Planet ISKCON

World Holy Name Week in Vrindavana (Album with photos)
Yesterday Evening World Holy Name Week Special Kirtan at Iskcon-Vrindava...

Canadian Premiere of “Hare Krishna!” the movie (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna chant is called the maha-mantra, the great, exalted mantra above all other Vedic mantras, because simply chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra brings so many beneficial effects. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.1.17 Purport).
Find them here: https://goo.gl/XY6vvF

By Anand Caitanya das

ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco Village won the Spirit of Humanity Award in the Livelihood category. The 8th edition of the Spirit of Humanity awards was held on 14th Sept 2017, in a gala event at J W Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai. The event was organized by AmeriCares, a non-profit disaster relief and global health organization providing immediate response to emergency medical needs and supporting long-term health care initiatives for people around the world. The Spirit of Humanity awards recognize and reward exemplary contributions made towards the society in the fields of Child Care, Education, Health, Disability, Livelihood and Women’s Empowerment. Following a stringent 3-step evaluation process, spread over 6 months, the best-in-class NGOs were identified from each zone. Continue reading "ISKCON’s Govardhan Ecovillage adjudged National winner among NGOs
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Power of Habits (video)
A March 2017 inspiring lecture at the Bhaktivedanta Manor by His Holiness Radhanath Swami.
Watch i...

Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 14.05 Modes are a combination of matter that trigger emotion which matter in isolation doesnt appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

On account of our deities 10 year anniversary, I requested for a chappan bhog offering. Below is one picture we took.

 
About HG Laxmimoni Mataji:
Laxmimoni Dasi was initiated by Srila Prabhuada in 1969 while attending the State University of New York at Buffalo. She received a B.A. in psychology after getting an "A" for her senior sociology project: "Life in a Krishna Temple." She has been involved in ISKCON educational projects since 1974. Now she is a member of the GBC Ministry of Educational Development and a GBC Deputy. She was the principal of the Vaishnava Academy for Girls, in the USA, for 29 years.
She is currently the director of the Bhakti Bhavan, a Vaishnavi training progam at ISKCON Alachua and also helps direct ISKCON Resolve, an international mediation service for Hare Krishna devotees. Last year, she returned from an extensive lecture tour throughout Europe and India and we are delighted to have her back as a teacher.


“One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.”(Previous Acaryas)

Update from the Iskcon Miami temple in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
From Dharma prabhu, the head pujari at the Miami temple: T...

What does it mean to "depend" on Krishna or take "shelter" of Krishna? It means that we cannot control the result. We may have an aspiration or result in mind but taking shelter in essence means we have to leave the results up to Krishna. This is the most difficult thing in taking shelter, in my opinion. To allow Krishna control the result while we use our intelligence to work practically.

Arjuna was asked to shoot arrows and kill but it was Krishna who determined the ultimate result. If we can have patience and calmness of mind to simply work leaving the result to Krishna (result may be for or against our aspirations), then we will never fall away from the path of service to Krishna. I think this is one of the most difficult things to do in Krishna Consciousness - to leave the result to Krishna while I work diligently!

Hare Krishna

ISKCON Auckland NZ: Holy name week 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all b...

Cultic symptoms include isolation of members, lack of accountability of leaders, denial of appropriate care for members, unquestioned submission to leaders, excessive demands upon followers, and physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual abuse by leaders. Not particularly inspiring topics. So why go to a conference discussing them?  

According to many, what makes New York City exciting is the web of microcosms that are so different, still blending harmoniously together. Don't be surprised to find an Eastern monastery in the midst of a tattoo parlor, a funeral home and a gay bar. An observational short film featuring Bhakti Center priest Mike Ceragno, created by Kristina Danka and Violet Benny, produced at the New York Film Academy.

The spiritual world exists not just at a different location but at a different level of reality.

World Holy Name Day was established by the GBC in honor of Srila Prabhupada’s Centennial celebrations in 1996, to honor the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the West.  World Holy Name Day has since expanded into World Holy Name Week, which every year inspires devotees to please Srila Prabhupada and to purify themselves and the world through the chanting of the holy names throughout the days.

The Bakhshali manuscript is an ancient Indian mathematical manuscript written on more than 70 leaves of birch bark, found in 1881. It is notable for having a dot representing zero in it. A video by the University of Oxford.

Bhaktivedanta Manor: Brahmins in yellow.
Srila Prabhupada: All glories to the all-blissful holy name of Sri Krishna, which caus...

