Planet ISKCON

By Subroto Das

The preparations and planning for the festival began on the day of Akshay Trithia and since then more than 100 devotees have been toiling night and day. On 25^th June morning the celebrations will begin from the wee hours of morning. The devotees will be decorating the cart with colourful flowers, garlands, flags, lamps. In the afternoon, amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras by the students of Gurukula, the deities will be carried into their respective carts- Taladwaja of Lord Baladev, Devadanala of Subhadra Devi and Nandighosa of Lord Jagannath. The procession will start from Rajapur at 2.00pm , pass through Chand Kazi Samadhi, Bamanpukur Bazar, Balaldighi on Bhakti Sidhhanta Saraswati Road, covering a distance of 6km. The procession will feature congregational chanting ( sankirtan) , dance, musical performances by the devotees. Further, accompanying the chariots devotees will play drums, tambourines, trumpets, cymbals. Continue reading "Rath Yatra preparations in Sridam Mayapur
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Lord Narayana speaking to Gopa Kumara:

“Welcome, welcome, my dear boy! I am fortunate – most fortunate – to meet you here. For so long I have been eager to see you! My dear friend, you have passed many lifetimes without paying any attention to me at all. For so long hope had me dancing like a fool thinking, ‘Perhaps in this lifetime, or this, or this, or this, he will finally turn his face toward me.’ But I could find no pretext on which to bring you to my abode, dear brother, and still follow the timeless laws that I myself have created. You showed me no mercy and as I considered this I grew impatient, full of anxiety to receive your favor. So I transgressed my eternal code of conduct and arranged for you to take your current birth. Dear boy, in that divine district of Govardhana, my most beloved abode, I myself became your guru, known by the name Jayanta. Today you have at last fulfilled the desire I have harbored for so long. Please nourish your happiness and mine by staying here forever.”

[ Sri Brhad-Bhagavatamrta 2.4 Texts 81-87.
Translated by Gopiparanadhana Dasa (BBT) ]

 

Господь Нараяна Гопа Кумару:

«Добро пожаловать, добро пожаловать, мой дорогой мальчик! Как Я счастлив встретиться с тобой! Как давно Я хотел тебя увидеть! Мой дорогой друг, ты прожил столько жизней, не обращая на Меня никакого внимания. Я как глупец, все пританцовывал в надежде, думая: «Вот-вот, в этой жизни, в этой, или этой он, наконец-то, повернется ко Мне». Но Я не мог найти ни единого повода, чтобы привести тебя в Мою обитель, дорогой брат, и лишь следовал вечному закону, который Сам и создал. Ты не проявлял ко Мне милости, и чем больше Я размышлял над этим, тем больше беспокоился о том, чтобы вернуть твое расположение. Так что Я преступил Свой вечный свод порядков и устроил для тебя нынешнее рождение. Дорогой мальчик, в этой божественной, самой Моей любимой обители, на Говардхане, Я Сам стал твоим гуру под именем Джаянта. Сегодня исполни наконец-то желание, которое Я таил так долго. Пожалуйста, напитай и свое, и Мое счастье – останься здесь навсегда».

[ «Шри Брихад-Бхагаватамрита» 2.4 .81-87
Перевод с санскрита на английский: Gopiparanadhana Dasa (BBT) ]

One very lucky Mama she took “some books” from our book table at Bali Art Festival Denpasar.

By Bhakti Prabhava Swami

I made a seminar presentation, in which I shared my experience of attempting to help terminally ill devotees to prepare for death, I asked the seminar attendants the question: “What would you do if you were told you have terminal cancer and you have two or three months to live?” Some devotees replied that they would go to Vrindavan or Mayapur to prepare for leaving their body. Others said that they would chant constantly and hear Krishna Katha without interruption. Bhakta Pol was able to visit the holy dhamas and intensify his sadhana and association with devotees because, until his sudden heart failure, he was in reasonably good health. But a person suffering with advanced cancer is generally not able to perform these activities. Therefore, Hamsagati Krishna Das, who left us at the age of sixty-one, reacted differently to the news of his imminent death. Continue reading "Notice Of Approaching Death
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By Dharmatma Das

