Planet ISKCON

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: Anuttama, Bhima, Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka and Sri Tulasi Manjari

Advisors: Radha-Krishna, Vraja

Managers: Mukunda, Nitaicandra

1. Mukunda’s Monthly Report

• The greenhouse that was outside the new boundaries of the Community Garden has been dismantled and many of the materials have been salvaged.
• He helped build a fence to better contain the hay at the hay shelter next to the milking goshala.
• He removed an old, obsolete and unsightly telephone pole next to the Deities’ flower garden.
• He continues to help organize and chair the Village Association Steering Committee meetings.
• He is preparing for the first North American ISKCON Farm Conference in Gita Nagari set for mid-August.
• Mukunda contacted an Architectural/Structural Engineer, the County Health Department and Fire Marshal to understand any relevant fire, health and safety concerns. These meetings are scheduled throughout the next one month.

2. Nitaicandra’s Monthly Report

• The main ox team, Hari and Priya, are working well together. Currently, they are pulling a chain and responding to voice commands without a lash. They will be part of the planting in the Community Garden next week by pulling a simple chain link drag to cover the seed.
• Caitanya Bhagavat has been upgrading the Nandagram fencing.
• The garden crew picked blueberries from the Bahulaban orchards (8 quarts).
• Many quarts of mixed berries have been picked from the Community Garden (4 quarts per week).
• Radish, salad greens, kale and Swiss chard harvest has begun.
• Tomatoes, squash, and basil will be ready for harvest soon.
• There have been some challenges with flea beetles, rabbits, and poor soil. Continuing to improve the soil quality by using soil building plants and manure will be an ongoing process.
• Thus far, Vidya and her team have produced 8,000 marigolds with many more coming. The community garden is at around 2,000 marigolds
• So far this season, we have had two Wwoofers guests and another will be coming this week.

3. Steering Committee Inclusion

The ECO-V Board is in favor of starting to include the Village Association Steering Committee members in the monthly “Joint Board” meetings between ISKCON New Vrindaban and ECO-Vrindaban. Concurrently, the Board requests the Steering Committee to set a date, within a reasonable time frame, for the vote to elect a New Vrindaban Village Council.

https://www.facebook.com/ECOVrindaban

The guest list comprised of close to five hundred of Durban’s elite - professionals, businessmen, academics, government members, media and artists– all especially invited to the evening to join Bhakti Charu Swami in reliving and celebrating the journey of Srila Prabhupada and his ISKCON over the last five decades.  

In any area of human life, when someone begins an endeavour  – especially one they hope will endure for a long time, they are, in effect, planting a seed. By their aspirations, their vision of the final result, and by their determination, they plant a seed. And, provided the conditions are right, it will grow.

Lord Brahma told Vrishabhanu that this girl was the origin of the goddess Lakshmi and that he should take great care of Her. Lord Brahma then placed the baby girl in the arms of Vrishabhanu who became overjoyed, and after taking permission from Lord Brahma, returned to his home. Seeing the beautiful baby girl shining like millions of autumnal moons, mother Kirtida was overcome with joy and immediately arranged for all kinds of religious rites to be performed and donated thousands of cows to the brahmanas. At that time baby Radhika was placed in a gem-studded cradle and gently rocked back and forth by all the little girls of the village. Day by day Her luster increased just like the digits of the moon. Within a short while it was observed that the baby girl made no noise and had not yet opened Her eyes. Vrishabhanu and his wife feared that their baby girl was perhaps blind from birth and also dumb. At that time, Srila Narada Muni visited the home of Vrishabhanu and informed him that regardless of the girl’s apparent blindness, they should continue with the birth celebrations. Vrishabhanu therefore made elaborate arrangements for a lavish birth celebration and sent out invitations to all the residents of Ravala and Gokula and especially to his dear friend Nanda Maharaja and his family. Continue reading "The Divine Appearance of Srimati Radharani
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He who reads this confidential prayer, which bears the title Ananda-candrika (The Moonlight of Bliss), and which is beautiful with ten names of the queen of Vrndavana, becomes free of all troubles and decorated with great good fortune. He quickly becomes the object of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava's mercy. 1. Radha , 2. She who is dear to Lord Damodara, 3. His greatest worshiper, 4. the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, 5. She who is the crowning garland of mallika flowers on the decorated braided hair of all the gopis, 6. the first of Krsna's beloveds, 7. an expert singer and musician, 8. Lalita's friend, 9. She who is delighted with the friendship of Visakha, 10. the flower blossom that attracts the black bee of Lord Hari's heart. Continue reading "Srimati Radharani’s names, meeting places, pets and more
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Huge celebration in ISKCON Meerut, India (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The liberated sage Kardama Muni could see Garuda...

