Planet ISKCON

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Will you exercise or exorcise the demands of the senses?
In the Gita, Krsna says that only one who is free from sinful life can engage in His service with determination:
“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.” (Bg. 7.28)
Souls conditioned by material nature become used to obeying the demands of the senses.
One Vaisnava poet has compared the senses and their unhealthy demands to “bad masters.”

One who takes seriously to spiritual life must learn to tolerate the impulses of the senses, for by doing so the practitioner gradually becomes peaceful and gains the power to focus his or her mind on the supreme.

On the other hand, those who continually surrender to misdirected sense impulses eventually become addicted to obeying them. A person afflicted by addiction finds it nearly impossible to override the sense impulses with his or her intelligence.

Therefore Krsna recommends, “… in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.” (Bg. 3.41)

It is helpful to note that when one tolerates the impulses of the senses, the impulses gradually go out of the body, mind and senses; and they don’t come back (as long as one does not re-stimulate them).

A human being, equipped with knowledge from the Bhagavad-gita may make the wise choice to regulate and control the senses.

Others without such knowledge, who continue to entertain material desires, are obligated to rotate in the cycle of birth and death.

Fortify and spiritualize your intelligence each day by chanting Hare Krsna with attention, reading Bhagavad-gita, and accepting good association.

Following such an auspicious path, one gradually rises to the position of nistha, or steadiness in spiritual life.

In human life, we have the choice to exercise or exorcise the urges of the senses.

Krsna Himself implores Arjuna (and all of use) to choose the later:

“Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Krsna consciousness] and thus—by spiritual strength-conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust. (Bg. 3.43)
Vaisesika Das

Maha Nectar in Auckland, New Zealand (Album with photos)
When Sri Krishna brought the Maha-Mantra, He did not just bring it so ...

The phrase I often use in my consulting work is “I hear the words but do not see the behaviour”. That phrase would be absolutely obliterated here because they do exactly as they say. They are rooted in simplicity and never veer from it, staying steadfast in their values. I think more than a few companies would do well to take a page out of the Hare Krishna book because too often a business’s values are blurred with little adherence to them! We had a chance to engage with a local (non-Hare Krishna) couple who visit the temple on a weekly basis with their young child to embrace the food and ambiance. This led me to realise something. Coming from a corporate background where companies are paying thousands to find out how to engage people, it was really interesting speaking to the Hare Krishnas and learning about their beliefs and takes on life and people. Continue reading "Crushing Misconceptions At Krishna Village In Australia
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George Harrison Concert. Soul Expressions Christmas Party. The P.M's Faith Advisor. Student Explore Science of Spirituality. Children's Mitzvah Day. The Chief Rabbi. Bulgarian TV. DEVI raises funds for MacMillan Cancer. A Truly Multi-Cultural Wedding. Musical Ramayan at the Watford Palace Theatre. Justice Service. Ladies Sabbatical. London Schools Study the Gita. Remembering Tribhuvananth Prabhu. BBC Young Dancer. Gita Jayanti. Govardhana Eco Village. The Final Offering for ISKCON 50. Community welcomes in New Year Continue reading "News and updates from the Bhaktivedanta Manor community
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His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj gave Sunday feast class in Cape Town on 15th January 2017. Maharaj pointed out how we should understand the importance of the Vedic wisdom and try to take the teachings to our heart.  

The post “Take Spiritual Wisdom to Your Heart” – Sunday Feast Class at Cape Town appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of December 2016. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5 Continue reading "NASN December 2016 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
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Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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I don’t think I quite believed in God until I had a trans-rectal prostate gland biopsy. The experience made me a believer. Well, I had to shout out to someone for help.

There are parts of the body that our Creator did not design to be investigated with cameras, let alone 12 needles. I will say no more.

Good news indeed, then, that a breakthrough has been made on the prostate cancer diagnosis front. It may save many men from having to go through the unpleasant experience, especially the 27% of men that didn’t actually need it.

More importantly, it will help to save lives if the diagnosis is less invasive, since men of a certain age tend to be doctor-phobic at just the wrong time of life.

Breakthrough news here.

