Planet ISKCON

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The post When the management gives services to one person and not another, isn’t that discrimination? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 11.

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Kirtan
Disappearance of Haridas Thakura

Varnasrama Series at Black Sea Festival (5)

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Enthusiastic kirtan during the Sadhu Sanga Festival in Russia (4 min video)
Shaktyavesha Avatara Dasa: Some people joked that t...

One of ISKCON’s mantra’s we hear recited time and time again is that of “Simple Living; High Thinking”; however as one observes there is in general not much Simple Living given our conditioning to consume, this being simply what we do.

It is amazing however how one can learn the true meaning of Simple Living and the way to truly connect with the high thinking of understanding the environment one lives in, and truly care for Mother Bhumi.

So I had the opportunity to spend time on Flat Holm Island with Marianna and her team of amazing volunteers who each individually taught me so much; whilst learning how to live within the limited provisions provided.

Watching the amount of water and energy consumed, given the only water is that caught from the rain, the electric from a renewable source (with back up generator when required) and a limited amount of bottled gas; made one conscious of what is used and how precious our resources are.

One was also aware of the amount of food consumed it focused the mind given you couldn’t just run out to the local shops; almost everything was cooked fresh with evening meals being a community activity.

Managing the land included checking on the wildlife, counting the bird and insect species; each piece important to the ecology of the Island. To picking up and documenting the rubbish washed up on the Island impressed on my mind how the smallest thing makes a difference, unlike the hedonistic consumerism which is environment destructive and generally means we use others or ruin their local ecology.

Each day was filled with activities, cleaning roofs to make sure the water remains unpolluted, managing the land, maintenance of the building and equipment and the aforementioned survey’s; their was always something to do, each day was full.

Indeed simple living but with an important aim the maintenance of the small Island ecosystem and to be honest it was difficult to leave; I loved the people on the Island who are a unique special bunch of individual’s

It did impress however why Srila Prabhupada talked and emphasized the farming communities, managing the land is a full time job there is always something to do; and done correctly will also care for and encourage the wildlife; giving especially as devotee’s we are meant to look after Mother Bhumi, it will indeed increase our love of Sri Krishna.

If indeed as devotees we worked together as a community in an organic farming environment, will also make it easy for everyone to attend morning and evening classes, make first class prasadam; and learn how to manage our interpersonal relationship’s working even with those we find it difficult to get on with., indeed you get to see their hidden beauty and appreciate them: given that Srila Prabhupada requested we learn to get on well with each other.

It also impressed upon the mind how insignificant consumerism and the pursuit of material advancement is and that you don’t need a lot to be truly happy; one’s mind is truly regulated something that indeed will help in spiritual advancement.

Sadly however it appears observational wise we want it all, a concept of High Thinking, Simple Living that allows our pursuit of self-centred consumerism which is symbiotic with spiritual life claiming this is the pursuit of real happiness.

Whilst on the Island I noticed that in the simplicity of living was the true great happiness and how humbled one felt being accepted and part of one of this tight integrated group; if not for a short while.

In summery it impressed upon me how Srila Prabhupada gave us a great example to follow, spoke on what we needed to do for spiritual advancement; and how attachment to material consumerism hold’s me back.

So it was with great sadness I left Marianna and her team of volunteers, it has been an interesting learning curve; leaving me with a lot to ponder and some of the sweetest memories which will be hard to surpass.

