Planet ISKCON

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 July 2013, Cape Town, South Africa, Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 15.14)

The pious activities of one soul do not just benefit that soul but they benefit others also. It’s like when your son becomes a pious person, you are fortunate because the parents get the benefit from that piety and their destination changes. In the same way, they also get one-sixth the karma of their children. So when your children become criminals and so on, then you get one-sixth of that karma. That is quite a bit – sixteen percent! Think about it… it’s a lot… the little darlings! If you suddenly get one-sixth of the karma of all the nonsense they do, then they are not as nice as you always thought. Suddenly you start to care a little more for everything they do.

But when they take up spiritual life then we all share in the benefit. So, this is the idea that the home becomes a very pious place where our children, from day one, are just engaged in glorification of the Lord. Then, by the time they grow up, it’s too late.

We have children that grew up in this movement and one day a son said to his father, “You know, there is a difference between us. Your generation is always trying to remember Krsna but my generation, we’re always struggling trying to forget Krsna.”

That is nice, if you grow up with Krsna as a child, you can’t get rid of him. He going to be there, even if you try, he is going to be there forever.

Personal wealth
It’s an interesting concept that value of individuals is sometimes based on bank balances the size of the wallet
We judge depending on our own view of wealth, however it is easy to become envious of another’s personal wealth when it outstrips our own especially if that individual is in the renounced order of life, after all why should they have any personal wealth?
The reality is living in a society where money is king it’s impossible to survive without any financial income, the difficulty is how much does one actually need?
No matter what ashram one finds themselves in their is no getting away with it a certain amount of finance is needed, the question is when does the gaining of personal wealth becomes of concern
Sadly I’m hearing more and more saying they want paid devotee job, or opening centres based on the vast income it provides, and when those we see as leaders appear to have a personal wealth which matches that of big business men one could say “who can blame them”
There’s a difference
Understanding
A devotee understand that there​ is no such thing as personal wealth no matter what ashram
And that personal wealth is like our intelligence and material body only temporary, effort based on its accumulation including admiration and status is a futile effort.
The reality is the intelligence and personal wealth is temporary
How it is used makes a difference
Srila Prabhupada wanted books published, when we have books we need a place for those who read them to go, we then need self realised individuals to manage them and to help the individual’s progress and in time open their own centre’s
It’s impossible to have a saying in every city, town, village if their is no master plan and to make it happen the use of personal wealth is needed, even those with little personal wealth can do simple small prasadam distribution and kirtan; remember Srila Prabhupada started with a few rupees and as the movement increased he used the laxmi not to make personal wealth but to make facilities to make devotees and warned us not to be sidetracked by things, rooms, temples, position and wealth
Personal wealth is only personal wealth if we see it as mine
Personal wealth isn’t if we see it as a gift from Krishna so it is being used​ it to make devotees
Ultimately we remain accountable for our own actions and motivations
If we go to Sri Krishna with business plan to make personal wealth there may be success indeed millions could be made however Srila Prabhupada points out that being business Sri Krishna owes you nothing and one will not return home, if however one’s only motivation is not self gain but to make devotees then Sri Krishna remains in debt to his devotee and going home is assured
It’s a thought to ponder
And the motivation in gaining any personal wealth is one only each individual can answer and be accountable for, so use it wisely

On March 21^st, while on a pilgrimage with a group of devotees in Gokul, Vrindavan, India, Indradyumna Swami passed by Karshni Ashram run by Sharanananda Ji Maharaja. They noticed a small crowd gathering outside and stopped to inquire what was happening. Much to their amazement they were told that the Dalai Lama was visiting. The leaders of the asrama invited them to meet with him. Indradyumna Swami and his group spent part of the morning discussing spiritual topics.

Radha Krishna-Records.

Mayapur is a land of treasure, and the gem-like devotees make it shine. A video by West Coast Monk.

