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We are instructed to “surrender”; and at the same time, Srila Prabhupada encourages us to achieve apparently impossible tasks, like “Krishna-izing” the whole world, becoming pure devotees, and unalloyed, fully qualified spiritual masters in our own right. Are these ideas contradictory?

Today I read: “Reality. It used to seem so simple—reality just was, like the weather. Why question it, let alone disagree about it? And then came the assault, a mind-bending stream of ‘fake news,’ ‘alternative facts,’ and lies disguised as truths that cast so many of us tumbling into a state of moral panic. How did we get here?”

That statement and question brought me to Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.24–25), where the pious king Pariksit says to Dharma in the form of a bull, “In the age of Satya [truthfulness] your four legs were established by the four principles of austerity, cleanliness, mercy, and truthfulness. But it appears that three of your legs are broken due to rampant irreligion in the form of pride, lust for women, and intoxication. You are now standing on one leg only, which is your truthfulness, and you are somehow or other hobbling along. But quarrel personified [Kali], flourishing by deceit, is also trying to destroy that leg.”

Now, is there any solution? In his purports, Srila Prabhupada says, “The preaching of the Bhagavatam principles will automatically render all men austere, clean both inside and outside, merciful to the suffering, and truthful in daily behavior. That is the way of correcting the flaws of human society, which are very prominently exhibited at the present moment. . . . The revival of bhagavata-dharma can save human civilization from falling prey to evils of all description.”

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

In the Narada Pancharatra, it is said bhakti begins only after we give up our material designations that is connected to our body and mind. As long as we are connected to the body and mind, any devotion we perform is mixed devotion (mixed with karma and knowledge).

When a soul engages in service to Krishna from his constitutional position as servant, then that service is called bhakti. Any service to Krishna thinking I am this body/mind becomes mixed. So this mixed service is called sadhana kriya as opposed to sadhana bhakti which stems from the platform of servant to God (soul's constitutional position). This difference between sadhana bhakti and kriya is indeed subtle. There is no definitive line. If we perform bhajana such as sravanam, kirtanam and archanam with the end goal to benefit the self (in the form of the body and mind), then that is sadhana kriya. But if we perform the same bhajana with the end goal to please Krishna ( as a servant of Krishna) then that becomes sadhana bhakti.

Sadhana kriya is considered pious activities and can help cleanse the mind of bad qualities (anartha) and establish the soul on the mode of goodness platform (satva guna) but such pious activities is still temporary as it is on the platform of the mind. If we want the same activity to become eternal, then it has to be done on the platform of the soul, which is to serve to please Krishna in a mood of servant.

This inner mood that I am servant and my service is for the pleasure of Krishna dictates our growth in spiritual life. Anything not this, we can chant 64 rounds daily but still we will not progress to the stage of bhava or prema. That is why (at least this is a revelation to me) that many devotees who come to this platform of bhakti fall down or leave because they have not given up their material identity. They have not cultivated the identity that I am servant of God and my service is to please Him. One who cultivates this thought will not fall down.

Therefore, It is paramount to cultivate this inner mood of servant to Krishna and perform our sadhana in that spirit of servant to Krishna in order for us to not fall and indeed make progress. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that this is possible only by His mercy! Ultimately therefore, our ability to perform bhakti is dependent on the mercy of Krishna. If we do not have that mercy, we will be performing sadhana kriya (mental platform) and not sadhana bhakti (soul platform) and there will be every chance of a fall.

Hare Krishna

A lone eagle soars high in the sky above the craggy foothills of the Himalayas, wheeling and gliding on the thermal currents. Her golden-brown wings, extending to a gloriously feathered span of five feet, catch every breeze.

We live amidst a culture of violence and indifference. Some people resort to violence at even the slightest provocation and others often just stand by, watching indifferently the victimization of another living human being.. This prevailing culture of violence and indifference can make us apathetic, unless we ourselves are targeted.

A calf just saved from being dehorned and branded is in the trailer entering the International Society for Cow Protection (also known as ISCOWP) Florida farm. Her name is Draupadi Amba. Another calf saved from the same fate and from the same breeder is already at the ISCOWP farm. Her name is Sri Vasanti and Draupadi is about to be reunited with her. A video by Chaya Devi of ISCOWP.

A Russian blogger has been convicted of inciting religious hatred for playing “Pokemon Go” in a church, and given a suspended sentence.

Transcendental book distribution for going back to Godhead by Shastrakrit Das

Shastrakrit Das: Amazing Kirtan by Govinda Swami &Madhava Naidoo Prabhu from New Vraja Dham. Can’t stop listening. Maharaj blew the roof off. So much Bhakti and spontaneity. Madhava Prabhu sings one of my all-time favorite tune.
Listen to it here: https://goo.gl/K1OWsZ

Dartford Festival in UK - 18th May 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If you think of Krsna twenty-four hours, then you’ll become fully Krsna conscious, and your life is successful. Don’t allow anything. This requires little practice, abhyasa-yoga-yuktena cetasa nanya-gamina [Bg. 8.8]. I should not allow my mind to go, to think of any other subject than Krsna. Now we have got so many books. So whenever you find time… You must find time. There is so much time. So read all these books or chant. But when you are hungry, you take prasadam. When you are sleepy, take a snap. Not very much, just to refresh. And go on, either chanting the beads or reading the books or talking about Krsna. In this way, always remain in Krsna consciousness. Smartavyah satatam visnuh. Krsna consciousness means to remember Visnu always, twenty-four hours. Some way or other. Type for Krsna, write for Krsna, go outside for Krsna, sankirtana party, sell book for Krsna, bring money for Krsna, spend for Krsna. Krsna. That’s all. Everything Krsna. This is Krsna consciousness. From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.14-15 – May 31, 1972, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/olyFtM

