Planet ISKCON

By the GBC

Spiritual guidance and nurturing is, of course, meant for all devotees, both temple residents and home-based: “The temple center is started just to present example to the neighboring residents how they can make a small temple in each and every home. It is not necessary that hundreds and thousands of people will live in our temple, but if we can make effective propaganda, then the neighboring residents, householders, will be inclined to be initiated and follow the modes of temple life.” (Letter to Tamal Krishna, June 1, 1969) Srila Prabhupada elaborates on this point in his purport to Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 3.190: “Everyone can execute the cult of Krsna consciousness at home, as ordered by the Lord. Everyone can congregationally chant the holy name of Krsna, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. One can also discuss the subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam and install Deities of Radha-Krsna or Gaura-Nitai or both and worship them very carefully in one’s own home. It is not that we have to open different centers all over the world. Whoever cares for the Krsna consciousness movement can install Deities at home and, under superior 7 guidance, worship the Deity regularly, chanting the maha-mantra and discussing the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.” Continue reading "GBC: Encouraging & Nurturing the Devotees
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Question: In Gītā’s Chapter 11 Krishna shows Arjuna his universal form. Does this set a benchmark? Because many people claim themselves to be GOD. If someone poses as such,  can we request him to show this universal form? Even if that guy says that, “I am showing but you are not able to see,” we can request him to grant us Divya Caksu [divine sight] as Krishna gave to Arjuna. So, can this be also one of the reasons  for Chapter 11, that no one in the future claim oneself to be God?

No. This is not a good benchmark. This is not the purpose of Chapter 11. In 10.13 Arjuna already give the fundamental reason believes Krishna to be an avatāra: because Vyāsa and other realized sages described him as such.

Do not use the Universal Form as a “benchmark” for being an avatar. Because…

1. Not every bonafide incarnation of Viṣṇu displays the universal form.
2. God reserves the right not to disclose himself (“nāhaṁ prakāśa sarvasya”), so even if you were to approach a real incarnation of God and make these demands, you might validly be denied.
3. If you base your assessment of a person’s divinity on miraculous visuals, you can be tricked into accepting a yogi or magician as an avatāra. Yogis, magicians, even con artists, can do, say, and show amazing things, especially under certain circumstances they could show you something that looks like a “Universal Form.”

The primary avatāra of Viṣṇu are listed in the third canto of Bhāgavatam. The secondary avatāra are limitless, the tertiary incarnations are literally everyone and everything.

Really, it is not very important at all if someone is or is not an avatāra of Viṣṇu, what is important is what they say and do. For example, Gautama Buddha was certainly an avatāra of Viṣṇu listed in the third canto, but, aside from his philosophy of ahiṁsa, no follower of Vedic culture accepts his teachings, because they are not founded on the Veda. So what is more important than being an avatāra or not is whether or not someone truly does understand, realize, practice, and teach the knowledge in the Veda.

It is not very important at all if someone is or is not an avatāra. What is important is whether or not they truly  understand, realize, practice, and teach the knowledge in the Veda.

Vraja Kishor das

www.vrajakishor.com

Tagged: Avatar, avatara, incarnations of god

Kadamba Kanana Swami’s three-week stay at the Ayurvedic Hospital in Coimbatore is almost over. He will check-out tomorrow (03 April). His time at the hospital has been focused on the treatment and recuperation. In the past week, Maharaj was visited by the family of his disciple Swayambhagawan Das. Maharaj also visited the temple at the hospital where the form of Lord Vishnu called Dhanvantari is worshiped and the locals say that without this worship, the treatment given at the hospital does not work! When Maharaj would go out on this daily walks, people would come out of their bungalows and give flowers to him which he would then offer to Giriraj thereby giving those people some spiritual benefit (sukriti). Tomorrow Maharaj will travel to South Africa and arrive on Tuesday morning (04 April) where he will spend two weeks traveling from Johannesburg to Cape Town and then to Durban for the famous Ratha Yatra Festival (14-17 April).

