Planet ISKCON

Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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The post Gita 12.10 Bhakti means dedicating our external to the eternal internal instead of the ephemeral internal appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 November 2008, India, Lecture at Mamgachi)

namo brahmanya–devaya, go brahmana–hitaya ca, jagad-dhitaya krishnaya, govindaya namo namah

As Advaita Acharya continued his worship, he chanted this verse. Advaita Acharya fell prostrate before the Lord, seeking shelter at His lotus feet. Lord Gauranga lifted His lotus feet and placed it on Advaita Acharya’s head. Upon seeing this, the devotees became mad with jubilation, completely forgetting themselves. Some rolled on the ground; others embraced one another or slapped each other boisterously while many others cried out loudly. Advaita Acharya felt as if all of his desires had been fulfilled because the Lord had placed His lotus feet upon his head. Lord Caitanya then instructed, “Let Me see you dance!”

Advaita Acharya was not a young man. It said that when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this world that Advaita Acharya was already fifty-two years old! So after the Lord revealed Himself which was in His twenty-second year, that means Advaita Acharya was seventy-four years old, and he was supposed to dance! Advaita Acharya lived another twenty-five years after the disappearance of Lord Caitanya and thus we understand that Advaita Acharya actually became a hundred and twenty-five years old.

Advaita Acharya happily began to dance and so the devotees started a very sweet melodious kirtan. As he continued dancing in front of the Lord, Advaita Acharya sometimes moved in a spirited manner and sometimes moved very gracefully. Sometimes, he felt very humbled and kept a bunch of straw in between his teeth. Sometimes, Advaita Acharya would spin around, jump into the air, then fall to the ground and roll back and forth. At other times, he would breathe deeply and quickly, and then fall unconscious.

We know that keeping a bunch of straw between the teeth indicates humility. It is in a mood of humility that one keeps straw between the teeth. Exactly why this custom is there, I cannot say, but it is there. And more important than the custom, is the mood that Advaita Acharya manifested because no one can do anything without the mercy of the Supreme Lord.

Although Advaita Acharya himself was also the Supreme Lord, still he was not govindam adi purusam – the original purusa, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, but rather, he was the avatar of Lord Sri Krsna.

In the Bhagavad-gita (4.8) it is stated, paritranaya sadhunam, vinasaya ca duskrtam, dharma-samsthapanarthaya, sambhavami yuge yuge, that the Lord appears in various millenniums for the sake of establishing the principles of religion and to annihilate the miscreants. That is the work of the incarnations of the Lord. Only the Supreme Lord can give krsna-prema and that is why Advaita Acharya was very eager for Krsna to appear, because Advaita Acharya was not interested just to establish the principles of dharma; Advaita Acharya wanted to drown the entire world in love of God.

Now we can see how it is happening! We can see how gradually, little-by-little, invisibly, the sankirtan movement of Lord Caitanya is infiltrating. Because, as a person becomes touched by this sankirtan movement, as one hears the holy name or as one engages in devotional service, one becomes captured.

“FORTUNATE SOULS” (Album with photos)
Dharmatma Das: Some of the many people who received Srila Prabhupada’s Books and took part in the Harinam during our tour of Gold Coast and New Zealand. These are to show the unfathomable mercy of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada, by whose grace these people, us and so many more have become, “Fortunate souls.”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tNgVcL

This is a video message from Vandana Shiva aired during the Nexus Conference 2015(www.nexusconference.in) held in Govardhan Ecovillage on OCT 31 and NOV 1 2015.

World Holy Name Week celebrated the 50^th anniversary of ISKCON this year in style, running for closer to two-and-a-half weeks, from July 28^th to August 14^th. The celebration, organized by Lokanath Swami, Janananda Goswami, and Ekalavya Das, included several key sacred days throughout its run, including the disappearance days of Sri Raghunandana Thakura and Sri Vamsidasa Babaji. Most notably it included the 50^th anniversary of the incorporation of ISKCON in New York on July 28^th, and the 50^th anniversary of the first public Harinam Sankirtan in the Western World, on August 14^th.

On Sunday January 29^th in a special program at the New Govardhana Farm in Murwillambah, Australia, Mukunda Goswami shared memories of the Mantra-Rock Dance he helped organize fifty years ago on January 29^th 1967. The Mantra-Rock Dance concert was a key event in both ISKCON’s early growth and in the counterculture scene of the time, and commemorating it is an important part of ISKCON’s 50^th anniversary celebrations. 

