When problems trouble us and we can’t put our heart in our service, what can we do?
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How does understanding Krishna’s greatness and sweetness bring submission and affection respectively?
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When we practice bhakti culture in our temples or youth centers, are we not practicing spiritual bhakti?
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Ecstatic August 5th Harinam at Jacksonville Beach, Florida,…
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Ecstatic August 5th Harinam at Jacksonville Beach, Florida, United States (Album with photos)
Every month many Harinams are held at various football games, parades, events and beaches. Jacksonville beach is one such location. Devotees blissfully sing and dance with the sincere drunks and distribute books in the scorching summer sun - often coming back ten shades darker.
Afterwards, everyone takes prasadam at Mother Vishnupriya and Godruma’s home. Sankirtan yajna ki jaya !
(photos by Narottama)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tTq8Zg

Sanatana Goswami describes the transcendental appearance of Krsna in his Krsna Stava
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By Sanatana Goswami

O Krsna, Who descended in the province of Mathura, O Lord Who gives the great gift of pure love for Yourself, O Perfromer of extraordinary pastimes, O great Treasure-house of various kinds of sweetness, O Lord Who is full of transcendental opulences, great mercy and majesty. All glories unto You Continue reading "Sanatana Goswami describes the transcendental appearance of Krsna in his Krsna Stava
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Krsna Janmastami
→ Ramai Swami

Even though Krsna Janmastami was on Tuesday this year, many devotees, as far afield as Sydney, attended the wonderful celebration at New Gokula farm.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Krsna, personally appeared as the son of Vasudeva. Before He appeared, all the demigods, along with their wives, appeared in different pious families in the world just to assist the Lord in executing His mission.

At the time of Krsna’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious.

Vasudeva saw that wonderful child born as a baby with four hands, holding conchshell, club, disc, and lotus flower, decorated with the mark of Srivatsa, wearing the jeweled necklace of kaustubha stone.

He was dressed in yellow silk, appearing dazzling like a bright blackish cloud, wearing a helmet bedecked with the vaidurya stone, valuable bracelets, earrings and similar other ornaments all over His body and an abundance of hair on His head. Due to the extraordinary features of the child, Vasudeva was struck with wonder.

On holy days, if new people can either fast or do service, what should we encourage them to do?
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How can we explain philosophy to those who don’t accept the authority of scripture?
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If spirituality tells us to fast and science tells us to not fast, what should we do?
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Akrura Katha 3 – Understanding cultural bhakti, philosophical bhakti, spiritual bhakti and Vraja bhakti
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[Krishna Katha for youth retreat at ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai, India]

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Podcast Summary

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Srila Prabhupada life-story – New video-audio series
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On the auspicious occasion of Srila Prabhupada’s 121st Vyasapuja on 16th August, 2017, I am grateful to announce the beginning of a small offering: a series of over 50 video-audio talks on Srila Prabhupada’s life-story.
The first episode is published here and future episodes will be published every week in the playlist here:
Drawing from the Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami as well as from several other biographies, memoirs and treatises on Srila Prabhupada’s life, the series attempts to give glimpses His Divine Grace’s fearless devotion, tireless dedication and peerless contributions
I seek the blessings and good wishes of all the followers of Srila Prabhupada so that I can render this service effectively.

Audio Podcast :

 


Video :

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Vyasa-puja Offering to Srila Prabhupada
Giriraj Swami

Smriti-and-other-children-with-Prabhupada-in-JuhuDear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my humble, prostrated obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace, to your powerful love, mercy, and Krishna consciousness.

Last month your spiritual granddaughter Smriti “Baby” Warrier (now Sravana Dasi) lost her son in a tragic accident at the railroad. When I wrote to offer my condolences, I was wonderstruck by her reply:

“Thank you for your kind blessings and prayers for our son Nrsimha Guru. Due to the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, we are all blessed with our journey in Krishna consciousness. In such a situation all we can see is Krishna’s hand and how He orchestrated the whole incident. Though it is the most horrific thing I have experienced, I am at peace, as I see the Lord in it.

