Sri Krishna Janmastami message (2017) from ex GBC Chair HH Bhakti Charu Swami (6 min video)

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For me, the most encouraging part of traveling and speaking is meeting people who are already connected with me through my sites. In Houston, I met a young man who is not connected with any temple but has been regularly reading Gita daily articles. He told me that the articles have helped him better cope with career uncertainties caused by Trump’s H1-B visa policy changes.

In New Jersey, I met a devotee mataji who told me that her husband, though born in a devotee family had been quite short-tempered, reducing her child and her to tears. But since reading Gita-daily for the last one and half years, he has become much calmer, and their family life is much smoother and happier.

In Salt Lake City, I met a Christian preacher who told me that he has been reading Gita-daily articles for over an year and has found himself agreeing with, even appreciating, 90% of what I say. When I asked how he had come to know about Gita-daily, he said that he had got a Gita from devotees doing street distribution and when he had googled to get more contemporary understandings of the Gita, he had found Gita-daily.In Detroit, I met a Western devotee Mataji who said that she has been facing severe health issues that make it difficult for her to come to the temple and sometimes she doesn’t feel like even getting out of bed because of her sickness. But ever since she started reading Gita daily articles, she feels that each day she has something to look forward

In Detroit, I met a Western devotee Mataji who said that she has been facing severe health issues that make it difficult for her to come to the temple and sometimes she doesn’t feel like even getting out of bed because of her sickness. But ever since she started reading Gita daily articles, she feels that each day she has something to look forward to, and that they have enlivened her enormously.

Knowing that I am able to assist people in coming closer to the Gita inspires me to keep studying and sharing its wisdom, even though I continue to struggle as a sadhaka in applying the Gita in my own life.
When I returned to Radha Gopinath mandir after three months and offered by obeisances to Srila Prabhupada, I felt deeply indebted to him. He had strived tirelessly to bring bhakti to millions the world over and I, despite my many limitations and flaws, am being used in some small way to share that glorious legacy. I felt my feelings encapsulated in a verse composed by Jiva Goswami in his introduction to Krama Sandarbha.

yad atra skhalitaṁ kiñcid vidvāṁsaḥ pūrayantu tat
yad atra sauṣṭhavaṁ kiñcid tad guror eva me na hi

Whatever errors are there in this commentary, may the learned souls correct it, and whatever good is found here belongs to my guru, not to me.

This article is part of a series of articles about the recent Western tour. Full article can be read here.

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[Janmashtami krishna katha at youth retreat in ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai, India]

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[Janmashtami krishna katha at youth retreat in ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai, India]

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“I am so much obliged to you that you have become so enthusiastic for offering Vyasa-puja… And I am very much hopeful that … even if I die, my movement will not stop, I am very much hopeful. Yes. All these nice boys and girls who have taken so seriously…” – Srila Prabhupada, Sri Vyasa-puja, […]

The post Honoring the Crest Jewel of All Gurus! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Recently I happened to hear the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and was overwhelmed with thoughts of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, that in Krishna consciousness we do not lose anything—rather, we have everything, with Krishna, and thus everything becomes more beautiful.

When I was fourteen, in 1961, I would steal into my parents’ living room, which was generally off-limits to us youngsters, and listen to the song on their stereo with all the lights out. Something about the song captured my imagination and made me yearn to experience the culture that gave rise to it—the exotic lure of what was then sometimes known as the Dark Continent.

Twenty years or so later, that desire was fulfilled by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy in such a way that I and others could spiritually benefit—I was engaged in speaking the message of Krishna, chanting the holy names of Krishna, and distributing Krishna prasada, sanctified food offered to Krishna, in Southern Africa.

