BOB HOPE and American ex-president Gerald Ford meet the…
→ Dandavats



BOB HOPE and American ex-president Gerald Ford meet the devotees.
Drumila das: I met Bob Hope twice. The 1rst time was in the mid 80’s. I personally went to the Bob Hope Golf Classic as I was in Palm springs at the time, and decided it would be a good place to go and give stars books. I was walking around with a paper shopping bag full of books that day so as not to be discovered by security and be kicked out (seems pretty silly in retrospect….a paper shopping bag!!).
That day I gave books to a few sport legends like Bobby Or, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds to name a few. I ran into Robert Stack from the TV series ‘The Untouchables’ and tried to give him a 'Coming Back’ but he wouldn’t take it cause he thought it was from a cult, and his own son had been in one so he had a bad taste. I preached to him for about five minutes explaining to him that we were not a cult, and all the reasons why, at which time he said he would take the book home with him and read it.
Just remembered, I gave a 'Higher Taste’ to Dinah Shore that day, and she was thrilled cause she had just put out her own cookbook.
Anyway back to Bob. I saw him about to tee off on one hole. So I watched him with about 50 other people, by a roped off area.
When he was done, I said “Bob!” to catch his attention. He looked over at me, and said, “Yes!”(his head perking up and looking gleefully in my direction) and I said “ I have a gift for you!” I handed him a 'Coming Back’ and a 'Higher Taste’ upon which time I looked at him and said enthusiastically, “Bob… You’re really going to love these books!!” With a coy grin he looked and me and said enthusiastically, “Am I!? Am I!?” Of course I must have said something like 'Yes!’ or 'Definitely!’
The crowd dispersed and I started thinking how I could directly gave a book to ex President Ford who happened to be there that day. About a month before I had given a 'Bhagavad-Gita’ hardbound to ex President Ford via his security team( he was standing about 25 feet away and they would not let me give it to him directly but said they would give it to him).
Anyway President Ford was at the golf tournament that day, and I was thinking how I could approach him and give him a book directly. So the idea came to me. “Wait a minute I thought, "Bob Hope is friends with all the presidents! He was very friendly with me. Perhaps he could help me with President Ford.”
So I went to the next hole where he was and I approached him again. I said, “Bob, could you do me a favor…( what was I thinking). He immediately retreated, or withdrew as it were from my presence, turning his face away from me in the other direction. I realized I had made a big mistake, and had presumed to much, as I walked away feeling foolish and dejected.
Then a funny thing happened. As I was walking, moping along with my shopping bag in hand, I noticed a golf cart in my peripheral vision, going about the same speed as I was walking. It was Bob Hope driving the cart with the women’s champ from the year before, Julie Inkster. He looked at me and yelled out jokingly, "Hey, what do got in the bag? A bunch of divets!?( clumps of grass made after hitting the golf ball. People collect them for keep sakes.) After saying this they both sped away briskly laughing all the way. To this day I took it that Bob let me off the hook, by speaking to me again, thus, letting me know everything was alright.
Later that day I put down my paper bag(I had that much common sense), and made a bee line right for President Ford just after he tee’d off. His security were momentarily covered over and no one stopped me. I handed him an Origins magazine(our Krsna Conscious rebuttal to the atheistic magazine Omni.) I explained how he cared about the people in the world, and how this magazine could help him in his endeavors to help the people of the world. But he seemed rather put off as he trembled(his arm literally shaking with the magazine in it), as he turned around with a look of disgust and hurled it into his golf cart. He was probably wondering how I got through his security, or maybe he was just adverse to Krsna in the form of the magazine!
The next time I met him Bob Hope was in New Orleans. I overheard someone say Bob Hope was in 'Pat O'Brian’s’(a famous restaurant/bar).
I went in, and there was Bob, a hundred years old. He was sitting at the table alone(his eyes were drooping and showing the red around the borders) His wife was standing up with 3 or four friends nearby the table. They seemed pretty oblivious to Bob, so I took my cue, and went right up to him and said, "Bob, I don’t know if you remember me, but, I met you at your Classic in the 80’s and gave you a couple of books, and you were joking with me.”
He looked up at me and acknowledged what I had just said. Then I said, “I have gift for you also today. I sat right down next to him at the table, Then I said, "It’s a book called 'A Second Chance’( it was hardbound). Then I flipped through the pictures, with the Yamadutas and Visnudutas, and Ajamila laying on his deathbed, all the while explaining to Bob the story of Ajamila and how he was saved at the time of death by uttering God’s Holy Name.
As I left him I marveled at the special mercy he was receiving from Krishna in his final days( he died shortly after that) and how kind Krishna was to come to him near the end of his life, and how kind Krsna was to let me be his instrument to give him that mercy.
Srila Prabhupada’s Transcendental Book Distribution ki Jaya!

Sunday, December 18th, 2016
→ The Walking Monk

Regina, Saskatchewan

I Hopped


In truth, I hopped from Toronto to Brampton and made a big leap to Regina, capital of province, Saskatchewan, a three hour plane ride.  Waiting for me at arrivals was Ramesh, a six-foot-four-inch young, new immigrant from Mombasa.  He has a master’s degree in social work, but for the moment has settled for work on an 18,000 acre farm.  Wow!  18,000 is an enormous number.  There are 18,000 verses in the epical book, Srimad Bhagavatam, of which we read a portion, every day.

Ramesh has the build of a lean basketball player, but the face of an angel—a pious look.  He came to me with a traditional garland to be offered to a visiting monk.  He was in white apparel—kurta (upper cloth) and dhoti(lower cloth)—which was fine.  Even in conservative Saskatchewan, citizens are getting used to seeing exotic wear from other parts of the world.

