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The post Balaram Jayanti class – Balaram acts as the via media between Krishna and the Vrajavasis as well as the conditioned souls appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

New Raman Reti temple devotees overjoyed for the celebrations of Balarama Jayanti (Album with photos)
Abhisheka of the Lord, ev...

Harinama Sankirtana from the Iskcon of Silicon Valley devotees (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The demigods are pleased w...

By Madhava Smullen

It was a truly uplifting and festive time for ISKCON of Los Angeles from August 4th to 7th recently, with celebrations for both the 40th anniversary of the city’s Rathayatra festival, and the 50th anniversary of ISKCON in full swing. The ISKCON of LA property looked fresh and beautiful for the festival, with temple president Svavasa Das and his brother Naikatma Das completing an ambitious renovation project just in time. All the windows were replaced and the temple, Govinda’s buffet and kitchen buildings sandblasted and re-stuccoed. The temple entrance received a face lift, with new ornate wood decor, a beautiful stone tile entryway and a grand maroon canopy. The area in front was also re-designed with drought resistant landscaping and stone tile work to handle the increased flow of foot traffic for festivals and general increase in daily visitors. Continue reading "Ambitious renovation project for the LA temple completed
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A Neophyte Prepares for Initiation (Part 2)

“Balarama is considered the original spiritual master because he performs two functions that are performed by the spiritual master. One is that He serves Krishna, and the other is that He gives knowledge of Krishna. In His desire to serve Krishna he wants to serve Krishna in every possible way. In terms of Rasa, or Transcendental mellows, sometimes Lord Balarama is in the mood of servitude. He also servers Krishna in sakhya rasa in the mood of an equal or His brother. Because he is older he also serves Krishna in the mood of vatsalya rasa or parental affection. One can only enter madhurya rasa with Krishna in a spiritual feminine form so lord Balarama manifests Himself as Ananga Manjari, the younger sister of Srimati Radharani, and serves Krishna in madhurya rasa. He wants to serve Krishna in every way”

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Balaram-purnima, Carpinteria

A Very Happy Balaram Jayanti To All

 

11:00 - Tulasi Arati     & Kirtan                                              
11:15 - Guru Arati & Kirtan                                                
11:30 - Aarti & Kirtan                                                                      
11:55 - Sri Nrsingadev Pranama                                          
12:00 -Special Discourse
12:45 -Pushpabhisheka Ceremony
  1:00 - Cloing Kirtan  
  1.30 -  Sanctified Free Vegetarian Feast Maha Clean-up in preparation for Janamastami
On Aug 21st,2016,after the program

We humbly request everyone to stay behind for the pre-Janamastami festivities and help with the cleaning of the temple.



Sri Krsna Janamashtami(Fasting till midnight)

Celebration on Thu Aug 25 ,2016 -Open all day!!
(Mangala Arati program @ 5.00am)
Evening Program @ 6.30 pm till Midnight

Sponsor a Kalash
If you and your family would like to participate in the bathing ceremony(Mahabhiseka Ceremony) of lord Krishna,please don't forget to sign-up for a kalash-$108/family.
**We've limited no of Kalash**

 Offerings for Sri Krsna
You are invited to bring vegetarian offerings (no onion, garlic, eggs, vinegar) of food for Krishna.[In brand new aluminium one or two serving sized container]
*Nothing store-bought. Must be fresh and homemade.
*No tasting or sampling. Krishna must be the first to taste your offering.

**Detailed  program will follow shortly**

Appearance of Srila Prabhupada(Fasting till noon)
celebration on Aug 26,2016 (7.30pm-9.30pm)

**Detailed program will follow shortly**

 

 

The post August 19th, 2016 – Daily Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

A couple posts back I was thinking that a good trajectory for where I’m at now in life is to try & be the best person I can possibly be. While I think it’s still a good target to have in mind, it neglects taking into account the relativity of good & bad. What’s good […]

Gita verse-by-verse podcast

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The post ​Gita 11.10 The first impression of the universal form is astonishing appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The Gaudiya Vaishnava siddhanta is unique like no other in the sense it highlights the aspect of divine love that is experienced in separation from the beloved. Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is Krishna in the mood of Radha exhibited this specific aspect of prema or love. In India worship of Krishna or Vishnu is a universal concept. In fact, it is said that once the entire planet earth worshipped Krishna or Vishnu. So worship of Vishnu or Krishna is not anything new. However, Mahaprabhu introduced this confidential aspect of prema or divine love in separation through His own mood when He was present on earth 500 years ago. Ever since, Mahaprabhu’s followers consider this specific aspect of love as summum bonum of religion or dharma.