The Ill Effects of Pride.
Question: Because of pride somebody assumed himself as great devotee. He regarded himself as an advanced devotee and cultivated enviousness. He couldn’t recognize his deviations in consciousness. Because of restlessness in mind later he offended an associate, a friend. Earlier he had a taste for hearing and chanting because of his genuine humility and sincerity.
Now he lost the taste; instead he became like a hard-hearted and uncontrollable animal. He asked forgiveness from his friend.
In any life will he receive love of Godhead?
Romapada Swami: The symptoms and effects that you have described in your note are elaborately explained by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakura (a great Vaishnava Acarya in the disciplic succession) in his book Bhaktyaloka, a portion of which reads as follows.
“Each and every gradual step has different prescriptions and prohibitions.
Whenever a living entity steps to one level and stays there, he is obliged to follow the prescriptions and prohibitions of that step. By following those enjoined prescriptions and prohibitions, one becomes eligible to attain the next step. If one is unable to attain the next step, he falls down to a lower step. This is called degradation.”
Universally, when one acts beyond one’s level of advancement (or adhikara) the result is degradation. This degradation commonly manifests as two formidable enemies – pride and envy.
Pride manfests as an inflated overly-exalted conception of oneself. Envy, pride’s companion, directs negative thoughts and criticism toward others who are factually exhaulted. Both will result in offenses to other devotees.
As you have noted, one who commits Vaishnava aparadha quickly loses taste for chanting or any other form of devotional service.
The natural question which follows is “What is the cure?”
Recognizing that there is a problem is the first big step in the right direction. This can be done only by the mercy of other devotees and by strong introspection.
Analyzing the cause of the problem is the second step in determining the solution. In this case the root cause is that one is acting beyond one’s adhikara.
Only then one can move forward to effectively pursue the solution!
First to extricate oneself from the terrible quicksand of Vaishnava aparadha, one must beg forgiveness from the devotees he has offended, in a genuine mood of repentance. Devotees are magnanimous and generally will quickly forgive. If for some reason a devotee is unable to forgive one should simply serve him as the opportunities present.
In order to protect oneself from a repetition of this, one must carefully execute one’s devotional service in accordance to one’s level of realizations – that, too, carried out in a humble mood of service.
To thoroughly and deeply understand this one must take shelter of a more advanced devotee and understand from him the injunctions and instructions suitable for one’s own level of advancement. Keeping these instructions always in mind, he should strive to continuously engage in chanting and remembering Lord Krishna and thus continue advancing to higher levels.

 On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, the Department of Sport, Recreation and Culture of the city of Durban, South Africa, hosted a panel discussion at the prestigious Durban International Convention Centre entitled, "Healing Historic Divisions - towards racial harmony". Over 150 delegates, including city officials, political councillors and religious leaders accepted the Head's invitation to attend this important and ground-breaking event. 

What is a vow? And the difference between inspiration and commitment.
Mahatma Das: Just as one can offer Krishna an existing thing or a present action one can also offer him a future action along with the perseverance to fulfill it. That offering of perseverance is characteristic of a vow.
This is actually a definition or close to a definition of a vow that I found online given by the Catholic Church, so let’s analyze it a little bit.
The idea is that I agree to offer something to you, but a vow is I agree to offer you that forever and I also agree or I commit internally with perseverance to maintain that.
So I’m offering this particular object or service and I’m also offering the perseverance. It’s a promise to continue a future action. So the nature of a vow is that it requires a tremendous amount of commitment. And it requires a focus which states that once I make this vow all options to do anything to break this vow they’re now closed. So we often make vows but we don’t make that perseverance to the degree that we close off all options and when we don’t close off all options to do anything else other than follow this style there’s a good chance at some point we won’t follow it. So if you make a vow you cannot allow yourself to do anything or live a lifestyle which would cause you to do anything other than follow that vow. That’s the important key and a lot of us don’t do this. Devotees often write me I broke this principle I broke that principle it may be something simple, smoking a cigarette having a little drink of wine something simple as drinking some coffee with caffeine. After they promise not to do it, and so one of the things to look at is: did I remove all options, in my life. Did I, in my consciousness, remove all options of doing anything else but keeping those out. And I think if we’ve broken a vow in most cases the answer is probably I didn’t. I may have thought I have had but I didn’t, and what I think the problem is for many is they were inspired but they weren’t committed and there’s a difference between inspiration and commitment and we really need to know the difference. I’m inspired to do this so I’m no longer going do this or no longer I’m going to do that or I’m going to do this I’m going to do that, that’s my inspiration, but if the inspiration isn’t backed by commitment then what do you do when you’re not inspired? But if you’re committed, even though you’re not inspired you continue to do it because you’ve decided there is no other option than doing what I’ve said. If you simply work on inspiration then you’re in danger when you’re not inspired, so the commitment is the perseverance, the word we used here is “with perseverance”. When you make a commitment or a vow you also commit to persevere. So it is very important if we understand the difference between inspiration and commitment. I think a lot of devotees take initiation who are inspired but they’re not actually committed, they haven’t removed all options. Okay 16 rounds there’s no option in my life there’s no option of my consciousness to do anything with chant 16 rounds. There’s no option in my life to do anything but follow the four regulative principles. That’s what it means to take a vow. Same thing, I’m getting married, there’s no option for separation or divorce, we’re committed we don’t look at these other options. They only look at one option: follow this vow! Very very important principle! Hare Krishna.
Watch the video here: https://goo.gl/ox9Lsm

