Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Shraddha Season - Bhaktivedanta Manor.
Wednesday 6th September – Tuesday 19th September
Sraddha period is a very important time for those with deceased parents and grandparents, as during this period offerings are made to help the soul of the ancestor on its journey. Ancestors are important because we owe them our very existence, so the least we can do is to help them, even though they have disappeared from our sight.
ISKCON Vrindavan bags the Green Temple Award 2017 on Vedic Earth Day.
On Varah Jayanti, Friends of Vrindavan held its fifth annual Vedic Earth Day and Green Awards Ceremony at the Swami Vivekananda Auditorium at Vrindavan’s Ramkrishna Mission.
A total of five “Vrindavan Green Awards” were distributed to a distinguished temple, school, campaigner, author and activist.
This year, ISKCON Vrindavan took home the Green Temple award for its environmentally-conscious services, including organic farming, conversion of prasadi flowers into compost, cow protection, marketing of non-dairy cow products like gomutra and govar, and more.
Our Only Hope (Album with photos)
Giridhari Swami: This year I had the good fortune of celebrating Sri Radhastami at ISKCON Hong Kong. His Holiness Rtadhvaja Swami Maharaja is visiting and this made the festival very special indeed. We held two programs, one at noon for the temple devotees and close congregational members, and the other in the evening for our Indian congregation. The noon program included an abhiseka of our Devarishi Prabhu’s Radhe-Shyama deities, kirtan, a presentation given by yours truly, aratika, and prasadam. The evening program included a class given by Rtadhvaja Maharaja, puspa abhiseka, kirtan, aratika and prasadam. Both programs were well attended and everyone wholeheartedly engaged in some serious hearing and chanting. I want to share with you an excerpt from a lecture Srila Prabhupada gave in London on the occasion of Radhastami, which I included in my presentation:
Radharani is hari-priya, very dear to Krsna. So if we approach Krsna through Radharani, through the mercy of Radharani, then it becomes very easy. If Radharani recommends that “This devotee is very nice,” then Krsna immediately accepts, however fool I may be. Because it is recommended by Radharani, Krsna accepts.
(Radhastami – August 29, 1971, London)
Our only hope of approaching Krishna is through Radharani. It is fortunate for us that Krishna and Radharani both come together as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the most merciful Lord of all Lords. He only asks that we chant Krishna’s holy name purely and request others to do the same.
Sri Radhastami ki-jaya!
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki-jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki-jaya!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/kBRXs1
Sankirtan Stories.
A bouquet of flowers for … (surprise!)
I was distributing books at a community market in Australia, where I met a florist who had a booth. He was happy to take the Bhagavad-gita and a few small books. He gave a generous donation and on top of that, he gave me a bouquet of flowers. He expressed his interest in visiting the ISKCON farm, New Govardhana, and said he would come for the Sunday feast. I was happy to meet such a favorable person and pleased that he gave me something special to bring back and offer to the Deities.
I stuck the stalk of the bouquet into my backpack, and the flowers visibly stuck out of the top of it. I carried on distributing books, and after an hour or so of not seeing my sankirtan partner, I happened to walk past her while she was in the middle of distributing a book. She reached over just as I walked by and pulled the bouquet from my backpack.
She said to the fortunate soul with Prabhupada’s books in his hands, “You can give her these.”
I later learned that the man she was speaking with had come to the market to buy flowers for his wife and had brought only enough money for that. Because she gave him the bouquet of flowers I had received, he was able to give a donation and take home the Bhagavad-gita. Krsna couldn’t have had me walk by at a more perfect time.
Cc. Adi 12.94-5: “The ocean of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is immeasurable and unfathomable. Who can have the courage to measure that great ocean? It is not possible to dip into that great ocean, but its sweet mellow fragrance attracts my mind. I therefore stand on the shore of that ocean to try to taste but a drop of it.”
Yours in service,
Bhaktin Karly
Radhastami in Vraja (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: On the auspicious day of Radhastami we visited Raval, where Srimati Radharani made He... 
