Australian News: KRISHNA LOVE FEAST – Coffs Harbour – find Yourself There

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1. H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter 2, Summary Of The Bhagavad-Gita, Text 19.
2. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: 12Hour Kirtan with the Mayapuris
3. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
4. Sri Nandanandana das: An Angkoran Ruin in Laos
5. Australian News: KRISHNA LOVE FEAST – Coffs Harbour – find Yourself There
6. Australian News: Kirtanananda Swami leaves his body aged 74
7. Sri Nandanandana das: Half man, half lion figure in Germany
8. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Poem for October 24
9. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Selected Writings
10. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Poem for October 23
11. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Selected Writings
12. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Ashtaprahar Diwali Celebrations - Saturday, October 29, 2011 @ Hindu Sabha Mandir
13. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gopavrndes Prabhu
14. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: REMOVING OBSTACLES
15. H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.32.41-43
16. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: DEVOTEE CARE
17. Karnamrita das, NC, USA: Spiritual Variety in Universal Oneness
18. H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.32.39-40
19. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
20. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
21. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
22. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
23. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Diwali and Govardhan Puja this Week!
24. New Vrndavan, USA: New Vrindaban Marks Passing of Ex-Leader
25. Japa Group: Should Be Thoroughly Convinced
26. Japa Group: Everything Starts With Chanting
27. Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Disgraced Krishna Leader Dies in India
28. H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, October 24th, 2011
29. H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, October 23rd, 2011
30. H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
31. H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Friday, October 21st, 2011
32. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: I AM ISKCON AND I CARE
33. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Next Live Broadcast - Morning Class - Wednesday, October 26th - 7:30am
34. Dandavats.com: Save Yamuna Campaign - No Water of Yamuna in Braj/Vrindavan
35. Dandavats.com: Diwali, Govardhana Puja, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
36. Dandavats.com: Voted The Best Society
37. Dandavats.com: HSBC Diwali Bankers Event with Radhanath Swami
38. H.H. Sivarama Swami: About creation, prayers and the history of ISKCON
39. Dandavats.com: Kullu Manali Namahatta center
40. Dandavats.com: Hare Krishna group puts the RWC crowd to dance!
41. Dandavats.com: Press coverage of Kirtananda Swami’s demise
42. Dandavats.com: New Temple opened in Srila Prabhupada’s family
43. H.H. Sivarama Swami: Happy Divali
44. Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Climate Change And The End of Austraila
45. ISKCON Desire Tree: Vaishnava Calender - Dipa dana ,Dipavali(kali Puja)
46. Gouranga TV: Kirtana New Vrindavana
47. Dandavats.com: The Lib/Com Discussions
48. Dandavats.com: Bhakti Raghava Swami Visits London
49. Dandavats.com: Please Join us for Govardhana Puja
50. Dandavats.com: Wwoofing at the Krishna Community in Utah
51. Dandavats.com: Pillars of Sustainability
52. H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 25 October 2011--Absolutely Astounding Krishna Consciousness--and--Strength for Realizing Ultimate Truth
53. More Recent Articles
54. Search Planet ISKCON
55. Prior Mailing Archive

H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter 2, Summary Of The Bhagavad-Gita, Text 19. THE FOLLOWING LECTURE ON THE SRIMAD BHAGAVAD-GITA, SECOND CHAPTER, TEXT NINETEEN, WAS GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CARU SWAMI IN ISKCON LAGUNA BEACH, US, ON 1 JULY 2011. Transcription : Her Grace Ranga Radhika Dasi and Her Grace Syama Mohini Dasi                                                                    Editing : Ramananda Raya Dasa Audio-reference : click here Om Namo [...]   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: 12Hour Kirtan with the Mayapuris   The Mayapuris have left Melbourne but the sweet memory of their visit will remain with us... in the form of this video... and this slideshow.   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana Happy Diwali everyone! Their Lordships are clad in green today in honour of Lord Rama, who is often pictured as being green in complexion. Here at Melbourne Mahaprabhu Mandir we will celebrate Diwali on this coming Friday, 28th October. In the meantime, here is the darsana for today, on the occasion of the Festival of Lights: Lord Rama victorious return to His kingdom, Ayodhya.   • Email to a friend • • Sri Nandanandana das: An Angkoran Ruin in Laos An Angkoran Ruin in Laos  Vat Phou temple’s ancient history October 19th, 2011 In the fifth century, Champasak was thought to be the centre of the Laotian universe. Today it’s a drowsy one-car village clutching the western bank of the Mekong River in southern Laos and home to the tiny Hindu-built Vat Phou, which some archaeologists believe may have been the first Angkor temple ever built. At a glance, Vat Phou doesn’t seem like the kind of structure that would initiate an empire. A tiny prayer hall at the top of a precarious stone stairway, with two reception halls on the plains below, Vat Phou lacks the jaw-dropping awesomeness of temples in Cambodia’s Angkor Archaeological Park. But as with the Angkor temples, its symbolism is extraordinary. Tucked under the phallic-shaped mountain peak of Phu Kao – thought to represent Mount Meru, the sacred mountain at the centre of the Hindu cosmology – Vat Phou was worshipped as the embodiment of Shiva. The spring nearby was associated with Shiva’s wife, the goddess Parvati. Water runs underground from Phu Kao’s peak, rising through Parvati. From here, passing a series of barays (man-made dams) and linga (phallic statues), water flows into the Mekong, blessing everything on its journey south. UNDER THREAT: The ruins of Vat Phou in southern Laos hold secrets that are being destroyed by development. In the fifth century, Champasak was thought to be the centre of the Laotian universe. Today it’s a drowsy one-car village clutching the western bank of the Mekong River in southern Laos and home to the tiny Hindu-built Vat Phou, which some archaeologists believe may have been the first Angkor temple ever built. At a glance, Vat Phou doesn’t seem like the kind of structure that would initiate an empire. A tiny prayer hall at the top of a precarious stone stairway, with two reception halls on the plains below, Vat Phou lacks the jaw-dropping awesomeness of temples in Cambodia’s Angkor Archaeological Park. But as with the Angkor temples, its symbolism is extraordinary. Tucked under the phallic-shaped mountain peak of Phu Kao – thought to represent Mount Meru, the sacred mountain at the centre of the Hindu cosmology – Vat Phou was worshipped as the embodiment of Shiva. The spring nearby was associated with Shiva’s wife, the goddess Parvati. Water runs underground from Phu Kao’s peak, rising through Parvati. From here, passing a series of barays (man-made dams) and linga (phallic statues), water flows into the Mekong, blessing everything on its journey south. I learn this while poring over a satellite map with Daniel Davenport, an articulate but debated Australian archaeologist working in Champasak and author of the Vat Phou Guide: Following in the Footsteps of Angkor’s Pilgrims, a tourist compendium on the area that Davenport is self publishing. “Vat Phou could quite well have been the first, the pre-eminent, Angkor temple,” he says, explaining that early worshippers took a piece of Vat Phou stone and placed it under every subsequent temple they built. On the map, Davenport points out a well-defined line leading from one of the reception halls at Vat Phou to the temple of Angkor Wat. “This used to be a pilgrims’ road during the Khmer Empire,” he says, referring to the kingdom that reigned over much of south-east Asia between the ninth and thirteenth centuries and used the Angkor Archaelogical Park as the capital. “They had roadhouses every six miles (nine kilometres) with accommodation, food, shelter for the animals and hospitals; six miles being the average distance a bullock cart could travel in a day.” However, archaeologists at Vat Phou know a lot less than they would like to. “We have excavated about 5 per cent of the area,” says Laurent Delfour, a French architect who has been working with UNESCO to manage the site for the past three-and-a-half years. “That translates as 5 per cent knowledge on the area. We believe that Vat Phou marked the beginning of the Angkor Empire but nothing is certain.” What is certain is the race against time Champasak’s hidden treasures face. A new highway linking the town with the regional capital of Pakse and the Thai border post of Chong Mek, has already disturbed six ancient temples beneath the ground. Champasak was designated a World Heritage zone in 2001; building without assessments, and approval, is not permitted. “The Laos Ministry of Information and Culture did a little research into the area where the road was going,” says a long-term Champasak resident who requested anonymity. “But the findings were just pushed aside and work on the road accelerated.” The local government is hoping the road, which will extend to the Cambodian border, will bring in busloads of tourists.  Full story here.  http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2011/10/vat-phou-temples-ancient-history.html   • Email to a friend • • Australian News: KRISHNA LOVE FEAST – Coffs Harbour – find Yourself There KRISHNA LOVE FEAST Now coming to Coffs Harbour! Date: Tuesday 1 Nov 2011 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: Bayldon Community Hall, Toormina Road, Coffs Harbour, Australia (This is a free event) Click on the Facebook event page below and let them know you are coming!!! Krishna Love Feast : First held in 1966 at the request of Srila Prabhupada (founder of the Hare Krishna Movement), the Krishna Love Feast has evolved as an integrated celebration of Krishna’s pastimes: chanting, hearing spiritual knowledge, dancing, eating, fellowship and generally sharing the bliss of spiritual experience. In the Bhagavad-gita – one of the world’s oldest spiritual texts – it is said : “This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of spirituality. It is ever increasingly blissful, and joyfully performed.” As we gather, we are led in universal kirtan yoga by classical Indian singer, Sharon, what follows is an ecstatic call-and-response chant to spiritual sound vibrations of Krishna and Rama, which may spontaneously include blissful dancing to the chant. We then hear a talk with power point on spiritual philosophy by Vijay Das, our guest speaker who has an experience of 25 years of bhakti yoga practice. After closing with deep meditation on yogi japa beads called Japa yoga, we continue with a delicious Indian-style yogi feast (prasadam) and