Mahaprabhu externally speaking, took up this mood at a specific time in His earthly pastimes in line with Madhavendra Puri. In other words, it was Madhavendra Puri who first displayed this aspect of love in separation. Madhavendra Puri took initiation from Lakshmipati Tirta in the line of Madhvacharya who preached dualism. Prema in madurya rasa was a foreign idea or one can say suppressed idea for Madhva followers or tattvadis. This can be proven by the fact that Mahaprabhu Himself introduced prema in this unique way to tattvadis when He went to Udipi.

So although Gaudiyas follow Madhvacharya line, the traditional tattvadis do not fully acknowledge or recognize this spontaneous love in separation as summum bonum. Strict Madhva followers still adhere to the aishwarya aspect of Godhead.

The verse that Madhavedra Puri prayed to externally show his mood of separation is this ;

ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he 
mathurā-nātha kadāvalokyase 
hṛdayaṁ tvad-aloka-kātaraṁ 
dayita bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham 

O My Lord! O most merciful master! O master of Mathurā! When shall I see You again? Because of My not seeing You, My agitated heart has become unsteady. O most beloved one, what shall I do now? – CC Madhya Lila 4.197

One can say this verse is the foundational verse that the entire mood of Gaudiya Vaishnava siddhanta is set on. Mahaprabhu just by reciting this verse would fall to the ground in ecstasy and thus began His display of fantastic emotions of love of Krishna in separation from Krishna.

This verse unlocks one’s own feelings of separation from Krishna. While one must follow in the footsteps of great souls, meditating on this verse will give insights into the mood of Vraja. Sripad Madhvendra puri was the first person to express this pure feeling of love and Lord Chaitanya who is Krishna Himself by getting initiated in Madhvendra Puri’s line sanctions this prayer for all time to come.

Hare Krishna

It was a truly uplifting and festive time for ISKCON of Los Angeles from August 4^th to 7^th recently, with celebrations for both the 40^th anniversary of the city’s Rathayatra festival, and the 50^th anniversary of ISKCON in full swing. There was a kirtan mela with international kirtaniyas, a series of seminars and video presentations, a tour of places where Prabhupada frequented in LA,  and the biggest Rathayatra festival yet.

A Transcendental Tour (44 min video)
A video by Siddhanta Prabhu from a recent tour of Srila Prabhupada’s favorite morning walk locations in Los Angeles.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/eKi3Fr

As many as 10,000 people from multiple faiths and backgrounds are set to sing God’s names together in what could be the biggest chant gathering in American history on October 8^th, exactly one month before the U.S. presidential election. Organized by second generation ISKCON devotees, the free event “Chant 4 Change” will take place in Washington D.C. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke his famous “I have a dream” speech.

A unique type of event for ISKCON devotees, the Bhakti Yoga Health Retreat from September 11^th to 18^th this year in Bulgaria will care for participants’ physical health as well as their spiritual wellbeing. The retreat will be held at the Vita Rama Health Center, a clinic run by two devotee brothers – Lokaguru Das and Sudama Das – along with their father, dietician Georgi Slavov.

About 140 devotees from Spain, Portugal, Holland, the UK and Russia bonded in calling out to Lord Krishna during the third annual Holy Name Festival in Spain this summer. The festival ran from August 11^th 14^th in Srila Prabhupada’s Gardens at the New Vrajamandala farm.

Celebrating Independence Day 71th of Indonesia (Album with photos)
The devotees did Hari Nam, book and prasadam distribution along Sindhu beach and Sanur beach.
Srila Prabhupada ki jay….!!!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tjbxYh

On Balaram Jayanti, I was flying from Mumbai to Bangalore for the evening Balarama Jayanti class. As is standard on this sacred day, I was fasting from water till noon.

For my body type, fasting is not difficult. I fast every week, but I usually take water. On appearance days of the Lord and the saints, I try to fast from water, but I find it draining. And the parched throat makes speaking difficult too.

