Planet ISKCON

Walking across America, Bhaktimarga has been attacked by wasps, birds, and even a grizzly. But this walking monk laughs about his bouts with nature and promotes walking with a purpose.

By Bhaktin Diksha

“We would like to see this develop as a marathon,” says HH Lokanath Swami. “We want everyone’s participation. From GBCs to ABCs, everybody must be a part of this endeavour which glorifies the Holy Name and glorifies Srila Prabhupada - the one who shared this gift with the world at large.” This year also marks the centurial anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the USA. Therefore, this year’s theme is called ‘Srila Prabhupada’s gift to the world’. For this event, the team has invited coordinators from all the temples and centres across the world to hold programs like japa marathons, harinams, seminars on the Holy Name and Nagar Sankirtans. Continue reading "Lokanath Swami urges Temple and Center Representatives to participate in the World Holy Name Week
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Ratha Yatra in Edinburgh, Scotland (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada: Fire will act, regardless of whether handled by an innocent child or by ...

A Blue Baby’s Birthday! ISKCON Secunderabad - Janmastami 2017! (10 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/9LZSSr

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Someone asked me about my thoughts on Neem Karoli baba. I heard about the Baba and how few of his followers have made him famous such as Krishna das and Baba Ram das. I also heard some of the other-worldly things he had done and how he was loving towards his followers etc. I think he is also a follower of Lord Hanuman. Since I have not met the Baba or read any of his books and know him only through hearsay, honestly, I cannot speak much about him. In India, there are so many babas and gurus even inside the line of vaishnaivism, so many that we can get lost and confused.

The general trends as far as I can tell is like this – those who believe God is a personal Being with form and attributes are most likely connected to some sampradaya in an official sense. They would have studied the scriptures in an academic manner and intellectually first approach God. Those who are not connected to a sampradaya but due to practice of yoga or some previous karmic spiritual realizations/yogic siddhis start their own ashram. Such self-proclaimed babas or gurus most likely live an ascetic life but their understanding of spiritual will lean towards an impersonal reality. This is the general trend as far as I can tell. Of course, there are other out-right cheaters who are not even ascetics (we can ignore them).

Srila Prabhupada, from the standpoint of suddha bhakti, was strict and even sounded sectarian against non-suddha bhakti. This is because he wanted to clearly demarcate the path to Vaikunta and this path is certainly methodical and not just sentimental. Therefore, from that perspective of pure devotion, we have to but shun other paths. Srila Prabhupada's definition of bonafide guru is from the perspective of pure devotion to Govinda.

There is another way to look at this too. Not everyone will be interested in pure devotion to Govinda. If that is the case, they will be more sentimental towards God than methodical. Such people will be attracted to any guru or baba who has esoteric qualities. We should not criticize the devotees who are seeking a lower-form of spiritual shelter. This is because at the minimum, even if impersonally inclined, these spiritual aspirants are taught to give up a gross materialistic way of life such as meat eating, sex, intoxication etc. So from the perspective of elevation from gross-materialism (approaching satva guna), I think those who are not interested in pure devotion still are making progress towards Krishna albeit slowly. Perhaps in a future state, they will see the fallacy of impersonalism and take to personalism.

Srila Prabhupada dealt in a practical sense like a gentleman towards all types of people. For example, he was friends of Dr.Misra who was an outspoken mayavadi. He even took services from him. He even personally served Dr.Misra, healing him back to health when he was sick. Srila Prabhupada also used Dr.Misra’s facilities as a way to spread Bhakti yoga. Srila Prabhupada was grateful to Allen Ginsberg and had nice things to say about him. Allen was openly gay and spoke in favor of it. Srila Prabhupada also knew about it, yet he was compassionate and kind. There is also documentation of how Srila Prabhupada was friendly with Yogi Bhajan and despite the difference in philosophy, Srila Prabhupada seeked Yogi’s help as a Kshatriya. Srila Prabhupada was also a close friend of Mr.Hanuman Prasad Poddar and seeked his help to publish his initial Srimad Bhagavatam Cantos. I do not think Mr.Hanuman Prasad Poddar was a seeker of pure devotion as chalked out by Prabhupada in his books. Like this, we can see how Srila Prabhupada had friendly relationships with everyone on a one-to-one basis (private) but as a teacher and guru he was vocal about mayavadism in this books and lectures (public).

As followers of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, we also have to respect all people from all backgrounds but for our own self (privately speaking), we strictly adhere to the principles set by the Guru and Parampara and we do not internally associate (although may be externally sometimes) with mayavadism or other non-suddha bhakti path.

