"Planet ISKCON" - 37 new articles
Aisvarya dasa: the ism of monotheismMy tendency has been to emphasize "monotheism" whenever i explain KC to anyone new to or ignorant of Vaisnava culture and philosophy. I'm not saying that this is wrong but i do wonder whether my use of the word is due to my being overly influenced by my Christian roots and Christianity's absolute abhorrence of anything other than that particular ism. So i checked the Vedabase and noticed that "monotheism", "monotheistic", "monotheist" and "monotheists" only have 7 hits in SP's writings, lectures, conversations, and letters.... • Email to a friend • Related •  •ISKCON New York, USA: Sri Gaura Purnima Celebration @ Radha Govinda Mandir!Dear Devotees. Please join us with your family and friends, on Sunday February 28, 2010 for an all day celebration of Gaura Purnima – The Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu! Starting with Mangala Arati at 4:30 am, take part in all of the different daily ceremonies, activities of the day, temple services, hearing and chanting the glories and pastimes of Lord Caitanya, and of course culminating with the evening celebration which begins at 4:00pm. —————————- *Gaura Purnima – Morning Program* 4:30am – 9:00am: Mangala Arati,Tulasi Puja, Japa Meditation, Sringara Arati (Deity Greetings), Guru Puja and Lecture on Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Please make sure to visit the temple by 7:15am to have darshan of Sri Sri Radha Govinda-deva and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in a brand new stunning dress, decorated with many beautiful jewels and intoxicating and fragrant flowers. —————————- * Gaura Purnima – Celebration through service * From 9am onwards we welcome all devotees who would like to stay and volunteer their time to serve by assisting the devotees in the kitchen, cleaning the temple, decorations, or by taking part in kirtans and readings from the Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta all day. Also, there will be a harinam sankirtan procession leaving from the temple @ 10am to chant in the streets of Brooklyn. ——————– ——– * Gaura Purnima – Evening Celebration * 4:00pm – 9:00pm: Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir Join us to celebrate the festival of Gaura Purnima with Bhajans, Kirtans, Abhiseka ceremony of Lord Caitanya, Arati, a drama on the Lord’s Pastimes, a lecture on the teachings of Lord Caitanya, culminating with a wonderful prasadam feast. At 6:00pm Sri Sri Radha Govinda will be revealed in another stunning flower dress made of fragrant gardenia flowers. For those devotees eager to render some service or offer some sponsorship of any of the different parts of the festival, please contact the temple @ (718) 875-6127 or (347) 249-4064 Your servants, NY ISKCON www . radhagovinda . net www . radhagovinda108 . com –
“All devotees should hear about Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s pastimes with faith and love. By the grace of the Lord, one can thus attain shelter at His lotus feet”. – CC Mad.25.269       • Email to a friend • Related • •
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 • Email to a friend • Related • •Kurma dasa, AU: Blog Re-run: Clean GreensMadan Mohan Mohini Dasi from Sandy Ridge, North Carolina, USA writes: 'I was reading through one of your cookbooks and came upon a recipe with spinach. I just thought I'd let you in on an old secret about cleaning greens.
You fill your (kitchen-size) sink with water and add salt (maybe a handful or so) and clean your greens in that. (I suppose if you were to use a much larger sink, you would use more salt.) Anyway, it takes all the dirt off. I do this all the time - even with muddy spinach right out of the garden. You don't even have to do a second rinsing; however, just to play safe I do a second rinsing in clean water (without salt). This really works well and saves a lot of time.' • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Gaura Purnima & Holi Festivities This Sunday!
Holi, one of the most popular festivals in India, marks the beginning of spring. Although there will be no throwing of coloured powders during the festival, it will certainly be a festive and colourful event. For Hare Krishnas, this day not only marks Holi, but also Gaura Purnima, the appearance anniversary of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Gaura Purnima, one of the largest festivals at Toronto's Hare Krishna temple, is the celebration of the appearance of Lord Caitanya, who is none other than Lord Krishna Himself. Over 500 years ago, in a special appearance, Lord Krishna personally came as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and acted as His own devotee by propagating the chanting of the Holy names of the Lord in every town and village! The festivities will be punctuated by some special surprise features that you will definitely not want to miss! The schedule of the evening will be as follows (subject to change): 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm: Arati 6:30 pm - 6:40 pm: Welcome & Announcements 6:45 pm - 7:15 pm: Class by Krsnadas Kaviraj Das 7:20 pm - 7:40 pm: Childrens' Drama 7:40 pm - 8:00 pm: Abhisheka (bathing ceremony of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai) 8:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Arati 8:30pm: Free Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)  • Email to a friend • Related • •David Haslam, UK: Welsh Valleys Joined by the Brazil DevoteesA rush home with one hour to produce some prasadam ready for a lovely evening of devotee association; we were joined by Carana Renu DD and her husband from Brazil so it was nice to see a friendly face from the past. Some video problems so only a short clip which can be found here And a [...] • Email to a friend • Related • •Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: Multi-Level Spirituality
