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"Planet ISKCON" - 42 new articles H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Friday 9 September 2011--Our False Declaration of Independence--and--Devotion or Detachment? Which Is First? ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Surya Gopal Prabhu Japa Group: Meaning Of The Sixteen Names PT.13 Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Jaya Lord Vamanadeva! Words from Srila Prabhupada to glorify His appearance day... Akrura das, Gita Coaching: BETTER WAY TO HELP PEOPLE Australian News: Universal Prayers for Peace with Carmella Baynie & Friends YOU WILL LOVE IT Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: a beautiful planet Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: beyond GBC Akrura das, Gita Coaching: COACHING QUESTIONS THAT FACILITATE YOUR SUCCESS Nityananda Chandra Das, Dallas TX: TEXAS FAITH 47: Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11? H.H. Sivarama Swami Krishna Dharma dasa, UK: Pause for Thought Sastra Dana, San Diego, USA: At South Western College Dandavats.com: 4 day JANMASTAMI festival report - ISKCON-Visakhapatnam-India Dandavats.com: Srila Prabhupada's Arrival Festival Sept 17th Dandavats.com: Ads for the ISKCON Boston Temple Dandavats.com: World Holy Name Festival - Special Events Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Krishna Conscious Games For Kids Australian News: Leipzig Ratha Yatra – An ocean of devotion Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters David Haslam, UK: Greedy for Devotional Service Madhavendra Puri, New Govardhana, AU: Jolting July H.H. Sivarama Swami: Skype conference with Russian disciples H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 H.H. Sivarama Swami H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, September 5th, 2011 H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, September 4th, 2011 Australian News: Help MADHAVA'S KIRTAN BAND win India's got talent H.H. Sivarama Swami: Asutosa dasa asks Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: 2011 eurotour–slovenia summer camp ISKCON Desire Tree: Vaishnava Calender - Sri Vamana Dvadasi : Appearance of lord Vamandev,Srila Jiva Goswami - Apperance ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Darshan Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Electric Car-Makers' Quest: One Plug To Charge Them All Japa Group: Chanting Answers The Questions Gouranga TV: Hey Gopinath – chakrini – songs of the soul More Recent Articles Search Planet ISKCON Prior Mailing Archive H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Friday 9 September 2011--Our False Declaration of Independence--and--Devotion or Detachment? Which Is First? A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Friday 9 September 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. For Transcendental Association Connect With Other Members of this Course. Join this Conference: http://groups.google.com/group/sda_students Today's Thought: Our False Declaration of Independence Uploaded from Aheloy, Bulgaria In this material world by our practical daily activities in complete neglect of the Supreme Lord we falsely declare our independence from God. This is ludicrous because at every moment we are fully dependent upon God for everything: the air we breath, our food, water, clothing, shelter, and all other varieties of resources that we utilize to maintain our comforts of life. We cannot exist for a moment without these necessities of life, which He kindly supplies us. We should be constantly engaged in glorifying and remembering the transcendental name, fame, qualities, and pastimes of that most amazing Supreme Personality of Godhead, but yet we have the audacity to declare our independence by ignoring His existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Devotion or Detachment? Which Is First? Kindly say which comes first: devotion or detachment? Should one first get detached to come to the platform of bhakti, or should he perform bhakti without being qualified to do so, to attain detachment? Vandana Answer: Be Devoted. Detachment Will Follow. Detachment without bhakti is artificial and therefore cannot remain. It is only when one comes to the platform of bhakti that genuine, permanent detachment becomes manifested. So focus on bhakti, even if you have no qualification. The only requirement for bhakti is the intense greed to attain it. We are not interested in cultivating detachment separately from bhakti. Our desire is to come to the platform of complete, total attachment to Krishna. It is only when one comes to this consciousness that he becomes perfect in detachment. 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? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed: http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought Thought for the Day on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ultimate.Self.Realization Copyright 2005-2011 by Ultimate Self Realization.Com Distribution of this material is encouraged. Simply we request you to acknowledge where it is coming from with a link to our sign up page: http://www.backtohome.com Our records indicate that at requested to be enrolled to receive e-mails from the Ultimate Self Realization Course at: This request was made on: From the following IP address:   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Surya Gopal Prabhu Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.17 - The name & messages of the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna are nondifferent from Him (namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis...). Pastimes of Lord Vamana & Jiva Gosvami.   • Email to a friend • • Japa Group: Meaning Of The Sixteen Names PT.13 Rama ramayaty-acyutam premna nikunja-vana-mandire rama nigadita radha ramo yutas taya punah Radharani is known as Rama because She enjoys loving pastimes with Acyuta (Krsna) in a secret forest pavilion. Since He is always by Her side, He is known as Rama. Jiva Goswami   • Email to a friend • • Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Jaya Lord Vamanadeva! Words from Srila Prabhupada to glorify His appearance day... Today is the appearance day of Lord Vamanadeva which we fasted for yesterday morning and tied with the Ekadasi. As is happening quite often, there is not much time left in the day to blog so the perfect solution is to simply turn to Srila Prabhupada's words to glorify this auspicious day. The following is from the summary of Srimad Bhagavatam 8th canto, chapter 18.. This chapter describes how Lord Vāmanadeva appeared and how He went to the sacrificial arena of Mahārāja Bali, who received Him well and fulfilled His desire by offering Him benedictions. Lord Vāmanadeva appeared in this world from the womb of Aditi completely equipped with conchshell, disc, club and lotus. His bodily hue was blackish, and He was dressed in yellow garments. LordVisnu appeared at an auspicious moment on Śravana-dvādaśī when the Abhijit star had arisen. At that time, in all the three worlds (including the higher planetary system, outer space and this earth), all the demigods, the cows, the brāhmanas and even the seasons were happy because of God's appearance. Therefore this auspicious day is called Vijayā.  When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has a sac-cid-ānanda body, appeared as the son of Kaśyapa and Aditi, both of His parents were very astonished. After His appearance, the Lord assumed the form of a dwarf (Vāmana). All the great sages expressed their jubilation, and with Kaśyapa Muni before them they performed the birthday ceremony of Lord Vāmana. At the time of Lord Vāmanadeva's sacred thread ceremony, He was honored by the sun-god, Brhaspati, the goddess presiding over the planet earth, the deity of the heavenly planets, His mother, Lord Brahmā, Kuvera, the seven rsis and others.  Lord Vāmanadeva then visited the sacrificial arena on the northern side of the Narmadā River, at the field known as Bhrgukaccha, where brāhmanas of the Bhrgu dynasty were performing yajñas. Wearing a belt made of muñja straw, an upper garment of deerskin and a sacred thread and carrying in His hands a danda, an umbrella and a waterpot (kamandalu), Lord Vāmanadeva appeared in the sacrificial arena of Mahārāja Bali. Because of His transcendentally effulgent presence, all the priests were diminished in their prowess, and thus they all stood from their seats and offered prayers to Lord Vāmanadeva. Even Lord Śiva accepts on his head the Ganges water generated from the toe of Lord Vāmanadeva. Therefore, after washing the Lord's feet, Bali Mahārāja immediately accepted the water from the Lord's feet on his head and felt that he and his predecessors had certainly been glorified. Then Bali Mahārāja inquired of Lord Vāmanadeva's welfare and requested the Lord to ask him for money, jewels or anything He might desire. Jaya Lord Vamanadeva!  Thank you Srila Prabhupada! We are forever grateful for all these festivals and pastimes which we are only able to celebrate and hear about with your mercy...   • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: BETTER WAY TO HELP PEOPLE Give a man a bread - you feed him for a day. Teach him how to sow, water and reap - you feed him for a lifetime.   • Email to a friend • • Australian News: Universal Prayers for Peace with Carmella Baynie & Friends YOU WILL LOVE IT “Her unique personal style weaves the sacred Indian traditions of sound yoga with other cultural explorations of sacred music and song which awakens the heart, uplifts the spirit and opens the channels of inspiration.” Universal Prayers for Peace with Carmella Baynie & Friends By Carmella Baynie  |  View on Facebook When: Sep 25, 2011 (7:30pm - 10:30pm) Where: Qi Natural Therapies & Yoga 2 Moore Rd » View map Come join us for another evening of bliss! Cost: , pre-booked Bookings & Enquiries yoga@qiyoga.net (02) 9976 6880 www.qiyoga.net For more about Carmella www.carmellavoice.com Share this story your way:PrintFacebookTwitterGoogle BookmarksStumbleUponYahoo! Buzzdel.icio.usDiggLiveMySpacePDF   • Email to a friend • • Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: a beautiful planet If the planet saturn looks so beautiful....imagine the beauty of the creator? One can only fathom the beauty of this creation and the creator. Krishna's proclaims in the Gita (10.41) that this creation is but a spark of His splendor. This picture surely attests to that statement. Hare Krishna   • Email to a friend • • Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: beyond GBC I was trying to preach in a certain zone and there was some resistance coming from the GBC man stationed there, but, by your mercy, in order for the preaching to go on, you told me that preaching was beyond GBC! Arjuna Dasa, Srila Prabhupada Tributes 2011 p. 267   • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: COACHING QUESTIONS THAT FACILITATE YOUR SUCCESS The best type of question to ask anyone or in any situation is always contextual; it depends on the phase of coaching, and the purpose, or intended results, of the question. We may call the most relevant questions for a particular person or a situation - facilitative questions, and they may combine opened and closed questions. As a guide, coach, or a helper, you may ask yourself: "What do I want my question to accomplish?" In general, questions are usually the most influential and most creative aspect of speaking, thinking and listening. Questions stimulate new possibilities and new openings for action. Effective questions lead to effective action, because questions program the form and direction of answers. Quality of an answer depend largely on the quality of the question, because it is not possible to get best answers without the best questions.    