Planet ISKCON

A new bhakta director and youth preacher at ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai has been taking new devotees and their parents on spiritual retreats together. The results? Deeper relationships, and unfavorable parents becoming favorable to Krishna consciousness and in some cases taking up the path themselves.

Krishna's devotees from Longmont, Fort Collins attended a spiritual retreat while staying in exquisite town of Breckenridge, in the midst of magnificent mountains of Colorado, USA.

The Cow Seva Kirtan Mela Festival was hosted by the Hare Krishna devotees of the ISKCON New Talavan farm community in Mississippi, USA. William Dove (Balabhadra das) gave three Srimad Bhagavatam classes about the importance of cow protection. The Srimad Bhagavatam is one of the holy scriptures of the Hare Krishna Movement. Below is a video of one of the classes entitled "Krishna is a Cowherd Boy."

The All India Padayatra’s Journey In Kerala & The Devotees Who Helped Them – A Tale Of Vaishnava Kripa.
Acarya Dasa: Our pāda-yātrā party travelled through the state of Kerala for five months starting from April 5th in Trivandrum and then to Kasaragod by September 21st. Kerala is inhabited by people who are mostly of Christian and Muslim faith, despite this we continued on. There were a few obstacles but they were easily overcome by the mercy of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar. Many Vaishanavas helped us during our stay in Kerala and it is through their efforts that we were able to hold many preaching programs and distribute lots of books. This is a dedication to those devotees who assisted us it is also a summary of our journey through this state of India.
Breaking language barriers
We experienced many problems with language because no one spoke Hindi, the main languages are Malayalam or English which, none of our pāda-yātris could speak or understand. Thankfully there was always at least one local devotee who would join us for a few days to make the pāda-yātrā announcements. Satyamegha Dasa from Kottiyam helped us a great deal by recording, in the local language, the announcements we usually make after we have saṅkīrtana and ārati. It worked every well, whenever we played the announcement people would come and take darśana. We also relied on the recording whenever we were not accompanied by a local devotee. He also made two posters stating the glories of Bhagavad-Gita and listing the price. While circumambulating the pāda-yātrā cart people would read the poster and purchase a Bhagavad-Gita or give donations and if they did not have money they would donate rice or wheat. He translated a few sentences for us to speak during the saṅkīrtana too, such as: “The most merciful Lord has come to your door, take darśana. The All India Padayatra walks all over India spreading the mercy of Lord Caitanya who is Lord Krishna Himself, who has appeared in Kaliyuga.”

Trivandrum | Jagadsakshi Dasa & Pesal Gopal Dasa

In Trivandrum we had a lot of assistance from Jagadsakshi Dasa and Pesal Gopal Dasa. Pesal Gopal Dasa the leader of the local Nama-hatta spent almost a month with us and travelled with us in and around Trivandrum. He assisted with the advance party services and informed all the devotee leaders that we were coming to their towns. So, when we arrived they were ready to welcome us and serve Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar with all their hearts.

Yasoda Dasi

We met Yasoda Dasi in a small village near Trivandram 15 years ago when she served pāda-yātrā. She always prayed for the success of the ‘All India Padayatra’ and when we visited her this time she helped us again. She was very happy with our preaching mission.

Cochin | Gopal Guru Dasa

Our journey to Cochin was made easier with the help of Gopal Guru Dasa. The Cochin coast is significant for devotees because it was there that Srila Prabupada’s volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam arrived from Bombay. These books were then loaded onto the ship before Srila Prabhupada left to America. We distributed books in Cochin but quickly ran out, luckily Gopal Guru Dasa helped us to procure more books. Books are the basis and saṅkīrtana becomes powerful when book distribution goes on. Thanks to the support of Gopal Guru Dasa we could do both in Cochin.

Guruvayur | Mehatal Gopal Dasa & the Guruvayur team

We were all touched and overwhelmed by Mehatal Gopal Dasa. He had served Rupa Raghunath Maharaj when he was travelling with us. One day he said to me, “Whenever someone is not well please let me know. I will be pleased to come and serve.” He loves to serve devotees. Just as in Maharastra, Pandharpur is famous similarly in Kerala, Guruvayur is famous. There we were supported by Balaram Dasa, Ashokatma Dasa and Gopibhava Dasa. They assisted us with all our programs and when one of our bulls became ill they all helped us to get him well. The temple president of ISKCON Guruvayur, Lohidas Dasa invited us to the temple as well.

