Planet ISKCON

“Every Town & (Gypsy) Village” (Album with photos)
The wonderful Temple of New Ekacakra situated in the rolling hills of Eastern Slovakia is a jewel to behold. Beautiful Nitai Gaurasundar Deities and so so sweet devotees. Coming here with Harinam Ruci SKP Party was very special. Our general, Visnu Jana prabhu was born here. Even before meeting devotees he was going from town to town square and drumming up a storm. We feel very privileged and thankful to travel with him and the other boys on the party. More than any devotee We’ve met he embodies the spirit of the saintly Vishnujana Swami. Lord Krishna has certainly empowered him to infuse the Holy Name into the hearts of everyone he meets. Crowds come to life and almost immediately begin to chant and dance under his direction. His determination and fearlessness is a wonder to behold. There are many Gypsy Villages in the vicinity of the Temple who’ve been getting the mercy of the Harinam and the devotees for years. They know the Mantra, the dance steps and chant with abandon. Harinam Samkirtan Ki Jaya!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/w6Yq1Z

Just after the 12 years of exile of the Pandavas was completed, they were considering where to spend the remaining 1 year incognito. While still in the forest, a brahmana came to them and reported that the sticks which he used for igniting his sacrificial fire had somehow gotten entangled in the antlers of a deer, and the sticks were now gone. The sage asked the Pandavas to see if they could possibly return the sticks.

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Amazing Weekend of Learning! Alachua’s Turban Making Workshop Report (Album with photos)
I experienced so much transcendental pleasure participating in the Krishna Institute’s recent Turban-Making & Face-Painting Workshop. During this workshop, devotees with no experience, alongside devotees with years of experience, underwent major increases in these devotional skills and in their knowledge of the underlying art theory principles that enable pujaris to consistently dress and decorate the deities very beautifully.

By Vaishnava das

The all merciful Lord Sri Gaur Hari, as He travelled from village to village throughout the south of India, continued to distribute love of Godhead wherever He went. Hearing the nectarean names of Hari from His lotus mouth, thousands and thousands men and women felt relief from the blazing fire of material existence. Various wretched, miserable and fallen souls lives were completely rejuvenated and thus they became virtuous and happy. While causing rains of love of God to fall anywhere and everywhere, without consideration of time or place, Sri Gaurasundor came to the ancient holy place of Sri Rangakshetra on an island in the middle of the Kaveri river. Continue reading "SRILA GOPAL BHATTA GOSWAMI and The Appearance of Sri Radha-Raman ji
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*When you want to marry*
by Mahatma Das
One ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words, choosing the right partner can save you from pounds of cure having to go into your marriage. Always be aware that maya may choose someone for you, exactly the wrong person.

