Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 December 2016, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.26.46)

In deity worship, everything is prescribed from beginning to end e.g. one cannot chastise someone in front of the deity, one cannot cry in front of the deity except for tears of ecstasy, one should not eat in front of the deity except pure maha prasadam which should be honoured immediately because that is mercy and the nature of mercy is such that if we don’t take it straightaway, it may disappear!

Therefore when mercy comes, take it without delay! Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was woken up by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Straight from bed, Mahaprabhu gave him prasad of Jagannatha and he took it without brushing his teeth or anything… Maha prasadam is to be taken without delay!

We remember that in the early days of Iskcon, Brahmananda and Tamal Krsna Maharaj were seated next to each other at the time of taking prasad. Prabhupada had given a very big simply wonderful to Tamal Krsna Maharaj and Tamal Krsna Maharaj was saving it for the end of the meal. Brahmananda saw that simply wonderful and suddenly just grabbed it and swallowed it! Tamal Krsna Maharaj said to Prabhupada, “But… He just…” and Prabhupada just said, “That’s the nature of mercy!” If you don’t take it straightaway, it may disappear!

In this way, we can appreciate that we must be eager and awake. A vaisnava has a radar to detect mercy – always scanning everywhere and when we see it, we take it. And not only edible mercy but mercy in any form.

Once I did a study on mercy and I found throughout the Bhagavatam different words are used for mercy – sometimes daya, sometimes kripa, sometimes anukampa. But in the tenth canto, when it comes to Vrindavan and the transcendental situation of the eternal residents of Vrindavan, there is only one word for mercy: PRASAD! They see everything as prasad, as coming from Krsna and they are always looking for Krsna’s mercy.

But we are dull, Prabhupada often said that we are dull and not sensitive to the mercy; we are just not seeing it! Krsna is here in so many ways, right here in the material world – this is the amazing thing. The spiritual world is right here.

The reason why Lord Caitanya's identity is concealed is stated within the Bhagavatam itself: the incarnation for this age does not directly assert Himself to be the Personality of Godhead. Prahlada Maharaja states this in Bhagavatam (7.9.38): "According to the age, O my Lord, You protect the principles of religion. In the age of Kali, however, You do not assert Yourself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore You are known as Triyuga, or the Lord who appears in three yugas." It is by His own desire that the Lord chooses to appear as a 'channa-avatara' or 'gupta-avatara' (hidden incarnation). Through one action the Lord accomplishes many purposes; one of the external reasons for His maintaining His identity discrete is understood thus: Lord Caitanya appears in the mood of a devotee to teach by example the process of devotional service. Continue reading "The Divinity of Sri Caitanya
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Krishna's abode in the transcendental kingdom is called Goloka Vrindavana. The city in India named Vrindavan, where I have come from, is called Bhauma Vrindavan, which means the same Goloka Vrindavana descended to earth. Just as Krishna descends to earth out of His own internal potency, His dhama, or His abode—Vrindavana dhama—also descends. Continue reading "Attaining Krishna’s Abode
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“Indian day” class.
Kamalini Dasi Darling: This picture is in the Emerson Waldorf School Calendar (in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US). In the 5th grade they learn about India, so every year they have us come to teach a class. They all dress up and wear tilak and we tell Krishna pastimes and have a Kirtan.

Dauji! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The village of Dauji is a one hour drive from the town of Vrindavan. In Dauji everyone and everything revolve around the local temple where a famous Deity of Lord Balarama resides. Dauji is another name for Balarama meaning ‘older brother.’ After taking an amazing darshan we wandered around the village visiting various sites and meeting with the local people. The village so much reminded me of the town of Vrindavan 30 years ago. Everything was very simple. People were in love with the deity of Dauji. The temple was a bustle of transcendental activity. A most wonderful experience. I will return!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/nHvQYD

