Planet ISKCON

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The intelligent Queen Kunti here points out that even though Lord Krsna is dealing with her affectionately as a relative, He is not compromising His position as the well-wishing Soul of the universe. In other words, the Lord doesn’t play favorites. As He says in the Bhagavad-gita (9.29), samo ‘ham sarva-bhutesu, “I am equal to everyone.” So while the Lord reciprocates with all souls, it is natural that those who love Him intensely receive His special attention, for they want Him and nothing else. Continue reading "“Us” and “Them”
→ Dandavats"

Hare Krishna Festivals UK (Album with photos)
More than 120 teenagers at Chipping Sodbury School in South Gloucestershire were presented with a copy of Bhagavad Gita As it Is today.
Hare Krishna Festivals U.K. were invited along to chant, dance and share Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.
Teachers were given a copy of ‘Vedas’, and one even asked for a complete 12-volume collection of Srimad Bhagavatam!
Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/PEQDK1

Our Family Business: The Great Art of Distributing Srila Prabhupada’s Books! (2 min video)
Vaisesika Dasa: In Our Family Business, I emphasize empowerment over bureaucracy and encouragement over coercion.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/J36vX4

This year’s Denpasar Rathayatra festival was attended by around 4,000 devotees, with some coming from other parts of Indonesia like Java, Sulawesi and Lombok.

The day started early with kirtan and free prasadam for many people in the park. That was followed by speeches from dignitaries and performances of dance and kirtan on the main stage.

Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi’s carts headed out onto the streets around 4.30 pm and the parade went for about 2 hours. It was incredible to see such a huge procession going around the streets of Denpasar, a city of about 5 million people.

JAPA — Our Time to be with Krishna.
Question: Dear Bada Haridas, I’ve been reading your blog posts and I really enjoy the question and answers format and content.

The Supersoul does it again!
Recently I was distributing books door to door in Gisborne, New Zealand. I knocked on one door and had the great fortune to meet Caleb, a very pleasant middle-aged gentleman and committed Christian. As a successful musician, one of the ways he serves is to glorify God through music at Christian gatherings all around the world. Still, I could understand from his respectful and friendly demeanor that he was open to receiving one of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Utilizing the clever presentation HG Vijaya Prabhu kindly shared with us (that Prabhupada’s books provide strong arguments with which to defeat atheism and are therefore relevant to all theists) I confidently showed him Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1. Fortunately, Caleb deeply appreciated the truth and beauty of SB and was very eager to take a copy. When I asked him for a donation, a wry smile came to his face. Popping back into his house, he returned a moment later with a nice donation. Then he explained: “Normally I never keep cash. However, when I was driving back home earlier today, I felt compelled to stop at an ATM to withdraw this money. At the time I did not know what the money would be used for, but I could understand that God was directing me and that the reason would become apparent in due course. So when you asked for a donation everything made sense.” As Krishna explains in Bhagavad Gita, 18.14, the Supersoul is the ultimate factor of action. By participating in Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement we can perceive this and increase our faith in Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Your aspiring servant, Caitanya Vihara das

“Invitation to The Hare Krishna Convention Malaysia 2017”
The best time is always now! Yes it’s now! Therefore, “Reach Out” before it’s too late. We’re extremely delighted to be hosting the Hare Krishna Convention once again this year for the eleventh time. The Temple of Devotion and Understanding (TODU), Seberang Jaya is ready to open their doors to welcome you on the 31st of Aug before we send you back home on the 3rd of Sept. The #HKC11 will be taking place for four consecutive days again this year but definitely with lots of improvements and surprises to fulfill all your needs and expectations. Yes, this time with more roaring yet melodious Kirtans, more delicious and finger-licking good Maha Prasad, more beneficial and knowledgeable seminars and not to be forgotten the best of entertaining and fun-filled Krishna conscious activities for all. Yes, that includes your children and kids who’re within the age range of 4 - 12 years old too. Worry not because we’re here to look after your kids throughout the convention. That’s definitely sigh of relief, isn’t it? So aren’t you excited?

But that’s not all yet. If you ever wanted to meet all the spiritual leaders under one roof, here’s the chance. To name a few of our main guests, we have HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj, HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj, HH Swami Bhakti Vigna Vinasa Narasimha Maharaj, HH Bhakti Vinode Swami Maharaj, HH Bhakti Mukunda Swami Maharaj and many others. As we say the Golden Opportunity only knocks the door once, grab this chance to receive our gurus’ endless mercy and blessings. Due to the huge success of last year’s #HKC10, this year we’re looking forward to have at least a minimum of 1500 devotees and well wishers joining us. So what are you waiting for? Block your dates now and book your accommodations as soon as possible because “Reach out, The Best Time is Always Now”!

For more details , kindly click on the link (www.malaysianhkc.com) or you may write to us at info.nationalconvention@gmail.com. We will be happy to assist you anytime to ease your journey for the convention. Keep your excitements rising till we see you soon.

Your servants,
The HKC11 Organizing Committee

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja recently visited Russia there he gave two very wonderful classes in Sochi along with Russian Translations. `

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When an instructional point is conveyed in a straightforward way, people frequently dismiss it as, “Same old moralizing.” But when that point is made using humor or sarcasm, it registers far more strongly, deeply and possibly transformationally.