Hare Krishna

ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) is the foremost gathering of leaders and devotees from around the world. The ILS is eight wonderful days of seminars on leadership and related topics within the sacred atmosphere of Sri Dhama Mayapu

Gauranga festival near Moscow, June 2017, featuring one of two Russian Gurus, Chaitanya Chandra Charan Das is giving initiations. He also sings in the video by Dmitry Tolkachev. 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 September 2012, Durban, South Africa, Radhastami Lecture)

Just as Krsna’s appearance was not ordinary, in the same way, Srimati Radharani’s appearance was also not ordinary. One day, Maharaj Vrsabhanu was approaching the Yamuna and within the waters of the Yamuna there was one extremely effulgent lotus flower. The effulgence of that lotus flower was so attractive that Maharaj Vrsabhanu felt like taking it. So he went into the water of the Yamuna, but then, he saw, in the whorl of that lotus flower, the cause of that effulgence. It was not that the lotus itself was so effulgent but it was a little girl, golden in complexion, lying there in that lotus! He forgot his idea of taking that lotus and he just picked up the little girl with great joy in his heart and took her home. In this way, Kirtida conceived a child – somewhat unusual but divine just like Krsna’s appearance.

Celebrations of Mother Kulangana's 85th Birthday at Bhakti Centre, London, UK, on Wednesday 3rd May 2017. She would leave her body on Monday 14th August 2017.

What if we could have an alternative vision of reality, a vision that made greater sense of things and brought deeper meaning into our life?

How to make those three little words have the greatest impact. A video by "Simple for the Simple".

Brinda Raval, 21, is offering an inspirational example of how young ISKCON devotees can engage with today’s global concerns. “I’m very interested in social justice issues, and how as a devotee and a spiritual person I can use that to serve,” says Brinda. Through a rigorous application process, Brinda was recently accepted to attend the UN Summer Youth Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York City.

A day on the beautiful New Govardhana farm in NSW, Australia.

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Harinama at Broadbeach (Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia) - 20 August 2017 (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada: In old age, at the time of dea...

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON Belgaum, India]

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The post Gajendra Moksha Katha 5 – Which comes first – giving up lower taste or getting higher taste – Hindi appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON Belgaum, India]

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The post Gajendra Moksha Katha 4 – How age helps us become renounced – and how it doesn’t – Hindi appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Sunday feast class at ISKCON Belgaum, India]

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[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON Belgaum, India]

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The post Gajendra Moksha Katha 2 – Deviated spiritualists may lose the human body, but not their spiritual attraction – Hindi appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Ecstatic Solar Eclipse Harinam Sankirtan in NY - August 21, 2017 (2 min video) Watch it here: https://goo.gl/yixkvC

The Swastika: A Symbol of Goodness or Hate?
The swastika may be offensive to many people, but it’s probably sacred to far more. And with one billion Hindus, Buddhists and Jains holding it as auspicious, it could hardly be considered “one of the most hated symbols in human history.”
When Hitler began using the swastika as the symbol for his Nazi party in the 1920s, he brought about the death not only of millions of innocent people, but also of an innocent symbol. His use of the beloved Hindu religious sign instilled so much hate for it in the Western world that I wonder if its true meaning will ever be reclaimed.
In Hinduism, swastikas are used in conjuction with the elephant God Ganesh and the sacred om to remove obstacles and bring auspiciousness – at religious rites, as well as house and business openings. In Buddhism, they appear on the chest of some statues of Gautama Buddha, and mark the beginning of many scriptures. And amongst Jains, the swastika is the emblem of the seventh Arhat, or saint – the first of whom was Lord Rishabhadeva, whom the Srimad-Bhagavatam acknowledges as an incarnation of Krishna.
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Memories of the early times of the Hare Krishna movement as narrated this morning in Radhadesh, Belgium, by Gurudas, one of the first and closest...

Conversation.

By Yogesvara Das

The hero of India’s epic Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna, is at a crossroad. He is intelligent, well-intending, and overwhelmed by a dilemma we all might recognize: the apparent incompatibility of worldly responsibilities and other-worldly aspirations. Arjuna is a warrior who feels the call to a more peaceful, non-invasive life. On the verge of a mammoth war he refuses to fight, even though the enemy is an aggressor who must be brought down. Like Arjuna, once we acknowledge the call to a more enlightened life we may also find mundane duties distasteful. Is it possible to attend to such obligations without compromising our higher self? Is it possible to live in the material world without becoming overwhelmed by it? The Gita responds by analyzing our dilemma through the eyes of a soldier preparing to do battle. Continue reading "The Self at War
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By Satyaraja Dasa