As the United Airlines jet descended on the San Francisco Bay area, Srila Prabhupada turned to his disciple Ranacora and said, "The buildings look like matchboxes. Just imagine how it looks from Krsna's viewpoint." Srila Prabhupada was seventy-one years old, and this had been his first air trip. Ranacora, nineteen and dressed in a suit and tie, was supposed to be Srila Prabhupada's secretary. He was a new disciple but had raised some money and had asked to fly to San Francisco with Prabhupada. During the trip Srila Prabhupada had spoken little. He had been chanting: "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." His right hand in his cloth bead bag, he had been fingering one bead after another as he chanted silently to himself. When the plane had first risen over New York City, he had looked out the window at the buildings growing smaller and smaller. Then the plane had entered the clouds, which to Prabhupada had appeared like an ocean in the sky. He had been bothered by pressure blocking his ears and had mentioned it; otherwise he hadn't said much, but had only chanted Krsna's names over and over. Now, as the plane began its descent, he continued to chant, his voice slightly audible- "Krsna, Krsna, Krsna..."-and he looked out the window at the vista of thousands of matchbox houses and streets stretching in charted patterns in every direction. Continue reading "January 16: 50th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada in San Francisco
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Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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I am entering the mood of preparing for my talk a week from Friday, on the 20th. This means for me, hours of chanting, prayer, deep contemplation and writing, in order to be as prepared as possible to say what is most essential for the audience who might attend. I always keep high ideals! The presence of my listeners is a gift for me since they bring me to higher levels of being, knowing and loving in devotion. Though I am responsible for what I bring to any discussion, the audience is considered at least 50 % of the equation, as their mood affects the speaker, either expanding or contracting the possibilities.

We give who we are, so I have to prepare myself to be on the highest, most compassionate, and loving platform, to manifest vital, life-giving wisdom, practical and transcendent. Though I am always praying to be my most empowered spiritual self, speaking to others gives me more urgency to be all I can be to serve and uplift. This is beneficial for me, as well as whoever listens with an open heart. Meditating on this mood with the prayer to share is exciting, and I very rarely use that word!

I’m endeavoring and praying to be open to receive much more than ordinary materialistic, limited thinking might deem possible. Then I may reach high to be a spiritual possibility thinker, or spiritually and miraculously minded, by connecting to the higher spiritual realms, and be guided by my seen and unseen spiritual benefactors and teachers. As we shower with water to cleanse our body, I am meditating on being more deeply cleansed through the divine Light shower of the holy names, prayer, and the serving mood in bhakti, offered to our Deities, and ideally put into everything I do, with whoever I am with.

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Winter Festival is being held in exceptionally beautiful place - Seminar and recreation center “Dubingiai”. Residential space is located in 4 separate buildings. Conference halls are in a separate enclosure near residential buildings. During the festival the devotees are able to rest in comfortably furnished rooms. In each room there are comfortable beds, white linens, shower, wc. Children at the festival will be able to participate in their own workshops, which will take place in a separate room. One separate room will be devoted to recreation for mothers with young children. Continue reading "Vaishnava winter festival – BALTIC 2017
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Discourse in our Vraja front yard on the evening of November 9th

West Africa 2016 book distribution Marathon.
The Ibadan, Nigeria Nagara Sankirtana Group led by Yadhunath prabhu won the West A...

The peak of the Gita-jayanti festival was held at Grand Ballroom Pertamina, Jakarta on December 24, 2016. Many Hindu from around Indonesia participated on the celebration. Minister of Religious Affairs Republic of Indonesia through Director Jendral of Indonesia Hindu Council said that he was delighted appreciated that ISKCON in Indonesia along with Hindu organization in Indonesia celebrated the Gita Jayanti Festival. Continue reading "Glorifying the Bhagavad-Gita Through Gita Jayanti Festival in Indonesia
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Answer Podcast

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Answer Podcast

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The post If Bhagavatam and Mahabharata tell incidents from different perspectives, are they histories or historical fictions? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Chant: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare And Be Happy!!