“Twenty-two years ago Srimati Radharani put two beautiful Vaishnavas in my lap, and now She has asked for one back. I can only be thankful for those twenty-two years with him. I am proud that he was strong on his devotional path. He had just finished his Disciples Course and gotten his recommendation letter and was chanting a chapter of the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. The morning of the accident he had been chanting his japa, so by Srila Prabhupada’s grace he was in good consciousness. I am proud of all his accomplishments, and now that his karma here is over, he has progressed to serving Srila Prabhupada elsewhere.”

I was touched and moved by her beautiful letter—by her Krishna consciousness and her sublime realizations of your glorious, powerful mercy. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 19.132) states, “When the personal associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would hear of the activities of Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis, they would say, ‘What is wonderful for a person who has been granted the Lord’s mercy?’ ” And that is how I feel about her: What is beyond a person who has been given so much mercy from you?

Smriti was born on December 28, 1965, and thus she experienced your personal presence from around the age of six to the age of twelve. What happened during those years—how did you enter so deeply into her heart that even now, forty years later, she is totally absorbed in you, your love and mercy and Krishna consciousness?

Smriti’s parents, Shankar and Jayalakshmi Warrier, were tenants on Hare Krishna Land. “I grew up on Hare Krishna Land,” she recalls. “I was there before Srila Prabhupada and the devotees came. I was one of the fortunate ones who got a lot of mercy from Prabhupada and the devotees, because my mother and father did a lot of service. For some time the devotees had only a hut to live in, or were living on the rooftops, and many came to our house for prasada or for our fan. On school days they would come in and lie down and have the whole house to themselves. And when the devotees came when there was no school, it was like a big festival in our house.

“My mother was a good cook, and Prabhupada would have her make South Indian dishes; he liked idlis, dosas, vadas, and sambar. So every morning I would get a message to take the prasada over to him. And rascal as I am, I used to wait for something in return. I had given idlis, but I wanted a sweet back. And he would tease me. He would give me back idlis, and I would say, ‘No, I get lots of that at home; I want a sweet.’ So very early in life I started grabbing all the mercy I could. He would tease me and offer me a piece of idli or vada, and I would say, ‘No, I want the sweet on your plate,’ and wait there until he gave it to me. Still, he would pick up the idli and offer it to me with an amused look in his eye, like ‘Are you going to take it?’ But I was stubborn; I wanted that sweet, and that was it. Sometimes he would tease me to the extent that he would eat all his prasada while I was still waiting for my sweet—I would wait twenty minutes or more and never leave without it—and begin to put the last sweet in his mouth, and only then would he would hand it to me and let me go. And he would laugh.

“Every evening my mother would make a garland for him for the lecture, and I used to feel embarrassed because the devotees would come with beautiful thick garlands. They would buy flowers and make these beautiful garlands, and I would offer him this thin little thing that my mom had made with fragrant champak or mogra flowers from the garden. But eventually I saw that Prabhupada would take the big, heavy ones off and leave the thin ones on, and he’d smell them from time to time.

“There were times when his servants weren’t around and I would get to pick up his shoes and help him slip his feet into them.

“In the temporary temple, Prabhupada would distribute prasada after his lectures, but after he gave me some, I would remain standing there. He would say, ‘Go away,’ but I would still stand there with my hands out, wanting more. My dad would go for mangala-arati and evening arati and definitely for Prabhupada’s evening lecture. I used to tag along, but only for the sweet. Sometimes I would have to sit through the whole program to get my sweet. But sometimes Prabhupada would tell a devotee, ‘Give her the sweet so she can go home and play.’

“Malati Devi’s daughter Sarasvati and I used to play all day, and we would give Prabhupada a lot of trouble. Because Malati was cooking, she would basically dump Sarasvati at our house and we were supposed to babysit her. But she and I would take off and do all kinds of nonsense and get into trouble. We used to play upstairs. Prabhupada might have been resting, writing, or talking, but we were always up there doing something, and Prabhupada never took offense. He would always say, ‘Come sit down.’ And Sarasvati would sit on one side of his lap and I would sit on the other side.

