Planet ISKCON

No Whites! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday I went out with devotees on a Food For Life program in a Zulu township near Durban here in South Africa. As we drove to the township Vrindavan Candra das, who heads up Food For Life in Durban, told me the township was one of the most notorious in the country.
“On average there are 10 murders each weekend”, he said. “The situation is so bad that the police rarely, if ever, enter the township.”
“And we’re going in there?” I asked a little surprised.
“Lord Caitanya is the deliverer of the most fallen,” he replied with a smile. “Plus I convinced 3 policemen to accompany us with AK-47’s,” he said. “They like what we do.”

As we entered the township we saw a big sign that read, “No whites!”

“Don’t worry.” Vrindavan Candra said looking over at me. “The people love us. They are the poorest of the poor and down and out. We’re feeding them prasadam, giving them Srila Prabhupada’s books and having kirtan with them. They truly appreciate.“

Then he paused and said, "But do be careful.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I’ll take some photos to show the devotees around the world what an amazing service you guys are doing down here.”
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Answer Podcast

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The post When the mind is like software, then how can pills for treating the hardware – the brain – cure mental problems? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By Vishakha Devi Dasi

Why hearing is the first and most important of the nine kinds of devotional service to the Lord. When I first read that hearing is the most important of the nine kinds of devotional service, I was confused. I was twenty-one at the time and had been hearing all day every day for my whole life. What was so special about hearing? Continue reading "The Magic of Hearing About Krishna and His Devotees
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By Madhavananda Das

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami: You have no right to chastise, no right to correct anyone. You are not guru. Guru has that right. If you see something and you have a good heart, “He is doing something wrong that is detrimental to his bhakti.” Then go to him, pay obeisances, and tell him confidentially, not in front of others, “O my brother, I see this thing and it pains me very much that you are doing this and this. This is a great impediment on the path of devotion. I fear you will not be able to make any advancement. Therefore I am coming to you and telling you. O my friend, please don’t do it. Be serious about your bhajana. Continue reading "The Fallacy of Fault-finding
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Radhadesh Mellows 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The vibration of Krsna’s flute is always prominent in the ears of the gopis. Naturally they cannot hear anything else. Constant remembrance of the holy sound of Krsna’s flute keeps them enlightened and enlivened, and they do not allow any other sound to enter their ears. Since their attention is fixed on Krsna’s flute, they cannot divert their minds to any other subject. In other words, a devotee who has heard the sound of Krsna’s flute forgets to talk or hear of any other subject. This vibration of Krsna’s flute is represented by the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. A serious devotee of the Lord who chants and hears this transcendental vibration becomes so accustomed to it that he cannot divert his attention to any subject matter not related to Krsna’s blissful characteristics and paraphernalia. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Madhya 21.145
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By Ekalavya Das

ISKCON or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been known for propagating the Holy Name of Lord Krishna through the Hare Krishna Mahamantra worldwide as instructed by our previous acharyas. The weeklong festival celebrated every year aims towards engaging devotees in spreading the glories of the holy name everywhere through special kirtans, events, harinams and much more. For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and in celebration of ISKCON50, World Holy Name Week 2016 was celebrated between July 18 – August 14, 2016. We have received a total of 44 reports – 5 from overseas and the rest from India.

India: Ahmedabad, Amravati, Aravade, Baroda, Beed, Belgaum, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Dabilpur, Delhi, Govardhan Eco Village, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Katra, Kaundanyapur, Kurukshetra, Manipur, Mayapur, Nagpur, Nasik, Nellore, Nigdi, Noida, Panchsheel, Pandharpur, Pune, Rajkot, Siliguri, Solapur, Surat, Tirupati, Udhampur, Vijaywada and Vrindavan

Overseas: Australia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Singapore and UK Continue reading "World Holy Name Week 2016 report
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Maha Harinam Party in Wellington, New Zealand (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When a devotee asked Srila Prabhupada how to attain perfection after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, Srila Prabhupada replied, “When you chant harinama purely, then the sun of love of Godhead will rise in your heart. You will then see everything clearly, as when the sun rises in the morning sky. You’ll see Krsna and you’ll see yourself and I will be there and will instruct you. Srila Prabhupada Vyasa-puja book 2008 p. 47.
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Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 08 October 2016, Johannesburg, South Africa, Nama Hatta Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 9.10)

In Srimad Bhagavatam, in the discussions with Kapila Muni, it is said that doubt is a symptom of intelligence. So this is interesting, doubt as a symptom of intelligence. We always thought that doubt was a symptom of faithlessness and so on. No, an intelligent person will inquire and will not just blindly accept. So doubt is alright and pure devotees are there to alleviate doubt by their own personal example.