question/answer sessions. Krishna Love Feast By Amy Lee Elphick  |  View on Facebook When: Nov 1, 2011 (6:00pm - 9:30pm) Where: Bayldon Community Centre Toormina Road, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia » View map KRISHNA LOVE FEAST (This is a free event) Krishna Love Feast : First held in 1966 at the request of Srila Prabhupada (founder of the Hare Krishna Movement), the Krishna Love Feast has evolved as an integrated celebration of Krishna's pastimes: chanting, hearing spiritual knowledge, dancing, eating, fellowship and generally sharing the bliss of spiritual experience. Now coming to Coffs Harbour! Date: Tuesday 1 Nov 2011 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: Bayldon Community Hall In the Bhagavad-gita - one of the world's oldest spiritual texts - it is said : "This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of spirituality. It is ever increasingly blissful, and joyfully performed." As we gather, we are led in universal kirtan yoga by classical Indian singer, Sharon, what follows is an ecstatic call-and-response chant to spiritual sound vibrations of Krishna and Rama, which may spontaneously include blissful dancing to the chant. We then hear a talk with power point on spiritual philosophy by Vijay Das, our guest speaker who has an experience of 25 years of bhakti yoga practice. After closing with deep meditation on yogi japa beads called Japa yoga, we continue with a delicious Indian-style yogi feast (prasadam) and question/answer sessions.... See full description Click here for more from Brihadmrdanga.com Share this story your way:PrintFacebookTwitterGoogle BookmarksStumbleUponYahoo! Buzzdel.icio.usDiggLiveMySpacePDF   • Email to a friend • • Australian News: Kirtanananda Swami leaves his body aged 74 Swami Bhaktipada, who built a massive farm community and a Palace of Gold that became the crown jewel of the U.S. Hare Krishna movement before scandals and criminal charges led to his downfall, died Monday in India, his biographer said. He was 74. Bhaktipada had been hospitalized in July in Thane, India, with a collapsed lung and a bleeding brain, said spokesman, former disciple and biographer Henry Doktorski. His kidneys began to fail last week, and Bhaktipada died Monday morning. Doktorski lived at the New Vrindaban community near Moundsville in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle for 16 years and said he plans to soon publish “Gold, Guns and God: Swami Bhaktipada and the West Virginia Hare Krishnas.” Under Bhaktipada’s leadership, New Vrindaban grew into what at one time was the nation’s largest Hare Krishna community. But the community’s membership waned after the swami was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to prison time in the 1990s. Click here to read the rest at ABC News USA Click here for more from Brihadmrdanga.com Share this story your way:PrintFacebookTwitterGoogle BookmarksStumbleUponYahoo! Buzzdel.icio.usDiggLiveMySpacePDF   • Email to a friend • • Sri Nandanandana das: Half man, half lion figure in Germany Half man, half lion figure in Germany Posted 10/25/2011 The Löwenmensch (meaning lion-man in English) is a puzzle. The provenance of this figure is derived from the 1870s. Markedly         Significant is the discovery of the Löwenmensch — a German term meaning “lion-person” — as a larger Löwenmensch sculpture was found in 1939 at the Hohlenstein-Stadel site in a neighbouring valley. Both works carry similar features and have been dated to the Aurignacian period between 31,000 and 33,000 years ago.         Dr.Nicholas Conard added: “The occupants of Hohle Fels in the Ach Valley and Hohlenstein-Stadel in the Lone Valley must have been members of the same cultural group and shared beliefs and practices connected with therianthropic (half-man, half-animal) images of felids (cats) and humans. The discovery lends support to the hypothesis that Aurignacian people practised a form of shamanism.”         The second site at  Hohle Fels is a large cave site with Middle and Upper Paleolithic occupations, located in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany, some 20 kilometers southwest of the town of Ulm.         The cave deposits include a low density Middle Paleolithic site and a long Upper Paleolithic sequence with separate Aurignacian, Gravettian and Magdalenian occupations. Radiocarbon dates for the UP components range between 29,000 and 36,000 years bp. Hohle Fels is best known for the recent recovery of three pieces of carved ivory from the Aurignacian period, which make up some of the earliest portable art in the world.         The three figurines are of a horse’s head (or possibly a bear), a water bird of some sort possibly in flight, and a “Lowenmensch”, a half lion/half human figurine. Previously, a similar lion/human sculpture (although much larger) was found at the Hohlenstein-Stadel site, an Aurignacian period site in the Lone Valley of Germany. The horse’s head at Hohle Fels came from a level dated about 30,000 years old; the other two are from an older occupation in the cave, ca. 31-33,000 years ago.         Hohle Fels was discovered in the 1870s and first excavated in the late 1950s, when undisturbed Paleolithic sediments were found. Excavations have been ongoing since the 1970s, led first by Joachim Hahn and beginning in the 1990s by Nicholas Conard. (via Hohle Fels (Germany). These items, especially the two Löwenmensch seemed ‘polished from heavy handling, suggesting that rather than sitting on a shelf as an artifact to be admired’. The importance of being the Löwenmensch These ivory artifacts are vital to the European historical narrative being developed over the last 20 years – based on these finds. Dr.Conard in another paper claims, ‘The ivory figurines from Swabia represent one of the earliest artistic traditions worldwide”. A related academic paper on this period goes on to say, Indeed, how can we not see, in the numerous and varied ornaments, sculpted stone blocks, ivory statuettes or bone, antler and ivory spear points, evidence of a significant and abrupt mutation in the long history of human evolution?’