“One time we were up in Prabhupada’s quarters running around and playing tag or somehow just making a lot of noise. He called both of us and said, ‘Sit down.’ And he kind of hit us lightly on our heads, to chastise us a bit, and then he told us to go downstairs and stop disturbing him. Sarasvati was much bolder than I was, because she was traveling with him, and she was allowed to get away with all kinds of things.

“Sometimes when I took his breakfast up to his room, there were no servants around—everybody would be gone. I would look at his plate, and he would give me my sweet. But I would linger, just in case something would be left over—maybe some more sweets—and so I would be there. Then if Prabhupada called for his servants and no one came, he’d say, “Get me my shoes.” So I would get the opportunity to help him with his shoes, and he would pat me with his cane. I was six or seven years old—a little rascal.

“Prabhupada’s arrival in Bombay was a most beautiful time. Well before his arrival, the devotees would go to the airport and have a fantastic kirtan. It would be very loud and ecstatic, and we would be jumping and dancing, waiting for Prabhupada to come. I was so small I couldn’t see Prabhupada when he walked into the terminal. I only knew he was there because all the devotees went down to offer obeisances, and I went down too.

“One Diwali, Mother Kanta was in the women’s ashram above our flat and we were outside setting off fireworks. It was around 9:00, and I guess she wanted to take rest, but we weren’t finished playing. So she started throwing buckets of water down on us. My brothers and I marched up to Srila Prabhupada’s room. Caitya-guru caught us and said, ‘You can’t go in there—he’s resting.’ We must have made a lot of noise, because Prabhupada called, ‘Let them in.’ My brothers went in and pleaded that we wanted to do fireworks, but Prabhupada said, ‘No, it’s too noisy.’ So my brothers gave up and walked out. But I, the youngest, stood there and said, ‘But it’s Diwali—we’ve got to break some firecrackers.’ Then Prabhupada said, ‘All right, until 10:00—but after that, no more.’ So we got permission and broke firecrackers. The next day, Mother Kanta came with a plate of maha-prasada and apologized for throwing water on us.

“Being so close to Srila Prabhupada, at Hare Krishna Land, we got to associate with him in a different light.

“Sometimes in the afternoon we children would go up to the terrace when Srila Prabhupada was giving darsana and give him garlands we had made and perform for him, doing some devotional dance. Our parents would dress us up, and my mom would put together some dance for us to perform. It was like a festival, and we were all very excited, but we were anxious too, because we wanted to please Srila Prabhupada.

“My father did a lot of service, and seeing him do all that also inspired me to be a devotee and take shelter of Prabhupada’s lotus feet. In 1975, he passed away from cancer. Six months before, the doctor said that he didn’t have much time to live. So he gave up going to work. He said, ‘There’s no use working for another six months.’ He just stayed home and chanted. During the last four months of his life he chanted sixty-four rounds a day.

“He would wait every evening for Giriraj Prabhu to return from preaching. No matter how late it was, Giriraj never missed coming to see him. He would bring a garland from the Deities and a plate of maha-prasada (which the devotees must have kept for him, knowing he would be out late). His generosity and inspiration made Daddy chant more rounds, so he could tell Giriraj how many he had chanted that day, and when Giriraj expressed his pleasure, Daddy’s enthusiasm to chant more increased. In his last month he sometimes chanted eighty rounds or more.

“When he passed away, the devotees came and did kirtan. I think it was all Prabhupada’s mercy that my father took the essence of what Prabhupada had come for, to take us back to Godhead. He took that essence and realized that material things were not worth living for, so he just gave up everything and changed.