For close to 30 years Parasuram prabhu has spearheaded the preaching at this famous event. The devotees are appreciated by the organizers and all those attending. Thousands of plates of Prasadam were distributed and scores of Srila Prabhupada's books went out. The Kirtan was amazing! Dayal Mora and Harinam Ruci had them rocking and when the illuminated Nrsimha and Hunuman entered everyone went crazy. Didn't make the sunrise though due to senior limitations. Thanks to my good wife for the photos! Continue reading "Stonehenge 2017
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What Kirtan means to me (3 min video)
His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami is a spiritual leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, an author of several books such as, “Nothing but the Holy Name” and “Words of a Public Hermit”. He has also recorded over ten albums to fund the various projects that he supports. Being widely recognized for his melodic voice and up-tempo rhythm, Kadamba Kanana Swami is frequently invited to perform at various singing festivals. In this video, he shares what Kirtan means to him.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/miDPB9

Answer Podcast

The post Demystifying Reincarnation 6 – Past-life memories – Frauds by parents? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The post Daily Darshan: June 23rd, 2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Vyasa-puja Offering

This booklet of short stories is a Vyasa-puja offering to a dear godbrother, His Holiness Giriraj Swami, who selflessly gave his every life breath to serving Srila Prabhupada’s instruction by building this grand Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji Temple complex, thereby helping Srila Prabhupada to save the spiritual lives of millions of persons from Bombay and abroad.

 

Introduction

Recently I heard some devotees remarking that nowadays Giriraj Maharaja is manifesting symptoms of being very advanced, such as whatever he desires, whether it is for good of ISKCON, or for the good of his own disciples, or even for the good of humanity, Sri Krishna fulfills that desire. This remark made me reflect back over the years, and I considered whether there actually was ever a time that Giriraj Maharaja was not acting on the pure-devotee platform. With his mind cemented on the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada, he was always completely detached from worldly affairs and the bodily concept of life. Though detached from family and former friends, he was at the same time congenial to them and a genuine well-wisher. He was always completely surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and could understand, and thus execute, his innermost desires for managing the temple, the devotees, and for preaching in Bombay and around the world. He was always a humble servant of his senior sannyasi godbrothers, offering all respect and giving them assistance in so many ways whenever they came to Hare Krishna Land. He was always expert and a perfectionist in everything he did.

One of the symptoms of someone on the brahma-bhuta platform is that he is completely fearless. Giriraj Maharaja exhibited this many times, especially during the temple demolition and the famous Malhotra murder case—and other times as well. His manifestation of fearlessness is quite astounding to an ordinary individual.

As I recollect back over the years on my association with Giriraj Maharaja, I see that there are many experiences which can be instructive, and therefore I would like to share them with you. As I was his secretary for many years, we went through many pastimes together, though not exactly “together,” because I was always on the ground looking up at the lotus feet of a person totally in tune with Srila Prabhupada’s heart. Really I have no qualification to glorify such an exalted devotee, but I hope that these words of appreciation will inspire some of you to take shelter of His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja.

 

The Boston Temple Commander

My first introduction to Giriraj Maharaja was even before I ever met him personally. When I was in the Boston temple in 1972, the devotees there told me about this wonderful brahmacari who had been the temple commander. He used to work so hard all day—personally doing much of the temple service plus going out on sankirtana, supervising temple activities, and engaging devotees in service—that even until late at night, sometimes at 11:00 p.m., he was just then trying to chant his Gayatri mantras.

Though he had left Boston in 1970 to join Srila Prabhupada in India, the Boston devotees could not stop talking about him and his wonderful qualities.

 

Beautiful Eyes

I came to India in 1973, during the time when Giriraj Maharaja was in America for a few months because of illness. When he finally returned to India, I was told that I would be his secretary. Really I just wanted to go back to America in those days, and I started begging Tamal Krishna Maharaja to allow me to return.

But he simply told me, “Just look at Giriraj! Look at his beautiful eyes! He has such beautiful eyes. He is so pure and innocent. If you just stay here and serve him, you will become purified.” So I thought, “Yes, that’s what I want! I really want to become purified.” So in this way Tamal Krishna Maharaja was able to convince me to stay in India and become Giriraj Maharaja’s secretary.