This is a very important point and this is why I call Prabhupada the shortcut. See, once we have faith in Prabhupada, then we do not have to put every word of the Vedic literature on a scale and weigh it because Prabhupada supersedes it because he has realised the essence of the Vedas. He is clearly in direct communication with the Supreme Lord.

That is actually how people developed faith in this movement. We did not first study all the literature inside-out and then thought about it in great depth and then said, “Shall I accept this as truth?” Nobody bothered. Some people sort of intuitively came, “Why did you come?”

“Well, I do not know. I just liked it. I felt it.” That is also there but others went a little deeper. They understood that it is Prabhupada who is the living proof for us. Therefore, one should investigate Srila Prabhupada and read about Srila Prabhupada, especially these biographies.

We have the Srimad Bhagavatam which is our main scripture. One day Prabhupada was giving a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam when someone in America asked a question, “Is Joan of Arc also in Srimad Bhagavatam?”
Prabhupada says, “Eh? Joan of Arc in Bhagavatam? Eh?” Then he says, “Yes, she is also in Bhagavatam because the life of the devotees are also Bhagavatam.”

So Prabhupada just right there and then, extended Bhagavatam beyond the twelve cantos and said actually the life of all these devotees are also Bhagavatam because they are the person bhagavat. Therefore the Prabhupada Lilamrta is also Bhagavatam because it is the life of the bhagavat. It is the life of the person who is the personification of the bhagavat. By reading the Lilamrta and so many other biographies, we can see very clearly how he is not an ordinary person.

If anyone wants hard evidence then I always give the example how in Germany there was a photographer. He was making many photos of Prabhupada and in those days it was not digital camera. It was film inside and there is a big flash and the flash would just, “Whoo!” Really like strong flash, worse than the phones. This photographer was just like one picture after… flash, flash, flash. So at one point, Prabhupada was just seeing balls and he said, “No more balls.”

So then what happened was that the photographer used another technique. He put in a slow, very light sensitive film. Those kind of films would very slowly capture the image and needed less light but then any movement would upset the picture. So he put the camera on a tripod, put the slow film and did not even touch the shutter. He had one of those extension cords. They used to have like that. Before he was taking the photo, he had to adjust the camera. It was not computerised because we did not have computers yet in those days, and the lens had to be manually adjusted. He had to adjust the camera manually according to the light so he had a light meter. So he was measuring the light, adjusting the camera for the light, everything ready. Click. Suddenly, as he was clicking some pictures, suddenly, the light just got much stronger. The meter just goes into maximum! He looks, “Did someone turn on a light?” No. it was Prabhupada. He was beaming with light and it was measured on German light meter. So if that is not hard evidence, then what is hard evidence? German light meter.

So in that way, it was measurable. It was not just imagination that some people, due to sentiment, we are just seeing Prabhupada as an amazing personality. No, even a German light meter. There is no sentiment in a German light meter but even a German light meter could recognise that Prabhupada was an enlightened personality. So in this way, we appreciate, how the pure devotee makes everything accessible and makes everything real.