“Before he got sick, Daddy was at the temple like clockwork. He used to go to mangala-arati and guru-puja, and then he’d go to work. And he would go for the evening arati too. First we had pictures on our altar, and then Navayogendra Prabhu gave us Chaturbhuj Krishna. So we used to have aratis, and every day the evening arati was my job. I was the pujari at home. That was one thing Daddy had started at home, to have the evening arati. By six o’clock I had to be home and take a shower, and at seven I had to do the arati.

“The night before my father passed away, he was really sick and had to go to the hospital. But he said, ‘No, until Baby finishes the arati I’m not going.’ So I came and did the arati, and he was breathing heavily; he was really sick. After the arati, he left for the hospital, and the next morning, at ten o’clock, he passed away. That was the last time I saw my dad. After I did the arati, he gave me a big hug, and then he went, and that was it. If it weren’t for Prabhupada, we wouldn’t have been doing that arati. He taught us everything we knew.

“After my father passed away, Srila Prabhupada told my mother to surrender everything and join the temple, but she didn’t do it. She said, ‘No, let my children decide what they want to do, what their careers will be, and if they grow up and carry on, then I’ll come.’ But she never did.

“That year the devotees booked a whole train bogey to Vrindavan for the grand opening, and we were invited to come. The trip was wonderful, and when we got there Prabhupada personally took my mom and our family around the whole temple, which was so beautiful. It was wonderful walking with him as he told us what was in there and what was going on. He was so merciful towards my mom and all of us; I can only be thankful for all the time and all the wonderful mercy he gave us. At that time I didn’t know it was mercy—I was just having a good time—but now I can realize I must have done something in my past life to have been so close to Prabhupada and to receive the nectar of his mercy.

“When I looked at Prabhupada, I didn’t see him as a guru or sannyasi or swami. I didn’t understand that aspect of Prabhupada. All I knew was that he was very kind. I looked at him as a father, because I wasn’t afraid of him, to go and ask him something or do something. Because I would take him his breakfast every morning, I’d see him every day. Sometimes he would take a stick and tap me on the head with it, blessing me. If I helped him with his shoes, he would pat me on the head or do something like that.

“He was always very kind, especially with the children, and he always had a smile, no matter whom he was talking to. If he’d see you coming, he would smile and acknowledge you. Although you were a child, you were also a person. He would see you as a person, even though you were tiny—not that you didn’t exist. At the airport, everyone was there, but he would notice you. He might not say anything, but he would be with you. He would look at you and smile at you.

“When Prabhupada came to Juhu, I would always spend time in his quarters. Sometimes he would tell me to go and get Tamal, or he’d tell me, Okay, go and do this, or go do that. So many times he made me run here and there to do things. I would hang out there, because when Prabhupada came, that was the place to be, that’s where all the action was. So I would always be there. Something or the other was going on at all times. His cooks or other devotees would always be around. And all the devotees were also very kind and merciful. ‘Go do this for Prabhupada,’ they would tell me. ‘Go to this place, go give this to Prabhupada.’ A lady devotee would give me a rose to run up to him, so I would run up, and so I’d be there. And then the prasada distribution would come. Prabhupada would give out a big plate of prasada. Often it was fruit. I would get in line to get my fruit. The devotees would let me be at the front of the line, but I’d go back and back and back.

“I never really got chastised or reprimanded for anything—Prabhupada was always very kind to me. I think that’s what helped me love him more and do more.

“When Prabhupada was sick and came back to Bombay in 1977, the devotees would hardly let anyone into his quarters; he was really ill. But I was not used to that; I was used to walking in at any time. So, I came one evening, and they would not let me in. I had been bringing Prabhupada his breakfast, and he had been there for many days, but I still hadn’t been allowed in to see him. So I just stood there crying. When Tamal Krishna came in and saw me, he understood the situation and said, ‘Okay, go ahead.’ He let me in and said, ‘Be very quiet; he’s taking rest. Just go in and come out.’ So I went in, and Prabhupada was sleeping, and I stood there for a few moments. I was just standing there and looking at him. He was just lying there, and I didn’t see him feeling the pain. He had been saying that he was very sick and his stomach hurt, but I didn’t see that. I saw him very calm and peaceful. So, I grasped his feet and then ran. I don’t know if I woke him up or not, but I just grasped his feet and ran out; I just grabbed the mercy. And that was the last time I saw Prabhupada.”