Questions and answers by visiting devotees.

The post What about the spiritual world? (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Ratha Yatra in Madrid, Spain (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Krishna and the sound vibration “Krishna” are no different, so if one loudly vibrates Hare Krishna, he will be able to think of Krishna immediately. This process of chanting is the best process of self-realization in this age; therefore Lord Caitanya preached it so nicely for benefit of all humanity. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.24.35 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/5A2jKa

Speaking of honesty - for a deep cleansing of the heart.
Sajjana Ashraya das: In the vocabolary of italian language we read: Honesty, from the latin “honestate” is the quality of an honest person, that acts with rectitude, with loyalty, justice, abstains from doing evil, a conscientious person, responsible, aligned to moral principles, that has dignity and decorum, that expresses decency and modesty. Living with dignity, with decorum, with politeness, elegantly.
It is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam that those who lives in Krishna consciousness are animated by a deep honesty.
Thus being honest is very important; there are various levels of honesty, ordinary, where we do not do things like stealing etc; intellectual, where for example we admit we also can make mistakes and spiritual, where we admit the existence of God.
As members of a spiritual movement we are called to be deeply honest at every level. Honesty, in every circumstance, even in small things, helps us to be spiritually honest.
Truth, like honesty, has various levels and only a deep and complete honesty will make us eligible to receive the complete spiritual Truth, and the more honest we are about our shortcomings and struggles, the more help we get from above–so honesty will lead us to the complete Truth.
But if we do not cultivate honesty in all its aspects, we can come to the point of cheating ourselves even without being aware of it, and this will not please the Lord.
Being dishonest and cheat others can sometimes be worse than not following the four regulative principles. Not following these principles is not good at all, but cheating, falsity and betrayal provoke disgust and bitterness. Not only that, when a person behaves badly everybody will know, and sooner or later that person will be alone.
All members of ISKCON knows the universal law of karma and thus know, if you rob you will be robbed, if you cheat you will be cheated; and this can be a deterrent, but to those who practice spiritual life, and to tell the truth, to even those who do not, as soon as we do something wrong, Diiiiinn! We feel something inside us, a wrong note, a slight quiver, a start. “Something is wrong” The Supersoul, the innermost friend of our heart, is telling us that what we think is not right.
Obviously we should not become expert in dismantling this natural alarm system, but we should always try to hear the innermost voice of our heart that is leading us to the right path.
Coming from material life, we bring with us a suitcase full of many good intentions and sincerity, but we could also bring with us some wrong conceptions, some mental rubbish, as cheating, cleverness, enviousness, fault finding, so prominent in today society.
It takes time; but all this garbage must be thrown away. In spiritual life there is no place at all for that. We have to find the courage to be deeply honest, even if we heard the saying “The world is of the clever” But it is not truth. It is said: “Those who follow dharma will be sustained by dharma, but those who trample on dharma will be trampled upon by dharma.”
Sesa Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, told of a day when he knew he had to pay a fine; so he went to the government office to pay it. The officer told him that the American government sent that fine to thousands of people, and to tell the truth, he said, you can postpone the payment, or even not pay the fine at all. But Sesa Prabhu preferred to pay it anyway, and his motivation was, “To maintain a very deep sense of honesty” Such an important quality for him, more important than money.
As we know, the concept of yukta vairagya tells us to use everything in the service of Krishna, so we can use money and objects, and thus, we can certainly also use honesty, rectitude, loyalty in the service of the Lord.
For those that practice a serious spiritual life being honest is natural, and it is natural to have good feelings for others and try to inspire them with our good behavior.
We need speaking often of honesty and then practice it daily. If a topic of such an importance is neglected, it loses importance and then it can almost disappear. If our background was not the best, our spiritual practices are superficial, we never talk of honesty and especially if we criticize or even worse, offend others, Krishna will take away our spiritual intelligence and we would become again dishonest.
We can not give for granted that we are perfect just because we are part of a spiritual movement. We have to cultivate good qualities and earn other’s appreciation.
Paraphrasing Srila Prabhupada, “ What will be the use of your verses and erudition if you do not behave well? Nobody will believe you.”
Good qualities are our only wealth, they are the things that attract other persons and Krishna. We have a great responsibility, of maintaining the deepest honesty.