On my recent visit to New Varshana in Auckland, I had the opportunity to associate with my godbrothers, Janananda Maharaja, Mahavisnu Maharaja and Darmatma Prabhu.

One day there was a celebration of Janananda Maharaja’s Vyasapuja and many disciples and other devotees attended.

I was given a chance to offer my respect and appreciation of Maharaja’s dedicated service and wonderful qualities over the long years that I have known him.

Delhi Class.

Chanting Only.
Question: Is it possible to go back to the spiritual world just chanting the Mahamantra without accepting diksa from a spiritual master?
Romapada Swami: As described in Caitanya Caritamrita, to chant the holy name of the Lord one need not depend upon other paraphernalia or practices, for one can immediately get all the desired results of linking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It may therefore be questioned why there is a necessity for initiation or further spiritual activities in devotional service for one who engages in the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The answer is that although it is correct that one who fully engages in chanting the holy name need not depend upon the process of initiation, generally a devotee is addicted to many abominable material habits due to material contamination from his previous life due to which one is not able to chant the Holy Name without offenses.
Unless one is on the platform of Sukadeva Goswami, one requires diksa. Even in Sukadeva’s case, although fully realized in Brahman with no attraction for anything material [SB 1.7.9], he took the position of sisya to learn SB from Vyasadeva. See SB 2.1.8 “At the end of the Dvapara-yuga, I studied this great supplement of Vedic literature named Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is equal to all the Vedas, from my father, Srila Dvaipayana Vyasadeva.”
Kripa-siddhi is also possible.
Both of these are exceptions to the rule.
In the purport to the verse where Arjuna accepts Krishna as His spiritual master (Bg. 2.7), Srila Prabhupada describes how in this material world, there is perplexity in every step and this behooves one to approach a spiritual master. Arjuna was in total despair and confusion about his duty and what is best for him.
Similarly, by arrangement, the conditioned soul repeatedly finds himself/herself in the midst of perplexities, bewilderment and despondency. Srila Prabhupada also explains the culmination of all these repeated fleeting problems are the insurmountable problems of repeated birth and death.
One, therefore, needs the guidance of a Spiritual Master from whom one can inquire about the ultimate solution to all these problems, and to inquire into the subject of the Absolute Truth.
Specific to diksa, the initiation ceremony, far from being merely a colorful ritual, is a necessity for genuine spiritual life. Although everyone, even if not initiated, is encouraged to chant Hare Krsna and will receive spiritual benefit if he does so, unless one is initiated by a genuine spiritual master he will not receive the spiritual strength to remain steady in chanting Hare Krsna Mahamantra and following spiritual principles, and after some time he may slide down again to material consciousness. The non-initiate is sometimes compared to a student who is allowed to sit in on a professor’s class but who has not officially registered for the course. Although such a student may benefit by auditing the class, he must formally join the class if he wishes to receive college credit. Similarly, only when one is initiated does he become eligible for the full benefits of Krsna consciousness, for then his link to Krsna is established, through his own spiritual master and all the great spiritual masters of the past. Then, by implicit faith in his own spiritual master and in Lord Krsna, all the truths of the Vedic literature are revealed to him. This is the path for the serious candidate on the path of spiritual perfection.

TOVP: Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasasana 2017 Update (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada, our beloved Founder Acarya gave the priceless gem of Krishna consciousness to the world. He is the touchstone for millions of lives, the benefactor of the International society for Krishna Consciousness, and the very fountainhead of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
For his pleasure, we have created an exquisite design for the Vyasasana which will be located directly facing the altars, with an unhindered view of the Guru Parampara, Panchattatva and Radha Madhava inside the TOVP.

The Asana will rest on elephants carved out of Marble. They are symbolic of strength and alluring purity. It is flanked on either side by wooden or marble lions that symbolise courage and the majesty that steers Earth-bound people towards the eternal sanctuary of the Lord.

The entire asana will be sheltered by a wooden Shikhara supported by 4 wooden columns. To add to the grandeur, they will have gold gilding. The backdrop will have exquisite intricate marble carvings inspired by the traditional Gaudiya Vaisnava tilak. The Asana can be accessed through pure white marble steps on all three sides, to make offerings to Srila Prabhupada.

