The Stars and Us.

In a recent conversation, I heard about a person’s struggle with life, and having the ‘it never rains but it pours’ experience. “What did I do to deserve this?” he mused.

“Something”, I replied.

That was almost as painful for him to hear as his present situation. And he couldn’t accept it. “Are you telling me,” he ventured, “that I have caused as much pain to another that I am experiencing now?”

Yes, no one makes our bad karma that causes us pain. It may appear that others are doing it to us, or life itself is doing it and I’m just an innocent player. Such innocence is not true.

The stars, destiny, others – they all play a part in the unfolding drama of our lives, but we wrote the script. We brought it all down upon ourselves. Yep. That is a hard pill to swallow. It is not the fault in our stars, it is our fault. We own it.

We are conditioned to blame others. We like to play the victim. And externally it may be so – we are a victim. But not by chance, not by some arbitrary choice of God, not by some mean spirited universe or unfairness game.

We have to step back, take a deep breath, and say to ourselves: yes, how I lived then is how I live now. And how I live now determines my future. I make my own destiny, literally.

That’s a lot of power and control in our hands. We would be wise to consider it a reality and if so we can turn our life around in seconds. We can at once free ourselves from suffering, forgive those around us, let go, let God. We can say, yes, there is no one to blame but myself. Once we hold it, we can let it go.

Once we take the responsibility on ourselves, suddenly everything gets lighter. It’s not the world against me, out to get me. It’s just me being me! I can forgive myself, face the future, and change everything for the better.

Which begs the final question: Even if we live a great life and create a great karmic destiny, we still have to die. How can we stop death? That, my dear readers, is a question for you to contemplate. 
Ananda Vrindavanesvari Dasi

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32824

The renowned International Society for Krishna Consciousness(ISKCON) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding by revered spiritual leader A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with an elaborate black-tie gala in Washington DC late last month. The event brought together scores of religious, academic and political leaders from across the country to celebrate the life of Swami Prabhupada and the influential, global organization his work inspired.

Founded in 1966 in New York, ISKCON boasts more than 600 centers and millions of adherents worldwide who worship the Hindu deity Krishna, a central figure in the Hindu religion. Swami Prabhupada played a major role in introducing the western world to teachings of Krishna by translating major Hindu works, including the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, into English and spreading their message across the United States.

Over 300 guests attended the gala, which took place just blocks away from the White House. Highlighting the interfaith support ISKCON enjoys in the United States since its inception, the guest roster included Catholic and Protestant priests, Jewish rabbis and the new chaplain of Hindu life at Georgetown University, amongst other religious leaders.

Reflecting on the significance of the event, an attendee of the gala, Hrishikesh Hari, observed “At a moment in history influenced by deep internal and external division, the Gala left a deep and healing impression because it united people of all faiths.”

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ronakdesai/2016/10/27/iskcon-celebrates-50-years-since-its-founding/#2670dc315f49

Source:http://iskconnews.org/forbes-magazine-covers-iskcon50-gala-in-washington-dc,5892/

Divya Alter noticed there weren’t many places to sit down and enjoy a meal based on Ayurvedic principles in New York City. Enter Divya’s Kitchen.

Her new vegetarian restaurant, opening Wednesday in the East Village at 25 First Ave., is located in the same building as Alter’s Ayurvedic culinary school, Bhagavat Life, which she runs with her husband.

The menu items have been pulled from those classes, 100 of which will be published in April 2017 in Alter’s cookbook, “What to Eat for How You Feel.”

Divya’s Kitchen is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, with dishes that range from Italian to Indian to Mediterranean to Asian (breakfast and lunch are slated to follow in a few months). The connecting thread are items that taste good, and are good for you, Alter said.

“I care about people, I care about their health,” Alter said. “It’s not just a meal you enjoy. You feel good afterwards.”

What does it mean to be an Ayurvedic restaurant? The chef walked us through the core aspects of the menu.