This video by Radha Mohan Das focuses on the ancient Indian treatise the Surya Siddhanta and its similarities with modern astronomy. As well as drawing upon remarkable consistent data between the Surya Siddhanta and modern calculations, it also touches on the various connections with the Bhagavat Purana, a devotional literature.

Guns or no Guns - Sivarama Swami addresses the recent debate that has divided the USA. Sivarama Swami, through his spiritual insight, reveals the actual depth of the problem which most people are missing.

Srimad Bhagavatam: Krishna’s Sound Incarnation!
Over the last weekend my wife, Nirakula Dasi, and I, had the great pleasure of visiting the devotees in New Remuna Dhama, (ISKCON, Toronto, Canada).
Over three days, the theme of our discussions together during the morning Srimad-Bhagavatam class at the temple was: Miseries in the life of a devotee: karma or Krishna’s mercy?
One of the Toronto devotees, Srimati Arusha, was out of town in South Africa during the classes, but she listened to them over the Internet. Today, upon returning to California, I received a message from Arusha with five lessons she distilled from these morning sessions. I share them with you here as I find them to be both profound as well as practical: 1. Misery is our friend and those willing to entertain this can advance in devotional service.
2. When I turn away from acknowledging that Krishna has set my quota, it is painful for me, and it is painful for Him.
3. Along with our birth we have a debt to others. One who realizes they cannot repay all this karma surrenders to Krishna.
4. Once you realize you’re not staying here, but will be going back to Godhead, you can endure anything.
5. Without resistance you don’t grow. Krishna gives us challenges that allow us to grow.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught his followers to hear and discuss the Srimad-Bhagavatam in the association of like-minded devotees.

In the following excerpt from a Caitanya Caritamrta purport, Srila Prabhupada describes the mood and effect of such interchange:

“Such pure devotees, always merged in knowledge of Krishna and absorbed in Krishna consciousness, exchange thoughts and realizations as great scientists exchange their views and discuss the results of their research in scientific academies. Such exchanges of thoughts in regard to Krishna give pleasure to the Lord, who therefore favors such devotees with all enlightenment. ” (Cc Adi 1.49)

In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Pariksit Maharaja also tells how hearing this great literature clarifies the aim of life and palpably invokes the presence of Lord Krishna within one’s heart:

“The sound incarnation of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Soul [i.e. Srimad-Bhagavatam], enters into the heart of a self-realized devotee, sits on the lotus flower of his loving relationship, and thus cleanses the dust of material association, such as lust, anger and hankering. Thus it acts like autumnal rains upon pools of muddy water.” (SB 2.8.5)

Make plans to sit with sincere devotees to hear and discuss the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Simply by doing this on a regular basis, you will feel cleansed and edified. And one who faithfully continues this practice will, in due course of time, see the Lord sitting upon the altar of his purified heart.
Hare Krishna!
Vaisesika Dasa

A visit to Jagannatha Puri (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we had the extreme good fortune to visit Jagannatha Puri, one of the most sacred holy places in India. We spent many hours wandering through the small streets and broad avenues of Lord Jagannath’s transcendental abode.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/iOFJek