Please listen!
I am 61 now and feeling peaceful and happy. I am writing because I am hoping my story will help others become peaceful and happy.
If you knew my life….you’d know that it’s a miracle that I’m still a live and not an alcoholic or in a mental hospital somewhere.
I was an unwanted child. My mother hated my father, understandably so. She divorced him while she was pregnant with me. She was desperate to have me aborted. She tried twice to abort me, and twice Krishna foiled her.
I was sent away to boarding school in a foreign country (England) at the age of 4. Often times I’d be alone in the school during Easter or Christmas holidays when all the other children had gone home to their families.
The school authorities took my school ties and dressing gown belt off me, because I used to try and strangle myself with them.
When I was 11, my older brother tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrists. My mother decided to give us the choice of staying in boarding school or going to live with her and her new husband. I chose to go home.
I had dreamt of being reunited with my mother from the age of 4 to 11. But going home had its own pains. She would daily tell me of the two occasions when she tried to abort me. She never ended the story by saying, ‘I’m so glad I didn’t manage it, because I love you.’ In fact, she never told me she loved me until I was 45…by which time those words no longer meant anything to me.
I was in most ways a disappointment to my mother. She was elegant, charming, socially very adept, beautiful, a good homemaker, an excellent cook…..I was the opposite…. an embarrassment to her….and in so many ways she let me know it.
I often contemplated suicide…the only thing that held me back was the fear of the pain involved. Thankfully, I couldn’t think of pain-free ways of finishing myself off.
As I became a young adult I was daunted by the idea of getting through life…but I’d act full of bravado so as not to seem a looser to other people.
When I was 25, the suicidal thoughts were becoming very strong. I thought about what lay ahead of me: a job I hated, marrying someone I didn’t love, having children I never wanted, growing old, diseased and dead. I thought why go through all the suffering in between. Let me just get to the end: death. For some unknown reason, as I was thinking like this, a prayer escaped my lips: “Oh God! What is the point of my life? Why am I here?” Then I took the prayer back: “I don’t even believe in God! I don’t know why I’m praying to you! I take it back!”
Too late! He had heard me. That evening after work, I found a Back to Godhead magazine. As I read it I felt there were fireworks going off in my head. So many of my questions were being answered…even questions I hadn’t yet asked but should have.
On my first day off from work, I rushed to the temple in Soho Sq. Three weeks later I had joined the bhaktin program.
Forward wind by ten years and I was married with three small children. My sadhana had become extremely weak, almost non-existent. The old pains, plus new ones I had picked up over the years in the movement came back to haunt me….along with even stronger suicidal tendencies. Only now I knew that suicide was not an answer. Now I knew I would become stuck in a ghost body for a long long time….I knew suicide was jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. No! It was not an answer.
But I faced bigger problems than just depression and suicidal tendencies. My husband and I had boldly pursued the life of preachers by opening a center in Manchester. At the time of life most people are developing a career and buying a house…we put our energy into opening and running a preaching center. But having three children really took its toll on both of our sadhana, and we both felt spiritually inadequate to face the challenges of being full-on preachers. But we were trapped.
We had no home, no career, and £20,000 of debt we accrued in paying the mortgage on the temple, and other Iskcon taxes. Plus we had 3 young children. God had we messed up!
Daily I used to curl up in a ball on the floor, in total anxiety. I used to visualize my life like a rocket ship making a rapid nose dive towards a resounding crash! I couldn’t see any way to avert the crash.
It was out of a sense of helplessness….of not having any other answers….that I just took complete shelter of discussing Gita and Bhagavatam, and doing my best to chant my 16 rounds…Although my faith was weak…I just hoped Krishna existed and He would honor His promise to protect me if I took shelter of Him.
20 years later and I am astounded at the miracles the Lord worked in my life. We now live in a beautiful house, my husband has a dream job, we are working on a project that we love, and my kids are all grown up and are well adjusted, and suicidal thoughts are history…..all things I could barely have hoped for 20 years ago.
Was I a very capable person who figured it all out? Not at all! I am one of the least materially capable people I know! I think maybe that’s why Krishna chose to work His miracle in my life! He knew there was no way I could conceivably take credit for the happy ending! I would have to admit that it was His constant merciful intervention that changed what could have ended up as a tragic ending into a happy tale.
Now my heart goes out to young people who face similar challenges to the ones I faced. Too many of our young people succumb to suicide or some sort of addiction. I get it! I was in that place when suicide or addiction seemed the only way to end the pain!
BUT PLEASE LISTEN…..SUICIDE AND ADDICTION DO NOT END THE PAIN…THEY INCREASE AND PROLONG IT MANY FOLD.
THE ANSWER IS: BEGIN HEARING SRILA PRABHUPADA. LISTEN TO HIS LECTURES, READ HIS BOOKS, CHANT THE HOLY NAMES, AND BEG AND PRAY TO KRISHNA FOR HELP!
Because I’ve been there I feel a very deep empathy for people who feel daunted by what lies ahead. If I can be of any service to you, if you just need to feel heard, understood, encouraged and there’s no one else to give you those things, I will do my best. But I know that is not the real solution since I am a fallible soldier there is a good chance I will disappoint you. Krishna, however, is infallible. If you are in need of a friend, of shelter, I urge you, please open your heart to Him, call to Him, and hear Him as He speaks to you through Srila Prabhupada or through your own guru, and through the Gita.
I am 100% confident that since the Lord heard and helped me….He will hear and help you.
Om tat sat

Conversation with Gopala Raya.

youtu.be/-zQKkBcF_tg

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ISKCON Namahtta Aruppukottai celebrated 3rd annual Rath yatra (Album with photos)
ISKCON Namahtta Aruppukottai celebrated 3rd annual Rath yatra on 9th July 2017 on auspicious Occasion of ISKCON 50th Ratha yatra.
“ISKCON’s first ever Ratha-yatra was held in Los Angeles, San Francisco on 9th July 1967”
By Blessing of HH Jayapataka swamy & HH Bhanu swami and with the presences of HH Sukhadeva swami - Nellor, HH Bakthi Asharya vaisnava swami – Vrindavan, HG Sumitra Krishna das Prabhu TP Iskcon chennai , HG Srinivas shyam das Prabhu TP Iskcon Hosur , HG Vikram govind das Prabhu TP Iskcon NagerCovil, HG Jaigopinath das Prabhu TP iskcon prembur and as Chief Gust “ Asia’s largest spinning industries- Ramalings mills chairman Thiru TR. Dhanakaran and devotees from various part of tamil nadu took part in the festival .

Rath start at Aiyaram kaan Mariyaman kovil Puliyampati Aruppukottai and Rath moved slowly towards main bazaar big streets and to residents area then on the south, west & east car street.

Once Jagannatha reaches program avenue He is given another wonderful reception, and is welcomed He, along with His brother Baladeva and sister Subhadra are carefully taken down from Their chariots, and are escorted to the wonderfully decorated stage for worship.