And now, hearing the song fifty-five years after I first heard it, after having lived in South Africa, I was stuck by how much more it meant me and how by Srila Prabhupada’s grace all desires are fulfilled, how we have everything, but better—more beautiful and more meaningful—in Krishna consciousness.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

The “Largest Iskcon Temple In The World” - Being Built In Columbus Ohio.
It is the desire of ISKCON Columbus and associates to be a place where all are welcomed, connected to Krishna, encouraged to grow in devotion to Him, enabled to practice Krishna consciousness based on the teachings of Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and equipped to propagate Krishna consciousness.
After completing the schematic design and receiving permission from the county, we are in our fund raising phase. This prospectus here: https://goo.gl/UCR8hH
and our website: www.iskconcolumbus.com says it all.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is - The First Book App by the BBT
The BBT has ventured into the world of Book Apps, and their first release is stunning. “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” is now available for iOS 9.3 and higher (iPhone, iPad, iPod).
Produced by the North European BBT, it is the only stand-alone Book App containing the full text of Srila Prabhupada’s “Bhagavad-gita As It Is,” including the complete art work from the first and second editions, and a selection of photos of Srila Prabhupada.
This Book App is unique in its ease of access; it keeps the Bhagavad-gita constantly at your fingertips. Plus it gives you the flexibility to read in any format you desire: Sanskrit verses, transliterations, translations, purports, or any combination you choose!

The App allows you to make notes, use bookmarks, and modify settings for enhanced readability. Wake up (or go to sleep) to a Gita verse with the Verse of the Day feature on the home-screen of your iOS device. Each App user’s daily verse is unique to his or her device.

The App is currently available in Russian and English, with French and German versions on the way (included in future free updates).

Staying in touch with the “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” has never been so fun and easy!

Download the App today at the App Store – search for “Gita as it is”, or at:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is/id1080562426

and spread the word by ordering your professionally pre-designed promotional cards at info@bbtbooks.org.

And please remember to give us your feedback through the App.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s exposition was divided into two sections, spiritual and secular, with items collected from every part of India, and the whole extravaganza covering more than one square mile. The secular division demonstrated miscellaneous departments of human endeavour, medical, educational, agricultural, arts and crafts, cattle and livestock, child welfare, athletics, and amusements. Several provincial governments sent materials to be displayed. Other attractions were performances of athletic feats such as gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, sword and stick play, and jujitsu. There were musical competitions, dramas, film shows, a circus, and in the words of the Harmonist, ‘other varieties of innocent amusements.’ Prizes, medals, and certificates were awarded to deserving exhibitors and performers. Continue reading "Sacred Ground
→ Dandavats"

Once, the late Madhudvisa Prabhu asked Srila Prabhupada, “What pleases you the most? Book distribution pleases you. Deity worship pleases you. What really pleases you?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “By struggling for Krishna…,” that was pleasing. This was related to us by HH Giriraja Maharaja. Many things pleased Srila Prabhupada, like doing book distribution, looking after our children, doing deity worship and so on, but to “struggle” for Krishna has a wider concern, because it affects each and every one of us. We all have our own personal Kurukshetra battles to contend with as we practice Krishna consciousness. Continue reading "Look Up To The Strugglers
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Due to the enthusiasm of the devotees of the Mayapur community, Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja celebration has grown over the years, and has now become a six day festival. Many departments of Mayapur join together to host glorifications of Srila Prabhupada on different days. These festivals are so sweet and personal; they keep the devotees constantly absorbed in gratitude for Srila Prabhupada, and allow them to express that gratitude to him. Continue reading "Honouring the Crest Jewel of All Gurus
→ Dandavats"

The Importance of Reading Srila Prabhupada’s books (video)
Class by HH Candramauli Swami, Aug 10, 2017, Iskcon Chicago Sri Kishore Kishori temple.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/MwZtWq

During my London visit, I stayed for nearly ten days at the house of Sunderanand P who is a powerhouse of energy. He is one of UK’s leading surgeons in his area of specialization and had operated HH Radhanath Maharaj – that’s how he became introduced seriously to Krishna consciousness. He is one of the mentors and managers of the Bhaktivedanta Manor and he uses my writings and talks in his outreach. We bonded very well during my stay as he drove me to and fro for most of my evening programs.

