Planet ISKCON

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” – Woody Allen. 

Many devotees attended the opening of the Radha Krsna Cultural Centre in Southport on the Gold Coast. Previously, it was located in a rented building but under the auspices of Rupa Vilasa das and family a new property was bought.

The evening celebrated three events: The opening of the centre, the Radha Krsna Jhulan Yatra festival and a few days early, Balarama Jayanti festival. Everyone also enjoyed wonderful kirtan, abhiseka, aroti and prasadam feast.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 10 August 2014, Czech, Balarama’s Appearance Day, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.1.8)

Brahmananda Prabhu told us how the deities in Vrindavan were installed. He said that if you look at the deities in Vrindavan, you will see that Balarama has a hand on Krsna’s shoulder. Prabhupada had asked, “Who is stronger, Krsna or Balarama?”

Some devotees said, “Baladev!!” and Prabhupada said, “No, Krsna is stronger!” because Balarama leans on his shoulder. Then Prabhupada made a sketch of that and he told Bharadvaja to go to Jaipur and have the deities carved in that way. Now, we think that this is the standard form for Krsna and Balarama but it was Prabhupada who indicated that.

Prabhupada explained why he installed Krsna and Balarama in Vrindavan. Vrindavan is the home of Krsna; Vrindavan is the home of the devotees therefore all of us are thinking of Vrindavan; everyone is thinking of home and Prabhupada made Krsna and Balarama the principal deities – that means for the whole world. For all the devotees of the world, he put Krsna and Balarama on the centre altar.

Different devotees have offered different reasons for the installation of Krsna and Balarama. Some said that the temple is in the area of Raman Reti which is like a pastime place of Krsna and Balarama. There in the Raman Reti fields, every afternoon Krsna and Balarama would bring the cows and the cows would rest under the trees.

Then at the time of Prabhupada, there was also the Krsna-Balarama tree. Now, it is not there anymore but there used to be a blackish tree and then on top of it, a white tree. Two trees were growing together and everyone would circumambulate that Krsna-Balarama tree. The black tree is still there in Vrindavan but the white one, not anymore. Prabhupada would circumambulate the Krsna-Balarama tree; I also did so many times and we used to sit there in Raman Reti and the peacocks would be walking around. At six o’ clock in the evening, you would see like thirty to forty peacocks assembled and they would all go into the tree because they used to sleep there at night and in the morning, they would be our alarm clock. At 3 am, they would start really loud… (Imitates the sound of a peacock)

So there in Raman Reti, amidst the sounds of the peacocks, is the home of Krsna and Balarama. This may be one of the reasons why Krsna and Balarama were installed in Raman Reti but Srila Prabhupada said that principal reason why Krsna and Balarama were installed is because they are non-different from Gaura-Nitai and in this age of kali, we cannot enter into Vrindavan without the mercy of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, heno nitāi bine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi says Narotam Das Thakur – without the lotus feet of Nityananda, one cannot attain Radha and Krsna. That is a fact! In this way, Lord Nityananda is an especially merciful form of Balarama. We need that mercy of Balarama so let us serve. Let us do something for Krsna’s comfort. Let the glory of Krsna be spread everywhere; that is Balarama’s desire!

For the upcoming occasion of Sri Balaram Jayanti His Holines Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja gave a light throwing message on the role of Lord Balaram in the life of the devotee. Maharaja mentioned that how Lord Balaram assists the lord in his pastimes , how...

The post Role Of Lord Balaram In The Life Of A Devotee appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

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As we know that on 17th September we will be celebrating H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja’s 72nd Vyasa Puja. Maharaja will be in Ujjain for Srila Prabhupada Memorial Festival and at that time devotees there will also celebrate Maharaja’s Vyasa Puja. This is the time...