When? Sunday,Jan 15,2017 Program starts at 11.00am Where? 6 George Street South Brampton, Ontario L6Y 1P3, Canada Park underground(free) @ City Hall Phone:416-648-3312 New! Listen Click here to listen to previous class recordings on our blog Make a Donation

Bhagavad Gita As It Is (18.66) sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah Translation Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear. 11.00- 11.15      Tulsi Puja 11.15 - 11.30     Guru Puja                                         11:30 –11:55     Aarti & Kirtan                                       11.55 - 12.00    Sri Nrsingadeva Prayers                  12.00 -  1: 00   Vedic discourse   1.00 -   1.30    Closing Kirtan   1.30 -   2.00    Sanctified Free Vegetarian Feast     COMING UP AHEAD Shat-Tila Ekadasi Fasting.....................on Mon Jan 23rd,2017 Breakfast................. on Tue Jan 24th ,2017 b/w 7.42am-10.54am Every fortnight, we observe Ekadasi, a day of prayer and meditation. On this day we fast (or simplify our meals and abstain from grains and beans), and spend extra time reading the scriptures and chanting the auspicious Hare Krishna mantra.By constantly ‘exercising’ our minds through regular japa we can train our senses to push the threshold of contentment.   English audio glorification of all Ekadasis is available here      ONGOING Programs At The Temple   Japathon-Congregational Mantra Meditation Next meeting TBC shortly The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His Energy to give protection to the conditioned soul.japa, when performed with focus and attention, can subdue the agitating effects of one’s mind and senses. The senses, of which the mind is also one, are constantly being stimulated by the external world  - by gross and subtle matter. If you have not chanted before, and would like to participate in this program, we will be very happy to show how you can do this. All welcome. We’ll loan you a set of Beads!   Monthly sankirtan Festival(MSF) “One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.”(Previous Acaryas) Every member of ISKCON should have the opportunity to make advancement in Krishna consciousness by preaching.We encourage everyone to come out and participate and make Srila Prabhupada happy. Please contact: Dharma Dasa- dharandev58@gmail.com-647.892.0739(Mississauga and Brampton regions) IB Vaishnavi Sanga The Vaisnavi Sanga hosted by ISKCON Brampton is a special opportunity for ladies to come together for a spiritual getaway in peaceful, intimate surroundings. It is the perfect occasion for an evening filled with amazing association, spiritually surcharged program, and Krishna conscious discussions. It is a place where we will be able to learn from each other and have a safe forum to express our doubts and open our hearts. (We'll resume this program during summer)   Sunday School To register,contact us Email:sundayschool108@gmail.com Call:647.893.9363 The Sunday School provides fun filled strategies through the medium of music, drama, debates, quizzes and games that present Vedic Culture to children. However the syllabus is also designed to simultaneously teach them to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. School The Sunday School follows the curriculum provided by the Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture (BCEC). The Mentorship Program Please note that registration in the Mentorship System is now a mandatory requirement for all initiation requests at ISKCON Brampton.It 1.Facilitates  and nurtures devotees aspiring for first and second Initiation.     2.One-on-One personal follow up on a regular basis. 3.Systematic training to devotees in matters of Philosophy, Sadhna, Vaishnava behavior, etiquette, Lifestyle and attitudes. To find details please click here Gift Shop Are you looking for some amazing gift items which are less expensive and more beautiful for your loved ones for festivals or many other occasions?? Our boutique is stocked with an excellent range of products, perfect for gifts or as souvenirs of your visit. It offers textiles, jewellery, incense, devotional articles, musical instruments, books, and CDs inspired by Indian culture.We're open on all Sundays and celebrations marked in our annual calendar.

Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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You might not have heard of Jaya Caitanya Das, the thirty-year-old who’s been the number one book distributor in the U.S. for the past two years. Even if he sold 85,000 of Prabhupada’s books this year alone. That’s because until recently, the young man was living at home with his parents in Orange County, California.

