Planet ISKCON

Urgent and important!
Kadamba Kanana Swami: I would say that in our Hare Krsna Movement, one of the great causes of devotees becoming dry in their spiritual practices is because they do not get absorbed in reading. You see, chanting is something you do because we measure it – sixteen rounds; it is very clear. But we do not vow to do one hour of reading. We just do not make that vow so we do not give it the same urgency but it should have the same urgency. Reading of scripture is very important; very, very important. If we are not reading, I guarantee you that everything will become stale.

4th Oct 2017, The Economic Times, the world’s second-most widely read English-language business newspaper, did a post-event coverage of PMNC17, where Gaur Gopal das spoke on ‘Conscious Leadership for a Gracious Future.’

Hare Krishna from Fiji, Sigatoka! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When loud chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is perfor...

“Damodara was not bound by ordinary ropes, but with the ropes of His mother’s unmatched love”
“Because mother loves the most…in this material world, there is no comparison of mother’s love. Without any exchange. Even in this material world. Mother loves the child without any expectation of return generally…that is called unalloyed love. Anyabhilasita-sunyam, free from all material gain.”- Srila Prabhupada, Srimad-Bhagavatam1.8.31 lecture, Los Angeles, April 23, 1973
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By Madhava Smullen

Since moving back two years ago, he has been serving as the construction and maintenance manager for ISKCON New Vrindaban, overseeing a team of seven. Together they are assisting the effort to physically revitalize key parts of New Vrindaban, much of which had received little maintenance over the previous thirty years. In his two years there so far Bhagavan and his team have already done an impressive number of upgrades. Continue reading "Devotee Who Grew Up in New Vrindaban Returns to Serve His Community
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Unlock your Dharma - HH Sivarama Swami (video)
An insightful discussion on purpose and real duty.
We know we are in Dharma when we cannot think of anything else we would rather be doing with our life. —David Simon
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/h2UDeM

GRS Vyasa Puja 2017.2w from Derek Carter on Vimeo.

Anantashesh Das: Srimad Bhagavat is the precious jewel, it is an unlimited radiance of Krishna’s presence.

Krsna and His devotee give a helping hand.
Burwood is usually one of the toughest suburbs in Sydney for book distribution. I have been there a few times already. So this time I started pessimistically again, then realized that I need to be positive to start book distribution, so I went on to greet some people. Met a couple of people and had unsuccessful attempts.
Then along comes this Indian gentleman with earphones on, listening to something. I stopped him and asked whether he would be interested in taking a Bhagavad-gita. It was the quickest sale of my life.
He asked me, “Can you guess what I am listening to through the earphones?”
I said I didn’t know.
He said, “I am listening to a lecture by Gaur Gopal Dasa.”
Then he gave me a solid donation, hinting that I should distribute some books on his behalf. The rest of the day turned out well. I met a lot of people with different nationalities who were genuinely interested in our books but had only a few coins to spare. The large donation helped cover the shortages, and I ended up finishing the whole stock on the day. I was disappointed that I didn’t have more stock. I returned back home wondering where that help came from. I determined that I should be an optimist in Krishna’s service.
Your Servant,
Radhika Prasad Dasa

The All India Padayatra In Bovikanam, Kerala (Album with photos)
On September 11th our pāda-yātrā party arrived in Bovikanam, a small village in the Kasaragod Taluk in Kasaragod district, North Kerala. It is located 12 kilometers east of the district headquarters of Kasaragod. We were fortunate to have had assistance from Sanatan Sankirtana Dasa who is from Bovikanam. He walked with us from Kannur all the way to Kasaragod and assisted us during our stay in the district.
In North India Janmastami, the appearance day of Lord Krishna, was celebrated on August 15th but in Kerala Janmastami was celebrated a month later on September 12th. The dates differ because in North India it is calculated according to the Lunar Calendar and in South India it is based on the Solar Calendar. There is a small ISKCON center in Bovikanam and the devotees invited us to join them for the Janmastami celebrations which included: abhishek of the deities, katha, kīrtana, cultural programs and distribution of mahaprasadam. The temple had also organized a grand shobha-yatra held throughout the village in honor of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar.