Ratha Yatra Leipzig, Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The liberated sage Kardama Muni could see Garuda carrying t...

Getting Strength From Association.
Kadamba Kanana Swami: ..so this is the biggest problem …on the one hand we think I really want Krishna, I really do, I really want spiritual life but on the other hand we can’t: on the other hand there is another part in us that wants something else. Sometimes when we are in the spiritual mode we don’t want that part of our self, we say “I wish I didn’t have that” but then we snap out of the spiritual mode and we again don’t want spiritual life, so much. Somehow we are accepting and then we are giving up and we are accepting, giving up and sometimes take to spiritual life and sometimes take to material life.
So we are caught in these changing states of consciousness. When we embrace spiritual life, as they say in English “the grass is greener on the other side” so when we are enjoying the material energy we want to give it up and we want to take to spiritual life and when we are practicing spiritual life then we start to think about the material energy. So we are going up and down in these two states. So this is a very intense state in spiritual life. That is the state where one has to hold on very close…very close to devotees. One should always be with devotees. Not for a moment go away from the devotees. “never go out alone,” as they used to say to us in the early days when we joined that “you can not go out alone” it was not allowed, it was against the codes of the temple …nowadays noone really cares about that but in the old days, “oh no you can not be alone for a moment ..always associate with the devotee”
Well it is a fact that when one is in the stage of (Sanskrit)(up and down) it is dangerous not to associate with the devotee because one is so weak…maya is still so strong. Although we desire spiritual life we just don’t feel we have the strength for spiritual life. So the more we are with devotees who are betyond this state of (Sanskrit) who are no longer giving in into the senses, who are actually living a life free from sense gratification, a life free from sexual involvement , a life free from just satisfying the tongue this way and that way and who is only taking Krsna Prasadam and everything is pure…..then we get strength from this association. ….So one must be in that association.
Source: https://goo.gl/v5NH4P

Preaching program in Prague (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommended five items of devotional...

NESTLED among the many islands of the Erne is the pretty, wooded isle of Inish Rath, home to possibly Fermanagh’s smallest religious community. For the past 30 years, members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known to most simply as the Hare Krishnas, have called the island home. Since 1986, this group has been ever changing, attracting members from all over Ireland and far beyond. While there are currently only 12 full time residents at the settlement – which is made up of gardens, children’s play areas, grazing ground for cattle, allotments for growing food, a school, open fields, woodland walks, and, its the centre, a large Victorian house that hosts stunning altars to Lord Krishna – that number often grows up to 20, and often includes families and children. Continue reading "Thirty years of Hare Krishna Island on the Erne
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The evening of Friday, 2nd September saw Durban come out to celebrate ISKCON 50 in grand style through a VIP gala dinner. The event was organised as a special joint effort between the two Durban temples, Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple of Understanding in Chatsworth and New Jagannath Puri Temple in Phoenix. The guest list […]

The post ISKCON 50 VIP Dinner in Durban, South Africa appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

Following the Saint

Question: I was wondering why earth is so special? Why did Krishna manifest his pastimes here instead of some other planet?

Well, what “other planet” should he appear on? Life is centered on Earth.

Yes, there are many dimensions to the earth, sky, heavens, and under-earth, but these multi-dimensional realms (loka) are not literally identical to our modern astronomical conception of “planets.” The modern astronomical model is not the same model presented in the Purāṇa. It also describes reality, yes, but from a different point of view and for a different purpose.

The Purāṇic point of view is that the Earth is the central focus of life, but there are many Earth’s paired with many Suns, each with their own “solar-system” (to use modern lingo) of multi-dimensional realms (loka).

So if you ask, “Why did Krishna manifest his avatāra only here on our Earth,” the answer is that he does not. He manifests on every Earth in synchronous successions, such that his manifestation constantly appears on one Earth or another.