Sriman Havi Das, a dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada, will receive Grammy Award for Excellence 2017.
Havi das (Ilan Chester) at the age of 19, in 1971 he first met Hare Krishna devotees and two years later he was initiated and given the spiritual name Havi Das by his spiritual master His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Chester has stated on record that ‘Krishna consciousness is and has always been my true source of inspiration. It is the love found in the hearts of the devotees for Krishna that has motivated me to write songs.’ He and his family continue to be active practitioners of the Vaishnava Bhakti tradition.
“I must admit that the phone call I received from The Latin Recording Academy to inform me about the decision to give me a special recognition for my musical trajectory was a complete surprise,” said the Venezuelan musician after hearing the news.
Havi das (Ilan Chester) transformed a deep mystical devotion and his fascination for many different sounds in a long and long career of impressive variety and depth. Chester, a talented singer-songwriter and musician, grew up listening to Venezuelan folklore, Afro-Caribbean dance rhythms, British progressive rock and American R & B, and incorporated them all into his own music. Received a Latin Grammy for Best Folk Music Album for his Treasures of Venezuelan Music of 2010.
The Music Excellence Award is awarded by a vote of the Academy’s Board of Directors to artists who have made creative contributions of great artistic importance in the field of recording during their careers. The Directing Council Award, also granted by a vote of the council, recognizes individuals who have made important contributions in the field of recording, excluding interpretations.
Each year the Latin Recording Academy honors esteemed Latin music makers with their Special Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Trustees Award.

Answer Podcast

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[Congregation program on Bhagavatam 10.31.7-13 at Pittsburg, USA]

Podcast

Podcast Summary

The post Gopi Gita 2 – You alone can free us from contamination and tribulation – please return appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Beautiful new Iskcon temple near Krasnodar (a city and the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai, Russia)
New Ekachakra Dham ...

“Discover India” devotees visit New Vrindavan (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Our base for the next few days is beautiful New Vrindavan in West Virginia as we prepare for our next few university programs in the area. We have been told that all seats for tomorrow’s program at West Liberty University are sold out. To keep up our high standard devotees are practicing day in and day out.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hxcxbZ

By Rachel Norris

Human life is meant for cultivating your spiritual self. Spirituality is not just about doing some yoga, some poses, looking good and wearing tight clothes. It’s more about expressing kindness to everyone and addressing those little demons inside of you: the lust, the anger, the greed. We all know sex is on people’s minds, that’s fine. Krishna says ‘I am sex, which is not promiscuous, but is responsible sex.’ When it comes to greed, we all have wants and needs, but when a need becomes greed, then we know we’re overboard. I believe walking and meditating at the same time helps to calm down the tendency of getting angry, that’s what Krishna consciousness is all about. We all know that we leave this body, make an exit and expire, so is there any preparation for that? Yes, get clean. Clean the heart and work on those little demons inside. Do that, and you can love and you will be loved. If you’re just a bag of emotions, there will always be something wrong Continue reading "Walking With Purpose—Bhaktimarga Swami, known as the Walking Monk, passes through Amador
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Beautiful ceremony in Iskcon Moscow, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Chanting the holy name is the chief means of ...

Krsna-ksetra Maharaja, Bhagavatam class.

Black Sea festival #14

Cow protection conference at NVD #1

By MCO staff

Chanting the holy names is also a way to glorify and honor our savior, Srila Prabhupada, who gave the gift of the holy names to the world. For this purpose, World Holy Name Day was established by the GBC in honor of Srila Prabhupada’s Centennial celebrations in 1996, to honor the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the West. World Holy Name Day has since expanded into World Holy Name Week, which every year inspires devotees to please Srila Prabhupada and to purify themselves and the world through the chanting of the holy names throughout the days. Continue reading "Sri Dham Mayapur Celebrates World Holy Name Week
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Krsna’s love for His bhaktas (video)
HH Keshava Bharati Dasa Goswami’s exceptional lecture about how Gopa Kumar visits Narayan in Vaikuntha.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/RNo4bZ

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Video :

The post Prabhupada life-story 05 – Indian Partition – Transcendence amidst turbulence appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 14.04 The seed-giving father is also the soul-attracting liberator appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

A Meditation

Krishna is the Original Soul. If they were able, all souls could trace their ultimate origin to Krishna, the origin of everyone and everything. Just as the body has a soul within, so the soul also has a soul. The Soul of the soul is known as Atma-atma. But this Soul is never trapped or compromised as the individual soul is. This Soul remains ever free and above all. He is therefore known as the Over Soul or Superior Soul, or Supersoul, the Param-atma.

The individual soul has an innate attraction to the Paramatma and forever struggles to rediscover Him. That struggle spans an entire life. Then the life after that, and the life after that. Thousands of lives are passed searching for the source of the soul. Eventually, Krishna says ‘after many births and deaths,’ the soul comes to know that He, Krishna, is everything, and begins to directly recognise and acknowledge Him; to know and serve Him. This is bhakti, and the beginnings of divine love.

