Gita Essence 3 – The transformational power of love – World-knowledge as the vehicle for love
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If scripture contains advanced material knowledge such as Vimana-shastra, why don’t we use it to make planes today?
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Answer Podcast

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Memories of Srila Prabhupada Part 64
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To spread the glories of Srila Prabhupada we are proud to announce the completion of the DVD, "Memories of Srila Prabhupada Part 64". This video contains the stories and realizations from Bir Krsna Goswami, Veda Vyasa Priya Swami, Madhuha das, Mohanasini devi dasi, Mahendranath das, Caitanya Candra das, Yogindra Vandana das, Sivaradhya das, Ranganath das, Vedanta Krt das, Brghupati das, and Bushaya das. The majority of these interviews were collected during the Prabhupada Festival held at New Talavan, Mississippi in 2016.

A Mixed Bag of Material and Spiritual Tendencies
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Author: 
Karnamrita Das

(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player is needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer; if you are using Google Chrome it will automatically play, so if you don't want to listen, mute your speakers.)
Benifited, but ungrateful photo Learningandungrateful_zps21ff6315.png[republished from 2014-05-04]
While the experience that prompted this free verse poem wasn’t planned, it was welcome, and seen as an occasion for reflection. Association with saints is desirable for developing good qualities, and yet being with people in general can also foster our personal and spiritual growth, because in their company who we are as a person is revealed and we may discover part of the spiritual work we have left to do. Anyone can be our teacher if we have the humility to be open to learn, either how to act, or how not to act.

Every day we have the opportunity to learn from life situations, which include dealing with or observing others, whether at work, running errands, attending school or college, or interacting with our family and friends. While it is essential to learn about others, in relationship to them we will learn much about ourselves since people are mirrors in which we project our ideals or see our faults. From another angle of vision, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also considers our heart a mirror. This mirror is covered by the dust of our conventional (physical) ego and material conditioning which obscures our spiritual nature (soul). In all our dealings we can pray to remember that we are all souls having a physical experience and in this way part of the same spiritual family.

When we have made the decision to give our life to the pursuit of loving and serving Krishna, our life is forever changed. This is true in spite of our inability to walk the path in the most ideal way. To help us have a humble attitude we can remember our life before we began the spiritual quest, or that we all begin life in ignorance. We should know and remember the spiritual goal, and where we are on the map of our spiritual journey, in order to adapt the path to our unique life situation. This is why practical guidance from

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Tuesday, May 2nd. 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Venables Valley, British Columbia

Hip! Hip! Hari!
  
Hip Hip Hooray!
Today is my day.
I went for that walk
By the lake and the rock,
Passed by the school
In the air that’s been cool,
At the end of the valley
Where few come to rally.
In the peace of the day
A monk there does stay,
In a cabin of wood
Being solid and good,
We then had a chat
In comfort we had sat,
And talked to agree
Then knowing we disagree,
But came to a point
That indeed we are joined
Under the umbrella of one
And difference, be done.
It’s Chaitanya’s rule
Deny and be a fool,
In harmony we run
Whether a cloud or the sun.
Hip Hip Hari!
Chant!  Be jolly!

May the Source be with you!


8 km

Monday, May 1st, 2017
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Cleveland / London / Toronto 

Let the Fog Clear


“I overheard you say you’re walking across the States?” queried the passenger next to me, while on our stranded plane.  Our Air Canada aircraft didn’t land in Toronto but in London, Ontario.  He was destined for London, the U.K.  Maybe he never heard of this London in Canada before.

I was on the phone with one of my Krishna Friends, outlining my summer adventures, explaining the re-starting point at Seward, Nebraska and heading for San Francisco.  The passenger was intrigued.

“You walked Canada as well?”  We got to talking between announcements coming over the intercom concerning our flight mishap.  The reason for landing at the unintended spot was the dense fog in Toronto.  And was it ever!  Visibility zero.  It was dangerous.

Our consciousness can be like that—full of haze and craze.  Lacking clarity of purpose is quite commonplace for the lost souls of today.  Allowing and wanting fog in the head to clear is where we start anew.  It’s natural to want clear direction in life, but patience needs to be implemented.

Our plane load of passengers was at a stand-still.  What next?  My passenger-friend told me that once he lands in Toronto, he may be re-routed to Calgary, four hours west, and then from there he will fly to London.  That is what was recommended for him.

“That’s crazy,” I thought.  Even with walking, in most cases, you could bee-line your way to your destination.  Then again, sometimes even walkers must tread around a lake, a swamp or a mountain.

Only patience and planning is required.

May the Source be with you!


0 km

Sunday, April 30th, 2017
→ The Walking Monk

Olmsted Falls, Ohio

April Showers Give People Powers

It was great to meet Kelvin, an artist.  It was great to meet Felicia, studying to be a rabbi.  There were other new faces at Krsnanandini’s place where she and her Muslim husband, Tariq, hold kirtan gatherings on Sunday.

I led a discussion there, in Cleveland, from chapter 5, verse 18 of the Gita, which speaks about equanimity.  “Spiritually we are all equal.  Physically we are complementary.”

The gathering was composed of black, white and brown hues, of young and old, of new faces and of familiar ones.  The group liked the verse we discussed because we were diverse and yet we’re one.