I mentioned to a few of my hosts, when I arrived in Regina, that I hadn’t walked at all today and I felt guilty about it, but I accomplished much, otherwise.  In Brampton, I presented a power point on the Seven Purposes of ISKCON, personally compiled by our guru, Srila Prabhupada.  The presentation and discussion on the points became an eye-opener.

The vision of the founder was to basically transmit information, teaching or education, on the ancient ways of devotional life.  Clearly we are not just speaking about a church or a religion transplanted from the east.  It is more about culture and lifestyle, but undisputedly with Krishna in the limelight.

May the Source be with you!


0 km

The history of FATE- Iskcon Museum Project (video) Adi Deva das:…
→ Dandavats



The history of FATE- Iskcon Museum Project (video)
Adi Deva das: Devotees named Srimati dd and Prabhas das were already working with Milan. Murti d, Bibhavati devi dasi, Madhavendra Puri das, Baradraj das, Rukmini devi dasi, Saptaratha das, and myself joined the team learning how to make clay tools from pieces of bamboo- how to find and dig up sticky clay and sandy clay. We learned how to mix clay with cow dung juice and other mysteries. We began sculpting fruits, vegetables, animals, birds, noses, eyes, ears, lips, fingers, toes, armatures, straw tying, clay application. We created small dolls, large dolls, sanding, painting, wigging, clothing and jeweling. Milan was expert and showed us everything.
On Gaura Purnima 1974 we put on a humble exhibition for Srila Prabhupada’s approval. He told us that we were" not yet expert" and should hire another teacher and continue learning. We hired another older artist who was very generous in helping us develop our skills.
Our group shrunk and the few of us left went to Vrndavana where for several months we created 8 Gopi dolls and presented them to Srila Prabhupada.
Bharadraj das and Rukmini Dasi were asked by Srila Prabhupada to travel to India and lead the project of bringing this dying Art of Putul (Clay Dolls) to the West and create museums explaining our philosophy thru this medium.
My friend Murti das received an inheritance shortly after we were invited to travel to India; so we got the initial paperwork and shots and off we went. Our plane (Air India) had problems; we stopped in NYC, then Kuwait, then Bombay and finally landed in the long cow pasture which was the Calcutta airport. Bhavananda Maharaj picked us up in an old Jeep and drove us the two hour bumpy drive to Sridham Mayapura. Mayapura sits upon the banks of the Ganges River and is a holy place of pilgrimage for saintly devotees from all over West Bengal and beyond.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a small group of devotees from Europe, Australia, and North and South America. I soon realized my new home was the vortex of a construction site. A half built, three story temple/guest house sat one- fifth of a mile from a little used main road. Other temples on that road looked tired and sleepy. Across the road were a series of fields, then the Ganges river, and the town of Navadvip on the other side.
To get from the main road (Bhaktisiddhanta Marg) to our temple in progress we had to walk through rice fields on a mud path about two feet wide; one slip and you were knee deep in mud.
The temple was covered in a web of bamboo scaffolding with many Bengali workers scurrying all over it, as they brought their bricks and buckets of cement. Encamped on one side of the temple in low huts and tents, they were a loud and jolly bunch. We slept in unfinished rooms on the first and second floor; Srila Prabhupada’s quarters and guest quarters on the third floor with sanyasis’ quarters on the roof.
All water came from one hand pump–for our bathing, cooking, pot washing, cement mixing, workers’ bathing–ONE HAND PUMP!
In this video I talk about the letter I received from Srila Prabhupada outlining his vision for the project.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Jr9EvG

Tackling the Mind/Body/Soul Enigma (video)
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Sadaputa das

The mind/body problem plagues scientific thinkers as vigorously today as it did thousands of years ago. Sadaputa Dasa (Dr. Richard L. Thompson) tackles this perennial enigma by combining the detailed physiological mechanisms of eyesight with the Bhagavatam's philosophy of the soul. This gestalt-type approach illuminates other mysteries of science, such as qualia, cognitive anomalies of hydrocaphalus, stigmata, and out-of-body experiences. Continue reading "Tackling the Mind/Body/Soul Enigma (video)
→ Dandavats"

From Lust to Love–With Krsna’s Mercy
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Giriraj Swami

The Lord advised Arjuna to regulate the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the greatest sinful enemy, lust, which destroys the urge for self-realization and specific knowledge of the self. Jnana refers to knowledge of self as distinguished from non-self, or in other words, knowledge that the spirit soul is not the body. Vijnana refers to specific knowledge of the spirit soul’s constitutional position and his relationship to the Supreme Soul. Continue reading "From Lust to Love–With Krsna’s Mercy
→ Dandavats"

H.H.Bhaktimarga Swami Maharaj will be joining us at ISKCON Scarborough coming Sunday- 25th Dec 2016
→ ISKCON Scarborough



Hare Krishna!
Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

H.H.Bhaktimarga Swami Maharaj will be joining us at ISKCON Scarborough coming Sunday- 25th Dec 2016

The program starts at 10.30 am with the Tulasi arti & Guru Puja followed by a class by Maharaj at 11 am. Sumptuous prasadam (sanctified food) will be served at 12.30 pm.


More information on Maharaj:

Born in 1952 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, Bhaktimarga Swami (formerly John Peter Vis) adopted the monastic lifestyle of the Hare Krishna order in 1973. Globally known for his “Canwalk” marathons, he achieved the remarkable feat of walking across the entire length of Canada from the west to east coast in 1996 which was detailed in the National Film Board of Canada’s documentary, “The Longest Road”. Bhaktimarga Swami repeated the feat again in 2003 (this time from east to west), and yet again a third time (west to east) in 2007.