 Read more: http://www.amny.com/eat-and-drink/divya-s-kitchen-ayurvedic-restaurant-opens-in-nyc-s-east-village-1.12505671

Source:http://iskconnews.org/divyas-kitchen-ayurvedic-restaurant-opens-in-nycs-east-village,5893/

I began my service with the Mail Order Department in September of 1969 and although two and a half years had gone by since that ad not much had changed nor was there much growth. The address had changed from 26 Second Avenue to 61 Second Avenue and two more books, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya and the abridged edition of Bhagavad-gita had become available.

The fledgling order dept. operated out of the “office” on East 10th Street where Brahmananda and previously Rayarama had worked. The very first morning I went there Gadadhara Das (Joel Chalson) was opening the few pieces of mail that had arrived with orders as well as requests for information. I was there to type Brahmananda’s letters but it was quickly decided that I would be taking over Gadadhara’s responsibilities which was fine with him since he didn’t like office work one bit.

A few months later, when Brahmananda and I relocated to the Boston center, the Mail Order Department came with us and became linked with ISKCON Press. By the end of 1970 the Movement had grown significantly. Part of the reason was what I call the “Trifecta of 1970.” Three major events took place toward the end of that year. The first is that the KRSNA Book was printed and began being distributed to the public. The second is that the London Radha Krishna Album was produced by George Harrison on Apple Label with some of the cuts making the pop charts in England and around Europe and the third was George Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord” being played constantly on the radio in the U.S. To his credit George played a major part in not only the album and of course his “My Sweet Lord” but he also donated $19,000 to Srila Prabhupada for the first printing of the KRSNA Book.

As a result of the “Trifecta” the mail started pouring in like crazy. Given the hours I was spending on the composing machine in Boston in 1970 I could hardly keep up with the mail arriving daily. I put together an efficient system for handling the BTG subscriptions and orders for books and I found myself answering a lot of letters from people who just wanted “more information” or had specific questions about Krishna consciousness. Whenever I answered a personal letter I used carbon paper and then stapled their letter to the copy of my response and filed it away alphabetically. I began to establish ongoing correspondences with many people throughout the world. In each and every book and magazine an invitation was given to write to the secretary of ISKCON for more information and I was that secretary. The more books and magazines in circulation, the more letters were coming.

Eventually Brahmananda informed Srila Prabhupada that I was answering the letters and Prabhupada told him to have me forward a few copies of my replies to him so that he could see whether or not I was understanding and explaining the philosophy properly. After all, I was representing him and all of ISKCON. I sent Srila Prabhupada some samples of my letters and he was satisfied. That made it official. From then on I would sign the letters “Swarup Das Brahmacary, Secretary ISKCON.”

Writing to people was the perfect engagement for me. When I was a kid I had a fascination with the whole idea of having pen pals around the world and I joined some clubs that hooked people up for that reason. Growing up without a father (he died when I was 10) I suppose I looked to my mother as a role model. I was very impressed watching her type on an old Royal typewriter, her fingers flying up and down the keyboard with her cigarette dangling out of her mouth. She sometimes did volunteer work for the Zionist Organization of New York.

At the age of 12 I asked my mother to buy me a typewriter for my birthday and that portable Smith Corona became my favorite possession. I taught myself how to type and would often write satirical poems and articles in the style of MAD Magazine. My friend David would do the same and we’d compare our writings to see whose stuff was funnier. Just before dropping out of High School to join the temple I had taken a typing class. I figured since just like already knowing how to drive when I took Drivers Education it would be the same walk down easy street taking a typing course when I already knew how to type. My typing teacher, Mrs. Fischer had the longest fingernails I had ever seen and I wondered how it was even possible for her to type but type she did at well over 100 wpm. She was impressed with my skills and got me typing faster than ever — getting me up to 112 words per minute which was even faster than her. I had no idea at the time that I’d eventually be using my typing skill to help put Srila Prabhupada’s books into print and write to people about Krishna consciousness.

