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Websites from the ISKCON Universe
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Giriraj Swami and Rtadvaja Swami spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.6.
“It is a great transcendental science and begins with the process of hearing and chanting the name, fame, glory, etc., of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Revival of the dormant affection or love of Godhead does not depend on the mechanical system of hearing and chanting, but it solely and wholly depends on the causeless mercy of the Lord. When the Lord is fully satisfied with the sincere efforts of the devotee, He may endow him with His loving transcendental service. But even with the prescribed forms of hearing and chanting, there is at once mitigation of the superfluous and unwanted miseries of material existence. Such mitigation of material affection does not wait for development of transcendental knowledge. Rather, knowledge is dependent on devotional service for the ultimate realization of the Supreme Truth.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.6 purport
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Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.6
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As a snake-bitten man is brought back to consciousness by the chanting of certain mantras, so one in the unconscious state of material life can be revived by hearing the maha-mantra: In the Garuda Purana the stress on hearing is expressed very nicely. It is said there: "The state of conditioned life in the material world is just like a man Iying unconscious, having been bitten by a snake. This is because both such unconscious states can be ended by the sound of a mantra." When a man is snake-bitten he does not die immediately, but first becomes unconscious and remains in a comatose condition. Anyone who is in the material world is also sleeping, as he is ignorant of his actual self or his actual duty and his relationship with God. So materialistic life means that one is bitten by the snake of maya, illusion, and thus, without any Krsna consciousness, he is almost dead. Now, the so-called dead man bitten by a snake can be brought back again to life by the chanting of some mantra. There are expert chanters of these mantras who can perform this feat. Similarly, one can be brought back into Krsna consciousness from the deadly unconscious state of material life by hearing of the maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Continue reading "The Transcendental Effects of the Holy Name
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Talk at Denver University
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Every guest coming to the temple is warmly welcomed with folded palms and cordially received. Since our movement is a preaching mission, in the International Society for Krishna consciousness (ISKCON), the proper reception of guests is very important. As followers of Srila Prabhupada, the founder Acharya of ISKCON, we should consider any guest in the temple to be his guest. Proper reception of a guest can make a difference between a person coming once to the temple and never returning, or becoming a regular visitor & ultimately becoming a devotee of Krishna. Therefore each and every guest should be dealt with great care and hospitality. Their names and addresses should be collected. They should be sent some gift and relevant information about the temple. Continue reading "Dealing With Different Categories Of Visitors
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However, right from the start, there were a couple of notable challenges. Firstly we were assumed, and required, to represent one of the principle world religions, namely Hinduism. This raised pertinent, and sometimes controversial, theological questions about the identity of ISKCON and its members (we’ll come back to this later). Secondly and subsequently, this also meant that ISKCON Educational Services staff were required to make presentations not just on ISKCON and Gaudiya Vaishnavism, nor on broader Vaishnavism, but on the whole spectrum of Hinduism itself. I began to question whether this supported our Society’s aims or was even consistent with them. As I pondered, and read more school textbooks on Hinduism, I considered and noted down some of the possible benefits of speaking and writing about the subject. However, I also noticed in many school textbooks room for considerable improvement. Continue reading "The Western Educationalists’ Perspective on the Vedic Tradition
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ISKCON NZ Padayatra Fiji (Album with photos)
Kalasamvara Das: Today we chanted in the outer suburbs of Fiji and distributed hu...
Plastering on the TOVP (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: The beautification of the TOVP is set into full motion now. We are currently plastering all of the TOVP’s outer walls, including the walls under the Domes. Once this is completed we will then install the white marble.
The workers are using our wonderful new hoist to keep their work simple and safe. Using this hoist is a remarkable alternative for scaffolding and is making our construction smarter, more cost efficient, and is saving us time.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/oo3dcM
TOVP: Bronze Ornamentation Samples (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: Our very creative Manufacturing Process Engineer, Savyasa...