Rathayatra near the Dnieper river, Russia, May 2017 (Album with photos)
Pradyumna: “If the ear is not engaged in the service of the Lord by hearing about Him in the Bhagavad-gita or in the Srimad Bhagavatam, certainly the holes of the ear will be filled up with some rubbish.”
Prabhupada: Yes. This is the secret. We have got the ears, and we have got the sound also. Just like we are reading this book. So if we don’t fill up our ears with this transcendental sound, then it will be filled up with some rubbish things. It cannot remain empty. Either you fill up with transcendental message, or you fill up with rubbish nonsense. Two ways. So if you take care that your earholes are always filled up with the transcendental message of Krsna, so there is no scope for rubbish things to enter into it. So, therefore, our attempt should be twenty-four hours hearing. Kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31]. Twenty-four hours. As soon as you get time, read books, discuss amongst yourself, [indistinct]. Don’t fill up the ears with rubbish things. Then advance will be choked up. June 17, 1972, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/F9Gbtc

The beauty of the lotus feet of the Lord is compared to the petals of a lotus flower which grows in the autumn season. By nature’s law, in autumn the dirty or muddy waters of rivers and lakes become very clean. At that time the lotus flowers growing in the lakes appear very bright and beautiful. The lotus flower itself is compared to the lotus feet of the Lord, and the petals are compared to the nails of the feet of the Lord.

By Swami B. A. Ashram

For those of us who love Agnideva prabhu and his kirtana, it has been far too long since his last CD. Of course, tracks from his most recent CDs, as well as from his older cassette albums and temple kirtanas from Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, etc., and, more recently, from kirtana festivals around the world, have circulated so widely and for so long that generations of devotees seem to have tunes we identify with him as part of our DNA. We hear the evidence of this in the cheering as Agnideva segues to another “classic Agni tune,” one of those tunes most second-generation devotees grew up with as their parents played them in the kitchen, in the car, and at bedtime, in a kirtana mela. And wherever Agnideva has gone the last few years, devotees have asked about his next CD. And Agni has responded by smilingly assuring them, “We’re working on it.” Continue reading "CD Review: Agnideva dasa’s Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Lord Krishna
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By Anand Caitanya das

The conference was organized by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) on the occasion of 10th World Agri Tourism Day, with the main aim to promote Agri Tourism in Maharashtra. Ways to increase employment and investment opportunities in Agro Tourism sector were discussed at the conference. Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra and Pandurang Fundkar, Minister of Agriculture & Horticulture, Government of Maharashtra inaugurated the conference in the presence of Madan Yerawar, Minister of State for Tourism, Government of Maharashtra. On behalf of GEV, Mr. Neeraj Kapoor went and received the award at the hands of Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Tourism Continue reading "Govardhan Eco Village Wins The National Agri-tourism Award
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By Romapada Swami

Refining our ways of presenting Krishna consciousness as a movement according to time, place and circumstances, without compromising our principles. Subjects discussed: Equality, women's position, ecology, interfaith discussion, prasadam distribution, protecting cows and children and more. Becoming efficient without loosing our purity. From a talk given in Boston's Iskcon temple. Continue reading "Vyasadeva and “bridge preaching”
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 18 September 2012, Cape Town, South Africa, Lecture)

Every day we remind ourselves of Krsna’s eternal activities because we know that it will capture our mind. At the same time, we try to conquer our mind and we say YES to devotional service, although the mind sometimes wants to say no. This is the nature of the conditioned mind. Whenever there is an opportunity for devotional service the mind is thinking, “How can I get out of it! How can I avoid this? How can I somehow or other find an excuse?”

So we have to conquer the mind and just make it a principle to say YES to devotional service and to just volunteer to do things even when the mind says no. And with all our hearing and chanting, gradually the mind will say, “It’s nice quite actually, this devotional service…”

So little-by-little we become captured and breakthrough in spiritual life. But it is not going to be so easy; it is not going to come automatically and certainly, it will not be that one day in the midst of all our resistance and reluctance, we will just wake up one morning full of taste and say, “Oh I really want to serve Krsna!”

No, it’s a matter of hearing about Krsna, chanting the holy name, serving Krsna & the devotees, conquering the mind and then gradually, service will take over until the emphasis will shift and the priority becomes Krsna!

[Congregation program at London, UK]

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[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Soho Street, London, UK]

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[Congregation program at London, UK]

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A calf just saved from being dehorned and branded is in the trailer entering the International Society for Cow Protection (also known as ISCOWP) Florida farm. Her name is Draupadi Amba. Another calf saved from the same fate and from the same breeder is already at the ISCOWP farm. Her name is Sri Vasanti and Draupadi is about to be reunited with her.

The Ratha Yatra procession starts at 4pm on 9 th of July in Largo do Intendente towards the final destination in Ribeira das Naus, where starting at 7 pm a festival will conclude in a form of various activities, music, dance and in distribution of delicious vegetarian food.

Ratha Yatras are always amazing and wonderful events, but I was trying to pinpoint why this venue felt more auspicious than usual to me. I did not realize the answer until the next day when Shranti devi informed me that Their Lordships Radha Damodar had presided at the exact same venue, Pier 60, when Vishnujana Swami and the traveling party brought Then there over forty years ago!

Over the past two decades, ISKCON has grown rapidly into an organization with well established temples and large congregations in the south of India. This short video shows some of the festivals that took place early this year when devotees from all over the world visited ISKCON temples and many holy places in that area. A video by ISKCON Congregational Ministry.  (www.iskconcongregation.com)