By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada Dear Swami, Your philosophy states that the soul or Self is eternal, and that God, the Supreme Self, is also eternal. If this is so, then how is God to be considered the Creator ? Sincerely, Mary Welch. Srila Prabhupada: Dear Miss Welch, Creator means the Source, and creation means the emanation from that Source. The Creator and the creation are both eternal but the creation depends upon the Creator, and not vice versa. It is like the sun and the sunlight. They are always together, but the sun is supreme and independent, while the sunlight is subordinate. Still, they are not separable, as we are eternally inseparable from God. Ever your well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Continue reading "The Swami Responds – 2
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By ISKCON YOUTH FORUM Delhi Udgaar is a youth festival organized by ISKCON Youth Forum, Delhi at regular intervals for inspiring the youths to develop the natural goodness of the heart and persuade them to share it with others. The festival witnessed participation of more than 500 youths from different nook and corner of Delhi-NCR. The festival was presided by many dignitaries like R.P. Singh, BJP national secretary, Gopal Krishna Aggrawal, BJP Spokesperson and others. The festival started with video show and melodious kirtans by devotees which mesmerized the youths assembled. After this exuberant and spiritually enlivening opening, the chief guests performed the Lamp-lightening ceremony in accordance with the Vedic aphorism “Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamya”. This was followed by a seminar on the topic” Transcendental Transformers” by HG Amogha Lila Pr, Vice President ISKCON Dwarka and visiting faculty in IIM Ahamdabad and IIT Patna. He spell bound the youths present with his pragmatic and logical presentation of Krishna Consciousness. The seminar was followed by events like drama, rock show and sumptuous prasadam which helped the audience to relish the variety of Krishna Consciousness in a most pleasing and palatable manner. Continue reading "UDGAAR -An Expression of Goodness and Joy
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The Glories of Srimati Radharani by Lokanath Swami (video)
Morning Class at ISKCON Vrindavan, 29 Aug 2017.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/ACAxc1 It is never too late to be what you might have been – George Eliot
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Sometimes we feel that life has passed us by, that it is now too late to do many of the things we wanted to achieve in our life. Such thoughts demoralize us and prevent us from taking the small incremental steps on the path to improvement that may still be possible for us.
Amidst such demoralization, Gita wisdom offers consolation and inspiration with the insight that it is never too late because we are eternal. We are at our core indestructible souls who continue to exist even after the destruction of our bodies. With this spiritual worldview, we understand that we will always have opportunities to improve – if not in this lifetime, then in a future lifetime. Such understanding causes hope eternal to spring in our heart. Being animated by this hope, we can resist the temptation to quit.
When we keep trying determinedly, we are often pleasantly surprised to discover that we are able to do many of the things that we had thought were beyond us. Undoubtedly, certain achievements depend on certain material conditions; if those conditions are changed irrevocably, then those achievements may become impossible. A sports player who grows too old to play can’t become a champion in that sport.
Thankfully however, this irrevocability applies only to material achievements, not spiritual achievements. The summit of all spiritual achievements is to connect lovingly with Krishna, our all-attractive Lord whose parts we are eternally, and to rejoice forever in that connection. The opportunity to develop that spiritual connection always stays with us, no matter how many material things are taken away from us.
Thus, the spirit of the statement that we are never too late applies most realistically to our spiritual growth. The Bhagavad-gita explains that the soul never ages. Being eternal, it exists beyond time. And realizing ourselves to be souls opens the door to a fulfillment that exists beyond time, a fulfillment that is never too late to pursue and achieve. Learning to live as souls by practicing yoga, especially bhakti-yoga, raises our vision beyond bodily pleasures. Such pleasures become too late to enjoy when our body ages and loses its capacity to enjoy. Even when the body has that capacity, those pleasures remain at best fleeting and unfulfilling.
When we internalize Gita wisdom, we realize that life has much more to offer us than what we had been taught to believe by our prevailing materialistic culture. Life is meant for redirecting our love from the world to the source of the world, the all-attractive supreme, Krishna. When we learn to purify our heart and center it on him, we find ourselves becoming that which is our hearts’ deepest calling.