The next day we performed splendid saṅkīrtana in different areas of the village. There were many Muslim people who participated in the kīrtana and purchased Bhagavad-gītās from us as well. The news of our arrival in the town and the powerful Harinama spread everywhere. The temple devotees were also very happy and said this year’s Janmastami was very special because Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar was with them.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ZWZ723

Radhanath Swami’s interview about the shooting in Las Vegas in which at least 59 people were killed and more than 500 injured (11 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/SjkQiW

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 October 2009, Phoenix, South Africa, Kartik Lecture)

In 1986, I was very involved in the construction of Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi in Mayapur. There was NO LIMIT to what had to be arranged for that building! One day I looked at the Samadhi and it looked like a huge face with a big mouth, and the mouth just said, “Aniyor! Aniyor! Bring me more! Bring me more!”

And I brought trucks of cement, steel, bricks, stone, marble. I brought engineers and draughtsmen, drawing and technical experts and I had to deal with endless things…

I used to chant my rounds during mangal arati because I had to start working at six and in the evenings I was so tired that I would just crash. I was SO totally busy!

In the middle of that, one day Lokanath Maharaj came to me! At that time, in 1986, Lokanath Maharaj had the Padayatra. This Padayatra had a mad elephant and the elephant would pick up people and throw them about! There was also a camel that would bite people! And there were many villagers from India, MANY of them! They had many dioramas, exhibitions and tractors and everything!

Lokanath Maharaj came to me and said, “I want you to look after the Padayatra when we come to Mayapur.”

I said, “Maharaj, please Maharaj, have mercy! Maharaj, I am so busy! Maharaj, I have hardly any time to chant my rounds! One more straw Maharaj and it will break the camel’s back…”

I thought, “Finished, I got out of it!” And then, Lokanath Maharaj said, “You know, in my village, they say that if you want to get something done, you go to a busy man because a man who is not busy, is a lazy man! So if you go to him, he won’t do anything! But a busy man is by nature very active – he may be busy and he may not be able to do so much but at least he will do something! So if you want something done you go to a busy man!”

What could I say after that! Defeated by village logic!

So there I was, I had a camel that would bite, a mad elephant and then all the villagers who would constantly want something, “There is no water! We are hungry. We want maha prasadam!” God, they wanted everything! I was like the father of the Padayatra!

So this story is for all of you because I know you are busy people. And since you are all very busy, you all have no time. And I would have sympathised with you… until I met Lokanath Maharaj! He just totally smashed my illusion and made it completely clear – sorry if you are busy but you are the right person! You are the right person to do something extra! Something extra and it may be not a big thing but at least something because busy people are by nature active.

Yes, you are the right people for Kartik! Kartik is made for you busy people – the too busy people! This month of Kartik is for becoming a little more busy! In this way, we all can be busy in the service of Krsna and do something special…

A very pleasant drunkard!
Cittahari das: My uncle, Father Wallace, he was a Jesuit; but he was in charge of the whole of Victoria, so he was the head Jesuit. I said to my mother, “I’d like to get my uncle to meet Prabhupada.” So somehow she got that arranged. My mum was pretty good at arranging those things.
So my uncle came, and we were all sitting around in Prabhupada’s beautiful room on the beautiful blue carpet. Then he was sitting back on the chair, and he was quite an elegant sort of a guy and a very good speaker as the Jesuits are pretty well trained in philosophy. Prabhupada spoke philosophy with him quite a bit, and he seemed to be able to follow the thread of it and answer it, which most people when they met Prabhupada, they kind of lost it. Prabhupada was probing into what they understood and they couldn’t understand what they believed themselves, but he seemed to have some belief himself. Anyway, it went on for about three-quarters of an hour, having a pretty lively conversation but jokey too, a lot of laughter and so on.
Then finally the session was over, and he got up and shook hands and left. We were all sitting around Prabhupada, and Prabhupada was sitting there just kind of rocking a bit. I said, “Srila Prabhupada, what did you think of my uncle?” Prabhupada looked at us all and he smiled and he looked at me, he said, “A very pleasant drunkard.” And that was…we just all cracked up laughing because when immediately he walked in, Prabhupada must have picked up he’d had something. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a regular drinker. He had that kind of look, his face, a bit over-reddish. Yes, it was pretty well strong through the whole order at that time, I’d say, the whole Catholic church. That was the one thing the priests could do, have a good drink. The way Prabhupada could crack a joke was really amazing.

Vaishnava celebrations in Chisinau, Moldova (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Regardless of time or place, one who chants the...