The April issue of “The Conch” the monthly Newsletter
of the Iskcon New Govardhana Community is online.
In this issue: LORD RAMACHANDRA APPEARS, Perfect king, perfect example. WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY, Why you should make a Will. SACRED SOUND RETREAT. Fun activities for the kids. PERMACULTURE. New course at Krishna Village. SANNYASA MINISTRY, An inside look.
You can download the pdf document here: https://goo.gl/FQSJGW

Seeking the blessing of the Lord (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Today I took a number of devotees to the village of Dauji in Gokul, Vrindavan. Tomorrow I leave Vrindavan to return to my preaching duties in western countries and I wanted to seek the blessings of Dauji, or Lord Balarama, who resides in His deity form in a beautiful temple in the center of the village. Lord Balarama gives spiritual strength to His devotees to advance in Krsna consciousness, as well as to convince others of the process of devotional service. I prayed to the deity of Lord Balarama to give me strength to fulfill the order of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, to help spread our Krsna conscious movement far and wide.

“One cannot attain the supreme platform of self-realization without being sufficiently favored by Balarama. Bala does not mean physical strength. No one can attain spiritual perfection by physical strength. One must have the spiritual strength which is infused by Balarama. Balarama is the source of spiritual power, or the original spiritual master. “

[ Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/NRwJR0

Varnasrama series.

Free Emergency Prasadam for the Murwillumbah Flood Victims (Album with photos)
The devotees from Iskcon New Govardhana quickl...

This Tamal tree, within the Iskcon Temple in Vrindavan, is a place of pilgrimage for Gaudiya Vaisnava’s. Long before when the Krishna Balaram Mandir was constructed in Vrindavan, in the early 1970’s there were reported to be very few Tamal trees in Vrindavan. One at Rasasthali and one at the Samadhi of Rupa Goswami in Radha Damodar. So, Srila Prabhupada noted that the land had a Tamal tree and he was very very pleased. There is an interesting pastime about this tree. Long before Srila Prabhupada sat under this tree, he envisioned himself sitting under this tree and looking at the deities of Krishna-Balarama. He said, we will have Kirtan under this tree and he said, this tree should be worshipped and the soil under the tree, a tea spoon of it should be taken, mixed with sand and water from the Yamuna river and then with the coconut husk you should clean the arati paraphernalia in our temple with this holiest substance. So, it is a very sacred place for us and let us pray that not only now but in the future Srila Prabhupada’s wish will be fulfilled and Gaudiya Vaisnava’s will be able to worship the sacred tree in the sacred occasion for many many more years to come. …….(Memories from Srimati Yamuna Devi)

By Patricia Retuya

On the 6th of March, an audience of over 500 filled the University of Melbourne’s Carrilo Ganter Theatre for a seminar offering a unique insight into the universal topic of happiness. Looking out into the full lecture theatre, the first observation one would make is to notice the variety of people present from different backgrounds, age demographics, and walks of life. Guest speaker, Devamrita Swami aptly and humorously sets the tone of the event with his opening quip, “I didn’t think there were this many people interested in the topic of happiness.” Continue reading "“Event Happiness” at Melbourne University
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By the GBC

Srila Prabhupada wrote to a GBC member: “Now I have invested the GBC for maintaining the standard of our Krsna Consciousness Society, so keep the GBC very vigilant. I have already given you full directions in my books.” (Letter to Satsvarupa, 5 September 13, 1970) Later, Srila Prabhupada wrote to another member of the GBC: “I have formed this GBC for that purpose, to keep the devotional standards at the highest level and at the same time to manage a world-wide organization.” (Letter to Rupanuga, November 4, 1970) Srila Prabhupada often stressed that the GBC was meant to ensure that purity was maintained throughout the Society. In a letter to Sudama Maharaja dated February 16, 1973, he wrote: “In your travelling from centre to centre, you must be very careful to see that the leaders are observing the principles of chanting 16 rounds, rising early for Mangala Arati, participating in the morning and evening classes, observing the four regulative principles etc., and if there is any deviation from this standard then it is the responsibility of you and the local GBC representative to rectify it immediately. Within these Vaisnava standards which I have put forward lies the spiritual strength of our movement.” Continue reading "GBC: Maintaining Srila Prabhupada’s Standards Worldwide – Providing Spiritual Leadership & Guidance
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BLESSED BY SPRING’S INSPIRATION and my poem, LISTENING FOR SPRING: Stepping outside this morning around sunrise was so lovely, enlivening. The “spring thing” feeling in the air, subtle, yet palpable, encouraging me with thoughts of possibilities and new beginnings. Cool temps stimulate, yet hint at approaching warmness. The sun seems especially bright after yesterday’s dark clouds and torrential downpours.

That special morning spring light shining off the dew, with new grass and other tiny excited plants coming up. A few trees just begin to show their small intense green leaves, while most are still sleeping, but telling us they know their time is coming soon. The first robins showed up two weeks ago, while the crows come daily for leftover prasad.