On Balaram Jayanti, I reached the security clearance at around 11.50 for the flight at 12.30. There, they found something suspicious in my laptop bag. When it turned out to be nothing but my water bottle, they asked me to drink that water to demonstrate that it didn’t contain anything toxic. As this is standard procedure that I have encountered earlier, I instinctively sipped some water. As soon as the water touched my tongue, my parched throat seemed to heave a sigh of relief. And I remembered that I was supposed to be fasting.

I was disappointed that I had unwittingly broken the fast. But then it struck me that the water had not yet gone down my throat; so, I still had a chance. As I tried to hold the water in my mouth without letting it go down the throat, I remembered the pastime of Shukadeva Goswami when he passed a similar, though far more excruciating, test set by Maharaja Janaka. He was told to hold a lump of sugar in his mouth for quite some time. And through it all, he didn’t even secrete any saliva to moisten the sugar. Such was his total sense control!

Taking inspiration from his example, I resolved to hold the water in my mouth for the next ten minutes. With my wheelchair wobbling while moving up and down some inclines, preventing even a drop from going down the throat was difficult. Some droplets might have trickled down below my conscious awareness, but I tried my best to prevent any drop from consciously going down.

Those few minutes gave me a profoundly enhanced appreciation for Shukadeva Goswami’s phenomenal self-restraint. Eventually, when I broke the fast after noon by drinking water, I felt grateful and blessed to have got a deeper appreciation for the guru who gave us the Bhagavatam on the appearance day of the adi-guru Balaramji.

The post Fasting from water while holding water in the mouth appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By Baladeva Das

Lord Balarama is constantly serving Lord Krishna in every respect. In all of Krishna's incarnations and manifestations. In Rama-lila, Balarama serves Lord Ramachandra as His younger Brother, Laxmana. In Kali-yuga, Sri Balarama spreads the Sankirtan movement of Sri Caitanya as Lord Nityananda. Lord Balarama serves Sri Krishna in all five rasas (mellows), santa to madhurya rasa. In santa rasa Lord Balarama fulfills Sri Krishna's desires for blissful transcendental pastimes by expanding Himself as the holy dhama of Vraja Mandala. All of Krishna's personal possessions such as Krishna's crown, bed, clothes, throne, ornaments; and any other objects that Krishna utilizes are all expansions of Lord Balarama. Continue reading "The Pastimes of Lord Balarama
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Beauty of Nitai
Sri Caitanya Mangala Madhya Khanda
Chapter 4 “The Beauty of Nitai”
Lord Gauranga met Nityananda Raya in the home of Nandanacarya. Nityananda’s beautiful golden-colored body had a slightly reddish hue. Glistening ornaments adorned His enchanting form. Bright yellow cloth carressed His hips. A yelloe turban the color of a golden campaka flower, decorated His head. As He walked, His anklebells chimed sweetly “Jhuni, Jhuni, Jhuni”.
His eyes were wide and long like a deer. He removed the shyness of young girls with His brilliant, lightning-like smile. His roaring like a lion, louder than monsoon clouds, sumdued the mad elephants of Kaliyuga. Lord Nityananda walked with the gait of a maddened elephant. His peaceful lotus face was beautiful to behold when He cried tears of love. Absorbed in deep love of Krishna, His body would shiver, perspire, and erupt all over with ecstatic symptoms.
Holding a golden stick in His hand, He smashed the pride of Kali. Golden necklaces hung on His chest. Marvelous gem-inlaid earrings dangled on His cheeks. His hands were reddish like a night-blooming lotus. Attractive bangles intensified the beauty of His strong, golden arms. In ecstasy, Nityananda Prabhu, almost falling on the ground, uttered “Where is My Kanai Gopala [Krsna]?”
Adopting the sentiment of a cowherd boy, Nityananda cried, laughed, and begged Revati for some honey. At one moment, He jumped like a frog. The next moment He acted dumb and speechless, or said something unintelligible. Who can understand the Lord’s transcendental mellows? The sweet aroma of Nityananda’s body stole the housewives from their, and crushed to dust the pride of chaste girls.
Sri Nitaichandra Ki Jaya!!!! All glories to Sri Avadhuta Raya the son of Rohini Devi, who is non-different of Lord Gaurahari.

