Planet ISKCON

[Seminar at Fort Lauderdale, USA]

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The post Spiritual Lessons from Car Driving 2 – What we are driving matters, but where we are driving matters more appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Seminar at Fort Lauderdale, USA]

Podcast

Podcast Summary

Video:

The post Spiritual Lessons from Car Driving 1 – The mind is the passenger, don’t let it become the driver appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

DISAPPEARANCE DAY OF SHRILA PRABHUPADA (adapted from my book, "Give to Live," which also appears many years ago in my blog here ) :
The disappearance or appearance (birth) day of great souls are equally honored. The pure devotees live for Krishna or God, and die for him. The famous prayer by Saint Francis, states that by dying we are born into eternal life. Although we lament that we will not have the physically manifest presence of our guru or a certain saint in this lifetime, we also feel happy that they are with Krishna. Prabhupada “left his body” (as we refer to death) in perfect Krishna consciousness and lived his life like that as well. We have no uncertainty about his auspicious destination, and we pray to for that same perfection by following his example!

"He reasons ill who says that Vaishnavas die,
When thou art living still in sound!
The Vaishnavas die to live, and living try
To spread the holy name around."
[Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakur]

Today is Shrila Prabhupada's disappearance day from this mortal world and his return to the nitya-lila (Krishna's eternal pastimes). It is the fortieth anniversary. Wow—that is over half my life! How things have changed for me, for so many devotees present then, and for the movement.

On that day, forty years ago, I was a young man of twenty-seven years old. I became a devotee when I was nearly twenty, so really I had seven years of his presence. During those years, most of us never considered that he could leave us at any time, though he did remind us of the possibility. Somehow we just expected him to always be present with us. If only I would have known!

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Photos from Govardhan Puja 2017 at ISKCON-London.
Please find below photos from Govardhan Puja 2017 at the ISKCON-London Radha-...

Special Bhoga Offering to Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day 2017 at ISKCON Juhu, Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari Temple, Mumbai (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/NyAqrg

Indradyumna Swami: Disappearance Day Offering - 2017 .
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you!
As always, this is a day of mixed emotions for me. On the one hand, there is the pain of separation. Although you departed from our material vision 40 years ago, it seems to me as if it was only yesterday. In material relationships, the grief one feels when a loved one leaves this world is often mitigated with the passing of time. But in transcendental relationships, the pain in one’s heart only increases with each day. The famous author George Eliot, wrote:
“Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love.”
But as well as being a day of sadness, this day is also one of celebration because we know that you are with your beloved Lord, far from the miseries of this world of birth and death.
Or, are you? Knowing your deep compassion and love for the fallen conditioned souls I sometimes wonder. In 1975 in Paris, my godbrother Adi Shekar dasa asked you in an innocent way, “Srila Prabhupada, where will you go after you die?”
You closed your eyes for a moment and then replied softly, “I plan to go to the hellish planets to continue preaching the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”
You spoke with such unparalleled conviction that for me you became the personification of the following verse:
narayaea-parau sarve
na kutaccana bibhyati
svargapavarga-narakenv
api tulyartha-darcinau
“Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.”
[ SB. 6.17.28 ]
Srila Prabhupada, if Krsna fulfilled your desire to preach to the fallen souls of the hellish worlds, then please know that I am ready to join you at any time. My greatest and only pleasure in life is assisting you in your preaching mission in this world.
Sometimes people ask me, “Swami, where do you live? Where is your home?”
I always reply, “My home is wherever I am preaching on any given day, for home is where the heart is, and my heart is one with my master’s desire to spread the holy names far and wide.”
Srila Prabhupada, I am in the twilight of my life and thus my desire to rejoin you may come at any time. I am peaceful with this prospect and will leave this world with no regrets. Nevertheless, there remains a concern within my heart, and that is for the welfare of the younger generations of devotees that will be left behind to carry on your mission.
I have seen many a sincere soul in the ranks of the men and women who have taken shelter of your lotus feet either by birth or good fortune. Please bless them with your mercy so that they can continue to carry the torch of knowledge that illuminated the path of pure devotional service for my generation. Please give them a taste for the chanting of the holy names, the taste that carried many of my godbrothers and godsisters safely over the ocean of material existence to that place from which one never returns. Please grant them a sense of compassion for all the conditioned souls suffering in the ocean of material existence. May you grant them the wisdom to avoid the errors of my generation and the courage to face the fierce opposition that will most certainly come with the advancement of this age of Kali. And please give them the sense of loyalty to your movement which was the hallmark of many of the great souls of my generation, both those who were prominent within the movement and those who quietly dedicated their lives to Krsna consciousness.
I offer my respects to all of them and to all vaisnavas who are by nature the true well-wishers of all humanity.
sakala vaisnava-pade mora namaskara
ithe kichu aparadha nahuka amara
hoiyachen hoiben prabhur jato bhakta vrnda
vandana kori’ sabara charanaravinda
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of all vaisnavas, praying I will not commit offences in my attempts to please them. To all vaisnavas who have ever been, and to all vaisnavas who will ever be, I offer my obeisances to their lotus feet”
[The poet Devakinandana dasa].
All glories to you Srila Prabhupada, my eternal well wisher!
Your servant in heaven or hell,
Indradyumna Swami