Bonds of Love: Nagapatni Devi Dasi
Nagapatni was the only one of six children who showed any interest in her father’s academic career as a professor of theology at a Catholic University. When she was about 13 she started asking her father questions about why we were here and where we were going. And, “Why is one child born into a rich family and another born into severe poverty?”
He told her she just had to live with these types of questions. But she couldn’t. There were too many of them and a world full of misery. She started looking for answers in other traditions.
In 1968, at age eighteen, Nagapatni was working at head shop in Laguna Beach called Mystic Arts. That summer a few of her friends went to San Francisco and purchased Brijbasi prints from Costplus. They bought hundreds of beautiful prints featuring a beautiful blue boy. This enchanting figure piqued her interest. Who was he? It wasn’t until the following year, when she met a devotee, that she got a real introduction to him.
Finding the devotees a bit extreme she kept her distance. At the same time, her curiosity grew. One evening, she ventured to ask one devotee boy, “Why is there a lady chasing this beautiful blue boy with a stick in her hand?” The young brahmachari opened his mouth and poured out a stream of what sounded like memorized dogma, leaving her more annoyed and confused than edified.
A few days later, a visitor came to her home. He was an old friend of her husband’s, and was shaven and dressed like a devotee. He brought a big box of luglus. Unfortunately, her husband, who was sitting with other visiting friends, chose to ignore this kind visitor. Nagapatni felt bad that he was treated so rudely, but she noticed his pleasant, mild nature. This was Nanda Kumar, who was Srila Prabhupada’s personal servant at the time. As she and Nanda Kumar spoke, she told him she had just returned from a TM meeting, where they were charging $35 for a mantra for self-realization. She wanted something more meaningful than a hippy lifestyle. He encouraged her to visit the temple.
She went on a Sunday and found the chanting very spiritual. Although she was following a macrobiotic diet at the time, she accepted a plate of prasada. Then an amazing thing happened: although her mouth was burning from the chilies, she couldn’t stop eating the prasada. Next, the devotees encouraged her to meet their spiritual master. They had such awe and respect for him that she thought it a bit extreme. How could anyone be that special? But they encouraged her by telling her she could ask him questions. The next day, she arranged a ride with them to hear him speak at the L.A. temple.
She prepared five questions to ask after the lecture, but she became overwhelmed and shy, intimidated by the large number of zealous devotees in attendance. She was afraid she didn’t have the nerve to ask her questions. But during the lecture something mystical happen: Srila Prabhupada answered every one of the five questions in order. She cried tears of joy at how effortlessly Srila Prabhupada had cleared her mind of these troubling questions that had haunted her for years. There was no doubt in her mind now that this was her spiritual master.
This became her first lesson in vani. Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, she realized, transcended time and space.
When she started reading the Bhagavad-gita the text hit her heart like lightning. All the questions and confusion were clearing. She had read many other books, looking for answers, but here was so much more. She thought she should just learn the basics of Krishna consciousness, and go on with her life with her husband separately, but the temple commander, Shukadeva Dasa, saw right through her faulty plan and tricked her into more participation by inviting her to a cooking lesson and engaging her in devotional service. Shukadeva was engaged in kneading the dough when she heard him doing something on the stove. When she turned around, he put a lid on a pot and began preaching to her. Soon after, she and her husband joined.
Being in an all-brahmachari temple was challenging. She wanted to dress in a sari but didn’t have one. Then one day, the temple president, Durlab Dasa, brought her one. But there was no one to teach her how to put it on. The next Monday night the devotees were scheduled to travel to hear Srila Prabhupada again and she decided to try to wear the sari however she could. She wrapped it round and around herself like a mummy. When they arrived, everyone ran in, but she waddled like a penguin. Nothing got past Srila Prabhupada. As soon as Nagapatni came through the door, he told Sudama’s younger sister to take her and teach her how to put on a sari and tilaka.