Thousands of people gather in the program avenue, cultural program Brathanatiyam , Drama “Bilva mangal thakura “ proformed by Srila Prabhupad theaters Arathi to Lordship and every one relish Jaganatha feast prasadham more than 2500 plates of prasadam distributed.

ISKCON Namahatta Aruppukottai
Find them here: https://goo.gl/pGWvAL

Summer Cooking Retreat With Satya in the Manor! (Album with photos)
What we learnt: The following preparations with some special cooking tips! - Bread - Green Beans and Pumpkin Curry - Rice - Paneer Kofta - Roti (Flat Bread) - Vanilla and Mango Ice-cream! Who’s the cook: Satya has been cooking a wide range of cuisines for over 30 years and has on numerous occasions also cooked for George Harrison of the Beatles. She was also in charge of the manor kitchen for over 8 years cooking amazing meals every day for over 200 people. And hey, she’s even cooked for the Queen!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/FZk7Jx

By Sunanda Das

Most significantly was the presence of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari from Mayapur along with His Grace Sriman Jananivas and Vraja Vilas prabhus representing the TOVP. Maharaja dedicated over three hours of prime-time to the TOVP presentation and fundraising showing by his own example the importance of the project. Due to his inspiration over $1 million U.S. was raised in pledges. Continue reading "His Holiness Lokanath Swami Dedicates Vyasa Puja to TOVP
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By Mayapur Sasi dasa

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of June 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 June 2017 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
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ANNOUNCEMENT!

This Sunday(July 16) we won't be carrying on regular Sunday Love Feast For all on account of
45th Annual Ratha-Yatra and Festival of India.We're moving to Sherbourne Common.We would like to invite you, your family and friends for 45th Annual Ratha-yatra and Festival of India on July 15-16, 2017. We will resume Sunday Feast program starting from July 23rd,2017.
 
As you may be aware of relocation of  the Festival due to flooding and closure of the Centre Island.

However a beautiful location just by the water has been found out and the festival will go on as usual on it's new location Sherbourne Common which is as *beautiful* as the island, being adjacent to the Sugar beach, lake Ontario and boardwalks with lush green grass and more!
(See the map down for your convenience)

PLEASE NOTE THE PARADE ROUTE REMAINS UNCHANGED!!
As always the parade will go down the Yonge Street from its usual location on Yonge & Asquith.

Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Lady Subhadra will have their beautiful temple overlooking the lake at the most unique location within the park area.

MAPS:


   

 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2011, Govinda Valley, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.25.27)

As the years go by in the Hare Krsna Movement, sometimes we are surprised at how some devotees become entangled again in material things. We could never have imagined that it would happen to them.

If you are involved in management, it’s like being the cops – you are always with the dead body; that’s the job of the police. Being in management is the same – do the post mortem, “Alright, here we are again. Let’s look at all the horrible details of what went wrong.”

This is also part of the Movement! Let us face reality… it is not just a beautiful story – we joined the Movement and we all became saints! Sometimes we struggle since we do not have much desire to chant the Holy Name or sometimes we made an offense by speaking harshly to another vaisnava… It can also become a little more raw than that!

The lower nature can really come out. What can we say!? Psychologists speak about the ‘inner child’. I am often in Germany and in a bookstore; I saw a book speaking about the “Innerer Schweinehund.” The best way to translate it is: the ‘inner hog dog’. Literally, it means the pig within. We know him well and he is there pushing and ready for action at anytime. The moment we think that we are beyond it, then DANGER ZONE… DANGER ZONE! One must remain on guard always and remember, “I have this weakness inside of me; it will not benefit me in any way if I follow it!”

Our handle, our control on that weak side of us is first of all REGULATION – to follow a regulated program. Secondly, we need PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERSTANDING so that we can look beyond the here and now and see what the consequences are in the long term. If we learn to think about the consequences of our actions in the long term, then we are more protected.

Therefore, we do not want a Movement where everyone is on automatic pilot. If we don’t think then we are an endangered species. We have to think of the consequences of our actions; this is what the Bhagavatam is calling for.

The Bhagavatam is not just a sweet book, describing the sweetness of Krsna’s glories and pastimes. If we think that the Bhagavatam is just a sweet inspirational book, then we are certainly missing the point because it is a heavy book as well. The Bhagavatam shows us the heaviness of the material nature and how it entangles us. The Bhagavatam asks us to think about the consequences of things. Therefore the Bhagavatam is there to awaken us and kick start a process of where we begin to practice questioning, “What is going to be the result of the actions of what I am doing now?”

The post Daily Darshan: July 13th, 2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Sharing the Bliss (10 min video) Indradyumna Swami: On our festival tour along the Baltic Sea coast in Poland each summer we try to give people a...