This complex configuration has been meticulously conceptualized by the designers and engineers to arrive at a very stable, sustainable structure, supported by Stainless Steel framework, which will prop up the rest of the structure.

As depicted in the picture, this marks yet another milestone in the history of the making of the TOVP, where the substructure of the Asana is taking shape as a throne for our revered and beloved Founder Acharya.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tgndBo

Most devotees’ lives and views on devotional service change as their ashram changes. When several devotees pass through ashram changes at approximately the same time-or even if one respected devotee within a temple changes his ashram-a temple can become affected. My writing down these developmental stages, which is similar for both individual devotees and temples (If the majority of devotees within a temple are in a similar ashram situation, it can be said that that temple is at that particular stage of development.), does not seem revolutionary, for these stages have been perceived and acted upon over the years by many experienced ISKCON leaders. The goal of this paper is to assist leaders in becoming more aware of these stages, and their ramifications, so they may more effectively guide individuals under their care and guide temples to grow into mature, thriving communities. Continue reading "Ashram Changes and Temple Development
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I first came to know about ISKCON in Pune at around 1998. My sister informed me about the ISKCON temple on the Janmashtami day. First time when I saw the temple structure from outside I felt that it's not a traditional temple which is seen in India. That was confirmed when I went inside the temple as to see the devotional attitude and energy in the temple was just fantastic. Till that point I had not seen so much devotional energy anywhere else. All the devotees chanting and dancing in ecstacy in the Gaura Arati - Yes, that was what I witnessed first! Though then I did'nt know what Gaura Arati is and who Lord Gaurachandra is? Then I went to Govindadwipa and was amazed by the beauty of the island of Govinda and another amazing thing was all the western devotees (!!!) up at 4.30 am in the morning, wearing dhotis and singing the Guruvashtaka (I did'nt know it was Guruvashtaka then!) with full devotion to Radha-Govinda Continue reading "The greatest fortune of knowing ISKCON
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In September 1969. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya (spiritual master) of the Hare Krsna movement, arrived as a house guest at Tittenhurst Park, the beautiful eighty-acre British estate owned by John Lennon. Three or four times a week, the Swami, who later became known to the world as Srila Prabhupada, gave public lectures in a tall, stately building at the northern end of the property a hundred yards from the main house, in which John and Yoko lived. The building had been formerly used as a hall for chamber-music recitals, but now several of Srila Prabhupada's disciples, who resided along with him in a block of guest houses on the property, installed a small Deity altar and a podium for Srila Prabhupada. The building never really had a name, but after Srila Prabhupada's arrival, everyone called it "the Temple." They still call it "the Temple" today, and except for the recent addition of an enormous crimson-and-gold pipe organ nearly covering the towering west wall, it exists unchanged, now surrounded by a recording-studio complex owned by Ringo Starr. On September 14, John, Yoko, and George Harrison, after enjoying an Indian vegetarian meal prepared by the devotees at the Temple, walked over to Srila Prabhupada's quarters for their first meeting. Continue reading "Chanting for Liberation
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Bhakti Charu Swami glorifies his godbrother His Grace Medhavi Prabhu on his Vyas Puja celebration in Cape Town on 14th January 2017.

The post Bhakti Charu Swami Glorifies Medhavi Prabhu (ACBSP) appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

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)

Prabhupada wrote so many books and some people never read much more than a Whatsapp message! They never get around to finishing the Bhagavatam.

Even after nine years in Krsna consciousness, they are still reading the ninth chapter of the first canto. If they go at this pace of one chapter a year then they might not make it because Bhagavatam has something like 355 chapters, which means you would have to become 355 years old, which is maybe not going to happen and in that case, you might never finish the Bhagavatam!

What happens then… are you then lost forever? Fortunately not. When we hear Bhagavatam from those who have read Bhagavatam and particularly from the great self-realized souls who have read Bhagavatam, they will tell us the essence of Bhagavatam.

