Planet ISKCON

Rukmini Priya Poddar’s book 100 Obscure Emotions, about the complicated variety of feelings in the human experience, and her new illustrated advice column series – currently blowing up social media – are deeply resonating with readers. A second-generation devotee who grew up in the ISKCON community in Alachua, Florida, Rukmini received a B.A. in graphic design from the University of Florida, where she learned to work in digital mediums on logo design and marketing.

On 5^th January 2016, The ISKCON Dar Es Salaam, centre was opened by Gopal Krishna Goswami. A Yagna and Abhishek were performed to please their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. The ceremonies were performed by Seva Atula Das, Radhadyuti Das and Caitanya Visnu Das. Local devotees had travelled from Nairobi to perform Kirtan at the festivals.

2016 was a significant year for Indian Americans in politics. Five Indian Americans, a record number, were elected to U.S. Congress. To celebrate the milestone, fellow members of Congress, dignitaries and supporters, including ISKCON, gathered at the Indiaspora Gala on January 3^rd in Washington, D.C.  The bipartisan event highlighted the increasing significance of the Indian-American community in the country’s political landscape. It also welcomed members of the new administration and allowed new and current members to build relationships and strengthen ties. 

If the opulence or knowledge of many millions of universes were clustered together, they would hardly equal a small fragment of the glory of Krsna's holy name. Krsna's holy name is my life. It is the goal of my life. It is the means I will employ to attain the goal of my life Continue reading "“Giving and Receiving Gifts”
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Chanting for material prosperity?
Q. One of my close friends has stopped chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra saying that since the mantra destroys all material desires, as a grhastha (householder), he needs the material motivation to support his family, and also that chanting the maha-mantra while maintaining material desires is offensive. He has taken to the chanting of Sri Lakshmi Suktam, which awards material prosperity and also indirectly reminds him of Lord Vishnu. How do I explain things properly to him?
Romapada Swami: The grhastha ashrama is an important part of the social structure and has been created by Krishna Himself. If by chanting Hare Krishna everyone will abandon their household life or the prescribed duties connected to it, that would be a great social disturbance and the scriptures would have prescribed that householders should not chant Hare Krishna! But that is not the case; rather, our vaishnava acaryas have sung: grihe thako vane thako sada hari bole dako - “whether you are a grhastha managing the responsibilities of household life, or a sannyasi, always chant Hare Krishna.” Many of our vaishnava acaryas, including Bhaktivinode Thakur and even Srila Prabhupada had their families and were very responsible householders. Thus chanting Hare Krishna is not endangering to one’s worldly duties.
Rather, by chanting the holy names, one gets spiritual motivation and strength, which is far greater than even the impetus of material motivation. By chanting the maha-mantra, one acknowledges the fact that it is ultimately the Supreme Lord who is maintaining us and providing for us. He is the source of all opulences, and the master of Lakshmiji. Then one sees oneself as the instrument through whom the Lord is protecting the other family members, and in that consciousness one can work very hard to serve one’s family members and see them and all one’s possessions as the Lord’s property and mercy, which is the actual fact. Only by working in that consciousness, can one be free from facing the reactions to one’s work. And Lakshmiji will automatically bless that person who has accepted Her Lord as his master also, just as when Sudama offered Krishna whatever he had, Rukmini was so much obliged that she made him prosperous without any endeavor.
In other words, the mahamantra purifies the heart of all material desires, but that does not necessarily mean that one has to abandon his family or duties connected to family life.
Regarding the consideration of offense in having material desires, Srimad Bhagavatam also mentions that whether one is full of material desires, desirous of liberation or has no desires, one who is broad-minded should worship the Supreme Lord, because He is ultimately the Supreme Master of all. (Cf. SB 2.3.2-10) That is the duty of all, and by worshiping the Supreme Lord, gradually the heart will be cleansed of all misconceptions.