 

The Impossible Perfectionist

After becoming his secretary, I soon came to know of some of his high qualities, especially that he was a perfectionist in everything he did. But not just an ordinary perfectionist. He was so intense that one day I was analyzing that there must be different categories of perfectionist: (1) a perfectionist, (2) a super-perfectionist, and (3) an impossible perfectionist. It is almost impossible to please the “impossible” perfectionist. Only the topmost, highest Vaikuntha standard can satisfy such a person.

Just like the incident with the carpets in Srila Prabhupada’s quarters. One time Matsya Avatar Prabhu visited Hare Krishna Land, and Giriraj Maharaja took him on a tour of Srila Prabhupada’s quarters. Matsya Avatar, who was a professional interior decorator in Italy, gave some suggestions on how to make the quarters more attractive. After this, Giriraj Maharaja added some beautiful and costly carpets to the quarters. Then, looking down at the marble floor, he saw that the marble was laid down in pieces. So Giriraj Maharaja would line up the edge of the carpets with lines where the marble pieces would meet. If a carpet was even a 1/4th inch off from the line, he would not tolerate it, and I would have to immediately rectify it.

Another example was that whenever he would dictate his letters and reports, he would always choose each word so carefully. The sentence had to be so perfectly constructed that sometimes he would take as long as twenty minutes to dictate one letter. Everything he did was so perfect. In this way, I spent many years trying to serve him, constantly reminded of my lower position.

 

Do Your Scribbling!

One day, just after becoming his secretary, I told Giriraj Maharaja that “I know shorthand, so if you want to dictate some letters, I can take the dictation by hand.” He thought about it and later called me into his office.

As he watched me write in shorthand for the first time, he admitted that he had never seen anyone doing shorthand before. He said, “It looks like scribbling!” And thereafter, he used to call me and say, “Okay, Mother Aditya, come do your scribbling. I want to dictate some letters.”

 

The Hare Krishna Land Brahmans

When I first arrived in Juhu the local residents told me an amazing story about Hare Krishna Land. It seems that there had been a small temple of Sri Ganeshji and Hanumanji on this land some four hundred years back. Five brahmans lived on the land and took care of this temple. Then some foreign government authorities came and took over the property by force, and made the brahmans leave.

The brahmans cursed the land, saying that there would always be unrest there. And they said that after several hundred years they would take birth in foreign countries and return to this very land and take it back again and chant the holy names of God here.

When the digging started for ISKCON’s new temple complex, sure enough some stones were uncovered which proved that there had indeed been such a temple existing here. So we can see that this prediction has come true and that perhaps Giriraj Maharaja might have been one of those brahmans.

 

The Chatai Hut

The early days of Hare Krishna Land were unbearably austere. The brahmacaris had to live in a chatai hut located in the “Gandhi Garden” in the rear of the Land. This hut also housed six different species of rats and snakes, and there were red ants running all over the devotees’ bodies at night.

Prasada was also not always regular, and sometimes for weeks there was only rice and dal to eat. Thieves would boldly come inside the hut and steal the devotees’ clothes off the lines. One never knew when one hung his clothes up to dry whether they would still be there later.

But Giriraj Maharaja never seemed to be the least bit concerned about all these bodily difficulties. Being on another platform, he would go downtown for preaching every day and come back to manage the temple affairs in the evenings, maintaining his enthusiasm to serve in spite of all the austerities.

 

The Preaching Kit

In those early days we had nothing but promises to give to the people we preached to. Then after some time we got some photos of different temples, Deities, and activities of ISKCON around the world. Giriraj Maharaja got a beautiful album and arranged the photos in a certain order for preaching. He called this album the “preaching kit.”

When we got that first photo album, it was such a big thing. We were so pleased to show it, especially to prospective life members. Finally we could show people something of what Srila Prabhupada was doing around the world.

But even before having that preaching kit, Giriraj Maharaja’s qualities were so attractive that he could easily steal the hearts of everyone, thereby enrolling many leading citizens of Bombay in the life membership program.

 

Morning Japa

Even in those early days when there was only the small temple of Sri Sri Radha- Rasabihariji, Giriraj Maharaja used to get up very early before mangala-arati and chant his rounds while walking around Hare Krishna Land. He used to chant so loud that we could all hear him in our rooms, and we would feel ashamed that he was already up and chanting while we were still sleeping. But we understood our good fortune because to hear a pure devotee chanting so early in the morning is very auspicious and purifying.