From the beginning, Ananda-Lila was enchanted by Indian and Vaishnava clothing, and wanted some for her daughters Jamuna, 10, and Tulasi Priya, 2. But she had never been to India, and it was hard to find something comfortable, attractive and natural. So she began designing her own clothes for her children, to match with hers. Others wanted in too, and a unique new company was born. She called it “Mata and Me”.

In 1998 the CIA ended its research into the intelligence-gathering and espionage potential of ‘remote viewing.’ It had been running since 1973. The research was to study the ability of certain people to see pictures and objects at a distance – without using their eyes. 25 years is a long time for a government agency to investigate what many called a ‘spurious psychic phenomenon.’

A quarter of a century suggests that someone, somewhere, thought it was indeed worth investigating, and that the results from laboratories such as Stanford, one of the universities where the remote viewing was conducted, was actually coming up with tangible results.

Typically a ‘psychic’ would be asked to describe, or reproduce, a drawing being made by a ‘target’ at a remote location. There was no prior contact between them, and no connections at all during the experiment. Yet the results were remarkable, with detailed drawings made in the lab that accurately reproduced the original. The repeated observatory powers of the laboratory psychics seemed to suggest to the scientists that the power of the mind to see is not limited by the eyes.

But how could that be? The working model for neurologists is that the mind is a function of the brain, and that the power of sight is therefore limited to direct perception of an object through the medium of light waves entering the eye. That being so, the results of ‘remote-viewing’ should have been statistically random. But they weren’t. In many cases the experiments showed that the psychics could ‘see’ with startling accuracy.

One such person, it has just been revealed, was the spoon-bending Uri Geller, whose story of CIA-sponsored experiments can now be told.

When we persevere, we progress both materially and spiritually. Materially, we do greater justice to our God-given talents and make tangible contributions in this world. And spiritually, we rise in our consciousness and come closer to Krishna and the unending happiness thereof.

What messages are we teaching our children? Jay Ghanashyam Shetty explains what messages we should give to them.

In computer parlance a program is defined as a set of step by step instructions given to get the desired output. Usually, even though the program is written perfectly, since the computer just does what is being told in the program, it does not have the intelligence to identify if the user is giving a meaningful input or not. Hence the commonly used term GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out) came in vogue. It means that that quality of output depends on the quality of input. If we give the right kind of input, then the output will be as expected. But if we give abnormal (Garbage) data as input, then the output will also be Garbage. So it is upto us to ensure that we know what is our goal and then provide the input accordingly. Lord Krishna has already given a spiritual program to us in the form of Bhagavad Gita with all the instructions of how to lead a life in the material world. Our only aim should be to follow the instructions AS IT IS. The Lord's program is absolutely perfect. We have to have utmost faith in the Lord's instructions and abide by it with all sincerity. Continue reading "Garbage In Garbage Out
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This is a traditional Gaudiya Vaisnava song, composed by Srila Narottama Das Thakura. Music and performance by Dr. Sahadeva Das.

Long, before the advent of Islam, even as early as the third millennium BCE, India had cultural bonds with the Mesopotamian civilization, now the region of Iraq and Iran.  As explained by N. N. Bhattacharya, there are plenty of references to establish a very close contact between India and the Islamic world.

Since Donald Trump’s victory in last year’s election, many Christians became convinced he was chosen by God to be president even though he hardly fits their mold of a virtuous leader.