Ultimately, life’s greatest achievement is not in getting or doing – it is in becoming. Or more precisely, it is a becoming by which realize our being. As souls, we are, by our very nature, blissful beings. Only because we misidentify with our physical bodies and become attached to worldly objects do we become oblivious to our innate blissfulness. We become aware of our essential identity and the concomitant joyfulness by practicing bhakti-yoga. And as bhakti-yoga, the path of eternal spiritual love, is the perennial calling of the deepest layer of the human heart, it is not dependent on anything material, not even age.
So, yes, it is never too late for us to be what we were meant to be – spiritually realized individuals contributing harmoniously to the all-attractive whole and therein relishing sublime, supreme fulfillment.
The post It is never too late appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
My favorite place in Vrindavan is the Kusum Sarovar. During my recent Vrindavan visit, I savored the beauty of the Sarovar in the early morning hours.
A local caretaker took us inside one of the buildings to have darshan of Vishnu’s lotus feet there. He explained how the Rajput kings who had built the Kusum Sarovar had countered through construction the destruction that had been wrought in Vraja by Mughal invaders.
As I meditated on the architectural beauty of Kusum Sarovar, it struck me that the attack on bhakti nowadays was not so much architectural as it was intellectual. Temples are not being widely destroyed today, but the faith that makes people come to temples is being extensively destroyed. Srila Prabhupada has launched a dual program of both architectural and intellectual rejuvenation. He has inspired the building of many beautiful temples and has also inspired the systematic study of bhakti wisdom that will protect and strengthen the faith that drives people to visit the temples. I spoke these thoughts briefly: Kusum Sarovar meditation – Cherishing the culture rich with spiritual stimuli.
As I beheld the beauty of Kusum Sarovar that is evident to our fallible eyes even today and meditated on the timeless beauty of Vrindavan that is revealed through scriptures, I felt a longing to relish Krishna’s Vraja-lila. Many devotees across the world have told me that as they grow older, they feel inspired to cut down on their worldly engagements and focus more on direct devotional service, maybe even relocate to Vrindavan.
I found myself conflicted while praying for something similar because my present service seems to be keeping me away from directly meditating on Krishna-lila. And as I have started focusing on Western outreach over the last few years, I have needed to read, think, speak and write on basic human applications of spiritual principles because that’s what most people nowadays find relevant – that’s what they need to hear before they will even consider Krishna-lila as anything more than religious mythology.
Of course, there are thousands eager to hear direct Krishna-lila. But far more are the people who need to be made ready to hear about Krishna, and serving them happens to be my primary service.
Thinking how far my consciousness was from direct meditation on Krishna-lila had left me feeling a little devotionally forlorn. But I felt strengthened on visiting another of my favorite places in Vrindavan – Prabhupada’s rooms in Radha-Damodara temple. Though Prabhupada had been there, at the lotus feet of Krishna and the acharyas, he had left Vrindavan to go to New York – and there too, to the Lower East Side, the Mecca of the hippies. Why had he embarked on this perilous journey? Because his devotion was not just to relish Krishna’s sweetness, but to get those stooped in degradation to relish that sweetness. It is because of Srila Prabhupada’s selfless sacrifice that I and millions of souls like me have the opportunity to start relishing Krishna-lila.
As a service to Srila Prabhupada and his followers, I too need to study and share that which serves his mission. Meditating on Prabhupada’s example reminded me forcefully that speaking is first and foremost a service. What we speak on is not as defining as why we speak it. To think that just by speaking directly about Krishna, we will automatically be closer to him is like thinking that just by being in Vrindavan, we will automatically be closer to Krishna. Yes, speaking directly about Krishna-lila is wonderful, as is being in Vrindavan. But what is more important is the consciousness, the attitude, the intent. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura has memorably said: “Don’t try to see Krishna – try to serve him in such a way that he will want to see you.” And a variant of that saying applies to those who are trying to share bhakti in today’s world: “Don’t try to see Krishna by speaking about direct Krishna-lila – try to serve Krishna by speaking about Krishna-shiksha, his teachings that will help people come closer to him; and he will reveal himself as per his sweet plan.”