By Bhurijana dasa

Once, on the Hyderabad farm during a morning walk, Srila Prabhupada was asked whether a particular mantra could be chanted within the temple. Srila Prabhupada's reply was that there was nothing wrong with the mantra, but our principle should be to not change anything. Yet, on another occasion, while he was taking his massage in Melbourne during 1975, I heard Srila Prabhupada explain the reason for his success in preaching in the West as allowing women to live within the temples of the Krsna consciousness movement. He then laughed and said that his Godbrothers criticized him for the change, but that they were unsuccessful. "And the only time they have some attendance is during parikramas on Gaura Purnima in Mayapura. And who attends? Women. Old widows in white." He laughed. "And because I made this adjustment," Srila Prabhupada continued, "I was successful." Continue reading "Increasing a Student’s Desire to Serve Krishna
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The “Conch”, New Govardhana community’s newsletter, in Australia, with all the local news, is now online.
Excerpt: Did You Know? By Vrindavani Briant. You may have noticed the two new buildings at ISKCON New Govardhana. These buildings mark the spot for the new and improved brahmacharini ashrama. Each building contains rooms with upgraded facilities for the brahmacharinis, including air conditioning and individual bathrooms. A third building will be erected to provide a common area that includes a kitchen and laundry facility, and verandahs will be added to all three buildings. Plans also include raised garden beds for flowers and vegetables and additional landscaping of the whole area. As soon as the Council has approved the building plans, work on this new project will be underway!
Find it here: https://goo.gl/Ha0kPq (pdf document)

Bhagavad-gita class.

The post Seeing Krsna is the ultimate and complete perfection appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

What does a Jew, a Muslim and a bunch of Hare Krishnas have in common? (4 min video)
Our New York City Harinam party attracts m...

Wonderful experience of a teacher who visited ISKCON Miraroad with more than 500 Students (2 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Kirta...

In every city and village! (Album with photos)
Kalasamvara Das: A RAY OF LIGHT FROM THE TAKHUR’S VISION
From a sweet village, in the sacred groves of Godrum dvipa in Mayapur, on his appearance day…our party received extraordinary mercy.
The transcendental sky opened and our great grandfather Bhaktivinod Thakur poured his blessings on a pristine village nestled on one of Fijis beautiful emerald Isles.Garlanded in living coral and surrounded in Turquoise seas of the South Pacific ; the unique village of Yaloubi received the blessings of parampara
Our gift to them, they met and matched with open hearted interfaith. It seemed this occasion was a well deserved award for these beautiful people, who didn’t speak so much but showed by perfect example…“Simple living and high thinking”
A direct transcendental link from village to village; an empowered connection…on this unforgettable day… we made leaps and bounds , on our Padayatra to celebrate 50 years of Prabhupada’s ISKCON.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/HHK3qj

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 September 2016, Durban, South Africa, Sunday Feast Lecture)

Living in a temple is nice – it is simultaneously the material world and the spiritual world. I compare temple life to a blanket. I travel a lot and have different blankets all the time and sometimes, the blanket is too long, too short, too thick or too warm. So in the same way, the external feature of the temple may also look like that. There may be many things about it which we do not like – people, facilities, food and so on… But that is all insignificant, all temporary and will change. BUT in the temple, there are people who chant and practice spiritual life seriously and we need that! We need devotees for kirtan and for discussion about scripture – this is actually the essence of temple life and not the external features. One must learn to not get distracted by the external features and other obnoxious things; we must learn to tolerate. Everything can cause anxiety when were separated from Krsna. If nothing goes wrong we think of what CAN go wrong. The opposite is required: Let it go! We are not the controller. We try to keep a certain area in control but we cannot control the world!

*Notes taken my Nimai during the lecture

By Lakshmanesvara Dasa

Many international religious and political leaders honored ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada’s achievements and contributions at a special ISKCON 50th Anniversary Gala Event in Washington D.C. on Tuesday September 13th. The event took place in the Presidential Ballroom at the Capital Hilton Hotel on 16th Street. Three blocks from the White House, the Ballroom has hosted every president since Harry S. Truman and features a permanent eight-foot presidential seal on its wall. Over 300 people attended the Gala event, seventy-five of them special VIP invitees including religious leaders, religious liberty experts, members of the media, government representatives and political leaders. Among them were U.S. Congresswoman from Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts Joseph Kennedy, Nepalese Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Arjun Kumar Karki, Community Affairs Minister N.K. Mishra from the Indian Embassy, and Deputy Chief of Mission Mahbub Hasan Saleh from the Embassy of Bangladesh. Continue reading "ISKCON 50 Gala festival @ Capital Hilton Washington, DC (Photos)
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The post Daily Darshan: September17th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

How I Met the Cowherd Lord, Krishna.
Suraiya Ali: I grew up going to many types of religious houses, but I had never been to a temple sanctioned by ISKCON. I had met the cowherd Lord in books and in my relationships, but now I was going to His house, for the very first time. So we dressed up, as my best friend said that evening, “there is no such thing as being overdressed to the temple, as you’re dressing for the pleasure of Krishna.”

