"Planet ISKCON" - 33 new articles
ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Nanda Mandir PrabhuSrimad Bhagavatam 1.1.17 - When Krsna appears all the incarnations are present within His body (ete camsa-kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam...).  • Email to a friend •  •H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Friday 19 August 2011--Blissful Life in Bhaktivedanta Ashram--and--How to Convince a Non-Devotee to Chant?A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Friday 19 August 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. (Click on photo to see a larger image.) Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. Special Announcement: Connect With Other Members of this Course. Join this Conference: http://groups.google.com/group/sda_students Today's Thought: Blissful Life in Bhaktivedanta Ashram Uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram, Austin, Texas USA It's so sublime to live a life centered around Lord Sri Krishna. Our daily life here in Bhaktivedanta Ashram is ecstatic because it is completely centered around Krishna 24 hours a day. We rise early in morning at 2:30am to begin a five-and-a-half hours program consisting of chanting japa, studying verses, worshipping our Sri Sri Radha Damodar deities, singing and dancing in kirtan, and holding an enlightening and enlivening class on the Srimad Bhagavatam. Then it is time for a delicious, nutritious prasadam breakfast after which we begin our daily work activities. For me this means writing Thought for the Day and answering the many emails I receive every day. Alongside this there is much going on such as preparing for our next around-the-world lecture tour, and getting ready for the upcoming Janmastami celebration. Then comes a wonderful prasadam lunch and an afternoon of more writing and assorted other activities such as purchasing groceries for the Janmastami feast. Then in the evening I am blessed with the ultimate good fortune of offering Sri Sri Radha Damodar their evening arati, changing them into their night clothes, and putting them to rest. Finally it's time for hot milk prasadam along with Krishna conscious conversation and taking rest for the night to begin the same ever-increasingly ecstatic cycle the next day. Everybody can live like this in their own homes, tasting the sweetest nectar at every minute. All you have to is make Krishna the center of your heart and your home. Try it, and you'll be glad you did. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Srimad Bhagavatam Class--13 July 2011 Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Austin_Lecture.JPG Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Convince a Non-Devotee to Chant? How can I convince a non devotee to chant and be happy? They know the importance of chanting and have heard many lectures on Krishna consciousness, but they do not want to chant. Sri Answer: You Become Perfect in Chanting You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't force him to drink. If you want to convince others to chant, you should become so perfect in your chanting that others will be attracted to chanting simply by getting your association. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at:http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? 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Bhakti Lounge, NZ: ClosedBhakti Lounge will be closed on Monday 22 August & Tuesday 23 August. • Email to a friend • •Madhavendra Puri, New Govardhana, AU: Won-Durr Boiz in Poland (Part 12) – Miles Away in Miedzyzdroje[The Won-Durr Boiz diary series is based on four ex-gurukuli brothers (surname: Durr) coming together for the first time to share Krsna consciousness with the outside world. Madhavendra Puri (the author and middle elder) has been waiting in Radhadesh (Belgium) for his brothers to arrive. Nitai Canda (the eldest) and Rupa Gosvami (the youngest) arrive first, and Bhisma Deva (the middle younger) is scheduled to come half way through. Their adventure takes them through Belgium, Germany and Poland, for rathayatras, festival tours and kirtana events. These diaries aim to bring inspiration and joy to the readers, and hopefully encourage others to entangle themselves in Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement – whether for the spiritual benefits or simply for the fun.]
Friday 22nd, July 2011.
It was a long trip to Miedzyzdroje. We arrived to see HH Indradyumna Swami with his long stretching harinam party, cascaded against the grey skies. This was Maharaja's favourite town and he wasn't going to let a little rain spoil his fun. He stopped the party, like a military general, and made a signal. All of a sudden, twenty matajis opened up rainbow coloured umbrellas and then the party continued on its way. Due to the colourful umbrellas, the harinam party was that much more vibrant and amazing than its usual display. The whole incident simply complimented the crafty mind of Maharaja.