In a hurry, running off to work, you might miss it, or if you did sense it, you could easily forget about it in the stress of the day. Krishna’s or God’s Material Nature—his “separated energy” no less—is so amazing. As I have written about before, living in the country can really change one and give a new awareness, like the wonder of sight after being blind. One slows down, or at least that happened to me, as I have never been a passionate person—as I shared yesterday, in good and problematic ways.

However, today, I am stressing the positive aspect of the mode/quality/energy of goodness which colors one’s perception, as would the other “gunas,” of ignorance and passion.

read more

BLESSED BY SPRING’S INSPIRATION and my poem, LISTENING FOR SPRING: Stepping outside this morning around sunrise was so lovely, enlivening. The “spring thing” feeling in the air, subtle, yet palpable, encouraging me with thoughts of possibilities and new beginnings. Cool temps stimulate, yet hint at approaching warmness. The sun seems especially bright after yesterday’s dark clouds and torrential downpours.

That special morning spring light shining off the dew, with new grass and other tiny excited plants coming up. A few trees just begin to show their small intense green leaves, while most are still sleeping, but telling us they know their time is coming soon. The first robins showed up two weeks ago, while the crows come daily for leftover prasad.

In a hurry, running off to work, you might miss it, or if you did sense it, you could easily forget about it in the stress of the day. Krishna’s or God’s Material Nature—his “separated energy” no less—is so amazing. As I have written about before, living in the country can really change one and give a new awareness, like the wonder of sight after being blind. One slows down, or at least that happened to me, as I have never been a passionate person—as I shared yesterday, in good and problematic ways.

However, today, I am stressing the positive aspect of the mode/quality/energy of goodness which colors one’s perception, as would the other “gunas,” of ignorance and passion.

read more

Maha Mantra devi dasi: Seeking enthusiastic and qualified pujaris to serve Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Govinda.

Twin Festival at Madurai (Album with photos)
ISKCON 50 & Sri Ramanujar 1000 Celebration on March 26, 2017
On March 26th, 2017 ISKCON 50th celebration and 1000th appearance year celebration of Sri Ramanujacharya were celebrated at Madurai, a temple city of South India. (At the most prominent Gandhi Museum, Madurai, Tamilnadu, India)
This festival was celebrated to glorify Srila Prabhupada and the achievement of ISKCON for the past 50 years as well as to glorify Sri Ramanujacharya.
More than 5000 people joined this glorious celebration. His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaj spoke about the glories of Srila Prabhupada & Sri Ramanujacharya followed by the Jeeyar of famous Alwar Thirunagari Temple, His Holiness Sri Renga Ramanuja Jeeyar Swami. Special issue of Tamil magazine “Krishna Amutham” glorifying Sri Ramanujacharya & Srila Prabhupada, and a book on “Sri Ramanujacharya” was released. Also a Tamil version of “Vaishnava Ke” released.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9C09CA

Mantra Party festival Iskcon in Lithuania 25-26th March 2017 (All the 17 video recordings)
Srila Prabhupada: One time, during the annual Gaura-Purnima festival in Mayapura, Prabhupada called his GBC men to his room to tell them that he was hearing and take pleasure in the kirtana. With his leaders gathered before him in the room, Prabhupada stated that all the devotees in the world should come to Mayapura and constantly have kirtana. He was very blissful as he told them of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s statement that he had searched the fourteen worlds but found nothing of value except the chanting of the holy names. Prabhupada said that this was Mayapura’s purpose, to come and chant. We may have problems in different parts of the world, but they will go away if we simply come together and chant. Lord Caitanya always chanted and we could do it also.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/3pPIFu

The post Daily Darshan: Apr 01,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Today is the 1000th appearance anniversary  of Sripad Ramanujacarya, the acharya of Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya. Sripad Ramanujacarya has also visited Navadvipa dhama & performed his bhajan at Vaikuntapur. Navadvipa dham Mahatmya narrates Ramanujacarya’s arrival to Navadvipa as follows: A great acarya once came to Puri and pleased the Lord with his verses. Jagannatha appeared before […]

The post Sripad Ramanujacarya in Navadvipa dhama! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Question: I have heard that Bhakti Yoga helps us to give up bad habits. But how exactly does it work?
Radhanath Swami: My dear godbrother, Shyamsundar, he is an example of how bhakti can transform a heart, to help us give up very difficult habits.

