Planet ISKCON

Podcast

The post Gita 14.04 Dialogue requires methodological humility appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

News story and audio interview about devotee musician from New Zealand.
Despite the high acclaim Denver received for his work as Micronism, Mechanism, and the music he released under his own name, he stopped producing a year later, pursuing a newfound interest in the Hare Krishna faith. Since then he’s spent time as a Krishna Devotee in Ashrams in NZ, Peru, and is now based in Brisbane with his wife and son.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/QGS2NC

Harinama in Barnaul, Russia, 03.06.17 (Album with photos)
“When a person really devotes himself to Krsna consciousness and begins to derive pleasure in repeating the name of his beloved Lord, this repetition captures him entirely. Sometimes he sings the holy names very loudly and dances like a madman. However, he does not care that someone can take him for a madman. He does not care about the opinions of others. This is the perfect level of repetition of the holy name ”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qKhXEc

Sadhu Sanga Retreat 2017 (Album with photos) Up in the heart of the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, HH Indradyumna Swami orchestrated t...

Saturday evening’s London program talk.

Bhaktivedanta Clinic (1 min video)
“Inauguration clip”
Registered as Bhaktivedanta Hospital & Research Institute, it is a non-profit, non-Governmental, non-sectarian organization. This will be the first of its kind in Nepal, serving with a Spiritual theme.
The Medical team at BVH are energetic, empathic and spiritually minded with a total of 20 members including Doctors/Consultants/ Physiotherapist & Paramedics.
BVH is serving with OPD/ Physiotherapy/ Ayurveda/ Naturopathy/ Spiritual Counselling/ Psychiatry Clinic/ Meditation - Yoga/ Home Care Services/ Tele - Medicine/ Pharmacy services.
BVH sub-unit - *Red Trident* is serving by organizing Health camps/ Awareness Programs in Peri-urban & Rural areas of Nepal.
The auspicious Inauguration ceremony was on 2nd April 2017, 10:00 AM.
*We humbly request you to bless us for this project in Nepal.*
Your dear most servants at
Bhaktivedanta Hospital team, Nepal
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/pQEnrM

There were many enthusiastic and blissful devotees yesterday in the center of Italy's capital, Rome, as Lord Jagannatha, Lady Subhadra and Lord Balarama graced with Their presence the streets of this ancient city of Europe.

By Hari Narayana Das

Flowers parade to commemorate the 724th anniversary of Surabaya city was successfully attracted many visitors along the way of the parade even the sun shine brightly in the sky. It was the most eagerly awaited attraction. This event every year is always attended by thousands of people. The audience of this year parade was present-not just from Surabaya alone. Many residents outside the city of Surabaya such as Gresik, Sidoarjo and even Madura and Lamongan who always come on this event and of course Lord Jagannath also never absent on this parade. Continue reading "Jagannath ratha Yatra on Surabaya Flowers parade 2017
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ISKCON - Panihati Chip Rice Festival (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Haraye namah krsna yadavaya namah, gopala govinda rama sri-mudhusudana. This is another way of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. The meaning is as follows: “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. He is the descendant of the Yadu family. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Gopala, Govinda, Rama and Sri Madhusudana.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 25.64 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/H4hVNY

By the Executive Team, RISE

ISKCON Auckland NZ, is pioneering the establishment of a spiritual learning centre, named Rupanuga Institute of Spiritual Education (RISE). The opening of RISE was celebrated on the 21st May, 2017 during the Sunday feast at the temple with the blessings and guidance of HH Ramai Swami Maharaj & HH Devamrita Swami Maharaj. Temple President, HG Kalasamvara das, who supported the creation of RISE wholeheartedly, spoke about the legacy left behind by Srila Prabhupada in the form of his books and the need for systematically studying them. Speaking especially on one of the books being currently studied in Bhaktisastri, “The Nectar of Instruction” he said holding the book, “If somebody reads this book given by Srila Prabhupada and follows this one book, then he can return back home, back to godhead…Just for a small price , you can attain the highest level of devotional service. He thanked devotees for starting RISE an educational Institute for spiritual education and was happy to see the congregation’s enthusiasm in enrolling for the Bhakti Sastri course. Continue reading "A Beautiful SunRISE in Auckland, NZ!
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By Brajsunder Das

It is recommended that one accept sannyasa to dedicate his life for the service of the Lord, and everyone must take that kind of sannyasa, for by accepting such sannyasa one renders the best service to both his paternal and maternal families. But one should not accept the sannyasa order of the Mayavada school, which has practically no meaning. We find many Mayavadi sannyasis simply loitering in the street thinking themselves Brahman or Narayaṇa and spending all day and night begging so they can fill their hungry bellies. Mayavadi sannyasis have become so degraded that there is a section of them who eat everything, just like hogs and dogs. It is such degraded sannyasa that is prohibited in this age. Actually, Srila Sankaracarya’s principles for the acceptance of sannyasa were very strict, but later the so-called Mayavadi sannyasis became degraded because of their false philosophy, which propounds that by accepting sannyasa one becomes Narayaṇa. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu rejected that kind of sannyasa. But the acceptance of sannyasa is one of the items of the varṇaśrama-dharma. How then can it be rejected? Continue reading "Sannyasa Candidates 2017
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Today is Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana disappearance festival. On this day, let’s glorify this great vaishnava personality by remembering his life & pastimes.Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana was born in the early part of the 18th century (1720-1790) in a village near Remuna, Balasore District of Orissa. Even though he was the son of a ‘vaisHya’ (farmer), in […]

The post Baladeva Vidyabhusana Disappearance appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Pictured here is the team of Russian technicians at work inside the TOVP putting together the Kalashes to be mounted on the various domes and Chatris.