The Walking Monk completed his FOURTH trek across Canada in the summer of 2014 (Canwalk 4) which began in the spring of 2012. With this "friend-raiser", he is once again promoted pilgrimage and a more car-free, care-free lifestyle. In addition to Canada he has also walked across the countries of Ireland, Israel, Fiji Islands, Mauritius, Trinidad and Guyana.


In addition to marathon walking and administrative duties, Bhaktimarga Swami is an instructor of Bhakti Yoga (devotion to the Divine) and mantra meditation. He is also a playwright, producer and director of live avant garde “morality theatre”, whose captivating works based on tales from ancient India are performed regularly across the globe. In his productions, The Walking Monk regularly engages youth from the global communities he visits in this “enter-lightenment” designed to uplift the spirit.


A warm invitation goes out to you and your family to join us on this day to associate with this senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada.


ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7


Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

Website:
www.iskconscarborough.com

Recordings – December 2016
→ KKSBlog

Please find below some of the most recent recordings of Kadamba Kanana Swami.

Download all (404 MB, zip file)

 

Melbourne, Australia 

KKS_AUS_MEL_14December2016_Lecture_SB_3.26.58

KKS_AUS_MEL_11December2016_Lecture_SB_3.26.52

KKS_AUS_MEL_10December2016_Kirtan_DeityInstallation

KKS_AUS_MEL_10December2016_ShortLecture_DeityInstallation

KKS_AUS_MEL_10December2016_Lecture_Initiation

KKS_AUS_MEL_09December2016_Lecture_SB_3.26.51

KKS_AUS_MEL_07December2016_Lecture_SB_3.26.46

KKS_AUS_MEL_04December2016_Lecture_SB_3.26.41

KKS_AUS_MEL_04December2016_Kirtan_StKildaBeach

KKS_AUS_MEL_03December2016_Lecture_BG_10.10

 

View the updated post with video recordings here.

Audio and video recordings are courtesy of Russell Sara

What I have learned from the Gita
→ The Spiritual Scientist

At the age of five was my first memorable introduction to the Bhagavad-gita. I participated in a Gita verse recitation competition in Chandrapur, Maharashtra. I remember feeling both happy and nervous: happy to have memorized several verses, and nervous about recite them on stage in front of many people. However, that encounter with the Gita had no lasting impact on me, at least not visibly. I forgot the Gita and went on with my life, pursuing the great Indian student dream of academic excellence.

 

From achievement to fulfillment

Though I had left the Gita, the Gita hadn’t left me. I retained a subconscious attraction to Gita verse recitation, an attraction that was unusual because I had no interest or talent for singing or music. Little did I know that Gita recitation would draw me back to the Gita fifteen years later.

I was in the third year of my engineering in Electronics & Telecommunications at the Government College of Engineering, Pune. I had just fulfilled my lifelong dream of becoming a topper: I had scored 2350 out of 2400 and stood first in Maharashtra. I expected to be elated and I was, but for a heartbreakingly brief period. There was no happiness in just looking at my mark-sheet. Only when someone congratulated me for my marks did I feel joy. And if anyone didn’t congratulate me, I felt miserable. I realized that my life’s most desired achievement had not made me happy; it had made me more dependent on others for my happiness. By working hard, I could top in another exam, but what would I get? At best, a repetition of the same brief elation. Wasn’t life meant for something better?

When our heart is ready for wisdom, wisdom finds its way there. While I was pondering such questions, a friend gave me a copy of the Bhagavad-gita. I read the Gita (06.22) description of spiritual absorption: a state that takes us beyond dissatisfaction and disturbance. Having just tasted the shallowness of worldly achievements, I felt inspired to pursue this as my life’s ultimate achievement.

As I studied the Gita, recited its verses and applied its teachings, I found my anger decreasing, my mind becoming calmer and my life becoming more purposeful. I started sharing the Gita’s message with friends and several of them became transformed, some to a greater degree than me. They broke free from bad habits and became more positive and productive.

So sublime and transformational was the wisdom I found in the Gita that I decided to dedicate my life to studying and sharing it.

 

Spiritual science

The Gita transformed me not just experientially but also intellectually. It infused my life with holistic meaning. Since my school days, I was fascinated by science, especially by how it uncovered law-like order in nature. And yet I felt disappointed, disturbed even, that science provided me islands of meaning while sentencing me to drown in an ocean of meaninglessness. Science, or more precisely scientism, told that my life was ultimately pointless; that I was just a lucky accident, a parcel of protoplasm somehow come alive for a brief lifetime.

The Gita helped me understand that the order science had discovered in the material universe was a subset of a higher order that permeated all of existence. I felt that the Gita was a masterpiece of spiritual science. It taught that:

  • We have an indestructible spiritual core.
  • The universe is a university.
  • Life is an eternal journey of spiritual evolution.
  • Everything we do can contribute to our growth in wisdom and love.
  • Such growth can take us beyond the body’s mortality to an eternity of ecstasy.

 

A Morale-Restorer

 

The Gita begins by acknowledging that life can hurt, and hurt terribly. Arjuna was a battle-hardened warrior, the embodiment of fearless virility, trained to face death without flinching. Yet such a warrior who could tearlessly endure wounds caused by the deadliest arrows was reduced to a state of uncontrollable tears (02.01) – such are life’s overpowering vicissitudes. This traumatic beginning shows that the Gita speaks our language; it understands and addresses our predicaments as we face our life’s battles, small or big.