By Anuradha Devi Dasi

On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, the Department of Sport, Recreation and Culture of the city of Durban, South Africa, hosted a panel discussion at the prestigious Durban International Convention Centre entitled, "Healing Historic Divisions - towards racial harmony". Over 150 delegates, including city officials, political councillors and religious leaders accepted the Heads invitation to attend this important and ground-breaking event. The esteemed panellists included His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, Governing Body Chairperson of ISKCON; Bishop Vusi Dube , Member of the Provincial Legislature of the Kwa Zulu Natal Province, and Pastor Benjamin Khutsoane, founder of Citizens Awakening South Africa. Continue reading "Preaching program in Durban – Healing Historic Divisions
→ Dandavats"

[House Program at Los Angeles, USA]

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The post Taking responsibility for our spiritual advancement appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Question: Since we are part of Krishna, and since Rādhārāṇī is also part of Krishna, does that mean we have part of Rādhārāṇī in us?

No.

Bhāgavatam explains that we are different parts. Rādhārāṇī is the what Bhāgavatam describes as bhakti-śakti, and we are what Bhāgavatam describes as taṭastha-śakti. 

There is an intrinsic relationship between bhakti-śakti and taṭastha-śakti, however: the taṭastha-śakti can become an instrument of bhakti-śakti. So, we can become an instrument of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

Question: Why do some people say we have Bhakti in us, but it is dormant and we have to reawaken it?

Different people have different ways of expressing things. We are meant to be an instrument of bhakti-śakti – so one could describe that as having the dormant capacity for bhakti, and this capacity has to be awakened or realized.

Bhakti, however, is actually something much greater than us. We do not possess it. We are just hoping that it will possess us. We do not create it, we are just hoping that it will use us in its play.

Question: If Krishna is omniscient, wouldn’t he know what Rādhārāṇī’s love feels like? Why would he have to become Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu to experience it?

His omniscience will not interfere with his primary reason for existing – bliss. Just as we also can forget or ignore things that interfere with our enjoyment, he also certainly can. His omniscience is only a servant of his bliss. In the bliss of love, he experiences that Rādhārāṇī is someone whom he cannot fully fathom, and he joins with her as Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu to try and experience firsthand what she experiences.

Tagged: dormant bhakti

On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, the Department of Sport, Recreation and Culture of the city of Durban, South Africa, hosted a panel discussion at the prestigious Durban International Convention Centre entitled, “Healing Historic Divisions – towards racial harmony”. Over 150 delegates, including city officials, political...

The post Bhakti Charu Swami participates in Panel Discussion on ‘Healing Historic Divisions’ in Durban, South Africa appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

Yamuna-lila devi dasi, a grandmother with a large devotee family, passed away from this world on Tuesday 21st around 4.45pm. She had been in ill health recently and was surrounded by her family at death.

Yamuna-lila and her husband came from Malaysia to Australia in 1987 and lived in a sea-side suburb of Perth. The family had devotees regularly to their home for kirtan, lecture and prasadam.

I was fortunate enough to go with devotees for a final kirtan in her honour. All glories to Yamuna-lila devi dasi!

By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications

As residents and aficionados of ISKCON history know well, New Vrindaban winters are not exactly forgiving. And with the austerity, guests decrease, some residents go traveling, and the hustle and bustle of the summer season quietens down.

Still, the show must go on, and core crews continue on through the frigid, icy months to make sure it does.

As far as caring for New Vrindaban’s milking cows, it’s husband and wife cowherds Ananda Vidya Das and Lalita Gopi Dasi who hold down the barn. And they do so with a quiet, good-natured dedication that reveals a deep love for their service – a love that was born early on.

“When I joined ISKCON in 1990, I went to live in the Columbus women’s ashram with Malati Devi,” says Lalita Gopi. “We would visit New Vrindaban, and the first time I stopped by the cow barn, I went back home to Columbus and just cried. I said, ‘I wanna live in New Vrindaban!’ I just had this inexplicable attraction to being with the cows and the land.”

Lalita Gopi moved to New Vrindaban in 1993, where she learned how to milk a cow from Nityodita Das and got further training in cow care from ISCOWP director Balabhadra Das. From the mid 1990s, she would help on and off at the milking barn, bringing her daughters Visakha Gopi and Vrindavani with her for milkings when they were babies.