By Drutakarma Das

One barrier to acceptance of interactionist models for mind/body dualism is a shortage of conceptual resources. Turning to the ancient Sanskrit writings of India, we find in the Bhagavata Purana of India the allegory of the City of Nine Gates, which provides a complex model from mind/body dualism. This model, rich in imagery, allows one to account for such varied phenomena as phantom limbs, out of body experiences, past life memories, traveling clairvoyance, and perception of qualia. Is there a conscious self that is distinct from the physical mechanism of the body? Is there a mind that is distinct from the brain? Those who give positive answers to such questions are called dualists, but they are not numerous in contemporary science and philosophy. Continue reading "The City of Nine Gates: A Complex Model for Mind/Body Dualism from India’s Bhagavata Purana
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The post All glories to Lord Balarama appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Ratha yatra parade at the Golden Gate Park of San Francisco, California. August 14th 2016 (3 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: The h...

Why did Balaramji favor Duryodhana?
Chaitanya Charan das: It is because Krishna enjoys rasa in different ways with different people. So just like Krishna is God, but Mother Yasoda sometimes chastises Krishna, she ties Krishna, threatens him. Why does she do that? Because that’s the way Krishna rejoices in maternal rasa with her. She is in that relationship. So Krishna enjoys a fraternal rasa with Balaramji. Although Balaram is at one level non-different from Krishna but He is also His own Person. And when Krishna wants to do something and Balaramji opposes that, then there is an adventurousness and excitement in resourcefulness for Krishna in making that happen.

By Giriraj Swami

Today is Balarama Purnima, the appearance day of Lord Balarama, the first expansion of Lord Krishna, who plays as Krishna’s older brother. Listening to Sri Caitanya-bhagavata this morning, I happened to hear a description of Lord Chaitanya’s special affinity for the mood of Lord Balarama: “Every day, Lord Chaitanya, accompanied by Lord Nityananda, visited various Vaishnava’s homes and enacted transcendental pastimes. The Lord was constantly engaged in His ecstasies, manifesting the moods and behaviors of different incarnations—Matsya, Kurma, Narasimha, Varaha, Vamana, Ramachandra, Buddha, Kalki, and Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja. Lord Chaitanya displayed these moods, as and when He desired, and then quickly hid them. Continue reading "Lord Chaitanya in the Mood of Balarama
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Krishna Balarama Ratha Yatra pictures in Queens, New York (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The holy name of the Lord and ...