At the Gita’s start (01.46), Arjuna put aside his bow, disoriented and disheartened. By the end of the Gita (18.78), he picked up his bow, ready to answer the demanding call of duty. Such is the morale-restoring power of Gita wisdom.

Arjuna’s bow can be said to represent our determination. Life sometimes afflicts us with perplexities and adversities. Disheartened, we put aside our metaphorical bows. But on hearing the Gita, we become animated with spiritual devotion and connect with the supreme source of strength that lies deep inside us. Being thus empowered, we get the wisdom and strength to raise the bow of our determination and face life with confidence.

 

Transforming a Battlefield into a Classroom

No other book in the world has a setting as dramatic as the Gita: It is spoken in the middle of a battlefield, after the blowing of the conches that signified the start of the war. A parallel that may illustrate the momentousness of this setting is a cricket World Cup Final. Thousands of spectators are cheering, the fielders have taken their positions, and the bowler has started the run-up. Suddenly, the batsman calls the non-striker to the middle of the pitch and they start talking and keep talking, on and on.

Similar is the Gita’s setting. The Gita’s speaker Krishna, whom tradition considers God incarnated on earth, demonstrates extraordinary teaching expertise: he converts a battlefield into a classroom. By his presence and presentation, he raises Arjuna far above the battlefield as they scale heights of wisdom that the world has rarely seen before or after.

The Gita’s battlefield setting conveys that no worldly problem is too mundane for God’s voice to reach us. If Arjuna on a battlefield could take time out to seek Gita wisdom, we all can too. Studying the Gita doesn’t consume time; it contributes time. Investing time in studying the Gita helps us protect the time that is otherwise stolen by our disturbed mind. The Gita helps us put first things first, thereby ensuring that we put our time to best use.

Also, just as Krishna converted a battlefield into a classroom, his message can help us convert life’s experiences into learning experiences.

 

The Gita’s Contemporary Relevance

  1. Harmonizing right and left brains

On the Kurukshetra battlefield, Arjuna was fighting a battle within, a battle between reason and emotion. Emotion had caught reason in a stranglehold. The Gita’s message helped Arjuna win his inner battle, not by helping reason defeat emotion, but by harmonizing both reason and emotion through a higher vision of life. Similarly, the Gita can help us harmonize our emotional right brain and logical left brain, thereby enabling us to bring out our best.

 

  1. Spiritual activism

The Gita (18.46) urges us to work as worship. The mood underlying this could be re-phrased as: “What we are is God’s gift to us; what we become is our gift to God.” God wants us to discover our talents, develop them and use them for constructive contribution. The more we work in a mood of service to him and to all living beings in relationship with him, the more we grow both externally and internally. Externally, we contribute to the world; internally, we connect with the source of the supreme peace and joy. The Gita reveals an activist vision of spirituality. Modernity romanticizes the world, making us believe that everything will be hunky-dory if we just adjust a few things. Some spiritual traditions demonize the world, claiming that everything in it is simply a source of temptation and tribulation. In positive contrast to such romanticization or demonization, the Gita recommends utilization: using the things of the world for humanity’s spiritual evolution.

 

  1. Non-sectarian religion

In today’s multi-cultural world, especially relevant is Gita (18.66): “Give up all religions – just surrender to me.” This verse doesn’t reject religion per se, but connects religion with its defining purpose: to love God. When religion is being increasingly misappropriated for promoting sectarian extremism, the Gita’s stress on religion as a means to spiritual devotion can offer precious healing to a hurting world.

 

  1. From self-destruction to self-realization

Millions the world over succumb to various self-destructive behavioral patterns such as depression, addiction and suicidal urges. Such self-destruction begins with a misleading inner voice that makes us do things that hurt us and hurt others. Pertinently, the Gita (06.05) cautions: “Elevate yourself with yourself; don’t degrade yourself with yourself. The self is the friend of the self and the self is the enemy of the self too.” Gita wisdom is an illuminating inner torchlight to identify and rectify the misleading voice. Thus, it can serve as an invaluable spiritual complement to psychology and psychiatry in healing those who have become their own worst enemies.

 

Personal realization and contribution

On occasions too many to count, the Gita has solaced and strengthened me. By reciting it, I access the spiritual sound that raises my consciousness above my circumstance. By meditating on it, my intelligence becomes equipped to return and face the circumstance with greater maturity and clarity.

In 2011, while I was on a morning walk in Mumbai, I slipped on some spilled water. The fall fractured severely my left leg which had been afflicted with polio when I was one and had thereafter hollowed with osteoporosis. The fracture caused pain of the kind I had never experienced before. As I struggled to endure the pain, suddenly Gita verses from the second chapter came out of my mouth, and I felt immediate relief from the pain. From that moment onwards for the next five hours till I was given anesthesia for a surgery, I was continuously reciting the Gita’s verses. By such recitation, I found my consciousness rising above my bodily pain and going deep into the Gita’s wisdom.

After this exceptional spiritual experience, I felt inspired to do something special for serving the Gita. While exploring options, I found that no one was sharing the Gita’s wisdom through concise daily reflections. Several Christian pastors were mailing daily Bible messages, and some Muslim mullahs were mailing daily Koran messages. I felt troubled: Why was the Gita not receiving similar daily service? After praying and seeking my mentors’ blessings, I took up this service on November 1, 2011.

For over five years since then, I have been writing daily a small three-hundred-word reflection on the Gita and publishing it at gitadaily.com. I feel grateful for the opportunity and the ability to do this service to the Gita. And I feel even more grateful to see that these daily reflections are connecting thousands of readers from all over the world with the Gita.