Srila Prabhupada recommends that we prepare ourselves for death by training our minds to constantly remember the Lord and His holy names. We should become capable of continuously remembering the Lord, even amidst the disturbances of a rapidly deteriorating body. Such training includes chanting the holy names in our minds, a practice that comes easily to one who has practiced attentive chanting throughout his or her life. In his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.18.4, Srila Prabhupada writes: By scientific adoption [of the process of devotional service], one is able to remember the Lord even at the end of life, when the power of remembrance is slackened due to derangement of bodily membranes. For a common man, it is very difficult to remember things as they are at the time of death, but by the grace of the Lord and His bona fide devotees, the spiritual masters, one can get this opportunity without difficulty. Continue reading "Preparing For The Final Exam
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Russian Yoga Lecturer Escapes Penalty in Sign of Good Karma. Russia’s yoga lovers can sigh in relief today, following a judge’s decision in St. Petersburg to throw out the case against Dmitry Ugai, a man tied to a Krishna group charged with illegal missionary work for lecturing on the spiritual roots of yoga. “The case is closed due to the absence of any administrative offense,” the court ruled, according to the Interfax news agency. Ugai was detained during a spiritual festival in October after giving a lecture in which he said that yoga “was more than just a series of exercises” and was “rooted in religion.” He was taken to a police station and held for several hours with no explanation before being told to sign a blank confession, he told The Moscow Times earlier.

Frustration gives way to illumination during one extraordinary night in the life of a prostitute. While prostitutes are often depicted negatively in traditional literature, some religious texts depict them positively as testimonies to the transformational potency of divine grace. Thus, in the Gospel is found a story of a prostitute (considered by some to be Mary Magdalene) who was redeemed by Jesus. In Gaudiya Vaishnava literature such as the Chaitanya Charitamrita comes the story of the saint Haridasa Thakura, who delivered a prostitute who had been commissioned to orchestrate his fall. Continue reading "What a saint learned from a prostitute
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Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 September 2016, Durban, South Africa, Nama-hatta Lecture)

The temple is the home of Krsna! It is also the Holy Dhama and the spiritual world. The scriptures say that Krsna does not descend alone but he brings along the entire spiritual world. This is not so simple to see. Only the very saintly personalities can see this.

Saints are interesting people. Over the years, I have spent a lot of time reading about saintly persons and how they have happiness within that does not depend on external things – not dependent on the weather or profit or health. They are extraordinary in this way that they are not affected by the external.

For centuries, all over the world in different traditions, saintly personalities have emerged who have great conviction as they have realised God within the heart – they walk in this world but they exist in another dimension, in the spiritual dimension. Scripture also discusses the other dimension; it is called Vaikunta; a place devoid of anxiety.

*Notes taken during the lecture

Karuna Bhavan in Lesmahagow, Scotland is a community of Hare Krishna devotees teaching the Vedic philosophy and lifestyle as instructed by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement. A film by Vrsabhanu dasa (Fergus Brady).

A video by ISKCON Cinema.

The eco farm is run by Bhakti yogis. Director Vaishnava Das studied natural building at the California Institute of Earth architecture, while his wife, coordinator Draupadi Dasi, worked as an ecological anthropologist. “I’m very interested in Srila Prabhupada’s vision of long-term sustainability – working with the land, and growing food,” says retreat co-organizer Hita Karina, a second-generation devotee and yoga teacher from Alachua, Florida. “And Vaishnava and Draupadi are not only living that life, but teaching it too.”

Russia’s yoga lovers can sigh in relief today, following a judge’s decision in St. Petersburg to throw out the case against Dmitry Ugai, a man tied to a Krishna group charged with illegal missionary work for lecturing on the spiritual roots of yoga.