The purpose of Radha Mohan Das' presentations is to ultimately explore the Srimad Bhagavatam’s paradigm of a universe teeming with life, as well as discuss works such as the Vaimanika Sastra and the Samaranga Sutradhara. Within Alien Identities, he draws parallels between modern UFO related phenomena and the ancient world - -  Presenting the astronomical and anthropological aspects of scriptures in the Vedic tradition,  in an accessible way that can be appreciated by Krishna devotees and also enthusiasts on the related subjects.

Without giving attention to and genuinely caring about relationships, situations and aspirations, how can we achieve any real traction in life? Where the attention goes, energy flows, and results invariably show.

Salvador was rescued from a dairy farm in Chile by the Equality Sanctuary Interspecies. Now six months later, he's enjoying life and loves the affection he receives from the caregivers who saved him.

Divya’s Kitchen, New York City’s first authentic Ayurvedic restaurant, cares not just about your taste buds – although it rewards them very well – but also about your health and wellbeing. Whether you’re a New Yorker or an ISKCON devotee, as soon as you walk into the East Village eatery, with its homey amber lighting, pure cedar wood furniture and live plants, you’ll know you’re in for a new kind of casual fine dining experience.

The post Daily Darshan: Jan 13,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Snow Deity :) in Russia, Omsk Oblast.
“Oh, Lord, the ocean of compassion and nectar! You are the dwelling place that is attractive for all. I offer You my respectful obeisances again and again. You - the only one who frees the fallen souls of this world. But how do you do it, very few people can understand. O ocean of mercy! Again and again I bow before You. ”
“Oh, Lord Jagannatha! Please save me. Oh, fallen friend, I again and again bow before You. Please deliver me from this terrible ocean of material suffering. After gaining Your lotus feet, I can find the greatest happiness. ”

On the occassion of Pushya abhisheka Purnima, every year, our community devotees come together, to blissfully stay awake the till dawn, to make the flower outfits for Sri Radha-Madhava and Asta Sakhis. This year, with bright red roses on the foreground, Sri Radha-Madhava blessed us with Their darshan. In the evening, baskets and baskets of […]