People commonly misunderstand Hinduism to be a polytheistic tradition. This became quite apparent when I recently facilitated a discussion at Leicester University entitled 'Misconceptions of Hinduism'. Ironically, the word Hindu is itself a misnomer. It's not mentioned anywhere in the Bhagavad-gita (the principle scripture for Hindu's) or any other Vedic scripture for that matter. For conventional usage (vyavaharika) we may employ the term, but in the ultimate sense (paramarthika) followers of the Bhagavad-gita would not use such an identifier.  • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Devamrita SwamiSrimad Bhagavatam 11.17.54 • Email to a friend • Related • •HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 3574:04 A.M.I slept well last night waking up only briefly during the middle of the night. Baladeva came and woke me at two minutes after three. He was quiet. I hope he is alright. I hope he is not hurt by that "citation" I write about him in the journal. He's a very good devotee and loyal to me. I began my chanting alright in the usual manner, chanting in my mind chanting quickly and alert. But somehow I got mentally confused in the count. I chanted more rounds than I counted myself for, and I'm a little uncertain now whether I've chanted twelve rounds or eight rounds. I'm giving myself credit for twelve rounds. I really can't calculate how good my rounds are. They say that baseball players are haunted by having to measure themselves against the greatest players that ever played the game. If I compare myself to the greatest chanters then I will be haunted by my inferiority. It is better that I just chant according to the best I can do and not measure it according to Rupa Gosvami or Haridas Thakura. Try to be true to Prabhupada and "just hear." Do your daily yajna with your best effort, and if you have to lament then what can be done? Lamenting is part of dainya, or feelings of unworthiness and is a centerpiece of humble Krishna consciousness. I can't remove the dainya, but I should not be overwhelmed by feelings of inferiority and let myself get materially depressed. Chant your rounds everyday in a grateful spirit, thanking Krishna for the gift and keep on truckin'. Count on Krishna's leniency and His understanding that you have a scrambled Kali-yuga mind. I still do things that distract myself, and I don't help myself in the best way. I should try to improve myself in this regard. There are contemporary godbrothers of mine who are doing better than me, and I should hold them as my models and try to follow them. Chanting is too important to neglect. And I owe it to my friends to set a good example. You don't whip yourself
Prabhupada Smaranam
These pictures show Prabhupada with Purusottam as Purusottam das brahmacari who was his personal secretary around 1969. Purusottama left Prabhupada's personal service and Krishna consciousness over doubts that rose in his mind that Prabhupada said that US landing on moon was a hoax. The landing was televised when Prabhupada was in England and he told the devotees "the moon land was a hoax, for they cannot go to the moon. The moon planet, Chandraloka, is a residence of the demigods, higher beings than these drunkards and cow-eating slaughterers who are trying to inhabit it. You cannot think this travel is allowed—like when I migrated from India to the US. The moon planet can not be visited so quickly. It is not possible. (Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, first edition, "Only He Could Lead Them," p. 58). Prabhupada detected Purusottamas' dubious mentality and he would often joke lightly in Purusottama's presence. Someone would ask a question—"Where is Janaki?" And Prabhupada would reply, "Oh, Janaki has gone to the moon." Then everyone, except Purusottam would laugh. Although Purusottama went on with his duties he became sullen, and Prabhupada noted his lack of enthusiasm. He stopped shaving his face and wore the same orange sweater he had slept in. One day the stove caught on fire, and Purusottama managed to put it out but become covered with soot along with Yamuna. Janaka saw the mess in the kitchen and ran up to Prabhupada's room where Yamuna and Purusottama were covered with soot. "What has happened here?" Janaki burst out. Prabhupada looked at her soberly and said, "Today Purusottama has gone to the moon." Purusottama was aghast. He decided he wanted to leave and told Prabhupada. Prabhupada was hurt, but lent him the travel fare. Here are Purusottama's words in reminiscing about the affair: "He was very gracious about the whole thing. Actually I could see that he had a very special loving way of looking at the world. I felt that sometimes I could see things in a loving way, like he did, and I realized that I got that view point from him—You know, that little loving spirit. He had that, and I kind of caught some of that from him. And that's one of the things I'll always remember about him. And I know that through his movement I came to believe in God. Before I met him, I didn't believe in God. " (Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, first edition, "Only He Could Lead Them," p. 86) Purusottama gave up his spiritual name and became a Christian radio evangelist. There was a rumor that he said that he was an incarnation of Saint Paul or something like that. Routine Vaidhi
Krishna, the word, the person,
Krishna is the god of gods.
His gentle form is Krishna to His
I know so many colleagues who
Krishna is my Lord too, I have
But actually we didn't do
We spent a quiet weekend
Baladeva asked me what I
Your eyes get tired as you
Free write
According to Vedic literature an eclipse of the sun or the moon takes place when the evil planet Rahu covers the sun or the moon. In this picture we see an eclipse taking place. It is not an auspicious moment except that in order to counteract its effects, all the Vedic followers emerged themselves in the holy river and chant the Hare Krishna mantra. The Supreme Lord arranged that when he advented as Lord Caitanya a full lunar eclipse took place and all the inhabitants of Navadvipa and other places were vibrating the all purifying holy names of God. Thus Caitanya Mahaprabnu induced the populous to chant the holy names at the inauguration of his mission in the world. He then continued this process as a baby by always crying unless the household ladies chanted the holy names. When they chanted he stopped crying, and when they stopped chanting he would commence crying. The great laws of the Cosmos by which the planets move in orbit, are all under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So he was free to move the planets into auspicious alignments at the times of His appearances as Lord Krishna and Lord Caitanya. Therefore the astrological horoscopes on those occasions reveal that a great personality was born.
