Planet ISKCON

Bhakta Joseph Galesburg: Hare Krsna Mother Bhakti-Lata, I would like to first thank you for all you have done for me. The books, magazines, encouraging words, the opportunity to correspond with Ram Tulasi dasa – everything. You have been so very helpful to me, and I cannot thank you enough. I am truly and forever blessed for having met you, and am eternally in your debt. I am doing my best to keep my thoughts, words, and actions functioning solely for our blessed Lord. I am chanting (stronger every day), studying Srila Prabhupada’s books, and ever seeking ways to engage others in Krsna Consciousness. I have given up entirely my TV (way too distracting and so distasteful), and seek my enjoyment in reading about the pastimes of Lord Krsna and Srila Prabhupada. I have also found a necessity in learning all that His Diving Grace has taught about eating a non-meat, non-violent diet. It seems that the best way to start conversations about Krsna Consciousness with others is by challenging our diet choices. Continue reading "Iskcon Prison Ministry – Guaranteed Success
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Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 November 2016, Vrindavan, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.18.1-8)

In an initiation ceremony, we receive the maha-mantra. So it is like those birthdays where you get a big gift, you open up the box and inside is a gift that you already have, “Oh, I already got that! I got the holy name before.” Yes, we have the holy name already as we have been chanting for a long time before initiation. But at the time of initiation, what we are receiving?

We are receiving the holy name along with the prayer of the spiritual master who has his credit with Krsna as a result of his service and his sacrifice in devotional service. Of course, whoever is initiating nowadays in parampara (disciplic succession) from Srila Prabhupada continues to initiate at sixteen rounds minimum. That we can do only because of Prabhupada’s prayer, because Prabhupada’s prayer is still standing next to us. That mercy is still there! So we should understand that what is given to us is something special.

Sometimes we find that in the marketplace of the holy name, some are buying the mantra still cheaper – only four rounds. They take some initiation for four rounds. That happens but on what strength? Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura said, “One should chant one lakh of names. Anyone who does not chant a lakh of names is fallen.” He said, “But at least four rounds, the minimum four.“  So what does this mean, the four rounds?? It was not that by chanting four rounds daily then one will go back to Godhead. With four rounds a day one is on the slow boat to China, as they say! When one is connected with the sampradaya (religious system in succession), one has begun their spiritual life. After many lifetimes eventually one will come to this level.

But here we are, sitting at the feet of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and we are chanting sixteen rounds minimum. Not that it is forbidden to chant sixty-four rounds but at least sixteen because sixteen is a blessed number and not less, not twelve. Some people say, “Oh I cannot manage sixteen, I can manage only twelve.” Well, you are on the slow boat to China and that is not good and it may take too long! Somehow or other, one has to adjust, to increase their chanting, to cut out other things and make time. One must go to bed earlier and get up earlier. Chanting sixteen rounds makes all the difference!

It is a real honour to be asked to give class indeed I’ve found it allows the opportunity to really absorb my mind in great pastimes of the Lord and ponder the lovely purport’s of Srila Prabhupada.

As I prepared for giving one biblical verse came to mind, it was one which over the years puzzled me; but closer examination given understanding of Guru and Deity worship unlocked the mystery.

The biblical verse is found in Numbers 21 v 6-9

6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Given that I had been indoctrinated into the notion of not worshiping idols this passage appeared to encourage simple idol worship; however this indoctrination meant that Deity worship and the form of Sri Krishna is rejected out of hand without any question. But my thirst to understand made me curious and a long search for the answer.

Here is my humble understanding.

Guru

Moses is the Israelites own Guru Maharaja, he is guiding and leading his followers to Gods promised land. But as we know it’s hard for many to really understand so offences are made; it was this offence that lead to the plauge of serpents.

Wise is the one who seeks out the advice of Guru and we note that intelligence is given in distress the people turned to Moses who communicated directly with Sri Krishna, by heading and following instructions precisely ones distress is relieved.

We are in the distress of material suffering, recognising it means one seeks out the Guru who can relieve this distress; our Guru Maharaja having full understanding of this condition advise and guides this strict following of the gurus instruction is required.

As is the case of the Israelites they could choose to follow Moses instruction or ignore, similarly we can choose to follow or ignore; we either continue to suffer of gain relief.