Why Was Balaram Affectionate to Duryodhan?
Madhavananda Das: A slightly fresh edit of an article I wrote a few years ago.
If we contemplate on the pastimes of Krishna’s beloved elder brother, a relevant question arises:
Why did Balaram give so much favor to the demoniac Duryodhan?
Duryodhan was not a devotee of Krishna. From his childhood he hated Krishna’s pure devotees the Pandavas and tried in various ways to kill them. When Yudhisthir asked Krishna to go to Hastinapur to deliver a peace message on behalf of the Pandavas, Duryodhan grossly disrespected Krishna, and even tried to capture him.
In spite of all these offenses to both Krishna and his pure devotees, Duryodhan is famous as a great disciple of Balaram. Consider:
* Balaram stayed for several years in Mithila just to give association to Duryodhan and train him in the art of fighting with a club. (Bhāg. 10.57.26)
* Balaram wanted to give his sister Subhadra in marriage to Duryodhan. (Bhāg. 10.86.2-3)
* Duryodhan considered Balaram the supreme Lord. He addressed him as Bhagavan. (Garga Saṁhitā 8.9.1; 8.10.1)
* It was Duryodhan who asked the sage Pradvipak Muni to inform him about Balaram’s rāsa dance in Vraja, as well as various prayers and procedures for worshiping Baladev, and Balaram’s 1,000 names. (Garga-saṁhitā canto 8 chapters 9-13)
* One of Balaram’s names is “Duryodhana-guru”, the guru of Duryodhan. (Garga-saṁhitā 1.10.42)
* Balaram went to Kuruksetra to stop the fighting between Bhimasena and Duryodhan. When he saw that it was Krishna’s will that they fight, he left as he had so much affection for both Bhima and Duryodhan that it was too painful for him to see them fight. (Bhāg. 10.79.23-30)
* When Bhima killed Duryodhan, Balaram was furious and left.
How do we reconcile the fact that Duryodhan was very dear to Balaram?
There may be many answers to this question, but we can conclude that although Duryodhan looked like he was very close, ultimately his attitude was not pleasing to Balaram.
There are many lessons that we can see from this: First, it’s not always easy to see who is really close to the guru. By the aparā-vicāra, the apparent consideration, it appeared that both Banasura and Ravan pleased Mahadeva Shiva and got his mercy. But our ācāryas have described that they only got sakapaṭa kṛpā, mercy with cheating. They got some wealth, fame and position. They didn’t get the niṣkapaṭa kṛpā, mercy without cheating, or kṛṣṇa-prema. In the same way, although it apparently looked like Duryodhan was close to Lord Balaram, internally he was far away from the Lord.
Secondly, although Duryodhan had some faith in Balaram, he didn’t have faith in Krishna or the Pandavas. In the same way, sometimes a disciple may be full of enthusiasm for his or her guru, but may neglect or offend other Vaiṣṇavas. Or, like Duryodhan, some disciples may express devotion for their guru, but they may not be interested in worshiping Krishna or chanting kṛṣṇa-nāma. Although it may appear that such devotees are very close to their guru, and they may even get some big position, they do not get the same quality of mercy that a surrendered disciple receives.
To explore a third lesson from the relationship between Balaram and Duryodhan, we have to understand Duryodhan’s identity. The Garga-saṁhitā (1.5.30) describes him as an aṁśa or partial expansion of Kali — duryodhanaḥ kaler aṁśo. Although externally he looked like a big follower of his guru, in actuality Duryodhan was a servant and follower of Kali, not his guru Lord Balaram. He had his own separate agenda from the Lord, an agenda that ultimately caused pain and death for millions of persons.
Regarding such duplicity Thakur Bhaktivinode states in his Bāul Saṅgīta (song 6):
eo to’ eka kalir celā māthā neḍā kapni parā, tilak nāke, galāy mālā
“Here is a disciple of Kali-yuga: He has a shaved head, wears kaupins, marks his forehead with tilak, and keeps tulasī beads around his neck.”
In a 1995 lecture in Bhubaneswar, Gour Govinda Maharaja warned the devotees that to really have the association of guru one must give up ulterior motives and false displays of devotion, and must genuinely surrender:
“We are only pretending that we have done ātma-nivedana, that we have surrendered. But we have not really surrendered. We have only been pretending, pretending, pretending for so many years. And also for so many years to come in the future, as long as we continue to act artificially we cannot approach guru, sādhu or Vaiṣṇava. We cannot get their mercy at all and therefore we cannot see their real form. We will be cheated. We will get all external things.”
— Śrī-guru vaiṣṇava kṛpā prārthī, Madhavananda Das

A Neophyte Prepares for Initiation (Part 1)

The post Jhulan Yatra 2016 – Day Three appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Question: Karma applies only in this realm – only in this material world, right? Or does it also apply to the soul in the non material world?

My reply:
Karma is cause and effect as a result of work.

We exist on one side of the kāraṇa ocean (the ocean of causality). Ours is the side where a lack in the soul motivates work (karma) which sets cause and effect in motion. The other side of the ocean of causality, the “non-material realm” or the “spiritual world” as we often call it, is “Vaikuṇṭha” – a place where there is no want whatsoever. On that side of existence it is not a lack in the soul but the fullness of the soul which motivates action. Thus the action is not “work” (karma) but “play” (līlā).

Play also has sequence to it, and thus follows a type of cause and effect – but the whole thing is effortless and free, so it is not called karma, it is called līlā.

Vraja Kishor das

www.vrajakishor.com

The post August 18th, 2016 – Daily Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Today is Balarama Purnima, the appearance day of Lord Balarama, the first expansion of Lord Krishna, who plays as Krishna’s older brother. Listening to Sri Caitanya-bhagavata this morning, I happened to hear a description of Lord Chaitanya’s special affinity for the mood of Lord Balarama: “Every day, Lord Chaitanya, accompanied by Lord Nityananda, visited various Vaishnava’s homes and enacted transcendental pastimes. The Lord was constantly engaged in His ecstasies, manifesting the moods and behaviors of different incarnations—Matsya, Kurma, Narasimha, Varaha, Vamana, Ramachandra, Buddha, Kalki, and Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja. Lord Chaitanya displayed these moods, as and when He desired, and then quickly hid them.