An Israeli scholar on the Gita, Dr. Ithamar Theodor, has called my Gita presentation an expression of “humanistic Hinduism.” The Gita speaks to us through many voices. Dr. Theodor verbalized what I had inchoately sensed: The Gita is meant for all of humanity, for bringing the best out of humanity and for helping humanity get the best out of life.

When I give talks on the Gita in various parts of the world from Australia to America, people often introduce me as a Gita teacher. But I see myself as a Gita student who seeks to understand it better by speaking and writing on it. I don’t teach the Gita – the Gita teaches me and teaches through me. I am profoundly grateful to the many Gita teachers, past and present, whose insights have helped me dive deeper into the Gita. As a service to them, I do my small part in keeping the Gita’s legacy of wisdom alive and accessible.

My life’s greatest fortune is to savor and share the Gita. I hope and pray that I can serve it by writing on it daily till my life’s last day.

The post What I have learned from the Gita appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk. Diary of a Traveling…
→ Dandavats



Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk.
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, By Krishna-kripa das.
Inspiring quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books, conversations, and letters. I add a quote by Krishna Himself from Srimad-Bhagavatam. I include quotes from the books of previous acaryas, namely Rupa Goswami and Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Ramesvara Prabhu, who did great service for the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, gave a class after breakfast on Thanksgiving at The Bhakti Center on the philosophy behind book distribution. The class was very inspiring and filled with a lot of realizations, and I share my notes on that. I also share notes on the morning classes at The Bhakti Center given by Adi Purusha, Rama Raya, Karuna Gauranga, Paramananda Gopal, Murali Gopal and Mahotsaha Prabhus, and by Bhaktas Josh and Cesar. I also include quotes from articles in Back to Godhead, Vol. 51, No. 2, by Krishna Dharma Prabhu, Nagaraja Prabhu, Caitanya Candra Prabhu, Nikunja Vilasini Devi Dasi, and Madhava Smullen. I also share one note from an internet lecture by Vaisesika Prabhu, which I overheard.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/7UhnlW

Saturday, December 17th, 2016
→ The Walking Monk

Brighton, Ontario
  
Rick / Happiness
  
Rick had been sitting in the cozy quarter of Prabhupada’s sitting room in our Toronto ashram.  I walked through the room en route to the washroom when I saw him reading about the life of the founder of the Hare Krishnas.  It’s an extraordinary story.

“How are you, Rick?”

“Great!”

“And how’s your girlfriend?”

“I’ve been trying to get her to come, but she’s reluctant and not sure about the God thing.  She was raised by atheist parents,” said Rick.

“That’s okay.  It’s different for her, naturally.”

“I have no problem with that higher power—a supreme intelligence—but she admits I’ve become a better person because of Krishna being in my life.”

“Yes, that’s what you have to go on.  People judge on the basis of someone’s behaviour and attitude.  If she’s impressed with you then her attraction can build up to the point of coming around.”

Rick was happy with the talk and the prospect of her coming someday.

Happiness is at the seat of life.  It’s what we all want.

Portion two of today was a drive and stay in Brighton for a first bhakti-yogaCentral Canada Farm Conference.  Twenty-six participants came from Ontario and Quebec for an elevating, educational conference on agrarian culture.  There are a number of farm initiatives taken up already.  Some are in a dream state.  Overall, the exhilarating experience of hearing from talent and young, eager families seeking a better quality of life, brought happiness.

http://www.srisurabhi.org/events/event/1st-farm-conference-for-central-canada/

http://www.srisurabhi.org/

Please send me a message if you want more info on the discussions.

May the Source be with you!


0 km

Friday, December 16th, 2016
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario

While Here
  
While here in the ashram, I can look out to see what nature is doing.  The windows reveal the truth.  Once again, today is a white reality.  Yes, snow is out there and it is a natural silencer of things.

“Prabhu, could you please shovel the snow?”  I ask one of the younger monks willing to get into a workout.  Sometimes it’s two or three volunteers who demonstrate beaver-power as far as team work is concerned.  It’s great to see them out there with their cardio exercise in full swing.

I had my share of good old-fashioned physio cleaning the walls and floors of the ashram.  They really needed it and so did I.  Cleaning a holy place is like cleaning the heart.  Sri Chaitanya, one of the most outstanding monks of all times, said to a local trouble-maker, “Amogha, you are born a brahman (a priest).  Your heart should be clean.  God needs to sit there.  He doesn’t like dirty places.”

Amogha was suffering from cholera, a result (according to those who analyzed the story) of finding fault, chronically, in those who were innocent.  Chaitanya put his hand on the chest of the ailing Amogha and instant healing took place.  It was a miracle, an absolute miracle.

In addition to the cleaning, I trudged on through snow again today, for two hours, on my way to directing a drama.  The white stuff that people seem to abhor should be given a second look.  It cleans the air and gives us service.

May the Source be with you!

11 km

Jagannath Rath Yatra 2017 at Iskcon Pune (1 min promo…
→ Dandavats



Jagannath Rath Yatra 2017 at Iskcon Pune (1 min promo video)
Nara-narayana: When you came to the Western world, no one anywhere believed that it would be successful, I think. But actually it has become very successful, by preaching. Prabhupada: I myself did not believe I shall be successful, [laughs] what to speak of others. But because I did in the proper line, so it has become successful. From Srila Prabhupada’s Morning Walk – December 12, 1973, Los Angeles
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/2GI8Yr

Notes from Ramesvara prabhu’s recent sankirtana seminar at…
→ Dandavats



Notes from Ramesvara prabhu’s recent sankirtana seminar at The Bhakti Center on Thanksgiving Day: In some confidential conversations with his disciples, Srila Prabhupada indicated that he was sent from the spiritual world to write his books and distribute them worldwide, much in the same way as the Six Goswamis were.
It was Srila Prabhupada’s genius to illustrate his books with fantastic, colorful, and glorious artwork to attract the conditioned souls to read them.
London was considered the capital of the world because of the British Empire, but after World War II, New York City became more prominent.
Srila Prabhupada envisioned presenting the Srimad-Bhagavatam in 60 volumes of 400 pages each. Most religions have one book about God, and they think that is amazing. In the introduction to the first printing of the second volume of the First Canto, Srila Prabhupada recalls a conversation with someone who found it hard to believe he was producing so many volumes about God. He replied that he was only producing 60 volumes because the puny brains of the residents of Kali-yuga can only take so much. In the higher planets, they have millions of volumes.