Authorised Idol (Deity)

We see that Sri Krishna gave precise instructions to Moses make thee a fiery serpent, for me the best example is Kaliya one could not get any fiery. But most importantly it was to be set on a pole, it would be useless unless it was in a high place and also that which is most prominent.

One would gain relief from suffering death from the serpents bite upon glancing at this idol, you would have to have firm faith and belief if not then simply one wouldn’t bother. With faith ones suffering was relieved.

We are suffering the pangs of material distress, so how do we gain relief?

Sri Krishna has given firm information on this, he through our Guru Maharaja has given us instructions and guidance. This is how I look and this is how you can connect and serve me.

Do I have firm faith in the Guru’s instructions and the words of Sri Krishna?

One can connect simply by chanting the names of Krishna, similarly one can connect through pray, but isn’t it more personal to see the form of Sri Krishna and to offer nicely water, flowers, food and to wash cloth and sing directly to their Lordships?

By looking directly onto the form of Sri Krishna ones material suffering is instantly cured, and we can take darshan every day.

Both instructions based on time place and circumstances, the Israelites were not ready to worship Sri Krishna directly. Indeed the biblical recollection of this time in history reports that when Moses went to receive the 10 commandments, the people became restless, and made idols and worshiped them as if they were Krishna himself; so they must have had some concept of Deity worship, but due to this offence were instructed not to worship any False Idols.

Best we make sure we don’t make the same mistake and follow instructions nicely, for Deity worship is not false idol worship but true idol worship; we idolise Sri Krishna so much so that our meditation is always upon him, this way we return home in this lifetime as promised by Srila Prabhupada

Anything that doesn’t achieve this is false Idol, anything that prevents us from achieving the perfection in life

This is my basic understanding
Hare Krishna

With a sudden boom of new Krishna conscious farm projects in Central Canada, their leaders gathered to discuss how they could collaborate with each other at the first ever Central Canada Farm Conference on December 17^th. Canadian GBC Bhaktimarga Swami and farmer Sukhayanti Dasi brought together twenty-six devotees from seven agrarian projects across Southern Ontario and Quebec for the conference, which took place at the King Edward Park Community Centre in Brighton, Ontario.

Once a person prayed to God, "Please give me a flower and a butterfly for my garden". When he opened his eyes, he found a cactus and a caterpillar instead. He was dismayed and wondered why God had misunderstood his request. "Maybe God has too many people to care for," he rationalized and decided not to complain. After some time, when he went back to the garden, he found, to his surprise, that the unsightly caterpillar had transformed into a charming butterfly and the thorny, ugly cactus had a beautiful, fragrant flower on it. Continue reading "FAITH-LIFT
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Samskaras are Vedic purificatory ceremonies for advancing in spiritual life. One of them is vivaha-samskara, the wedding rite. Our spiritual master said that in this material world a boy naturally desires a girl and a girl naturally desires a boy, and they come together in holy matrimony to make it sacred, and they advance in material prosperity and spiritual prosperity together. I think that is a nice definition of love: “to be concerned about the needs of your beloved.” Continue reading "“Give More Than You Take”
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Manor, Jan 5th.

ISKCON Sydney Temple - Thursday night Harinam (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: As the gopis and Krsna danced together, a very blissful musical sound was produced from the tinkling of their bells, ornaments and bangles. It appeared that Krsna was a greenish sapphire locket in the midst of a golden necklace decorated with valuable stones. While Krsna and the gopis danced, they displayed extraordinary bodily features. The movements of their legs, their placing their hands on one another, the movements of their eyebrows, their smiling, the movements of the breasts of the gopis and their clothes, their earrings, their cheeks, their hair with flowers – as they sang and danced these combined to appear like clouds, thunder, snow and lightning. Krsna’s bodily features appeared just like a group of clouds, the gopis’ songs were like thunder, their beauty appeared to be just like lightning in the sky, and the drops of perspiration visible on their faces appeared like falling snow. In this way, the gopis and Krsna fully engaged in dancing. >>> Ref. VedaBase => KB 33: Description of the Rasa Dance
Find them here: https://goo.gl/h0zQbB

