lunes, 16 de agosto de 2010

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Maddy Jean-claude Durr, New Govardhana, AU: Another Journey Across to Poland: [P18] Woodstock 2010. Day 3



PLANET ISKCON

 

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"Planet ISKCON" - 28 new articles

  1. H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 16 August 2010--There Must Be a Supreme Person--and--What is the First Religion?
  2. Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Lecture - Prahladananda Swami - BG 15.8 - No One Died because they didn't have an iPod
  3. Australian News: ISKCON Adelaide: Ki Jay!
  4. Gaura Nitai das, Mayapura, IN: Radhanatha Swami on Fox news in Seattle
  5. Japa Group: Make It Easier To Chant
  6. Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: All your eggs in one basket...
  7. David Haslam, UK: Nursing, Suffering and my own personal thoughts
  8. Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: H.H.Radhanath Swami on Fox
  9. Radha Priya dd, Austin, TX, USA: Are you kind?
  10. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Sunday Feast Live!
  11. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: S
  12. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 41
  13. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Alone with Krishna
  14. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Prayers and Poem from Prose Book
  15. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Confidential Letters
  16. Prema-Rupa dd, USA: Beads for Sri Mayapur Dham Deities needed!
  17. Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Just One Glance
  18. Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Loss
  19. Maddy Jean-claude Durr, New Govardhana, AU: Another Journey Across to Poland: [P18] Woodstock 2010. Day 3
  20. Australian News: Iskcon Perth: Ki Jay!
  21. Gaura Nitai das, Mayapura, IN: The carnival is not cancelled
  22. Gauranga Kishore das,USA: The Importance of Worshipping the Supersoul in Heart of All living Entities
  23. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu
  24. H.H. Sivarama Swami: The disagreement between Jagannatha and Saksi Gopal and how such things happen
  25. H.H. Sivarama Swami: Kirtan on Sunday morning
  26. Australian News: Arcana, the Journal of the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry, Vol Four, 2010.
  27. Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: The First Church of Robotics
  28. Gouranga TV: Drama – The Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadev
  29. More Recent Articles
  30. Search Planet ISKCON

H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 16 August 2010--There Must Be a Supreme Person--and--What is the First Religion?

Some philosophers argue that there cannot be a supreme person, but that argument is not at all logical. To say that there is no supreme person is another way of saying that we are all equally situated, which is clearly not the case. We can see that all over the world persons possess different quantities of these opulences: power, beauty, renunciation,...

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Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Lecture - Prahladananda Swami - BG 15.8 - No One Died because they didn't have an iPod

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 15, Text 8 titled "No One Died because they didn't have an iPod" by Prahladananda Swami.  The lecture starts in Spanish and then transitions to English with some mixture of Spanish.  

Dallas, TX
2010-07-08 


Download: 2010-07-08 - Lecture - Prahladananda Swami - Spanish - BG 15.8 - No One Died because they didn't have an iPod.mp3
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Australian News: ISKCON Adelaide: Ki Jay!

Bhakti Vedanta Ashram is also the home to the Hare Krishna Temple.  The Temple is located on the ground floor and houses the worshipful Deities of Sri Sri Radha-Shyamasundar, Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, Sri Sri Prahlad Nrsmha, Hari Hara Ksetrapala Shiva and Srila Prabhupada.

Darshan times -

7.30am – 11.30am

12noon – 12.30pm

4.30pm – 8.30pm

There are two main aratis performed each day.  One is at 12noon and the other is at 7pm.  The Temple holds regular festivals and functions which you can find advertised on our blog page and also through our our newsletter.

Pujas and samskaras are available for yourself, your home or your family. For further assistance and enquiries for pujas and samskaras please email Krishna Kirti at temple@iskconadelaide.com or you can phone him on his mobile number - 0423 873 097.

Find our more at the web site: www.iskconadelaide.com

Share this story your way:PrintFacebookTwitterGoogle BookmarksStumbleUponYahoo! Buzzdel.icio.usDiggLiveMySpacePDF

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Gaura Nitai das, Mayapura, IN: Radhanatha Swami on Fox news in Seattle




If you would like to purchase the "The Journey Home" (in the USA) go here .

This is not an advertisement. It is simply a post of a disciple who is inspired by what HH Radhanatha Swami is doing and would like to share it with friends and family.
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Japa Group: Make It Easier To Chant


A devotee can very peacefully chant the holy name of the Lord by behaving more humbly than the grass, being tolerant like a tree and offering respects to everyone, without expecting honor from anyone else. Such qualifications make it easier to chant the holy name of the Lord.

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Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: All your eggs in one basket...

Many people choose to reserve judgement when it comes to the cosmic questions of life. Does God exist? Is life a one-shot game or is there more after death? Different religions, different theories, and different directives – it can all be a bit confusing. There is a notion that it's dangerous to put 'all your eggs in one basket' by making a firm decision to follow a certain spiritual path. "Maybe I should keep all the options open and focus on being a good person" one may think. Spread the bet.

Interestingly we are all ultimately forced to make a choice. You may reserve judgement on God, but you still decide to live in the world in a certain way, and underpinning your lifestyle choices are certain worldviews. Everyone places their faith in something, even if they don't believe in God. So we may be afraid of the repercussions of making the wrong decision, but we'll have to make a decision anyway. By making a choice not to do one thing, you necessarily make a decision to do something else.