The post Vyasa Puja Offering For H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

… intelligence is proved not by ease of learning, but by understanding what we learn.” Lord Sri Krishna says that the Bhagavad-gita is raja-guhyam, the King of Knowledge. The Bhaktivedanta Academy helps to equip those eager to learn with the knowledge of the Absolute. Those who have successfully completed their studies in the Academy are able to […]

The post The Bhakti Vedanta Gita Academy, ISKCON Mayapur appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post Jhulan Yatra 2017: Day2 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The other day a friend came round to our (tiny home) for the first time. She looked in the small pantry and commented, “Wow, you must have to be really conscious when you do your food shopping”. Checking out the shower, kitchen and water facilities, she added “Wow and on rain water. You would have […]

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The summer here in Wales has been unseasonably wet, with rain more accustomed to April than August; until today when Sri Sri Jagganatha blessed the Welsh capital spreading his mercy and joy as Cardiff celebrated its 12 rathayatra

The rathayatra was opened by the High Commissioner for India here in the UK then a wonderful procession and the great chanting of the mahamantra whilst Sri Jagganatha blessed and captivated all, it was indeed a wonderful perfect time under a perfect summer sunshine.

Ending up at the picture’s Bute Park, were prasadam and information on the beautiful joy of devotion was shared.
For your pleasure here is the small video I took and pictures

Hare Krishna

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 18 August 2016, Zadar, Croatia, Balarama’s Appearance Day Lecture)

In the spiritual world, people have bodies made of spirit. There is no war and no problems. Everyone is interested only in the Supreme Lord, and there is a constant festival. Sometimes the Lord comes to this world. Krsna came 5000 years ago and he brought the spiritual world with him and he performed pastimes in Vrindavan together with many cows and with Balarama. Today is Balarama’s appearance day!

He appears first. He is said to be an expansion of Krsna. Krsna is svayam rupa and Balarama is svayam prakash. Balarama is non-different from Krsna but Balarama’s mood is that of a servant. It is in our nature to be servants! The husband has to serve the wife, the wife and the husband serve the kids, etc. If we think we are masters, then we are in illusion. Masters are in control and we are definitely not in control.

By following Balarama’s example, we can become perfect servants of Krsna and become qualified to enter into the spiritual world. There are many pastimes about Lord Balarama. Krsna went with the cows and the cowherd boys into the forest and there were these special fruit trees. Balarama went ahead and collected the fruit. However, a powerful demon, Dhenukasura, lived there and attacked Balarama. He kicked Balarama with his hind legs but Balarama caught him, spun him around and threw him; and the demon died. This demon, in the form of an ass, represents being loaded up with material things! Therefore he could not think of higher things. If one wants to achieve higher things in life then we have to give up material things first!

Another demon, Pralambasura, who represents lust for women, greed, desire for worship and position, was killed by Balarama too. If we want to experience a higher reality then we have to give up illicit sex – not having one woman today and another one tomorrow. If we don’t care about the heart and only about sex, we become cruel.

We have to become pure; we have to give up greed because it will possess us. We should not focus on ourselves. It is not about what we can get but what we can give. This is the lesson of Balarama: GIVING! Then we too can become a servant!

The Bhaktivedanta Gita Academy started in 1994 under the direction and guidance of Bhakti Purusottama Swami, and is located north of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. It provides various courses on our Vedic literature, such as the Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Srimad Bhagavatam.

On July 8^th 2017, ISKCON Nairobi’s premises were a hive of activity. Over 800 new people were exposed to Krishna-consciousness via an art exhibition featuring the work of over 360 students from various primary and secondary schools of Nairobi.

For more information please visit www.tovp.org.

And Prema Rasa asks about Prabhupada saying opposing things at different times.

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it's fame and money, you're not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you're mistaken. As the director of 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life. A TED video.