Soon after the property on Watseka Ave was acquired, Nagapatni and her husband moved to L.A. It was such a sweet, special time. Each morning the devotees gathered in front of the temple to greet Srila Prabhupada as he returned from his morning walk. Each devotee would give him a flower, and he would give a flower to each of them in return. Sometimes he would pat a devotee on the head. Everyone then followed him into the temple room to greet the Deities. After the greeting, everyone would sit down for a Sri Ishopanishad class. First the devotees chanted in unison the verses they had already learned, and then Srila Prabhupada taught a new verse. This would be followed by a lecture. The atmosphere at the temple was completely transcendental. Nagapatni absorbed her full consciousness in Prabhupada’s presence, especially his words and gestures. She wanted to imprint him deeply into her consciousness.
One morning after greeting the Deities, Srila Prabhupada turned to walk from the altar to the vyasasana. However, it seemed he was walking straight toward Nagapatni. She stepped back, thinking he would turn at any moment toward his seat, but she soon found her back against the wall, with Prabhupada smiling at her. She felt a different dimension open up. Time was not relevant as he looked at her; he saw her past and future. She knew no one had or ever would love her more than Srila Prabhupada and that she was experiencing real love.
There could be one of two reasons why Srila Prabhupada gave her the name Nagapatni. Once, while chanting and walking around the temple room she found herself wondering what service she would have in the spiritual sky. She stopped at the painting of Krishna subduing Kaliya. Not knowing the pastime, she thought the Nagapatnis were surfing. She thought, “This is something I can do! I use to surf!” Or perhaps its was because her husband kept delaying his request for initiation. At one point he said he didn’t want to do it. She told him fine, “but I’m going to take initiation, and you will feel foolish having a wife who is more advanced.”
A week before the San Francisco Ratha-yatra, the L.A. devotees would go up to help. Nagapatni was expecting her first child within a month, and Srila Prabhupada told her for the well-being of her child that she shouldn’t travel after seven months of pregnancy or offer her obeisances after five. Only seven devotees stayed in L.A. to take care of things.
One warm evening, she was the only one attending the arati. The back doors of the temple were open and someone threw a cherry bomb into the temple. It made a very loud noise. Srila Prabhupada was very concerned. The next morning he came to greet the Deities as usual, and the seven devotees sat around him in a semicircle. He asked each of them how they were doing. Nagapatni was overwhelmed by his fatherly compassion. Tears filled her eyes, and as her emotions increased, she became afraid that she wouldn’t be able to answer him without sobbing uncontrollably. He saw her discomfort and gave her a knowing smile.
Srila Prabhupada then passed out a paper with two verses written on it – a prayer to Lord Nrisimhadeva – and proceeded to teach them the prayer. He instructed them to chant it every day after arati and said that Krishna would protect them. Nagapatni was struck with awe at how Srila Prabhupada was making them fearless not only from material dangers but the danger of taking another material body.
Nagapatni never tried to come too close to Srila Prabhupada because she didn’t want to interfere with his important translation work. She started the first nursery school program in ISKCON at the L.A. temple. A few women would take the now large number of children out to a park or beach. Then some would distribute books and the rest would watch the children. Once, a devotee who was married to a member of the GBC came to L.A. and wanted to dissolve the program. She thought the children could simply be kept in one room and given coloring books. Nagapatni was distressed. She felt the children needed healthy exercise and fresh air, but she was nobody compared to this devotee. The next day in Srimad-Bhagavatam class, Srila Prabhupada talked about Krishna and Balarama and how They would go to the Yamuna every day with Their friends. Then he said, “Like you have a beach here the children can play there.” Srila Prabhupada’s connection was greater than material designations, greater than time and space.
Somehow or other, Srila Prabhupada has remained Nagapatni’s dearest father. Her body has grown old and troublesome, but she begs to remain in his service until her last breath.

