The hand of an old friend / Рука старого друга
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Yesterday a friend came to help me in time of great need. I was most grateful.
“Ah! How good it feels! The hand of an old friend.”
[ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ]

Вчера во время великой нужды появился друг. Я был очень благодарен.
«О! что за чувство! Рука старого друга»

[ Генри Водсворт Лонгфелло ]

Seeing Our Own God in Different Forms
Giriraj Swami

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura with books“When we are present in the houses of worship of other religious practitioners during their rituals, we should remain respectful and reflect upon the following: Here, before me, is my very own God being worshipped in a form different than that to which I am accustomed. Because of my different training and practices, I am unable to completely understand this foreign worship, but witnessing it gives me even more affection for my own beliefs and practices. God is one. I prostrate myself before this symbol of the divine that I see before me. I make obeisance to my Lord who is made manifest in this alternate form for my benefit and the benefit of others.”

—Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Sri Caitanya-siksamrta, First Rainfall

 

Monday, July 24th, 2017
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Calgary, Alberta

At Olympic Plaza

I really wanted to do the grassroots Hare Krishna thing, something we call Hari Nam Sankirtan.  Basically we’re talking about picking up the drum (mrdunga), the cymbals (kartals), harmonium (pump organ) and ourselves.  So it was done.

Our venue was Olympic Plaza across from City Hall where people linger and relax.  Catching the tail-end of the lunch hour, more than a dozen Krishnas, mostly females, made it to that cozy place, and we placed our madras over the grass.  The chanting began and two young women from amongst us took to dancing to the beat.

The beat is what brought the attention.  Folks came over to our side of the plaza to sit, listen and absorb.  Moms and dads with babies in strollers stopped for their toddlers to not miss the show.

Our theme naturally was “togetherness,” or “wholesomeness.”  This is the yuga-dharma, the function for the age.  It’s universal.  It’s outreach.  It’s sharing.

After the two hours of kirtan I got reacquainted with Dave Schultz, the produce of “The Longest Road,” a documentary released in 2002 that is all about the Trans-Canada Highway and how it negatively and positively impacted people’s lives.  I am featured in it numerous times.  It was broadcast annually on Canadian television.

Dave came over for prasadam, our blessed food.  He loved it.  We chatted.

May the Source be with you!

7 km


Devotional service is a natural activity
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, August 2010, New Radha Kunda, Sweden, Lecture)


Devotional service is so powerful that it will always have an effect. Therefore, gradually devotional service will take over our lives – there is no doubt about it. We need not worry if this process will work for some but may not work for others or that WE may be the exception that it will not work for ME!

No, devotional service always works. As soon as one somehow or other connects to devotional service, one will be purified. Srila Prabhupada had great conviction in devotional service and he was ready to approach anyone and everyone. He did not consider who was qualified and who was not qualified to serve because he had strong faith that they will be purified.

It is due to the illusory energy where we think that we cannot overcome our challenges. Someone may have Rahu in their astrological chart and believe that Rahu is stronger than anything else! What rubbish; that is nonsense! Material considerations have nothing to do with bhakti.

Knowledge can increase our eagerness in devotional service. The more knowledge we develop about the potency of the Holy Name and the potency of devotional service, the more eager we will be to perform it, the more eager we will be to take advantage because then we realise it is possible.

The tendency is there to think, “I believe in Krsna consciousness, I believe in bhakti yoga, I believe that it is the truth but I don’t believe in myself. I know my limitations. I tried to follow the four regulative principles but I couldn’t do it; it is too difficult for me!”

This is a subtle form of faithlessness and totally missing the point! In the early stages of Krsna consciousness, we may not be able to follow the four regulative principles. That does not matter BUT we keep on trying. Prabhupada often said, “Failure is the pillar of success! Just how it is natural for a child to walk – it takes a certain amount of effort and in the beginning the child will fall and fall again and again but one day the child will walk!”

 So, in the same way, in the beginning we may struggle, we may not be able to follow everything but still we must continue to be Krsna conscious!