This Subhashita uses sarcasm to convey the futility of the miserly mentality. Misers don’t want to give up even a fraction of their possessions to anyone. And yet at their death, they will have to give up not just a fraction, but the entirety of their possessions. Few things frustrate us as much as when things turn out the exact opposite of the way we wanted them to turn out. By highlighting how this frustrating fate is sure to befall misers, this text jolts them out of their stupor of self-congratulatory self-aggrandizement.

What if misers console themselves by thinking that their possessions are going to their family members? That is often a hollow consolation because their relatives don’t care for them as much as they care for their money – indeed, their relatives frequently care for them only because of their money. And for their self-seeking mentality, those relatives alone can’t be blamed – they may well have got that mentality from the misers themselves.

What if misers console themselves by thinking that they will get the credit for having given so much charity at death? Such thinking is typical of the distorted reasoning that characterizes misers. We get credit for charity when we give voluntarily. But when we give up involuntarily as happens at death, we get no such credit – we simply get the karma for having held on to those things for so long.

Why do misers hold on to things so irrationally? Because they believe that their self-worth is determined by what they have. Actually however, our self-worth is determined by what we do with what we have. If we use our money constructively, then we can increase it by, say, investing it wisely. Or better still, we can earn good karma by giving it in charity. And best of all, we can use for the service of the Lord by seeing it as a manifestation of the Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, who is most pleased when she is engaged in his service.

Srimad-Bhagavatam, eleventh canto, describes the story of the Avanti Brahmana who was a super-miser and who alienated everyone around him by his tight-fistedness. Through a series of vicissitudes, he lost everything. Impoverished and homeless, he was derided by the people whom he had neglected earlier. At that time, by the grace of the Lord, he got a life-changing epiphany. He understood that his mind was the primary cause of his distress – the mind had made him madly attached to money and rabidly suspicious of everyone and that very mind was now making him feel sorry for himself. Energized by this insight, he resolved to offer that mind to Krishna through the diligent practice of bhakti-yoga. By such resolute practice, he transcended the devilish distortions of the mind and attained the Lord’s ever-joyful lotus feet.

Significantly, bhakti-yoga enables us to become charitable while also channeling our tendency to hold on to things. Bhakti wisdom helps us understand that the only thing that will stay with us is our consciousness – and the only person who will always stay with us is our Lord who is present with us in his indwelling manifestation as the Supersoul. So, the only thing worth holding on to is the connection of our consciousness with Krishna. Bhagavatam (11.2.53) declares that great devotees are not ready to give up their connection with the Lord for even half a moment in exchange for the wealth of the entire universe. They understand that the universe’s wealth will not last, but their Krishna consciousness will. By holding on to Krishna, they exhibit the summit of enlightened self-interestedness. Pertinently, Bhagavatam declares Vishnu to be our enlightened self-interest (7.5.31).

When we thus realize service to the Lord to be our svartha (self-interest), we progress firmly towards our paramartha – the supreme wealth of eternal ecstatic devotion.

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[Brahmachari class at ISKCON, Nasik]

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The goal of life.
Ananda Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi: Golf is not my cup of chai but there is a tournament happening next door so it’s a good meditation. 18 holes, 18 chapters of the Gita. There’s one link. The other is the meandering journey a golf course takes, surely mirroring the meandering journey of our life. At times in the rough, at times flying high, at others chipping away in the sand pits.
One thing golf has are clear goals. Get the ball into the hole with the least number of shots as you can. That’s the focus of all the effort and the supporting rules make the game both fair and challenging. When the goal is clear the participation is more meaningful.

When we have specific goals in life we do better. They hold our mind together so it doesn’t go off kilter and take us away to lower modes. One needs to have both major and minor goals. If we ask someone ‘What is the goal of life in general?’ we will get different answers. ‘What is the goal of your life in particular?’ more different answers.

For the big picture, the general goals are happiness, meaning, freedom, and love. We would then say that you can’t have any of those to completeness unless you add the goal of questioning and remembering. Who am I? Where have I come from? To whom do I belong? Am I a child of the earth or of the heavens?

Questioning is the essence of being human. If they are set right, the goals we make around them will satisfy us.

Lifestyle of a Monk.
This is an article which appeared in the Gujarati News Magazine, known as Chitralekha.
It is very interesting to know that how monks or sadhus receive training in ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Like other institutions, which follow the teachings of Sanatana-dharma, one of the important aspects of training in ISKCON is to become well-versed in the study of the Sastras or the Vedic scriptures. ISKCON has established various centers all over the world, and especially in India to give training to individuals who desire to dedicate their lives to the service of God and humanity. The various centers are located in Vrindavana, West Bengal, Mayapur, Mumbai, etc. There is one such center located in the outskirts of Mumbai in a village known as Galtare. There ISKCON Chowpatty has developed an eco-friendly project called Govardhan Ecovillage. In the serene atmosphere of the eco-village is established, the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha, to give systematic training to aspiring sadhus in scriptures. The Vidyapitha provides a full-time residential course of 2 years, in the study of two prominent scriptures; the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Caitanya Caritamrita.