Srila Prabhupada, you entered a child’s heart, took up residence there, and never left. Even today you sit there, causing her to think, feel, act, and speak in many wonderful ways. “What is wonderful for a person who has been granted the Lord’s mercy?” And what is beyond a person who has been given so much mercy from you?

Your wonderstruck aspiring servant,
Giriraj Swami

JANMASTAMI OBSERVANCE BY HEARING KRISHNA LILA: AKRURA’S ARRIVAL IN VRINDAVANA
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Author: 
Karnamrita Das

[reprinted from August 8th, 2009] JANMASTAMI OBSERVANCE BY HEARING KRISHNA LILA: AKRURA'S ARRIVAL IN VRINDAVANA:

Bhakti-yoga, or Krishna consciousness, means quite simply being conscious of Krishna. When we love someone we naturally think of them, so when we love Krishna it is natural to think of him and want to hear or read about his lila or divine activities. Those of us who want to love Krishna—or even believe in him if we are new—will make progress in knowing and loving Krishna by reading about his pastimes in the Shrimad Bhagavatam or in Shrila Prabhupada’s Krishna book which is the summary of the 10th Canto.

We are advised to read with the desire to understand and in the mood of service, humility and reverence--at least with that ideal in mind. Just like in Shrila Prabhupada's introduction to the Gita he recommends a new person to at least theoretically accept Krishna as the Supreme Lord, because that will help create the right mood to enter into the book. Though we want to use our intellect to understand as far as we can, our spiritual heart needs to come out, since that is the real way to understand the inconceivable Lord.

In Prabhupada’s translations of Vedic literature, we have the scripture with a commentary by a pure devotee. Many people have become devotees by reading these books. As wonderful and powerful as these books are they don’t ask us if we have understood, nor do they personally interact with us to show us how to be Krishna conscious. For that we need advanced devotees we can observe and serve with.

read more

JANMASTAMI OBSERVANCE BY HEARING KRISHNA LILA: AKRURA’S ARRIVAL IN VRINDAVANA
→ Karnamrita's blog

Author: 
Karnamrita Das

[reprinted from August 8th, 2009] JANMASTAMI OBSERVANCE BY HEARING KRISHNA LILA: AKRURA'S ARRIVAL IN VRINDAVANA:

Bhakti-yoga, or Krishna consciousness, means quite simply being conscious of Krishna. When we love someone we naturally think of them, so when we love Krishna it is natural to think of him and want to hear or read about his lila or divine activities. Those of us who want to love Krishna—or even believe in him if we are new—will make progress in knowing and loving Krishna by reading about his pastimes in the Shrimad Bhagavatam or in Shrila Prabhupada’s Krishna book which is the summary of the 10th Canto.

We are advised to read with the desire to understand and in the mood of service, humility and reverence--at least with that ideal in mind. Just like in Shrila Prabhupada's introduction to the Gita he recommends a new person to at least theoretically accept Krishna as the Supreme Lord, because that will help create the right mood to enter into the book. Though we want to use our intellect to understand as far as we can, our spiritual heart needs to come out, since that is the real way to understand the inconceivable Lord.

In Prabhupada’s translations of Vedic literature, we have the scripture with a commentary by a pure devotee. Many people have become devotees by reading these books. As wonderful and powerful as these books are they don’t ask us if we have understood, nor do they personally interact with us to show us how to be Krishna conscious. For that we need advanced devotees we can observe and serve with.

read more

TOVP Chakra Installation a Milestone Event
- TOVP.org

After more than ten years of planning, fundraising and execution, a major milestone has now been achieved for the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. The first Chakra has been installed on the West wing Planetarium dome!!!