Lord Krishna’s Cuisine available in ebook.
Yamuna Devi’s Lord Krishna’s Cuisine is now available in ebook format on Amazon.
Barbara Fotherby: A friend of mine made a couple of dals from this cookbook and they were exceptionally good. She had said there wasn’t a recipe she had tried that wasn’t really good, so I bought a copy and bought another for a friend who is also really pleased. If you cook with Indian spices already you won’t have to start running around looking for those “odd” ingredients. Very good instructions and well laid out.
Find it here: https://goo.gl/uXqaMS

By Gandharvika Radha Devi Dasi

“Even though it lasts for only a brief moment, the human form of life is very rare and valuable. In the same way, the brief month of Kartik is also very rare and valuable.” – Kartika Mahatmya by Srila Sanatana Goswami. H.G. Vaisesika Prabhu has selected Chapter 9 for Kartik 2017! Make a vow to recite Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 9 every day from 6 Oct 2017 to 3 Nov 2017. Continue reading "Kartik 2017 CHAD (Chapter a day) initiative
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Summer Peace March Padayatra in Czech Republic (Album with photos)
Mission: The aim of the Padayatra peace march is to spread the good mood and give people positive experiences and information leading to lasting happiness and peace in society. These days everyone is constantly running here and there. We want to make more money, be more productive, have a faster car and so on. All of this hustle is all the more stressful, for which we suffer psychologically (350 million depressed people in the world), physically (it is generally known that most diseases stem from the psyche). We hunt for the happiness that escapes between our fingers and when it seems we’ve caught it, it suddenly loses itself like a mirage. WHY?! Because we live in a world in which everything is constantly changing. Like our body. When we were born, we measured about half a meter and we weighed about three kilograms. Now? Our body has changed and the happiness that we are trying to achieve here is equally unstable. That is why we are dedicated to the distribution of eternal happiness from the spiritual world, where every step is a dance and every word is a song.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/1ZZo4e

The post Daily Darshan: October 04,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

By Hanumatpresaka Swami

My dear servants, please bring to me only those sinful persons who do not use their tongues to chant the holy name and qualities of Krsna, whose hearts do not remember the lotus feet of Krsna even once, and whose heads do not bow down even once before Lord Krsna. Send me those who do not perform their duties toward Visnu, which are the only duties in human life. Please bring me all such fools and rascals. Continue reading "Yamaraja Instructs His Messengers
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By Badrinarayan Swami

Today's SB Class in Iskcon Ujjain. "Lord Yamaraja took upon himself the responsibility for the offense committed by his servants. If the servant of an establishment makes a mistake, the establishment takes responsibility for it. Although Yamaraja is above offenses, his servants, practically with his permission, went to arrest Ajamila, which was a great offense. The nyaya-sastra confirms, bhrtyaparadhe svamino dandah: if a servant makes a mistake, the master is punishable because he is responsible for the offense. Taking this seriously, Yamaraja, along with his servants, prayed with folded hands to be excused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana." Continue reading "How one conquers anger
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Hare Krishna Dear Friends and Well wishers,

Here are some of the beautiful pictures of the new building. This has become a reality because of your generous support and kind donations. All of the children in Gurukula are benefiting tremendously due to this brand new facility.

Thank you from the bottom of our heart.

TKG Academy

 

TKG Academy is now offering an after school chess club, facilitated by Navin Shyam Prabhu.

The club, “Yudhisthira’s Chess Court”, is meant to provide interested students an opportunity to learn the rules and fundamental strategies of the game and have an opportunity to practice with their peers. The club will focus on respectful playing and encouragement of all participants. Timings:

Tuesdays, 3:15 – 4:00 PM
Fee: $10 per month, or $50 for the whole school year.
*September will be two weeks of free trial!
If you are interested, please contact us.

In Pictures, TKG Academy students are completely absorbed in learning the game of chess.

Here is an article featured in Parenting Magazine outlining why the game of chess is beneficial for children’s intellect.

http://www.parents.com/…/de…/intellectual/benefits-of-chess/

Diwali Diya Lamps! Lower Elementary Art Class with Devi Radha devi dasi.

Form & shape with the seven elements. Kids made diya lamps from clay (form) and painted a diya lamp (shape).

Once decorated, they’ll be using them during Damodarastakam! Exciting!

Middle School & High School Literature class students make connections between Bhagavad-Gita and Oliver Twist. Class by Mani Manjari Devi Dasi.

Answer Podcast

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[Bhagavatam class on 11.13.31 at ISKCON, Alachua, USA]

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