Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Lalita Sakhi’s Village (7 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Lalita Sakhi is one of Srimati Radharani’s 8 principle girlfriends. Her home in Unchagaon is close to Radharani’s residence in Varsana. Our parikrama party visited Unchagaon on the 1st day of Kartika and enjoyed many wonderful hours of Krsna katha, kirtan and association with the villagers who live in that sacred abode.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/yQh17E
By the TOVP team On behalf of Jananivas, Ambarisa, Svaha and Braja Vilas prabhus and the entire TOVP Team, it is with great sorrow and bereavement that we have learned of the passing of one of the TOVP’s first heroes, His Grace Sri Nathji prabhu (Dr. N.D. Desai) yesterday, October 17th. We are in shock at his sudden departure at the age of 76 due to heart failure during a visit to Bhutan. It is truly a dark day of loss for the TOVP and for his family. We offer our condolences to his wife, two sons and daughter during this challenging time. His cremation ceremony will be held on October 18th in India. He will be greatly missed by us all.
Continue reading "His Grace Sri Nathji Das – A Hero of the TOVP Departs
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“He Saved Me”
Srila Prabhupada struggled in the early 1970s to acquire the ISKCON Juhu property. He promised Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari, who were then housed in small shack, a beautiful temple.
The complex opened in 1978 and now includes a spacious marble temple, an auditorium, restaurant, a twin towered seven-storey guest house, the Heaven on Earth conference guest house and a seven floor devotee accommodation.
The GBC body came here In the middle of October for the mid-term meeting.
The INV & ECO-V board members humbly invite you to a service appreciation ceremony.
Honorees: Pitambar & Amburish, Gopalasyapriya & Damodara, & Varsana Swami.
When: Sunday November 13th, 2016
Time: 3:30 PM, immediately following the Sunday Feast
Where: Community Hall, under the Palace Lodge
Please come and celebrate their many years of exceptional service in the development of New Vrindaban.
From left to right: Acarya, Amburish, Ananda, Pitambar & Nitai. New Vrindaban circa 1986.
Damodara & Gopa.
Varsana Swami.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 July 2016, London, England, Initiation Lecture)
Endeavour is required to make progress in this material world and austerity is part of it but austerity is not the goal. In Krsna consciousness also, whatever austerities are connected to initiation is not the goal; that is not the meditation. When we speak about four regulative principles, they are actually four prohibitions. So prohibition, restriction and austerity seem to come in that line but the Bhagavad-gita speaks about the regulative principles of freedom which is a different interpretation, a different understanding. In the Bhagavad-gita the regulative principles are not looked upon as restrictive but rather as liberating. This is interesting because generally, we experience these things as restrictions. When we get involved with the Hare Krsna Movement, we cannot eat this and we cannot eat that… there are so many complications… men and women interactions, there are so rules governing the whole thing. So many restrictions that we also tend to perceive these regulative principles as restrictive, even when we take initiation… this is the price we have to pay so we can go back to godhead if all goes well.
But the truth is that these regulative principles are restricting nothing but our maya, our illusion! And actually all these things that we are giving up were the cause of our pain, they were a thorn in our side. They were actually all along the sources of our suffering – eating inedible things is the source of so much suffering, gambling is insanity as it just destroys one’s life, illicit sex and intoxication just bind us in suffering so naturally as we give it up, it is very nice as we become free. We are giving up nothing but suffering!
I learnt this from my spiritual master who summed it up very simple. When he was in New York, a policeman saw him in his robes and asked, “What is it that you guys have to give up??” and his answer was, “SUFFERING!”
We should always remember that we are just getting liberated from all this suffering. We are very fortunate actually… it is very wonderful to live by these principles even if our stubborn, obstinate minds are sometimes rebelling!
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.32, verses 16 to 22.
” ‘But the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of living beings even when they worship Me, O gopis, is that I want to intensify their loving devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained some wealth and then lost it, and who thus becomes so anxious about it that he can think of nothing else’ (SB 10.32.20). It happens: We get something with great difficulty and then we lose it and become obsessed with the loss. Or we may take something for granted, and when we lose it we appreciate what we had.