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Supersoul, Freewill, Predetermination.
Q. 1. Since free will is operating with every soul’s choices, how is Paramatma’s guidance operative in relationship to this free will?
Q. 2. Another dimension is this: Sri Isopanisad says every other choice other than Krishna’s will, is degrading. So how can we exercise a free will choice that is within the realm of non-maya, or the spiritual realm – that may not be a predetermined choice?
Romapada Swami: Krishna dynamically responds to the free will choices of living entities. As Srila Prabhupada states, ‘matter is static but spirit is dynamic’. Our relationship and service to the Lord is forever dynamic. Krishna is reciprocally respondent to the mood of surrender and intensity of devotion of the devotees, as well as to the specific disposition of His devotees. *ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.* [BG 4.11]
For example, it is not pre-determined as soon as one joins a vaishnava-sanga that this devotee should become a cook and that devotee should become a book keeper, and so on. Rather, based on one’s natural inclinations and qualifications, based on the interest one shows in a particular activity and the initiative one takes, individuals are encouraged accordingly. Someone may be naturally attracted to cooking for or worshiping the Deities, someone may have strong capacity for studying and understanding scriptures, and so on. All these choices are within the devotional domain, outside the realm of maya, and the Lord is equally happy through whichever way we choose to serve Him. He reciprocates by giving us more and more facilities and guidance how to advance spiritually through that devotional choice.
Krishna’s overall plan for living entities in the material world is to take us back to Godhead, to 'revive our original consciousness’ – this is His very purpose of creation. Therefore, based on the living entities free will, the Lord orchestrates events in the devotee’s life towards this grand plan. Suppose one approaches Krishna, begins rendering devotional service and abides by His instructions, but still retains strong material desires in the heart. Such a mixed devotee is also acting subordinate to the Lord’s plan to some degree because he is taking shelter of the devotees and the scriptures. But because they are not yet purified, the Lord responds according to the condition of their heart — He may satisfy that desire in order to make the devotee more attached to Him. Or, if someone is very sincere to achieve Krishna but is struggling to give up some attachment, Krishna may block the fulfillment of their plans and orchestrate events in their life to purify those attachments, which is also His special mercy. The individual again has a choice — they could be satisfied with the fulfillment of desire and carry on with their life, or they could become disappointed by the reversals in their life and leave Krishna. Or they could take the Lord’s reciprocation as an impetus to become more serious in Krishna consciousness. And when one simply wants to serve the Lord without any other motive, the Lord again reciprocates accordingly by giving them all necessary facilities.
Thus Krishna’s plan for us is a function of our own disposition towards Him, how much we want to act within our relationship with Him, and that can change from moment to moment!
In the case of the battle between Indra and Vritrasura, Indra was in one sense acting according to the plan of the Lord, under the direct instruction of Lord Vishnu! Lord Vishnu had personally instructed him how to obtain the thunderbolt and defeat Vritrasura. But because Indra’s mind was on his personal victory rather than pure devotional service, the Lord directed him accordingly, whereas Vritrasura who was absorbed in a mood of pure devotion achieved a transcendental result.
In another situation, Lord Caitanya initially refused to meet King Prataparudra, but the more the king became eager to achieve His mercy and the more devotees pleaded on his behalf, the Lord changed His plan and gave His association to the King.
The point is that at every moment the living entity has a choice, and that choice is not so much 'what’ we do but how much we are looking towards Krishna’s satisfaction or away from Krishna.
Krishna may also change His plans by His own sweet-will, simply because He is a dynamic person! For instance, Priyavrata had renounced the world with all due blessings from his father and his guru, but later on he was requested by them to rule the world. In the spiritual realm, everyone is ever-ready to act according to Krishna’s will. Although they express their choices, they are also ever-dependent and ever-ready to keep aside their preference to satisfy Krishna however He directs. In other words, following Krishna’s plan ultimately means surrendering our false sense of independence and choosing to satisfy Krishna.
To try to understand 'what’ is the Lord’s will or desire is but natural. A loving servant is naturally looking for indications from the master how to best serve him. But it is not possible for us to try to “discern” Krishna’s plans as you have indicated in the first question. As Bhismadev confirms, even great philosophers fail to understand Krishna’s plan and are bewildered even after exhaustive inquiry. Krishna can be known only by His confidential devotees (See SB 1.9.16-19)
Thus we can know the Lord’s desire through the transparent medium of the spiritual master. In the beginning stages, due to prolonged misuse of free will, even if one wants to serve Krishna, one is not so adept at making right spiritual choices or understand Krishna’s desires. One may not even be sure if their own inclinations are really in a mood of service or born out of personal likes & dislikes in the bodily conception. Therefore one should consult the expert spiritual master and by operating within the boundaries of the instructions of the spiritual master. Initially, there are very elaborate and detailed guidelines. By staying within these guidelines, one can stay out of maya. For example, the spiritual master gives a regulated program of service and might even suggest very specific services based on one’s nature and inclinations; and even within that there are detailed guidelines – for instance in Deity worship, the time for making the offering and the procedure for making the offering is fixed, even the items nd ingredients are fairly standard. But within that service, one has freedom – one could either make rasagulla or sandesh, for instance, and express their individual devotion in multifarious ways within their prescribed realm of devotional activity.
As one becomes more experienced in devotional service by training, the devotee becomes capable of taking wider initiatives in serving Krishna and learns how to exercise spiritual choices all for Krishna’s pleasure that may not at all be what you are calling “predetermined choices”.
Consider the example of Srila Prabhupada. Of course, unlike conditioned souls, such empowered pure devotees are sent to this world by the Lord with a definite mission. But, although in a broad sense it was foretold that he would cross the seas, open temples and preach the Bhagavatam, still things were not all mapped out for him. Even after receiving the order of his spiritual master, Prabhupada was not quite sure how he was going to accomplish it. But he was completely fixed on the two instructions he received from his spiritual master as his mission in life: “Preach in English, and if you ever get money, print books.” Within those instructions, he took unlimited initiative and left no stone unturned, in spite of so many obstacles, setbacks and lack of support. Initially Prabhupada planned to increase his business to fund his preaching, he started Back-to-Godhead, then he tried the League of Devotees in Jhansi, he tried working under his godbrothers, he tried going to Japan…. But one by one all his plans apparently failed. Did that mean he was acting outside of Krishna’s plan? Not at all. On the contrary, because he was fixed on the direction received from his guru, he was confident that all his initiatives were part of the unfolding of Krishna’s will. Prabhupada was always tuned in to indications from Krishna; for example, as soon as he heard from a Mathura businessman that his son was in America, he saw it as an opportunity given by Krishna and took advantage of it. It was not all predetermined. Prabhupada had to make choices – to stay uptown or move to the Bowery, for instance. Whichever choice he made would have been in Krishna’s interest and therefore outside maya.
Just as he was actively planning for Krishna, Krishna was also planning for His pure devotee and was dynamically arranging events around Prabhupada to bring him closer and closer to the fulfillment of his desired mission.
Furthermore, Prabhupada set a perfect example in that he never planned something outside or independent of the instructions he received. Even years later, after attaining great success and fame, he continuously recalled his spiritual master’s instruction to print books, and had made a policy to set aside 50% of all income for printing books. Even when other kinds of preaching opportunities and demands for money presented themselves, he never compromised on keeping 50% exclusively for book-printing based on the words of his spiritual master. But within the framework of that plan given to him, he taxed his brain, took many risks and made many choices how to serve Lord Caitanya’s mission most gloriously.
In summary, when we align all our desires, our intelligence and plans to fulfill the mission indicated to us by a bona fide spiritual master, then we are acting in accordance with Krishna’s plan. Within the boundaries of those instructions, we can exercise our utmost freedom of initiative to serve Krishna, and all those choices will be outside the realm of maya.