 

The Red Sweater

Giriraj Maharaja had an old red sweater that buttoned down the front, which he wore for many years on the morning japa walks with Srila Prabhupada on Juhu Beach.

It was his only sweater in those days, but he was so renounced and detached that that same sweater became famous, and it can be seen in many photos as he stood or walked with Srila Prabhupada on the beach.

 

Reporting to Srila Prabhupada

Giriraj Maharaja would sometimes send reports to Srila Prabhupada, but especially after the new temple construction started, he would regularly send reports to Prabhupada about what’s happening on Hare Krishna Land. One time, however, he had not written for a couple of weeks, so Srila Prabhupada wrote to him, “Where is my report? You should write every week.”

To prepare to write to Srila Prabhupada, he would walk around the land and chant many rounds—a minimum of two hours but sometimes for many hours—and then he would go to his office, calmly sit down, and dictate the letter, carefully selecting each word. In the beginning of the letter where pranams are given, he would add a special thought, which was always so poetic and beautiful. Tamal Krishna Maharaja once told me that Srila Prabhupada enjoyed getting Giriraj Maharaja’s letters and especially enjoyed those extra lines he would always write at the beginning.

 

The VIP Flat

Before the temple and guesthouse were built, Giriraj Maharaja renovated one flat in E Block on Hare Krishna Land and decorated it nicely to accommodate visiting VIPs.

A few months later, his parents came to visit him, and Giriraj Maharaja accommodated them in that flat. One day as Giriraj Maharaja was walking up the stairwell (I happened to be walking down), his mother came out of the flat, and when she saw him she immediately hugged him and kissed his cheek. He gave such a shocked look and said, “Oh, Mother!”

 

The Nectar of Devotion

One time Giriraj Maharaja made a policy that all the devotees must read The Nectar of Devotion. But because there were very few devotees in those days and so much service to do, no one really had the time. So he devised a plan that during the morning breakfast prasada someone would read a few pages from the book and then the next day after the prasada he would ask a few questions about the previous day’s readings. A prize was given to the person who could answer the questions best.

This was fine for a short period, but every day without fail the same devotee would answer all the questions better than anyone else, so all the devotees got discouraged, and gradually the program was discontinued.

 

The Transcendental Debates

Another time, Giriraj Maharaja devised a plan to present the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita by staging a transcendental debate every Sunday for the benefit of the visitors to the Sunday program. There were two sides: the Mayavadis and the devotees, or sometimes the demons and the devotees. However, Giriraj Maharaja was so intelligent that if he played the role of the devotee he would without question defeat the philosophy of the Mayavadi. But if he played the role of the Mayavadi, he would again without question defeat the devotee. If he was the demon, he would defeat the devotee. Whatever role he played, no one could defeat him!

After some time this became embarrassing and frustrating to the other devotees, who would always be defeated by him, so this Sunday Feast Program debate had to be discontinued.

 

Don’t Mess with THAT Brahmacari!

Some years went by, and in 1979 I went to America for three weeks. At that time I met my godbrother Adi Keshava Prabhu. While telling the story of how he became a devotee, Adi Keshava said that he and his friends used to go to the Boston Commons (a large park in the middle of downtown Boston) after college every day and that sometimes they would see the sankirtana party there. They used to like to harass the devotees by calling them bad names, imitating them, throwing things at them, and doing so many things.

But there was one brahmacari they could not harass. Adi Keshava Prabhu said that he told his friends, “See that one brahmacari! Don’t try to harass him. He is too together. Don’t mess with him! You cannot harass him.” So if that particular brahmacari was there, they did not harass that day. That brahmacari, of course, was you-know-who.

 

Dramas

Occasionally, in the mandap of the small temple, the devotees would enact dramas of Krishna lila, or stories such as “The Boatman and the Scholar,” “The Bird in the Cage,” or other dramas. Giriraj Maharaja was usually one of the actors.

Even in 1978 or 1979, just after the grand opening of the big complex, he and Amoghalila and others would do dramas in the new auditorium, which the visitors loved very much. Even if the same drama was performed two Sundays in a row, still the audience was delighted to see it again and again. They were also very impressed to see the leaders of the temple doing dramas.