Kannur | Caitanya Rasamrita Dasa & Mr Haradev

We celebrated Janmastami in Kannur. The program was sponsored by Caitanya Rasamrita Dasa, disciple of Jayapataka Maharaj. He also helped us to find accommodation and he arranged fodder for the bulls. Caitanya Rasamrita Dasa assisted us for our almost month long stay in the Kannur district. He not only informed everyone in the nearby towns and villages of our arrival but in addition he asked everyone to make arrangements for our stay there too.

While in Kannur it had begun to rain for several days and dry accommodation was difficult to find. I contacted our friend, Mr. Haradev who works and lives in Muscat, Oman. I told him that pāda-yātrā would be coming to his hometown and if he could arrange some accommodation for us. He said he was very busy and could not assist. We had already planned our schedule and had to move on, but before we could there was more rain and we arrived at the village a day late. Then I received a message from Mr. Haradev saying that he and his family would be travelling to India that night. When we reached the village he was there to welcome us with ārati and garlands. He made all the arrangements for our accommodation, prasādam, the bulls and he gave us a donation. He came with us to all the programs we had in the area which included saṅkīrtana and book distribution.

Calicut | Shyam Caitanya Dasa

In Calicut Shyam Caitanya Dasa helped us with book distribution. He took us to different areas in the city where we had various programs and distributed books.

Vijaymukunda Dasa

Vijaymukunda Dasa from Kozhikode joined us on padayatra for two months. He did all the announcements, joined the saṅkīrtana and distributed books.

Malappuram | Uma Mataji

When we arrived in Malappuram we met Uma Mataji and her husband, a disciple of Radhanath Maharaj. She is actually aspiring for Lokanath Maharaj as her Guru. She heard about the glories of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar and the ‘All India Padayatra’ and had a strong desire for us to visit her town. The town is mostly inhabited by Muslims but we went anyway and had a grand saṅkīrtana program there. One of our pāda-yātris fell ill with dengue fever and was initially admitted in hospital. Uma Mataji, who is a doctor, later took him in and along with her husband took care of the pāda-yātri for 10 days. Her husband also accompanied us on pāda-yātrā for two days.

Kasaragod | Dr Ranjeet & Santana Sankirtana Dasa

We met Dr. Ranjeet at Kasaragod. He was very happy to have the darśana of our Lordships. Lokanath Swami, our spiritual father is very caring and he is always providing us with guidance and advice on our diets and summer protection on pāda-yātrā. So, when he instructed us to drink only filtered water when travelling we followed strictly and bought water daily. Maharaj advised that if we drank the local tap water it may affect our health since water quality changes from place to place. Dr. Ranjeet noticed us buying filtered water and decided to sponsor us a water filter. Now we don’t have to purchase water anymore. Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar will surely bless him. Sanatan Sankirtan Dasa is a Nama-Hatta leader in Kasaragod. He enthusiastically participated in all the programs we held there. He also instructed all the local ISKCON leaders to help us whenever we travelled to their areas for saṅkīrtana.

Trissur | Rajendra Dasa

We met Rajendra Dasa at Trissur when Bhakti Vinod Maharaj was travelling with us. He was very inspired by Maharaj. Wherever we went in Trissur, Rajendra Dasa helped us especially with all our programs.

Kuttipuram | Rasanidhi Dasa

Some of us stayed in Kuttipuram while others travelled to Pandharpur for Lokanath Swami’s Vyasa Puja. This is when we met Rasanidhi Dasa, he took care of the pāda-yātris that remained in Kuttipuram. He sorted out all our accommodation arrangements and the bulls.

Payyanur | Sri Krishna Yadav Dasa

Sri Krishna Yadav Dasa is originally from Maharastra but now lives in Payyanur. He served at the ISKCON Aravade Temple some time ago. Aravade is a small village in the Sangli district, it is a very special place for us because it is the birth place Lokanath Maharaj. When he received news that we would be in Payyanur he invited us to his house. He has a large house and so he arranged for our accommodation as well as for Bhaktivinod Maharaj. He also sponsored the bulls fodder.

Kerala’s special mercy

We received special mercy in Kerala when our pāda-yātrā grew by three more devotees. Patitpavan Jagannath Dasa, Vijaymukund Dasa and Bhakta Brajesh joined us. We were also fortunate to have celebrated Janmastami twice in one year because in Kerala people celebrated on September 12th. Due to all the help we received from the Vaishnavas our visit to Kerala was successful. May Lord Gauranga shower them with His blessings.

The All India Padayatra Book Score

Kerala, 2017

Maha Big Books – 46,163
Big Books – 6,748
Medium Books – 55
Small books – 14,606
Srimad Bhagavatam – 61 sets
Caitanya Caritmrita – 2 sets
Total 67,572,

All made possible by the mercy of our Lordships, Srila Prabhupada, Gurudev and the above mentioned Vaishnavas.