56 KM PADAYATRA IN TOGO, WEST AFRICA: from tear gas to tears of love (Album with photos)
By Bhakti Carudesna Swami
A party of 50 devotees assembled at the ISKCON Lomé temple
On December 17th 2016, ISKCON devotees of Lomé, a small town in a small country (Togo has about 6 million people), held a small but ecstatic padayatra for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada. Several devotees from three other West African countries had joined the 45 devotee Togo team: three from Ghana (Yuga Prabhu, chairman of the West African Executive Council Board, Bhaktin Emma and Bhakta Abraham), one from the Republic of Benin (Bhakta Guillaume) and myself from Ivory Coast.

We started the walk in Aflao, at the border with Ghana, and ended it at Hilaconji, at the border with the Republic of Benin. Since Togo is a French speaking country, we had made a large banner indicating that this “Marche pour la Paix” (Peace walk) was done to celebrate ISKCON’ 5Oth anniversary.

Our procession consisted of two vehicles and two motocycles. We walked through the villages of devotees (except the driver) with our large banner. One vehicle was carrying devotees and the prasadam and the other one devotees, books and the mrdangas; the two motorcycles were carrying the rest of the devotees. For our procession, since it was our first padayatra in the country, we started in a small way, just to avoid too many complications with getting police permissions in different cities. Public processions are not banned in Togo- we don’t need permissions for harinama- but it depends on the political situation. It would have taken too much time to get permission for a program like padayatra and sometimes the police even refuses the permission, especially when it involves people from different countries, which was our case. We started in front of the Lomé temple with the blessings of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Govinda Madhava, Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Sri Sri Jaganath Baladev and Subhadra.

