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"Planet ISKCON" - 51 new articles
Kurma dasa, AU: Who Cut the Cheese?
New York Times November 6, 2010 "... [I]n a series of confidential agreements approved by agriculture secretaries in both the Bush and Obama administrations, Dairy Management has worked with restaurants to expand their menus with cheese-laden products." Okay, just a story of heavy-handed excess? No, it's way darker than it seems...(read the article below the movie clip).
ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Upcoming Visitors
H.H. Sivarama SwamiBhakti-devi dasi: Have you ever seen Krsna? ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Surprise!!!
H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Srimad Bhagavatam Canto Three Chapter Twenty Five Text TwelveTHE FOLLOWING IS A CLASS GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI ON SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM THIRD CANTO CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE TEXT TWELVE, THE GLORIES OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE Transcription : Ranga Radhika Dasi Editing : Ramananda Raya Dasa Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Maitreya uvaca iti sva-matur niravadyam ipsitam [...] ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Svarupa Sakti MatajiSrimad Bhagavatam 11.28.34-35 - Develop relationship with Krsna by hearing about Him. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
Japa Group: Japa Workshop #2 of 6In this second episode of the Japa Workshop series, different participants share new realizations about their relationship with the Holy Name. Also, Mahatma dasa and Badahari dasa continue with processes and principles to reinforce and inspire further advancement in our japa practice. Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Forgive the sinner -- how many times?Christ said to forgive the sinner “seven times seventy” times, but Srila Prabhupada has said, “Aren’t you ashamed to go back and say, ‘Forgive me,’ over and over? This is simply taking advantage of the Lord’s mercy. It’s showbottle, that’s all. You sin once, I forgive. You sin twice, I forgive. You sin three times, I don’t forgive. Punishment must be there for rectification, otherwise rascals will keep on sinning.” >From Vrindaban Days by Hayagriva Dasa ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: January 1st & 2nd, 2011January 1st, 2011: Srila Prabhupada Festival Mangal Arati, Jan 1st: First Darshan of 2011 Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 January 3: "I am the only one in India who is openly criticizing, not only demigod worship and impersonalism, but everything that falls short of complete surrender to Krishna." Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 January 3: "This we must declare boldly to the whole world. My Guru Maharaja never compromised in His preaching, nor shall I - nor should any of my students." Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 January 3: "So with full faith in Krishna and Spiritual Master, push on this work with full force. We have got a great mission to fulfill, and these books and magazines are the torchbearers of Truth which can save the world." Srila Prabhupada's Letters1973 January 3: "Let any man see our devotees working so hard for Krishna, then let anyone say that they are not better than many millions of so-called yogis and transcendentalists, that is my challenge." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1973 January 3 : "Just go on preaching His message. Remain always without anxiety for destination and comfortable situations, always relying only on the mercy of Krishna for your plan." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1974 January 3 : "You are trying your best especially even though the weather is cold you are emphasizing Sankirtana book distribution. So that is very important and that is why we are opening Centers." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1974 January 3 : "Keep strong by following the spiritual practices as I have taught them and do not unnecessarily add anything; otherwise, everything will automatically degrade." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1975 January 3 : "Swami has left our camp. He has his own plans. He has violated our rules and regulations and thus fallen down from the spiritual platform. Under these circumstances, please do not act under his advice." Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 January 2: "Forty years before when two of my eldest God-brothers came to London with this mission they simply devoted their time in lecturing in some renowned public place and inviting some leading politician to preside over the meeting." Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 January 2: "When I began my preaching work in New York I never followed this policy of lecturing amongst stereotyped politicians or society elites. If I had, I think I would have gone back to India without any success." Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 January 2: "By the grace of my Guru Maharaja and Krishna, this policy of Sankirtana, Prasadam and Srimad-Bhagavatam has become successful in the practical field. Please follow this transcendental policy with heart and soul." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 January 2 : "In the spiritual world the center is one. If you draw innumerable circles they will not overlap. Similarly, whoever is rendering service, there is never competition or maliciousness." