As we recollect more, we become more absorbed in memory of our recollection. This absorption further intensifies our remembering. As our absorption increases, that remembrance which was periodical starts to become frequent and constant. As constant remembrance (meditation) increases, one enters into spiritual samadhi or trance (constant meditation). (paraphrased from Nectar of Instruction, Text 8 purport)

Basically it goes like this in that order
  1. Hearing
  2. Acceptance
  3. Attachment
  4. Chanting or Recitation
  5. Remembrance
  6. Recollection
  7. Absorption
  8. Meditation (constant remembrance)
  9. Spiritual trance (constant meditation)
Hare Krishna

BBT Brazil’s Crowdfunding Success for Large Scale Bhagavad-gita Print
→ ISKCON News

“Without a doubt, the most exciting element of the campaign was to see the cooperation of the devotees, leaving their differences aside and uniting in a common purpose. It was possible to see how Prabhupada's books are powerful and go beyond anything we can imagine. They are not just books, but tools for individual and collective illumination," says” BBT Brazil director Nanda Kumar Das.

Harinama in Krasnoyarsk (a city and the administrative center of…
→ Dandavats



Harinama in Krasnoyarsk (a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia) (Album with photos)
Dear devotees, tomorrow, Wednesday 15 November will take place harinama “Rasasthali” on the central streets of Kharkov. Street chanting is the biggest source of bliss for all living beings without exception. You just have to overcome the cocoon of comfort, go out to the people and shake their hand, inviting them to the krishna family. It’s a very simple process, but the bliss that it doesn’t know borders. Tomorrow is the method! Bring your friends!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9aj2Lt

Famous scientist becomes devotee and becomes an…
→ Dandavats



Famous scientist becomes devotee and becomes an outcast.
Paleontologist Becomes an Outcast After Publicly Renouncing Faith in Darwinism!
Once upon a time, the distinguished paleontologist Günter Bechly was on German national TV celebrating Darwinism, but then something happened. He read books about intelligent design and found them compelling. On a web page, Bechly describes part of his transformation from Darwinist to an advocate of intelligent design (ID)
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/dcgPJB

Three Basic Views Of The World . Radhanath Swami: There are…
→ Dandavats



Three Basic Views Of The World .
Radhanath Swami: There are three basic views of the world we live in. One is the very materialistic view wherein people see this world as the only real reality. Another is that world is an entirely an illusion, and the third is the best of view, that the world is the sacred property of God. It is real but it is temporary in its manifestations.
Now the conception that the world is the only true reality leaves one with the consciousness that it really doesn’t matter what we do as long as we get what we want. If we hurt people, if we trample on moral values, ethical principles, if we get money, fame, power, sensual and emotional pleasures, its all justified because as that saying goes, “eat drink and be merry because tomorrow may never come”. When we believe that this world is the only reality then even our so called moral principles are built on a very weak foundation because when temptation and fear come, why not break our moral and ethical values if I can get something better. Then we become victimized by greed, envy, lust, anger, arrogance and illusion. We see it so prevalent in the world today. This conception that if it feels good now it doesn’t really matter what else. What matters is me. So much is based upon what makes me happy, what can I acquire what I can call “mine”. In other words, its a world that is so much conquered by this tendency of selfishness and egoism, and so much of that is born from the conception that the world is the only reality.

Another conception is that the whole world is nothing but an illusion. It doesn’t actually even exist. The truth is real but the whole world is an illusion. For those who are thinking like this it is a good impetus for liberation after death because if the world is an illusion it doesn’t matter if we live or die, what matters is that somehow or other we get out of it as soon as possible. Now the environmental and ecological conditions of the world today is extremely precarious. This philosophy that this world is an illusion, if we see all these environmental issues happening, who cares. It doesn’t exist. Let everyone pollute the rivers and air because this world is an illusion. Our impetus is to just get out of this crazy contaminated condemned world and what we really leave behind doesn’t really matter because this world is an illusion. Where is the call for action within the world we live. The call of action is only to get out.

But then we have the Vaisnava philosopy of Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Vallabhacarya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacharya, all these great souls taught. They taught om purnam adah purnam idam according to Sri Isopanisad. The Absolute Truth is the source of everything that exists. It is perfect and compete and everything eminating from the Absolute Truth is all perfect and complete. The material world and the spiritual world – everything is coming from Krishna. Sarvaloka mahesvaram, Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita, this whole world is God’s property. If we see it in this way we are free from that greed, envy, lust and anger because we understand I am not the proprietor, I am the caretaker. If we see someone else doing well we celebrate their good fortune because we understand we are all brothers and sisters, we are all spirit souls, children of God. We are not envious. Exploitation is the symptom of the disease of the selfish egoistic heart. Compassion is the symptom of a person who has actually found inner fulfillment within their hearts.

So this is so important for the world to understand today – that we must build our lives and relationships with other living beings, humans and other species of life, with Mother Earth and the environment on the principle that everything is sacred.

Maya means the energy of God and maya is categorized in two ways: mahamaya and yogamaya. It’s the same energy. This whole material world is God’s energy. All the manifestations within this energy are under the influence of time and therefore are temporary and under the three modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. The spiritual energy is sat-cit-ananda, eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. But what is the difference between these energies? It really is under the basis of our perception. If we see this world as God’s energy, as Krishna’s property then we are seeing it in its true spiritual nature. But if we don’t see it in relationship to God then we see it as” this is mine, this is yours”. This results in so much conflict. But true religion is meant to unite people not divide people. These religions are all manifestations of God’s grace on humanity to come to this earth to give us an understanding how we are all children of God. Wherever there is life there is a sacred child of God. Everything is the property of God and we are meant to be a family to utilize it properly.

This conception understands that everything in this world is meant to be used for the purpose of seva, or unselfish service. It is our sacred duty to God to honor and respect everything in this world as his sacred property and to use it in a spirit of service. If you own a business, own a house, have a family, have wealth, property, it’s all the property of God and used in harmony with God’s will which is to keep it all very very pure as far as possible. So in order to engineer a better world it has to begin by engineering a proper preceptive and realization of the world. Engineering our own inner consciousness to the degree we actually understand the beauty and the love and the greatness of Krishna, to that degree we will actually love Krishna and we will see everything in this world as a beautiful opportunity to serve Krishna and to elevate people’s lives and consciousness. – Radhanath Swami

Paras Jain, Cabinet Minister, Madhya Pradesh Government Energy…
→ Dandavats



Paras Jain, Cabinet Minister, Madhya Pradesh Government Energy Department. Madhya Pradesh, India, posted yesterday this nice photo and comment on his Twitter account.
The translation is: “You have established "ISKCON” (ISKCON) to disseminate Vedic knowledge through English and published and edited several Vaishnava religious texts. #ISKCON founder Abhay Charanaravind Bhaktivedanta. The anniversary of the Master Prabhupada ji. “
See it here: https://twitter.com/parasjainonline/status/930338670233632768