Of all of our activities, this activity of book distribution is our most important activity.

Srila Prabhupada gave up everything to write these books, and if we give up everything to distribute them, that will be proper reciprocation, and we will experience a deep satisfaction.

Every embodied soul in every body has a deep-rooted desire to enjoy sense objects. If we had that desire in the spiritual world, it would create a lot of disturbance, and thus Krishna created this world for us. This material sense enjoyment is not this world’s only purpose. Krishna has not forgotten us, and enters into the heart of each body as Paramatma. To come to the human form takes millions of births.

A rich person dies, a poor person dies, a famous person dies, and an unknown person dies. Why should I endeavor for wealth and fame if my end is the same. A human being can question this.

If you are not focused on this philosophy, when you walk out of the door, you will look after one sense object after another, because it is a deep-rooted habit.

No love in the material world could motivate someone to follow his friend in every abominable birth he takes, and thus no one has love like Krishna, who is willing to do that.

Although the souls have attained the human form, they are victimized by Kali-yuga and encouraged to desire like animals, and thus lose their opportunity for perfecting their human lives. When you see with that vision when you go out, that is seeing spiritually. Everyone is part of Krishna like we are and is a family member.

Approaching them, knowing they are our brothers and sisters, although they do not recognize that we are their brothers and sisters, is an art.

The secret on sankirtana is to really care about the people, and Krishna will give the person the ability to see that you really care.

If they get a book, even if they do not read it, they will get a human birth.

If you perform the austerity of trying to distribute the books, although it is not your nature, you will become very dear to Krishna. Krishna sees that you are trying to come up to a soul He has been watching for so many births and get him to turn away from sense enjoyment.

In the beginning it is very hard, but at the end it is nonstop spiritual ecstasy, and that is because Krishna is so pleased that someone is finally trying to turn each soul away from sense enjoyment and toward Him.

We should always think, “These are my brothers and sisters. They are living in a culture that causes them to waste their human lives. I have to give them the opportunity to be delivered.”

Japa is a prayer. It is a call for help. If you pray to Krishna to always give you that sankirtana consciousness, he will do that.

Those ecstasies of sankirtana are waiting for you, like an ocean to swim in.

I cannot describe how dear you become to Krishna if you dedicate your life to connect others with Him.

Q (by Cesar’s father): What did Srila Prabhupada think of when he came to America all alone?
A: This is recorded in his poem “Markine Bhagavata-dharma.” First he thought, “Krishna, why did You bring me here?” For thousands of years in India, the mood was to not associate with such degraded souls. Then he considered that Krishna brought him there for a purpose. And he prayed for Krishna to give him words to say to the people and to make him a success, if He desired.

It has nothing to do with us, but some impossible things occur because Krishna is working through us.

You may think “that person will never take a book,” but Krishna can give you the words to say so he will take a book.

Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Satsvarupa Maharaja one paragraph for me to tell the book distributors. In essence it was, “Because I have sacrificed so much to write these books and you are sacrificing so much to distribute them, we have an intimate and intense relationship, like actors on a stage, and I am the director, and through this the people of the world will be saved.”

Srila Prabhupada said that he liked to work at night because he had to have it very quiet so Krishna could speak to him the translation and purport from within the heart and he could hear it.
Source: https://goo.gl/7UhnlW

Houston’s Four-Day ISKCON 50 Celebration a Grand Success
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Chirag Bhatt

Special guests also included Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg; Pat Hallisey, Mayor of League City and his wife Janice; Dr. Catherine O’Brien, vice chancellor of San Jacinto College; David Williams, Principal at Seabrook Intermediate School; Matt Khan of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, who remarked, “The hospitality was exceptional and I learned a great deal about the history of ISKCON.” Also attending were Rev. Gena Davis of Houston’s grace Episcopal Church, a certified yoga teacher who incorporates yoga in her ministry; Rev. David Carter of the Unitarian Church of Wichita, Kansas perhaps the first Gaudiya Vaisnava devotee to lead such a church and congregation; representatives of the local Focolare community; board members of Houston’s Rothko Chapel; and Dr. Zahra Jamal, Associate Director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University. Representatives of Hindu organizations included those from BAPS, Voice of Sanatan Hinduism, Hindus of Greater Houston, ICC, the Hindu Heritage Foundation, Ashtalaksmi Temple, Sri Sita Ram Foundation, Mahatma Gandhi Library, Banke Bihari Pariwar, the Indo American Political Group and the Youth Leadership Development Program (YLDP). The gala also featured art and devotional music (kirtan) by local devotees and a unique ice sculpture and rangoli (colored powder) depiction of the ISKCON logo. Continue reading "Houston’s Four-Day ISKCON 50 Celebration a Grand Success
→ Dandavats"

Modern science discovers the benefits of meditation
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Giriraj dasa

