Planet ISKCON

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, January 2012, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.9)

I visited a temple during my travels last year. For quite a number of years, that temple was emptying out. Everyone was leaving! Then suddenly, they found a new president who was young, enthusiastic and kind of nice in human relationships. That was his strongest point and this had changed the mood so much that now everyone is moving towards the temple. People were telling me, “Can I talk to you? I am thinking of moving into that temple!”

So it is like that. Good leadership is certainly important. Especially leadership centred around the behaviour of a sadhu – a person who is gentle; who is an example; who is spiritually strong and who is kind in his dealings. People look up to that kind of leader.

It is still a fundamental principle. In India, they still say, “Ram raja… Ram raja!” The rule of Lord Ramachandra from one million years ago is relevant still today – very relevant in India today. They all want that.

In our Movement, this is required but it also requires that we all come forward. I read a book about management and it mentioned, “Three hundred sixty degree leadership!”

It means that everyone on every level must be in a role of leadership. It is not that the person who is at the top position has to be a perfect example and a leader. No, everyone has to take his share of leadership! Everybody has to be a leader in his own field – three hundred sixty degrees means all around! Everyone has to be an example, everyone has to lead and take the initiative! No one can just wait for someone to make it happen!

The post Daily Darshan: September 27,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Devotees in Puerto Rico are safe after Hurricane Maria. However, the U.S. territory’s only temple, in mountainous Gurabo, has been “almost completely destroyed.”

Reconnection, a multi-award winning film by ISKCON filmmakers Maxim Varfolomeev (Shyam Gopal Das) and Olga Avramenko (Vijay Radhika Dasi) has premiered online on Tuesday, September 26th. Reconnection is a coming of age story of a Western young man, Sean, who ends up in the sacred town of Vrindavan and goes through a transformative experience.

A coming of age story of a Westerner to the sacred town of Vrindavan. An multi-award-winning film by ISKCON filmmakers Maxim Varfolomeev and Olga Avramenko. For more information visit the film's website: https://five.pictures/reconnection/

New Mayapura #3

The post Daily Darshan : September 26,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Don’t miss out! This Sunday 5pm (1st October) @ The Loft. Comes with an incredible vegetarian/vegan meal as usual.

The post This Sunday – Insights from a World Travelling Teacher appeared first on The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland.

Govindas restaurant and the Lotus Room in Darlinghurst are still going strong after more than twenty years of operation.

The restaurant, run by devotee couple Pratapana and Jayasri, is pretty much packed out every night.

The Lotus Room hosts kirtan evenings headed by local devotees, however, many  well known international devotees come through to lead kirtans, which are also well attended.

Opportunities to be part of history in the making, especially spiritual history related to the mission of the Lord, are rare in the material world. With the advent of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu we have been given the most rare chance to develop our love for Krishna and also return to Him. Rarer still is to be part of the building of the Lord’s “adbhuta mandir” in the Holy Dhama of Navadvipa from which the waves of Krishna prema will spread throughout the world.

The TOVP Fundraising Team announces yet another incredible seva: A Once-in-a-Lifetime opportunity to participate in the simultaneous grand installation ceremonies of the remaining two Chakras on the Radha Madhava and Nrsimha Domes in Sridhama Mayapur. We are offering devotees the unique seva to personally bathe the Chakras that will be mounted on these two domes! 1008 sponsorships will be available for each Chakra. And the needed funds will go directly to pay for the Chakras.

On February 7th, 2018, during the GBC meetings in Mayapur prior to Gaur Purnima, we have scheduled the official TOVP Chakra Installation Day to install the Chakras on top of the Radha Madhava and Lord Nrsimhadeva domes and you or your temple can participate by sponsoring the abhisheka of one or both of the Chakras. A Maha Sudarshana Yajna will be performed along with an abhishek and other auspicious ceremonies. If you are coming to Mayapur you can personally attend and bathe Lord Sudarshana with your family, or we will perform the service on your behalf and in your name. Your name will be read during the Maha Sudarshana Yajna and also placed at the base of the Chakra(s) you sponsor. You will also receive a very special gift from us. Nrsimha Chakra abhisheka donors will receive a beautiful silver colored Nrsimha Yantra. Radha Madhava Chakra abhisheka donors will receive a gold colored plate with the impression of Radha Madhava’s lotus feet. Sponsors of both abhishekas will receive both gifts. All gifts will be personally offered to the Deities first by Jananivas prabhu. If you are not personally present we will ship it to you anywhere in the world.