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By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada

One who worships Krisha is clever. But one who worships maya is a pauper. Becoming a pauper one engages in temporary pastimes Without knowledge of the true relationships of things he simply becomes bound up in maya’s knot. Arjuna and Duryodhana both fought in the same war, But Arjuna was the best devotee and Duryodhana died. on one battlefield both dear and detestable One who is intelligent will be able to understand. Continue reading "Vrindavana Bhajana
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Today is the 1,000th anniversary of the appearance of Sripada Ramanujacarya, the principal acarya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya.
Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada wrote that “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacarya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days of ISKCON in India, before we had Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is translated into Hindi, he would refer people to read the Hindi edition of the Gita with Sri Ramanujacarya’s commentary.
Prabhupada often told a story about Sri Ramanujacarya’s merciful, compassionate nature. As he related it in Ahmedabad in 1972, “The servants of Krishna take all risk for Krishna’s sake. Just like Ramanujacarya. Sri Ramanujacarya’s spiritual master said, ‘My dear son, the mantra which I am giving, you chant silently and you will be delivered. It is so powerful. Don’t chant this mantra loudly so others can hear.’
“Ramanujacarya thought, ‘If this mantra is so powerful that if others hear it they’ll also be delivered, then why not?’ He immediately went to the market and began to chant the mantra. So his spiritual master became very angry, that ‘I told you not to chant loudly, so others may not hear.’ And Ramanujacarya replied, ‘My Lordship, I have done offense unto you. That’s all right. For this I am prepared to go to hell. But if this mantra is so powerful, I must speak it to everyone.’ ”
In this mood, following in the footsteps of Sripada Ramanujacarya, Srila Prabhupada broadcast the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita everywhere, to everyone.
We pray and aspire to follow in their footsteps.
Hare Krishna.

By Sri Ubhaya Vedantha Anbil Ramaswamy

Sri Ramanujacarya was born in South India. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada took many teachings from him, such as the duties of the sannyasi, the duties of the disciple, and the etiquette of the Vaisnava. He utilized one-hundred eight teachings. His date of birth is placed differently by different authorities.As per PPM, he was born in Kaliyuga year 4119 which corresponds to 1017 AD. PPM fixes even the exact date as 13th April 1017 AD, in terms of English Calendar. Continue reading "Sri Ramanujacarya Appearance
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Her Grace Krishna Vilasini Devi Dasi, a disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada left her body yesterday in Vrindavana.
Locana Das (her husband): I am sure that her lifelong dedication to the service of Krishna will reap many transcendental benefits as she passes on her way toward the Object of her devotion.
We started a temple together in Portland in 1971 and then moved to San Francisco where we had our first child. Krishna Vilasini walked during the Rathayatra festival in Golden Gate Park and gave birth to our baby girl at 2:00 am the next morning. Srila Prabhupada called it “natural childbirth” and named her Ratha.
Krishna Vilasini was a very special devotee. She joined the movement in Berkeley in 1969 and served under Hansadutta Prabhu who was the TP there at that time. She was immediately attracted to Harinam and there are pictures from that period showing her blissful absorption in the Holy Name. There is a video here www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs3axWCHquo that shows the early days in Berkeley which shows a young Hrdayananda Mj. preaching at the university along with brief passages showing Krishna Vilasini chanting (scroll video to 2:33) and serving prasadam in the temple (3:10) on Durant St. She was a sold out enthusiastic bhaktin whose only ambition was Harinam and preaching. We got married in the spring of 1970, but her heart was in the chanting and I was the attached grihastha.

India state greenlights life sentences for cow slaughter.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat on Friday increased the punishment for cow slaughter from seven years to life imprisonment as Hindu hardliners push for tougher protections for the holy animal.
Under the stiffened penalties passed by Gujarat’s state assembly, anyone caught transporting cows for slaughter could also face up to 10 years in jail.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/V96Bnf

By the GBC

In Los Angeles on June 4, 1976, a reporter asked Srila Prabhupada: “Is there anyone who is designated to succeed you as the primary teacher of the movement?” Srila Prabhupada replied: “I am training some, I mean to say, advanced students so that they may be very easily take up the charge. I have made them GBC. They are under my direct training, and I think they will be able to conduct this movement.” Six days later, on June 10, 1976, also in Los Angeles, another reporter asked about succession of spiritual leadership: once Srila Prabhupada departed “Will there be one spiritual leader”? Srila Prabhupada answered: “No, I am training GBC, eighteen all over the world.” Continue reading "GBC: Guarding & Representing Srila Prabhupada’s Teachings – Preserving Srila Prabhupada’s Position as the Founder – Acarya
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Tomorrow is the 1,000^th anniversary of the appearance of Sripada Ramanujacarya, the principal acarya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada wrote that “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacarya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days of ISKCON in India, before we had Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is translated into Hindi, he would refer people to read the Hindi edition of the Gita with Sri Ramanujacarya’s commentary.