By the time ISKCON Press moved to Brooklyn I was no longer engaged in typesetting. Many devotees were joining and arriving from other centers to serve with the Press and some were being trained to typeset so I was free to focus fully on developing the Mail Order Department. I had already established ongoing correspondences with many people and orders for books, records and BTG subscriptions continued to increase daily. For typing letters I was using an IBM Selectric typewriter at the time. IBM had introduced the Selectric in 1961 and by ’71 the Selectric II came on the market. It used typing fonts just like our composing machine but I still had to make corrections using white out. The self-correcting Selectric didn’t hit the marketplace until ’73 when Mail Order was in Los Angeles and boy oh boy did I love that self correcting feature. In fact, the whole concept of “self correction” appealed to me.

And so each and every morning I’d perform the ritual of opening all the mail that came. The orders were processed and money deposited and the letters of inquiry were put aside for answering. Even if someone simply wrote that they were interested in Hare Krishna or Krishna Consciousness and only requested information I’d send them a personal reply inviting and encouraging them to read Prabhupada’s books, chant Hare Krishna and write to me with any questions they might have. This personal touch was reinforced by Srila Prabhupada a few years later in L.A. We were giving him a tour of the BBT offices and warehouse facility and he was asking me how many letters we were getting every day. I told him and he then said, “I was doing when I was Dr. Bose’s manager. Any inquiry coming from outside, I must continue correspondence with him unless he becomes a customer.”

When mailing out BTG subscriptions we used a religious non profit bulk rate system which came with very specific rules for mailing according to the U.S. Post Office. I had to sort out the bundles by zip code and tie each one up with string and label the top envelope with its destination. When all the envelopes were stuffed with BTGs, all the labels affixed and everything bundled and tied I took them to our home Post Office which, during the time we were working out of Tiffany Place in Brooklyn, was the same post office used by Jehovah Witnesses for mailing out their two publications: Awake and Watchtower. When I would see the tens of thousands of parcels they brought in by the truckloads I would become very envious and hoped that someday our BTG subscriptions would match or even exceed their volume.

By ’73 ISKCON Press had been reborn as The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and moved to Los Angeles which by then had become the world headquarters of ISKCON and where Srila Prabhupada was spending much of his time. When we first got to Los Angeles we shared office and warehouse space with Spiritual Sky Incense on Landmark Street in Culver City. After that we leased a building on Washington Blvd. and finally the BBT along with our order department moved into a brand new built-to-spec facility on Higuera Street in Culver City. By that time the BBT Order Dept. really began to rock n’ roll.

It was only natural that the more the Movement expanded and the more books and magazines were put into circulation, the more mail we received. Book distribution had become the main focus of ISKCON and there were plenty of books to distribute. New volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam continued to appear and the seventeen volumes of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta had become available.

We set up the storage and shipping facility for the BBT Order Dept. in a corner of the Higuera Street warehouse. We enclosed it with fencing material and began calling it the “mailorder cage.” All the books and other paraphernalia that we sold through the mail were stocked on shelves. The orders would be processed upstairs by me and then they would go down to the cage where someone would pick each order, package and put a shipping label on it and then, using a Pitney Bowes combination scale and postage machine, calculate the amount needed to ship it out to whatever destination in the world it was going.

Ranadhira and Kirtiraja had come aboard to help manage the rapidly expanding BBT Order Dept. and like myself they also had offices on the upper second floor of the BBT warehouse. Ranadhira became our business manager in charge of marketing while I concentrated on processing the daily stacks of mail that arrived. Every morning I went to the post office on Motor Avenue to pick up the canvas bag containing all the mail addressed to 3764 Watseka Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90034. Some of the mail was meant for the temple and most of it was for the Order Dept. I sorted it out and then came to the office to open all the envelopes.