I remember watching a kirtana festival some years ago. I saw a devotee wearing a t-shirt with the wording: ‘This is what we do,’ which was quite impressive. Actually, chanting the holy name in congregation is indeed what Hare Krishna devotees are supposed to do. Now different kirtana events are happening more and more at New Govardhana. Did you know that there is kirtana every night at the temple? Feel free to come to the temple at 7pm for a lively kirtana. Resident brahmachari Suratanatha dasa says, “Bhakta Mark and I used to have kirtana after evening prasadam at the temple. It was Shyamamrita mataji who encouraged us to do so more often. So we started to sing every night in the temple room and more people became involved. Now we have regular devotee attendance. “Kirtana is great for the community because everyone can easily get together through chanting. We want to keep this happening,” he says. Continue reading "New Govardhana Kirtana News
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Celebrating Radha and Krishna’s pastime of swinging on a golden swing in Vrindavana (video)
Jhulan Yatra during the sacred month of Shravana.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/qFD3kh

I often talk about how theoretical knowledge is different from experienced knowledge, but we don’t always know what we are talking about. I was reminded of this when I spoke at Jacksonville, Florida to students from the University of North Florida on “Near Death Experiences – Has the white crow been spotted?”

The title referred to renowned psychologist William James’ statement about the criterion to challenge ruling theories in science: ““If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, you mustn’t seek to show that no crows are; it is enough to prove one single crow to be white.”

In my talk, I discussed a strong candidate for the white crow in near-death studies – a case that seriously problematizes the materialist dogma that consciousness originates in the brain. It is the case of Pam Reynolds who was made brain-dead as a part of a surgery called “operation standstill” and during that brain-dead period had a vivid near-death experience (NDE).

After the class, three among the twenty-thirty students said that they had had NDEs. Seeing this frequency drove home the reality of the statistic I had read: “IANDS (The International Association for Near Death Studies) reports that as many 14% people, especially in USA, have had NDEs.”

How commonplace near-death experiences were became even more apparent when one of them nonchalantly asked me whether I had ever had a near-death experience.

I answered that I had had not a near-death experience, but an out-of-body experience. Once nearly a decade ago I had been sick and had been hospitalized. While I was given an intravenous injection, something went wrong and instead of the fluid going into my body from the bottle, my blood started going into the bottle. I had dozed off during the injection. When I woke up and noticed what was happening, I became horrified and panicky. But suddenly I saw myself from an out-of-body perspective and immediately felt calm. After a few moments, I found myself back in my body. Still feeling calm, I pressed the nearby alarm button to call a nurse, who promptly fixed the problem.

My program in Jacksonville was held at the Bhakti House, a center run by a young couple: Amrita Keli Mataji, who is the Hindu Chaplain for the University of North Florida, and Lovelesh Prabhu, who is a software engineer.

While I have seen many youth centers managed by monks in India, this is the first youth center I have seen managed by householders, and that too in America. Amrita Keli Mataji and Lovelesh Prabhu have taken a two-story house, in which they live in one small part and open the rest of the house for students as a facility for staying and practicing bhakti.

One of the most inspiring features of being a traveling teacher of bhakti for me is seeing the commitment to outreach of devotees all over the world. Their dedication demonstrates that the zeal for outreach ignited by Srila Prabhupada burns strong in the hearts of his second generational American followers.

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

The post Have you had a near-death experience? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

• Understanding how dharma culminates in prema
• Does chanting automatically make us kinder or do we have to strive to become kinder?
• How to cultivate positive thinking in bhakti
• How can we avoid fear after taking big decisions thoughtfully?
• ​How can I control anger when I am continuously provoked?
• Is there a scientific explanation of the benefits of eating prasad?
• What your phone can teach you about your mind 1 – Deal with your default settings maturely
• What your phone can teach you about your mind 2 – Hardware improvement doesn’t solve software problems
• What your phone can teach you about your mind 3 – Check your energy drainers
• What your phone can teach you about your mind 4 – Let bhakti change your memory
• From will and power to willpower

The post Latest Transcriptions – 08 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Written by Sesa Das

As the evening of Friday, the 30^th June approached, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami landed in the Czech Republic & he wasn’t alone! Nandagopa das from Mafikeng, South Africa had just received the great news of successfully passing his Bachelor’s degree at Bhaktivedanta College, and Maharaj decided to treat him by taking him along to the Czech Summer Camp after having spent three full years in Radhadesh. Kadamba Kanana Maharaj has been actively helping organize & attend the Camp for almost two decades! On Friday, Maharaj stayed in the Lucze temple for the night & the next morning, we all went to the Summer Camp.