Over the past few months I’ve been looking at UK legislation in regards to health care provisions and one of the acts is the Equality Act 2010 an interesting piece of legislation I had to write about on how to implement.
As I sat writing their was one thing that kept on entering into my head and that was how without even knowing the legislation His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivadanta swami Prabhupada covered it perfectly and so I wanted to write how his example is the one all should follow.

It is interesting to note that the legislation requires everyone to be treated equally whilst taking into account the individual’s personal needs and abilities.
Srila Prabhupada understood one vital fact each and every person is spirit soul trapped in a certain type of material body and that this material body impacted on what we could or couldn’t do. So for some he pushed whilst others just associated and did what they could do, however each was encouraged to make a success of their Krishna consciousness and with the simple instruction that it is our duty this life time to go home back back to godhead. Each one was almost given an individual plan of activity from Harinam, book distribution, translation and printing to running the centre’s their was so many ways in which one could serve the mission and on the whole as I speak to the disciples who speak of how they were simply happy and enjoyed what they were doing and so it was easy to follow the rules Srila Prabhupada put in place.
Srila Prabhupada knew we would be forced by material nature to act in a particular way and to have certain types of desire weaknesses and strengths and in the movement he created each person had their place, felt needed and appreciated. From the academic who loved the deep study and able to teach to those who were great artists who created beautiful pictures, great sankirtan devotees to those who create great prasadam and not forgetting those who took up pujari seva. So much and so many opportunities you could simply learn to serve the mission and advance; this is the greatest equality one no piece of legislation can understand or replicate.
So we need to learn this great art of engaging each person in our mentorship system learning how best to engage them in a way that they make first class progress following the greatest example given to us by Srila Prabhupada. This wisdom was used when I came into devotee association when one simply wanted to assist the devotees and indeed one was simply happy and by association making great spiritual progress.
Simply return to basics
Each is spirit soul entrapped in a body and learning how best to use this human form of life to advance in Krishna Consciousness is the greatest gift; and we have in His Divine Grace the greatest example to follow.
Hare Krishna.

“So at the time of death… Of course, those who are devotees, their position is different. People may say, “The devotee is also dying, and the nondevotee, sinful man, is also dying. What is the difference?” So there is much difference. The example is given: just like a cat catching a rat in his mouth and at the same time carrying his cubs in the mouth. Superficially, we can see that the same mouth is being used, but one is feeling comfortable being carried by the mother, and another is feeling the death knell. Similarly, at the time of death, the devotee’s feeling that they are being transferred to Vaikuntha, whereas the ordinary sinful man is feeling that the Yamaraja, the dutas, the constables of Yamaraja are dragging him to the hellish condition of life.

By Tamohara dasa

You fortunate persons around the world, Just hear the words of Srila Prabhupada! His vibrations have the power to deliver you from all fears. Just take, just try! Sri Krsna Caitanya desired to moisten the dried-up souls. To achieve it, He not only comes Himself, but Nitai-Balarama empowered Srila Prabhupada, To bountiful conceive it. Continue reading "Disappearance of Srila Prabhupada
→ Dandavats"