A hugely successful event was organised by the Bhaktivedanta Manor community members to welcome in the New Year in both a devotional and entertaining way. The evening, held at the Navnat Centre in West London, including engaging kirtans led by Abhiseka das and Manohar das. Later Kripa Moya das joyfully led the chanting up until midnight . Earlier there was also a hilarious pantomime "Bindurella" and a play about Srila Prabhupada by the Bhaktivedanta Players as well as a dance by Shyam Jatanni. The hugely successful event was organised by many devotees, including Alpesh Patel , Anita Patel, Jaya Krishna das, Manohar das, Bhagavati dasi and Jiten Majithia. Continue reading "Bhaktivedanta Manor’s Community welcomes in the New Year with enthusiasm
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Beautiful murti of His Divine Grace curved out of wood.
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: Srila Prabhupada in ISKCON Irkutsk. He is carved...

Iskcon of Houston - ISKCON 50 Gala Reception Highlights (5 min video)
The night before the gala, the devotees encountered a good problem: they had 350 confirmed guests, with 10 guests paying online within an hour, but only 300 seats! After closing registration, staying up all night the day before the gala making last-minute preparations, by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, on December 8 the event came together and attracted more than 340 guests from government, business, education, medicine, interfaith/religious organizations, media, and entertainment as well as visiting ISKCON leaders. Featured speakers included Radhika Raman das (Dr Ravi Gupta), Director of Religious Studies at Utah State University (after being home-schooled by Krishna conscious parents, he graduated from Boise State as a teenager and became one of the youngest students to ever receive a PhD from Oxford University). Dr. Helen Ebaugh—who has taught World Religions at the University of Houston for forty years and has recently offered favorable critiques of Jayadvaita Swami’s new book, Vanity Karma and Radhanath Swami’s Journey Home—praised ISKCON’s participation in local interfaith dialogue, and Judge R.K. Sandill of Harris County’s 127th District Court—the first district court judge in Texas of South Asian descent—commended ISKCON’s cultural and spiritual contributions in places he has lived, including Toronto and its wonderful Ratha-yatra, London and Houston.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/lczgqf

A disciple of Srila Prabhupada from the UK, Bhajahari Prabhu, in the intensive care unit after suffering a severe cardiac arrest and an emergency operation. Currently in an induced coma with possible irreversible brain damage. Last signs of life “he has been squeezing his son and his wife’s hands when they talked to him.”
The doctor said that it’s unlikely he will recover and wake up.
Please pray for a miracle.

Transcendental snowman, somewhere in Russia.
Srila Prabhupada: When there are miseries, a Krsna conscious person takes the responsibility himself, and when there is happiness, it is due to Krsna. But the materialistic person is just the opposite. When he is in miseries, he’ll say, “Oh, God has put me into such miseries.” And when he’s happiness, his friend says, “Oh, you are now well-to-do.” “Yes, you do not know how much I have worked hard.” When he’s happiness, he takes the credit for himself, and when he’s in distress, he gives the discredit to Krsna. “Oh, Krsna has put me into such miserable…” But a Krsna conscious person, when he’s in distress, he’ll say, “Yes, due to my misdeeds I should have suffered a hundred times more than this distress, but Krsna is so kind, He has given me little. That’s all.” And when he’s happiness, “Oh, it is all given by Krsna. Therefore all the opulence should be utilized for Krsna’s service.” This is the difference. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.46-62 – Los Angeles, December 16, 1968

Devotees in Russia doing Harinama in a “cultural” way to avoid harassment by the authorities based on the new anti-missionary law. (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One who is engaged in devotional service has not the least fear in material existence. This is because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supersoul and friend of everyone. One who knows this secret is actually educated, and one thus educated can become the spiritual master of the world. One who is an actually bona fide spiritual master, representative of Krsna, is not different from Krsna. SB 4.29.51 text
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cQT2vX

QUESTION: Is the life post liberation as per the philosophy of Advaita-vada kind of Ghostly?

No.

Ghosts are entities who are blocked from taking their desired form. They are riddled with incessant unfulfillable desires. Existence in Brahman is nothing like this at all. It is nirvāna and śānta – without disturbance and perfectly peaceful. There are no desires whatsoever, and a resultant natural sense of happiness (realized as peaceful tranquility).

QUESTION: Could life in Brahaman be like being a contended, happy ghosts.

No.