Ananda Vidya, meanwhile, joined ISKCON at New Vrindaban in 1995, but spent a lot of time away, traveling in a van as a brahmachari and book distributor for over fifteen years.

In 2013, he finally settled in New Vrindaban and began helping at the milking barn, where he and Lalita Gopi began to associate and bond over their love of the simple Brijabasi life. They were married soon after. “I really liked his Bhagavatam classes – he would tell great Krishna stories!” Lalita Gopi laughs.

That same year, Ananda Vidya began serving with ECO-Vrindaban, caring for the cows at the milking barn full-time. His wife assists him alongside taking care of her daughters, offering mangala arati at the temple and helping ISKCON New Vrindaban with landscaping.

Every day, Ananda Vidya rises, chants most of his japa at home, then makes his way down to the barn to start milking the cows at 7:00am. Between two milkings, cleaning the barn of dung, making sure the cows are fed and watered, and churning butter, his day is full, usually ending at 8pm.

Out of New Vrindaban’s fifty cows, oxen and bulls, Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi care for nine milking cows. They know them all by name. Laksmi, Surabhi, Yamuna, Asha, Parvati, and Usha are currently being milked, while Malati, Sita and Manjari are all pregnant. The couple also care for the calves until they’re weaned at four to six months with Vamsika, Jaya Radhe, Subhadra, and little bull Madhu currently under their wing.

Milking the cows takes an hour and a half. Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi try to milk as many as they can by hand. As they milk, they play Srila Prabhupada lectures, Chaitanya Charitamrita recordings by New Vrindaban’s own Damodara Das, or the morning program over the radio.

The cows yield around twenty gallons of milk in the winter and thirty in the summer. Some of this is turned into paneer, some Ananda Vidya makes into yogurt, and some he churns into about 15 to 20 pounds of butter a week. This keeps the Deity kitchen supplied with butter and ghee, and helps supplement the devotee kitchen’s needs too.

As well as all this, in the summertime the couple teaches guests – sometimes as many as one hundred visit the goshala at once – how to milk and interact with the cows, while a priest from the temple offers “go-puja.”

Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi’s service is often not easy. In the wintertime temperatures regularly drop below freezing. The couple have to break the ice in the water trough so that the cows can drink. They struggle to clean the barn when the cow dung is frozen to the floor and the shovel. And they’ve had to wear heavy layers of clothes and gloves, still shivering because the freezing wind blows right through cracks in the doors and walls.

Recent developments, fortunately, have made winters more manageable. Former ECO-V project manager Mukunda Das installed foam insulation in the barn, filled up all the cracks, added a layer of paneling on the walls, and put in new insulated doors; while Mother Jayasri’s son Vasudeva Gosh donated a powerful heater, turning the barn into a warm shelter.

“We’re so grateful; now we don’t have to brace ourselves when we go out to the barn anymore,” says Ananda Vidya. “It’s been so much nicer this winter.”

He and his wife do still have to be regulated and steady, performing their service day in and day out whatever happens. “It’s a bit like Deity worship,” says Ananda Vidya. “You have to be there at a specific time, twice a day, no matter what. Whatever struggles there are in your mind, you just have to surrender.”

But Krishna’s cows make any hardships surmountable.

“They’re the most loving animals,” Lalita Gopi says. “They just give. And they take care of each other – they’re so affectionate. The calves actually play games – I’ve seen them play tag, and run races, all starting in a line and belting across the field like little kids! I can understand why Krishna loves His cows so much.”

“Most people don’t get a chance to interact with cows on a regular basis – but they’re missing out, because there’s a really natural relationship between humans and cows,” adds Ananda Vidya. “They just calm you down if you’re stressed out. Being around them takes the edge off of life. And what’s more, they’re emblems of the mode of goodness – getting a chance to serve them directly has given me a lot of realizations about Vrindavan and Lord Krishna.”

He grins. “We invite you to visit us and the cows and experience it all for yourself!”

The second container from Moscow carrying the titanium nitride Chatris and Kalashes has arrived!

The Kalashes were so well packed to the exact size of the inner container that it took not only the laborers, but also the manager’s help to unload it, and one hour to unpack just one box.

The third and final container will be packed and shipped from Moscow this week. The Russian engineer from the manufacturer will come at the end of March to help with the assembling and installing process.