In my experience, the problem may not be that we have too many differing options, but rather that we are simply too lazy (or disinterested) to investigate the matter. I was recently walking down Oxford Street when I saw a man come out of the travelagents with about 20 holiday brochures. I'm sure he's not planning 20 holidays, but rather wants to invest his yearly £1000 budget wisely – after all, it's a lot money and there is a lot at stake! However, it seems that when it comes to questions of the ultimate destination we want the answer to just jump out at us without any kind of personal endeavour. Rather than allowing worldly trends to sweep us into the default path of life, we may do well to make even a passing investigation into classical literatures like the Bhagavad-gita, which give profound insights into the perennial mysteries of our existence. A little research goes a long way.

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David Haslam, UK: Nursing, Suffering and my own personal thoughts

Firstly can I apologize for the lack of class postings from my visits to The Manor, there has been a software problem with my iPhone syncing with the nFinity QuickVoice recorder I have been using and the patch sadly does not work. In my senior IT head I forgot a simple rule, the software on [...]

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Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: H.H.Radhanath Swami on Fox

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Radha Priya dd, Austin, TX, USA: Are you kind?

Well the first days are the hardest days, Don’t you worry any more, ‘Cause when life looks like easy Street, there is danger at your door. Think this through with me, let me know your mind. Woh – oh, what I want to know, is are you kind? ~Uncle John’s Band, the Grateful Dead As [...]

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Sunday Feast Live!

Live Video streaming by Ustream

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: S

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 41

www.sdgonline.org. SDGonline Daily updates

3:44 A.M.

From Namamrta (The Nectar of the Holy Name) by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

Chanting Hare Krishna is the easiest means of self realization:

“Krishna says that out of many thousands of people, one may try to make perfection of this life, and out of many millions of such persons on the path of perfection, only one may understand Krishna. So understanding Krishna is not very easy. But it is also easiest. It is not easy, but at the same time it is the easiest. It is the easiest if you follow the prescribed forms.

“Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has introduced this chanting of Hare Krishna. In this age, this is the easiest method of self realization. Simply chant Hare Krishna. It can be done by everyone. My students are all Americans, and they're taking part in the chanting very nicely, chanting and dancing. That means that in any country, in any place, this can be performed. Therefore it is the easiest. You may not understand the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita. That is also not very difficult; but still, if you think that you cannot understand, you can still chant very easily: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna”—The Path of Perfection

I should not denigrate my own chanting of Hare Krishna. Prabhupada in this quote says that ISKCON has been open for only a little over a year, but simply by chanting the students are able to talk about the science of God and answer all questions. So it is the easiest method of transcendental meditation. I did not know anything about Krishna, and now I know a great deal. It comes from studying the books, but Prabhupada says that even if you can't study the books realization will come by chanting. Chanting every morning brings realizations. To actually enunciate the holy names is very easy compared to hatha yoga meditation, study of Vedanta, performance of austerities, and many other practices that were formerly done but are now not possible in this age. Expensive Vedic yajnas are also no longer possible or the following of the varnasrama-dharma. But anyone can chant the thirty-two syllables of the maha-mantra. Now whether you can chant in the topmost stage that is a different thing, and that is what I lament on a daily basis. But i should not forget the immense benefit and the ease of chanting in the beginning stage and how much one has achieved just by chanting. It is an immense benefit, and it can be done without difficulty.

This morning I woke at twelve o’clock but then went back to sleep and woke at two. So I'm a little behind on my rounds and have not done twelve yet. I get anxious when I don't do my quota more quickly, but there is no need for that anxiety. There will be time in the day. The chanting I did was without serious impediment. I sailed through the names like a sailboat in not-rough waters. I uttered the names in a clear flow, keeping my mind on the syllables of the holy names.

You hear what Prabhupada
has said about harinama
in Namamrta and add some
understanding and experience of
your own. Chanting for
forty years, you should have
something to say. He says
it is not easy, but it is
easy. This is not double
talk. He means it is
rarely achieved by persons
in this world, but if one
follows the prescription
the difficult becomes easy.
You only have to take up
Caitanya Mahaprabhu's path:
kirtaniyah sada harih,
in a humble state of mind,
chant constantly.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Alone with Krishna

www.sdgonline.org. SDGonline Daily updates

Prabhupada Smaranam

Srila Prabhupada is in a room with incense sticks burning profusely. The smoke curls mood-enhancing in the dark room. I would guess it is in India and he is burning incense to keep the mosquitoes down, perhaps. Prabhupada was usually engaged in some outward activity, speaking, walking, singing, reading, chanting, eating, etc. But here he does not appear to be doing anything. He is absorbed within. We can only imagine his mental thoughts. He may be thinking of Radha and Krishna in the spiritual world. He may be meditating on his spiritual master and listening for communication with him. After all, he wrote that his spiritual master was always with him and was watching his activities. "I think that His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is always seeing my activities and guiding me within my heart by his words." (Concluding words, Caitanya-caritamrta). He may be thinking specifically of the management of his movement and a particular problem in a temple somewhere in the world. He may be in a general reverie, communing with the Supersoul in his heart. He may be calmly resting and enjoying the bliss of Krishna consciousness. It is also said that no one knows the mind of the pure devotee. His ways are mysterious and not perceivable to the common man, or even to his disciples.