On August 10th, 2017, in the presence of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas, Lord Nrsimha’s Sitari and Srila Prabhupada, the first Sudarshana Chakra was mounted on top of the TOVP West wing Planetarium dome along with a special TOVP Victory Flag hoisted personally by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami. The event is monumental and historically significant as it heralds the glory of the TOVP and the Holy Dhama of Mayapur, the most powerful Dhama for Kali-yuga, and the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the form of the Holy Names and Krishna prema that will flood the world.

The three hour event was MC’d by Global Fundraising Director, Vraja Vilas das who began with the reading of an inspiring letter from TOVP Chairman, Ambarisa das. The ceremony included continuous kirtan, short speeches by key devotees like Jayapataka Swami, Jananivas prabhu, Sankarsana Nitai prabhu, and Sadbhuja prabhu, an agnihotra, abhisheka and Maha arati of the Chakra and flag, the mounting of the Chakra and hoisting of the TOVP Victory Flag by His Holiness Jayapataka Maharaja, and a wonderful prasadam feast, all done in the presence of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas, Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari and Srila Prabhupada. The Mayapur leaders participated enthusiastically along with 2500 local devotees and all felt the program was a spectacular event that united the devotees in a mood of cooperation, and everyone was thankful to be present. There was no doubt that a very important stage has been achieved in the ongoing progress of the TOVP towards its scheduled completion in 2022 and that the Lord’s blessings and protection are now in full force.

Along with the above described program and appreciation by devotees, auspicious natural phenomena confirmed the Lord’s blessings. This is monsoon season and Sadbhuja and the TOVP Team had been praying for relief from the rains during the days preceding the installation. For ten days prior to the ceremony the rain held up. On the day of the function it was also very hot and the sky was cloudless, offering a perfect opportunity for the installation to proceed. Miraculously, immediately after the installation ceremony when the two devotees on top of the dome descended, huge rain clouds appeared and a heavy downpour of rain as has never been witnessed before proceeded to fall upon Mayapur for two solid hours. Sadbhuja and all the Mayapur devotees felt the demigods had come to offer their blessings and that the Lord had directly shown His approval and satisfaction.

Additionally, two eagles also appeared in the sky after the rainfall out of nowhere. Eagles are never seen in Mayapur, so this was another auspicious sign to all that some special entities had come to watch over the program.

According to Jananivas prabhu, there was a definite elevation in the atmosphere of the Dhama and in everyone’s consciousness at the time of the installation. Every devotee could feel a very powerful spiritual force pervading the function, no doubt the blessings and power of the Sudarshana Chakra.

Scheduled for pre-Gaur Purnima 2018 during the GBC meetings is the installation of the second Chakra on Lord Nrsimhadeva’s dome. This historic and important installation of Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Chakra will be witnessed by the entire GBC and attended by thousands of devotees from all corners of the planet. Ambarisa and Vraja Vilas prabhus will shortly be announcing a very unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for devotees to participate in the Maha-abhisheka of this very special Chakra of Lord Nrsimhadeva, Who is so dear to all devotees.

Included below is the letter from Ambarisa prabhu, Chairman of the TOVP project, read by Vraja Vilas prabhu, and a general announcement from His Holiness Jayapataka Swami about the importance of this event.

Installation of the Gold Sudarsana Cakra

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami

Today the gold Sudarsana Cakra weighing 1,400 kilograms was installed on the West Wing dome of the TOVP. This is a monumental step towards the completion of this adbhuta mandira predicted by Lord Nityananda. Ambarisa Prabhu and his wife, Svaha Dasi, addressed the audience through their letter which was read out by Vraja Vilasa who acted as Master of Ceremonies. Jananivasa Prabhu, Sadbhuja Prabhu, acting Chairman of the Mayapur Administrative Council, Sankarsana Nitai Prabhu, and myself, addressed the assembled devotees. I thank all those who made this possible. I mentioned how the GBC had been supporting the TOVP in various ways. Sadbhuja mentioned that the Sudarsana Cakra which is 3.5 meters in diameter was made in Russia of pure stainless steel with a significant liquid gold coating. There was a fire yajna after the short speeches. Then there was drsti, raising of the victory flag, puspavrsti, abhiseka of Sudarsana Cakra, aarati of Sudarsana Cakra and then the cakra was taken to the top of the West dome and properly attached. Then prasada was given to the participants.