Not only was His birth occasion marvelous, but His actions were marvelous. Therefore when only an infant, He killed the gigantic demoness who took the form of a beautiful woman, Putana. When Krishna sucked out her life after her attempts to poison him with her nipples, she transformed into a huge witch twelve miles long and crashed onto Vrndavana country side. When He was only a young boy, Krishna saved the residents of Vrndavana by subduing the hundred-headed Kaliya serpent who had poisoned the Yamuna River with his venom. Krishna punished him in a fascinating way by artistically dancing on his many hoods, causing them to bleed and break. The serpent almost died before he accepted Krishna's supremacy and agreed to leave the Yamuna along with his wives and children. • Email to a friend • Related • •Japa Group: Spiritual Life Rests On Chanting
You must think of chanting in terms of serving the spiritual master, not just as your own sadhana. I am thinking Srila Prabhupada has given me different responsibilities, and if I don't carry them out he will be displeased with me. Spiritual life rests on chanting. That's the main teaching. Chant Hare Krsna, chant sixteen rounds. So how can that not be thought of as service to the spiritual master?  • Email to a friend • Related • •Ekendra das, Alachua, USA: The Mass Mouse Mess "I don't eat sweets." At least that's what I protest when they’re offered. "No, thanks, I'm too sinful." Partly a precaution against certain psycho-physical symptoms (feeling hung-over, lusty, spaced-out, depressed, sleepy), partly an attempt to give up what I can, for bona-fide spiritual health reasons, and perhaps partly a cheap badge of honor.  Is this your notepaper? So when someone in the office offered me a homemade piece of burfi (for the uninitiated, a highly desirable milk fudge) off a black Styrofoam tomato tray, with a macadamia wedged in the center, what did I do? I gratefully accepted. Why? On the plea that I'll give it to my wife (who's trying to avoid sweets also). I tore a pink 'WHILE YOU WERE OUT" note off the stack and used it as a napkin for my fudge, which I placed on the second tier of my particle board computer workstation. A couple times that day I wondered how I would carry it home. Then I forgot about it. Our office is home to one brahmachari and untold hordes of mice. Every single day at least one is spotted, if not trapped). The house is so full of mice that there's a new cache of mouse crap in the kitchen drawers every day. They probably lick the lingering aroma of sacred gourmet vegetarian cuisine off all the spoons. They're certainly not shy about pissing and crapping all over them. I once left my lunchbox at the office overnight. The next day it was full of mouse crap. Every day brings another mouse sighting, another opportunity to either keep working on whatever project, or make an all-out attempt to corner and trap a rodent hiding in a closet. Hours after I’d left for the day, I remembered the burfi, and the mice. I knew without a doubt those mice would be all over that burfi like . . .mice on burfi. I thought to immediately call the lone brahmachari there and, begging his pardon for the trouble, could he kindly put the fudge in the fridge. Then I forgot to call him. Until the next morning. At some point, as I was beginning to get deeply into the day's japa meditation, the part of my mind in charge of remembering worst case scenarios shocked me back into consciousness of the mouse and burfi drama. I began to imagine the potential consequences in gross detail. I had been sitting still, meditating on the mantras going in my ears and the breaths going in my nose. Now I began to perspire and pace the floor. There was nothing I could do. The office was miles away, the building's only resident human was at the temple. I imagined dozens of mice crowded around the chunk of milk fudge, dancing in jubilation, shredding the precious delicacy in an intoxicated ecstasy, excitedly passing urine and stool all over the desk and floor. I imagined the scene as I was arriving to work, having to vacuum up all the mouse crap and clean the mouse urine off the desktop, off all my papers, off the external hard drive, off all my computer cables. I sweated some more, the perspiration of an acutely guilty conscience. Why didn't I put it in the fridge as soon as I got it? Why did Mr. No Sweets accept it in the first place? What a waste of milk and macadamias and charity and labor and kindness. I prayed to Krishna that, even though it would be most reasonable for me to find the burfi chewed, digested, and shat by an army of hungry mice, the office sprayed with droppings and shredded milk fudge, on the off chance that He would allow me to get away with the dull headed offense of leaving the equivalent of a brick of cheese unguarded in a mouse infested house, I would be so grateful that I would immediately give that burfi in charity to the nearest qualified recipient, and send a donation to my spiritual master. Why hadn't I made the endeavor to call as soon as I thought of it? Was I too ashamed of being known as a sloppy slacker that I was willing to go through the anxiety of causing a mouse crap melee that would require real man hours to properly clean up after? Why hadn't I just put the burfi in the fridge immediately? What an idiot! Why didn't I at least cover the burfi with a stainless steel cup? Anyway, there was nothing I could do but wait and prepare myself to accept the inevitable. If the burfi was there, I would give it away. I would make a donation to my guru. If the burfi was shredded and piles of mouse stool were everywhere, as I fully expected to find, I'd just have to clean up the mess, and I would still give the donation. In that morning's Bhagavatam class, B.V. Madhava Maharaja was saying how if you don't give charity to the brahmanas and Vaishnavas, then Durga will steal what you've got. I thought of the burfi.  Now You're In Trouble! After class, I walked to the office, resigned to accept whatever reaction was coming. The scene on my desktop did not match my imagination. The burfi was sitting there, untouched. The only evidence it had been left there all night was a slowly spreading grease stain on the WHILE YOU WERE OUT note. It looked a little dried out, but fine. I said a prayer of thanks to Krishna, threw out the notepaper, put the burfi in a little stainless steel katori, and gave it to a friend who recently had kindly given me a series of lifts home on days when my wife needed the car.       • Email to a friend • Related • •Krishna Dharma dasa, UK: Suddha bhakataVerse One The dust from the feet of pure devotees, Verse Two Ekadashi and Janmashtami, Verse Three In the company of pure devotees, Verse Four My mind always hankers to hear the beat, Verse Five Beholding the forms of Radha Krishna, Verse Six While worshiping Krishna my home is blessed, Verse Seven Simply by seeing Srimati Tulsi, Verse Eight Thus every day does Bhaktivinode, • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Live from Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir! HG Urmila Mataji