We can be sure, however, that he is absorbed in some kind of Krishna conscious state, as he sits amidst the fumes of incense in a solitary room.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Prayers and Poem from Prose Book

www.sdgonline.org. SDGonline Daily updates

1.
I write a prayer to Krishna to praise
Him, to thank Him, to ask
His forgiveness. I praise Him for
His acts of cosmic creation and
maintenance and for His lifting
Govardhana Hill. I thank Him for
the gift of human life and the
freedom of choice that goes
with it. I thank Him for
the gurus within and without.
I thank Him for His acts
of forgiveness of my grievous
offenses. He has given me
the chance to reinstate
myself.

2.
Here's the poem from Under Dark Stars:
“Don't be tired, it's been hard
before but the rhythm is on,
continue in the Big Store, the
Clock outside on
the 15th floor and Harold Lloyd is
hanging on hand three for dear life.

"He wants to go to heaven, people seem
more intent on keeping the pipes in the organs
the blood, etc. Priests pray for their souls, saying
officially, ‘This is more important.’

“Where does the soul go after death?
To the daffodils of God or to the
springs of Spring.
I write, ‘I wish, I wish’
the prayers recite in unison
and there's one nodding
to himself
and doesn't even know what heaven is.”

3.
Harold Lloyd was an adroit
silent movie comedian. They
didn't even have stuntmen
in those days. It's a thrill
watching him hanging on to
the clock hand poised
at three o'clock.

It has no greater
significance but we laugh and
release our sanatorium anxieties.

"He wants to go to heaven," by
that we mean the eternal
spiritual world. They don't know
the destination of the soul
because the test scores aren't
released until death and
then your karma takes place.
You know you're in a new
body suffering and the present
body you forget. It may not be poetry
but it's fact
according to sastra.

4.
Saint Teresa of Avila
really prayed, they say.
I wished I could pray
like that. Walked
the Pyrenees and made
a prayer explosion in
my life. It was a
period of a couple of
months. "Do you
still pray? He asked me a year
later. "No," I said, "it was a
temporary thing." I couldn't
keep it up. I had even thought
I'd live in a house and just
pray there, but I read Prabhupada's
book where he said in this age
we don't retire
to cottages but
preach in the cities. Now I'm
in a healing house where I
pray by writing. The poems
are also getting down on
your knees with folded
hands and talking to God
in vers libre. I praise,
I thank, I ask forgiveness
and in the early morning I
chant sixteen rounds. None
of it is very exalted, but
I try to be sincere.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Confidential Letters

www.sdgonline.org. SDGonline Daily updates

Healing House

Rupa Swami read the letter from Bob's English teacher, Mr. Murphy.

Dear Swami Rupa,

I thoroughly enjoyed your book, Photo Preaching. You are an accomplished writer, and you have expertly weaved your story of the undercover agent and his commentaries on the photography. In one sense it is a book for insiders in the Krishna movement, but it has enough worldliness and creativity to interest any reader.

I am writing to you because the book touched off something deep inside me, and I'm writing to you for your help. Let me tell you something about myself. I attended Catholic parochial school for the first eight grades. I believed in Christ and the saints and practiced piety. I received the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation. But my father chose to send me to public high school, and as soon as I got there my faith began to crack. Very few of the kids were practicing Catholics, and there was nothing to enforce my religion. Around this time my mother died of cancer and that was a great blow to me. She was the religious force in our family, and my father stopped our attendance at church. I lost faith in the God who would take away my mother. When I entered college, all the underpinnings of my Catholic beliefs were dismantled. It was a city college and our professors were outwardly atheists. I became an atheist, and to this day I am an agnostic and don't practice any religion.

You and your book are so strongly religious it stirred up my training in theism. I wonder if you have written any ecumenical book in which you describe the Christian saints and the path of Christianity. I can get direct books on Christianity, but I like your style and something prompted me to ask you if you have written anything in the ecumenical spirit.

I appreciate your interest in my student Bob Shields. He is a very good boy and it is unfortunate that he got involved in smoking drugs. I don't think he gets much encouragement at home to pursue his studies and go to college. Your interest in his schoolwork and writing has been a great help. I hope I have not intruded upon you.

Yours sincerely,
Martin Murphy

Swami Rupa immediately wrote back:

Dear Martin Murphy,

I am touched by your sincere inquiry. Like you I was born into a Catholic family and received the sacraments. I did not attend a Catholic school and my religious upbringing was nominal. My freshmen college instructors at Brooklyn College were Marxists and Darwinians, and they swept away my Catholic beliefs. So we have a lot in common. But I became interested in Eastern religions, and when I was twenty-six years old I met a seventy-year old Indian guru in New York City and surrendered to him as his disciple. Some forty-four years later I am still faithfully following the teachings of Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-gita. Along the way, however, I did have a "prayer revival" in which I discovered and became fascinated by the writings of Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Therese of Lisieux and Saint John of the Cross. I also read Brother Lawrence of the Incarnation and the anonymous book by the Russian monk, The Way of the Pilgrim. I continued reading books in our Krishna conscious canon and practiced my chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. But I came to a crossroads where I found myself deciding whether to remain an active preacher or live in seclusion and practice prayer. At this tumultuous time of my life, I wrote a book, Entering the Life of Prayer, which mentions my encounter with the Carmelite saints. I would consider this an ecumenical book, and I am sending you a copy. I hope it revives your own prayer life and faith in the Christian prayer. Because my prayer book is not written systematically I later wrote a more organized book, Vandanam (which means "worship" in Sanskrit), and I am sending you that book as well. My interest in the Christian saints did not last, but Entering the Life of Prayer is a high-water mark of a Krishna conscious monk's attraction to Christian prayer. I hope it is of some assistance to you.