. Figurines apart, there are the odd musical instruments, which too are of ivory. Musical instruments made and used more than 30,000 years ago – in what is called as the Aurignacian period. These incredible finds must have a credible theory behind it. More can be read about it at: http://2ndlook.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/lowenmensch-puzzle-am-i-missing-something/   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Poem for October 24 4:25 A.M. Poem for October 24 Svarupa Damodara joined Lord Caitanya at Jagannatha Puri. He was an intimate friend of the Lord’s in Navadvipa. When Lord Caitanya accepted sannyasa Swarupa Damodara did also in madness. It was the practice of Svarupa Damodara to examine all literatures to find out whether their conclusions were correct. Only [...] Poem for October 24 is a post from: EVERY DAY   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Selected Writings From The Daily News: All Things Fail Without Krishna “Mercy Missions” “The Krishna conscious program for benefiting humanity and all living entities is nonsectarian. It includes the distribution of spiritual food, spiritual practices such as chanting the holy name, and spiritual knowledge in the form of scriptures (the Bhagavad-gita, etc.). All this is meant to [...] Selected Writings is a post from: EVERY DAY   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Poem for October 23 4:29 A.M. Poem for October 23 After traveling to the southernmost portion of India, Lord Caitanya journeyed back to Jagannatha Puri. The devotees at Puri received the Lord like a nectarean rain that falls on all the grains and saves them from perishing. When Lord Caitanya had left for South India King Prataparudra begged Sarvabhauma [...] Poem for October 23 is a post from: EVERY DAY   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Selected Writings From My Dear Lord Krishna: A Book of Prayers (Volume I) Conviction “I pray for faith in You via the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya. We accept the partial truths contained in various religions of the world. Your words are taught differently in different parts of the world according to time, customs and the people who received [...] Selected Writings is a post from: EVERY DAY   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Ashtaprahar Diwali Celebrations - Saturday, October 29, 2011 @ Hindu Sabha Mandir In conjunction with Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple, the Ashtaprahar Organizing Team is presenting special Diwali Celebrations at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ontario.  Festivities during the weekend will also include afternoon celebrations marking Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance and Sunday evening festivities (at the Hare Krishna Temple). Saturday evening festivities at the Hindu Sabha Mandir will include a great line-up of kirtaneers, delicious prasadam and much more!  A special call goes out to our Hare Krishna community of devotees to check out this event which will be part of a full weekend of activities!   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gopavrndes Prabhu Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.32 -  The Lord is eternally existent in His transcendental form, which is neither gross nor subtle like that of the living being.    • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: REMOVING OBSTACLES This conversation between a coach (CH) and a coachee (CE) is about eliminating excuses for not making progress in life. CE: I would like to make progress but I don't have the support and guidance. CH: I will support you and guide you - for free, or find you a coach to support you. CE: You said I should learn principles and tools but I don't have money to buy the books and attend courses. CH: I will give you free ebooks, audio programs, videos, and find you or teach you free courses. CE: I don't know if I can make it. CH: Try and see. And Krsna will help you. CE: I am afraid I will fail. CH: If you try, you might succeed. If you don't try, you have already failed. CE: Ok, I will try. CH: Great. Good luck!   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.32.41-43 The following lecture was given by H.H. Bhakti Caru Swami Maharaja on September 30th, 2011, in ISKCON Ujjain. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Canto 3:The Status Quo–Chapter 32: Entanglement in Fruitive Activities–Text 41-43 Share/Save   • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: DEVOTEE CARE Vision, Mission and Aims of ISKCON Devotee Care Committee: Vision Nourish the Plant of Devotion Every devotee in ISKCON is to be provided with the spiritual, mental/emotional and physical care they deserve as parts and parcels of Krsna according to Srila Prabhupäda's instruction and example. This should be done on the personal and institutional level. Water, Sun, Soil, Fertilizer We strive to care for the spiritual, emotional, physical, and social well-being of the devotees of ISKCON. We want devotees to be encouraged, inspired and empowered to be happy and make progress in Krsna consciousness, and thus be enthused to expand Srila Prabhupäda's mission Mission Aims · We aim to give life-long personal care to devotees to make continued progress in spiritual life. · We aim to have care which includes personal attention to both devotee’s spiritual and material lives. · We aim for care to be given in a brotherly and sisterly mood of compassion and love, sacrificing some of our time and pride. · We aim to assist with the overall management and facilitation of the leaders of ISKCON in taking care of devotees. · We aim to have a mood while giving care that Krsna is the provider of all we lack and preserver of all we have. · We aim to define real success as the creation and maintenance of a happy, loving Vaisnava community. · We aim for a society that recognizes the real assets as being the devotees, not physical assets.   • Email to a friend • • Karnamrita das, NC, USA: Spiritual Variety in Universal Oneness One Source, One Power Within Oneness, Diversity Shri Chaitanya’s Special Gift Everything One, Different Distant view, One mountain Up close—form, variety One sun, infinite particles All-pervading Spirit consciousness Indivisible serving soul-units. read more   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.32.39-40 The following lecture was given by H.H. Bhakti Caru Swami Maharaja on September 29th, 2011, in ISKCON Ujjain. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Canto 3:The Status Quo–Chapter 32: Entanglement in Fruitive Activities–Text 39-40 Share/Save   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1967 October 25: "Sometimes in spite of our full Krishna Consciousness we fall a victim to maya but that is temporary just as seasonal changes such calamities do come & pass away & we have to endure them." Prabhupada Letters :: 1967   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1970 October 25: "I know how well this program is received by the students because they are very intelligent. You are also very intelligent boy and devotee of Krsna and Krsna will give you even more intelligence in proportion to your endeavor to serve Him faithfully." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1970 October 25: "I am very pleased with your sincere service attitude in pushing on our preaching work in these parts of the world and yes, Krsna will give you strength because He is sitting in your heart and the more you try to serve Him, He will give you more intelligence." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1970 October 25 : "I was thinking of going to Delhi and Vrndavana but my presence in Bombay will be more beneficial. Therefore we have all reserved our seats. On this basis you can make arrangements for meeting the respectful gentlemen and ladies mentioned by you." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Diwali and Govardhan Puja this Week! This week will certainly be a special one at Toronto's Hare Krishna temple! On Thursday, October 27th, we will be celebrating Govardhan Puja and on the following Sunday, October 30th, we will celebrate Diwali (actual date for Diwali is Wednesday, October 26th)! The story of Diwali stems back to ancient times when inhabitants of Ayodhya celebrated the return of Lord Ramachandra. Lord Rama was in exile, away from His kingdom, for many years. The joyful day on which He finally returned is observed as Diwali, or Dipavali (“dipa” means candles, and “vali” means numerous.). We will be celebrating this festival on Sunday during the Sunday Feast. The day after Diwali is referred to as Annakuta, or Govardhana Puja. On this day the inhabitants of Vrindavan (Lord Krishna’s abode on Earth) would hold a harvest festival in honour of King Indra, the demigod who provided the rains essential for the harvest. One day, however, Lord Krishna wanted to teach Indra a lesson. He convinced the inhabitants of Vrindavan to honor Govardhana Hill instead, whose fertile soil provided the grass upon which the cows and bulls grazed, and to honour the cows and bulls who provided milk and ploughed the lands. Outraged, Indra retaliated with terrifying thunderstorms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, calmly lifted Govardhana Hill with the little finger of his left hand. For seven days and seven nights the Lord held up Govardhana Hill, providing a giant umbrella to shelter the inhabitants of Vrindavan from the torrential rain. Govardhan Puja celebrations at the Hare Krishna temple have always been popular and this year will also feature a grand "Govardhana Hill" made entirely of sweets in the middle of the temple room! Please join us for festivities from 6:00pm onwards to celebrate this festival! We hope to see you and your family at the Hare Krishna temple this week!   • Email to a friend • • New Vrndavan, USA: New Vrindaban Marks Passing of Ex-Leader Kirtanananda Swami, Former Leader Expelled from Krishna Community, Dies Moundsville, West Virginia – On Sunday, October 23, 2011, Kirtanananda Swami, a controversial former leader of the New Vrindaban Hare Krishna community passed away. He was expelled from the parent organization, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1987, and removed from New Vrindavban leadership in 1994. “We express our sincere condolences to Kirtanananda’s family and well-wishers,” said Jaya Krsna, President of New Vrindaban. “He was a historical figure in the early days of the New Vrindaban community.” Born Keith Ham in 1937 in Peekskill, New York, as the son of a Baptist minister, Kirtanananda was one of the first Americans to become a disciple of Hare Krishna movement founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who brought the Krishnas’ brand of monotheistic devotional Hinduism, or Vaishnavism, to the west in 1965. Kirtanananda was best known for helping to found and being an early leader of New Vrindaban, an expansive Hare Krishna community in rural West Virginia whose ornate Palace of Gold, award winning gardens, large temple and organic farm today draw thousands of visitors and pilgrims each year. Kirtanananda maintained a relatively low profile in the last few years and made no efforts to reconcile with the New Vrindaban community and ISKCON. He was 74 at the time of his death.   • Email to a friend • • Japa Group: Should Be Thoroughly Convinced I was reading this incredible quote from Srila Prabhupada about the power of the Holy names protecting us in all circumstances. Everyone of you should be thoroughly convinced of the power of the Hare Krsna mantra to protect you in all circumstances and chant accordingly at all times without offense. Then advancement will be swift and you will gradually come to see everything clearly so that you may act for the pleasure of the Lord without uncertainty. When one is spontaneously engaged in this way, always in the service of the Lord and anxious to avoid all mundane activities, he is actually experiencing the taste of bliss in Krsna consciousness. Letter to Damodara - January 10, 1971   • Email to a friend • • Japa Group: Everything Starts With Chanting When we wake up in the morning, our thoughts should turn to Japa, it's the beginning of our spiritual day and the most important. You may remember the times when your Japa was focused and concentrated and you felt the purification of the Holy names - it affects our whole day, how we see the world and how we interact with the world. If our Japa is good, our day is usually good and that's because we can feel the effects of the lower modes reducing and the mode of Goodness becomes more apparent and we are able to remember the Lord or see the Lord's hand in a situation thus transcending even the mode of goodness. Let's make Japa the first and most important part of our day.   • Email to a friend • • Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Disgraced Krishna Leader Dies in India Once more,  the crows put a stick into the wound and twist it — every chance they get. His tenure ended with series of scandals and racketeering conviction October 25, 2011 By VICKI SMITH – Associated Press Writer , The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Swami Bhaktipada, who built a massive farm community and a Palace of Gold that became the crown jewel of the U.S. Hare Krishna movement before scandals and criminal charges led to his downfall, died Monday in India, his biographer said. He was 74. Bhaktipada had been hospitalized in July in Thane, India, with a collapsed lung and a bleeding brain, said spokesman, former disciple and biographer Henry Doktorski. His kidneys began to fail last week, and Bhaktipada died Monday morning. Doktorski lived at the New Vrindaban community near Moundsville for 16 years and said he plans to soon publish “Gold, Guns and God: Swami Bhaktipada and the West Virginia Hare Krishnas.” Under Bhaktipada’s leadership, New Vrindaban grew into what at one time was the nation’s largest Hare Krishna community. But the community’s membership waned after the swami was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to prison time in the 1990s. “Although he played a positive role in the Krishna movement’s earliest years, he later severely violated the strict standards expected of a Krishna devotee, especially a leader,” said community spokesman Anuttama Dasa. Also known as Kirtanananda Swami, Bhaktipada had been born Keith Ham in Peekskill, N.Y., the son of a Southern Baptist minister, who became a Krishna swami in 1966. Without the permission of his leader in India at the time, Doktorski said, Bhaktipada set out to “westernize” the religion by eliminating some traditional elements and chanting prayers in English at a New York City temple. He was evicted from the temple and left New York in 1967, but was later forgiven. In the late 1960s, Bhaktipada and his lifelong partner, the late Howard Morton Wheeler, formed New Vrindaban, the community with a famed Palace of Gold. They started with about 132 acres and eventually acquired nearly 5,000, becoming a destination for pilgrims in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON. Bhaktipada took over the community in the 1970s but was in trouble with ISKCON by 1987, when the governing body expelled him for “moral and theological deviations,” Doktorski said. Sankirtana Das, a New Vrindaban member for more than two decades, told The Associated Press in 1999 that the community had flourished in the late 1970s and had more than 600 members by 1985. That year, Bhaktipada was attacked by a visiting devotee and hospitalized in a coma for a month. In 1987, the FBI raided the community, seizing records and computers, Das said. Bhaktipada and New Vrindaban were excommunicated from ISKCON, and members began to leave as Bhaktipada formed a new League of Devotees. Prosecutors later accused Bhaktipada of ordering the killings of two devotees who had threatened his control of New Vrindaban. One dissident, Charles St. Denis, was killed in 1983 at New Vrindaban. Another, Stephen Bryant, was killed three years later as he sat in his van in Los Angeles. Bhaktipada denied any involvement in the killings, though another man was convicted of the murders and testified that the swami ordered him to commit the slayings. Prosecutors also alleged that Bhaktipada had amassed more than $10 million through illegal fundraising schemes, including the sale of caps and bumper stickers bearing copyrighted and trademarked logos. He appealed his 1991 racketeering conviction, then pleaded guilty at a second trial in August 1996 and was sentenced to 20 years. A judge reduced the sentence to 12 years in 1997, citing Bhaktipada’s poor health. He’d suffered with severe asthma and complications from childhood polio. Bhaktipada was freed four years early