Planet ISKCON

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 09/11/2016

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Participating Directors: Bhima, Chaitanya Mangala, Kripamaya, Ranaka and Sri Tulasi Manjari

Participating Advisors: Jaya Krsna & Vraja

Participating Manager: Mukunda

Recording Secretary: Jamuna Jivani

1. Bahulaban Barn Community Center Proposal Update

Mukunda continues to communicate with the relevant governmental agencies regarding the various requirements, as well as Prakash Patel, from whom is he awaiting a report. He will begin putting together some rough cost estimates based on the information he already has.

2. Mukunda’s Monthly Report

• He finished installing double-door and windows at temple flower garden shed.
• He began preparing the inside walls of the temple milking goshala for the installation of plywood and vinyl panels.
• He terminated his participation as the ECO-V representative on the Steering Committee.
• He submitted his resignation as an ECO-V Manager and announced his plans to return to Florida shortly after the November Joint Board meetings.

The ECO-V team members present expressed their appreciation for Mukunda’s service and contributions over the nearly two years he’s been involved with ECO-Vrindaban and wish well both him and his wife Bhakti-lata Dasi.

3.  Nitaicandra’s Monthly Report

• He has been relocating 19 cows from Bahulaban to Nandagram.
• He repaired a well pump at Nandagram which had broken.
• 5,000 flowers were grown and picked for Radhastami.
• He brought a cow named Rasananda to Radha Kunda for the Radhastami celebration.
• He oversaw continued harvesting in the gardens.

4. ECO-V & INV Managers’ Meetings Update

These meetings are scheduled to be held every two months. The next meeting will be in approximately two weeks. A few days prior to the meeting, the Managers will compile a list of topics for discussion.

5. ECO-V Staff Meetings Update

Staff meetings are being held on alternating Fridays. Mukunda, Nitaicandra and Ranaka report that the staff has been enjoying and benefiting from the discussions and feel they have been helpful and productive.

6.  Developing ECO-V’s Cow Protection Endowment

WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes to establish an endowment to continue support for cow protection, both now and into the future.

RESOLVED: The Board approves up to $3K to be used for legal work with Mrigendra prabhu to establish an endowment.

A subcommittee consisting of Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka and Jaya Krsna has been tasked to work on this project.

https://www.facebook.com/ECOVrindaban

Prabhupada Will Claim Us 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 April 2016, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.8.19–24)

When we are struggling in our spiritual lives, it means that we have to put in more external activity. When there is an internal struggle, it means that externally there is a vacuum, that externally we have not put in enough worship of Krsna, not enough chanting of Hare Krsna and not enough absorption in Krsna’s teachings. There is not enough Krsna upadesh but we just have to increase it, somehow do more and then the breakthrough will come. 

It is a little difficult! Sometimes we say, “I cannot do more because I do not feel inspired.” This is the eternal dilemma, “If I was inspired, I would be more Krsna conscious.” No. Be more Krsna conscious and you WILL BE inspired. This is actually how it is. It is the kanistha-adhikari (neophyte devotee) who says to Krsna, “I will surrender if you give me the ecstasy. If you give me the bliss of Krsna consciousness then I will surrender.” Krsna says, “No, surrender and I will give you bliss.”

But the madhyam (intermediate devotee) has understood, “I will surrender. I will just do it and then see what comes. I will put my faith there. I put my faith that happiness is with Krsna, not with other things. I will leave these other things because what happiness is really going to come from it. It is going to be mixed at best – happiness and distress. I have faith that if I invest in service to Krsna, then happiness will come.”

’śraddhā’-śabde—viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 22.62). All good will come from serving Krsna, from devotional service. That is śraddhā’. That is faith. So that is madhyam. The madhyam has faith. Kanistha does not. Kanistha means weak determination.

So this is our predicament. We are waiting for Krsna to somehow or other send us some grace. “Oh, Krsna, please be merciful to me. Please send me the inspiration. Please send me nectar. Krsna, I pray to you.” Few minutes later… nothing is coming. The struggle goes on, the struggle continues. Because we have to make that step first, make the gift to Krsna of ourselves. We have to give ourselves in service and immediately the inspiration will be there. Immediately!