The western devotees were super excited to see pasta again for lunch. They all stocked up their plates and sat in their respective tents. On closer inspection they realized that they hadn't picked up a plate of pasta but a whole plate of yellow bean sabji. It was a good laugh for those who actually knew the reality before they made their lunch choice (I was tipped off before everyone else so I knew what I was getting myself into).
It was wet and cold. Rupa and I kept warm by entertaining Srinatha. We took him to the park for a while until the harinam returned. I took him into the parade for the finish. He was clapping, laughing and attempting to sing along throughout the harinam's finale.
We caught up with Nitai once the harinam died down. He informed us that he had driven to the festival in Maharaja's car. There was no more room on the harinam bus so Maharaja scooped him up and took him for a ride. Needless to say, it was a scoop of mercy well worth noting.
There was word of Cid's imminent departure from tour so I popped into the sound tent to check the gear. It seemed that I was going to be jumping back into the sound service once Cid left the scene. Everything was as I remembered, with a few new gismos and a few old rust buckets.
While I was in the sound tent, Maharaja came in and commented on my attire. I had gloves on but no socks. I had dressed for a beach town but then I had to add on whatever was available, but my spare clothing seemed to favour my top half over the bottom. I took note of how much Maharaja focused on the externals for the sake of the public observing the devotees, just so they had a favourable impression of the devotees (and also how he was concerned that devotees dressed themselves correctly so they didn't become sick).
We made our march back to the buses at the end of the festival. Miedzyzdroje was the longest drive and also the longest walk to the buses. The town was packed with lot of entertainment and fan fair so it was hard to bring the buses close to the festival site. We all made do and did the long walk back, in the dark and the rain. It was a small austerity to pay in the midst of the tour ecstasies. The veterans were used to it and the newbies also handled it with ease. The buses all returned at midnight, which was noteworthy. Maharaja was adamant to have the festival in such a prestigious town like Miedzyzdroje.
Saturday 23rd, July 2011.
Much to my dissatisfaction, the internet was in spastic mode, cutting in and out at all the wrong times but I still decided to spend the day back at base, attempting to be productive. It was my last chance at a day off before jumping back into the sound crew (which was a full time onsite service). Jayatam beat the masses back from the festival and we had a chat about my blog, although nothing eventuated in regards to the general tour struggle with internet connections.
When the troops arrived they informed me that I missed a dance performance by a Kazakhstani group. They performed on our stage and were straight off again on their tour, thus I never caught the essence of the experience. It seemed I was missing out on my days off but I did what I could to conserve myself before the core of the tour battle; Woodstock was coming up, followed by nonstop festivals.
Sunday 24th, July 2011.
I started my first day back on sound and lights. It was a disaster straight from the word "go". We did all our daily tests on our equipment and then went to play some music through the system. Nothing was coming out of the mixer, thus we had to run around and search out the problems. To make it worse the only sound that was coming out of our speakers was a maddening static. Maharaja was concerned, thus we had his watchful eye on us. I concluded that the mixing desk was finished, which meant we had to find another one. This whole incident went on into half an hour of the scheduled festival time. Finally Radha Mohana decided to flick the whole system off and restart it. Although it wasn't a digital desk (meaning this should have had no effect on it), all of a sudden it was working again. We quickly switched everything into gear and took a sighing breath of relief.
Despite the chaos, it felt good to be behind the desk that day. We played all the tracks for the performance, as Vana put us back on schedule with his stage managing, and then I mixed the kirtana. I rarely had the opportunity to mix the kirtana in other years but this time it was all up to me. I was shocked how all the experience had paid off, and I danced away as the sounds came out in smooth melodies.
We stayed back at the site to break down the festival. The breakdown went so quickly that I barely saw the time pass by. I was high on sugar the whole time, cracking jokes and running around for all the menial tasks. We finished up and headed for the buses, feeling deep satisfaction for a job well done. It was worth such a distant journey to come out and share the love in Miedzyzdroje, the Polish Hollywood.