from a prison in Butner, N.C., in 2004, but he was barred from returning to New Vrindaban and eventually moved to India in 2008. Dasa said Bhaktipada eventually lost the support of his New Vrindaban followers and left the community entirely in 1994. Shortly afterward, the community petitioned to rejoin ISKCON, and it was restored to full membership in 1996. The conditions for rejoining ISKCON included adhering to traditional worship and new accountability standards, and demonstrating a willingness to work with about 50 other North American temples, Dasa said. Today, New Vrindaban has about 200 members living on or next to the property. It remains a destination for pilgrims, drawing crowds for festivals, major holy days, and weekend or weeklong retreats. Each year, about 25,000 people visit the ornate palace, a rose garden and an organic farm and dairy. Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, October 24th, 2011 Ruins Revisited Caesarea, Israel King Herod walked the aqueducts that Bala Krishna and I walked upon. His patron was Caesar Augustus, and that's how this city of past splendour got its name. The ancient place was completed in 9 BC. It has a ten thousand seating capacity theatre, and a hippodome, where chariot races entertained crowds up to 30,000 (remember Ben Hur?). For a special treat after walking 20 km, southbound to this spot beginning from Havonim, we decided to treat ourselves going through a virtual time machine. There were palaces, a major temple, ancient bath houses and more, all partially intact. A big part of imagining the glory of prosperous times was to also capture the natural unpleasantry. The place was seized over and over again through the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Crusader period, to the the early days of Zionism. Conclusion, the world is an unstable place. Reading from plaques of what history tells, we were reminded of the world's fragility from Vedic stories of power swaying from gods to demons in their constant back and forth tug of war. When you walk through stretches of land, the past always surfaces, telling of those who made their mark. Even now as we exist we are contributing to history in the making. Bala Krishna remarked that in the future people will look at our current architectural ruins (they may be disappointed), we concurred; as we were annoyed with contaminated streams of dead fish, we were forced to wade through in order to keep to the beach trail. I pondered on the eat, sleep, mate, defend cultures of always. We were there and we will come there again. We will meet a Herod again as we did in the past, and so on we go until something changes. The Gita informs us that when ambitions are broken, when hatred dissolves and real love for the Divine is established, then the vicious cycle ends. 20 Km   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 A Day At the Med Ashdod, Israel Commencing part two of an Israeli trek, it is dark, 5 am, when the three of us left on foot for the Mediterranean Sea. Last year at this time of year I covered about 80km along the coastline, and so now I have the opportunity to do more distance. Having spent the night at the home, a ten minute walk from the seaside, Jagannatha, Bala Krishna and I walked right out the door, equipped with our japa beads and not much more than a cell phone. Oh, and I should mention, there was a fourth companion - a cat that followed us for many blocks and beyond along the beach with us. At one point that terminated, and he was gone, vanished. We came upon an ancient Arab ruin, it was an old fort, which once had an elaborate chamber system along with a moat. It was from the Byzantine period from about 600 - 1000 AD. Israel is a place of surprising discoveries. Shalom, was our greeting to beach walkers, and sometimes it was Hare Krishna, or Haribol. Assuming they know such salutations. We, back down to three again, were most relaxed in this setting of clean water and the sun, air and space. It is indisputably one of the best trails I've ever been on. As always, there are reminders of life and death. A crab adrift to the shore moved slothfully, and a dead sea turtle left were his armour and skeleton - a soul that moved on to another form. Our well built companion, Jagannatha, found each beach walking a trite strenuous, even at the midway stretch of 10 km. You have to break into this activity of walking, like breaking into a new pair of shoes. A swim gave relief before leaving the sea at Ashkelon. Just beyond this state you have a Palestinian district, and it was inadvisable to walk there. The place is famous, it's well known and goes by the name, Gaza. The two men with me told me of their compulsory time spent in the Israeli army, 3 years for young men, and 2 for young women. The occasional security plane flies overhead on watch. As mentioned prior, we are living in a troubled word. Bala Krishna informed me of Kadafi's death, which involved a public execution. Bala Krishna is far from being a sadistic type, but he asked if I might want to view it on the internet when we got the chance. I thought in the beginning, okay, but I was in the midst of a meal, and so the conclusion was no. Traffic to Ariel is the same as anywhere else in the developed world on a work day; pathetically slow. At the end our satsang was well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive. There, we talked about baby Krishna's pranks. Who ever thought that a car would be efficient? 