Planet ISKCON

In anticipation of tomorrow’s solar eclipse, I read the beautiful chapter in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.82), entitled “Krsna and Balarama Meet the Inhabitants of Vrndavana,” about when Lord Krishna and other pilgrims traveled to Kurukshetra to observe a solar eclipse there. The purport to the second verse says, “Vedic astronomers of five thousand years ago could predict eclipses of the sun and moon just as well as our modern astronomers can. The knowledge of the ancient astronomers went much further, however, since they understood the karmic influences of such events. Solar and lunar eclipses are generally very inauspicious, with certain rare exceptions. But just as the otherwise inauspicious Ekadasi day becomes beneficial when used for the glorification of Lord Hari, so the time of an eclipse is also advantageous for fasting and worship.”

When the gopis of Vrindavan met Krishna there after a long separation, they prayed to Him,

ahus ca te nalina-nabha padaravindam
yogesvarair hrdi vicintyam agadha-bodhaih
samsara-kupa-patitottaranavalambam
geham jusam api manasy udiyat sada nah

“Dear Lord, whose navel is just like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogis and highly learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet may also be awakened within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons engaged in household affairs.” (10.82.48)

I pray to follow in the footsteps of the gopis.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 14 March 2009, Stockholm, Sweden, Lecture)

We encounter so much envy in the world. Envy is a driving force which we really cannot ignore. We see different aspects of envy. There is the normal envy – the jealousy of a neighbour who wants what you have. But we also see a different kind of envy, like the example of a wolf and a lamb. It is not that the wolf wants anything that the lamb has. It is not like that! He is not envious of the possessions of the lamb at all, he simply does not

But also we see a different kind of envy, like the example of a wolf and a lamb. It is not that the wolf wants anything that the lamb has. It is not like that! He is not envious of the possessions of the lamb at all, he simply does not want to allow the lamb any existence because of his own feeling of dissatisfaction. The wolf takes it out on the weaker entity. The wolf has a feeling of hatred which comes from his own frustration, and he takes it out on someone else. Like that, envy exists in so many ways and in all kinds of relationships.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 August 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.55)

There is a price to pay for everything in this material world. You get nothing for nothing! Everything has strings attached which can be very entangling. I remember that when I stayed at the Amsterdam temple, at one point the government wanted to charge us for having a television! We said, “We don’t watch television!” and they replied, “That doesn’t matter, you have the right to watch television so you have to pay for those rights.”

This is the nature of the material energy. The material energy always has a relationship with other things – if you have a house and then you have to paint it and repair it. You get attached to it and before you know it, you have to make a phone call so then you need a telephone but there are other complications with the telephone. So,

ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham

aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam (Bhagavad-gita 15.1)

This entanglement of material existence is just like the banyan tree described in the 15^th chapter of the Bhagavad-gita which is upside down with so many branches and from each branch, new roots are growing. In Kolkata botanical gardens, there is an enormous banyan tree and this tree is so huge that you can go inside it! The banyan tree has aerial roots that grow in the tree and in the ground as well as the ends so you can no longer see where the original trunk is. New aerial roots are wrapped around other aerial roots and they look like the trunk – the entanglement of the banyan tree is like the entanglement of the material energy.

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[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON Belgaum, India]

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In a few days is the appearance of HH Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami.
This book is a free download. We offer it free as a gift for Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami’s Vyasa Puja.
This is the link: http://tvpbooks.com/2017/05/the-exalted-bhakta-bhagavata/

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of July 2017. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5 Continue reading "NASN July 2017 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
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Vaishnava Songs App.
A Music App for Devotees.
Vaishnav Songs gives you instant access to all devotional songs.
Just hit play to stream anything you like.
Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q-R-vxhfhk
As every non-devotee has some kind of music app, we’ll have one for devotees too! It will help us to murmur and remember more Vaishnav bhajans which can be sung now and then. We are all very grateful to our great Vaishnava acharyas for compiling such nice bhajans for us.
This app will definitely add an extra bit to our devotional practice.
Download it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krishna.vaishnavsong
Happy listening Vaishnav Bhajans!