Jai Nitai Gaurasundar ki! Jai!
More photos: https://goo.gl/r3Qapg

A trip to Sri Sri Radha Govinda’s island on Govardhana Puja (4 min video)
Hare Krishna Island
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/423MF6

Paramatma comes to help again.
Ashfield is usually rated as one of the toughest suburbs in Sydney for book distribution, and is famous for it across the Congregational Book Distribution Team in Sydney. I have been there a few times already. So this time I started doubting that anything will go out.
When I entered the van, on the verge of giving up entirely in my attempt, His Grace Radhika Prasad Prabhu enlightened me with enthusiasm to preach. When we were about to go out on the dreaded streets, Prabhu read out loud the peom that Srila Prabhupada wrote on board the Jaladutta. What a devotee. Again I was inspired!
I met a number of people and had unsuccessful attempts. I was on the verge of giving up, when I remembered a verse by Kunti maharani. Obstacles only come so that we can remember Krishna. For once, I had faith in this verse, and bang, everything changed!
This person here was a Buddhist, and I first greeted him with a ‘HARE KRISHNA’ and BANG, we got into a conversation. I was showing him the pictures, and I would explain it to him. At first, he was very reluctantly flicking though the Bhagavad Gita as it is, and I literally clutched my beads, while chanting like I have never chanted before, praying to Parramatma, until, after the longest 30 seconds of my life, he asked, 'What else have you got?’ He ended up taking FOUR BOOKS- BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS, KRSNA, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, The Nectar of Devotion, and SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 1.1!!!
SRILA PRABHUPADA KI JAYA! SRILA GURUDEV KI JAYA!
Your servant,
Bhakta Keshav

A Lovely Lake Of Tears (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Prema Sarovara is a lake in Vrindavan that manifested from the combined tears of Radha and Krsna as They were experiencing separation from each other. It is a deeply spiritual place while at the same time it’s external beauty is beyond compare!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/G1xdi4

Agnideva prabhu better.
Dear devotees, friends and well-wishers:
Here is the latest update on Agnideva prabhu:
Over the past weekend doctors conducted a CT scan of Agnideva’s chest. The Pneumo Thorax showed clear of any serious damage and no cause for fluid buildup. Amazingly after this test the lung drainage system showed zero fluid. As a result, the doctors removed the drainage pump with tubes from his lungs. They also stopped administering oxygen. He was happy to have his first shower in 2 weeks as well as have some ice, water and juice.

On Tuesday, he was finally moved out of ICU and into the Respiratory ward. He is very tired, speaks with difficulty, but has a great sense of humor. Yesterday he said, “I like to eat, so who is responsible for my meals?” Yesterday he was cleared to have soft foods and ate a few bites. Today devotees promised him mango lassi if he eats his breakfast. The speech therapist, neurologists and respiratory specialists will be seeing him tomorrow. In summary, he has made a great leap forward in the recovery process and we appeal for your continued prayers and kind donations.

Thank you everyone!

Your servant,
Indradyumna Swami

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ISKCON Participates in Inaugurating Indo-Iranian Interfaith Dialogue.
New Delhi - Over two hundred guests including spiritual leaders, scholars, university students and journalists came together last week at the India International Center in New Delhi to participate in the inaugural session of a two day dialogue between spiritual leaders and scholars from India and Iran on the theme of “Spirituality in Hinduism and Islam”.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/WChfSv

The government of Uttar Pradesh on Friday announced that Vrindavan and Barsana are now tirtha sthal – official pilgrimage sites. In a special meeting at the Vairagi Baba Ashram on Parikrama Marg, sants of Braj lauded the government’s move.

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“Harree Kreesshhna, please give me some Arabic books”
I was rushing through the back streets of Campsie (Sydney) on my return visit to the town after a frustrating search for a parking spot.
There was an elderly Middle Eastern gentleman on the bus-stop seat of an isolated street. I was about to walk past him. But something in me said: I know there will be no chance of him understanding Krishna, but the point is, “the more you ask the more you sell.”
He was shaking from Parkinson’s Disease and could hardly speak, but mumbled something in reply. I suppose he was asking me to get lost. But no!
I put my ears close to his mouth and heard him say “Harree Kreesshhna, please give me some Arabic books” Until he repeated this a second time, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
I asked “Oh, wow! How do you know about Krishna?”
He responded, “I think all the prophets that came to this world were sent by Him and ultimate returned back to Krishna. I read a lot of books, some of which specifically demonstrated some missing years in Christ’s life, and that during those years he was practicing mystic yoga in the Himalayas. Well, you know, in those days greater India was not divided by so much fruitive demigod worship. There was just one God, and He was Krishna. All the scriptures say that. So it can’t be hard to guess who Jesus was praying to for mystic sidhis.”
At this point, in my mind I was flat on the ground begging him to be my siksha guru. Thanks to a FEME consignment, I had plenty of Arabic books.