Ghosts (even a content and happy hypothetical Casper) are discrete entities with a sense of identity and desire. There are no discrete entities in Brahman, no sense of individual identity, and certainly no desire. Existence in Brahman is incomprehensible and indescribable. It cannot be made analog to anything in our experience, certainly not to ghosts.

The best description I can imagine of existence in Brahman is absolute, unlimited peace. This comes at the cost of having absolutely no individuality and ambition or desire.

Prema is infinitely better than Brahman, but this doesn’t make Brahman equivalent to being a ghost. Sometimes a prema-bhakta may denigrate Brahman out of emotion and love for Bhagavān. but this is a bhāva-vicāra (a subjective angle), not a tattva-vicāra (objective angle). The objective angle is that Brahman is a partial comprehension of Bhagavān and therefore is glorious, though everything that Brahman offers is merely a subset of what Bhagavat-prema offers.

Vraja Kishor

www.vrajakishor.com

Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Untitled Lecture)

When I approached my spiritual master for initiation, he said, “Hmmm, as good as God, are you prepared to accept that?” And I thought, “Umm, well, I don’t know…” but I just said yes with a weak voice because it is not so simple to accept the spiritual master as good as God. But this is Krsna’s standard so what can we say. So somehow, gradually we must bring the guru-disciple relationship to that point. For me, it was not so easy because I had been initiated before and that relationship did not work – the spiritual master did not maintain spiritual standards and then to try to get into the mood of being a disciple again was a little difficult.

At that time, I was the temple president in Vrindavan, one of the big international headquarters of Iskcon. People would salute me as I would walk by and offer pranams (respectful hand gesture)! Half the town would come and offer respects, what to speak of devotees in the temple. And suddenly, I had to sit in a yajna again with the new bhaktas, remove my brahmin thread and sit down there and be initiated!

So I had a complete identity crisis to tell you the truth! At that time I felt somewhat awkward but my spiritual master understood and was kind and gave me some credit in the midst of that sacrifice. He said, “I want to give him two initiations at once.” Well, that was a relief because I wasn’t sure if he was going to do that so at least, I was going to get my brahmin thread back; that was something! And then he said, “In fact, I would like to give him three, I would like to give him sannyasa as well but we will have to postpone that due to the particular rules and regulations in that regard.” By then it got pretty nice but it was not easy to just sit down in the sacrifice!

But afterwards, there was the whole thing of bowing down! I had to get used to it, to bow down! The scriptures say to bow down many times whenever one sees the spiritual master. That was a bit of an adjustment. Like that, I had to practice and I still have to practice in this guru-disciple relationship – to not take it casually, to not take it cheaply but to get really serious about it as a disciple and try to really act in such a way as he likes, as he would like in all situations. By now, I have some idea of what he likes and what he does not like.

So the spiritual master is always present in his instructions and following instructions does not come automatically, it takes real endeavour, but when that endeavour is made then the relationship becomes really meaningful…

JOYFULLY BEING ALONE: This topic is an extension of a frequent topic of mine, dealing with it on a daily basis, where I extol the virtue of introspection and self-analysis as part of clearing out impediments to devotion in the stage of bhakti called anartha-nivritti (retiring unwanted habits of thought and action)--at least that is often the hint. We live in a time of busy-ness and addiction to innumerable distractions, where it isn't seen as cool to just be sitting down without a handheld device, something to do, or talkative friends.

I remember once on a busy street being taken by the beauty of a particular cloud, where the comments I heard from passersby were about my being on drugs or exhibiting unusual, curious behavior to be looking up at the sky, as if their personal business of walking somewhere, or hanging out with no real purpose, was the only important activity, and my looking at a cloud was deranged tomfoolery.

Though we are social creatures that need interaction with others, the importance of being alone with one's thoughts or taking the time to reflect on life is crucial. Some people aren't comfortable being alone or don't know what to do with themselves

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Дорогие ученики, каждое утро перед джапой я молюсь этими стихами Шрилы Бхактивиноды Тхакура из 8-й главы “Харинама-чинтамани”. Это помогает мне ценить удачу, благодаря которой я посвящен в воспевание святых имен Господа Кришны. Советую вам делать то же самое.

“Святое имя – чистейшая форма знания; наилучшая из врат (обетов) и вершина медитации.