We hope you are as excited as we are with this progress!

The post Second Container Arrives From Russia appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Presentation program in Brimsham Green School, Yate, UK - 22nd March 2017 (Album with photos)
Over 100 secondary school pupils ...

Vrindavan Maha Festival: Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Vrindavan at 17.03.2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sankirtana is the tried and proven method of propagating all aspects of our Krishna Consciousness Movement, so continue to go out chanting in the streets as much as possible. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Jayapataka – Los Angeles 1 August, 1969
Find them here: https://goo.gl/t2xrk0

The Deities looked gorgeous in Their new outfit and a new unique Mridanga. When the curtains opened for darshan, devotees were showering petals on the Deities and the Mridanga. They had to be told by the pujaris to stop throwing petals on the Mridanga lest they damage it. Nobody could tell that the life-size Mridanga was actually a cake. Mother Amrita Keli very painstakingly made the unique Mridanga cake.

Dear Devotees, 

Today we celebrate international World Water Day. According to the United Nations, there are over 663 million people in the world living without safe drinking water and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water. India’s sacred Yamuna river’s pollution is one of the greatest natural disasters of our time.

Please kindly help our team to finish and release our documentary about this issue globally, and together let’s make a difference in millions of people’s lives and save Yamuna and Braj. By clicking on the link below you can watch the film’s trailer, get more information about the project and choose from the different options of sponsorship from $10 up to $3,000 offering various perks.

Please kindly share the link in your circles.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Krisztina Danka / Krishna-lila Dasi
Producer / Director

Click here: Help Rescue THE STOLEN RIVER: A Film to Save Lives

Home program in Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: I am very glad to learn also that you are feeling joy while chanting the mantra Hare Krishna. Yes, it is exactly like this. If anyone chants this mantra in good faith and in simple understanding, then surely this transcendental vibration will act immediately in spiritual bliss. Please therefore continue to chant this mantra as many times as possible throughout the day and night. I do not think there is any inconvenience or loss on your part if you do so all the time. Even when you are walking, you can softly chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, or even when you are on the bus going to somewhere you can also chant. When you are working with your hands you can also chant and when you are resting or going to take rest you can also chant. Even in your toilet room while taking bath you can also chant. In this way there is no limitation or restriction for chanting this Holy Name of God, Krishna, and His Energy, Hara. In doing this business there is no loss, but there is very great gain which is transcendental realization. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Minoru, Kenji – Los Angeles 22 April, 1970
Find them here: https://goo.gl/WGyrju

By Indradyumna Swami

Yesterday on parikrama with a group of devotees in Gokul, Vrindavan we passed by Karshni Ashram run by Sharanananda Ji Maharaja. When we noticed a small crowd gathering outside we stopped to inquire what was happening. Much to our amazement we were told that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was visiting. We were even more surprised when the leaders of the asrama invited us to meet with him. We spent part of the morning discussing spiritual topics with him and then participated in a yajna and Siva puja in his honor. Later in the afternoon he did a public program that was attended by many important spiritual leaders from Vrindavan. As we drove away after the program I turned to one of our devotees and said, “It’s pretty amazing isn’t it? Of all places, we met the Dalai Lama in Gokul, Vrindavan!" Continue reading "Meeting The Dalai Lama in Vrindavan
→ Dandavats"

By Madhava Smullen

Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi’s service is often not easy. In the wintertime temperatures regularly drop below freezing. The couple have to break the ice in the water trough so that the cows can drink. They struggle to clean the barn when the cow dung is frozen to the floor and the shovel. And they’ve had to wear heavy layers of clothes and gloves, still shivering because the freezing wind blows right through cracks in the doors and walls. Recent developments, fortunately, have made winters more manageable. Former ECO-V project manager Mukunda Das installed foam insulation in the barn, filled up all the cracks, added a layer of paneling on the walls, and put in new insulated doors; while Mother Jayasri’s son Vasudeva Gosh donated a powerful heater, turning the barn into a warm shelter. Continue reading "Barn Ready, Rock Steady: Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi
→ Dandavats"