Question: I also understand that the anti-gods have tried to capture the earth in efforts to further their advance on the upper heavenly realms. Does the earth really hold such a special place in the cosmos?

The anti-gods are not interested in Earth, but are interested in Paradise, which is a higher-dimensional realm connected to the heavens from our point of view – called svarga in Sanskrit. However, the earth is like a “mining colony” or “powerplant” for Paradise – because the humans here perform sacrifices which make the gods there more powerful. So, the anti-gods have a strategy to disrupt religion, sacrifice, etc. and thereby weaken the gods, making it much easier for them to storm Paradise.

Question: Is bhakti available only here on Earth?

The human form of life is unique. Only human beings generate karma. The rest of the forms of life are for experiencing the results of karma. Microbes, plants, and animals don’t generate karma because their intellect is not sufficiently developed to permit the possibility of true freedom of choice. Superhuman life forms (like gods and anti-gods, for example) do have very developed intellect, but don’t have much opportunity for choice between good/bad right/wrong because they mostly experience only good things and good situations.

There is a difference between a “sin” (adharma or pāpa) and a “hatred” (a.k.a “offense” – aparādhā). “Hatred” is “sin” but not all “sin” is “hatred.” “Hatred” is a special subset of “sin” – it is the worst type. It is so bad that it is considered in a separate category.

A “sin” is simply failure to fulfill our duty, responsibility and function. A father, for example, sins if he cannot provide physical and mental security for his family. The acts he does which contribute to this failure are also “sins.” 

A “hatred” (aparādhā) is an intentional hurt or slander against a person who deserves to be respected or loved. Sin can happen by mistake or out of weakness, but hatred (aparādhā) is willful and intentional by definition. 

One example of aparādhā: The teacher comes into the room, and the student refuses to stand. Another example: A father yelling at his daughter for wanting his attention and affection. 

An aparādhā is not a mistake, it is intentional. Because aparādhā are intentional, they are worse than ordinary “sin.”

A student who didn’t know he was supposed to stand when the teacher entered the room isn’t so much an aparādhī as a mild pāpī. A father who unintentionally fails in his relationship with his daughter is again more a pāpī than an aparādhī.

It is far worse to be an aparādhī than to be a pāpī. In Gītā, Krishna says that the worst type of sin is kāma – selfish desire. This is because kāma is the root of aparādhā. When we want things for ourself (kāma), we will inevitably hate (aparādhā) those who frustrate our desires. 

We have wasted a lot of our time and breath criticizing “materialistic people” for their “sins” but we are far, far worse than they are because of our aparādhā against the most lovable entity, Krishna.  We know that we should be attentive and affectionate towards Krishna’s name, image, wisdom (the Veda) and to those who teach and exemplify it (the gurus and sādhus), but we continue to refuse to make that effort.

Our of progress in bhakti-yoga is due to aparādhā, but aparādhā is based on our failure to develop proper comprehension of the goal (prayojana), the process (adhideya), and the components of reality (sambandha). The tendency for hatred goes away the more deeply we comprehend our relationship to other people and reality as a whole – i.e. the more deeply we understand sambandha-jñāna. So the best cure for the worst evil is careful study of śāstra under the guidance of a guru who deeply understands them.

– Vraja Kishor dās

www.vrajakishor.com

A lecture by Radhanath Swami.

Radha Damodar Das, One of the First Devotees in the Soviet Union passed away on September 3rd evening succumbing to lung cancer.  ISKCON Communications Director Anuttama Dasa remembers: "Radha Damodara prabhu was a true, humble and dedicated servant of his guru maharaja and Srila Prabhupada. Despite the dangers and troubles of being a Krishna devotee in the early years in Russia, Radha Damodara was fully committed to Lord Caitanya's mission."