Оно дает самые благоприятные плоды; оно есть величайшее отречение и неоценимая духовная деятельность.

Оно – самое благое из всех святых занятий; оно – наивысший путь самоосознания.

Оно предлагает наивысшее освобождение и цель и есть наивысшее место назначения.

Оно – лучшее преданное служение и наилучшее средство очищения.

Оно дарует любовь к Богу и есть сама суть памятования о Нем.

Оно – причина всех причин, Высшая Абсолютная Истина, наивысший объект почитания, высший духовный учитель и гид”.

 
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At 3.40 am on the 30th of January Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami left his body and returned to the spiritual realm. Lying in his bed in the Kuala Lumpur temple surrounded by devotees chanting the holy names Maharaja breathed his last. Bhakti Wrajendranandana Swami was born in Malaysia. He went to the UK to study where he joined ISKCON in 1971 in Birmingham. He got initiated in July 1972 from Srila Prabhupada on Trafalgar Square, receiving the name Vrajendra Kumar.

The post Daily Darshan: Jan 04,2017 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Choreography & concept: Vraja Sundari Keilman in collaboration with the dancers. Dancers in order of appearance: Vraja Sundari Keilman, Ricardo Rus Da Silva, Sarada Sarita Keilman, Annlydie Groenen, Ilaria Angelicchio, Gaura Nataraj Das (Aleksey) Furdak, Eline Vroon, Jeffrey Stuut, Rasarani Keilman, Guillermo Blinker, Fredrik Quinones, Vinita Simonse, Kim Amankwaa, Carl Refos, Marnix Lenselink, Liam O'Callaghan, Sara Pennella, Flory Curescu, Ronja Cornelis, Delano Spenrath.

From Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava: By chanting without offenses you will personally realize that all perfections come from the holy name.

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Loving Krishna means loving everyone because Krsna is in their heart. Conversely, applying that logic backwards, if you don't love everyone, it means that you are not loving Krsna. Using the root and leaves example, if the leaves are looking healthy, it is to be understood that the root is receiving nourishment. In SB, eleventh canto, it is explained that only the kanishta or neophyte sees Krsna in the temple, but not in the hearts of all, and fails to respect and develop loving relationships with them. In my experience, the leaves and root example has been used in our preaching to discourage against trying to develop loving relationships that are devoid of a sense of everyone's natural attachment to the tree of Krsna, who alone can fulfill of their insatiable need for happiness forever. But there is an important consideration which needs to be taken into account. While it is true that while ignoring the root, the leaves will suffer, one must keep in mind also the limitation of the tree example. Unlike a tree, the root is within the heart of the very leaf itself. It is not that by offering respect to Krsna in the temple, at the same time ignoring His presence in the hearts of all living entities, somehow all living entities will be satisfied. Why? Because that is not bhakti. Lord Kapiladeva in 3rd Canto SB says that such attempted worship is like pouring ghee into ashes- utterly ineffective. Continue reading "Watering the Tree of Love
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I HAVE ALWAYS done a bit of travelling, at least since 1975 when I was fortunate enough to join Srila Prabhupada’s personal entourage. I got to travel India and around the world with His Divine Grace, and it gave me my first look at worldwide ISKCON. I was impressed. Impressed with Srila Prabhupada and impressed with his disciples and the amazing scope of transcendental activity that was manifesting all over the globe. Unity was the key, and that was achieved through the presence and desire of Srila Prabhupada. Later, after His Divine Grace’s disappearance I served as a GBC for over seven years. It seemed like I was in the air or on the road more often than I wasn’t. Continue reading "In Prabhupada We Trust
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Devotee soldier gets 600 American soldiers to chant Hare Krsna.
“ I am a soldier in the US Army and thought you all might get a laugh at what happened the other day. We had to do a 6 mile run for fitness. It’s custom to sing during these runs to build soldier cohesion.”
“ So they asked me to sing. I agreed so we were running down the street when the idea popped in my head to get them to chant. Now this wasn’t 6 or 7 people, its was a total of 600 soldiers. And they were into it, for 3 miles they chanted the Maha Mantra as loud as they could and were really into it. Amazing what the power of the Holy Name can do! ”
Your servant,
Partha-sarathi dasa