A ‘Tornado’ named-“MIP” (Album with photos)
A few Days Back- A 'Tornado’ named-“MIP (Mayapur International Preaching)”-Just Flooded and Blew the Hearts away of Bangladeshi️ People. Thousands of People were the Victims (Many of them were Lost, Most of Them are Still Floating into the Water and Rest of them don’t want to Come out from the Water!!!). But the Good News is that-“All Victims Were Liberated” (param-vijayate-sri-krsna-sankirtanam)…Here are the Glimpses: https://goo.gl/8nyeXe

Ratha Yatra 2017 in the city of Novi Sad a city in northern Serbia on the banks of the Danube River (Album with photos)
“For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” (Bhagavad-gita, 6.30)
Ratha Yatra, 05 July 2017 in the city of Novi Sad.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cgS4iR

MotelGita: A comment from one of the guests who found the BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS - in SUPER 8 - CA
Isa (in the photo) says she read a few pages of Bhagavad Gita for the first time more than 35 years ago, but came across the BHAGAVAD Gita As it is - in SUPER 8 Motel & was stunned by this profound edition

A young boy with a spiritual appetite!
Shastrakrit Das: Recently, to my surprise, I received a text from this south India gentleman Suresh saying that his 12-year-old son Shreyas is on a school break for the summer and has read the ( Krishna Dharma’s) Mahabharata three times cover to cover (which they bought from me a couple of months ago).Sreyas kept asking Suresh for more books about Krishna.
I suggested that Suresh buy his intelligent and pious son the entire Bhagavatam set, which includes Ram lila and lilas of all other incarnations.
A few minutes later, Suresh texted, saying that his son is eager to read Bhagavatam’s right away.
We met an hour later in a parking lot of a mall where I usually distribute, and they immediately put the set in the trunk of their car. The boy was so happy.
My Gurudeva, Devamrita Swami, often says that we should pray that people are fortunate to run into book distributors again and again and that they become more and more fortunate by receiving more and more and more of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Bringing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Pastimes to Life in Our Hearts
“A full twelve hours of pure unalloyed Krsna Consciousness.” – (Shatadhanya Prabhu)
“How can I ever have a favourite part? The kirtans are fantastic, there is so much senior association, all the devotees want to serve, the management is par excellent, the prasad is delicious, and the Dham is so beautiful! Still, hearing from the disciples of Srila Prabhupada is my favourite part.” – (Nimai Sundar Prabhu)
“The parikram brings the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya to life in our hearts.” – (Laxmimoni Mataji)

“Recommend it!? It’s a must! If you haven’t been on the Mayapur Chandra’s Parikrama, 50% of your life is wasted.” – (Pankajanghri Prabhu)

Dear Devotees, welcome to the Mayapur Chandra’s Parikrama. These were some of the realizations from our attending Vaisnavas and their experience, observations, interactions and discussions have joyously revealed that, though the praise was lavish it was far from exaggerated.

Sunrise to sunset there is one goal on this Parikrama - to hear and chant about Krsna, in His Dham, with His dear most devotees. Members of ISKCON from all over the world and all ages flock in annual attendance to this Prema-filled Parikrama. It is just the perfect package!

There are so many devotees, but not too many; the mood stays intimate. The management is perfect, but flexible; any devotee so inspired always has an opportunity for some service. And best of all, no matter how much your mind tries to wander; there is Krsna Consciousness at every step. No one can escape into the shadows of Maya and the result is brilliant, darkness dispersed, everyone happily accepts their fate and absorbs themselves in the names, abodes, and pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In six short days, you will get the experience of a lifetime. And though admittedly exhausting, it is equally ecstatic.

Ladies and gentleman, this is not some unreachable utopia, nor a lavish lie. This is Navadwip Dham. It is the spiritual world. Respected Vaishnavas, this is Mayapur Chandra’s Kartik Parikrama.

For those devotees who couldn’t attend this year’s Parikrama, can grab the opportunity for next year’s Parikrama. The dates are 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 24th and 25th October 2017 with a two day break on the 20th and 23rd for Govardhana Puja and Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja respectively.

Special participants for Kartik Navadvip Mandal Parikrama 2017 are H.H Jayapathaka Swami, H.H Kavichandra Swami, H.H Bhakti Purushottam Swami, H.H Bhakti Brihad Bhagavat Swami, H.G Pankajangrhi Prabhu, H.G Jananivas Prabhu and many more Srila Prabhupada’s disciple and senior devotees.

By Adidev Das

New Music Album (1 min video) Chanting of Maha-mantra by Niranjana Swami and friends to support Iskcon Youth Ministry. Watch it here: https://goo...

For ISKCON devotees, nothing is more inspiring than the idea of completing Srila Prabhupada’s most dear temple project, the TOVP. This inspiring short video by Thakur Saranga prabhu will bring you up to speed on the current progress of the temple construction as of July, 2017.

To donate to this historic project go to: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/

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