How do individuals get an experience in the lifestyle of Bhakti in ISKCON? The manager of the operations Team at GEV, Jadhu Thakur Das, gave a reply to this question.

He said – All over the world in various institution and corporate worlds, ISKCON conducts various sessions/seminars on topics like “Search for Happiness”, “Power of Mind Control”, etc. Through such seminars, some people express an interest in knowing more about what is the lifestyle of a devotee in the Hare Krishna movement. They are advised to chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra every day, read scriptures regularly and to follow the four regulative principles – No meat eating, no gambling, no illicit sex and no intoxication.

To give them a practical experience of such lifestyle, in different countries, we have developed Bhaktivedanta Academy for Culture and Education (BACE). It is a stay facility wherein 10-12 bachelors stay together and practice the process of Bhakti under the guidance of a senior person. Simultaneously they continue their prescribed occupational duties i.e. their professional work. After a stay for at least one year in BACE, an aspiring monk gets a chance to stay in the temple, at the same time continue their professional duties. They mandatorily need to attend the morning program which starts at morning 4:30 am. This includes Mangal Aarti, Tulsi Puja, Chanting and Srimad Bhagavatam class. Then they set off to their jobs during the day time. After a year of such training, they undergo further training as a monk (Brahmachari Ashram)) or enter into married life (Grihastha Ashram). The aspiring monks are provided a brahmachari training for one year, which includes the study for becoming a Bhakti Sastri and also they are engaged in various services like temple cleanliness, assistants in puja-vidhi, book distribution, etc. The course of Bhakti Sastri includes the study of 4 books- Bhagavad Gita, Sri isopanisad, Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and Upadeshamrita.

The Dean of Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha, Gaurang Darshan Das, a highly educated sadhu, tells us more about the vision of Vidyapitha. He has a Masters degree in System Science and automation from ISC Bangalore.

He said – The vision of Vidyapitha is to inspire and inculcate Vaishnav qualities and a mood of selfless service in the students. Our sutra is Truth, Tradition and Transformation. Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha facilitates the study of the Absolute Truth in a Traditional method that leads to the Transformation of the hearts of the students. The course is based on the 5s model.

Sadhana which includes rising up early in the morning, attending Mangal aarti, chanting japa, kirtan and attending Srimad Bhagavatam class.
Svadhyaya – Study of Vedic Scriptures systematically which includes hearing, recollection, contemplation and speaking of the scriptures. Also learning scriptural verses.
Seva – service in GEV departments, BVVP services and Deity services.
Sangh – Through classes and study groups, assignments and presentations, retreats and Get-together.
Sadachara – BVVP aims at training the students not only academically, but also as sincere and civilized individuals with exemplary Vaishnava behavior. Exclusive sadachara classes are conducted for the students.

The current batch which has joined BVVP has students from different states in India like Haryana, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Karnatak, Orissa, Tamil Nadu , Gujarat and Jammu. The students joining the course are highly qualified people from various fields. We have one students with double PHD, 2 PHD students, one Doctor, one from IIT, an NRI from Maurtius, a student from new Zealand and many more. The everday schedule for the course is like this – 3 hrs of lecture, then whole day the students are absorbed in studying and preparation of exam for the next day. This schedule is applicable for 5 weekdays. In weekends, they have their services in GEV. After their training in Vidyapitha, the students get engaged in various projects or services in different ISKCON temples. Furthur, after couple more years, they accept the saffron cloth of a renunciant. These highly qualified monks or brahmacharies serve without any remuneration or salary.

Jadu Thakur Das further said – In GEV – we have a Goshala, eco-friendly cottages, a forest which is a replica of Vrindavan, beautiful landscapes, vegetable and fruit gardens, etc. All these is developed by local monks staying here. In the 40 km radius, GEV conducts its various activities like preaching activities, education of poor children, helping them with their primary and secondary education. Not only that, to refrain people from going to cities in search of earning their livelihood, GEV has employed them in its VADI project which helps them in doing sustainable farming, earning a good income by using their own land. For Eg: By the cultivation of mogra and getting it distributed. The villagers who were earning 10000 rupees per year are now earning 80000 rupees per year.

Also, in GEV, we grow different varieties of rice. We have even recovered the rare rich quality of rice which was almost extinct. Rain prediction techniques are developed based on witnessing the direction of air during specific period/day of the year known as Akhatija.

The inspiration behind all these different activities in GEV is HH Radhanath Swami. He was born in Chicago. He got initiated by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada in the year 1971. He is the main guiding force in GEV and also of the many projects of ISKCON running in Mumbai.

Iskcon New Govardhana’s Ratha Yatra (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: I feel happy that even after my departure, things will go on. I am happy that I have got so many sincere devotees who will carry on. That is my happiness. Letter to Madhudvisa, September 18, 1974.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9RH3JB

Festival of Sravanam Kirtanam in Italy 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When the living entity understands the target of his life, he takes the arrow of his purified life, and with the help of the bow – the transcendental chanting of pranava, or the Hare Krishna mantra – he throws himself toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.15.42 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/eJA7EF