His son Shyam Gopal P is one of the pioneers of the Pandava Sena and he efficiently coordinated my various programs in London. His daughter Neha Mataji, a Cambridge post-graduate in Economics, is the engine powering the RISE app that gives contemporary presentations of bhakti wisdom. For that app, I recorded a course on “Science, Spirituality and Life’s Big Questions,” focusing primarily on the question of identity with the related questions of emotions and free will.

At the College of Vedic Studies, Bhaktivedanta Manor, London, I gave two seminars:

1. Karna – Victim-and-vicitmizer – How hurt people hurt people and how to break the cycle:

Although I have spoken on Karna many times and within the devotee community I received much appreciation, many of those same answers when posted on public forums such as quora.com elicited much anger, animosity and even abuse. So, rather than continue with a presentation that alienated many, I decided to take a more sympathetic approach, acknowledging that Karna was grievously hurt, and then stressing that in instigating the public dishonouring of Draupadi, he had lost all sense of proportion and let his vengefulness become indefensibly excessive. I found the response to this angle so much more positive that if I ever write on Karna and the Mahabharata, I will be taking this angle.

2. Destiny – Do we make it or does it make us?

This seminar attracted so many last moment registrations that the space in the seminar hall proved to be inadequate and devotees ended up sitting on the floor. I explained diagrammatically the various kinds of karma – prarabdha (manifest), aprarabdha (about to be manifested) sanchita (accumulated) and kriyaman (ongoing) as well as the various levels of causation – immediate, intermediate and ultimate. The point of how material knowledge and spiritual knowledge address these different levels of causation in different ways resonated with the audience. After the session, we had some of the deepest and the most practical questions of my whole tour, with questions ranging from the idea of a pre-ordained marital partner to the interplay of medicine and science with destiny.

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Written by Sesa Das

At around 5:30 am on Tuesday 11 July, Kadamba Kanana Maharaj set off from Radhadesh to catch a flight from Brussels to Newark, USA. After few hours in Brussels airport, 7.5 hours in the air flying & an hour or so going through immigration and picking up bags, Maharaj was received by Vasudeva Prabhu & a few other disciples who took him to the Bhakti Centre, in the heart of New York City (The Big Apple), the location where Srila Prabhupada first began publicly spreading his mission to the masses!

Adi Purusa Prabhu (ACBSP) kindly accommodated Maharaj at his studio apartments which usually he rents out to university students or travellers. Conveniently, the apartments are only two streets away from the Bhakti Centre & neighbouring with the NYC Hell’s Angels!

First day in New York

The next morning, Maharaj led an ecstatic Guru-puja that had everyone dancing within minutes & went on to give the Srimad-Bhagavatam class on the 5^th Canto, 19^th Chapter, Verse 26. He mentioned that the immigration officer stamped his passport and said, “Enjoy,” which made Maharaj think about the marshmallow test where a child is put in a room alone with a marshmallow in front of them. The child is told that they have the option of eating the one marshmallow now or if they wait for 10 minutes, they could have two marshmallows. Interestingly, later in life, they checked up on the children from the experiment and found out that those who controlled themselves turned out to be more successful in their careers, education, family life, etc…

Shaking our worlds as he does, Maharaj then stated this whole world is a massive marshmallow! Everyone is controlled by lusty desires. If there is no happy ending then what is the point in all the temporary benefits that we want!? A more intelligent person looks at the long-term benefits & how to ‘control against the marshmallow’. But knowledge isn’t the only thing we need, also regular spiritual practice really anchors our character. Our only real option is to develop attachment to Krsna. Unknowingly we are attached to Krsna in many ways. Imagine for a moment someone came up to you and said you are not allowed to chant Hare Krsna! Yes, life is hard but refraining from that would be even more difficult for us now.