This unique opportunity is completely separate from all other previous pledge programs and is available for a contribution of either $501 (25,000 rupees) for Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Chakra abhisheka or $1,001 (51,000 rupees) for Radha Madhava’s Chakra abhisheka, or $1502 for both. These contributions will be used directly for the Chakra fund to pay for Their production. The payment can be made in full or paid in five installments. The installment option works out to only about $3 a day for the Nrsimha Chakra abhisheka, about $6 a day for the Radha Madhava Chakra abhisheka, and about $10 a day for both, for five months. This is a limited time offer as we expect a large, enthusiastic response and each Chakra abhisheka will be for only 1008 devotees. So act soon before it’s too late. And remember, temples can also participate in this opportunity to sponsor an abhisheka as a combined effort of many devotees. Contact your temple president and let him know.

EXTRA SPECIAL SEVA OPPORTUNITY! For devotees with the financial means and desire, we have a very special offer to sponsor the Victory Flags that will be raised onto both the Radha Madhava and Nrsimha Domes during the installation ceremony. The Planetarium Dome Victory Flag was previously sponsored and now these two flags are available for sponsorship for $25,000 for the Nrsimha Dome flag (11 ft./3.50 m. long) and $50,000 for the Radha Madhava Dome flag (16 ft./5 m. long). The flag along with a beautiful, decorative storage box will be given to you as a gift for your sponsorship. If you are interested in this most auspicious service opportunity please contact Vraja Vilas das directly at:

Phone – + 91 963 599 0391
Email – *protected email*

Please watch this video of the first Chakra installation onto the Planetarium Wing Dome:
https://tovp.org/construction/tovp-chakra-installation-milestone-event/

To make your installment pledge or full payment, please do the following:

DO THIS FIRST: Send an email to *protected email* and register for this seva opportunity by providing your personal contact information, your sponsorship choice (one or both Chakra abhishekas), and whether you will be paying in full or through installments for five months for the Radha Madhava or Nrsimha Chakra Installation Abhisheka Seva Program either by Paypal, bank transfer or Axis Bank General Donation (India only).

For U.S., U.K. and other International Payments Outside India

1. Go to https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/ and click on the Square Foot option.

2. Click on Donate Now.

3. Select the Country and Payment Method (except India – see below)

4. In the Other Donation Amount section enter your payment amount, either the full amount or the portion of your pledge. The Total Amount box will show the amount you are paying. If you wish to set this up on a recurring schedule for five months check the “I want to contribute this amount every ______” box and select the week or month option. If you do not set up the recurring payment option you will need to remember to make your payment each month for four more months.

5. Enter all your personal data.

6. VERY IMPORTANT: In the Notes section under the personal data be sure to indicate that this donation is for the Radha Madhava/Nrsimha Chakra Installation Abhisheka Seva Program and whether you will be sponsoring one or both abhishekas.

Bank Transfers Outside of India

If you live outside of India and wish to pay in full or monthly through a bank transfer, follow the instructions in DO THIS FIRST above and then go to:
https://tovp.org/donate/bank-transfer-details/
You will need to remember to make your payments each month for four more months if choosing to pay in installments.

For India Payments

1. If you are an Indian citizen and wish to pay in full or in installments through a bank transfer, go to: https://tovp.org/donate/bank-transfer-details/
You will need to remember to make your payments each month for four more months if choosing to pay in installments.

2. If you are an Indian citizen and wish to pay through the Axis Bank General

Donation option (you will need a PAN number for this option), go to:
https://tovp.org/donate/axis/
Enter the amount of your payment, either the full or installment amount, enter your email address, and enter all your personal data.

VERY IMPORTANT: In the Notes section under the personal data be sure to indicate that this donation is for the Radha Madhava /Nrsimha Chakra Installation Abhisheka Seva Program and whether you will be sponsoring one or both abhishekas.

“If the devotee offers something to the Lord, it acts for his own interest because whatever a devotee offers the Lord comes back in a quantity a million times greater than what was offered. One does not become a loser by giving to the Lord; one becomes a gainer by millions of times.”