By Parama Karuna Das

It was Gargamuni’s idea [to do the prasadam program]. He felt that the best way to attract students was to have a program every day. It was some chanting and then a brief lecture and then prasadam. [Gargamuni] learned how to cook from Prabhupada and he taught all of us how to cook... When he would chaunce the dahl the aroma would go through the entire neighborhood and I remember coming back from class and I’d just see people running, coming out of their houses just running to the Krishna House. People were packed into the living room, spilling out into the front lawn and even into the street just to taste this magnificent prasadam. As they would come, Gargamuni and crew would be making hot buttered chapatis and serving them to the many guests along with rice, subji and the famous dahl. In this way, some fifty people a day would come for lunch, another fifty for dinner, and even twenty for breakfast! Continue reading "The history of Krishna lunch
→ Dandavats"

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 02/26/2017

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Participating Directors: Chaitanya Mangala, Kripamaya, Ranaka, Sri Tulasi Manjari (Chair) & Vraja.

Participating Advisors: Jaya Krsna

Participating Managers: Ranaka & Nitaicandra

Recording Secretary: Kripamaya

1. 2017 Farm Conference

The ISKCON North American Farm Conference will take place in New Vrindaban Oct. 13-15, 2017. Sri Tulasi Manjari has been meeting with the Farm Conference Planning Committee on an ongoing basis.

2. Ranaka’s Monthly Report

• Bhagavan, Gintaras and Jai Nitai completed most of the electrical upgrade project at the Temple Barn. This project included putting L.E.D. floodlights in front of the barn.
• Six cows are currently being milked at the Temple Barn. The cows are delivering approx. twenty gallons of milk a day. Three heifers also reside at the Temple Barn.
• Ray has been working at Gopal’s Garden school to expand the classroom facilities. He also repaired the GMC truck at the Temple Barn and with Ranaka’s help repaired one of the old tractors.
• The new tractor for the Nandagram farm arrived. This tractor is more environmentally friendly than many of the older models.
• Ray moved manure from the Temple Barn to the Community Garden area.
• One of our cows, Dantari, was transported to the O.S.U. veterinarian hospital and had a cancerous tumor removed from her brain. She can now see more clearly.
• ECO-V’s new mailing address is 164 Surabhi Lane, Wheeling WV 26003.

3. Nitaicandra’s Monthly Report

• Chaitanya Bhagavat repaired posts for the new ox paddock and bull pen that will be constructed soon at Nandagram. As weather permits Chaitanya Bhagavat has also been training the oxen.
• Suchandra has been working in the flower gardens. She has been mostly focusing on putting up fencing for pest control.
• Nitaicandra has been working with Anuradha to put together hands-on work stations and presentations for the Festival of Inspiration. Such presentations will include compost & soil building, planting, preserving and identifying wild herbs.
• Nitaicandra is developing a gardening outreach program with local schools in collaboration with Lalita Gopi.

4. Reallocation of Village Association Funding

WHEREAS: The Village Association reports it no longer needs funding for a liaison part time salary, previously approved by ECO-V in June 2016, because Lakshmi Honest agreed to serve as the Village Association liaison on a volunteer basis.

RESOLVED: The ECO-V Board authorizes broadening the use of these funds for additional purposes, including paying legal the costs required to start a new non-profit association and covering the costs of monthly gatherings.

5. Monthly Joint Board Meetings

The Joint Board meetings now include the Village Council.  So far there have been two meetings, which have primarily focused on sorting out ways in which the Village Council and the Board members will interact.

6. Herd Share Program Update

The West Virginia Alliance for Raw Milk met with West Virginia State legislators and found out that Herd Share programs can now legally operate in West Virginia. The next step is for ECO-V’s management team and INV to put together a Herd Share agreement (with the help of a lawyer) and file that agreement with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

7. Internal Funding Request: Additional $500 for Spring 2017 Shirts

WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes to acknowledge the dedication of long time community members, as well as offer a token of appreciation to the INV and ECO-V staff and volunteers.

RESOLVED: The Board approves up to an additional $500 as a budget for plaques and t-shirts to distribute during the March 2017 meeting weekend.