For the past ten years, the Mayapur Academy – run by the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry – has offered devotees a four-month intensive training course that equips them with all the knowledge, skills and values they need to serve as pujaris in ISKCON. Many successful graduates have come away from the course with diplomas in archana. But it’s not always easy for devotees to travel so far and be away from their services or homes for four months.

See accompanying pictures

The Conch - Newsletter of the New Govardhana Community.
EDITORIAL BOARD: Damodara Pandit dasa, Govardhana Seva dasa, Krishnarupa devi dasi (ACBSP), Urvasi devi dasi
(layout and graphic design).
Srila Prabhupada: Vedic civilization is very strict. Because the whole aim was how to go back to home, back to Godhead, not sense gratification, eat, drink, be merry, enjoy. That is not the aim of human life. So everything was planned with that aim. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.3 – London, August 4, 1973
Find it here: https://goo.gl/0XlLoq

Meet Guru Prasad devi dasi an Iskcon pujari, cook and popular myotherapist in Australia.
Mandakini devi dasi: Popular myotherapist and remedial massage healer Guru Prasad devi dasi decided last year to study Occupational Therapy (a specialized, four-year degree) at Southern Cross University.
Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation. The primary goal is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Therapists achieve this outcome by working with individuals and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or environment to better support their occupational engagement.
Once fully qualified, Guru Prasad may be called upon to assist children with learning disabilities, assist adults to bathe and dress after experiencing a stroke, modify workplaces so that injured people can return to work, teach parents how to care for a child after a motor vehicle accident, or design renovation plans to ensure a person’s home is accessible for their wheelchair and much more.
For Guru Prasad, this degree means mountains of study, particularly at the weekends, but she is embracing it wholeheartedly. Undaunted by the fact that her workload may well double next year, she is putting her best foot forward for the long haul.
In spite of her busy schedule, Guru Prasad is maintaining her commitment for two days a week Deity dressings and she also helps Ambika and Krishnarupa devi dasis with the practical devotee care program by cooking for devotees in emergencies whenever time allows.
Since mid-year 2016, she has reduced her usual five days a week clinical hours at her therapeutic massage clinic to two days. She is now available for consultation and treatments at her Main Street clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays only.

Normality and illness only exist in the illusionary vision of man. In reality, there is only the immense path of spiritual evolution, characterized by vicissitudes, incidents, stages, progresses, stasis, deviations, falls and imprisonments. Certain incidents are isolated and classified by medicine and psychology as “illness”. Then medicine and psychology study them under an unconscious perspective and do not take under account the evolution context in which they are inserted. These sciences can still obtain respectable, considerable and useful short-term results, but these are only limited to the symptoms. They can also have a certain prevention capability, however the entity and means of their cure and prevention cannot go beyond to reach the substance. This is because they are not contextualized into reality and into the process of spiritual evolution, which are mostly invisible even though they are sometimes remotely perceivable. Continue reading "The Yoga of Love – Beyond illness and psychotherapies
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In spite of what a person who is suffering depression may think, it is actually very easy to overcome depression from a spiritual point of view. It is not at all as difficult as one imagines. And this is a major issue, since it is all a matter of perspective or point of view, which is based on the mental disposition. This attitude and perspective is what must be changed. Mind has the mysterious power of magnifying a problem and making it appear formidable and bigger than it is. Do not listen to the promptings of the mind. Reject them ruthlessly and throw them out. Although spirituality may not be able to cure all forms of depression completely, it will certainly help. In many cases, developing oneself spiritually can lay the groundwork so that if you are depressed, you may change your view which may allow you to rise above a depressed state of mind. In other cases, it can lift you right out of any depression or despair that you may feel. Continue reading "Curing Depression with Spirituality
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Chanting the holy name and engaging in Bhakti-yoga (Krishna consciousness or devotional service) is the ultimate process of purification and healing in our tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The process of counseling should be seen as an adjunct to the process of Krishna consciousness, and although it can be helpful for some devotees, it is not in itself the panacea for all our problems. The reason for bringing this up is that sometimes the question arises: “Why do we need anything other than our spiritual practices to be successful in our spiritual life?” Continue reading "Psychotherapy and the Practice of Krishna Consciousness
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Answer Podcast

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The post Why did Krishna allow the desecration of Deities by foreign invaders in medieval times? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

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The post Does the soul come first in the womb and the subtle body comes later after which consciousness manifests? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Class at Radha Madan-Gopal Mandir, ISKCON Nasik on Bhagavad-gita 18.33-35]

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Answer Podcast

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The post When others’ words makes us disturbed and dissatisfied, how to deal with that dissatisfaction – Hindi? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

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The post When we are unable to practice devotional principles, are we hypocritical – how to overcome it – Hindi? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

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The post How can we overcome the unhappiness felt on seeing others go away from bhakti – Hindi? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Happy Vasanta Panchami, Vrindavan’s first day of spring, which is the appearance day of Srimati Visnupriya Devi, Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi, Sri Raghunandana Thakura, and Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami; the disappearance day of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura; and the anniversary of the acceptance of sannyasa by His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami (my sannyasa-guru). May they shower their mercy upon us all.