Let us continue guiding Bob.

Yours sincerely,
Rupa Swami

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Prema-Rupa dd, USA: Beads for Sri Mayapur Dham Deities needed!

Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I made my first visit to Sri Mayapur Dham in 2009 during Radhastami. Mayapur is the headquarters for our ISKCON Society and is home to the most beautiful Deities in the world- Sri-Sri Radha-Madhava and the Astasakhi's, Sri Panchatattva, and Sri Narasimhadeva. Among my many adventures and life changing experiences in the Dham, a resident devotee gave me the wonderful opportunity of giving me a tour of the pujari rooms before I left Mayapur to continue my pilgrimage in India. While I ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the up close and personal view of the Deities outfits and the Deity jewelry- totally amazed by the love and patience it takes to make and organize all of Krishna's things, the devotee told me that its hard to find good beads for jewelry-making in India and because beads are so heavy, many people wont bring much from their country. I asked her what happens with the old jewelry and she replied that its either sold as mahaprasad or just broken down and reused in another set of jewelry. Over the years, the Deities in Mayapur has become very close to me, I felt sad that they struggled to have nice beads for making jewelry.

Feeling a little bold, I asked if there was any service I could do from abroad. She immediately replied, "please, bring back some beads, anything that you can bring would be so helpful. Whenever devotees bring jewelry to Jananivas Prabhu, our head pujari, he is so appreciative and moved when devotees offer this personal service." I agreed that I would do my best and with that I left the Dham to catch my train to the next holy place in India.

Since then, I have been meditating on how to best execute that service. Here is where your assistance is needed. I want to bring lots of beads to Mayapur Dham, my dream is to bring several luggage's packed full of beads- I'll take care of the extra baggage costs. I need devotees to make donations so that we can achieve this goal. I know many of you have Mayapur Dham and Sri-Sri Radha-Madhava close to your hearts. For example, if you donate just $30 you can buy about 1,000 beads- which brings us closer to the thousands of beads needed for Their Lordships- but any amount, no matter how much or how little will be accepted. Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to present Jananivas Prabhu with so much jewelry-making beads and then show him the long list of donors that made it all possible?!

The deadline for this rare service opportunity ends October 1st so please take advantage of this opportunity. I am ONLY bringing beads and items for the Deities in Mayapur, meaning that I will not carry items for godsiblings, family, BFF's etc.

One way you can donate is by going to this site and type in my email address pjamunar@hotmail.com :

http://www.firemountaingems.com/listlookup.asp

all the beads they need are listed there, you can pick out what you want to donate to and it gets sent to me to take to Mayapur.

If you are interested or have any questions please email me and I will do my best to serve you.

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you very much for your time.
Always your servant,
*prema-rupa devi dasi
pjamunar@hotmail.com


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Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Just One Glance

Several nights ago, I came for a quiet Sayana Arati, and the only other person was Bibhatsu Prabhu, an elderly man a world away from mine. But over the years we have formed a kind of quiet companionship because we both come so often for the last arati.

The other night, though, Bibhatsu looked especially frail with his arm crutches and a new addition, a tube that wrapped across his face to assist with his breathing. After the arati we settled outside on the verandah to honor our mahaprasad together. We haven't talked much over the years, but right then I felt this urgency to know more about Bibhatsu Prabhu.

"So," I asked, "did you ever meet Srila Prabhupad?"

"I was in his presence," he replied brightly.

"Oh really?"

"Yes." He paused a moment to recollect. "Prabhupad came through New York in 1976 for the Rathayatra, and I lived about a block away from the 55th Street temple. So I came to the temple, and we were all waiting to greet Prabhupad. I was in the very back of the packed crowd, at the back of the room. So when Prabhupad came, the kirtan got louder and everyone was crowding around him so much that I couldn't see him.


"But he was there," Bibhatsu emphasized. "Then he went up to his room. So I was in Prabhupad's presence, but I never got to see him." He said it with absolutely no regret, and continued to eat his maha with gusto.

"You... you were in his presence... but you never got to see him?" I wrapped my arms around my legs and looked off into the distance. Tears stung my eyes.

Oh, what fate! What would I have given to have even been in that room like Bibhatsu, to have even been in Prabhupad's presence. Maybe I would have elbowed my way to the front of the crowd, and maybe caught a glimpse of Prabhupad before he disappeared up the stairs. And maybe he would have looked back one last time, and we could have exchanged a glance, just one glance.