My dear Lord, although personally You have nothing to do, You have distributed Your energies in the interactions of the material modes of nature, and for that reason the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation take place • Email to a friend • Related • •Sastra Dana, San Diego, USA: Bri gets a copy of the 16Rounds paper Bhakta Tyler Bhakta Tyler and a few other brahmacaries ran into a fellow who learned about Krishna consciousness by reading the Sastra Dana publication, 16Rounds to Samadhi newspaper. • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1966 February 24: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I beg to inform you that the classes which I am holding now, may be called the initiation classes for developing The International Institution for God consciousness. Classes may be held thrice in a week namely Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Time 7 to 9 P.M. Other days I shall be available for discussion between 6 to 8 P.M."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1967 February 24: "I am very glad to learn that the N.Y. center is doing really well. It is all Krishna's mercy. So if you think that my presence will be necessary then immediately book my seat in the air line when you want me to go there. I shall then cancel all programs here for three weeks."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1967 February 24: "Today I have sent you the first installment of Narada Bhakti Sutras. Please let me know how do you like it or if there is any difficulty to understand it. On hearing from you I shall take up the next installment."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 February 24: "I am very much anxious to get him a good wife so I have all my blessings for the girl being married to him. Perform the ceremony on my behalf. I am sure under your care they will be trained as good husband and wife and be happy in life in Krsna Consciousness."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1971 February 24: "My Guru Maharaja made sannyasis to go out and preach this movement and I am making householder couples and they are doing so nicely to spread Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message. So if you are so inclined and you can find a suitable girl, then you have my permission to get yourself married."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1971 February 24: "We have contacted a nice Muslim friend from Dacca. If you at all seriously intend to go to East Pakistan, please contact this gentleman and if you think it is favorable you may go there with the blessings of Krsna. When you decide your departure, I will give you further instructions on this."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 February 24: "So I am very glad that you are working for opening a branch there and going on with your work in Krishna Consciousness despite so many obstacles which Maya has placed in your path just to try to deviate you from going back to Home, back to Godhead."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 February 24: "Spend your whole time preaching and engaging others to hear you. Follow this simple formula of chanting regularly with full attention, reading at least one hour, and balance time preaching and speaking and managing one center - that will cure you of all misgivings and miserable conditions."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Mayapur Online: Day 5 & Day 6 of Parikrama: Special programs at Rajapur
Islands covered: Jahnudvipa, Modadrumadvipa, Rudradvipa and Simantadvipa. On day 5, we visited Jahnudvipa, where the great sage Jahnu muni swallowed river Ganges, as she washed his hermitage in ecstacy. Parikrama proceeded to Mamgacchi, to visit Vasudeva dhatta's house, Vrindavan das Thakura's birthplace (replica of ayodhya), shankarpur and Belpukur. Belpukur is Sacimata's parental place and Neelambara Chakravarti's worshippable Sri Madhan mohan deities are there. On 6th day, • Email to a friend • Related • •Mayapur Online: Missing the association of HH Jayapataka Swami in the Parikrama
On day 4, we visited Ritudvipa.This is the island of arcanam. On this day, we visited Samudragarh, Champahatti, Ritupura (replica of Radhakunda) and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya's birthplace and halted for the day at Vidyanagar. At Samudragarh, HH Bhakti Charu Maharaja said that one thing that explicitly stands out is that we are missing the association of HH Jayapataka Swami. He knows more pastimes, exact locations and • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Friends Of BBT Features Toronto!
"Most of these devotees in the GST are under thirty, working jobs or attending school, but they make the time to do book distribution.If you feel inspired to become a part of the Toronto Sankirtan Team, come out on the special Sankirtan Festival this month!  • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Monthly Sankirtan Festival - Gaura Purnima Special
 • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Flashback Photo: Vintage DarshanWith Gaura Purnima around the corner, this edition of ISKCON Toronto Flashback Photos is themed to get you into the festive mood!  • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Siva Ratri Celebrations
 • Email to a friend • Related • •Maddy Jean-claude Durr, New Govardhana, AU: Another Aussie Journey. Brisbane Leg 1: Visiting Many HomesFriday 29th, January 2010. I awoke to the usual scene of the household. I was going to be my mother's taste tester for the pizzas, this morning. The recipe was going to be used for the devotees' lunch on the coming Sunday, in Byron Bay. Within the opening hours of the day, Nitai arrived with a trailer on the back of his car. My mother, Nitai and I were on a trip to Murwillumbah, to check on our old unit. This was my postal address (ie technically my legal home) but I have spent no more than a broken fortnight in the place, in the last year. I spent the good part of the excursion rummaging through some old junk, though I planned to spend the good part of many more days, after tour, sorting it out for good. I returned home and called Gaura Hari, on my Skype phone, just to keep tab of the tour. I read to him some of my daily reading of Caitanya Caritamrta, while he did some of his organizing work. My parents were concerned how much ice-cream that needed to be ordered for the big Byron Bay lunch. They had heard many rumours of the devotees Bhima-like appetite for frozen milk products and on the weekend it was going to be put to the test. I took the opportunity to ask Gaura what sort of quantity we might be looking at.
