Planet ISKCON

Five hundred years ago in the district of Puri, in the village of Bentapur adjacent to Brahmagiri Alalnath, there lived a great devotee named Bhavananda Raya.

Bhavananda had five sons, the eldest of which was Ramananda.
It is said that Lord Caitanya visited the birth-place of Ramananda in Alalnath every year.

Ramananda was the Governor of East and West Godavari and a minister of King Prataparudra. A great statesman of that period, Ramananda was also a poet and a scholar.

When Bhavananda met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord embraced him and said, “Formerly you appeared as Pandu, and your five sons appeared as the five Pandavas.”
The five sons of Bhavananda Raya were Ramananda Raya, Pattanayaka Gopinatha, Kalanidhi, Sudhanidhi and Nayaka Vaninatha.

The Gauraganoddesadipika (120-124) states that Ramananda Raya was Arjuna in his past incarnation. He is also considered to have been an incarnation of the gopi Lalita, although in the opinion of others he was an incarnation of Visakha devi. He was a most confidential devotee of Lord Caitanya.

Devotees at the only ISKCON center in Munich have been given six months to leave. They have been renting the center for twenty-one years since 1996. But now the landlord plans to demolish the building and turn it into new flats, and has given them until October 30^th to get out.

The third quality of surrender is ananyagatitvam, meaning exclusiveness or singular devotion. Earlier we talked about saralata and akinchanatvam. A symptom of surrender is to proclaim loyalty to one master. Lord Hanuman is a classic example of this. He was undeterred in His service to His master Lord Ramachandra.

I heard this story but cannot recall the exact Puranic source. The story goes something like this that illustrates Lord Hanuman's singular devotion. Once, Lord Krishna had an audience with the eternal traveling spaceman Sage Narada. During their conversation, Lord Krishna requested Narada to seek audience with Lord Hanuman. Narada muni immediately traveled to the caves where Lord Hanuman is eternally reciting Ramayan. Narada meets Hanumanji and conveys the message Krishna would like to meet Him. Hanumanji replied that He is busy studying Ramayana. Once He is done, He will come. Narada muni was besides himself. He traveled to Dwaraka and conveyed the message to Krishna. Krishna smilingly acknowledged the expected response. Krishna knew Hanumanji will not come. Then again, Krishna said "this time tell that Lord Ram wants to see Him". So Narada went back to the cave where Hanumanji was meditating and again conveyed the message. Hearing that Lord Rama is awaiting His audience, immediately just as He jumped to Lanka, He jumped to Dwaraka and there His beloved Lord Ramachandra was standing to see Him. Hanumanji immediately prostrated and paid His dandavat pranams. Krishna manifested Himself as Rama and gave darshan to Hanumanji just to please Hanumanji.

The story goes to show how Lord Hanuman was so focused and fixed on His devotion to Lord Rama that even Krishna is not His object of service. Although there is no difference between Rama and Krishna, still the inner mood of seva and love can and should be expressed only to the master one is loyal to. Lord Hanuman was loyal and His unconditional love was only to His eternal master Lord Rama. Likewise, the Lord also is singularly attached to His devotee in the mood He reciprocates. Such is the kindness and love of Krishna or in this case Rama.

From this story, we can learn that in order to surrender (saranagati), one has to be loyal to His master despite all obstacles and constantly meditate on His beloved master as his life and soul. Therefore, ananyagatitvam or singular devotion is a significant symptom of surrender or saranagati.

Hare Krishna.

New updated picture of TOVP from the space (demigod perspective:))
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Preaching program in Irkutsk, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: We have created so many problems under the impression of different gunas: “I am this. I am that.” To become sannyasi, that is also another problem. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said that “I am not a brahmana. I am not a sannyasi. I am not a brahmacari. I am not a grhastha. I am not a ksatriya.” All “not, not.” “I am not this, I am not this.” “My only identification is that I am eternal servant of Krsna,” gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. This is required. So how this position you can attain, that is described in the next verse, anartha upasamam saksad bhakti-yogam adhoksaje. This is the remedy. Anartha. These are all anarthas. So long I will think, “I am this; I am that,” “I am this; I am that,” or even if you think that “I am big gosvami” or “big brahmana,” that is also anartha. That is also anartha. -From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.6 – Vrndavana, April 18, 1975
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True Spiritual Warriors (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: As government troops, rebel soldiers and Ukrainian citizens die daily in the ongoing fighting not far from their city, Krishna’s devotees in Dnepropetrovsk, continue to spread peace and goodwill through their kirtans in temple programs, book distribution, harinams and most recently a beautiful Ratha Yatra through the city. All glories to these fearless spiritual warriors!
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Harinama in the heart of Europe, Prague, Czech Republic (Album with photos)
Ancient Prague is for sure one of the best places f...