By Madhava Smullen

At the second annual Rathayatra in Wheeling, West Virginia – New Vrindaban’s neighboring city – on July 8th, over two-and-a-half thousand locals delighted in Lord Jagannath’s parade. When interviewed they said they loved the energy, prasadam, trying out japa meditation, and the family-friendly activities. Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliot spoke at the event, saying he was honored New Vrindaban had chosen Wheeling for the Festival and praising the diversity it brought to the community; Congresswoman Erikka Storch thanked devotees for sharing their culture and tradition. Meanwhile two local TV stations previewed and covered the event along with four local newspapers, including a glowing front page article. Continue reading "ISKCON New Vrindaban Takes Steps to Rebuild Local Relationships
→ Dandavats"

By BB Govinda Swami

Prior to the kirtan procession leaving I realized that I could not go with Srila Prabhupada. I was the cook. I needed to prepare a feast for his samadhi ceremony. I called upon my dear friend Narottama prabhu and asked him to assist as he was, and probably still is, one of the most excellent cooks in ISKCON. He immediately agreed. I also went to our now-departed god-brother Rksaraja prabhu, who was as good a cook as he was kirtaneer. When I requested him to assist he very sorrowfully replied, "No, I'm going with Prabhupada." As I was roughly four times bigger than Rksaraja I immediately replied that if he did not stay to do this service for His Divine Grace I would break both of his legs and he would go nowhere. For some reason ... he agreed to stay. Continue reading "“Kachori-mukha”
→ Dandavats"

Lecture of H.H.Bhakti Charu Swami in ISKCON Vrindavan, Oct 19, 2017 (video)

“I’ve given you this big ISKCON movement. If you can, please expand it. At least maintain it. Don’t let this decrease. Please cooperate”, and then Prabhupada started to cry. Everyone in the room started crying. That was probably the most painful moment of my life, to see Prabhupada cry… (His Grace Udayananda Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada […]

The post Carrying Forth Our Inherited Legacy appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.32.

“But, competent as the Lord was, He saved the inhabitants and animals of Vrajabhumi by His personal energy and proved definitely that anyone directly engaged as a devotee of the Supreme Lord need not satisfy any other demigods, however great, even to the level of Brahma or Siva. Thus this incident definitely proved without a doubt that Lord Krsna is the Personality of Godhead and that He was so in all circumstances, as a child on the lap of His mother, as a boy 7 years old, and as an old man of 125 years of age. In either case He was never on the level of the ordinary man, and even in His advanced age He appeared a young boy 16 years old. These are the particular features of the transcendental body of the Lord.” SB 2.7.32 purport

Govardhana Puja, Moorpark

Highlights of Govardhan Puja Festival 2017 - ISKCON DWARKA (3 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: If the surface of the globe is overf...

Kartik 2017 in Vrindavana (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When our eyes are anointed with love of God, we can see Him eve...

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Brhad-Bhagavatamrta 1, Chapter 6.

Based on this:

Hamsaduta: Suppose someone is situated as Visnuduta. He may change his taste.
Prabhupada: Why he shall change it?
Hamsaduta: He may get a taste for associating with Krsna.
Prabhupada: The change is taking place in this material world. There all tastes are fixed up, rasa, eternal, eternal rasa. Every one of us has a different taste of associating with Krsna, and that will be realized when one is liberated.
Hamsaduta: So that’s fixed already.

Govardhana Puja 2017, New Govardhana San Diego (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues ar...

2nd Rama Vijayotsava/ Dussehra in Bloomington, IL.
The 2nd Rama Vijayotsava / Dussehra was celebrated with much fan and fare on...

Bogota Go Puja & Govardhana Puja (Album with photos)
Dharmatma Das ACBSP: What a Day! Sweet morning program, found and worshiped local cows, Pizza lunch and Govardhana Puja program along with Indrani Dasi’s first initiation. Warm and friendly Columbian style atmosphere, old and young dancing and chanting ecstatically and delicious Prasadam to top it off…
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qUrpAG

By Mayapur Communication Office

His Grace Udayananda Prabhu recalls Srila Prabhupada’s final days: “One day Prabhupada said, ‘I’ve given you this big ISKCON movement. If you can, please expand it.’ He said, ‘At least maintain it. Don’t let this decrease.’ Then he said, ‘Please cooperate,’ as he said so many times before. And then Prabhupada started to cry. Everyone in the room started crying. That was probably the most painful moment of my life, to see Prabhupada cry. So we have this movement. It’s Prabhupada’s movement. We have the good, we have the bad, and we have the ugly. But we just have to be determined to never leave the ISKCON movement. We just have to always try to push it forward. If there’s a problem, push it forward. Because when you leave ISKCON, you make Prabhupada cry. So let’s make Prabhupada happy and push on Krishna consciousness to every town and village”. Continue reading "Carrying Forth Our Inherited Legacy
→ Dandavats"