Answer Podcast

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Answer Podcast

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Answer Podcast

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Answer Podcast

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Answer Podcast

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This is to introduce Dr. Vignesh Ramanathan who has very kindly agreed to visit New Vrindaban on a regular basis to take care of the residents’ health care needs. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and currently works at United Hospital Center, Bridgeport, WV where he has been on their Hospitalist staff since 2011.

Dr. Vignesh graduated from Rajah Muthiah Medical College, Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India with MBBS degree in 2002. He moved to the United States in 2004.  He did an internship in Internal Medicine in Washington, D.C. from 2005 to 2006 and subsequently joined Columbia University, New York as a Post-Doc Research Fellow from 2006 to 2008. Following this, he completed a three-year Residency in Internal Medicine from Albert Einstein University-Montefiore Hospital, New York in 2011. He has been in his current position at United Hospital Center since then.

Dr. Vignesh will give us advance notice of at least two weeks before his visits. This will give us ample time to make appointments with him. He will be seeing patients in the Wellness Center. He plans to initially visit on a monthly basis and will provide his email address and mobile phone number to the patients who see him in case they need to contact him.

Please welcome him to New Vrindaban in the traditional Brijbasi spirit of love and devotion.

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Nasik on Bhagavatam 11.23.44]

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Thinking of Krishna 24 hours.
Question: I am an optician and I sell spectacles. Srila Prabhupada mentions in almost all of his lectures that you should think of Krishna 24 hours. Since I am a businessman, I need to think about my business; therefore how do I follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions?
Romapada Swami: From our experience we can understand that the only way one can constantly think of someone / something is when there is love and attachment. When there is love, all activities and all things are seen in relation to the object of love. The gopis were engaged in many household affairs but their minds were always on Krishna. So was Arjuna’s, even in the thick of the catastrophic battle.
Of course, love for Krishna is dormant in all of us. The practices of bhakti yoga are meant to reawaken that dormant love. Therefore, strong practice of sadhana bhakti is the key to destroy our forgetfulness and bring us to the position of constant remembrance of Krishna.
The stage described above is an advanced stage. Attaining that advanced stage requires cultivation. All of us have variegated responsibilities - occupational duties, family responsibilities, personal needs etc - that demand our attention. However, if we dedicate a certain portion of the day, especially in the early morning hours before we begin our routine work, to fully focus one’s attention on Krishna through direct devotional activities such as chanting, hearing/reading and worshiping, then that effect would linger and permeate the consciousness throughout the rest of the day, even while dealing with other practical matters. For this reason, Srila Prabhupada very much stressed the importance of attending the morning program, which can be performed right within your home, daily (typically consisting of Mangala-arati, Japa and Srimad Bhagavatam class, as is performed in all of our ISKCON centers).
In order to be able to do so on a consistent basis, one may have to make some other adjustments such as modifying the activities of the previous evening, minimize unnecessarily stressful endeavors etc. In other words, as Srila Prabhupada often said, we have to mold our life in a way that is conducive to and promotes remembrance of Krishna. At the same time, as far as possible we should avoid those things which would impede our positive remembrance of Krishna. (See Texts 2&3 of Nectar of Instruction)
The second part of the answer is to dedicate one’s occupation itself in service to Krishna. In other words, one’s business is not seen as a secular activity separate from devotional service; rather a devotee cultivates the mentality that their occupation is also part of their daily expression of devotion to Krishna; our business is done for Krishna. This means that not only the fruits of that activity are given to Krishna, but the activity itself is to be dedicated for Krishna’s pleasure. In practical terms, a devotee should think: “Krishna is the Master of this enterprise - both of its management as well as the profits - and I am His ordered servant.” (Please see Bg 18.57 Text and purport)
Most certainly there will be practical details that need to be attended to, but they are attended to with this meditation. Interaction with others during the course of business is also done in a way that is pleasing to Krishna. In this way, there would be no possibility of forgetting Krishna.
Practice makes a thing perfect. By practicing in this way consistently, our remembrance of Krishna will become more and more sustained and eventually unbroken.

By Niranjana Swami

I wanted to express my convictions today, not based upon my position as an "authority", but from a personal and open-hearted viewpoint of someone who has had many years of experience in ISKCON. If you see any validity to these years of experience, then maybe when I open my heart to you, it may influence you, in some small way, to understand why I feel that this counselor system is important. I am not here in the capacity of the GBC for Moscow. I've come to realize that hammering from the GBC doesn't open anyone's heart. Frankly, I'm tired of hammering, and therefore I put away my hammer many years ago. If I ever use a hammer again, it will be only to hit a nail. I am not going to hammer on your heads to accept this system, although I may try to open up a few minds, and hopefully some hearts as well. Just before I came here, I was thinking that if I opened my heart first, it might have some influence. I'm therefore just going to express to you why I personally feel it's important to have this counselor system. Continue reading "The Need for Struggling Together to Help Each Other
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ISKCON-Delhi: Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra : 29-01-2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.20.25, spoken by Prthu Maharaja My dear Lord, You are glorified by the selected verses uttered by great personalities. Such glorification of Your lotus feet is just like saffron particles. When the transcendental vibration from the mouths of great devotees carries the aroma of the saffron dust of Your lotus feet, the forgetful living entity gradually remembers his eternal relationship with You. Devotees thus gradually come to the right conclusion about the value of life. My dear Lord, I therefore do not need any other benediction but the opportunity to hear from the mouth of Your pure devotee. [from Srila Prabhupada’s purport:] A pure devotee always engages in the service of the Lord, taking shelter of His lotus feet, and therefore he has a direct connection with the saffron mercy-particles that are strewn over the lotus feet of the Lord. Although when a pure devotee speaks the articulation of his voice may resemble the sound of this material sky, the voice is spiritually very powerful because it touches the particles of saffron dust on the lotus feet of the Lord. As soon as a sleeping living entity hears the powerful voice emanating from the mouth of a pure devotee, he immediately remembers his eternal relationship with the Lord, although up until that moment he had forgotten everything.
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ayusah ksana eko pi
na labhya svarna kotibhih
na cen nirantahakam nitih
ka ca hanis tato dhika