"Mathura-vasa to reside at Mathura or Vrndavana." So we must become a resident of Vrndavana. We must realize that Vrndavana is our home. Now you are in Czech republic and I am in New Govardhana, Australia. But part of us is always in Vrndavana, because Vrndavana is our home. We are now far away from home in foreign countries Czech or Australia, and even although it may be very nice at times still how can we be fully satisfied it is just not like Vrndavana, being in a foreign country we are always feeling the desire to go back to home. In my passport my "place of residence" is written as: "Vrndavana", I feel quite good about that and consider it auspicious and I hope it will bring me back to that Holy land. No one in Vrndavana, nor man, nor animal ever steps on the footprints of Krsna, which are decorating the fine Yamuna sand. "Its great branches extending from one side to the other, a banyan tree is like a bridge across the Yamuna. Playing on that bridge, again and again the cowherd boys cross from one side to the other". "In one place it had a hollow like a palace. In another place it had a delightful branch like a couch. In another place was a vine-covered branch like a swing. What pastime-place did that banyan tree not provide for Lord Krsna?" Gopal Campu 1.84-85 How can I ever forget Vrndavana? Continue reading "How to keep one’s relationship with Vrndavana
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1. Preaching without trying to understand people's needs and interests 2. Continuing to speak without determining if people are understanding or accepting what you are saying 3. Not paying attention when people talk 4. Interrupting people when they talk 5. Not letting people talk 6. Speaking in a dogmatic way rather than making a logical and scientific presentation 7. Introducing or speaking elaborately on a very elevated subject that people may not be able to understand 8. Introducing or getting stuck on controversial topics 9. Compromising the truth to speak palatably 10. Not compromising the truth, yet not speaking in a way to get people to accept 11. Not giving enough preliminary explanation on a subject 12. Not relating the subject to people’s practical lives Continue reading "Preaching Mistakes I Have Made or Have Seen Other’s Make
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Music by Gadabhrit Das, featuring Anjavati Dasi.

An ambitious new ninety-minute documentary film about the life of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada is set to be released in June this summer, and will be a historic event. It will be released in art theaters in twenty key cities throughout the U.S. beginning with the Village East Theater in New York City, just ten blocks from 26 2^nd Avenue, where ISKCON began.

Music Video - Hari Haraye Namaha (9 min video)
Dr Sahadeva dasa: This is a well known traditional Gaudiya Vaisnava song, composed by Srila Narottama Das Thakura.

New Releases from the Bhaktivedanta Archives.
The Bhaktivedanta Archives is pleased to offer two new releases:
1) The VedaBase™ 2017 update.
2) Original unedited audio of Śrīla Prabhupāda for the year 1970.
The 2017 VedaBase™ update includes:
a) 1970 Reverified Against Original Audio
b) The Māyāpur-Vṛndāvana Festivals with Śrīla Prabhupāda (1972–77) by Lokanāth Swami
c) In Conversation with Śrīla Prabhupāda, Contexts and Contemplations. by Lokanāth Swami
d) “These books are the law-books for the next ten thousand years.” by Śrutikīrti dāsa
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/3M0odJ

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Untitled Lecture)

Sometimes, we get so caught up in external practices that we are still not remembering Krsna – we wear tilak for years, we hear and chant for years, we serve in a temple and yet we are not really thinking of Krsna as our first priority. Every day, we hear in a lecture how Krsna is the ultimate goal and how he is the priority but still we have so many other considerations – our position in the temple, how people are dealing with us, where do I fit, how am I going to be part of it all and so on rather than just remembering that our priority is Krsna!

The material world is an unreliable place! You never know, just when everything seems to be nicely arranged then suddenly something happens, the whole thing gets turned upside down, and the unexpected comes. What can we say, this is the nature of the material world!

Other times we are in a predictable routine. Prabhupada was explaining one verse which describes how a person is serving the senses, how a person is dedicating his life to his master, the senses, but neither the senses nor the person are satisfied. This is the nature of the material world we are serving that we are not satisfied and it will always be like this until we serve Krsna, until we become absorbed in serving Krsna, until Krsna is first. For the rest, you never know what is going to happen, there is no perfect material situation!

So in spiritual life even when we have a nice arrangement of living in a temple, if we don’t put Krsna first then we can cheat ourselves of a whole lifetime of what we think is Krsna consciousness! Actually we are still not really Krsna consciousness – we are kind of sniffing at Krsna consciousness and we are not really getting into it, not really getting absorbed. Krsna consciousness is very nice and attractive but we are not fully diving into it.

It is really not enough to just join a club or to be part of a temple! Sooner or later we come to that point, you can take 30 or 50 years and wait till you’re really old and then you think, “Well, maybe, finally… I’ll put Krsna first,” but then again, not everyone gets very old so this is the risk you take!  You may want to wait until you are 80 years old but then, what if you don’t make it until then.

So there is not much time, there is not much time at all and it must be in this lifetime – we are not going come back again; we have to go back to Godhead in this lifetime!

Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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