In the Dallas temple, before the devotees and the Deities in early 1983, H.H. Tamal Krsna Goswami read out a letter from Srila Prabhupada: "My dear Tamal, the temple is likened to a military training camp where persons come and are trained as soldiers. After being trained they are sent out into the field to live an ideal devotee life preaching and living by example, or they remain in the temples to serve in one of many varieties of service. Those who are not strong enough to live outside the temple maintaining sadhana they can remain in the temple till such a time." (I was there during this reading.) Long before coming to the west, Srila Prabhupada asked his Guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati if it would be okay for him to move into the temple ashram. His Guru told him not to move into the temple, as at that time there were a lot of problems, politics, etc., amongst his disciples. It was better to live outside and practice Krsna consciousness and in time all would be revealed. I present such examples because some devotees are disturbed when asked to move out of the temples. In a class given by Srila Prabhupada titled "weapons by mantra, and gopis have highest pleasure," Srila Prabhupada quotes this verse by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: "Every one of you become guru, and deliver; please let people understand what is Krsna." No mention that one needs to remain living in a temple ashram. Continue reading "The importance of reading
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Albert Einstein had the insight to observe that two things were infinite: [1] Human stupidity and [2] The cosmos. But he wasn’t too sure about the second one.. There was one sagely looking fellow, a Mr. Darwin, who when analyzing the complexities of an eye, saw the absurdity of his own evolution theory, but has to his credit, convinced of the subsequent need to institutionalize his theory in school text books worldwide. When our children go to school to be indoctrinated with the thesis that we are just walking mechanistic soul-less bags of chemicals, which yell ouch! when its c-fibers are firing, being mere units of stardust hurtling mindlessly through outer space for no reason whatsoever, except through the velocity of the fateful detonation at the beginning of time, a nasty trend is set. Continue reading "Schooling In The Realm Of Stupidity
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Through their inspired and enlightening writings, the world can now drink deeply at the inexhaustible fountain of truth of Gaura-vani, His perfect theistic revelations. Although amply confirmed in many Vedic scriptures, His divinity has been further demonstrated through the amazing lives and pure character of His many Godly followers, full of compassion and dedication to the salvation of all souls. These rare souls perfectly embody Sri Caitanya's divine sentiment of audharya, of God's intense desire to uplift all mankind. They were thus empowered to reveal for our supreme benefit the full scope and depth of Mahaprabhu's sublime teachings, encompassing all aspects of God's transcendental activities (divya-lila). Their brilliant elaborations on His divine instructions culminate in their thorough expositions on the glorious intricacies of divine love (prema-vilasa), thus resolving one of mankind's great dilemnas and mysteries, as to who is God and what does He do. Continue reading "Gaura-vani: God’s greatest gift
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Lord Krishna’s Renunciation.
Q: Since Lord Krishna is the actual beneficiary of our results, why is Krishna known to be a renounced person?
Romapada Swami: Krishna is known as Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word Bhagavan is defined in the Visnu Purana by Parasara Muni as one who is full in all six opulences— full strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty, and renunciation.
In BG 9.9-10, Krsna mentions that the material manifestation is created and annihilated merely by His Supreme will. In the purport Srila Prabhupada explains that the Supreme Lord, although aloof from all the activities of the material world, nonetheless remains the universal supreme director. Similarly, although His position is the enjoyer or beneficiary of all Vedic sacrifices, He is ever detached, since He is already full within Himself. The acts of sacrifice actually benefit the observer of dharma; they become cleansed of the contamination of material contact! How? By contacting Krishna, the Supreme Pure, through their act of sacrifice.
Also in the Purport of BG 18.78, Srila Prabhupada states Krsna’s acceptance of the post of charioteer for Arjuna was an exhibition of Krsna’s opulence of renunciation. Although Krsna is full of all six opulences, at the same time He exhibits the highest renunciation by sometimes taking a subordinate position to His dear most devotees, or by sometimes detaching Himself from his loving associates in Vrndavana.

Boxing with the mind.
Boxers meet in a ring and fight each other for a set number of “rounds.” Each round lasts three minutes and each fight (called a “bout”) features up to twelve rounds.
As a round begins, an official rings a bell and the fighters come out of their corners, touch gloves, and then begin boxing. Artfully dancing about, jabbing at one another with their gloves, each fighter seeks to gain an advantage.
Often in a bout, one of the fighters wins by a “knockout” when he catches his challenger off guard and lands a decisive punch on his opponent’s chin.

Before this morning’s japa, I shook hands with my mind and then we faced off in the japa ring, exchanging hooks, jabs, feints, crosses and combinations.

Wary of my mind’s tricks, I kept my defenses up, constantly bringing my attention back to the maha-mantra even as my adversary tried hard to knock me off my asana and to drag me away from my chanting.

In Bhagavad-gita the greatest of fighters, Arjuna, says:

“For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.” (Bg. 6.34)

Krsna agrees with Arjuna, but says the mind can be overcome:

“Lord Sri Krsna said: O mighty-armed son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.” (Bg. 6.35

Remembering the words of Krsna and Arjuna, I gained optimism – despite a slow start – and continued to chant, even as I faced a most potent rival.

My resolve paid off at the beginning of the eighth round when I caught an auspicious break and suddenly scored a decisive punch, sending my counterpart mind reeling against the ropes.

Mesmerized by the constant volley of mantras and intimidated by my grit, my mind had momentarily lowered his guard, letting one very clear maha-mantra come sailing through. The mantra knocked him back several steps.

Stunned by the power of the holy name, my mind staggered on wobbly knees and he never recovered as my chanting continued with even more enthusiasm.

Although he had a reputation of being unbeatable, my mind had succumbed to the power of the holy name and, triumphantly, I won the round and the bout by a knockout.