A wonderful service towards introducing Srila Prabhupada into schools (3 min video)
On the occasion of the appearance day of Srila Prabhupada and also celebrating 50 years of ISKCON’s Golden jubilee the youth initiative of ISKCON Pune GYST (Gita Youth Society for Transformation) distributed fruit sweets in 15 government schools of Pune.
Total 20,000 students got the sweets. Each student was given a card along with the sweets which contained the brief introduction of Srila Prabhupada and short summary of his teachings. Each school also received a picture frame of Srila Prabhupada which was hung in the school office. More than 30 volunteers were involved in making this activity possible. Our special thanks to HG Radheshyamprabhu the temple president of ISKCON Pune who inspired us.
The children and school teachers were extremely happy on receiving Prabhupad’s message with sweets and cards. The whole effort of was led by HG AnandMurariPrabhu a brahmachari monk and Bhakta Manjunath a brahmachari monk boosting the team to Glorify Srila Prabhupad also promoting Kids Janmastami in more than 20 schools and also in Rehabilitationaddiction centres across pune city. ISKCON Pune seeks blessings of all Vaishnavas to be able to continue such activities and please Srila Prabhupada more and more in coming future.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/nJWqg1

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj came to ISKCON Ujjain on 3rd October 2016. Maharaj will be staying in Ujjain for about a week. Please find here the recordings of the recent classes given by Maharaj at Ujjain: Srimad Bhagavatam Class – 4th October 2016 : Srimad Bhagavatam Class – 5th October 2016 : We […]

The post Recent Classes By Bhakti Charu Swami At ISKCON Ujjain appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj gave wonderful seminar at ISKCON Ujjain on “Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Teachings” from 12th to 15th September 2016. Please hear the recordings here:

The post Lectures Of Seminar On Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Teachings – Ujjain (12-15 September 2016) appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
Bhakti Charu Swami: “Time and time again I am coming back to this point because it has become quite a common practice in India to present somebody as God or present oneself as God. We can see that those people didn’t even read Bhagavad-gita, and even if they did read, they didn’t understand Bhagavad-gita. The extent of their understanding of Bhagavad-gita is karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana. [Bg 2.47] “You work like a donkey and don’t worry about the results. Give the results to me”, that is their interpretation. Political people make this slogan: You work, don’t worry about the results. But they don’t understand who the result is meant for; the result is meant for Krishna. Krishna is saying to try your best to serve Him, accept everything for His sake and offer everything to Him as your service and don’t expect anything, because He will reward you in the most wonderful way. In this way we can see that although the Bhagavad-gita is there, so wonderfully presented by Krishna, unfortunately most of the Hindus are not taking advantage of it. There are plenty of translations of the Bhagavad-gita, plenty of Bhagavad-gitas in the market, but not a single devotee is generated from those books. I remember in ’76, I was a new devotee at that time, we took statistics of English Bhagavad-gitas in the market and we found more than 250 Bhagavad-gitas. There were more than 250 Bhagavad-gita translations in English. All those Bhagavad-gitas put together did not make a single devotee, whereas Prabhupada’s one “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” is making millions of devotees all over the world. And who knows how many devotees this book will make? As time is passing, more and more people are becoming devotees. So that is the potency of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. What is the meaning of “As It Is?” Prabhupada explained it: the way Krishna spoke and the way Arjuna understood it. That is the meaning of Bhagavad-gita As It Is.”

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What is actual independence?
Niranjana Swami: Everybody really likes to be independent. It’s one of the characteristics of being in the material world is that we like our independence. We don’t want anybody telling us what to do. We don’t want to become completely dependent upon anybody, because to become completely dependent upon somebody in the material world is a sign of misfortune. As soon as you become completely dependent upon somebody then you are obliged, you have to do so many things - things that you don’t want to do, but you feel like you have to do because, “I am dependent on that person.”
And then we always try to make some kind of separate arrangements so that we can gradually release ourselves from the clutches of that dependence. But when we try to release ourselves from the clutches of that dependence, than we have to become dependent on somebody else. But we don’t realize it. Or we may think, “At least this is a better type of dependence. It was better than the previous one.”
And actually that is what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta talks about here in this quote. He is describing what is actual independence. The quote begins with the statement,
“To try to become God is non-devotional. The desire to become independent in this world means to become the servant of others. Material independence is simply a covered form of dependence. Complete independence is obtained by becoming dependent on the Lord, who is full of eternality, knowledge and bliss, and desiring only to serve Him. As long as the living entities hold the rope of the Lord’s mercy they are known as His servants. Those who think themselves self-dependent, or independent, should know that they are actually dependent on others. Only those who depend on the Supreme Lord are truly independent. When we attain actual independence than the conception that we are eternally dependent on Sri Hari becomes prominent. Any object that is a complete whole is transcendental.”
This is an important point to explain.
“Service to, or dependence on that transcendental, absolute truth Sri Hari is actual joyful independence. Otherwise, the show of independence, while identifying oneself as the doer or master, brings only distress. It is nothing but subordination under maya.”