Yours in service, 
Jayapataka Swami

Letter from Ambarisa das, Chairman of the TOVP project

Dear Maharaj and Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I regret not being able to be there personally for this auspicious event. The initial installation of the Chakra for the planetarium dome is a monumental event, capping years of work and support from devotees like you. The TOVP team has worked tirelessly for years to raise funds and bring the building to the point you see it at today.

It has been a little over 10 years since construction started on Srila Prabhupada’s long cherished dream of Sri Mayapur Chandradoya Mandir, Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. The progress has been amazing thanks to the devotees and disciples of Srila Prabhupada from around the world. On this day I want to especially express the gratitude of the entire TOVP team to Jayapataka Maharaj for his stalwart support which has been there from the beginning. Maharaj has organized and enthused his disciples from all around the world to rise up in support of this project, and we are eternally grateful.

This event will be broadcast around the world to further encourage devotees and glorify Srila Prabhupada. The TOVP is the international home for all devotees of ISKCON, and the principle root of preaching for the next 10,000 years.

Please, all of you do what you can to support and pray for the deities to have a new home in Sridham Mayapur.

Your servant,
Ambarisa Das

The post TOVP Chakra Installation a Milestone Event appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Sri Krishna Janmastami Evening, August 17, 2014, New Dvaraka, Los Angeles
Giriraj Swami

janmashtami_img13“That is the specific reason why Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears. Any incarnation of Vishnu could kill the demons, deliver the devotees, and re-establish the principles of dharma, but only Krishna can show us the beautiful life that awaits us if we join Him in intimate love in Vrindavan. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.33.36) says:

anugrahaya bhaktanam
manusam deham asthitah
bhajate tadrsih krida
yah srutva tat-paro bhavet

‘Krishna manifests His eternal humanlike form and performs His pastimes to show mercy to the devotees. Having heard such pastimes, one should engage in service to Him.’ ”

Janmastami Evening Talk

Srila Prabhupada’s 121th Vyasa puja
Bhakti Charu Swami

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami gave a wonderful message on “Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja” Srila Prabhupada appeared on very special day. Nandotsava on the day Krishna‘s appearance day was celebrated. The meaning of Vyasa Puja. Why ISKCON is so important. For listening please play the...

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Mother Kulangana: a Life and Legacy of Devotion
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Radha Mohan Das

Mother Kulangana was always known as a kind and gentle soul with a nature as sweet as her service. She will be missed by so many - the majority of the community cannot even recall a time when she was not present in their lives. Although she leaves this world behind, her legacy lives on. And in every soft mangal arati sweet the devotees of Bhaktivedanta Manor offer to Sri Sri Radha Gokulanada, there will reside the memory of Mother Kulangana’s soft and sweet devotion. Mother Kulangana’s life will remain an inspiration for generations to come. Her dedication to Srila Prabhupada set the highest example. Day and night she read Srila Prabhupada’s books and listened to his lectures. In her departure she only wanted to listen to his chanting. She taught us how to overcome adversity, how to become absorbed in devotional service, how to maintain complete chastity and enthusiasm in our spirituality, and most of all, how to dedicate one’s mind, body and words in the service of the Lord. Continue reading "Mother Kulangana: a Life and Legacy of Devotion
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Happy Janmastami!
→ Mayapur.com

On the auspicious appearance day of Sri Krishna, Janmastami Mahotsava, we wish all our viewers a very Happy Janmastami. Janmastami message by HH Jayapataka Swami from ISKCON Mayapur: “Brahma’s one day is 1000 Yugas and there have been 28Yugas already completed .After 28 Yugas , Krishna comes. We are very fortunate that we are here […]

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