Come and celebrate with us – BALARAM JAYANTI – Aug 7th,2017 – Civic Holiday (Monday) – Program starts at 5:00pm
→ ISKCON Brampton

BALARAM -JAYANTI :
Lord Balarama is the adi-guru, the original spiritual master. In Chaitanya Lila, Lord Balarama appears as Lord Nityananda, the bestower of mercy to even the most fallen conditioned soul. Therefore His appearance as the son of Rohini and Vasudeva is celebrated by devotees with great jubilation.
On the day of Balarama-purnima, devotees fast till noon. At around 10 a.m., an abhisheka is performed and bhoga of varieties of sweets, savories, chutneys, rice, sabjis, cakes and pastries are offered. Flowers are offered at Their lotus feet and a maha-arati is performed, and a grand feast is served at 2 p.m.
In the evening, devotees commemorate Lord Balarama’s breaking a honey pot. A huge pot containing honey and some maha-prasada are placed in pots and tied up on a post. Some devotees are blindfolded, and they try to break that pot using a stick. The pot moves up and down. It’s fun time for devotees watching and participating. Even though everyone is eager for a taste of the honey, hardly anyone can hit the pot. When the pot is broken, devotees relish the honey and the maha-prasada. Such an event gives us a glimpse of the bliss that the gopas might have enjoyed in the company of the Lord while breaking the pots in Vraja.
Balarama-purnima also marks the end of Jhulana-yatra and the first month of chaturmasya.





Iskcon Brampton is inviting you to 5th Annual Rathyatra – July 29th,2017 – FREE EVENT
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Description:
In the late 1960s, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Society (ISKCON), inaugurated the North American and international versions of this ancient Indian festival. With roots steeped in spiritual traditions, the festival is now celebrated in every major city around the world, including Toronto, London, Paris, Sydney, and New York.
The festival begins with a vibrant parade in which a float is hand-pulled by hundreds of attendees and spectators amidst melodious singing, chanting, drumming, and dancing.Everyone is invited to come walk, chant, sing or dance in the parade.The celebration continues till evening with multiple other programs and stage performances to entertain the audiences from all walks of life.

A festival for your entire family,Don't Miss It!!

Panama Rathayatra A Big Draw For Locals
→ ISKCON News

While some ISKCON Rathayatras attract mostly an internal devotee audience, the recent 18th “Festival de la India” in the Central American country of Panama drew largely local Panamanians. Only 10% of the crowd in attendance were devotees, while 90% consisted of newcomers. Some were drawn by devotees’ appearance on TV program Tu Manana to promote the event.

Sunday, July 23th, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Calgary, Alberta

Sun and Shadow

I had three bhakti yogis with me on an early morning trek, Jai Govinda from Vancouver, as well as Gaurachandra and Radha Madhava, both from Calgary.  We hit the walking trail called The Rotary/Mattamy Greenway.

The experience was one of meeting the sun and the shadows that were formed.  Always, those magic hours, dawn and dusk, seem to produce the perfect opening and closure to the day, especially when clouds aren’t in the way.

Magpies and hares dominate the peripheral section of Calgary.  They seem to accompany us above and below.  The hares are of substantial size, not the little bunnies you might expect.  If anything, they remind us of leaping kangaroos.  The magpies do a similar leap but they seem to chatter idly, whereas the hares are absolutely silent in their behaviour.

Gaurachandra told us something gross about the crow-like magpie.  He witnessed several of them pecking at the behind of a hare who was hit by a vehicle.  The mammal was injured, not mobile enough to depart, and the birds took advantage.  That’s nature for you.  It’s not always a story of sunshine.

When the sun did come down this day, we were indoors at the RMCA centre where Jai Govinda conducted a fire ceremony, a havan.  The purpose was to initiate two candidates who had worked toward their shining endeavour.  Ashvin was given the name “Anuttama,” which appears in the Gita, Chapter 7.  And young Radha Priya, 13, took the name I gave—Rohini.  They were “lit!”

May the Source be with you!

6 km


Morality may be relativized, but the consequences of immoral indulgence can’t be relativized Gita 03.17
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Podcast

The post Morality may be relativized, but the consequences of immoral indulgence can’t be relativized Gita 03.17 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Spiritualizing our relationships 5 – Focus more on our intentions than on others’ dispositions
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Podcast

Podcast Summary

The post Spiritualizing our relationships 5 – Focus more on our intentions than on others’ dispositions appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

‘Death be not proud’
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 27 June 2012, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 8.1.3)

We must come to the stage of being fearless of death. We will become truly fearless of death only when we feel very sure in our relationship with Krsna. An element that causes anxiety in death is that we do not know our next destination. Even as a devotee who performs devotional service still, we do not know our destination for sure.