 

Karmi Clothes

Though he traveled to so many different countries, Srila Prabhupada always wore only devotee clothes, and so also did all his disciples. But some time after Srila Prabhupada left, some sannyasis started wearing karmi clothes for flying abroad.

On one occasion Giriraj Maharaja was flying out if India and needed a hat to hide his newly shaved head. One devotee went all over the whole city of Bombay looking for a suitable hat, but he couldn’t find anything, so Maharaja finally ended up wearing a cricket hat, which looked so funny with his other clothes (an American shirt and pants).

Another time Giriraj Maharaja had to go to Pakistan, so Mr. Asnani (a Bombay lawyer who helped Srila Prabhupada in the early days) helped him to get one or two safari suits stitched.

It was so funny for us to see Maharaja wear karmi clothes on those occasions. Maharaja would come out of his office, and all the devotees would stand around him, staring and trying not to laugh. We felt shy to see him in these different clothes.

 

No Lady Secretary

On one occasion when Kirtanananda Swami came to Bombay, he told Giriraj Maharaja that he should not have a lady secretary. Immediately Maharaja called for Mukul, a young man from Allahabad who was a professional typist. When Mukul arrived from Allahabad, Maharaja walked into my office and told me, “Mother Aditya, Mukul will now be my secretary, and he will come to the office to take over by 11:00 a.m.”

So with only a one-hour notice, I had to immediately shift my desk, almirah, and other office equipment to the lobby in front of Gopal Krishna Maharaja’s office, as I did not have any other place to go. Then after about five days, Maharaja called me into his office and said very sweetly and softly, “Mother Aditya, Mukul cannot do the work, so we would like you to just shift everything back into your office again.”

 

The Glycerin Case

One day shortly after the grand opening of the new temple, around 1979 or so, while I was typing in my new office, which was located directly across the hall from Giriraj Maharaja’s office, Maharaja came by and peeped in. Just at that moment I had been putting some lotion on my hands which contained rose water and glycerin (a common thing to do, because Bombay air gets very dry in the dry season).

He stood there in the office doorway and asked, “What are you putting on your hands?” When I told him, he simply slightly raised his eyebrows and walked away. To this day I never dare to use such a thing again.

 

Around the time that we were teenagers in America, one of the topmost worshipable qualities someone could have was to be “Mr. Cool” at all times, but especially in any tense or adverse situation. Giriraj Maharaja was certainly such a person who never got ruffled or emotional but could maintain his composure in all circumstances.

We especially saw this great quality of his in 1978 during the event of a murder that took place in front of the temple, in which some of the tenants tried to accuse the devotees of being involved. The police came and started arresting some of the devotees. They blocked the devotees from going out of the compound gate and took away passports. Two or three thousand angry people gathered outside the guesthouse entrance trying to break in. The crowd was shouting, “Giriraj go home! Yankee go home!” And they seemed really determined to remove Giriraj Maharaja from India altogether. But Maharaja very cool-headedly simply got on the phone and started calling some of his friends who were in high political positions. Finally, after several tense hours, the Chief Minister sent two hundred soldiers of the Indian Army, armed with rifles, to protect the devotees and Hare Krishna Land.

Another instance of his being “Mr. Cool” was that we had one godbrother who was the temple president of Calcutta temple and who had learned how to give curses. He also was of short temper, so on several occasions he cursed different devotees for doing something he didn’t like. One day, however, while visiting Hare Krishna Land, he got angry at Giriraj Maharaja and cursed him that his management would fail and the temple would go into great debt. Maharaja was not in the least concerned, though, and went on with his service and as usual remained “Mr. Cool.”

Then a couple of months later we got the news that this godbrother for some unknown reason was no longer able to collect any funds and his temple had become greatly in debt. Later on we heard that Srila Prabhupada had said that a devotee’s curses worked, but if he tried to curse a pure devotee it would come back on himself.

 

 

We could continue speaking about such a rare personality as Giriraj Maharaja for hours. In my concluding words, though, I would like to humbly express my gratitude and appreciation for the way he always took such good care of me and other devotees who were in his charge during those early days. He was extremely kind and generous, always caring, and selflessly going out of his way to serve the devotees’ needs, sometimes at the cost of his own comfort and health.