Gita verse-by-verse podcast

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Harinam party in Côte d ’ Ivoire (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: While the body is fit, why should we not chant the holy name of the Lord loudly and distinctly? If one does so, it is quite possible that even at the time of death he will be properly able to chant the holy name of the Lord with love and faith. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.49 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/SCSgvU

The Bhagavad-gita teaches, “O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.” Gita 2.14

Bhakti Sangam Festival in Ukraine (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “As fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes, without fail, all the reactions of one’s sinful activities. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.18)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Ksd7Rj

Dancing, singing the Hare Krsna mantra, distributing Srila Prabhupada’s book and prasadam @ Ratha Yatra in Jember, east Java, Indonesia, 3.9.2016
Jay Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/0bRjSd

Ratha-yatra in Madrid, Spain (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One should take shelter of Krishna-Balarama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose protective power is so great that it cannot be equaled in the material world. However powerful the reactions of one’s sins, they will immediately be vanquished if one chants the name of Hari, Krishna, Balarama, or Narayana. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.16 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/3rKoOO

A STRONG SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
One of the few physical features that distinguish Buddhi Wilcox is a small pigtail. But the otherwise ordinary appearance hides a compassionate being, dedicated to helping the less well off in his community.
Buddhi, a member of the Hare Krishna faith, set up the Food For Life programme in Whangarei in New Zealand, feeding the poor, the homeless and children who would otherwise go hungry. But behind the good work is a big team of supporters committed to the vision.
“It’s not just the community we feed but we meet a need for other sectors such as businesses who want to donate their products, money or services to Food For Life. There’s also a large number of people who want to volunteer their labour to help others in the community with worthy projects such as Food For Life.”
Buddhi says organisations such as the Northland Regional Council and the Whangarei District Council have also played a role in the success story of Food For Life.
“Both councils have been quite helpful [regional council provides the building rent and rates free and district council has helped with food hygiene oversight] but it’s really the relationships we have that have made the difference.”
He says that is especially true of Whangarei District Mayor Sheryl Mai.
“She has been generally supportive for what we do and it means a lot to have that. Sheryl has had more to do with our work and organisation – especially on the cultural side – than you would normally expect from a mayor.
“She has a strong sense of community.
“We’re a minority group and we rely on the support of the community – having the backing of the mayor is significant for what we do.”
Buddhi added that Sheryl’s involvement reflects a wider ‘caring’ within the community.
“Whangarei has one of the highest rate of volunteers per capita in the country – it’s a great place to live.”
Source: http://goo.gl/jSZVae

Harinama in UK during the YOUTH MELA (3 min video)
Get a glimpse of Harinam we just had! Far-out response from the public as we...

The world holy name week (WHNW-16) was celebrated globally from 28th Jul – 14th Aug 2016. Devotees in Singapore at the Gauranga Centre, played their part of spreading the glories of holy name by doing harinaam sankirtan. Indeed, the holy name week had a rousing start as devotees were led by a senior kirtaniya to an ecstatic round of kirtan. In Singapore owing to a hectic work schedule, devotees decided to dedicate their evenings after work to engage in the service of the holy name sankirtan for over ten days. In what is the 50th year of incorporation of our society it was just apt that the devotees were able to account for over 50+ hours of harinaam sankirtan during the 2016 WHNW celebrations. This included 3 days of intense 12 hour harinaam sankirtans apart from the daily two and half hours of kirtan that was done on weekday evenings. Continue reading "World Holy Name Week 2016 Celebrations in Singapore
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The evening of Friday, 2nd September saw Durban come out to celebrate ISKCON 50 in grand style through a VIP gala dinner. The event was organised as a special joint effort between the two Durban temples, Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple of Understanding in Chatsworth and New Jagannath Puri Temple in Phoenix. The guest list comprised of close to five hundred of Durban’s elite - professionals, businessmen, academics, government members, media and artists– all especially invited to the evening to join His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami in reliving and celebrating the journey of Srila Prabhupada and his ISKCON over the last five decades. The programme began with a musical rendition of Srila Prabhupada’s poem, “Markine Bhagavat Dharma”, which he wrote aboard the Jaladuta on arrival in Boston Harbour. The bhajan was sung by ISKCON Durban youth, and the English translation, together with poignant images of Srila Prabhupada was projected on two large screens on either side of the stage. His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami then moved the crowd with the story of ISKCON, touching on Prabhupada’ s early days, his authentic roots, his challenges, his deep faith and his incredible successes. Maharaja’s presentation was followed by a screening of the “Joy of Devotion”. Continue reading "ISKCON 50 VIP Dinner in Durban, South Africa
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His Grace Radha Damodara Prabhu succumbed to cancer last evening. He was surrounded by Vaisnavas chanting the Lord's holy names. He was a pioneer, extremely humble, and it was always a pleasure to have moments of his association. He first heard the Maha-mantra in 1979 and began chanting right away. He soon became one of the leaders of the ISKCON movement, which was then illegal in the Soviet Union. In May 1983, he was arrested and imprisoned for his faith. While in prison, he had to work in dangerous conditions, which included using a poisonous glue. He also suffered from malnutrition. Nevertheless, Radha Damodar continued to follow the principles of Krishna Consciousness and to preach. Continue reading "Pioneer of the Russian Yatra has passed away
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Removing the Fear of Prabhupada’s Presence