Hare Krishna.

—Giriraj Swami

Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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The post Gita 12.09 If absorption in Krishna is unattainable, seek attraction through connection appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Sri Advaita Acharya was the first among the associates of Lord Chaitanya and He appeared on earth some 50 – 60 years before Lord Chaitanya’s own advent. Sri Advaita Acharya is recognised as a combined incarnation of Sri Maha Vishnu and Sri Sadasiva, Lord Siva in Goloka dhama.

Before the appearance of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu, all the Vaisnava devotees in the Navadvipa area used to gather at the house of Advaita Acharya. In these meetings, Advaita Acharya preached on the basis of the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.

It is said that Advaita Acharya prayed fervently to the Lord for several months. He worshipped His saligram silas lovingly with sacred tulasi leaves and Ganges water calling out to the Lord to manifest and show a way to the worldly people to reach the eternal spiritual abode.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 November 2008, India, Lecture at Mamgachi)

We will just read something from the Caitanya Bhagavata. Srila Prabhupada said that the nature of scripture is that it is sweet on all sides so it does not matter where you begin, it is always sweet.

Lord Visvambhara looked at Advaita Acharya and said, “I have descended to this world in response to your vow and repeated worship. I was resting on the ocean of milk but your roaring woke Me up. You are so merciful that you could not bear to see the suffering of the conditioned living entities and so you summoned Me to alleviate their painful condition. All of these demigods, sages, devotees and associates have appeared in response to your call.”

Advaita Acharya had worshiped the Salagram Sila with Ganga-jal and Tulasi because he had read in the scriptures that the Lord said, “When you offer Me Ganga-jal and Tulasi, then there is nothing in My possession to repay such an offering. And thus all I can do is give Myself.” Thus, Advaita Acharya thought, “This is it! I will force the Lord to appear!” but he never knew that the Lord had appeared because for so many years Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained hidden.

No one knew that Nimai Pandit, the extraordinary scholar, was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one had any idea but at this point, where we are reading now, Lord Caitanya has just revealed to Advaita Acharya that He is the Supreme Lord so Advaita Acharya is in ecstasy.

Lifting his arms, Advaita Acharya responded, ‘Today my life has become successful. All of my dreams have been fulfilled. By seeing Your lotus feet, my birth has gained meaning. O Lord, who else but You could liberate all the living entities.” Tears rolled down Advaita Acharya’s cheeks as He spoke. “Now perform My worship,” the Lord said. Having received this instruction, Advaita Acharya began worshiping the Lord’s lotus feet in great ecstasy. First, he washed Visvambhara’s lotus feet, then he smeared scented oil on them. Next, he dipped tulasi-manjari’s into sandalwood paste and placed them on the Lord’s lotus feet. Advaita Acharya performed worship with flowers, frankincense and lamps while everyone glorified the Lord. While Advaita Acharya continued the worship, he chanted the verse, ‘O my Lord, You are well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas indeed. You are the maintainer of the entire universe.’

Or the famous verse: namo brahmanya-devaya, go brahmana-hitaya ca, jagad-dhitaya krishnaya, govindaya namo namah. Advaita Acharya kept on repeating that mantra again and again while he was worshiping the Lord. So it is very interesting how that mantra is now so much part of our everyday life. At least a few times a day, we are chanting that mantra as if it is just another mantra and not realizing how intimate that mantra is to the Supreme Lord, how dear it is to the Lord and how essential it is to the pastimes of the Lord.

We are pleased to announce that marble work on the walls outside the main temple entrance has begun, and once finished sandstone work will commence.

This is part of the exterior finishing work that will continue on an ongoing basis until the temple is completed.