It is very rare to come in contact with a pure devotee of Krishna in Kali-yuga. But thanks to the sacrifice of the devotees of Sankirtan - book distribution, many are able to get Srila Prabhupada's mercy by getting his books.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in ISKCON Honolulu Hawaii (7 min video)
45th birthday celebration since Sri Panchattatva has been i...

Urmila Devi Dasi: This quote by Aldous Huxley is worth contemplating, especially given the serious concerns we are facing: “The effects which follow too constant and intense a concentration upon evil, are always disastrous. Those who crusade, not for God in themselves, but against the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better, but leave it either as it was, or sometimes even perceptibly worse than it was, before the crusade began. By thinking primarily of evil, we tend, however excellent our intentions, to create occasions for evil to manifest itself.”
“No man can concentrate his attention upon evil, or even the idea of evil, and remain unaffected. To be more against the demon(s) than for Godliness, is exceedingly dangerous. Every crusader is apt to go mad. He is haunted by the wickedness which he attributes to enemies; it becomes sort of a part of him.”

When Russell Brand and Radhanath Swami visit Divya’s Kitchen for lunch, only good things happen. It was so lovely to meet and serve them today. (Divya’s Kitchen is a vegetarian restaurant in New York, famous for its Ayurvedic cuisine)
Divya’s Kitchen just might be the healthiest restaurant in New York—but don’t let that deter you. The food is flavorful and inventive, without the bland healthiness of other vegetarian, kale only restaurants.
The New York Observer
Read more: https://goo.gl/wwmuUg

By mk.ru

In the first case, a local resident Andrey Puchkov took part in the procession of hare Krishnas, where you just played the drum. The second made a speech before the concert in which they sang the ancient mantras in Sanskrit. The court both times found him guilty of violating the Law “On freedom of conscience and on religious associations”. And in a higher court, the lawyers proved that the actions Puchkov was no sign of missionary activity in the illegal exercise of which he was accused. Continue reading "Crimea banned religious processions through the streets
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By Shyamasundar Das

Whenever you came to the Swami’s door, your heart was in your throat. (This feeling never left me, even after a thousand trips to that door.) There was a heightened sense that something marvelous was about to occur, a tingling in the blood. You never knew what to expect, just that it would be a wonderful surprise, whatever happened. He’d be sitting behind his little table or in his rocker clicking his beads, dressed in saffron, maybe with a white sweater, sunlight through the south-facing window shining on his freshly-oiled head and his face a radiant gold, emerging from some deep bliss—and he would welcome you no matter what hour of day or night. Continue reading "How Lord Jagannath Appeared In The Western World
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By Anuttama das

Anuttama and Sanullah decided to create a forum for deep dialogue between Muslims and Vaiṣnavas in Washington, D.C.—perhaps at the same time providing a format and example for others to follow. It was obvious to both, that very large meetings were not conducive to dialogue that would be truly satisfying. However, their mutual experience of that large-scale event did give them an opportunity to reflect together on the process and transformative power of dialogue itself. It is during those conversations that Anuttama voiced his interest in organizing a small Hindu-Muslim dialogue in Washington D. C. He had confidence in such an approach, having been instrumental in the founding of the still-ongoing Vaiṣnava-Christian Dialogue in 1997. “Given Anuttama's enthusiasm, his energy, and—particularly—his faith,” says Sanaullah, “I felt it was worth a try.” Continue reading "Vaishnava-Muslim Dialogue in the United States: A Model
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 05 September 2012, Kirtana Mela, Germany, CC Antya Lila 3.52)

What unknown nectar will the day bring us today?

As our faith in Krsna grows then we lose faith in material things. No faith in sex!? Maybe we still are little bit attached to it but we don’t believe that it will really make us happy. In reality, this is an on-going problem; this on-going attachment to lust. You do not want it but there it is again but gradually we are losing faith that it doesn’t work. Lust not going to fulfill us, we continue to gradually let go.

Then as we let go, absorption in Krsna goes deeper and deeper then higher taste will increase and become predominant… then one becomes addicted. Addiction increases and then as a possible result sometimes we realise, “Oh my God. I am addicted!” But you don’t notice it all the time. It’s like growing old… you don’t really notice it but one day you look in the mirror and see it!