One may start thinking, “I didn’t do so well. I didn’t become that pure so it may be another birth and still, I’ll have karma…” and it just goes on and on into the unknown! So anxiety remains also for devotees; some insecurity is still there.

However, a devotee can become fearless of death, not so much by philosophical understanding that ‘I am not this body’ but by one’s relationship with Krsna.

The deeper we get into our relationship with Krsna, the devotee knows, “Krsna will protect me, surely there is no doubt about it! I’m always living with Krsna, always serving Krsna, always thinking of Krsna therefore there is no doubt Krsna will protect me.” In this way, one becomes fearless.

Saturday, July 22nd, 2017
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Calgary, Alberta

To Calgary

It was a long haul to Calgary via a zigzag route—seven hours plus.  Sadly, with this destination, it concludes my trip on the youth bus, which has marked on its side, “The Krishna Culture Festival.”

Manoram, with a later switch to Mukunda, were the overnight drivers through Alberta’s badlands and flatlands of pasture and canola fields.

I said “sadly” because I will miss the company of the young men, ages 10-17, along with their archangels.  It really is a good program, even though, for those of us who are categorized as “older” it’s a challenge to contend with the wild energy.  On the other hand, you have in your midst a powerhouse of hope, anticipation, talent and explosive dynamics in the form of these young guys.

In our morning session in Saskatoon, I was asked to speak about the hormonal power of a young person at puberty and beyond, and how to channel this interesting appetite, favourably.  They listened.  This morning, time didn’t allow.  We arrived in Calgary and swiftly took our morning showers to ready ourselves for the Ratha Yatra.  Naheed Nenshi, Calgary’s mayor, was there.  He took the ornate broom and did the traditional sweep before the chariot rolled along.

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1173219

8th Avenue is a bustling pedestrian-only street, so ideal for our festival.  The prasadamfood was of good quality, at the park behind the Mehwata Armory, with a decent vegan option.  Our boys did a great final performance of “The Gita” with me.

May the Source be with you!

4 km

Harinama in Ukraine (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada:…
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Harinama in Ukraine (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Chanting the holy name is the chief means of attaining love of Godhead. This chanting or devotional service does not depend on any paraphernalia, nor on one’s having taken birth in a good family. By humility and meekness, one attracts the attention of Krishna. That is the verdict of all the Vedas. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 4.71 purport).
Find them here: https://goo.gl/WYuQ9g

What makes us act selfishly?
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What makes us act selfishly?
Question: The caring attitude is pleasing to everyone, but generally the default attitude in this world is one always thinks selfishly. So is it an inbuilt script of the mind that makes one think selfishly?
Radhanath Swami: The false ego misconceives: “I am this body, I am this mind, I am the controller, I am the proprietor, and I am the selfish enjoyer.” This is foundational to all material complications. It impels us to put ourselves above others and act selfishly. And when we continue to act in that way it becomes a habit. According to how we habituate ourselves, by making those wrong choices, we become more and more engrained in that way of thinking.

Inhibitions about distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books
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Inhibitions about distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Question: How do we overcome the inhibitions about getting out there to distribute the books?
Vaisesika Prabhu: Okay; here’s the trick. The inhibition comes from your mind. The mind accepts and rejects. When we are in material life, the mind accepts and rejects based on what it thinks will bring the highest bodily pleasure. So your mind may tell you not to go out on book distribution because you won’t enjoy yourself and it will be hard, and somebody might say no and you’ll get all offended or you’ll feel low. Isn’t it? The mind is blocking you; otherwise you would just walk out the door and do it. So you have to trick your mind. It’s a kind of yoga. So this is what I do:
Say I am at home and I want to go out on book distribution but my mind is telling me not to go. So I make a deal with my mind and I say, “Okay, I’m not REALLY going to go out on book distribution. I am just going to PRETEND like I’m going on book distribution.”

Adhokshaja
→ Servant of the Servant

I like this description, Such clarity!