When you're actually on the platform of love of God, you understand your relationship with God: "I am part and parcel of God - and this dog is also part and parcel of God. And so is every other living entity." Then you'll extend your love to the animals also. If you actually love God, then your love for insects is also there, because you understand, "This insect has got a different kind of body, but he is also part and parcel of God - he is my brother." Sama sarvesu bhutesu: you look upon all living beings equally. Then you cannot maintain slaughterhouses. If you maintain slaughterhouses and disobey the order of Christ in the Bible - "Thou shall not kill" - and you proclaim yourself a Christian, your so-called religion is simply a waste of time . . . because you have no love for God. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada and the Sixth Commandment
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Iskcon Mayapur: Lalita devi’s favourite instrument is the vina, and her favourite tune is raga Bhairava-kalingada. She specialises in serving tambula, betel nut to the Divine Couple. She can be seen offering a chamara whisk to Sri Sri Radha Madhava on the altar in Mayapur. She is twenty-seven days older than Srimati Radharani, her age being eternally fourteen years, eight months and twenty-seven days old. Her mood is khandita, like that of a jealous heroine who chastises her beloved. This mood is never manifested in relation to herself, however, but only when there is a delay in the meeting of Sri Radha and Madhava. She is well known for her hot and contrary nature, and her protective mood over her Prana-sakhi – Srimati Radhika.
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“Activism is my rent for living on the planet.”

–  Alice Walker

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The idea of activism – of being a part of some cause that helps makes things better in the world – is increasingly catching on. It has become much cooler than what it was a few decades ago, when greed ruled the roost.

What has led to activism’s increased appeal? Thoughtful people have started realizing that when we live only for ourselves, for our own gratification, we sink into a black hole of self-centeredness wherein our obsession with our own cravings becomes compulsive and destructive. Today, we are ecologically threatened because of the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources. We are intellectually adrift because mainstream materialistic culture doesn’t offer our life any meaningful purpose. We are emotionally alienated because our families, communities and countries are becoming increasingly fragmented. This ecological, intellectual and emotional context underlies activism’s appeal.

However, is the notion of paying rent for living on the planet anything more than a quaint image? From the materialistic perspective mainstream in today’s world, the material is the only thing we need, the only thing we can have, the only thing that is real. And the planet we live on is just a blob of stardust in a vast unfeeling cosmos. By some lucky accident, it has somehow provided the conditions for us humans to live. Given that the planet’s human-friendliness is accidental, no one owns it. So, materialism reduces the notion of paying rent for living on the earth to just a cute metaphor.

Some utilitarian materialists may reason that if the notion inspires people to do good, there’s no harm in using it. Maybe. But the notion would have far greater impact if it were appreciated as being not just metaphorical but also metaphysical. What if we could have an alternative vision of reality, a vision that made greater sense of things and brought deeper meaning into our life?

The Bhagavad-gita offers us such a vision wherein it (05.29) states that the entire world, nay all of existence, belongs to the Whole, whose parts we all are. We use the resources of the earth for our sustenance and enjoyment, though we didn’t create any of these resources. Just like some apartments come with the basic facilities for cooking, ventilation and sanitation, so too does our cosmic apartment come with the basic needs for living. And just as we need to pay rent for the apartments we live in, so too do we need to pay rent for staying on the earth – the rent of activism.

People often conceive of activism as anything done for making a difference. Gita wisdom gives such activism a deeper foundation and a more fruitful direction. It explains that we are at our core spiritual beings, parts of a Whole. We are meant to live in harmony with the whole. How? By using whatever talents and interests we have in a mood of devotional contribution.

This holistic vision can spiritualize our specific form of activism. If we feel driven to make the world a greener place, we can become spiritual environmentalists. We can help clean not just the polluted rivers but also the polluted hearts that make people indulge in short-sighted, self-aggrandizing actions that pollute the rivers. If we feel driven to use education as a means to make a difference, we can share spiritual knowledge that equips people to find higher purpose and pleasure in their lives. By thus spiritualizing our educational activism, we help people to counter and conquer the forces that impel them to live disharmoniously.

When we imbue our activism with the inspiration to harmonize with the whole, our activism makes an enduring difference – in our own lives, in our social circle and in the world at large.

 

 

 

 

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Chariot procession through York city center (UK) (Album with photos)
SINGING and dancing members of the Hare Krishna movement have staged their first procession through York city center - pulling along a big chariot.
Tourists and shoppers were treated to a colorful and noisy parade, which began and finished in Parliament Street and took in streets including Coney Street, Stonegate and Low Petergate.
The Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Barbara Boyce, began the procession in line with tradition by breaking a coconut.
About 100 devotees of the movement, which follows ancient teachings of devotional yoga with roots in the Vedic culture of India, came to York from all over the country, including leader Janananda Goswami.

An American member, Krishna Kripa, said he really liked coming to York. “There’s a really nice group of people here,” he said, adding that they met once a month at the Quaker Meeting House.

A spokesman said the Hare Krishna philosophy was attractive to many people, adding: “In a world that’s becoming increasingly competitive, and has people believing they’ll only be happy through material gain, we’re showing a deeply positive alternative.”

One of the procession organizers, Ganesh Thapa, said it had been very successful, despite delays in transporting the chariot to York, and he hoped it would become an annual event. “It’s been amazing,” he said.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/8NcCcE

“Cooperation with devotion lead to happiness” ( min video)
SB class by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on August-18-2017 at Iskcon London Temple.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/JKaT43