The post Temple Room Entrance Marble Work Begins appeared first on Храм Ведического Планетария.

http://planetiskcon.rupa.com/index.php/author/h-h-indradyumna-swami/page/6/

We all practice sadhana-bhakti, and to achieve perfection in it by taking another happy birth enables a Vaisnava/i to associate with and obtain blessings from those eternally liberated souls forever serving with the Lord. In this regard, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur explains: "In this context we will make our analysis according to the method described in Srila Rupa Gosvami's Ujjvala-nilaman?i. There are two categories of gopis: the eternally perfect (the nitya-siddhas) and those who have become perfect by practicing bhakti-yoga (the sadhana-siddhas). The sadhana-siddhas are of two categories: those who belong to special groups and those who do not. And there are also two classes of the gopis belonging to special groups: namely the sruti-caris, who come from the group of the personified Vedas, and the rsi-caris, who come from the group of sages who saw Lord Ramacandra in the Dandakaran?ya forest.” (SB 10.29.9 purport) Continue reading "Where Do Our Departed Vaisnavas Go?
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ISKCON-Delhi: Srila Raghunatha Das Goswami Appearance 01-02-2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If you make your friendship with Krsna, that will never break. If you make your master Krsna, you’ll never be cheated. If you love Krsna as your son, He’ll never die. Similarly, if you love Krsna as your lover or husband, He will be the best husband, the best lover. There will be no divorce. That is Krsna consciousness. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 4.13-14 – New York, August 1, 1966
Find them here: https://goo.gl/lGFLSz

Transcendental Street Art (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: For so many countless lifetimes the conditioned souls have been giving all of their service and energy to the service of Maya, and I am requesting all of my disciples that for this one lifetime you give all of your energy and service to Krishna. The spiritual force is eternal, so to give simply one lifetime to Krishna is not a very difficult thing. And yet if we are serious in executing the devotional principles, this one lifetime of service to Krishna will absolute and final solution to all the problems of life. Sincere devotional service in even one lifetime is sufficient to make one eligible to return to the Vaikuntha world permanently. Krishna Consciousness has got this power. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Madhudvisa – Hamburg 7 September, 1969
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hrNRQn

MAKING MARRIED LIFE AN ASHRAM THROUGH THROUGH WORSHIP OF THE FORM OF KRISHNA, SAINTS, AND THE HOLY NAME: I devoted a previous blog to the power of Deity worship in general and some of my experiences being a temple pujari for so many years. Today, after I dressed our Gaura and Nitai, and beheld the other Deities, all recently worshiped and adorned with new dresses and ornaments, as I chanted, I felt both awe and inspiration that these forms of Krishna and his expansions and energies have allowed us to live with and serve them. I was appreciating how for a householder, regular worship of Deities and seeing them as the true owner and enjoyer of our home and lives, is one way we transform our home into an ashram.

We have a simple home standard where we offer them everything we eat two or three times a day, and dress and bathe them once a week, while the shilas are worshiped daily, though also simply. I have reasoned that our real worship is through our daily chanting of the holy name through japa and kirtan, offering our prayers, and ultimately our very life and soul, which is the point of everything we do.

Saranagati, or surrendering our body, mind, and soul and all that we possess for divine service, or bhakti, is the process of spiritual awakening. Surrender is a loaded word, and we naturally feel it means we have to give up so much, lose so much. However paradoxical it may seem materially, it is by surrender that we gain our soul and true spiritual nature.

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Like so many things, both Economy and Cow Protection can exist in the Mode of Ignorance, the Mode of Passion and the Mode of Goodness. And although the Economic models can be perceived easily through the different modes of Nature, its way more difficult to differentiate Cow Protection within the different modes of Nature. It’s only been within the last 20 years or so that Cow Protection has taken on any kind of form. That it is not just a bunch of cows hanging around a field with red hands all over them and old Maha garlands hanging dishevelled on their horns. At least, on some Cow Protection projects it has been realised there are models to follow, albeit within the two lower modes of nature. Continue reading "Natural Economy, Cow Protection and the Mode of Goodness.
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A recent presentation in Bhaktivedanta Manor about Iskcon Gainesville's, (Florida, USA) successful program of bringing in new devotees. Focusing on recruiting, preparing the proper environment, tolerate breaking secondary rules and correct once a week, offering respect and appreciation, assigning responsible duties since the beginning, vision for a future devotional career, providing proper living facilities for man and women, access to car, internet etc., zero tolerance in regards the regulative principles, systematic training, realistic counseling, make everyone feel important, understood, welcome and loved, like mother Yamuna did. Continue reading "Successful methods of outreach
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Тех же, кто поклоняется Мне, безраздельно предавшись Мне и посвящая Мне все свои действия, кто занимается преданным служением и постоянно размышляет обо Мне, сосредоточив на Мне свой ум, — таких людей, о сын Притхи, Я без промедления вызволяю из океана рождения и смерти.