In this way, addiction grows on us and you become hopelessly addicted to chanting Hare Krsna, to serve Krsna and to be with devotees. And therefore we are wondering, “What unknown nectar, will the day bring to us today?” That is the question! We have not come here not only for nectar that we know, we are looking for unknown transcendental nectar as well!

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[Evening program at East London, UK]

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A recent Pew Research Center survey found that Muslims in the United States currently face the most discrimination of any group, with unlawful profiling, exclusionary immigration policies and hate crimes on the rise. In this environment some ISKCON members are reaching out to their brothers and sisters in the Muslim community.

“Five Years, Eleven Months,” a memoir by senior Srila Prabhupada disciple Visakha Dasi, has been named a finalist in the spirituality category at the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (NGIBA). The book has been praised for its refreshing honesty and introspection.

By Antardwip das

With a click of a button in the MayapurTV masteradmin, broadcasters can co-broadcast on their Facebook page. One single broadcast to MayapurTV gets split at our server to reach both www.mayapur.tv, your temple/individual website and now also your temple/individual Facebook Page. Here are the figures from Nrsimha Caturdasi on the MayapurTV Facebook page (the post reached over 1.2m people). Possibly more important to most broadcasters is that regularly posted material on Facebook builds up online following in addition to website presence. Continue reading "New: Broadcast to MayapurTV and Facebook simultaneously!
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By Kesava Krsna dasa

If we intend to be a credible alternative to the woes of society, we must analyze how we conduct ourselves in the public arena – namely the internet. Our discussions are by and large intelligent respectful dialogue. The occasional tit for tat crops up now and again. Are we ever aware that perusing our web pages could be individuals who are advisors to leaders, members of think tanks for government and the like? Continue reading "THEM ‘N ALL
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A special initiation ceremony in Radhadesh, May 2017 (Album with photos)
On 02 May, Kadamba Kanana Swami did a very special initiation ceremony in Radhadesh where Mariette Mataji received the name Manisha dd which means “servant of prayers”. Manisha dd is from Liege, Belgium and is very sick with advanced cancer. She has come to live in the Radhadesh community since finding out that she is in her final days. She has stopped chemotherapy treatment as it was a very painful experience and decided that since she is in her 80’s, she would like to go peacefully in the association of devotees. Manisha dd felt enlivened that Maharaj visited her, initiated her AND that they conversed in French as she is solely French-speaking!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/yU6Hxy

Living in two worlds – the real and the apparent.
Sutapa Das: According to the cosmic cycle described in the Vedas, we are living in the most corrupted epoch. Four fundamental principles underpin any functional society, organization, family or group; self-control, cleanliness, compassion, and truthfulness. When individuals wholeheartedly embrace these virtues, success is guaranteed on every level – physically, emotionally, socially, and most importantly, spiritually. The analysis of the sages, however, reveals that three of the four are practically obliterated, and society now delicately hinges on the single principle of truthfulness. The irony – to conceal our frail character and avoid exposing those predictable deficiencies, we end up fabricating lies, lies, and more lies. The tendency towards deceit and dishonesty then, is the proverbial nail in the coffin.

26th Annual Festival Honoring Srila Prabhupada May 27th and 28th, 2017 - Memorial Day Weekend. At ISKCON Los Angeles. If you have never experienced a Prabhupada Festival, we enthusiastically invite you to attend; and if you attended in the past, then you need no convincing! This two-day festival includes special talks and remembrances from senior Srila Prabhupada disciples, enlivening kirtans, six sumptuous feasts, a beautiful boat festival, Maha-Harinam, artistic performances, as well as a variety of Vaishnava vendors. Devotees from many locales join in to honor our beloved Founder Acharya of the International society of Krishna Consciousness.

Surrender With Your Hands Up!
Jahnavi: At the end of March, I did something that I have been contemplating for over a decade. People that know me well, know that even choosing a toothpaste can present a challenge – what to speak of big decisions. So when the opportunity came to make formal vows within the bhakti yoga tradition, even though I had been considering it for so long, I hesitated.
I did ultimately go ahead with it, and the morning after, flew to Australia as planned, for some kirtan programs. I landed first in Melbourne, where on my first morning I met a man at the Hare Krishna temple who said he had watched the ‘initiation’ ceremony on a live stream. Hesitating for a moment he then asked, ‘Well, some of us were talking and saying that we thought you would have already done this years ago…if you don’t mind me asking…what took you so long?’ I gave him a short answer. But here’s a longer one:
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