“Одно прошедшее мгновение жизни не вернуть и за миллионы золотых.
Так есть ли потеря большая, чем время, проведенное впустую?”

[Чанакья Пандит]

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Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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The post Gita 12.06 Devotional renunciation centers not on what we renounce but on for whom we renounce appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 15 February 2009)

In Vrindavan, at one point I was the Temple President. It was a very big temple so I never had a peaceful moment! Prabhupada made a rule that the Temple President was to sign off on every cheque that went out of the temple and there were lots of cheques every day. Lots of them and people would come all the time, “Please can you sign this? Please can you sign this?” Sometimes even I was in the shower, they would knock on the door and say, “Please, open up, can you sign this cheque?”

Sometimes I would escape the office and go to Govardhan, it was not far away, about 20 km from the temple and I thought that I would have a spiritual day but then still I would meet people there who would say, “I’ve been looking for you all week! Can you please sign this cheque?”

It was too much. I was thinking that my life had been spoilt. So one day I decided to go for a walk in the fields where no one will find me and I was having a great time walking in the fields and everything was nice! Then met one farmer there, a kind of a simple man.

He said, “Do you see this land? It is my land and the crop that is growing on this land is the best! It is the very best crop!” He was like a child, “Look at my bike, it’s the very best…”
“Really, is this your crop? Oh, it is really nice.”I said just treating him like a child and then he said, “You know, I come here every day for one hour!”

“Really, you come here every day for one hour?” and the farmer replied, “Yes and then I go home and then I do Puja!”

Then I thought, this man isn’t so childish! He works for one hour every day and then the rest of the day, he is doing Puja! And me, I spend my whole day signing cheques! He is simple, probably has a house, two little rooms at most, he probably has several children and they help him do Puja and like that, a simple life, very simple life but actually he has time for spiritual life!

Уттара сказала: О Господь богов, о Господь вселенной! Ты — величайший из мистиков. Умоляю тебя, защити меня, ибо в этом мире двойственности никто, кроме Тебя, не сможет вырвать меня из когтей смерти.

[ Шримад-Бхагаватам 1.8.9 ]

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“Now our PhD’s must collaborate and study the 5th Canto to make a model for building the Vedic Planetarium” proved a mandate from Srila Pabhupada that entered deep into the heart of his disciple Sadaputa dasa, in 1976.  Having received his PhD in Mathematics from Cornell University just two years prior, he would soon be inducted as one of the founding members of Prabhupada’s Bhaktivedanta Institute. In that capacity, he devoted over 30 years researching Vedic perspectives on cosmology and the natural world.

In 2016 ISKCON Youth leaders from around the world came together for the first ever Youth leader Sanga In Mayapur dham. This is an inspirational video for all of you interested in supporting programs for the young devotees from the ISKCON movement.

The Biblical reminder of money and evil, still stands strong today. In the pursuance of profit, lawyers have destroyed justice, and the media has destroyed information. But clearly we need money – to buy groceries, to pay rent, to travel the world… and to do good.

Weekend working bee - 28/29 Jan 2017 (Album with photos)
Christchurch Hare Krishna Centre: This weekend the devotees gathered ...

Ramiya das has been accepted by the Religious and Spiritual Life Network of University of South Florida. This is the closest one can...