The post Meditation on Vrindavan – relishing Krishna-lila and sharing Krishna-shiksha appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
The post From love universal to bhakti confidential – Gaudiya Vaishnavism glories (05) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
A video by Kunjabihari Dasi.
The post Radhastami 2017: Abhishek appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Answer Podcast
The post How is forgiveness related to the modes of material nature? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Answer Podcast
The post If we get dreams of our past profession even after having retired for over ten years, is that good or bad? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Answer Podcast
The post Is retaliation in the mode of passion? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Answer Podcast
The post What is the difference between tolerance and passivity? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Answer Podcast
The post If some devotees feel inspired to hear Krishna’s intimate pastimes, what can they do? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
[Radhashtami morning class on Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya 8.100 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]
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The post From love universal to bhakti confidential – Gaudiya Vaishnavism glories 5 – Radha and Krishna are one soul in two bodies appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
[Radhashtami evening class at ISKCON, Denver, USA]
Podcast
The post Radharani is the epitome of pure selfless service appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Harinaam at Ganesh Utsav Pandal, Gaya (Album with photos)
On the eve of Radhastami, ISKCON Gaya devotees performed a Harinama at Ganesh Utsav pa... 
Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra - Sonepat despite the Turmoil! (Album with photos)
SECTION 144 of IPC (Indian Panel Code) was imposed which prohibits any sort of public gathering or gathering of more than 4 people. Internet was shut for over 5 Days, All public transport was stopped, Over 60 trains were canceled, all School, Colleges & Government offices were not in operation, Markets, Malls & Public services were closed & not in services, To control Violence & Riots The Indian Army had to be in action! Yet ISKCON Kurukshetra took EXCLUSIVE PERMISSION from the Higher Authorities & the Haryana Police for this Jagannath Rath Yatra. The Holy Name is the only solution by which we can get Peace & ever lasting Happiness which was clearly evident during the Rath Yatra. Even though there was complete unrest in the Entire State of Haryana yet everyone came out & greeted the Lord & danced in the Kirtan. Under Heavy Police deployment & Administration watch, The Rath Yatra was taken out! We hearty thank the Haryana Police & the Government officials for their kind cooperation. A complete album of Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Sonepat, Haryana.
Hare Krishna from the Land of Bhagavad Gita, Kurukshetra!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/VFfoFe
Bhaktivedanta Gurukula Vrindavan Updates - BGIS (Album with photos)
BGIS ACHIEVEMENT AND APPRECIATION AWARDING DAY.
The Bhaktivedanta Gurukula a... 
Radhastami Initiations in New Govardhana, Australia - 29 August 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age human beings only live fo... 
Radhastami celebration in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sadhu-sanga, or association with a devotee, means always engaging in Krishna consciousness by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and by acting for Krishna. Specifically, chanting the Hare Krishna mantra purifies one, and this chanting is therefore recommended by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.59 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/QDWgLo
Today ( 30 Aug) is the divine appearance day of Campakalata Sakhi. Just before the annual Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur in 1986, Campakalata Devi, along with three other sakhis, was installed and joined Sri Sri Radha Madhava on the altar. Sri Campakalata Devi is the third of the eight principle gopis. Her father is […]
The post Campakalata Sakhi- The Expert Debater appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Radhasthami at the Iskcon Moscow Temple (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: A devotee always thinks of the Lord continuously. While chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the words Krishna and Hare immediately remind him of all the Lord’s activities. Since his entire life is engaged n the service of the Lord, a devotee cannot forget the Lord at any time. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.6 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/MXV1Zp
The Glories of Srimati Radharani by Radhanath Swami (video)