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 January 2 : "Krishna Consciousness means practical living, not something utopian, idealistic or vague. We simply do the needful, whatever pleases Krishna most, that's all. That you will learn by studying our books." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1973 January 2 : "Krsna Consciousness movement rests upon the words of Krsna, so if people can read for themselves what Krsna is saying, then they shall understand. Otherwise it will be very difficult to convince them." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1973 January 2 : "So many big big lawyers, doctors, government ministers, professional men are there. So make many, many life members amongst this class of men, that will be your great contribution." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1974 January 2 : "When I was alone in India I introduced my books in so many libraries and schools. The American Library of Congress took 18 copies. If you try you will get also an order for 18 copies of all our books." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1974 January 2 : "An initiated disciple although he has respect for the Christian Bible, nevertheless must understand the Bhagavad-gita and must apply all study there and not spend time unnecessarily with other literatures." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1975 January 2 : "We should have a little common sense in all activities. Deity worship or lecturing in the colleges is just as important as book distribution. Not that we should do one thing at the sacrifice of another." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1971 January 1 : "If you keep to the standard of pure spiritual life as I have humbly instructed you there is no doubt that this Sankirtana Movement will overtake all the earth and all opposing parties will be cracked down to nothing." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 January 1 : "I wish that it be noted down in history that this Krishna Consciousness Movement was responsible for saving the world." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 January 1 : "Krishna will bless you a million times over for doing this work. I am so much grateful to you. By distributing my books profusely you are giving me great encouragement to translate." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 January 1: "Where will I go at the time of death if I am thinking of my spiritual master? You will go to Him. Whatever we are thinking about at the time of death - we shall attain to that nature without fail." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1974 January 1 : "I am asking you to take new heart and try to cooperate with each other. If we have to constantly move until we find the situation where there is no personal difficulty then we may never get down to our real work." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1974 January 1 : "You are my dear and beloved son and because you are carrying out my instructions exactly as I have taught you, Krsna will be very pleased with you." Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1975 January 1 : "You can make ISKCON FOOD RELIEF cards. But the money collected using this card must be sent to India where we are actually feeding people. We should not do anything which will create a bad impression or make us unpopular." ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Prabhupada Festival a Smashing Success!The annual Prabhupada festival took place during the evening of January 1st and it brought dance, drama and devotees to the temple as hundreds gathered to start the year off on the right foot. With wonderful kirtan, a special arati (offering) to Srila Prabhupada, and a comedic drama, it was a packed evening of festivities. The highlight of the evening was an initiation ceremony which everyone in attendance got a chance to be a part of! Spiritualists of the Hare Krishna tradition can take spiritual vows by fire and formally take guidance from a spiritual master. It is customary to also receive a spiritual name at this time as well. A warm congratulations goes to Hari Lila devi dasi (Becky) on her initiation! All in all, it was an amazing evening that got 2011 started on the right note! Click the collage below to expand the pictures! ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Oh, What a Way to Usher in 2011!!!Imagine gathering a bunch of your friends together, assembling giant drums and other instruments and attending a party with 35,000 people! That's exactly what took place as a huge mob of devotees gathered at the Hare Krishna temple on New Year's Eve and then headed to City Hall to join the tens of thousands of revelers, celebrating the new year. It was a raucous atmosphere as the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra filled the air! As expected, the crowd loved it and the kirtan went well into the night and we eventually "kirtan-ed" our way back to the temple by 2:30am where hot tea and french fries awaited us! Check out the pics below! Click this collage to expand! We also stumbled upon a video uploaded by a passerby: Caitanya Mangala, CA, USA: Kulimela Australia: Live Webcast from the Bhajan Kutir!The time for Kulimela Australia is finally here! The latest report from Nitai Durr, one of the main organizers: “The weather is perfect, no issues with floods, forecast is great and the schedule is JAM-PACKED with Entertainment, Activities, Sports, PRASADAM & KIRTAN!” Festival Dates: Monday, January 3rd thru Sunday January 9th 2011. If weather and internet connection permits, there will be daily LIVE webcasts from the Bhajan Kutir and evening entertainment throughout the course of the week long festival! CLICK HERE for a connection to the broadcast via Ustream. Kirtan is scheduled to start 9 am and go to 7 pm, local time in Brisbane, Australia. This converts, for example, to 6 pm through 4 am EST USA. In London this will be 11 pm to 9 am. To convert the time difference to your location, CLICK HERE. Stay tuned for more details and schedules. Thanks to Sitapati prabhu and crew for working to make this happen. Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: An Auspicious Start to the New Year with Invigorating Distribution and Prabhupada's mercyWe were fortunate to be able to start 2011 off on the right foot by distributing Srila Prabhupada's books during the morning of January 1st. The quick "numbers" are 131 books and over $800 in Laxmi with most popular titles totally sold out including English Bhagavad Gitas and Krishna books. But Prabhupada's mercy and how Krishna makes all necessary arrangments is the real story, so keep reading below... When we got there there was a bit of a hiccup to get permissions from the Hindu Temple but after giving a few Bhagavad Gitas this was sorted out. Vandita Mataji found the new temple trustee and made the arrangments. They were telling us to move the tables to not block the hallway and she was rather enthusiastically asking for more tables. Successful book distrubtion outings are always a group effort and enthusiastic youth like her are always an assett.
We did not have much manpower. I had arranged for my sister to help but she had to take over morning deity changing duties to Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar and was not feeling well...so we were short staffed. On top of that it was raining and we needed to unload the books and set the tables up. As soon as I entered the hall I spotted a Indian ISKCON devotee, namely Govinda das in front of Balaji deity. A few minutes later he passed me and asked what we were doing there. I told him about the planned book distribution and without hesitation or even so much as a request, he served along side in book distribution. Krishna arranged...manpower issue resolved. The second special story of the day came from a friend of ours, Geeta. She is a successful dental surgeon in Toronto. We sent her to the temple in the past and it was not her "cup of tea" and did not get the desired "customer service" experience in her initial visits. Anyhow, on a couple of occasions we have given her books. Initially the Higher Taste as a cookbook and recently a Bhagavad Gita. After giving Geeta the Gita, she inquired about our reasoning and after a bit of preaching, she told us she wanted to come out the next time to distribute with us. I did not take it seriously but when we saw her on New Year's Eve at another event for the kids, I mentioned our plans for the next day and she insisted on coming along. On New Year's morning we were too busy setting up and distributing and did not get a chance to call her....but there she was on the phone wanting to join us. As it turned out Vandita Mataji needed to drop her mom off back home and like a coordinated shift change Geeta showed up to assist. Her new ISKCON experience was in distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and after distributing about a dozen books and being attracted in this Krishna Conscious service she could not resist picking up books for herself. She took $40 of Laxmi out and asked me to help her pick out good reads....which of course they all are! So this is how Krishna provides and the magic of Prabhupada's mercy which he has so merciful allowed us to distribute on his behalf. At these Hindu temples I am always pleasantly suprised with the youth. They WANT the books and are genuinely interested to the point of sometimes pleading with their parents to get books. They WANT answers which are logical and based on scripture. It also surprises me how some parents find it difficult to whip out $10 to quench some of this thirst, perhaps the same $10 being easily spent at McDonald's or some other frivolous sense gratification. The youngsters might be following the ritualistic behaviour of their parents but in this day and age they need answers and logic to work through the maze of hodge podge Hinduism. Without this well presented and preserved Vedic knowledge the younger generation will simply think it is a lot of mumbo jumbo. So when this scenario plays out, then we need to be "pushy" to get Srila Prabhupada's books in their hands, even if this means joining the kids pleas to his/her parents. So this was a nice start to the new year and we can only thank Srila Prabhupada for his mercy and using us as his insignificant instruments to spread the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. your insignficant servants... dasanudas, Indresh & Kishori Akrura das, Gita Coaching: TO ENLIGHTEN PEOPLE... the human intelligence is meant for understanding the spiritual identity and the goal of life and act accordingly. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: INTERNAL AND EXTERNALJust like externally, behavior makes internal inclinations. H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, January 2nd, 2011The Year Of Love?