With that, I glanced over my shoulder into the templeroom. And for a moment I understood why there had been no regret in Bibhatsu's voice, for there sat Srila Prabhupad upon his vyasasan in a pool of soft light.


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Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Loss

Three and a half years ago, I bought a laptop and named it Hanuman. It revolutionized my experience of life - Seed of Devotion took off, I edited books, edited all my photography, stored all my dance music and experimented with video-editing. My laptop literally circled the world with me. Next to my pen-and-paper journals, Hanuman held the most treasured content of my life.

Then, several days ago, I came home to find my laptop gone from the kitchen table.

"Jivi," I asked my roommate, a little unnerved. "Where's my laptop?"

She came out from her room, a perplexed look on her face.

"And," I said, "where's your grandmother's quilt?" I gestured to the sofa - the pillows had been thrown to the floor; the handmade quilt was gone.

"The door was ajar when I came home," Jivi said quietly. She picked up her cell phone and called the police.

I began to pace. As my loss hit me full force, I dissolved into tears. "Why? The machine was old and beat-up, worth nothing. But... but... all my writings... my photography... unfinished videos... all my editing for Jadurani's memoirs... it's all gone! Take my camera, take my cash, take my jewellry, take it all! Why this?" Jivi held me while I cried. "It's all gone."

It was an act of a desperate drug addict - Jivi later found that her prescription medicine had also been stolen. The police came and took fingerprints and asked questions, but I knew: I would never see Hanuman again.

The thief did not steal my laptop from my bag or from a bookstore table. The thief broke into my own locked home. All week long, I have tried to feel angry, but all I feel is a deep, deep sadness, like grieving the loss of a loved one.

And I realize that this whole experience is like death. Death does not ask to come and does not annouce when he will steal what I hold most dear.

Death just comes.

I understand that this post is grave. But I feel it is my duty to share my sense of urgency to not take one moment in this life for granted, as many of us have realized with the sudden, tragic loss of Aindra Prabhu.

One day, death will come for each and every one of us, and we must ask ourselves every morning: "Am I ready?"

"When death, like a gypsy,
Comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek Your face."
- The Valley Song
by Jars of Clay

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Maddy Jean-claude Durr, New Govardhana, AU: Another Journey Across to Poland: [P18] Woodstock 2010. Day 3

Sunday 1st, August 2010.

We were still on the field after the VOP concert, from the night before. The concert had been delayed until late, starting just before midnight. Radheya and I decided to go down the main street of Woodstock to find some genie pants, as a souvenir. It was a little late (not for Woodstock though) so the stores were closed. We quickly rushed back with no fruitful results. There were supposed to be buses for the devotees, scheduled after the concert, but none of them seemed to arrive. We waited and waited. Eventually two vans came instead and we managed to hop in the second one.

We piled in the back of the van. Vanamali was outside so we had him jump in on top of us. The boys pestered me into leading some Nrsimha prayers. Voices bellowed from the big people pile in the back. There was a respectable, high section of vocals from the matajis in the front section also. The kirtana had us content until we reached the Red school, dropping off half of the devotees there.

We arrived back at the Green school at 2:30am. We found the two Swamis (Indradyumna Swami and BB Govinda Maharaja) and all the VIPs, having a celebratory session in the cafeteria. I didn't want to disturb them but I wanted to tell HH Indradyumna Swami about the bus drivers and their negligence. I slipped behind Indradyumna Swami. "Maharaja" I said, "there were no buses to pick up the devotees. We only just made it back now." He was a little disappointed and he contemplated it for a moment before the crazy scene of laughter and fun took its weight. Radheya was partitioned by BB Govinda Maharaja, to sit, take some ginger tea and eat some cheese on bread. I began to ease away, resolving some false humility so I wouldn't be caught in the same situation. BB Govinda's watchful eyes caught me and I was obliged to sit down also, which was my secret desire. It was Mangala Arati time (regular temple standard and not tour standard) by the time we had finished our gathering, so all waddled off to bed.

I had some dreams involving different devotees. I was with HH Indradyumna Swami somewhere and he was having some spiritual conversation with me. All of a sudden, I was on a walk with BB Govinda Maharaja. We passed HH Radhanataha Swami, as if he was a special guest in the fantasy, and continued walking. BB Govinda Maharaja was talking about harinam and it was inspiring me. I waved goodbye to him and joined a group of fresh youths. We started chanting an ecstatic harinam down the street. There was an amazing sun shower The roads were flooded but we were relatively dry. Soon we were running, sliding on our knees and chanting at the top of our lungs. The nectar of tour was so magic that it was even saving me in my dark, tama guna dream world.

I woke up in the middle of the morning (because the night was already gone) to go to the bathroom. I cleared out my airways (the upper ones), which were full of the black dust of Woodstock. I went back to my bed but couldn't catch anymore sleep. I needed to rest a little more if I was going to expand my leftover energy in the final day of Woodstock so I tried to rest up. I started to sing Madhava's tune in my mind and soon enough the Maha Mantra lulled me back to sleep. Indeed the tune was in my dreams as well.

I woke up again and made my way to the cafeteria. Dhira Mata was in no way expecting me to make the breakfast sessions anymore so I was coming a little later. Radheya and I were sitting around, trying to arrange him a lift to the site so he could perform the Gita drama. Finally he left, almost at the same time as us, which was too late for him to make the start of the drama.