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Congregation program at San Jose, USA

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The bond of friendship.
Kadamba Kanana Swami: I think that the only thing that can really bond us together is friendship. Just common acceptance of Krsna as the Supreme Lord will bring us together from time to time – we will come together at the temple and festivals – but friendship will take us so much further. Because it is in friendship, in real friendship that we are going to stimulate each other so much more than by just being colleagues!
I have often given this example of how we can be together like colleagues. We are all devotees of Krsna and we are all colleagues. We are all devotees in the same temple and we are all colleagues. We are all chanting Hare Krsna and we are all colleagues. We are all dancing in the kirtan party as colleagues. But when there is no friendship, it is not enough.
If there is friendship, then friendship is different. Friendship is like a family spirit. When your colleague is not performing well and it disturbs your work, you can say, “Get it together! You know, they’ll throw you out of here one of these days if you don’t get it together.”
That is what you say to a colleague but to a family member, you say, “When in the world are you ever going to get it together? But we can’t throw you out because you’re part of the family.”
That is different. That is friendship and in that friendship there is trust. We know we are going to be accepted. We do not have to have a masquerade where everyone acts out to be a pure devotee in a Hare Krsna community. We can just be more honest. If there is friendship, we can just be who we are and still be accepted. In that way, we can get some real human support which is what we need!

The post Never trust the mind, no mater how advanced you have become appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Daily Darshan: Oct 5, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Donor Appreciation Day 2016 (Album with photos)
Govardhana Farms & Iskcon Govinda’s Herd: This past Saturday we organized a donor appreciation day for our special donors. It was a day especially for them to have fun with the cows and bulls. We arranged many different activities from feeding the cows and bulls treats, to lunch prasadam in the barn of course, a go-puja and kirtan. It was lots of fun. We really wanted to show our appreciation to our donors who support us and, in fact, keep our project “alive”. We wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing without them. We look forward to our next donor appreciation day sometime in 2017.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/TVudfu

Harinama in Gorky Central Park (Moscow, Russia) (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the Age of Kali, there is no religious principle except chanting Krishna’s name. It has been ascertained from all the scriptures that Krishna’s holy name is the essence of all mantras. (Renunciation Through Wisdom, 5.1 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/aTYvUM

The conference was entitled “Fifty Years of the Krishna Consciousness Movement: Srila Prabhupada, Messenger of Peace and Spiritual Knowledge” and it was held at the Chamber of Deputies, one of two houses in the Italian Parliament’s bicameral legislature and a spot where all major political decisions are made. At least one hundred devotees of different ages and “ashramas” or stages of life represented ISKCON at the conference, and the Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies introduced it. There were be speeches by Madhusevita Das, President of the ISKCON Italian Confederation, and Parabhakti dasa in the role of Italian Confederation Vice President and Communications Director. The event included also bhajans, a prasadam buffet, and a screening of the twenty-minute documentary film Hare Krishna: 50 Years of Service and Joy, which showcases ISKCON’s many impressive contributions to the world. All Members of Parliament received Italian language editions of the ISKCON 50 magazine “The Hare Krishnas: Celebrating 50 Years” in their mailboxes. The magazine is an easily accessible introduction to ISKCON and its founder, history, beliefs and works. Continue reading "Italian Parliament Hosts ISKCON 50 Conference
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TOVP: Side Dome Kalashes update,
Sadbhuja Das: We have successfully installed the Kalash Dome frames on both of the small side ...

The year 2016 is a special year for Hare Krishna communities around the world as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, which was incorporated by our beloved founder Srila Prabhupada in 1966. Celebrations are taking place in 600 cities across 75 countries from August 2015 till December 2016. Here in Canada, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau has shared a congratulatory message for our Canadian Hare Krishna communities! Special thank to one of our dynamic young devotees of our community, Preya Maulkhan for helping to coordinate the official congratulatory message from the Prime Minister's Office! Continue reading "Iskcon50 Congratulations From Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
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On the occasion of 50 years Golden Jubilee celebration this year we were blessed with our special guest for Janmastami, His Holiness Sivarama Swami Maharaj, from Hungary. The celebrations went on for 3 days from 24-08-2016 to 26-08-2016. People from all over Tirupati and Andhrapradesh attended to receive blessings of their Lord ships Sri Radha Govinda and Srila Prabhupada. Around three hundred thousand plates of prasadam were distributed and at Mid Night 12'o clock Maha Shanka Abisekha was performed for the deities. As Part of Janmasthami celebrations we erected a Huge (30 feet width and 40 feet height) Diorama of Srila Prabhupada and the countries he preached around the world for ISKCON 50 years Golden Jubilee Festival at TTD Grounds opposite to ISKCON, Tirupati temple. Continue reading "ISKCON-Tirupati’s celebrations
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Levels of Prabhupada Consciousness

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.7.51.