 

British actor Russel Brand credits the Hare Krishna mantra for overcoming addiction.
Russell Brand is said to have turned to chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra to overcome his drug addiction, and even now at the end of a show he says, “Hare Krishna”. He’s a regular visitor to Bhaktivedanta Manor, the Watford estate given to Prabhupada in 1973 by George Harrison.
He has met with the Hare Krishna Guru Radhanath Swami and called him “a beautiful fellow. He’s got the answer. I’m a spiritual gent and increasingly that’s the level I want to vibrate on.” While not claiming he is part of the religion, he has said he is a “well wisher” that has used the chanting as a substitute for narcotic use. He has been sober for 16 years.

Coming to the U.S. for the first time, Indradyumna Swami’s ‘Discover India’ tour began with a resounding success, performing to a receptive audience of over 500 people at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center in New York on September 10^th. The epic show of dance, theater, martial arts and live music has been touring Poland for 28 years under the name Festival of India, putting on forty events every summer and drawing audiences of three to five thousand people each night.

Meet Jonas.
Veera: During the Pandava Sena trip to America last month, SSP managed to spend a few hours with the New York Harinam team who go out to distribute the Holy Name and Srila Prabhupada’s books every day!
Whilst there, I met Jonas - a university student currently doing a course in Music Technology. He was drawn by the kirtan party and wanted to know more so I explained that this is a form of mantra meditation and they do this here in Union Square everyday. To my surprise he commented ‘I can’t think of anything better to do with my day!’
He explained that he has always been interested in non-conventional instruments and was intrigued by the harmonium, mridanga and karatals. I invited him to join the kirtan group for a little while and he happily did so. He got so absorbed in the Holy Name that time flew and before we knew it, more than an hour had passed!
Once he got up from the kirtan party, Jonas looked at the various books spread out on the table. In the end he took a copy of Bhagavad Gita, Science of Self-Realisation and Chant & Be Happy and exchanged contact details with one of the devotees in New York.
Even after acquiring the books Jonas remained with us, taking photos and videos and inquiring more about different aspects of Krishna Consciousness. He mentioned that he will definitely try to visit the Bhakti Centre soon and also wishes to do kirtan with his course mates in university. Soon we had to leave the harinam party in order to get back to the PS program but Jonas remained, even after we left!
It was so incredible to watch the Holy Name work its magic - just a moment’s interaction had such a deep impact on Jonas that he felt inspired to set aside his plans for the day and spend a few hours with the devotees doing kirtan!
Yuga dharma harinam sankirtan yajna ki jaya!!

ISKCON Czech Hare Krishna farm - The Harvest festival 2017 (4 min video)
ISKCON Czech Hare Krishna farm - Krishna’s yard.
We would like to evaluate today’s harvest festival on the farm Krishna’s yard. It was a beautiful event we organized 2nd year with an idea not only to entertain the visitors with the different attractions and the workshops, but also we wanted to evaluate the entire agricultural season. During whole day were prepared a different workshops - the hand milling of flour on a stone mill, a ceramics production on the pottery circle, a blacksmith workshop, a threading beads for children, a women could decorate themselves by a henna painting or they could try out to dress an indian sari, a face painting and many other activities. A few times during a day was organized a guided tour around the farm. The visitors could see our barn, to get acquainted with grinding flour on a stone mill and look around on our filelds. A big attraction was our newly born calf Uttara, which visitors, and especially the children, cuddled. Our small bull “Jay” on a leash walked through the farm, so anybody could approach him, caress him or feed him. It was possible to ride a horse or on a bullock cart. In a yoga and massage stall, Induprabha devi dasi massaged and advised about the healthy lifestyle. In the educational stall a visitors could get acquainted with various branches of Vedic knowledge in the form of educational banners and there was also an offer of books for sale. A delicious meal with lots of Indian specialties was available all day. There were stalls with farm flour, honey, biscuits and other farm products… The whole event was very nice in a very joyful mood. We consider it to be a very successfull. We would like to thank to all our visitors, as well as the organizers and all others, who helped us with this event. We hope, it was a nice experience for everybody and we hope, that it helps to make the general public more aware of these farms and about this lifestyle. It was a great desire of Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-acharya od the Hare Krishna movement to start these farm projects around the world so that people can become more and more acquainted with an idea of “Simple living, high thinking”. So, we hope that today we fullfiled his desire at least a bit. We look forward to further events on the Krishna’s yard. Hare Krishna. Follow us on:
facebook.com/krisnuvdvur
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/pAZRJY

Black Sea festival #13

Black Sea festival #12

Answer Podcast

The post Did Krishna appear in Mathura or in both Mathura and Vrindavan? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.