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On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the birth of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness – New York 1966-2016 – Bhagavat Atheneum / Bibliothè Contemporary Art in collaboration with Association Culture del Mondo present "Matchless Gifts: A group exhibition of work by artists related to the Krishna Consciousness Movement from its earliest days to the present" at The Bhakti Center in New York.

Harinama in Poland - in the village of Czarnow (Album with photos)
Today we held a Harinam on one of the Polish festivals - the...

I regard this article as a supplement to my book, Srila Prabhupada: Founder-Acarya of ISKCON. It expands upon discussions relating the importance of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, especially in light of the philosophical and spiritual significance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s parent temple, Sri Caitanya Matha, in Mayapur. As I write, the resplendent Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, its central dome now towering 350 feet above the alluvial soil of Sridhama Mayapur, continues to reveal its form, within and without. This temple, when complete, will realize a key component of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, vital to the fulfillment of the mission of its Founder-Acarya: to construct Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement as the efficacious vessel for delivering humanity worldwide from the rising floods of the spiritual, mental, and physical calamities of our times. By this undertaking, Srila Prabhupada continued his revival of the interrupted mission of his Guru Maharaja, and he has left us with all directions and facilities to complete it. Through us, Srila Prabhupada continues his work. The temple taking shape at Mayapur is central to that task. Continue reading "Revealing the Heart of ISKCON
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Is Radharani mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam?
TRANSLATION: Certainly this particular gopi has perfectly worshiped the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, Govinda, since He was so pleased with Her that He abandoned the rest of us and brought Her to a secluded place.
PURPORT: Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti explains that the word aradhitah refers to Srimati Radharani. He comments, “The sage Sukadeva Gosvami has tried with all endeavor to keep Her name hidden, but now it automatically shines forth from the moon of his mouth. That he has spoken Her name is indeed Her mercy, and thus the word aradhitah is like the rumbling of a kettledrum sounded to announce Her great good fortune.”
Although the gopis spoke as if jealous of Srimati Radharani, they were actually ecstatic to see that She had captured Sri Krishna.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti quotes the following detailed description of Srimati Radharani’s footprints, as given by Srila Rupa Gosvami in his Sri Ujjvala-Nilamani: “At the base of the large toe of Her left foot is the mark of a barleycorn, below that mark is a disc, below the disc is an umbrella, and below the umbrella is a bracelet. A vertical line extends from the middle of Her foot to the juncture of Her large and second toes. At the base of the middle toe is a lotus, below that is a flag with a banner, and below the flag is a creeper, together with a flower. At the base of Her small toe is an elephant goad, and upon Her heel is a half-moon. Thus there are eleven marks on Her left foot.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=11895

Women and Family: social value.
Srila Prabhupada: “We were student of economics and there was a book, Marshall’s Economics. That Mr. Marshall is explaining that economic impetus begins from family affection, family affection. Unless one has got family, he will not try to earn. He will not try to earn money. He will be irresponsible. Therefore it is essential. When one is given some responsible post… Some… I know some English firm in India, I had some connection with him. So he was simply trying to know, “The man who is going to work for us, whether he is family man?” Because unless he is a family man, he has no attraction. He can give up the job at any moment. Because there is no family attraction. This is the psychology. Therefore according to Vedic civilization, it is the duty of the parents to get the sons and daughters married so that they will have family attraction, they will be established, they will be organized, things will go nicely. If there is no family attraction, no responsibility, then the things will not go nicely. This is the basic principle.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/mUpUEj