Arrival at the Camp

Amazing to think that Czech Republic once was under a strong communist regime, where there were extreme difficulties and punishments for attempting to become and spread Krsna Consciousness. And now, over 200 devotees from all over Czech and Slovakia had come together, taking a week of holiday from work and taken over the landscape of X. The line-up for seminars, kirtans, katha was amazing with special guests HH Danavir Goswami, HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, HH Bhakti Gauravani Swami, HH Janananda Goswami.

Kadamba Kanana Swami arrived at the Summer Camp with a kind welcome from the devotees; they were very happy to see him. In the evening, everyone assembled in the main temple room as Maharaj began to sing his first kirtan of the retreat. After ecstatically warming up the atmosphere and people with a 40 minute kirtan, Maharaj then began his evening class where he spoke on Bhagavad-gita 10.10, telling us about the need to serve,

To awaken our desire to chant we must associate with the Lord & His potency. Our real aim is to constantly glorify Krsna, all else is trivial and secondary, because Krsna is Lord Caitanya’s heart! There no room for anything else. However, we have so many desires and attachments, so what to do? Maharaj went on to explain that if we can’t spread the chanting of the Holy Name then we must somehow support the mission which serves to spread the Holy name. We want to serve our senses and not Krsna. But real change and transformation comes from practice or cultivation not just having the knowledge. When we practice then we put ourselves aside and place Krsna at the forefront.

Later on in the class Maharaj went on to give the example of the Gopis, who have no personal desires. He stated that we see Mother Yasoda actually only wanted Krsna and Balarama to have pleasure. So the more we are engaged in devotional service, the more everything else disappears. As Srila Prabhupada would often give the analogy that if there is ink in a cup then when one places more and more water in the cup it automatically fills up with water and clears out all the ink. So we need to apply ourselves properly to the process, in particular (1) Always chanting & (2) Serving the vaisnavas. Maharaj finished the class by with an important point, which is that we chant for the pleasure of Krsna.

Srimad Bhagavatam Class 10.13.61

The following morning, Maharaj led the Guruvastakam prayers at Mangal arati and thereafter gave a Srimad Bhagavatam class based on verse 10.13.61. He began speaking about Lord Brahma’s exalted position. Brahma received the words spoken to him “ta pa” and so he began severe austerities and the Lord revealed everything to him. But now Brahma saw Krsna eating with his left hand and became confused, thinking, “Is that really God?!”

Maharaj went on to cite Sridhara Swami’s commentaries where it is explained that this cowherd boy form isn’t a ‘form’ that Krsna takes, no, rather it is His original form, govindam adi purusam. But here we see that even great personalities forget the Absolute Truth. Even then though Krsna makes an arrangement for them to remember Him, as we see in this pastime with Lord Brahma. Brahma set out to bewilder and in-turn got bewildered himself. So we must also see this arrangement in our life too.

Maharaj then heated up the class with many penetrating points. He went on to state who is courageous enough to ask their spiritual master, “What are your plans for my life?” We see the spiritual master as intimidating figure even if they are friendly, because he has all authority, more than our parents, more than schools, more than the government! So maybe it’s best to just stand & smile at him. That way we get no revolutionary instructions that we have to follow! However, the bold prostrate themselves and ask, “How can I serve you?” They purely want to be his instrument. This we see in Srila Prabhupada’s example, as he asked, “Why did this happen to me?” (in a grateful & humble mood) and further went on to explain because he 100% followed his spiritual master. We often go to our spiritual master seeking blessings for our own plan, however this means that we are actually competing with Krsna & in a position like Brahma, maybe not immediately, however we start developing this mentality to places ourselves in the centre & that’s how it all begins!