Prabhupada often told a story about Sri Ramanujacarya’s merciful, compassionate nature. As he related it in Ahmedabad in 1972, “The servants of Krishna take all risk for Krishna’s sake. Just like Ramanujacarya. Sri Ramanujacarya’s spiritual master said, ‘My dear son, the mantra which I am giving, you chant silently and you will be delivered. It is so powerful. Don’t chant this mantra loudly so others can hear.’

“Ramanujacarya thought, ‘If this mantra is so powerful that if others hear it they’ll also be delivered, then why not?’ He immediately went to the market and began to chant the mantra. So his spiritual master became very angry, that ‘I told you not to chant loudly, so others may not hear.’ And Ramanujacarya replied, ‘My Lordship, I have done offense unto you. That’s all right. For this I am prepared to go to hell. But if this mantra is so powerful, I must speak it to everyone.’ ”

In this mood, following in the footsteps of Sripada Ramanujacarya, Srila Prabhupada broadcast the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita everywhere, to everyone.

We pray and aspire to follow in their footsteps.

Hare Krishna.

—Giriraj Swami

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The devotees from Melbourne regularly go out on harinama samkirtan in the city and surrounding suburbs.

The Tuesday evening kirtan party is a little smaller than the rest of the week but nevertheless the devotees are enthusiastic.

I was invited to go out and on arriving saw that my god-sister, Surabhi devi dasi, was leading and also playing the mrdanga drum. This was enlivening to the devotees and after a while I also led.

I am a proponent of planning. I plan my day if it is outside my routine, plan my trips if I am taking any, plan my domestic priorities, plan my work duties daily etc. In other words, all of us practice the art of planning our duties and based on the plan we prioritize our daily activities.

Similarly, we have to plan our journey back to Krishna. Not that just chant some rounds, read some books, listen some stories, do some puja in temple and magically we land up with Krishna. Unless we plan our spiritual life, determination will not come. Because we have so many other things to do, it is best to have a clear and simple plan (for spiritual priorities) to execute at every phase or stage of our life. Then once we create a plan based on our strength and or weakness, we can gradually implement them with determination. If we cannot implement our plan, then we revisit them and tweek the plan.

Personally, I think this is important and helps me keep track of my spiritual progress both externally and internally. Please sit down and meditate where you would like to be in 6 months, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years and end of life. This is important!

Hare Krishna

On Tuesday, March 28th, the day one of our construction of the earthbag dome, we cleared the site, marked the ground where the dome is going to be constructed, leveled the ground, and dug the perimeter trench. On Monday, April 3rd, we are going to lay the foundation and make door threshold etc.

Those of you have donate $30 or more towards this project, please note that you can come out to the site any time and learn the process hands-on.

If you would like to make a donation towards this project, please go to www.krishnalounge.com/earthbag/. Thank you.

Radha Shyamsunder’s Boat Festival 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Each and every word of Srimad-Bhagavatam, full of volumes of explanation, each and every word. This is Srimad-Bhagavatam. Vidya-bhagavatavadhi. One’s learning will be understood when he’s able to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam. Vidya. Vidya means learning, not this science, that science. When one can understand Srimad-Bhagavatam in true perspective, then he’s to be understood that he has finished his all educational advancement. Avadhi. Avadhi means “this is the limit of education.” Vidya-bhagavatavadhi. From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.13 – New Vrindaban, June 13, 1969
Find them here: https://goo.gl/NpRfNx

On the auspicious day of Lord Nityananda's appearance the ISCOWP crew based in Alachua, Florida, offered arati to the cows. Instead of offering treats also, they let the rescued calves out of their barn for the first time. They also opened the gates for the rest of the herd to let them onto another pasture so they would be getting new grass to eat. A video by Chaya Devi of ISCOWP.

The post Daily Darshan: Mar 31,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.