Saturday 30th, January 2010. I awoke and packed. It was the typical life of a junior, travelling preacher; I could spend only one, two or three days in one place, sometimes, before heading out the door. I sleeping bag, some books (which mainly included the notebook laptop), some clothes and a sucih kit is all that the life really permits, in regards to material possessions. Dominik Prabhu picked me up and we drove down to Byron Bay, in the little vehicle designated for the setup team. Dominik informed me that he was flying to Brazil, some time after tour, to check out venues for their upcoming South American Tour. While we drove down, we were talking about the first Australian tour, when the devotees stayed in New Govardhana and it flooded dramatically. It was by default of the rains, at that time, that I separated from the tour troupe and went home, ready to return to do my time in University. While we talked, the rain bucketed down on the freeway. Were we going to be flooded in again? When we arrived, it was still poring down rain. The tour crew were having private meetings about cancelling the harinam. I walked down the wall, outside the community centre and it was lined with bright faces from New Govardhana. All my ashram buddies were there - Braja, Krsna Gana, Sedrick and Daniel. I prayed to Indra to ease up the rain so we could enjoy a blissful harinam. In the end, we decided to go through with the parade. We lined up for one of the largest harinam gatherings on tour. The crowds within our ranks rivalled new year celebrations in Sydney. It took a little bit to warm up the double sized harinam but once it started swinging Byron Bay felt the motion. As we passed the blossoming trees, different members of the harinam grabbed flowers from above and decorated themselves. It was like the cowherd boys and gopis in Vrndavana, decorating themselves for Krsna, as we were decorating ourselves for glorifying the holy name. Some of the local youngsters saw the procession and they tagged along so casually, as if they had been jumping on the back end of harinams for lifetimes. When the harinam stopped at the community hall, my parents found the crowd. I reintroduced them to HH Indradyumna Swami. My parents mentioned my other brothers and I suggested Swami Maharaja took them for his own. I really prayed for my brothers to be swept off their feet and recruited into Lord Caitanya's army but they were stuck in the nowhere-town nation of Australia. The congregation of New Govardhana were so enthusiastic to see the devotees that they cooked up a spectacular feast. My parents made some of the salads they used to make in their restaurant. These salads hadn't been seen by Byron Bay in almost a decade. My parents restaurant was previously a piggery, then converted into a famous rock venue, then my father turned it into a transcendental Prasadam restaurant, then the owners repossessed it to make another restaurant (where they served meat) and it finally ended up becoming a brewery. As we did our harinam, I often saw a minibus passing, which advertised the new 'brewery'. Such is the passing of time in the material world. Nonetheless, the salad had arrived. I waved goodbye to my parents and hopped in the back of HH Indradyumna Swami's car and we were on our way to New Govardhana. On the way back there was some nice intimate conversation. Maharaja swore that he thought my mother was my sister. It took some time to talk him out of it but he finally submitted that she was indeed my mother. He was now putting some pieces together from his past visits to Australia. "Your father was managing that farm? New Gokul it was called." I concurred with his suggestion and he went on. "Oh, so you were one of those little kids, running around back then? I remember you!" I was happy that he was at least pretending to remember me. "I was a cowherd boy back then" I suggested. Maharaja chuckled, "you still are a cowherd boy" he added coolly. Hearing these words made me feel so light and bright, even if Maharaja was just being super nice due to his unlimited qualities. When we arrived in New Govardhana, it was like a jungle. Although I had stayed at the farm for a long time, I was seeing it through the eyes of the visiting devotees. The rains were heavy, so everything was overgrown, green and lush. We drove to the set of buildings with a sign 'Aniyora Village'. It took us some time to find the path down to the cabin, where Maharaja was staying. We took our small group in and surveyed the living space. All Maharaja needed now was a vine on the front porch and he could swing into the jungles with Tarzan. Venu Gopal Prabhu arrived, once we were almost settled. He handed Indradyumna Swami a walkie-talkie. "This is how we keep in contact on the farm here" he said. It reminded me of my closing weeks on the farm, being the only available bhakta at the time, with a walkie-talkie going off twenty four seven. The boys dropped me off at the bottom guest houses, where we were going to be staying. Two years back, on the first Australian tour, the flood had beaten us back to the farm, before the Byron Bay harinam bus could return. The bottom guest houses were flooded through and many of the devotees' belongings floated away into oblivion. I had parked my car that day also and it was the only vehicle that hadn't been flooded through with water and therefore survived for the next tour (where it finally met it's end). I was now staying at this very same guest house, at the mercy of the floodwaters. If the river rose, all my meagre monk possessions would be no more and I would have to fully renounce my material life. As soon as I jumped out of the car at the guest house, I was straight into another car. I was going from the association of one great soul to the association of another. My parents picked me up and we drove up to the abode of HH Mukunda Goswami. Mukunda Goswami was a resident of New Govardhana, living in the back of the property, in his little cottage. My father has been a disciple of his since ninety two so we have a very long and fond relationship with him. One of the main highlights of my visits to New Govardhana is to see HH Mukunda Goswami and seek his association. We waited with Maharaja's personal servants, while he finished giving instructions to some of his Russian disciples, over Skype. Madana Mohana Prabhu, Maharaja's disciple and the youngest current GBC member, sat us down and fetched us some water. Maharaja entered and we all paid our obeisances. We casually talked and touched base, checking on Maharaja's general welfare. Soon Mukunda Goswami noticed my tattoo. "How long have you had that Madhavendra?" he asked. I shyly informed him that I had had it on my body for almost two years. He asked Madana Mohana Prabhu to accompany me outside and take a photo of the artwork. (My tattoo is a simple 'Hare Krsna' written in Sanskrit, across my right shoulder.) I talked with Maharaja a little bit about my reasons for having the tattoo done but it was otherwise pretty obvious and irrelevant. Mukunda Maharaja talked a little bit about his experiences with George Harrison. He talked about George's sports car, a three seater with the driver in the middle. Syamasundara and Mukunda were on either sides of George, as he took them for a test drive through the streets of London. "One moment there was a car in front of us and then the next moment we were in front of them. George drove really fast and liked his fast cars." The conversations were coming to a conclusion. My father hinted something I wanted to ask Maharaja about. I wanted blessings to go into the saffron cloth, and because Mukunda Maharaja had known me longer than any other exalted devotee and had such a close relationship with our family, I really wanted his blessings. It would also be a good time to take advantage of the other Vaisnavas present and ask them as well. Maharaja seemed pleased and was happy to give his blessings. Madana Mohana Prabhu was very happy and they brought me a gift of a saffron chadar that was worn for ten years by the Prabhupada murti in Mayapur. I didn't know what to say but I was so grateful. My parents left me to wonder down to the guest house on my own. I had some rounds to do so I decided I would take a wonder. I came into the courtyards of the temple. I saw a bunch of the little gurukuli kids, who all seemed to be growing up, in leaps and bounds, every time I see them. I made my way to the Prasadam hall and Daniel came to me with a mango nectar drink. The farm was over flooded with mangos. Even while I was at HH Mukunda Goswami's house, my father and Madana Mohana Prabhu had ducked off to town to pick up some milk so they could make a lovely mango drink for HH Indradyumna Swami and his followers the next day. "It's simply one part milk and one part mango pulp" Maharaja would say. With all these mangos, it was like the heavenly planets. It reminded me of descriptions in the Fifth Canto, of the Mandara Mountain, with it's mighty mango tree, almost ten thousand miles high. I sat momentarily with some of the devotees, so familiar to me, telling them my plans for the upcoming year. I wondered my way down to the guest house. I would have stayed at the temple but the Deities' alter was closed. I found Murari and Kaushal, impatient for a tour of the farm. Although it was too dark now to see much, I knew there might not be another opportunity so we drove around a little and I said a few words about the activities on the farm. They dropped me off and I continued on my japa walk. I walked down to the bridge and gazed over the river. I then walked up the hill in the moonlight. I found Mahavana, standing in the light of the full moon. He was inspired to chant extra japa, because everything was so beautiful. I thought for a moment, that if we properly established our communities and lived off the land, this would (or should) be our attitude. We would be surrounded by the beauty of the Lord's creation and it would help us remain determined in Krsna consciousness. I had been here for fifteen years just to realize what this devotee had realized in less than fifteen hours. Back down at the guest house, I felt like we were in the jungle. It was like swinging from one vine to the next just to go to the bathroom. On my previous visits to the farm, I would stay in the brahmacari ashram, with full comfort facilities, but now I was a member of the jungle clan. The lights were out and we were ready to rest up for our final day for the Byron Bay leg.