Iskcon Silicon Valley - Srila Prabhupad’s Vyas puja 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity, the Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. This is the reality of all Vedanta. The chanting of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.” (Narada-pancharatra)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/t2jwKS

The glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita.
I am your servant Sri Bhakti Das from Chile, please accept my humble obeisances. I hope you are fine.
I would like to share with you a recent ORISSAPOST newspaper article (Indian Newspaper from Orissa).
I spoke about the glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita, the greatness of Srila Prabhupada’s legacy, our service in Chile, etc.

Can a person with low self-esteem be spiritually advanced? Can a person with healthy self-esteem not be spiritually advanced? Is there an absolute correlation between the two? Yes, to the first two questions. But if one has low self-esteem, it can be an impediment because of the need to pull others down. Of course, high self-esteem doesn't guarantee spiritual advancement, but generally such persons have an easier time confronting and dealing with their faults. I find that many of the devotee’s problems come from not loving themselves, that is they neglect their sadhana because they don't care enough about themselves to be strict. Also, they may offend devotees, not always because of spiritual weakness, but because of negative psychological factors. Continue reading "How to separate personality from humility? Can a strong person be humble?
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Becoming Krishna conscious.
Srila Prabhupada thoroughly explains the simple technique of becoming KC. This is so relevant for all householders:
“So our life should be so formed that in our every activity there will be God consciousness. That is the technique of yoga-sthaḥ. You haven’t got to separately being seated in meditation as yoga, generally as we understand. Now, how much you can devote your time to meditation? Suppose one hour in the morning or one hour in the evening you can devote. But if you mold your life in such a way that always, twenty-four hours, you are in meditation, that is the platform of yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi. I am earning for the Supreme Lord. Then, when I earn, I bring things for cooking, I am thinking, "Oh, this thing will be cooked for Lord.” Now, your wife cooks, and she is also very clean because it is being cooked for Lord Kṛṣṇa. You see? Now, as far as I am concerned here, I also cook myself my food and offer to Kṛṣṇa, and therefore I ask my friends that unless it is offered to Kṛṣṇa, you please do not take it. You see? Sometimes I see that in your country, while cooking, they taste. They taste. But I request them that don’t taste before the cooking is finished. After cooking is finished and when it is offered to the Deity, then you take as much as you like, as much as you like. So that means there is God consciousness, that “This thing is being cooked for the Lord.” The cooking will go on. If you don’t think of God, you require cooking because you want to eat. The cooking is there in the program. But if you think that this cooking is done for God, then your God consciousness is there. The cooking you cannot avoid. As a householder you have to cook for yourself, you have to cook for your children, you have to cook for somebody else or for your own self. Just like I am cooking. I have no here family or children, but I am cooking for myself. So cooking you cannot stop. But if you cook with the understanding that “This foodstuff is being cooked for the Lord. The Lord may be offered first; then we shall take,” this is God consciousness. This is God consciousness. But is it very difficult thing? Anyone can accept this. Anyone can do it. It is not… Because your cooking business is not stopped. Simply the mode of thinking has to be changed. That’s all. A small technique, that “I am earning for God. I am cooking for God. I am eating also for God. I am eating also for God.” How is that eating you are…? “Now, because my body is dedicated to the service of the Lord, if I don’t eat sufficiently to keep my body fit, then how can I work?” So your eating is also God consciousness. Your sleeping is also God consciousness. So that is the way. We have to mold our life’s activities. Now, when I think that “I have to keep this body fit for working for God,” so then that is not, I mean to… That is not bodily conception of life. Just like when you think that “My car has to be kept very nicely so that I can take nice work for it,” then you are not identified with your car; you simply want to take some service of the car. Similarly, if you think that “This body is required for acting, for working on behalf of the Supreme Lord; therefore I must keep the body fit to work,” so that is not your identification with the body. But if I use this body for sense gratification and therefore I make my body stout and strong to enjoy sense enjoyment, that is the cause of my bondage.“