The Lord or the universe takes 1st prize. (Album with photos)
Iskcon Australia: As part of the sugar festival 2016 the devotee...

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Тибет – самый высокий регион на земле, население 8 млн. человек. Из них два миллиона – кочевники. На нашем пути к Кайласу на время религиозного праздника мы остановились в столице, Лхасе. Многие тибетцы отдыхали, посещая разные святые места в старом городе. Большая часть нашей группы осталась акклиматизироваться на высоте 3600 м, а мы с Ананта Вриндаваном спустились – повстречаться с людьми и понаблюдать за их духовной культурой.

By the Sannyasa Minister

It is the duty of a sannyasi to become advanced in Krishna consciousness by trying to please the Supreme and serve His mission, by cooperating with other devotees to spread Krishna consciousness to the innocent, and by defeating atheistic propaganda. Srila Prabhupada writes in NOI 5 that “this is the way to cultivate devotional service properly.” Sannyasis teaching these methods of spiritual advancement to the those cultivating pure devotional service, whether acting as diksa or siksa gurus are bona fide spiritual masters. amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa (Adi 12.73) Continue reading "ISKCON Sannyasa Ministry Newsletter
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Answer Podcast

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The post ​Isn’t life all about discriminating – how can we be nonjudgmental? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post What is the difference between judging and discriminating? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post How is Krishna impartial if he offers kripa-siddhi to some and asks for sadhana from others? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

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The post Aren’t both sadhana-siddha and kripa-siddha ultimately dependent on kripa? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post Is na dhanam na janam na sundarim applicable to householder life? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post If we are never disqualified in bhakti, why did Lord Chaitanya reject Kala Krishnadas for just one mistake? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post Is Krishna partial because he responds only those who call out? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

​Talk at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA

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Talk at evening congregation program in Atlanta, USA

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The post How does guilt practically help increase our bhakti? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

With the Swami in the Temple

The post Daily Darshan: September 16th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

By Madhava Smullen

ISKCON New Vrindaban is warmly inviting everyone to attend its Srila Prabhupada Festival this September 30^th to October 2^nd. As an offering of love and appreciation for their service and sacrifices, current and previous New Vrindaban residents, as well as all Prabhupada disciples, will have their lodging and prasadam for the weekend completely covered.

The festival is a revival of the historical Prabhupada Festivals that began in the West Virginia rural community with the opening of Srila Prabhupada’s Palace in 1979, and continued through to the mid 1980s. Lavish affairs, they saw devotees from around the world come together to serve Srila Prabhupada with processions, abishekhas and gift-giving, as well as 24-hour kirtans, dramas, sumptuous feasts, and elaborate fireworks displays.

This year’s festival aims to not only bring back that tradition, but also to reconnect with previous residents who assisted in the gradual development of New Vrindaban; revive a spirit of giving special attention to Srila Prabhupada; and awaken the team spirit and sweet, sincere mood of service that the early devotees had for him.

To do this, much of the festival will be focused on taking participants on parikrama to the tirthas where Prabhupada spent time during his four visits to New Vrindaban, to commemorate those special moments.

On Friday, the parikrama will go to the Madhuban area of New Vrindaban, where Srila Prabhupada stayed in an old farmhouse during his second visit in September 1972. Upon arriving and sitting down in his room in the farmhouse, he was pleased to be back in New Vrindaban and said, “This Vrindaban, that Vrindavan, no difference.”

While at Madhuban, devotees will have a bonfire kirtan, and watch a video of Srila Prabhupada in New Vrindaban. Later that evening, they’ll launch lanterns into the night sky and set intentions for their service to him.