Deep Questions

Maharaj ended the class on the point above and opened up for questions, and two very interesting questions arose (1) Do devotees suffer more than karmis because Krsna wants us to go back to Godhead this lifetime? & (2) What happens if the disciple only follows 20% of the spiritual master’s instructions? Maharaj gave his personal deep reflections on these matters & I could tell them to  you, however I won’t spoil it for you & rather recommend listening to the recording. The remainder of the day, Maharaj spent with many of his disciples & well-wishers.

Initiation ceremony

The morning of our 3^rd day at the Camp, Maharaj gave a class on Sri Caitanya Caritamrta. Around mid-day, everyone assembled in the temple room for an initiation ceremony. Just over half a dozen devotees were seated and about to received initiation, some from HH Danavir Goswami & some from HH Kadamba Kanana Swami. As Kadamba Kanana Swami began a kirtan you could feel the atmosphere being soaked with vaisnava blessings for those about to take their vows and further their commitment to this parampara.

HH Danavir Goswami spoke on the nine stages of devotional service and how we gradually progress. He explained how unless we take initiation, the higher stages are unattainable & even Krsna took initiation to show the importance of it. Maharaj explained the humble mood of the spiritual master who doesn’t think himself qualified to take anyone back to Godhead but thinks he is just a wire and somehow his spiritual master picked him up and tied me to his current so in this way the current of Krsna Consciousness flows down to us. Danavir Goswami then went through the ten offences, stating the clear importance of avoiding them.

The microphone was then passed over to HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaj who spoke on the importance of the process of chanting. Maharaj stated that actually the chanting of the Holy name isn’t dependent on initiation, but when offences are committed this delays the effects of real chanting. Connecting to the disciplic succession gives one the tools and blessings but then it’s up to us to make the most out of them, and our real success starts when we develop humility, otherwise it is very difficult. Only with humility can one’s initiation be successful. Therefore, it is the ‘trinad api sunicena verse’ (3^rd verse of siksastakam prayers) must be kept round one’s neck with the mahamantra.

Then the initiations began and Patthik who is originally from India, however now with his wife is working in Czech and serving wonderfully in the Harinam Mandir, received the name Prema Vilasa dasa; a name denoting the love of the spiritual world.

Then Bretislav, from Czech and serving in Lucze temple, received the name Bala Govinda dasa –Govinda gives pleasure to the cows and senses. And Bala means young boy. As the assembled devotees laughed due to him not being a young boy anymore, Maharaj said, “So you are His servant.”

Maharaj then began the evening kirtans which rocked and compelled everyone to come to the temple room. After a while he then went on to speak on Bhagavad-gita 10.11. An amazing class for which I collected almost 7 & a half pages of notes! In the class, Maharaj addressed the issue that it is difficult to practice Krsna consciousness for a lifetime without any problems. So we need to get the higher taste, which is Krsna’s mercy that can only be obtained when we make a serious endeavour. As we preach, we confront our limits more and more. There must be a change in us as we usually have more compassion for ourselves than on others. We must be selfless, we must think about it and find someone to give this greatest gift to others and then we break through. Maharaj round up this evening class by saying that we must take responsibility and somehow expand the movement. There are different opportunities all around us!

The next morning HH Janananda Goswami gave the morning Srimad Bhagavatam class and spoke about the Paris Ratha Yatra he had just come from. An event of ecstasy for all. Maharaj finished the class by bringing out a tiffin of maha-prasad and distributed it from the Vyasasana. Everyone jumped up and crowded around him, of course allowing the sanyasis and senior devotees to take some first and then hands extended out around Maharaj to grab the mercy.