You can admire the beautiful pieces of titanium nitride being assembled.

The post Kalash Work Progress appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Nirjala Ekadasi 2017 Invitation (3 min video) ISKCON Nepal invites everyone for observing Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi (Total Fast, even from water, if you have broken Ekadasi) on 5th June 2017, Monday. This video is a production of Hare Krishna Bhaktilok

ISKCON Birmingham: Book distribution and Harinama - Saturday 3rd June 2017 - Birmingham City Centre (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: A pure devotee always thinks himself as not-devotee. If one thinks that he is big devotee that is not good, thinking that he is first degree. We should not be puffed up. A devotee avoids it, remaining always in the second degree. Krishna has given everyone something extraordinary, and to serve Krishna with one’s extraordinary talent means successful life. Letter to Sukadeva, March 17, 1973.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Y6NHh2

ISKCON Birmingham: Saturday 3rd June 2017 - Birmingham City Centre (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: A pure devotee always thinks himself as not-devotee. If one thinks that he is big devotee that is not good, thinking that he is first degree. We should not be puffed up. A devotee avoids it, remaining always in the second degree. Krishna has given everyone something extraordinary, and to serve Krishna with one’s extraordinary talent means successful life. Letter to Sukadeva, March 17, 1973.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Y6NHh2

Death: An inconvenient truth?
Life is like a game of chess – whether you’re the king, queen or pawn, at the end of the game everyone ends up in the box. Unless, of course, you get cremated. Morbid? Depressing? Dark? Though discussions on death are not usually number one on our conversation list, I was invited to the Southbank Centre a few weeks ago to speak on the topic “what happens next?” In an auditorium filled with coffins and somber lighting, I shared some thoughts on the logic of life after death. Living in a community of devotees, such concepts are seamlessly woven into daily life; birthdays are “appearance days,” my room-mate from Slovenia is “western bodied,” death is the “disappearance day,” and when someone expires we say they have “left their body.” Atma (the soul), samsara (its journey through material bodies), karma (the law which governs that transmigration) and yoga (the means of escape), are four pillars of the Vedic worldview. Comprehensive, consistent, and entirely logical.

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Sincerity Yours to Keep!
Vaisesika Das: We come into the material world naked and we will leave it naked. As living entities, we don’t own anything, nor can we keep anything. However, there is one item that is uniquely ours: our sincerity. Sincerity cannot be stolen or usurped as it springs from our own freedom of choice to do the right thing.
Although sincerity is subtle and cannot be put in a bottle, it is the most powerful substance in the universe. It radiates from the eyes and hearts of those who have it. It attracts the favorable glance of the Supreme Lord, who is otherwise not attracted by anything in the entire material cosmos.

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Puri Ratha Yatra 2017 (Album with photos)
Work in full swing at Ratha khaalla. The Base part of Ratha completed.
Wheels of...

Answer Podcast

The post Does chanting automatically make us kinder or do we have to strive to become kinder? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post Does chanting require effort or does chanting make us happy? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post Why is the mind considered a sense? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post How can we focus on chanting when the mind wanders? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post When Tvashta gave Narayana-kavacha that made Indra invincible, how could Tvashta himself be killed? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post How can we remain respectful to the devatas while describing their non-supreme position or their non-ideal activities? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post Just as the mind is personified, are other things such as Bhakti devi and Kali also personifications? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Walking Monk travels Highway 30.
A Hare Krishna monk known as the Walking Monk, Bhaktimarga Swami has been crossing Nebraska by walking Highway 30 and Thursday arrived in Sidney.
Swami hopes to encourage people towards “an enhanced walking culture.”
“That means, basically, getting out of the house or the office and doing what our bodies are designed for,” he said. “It means greeting the elements and working your machinery, and also going for some reflective downtime, taking some time to process the things that are going on in your life.”
People, Swami said, need to “exhale a little bit.”

“There’s a lot of inhalation, but little exhalation,” he said. “Walking allows that to happen.”

Swami has done many pilgrimages. A native of Ontario, he has crossed Canada from coast to coast four times. He has also walked Ireland and Israel, Guyana, Trinidad, and the Fiji Islands.

Last year, Swami started in New York and has been making the walk to San Francisco. He resumed his travel in Seward, heading toward Wyoming in 20 miles segments.

Highway 30, Swami said, offers both a linear route and a sense of history, as it’s the first highway built across the country.

“It’s also the trail for a lot of migrants who were going for the gold rush,” he said, “and I believe the Mormons had also come from the east and gone to the west to settle where they are in Utah.”