We served the lunch Prasadam to the VIPs. Gaura Hari and Sri Prahlada arrived afterwards. It was Gaura Hari's birthday. We sat with him and helped him honour his 'gifts'. On tour, if you have a birthday, because we are in the crazy land of Poland, you cannot expect anyone to buy you any substantial consumer goods; instead the devotees all buy a load of yummy food and the birthday candidate is loaded up to the cart full with treats. We sat casually, eating away and chatting.

Kapilasva Prabhu was still with us, talking with the boys. We were all laughing away, as Sri Prahlada was telling us a story. I looked away, just as Sri Prahlada was lifting a spoon up to his mouth. There was a joined cry from Kapilasva Prabhu and Gaura Hari. What had happened? A stray wasp was flying around and had landed on Sri Prahlada's spoon, just as it was entering his mouth. Indeed Sri Prahlada had put the wasp into his mouth. Everything came out again and the wasp flew away in a panic. "It got me" said Sri.

Sri Prahlada now had a wasp sting on his tongue and it was swelling fast. We all quickly contemplated what to do. HH Indradyumna Swami's usual advice came to mind. Every year, at Woodstock istha goshti, Maharaja says "if you get stung by a wasp, put a lemon on it and it will neutralize the poison." Gaura Hari was the first to call, "Someone grab a lemon!" I was off my feet and searching for a lemon. Visnu Puri, our harinam head, was the first to supply. He ran off to his wife, on the other side of the Krsna's Village of Peace. As I arrived, so did half a dozen other devotees, all with pieces of lemon. Sri Prahlada was saved from the worst of it, Gaura Hari even taking out a piece of the stinger with tweezers and the tongue stopped swelling.

Gaura and I made our way to Madhava's kirtana. We decided, while it was empty, to do another bucket run. We threw water down until everything was sufficiently stabilized. Maharaja had not asked me to go and dance today but I remembered his previous statements. He was resting at this time so I didn't want to disturb him; instead, I went around saying "Gurudeva wants us in Madhava's kirtana" to all the devotees. When Maharaja manifested I informed him what I had done. He seemed to be rather pleased with it. I walked with him as he sent the remaining devotees into the kirtana.

We both looked into the tent, sufficiently satisfied with the turn out. I had one last look behind me, to see if I could spot any stray devotees. Then I saw, over near the Rathayatra cart, another kirtana group?! In Krsna's Village of Peace, it is occasionally the fashion to hold spontaneous kirtana in the middle of the field. I pointed out the group to Indradyumna Swami, knowing what he would say. "Send them into Madhava's kirtana" he commented. I waited until he accompanied me, knowing that there would be a language barrier and they wouldn't take me serious. They were ecstatic to see Maharaja join their kirtana and then ecstatic in a different way as he sent them off to Madhava's kirtana. They obeyed almost instantly and filled the tent with their spontaneous attraction for the holy name.

I merged myself into the wall of bodies in the kirtana tent. I was distracted a little, by Gaura Hari and Sri Prahlada. They were onstage and we were making jokes in sign language. I communicated, asking Sri Prahlada if his tongue was ok and we made a few in-house jokes from our antics on Australia tour. This went on until the kirtana finally was ending. Soon they were going to move the kirtana to our main stage, for the final kirtana of Woodstock.

I ran down to the Woodstock shops with Radheya. Some other devotees were down there, picking up their Woodstock souvenirs. We grabbed our merchandise and quickly ran back to Krsna's Village of Peace, remembering Maharaja's prophetic words of advice not to leave our village. Once I returned, I bumped into Vanamali. He pulled me over into a dark spot, to sign Gaura Hari's birthday shirt. We found a tour shirt and we loaded it up with messages and signatures. I slapped my love on his sleeve and kept running, hoping to make the final kirtana.

I came into the tent and the kirtana finally set up. It started off slow. I was taking a few action shots at first, knowing that these were the last photos for Woodstock 2010. I snapped away for a while but then the kirtana picked up its pace. I ran off to the site crew shed, dropped off my bag and camera, and then came running back. We danced outrageously in the dirt. Dust storms came up from our feet and it was sometimes hard to breath in the heat of it. Chains of body were seen running madly around the scene and everyone had a beaming smile on their faces. Everyone was perspiring and there was a full sense of jubilation. We started to spin, run, jump and dance like mad people. Eventually I even tripped, spraining my pinkie toe, but that didn't stop me. Finally, after a couple hours, the kirtana came to a long, drawn out ending.

There was an announcement that HH Indradyumna Swami was going to say some closing words. Indradyumna Swami stepped up from the back of the stage. He gave a speech, explaining what Krsna's Village of Peace was all about. He was preaching to the die hards who were still left in our kirtana, which also doubled as a reminder to the devotees why we were doing this massive yajna every year. He thanked everyone for coming and thanked the devotees for working so tirelessly. He finished with one of his typical lines; "there's only one good thing about saying goodbye. And that is that in the future we will say hello again," and with that Krsna's Village of Peace at Woodstock 2010 ended.

 

[http://maddmonk.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/woodstock-2010-day-3]


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Australian News: Iskcon Perth: Ki Jay!