On Saturday, they’ll experience mangala arati at Prabhupada’s Palace and take a japa walk to Nandagram, where Srila Prabhupada visited gurukula students and received gurupuja during his last stay in 1976.

They’ll also hike to the original Vrindaban farmhouse, where the community was focused in its early days, and where Prabhupada spent 32 days in May/June 1969. While there, he marveled at the fresh milk from New Vrindaban’s first cow, Kaliya, the local tulip honey, and the sweet water from the well; and told devotees that everything they needed for a happy life and God realization was there.

He also spent many spring afternoons under a persimmon tree teaching the young devotees of his fledgeling rural community about every element of the simple life, from how to protect and engage cows and bulls to eco-building.

During a special program in a pandal at Vrindaban during the Prabhupada Festival, senior devotees who were actually present back then will recall all these memories and more, tell sweet stories, and show pictures of those days.

Then, taking some downtime, everyone will walk along Big Wheeling Creek, where Prabhupada walked in 1974. There’ll also be a chance for devotees to visit the cows, do yoga, or get a massage at ISKCON New Vrindaban’s devotee care center.

Finally in the evening, there will be a program at Prabhupada’s Palace, which New Vrindaban devotees built as an offering of love to Srila Prabhupada, and which he accepted with love, saying, “These devotees are my jewels.”

Afterwards, Prabhupada’s murti will be carried on a Palanquin around the Palace, just as devotees carried his murti in a procession when they installed him in his Palace in 1979. The procession will make its way down to the Kusum Sarovara Lake, where Prabhupada will ride a Swan boat in an ecstatic twist on New Vrindaban’s signature Swan Boat Festival.

On Sunday morning, there will be a class by New Vrindaban pioneer Kuladri Dasa on the front lawn of Ruci Dasi and Sankirtan Dasa’s house. Srila Prabhupada stayed in this house during his last visit in 1976, and in the evenings met with his disciples on the lawn, where he was famously photographed speaking from a grand vyasasana upholstered in bold yellow silk.

Everyone will then make their way to Govindaji Hill, to recreate the Bhagavat Dharma Discourses Srila Prabhupada gave under a pavilion there, speaking on the Bhagavatam to hundreds of devotees and guests for over a week.

Suhotra Swami recalled the Discourses as “a perfect outline,” going “deeper and deeper into the meaning of Srimad-Bhagavatam.” And Prabhupada himself described the experience as “truly a wonderful time,” and asked his disciples to “Go on holding Bhagavata Dharma discourses in every city of the world.”

The Bhagavat Dharma experience will be followed by local craft activities such as painting, clay sculpting and woodworking amidst the beautiful nature of New Vrindaban. Then there will be a closing sanga, and finally all the visitors will be seen off with lunch and travel packs.

ISKCON New Vrindaban temple president Jaya Krsna Dasa hopes that the festival will be an ideal way to honor Srila Prabhupada during the 50^th anniversary of his ISKCON. He also hopes that next year’s Prabhupada Festival – for it will be an annual event from now on – will be even bigger, building towards New Vrindaban’s own 50^th anniversary celebrations in 2018.

Until then? “This year I think we will be inspired by hearing about the adventures of the early residents, about how they dedicated so much of their lives to Srila Prabhupada,” he says. “And all the devotees will be inspired to hear stories about Srila Prabhupada in New Vrindaban, and about the instructions he gave for the community, that are valuable for all farm communities and for all devotees around the world.”

To find out more, or to register for the Srila Prabhupada Festival, please call Gaurnatraj Dasa at 304-312-6539 or email him at gaurnatraj@gmail.com.