“Then Krishna says, ‘My dear girls, understanding that simply for My sake you had rejected the authority of worldly opinion, of the Vedas, and of your relatives, I acted as I did only to increase your attachment to Me. Even when I removed Myself from your sight by suddenly disappearing, I never stopped loving you. Therefore, My beloved gopis, please do not harbor any bad feelings toward Me, your beloved’ (SB 10.32.21). Here Krishna is saying that it is not true that He did not reciprocate their love. He did, in such a way as to increase their attachment for Him. He was reciprocating—because the gopis‘, or any pure devotee’s, only desire is to love and serve Krishna and to increase their love for Him and their service to Him. And so by removing Himself from them He was reciprocating with their hearts’ deepest, innermost desire—to increase their love for Him.”
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Sarat Purnima and the First Night of Karttika
Iskcon’s growth (Yesterday’s audio lecture in Iskcon of DC, Washington)
Anuttama das: The other day I was downtown and meeting with the US ambassador and International Religious freedom representative and it was about 15 people there from different religious traditions talking about what’s going on in Russia and they asked me to speak because they know the Hare Krishna devotees were the first ones to get arrested under this new law and people that are in the know are very much concerned, very frightened about these new laws in Russia that rolling back what was for a while very reasonably liberal laws about religious communities, and they are overturning those only going back to like communist era. So they want us there because they know we are Cutting Edge on religious freedom issues. They want to know what’s happening to us what is our experience.
A beautiful video is coming, hopefully will be released during Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day. It talks about Eco communities and focuses on Hungary and this community of Iskcon in Brazil.
The video mentions about our farm in Hungary being the largest conscious living Green community in all of Europe and people come there to study in to see what we’re doing.
To listen to the whole audio lecture: https://soundcloud.com/iskconofdc/sb-1181-anuttama-dasa
By Deena Bandhu Das Just received the very sad news that Sriman Srinathji prabhu, who was very dear to Srila Prabhupada, left this world in Bhutan apparently from a heart attack! Please join us in prayers for this wonderful soul! He was the main pillar of the Radha Gopinath mandir, Iskcon temple of Mumbai. He had personally served Shrila Prabhupada. He was the one who drove Shrila Prabhupada from Juhu to Mumbai central in His final journey to Vrindavana. Continue reading "HG Shrinathji prabhu, left his body today in Bhutan
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Receiving God’s blessings on the street.
Hare Krishna devotees have their day filled with bliss when they join the procession at the annual Chariot Festival (Ratha Yathra). The main purpose behind this initiative is to take the murts of three deities, Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subadhra, to the devotees who are unable to visit the temple regularly. By the time this article is read by Nation readers, the chariot, carrying images of deities, would have been pulled along the streets of Colombo and made participants experience a spiritual bliss.
Days before the festival (Scheduled for October 15), the priest of Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Kotahena, Maha Kartha Das, said in an interview with this scribe that events like this also help create awareness about Krishna Consciousness. “However, we are careful about the rate at which our religious movement grows. Spreading of a religion must be done in a careful and systematic manner. We don’t want religion to spread arbitrarily,” explained Kartha Das.
As in the past, temple authorities expect about 1000 devotees to return to the temple once the chariot completes its scheduled course in Colombo. The procession generally begins at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple with devotees walking the streets singing songs in praise of the Lord. “When you hear the chanting you are cleansed within and obtain the Lord’s blessings,” said Kartha Das.
The chariot festival has a long history and is celebrated in over 100 cities around the world. This tradition of taking the chariot, along with statues of deities, on the streets originated in Puri, Odisha back in 1968. That was the time when the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) fast gained in popularity. The religious movement experienced a rapid growth globally, thanks to the presence and efforts of its founder A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Kartha Das acknowledged that people are at present driven more towards material possessions, rather than spirituality. He said that those interested in Krishna Consciousness can follow a devotee, take part in rituals or listen to lectures on the Baghavad Gita. He added that spiritual progress can be slow, but what really matters is whether the effort put in by a practitioner is sincere.