29 Aug 2017, Morning Class at ISKCON Chowpatty.
By Vijaya das For the month of july, in the Large Temple category, the temple that had the biggest increase, percentage wise, over last year was Ujjain, with 2,740 book points. Krsna and Balarama attended gurukula not far from there. But the highest score was Mayapur's, with 37,387 book points. Jayapataka Swami has the devotees very fired up. In the Medium Temple category, the highest percentage and highest score was from Curitiba, Brazil: a 349 % increase and 7,447 book points. Nice seva from the devotees in Curitiba. Keep up the good work! In the Small category, as usual RVC was No. 1. I say "as usual," because July is when they do an annual concert tour, "The Warp Tour". The constantly travel around the USA and distribute many thousands of books. They did 21,775 book points. But in percentage increase, Toronto took the lead, with a 837% increase and 6,127 book points. In the Maha Small category (five devotees or less), Florianopolis in Brazil had a 999% increase, with 1449 book points. The No. 1 temple in this category, also in Brazil -- Nitai Gauranga TSKP -- did 8144 book points. Continue reading "WSN July 2017 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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By Vaisesika Dasa Our congratulations to you for the extraordinary work you are doing to inundate the world with Srila Prabhupada's transcendental literatures. Lord Krishna's topmost devotees, the Gopis, glorify your service: The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.9) Continue reading "WSN Special Announcement: Massive increase in Arabic book points!
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By Vaishnava Das On Sunday, August 27th, a beautiful sunny day in New York City, congregation members of the ISKCON Brooklyn Hare Krishna temple and other sangas gathered in Tompkins Square Park for a Community Picnic. The day started off with HH Chandrasekhar Swami leading an upbeat kirtan in the north end of the park. The mrdanga, karatalas and chanting could be heard from outside the park, even from the south side- even though a large Jazz festival was getting ready for their afternoon program, and we had no amplification! A large group of devotees had already gathered and were chanting when HH Bhakti Charu Swami and HG Hansarupa das arrived, and the kirtan’s momentum picked up. Continue reading "Becoming Instruments for Mahaprabhu’s Mercy; A Blissful and Productive Weekend for ISKCON Brooklyn
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For Radhastami, the devotees decorated our altars in Carpinteria beautifully.
One of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, prayed to Srimati Radharani:
tavaivasmi tavaivasmi
na jivami tvaya vina
iti vijnaya devi tvam
naya mam caranantikam
“I am Yours. I am Yours. I cannot live without You. Understanding this, please bring me to Your lotus feet.” (Stavavali)
Hare Krishna.
Yours in service, Giriraj Swami
Srila Prabhupada said of Srimati Radharani:
tapta-kāñcana-gauraṅgī rādhe vṛndāvaneśvarī vṛṣabhānu-sute devī pranamāmi hari-priye
Rādhārāṇī is hari-priyā, very dear to Kṛṣṇa. So if we approach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī, through the mercy of Rādhārāṇī, then it becomes very easy. If Rādhārāṇī recommends that “This devotee is very nice,” then Kṛṣṇa immediately accepts, however fool I may be. Because it is recommended by Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa accepts. Therefore in Vṛndāvana you’ll find all the devotees, they’re chanting more Rādhārāṇī’s name than Kṛṣṇa’s. Wherever you’ll go, you’ll find the devotees are addressing, “Jaya Rādhe.”
If you go by the speculative process to understand Kṛṣṇa, it will take many, many lives. But if you take devotional service, just try to please Rādhārāṇī, and Kṛṣṇa will be gotten very easily. Because Rādhārāṇī can deliver Kṛṣṇa. She is so great devotee, the emblem of mahā-bhāgavata.
I was fortunate to to be able to celebrate Radhastami at a program in the home of Cairns devotees Adi Kesava and Syamarupa.
Radhadesh, Belgium - Sri Radhastami- Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani-2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: For a transcendental blissfu... [Bhakti Shastri class at ISKCON, Denver, USA]
Podcast
The post Learning to not go up and down with life’s ups and downs – Gita 02.54-57 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
[Chaitanya Charitamrita class on Madhya 8.76 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]
Podcast
The post From love universal to bhakti confidential – Gaudiya Vaishnavism glories 4 – Relishing the transformational legacy of God’s greatness and sweetness appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
