Shared Statement of the GBC Body & Hridayananda Das Goswami
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On October 15th and 16th, Hridayananda das Goswami and Brahma Tirtha Das met with the GBC body and a special subcommittee to discuss some mutual philosophical concerns and Krishna West. While those discussions are a work in progress and will continue up to and during the 2018 GBC Annual General Meeting, the meeting in Ujjain was conducted in a very polite, cordial, and Vaisnava way and a statement was unanimously agreed by all.

Kartika Vraja Parikrama 2017 (Album with photos) 12th Oct…

Kartika Vraja Parikrama 2017 (Album with photos)
12th Oct Barsana (6th Day) with Deena Bandhu Das.

Kartik Navadvip Mandal Parikrama- day 1 (Album with photos)…
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Kartik Navadvip Mandal Parikrama- day 1 (Album with photos)
Glimpses from our first day of Kartik Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama 2017! “Wandering in Navadvipa is the best of all opulences, the best of all religious principles, the best of all kinds of worship, the best of all perfections, the best of all glories, and the best of all oceans of sweetness.” – Sri Navadvipa Sataka by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura
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Update on Agnideva Prabhu’s health. Dear devotees, friends…
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Update on Agnideva Prabhu’s health.
Dear devotees, friends and well wishers: The following is an update on Agnideva prabhu’s condition in a hospital in Sydney, Australia. Please keep the donations coming. Doctors are still trying to determine the cause of his lung failure to enable specific treatment.
The doctors maintain his status as, “Seriously ill, but stable.” Results of nuclear testing of blood samples have eliminated most bacterial infections. Chest x-rays show a slight improvement, however, he is still not breathing on his own and still requires a ventilator. His blood pressure is unstable. Doctors are investigating the possibility cardiac disease or damage through trans esophageal echocardiography.
Yesterday all nutrition drips were stopped to prepare for this procedure. Sedation was reduced and when his son Sadbhuja das said, “Haribol Dad, I’m going now,” Agnideva prabhu opened his eyes for a second.
Your servant,
Indradyumna Swami

Shared Statement of the GBC Body & HH Hridayananda Das Goswami
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Hare KrishnaBy the GBC Corresponding Secretary

On October 15th and 16th, HH Hridayananda Das Goswami and HG Brahma Tirtha Prabhu met with the GBC Body and a special subcommittee to discuss some mutual philosophical concerns and Krishna West. The committee members included the GBC Executive Committee--Bhakti Charu Swami, Madhu Sevita Das & Bhaktivaibhava Swami--as well as Sivarama Swami, Radhanath Swami, Guru Prasad Swami, Prahladananda Swami, Badrinarayan Swami, Bir Krishna Das Goswami and Praghosa Das. Continue reading "Shared Statement of the GBC Body & HH Hridayananda Das Goswami
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Second GBC College Residential 2017 Completed
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Hare KrishnaBy GBC College Staff

Within the scenic, spiritually surcharged Govardhana Ecovillage outside of Mumbai, India, some two dozen participants from various parts of the world attended the Zonal Supervisor Course’s second and last residential session. We enjoyed the company of leaders from India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Italy, Hungary, Latvia/Lithuania and Kenya, including four sannyasis – desirous to improve their skill-set to better serve Srila Prabhupada’s mission. The course was also graced by the teaching of two GBC members. Continue reading "Second GBC College Residential 2017 Completed
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Krishna-kripa remembers Sadaputa
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Hare KrishnaBy Prishni devi dasi

Krishna-kripa dasa is known for his blissful engagement traversing the planet singing the glories of the Holy Name. But three decades ago he began what may appear to be a very different kind service with the Bhaktivedanta Institute: In 1988 he visited the San Diego branch and offered to engage his BA in Computer Science from Brown University, in its scientific preaching mission. The San Diego BI team – Sadaputa, Drutakarma, and Madhavendra Puri Prabhus – invited him in. He soon became a dedicated assistant of Sadaputa Prabhu, working hand-in-hand with him as he published many of his 9 books and dozens of articles on a wide range of topics dealing with science and the Vedic tradition. Continue reading "Krishna-kripa remembers Sadaputa
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Gita 14.27 Brahman refers not just to the impersonal spiritual but also the generically spiritual
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 14.27 Brahman refers not just to the impersonal spiritual but also the generically spiritual appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Govardhana Puja Carnival (Sunday, 10/22)
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Hare Krsna.
We will have Govardhana Puja Carnival (Sunday, 10/22).

Weather permitting, we will have outdoor booths – with tents – in Kalachandji’s park.

Guests will buy a $10 bracelet , with which they can play in the following booths. We also have some prizes:
1. “Aniyora!”: A Govardhana Hill beanbag toss
2. “Target Ravana’s Head”: Dart throwing game with balloons
3. “Pin the Flute”: like pin the tail, but with Krsna’s flute and peacock feather
4. “Govardhana’s Wheel of Fortune”: Govardhana Puja Quiz
5. “Can You Lift a Hill?”: Lifting challenge
6. “Indra’s Thunderbolt Dodge”: similar to a dodgeball game
In a designated area near their tent.
7. “Ox Cart Race”: similar to ‘wheelbarrow’ race, with ‘offerings’ on the back, racing around a small “Govardhana Hill”.
8. “Govardhana Puja Puppet Show”

If circumstances make following bhakti principles impossible, what should we do?
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Answer Podcast

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In youth, how much should we be preparing for our career and how much focusing on devotional growth?
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Answer Podcast

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Advancing spiritually at our pace, from our place by understanding the power, principle and process of krishna-bhakti
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[Youth meeting at Alachua, USA]

Podcast

Podcast Summary

Video:

The post Advancing spiritually at our pace, from our place by understanding the power, principle and process of krishna-bhakti appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Mauritians are imbued with religious values…
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During Kadamba Kanana Swami’s recent visit to Mauritius, he was interviewed by the daily newspaper “Defiplus”. The original article in French was be found by clicking here. The English translation follows. 