Cc Antya 16

And Gadai and Radhika Nagara ask about worship of saligrama-sila

Fortunate souls get Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental books (Album with photos)
There is no higher pleasure than to see conditional souls relishing nectar of the Lords Holy Name’s, dancing in ecstasy and taking home the highest treasure of Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental books.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/WejjuM

Krishna is a Cowherd Boy (video)
The Cow Seva Kirtan Mela Festival was hosted by the Hare Krishna devotees of the ISKCON New Talavan farm community in Mississippi, USA. During the festival, Balabhadra das, president of ISCOWP, gave three Srimad Bhagavatam classes about the importance of cow protection. Here is a video of one of the classes entitled “Krishna is a Cowherd Boy.”
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/3Rs1id

Conch, the newsletter of the New Govardhana community.
THE MAGNIFICENT TOVP: The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) is a jewel in the sacred crown of Mayapur. Visible from miles away, the structure is a surprising sight amidst the lush countryside.
ISKCON’s Mayapur project – began in the early 1970s with a small plot of land and just a handful of devotees – is now a community of thousands.
The TOVP and its three imposing domes powerfully dominate the skyline. As an indication of its size, Premavatar Gauranga dasa, Construction Manager of the TOVP, explains, “Once aviation lights are installed on the top of the main dome, it is likely to be seen from
as far as Kolkata.”
Lord Nityananda predicted more than five centuries ago that a magnificent temple would be built in Mayapur, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura, as he stood before his window and looked across the Jalangi toward what is now ISKCON-owned land, experienced a spiritual vision of a great temple rising.
In order to fulfil these prophecies, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya, often expressed his deep desire that his disciples build a unique “Vedic Planetarium” to present the Vedic perspective of life to the public.
The three domes, which are the dominant features of the structure, are impressive. The central dome at 113m (approximately 370ft) has the greatest height and width compared to many famous dome structures worldwide, including St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.
Srila Prabhupada desired a state-of-the art temple in honor of his spiritual preceptors and one that would draw people from around the world to be given a chance for a spiritual education.
On 20 November, New Govardhana will have the privilege of hosting the TOVP’s fundraising event and providing the devotee community the opportunity to help fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s instructions.
To read the entire Newsletter click here: https://goo.gl/Wp6NEf

Final Day of Kartik Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama (Album with photos)
“Of the seven holy places giving salvation – Ayodhya, Mathura, Gaya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avanti and Dwaravati – Sri Mayapur is the most important place of pilgrimage. Sriman Mahaprabhu with His advent made His own Svetadvipa descend here, and four centuries after the disappearance of Sriman Mahaprabhu this place of pilgrimage will be superior to all other places of pilgrimage of the world. Living in this place removes all sins and offenses and helps pure devotion to grow.” – Jaiva Dharma, by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur
On the sixth and final day of Kartik Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama 2017, devotees visited Nidaya Ghat, Rukumpur, Panchavatra Shiva, and Belpukur. Many devotees shared realizations they had while on parikrama, and were especially blessed to have the association of His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja, who is the inspiration behind this Kartik Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama.
It was with some sadness that this year’s parikrama came to an end, but fortunately next year’s parikrama is already being planned! Join us on November 6th, 2018 for Kartik Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama 2018!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cTYCrL

It was the month of Damodar. Even more memorably, it was Diwali day. One could not have asked for a better timing for devotees to pack their bags and head to the Riverslea retreat at Otaki, near Wellington city in New Zealand. The bi-annual retreats have become a regular phenomenon among the Journey of Self Discovery group members in the city. It was their “mini yatra” - the spiritual respite that helped them recharge their devotion and embed themselves deeper into Krishna Consciousness. But it was something more subtle that made this event very special. Something which wasn’t evident until the end. Continue reading "A Special Diwali Retreat near Wellington, NZ
→ Dandavats"

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SB class by H.H.Janananda Swami in Iskcon’s temple at Vrindavana, 29.10.2017 (video)
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I am beginning a new Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu group-study course. The schedule will be Sundays and Thursdays at 5:30pm, starting from January 7th, (Pacific time, which is 8:30pm Eastern time).

Over two hundred guests including spiritual leaders, scholars, university students and journalists came together last week at the India International Center in New Delhi to participate in the inaugural session of a two day dialogue between spiritual leaders and scholars from India and Iran on the theme of “Spirituality in Hinduism and Islam”.