New Raman Reti’s (Alachua, Florida) recent festival (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: At every step there is danger. Therefore, because the Krishna consciousness movement provides the opportunity for the human being to get out of this material world simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, this movement is the greatest benediction in human society. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.7.7 Purport).
Find them here: https://goo.gl/aIK7Xo

Srila Rupa Goswami said that one must associate with devotees to cultivate faith. So how does that faith happen in association? In devotee association, one hears about Krishna. When one hears about Krishna constantly, his or her desire or taste to Krishna and His devotees (Krishna katha) goes on increasing. What is the result of one whose taste to hear about Krishna increases? His faith on Krishna increases. What is the symptom of such a faith on Krishna?

The symptom of faith on Krishna (bhakti) is twofold. This was told by Sage Kavi (one of the nine yogendras) to King Nimi. Sage Kavi said direct experience of the Supreme Lord (pareśānubhava) and detachment (virakti) from worldly things simultaneously occur to one who is in pure Krishna consciousness. This is a good litmus test to see if truly we are making progress in spiritual life. 

Detachment from worldly things or virakti means one’s understanding, enthusiasm, loyalty and faith upon the people, things and relationships of this world gradually reduce and eventually die out completely and instead be replaced with increased understanding, enthusiasm, loyalty and faith of Krishna and His pure devotees. Both has to happen simultaneously. To lose faith in the confidence of people of this world (including our well-wisher, friend and family) is our true test to faith in Krishna. Because both cannot go hand in hand.

When we make that transition of faiths, truly our journey back home back to Krishna is set, in other words, we would have attained mukti from material entanglement.

Hare Krishna

Niranjana Swami – Lecture at the Sadhu-sanga festival, Russia – 14-Sep-2016 (video)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna chant is called the maha-mantra, the great, exalted mantra above all other Vedic mantras, because simply chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra brings so many beneficial effects. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.1.17 Purport).
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/JszxTP

Recently, Kadamba Kanana Swami went to Durban for the first of regular health check-ups which are scheduled to happen every six months. All was well, no recurrence of the disease was detected and the low iron also has improved. Maharaj will still focus on recovery and will travel and do programs at a slower pace than in previous years.

By Giriraj Swami

Today is Visvarupa-mahotsava, the date on which Lord Caitanya’s older brother, Visvarupa, took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. And on the same date some four hundred and fifty years later, our own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, also accepted sannyasa. According to Vedic scripture, Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come in the present age in the role of a devotee. In the previous age, Lord Krsna came in His original feature and spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and at the conclusion He instructed, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: give up all other duties and surrender unto Me. But people could not understand or appreciate Lord Krsna’s instruction. So later, about five hundred years ago, the same Krsna came again, not in His original form but in His devotional form as Lord Caitanya. And Lord Caitanya taught us how to serve Krsna, how to worship God in the present age. Continue reading "Visvarupa-mahotsava and Srila Prabhupada’s Sannyasa
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Varnasrama Series at Black Sea Festival (4)

The post Resolving Srila Prabhupada’s different statements appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Tulsi Gabbard’s Speech at ISKCON 50th Anniversary Gala Event in Washington D.C. (12 min video)
Many international religious and political leaders honored ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada’s achievements and contributions at a special ISKCON 50th Anniversary Gala Event in Washington D.C. on Tuesday September 13th, 2016. The keynote speaker was U.S. Congresswoman from Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/tL1WIp

By Madhava Smullen

Religious and Political Leaders Appreciate Srila Prabhupada at ISKCON 50 Gala Dinner in Washington D.C. The response from the VIPs to the evening was overwhelmingly positive, with many commenting that they had been unaware of the depth of Srila Prabhupada’s scholarship, or the breadth of his contributions in spreading the Krishna tradition around the world. The ISKCON devotees present, meanwhile, were very inspired to see so many esteemed personalities appreciating ISKCON’s contributions. “I found the event to be an unprecedented validation of Srila Prabhupada and his contributions to the world,” says Rukmini devi dasi, one of Prabhupada’s earliest female disciples. “To see so many important people appreciating him, chanting and dancing with their arms upraised, and thoroughly enjoying the experience, was just wonderful.” Continue reading "ISKCON 50 Gala Dinner in Washington D.C. – “I was standing in the doorway and you gave me a beautiful flower, which is still blossoming.”
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