In his Sat Sandarba, Srila Jiva Goswami defines adhokshaja like this: The Godhead,Krishna,is He who has reserved the absolute right not to expose Himself to mundane human senses. Adhokshaja refers to that which cannot be measured by one's material senses. When that transcendental knowledge reveals itself to our service-inclined senses, only then will we realize it; otherwise, even the best students in the world cannot even partially know the science of Krishna. That science cannot be learned through sadhana, by the best forms of intelligence, or the best powers of deliberation.

Despite this, many people rush to discuss it with an enjoying spirit, considering it a mundane philosophy or text. The Absolute Truth is never revealed to such people. We cannot measure objects of the fourth or fifth dimension with our present material sense devises. Being unable to do so, we often heave a sigh of relief with phrases like "To the infinity." Vaikuntha, or the transcendental object, is of the fourth dimension. Because we are unable to perceive Him, we want to turn Him into something "impersonal." But the transcendental Absolute Truth is never impersonal.

- by His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Takur Prabhupada, Sarasvati Samlapa, page 77

Hare Krishna

Interview With Bijoy Krishna – a DJ From Amsterdam. I really…
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Interview With Bijoy Krishna – a DJ From Amsterdam.
I really love Radhadesh Mellows, a kirtan festival in Radhadesh. That was the first time I met so many amazing and highly elevated people in one place. The vibes around me and people’s energy gave me new and unique experience. It felt like something was vibrating at the tip of my head (perhaps, a crown chakra?). Everything was so breathtaking! I also received a lot of inspiration during my visit to Pune. The devotees there impressed me a lot: they were so warm, hospitable, kind, and sympathetic. This is the best attitude one can ever experience!
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/9nivPV

Czech Padayatra 2017 (Album with photos) Dharmatma Das: We had…
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Czech Padayatra 2017 (Album with photos)
Dharmatma Das: We had the fortune to spend three days on this wonderful event. Munipriya prabhu has organized this Padayatra for the last 28 years. A small but sweet group of dedicated devotees will spend close to a month spreading Lord Chaitanya’s mercy to many of the small towns and villages of Eastern Czech Republic. The goal this year is to distribute 10, 000 books. We distributed over 1600 in the first four days. Very impressed with the young devotees who are part of this program. Padayatra Ki Jaya!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/nR35Tk

Transcend! Kadamba Kanana Swami: Sometimes in the course of…
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Transcend!
Kadamba Kanana Swami: Sometimes in the course of life, in the course of duty, while interacting with the world, we have to adjust our dress and we cannot speak about Krsna. That is okay but we must understand that when we are forced to do it then we are under the protection of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But the danger is that we may get into a habit of it and then we may feel, “Why even bother,” and we rarely wear dhotis or sarees unless it is Janmastami or something that happens once a year. If we are transcendental then this is fine, but are we transcendental? Who is actually transcendental?
Sometimes when I am in the temple, I think that it’s wonderful to be in the temple. The temple is such a transcendental place where everything is transcendental and everyone is transcendental, EXCEPT ME! Yes, I do feel like that sometimes, I don’t know if you do also?

So if you feel like that sometimes, then you may feel that it is better to just take shelter of the external things, but if we do then we are risking a lot. It is dangerous and if you blow it in this life then you don’t know for how many births you have to stay in the material world. Well, if you want to stay, then stay but I’m not staying in this material world!

Interesting highlights of classes by several speakers
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Hare KrishnaBy Krishna-kripa das

I share notes on a lecture by Srila Prabhupada. I share excerpts from Sri Ksetra, a glorification of Jagannatha Puri by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura disciple Sripada Sundarananda Vidyavinoda, soon to be published by Touchstone Publishing. I share excerpts from the books and poems of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on Janananda Goswami’s talk from the Antwerp Ratha-yatra stage. I share notes on classes in Paris by Janananda Goswami, Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu, Bhavasindhu Prabhu, Raja Dharma Prabhu, Vicaru Prabhu, Aksayananda Prabhu, and Tamoha Prabhu. I share excerpts from articles in Back to Godhead, Vol. 51, No. 5 (Sept. / Oct. 2017) by Satyaraja Prabhu, Karuna Dharini Devi Dasi, and Hari Parayana Prabhu. I share an excerpt from Gitanagari Prabhu’s travel journal, and I also include one personal realization. Continue reading "Interesting highlights of classes by several speakers
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