Tompkins Square Park

Later that morning, Maharaj took a group of us to the Tompkins Square Park, the first place in the West that Srila Prabhupada began chanting the Holy Name in public. On the way Maharaj was giving a whole seminar explaining the Gaudiya lineage to Syamasundari dd. One-to-one he was teaching her about various personalities such as Madhavendra Puri & how he was able to spread love of Godhead before Lord Caitanya had even come. As we arrived in Tompkins Square Park and sat down by the original Hare Krsna tree that Srila Prabhupada sat under to chant, Maharaj continued to speaking on the lineage and how it’s crucial for everyone in this movement to know & understand it fully.

Then a lady from New York came and sat next to us. She was extremely friendly and told us how she finds this tree & area so special as she can feel a different type of energy surcharged in this area! Amazing! As we were leaving, Maharaj told her & us how actually it is a desire tree! Once Maharaj had thought to himself, “I have seen tree hugging a lot but never done it mysel, but this is a special tree,” so he went up to it, gave the tree a hug & prayed to become an instrument in spreading this Movement. Right there and then as he turned around a young American boy was said to Maharaj, “What do I have to do to become a monk like you?” So it’s a real desire tree! Then the lady said, “Wow! That’s amazing! But first I guess I have to align & have the right desires,” & this was very thoughtful of her to say, so we all appreciated it. As we were about to leave, the thought came to me, “Mhmm, Maharaj hugged this tree and prayed so I should too.” As everyone was going off, I quickly sneaked to an angle where I was hoping no-one would be able to see me do this. Then suddenly Vishvambhar Caitanya Prabhu saw and then Maharaj also. Vishvambhar decided it was a good idea & came over to do it too. As I tried to style it out and act like I wasn’t doing anything Maharaj then got his phone out to take a photo and said, “Go hug it again, I’m telling you to!!!” What could we do.  Anyways, it is the Hare Krsna Tree.

Matchless Gifts

After lunch Maharaj then took a handful of disciples to Matchless Gifts on 26^th 2^nd Avenue, the first Hare Krsna Temple Srila Prabhupada opened in the USA. Amazing to see how close the Bhakti Centre is to both these spiritual hubs (Matchless Gifts and Tompkins Square Park) of early ISKCON. As we walked to the Storefront, it felt surreal that New York is a real place. We all felt as if on a chaotic movie set. How to even imagine what it was like 50 years ago… We entered the storefront & it was as if we had been transported to a completely different abode! It was not New York, inside was completely vibrating with transcendental energy. The whole place was just buzzing with Srila Prabhupada’s presence. Maharaj led a kirtan & then began to speak about how Prabhupada brought us here & asked us to pray for his blessings to live up to this difficult path he revealed to the world. It is one thing to believe in something but how much do we believe that we can live up to it? We don’t doubt what Srila Prabhupada said but rather our ability to live them out. Just as Sanatana Goswami got many instructions and then humbly fell down to pray to Lord Caitanya that these instructions may manifest in him, similarly we have the same instructions that Srila Prabhupada gave in Matchless Gifts & more information than they had back then. In this way, Maharaj made us understand and appreciated the depth of Krsna Conscious energy in this Hare Krsna Storefront. Then to help us all reflect deeper he went around the room and make each individual say a few words of their experience here, which was enlivening to hear.

That evening Maharaj spoke at the Bhakti Centre from the Caitanya Caritamrta drawing out lessons on how to become empowered. Maharaj spoke on the need to go beyond the material identity and world, to connect to Lord Caitanya our saviour and that real empowerment gives happiness beyond temporary happiness. What a first day in the heart of USA!

Day 2 in New York

The next morning Maharaj continued giving the Srimad-Bhagavatam classes on the 5^th Canto. Maharaj was mainly speaking on the points of how Krsna is directly behind everything and doing everything for our benefit. Sometimes we are in a good pious position and become a little proud & other times we are forced to become a mouse again. We question, “What did I do? Why this reaction?” We break our leg and then break our head trying to figure out why… so to us, karma seems blind; we are used to instant explanations, solutions & answers. But karma is like training an animal, it is needed because it reduces our power to enjoy & Lord it over things. This reduction is humbling and purifies us & we must know for certain that Krsna knows what is needed for us!