Breakthrough changes in thinking depend on new provocative questions. Only new questions can bring about new answers. A question not asked is a door not opened. The guide's most challenging task is to inspire people to see new possibilities and take a new action. (Based on the Inquiry Institute teachings)   • Email to a friend • • Nityananda Chandra Das, Dallas TX: TEXAS FAITH 47: Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11? Dallas Morning News, Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box. Since September 11, 2001, many conversations have taken place among Muslims, Jews and Christians. There are official interfaith conversations occurring all over the globe, where participants dig into each other's texts. And numerous personal dialogues have been established over the last decade. Many of us have learned more about the three Abrahamic faiths since September 11, 2001 than perhaps we knew before that day. But here's this week's question, which is simple in its wording but not necessarily simple to answer: Do followers of the three Abrahamic faiths really understand each other better since 9/11? Please explain the reasons for your answer. NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas  Progressing in a clear direction by car not only requires a proper destination, but also knowledge of where one is coming from. I view this question in a similar way. If I am driving to Tulsa, I need not only the route but an understanding of where I am starting from. By far, most religious philosophies do not deal with the subject of the self, the soul, in great detail. The difference between the body and our consciousness is not really discussed. Nor do we discuss this point: Although we reincarnate from a baby's body through childhood and youth, we, the soul, are the same person. As a great calculus equation has little value if it is based on the premise that 1 + 1 = 3, so is interfaith and spiritual study without deep philosophical understanding of the self. Egalitarianism based on the body fails since we are all different. This sentiment can be logically upheld by a spiritual philosophical basis by which one recognizes that the soul is of the same quality in all beings. By deeper study, one can intelligently accept that there is only one God, by which all can approach with love calling Him by His different names. Allah, Jehovah, Krishna, Christ is just the tip of the iceberg. For as God has unlimited qualities and glories, therefore there exists unlimited names of God. To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.    • Email to a friend • • H.H. Sivarama Swami By the benediction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and my Guru Maharaj this Movement has got very great potency for rectifying the troubled situation of the whole world. Let us work to the best of our capacity to fulfill this mission of the Lord and surely that will be the best for all concerned. - Srila Prabhupada   • Email to a friend • • Krishna Dharma dasa, UK: Pause for Thought These were delivered over the last 3 weeks on BBC Radio 2 Week 34 – Music This weekend I am hoping to make it to the Notting Hill Carnival, helping a few friends with their environmentally friendly ox-powered float, and adding my voice to the general din by chanting a few ancient Sanskrit mantras. The carnival is a musical affair so we will bring our instruments and try to chant as harmoniously as possible, which is more than I would say for a lot of the music I hear these days. I guess that's always the case though, like everything else music moves on and leaves its lovers behind. The raucous racket blasting out of our kids' rooms today has us reaching for the ear plugs, while the sweet and melodious sounds which we enjoyed in our youth are generally viewed by them as old fashioned rubbish. Oh well, each to their own I suppose, but it is a rare person who does not enjoy some sort of music. As the poet said, music has charms to soothe the savage breast. The composer Thomas Beecham put it even more eloquently when he said that the function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought. I would second that, but with a certain proviso, that it be a part of one's spiritual practises. For me music is an intrinsic element of my spiritual life. In Hinduism and particularly the Krishna faith, the process of kirtan, congregational glorification of God, is a key practise, and should you visit a Krishna temple you will very likely encounter groups of worshippers engaged in enthusiastic singing, and quite often dancing too. Music serves to attract us to the prayers and spiritual chants, but it is these that actually free the mind from tyranny. In fact the word mantra means just that – 'mind freeing' – particularly from those thoughts which keep us bound up within this world. The mind is described in my scriptures as the vehicle carrying the soul, and if it is absorbed in materialistic thought it will oblige us to remain within the material or mortal realm. Only when the mind is absorbed in the divine can the soul be liberated and returned to its spiritual position. This is generally known as meditation and the easiest way to do this is chanting. That's where the mantras come in. These generally consist of God's names which are divine sound vibrations. Therefore simply by joining in with the singing we effectively meditate on the Supreme and move towards liberation. It doesn't matter what name we chant, after all God has many names, but by this simple process we can quickly free ourselves from all the stress and anxiety of life and achieve the highest happiness. Week 35 – Lessons learned As Ramadan draws to a close our Muslim friends will no doubt be reflecting on the lessons they