Poland (11) . Poland (12)
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• Email to a friend • •Japa Group: Meaning Of The Sixteen Names PT.5
Krsna krtvaranye sarah-srestham kantayanumatas-taya akrsya sarva-tirthani taj-jnanat krsna iryate In order to please Sri Radha, Krsna manifested the most wonderful lake (Syama-kunda) in Vrndavana. He then called all the holy rivers to fill it. He is thus known as Krsna. Jiva Goswami  • Email to a friend • •Ekendra das, Alachua, USA: Don't tread on an ant, he's done nothing to youConsidering how much bugs bug me, I picked the wrong state to live in. I remember soon after coming to Florida I watched what appeared to be a ten-inch long shiny bright blue armored caterpillar-thing burrow into the ground right in front of me. I mean it was surreal, the kind of event that makes me want out with a capital “O.” Another time, my wife had created some fabulous munchies which I didn’t ABSOLUTELY clean up after. I returned to the kitchen after a neglectful pause to find a seven-inch, black, slithery, multi-long-legged spawn of the devil slurping on the remains of a jar of tamarind sauce. As soon as he saw me, I let out a Moe Stooge-style yowl of horror and wished I’d had a shotgun. In the seven nanoseconds it took for the sauce-sucking demon spawn to disappear through a crack in the pantry floor, I’d developed a case of the shivers that still clings to me. The latest thing (though this is not quite as cinematic) is ants. They started coming in through, over, around, and under our kitchen window and onto the counter and swarming around the sink. The first day they visited, I could easily see the error of my ways: a not-completely-scrubbed-out jam jar. They were partying hearty in force in there and passing back snackage sufficient to satisfy the whole colony. I cleaned the sink, dried and put away all the dishes, polished every visible surface, and finished with a light application of peppermint oil (the reputed anathema to ant sense gratification) all around. The ants kept coming, however, so I realized I would have to clean even more. I removed the mesh drain traps and scrubbed them thoroughly. I reached down with a soapy green pad into the bottoms of the bottoms of the sink drains, as far as my hand could go without getting my elbows caught in the grease trap. I left not even an atomic morsel of solid matter carry-able in the eager mandibles of even the most puny ant. But the ants continued to keep coming. I reason that because the first crowd got such a scrump-diddly-icious strawberry jam buzz they reported their findings to every ant citizen in the ‘hood, who keep visiting on word of mandible alone. At one point in the Great Ant Influx, I saw one carrying what looked like a potato flake (heaven knows where he got it from) about eleven times his size. But then, oh no! It got caught on top of a drop of water and remained there. My wife and I watched as the once lucky critter stood motionless, disappointed and defeated next to the drop of water that he couldn’t even see, which had robbed him of his good fortune. He looked like how I feel a lot of the time. “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen,” my kindhearted wife said. But anyway, the ants keep coming. They seem to keep finding things too small for me to clean and filling their little ant pockets with them. If one of us so much as lightly touches any surface near the sink with a fingertip that’s anything less than industrially degreased, sanitized, and aridly dry, a new gang shows up and parks themselves around the newly established Greasy Fingerprint Bar and Grill for a hog heavenly slurp fest. I suppose it’s meant to make me a cleaner guy. At some point, they will stop coming, won’t they? I may be on my way to Godliness, but at this point I feel closer to Obsessiveness. I’m morbidly fascinated by the relentless march of ants into what has become Florida’s most antiseptic counter top. I’m trying to psych myself into Blessing-counting Mode, and thank God I haven’t yet had to endure a plague of larger, more destructive critters. • Email to a friend • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Capture Crafty KrsnaKrsna said that "This war, your fight, is family. I am connected with both the families. So I cannot take part in this war." But they insisted that "At least You take some part as You like." Then He said that "I divide Myself into two. So one side, all My soldiers, eighteen aksauhini soldiers, and one side, I am alone. Now you select. Which one you want?" So Duryodhana's thought that "What shall I do with Krsna? He's one man. Let me take His soldiers." So he took all the soldiers. And Arjuna said, "No, Krsna, I want You." Then Krsna said, "No, I'll not fight." "No, You simply remain in my side." "All right, I shall become your chariot driver, that's all." So this is intelligence. You just capture Krsna. And Krsna, how He can be captured? Krsna can be captured by your bhakti. Otherwise, He's very, very, crafty. You cannot capture Him. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.37 -- Bombay, December 6, 1974 • Email to a friend • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: pre-Janmastami meditation; the central object of loveLord Krsna here confirms that the conditioned soul can reach the highest perfectional stage by surrendering to Him. One must give up all other responsibilities. This complete surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most auspicious path for the conditioned soul because the Supreme Lord is the supreme objective of love. Everyone is loving his self according to the advancement of his knowledge. Ultimately, when a person comes to understand that his self is the spirit soul and that the spirit soul is nothing but a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, he recognizes the Supreme Lord as the ultimate goal of love and then surrenders unto Him. This surrender is considered auspicious for the conditioned soul. Our life, property, home, wife, children, house, country, society and all paraphernalia which are very dear to us are expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the central object of love because He gives us all bliss, expanding Himself in so many ways according to our different situations, namely bodily, mental or spiritual. >>> Ref. VedaBase => KB 23: Delivering the Wives of the Brahmanas Who Performed Sacrifices • Email to a friend • •Mukunda Charan das, SA: Some Thoughts On Krishna ConsciousnessSwami Prabhupada sent two young devotees – Rsi Kumar Swami and Ksudhi Das Brahmacari – to introduce the Hare Krishna Movement to South Africa. After some time, however, Rsi Kumar had difficulties. He met Prabhupada some time later at the Laguna Beach Temple. He told Prabhupada, ‘I was trying to forget Krishna’. Prabhupada replied, ‘That is not possible’. Shakespeare contemplates death in the Graveyard Scene of his famous play Hamlet. The young prince, Hamlet, is walking through the graveyard, witnessing the grave-diggers burying the dead. He sees skulls, and speculates as to their identity: ‘This one was a courtier. This one was a lawyer’. At the time of death, it does not really matter what you did in this world. Your identity is reduced to bones. Our souls are covered by the illusion of thinking we are something that we are not. The word Maya – what devotees refer to as material illusion – means ‘that which is not’. In the Caitanya Caritamrita, Lord Caitanya says that our spiritual identity is full of pure love of Krishna – nitya siddha krishna prema. The real position of the living entity is to be full of the ecstasy of love of God. But we are desiring something else and getting a different result. Why are the gopis so beautiful? Their beauty is composed of their desire to please Krishna. There is a process to reawaken our spiritual nature. This is described by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Siksastakam prayers – ceto darpanam marjanam/bhava maha davagni nirvapanam. The chanting of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare takes the dust of material existence away from our heart. How can we transform lust into love? Our passion to enjoy this world must be transformed to a deeper passion to please Krishna, love Krishna and to worship Krishna. Krishna is Bhagavan. He is full in all six opulences – beauty, fame, intelligence, strength, renunciation and wealth. The Sanskrit term for this is sad aisvarya purno. A devotee should live his life as if he was going to die today. He should do so by taking shelter of Krishna. We should not play around with Maya. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, ‘If you try to become the master of Maya, you become her servant’. If we take shelter of the process of Krishna Consciousness through the associtation of devotees, we can make rapid spiritual advancement. Visvanath Cakravati Thakur prayed, ‘I am lame, but the only way I can move is by the stick of the mercy of the Vaishnavas’. Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote that the best way to make advancement is to engage in the six loving exchanges of Rupa Goswami. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati wanted genuine surrender, not just a show. He told his disciples, ‘It’s your minds that I want. Not just your words and your bowing’. Love is demonstrated, ultimately, by actions. Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: bhaktisiddhanta saraswati thakur, hamlet in the graveyard, love is what we are made of, postaweek2011, realizing our spiritual nature, swami prabhupada         • Email to a friend • •Dandavats.com: Sri Narasimha Palana Prarthana by Kusakrata PrabhuKusakratha dasa: "I offer my respectfull obaisences to HDG. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Churning the nectar ocean of bhakti for Lord Govindadevas lotusfeet, he created great tidal waves that innundated the countries of the Yavana." |