“These are very important principles. We may have heard them before but as Srila Prabhupada said repetition is important for understanding because we are in the material atmosphere which is full of fog and clouds. Therefore even though something may be clear at a certain time and with the right association, the same things may become clouded over again and we may lapse into certain habitual ways of thinking which are not spiritual or Krishna consciousness. So we have to pray that the truth of Krishna consciousness always remains illuminated within our hearts so we don’t slide back into the fog and clouds of material consciousness.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.7.51, Dallas

Recently I heard someone say, “We [devotees] shouldn’t be too philosophical, because that would drive all the non-philosophical people away.”

This is like a mother saying to her daughter, “Don’t be so beautiful, it will drive away all the ugly men.”

First, who cares if she scares away the ugly men?

Second, what kind of girl thinks it is important to attract people other than her boyfriend? Or to attract friends that her boyfriend doesn’t like so much? In other words, what kind of devotee cares about attracting people besides Krishna, or attracting people Krishna finds unattractive?

In the seventh chapter of Gita, Krishna says that of all the people who come towards him, the philosophical are the “most dear to him.” (priyo hi jñānīno’tyartham). Krishna loves philosophical devotees, and that should be enough information for us!

Third, everyone is attracted to beauty, including the ugly. It makes no sense to say that people who are less philosophical are not attracted to people who are more philosophical.

Knowledge  is one of the six aspects of bhaga (the stuff that is attractive).

aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaṇṇāṁ bhagam itīṅganā

“The six parts of attractivness are:
Superlative power, bravery, renown,
beauty, knowledge, and dispassion.”

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47)

Two types of people are not attracted to these qualities. (1) Those too blunt and dull to even comprehend the difference between attractive and unattractive, (2) Those who have  psychological complexes about their perceived lack of these qualities. These people have a negative attraction to the qualities – feeling threatened by those who possess them in greater abundance. A group of such people only attract more of the same.

Knowledge is attractive. Even All-Attractive Krishna finds it attractive.

However, putting lipstick over warts does not constitute beauty. Pride in academics and intellectual musculature is such “knowledge-lipstick.” Pride is the opposite of vairagya (“dispassion”) and is therefore ugly. Real philosophy has a shy, humble character to its strength. Real philosophy is essential for understanding Krishna, and also happens to be beautiful and immensely attractive to the sort of people that Krishna likes.

Vraja Kishor das (vrajakishor.com)

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, June 2011, Stockholm, Sweden, Lecture)

I think that the only thing that can really bond us together is friendship. Just common acceptance of Krsna as the Supreme Lord will bring us together from time to time – we will come together at the temple and festivals – but friendship will take us so much further. Because it is in friendship, in real friendship that we are going to stimulate each other so much more than by just being colleagues!

I have often given this example of how we can be together like colleagues. We are all devotees of Krsna and we are all colleagues. We are all devotees in the same temple and we are all colleagues. We are all chanting Hare Krsna and we are all colleagues. We are all dancing in the kirtan party as colleagues. But when there is no friendship, it is not enough.

If there is friendship, then friendship is different. Friendship is like a family spirit. When your colleague is not performing well and it disturbs your work, you can say, “Get it together! You know, they’ll throw you out of here one of these days if you don’t get it together.”

That is what you say to a colleague but to a family member, you say, “When in the world are you ever going to get it together? But we can’t throw you out because you’re part of the family.”

That is different. That is friendship and in that friendship there is trust. We know we are going to be accepted. We do not have to have a masquerade where everyone acts out to be a pure devotee in a Hare Krsna community. We can just be more honest. If there is friendship, we can just be who we are and still be accepted. In that way, we can get some real human support which is what we need!

We have all heard a great class or read something that really motivated us to change. But why do we often fall back to our old ways within a few days or weeks? It can be because we have not associated significant amounts of pain to holding on to some anartha(s). Unless something disgusts you, unless you feel you can’t take it anymore, it’s unlikely you will change. Think about something you have put off for a long time - years perhaps - that you could have easily done by now. Why haven’t you done it? It is because you feel it will be more painful to do it than to not do it? Fear is defined as an anticipation of future suffering. We are afraid to give up our anarthas because we think we’ll suffer. Continue reading "How Pain Can Motivate
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Most of the times, we are running after money (dhan). Money is what makes the world go round, or so it appears. Many a times, this appears to be true. Money enables us to buy goods and services, food, clothing and other basic necessities of life, possessions, home, car, luxuries, etc; Since Laxmi is the goddess of wealth, we worship her to bless us with her favour and benediction. As we are mostly obsessed with money and its acquisition, we do not realize that Laxmi also benedicts us with beauty (soundarya) , strength (bal), fame (kirti), knowledge (gyan), and renunciation (bairagya). Renunciation is also a sign of Laxmi’s opulence, but since many of us are so much blinded by gross materialism, we do not credit any importance to the spirit of renunciation and detachment, which is one of the opulences bestowed by goddess Laxmi. Continue reading "Running After Lakshmi
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