"Planet ISKCON" - 41 new articles
H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Wednesday 12 May 2010--Flying High in the Spiritual Sky--and--Which Author Keeps the Vedas Intact?Tuesday 11 May 2010--As I write these words we are flying high above the clouds traveling from Austin to Detroit on the first leg of our journey to London to resume our around-the-world lecture tour. Instead of being covered by the clouds as are the people below us, we are situated far above those white fluffy balls enjoying the sunshine, which is not... Srila Prabhupada's Letters1966 May 11:  Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 May 11: "Organize the new center even at personal inconvenience - that is real service. Maya is very strong, and we are liable to fall down at any moment. We have to gather our strength by chanting the beads sixteen rounds regularly and praying to Krishna for guidance. Kindly follow my instructions and forget if there is any disagreement."  Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 May 11: "What are your plans for Bangladesh? There is great opportunity, and when Americans speak it will be very convincing and the Muslims in Bangladesh will agree to hear. Convince them - this is the only means to unify the whole world."  Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 May 11: "Regarding second initiation, I approve and you hold a fire yajna and give them all threads. The tape of me reciting Gayatri mantra, this can be heard through the right ear by earphones during the yajna. There is another request for 2nd initiation but I have not received any recommendation from temple president or sannyasi."  Srila Prabhupada's Letters1973 May 11: "This man is playing some trick so we shall also play some trick. We shall not vacate any of the rooms upstairs or downstairs; this should be our policy. We shall take them to court and pray to the court to settle the matter. In this way we have to deal with these men."  Srila Prabhupada's Letters1974 May 11: "The status quo is threatened as I do not think the boys can manage the buildings and land which we own here. It requires strong management. I am fearful what will happen here in my absence. So consider my proposal seriously. I am coming to Paris by the 9th of June."  Srila Prabhupada's Letters1975 May 11: "I was training you to take up the charge of Vrndavana center very expertly. Unfortunately, both of you are fallen from service. Anyway, the Vrndavana opening ceremony was performed very gorgeously. Your husband was present, but his business was different."  Srila Prabhupada's Letters1975 May 11: "He has sold so many of our properties through the Mukutwalla. He is collecting money like anything and is not contributing anything to the society. His only business is to acquire money. I did not say anything to him. I am simply praying to Krishna for his welfare."  ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakta PrabhuSrimad Bhagavatam 11.20.22 - Live a luxurious life. Surrender to Krishna. Kurma dasa, AU: The Express Train of Life
Things have been hectic, and I've dropped behind in my blogging. Specifically I mean I haven't published journals of cookery weekends that have now slipped by like station platforms flashing past an express train window. My life seems to be accelerating, and years are racing by in ever-increasing velocity. I'm constantly reminded of this, like when I spoke to my old friend Dusta Mohan last weekend in Canberra. 'How long has it been since we last met?', we mused. 5 years, 10 years...? No it was 1996, almost 14 years ago! To my teenage son, himself almost 14, those years are a huge lifetime. To me, a few blinks of an eye. John Lennon sung "Life is what happens to you / While you're busy making other plans". In other words, he was saying that since we can't see the big picture, why worry and obsess over things we have no control. I understand his 'train of thought' - excuse the play on words - but I don't entirely agree. In actuality, life is meant for undertstanding what that big picture really is. We must never lose sight of the big picture, and who we really are, else what is the point of our sojourn, and where are we going? We're on a journey, to be sure, but the real passenger is looking out of these eyes, just like 'we' look out of the train window. We are not these bodies. My Spiritual Master Srila Prabhupada stated (way back in 1973): "The soul already has a spiritual body, which the material body covers. My material body grows upon me - my spiritual body – but my material body is unnatural. The real body is spiritual. I am accepting various bodies that are unnatural to my constitution. My real, constitutional position is to be the servant of Krishna." H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, May 10th, 2010Outside & Inside  H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, May 9th, 2010By the Pond  Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Sleeping is very dangerousTherefore Rupa Gosvami says, utsaha. We shall be always enthusiastic. But we cannot become enthusiastic artificially. There must be bhagavad-bhakti-yoga. Just like these visitors in the temple, see how much enthusiastic they are. They are rising early in the morning, going to take bath in the Yamuna, and they are visiting so many temples, especially this Damodara temple, because it is Damodara month. And from five o'clock or before that, three o'clock, they are enthusiastic. They are not sleeping very nicely. That means lack of bhagavad-bhakti-yoga. It is maya. So you must be very careful. Test. If we cannot rise early in the morning, that means we are under the clutches of maya. This is the test. Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore says, jiv jago jiv jago gauracanda bole kota nidra jao maya-pisacira kole Sleeping is very dangerous. It is to be understood that I am under the clutches of maya, the more we sleep, because the symptom of tamo-guna is laziness and sleep. This is the symptom of tamo-guna, laziness and sleeping. Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.20 -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1972 H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: '433' from The Yellow Submarine3:58 A.M.I had a headache during the night but subdued it and slept for most of the night. I got out of bed at 2:00 A.M. As I began my chanting, it felt intimate and cozy. It was like sitting near the fire in a fireplace in a chilly room. But eventually my eyes began to burn. I turned to concentrating on rapid chanting to build up the quota. I kept very careful attention of the syllables, but my main focus was on the numerical count. I watched the clock and ran through the rounds. I kept it up steadily without any drowsiness, and I have chanted my complete sixteen rounds. It was more like a horserace than a contemplation. But it was very concentrated and so I don't want to put it down as poor chanting. It was the chanting of a racer. I was attentive on a superficial level but not on a deeper level. My mind did not wander into other subjects of consciousness and so that is good. It was all building up the rounds to reach sixteen. Numbers of mantras H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'On a Morning Walk' from The Yellow SubmarinePrabhupada Smaranam
We are crowded around him. At least three microphones are placed near his mouth. He does not mind it because he knows what he says is important, and all those devotees around the world who are not present can get a chance to hear what he said. Even the devotees who are with him will forget what he said unless it is recorded. The tape recorder is serving as one of the most valuable instruments in the world. He has stopped walking in order to concentrate and emphasize a point. He is exacting and cool headed and gentle. The devotees are eager to hear what he says. He is explaining Krishna consciousness in his inimitable way. They are all very young and are soaking in his talk. It is Germany in 1974. He wants them to be learned and strong. He is speaking in parampara, but with his own realizations. Prabhupada placed great importance on recording of his speeches, and in 1965 he recorded in New York City even when no one was present. Forty years previously Swami Bon had little success in Germany, changing to western clothes and speaking only to learned scholars. Prabhupada spoke not only to the head but the heart, and he had great success among the youth of Germany. Thus Prabhupada satisfied the desire of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati for the Gaudiya Vaisnava mission in Europe. In three years in Germany Swami Bon managed to convert two German gentlemen whereas Prabhupada converted hundreds with his uncompromising deliverance of Krishna consciousness. Even Prabhupada's disciples where able to break through in Germany. He gave the prize winning formula, kirtana, prasadam,book distribution and lecturing as prescribed by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'The Songs of a Hare Krishna Man' from The Yellow SubmarineI'm reading Songs of a
I would like to write like that
Nowadays I speak more sastric
Your poems can be freer
I read from sections of
Watching the Phillies and
The headache may be caused
You can expect you'll write
Everything he does is the
I also like to repeat His H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'Little Drops of Nectar: Mrdanga' from The Yellow SubmarineFree write
Prabhupada at first had no mrdanga in America, and he played in rousing kirtanas for six months with a one-headed bongo drum. He managed unique mrdanga–like beats with his two hands on the one head and played it in the temple and at Tompkins Square Park. There is a recording of kirtana with this one-headed drum and it sounds very sweet and strongly rhythmic. Finally, he was sent karatalas and mrdangas from India, and he played mrdanga himself and let his students learn also. Someone suggested that he bring a professional mrdanga player to the west to teach his disciples. But Prabhupada said they could learn to play by regular practice and learning while playing during kirtana. By this method some of them became proficiently self-taught, and they practiced too in kirtanas. When his western devotees went to India in 1971, they began to learn from mrdanga players in India and eventually mastered the instrument. There are now many expert mrdanga players. Second generation devotees such as ex–gurukulis are often held to Krishna consciousness through the kirtana. Prabhupada taught everything—music, dance, mrdanga and it is being passed down through family tradition or disciplic succession. Here a boy and girl seem to be finding a healthy outlet for teenage passion in the beats of the mrdangas. Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Bhajan - New Year's Eve 2010 - Hari das - 13/22