The undertaking of a pilgrimage is an ancient practice, valued by many traditions and peoples.

“It doesn’t matter what strain you come from,” Swami said, “whether it’s a European one or an Eastern one, or a Native one, there seems to be a portion of people’s lives where they would actually go, on an individual basis or as a group, for personal healing, go for a downsized kind of vacation, and go to a destination that means something to the individuals.”

Swami has gained much from his pilgrimages.

“It doesn’t cease to amaze me when I’m walking these vast tracks of land,” he said. “It’s awe inspiring and it’s a very humbling experience. It’s like stepping into infinity, endless fields and beautiful rolling hills and the sky is definitely to no limit. That’s your constitutional position, as our Guru used to put it, to feel small but to do big. It’s taking a humble position and being ready to serve.”

He added, “Walking puts you into that service frame of mind.”

Traveling Nebraska, Swami’s interactions with others have been rarely hostile, sometimes curious and mostly kind.

“A lot of people offer that gesture of a wave. An officer pulled over yesterday. Before he even asked me a question he went to his trunk and gave me two bottles of water,” he said. “That type of kindness is there.”

Answer Podcast

The post How can we balance giving due priority to chanting with other important services? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By Radhanath Swami

In Italy, near the city of Perugia, is the place called Assisi, the birth place of a very popular saint named Francis. He was the son of a wealthy merchant, but he took up the life of renunciation. Committed to a life of self-imposed poverty, humility, and devotion, he attracted many to follow. “One day he was walking with one brother Leo from Perugia to a very famous temple, St. Maria of the Angel. He was walking for miles and miles, and it was freezing cold. It was raining and snowing. He asked his brother Leo, “I want you to write down whatever I say.” They were walking and it was already night time. He said, “What is perfect joy? If our brothers give excellent sermons glorifying our God, I do not consider that perfect joy. If our brothers give sight to the blind, they give ability to the lame to walk and to run, they give ability to the dumb to speak and deaf to hear, and even if they raise a dead man back to life, I do not consider that is perfect joy. Even if our brothers are so deeply learned that they know all philosophy and they know all the science and they have memorized expertly all the holy scriptures, I do not consider that perfect joy. Even if our brothers can prophesize what’s going to happen and tell the future and understand astrology and understand the intelligence and the mentality of all species of life and reciprocate with all species in that way, I do not consider that perfect joy.” Continue reading "Finding Perfect Joy – A Lesson from St. Francis
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Presenting the Hare Krishna chanting in a school of Bali (1 min video and photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If a devotee once utters th...

By Raman Raghunatha das

A historic event for ISKCON was the acquisition of 60 acres of land near NH-2 for construction of the new eco-friendly campus for Bhaktivedanta Gurukula and International School (BGIS) The construction work in the new school begun with the auspicious Bhumi Puja ceremony in the presence of HH Gopal Krishna Maharaj and former honourable PWD minister of UP, Shri Shivpal Yadav on 16th May 2015. A lot of progress has been made since then. A new exclusive road of 3 KM length named 'Bhaktivedanta Gurukula Marg' has been constructed by the state PWD department to connect the new campus to National Highway. It now takes only 20 minutes to reach the new school from ISKCON temple in Vrindavan The superstructure of the 60,000 sqft academic building has been completed, and the finishing work is going on. The superstructure of first two floors of hostel building has been completed. Foundation work for the temple building has been completed. Concrete boundary wall is being built on the entire 60 acres of land. Landscaping and plantation of trees are under progress. Continue reading "Bhaktivedanta Gurukula Vrindavan Updates
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By Manu dasa

One of the first devotees to land on Irish soil in the early seventies did so on a motorbike, with the intention of getting a slot on the famous TV program, 'The Late Late Show'. That devotee was Tribhuvanatha and being Irish, he knew this would be an excellent opportunity to introduce the fledgling Krishna movement to the people of Ireland. Although unsuccessful in his attempt, it would not be too long before the first group of devotees began to sing and dance on the highways and byways of Ireland. In the spring of 1973, Prabhavisnu brought a group of devotees to Dublin and they met with a good response, distributing books and chanting on the streets. At first they slept in their van, parked in the hills outside Dublin. Then they rented a bungalow in the suburb of Sutton and on Sundays up to 60 people turned up to chant and honour prasadam with them. Continue reading "History is made! After 44 years ISKCON Finally owns a Little Piece of Dublin!
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Podcast

 

 

The post Talk show – How is the Gita relevant today? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The New Religion: Shopping! (7 min video)
Mahatma Das: So we thought that the religion for this age was Harinama, wrong! The religion is …“Shopping!” :-)
Our leaders do not see us anymore as citizens but as “consumers”. Because this is good for the economy!

Answer Podcast

The post If people anger us, how can we control ourselves? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Sri Prahlada attended the Sadhu Sanga Kirtan Retreat 2017 in North Carolina, USA. The Sadhu Sanga Kirtan Retreat is an offering by His Holiness Indradyumna Swami, one of the senior disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, (the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna consciousness) to the kirtan-lovers all over the […]