This priest is making a sincere effort to complete a temple project (in Kotahena) he initiated many years ago. There is more work needed to complete the first phase of this project. “When the temple is complete, it will help build a larger congregation,” Kartha Das said.
He said that he wishes to conduct a course titled ‘Gita Life’ which will be aimed at catering to the spiritual needs of the busy people engaged in the corporate world. The six-day course makes it compulsory for participants to attend all sessions. The course will be conducted by Bhakti Vinoda Swami. Participants will be charged a course fee and given a copy of the Baghavad Gita free.
Events like the chariot festival help spread the message that seeking spirituality must be done under the guidance of an experienced devotee or an authorized guru. When the chariot passes on the streets, it gives that little mental nudge to the materialistic person that he is missing something in life. Sometimes that nudge sparks off a search for the truths in life.
The traditional chariot festival concludes at the temple. Here, devotees are served food (prasadam). There is something special in going this full round on the streets and winding up at the temple. If you are a serious devotee, it would feel ‘just like coming home’.
(Pics by Ravi Nagahawatte)
Source: https://goo.gl/mdUfu4
As a part of celebrations going throughout the whole world to glorify the Golden Jubilee of the foundation of ISKCON, ISKCON Bangladesh has recently organized “Bhaktivedanta National Students’ Competition - 2016”. More than 10,000 students from different parts of the country took part in the program. The competition took nearly five months to complete, and it was held on four levels – zonal, district, divisional and finally on national level.
On October 16th, the ashes of leading Russian devotee Radha Damodara Das were placed in the holy river Yamuna.
Bhaktivedanta Mission School (Album with photos)
Kavicandra Swami: This school is attached to SRI SRI Radha Rasa Bihari Mandir, Juhu, Mumbai.. The pictures are from their ISKCON 50th anniversary festival.. All the displays were made by the students and they stand by to enthusiastically describe things in detail..
This is a great credit to the teachers. The covered every detail of Srila Prabhupada’s life and his accomplishments. They are themselves proof of the potency of the society that Srila Prabhupada has established. Many of the students and teachers are children of devotee parents..
The school has five floors and each was dedicated to a different phase of Srila Prabhupada’s life.
The school day starts with Hare Krsna kirtan in the large temple of Lord Jaganatha, Subhadra and Baladeva.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/4gwTRu
Welcome to the material world, I thought! Without alarming anyone, be prepared that life has its way of rudely ejecting us from our comforts at any moment. Change is unstoppable, uncontrollable and unpredictable.
Probably, most of us say things in private we wouldn't dare utter in public. But, is that acceptable or morally healthy? Hindu texts indicate that all speech reveals who we are. The Upanishads say our actual character is made up of our deepest desires; those desires manifest as our words and actions, which, in turn, create our destiny.
Today’s Rathayatra in Mathura by Iskcon devotees (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One is understood to be an eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he considers himself a servant of the holy name and in this spirit distributes the holy name to the world. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.16 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/p61k4k
Congregation program at Panama City, Panama
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Kartik 2016 celebrations at Bhaktivedanta Manor (Album with HR photos and slide show with musical background)
Srila Prabhupada: To the sincere devotee, this ocean of maya is easily crossed by the cool breeze of Krishna’s Grace. This is our business, to submit to Krishna’s desire to have us back with Him in the eternal sky of Krishna Loka. Letter to Syamasundara, November 24, 1968.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/e8RaHf
ISKCON Hungary Organizes Interfaith FFL on UN World Food Day.
With its organic farm Krishna-valley, ISKCON Hungary has been one of the most well-known champions of sustainability in Europe. To respond to the appeal of the UN FAO about the balanced distribution of food, on Sunday, October 16th, ISKCON Hungary organized a major free food distribution event to the needy in Budapest.
On October 16th the United Nations and the world celebrate World Food Day. In their communications the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) emphasizes: “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.” And they urge everyone: “Let’s adapt agriculture to climate change to build the Zero Hunger Generation.”
According to Vladimir Rakhmanin, the European regional director of FAO, “while we have enough food to feed the entire human population, there are still millions out there starving. The problem is, he says, is not the quantity of the food we produce, it is the unbalance in distribution.”