Mayapur Academy, Mayapur, IN: Student’s diary 3: Mandakini (Bhn.)Three weeks ago, I finished up my dressing assessment… and yes, I passed! I had been ill for most of the practice days but thought it better to have a go at the test then not at all. Kurma Caitanya Prabhu was very strict at grading my final dress; fair, but strict. He is tremendously serious when it comes to pleasing their Lordships and expects others to be the same. I agree fully in that attitude; however I might have been a little sour about it if I had not passed. Jananivas prabhu and Pankajanghri prabhu recently came in one morning and the class got to take darshan of them and their wisdom. They both took turns expressing how instrumental being a pujari is to Lord Krsna and the Iskcon movement. They both have such pure intentions for the devotees, and really urged devoting all of ones life in the service of the Lord. They make me smile every time I am in their presence. I also finished another segment: cooking! And guess what? I am even worse at cooking than I am at making turbans! I set two towels on fire (one pictured here), and burnt myself with scalding ghee. To tell you the whole truth; I don’t know how to cook. I barely know how to boil water – and this is NOT an exaggeration. I made my first pot of rice while the class looked on in amazement at my lack of cooking skills. Our teacher, Damodar Pandit Prabhu, was noticeably patient with us (especially me) and really helped to keep a light mood when things got stressful. My assessment time came too quickly and I still had no confidence in my abilities. I needed to make two subjees, rice, chutney, dahl, chapatis, salad, a sweet and a drink. The day before my test, my father and I cooked the whole meal at home so I could practice; it turned out delicious and I went in the next day confident that I could please the Lord and His devotees with my meal. Everyone who tried my dishes loved them and now I have a new hobby: making chapitis! I am surprisingly good at getting them to puff. The class has now started the new segment on Samskaras. Although only the prabhus get to do the fire sacrifices, us matajis can listen to theory classes. Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami came is and explained that Samskaras are basically impressions. As devotees, we all need to be constantly conscious of our actions and thoughts. This way, there is no room to develop non-transcendental impressions on ourselves or others we bring into the world. I wish I could witness fire sacrifices with the prabhus… maybe in another lifetime.
On another note, the Mayapur Academy is now making its own incense! Jananivas Prabhu personally showed the staff how to make it and some of my classmates and I got to partake. I don’t know if any of you have ever tried to roll incense, but it is harder than it seems. There is a black-like goo that goes on the stick first to make the fragrance powder stay on it. Trying to make the goo a uniformed thickness is like trying to shoot the eye of a fish while looking into a pot of water… ok not that hard, but similar I bet. Then the fragrance is carefully rolled on and the stick is set to dry. We really had a blast trying to figure it all out and bonded along the way! …Check out the photos! H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, January 1st, 2011A Start for 2011
H.H. Sivarama Swami: Akincana dasa asksVery often I hear the term “by Krishna’s arrangement”. Can this term be used in every aspect as it seems to be, for example it may be that it is said for a devotee arriving late for an appointment, and many other similar situations? But then is not everything we do by Krishna’s arrangement? H.H. Sivarama Swami: Kirtan for Book Distribution festival, Jan 2ndAnanda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: Momentaufnahme - Snapshots
MOMENTAUFNAHME. Trailer from Michael Stoeger on Vimeo. See full video here Japa Group: High Standard Of Service
I have noticed when I cook something to the Deities that when I engage my heart, my senses and become focused in what I want to present to the Lord as a service, it always has a perfect result. The preparation is delicious for everyone and maybe this is a sign that the Lord has appreciated my dedication to serve Him properly. The same way when we chant, our chanting must be focused and heart felt and expecting only to serve the Lord by calling out His names. May Krsna bless us all this year with accurate intelligence to serve Him with high standard and precious love. your servant, Aruna devi ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Lord Jagannatha's Come-Back...
Gouranga TV: Festiwal IndiiISKCON Melbourne, AU: 30 years of bliss and fairy tale!
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