After the chant, the chat and then the chaat (as in spice) our group went to the playground in the park.  Yes, young and old.  The old took to the benches for chanting.  Dancing ensued.  One chap was a great mover of limbs, torso and head.  It was a second gathering—one indoors, the second outdoors.

The weather was phenomenal, 86°F.  Leaves and blossoms were exploding with joy from rain yesterday and sun today.  It was a day for nature to show off.  Mike and Paurnamasi took me to Grand Pacific Junction, a real charmer of a place—vintage village set next to Rocky River, a haven for walking near.

Watch out for the poison ivy.  Smell the garlic mustards and the honeysuckles.  Cleveland, as a city, has lots of deciduous green.  It’s awesome!  So are the people.  We all just need to give up bad habits to be replaced by good ones.

May the Source be with you!


5 km

Welcoming Vaisesika Dasa & Nirakula Devi Dasi
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple!

Note: Most programs will be video broadcast and audio broadcast!

Toronto's Hare Krishna community is very excited to once again be welcoming Vaisesika Dasa and Nirakula Devi Dasi to our community from May 5th to May 7th!  Their visit will be punctuated by a whirlwind three days of seminars, classes, and book distribution!  The official schedule is as follows:

There will be programs daily from Thursday-Sunday. Please see the poster below and please come for as many programs as possible.  You can never have enough of this most enlivening association!

Official Itinerary:

  • Thursday (May 4th) and Friday (May 5th) - Srimad Bhagavatam Class @ 7:30 am
  • Friday (May 5th) - Becoming Ambassadors of Good Will @ 6:30 pm (Seminar in Temple Room)
  • Saturday (May 6th) and Sunday (May 7th) - Sankirtan Training @ 7:30 am 
  • Saturday (May 6th) - Sankirtan Outing @ 11:00 am 
  • Sunday (May 7th) - Sunday Feast @ 6:00 pm

“Chasing Rhinos With The Swami’ Has Arrived
→ ISKCON News

Volume One of Shyamasundar’s long-awaited memoir is now available. This is the most intimate, detailed, and exciting account yet of Bhaktivedanta Swami’s amazing adventures in the dawn of the Hare Krishna movement. Volume One describes the Swami’s halcyon days in San Francisco and London, 1967-1970, including the real story of Lord Jagannath’s advent in the western world, meeting the Beatles and, with them, broadcasting the Mahamantra around the globe.

Sensitively Strong
→ ISKCON News

When surface approaches of sensitivity and strength are founded upon a sincere selflessness, balancing the two emotions becomes effortless and natural. When our underlying motivation is to genuinely help someone, and that becomes the universal reference point, then we can confidently and unhesitatingly embrace whatever approach will facilitate growth.

Spiritual Science Exhibition at ISKCON Mira Road, Mumbai
→ ISKCON News

Spiritual Science Exhibition by children of NICE (Narasimha Institute for Children Education) – an education wing of ISKCON Mira Road, Mumbai, was held at the Balaji hall, ISKCON Mira Road, on 23rd April 2016. It started around 7am. There were 125 models made by 250 children who explained the wonderful pastimes of the Lord to the devotees who came to visit the exhibition. The theme of the exhibition was based on the 1000th Appearance Day of Sripad Ramanujacharya.

When Bhishma took shelter of the Kauravas’ wealth, why did Krishna shelter him at death?
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Attitude in outreach 2 – Explain the philosophy before the morality – Be respectfully compassionate
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[Bhagavatam class at Port of Spain, Trinidad]

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Attitude in outreach 1 – Present the product before the process – Be a role model
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[Bhagavatam class at Port of Spain, Trinidad]

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Srimati Sita Devi – Appearance
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Srimati Sita Devi (consort of Lord Sri Rama) - Appearance.
Today marks the auspicious appearance day of a very great female personality, namely Sita Devi, the consort of Lord Ram. Sita Devi, one of the most prominent personalities in the great epic Ramayan, is an epitome of pure love and devotion and an exemplary chaste wife. Her character and her pastimes set a great example and high standards for all women in today’s world, whether in the role of a daughter, wife, mother or in fact in any role at all. It also shows the strength pure hearted women can have, and is a good warning to everyone to never disrespect a respectable woman.


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Gita Essence 2 – The transformational power of love – God-knowledge as the fuel for love
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[Talk at ISKCON, Port of Spain, Trinidad]

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Gita 01.42 Today’s war against family increases self-centeredness and obstructs spiritual growth
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Twenty Foot Flames: Lord Nrsimhadeva
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By Amogha das

A few weeks ago Jananivas Prabhu told me that a married couple could not conceive a child. A year ago the doctor examined the wife and said that in the past some disease had occurred and her tubes were permanently closed. The couple took shelter of Lord Nrsimhadeva. Just recently they again went to the doctor, who revealed that now the tubes are open, which normally does not happen. And, he was happy to say, she is pregnant! Manohar Shyam Prabhu told me that recently there were massive bushfires in Argentina. There were raging hot winds and the flames were devouring everything in their path. Emergency workers were evacuating people from their homes. Manohar Shyam's mother, who worships Mayapur Nrsimhadeva, could see the flames rising twenty feet into the air coming directly towards her home. She immediately went to pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva. Suddenly the wind changed direction, and the flames blew away from her home to another destination. Continue reading "Twenty Foot Flames: Lord Nrsimhadeva
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