I hope that this little account of my days with Giriraj Maharaja will give some pleasure to him, and perhaps a few laughs too.

Your servant
Aditya dasi

 

Demystifying Reincarnation is an engaging read that analyzes how one of humanity’s oldest questions – what happens after death? – is most coherently and empoweringly answered through reincarnation. The book has three major sections: scientific, inter-religious and metaphysical.

NYC Premiere of Hare Krishna! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: We have to work sincerely, and because Krishna is in everyone’s heart, there will be no difficulty to have the necessary facilities. Letter to Satsvarupa, September 14, 1969.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/gbEs7w

Historic meeting in Moscow, Russia (Album with photos) We had a very ecstatic program with Mandakini Mataji (Monda Gratitude) when she recently v...

Renewed look of the deities personally carved and worshiped by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu residing in Srirangam under the care by HG Murali Bhatta...

Iskcon of Silicon Valley: Vedic Academy Sunday school annual day & Graduation (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Our relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is eternal. Nitya-siddha Krishna-prema. The pure souls are eternally in love with Krishna. Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra one revives his original relationship with God and thus becomes so happy that he does not want anything material. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.7.39 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/HMZYCA

“HARE KRISHNA!” A New Documentary Tells the Story of the Swami Who Started It All.
What first comes to mind when you hear the word “yoga”? A sun salute? Your favorite flow class? For bhakti-yoga practitioners, it’s so much more than a way to sweat off the day—it’s a way of life. And they have Srila Prabhupada to thank for their practice.
The new documentary HARE KRISHNA!, directed by John Griesser with Jean Griesser and Lauren Ross, is an in-depth look at the man who brought the now worldwide spiritual phenomenon known as the Hare Krishna movement to America. A 70-year-old Indian Swami when he came to the U.S. in the 1960s, Prabhupada offered the world what it needed the most: a revolution of consciousness.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/FNbiCM

By Haripriya Devi Dasi

"My alarm clock rings. It is 5:00 a.m. on a summer morning in Saranagati Village, and it's almost time for mangal arati. After getting ready, I step outside into a crisp and quiet morning. Picking a flower from our garden for Their Lordships, I jog up the hill on the way to my favorite place, Banabehari Mandir. Once at the top, I look down towards the ashram and see dim yellow lights shining through the early morning mist. Coming up to the beautiful stained-glass tilak door, I lightly knock—and almost immediately, my favorite voice answers, 'Haribol! Come in!' Slowly opening the door and stepping in, I say, 'Haribol!' From the kitchen I hear, 'Oh, choti Haripriya! I'm so happy you are here! I've been thinking of you!' Yamuna walks around the corner with a warm smile. She wraps me up in a tight embrace, and I squeeze my eyes shut and hug her, cherishing every moment in her arms. After a few seconds, Yamuna takes me by the hand and leads me towards the temple room. Before entering, she taps the hanging chimes, which ring in a high, sweet pitch. Wafts of incense mixed with the fragrance of flowers meet my nose. I hear Dina behind the Deity curtain, humming beautiful tunes as she prepares for arati. On this and every time I come to Banabehari Mandir, I think, 'This is what the spiritual world must be like. I am home.' Continue reading "Banabehari Mandir
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Bucharest public program.