20 Km   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 Israel Here We Are! Tel-Aviv, Israel Via a flight through Amman on Royal Jordanian, I arrived at Tel-Aviv in the late morning greeted by smiles, flowers and a packet of wrapped Middle Eastern halava. I indulged in the sesame sweet and in a great dose of aloe vera drink, a favourite. We headed for the home of a Krishna devotee family, Bhakta Das, Gandhari and their daughter for a blessed meal dominated by two types of olives. Yummy! After a snooze for catching up on lost hours of rest we headed for Tel-Aviv beach promenade and for the regular weekend sankirtan chanting at this prominent spot. People did rally around us and many joined in, especially to the dancing to mridanga and djembe drums. My perceptions about Jewish orthodoxy being prevalent here were dispelled. There is enough liberality here to allow devotees to “fit in”. One devotee said that with two gay pride parades held in the downtown annually makes this city the gay capital of the world. He also said many prostitutes frequent and reside in the area of the downtown Krishna center. To balance this measure many tourists with families make a point to take in the sea breeze, the sun, sand and now to stumble upon the chanting party. One bare-chested young fellow with a goatee reminded us of Shiva the God of dissolution. His Tai Chi - like movements in the midst of our chanting endorsed our Vedic fun. One lanky tall woman with lengthy hair tossed her strands about in a type of beautiful abandon moving to our reggae slanted kirtan. Bala Krishna, coordinator during my stay in Israel, said that the chanting should end in order to honour the final program, a sat-sang (devotional gathering) at the center. We trekked a short kilometre to the spot to conduct a talk on the Gita’s verse, “of purifiers I am the wind; of wielders of weapons, I am Rama; of fish I am the shark and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges.” The verse rings like a mantra and has a message so profound: whatever is prominent in the atmosphere that is a representation of God. 2 Km   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Friday, October 21st, 2011 Leaving Mumbai India Whatever may come your way, is meant to be. It’s always a test. How will you contend with the good or bad situation as it stares you in the face? In the Gita we are informed that sad and asad(good and bad elements) come of their own accord. The question is will you duck or dodge these realities or will you deal with them? I find it rather helpful sometimes being in the presence of stray dogs; I guess you can call them beach dogs at Juhu. One young fellow with japa beads in hand, spotted me and asked to be with me on the trek south bound and then back. We walked and eventually were confronted by these nasty dogs. You just can’t “let all sleeping dogs lie” even if you try. A mere settle sound of grasping the sand with your feet perks their ears or the moving shadow that you cast could stir them up. Sleeping dogs may even hear my chanting over the sound of the crashing waves and now there are two of us unconsciously riling them up. Well, they woke up and came our way, two or three at the time. My young companion was a bit more frightened than I was due to lack of experience, I guess. You try to ignore the dogs but they edge their way towards with a mean bark. Goose bumps crawled up the spine but I must say, the chill I felt compelled me to chant with more intensity. In that regard our daring dogs were God sent. Thanks mutts! It was my last of treks at Juhu for a while. Next year’s fall trip to India will likely be to Tirupathi. I will miss the association of God brothers and sisters, the presiding beautiful deities of Radha Rasabihari, the good Prasadam (blessed food), the friendly mustached man who takes care of aligning our shoes as we enter the temple, and of course, I’ll miss the beach at Juhu where I have been chanting. There is more sand to trek. Early tomorrow I make the flight to Israel to trek the east end of the Mediterranean. Yes, more walking, more chanting, more devotional company. 8 Km   • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: I AM ISKCON AND I CARE Sometimes ISKCON members think about ISKCON as an institution, or we may think that ISKCON is the “leaders” of the temples, or the GBC, or someone else other than ourselves. Then we expect ISKCON to care for devotees, and we may feel hurt or disappointed when care is not given as we would expect or as we would like. ISKCON is a society made up of members. Each of us is ISKCON. When each one of us feel that we have the responsibility to care for each other, then ISKCON will be a caring organization, with a family atmosphere based on love and trust, as Srila Prabhupäda wrote. If, however, we wait for such a society to come only from leadership, or from some vague idea of institution, it will be very hard to achieve the real devotee care we desire. So, let us look in the mirror, percieve that "I am ISKCON and I care" and decide today how each of us can exemplify devotee care in our own lives. - Devotee Care Guidebook   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Next Live Broadcast - Morning Class - Wednesday, October 26th - 7:30am During the month of Kartik, the Toronto Hare Krishna temple has been having special morning classes with a wide range of topics and speakers!  We've been broadcasting these classes every morning.  Our next live broadcast will be tomorrow morning Wednesday, October 26th at 7:30am.  The topic will be "Offering Our Food to Krsna", taught by Madhavendra Puri das.  We hope you can join us then!   • Email to a friend • • Dandavats.com: Save Yamuna Campaign - No Water of Yamuna in Braj/Vrindavan By Mohini Priya Devi Dasi A dip in the River Yamuna found in Braj-Vrindavan today does not bring about a true sense of fulfillment. This should not be surprising as there is not a drop of original River Yamuna on the river bed in Vrindavan