TOVP: Demigod Sculptors (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: After a year of dedicated work and co -creativity, we are reaching a great milestone in our Art department. The artists have been creating 8 sculptors of chosen demigods and associates of the Lord.
The demigods that we have sculpted are Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, Lord Indra, Sri Lakshmii Devi, Manu, and Garuda. Currently we are finishing the last two Vaikuntha associates, Nanda and Sunanda.
Once completed, the sculptors will be placed in Lord Nrsimha’s Dome. The 8 Demigods and the Lord’s associates will fill the circumference on the second gallery level of Lord Nrsimha’s Dome.
They are all in the mood of fear and submission because they have never seen Lord Nrsimha this ferocious. They will be facing Lord Nrsimha because they have come to witness His pastimes and offer their humble obeisances.
After this project is completed, the artists will then begin sculpting the Guru parampara that will go on the leftmost altar in the Main Dome.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/F5wqfl
Harinama in Tel Aviv, Israel, 24.09.2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Narada Muni, citing a practical example from his...
Harinamas in London “shake” the city! (6 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: If we simply place ourselves at the lotus feet of Krishna by taking to Krishna consciousness and keeping always in touch with Him by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, we need not take much trouble in arranging to return to the spiritual world. By the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, this is very easy. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.15.53 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/xucdEL
Scientists claim Saraswati did exist, debunk 5,000-year-old myth.
Prithviraj Singh, Hindustan Times, Dehradun: Scientists at the Dehradun-Based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) have debunked established belief that river Saraswati is just a 5,000-year-old myth.
They claimed to have found after extensive research that the river did exist during ancient times, but got buried because of tectonic changes in the Himalayas.
The mythical Saraswati forms the Hindu holy triumvirate along with the Ganga and Yamuna, and the hypothetical confluence of these three rivers in Allahabad is the source of humanity’s biggest gathering every 12 years during the Kumbh Mela.
Scientists said the Saraswati flowed from its origin at Adi Badri in the Shivalik range of Haryana’s Yamunanagar to its meeting point with Chautang river in the plains. This is the course the river followed when it flowed in the Vedic era.
They confirmed that tectonic activities along the Shivalik Himalayas separated the river course from Adi Badri and it was never recharged because of a series of climatic disasters.
The river died eventually. But rainwater collected at scattered hollow locations above the buried river gives proof of Saraswati’s existence and the course it took.
Physical and chemical analysis of nearly 22 samples from a 60-km buried water stream confirmed that of it was indeed the ancient Saraswati, now entombed by five feet of top soil, the scientists said.
Source: https://goo.gl/PpWEgW
One of the recent events celebrated for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary by the Brisbane devotees was a boat ride on the Brisbane River.
About 140 devotees ( that’s all the boat could fit ) assembled at a Southbank jetty in central Brisbane to board the “Jaladuta 2”, which was a reenactment of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival into Boston on September 17th 1965.
On board we started with guru puja to Srila Prabhupada and for the next 4 hours there was kirtan, speeches, stories and wonderful prasadam.
Special guests were Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, HH Vedavyasapriya Maharaja, Gunarnava das, Vilasini dd and myself.
A visit to Johannesburg
Kadamba Kanana Swami spent the week after Radhastami in Durban and then decided to fly to Johannesburg for a short visit so we left Durban on Saturday morning (17 September). Upon arrival in Johannesburg, we were fetched by Maharaj’s disciple Hrdaya Caitanya and first we spent a few hours at the home of Sri Govinda and Jayalalita before setting off to Midrand, about midway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, to the home of Girivaradhari Prabhu. The kirtan was especially sweet that evening and Maharaj enjoyed it a lot. Vibhu Caitanya’s mother, Aditi dd was there to prepare dinner for Maharaj and many other devotees had also come to the program which was so spontaneously arranged!
The next morning, Maharaj took some time to meet disciples who wanted to speak to him. It had cooled down quite a bit over the weekend so when we walked around the protected area where we stayed, we equipped ourselves with umbrellas, rain jackets and several sweaters.