Hari das singing a Hare Krishna bhajan during the New Year's Eve 12hr bhajan. (Video is cut short, audio is full length). Dallas, TX Download: 2010-01-01 - New Year Eve Bhajans - 13 - Hari das.mp3 Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: Bhagavad-gita: Uncommon Sense
 H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 11 May 2010--Don't Try to Be the Enjoyer--and--Avatars and Fragmental SoulsTuesday 11 May 2010--Don't Try to Be the Enjoyer--and--Avatars and Fragmental Souls If we tell someone that they should not try to be the enjoyer, they may object to this because the natural tendency of all living beings is to enjoy. So how can advise that one should not try to be the enjoyer? The answer is simple. The way to actually enjoy is to serve... Dandavats.com: There, But Not ThereBy Kesava Krsna Dasa How many of us are fortunate to have not just good friends, but close friends with whom we can phone at any time, and for no particular reason, than to simply share a Krishna conscious realization? Dandavats.com: My Journey with Amekhala Devi
How can one really express their short and special journey; traveling with Amekhala during her final months, on the planet, the last and most important journey of her lifetime, the final test? Dandavats.com: Offering To Amekhala DeviBy Srutirupa devi Amekhala and I begun our friendship while I was living at Bhaktivendanta Manor over 20 years ago. Amekhala stood out to me for she was one the 'special 'ones.. Dandavats.com: A tribute to Amekhala devi dasi
It has been two weeks since my wife left this world under the protection of Srila Prabhuapda. I have wanted to write my offering, my homage to her, but I haven't been able to do it. I haven't been able to think very clearly. Dandavats.com: Kirtan at the Camp-fireHaridev Das: This year we celebrate the 8th annual "Kirtan at the Camp-fire" festival. Held on the beautiful beaches of east-coast South Africa, this exclusive festival for ISKCON devotees attracts some 800 Hare Krishnas. Dandavats.com: Bhagvat Katha Saptah in PhoenixDr Prayag Narayan Misra: Ram Swaroop Shastri (Krishna Swaroop Das), initiated in 1992 in Mayapur, West Bengal and later second initiation in 1999 in Alachua, Florida - a disciple of Hrdayanand Goswami Maharaj- concluded a weeklong Srimad Bhagvad Katha in Hindi language in Phoenix, Arizona Namahatta.org: BUILDING VIBRANT VAISNAVA COMMUNITIES-Kasya das ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry course given by HG. Kaunteya Prabhu Siligury, May 6 – 9, 2010
Four day seminar took place in peaceful Siligury ISKCON temple Sri Sri Radha Madhava Sundar Mandir. 35 devotee leaders and preachers from different parts of North-east India ISKCON centers attended. Dandavats.com: THE EIGHT PETALS (Purshottam Mas) ReleasedVrndavanlila dd: I would like to make the announcement of release of eighth issue of the Varnasrama Newsletter. Please review it at your earliest convenience. Dandavats.com: Deity & Devotee DressesBhaktin Rama: We have started a new service from New Delhi,India for providing/supplying Deity and Devotee dresses and paraphernalia. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Sunday Feast Recording - May 9, 2010The recording for this week's Sunday Feast can be viewed by clicking the image below. As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly live web broadcasts are stored on our ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog.  Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Endings
Filed under: Jokes       H.H. Sivarama Swami: Remembering the early days in Krsna Valley
H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, May 8th, 2010Moundsville, West Virginia  H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Friday, May 7th, 2010A Mother Passes Away  H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Thursday, May 6th, 2010Prisoners Get a Break  Japa Group: Chant Krsna's Names With Awareness
I have to learn to give myself plenty of time to chant and then go within myself and chant Krishna's names with awareness that I am with Krishna Himself in the sound vibration. It's not just a counting time but a time to be with the most wonderful person in all the universes. From Bhajan Kutir #432  Kurma dasa, AU: I Know What You Did Last Saturday......I taught a class at Cooking Co-ordinates in Belconnen Markets, Canberra (but you already knew that). Afterwards I spent 23 very happy minutes at a 9-hour kirtan. (Kirtan = ecstatic call-and-response chanting of Sanskrit mantras, to music).