Snana Yatra & Panihati with 2.000 Devotees!
ISKCON Sri Jagannath Mandir Bangalore: This year, The Devotees of ISKCON Seshadripuram celebrated the annual Festival of Sri Jagannath Snana Yatra along with Panihati Cida Dahi Mahotsav Festival at Dodda Gosai Ghat, Srirangapatna. More than two thousand devotees thronged from all over the state to receive the mercy of the Lord.
Volunteers arrived the previous day and arranged a makeshift altar along with a tent and kitchen next to the holy river, Cauvery to facilitate the devotees and the Lord.
The Festival began with a Drama by our Youth forum continued by Abhiseka to the Deities Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladeva, Devi Subhadra and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. Followed by which Sri Sri Gaura Nitai were taken for a dip in Mother Cauvery. There was excitement in the air as the deities were taken for a dip in the Cauvery river. All of us jostled for space to get a glimpse of the Lords while in the waters of the Cauvery and to receive their merciful blessings as they came out. Then came our turn to take a dip in the cool waters of the river touched by the lotus feet of the deities. It was time for some fun and splashing around. However one could see devotees paying obeisances before entering the waters, sprinkling some water on their heads before carefully stepping into the river.
Soon afterward, His Holiness Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami Maharaja (ACBSP) spoke on the most wonderful pastimes of Lord Jagannath and the Festival had concluded with Hathi/ Gaja Vesh Darshan of Lord Jagannath and a delicious Prasadam feast comprising of Cakes, Cida-Dahi, Sweets, Pulao, Sabzi and Roti.
Everyone felt truly blessed. Being in the association of so many devotees is something we all yearn for. Why can’t such festivals just go on and on. Why can’t there be a festival everyday where every word is a song and every step is a dance?
Your Servants
ISKCON Seshadripuram Communications
http://iskconbangalore.co.in/

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 May 2012, Sydney, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.11.14)

I remember when the Australian devotees used to come to Vrindavan. I used to be in charge of allocating rooms in the ashram. For the Australian brahmacaris, I used to give them a whole room for themselves which was pretty good and they had somewhere to sleep. In India, basically you have a room with a cement floor and they said to me, “Is this our room? Where is the carpet? It’s just a bare floor! But okay, let’s go and get some maha! Where are the pizzas?”

In Australia, you know, you have… but that really is a waste of time because spiritual life is about the spiritual world. If you have to choose between a pizza and a chapatti, then most people would choose the pizza, even in India they would go for the pizza. Hridayananda Maharaj told us this happens because a pizza is a self-realised chapatti! 

That goes deep if you think about it but still, you know, even pizza at one point just does not do it. Spiritual life is about the spiritual world so let us remember that because in the spiritual world there is no birth, death, old age and disease.

And more major medical groups are endorsing a diet heavier in plants.

The Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) in Radhadesh, Belgium, is exhibiting the works of famous Indian mandala painter Om Prakash Sharma, whose meeting with Srila Prabhupada left an impact on him. Now 85 years old, Om Prakash has had a long and productive career including serving as Dean at the Delhi College of Art for over a decade. He met Srila Prabhupada at Dr. Mishra’s yoga studio in New York in 1965.

Elaborating on the verse 2.70 from the Bhagavad-gita Anuttama Dasa explains what ancient wisdom suggests about how to defeat stress, one of the most common diseases of the modern world. A video by Karuna Productions.

After several weeks of assembling the titanium nitrate kalashes, they have finally reached the final stage of commencing their installation on top of the TOVP Domes and Chatris. A video by ToVPInfo.

Harinama in Florence, Italy (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada: Narada Muni is very expert in delivering all the conditioned souls back home, b...

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 May, 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 May 2017 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats"

By Audrey Dwyer

It takes about three pairs of shoes to walk across the United States. At least that’s according to Bhaktimarga Swami, a 63-year-old Canadian born monk (formerly John Peter Vis) who has embarked on a transnational marathon walk of 3,000 miles across the United States from New York City to San Francisco on the Old Lincoln Highway. Met with incredulous stares from passersby, this man, who follows the monastic lifestyle of the Hare Krishna order, dresses in an orange robe and he typically walks up to 20 miles or more each day on roads that range from heavy traffic to remote lands. All the while, he walks with a purpose. Continue reading "The Walking Monk passes through Steamboat Springs on his journey across the U.S.
→ Dandavats"

These are the five videos produced by the famous Canadian movie star Marie Avgeropolous for the purpose of fund raising in favor of helping young...

Jagannath Snan Yatra festival at ISKCON Mira Road (6 min video) The is a bathing festival celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu ...