Harinama

After lunch, HH Janananda Goswami, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Harinama Ruci and many devotees drove to a close by city centre to fill the streets and atmosphere with harinama sankirtan. When we arrived, the microphone was immediately given to Kadamba Kanana Maharaj to start the procession. Devotees were still parking up and assembling as the harinama began with a hand-full of devotees. Quickly many joined, and then suddenly Janananda Goswami and Harinama Ruci came from another direction also doing a harinama. What a transcendental sight as two harinama parties merged into one big party. The procession began and we went through the city centre and came to a water fountain where Kadamba Kanana Maharaj took the harinama up a notch, to the next level. Everyone was running, dancing, singing, and jumping around. Then  Janananda Maharaj took over and within minutes also had everyone singing and dancing ecstatically in lines as people watched with amazement and attraction to the Harinama party. This was a great way for us all the end the Czech Summer Camp. Later that day Maharaj, Nandagopa, Mayapur Candradoya & myself were driven back to the Lucze temple by Antardvipa Prabhu. We stayed there overnight & Maharaj could get good rest after a busy, fully packed Summer Camp in Czech.

The following morning we left for Prague airport as Maharaj, Nandagopa & myself would fly to Radhadesh. Keep in tune to find out what transcendental adventures Maharaj next went on, after coming to Radhadesh, giving many powerful classes on Gajendra’s prayers, going to USA, & later on to the Swiss Summer Camp & Berlin Ratha Yatra.

Visit Flickr to see all the photos!

Sri Krishna Janamashtami Celebration 2017 @ BGIS (3 min video)
Invitation video and cards for Sri Krishna Janamashtami Celebration 2017@ BGIS.
Venue Bhaktivedanta Gurukula & International School Raman Reti, Next to ISKCON Temple - Vrindavan, Mathura UP
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/ygi44m

https://youtu.be/q1FaKuuPIvs

Jhulan Yatra at Bhaktivedanta Swami Mission School, Juhu, Mumbai.
The students and staff of the Bhaktivedanta Swami Mission School flagged off the Janmashtami Celebrations with a grand Jhulan festival at the school at Andheri, Mumbai. Besides the students and teachers the festival was enthusiastically attended by the parents as well.
The Janmashtami celebrations will be held on Fri, 11th August with abhishekha performed by the students followed by a boat festival in the temple hall. The 121st appearance day celebrations of Srila Prabhupada will be held on Monday, 21st August 2017 with an offering of 121 bhoga offerings made by the students and staff followed by pushpanjali and various competitions in remembrance of Srila Prabhupada.
The Bhaktivedanta Swami Mission School comprises of approximately 1100 students from all walks of life, studying through the ICSE board offering high quality material education. The various spiritual activities and celebrations involving EVERY child brings about the much needed balance for an overall development and a “Practical application of Spirituality”.

GANDDARI DEVI DASI
DIRECTOR,
CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES

Padayatra is one of the biggest preaching programs of the year in Slovenia. For the past fourteen years Slovenian devotees have been organising a walk every summer. By walking in different sections each year they have covered the entire country, which is not a difficult task since Slovenia is a small coutry of 2 million people (less than 1/6 of Moscow's population) with a superficy of 20 000 square kms, the size of Costa Rica or Macedonia, and 1/32 the superficy of France. Continue reading "The 16Th Annual Padayatra In Slovenia
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Podcast

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As the music got louder, the crowd of almost 800 people started to grab the ropes of the rath and began to pull. With organizers in front of the crowd and on top of the cart controlling the speed and course of the chariot and communicating with the crowd through stop and slow signs, and volunteers passing out iced water bottles, the rath was pulled through the park without a glitch. The people in the crowd were all joyful and lively while enthusiastically dancing and singing. As the parade part of the festival came to close, the deities were moved from the chariot to an altar by the stage, and the public began to wander through the various activity stalls or sit to start watching the stage programs. Continue reading "A Day to Remember – ISKCON St Louis Chariot Festival ( Ratha Yatra)
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