Hare Krsna!

Tips for fighters:

Stay in the ring and fight.

Scripture recommends that we stay in the japa ring, no matter what. That is, one should keep on chanting even when (or especially when) the going gets rough.

Padma Purana states: “Even if one chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra offensively, one can eventually overcome offenses by continuously chanting without deviation …”

In other words, even if your chanting is imperfect or you feel uninspired you should go on chanting your rounds. At some point, you will utter a mantra in nama-bhasa (the clearing stage) and you’ll get a special taste that will inspire your chanting and all other aspects of your spiritual life.
Study and know your opponent, the mind, before entering the japa ring.
Don’t take your eyes off your opponent, the mind, thinking that he’s neutralized or insignificant.
Cultivate knowledge about the power of chanting the holy names and associate with those who have a strong taste for chanting.
Chanting japa of the holy names is serious business. Like a prizefighter, one must stay in good spiritual shape so that one can enter each round of japa with dexterity and determination.
Vaisesika Das

Rūpa Goswāmī, and practically every ācārya in the history of the world, makes it very clear that we need “good association” if we want to make progress in spiritual life. The principle is very simple and universal. If you want to get more involved in Soccer (to pick any example), then hang around with people who love it and play it – the rest happens naturally.

But hanging out with people into Soccer can also turn you off to Soccer, if those people happen to be incompatible with you, or have an angle on Soccer very different from the one you have, or perhaps really aren’t all that good at Soccer after all.

Many people feel like they have to be dependent on social groups like ISKCON, even when much of what happens in and around those groups is distasteful, disturbing, and discouraging. “But, I need the saṅga,” we say.

The truth is, you don’t.

You don’t need a social life to attain samādhi. You don’t need a social life to fall in love with someone, either – even Krishna.

You do need the association of someone who is in the samādhi of love for Krishna. But you don’t need a social network or social group or institution of people.

In Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu, Rūpa Gosvāmī clearly explains what type of “association” we need:

1. sajātiya – there has to be practical compatibility, and spiritual compatibility as well
2. snigdha – there has to be natural, simple, plain-old affection and liking
3. āśraya – there has to be genuine advancement

First seek even one person who has genuine depth of bhakti for Krishna (which you should measure by how much you feel love of Krishna in their presence, and you can detect more in the tone of their voice, and the nature of their words, rather than in a checklist of things like “four regs” and “fourty thousand additional requirements for bonafidity.”) The association of hundreds of people who aren’t really all that good at Soccer, or aren’t really into the game itself, who just like it for an excuse to get rowdy and drink beer, that kind of “association” is worse that associating with people who have no connection at all to Krishna, because it turns us off to the subject (be it Soccer or Krishna).

Out of those few you can find who have some palpable amount of genuine bhakti, then look for the still more few who have the same basic angle on Krishna consciousness as you do (i.e. an Advanced Viṣṇu Bhakta is great for someone else who seeks Śānti, but isn’t such special saṅga for someone who longs for Vraja Prema), and who also come from the same basic practical background as you (this makes communication so much easier). And, most importantly, there should be a natural, spontaneous affection between you and the person.

If you find even one or two or three people like this, you have hit the jackpot. That is your sādhu-saṅga.

Sanga is not a “large group.” Sanga is intimate.

Sure you also have needs for socializing. So go to a Soccer game or something. Socialize to socialize. Remember, regular people are not poison – though the cult-versions of Krishna consciousness have certainly tried their best to brainwash this idea into us. Hang out with regular people if you need some regular social interaction, and regular sense gratification, etc. etc. Hang out with a real sādhu to get serious, real, significant spiritual advancement.

The sky doesn’t need a hundred suns. One more than suffices. Similarly, for sādhu-saṅga we don’t need to hold a “fest”.

-Vraja Kishor

www.vrajakishor.com

Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Untitled Lecture)

In the age of kali, the general populace consists of two kinds of people – animals and hypocrites. Animals that are the blatantly degraded ones and hypocrites act as if they are not degraded but actually are! These are the only two classes of people will we can find in this age. Hypocrites walk around in nicely polished suits and with their snobbish noses are looking down on others that are so degraded but they too engage in so many sinful activities, hidden and secretly.

So without Krsna consciousness there is no question of not being sinful, it is not possible! One will be implicated just by social custom and social practice. Therefore in this way, everyone is on a sinful platform.