have learned from their religious observances over the last month. Challenging the urges of the senses and mind always teaches me lessons. The first thing I notice is how powerful these urges are. It is like being swept along in a boat by a fast current. You don't notice the movement or the force that moves you, until you decide to row against it. In a similar way we normally let ourselves be carried by our sensual and mental desires, submitting to them as far as we can in our quest for enjoyment. We hardly notice how they dictate our lives until we try to control them. Then they fight back with a force we never realised they possessed My spiritual master once said that taking to spiritual life means declaring war on the force of illusion, on the urge to indulge the body and mind in material pursuits. It is illusion because we are spiritual beings, entirely separate from matter and meant to enjoy a superior spiritual happiness – but that means controlling and ultimately ending our attempts to exploit and enjoy this world. Tough prospect perhaps, but surely we can see how such exploitation – certainly when taken to excess – leads to problems. This is a lesson we tend to learn the hard way as we reap the results. For example eating or drinking to excess leads to pain. Excessive or in other words illicit sex is fraught with trouble. Any of our senses can afford us only so much ephemeral pleasure and then we become bored or worse. On a larger scale our profligate rape of the earth in pursuit of increased consumption has produced numerous well documented calamities. All of this should hopefully lead to us learning a larger lesson. We want unlimited enjoyment but neither our bodies nor our available resources will allow it. We need to look in a different direction. This is the direction given by God and found in all faiths and scriptures. Turn from matter, or Mammon, or Maya as I would call it, towards spirit or God. He is the unlimited Supreme and in his association we can enjoy the supreme pleasure we seek. It is not that easy of course. I know I am still learning that lesson after so many years of trying. Our desire for sensual indulgence runs deep and as I began by saying it presents us with a formidable obstacle. The only answer is prayer and doing our best to follow the Lord's directions. Even the most powerful foe can be conquered with his help, and the biggest enemies we face are our own unbridled senses. Week 36 – Back to Reality At last the holidays are over and it is back to reality time for the kids as a new school year begins. Discussing this happy event with my teenage daughter last week and attempting to instil in her an appreciation for the value of a good education, I was told, "Well Dad, the reality is I hate school. Simple." There's no arguing with that and it's probably true for many of us, that we grapple with the realities of our day to day lives. We do live in quite stressful times it seems. According to the Mental Health Foundation 1 in 4 British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, and 1 in 6 experiences this at any given time. Reality can be hard to face at times but according to the ancient sages of India the root cause of anxiety is to not understand what reality really is – in other words to accept the unreal as real. The Bhagavad-Gita defines reality as being that which has no termination, and conversely the unreal as that which has no permanence. For example ourselves – in reality we are said to be eternal spirit souls. The soul's temporary covering in the shape of our bodies is merely a passing combination of elements. They take the shape of a body for a short time and then disintegrate, again to reassemble into another form in due course of time. But the soul, the actual person, endures this change and continues to live, accepting another form. All material phenomena are in a state of constant flux, forever moving from one state to another and thus the forms of this world have no substantial reality. As eternal beings we are not happy with this state of affairs. We therefore strive for security, for some sort of permanence. However, it is a losing battle. All things must pass, as George Harrison musically pronounced. Our homes, relationships and everything we possess, including our very bodies, will be taken away by the force of time. Therefore we are anxious on account of struggling vainly to avert this inevitability. That anxiety can be entirely dissipated when we focus on true reality, on our spiritual self and our undying relationship with God. This cannot be taken away at any time. When we see the world and everything within it, including ourselves, as belonging to the Supreme, in the ultimate analysis as his energy, then we become situated on the platform of eternity, where we belong. The problems of life may not vanish, but they will be cut down to size, seen in their proper perspective against the reality of our immortal spiritual existence. That's the only reality I can face.   • Email to a friend • • Sastra Dana, San Diego, USA: At South Western College This Labor Day we paid a visit to the South Western College, one of the numerous places where we keep the 16 Rounds To Samadhi newspaper stands. Related posts: Nancy Vijay distributing books in San Diego HH Danavir Goswami About 16Rounds Newspaper They Found Our Paper in Ocean Beach Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way   • Email to a friend • • Dandavats.com: 4 day JANMASTAMI festival report - ISKCON-Visakhapatnam-India By Sankirtan Ananda Gaura Das The festival started on Saturday 20th of August with the normal morning temple program followed by Bhajans by devotees. In the evening Vaishnava Kirtan by a renowned artist was followed by a Krishna Leela ballet presented by children which was very much appreciated by the guests and devotees alike