Planet ISKCON

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 28 April 2017, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.15.50)

Question (paraphrased): We did not grow up in a culture of free mixing of men and women, the way that maybe it should have been. Now I am thinking of my children. Even if we put our children in the Krsna schools, it is not always ideal and sometimes even wilder than in the outside world so what should we do?

You have children and you are very idealistic. You have this dream that you want to give them the very best and then after a while, you realise that you cannot. You cannot! They may be your children but their lives are not under your control. They are in this material world with their own karma and they are also part of a greater society and there is nothing you can do. Nothing you can do…

Like for example, in Norway, if your kid behaves bad and if you give a slap to that kid, the kid can turn you in to the police. You can get arrested and get put into jail. Yeah, imagine! In some countries, it is different. You know, my mother used to have a table tennis bat. I was always kicking my little brother under the table and she knew it. So then you know… I survived it. It was okay. I never needed a psychologist. I still like table tennis (laughter). It is okay. So, it is alright. There is nothing wrong with giving a loving slap.

But after a while, you realise that you cannot give your children an ideal education. You are not even sure if your “little Cintamini” (fictive name), who was like just straight from the heavenly planets would even chant Hare Krsna. Oh yes, she even had her own deities as a child but you cannot even be sure if little Cintamini is going to be a devotee when she is twenty-one!

This is how it is. I have seen fathers sitting there saying, “My little Cintamani!” She came to daddy and said, “Daddy, I am not going to be a Hare Krsna but I the need support for my studies.” And daddy forked it up. I know devotee fathers who would faithfully, every day drive their non-devotee children to the school and pick them up as well. That is a lot of purification. I wish you well. Maybe in this way, some men will say, “I will take sannyasa,” and then they have to preach.

Yeah, so that is how it is. All you can do is give blessings. Try to bless your children as much as you can. You cannot change their lives so much – a little maybe – but give them as many blessings as you can. That is what you do as a parent. It is also what you do as a spiritual master. Like I have many disciples and I have no grip on their life. I cannot control their life. I can only give blessings and I try. And for the rest, good luck!

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[Bhagavatam class at Bhaktivedanta Manor, London, UK]

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[Bhagavatam class at Bhaktivedanta Manor, London, UK]

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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.

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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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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.”

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By mk.ru

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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.

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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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