Sunday 31st, January 2010. I eagerly readied myself in the morning, hoping to receive darsana of the Lordships, just as the curtains opened. As soon as my tilak and dohti were on, it started to bucket down rain. I decided to hail the first car I could see and I was so happy I did. My friend Marli (Tamal) opened the door. He'd come a long distance, just to see his worshipable deities and the devotees. I missed the curtain call but I could feel the energy of the temple room surcharged with the tour devotees addition. Gaura Hari was leading the Gurupuja. Sri Prahlada was stunned in ecstasy, standing in front of his childhood deities and I was taken back by the effulgent beauty of Gaura Nitai, Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadari, and Krsna-Balarama and Giriraja. It seemed to burn through my body like rays of sunshine, touching my heart. I felt at home but at the same time it had a magical mysterious flavour to it. I sincerely hoped my Lordships were happy to see me back for the short visit. HH Indradyumna Swami sat on the Vyasasana to give class. He started by announcing that Sri Prahlada never graduated from gurukula. "At fifteen I stole him away" said Maharaja. Indradyumna Swami had missed a couple holy days, due to our shifting locations. Although it was a day late, Indradyumna Swami wanted to glorify Narottama Dasa Thakura for his holy appearance. As he began to speak, it was like the New Govardhana mango nectar was flowing into our ears. He told a story of Narottama meeting a Brahmana boy in Navadvipa. "This boy was so beautiful, it was like he was crafted by the demigods. Just like that little boy in Sydney, Marli. This boy looks like a Gandarvika." Maharaja was talking about Gitanjali's sweet boy, who would often tell me how many rounds he was chanting everyday, while we were staying in Sydney. The boy in Navadvipa was indeed an incarnation of Krsna. HH Mukunda Goswami crept into the temple room and sat in the audience. He had his ears perked up and was eager to listen to the sweet vibrations emanating from the mouth of HH Indradyumna Swami. Indradyumna Swami continued to speak story after story of Narottama Dasa Thakura, for a whole two hours! We were all totally caught off guard and totally blown away. We exited the temple room feeling like floating clouds. I glanced over at the Deities, whose smiles were so bright, being so happy to hear their devotee praise another of their devotees. I made sure to close in on Mukunda Goswami, after the class. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss the meeting of the two sannyasis, that was going to happen this morning. I had the privilege of acting as the middle man, helping to see that the times matched up with the two transcendentalists. I sat with the devotees at breakfast and felt a warm sensation of family. I sat with Abhaya Prabhu and he gave me some much needed tips on my current diaries. I took careful note as I realized that this service was becoming more and more dear to me. I stalked down HH Indradyumna Swami, as he left, so I didn't miss the important meeting. I called Mukunda Goswami (with a phone and not a walkie-talkie), from Indradyumna Swami's cabin and we confirmed a time. I waited down at the guest house, after I was one hundred percent sure they wouldn't leave me behind. We arrived at Mukunda Goswami's humble home, yet again. The two saints were ecstatic to associate with one another. The two swamis talked about writing and editing, which seemed to be major services for them both. They praised Umapati Swami, who often helped them edit. My fondest memory of Umapati Swami was in Mayapur, when he handed me his maha garland, which was previously worn my Pancatattva. "You can have this garland if you can help get it off me" he said. Mukunda Goswami put on the Prabhupada Memories DVD, to show the devotees some footage. My father had just dropped him off the latest two DVDs, the night before, to complete his collection. The two Swamis and the other devotees began to praise Srila Prabhupada's massive kartalas. It seemed that the amazing brass symbols had caught the attention of us all and we marvelled how Srila Prabhupada so casually played them. Mukunda Goswami shared a story, "once Syamasunda and I made a pair of kartalas for Prabhupada. He said 'not so great, these are great' and he pulled out his big kartalas." Indradyumna Swami brought up Mukunda Goswami's memoirs. "We have just decided a cover picture. Would you like to see?" said Mukunda Goswami. I had just seen the new cover of Indradyumna Swami's new book, 'Diary of a Travelling Monk', in Melbourne and now I had the opportunity to see another amazing work before it was on the shelves. The cover was an old, black and white picture of young Mukunda, placing an opulent garland around Srila Prabhupada's neck. Mukunda had a head of soft, short hair and had his original initiation japa beads wrapped around his neck. "Do you still have those beads?" asked Indradyumna Swami. "Yeah I do" replied Mukunda Goswami. It was amazing for me to consider this. Mukunda Goswami was in the first group to be initiated in the West and he still had the beads that he was initiated with. This meant that they were the oldest initiation beads in ISKCON. We were running overtime. It was half an hour past our scheduled departure time so we had to call the nectarean meeting. When I was dropped at the guesthouse, the bus was waiting. I rushed in and grabbed my things. I soon realized that I had left behind my mobile and notebook (sastra). HH Mukunda Goswami was supposed to call me, in case he was lost in Byron Bay and my parents were supposed to call me in regards to lunch times. I prayed to Krsna to handle the whole situation and I just tried to blissfully surrender to the situation. We had another ecstatic harinam. I danced until I was exhausted. Vraja Sakha and I were playing our kartalas in such a way, that at the end of every bar we would combine our instruments for a big 'crash'. The whole harinam was filmed by an on looking young lady. At the end, she confessed she was from the Byron Bay Yoga Centre. They had come every other year to see our show and she booked about twenty seats in the venue for the yoga students to see the show. She asked if she could set up her camera for the show, particularly to show the Gita and