“But somehow the mood of Balarama came repeatedly to the Lord, and He kept manifesting it. As Haladhara (Balarama), Lord Chaitanya would become very excited and shout loudly, ‘Bring Me wine! Bring Me some wine!’ Nityananda always understood the Lord’s intentions, and so He would reverentially give Him a pot filled with Ganges water. At such times, Lord Chaitanya’s mighty voice seemed to shake the entire creation, and His dancing was so wild it appeared as if the earth would shatter. Seeing such violent dancing, the devotees became fearful. They sang the glories of Balarama, and the Lord became very pleased and His ecstasy increased. In this state, the Lord moved about like a madman; He staggered like an intoxicated person, and He composed and recited varieties of poems and songs. What splendor He manifested in the mood of Balarama! The devotees gazed at the exquisite beauty of the Lord’s face, but their eyes could not be satiated. They more they looked, the more their desire to see Lord Chaitanya’s moonlike face increased-—without limit.” (Cb Madhya 28.61–74)

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 17.115–117) describes, “One day the Lord sat down in the corridor of a Visnu temple and began calling very loudly, ‘Bring some honey! Bring some honey!’ Nityananda Prabhu Gosani, understanding the ecstatic mood of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, brought a pot of Ganges water as a token and put it before Him. After drinking the water, Lord Caitanya became so ecstatic that He began to dance. Thus everyone saw the pastime of attracting the river Yamuna.”

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains, “Yamunakarsana-lila is the pastime of attracting the Yamuna. One day, Sri Baladeva wanted the Yamuna River to come before Him, and when the river Yamuna refused, He took His plow, wanting to dig a canal so that the Yamuna would be obliged to come there. Since Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the original form of Baladeva, in His ecstasy He asked everyone to bring honey. In this way, all the devotees standing there saw the yamunakarsana-lila. In this lila, Baladeva was accompanied by His girlfriends. After drinking a honey beverage called Varuni, He wanted to jump into the Yamuna and swim with the girls. It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.65.25–30, 33) that Lord Baladeva asked the Yamuna to come near, and when the river disobeyed the order of the Lord, He became angry and thus wanted to snatch her near to Him with His plow. The Yamuna, however, very much afraid of Lord Balarama’s anger, immediately came and surrendered unto Him, praying to the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and admitting her fault. She was then excused.”

This incident is also described in the Dasavatara-stotra (8), the prayer of Jayadeva Gosvami concerning the ten incarnations:

vahasi vapusi visade vasanam jaladabham
halahati-bhiti-milita-yamunabham
kesava dhrta-haladhara-rupa jaya jagad-isa hare

“O Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari who have assumed the form of plow-wielding Balarama! All glories to You! On Your brilliant white body You wear garments colored like a fresh rain cloud and the river Yamuna, whom You frighten with the blows of Your plow.”

May Lord Balarama kindly excuse us for our offenses and draw us near Him.

Hare Krishna.

Gita verse-by-verse podcast

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The post Gita 11.09 The universal form is the ultimate mystical vision appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Bhaktin Giorgia is a certified Yoga Teacher and a daughter of Parabhakti dasa, Temple President of ISKCON Villa Vrindavana and a Communications Director of ISKCON Italy Nirjala Ekadasi, 16 June 2016, Villa Vrindavana Q: What does yoga mean to you? What attracted you to yoga? A: Yoga to me means to find my own expression. I’ve been attracted to yoga during my spiritual quest. On the yoga mat I

By Bhagavan Dasa

To start to tell the story of Vrajabhumi we must introduce Sergio, a typical playboy of the seventies. He worked with Law and was a partygoer in Rio nightlife. His penthouse in Copacabana, one of the richest neighborhoods of Rio, was a place for parties, where people swapped the day for the night. Almost suddenly, however, his life would change. After reading the book Beyond Birth and Death, written by Srila Prabhupada, founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the clubber Sergio began to face life otherwise. His apartment then became a central meeting place for spiritualists. Once again, times have changed, but this time his day would begin early, at dawn, for meditations. Continue reading "25 Years of Vrajabhumi – A Piece of the Spiritual Sky in Brazil
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