Iskcon Perth has been in operation since 1988 with a few devotees travelling out west to help spread the Sankirtan movement. Originally based in the Bayswater area, the temple proved a bit too small for the growing populous of devotees and we have relocated to a bigger premises in the shire of Kalamunda.

The Iskcon Perth website will provide more information on the philosophy of chanting Hare Krsna, the practices of devotees, Govindas Restaurant, how you can be involved and our contact information.

Please cick on the link here and browse through our archives, pictures, and keep posted on upcoming events and festivals!

Read more at the ISKCON Perth web site

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Gaura Nitai das, Mayapura, IN: The carnival is not cancelled




In sanskrit there is a word giving a description of the spiritual world, nitya-utsava. There are unlimited dynamic descriptions of the spiritual realm in the vedic literatures but I particularly like this one. Nitya-utsava means that there is an eternal (nitya) festival (utsava) in the spiritual world. This festival has also entered the heart of one who has internally entered the spiritual world. Our path to that place is to simply engage in sankirtan. Sankirtan means to hear the Hare Krishna mantra and respond in kind. In this technological age we can go to an appropriate website download kirtan files and incessantly listen to them, maybe even loudly respond.

Try it out!


Here are some sites where you can find the music (kirtan) that is guaranteed to fill your soul with bliss. The more you listen to these transcendental mantras filled with devotion (bhakti) the more the modes of nature will have less of a debilitating effect on your consciousness.

Download them and listen to them throughout the day. You can even listen to them loud! Go ahead... I dare you! Download some kirtan, listen to it with loud volume, and sing along. You will be happy that you did.

Aindra in Mayapur 2009





There are so many more sites, but this should get you started or help you continue.

Let the carnival go on!


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Gauranga Kishore das,USA: The Importance of Worshipping the Supersoul in Heart of All living Entities



According to the Srimad Bhagavatam there are three ways in which the one original Absolute Truth is known. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11 states, "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan."

The one Absolute Truth is not only known in three different ways but this one Absolute Truth is also worshipped in three different ways.

In the beginning of the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita Krishna speaks about worship of Brahman, or the all pervading impersonal Absolute Truth. He says that one can worship Brahman "by controlling the senses and being equally disposed to everyone."

A spritual tradition based on worship of the impersonal absolute is primarily focused on performing rigorous austerities as the main discipline, as well as cultivating an attitude of equality towards all living beings.

Worship of the Supersoul is specifically elucidated upon in the Bhagavatam and consists of properly relating to other living beings, with compassion and respect. This is discussed in a number of places, here are a few references on the topic.

Lord Rsabhadeva instructs His sons, "My dear sons, you should not envy any living entity — be he moving or nonmoving. Knowing that I am situated in them, you should offer respect to all of them at every moment. In this way, you offer respect to Me."

In the section of Srimad Bhagavatam describing the churning of the milk ocean where Lord Shiva drinks the poison that is threatening the universe.

Sukadeva Goswami says "It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone's heart." The word used to the Lord in this verse is purusasya akhila atmani or the supreme person who is the soul of all or simple the Supersoul.

In the third canto Lord Kapiladev describes this more directly in a series of verses (3.29.21-27).

I am present in every living entity as the Supersoul. If someone neglects or disregards that Supersoul everywhere and engages himself in the worship of the Deity in the temple, that is simply imitation.
One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramātmā, is situated in every living entity's heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into ashes.
One who offers Me respect but is envious of the bodies of others and is therefore a separatist never attains peace of mind, because of his inimical behavior towards other living entities.
My dear Mother, even if he worships with proper rituals and paraphernalia, a person who is ignorant of My presence in all living entities never pleases Me by the worship of My Deities in the temple.
Performing his prescribed duties, one should worship the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead until one realizes My presence in his own heart and in the hearts of other living entities as well.
As the blazing fire of death, I cause great fear to whoever makes the least discrimination between himself and other living entities because of a differential outlook.
Therefore, through charitable gifts and attention, as well as through friendly behavior and by viewing all to be alike, one should propitiate Me, who abide in all creatures as their very Self.
This is very important and informative section of the Srimad Bhagavatam describes how if one does not properly worship the Supersoul in the heart of all living entities direct worship of the Lord in His deity form is consider to be completely worthless.

And the method described for worshipping the Supersoul in this section by Lord Kapiladev is astoundingly simple as offering one's attention to another living entity. Simply by offering one's attention to another living entity we can worship the Supersoul! And along with attention we can offer friendly behavior, that is a revolutionary statement to many religious fanatics who in the name of worshiping God engage in various forms of cruelty ranging from harsh judgement and criticism to physical violence.

This conception of religion validates our natural intuition that people who do harm to others in the name of religion and not truly religious, but rather their behavior is atheistic or against God because they disrespect the form of the Lord that resides in the heart of all living entities.

These three levels are summarized nicely in the Bhagavad-gita 18.54 where it is described that in order to properly perform devotional service one must first come to the platform of Brahman and Paramatma realization.

"One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me."

Most of the Gaudiya Vaisnava literature does not deal with these lower stages of spiritual realization as they are discussed in many books and they have been revealed in many different religious traditions. The unique revelation of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the intimate pastimes of Krishna in Vrindavan and especially Krishna's conjugal pastimes with Srimati Radharani and her confidential associates.