the yoga demonstration to their students. We all collapsed for our regular lunch date. My parents arrived and embellished the devotees with home made pizza and ice-cream. My little brother Rupa came to help out also. I had many curious voices come in my ear, throughout the experience, "is that your brother? Is that your mum? Are those your parents? Is that your dad?" My tour family were now curious about my regular family. HH Mukunda Goswami finally arrived. He fortunately didn't need my help from me for directions. He sat with Indradyumna Swami. The two maharajas had lunch together. After lunch, I bumped into Madhava. I was super enthusiastic to see him back. I had suspected he was coming back on board for the Brisbane leg but it wasn't until he showed up again did it really hit home. I was keen to give him a good slap in the Gita play, which I had been restrained from for a few weeks. I prayed I didn't knock him off his feet. Abhaya arrived with his two children, Kamadeva and Kalayani. They took advantage of HH Indradyumna Swami's association. It was so nice for me to see the younger generation of Krsna conscious youth spoiled with that type of association. I had seen HH Indradyumna Swami do powerful things with only a moment's association and these children were open gates for this mercy. The venue very quickly filled up. We sold three hundred tickets seats and had to close the doors. The show was soon underway. Dina Dayal had a new act, incorporating two Manipuri boys. The two additional Ninja Brahmanas were an amazing addition to an otherwise spectacular act. I suggested to him that he may now have to tour around with two Manipuris in his suitcase. The Gita play felt like the best yet. I have always loved the stage at Byron Bay. People were close and they looked down from above. The lighting was also excellent, especially with Dominik back at the helm. It felt very intimate doing performances there, especially because Byron Bay was full of seekers and I had spent many years in the area as a child. My energy overflowed as I went through the movements of the drama. Madhava also seemed to be excited to be back and was exerting his full effort. I found many faces in the crowd, staring down Abhaya's kids and some Prabhupada disciples when I had a chance. I desperately tried to scan for HH Mukunda Goswami's face but I couldn't see him with my mundane vision. For memory's sake, while Maharaja was giving his class, I was backstage replaying an old joke. I hopped in a cage, provided by a portable stage ladder, and began to mime Maharaja's philosophical discussion. Sri Prahlada suggested that he remembered Maharaja's whole lecture from seeing this humorous excerpt from last year, when I spontaneously put it on. I was happy to give some smiles and laughs to the troops, who otherwise had to tolerate my fallen association. Outside I bumped into a lot of peers and friends from Gurukula. I bumped into Gopali Matajia and her kids, a family we have known since the start of my memories. I also bumped into Nandi, who was in gurukula with me in my first year at New Govardhana. We reminisced on some old times and I tried to encourage him to come for some more shows. I found some time alone and one lady came up to me. "Do you take questions?" she asked. She was asking about some yogi guru and if he was relevant to our movement. I answered what I could of her question and asked her about our local farming community. She had visited a long time ago and felt inspired to maybe give it another visit. I went over to the book table and saw that there was only one Bhagavad-gita left?! One girl was cautiously looking at it. I tried to see if I could pursued her, with my limited shakti. I was wondering what was holding her back and then she asked me a question, "do you guys take card?" I realized she had already made up her mind to purchase it but didn't have the right currency (ie cash). I directed her and her boyfriend to the closest ATM (cash machine) with a gesture and I held the Gita for her, in reserve. After a few minutes, she returned and happily received the last signing from Maharaja. There were no more Bhagavad-gitas and our business was done in Byron Bay. • Email to a friend • Related • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, Febuary 22nd, 2010Let's See  • Email to a friend • Related • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, February 21st, 2010Offense Perception  • Email to a friend • Related • •Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: Krishna - The All AttractiveWhen I was growing up, I remember I was always attracted to something I did not have. I was attracted to people who had principles and stuck to it no matter what. The principles may have been utterly material, still I was attracted towards their austerity of executing their principles in all circumstances. I was also attracted towards people who were sacrificial in nature especially who would go beyond their comfort zones to help others. I admired that as I had absolutely no such qualities. This quality of charity or compassion is opulence and I was attracted towards it. This was why I came to Krishna Consciousness. Yes, the philosophy was immaculate and hence attractive, yet what pushed me to the other side was the compassion, the compassion shown by Srila Prabhupada. His determination to help others touched my heart and I was moved by his selfless nature.  • Email to a friend • Related • •Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Churches Knocking On Doors, To Talk About The Environment Matthew Williams for The New York Times MILLWOOD, Wash. — State auditors told Millwood Community Presbyterian Church last summer to close its farmers' market on the church parking lot or the lot could no longer be claimed as tax-exempt. Without hesitation, the church kept the market and paid the $700 in annual taxes. Pastor Deb Conklin talked about the new, energy-conscious furnace at Liberty Park United Methodist Church in Spokane. Money is tight, but the locally raised beef and vegetables and, most important, the environmentally minded customers had become central to the 90-year-old church's ministry. "It's like we've got more going on in our parking lot than we do within the walls of the church," said the pastor, Craig Goodwin. Across the Northwest, where church attendance has long been low but concern for the environment high, some church leaders and parishioners are ringing doorbells to inform neighbors — many of whom have never stepped inside the sanctuary down the street — about ways to conserve energy and lower their utility bills. Some view the new push as a way to revitalize their congregations and reconnect with their nearby community. Religious leaders have been preaching environmentalism for years, and much attention has focused on politically powerful evangelical Christian leaders who have taken up climate change as a cause. Yet some smaller, older and often struggling mainline churches are also going greener, reducing their carbon footprint by upgrading basement boilers and streamlining the Sunday bulletin, swapping Styrofoam for ceramic mugs at coffee hour and tending jumbled vegetable gardens where lawns once were carefully cultivated. "I've never been good at door-to-door evangelism," said Deb Conklin, the pastor at Liberty Park United Methodist Church in Spokane, Wash., where an aging and shrinking congregation of about 20 people worships on Sundays. "But this has been so fun. Everybody wants to talk to you. It's exciting. It's ministry." Several mainline church leaders in the Northwest said environmentalism offered an entry point, especially to younger adults, who might view Christianity as wrought with debates over gay rights and abortion. A study released in December by the Barna Group, which more typically studies trends among evangelicals, said that older, mainline churches faced many challenges but that their approach to environmental issues was among several areas that "position those churches well for attracting younger Americans." "We actually encourage it as a way to get people into the churches," said LeeAnne Beres, the executive director of Earth Ministry, a Seattle group founded in 1992 that has guided many area congregations through environmental upgrades over the past decade but has recently emphasized more direct political action for pastors and parishioners. "That is what people are interested in, and I don't see anything Machiavellian in that." "It's fertile ground," Ms. Beres said, "and these are issues that people are predisposed to care about here in the Northwest." Several pastors said they had worked to ground environmental activism in religious teaching and more traditional areas of ministry, particularly social justice, to distinguish it from secular environmentalism. That might mean discussing the impact of climate change on people in countries susceptible to rising seas or on other species, what Hunt Priest, the rector of Emmanuel Episcopal in Mercer Island, Wash., called "the web of creation." "For a little while some people forgot this was a spiritual issue," Mr. Priest said, "and we've reclaimed that now. I think we got caught up in things like changing light bulbs and saving paper and having the power company come out and do an audit. "All important, but for us it needs to be about how we live our lives as Christians now that we know more about what we've done to the environment." Mr. Priest, who recently joined Ms. Beres and other pastors to lobby staff members of Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats of Washington, for a cap on carbon emissions, said he was wary of viewing environmentalism as a "church growth program." He noted that while some mainline churches had reported increased attendance as they emphasized the issue, Emmanuel's congregation, now about 250 families, had declined even though the church had been active on environmental issues for more than a decade. Still, he said, concern for the environment "can be a spiritual growing edge." "Greening a congregation," as some call it, is not always easy. At Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ near downtown Spokane, built in 1893, the congregation has about 200 people, down from 2,000 a few decades ago. The pastor, Andrea CastroLang, said the church recently had an energy audit and that while it has made some of the proposed changes, including upgrading the boiler, some were impractical for the soaring, heat-leaking sanctuary. "They were like, 'It'd be really great if you could lower your ceiling,' " Ms. CastroLang said. "We said, 'We can't do that.' " Food is at the forefront of some local efforts, and it is central to the changes under way here at Millwood Presbyterian. In 2008, Mr. Goodwin, the pastor, and his family experimented with eating only locally grown food. Mr. Goodwin, who blogged about the experience, said that he had not been particularly environmentally minded in the past and that the shift came as he tried to help his church engage more with the modest neighborhood surrounding it. The congregation, once 1,700 people, had shrunk to 420 five years ago but has since risen to about 500, he said. Mr. Goodwin said the farmers' market, originally conceived by a teenage girl in the congregation, Kelly Hansen, was part of what he hoped would be environmentalism at a basic level, what he called "place making," with the church a shaping force. "We've been trying to sort out how we flesh out a future in this community," Mr. Goodwin said. "Instead of 'How do we get people in here?' It became 'Let's get ourselves out there.' "  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: The Nectar Chronicles: Part 14
 • Email to a friend • Related • •Mayapur Online: Live from Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir!
Date: February 23rd, 2010 Listen here HH Danavir Swami's class. • Email to a friend • Related • •Manorama dasa: Gaura Purnima 2010
A Budapesti templomban egész napos program lesz. Sőt, előző nap egy maha-harinammal is ünneplünk. (Február 27-én, szombaton 16-18 óráig a Deák térről indul) A meditációnkat nagyban segíti egy új oldal, ahol rendszeres darshan képeket láthatunk Sri Sri Dayal-Nitai Vijaya Gaurangáról: http://darshan.freeblog.hu És még egy bónusz Panca-tattva videó a Mayapuri templomból: • Email to a friend • Related • •Gouranga TV: Radha-Madhava puspa-abhisek, MayapurRadha-Madhava puspa-abhisek, Mayapur • Email to a friend • Related • •More Recent Articles |
By Urmila Devi Dasi
Hamarosan itt a Gaura Purnima ünnepség, az Úr Caitanya megjelenési napja. Idén ez február 28-án van.
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