The post Daily Darshan: Mar 22,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

“One day we decided to do Govardhan parikrama together. I was feeling pretty sick but I was thinking I didn’t want to disappoint Maharaja. He was also feeling sick and he was thinking. ‘I don’t want to disappoint Giriraj Maharaja’ so he kept pushing on. Pretty soon after that we were both in the hospital — he for his liver problem, and I had a heart condition. While he was in the hospital in Bombay, Tamal Krishna Goswami, Kesava Bharati Maharaja and Giridhari Swami came from Vrindavan to visit him. Having cirrhosis of the liver and cancer, he was considered a terminal patient. They advised him that he should just go to Vrindavan and chant and hear. Much as he appreciated their visit and respected them as senior godbrothers, he thought about it and concluded, ‘That’s not me. I want to live the way I am’. So, he kept travelling and preaching practically to the very end.”

Sridhar Swami’s Disappearance

The post Daily Darshan- Mar 21,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Seema Verna takes her oath of office on Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita.
Indian-American Seema Verma swears-in as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services head, places hand on Bhagavad-Gita. NEW YORK: Seema Verma, President Donald Trumps choice for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was sworn-in by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, as she placed her hand on the holy Hindu text- Bhagwad Gita in the presence of her family. Verma was surrounded by her husband Sanjay, daughter Maya, son Sean, as well as her mother and sister as she took the oath, following which she was introduced by Pence as one of the leading experts on state-based healthcare solutions in the country, chosen by President Trump. The President has asked you to bring your expertise to D.C. Were confident that youll help restore health care decisionmaking to the states, and in the process help make the best healthcare system in the world even better, Pence said. After her swearing-in ceremony, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D., and Verma took their first joint action, cosigning a letter to the nations governors affirming the Departments intent to work with states to improve the Medicaid program and the lives of those it serves. White House press secretary Sean Spicer had said earlier in a briefing that President Trump looks forward to having the spectacularly qualified and experienced Administrator Verma finally onboard, especially as the U.S. Government continues to lay the groundwork for the reform of the healthcare system. Verma was confirmed by a divided U.S. Senate which voted largely along party lines and after Democratic attempts to delay what was an inevitable appointment in a Republican majority Senate. This was unlike the confirmation of most other Indian-Americans in the past who have usually been endorsed in a bipartisan vote or by a large majority. However, Verma faces an uphill task now as the Congressional Budget Office, considered a non-partisan body, estimated that the first tranche of the GOPs American Healthcare Bill, for repealing and replacing Obamacare, would leave 14 million people uninsured in 2018 and 24 million by 2026. Verma is now second Indian-American to be in charge of a plum administration post, after Nikki Haley- the US Ambassador to the United Nations.

A court in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has granted the same legal rights as a human to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, considered sacred by nearly a billion Indians.

Uttarakhand HC declares Ganga, Yamuna living entities, gives them legal rights!
The Uttarakhand high court on Monday declared the Ganga and Yamuna living entities, bestowing on them same legal rights as a person, a move that could help in efforts to clean the pollution-choked rivers.
The order also ends the five-day reign of New Zealand’s Whanganui River as the only one in the world to be granted living entity status.
The court’s order will allow complaints to be filed in the name of the two rivers, held sacred by millions of Hindus. It also gives the Centre eight weeks to set up boards for cleaning and maintaining the rivers.

“It means now Ganga and Yamuna rivers will be treated like a natural person but only through a designated person,” advocate MC Pant told HT.

A bench of justice Rajeev Sharma and justice Alok Singh allowed the director general of Namami Gange project, Uttarakhand chief secretary and advocate general the right to represent the Ganga.

The Namami Gange is the Modi’s government’s ambitious plan that brings together various efforts for cleaning and conserving the river.

The world’s third largest river, the Ganga is the holiest Hindu river and also among the dirtiest in the world, with toxic industrial waste and untreated sewage reducing it to a dirty trickle at several places.

Reverentially referred to as Maa Ganga (Mother Ganga) for the water it provides to millions and fertile plains it feeds, the 2,500km river originates from Gangotri in Uttarakhand and criss-crosses several states before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

The Yamuna is its largest tributary and originates from Yamunotri in Uttarakhand.

Hearing a petition for removing encroachments from the Shakti Canal on the Yamuna in Dehradun district, the high court asked the district magistrate to clear the areas in 72 hours or face legal action.
Source: https://goo.gl/1tLz6O