Early this morning, when they served breakfast on the plane just before we landed in Frankfurt I had a close-up smell and look at everyone being sinful. It was intense! At 4:30 instead of mangala arati there were all kinds of non-vegetarian items surrounding me! It was gross! People start the day plunging into these things thinking that it is perfectly normal!

TOVP: Entrance of the Temple room. Marble work started. (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: Hare Krishna!
The marble work s...

Fortunate People: TOP15 MANTRA CHART (5 min video)
Chant for Love & Peace!
Fortunate people invites everybody to join this unique loving network and chant for change!
We want to see Love and Peace all over the world!
Please chant the great Maha-Mantra to bring auspiciousness to the globe!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Wfe236

Traveling and preaching in New Zealand South Island (Album with photos)
Dharmatma Das: The second part of our tour on the South Island was even more amazing than the first. We started in Queenstown, a beautiful lake centered city surrounded by the majestic Southern Alps. The locals and many tourists chanted, danced and took books. Then a series of small towns surprised the heck out of us. People came out of nowhere at the sound the the Holy Names echoing down the empty streets. Some of us did more books than in the larger towns. Then there were drives through some of the most stunnjing and beautiful natural scenery that I’ve ever experienced. No wonder so many Movie Productions come here to film. Towering mountains, beautiful valleys, huge surf along the endless shoreline and mile after mile of orchards and farm land. The Lords Holy Names resounded throughout all of it. Special thanks to Jahnava Mata, Prahlad Nrisimha and all the devotees who organized and facilitated us along the way. You are the best! And thank you Srila Prabhupada for giving us the opportunity to assist you in our small way.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/0jFOcK

On 5th January 2016, The ISKCON Dar Es Salaam, centre was opened by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja. A Yagna and Abhishek were performed to please their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. The ceremonies were performed by H.G Seva Atula Das, H.G Radhadyuti Das and H.G Caitanya Visnu Das. Local devotees had travelled from Nairobi to perform Kirtan at the festivals. H.G Umapatti describes the scene” The people of Dar are very simple; most people live in the city. They respect a lot. Very easy to preach. With 50% population being followers of the Muslim tradition and the other 50% Christians still there is so much support, even when we go Harinam they chant and dance.” Continue reading "The Jewel is rising – A new center opening in East Africa
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Looking at the ruins of what we’ve been calling until recently Western civilization, I can say that the mankind is illogical and irrational. Led by misguided and selfish leaders, people themselves planned and led their existence to its end, such as we knew it. How come we got here? Couldn’t the ruination of our world be prevented? Couldn’t any of the world leaders  remember the bitter lessons of the millenary  bloody history of mankind? And why the progress of material science and modern technology, which reached unimaginable levels, didn’t help human beings to rise above the lower animal instincts, constrained to eating, sleeping, mating and self-defense and to bestow upon the world the so desirable peace and prosperity? Ever since our birth we’ve been forced to accept the body as our true self. All around us (relatives, scientists, teachers, politicians) persistently lead us to believe that we are a product of matter. Life is a happy coincidence of a combination of material elements, which have caused our existence. And since it has appeared out of nothing, our life has no other meaning and is intended only to satisfy our senses and the senses of our close family members. Those striving for material happiness generally believe they can find the enjoyment they seek in sex and that they can purchase freedom with money. This conviction is constantly being fueled by all the propaganda machine of material culture – the cinema, the television, the Internet, which suggests that we are nothing more than evolved animals. And because no one in the material world actually obtains lasting happiness, everyone becomes frustrated and is forced by unfulfilled lust to compete for whatever enjoyable things are to be obtained. So western material civilization with its predatory policy and frenzied consumerist ideology has come to its logical end. Where do we turn now? Continue reading "Bhagavad Gita As It Is – foundation for peace and happiness of the world
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Finding Help in the Bhagavad-gita.
Jayapataka Swami: The Bhagavad-gita now has readers all over the world. Krishna personally came down from the spiritual world & gave His teachings of Bhagavad Gita As It Is. In this material world there are many situations. People are in great stress & suffering. There is a forest fire of illusion & by this mercy given through the books they are free from that burning fire. People are suffering in so many ways and they don’t know which way to turn. Srila Prabhupada has given us the way, so that the people can find the solution, they can be peaceful & happy. This is the great mercy that Srila Prabhupada has given.
——-
The image outlines some difficult situations faced by people and how they can find help in the Bhagavad-gita. This is just a spark of the splendor Bhagavad-gita has to offer to mankind.

[Talk at Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Mumbai]

Answer Podcast

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