By Nrsimhananda das

I dread the thought of leaving this world with anything less than shouting the Holy Names - or, at least, having someone doing that to me. I cannot allow myself to think that 70 is old, or limiting, or time to wind down - not when Srila Prabhupada showed that it was a benchmark to pick up the pace like a runner sprinting to the finish. Retirement is a dirty word in my personal dictionary; it spells boredom, inertness, and doldrums. Continue reading "Musings on Reaching the Big 7-0
→ Dandavats"

By Vrajendranandan Das

By the blessings of Srila Prabhupada and after constant follow ups from our end, HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, Governing Body Commissioner, ISKCON and the undersigned had the privilege of a very special audience with Shri. Ramnath Kovind, the Honorable President of India, today -20th October, 2017. The President received Maharaja and me very respectfully and warmly. He was completely familiar with ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada. He praised ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada for preaching the message of Bhagavad Gita across the world. He mentioned that we are doing a "bada karya" or great work. Continue reading "Memorable meeting with the President of India
→ Dandavats"

A view of the Govardhan parikrama from above (10 min video)
Beautiful, high-resolution recording of the sacred Govardhan Hill.<...

Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

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

Answer Podcast

The post As a to-be householder, should I work fulltime in a temple or take a job outside appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Reflection at Gainesville, USA]

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[Diwali talk at Krishna House, Gainesville, USA]

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Was Shatrughna’s act righteous?
Question: Apparently one version of Ramayana indicates Mantara being severely admonished or even beaten by Shatrughna when he found out from a Minister that she was behind the intrigue of Ram’s banishment. Bharata stopped this. Can you verify?
Answer by Romapada Swami: Yes, this is covered in Sarga 78 of Ayodhya Kanda in Valmiki Ramayana. The relevant section is given below:
As Bharata was thinking about taking a trip to see Rama, Shatrughna, said the following: “How strange that Rama, who is the shelter of all beings in distress and even of Myself, has been banished to the forest by a woman! What a pity that even Lakshmana, who is strong and valiant, did not save Rama by restraining Our father. In fact, considering what is just and unjust, the king, who had gone astray by coming under the control of a woman, should have been constrained even before this happened.”

While Shatrughna was speaking in this way, the hunchback Manthara appeared, wearing all kinds of jewelery, at the eastern entrance. Her limbs were smeared with sandalwood paste and she was wearing royal clothes; she was decorated with many different kinds of jewelery. Because of the girdle, belt and other fine ornaments, she looked like a female monkey bound with many ropes. When the door guard saw the hunchback who was responsible for this great sin, he grabbed her heartlessly and said to Shatrughna: “Here is the sinful wretch
responsible for the banishment of Rama and the death of Your father! Deal with her as You wish!”

Thinking about what the guard said, the morose Shatrughna said to those present in the palace chambers: “Let this hardhearted creature reap the fruit of her activity which caused extreme distress to My brothers and father.” All at once He forcefully seized the hunchback who was surrounded by her friends and made the chamber resound with her shrieks. Incensed with rage, Shatrughna, then dragged the wailing hunchback across the floor. While Manthara was being dragged about in this way, her beautiful ornaments were smashed to pieces on the floor. Strewn with those ornaments, the splendid royal palace shone even more, like the bright autumn night filled with stars. Strongly holding on to Manthara, he rebuked Kaikeyi, who had come to help Manthara, with harsh words. Greatly pained by His harsh and unpleasant words, Kaikeyi, out of fear of Shatrughna, ran to her son Bharata for protection.

Seeing Shatrughna so angry, Bharata said to Him: “Women should not be killed by anyone. Forgive her. I would have killed this sinful and evil-acting Kaikeyi Myself, if it were not for the fact that the righteous Rama would be angry with Me for killing My mother. If Rama knows that this hunchback has been killed, He will surely neither speak with You, nor with Me.”

After hearing Bharata’s advice, Shatrughna desisted from that crime and released the unconscious hunchback.
—-
(In the painting Kaikeyi And Her Humpbacked Female Slave Manthara In Court)

Deepavali Festival at Sri Lankan President House (Album with photos)
On 19th October 2017, Deepavali was celebrated at the Pres...