But now, scientists say that meditators may be benefiting from changes in their brains. The researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. M.R.I. brain scans taken before and after the participants’ meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes. Continue reading "Modern science discovers the benefits of meditation
→ Dandavats"

Her Grace Yamuna Devi.Nirmala Devi: On this day, 5 years ago,…
→ Dandavats



Her Grace Yamuna Devi.
Nirmala Devi: On this day, 5 years ago, our dear Yamuna Devi departed from this world. Daily we carry her with us. Her love, friendship and complete attachment to Srila Prabhupada, has nourished my soul and greatly enhanced my spiritual journey. I am eternally and deeply grateful for her pure association.
If you would like to get a glimpse into this great devotees life, you can dive into her biography, Yamuna Devi, “A life of Unalloyed devotion”.
http://krishnamagic.com/

The First Container From Moscow
- TOVP.org

Kalash and Chatri Parts Being Readied for Shipping.

Pictured here are some of the parts that will be used with the Kalashes and Chatris, being manufactured by the company in Moscow, Russia that we previously reported on in this article.

They were loaded into crates and into a large container on December 14th and will be shipped to Kolkata shortly. In two months when they arrive and make their way to Mayapur we will begin the process of assembling them onto the domes in preparation for the Kalashes and Chatris.

The post The First Container From Moscow appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Plug in to the divine. Each month, we pay our electric bill to…
→ Dandavats



Plug in to the divine.
Each month, we pay our electric bill to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E).
PG & E sends electricity from their power station through a labyrinth of wires, some of which terminate in the walls of our home. Plugged into an electrical socket in the wall of my room, my computer drinks in this electricity, transforming it, through digital technology, into images and sounds.
This afternoon, as I awakened from a short nap, I heard my computer playing a lecture by Srila Prabhupada; just as I opened my eyes, Srila Prabhupada said, “Krsna is akhila-rasamrita-sindhu, the immortal blissful ocean of transcendental rasa.”

Hearing these words, I thought of Krsna.

Simultaneously, I marveled at how electricity – one of Krsna’s energies – was being transformed – through the technology in my computer – to produce the transcendental sound of Srila Prabhupada’s voice.

The computer is an unconscious machine that I, a sentient being, control. If I had chosen to set my computer to play a song by Beethoven, the very same electrical energy that produced the sound of my spiritual master’s voice, would have stimulated the computer to play a song by Beethoven.

Hearing Beethoven, rather than the voice of my spiritual master, would have certainly affected my mind in an entirely different way.

Moreover, I could have sent that same electrical energy through a radio to hear the news, a ball game, or a nationalistic song like the Star Spangled Banner. Each one of these would have affected my mind and consciousness in various ways.

Krsna’s separated inferior energies – earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego – are activated by the superior energy, the soul.

As a soul, I may choose how I activate the inferior energies that surround me.

Those who read Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-bhagavatam, and who associate with advanced devotees, not only learn how to use Krsna’s energies wisely, they also get the impetus to do so.

Each one of Krsna’s energies can be used in His service; or any one of them can be used for sense gratification. My choice in using them either way leads to my elevation or degradation, respectively.

In the Gita 4.24, Krsna says, “A person who is fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.”

And in his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada writes: “The Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality. Krsna consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme.”

Progressive spiritual life lies in dovetailing Krsna’s energies astutely, by engaging them in His service.

The sensible devotee does not shun the energies of the material world, knowing that they can be engaged in Krsna’s service. The devotee also has no interest in enjoying these multifarious energies, knowing well that they belong to Krsna. Rather, the devotee enjoys a higher pleasure by connecting all energies to Krsna thus uncovering their ever fresh spiritual essence.

Be aware today that all the energies that surround you come from Krsna.

Engage them in devotional service and feel Krsna’s divine presence, wherever you may be.
Vaisesia Das

The Mauritius Harinama Team Organized 2 Padayatras For Iskcon 50Th Anniversary
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Panchatattva Dasa

On our way we noticed a wedding ceremony being held and as we got closer, to our surprise, all the baratis or wedding guests came out to join us in the kirtana. The newlywed couple even took the chance to offer incense to the Lords –we are certain that they received Their blessings. Amazingly, we ended the padayatra in an Arya Samaj Hall, even though it is well known that the Arya Samaj in Mauritius do not accept deity worship in their compound. However, we were warmly welcomed with our deities. Asim Krishna Dasa, originally from India, gave a wonderful lecture bringing the padayatra to a close. Continue reading "The Mauritius Harinama Team Organized 2 Padayatras For Iskcon 50Th Anniversary
→ Dandavats"

Is it Better to Compromise or offend?
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Paramadayala Nityananda Das

The title is meant to call attention to the fact that this question assumes the either/or fallacy. Pusta Krishna: He said that morning "What can we do, Prabhupada?" He said, "What can we do? If we do not compromise, we will make enemies." Prabhupada: No, you'll not compromise; at the same time, you'll not make enemies. That is tactics. If you make enemies, then what is your tactics? You must speak the truth; at the same time he'll not be displeased (Morning walk, 6/11/1974). Continue reading "Is it Better to Compromise or offend?
→ Dandavats"

Requesting Your Help
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Janananda Gosvami

The kirtana is at its climax The leader from the top of his lungs bursts forth with a resounding Gurudeva, Gurudeva, Gurudeva Gurudeva ..... Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva etc. Some devotees look at each other - who am I supposed to be singing to or should I be singing it at all. Who is the leader referring to? A kind of silent unsurety lingers in the background or foreground. Some say we should not at all chant others say at specific occasions and times, others anytime, anywhere. Some say before Jaya Prabhupada is okay some after. Some say it is to Srila Prabhupada, some to their initiating guru, some to all the gurus, some the predecessor guru. On behalf of the Kirtan standards committee I would like to hear what the esteemed assembly of learned and experienced devotees could kindly contribute to this topic. Not just our sentiments and likes but what is correct. Continue reading "Requesting Your Help
→ Dandavats"