A bitter beginning

All the devotees gathered in Aflao at 11 am in front of a fuel station. Someone took a group picture with the banner and the kirtana began to warm up. Quickly people started gathering around us; it was not new for them as they are used to our harinamas in that area. But after only 5 or 10 minutes of chanting, a police vehicle came to park near us. Suddenly, the policemen started shooting tear gas in the air from their guns. Panic everywhere! The kirtana immediately stopped. Nobody had time to find out what was going on. Children were crying and running to their mothers. We all quickly managed to enter our vehicles and moved far from that area. Later on we came to know that the shooting of tear gas was not for us; the police was chasing an illicit seller of gasoline. “Ok, no problem! But what to do next?” we asked ourselves. After a small discussion, when we saw that the children were not panicking or afraid any longer, we decided to drive a bit far from the area of the incident to start our padayatra.

A joyful festival of chanting, dancing and book distribution

When we got to some village or town, everybody got down from the vehicles, except the drivers of course, and we walked for harinama and book distribution without stopping. We thus crossed many villages, and we could say that we walked half the distance , about 28kms.

We thus arrived at Baguida, the port area, around 12.30 pm. While the brahmanas were chanting their gayatri, the women were busy giving some prasadam to children and the devotees. This was followed by an energetic kirtana, which left everyone satisfied, happy and confident.“Togo Padayatra ki!!!! Jaya !!! “, we all shouted with great enthusiasm. On the way people were greeting the devotees, some in their cars stopped to see what was going on. On many occasions a good number of people came to join us to dance in the kirtana. There was no special media coverage of the event. We distributed a lot of bread and juice prasadam. This padayatra was a festival of book distribution: 246 big books, 38 medium books and 20 small books. We thus crossed 12 villages and a few big towns, among which were Avepozo, Yesuvito, and Agbadrafor.

One gentleman we will never forget

After walking while doing harinama through one village, when we almost got to the end of it, we all entered our vehicles to move to the next village. From a distance one gentleman had seen us distributing books, and he was expecting us to stop at the place he was sitting with some friends under a big tree. As we did not stop, he started to ran after us, shouting, “Please, who are you? Where do come from? What are you doing? What books do you have in your hands?” We reluctantly stopped because we were late for the next town. But after we listened to that gentleman, we all realized that he was really a very sincere soul. He was looking for people like us and the types of books we had. He bought many books and chanted the Hare Krishna maha mantra with us without any difficulty. We did not regret for having stopped for him, he really was a nice gentleman.

A joyful end with an unexpected and blissful reception

We finally arrived at Hilaconji around 6h30 pm. A tumultuous and dynamic kirtana brought joy to the devotees and the people in the area. Some custom officers joined the chanting and dancing and some police officers bought books. We were happy to have made it. We forgot the tear gas, it was now time for tears of love. Before leaving the Benin border and going back to the Lomé temple Bhakta Godson, the best book distributor of the party, organized an emergency reception at his nearby house and treated the party to coconut water, fruits and soft drinks.

Enthused by this first experience, we are planning to organize a padayatra every year, and a bigger one also.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/15UiQJ

Music by Gadabhrit Das (Gabor Gaspar), song performed by Anjavati Dasi

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WASHINGTON, DC–Last week Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) celebrated her re-election to US House of Representatives and was sworn into session. She took her oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita once again. After the ceremony, family, friends, and supporters gathered together and visited Rep. Gabbard and congratulated her. “Tulsi shared how the Bhagavad Gita continues to serve as an inspiration in her life, and how grateful she is to the people of Hawaii for allowing her to continue to serve in Congress,” said a statement from her office. Separately, sealing a historic breakthrough for Indian-Americans, five were sworn-in on earlier this month as members of the US Congress — one of them, Kamala Harris, becoming the first to become a Senator. Ami Bera, who was the only Indian-American in the 435-member House of Representatives and re-elected in the November elections, was joined by the four others, increasing the Indian-American contingent to five members in the Congress. All five are Democrats and three of them — Harris, Bera and Representative Ro Khanna — are from California. The other two Representatives are Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois and Pramila Jayapal from Washington state. Continue reading "Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Sworn With the Bhagavad Gita Once Again
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