Later that day, Maharaj decided to take a few of us on a walk to the Central Park, a beautifully scenic park which has a total area of around 340 hectares. Known as an urban monument for decades, the park now has over 25 million visitors per year! It was quite a japa walk! Maharaj took us on the scenic route, but none-the-less we got to see people playing baseball, musicians busking, people electronically driving small motorboats in ponds, a variety of trees & much more. It was quite a vigorous walk, & Alok was sweating, starting & stopping throughout the walk but he pulled through.

The following morning’s Srimad Bhagavatam class was about how Vedic culture has been lost but still the remnants of the culture, like respect, is still there in India. Maharaj told us the story of when he was going to the Kumbhamela in Haridwar & the police stopped the bus & made everyone get off in the middle of the night & so people just began walking to Haridwar instead & they didn’t even know which direction to go but just began. Then finally when they arrived after hours of walking they became so excited to see the Ganga that even the old, fragile ladies jumped into the ice-cold Ganga! They were really relishing it. So we see, India and people of India are like dry-grass, ready to be ignited! The spiritual world’s culture & love is reflected in India. Maharaj ended the class on an eye-opening pointed stating that Krsna will scare off people who aren’t ready to go the extra mile for Him. Krsna makes us but He really tests us too!

Later that day I was invited by some devotees to go to the Doughnut Plant & Maharaj said to me, “You’ve come all this way! You must go there!” Thanking him, I went & had an amazing feast of doughnuts! You must experience them if in NYC!

Every Thursday evening the Bhakti Centre opens their doors for their weekly kirtan evening. HH Bhakti Rasayana Sagar Swami also was there, having just landed in NYC. Maharaj began around 7pm and the room began to fill up, everyone easing in to the night ahead of kirtans. Ananta Govinda Prabhu took over playing mrdanga and you could see Maharaj was now eager to build up atmosphere a notch. Maybe on the recording you will hear Maharaj also playing the harmonium keys with funky beats like a mrdanga. The intensity in the atmosphere was building up. People looked shocked as the ecstasy of the kirtan began taking over more and more. Suddenly people began dancing, letting lose & constantly singing. Then towards the end, Maharaj just couldn’t hold it in even one moment more! He put the harmonium aside and just jumped up & the whole room was just vibrating with the chanting of Hare Krsna and everyone dancing! What a transcendental night that will never be forgotten by all that were there or who hear the recording!

Meeting HH Jayadvaita Swami

After the year we know he’s had, Maharaj really desired to spend some time with HH Jayadvaita Swami. The two of them met & it was wonderful for a few of us to see such a close relationship of Guru-disciple but also of deep trust & love. One evening, they were in the New Jersey temple for a Q&A & afterward Kadamba Kanana Maharaj led an ecstatic kirtan in which the majority were up dancing & he had 5 mrdanga players all playing in sync & attempting to keep up with him.

The next day, Maharaj went to Vasudeva Prabhu’s family house, where his mother-in-law had cooked an amazing lunch that Maharaj was looking forward to. Seeing their beautiful deities Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha, Maharaj remembered Radhadesh as Vishvambhar Caitanya Prabhu was also there. It was a wonderful lunch meeting to bring an end to Maharaj’s visit to NYC as he was set to fly back to Brussels few hours later.

On the way to the airport, many things were highlighted in my mind. The USA tour was a surreal tour. It was like being in a very weird movie set, completely lost in another world. It was wonderful to see the real jewels and mercy Srila Prabhupada had given were still accessible to us all now, today!

Visit Flickr to see all the photos.

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami gave a wonderful message on “Sri Krishna Janamashtami” Janamashtami is the divine appearance day of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is celebrated with grand festivity all over India. Click below to watch the video.:-

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