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/iJ2waL
By Madhava Smullen Overall tourism at Prabhupada’s Palace has increased from 20,000 annually to approximately 30,000. One woman took the tour this summer after she saw the Palace in a commercial. During the tour, she was listening very intently, really absorbing all the information. Then, when we turned the corner, entered Srila Prabhupada’s study, and saw him behind his desk writing in his murti form, she began to cry. Tears were running down her face, and she was overwhelmed with emotion. The others on the tour felt it too. And at that moment I knew that Srila Prabhupada is here – and that although he might physically appear to be absent, he will always be in his Palace. Continue reading "New Vrindaban Devotees Serve Prabhupada at His Palace With Renewed Enthusiasm
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By Praghosa Das From the four corners of the globe the GBC convenes in Mumbai for its annual mid-term meeting. After acting locally for the last 6 months or so the GBC members are now, as a body, thinking globally as directed by Srila Prabhupada. Bhakti Caru Swami: Yesterday in the GBC meeting we were discussing about the importance of reading Srila Prabhupada's books and we became quite painfully aware that nowadays that inclination to read Srila Prabhupada's books is decreasing noticeably. So on behalf of the GBCs I would request all of you to make it a point to read our Founder Acarya's books regularly, every day, and at that time we also became aware how some leading devotees of our movement are so committed to reading Srila Prabhupada's books and then we became aware, extremely joyfully, that Prahladananda Swami is so committed to reading Srila Prabhupada's books that he read Bhagavad-gita 150 times! Actually we know how committed Prahladananda Maharaja is to read Srila Prabhupada's books and sticking to Srila Prabhupada's instructions and even quoting with such scholarship from his books. Thank you so much Prahladananda Maharaja for leading us in this direction so nicely! Thank you! Continue reading "Second day of the GBC meetings in Mumbai
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Lalita Sakhi’s Village (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday on the 1st day of Kartika, our parikrama group visited Unchagaon, the home of Lalita Sakhi. We discussed her glories, had kirtan and walked around the Vrindavan countryside. We also took darshan of the samadhi of Narayana Bhatta Goswami, a great devotee of the Lord accredited with finding many of the holy places of Krsna’s pastimes in Vrindavan.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9brupT
I Want to Say
Q: Is māyā a “temporary fix” for the jīva who is disinclined to Krishna?
It need not be a temporary fix. If a jīva is happy with māyā, so be it; Mission accomplished. Krishna’s mission is to expand happiness, so if a jīva is happy with māyā, his mission is accomplished. Therefore not all jīva end their relationship with māyā. Only some do.
To us it may seem odd to hear that a jīva can be happy with māyā, because we currently live in a very stressful yuga with fairly unhealthy bodies and minds. But there are many, many other ways to exist in māyā besides being a human being on the Internet in 2016. If some of these living conditions satisfy the jīva, great; Mission accomplished.
Those who do not find satisfaction in māyā, however, are more fortunate – for they have a chance to be attracted to something even greater.
Q: I understand that time is continuous; and I also understand that māyā is one of Krishna’s shaktis so she has always existed. Still I am wondering if there was any point in time where māyā was not available to individual consciousness which lead them to become ‘lost souls’ in the darkness?
No. Śāstra describes the relationship of jīva and māyā as anadi. (“Without a previous condition”). For example Krishnadas Kaviraja (in Cc) uses the phrase anādi-bahirmukha (“oriented away [from Krishna] without a previous condition”). Śrī Jīva (in Ts) uses the phrase anādi-bhagavad-ajñāna (“unaware of Bhagavān, without a previous condition”). Krishna himself (Gītā 7.27) says that the māyā (moha) of jīva is inherent in their sarga (“their initial condition”).
Krishna and his śaktis are eternal. He has three categories of śakti: jīva, māyā, and bhakti. All three are eternal. Krishna is the enjoyer. Jīva is the contributor to the enjoyment. Bhakti is the means by which a jīva experiences pleasure by contributing to Krishna’s pleasure. Māyā is the means by which a jīva seeks pleasure independently.
Vraja Kishor (www.vrajakishor.com)