 

 

MAURITIANS ARE IMBUED WITH RELIGIOUS VALUES

Presently in Mauritius, upon the invitation of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness (ISKCON), Kadamba Kanana Swami talks about his youth in Holland, where he was born, and his trip to India, where his conscience awakened to spirituality.

What is the purpose of your presence in Mauritius?

I have come to participate in the prayers and celebrations which are organised all over the island.

Does your visit here meet an expectation that is peculiar to Mauritius?

No, just like everywhere else, people tend to lose sight of spirituality because they are attracted to materialism. But human beings cannot do without searching for spiritual energy, especially welfare and wisdom. All the answers to our quests are found in the Vedas.

How did you, a European, born in a culture very different from millennial India, find yourself in the clothes of a devotee of Krishna?

I was born in Holland at the time when my parents, like other Dutchmen, were working to rebuild their country that had lived through the Second World War. After this stage, they were satisfied with their existence. After my years of adolescence, I asked myself the following question, “Is this life?” It was from there that I went to India to Vrindavan, where ISKCON has its headquarters. India is not a country but a continent. It was there that my spiritual and philosophical consciousness was forged by reading the Gita, the Vedas, the Upanishads and also drawing some inspiration from the life of Mahatma Gandhi. I made a vow of celibacy. I experienced a deep sense of truth and wisdom.

Have you become a Hindu?

No, neither the term Hindu nor that of India appears in the Vedic literature. The most appropriate term for describing India is Bharat. As for the Hindu term, which is more recent, it is not exact. The one that best fits our beliefs is the Sanatan Dharma, but, be careful not to be confused with the same term used in Mauritius.

How can we share these teachings with people from different cultures, as you do?

This is the particular nature of the Vedas, because they are addressed to humanity and their messages become more relevant in a world that is lost in materialism.

Do you see this in Mauritius?

No, because Mauritians, in their diversity, are imbued with religious values. It may also be due to the insularity.

What is your view on the sexual orientation desired by some people?

Sex, when it leads to procreation, gives couples a child which brings responsibility and there are sacrifices to be made. On the other hand, in the case of same-sex couples, there can be no procreation. This type of sexual orientation is not conducive to the awakening of a spiritual consciousness. But I do not judge. I am not a lecturer. I will not say that it is a sin.

But laws allow adoption by gay and lesbian couples in some countries today ...

Yes. But in Iskcon, we do not make it a problem, we have other interests.

In Mauritius, but also abroad, there have been criticisms of certain priests. What do we expect from a priest?

We want him to be exemplary, both in word and in deeds. He will be judged on that.

Can we find a common thread in all religions?

Of course, there is the same message of peace and love, even though, at times, everyone can intimately think that his religion is the best. I saw this in the West and in Pakistan, people who were really imbued with their convictions.

 

Fixing the Mind. Chaitanya Charan Das: When something doesn’t…

Fixing the Mind.
Chaitanya Charan Das: When something doesn’t work properly, we need to fix it. We all need to fix our mind because it frequently malfunctions by getting distracted. It frets over the unchangeable, craves for the undesirable, and worries about the unpredictable. By its unnecessary and unhealthy fixations, it sabotages our capacity to deal with life’s challenges.
Still, fixing the mind on constructive things, on the things we need to do, is not easy. Dragging it from its fixations can seem like lugging a huge weight. Over time, the labor becomes too much, and we give up. And the mind promptly rushes back to its distressing obsessions.
Just as we can lift a heavy weight more easily with a lever, we can lift the mind heavy with its infatuations more easily with the lever of remembrance of Krishna. Though its fixations may be varied, the mind’s essential needs are twofold: security and pleasure. If anything threatens, it becomes fearful. If anything allures, it becomes desireful.

Krishna, being the ultimate reality, is the source of the supreme security and the supreme satisfaction. When we fix the mind on him, it first opposes, sometimes vehemently. Why? Because it is habituated to seeking security and satisfaction elsewhere. But if we persevere in focusing on him by practicing bhakti-yoga, it experiences that the security and joy coming from this divine focus are unparalleled. As this realization sinks in, the mind slowly gives up its attachments to worldly things and shifts that attachment to Krishna. A divinely attached mind focuses more readily on constructive things, making life more manageable.

No wonder the same Bhagavad-gita that acknowledges the mind’s obstinacy (6.35 – Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: O mighty-armed son of Kuntī, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.) assures that fixing it on Krishna makes our inner growth much easier (8.14 – For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Pṛthā, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.). Thus, fixing the mind on Krishna acts like the lever for fixing the mind.

Preaching program in Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology,…
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Preaching program in Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneshwar, India (Album with photos)
On 17th Oct'17, Gaur Gopal das addressed 2500 students on the theme of ‘Art of Giving and India against negativity’ at the conclusion of a 3 day long festival “Kritarth 2k17” organised by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University) & Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneshwar, India.
“It was an honour to be part of an event hosted by KIIT & KISS, an incredible university solely founded by Dr. Achyuta Samanta. This university is serving a wider community by imparting free education to 27,000 tribal children. Very inspired to witness a monumental campus built on a life’s noble values of love and compassion with a heart of giving back to the society, exemplified by its Founder Dr Samanta.” ~ Gaur Gopal Das
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