Malaysia Kirtan Mela 2016 (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada:…
→ Dandavats



Malaysia Kirtan Mela 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: There are two ways of association–by vani and by vapuh. Vani means words, and vapuh means physical presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence. The Bhagavad-gita, for example, is the vani of Lord Krsna. Although Krsna was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-gita continues. (Srila Prabhupada: Cc Antya Concluding Words)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EWR5PB

Sunday Harinama in Vladivostok, Russia (Album with photos) Srila…
→ Dandavats



Sunday Harinama in Vladivostok, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Perhaps, throughout the whole world, it is the first time – we are preaching Bhagavad-gita as it is. We are the only institution in the world that we are preaching Bhagavad-gita as it is, and people are liking it. Before that, for the last two hundred years, so many swamis, yogis and…, they tried to preach Hindu philosophy, Vaisnavism. Not a single person was a devotee of Krsna, not a single person. Now you see so many young men. Why? Why this difference? Because we did not present Bhagavad-gita adulterated. Presented as it is, that’s all. What is the use of preaching adulterated things? Srila Prabhupada – April 12, 1975, Hyderabad
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qjKYLN

ANGER
→ Karnamrita's blog

Author: 
Karnamrita Das

Dhurva fights Yakshas photo Dhruva fights the yakshas_zpslwn2tgub.jpg
Although anger sometimes has a positive use in motivating us to act or to fight for a righteous cause (like Arjuna and Hanuman) and give protection to the oppressed, anger is an energy that is usually criticized since it frequently has negative consequences. We are urged in Bhagavad Gita to control our anger, lest it get out of control and cause us to act in ways we may later regret. In the Bhagavatam’s account of Dhruva Maharaja. After he became king when his brother was killed by a yaksha, although he had heard from Lord Vishnu that his death was inevitable, Dhruva still became angry and killed many yaksha warriors unnecessarily, until he heard spiritual philosophy from Manu.

Because Dhruva was a great soul, he could also give up his anger in the face of reason and Vedic wisdom. We saw in Shrila Prabhupada that he would sometimes become angry to instruct someone to change, but that anger never stayed for long, and the incident that caused his anger would generally not be mentioned again. We find that many people are not able to do this and may get some secondary gain from remaining angry.

For example, in psychology the appearance of frequent anger in a person can alert us to look deeper to find the underlying causes or emotional wounds we would rather not look at or want to feel, like feeling worthless or ashamed of our past. In such an unfortunately mentality anger seems more desirable and motivating that our low self-concept.

read more

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Disappearance Day in Carpinteria, California
Giriraj Swami

Pictured here is our small deity of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura on his disappearance day, just before we offered him bhoha, pushpanjali, and arati. My spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, said, “Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura came in thsrila-bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati-thakura-disap-carp-2016is world to execute the of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So he executed it. And when it was required, he left this place and went to another place to do the same business.” And Srila Prabhupada prayed to his spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, to be merciful to us, Srila Sarasvati’s servant’s servants.

—Giriraj Swami

 

Harinama Initiation Lecture
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Vaisesika Dasa

Krishna is the well-wisher of everyone. He is simply waiting within the heart to give facility to anyone who wants to approach Him. "Tesam satata-yuktanam, bhajatam priti-purvakam, dadami buddhi-yogam tam, yena mam upayanti te" [B.G. 10.10] So when a devotee decides to come forward to take up this .. accept this initiation into the sampradaya, Krishna becomes pleased. In fact sastra says this over and over again. The acaryas state this very clearly, that this official entry and declaration, as we are doing here today, is very pleasing to the Lord. Many people "almost" do something. A lot of people "think about" doing something. So when someone actually "does" something, rather than "almost" doing something, then it moves everyone else. So we are very fortunate today that Bhakta Ramaswamy and Bhakta Leon have decided to formally enter into the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, and that is why we are having this ceremony today. So, a sampradaya means, Krishna's mercy. He is eager that we come back home, back to Godhead. It's not His idea that we stay here. His idea is for us to come back home back to Godhead. Continue reading "Harinama Initiation Lecture
→ Dandavats"

Initiation is the beginning and a voluntary bond
→ Servant of the Servant

The ceremony of diksha, initiation, is that by which the spiritual preceptor admits one to the status of a neophyte on the path of spiritual endeavor. The ceremony tends to confer spiritual enlightenment by abrogating sinfulness. Its actual effect depends on the degree of willing co-operation on the part of the disciple and is, therefore, not the same in all cases. It does not preclude the possibility of reversion of the novice to the non-spiritual state if he slackens in his effort or misbehaves. Initiation puts a person on the true track and also imparts an initial impulse to go ahead. It cannot, however, keep one going for good unless one chooses to put forth his own voluntary effort.... Unless the soul of its own accord chooses to serve Krishna after obtaining a working idea of his real nature, it cannot long retain the spiritual vision. The soul is never compelled by Krishna to serve him.

- By His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Takur Prabhupada, Sajjana-toshani, volume 26, number 7 December 1928

My take away points on initiation are;

  1. Sets the neophyte on the spiritual path
  2. Confers enlightenment through canceling of sinful behavior
  3. Progress depends on cooperation of the disciple to the instructions' of the spiritual master
  4. It is a voluntary process (no force)
Hare Krishna