Answer Podcast

The post Demystifying Reincarnation 5 – Astonishing birth marks and birth defects appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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“Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?" - PAUL MC CARTNEY; JOHN LENNON

When I was 64, I first published this blog. Today, June 22, is my 67th birthday, and I find the message I share here even more important, as over the last year and a half I have had to literally stare death in the face. Growing up in the 1960s I naturally remember the Beetle’s song, “When I’m Sixty-Four.” Yeah, after 47 years of bhakti practice those old songs (and ad jingles!) are still floating around in my subconscious mind. This Beetle’s ballad is a love song about staying together despite aging that Paul McCartney wrote at the advanced age of 16. As a person involved in marital and premarital education this is an important topic for me (and my wife of 24 years). When I was 16 I couldn’t even imagine being 25, what to speak of 64! I was an only child with very limited experience with older persons. After living in Berkeley, California for a few years and then moving into the temple, when we went to San Francisco for street sankirtan (group chanting), I was taken back seeing all the old people! Berkeley is a college town and I was hanging out with only the young, and when I moved into the temple, the oldest person was 23

In any case, on my birthday, I thought the subject of aging, suffering, and being 64--and now 67--would be a good blog topic. Of course, most anything can be grist for the writer’s mill (we usually notice those things we are focused on), but this one was a natural candidate. Thus I wanted to find the words to the Beetle’s song, but before I began my Internet search, my dear friend, Dulal-Chandra Prabhu, sent me the lyrics and wished me a happy birthday. I wished him a happy birthday back, since his birthday is the same as mine—with THE SAME YEAR! How interesting and rare is that—especially among close friends! In 2010 we celebrated our 60th birthday together, and amidst fun and games, we went around the room to compile a list of shared personality traits and devotional histories. Though we have a number of differences, our wives and friends found an amazing amount of shared traits and experiences.

My general thoughts when writing are to share what I am going through, experiencing, thinking about, or inspired by, in a way that I pray may have relevance to you, my readers. Birth, disease, old age, and death, being shared by all embodied beings, are very rich and important topics. Called the four-fold, or four, miseries of material life, they are listed in the Bhagavad-gita verses (8-12) from the 13th chapter, as part of understanding the process of spiritual knowledge.

Since the soul is eternal and is never born or dies, speaking of these four miseries isn’t considered by devotees to be morbid or a topic to avoid in polite conversation.

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The post Daily Darshan: June 22nd, 2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Devotees at Radha Gopinatha Mandir and Radha Rasesvara Mandir have been buying land near the temple and building their family homes.

This is like many temples in India, especially temples like Sri Rangam, where the whole town is built around the temple in the centre.

Of course, it allows devotees to regularly attend temple functions and render valuable service.

People say animals do not have soul, or feelings or the ability to think. This video proves otherwise.

Anyone with an ounce of intelligence will understand that animals of all species have desire, intelligence, mind and feelings (thus consciousness) to emote at times of happiness or despair. It is just that the emotions fit the body of that living being. Animals have the same rights as humans to live out their lives per their life style habits. In my opinion, humans who support animal slaughter have feelings less than an animal since they cannot appreciate the consciousness (thinking, feeling and desiring) of the animal.

In this video, two elephants are trying hard to prevent the baby elephant from dying. You can see that they show urgency which means they understand the elephant is drowning and will die if we do not save it immediately (like any human). Since elephants are evolved beings, their consciousness is evolved to the point they can understand when someone is drowning. Then they use their intelligence and mental capacity to save the drowning elephant.

Hare Krishna

Yesterday, on Ekadasi, Aditya dasi left her body in Sri Vrindavan dhama. She was a pure, devoted soul who sincerely served Srila Prabhupada and his Lords for the last forty-five years. She was our secretary in Juhu, and after Prabhupada’s departure she did wonderful service in his quarters. To assist me with the preaching, she even visited Pakistan, where she was much appreciated and loved by the local ladies. Later, when I was kept out of India because of visa problems, she moved to Vrindavan to serve Prabhupada there. She was ill these last days and wanted to leave her body on Ekadasi, and Prabhupada fulfilled her desire. We feel her separation, but we take solace in knowing that she has gone to continue her service to him and his Lords in a better situation. I am praying for her. And I am reminded of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta’s description of Haridasa Thakura’s funeral ceremony: “Thereafter, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu bade farewell to all the devotees, and He Himself, with mixed feelings of happiness and distress, took rest.”

Hare Krishna.

In humble service,
Giriraj Swami

 

Should the most important message in the world [not] have the best delivery service?

An exclusive look at the World Theatrical Premiere of HARE KRISHNA! (2 min video) The film that took place on June 16th in New York City at the V...