But the importance of properly relating to other living entities is given to us by Him in the third verse of His Siksastaka prayers wherein we are instructed to "be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, ready to offer all respects to others expecting none in return."

Understanding what this verse is asking of us is crucial because this is considered by our acaryas to be the most important verse for those aspiring to advance on path of bhakti yoga, because without developing these qualifications any external show of devotional service, any performance of the harinam sankirtan yajna is simply a waste of time or as Lord Kapiladeva says it is like pouring ghee on ashes.

The Srimad Bhagavatam is really an explanation of what it means to worship the Lord in that pure state of consciousness, and that is obviously a very deep topic but on the most basic simple level if we are not kind to others we are disrespecting Krishna or God in his form of the Supersoul residing in their heart.

All direct forms of worshipping the personality of Godhead, all direct forms of devotional service, will not bear fruit if we are not properly worshipping the Supersoul in the heart of all living entities.

Or in the most simple language possible, we cannot worship God if we are not kind to other living entities.

Who would've thought?
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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.23.1 - Although a devotee is nitya-siddha, he appears as one of the conditioned souls to teach us Krishna consciousness.

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: The disagreement between Jagannatha and Saksi Gopal and how such things happen

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: Kirtan on Sunday morning

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Australian News: Arcana, the Journal of the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry, Vol Four, 2010.

By Antony Brennan.

With beautiful pictures of deities, pujaris, paraphernalia, and Krishna’s temples from all over the world the latest edition of Arcana, the Journal of the Deity Worship Ministry is now available. Arcana is filled to the brim with articles, profiles, instructions, recipes, poetry, interviews, and stories from the community of assembled devotees. It’s hard to believe all this can all fit in one publication.

Printed in full, glossy colour, this issue of the Arcana Journal contains two posters in a double sided, pull-out centrefold. There are also two frame-able deity pictures. The Journal is a rich resource for anyone interested in deity worship. Lush graphics and pictures adorn the articles filling the pages from beginning to end.

Get your copy and find out about the 'big secret' of the summer in The Lord’s Summer Pastimes in Mayapur. Brush up on your knowledge and practice of Acamana in Sipping Water for Purification. Read about The Pancatattva in Hawaii, and The Groves of Belfast, There is a pujari profile of HG Caturatma Dasa, an article about worshipping the Salagrama Sila and even more.

Is deity worship the same as idol worship? Read what Srila Prabhupada has to say. Read and Think Across Religious Boundaries with Krsna Ksetra Dasa, and come to grips with a misunderstood form of worship with Satyaraja Dasa and Vrinda Devi Dasi.

In Train up pujaris read about the work of the Mayapur Academy in creating a brahminical vision and a spiritual future. There is a profile on Bhaktivedanta Manor in England, and you can follow along with the relocation of Sri Sri Radha Parisisvara into their new temple in Paris, France.

The purpose of Arcana Journal is to be a forum for devotees engaged in deity worship and to describe the challenges and glories of deity worship and related matters. Arcana Journal seeks to provide inspiration for maintaining and expanding the proper worship of deities in ISKCON, based on the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. Arcana promotes awareness of the importance of deity worship as an integral feature of devotional service and of the preaching mission of the Krishna consciousness movement.

Get Arcana Journal for yourself, for your temple pujari, or for anyone you know who worships the deity of the Lord.

To get your copy contact NKD@Pamho.net or click here to visit www.brihadmrdanga.com and fill out the request page.

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Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: The First Church of Robotics

Click here to read this challenging op-ed piece from Jarod Lanier at the New York Times

WHEN we think of computers as inert, passive tools instead of people, we are rewarded with a clearer, less ideological view of what is going on — with the machines and with ourselves. So, why, aside from the theatrical appeal to consumers and reporters, must engineering results so often be presented in Frankensteinian light?

The answer is simply that computer scientists are human, and are as terrified by the human condition as anyone else. We, the technical elite, seek some way of thinking that gives us an answer to death, for instance. This helps explain the allure of a place like the Singularity University. The influential Silicon Valley institution preaches a story that goes like this: one day in the not-so-distant future, the Internet will suddenly coalesce into a super-intelligent A.I., infinitely smarter than any of us individually and all of us combined; it will become alive in the blink of an eye, and take over the world before humans even realize what's happening

Some think the newly sentient Internet would then choose to kill us; others think it would be generous and digitize us the way Google is digitizing old books, so that we can live forever as algorithms inside the global brain. Yes, this sounds like many different science fiction movies. Yes, it sounds nutty when stated so bluntly. But these are ideas with tremendous currency in Silicon Valley; these are guiding principles, not just amusements, for many of the most influential technologists.

It should go without saying that we can't count on the appearance of a soul-detecting sensor that will verify that a person's consciousness has been virtualized and immortalized. There is certainly no such sensor with us today to confirm metaphysical ideas about people, or even to recognize the contents of the human brain. All thoughts about consciousness, souls and the like are bound up equally in faith, which suggests something remarkable: What we are seeing is a new religion, expressed through an engineering culture.

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Gouranga TV: Drama – The Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadev

Drama – The Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadev

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