Lecture given on Bg 2.48-49; April 1st 1966

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada perfectly exemplified flawless devotion of the highest order, yet many are his severe cautions and stern admonishments against the impatient and impetuous impudence of those exceedingly foolish persons who are mistakenly disposed to consider themselves pre-eminently qualified to automatically ascend to the highest spiritual stratosphere of spontaneous devotion merely because of the apparent extent of their own imagined penultimate fitness to receive the most intimate connection conceivable with topmost Divinity. Continue reading "The Forbidden Kingdom
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2003, Lecture)

There are no limits to HOW we can preach but we must know that when we preach in the spirit of being compassionate, trying to be kind and merciful to others and trying to see how they are suffering, then we become real preachers then our preaching becomes inspired preaching.

http://bbc.in/2uTTajU

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[Talk at auditorium, GIT College, Belgaum, India]

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Downtown Miracle (1 min video)
Standing on a corner surrounded by giant skyscrapers, men and women in business suits, cars honking their horns, and the scattered homeless people, we felt a bit peculiar handing out the Bhagavad Gita to all onlookers. In such a situation, the only thing we could do was simply pray for a miracle. I was accompanied by veteran book distributor Bhrgupati Prabhu, and although the environment was bitter and harsh, his association kept me clear headed and healthy. As we were showing this golden book to all the busy and fast walking pedestrians in search of monetary wealth, we were met with overwhelming rejection. It was at this time that our prayer got deeper, and Krishna began to unfold a wonderful event I will remember endlessly. What happened next was a clear example of the Supersoul intervening and leading a person to the right path.
Standing at our crosswalk, the light turned green, and on came a new flow of foot traffic towards our direction. Suddenly, one young male student began to slow and stop in the middle of the intersection in disbelief. As he moved closer, he began to jump up and down in great excitement! As he proceeded towards our book display, he grabbed the Bhagavad Gita from our hands, held it up triumphantly high, and began shouting, “Oh My God! This is It!” My partner and I looked at each other with great happiness to know something extraordinary was getting set to unfold. We proceeded to ask the male student, “I’m guessing you’ve heard of this book! Please tell us why you’re so excited, because it’s making us excited!” He then began to reveal his amazing story. To summarize, just two days ago, this young male student began to meditate, until he reached a state of what he called “trance”. In his tranquility, he suddenly heard two words which he has never heard before: “Bhagavad Gita”. This caused him to open his eyes immediately, search on Google for these same words, and he came to know of an ancient spiritual text written over 5,000 years ago. Now he was determined to find this divine literature, and through God’s arrangement, we happened to greet him with effulgent treasure less than 48 hours later.
Sometimes we may not feel like going out on book distribution, but just know Krishna can empower you in many special ways, and lead you to the most amazing experiences. I’ve attached a short video clip of the interaction. The male student was so shy and shocked that he could hardly speak, so his female friend, who also got The Bhagavad Gita, shared the story.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
YS,
- Jaya Chaitanya Dasa

Srila Prabhupada, you mercifully employed me as one of your office boys in this mission to spread Krishna consciousness. It is for this reason that Bombay has special significance for me. It was my spiritual birthplace.I was conceived at your first Bombay festival at Cross Maidan in 1971 and I was born in 1972 at Hare Krsna Land. Srila Prabhupada, you always said, "If you want to remember something, write it down." In the introduction to "A Transcendental Diary", Hari-sauri Dasa recalls that within two days of his assigned association with you, he purchased a blank notebook to keep a diary. He had the foresight to update his diary daily, "thinking that ten or twenty years hence I would be able to read the notes and relish the brief time spent with Prabhupada." Sadly, I did not have his wisdom, and deeply regret not recording every encounter, because then there would be volumes to write about you. Continue reading "Vyasa Puja Offering to HDG Srila Prabhupada
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It was a beautiful sunny New York afternoon, with a slight cooling breeze and the familiar scent of incense wafting out the front door of the 26 2nd Ave storefront, the birthplace of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness by the Founder-Acarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Amid the hustle and bustle of the city's rush hour, disciples and grand-disciples made their way to the tiny temple, nearly completely hidden by scaffolding of surrounding construction projects. The sounds outside were loud, obnoxious, intrusive; but once inside, one felt serenity, respectfulness and love. Continue reading "Successful Vyasa Puja Celebrations at 26 2nd Ave, NY
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