Srila Prabhupada; Krishna Book, Chapter 21

The post TOVP Announces A Once-in-a-Lifetime Chakra Abhisheka Seva Opportunity appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

New Mayapura #5

New Mayapura #4

New Mayapura #3

Sivarama Swami’s class. New Mayapura #2

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 05 August 2012, Stockholm, Sweden, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.3-4)

Every devotee is an individual. We are not all stereotypes – all walking the same and all saying Hare Krsna in the same way. No, we are individuals who have a role to play and a contribution to make. That is what we are meant for. That is the higher plan. But when Prabhupada said, “Please, just give me this one life,” instead of just trying to be what we want, what we dream to be, what we’re always hoping for… for one life, just be the instrument of Krsna.

The post Daily Darshan: September 25, 2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 3.15.25.

“When one is free from all ten of these offenses in chanting the holy name of God, he develops the ecstatic bodily features called pulakasru. Pulaka means “symptoms of happiness,” and asru means “tears in the eyes.” The symptoms of happiness and tears in the eyes must appear in a person who has chanted the holy name offenselessly. Here in this verse it is stated that those who have actually developed the symptoms of happiness and tears in the eyes by chanting the glories of the Lord are eligible to enter the kingdom of God. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is said that if one does not develop these symptoms while chanting Hare Krsna, it is to be understood that he is still offensive. Caitanya-caritamrta suggests a nice remedy in this connection. There it is said in verse 31, Chapter Eight, of Adi-lila, that if anyone takes shelter of Lord Caitanya and just chants the holy name of the Lord, Hare Krsna, he becomes freed from all offenses.” SB 3.15.25 purport.

Vyasa-puja, London

Today is  Chitra Devi Sakhi’s divine appearance day. At Mayapur, she is adorned with colorful garlands and special decorations and her divine qualities are displayed, for everyone to glorify & pray to her for mercy to serve the divine couple. In the year 1992, Chitra Devi was one of the last of the four Asta-sakhis, […]

The post Chitra Devi – The Compassionate-Hearted One appeared first on Mayapur.com.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2011, Berlin, Germany, Lecture)

In the earlier days of ISKCON, austerity was a big thing. It was considered spiritual, the more austere the more spiritual – the colder the water the better, the less you ate the more Krsna conscious you were! The days of austerity where everything was taboo! A book that was not Krsna conscious, if found in the ashram, would be confiscated and burned!

“Such books are not to be read, such books are maya, such books are contaminating us! We do not even wish to see them! Destroy them, annihilate them so that we will be safe from maya and it will not in any way disturb us and we will have purity in our devotional life!”

There is just one thing that we forgot. We forgot that we are human; we forgot that we have taste; we forgot that we have likes and dislikes; we forgot that we desire to enjoy and feel good.

Those days of fanaticism have moved along; it does not last.

Sivarama Swami’s class. New Mayapura #2

New Mayapura #1

The documentary celebrating Prabhupada's impact and capturing ISKCON worldwide today has been screened in 30 countries already. Visit the film's website for more information and for ordering a copy for your community: https://www.joyofdevotionfilm.com/hold-a-screening

The Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir ISKCON celebrating the world holy name week, with devotees chanting and dancing through the streets of Shri Mayapur Dham. A video by Mayapur Communications. 

Tiling of the Main Dome is now in full swing in preparation for the installation of the Kalash and Chakra in February. These photos reveal the beauty of the blue tiles.

Waterproofing and tiling are done daily from morning till evening and the facing of the Main Dome will be completed in six months. Tiling of the Nrsimhadeva Dome will also start shortly.

The post Tiling the Main Dome appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

A multi-talented musician, Havi Das – a Srila Prabhupada disciple – is a  highly successful pop and traditional artist in his native Venezuela as well as throughout South America. He grew up listening to Venezuelan folk, Afro-Caribbean dance, British progressive rock, and American R&B, all of which influence his own music.

Kartik Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama offers devotees the opportunity to visit the nine islands of Navadvipa (West Bengal, India) in the association of sincere devotees and to hear the glories of the Lord in His pastime places from many senior Vaishnavas. 

Some 420,000 Rohingya Muslims, a religious and ethnic minority community in Myanmar, have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since August this year. The United Nations has called the Rohingya the world’s most persecuted minority group.