The Sunday Love Feast program at the Midrand temple started at 4pm. We arrived in time and Maharaj got ready to lead the kirtan after he had greeted some old friends. In his lecture, Maharaj spoke about Krsna’s neutrality. He made the point that Krsna, because he is not interfering with our free will, lets us engage in whatever activities we want to. Krsna never wanted this material world to exist but created it because of our desire to be the controller. Maharaj elaborated on the point of neutrality; he gave the example of Narada Muni, who as a child went to the forest to meditate and eventually got darshan of the Lord but when the Lord disappeared, he got angry. Krsna then returned and told Narada that he would not see him again in this lifetime. So again Krsna took his neutral position and maintained it even though Narada was a great devotee. Maharaj explained that Krsna does this to test us – he wants us to come to the point of eagerness, eagerness to see him and to be with him!
At the same time though, his neutrality, in a way is also a facade. It is said that Krsna is more eager for us to return to Godhead than we are. He sees that we are suffering and wants us to return to the spiritual world.
After the class which for me was really eye-opening, Maharaj led Guru Puja as well. As he started to sing, one devotee picked up an accordion and started playing along and it turned into a wild kirtan in no time, with Maharaj dancing ecstatically in the middle of all the other devotees! On that high note, the program ended and early the next morning, we flew back to Durban.
Back to Durban
Over the next week, Maharaj had a very relaxed schedule with only a few engagements. On Tuesday night, the weekly book club gathered to talk about Caitanya Caritamrta, Chapter 8 and when asked, Maharaj was more than happy to facilitate the discussion. First, he gave us an overview of the CC before explaining the 8th chapter in detail.
Thereafter, Maharaj had another two full days of rest; he would sometimes work on his novel or speak to whoever would visit his room. However, we never failed to do our walk on the beach! Agnidev Prabhu had come to stay in Durban for a week and was doing a lot of evening programs. He had come to the Durban Ratha Yatra last year and said that he likes South Africa a lot and the devotees appreciate him a lot too. When he found out that we were going for walks on the beach, he decided to join us for his remaining days in Durban. He would go for a swim in the sea every day and I was fortunate enough to go with him one day!
On Friday night, Maharaj did another house program. It was a wonderful little program with a lovely atmosphere. Maharaj started giving turns to all the devotees to lead kirtan and thus involved everyone more actively. Earlier that day, I had heard Maharaj practice that night’s tune in his room and he said that he sang it for the first time.
On Saturday (25 September), it was Heritage Day in South Africa and a public holiday. Since Maharaj wasn’t scheduled for any program that day, he decided to organise a “Maha Harinama” and so he did. We went to Durban North Beach at around noontime and started walking up and down the beachfront with about 40 devotees. Maharaj led kirtan and rocked it for almost two hours. The kirtan was already quite ecstatic but when Maharaj led the party onto the beach, people came out of the water to join us. They formed a circle around the devotees and all started dancing. Maharaj let them sing too, reading the maha mantra from one of the flyers we were giving out. The harinama continued until late but Maharaj went back to the temple and was completely exhausted for the rest of the day. He was also saving energy for the next day’s program where he was participating in a six hour kirtan at the New Jagannatha Puri temple in Phoenix.
A wonderful year has come to an end…
Early on Sunday morning (25 September), I made my way to the airport to travel back to Germany. My year of serving and travelling with Maharaj had come to an end and I had to say goodbye to him and all the devotees until we meet again. Even though I was naturally sad to leave, I focus on the positive. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity that I got! It was wonderful travelling with Maharaj and I feel like I have learned much, much more than I could have anywhere else. I have great respect for Maharaj, for all the service that he is doing and the fact that he never stops. When he speaks about the eagerness for serving Krsna that we should develop, I can see so much of that in him. Thank you to all the devotees that I’ve met throughout the time I have been with Maharaj for always taking such wonderful care of me; I won’t forget you either!
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