Why only 23 minutes, you ask? Well, I wasn't finished at the cookery school until after 4pm, and I had a 6pm bus back to Sydney. Add up all the drive times and 23 minutes is all I had. But it was quality time. I was also fortunate to meet an old friend/godbrother of mine who I had not seen since our last Hare Krishna 'pioneers' reunion, in 1996. His name is Dusta Mohan. Dusta, if you're reading this, drop me a line with your phone number, we're having another Big Reunion in 2011.
Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Cows On DrugsStanford, Calif. NOW that Congress has pushed through its complicated legislation to reform the health insurance system, it could take one more simple step to protect the health of all Americans. This one wouldn't raise any taxes or make any further changes to our health insurance system, so it could be quickly passed by Congress with an outpouring of bipartisan support. Or could it? More than 30 years ago, when I was commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, we proposed eliminating the use of penicillin and two other antibiotics to promote growth in animals raised for food. When agribusiness interests persuaded Congress not to approve that regulation, we saw firsthand how strong politics can trump wise policy and good science. Even back then, this nontherapeutic use of antibiotics was being linked to the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria that infect humans. To the leading microbiologists on the F.D.A.'s advisory committee, it was clearly a very bad idea to fatten animals with the same antibiotics used to treat people. But the American Meat Institute and its lobbyists in Washington blocked the F.D.A. proposal. In 2005, one class of antibiotics, fluoroquinolones, was banned in the production of poultry in the United States. But the total number of antibiotics used in agriculture is continuing to grow. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, 70 percent of this use is in animals that are healthy but are vulnerable to transmissible diseases because they live in crowded and unsanitary conditions. In testimony to Congress last summer, Joshua Sharfstein, the principal deputy commissioner of the F.D.A., estimated that 90,000 Americans die each year from bacterial infections they acquire in hospitals. About 70 percent of those infections are caused by bacteria that are resistant to at least one powerful antibiotic. That's why the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Pharmacists Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Public Health Association and the National Association of County and City Health Officials are urging Congress to phase out the nontherapeutic use in livestock of antibiotics that are important to humans. Antibiotic resistance is an expensive problem. A person who cannot be treated with ordinary antibiotics is at risk of having a large number of bacterial infections, and of needing to be treated in the hospital for weeks or even months. The extra costs to the American health care system are as much as $26 billion a year, according to estimates by Cook County Hospital in Chicago and the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics, a health policy advocacy group. Agribusiness argues — as it has for 30 years — that livestock need to be given antibiotics to help them grow properly and keep them free of disease. But consider what has happened in Denmark since the late 1990s, when that country banned the use of antibiotics in farm animals except for therapeutic purposes. The reservoir of resistant bacteria in Danish livestock shrank considerably, a World Health Organization report found. And although some animals lost weight, and some developed infections that needed to be treated with antimicrobial drugs, the benefits of the rule exceeded those costs. It's 30 years late, but Congress should now pass the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, which would ban industrial farms from using seven classes of antibiotics that are important to human health unless animals or herds are ill, or pharmaceutical companies can prove the drugs' use in livestock does not harm human health. The pharmaceutical industry and agribusiness face the difficult challenge of developing antimicrobials that work specifically against animal infections without undermining the fight against bacteria that cause disease in humans. But we don't have the luxury of waiting any longer to protect those at risk of increasing antibiotic resistance.  H.H. Sivarama SwamiYou don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. -C.S. Lewis Gouranga TV: Indradyumna Swami kirtan – Vrindavan kartik 2009 – Part 1/5Indradyumna Swami kirtan – Vrindavan kartik 2009 – Part 1/5 More Recent Articles |
By Jamuna Devi Dasi (BCS)
By Srutakirti das
I think about how much we value Vaisnava festivals today and what role they play in our lives?
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