By Mukhya Devi Dasi

Recent studies have shown that excessive incense smoke inhalation is on a similar level to inhaling secondary cigarette smoke, it contains volatile compounds which are toxic to the human body. Two members of the ISV congregation went for a physical and the doctor asked them how long they had been smokers. They had never been smokers. Inquiring about their lifestyle he deduced their smoker’s lungs were the result of excessive exposure to incense smoke. He related an article on Buddhist monks who had led a simple pure life being diagnosed with lung cancer and it was discovered this was a result of the exposure to so much incense smoke. A proposed solution, a recommendation, which the deity worship minister concurs is fine, is to offer one stick only or even cut the stick in half or less. And after offering make a place outside and plant it there. But don’t snuff it out after offering. Continue reading "North American Leadership conference 2017
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This man from Nigeria purchased a full set of Srimad-Bhagavatam in Nairobi.

The post Bhagavatam in Nairobi appeared first on Jayadvaita Swami.

By Yamuna Devi Dasi

He was so engaged, so busy, preaching to tens of thousands of people and taking care of our entire Society, yet he personally took charge of my recovery. To this day I become emotional just remembering this. For me it only increased my dedication to see that this small insignificant soul Yamuna was so cared for and nurtured by Srila Prabhupada. In my later challenges, I drew strength and determination from this episode in my devotional life. Another thing I remember about the illness was the loving care of my Godsisters, among them Visakha devi and Chitralekha devi. I felt so grateful to have had not only the care and loving attention of my Spiritual Master, but also my Godsisters. Continue reading "You are too weak to ride on the bus. You will ride in my car!
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By Radhanath Swami

A devotee has given his whole life to serve this mission, and then he becomes very sick. He needs help. He lays sick on the floor “I can't do my service.” And we say, “You are in maya. You are not the body.” “Thank you. Philosophically it's true: I am not this body and I am in maya, but I need your help to get out of maya and transcend this body. I need the love, support and care of a Vaisnava to take me through this.” As a service to all of you, I am offering a brief explanation of how we are attempting to serve the Vaisnavas at the Sri Sri Radha-Gopinatha Mandir, in Mumbai. Continue reading "Caring For Devotees: The Spiritual Counselor System
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Padayatra Andhra Pradesh/telangana On The Road Again (Album with photos)
Visnuswami Dasa: We interrupted our padayatra for about one year, except for a 10-day walk in May 2016 near Yadagirigutta Ashram, located 70 km from Hyderabad. I’m so happy to announce that on January 14th 2017, we started padayatra again from that place with the same team. We first walked with our oxcart to the village of Kacharam and are now heading towards ISKCON Medachal. Ten gurukula boys and my family members participated for a while. We recently bought two new oxen, thanks to the generous donation of Manudas Prabhu, ISKCON Vancouver’s temple president.
Yesterday we were in the village of Kolanpaka and in the evening one priest asked us many questions about ISKCON. He wanted to know the meaning and the aim of ISKCON, if Prabhupada was American or not. One elderly woman offered the Krishna book to her pregnant daughter -in-law. These kinds of happenings make me feel more joyful, and I realize that Padayatra is very useful, because it puts many people in contact with ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada. I now feel very inspired to arrange huge Padayatra programs in the villages like we did last year.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/IaAzPK

Harinam in Tampa, Florida, USA (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The way to get out of illusory maya is to engage in the topics of Krsna. Lord Caitanya advocated a process whereby everyone may remain in his present position without change but simply hear from the proper authoritative sources about Krsna. Lord Caitanya advised everyone to spread the word of Krsna. He advised, “All of you become spiritual masters. Your duty is simply to talk to whomever you meet of Krsna or of the instructions given by Krsna.” The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is operating for this purpose. We do not ask anyone to first change his position and then come to us. Instead, we invite everyone to come with us and simply chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, because we know that if one simply chants and hears the topics of Krsna, one’s life will change; he will see a new light, and his life will be successful. >>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 4.7.44
Find them here: https://goo.gl/FlF9o2

Однажды Ямараджа спросил Махараджу Юдхиштхиру: “Что в этом мире самое удивительное?”
Махараджа Юдхиштхира ответил:

ahany ahani bhutani gacchantiha yamalayam
shishah sthavaram icchanti kim ashcaryam atah param

“Каждое мгновенье сотни, тысячи живых существ встречаются со смертью, тем не менее глупые существа не считают себя смертными и не готовятся к смерти. Это самое удивительное в этом мире”.

[ Махабхарата, Вана-парва 313.116 ]

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