Ranadhira designed a beautiful color catalog and along with all the books, magazines and pamphlets he included in our inventory japa beads and bead bags, neck beads, mrdangas and kartals, and an assortment of artik paraphernalia as well as the beautiful Balarama Mrdanga. Thus we became a fully stocked and diverse mail order house.

Around 1976, after looking through The National Enquirer and another smaller publication called FATE, Ranadhira decided it might be lucrative to take advantage of the “weirdo” market and aside from the possibility of making some extra money it could be a good way to bring people around to Krishna consciousness. He came up with the idea of selling a simple inexpensive amulet on a necklace. He recruited Amala Bhakta to help write copy for the ad and together they came up with “The Amulet of Tarani.” The story they conjured up was about some demigoddess type personality from somewhere in the outer universe who came to Earth to dispense blessings and good fortune. Anyone who wore the amulet would be showered with all sorts of auspiciousness including good health, sudden wealth, love, beauty and knowledge.

A half page ad in the weekly Enquirer went for $5000 and sure enough … within two weeks of placing it we made back the original investment of advertising as well as the cost of the jewelry. After that it was all profit. Of course, along with the amulet the buyer also received one of our standard information packets and an invitation to write to us. Also included was an “On Chanting Hare Krsna” pamphlet and a short letter explaining that if they chanted this Hare Krishna mantra while wearing the amulet the effects would be that much greater. I got some very strange letters from some very strange people and began to feel like the Ann Landers for crazies but hey, every living being is part and parcel of Lord Sri Krishna and so where there’s life there is the possibility to preach Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada taught us that by example and precept. After all, all living beings conditioned by the illusory energy are considered to be crazy — haunted by the ghost of maya.

By the mid 70’s ISKCON had grown into an international institution with temples throughout the world, farm communities, restaurants and the books were being distributed in record numbers. As such the BBT Order Dept. became a beehive of activity. We added more devotees to our staff of full time workers and there were others who would come to help out part-time. The amount of letters had become so voluminous that I could no longer keep up with them and I began seeking assistance in answering them. We received letters from people who were curious about Krishna consciousness and wanted some more information; letters from people who said that George Harrison’s music inspired them to learn more; letters from folks who had developed a strong attraction and interest and who had serious philosophical questions. Sometimes a person would write to complain about being accosted (that word was used a lot) or harassed at some airport or shopping mall and I would do my best to turn their negative impression into a positive one. Then there were those who would tell how they found one of our books in a trash can and felt it was an act of God since the book changed their life and gave them knowledge and hope beyond their wildest dreams. Sometimes when a particularly interesting letter arrived I’d read it to everyone who came by my office. It became a daily ritual for me to be asked, “Hey Swarup — any really interesting letters arrive lately?”

Yes, I was putting a lot of miles on my IBM Selectric typewriter and I continued the process of keeping the letters and the replies together in a growing file but no more using carbon paper since we had a nice modern photocopy machine. We had come a long way from the days of operating out of a basement apartment on East 10th Street in New York’s East Village. To name some of the devotees who joined the BBT Order Dept. either full or part time — there was Anavadyangi Devi Dasi who became a valuable and dedicated addition to our staff along with Daruka who dovetailed his bookkeeping skills for us, my sister Manmohini would come by and help out especially during a crunch such as the monthly Back to Godhead subscription mailings. My wife Chitta would sometimes help with filing and mailings and in the shipping cage we had Janananda and Chuck. Amala Bhakta’s mother Sally would show up a few days a week to help out as well. It was always a delight when she’d come into my office in the morning saying, “Okay, Swarup, I’m here … so put me to work.” She became very proficient at making buttons with the apparatus I picked up along the way.

Every evening I got all the outgoing parcels and letters together and drove them to the Los Angeles airport post office. In that way they were sure to get going to their destinations quickly. It was my favorite part of the day. I would often take my firstborn son, Krishna Kumar. After getting all the packages and letters up onto the loading dock and into a gurney I’d drive over to a spot near one of the runways to watch the airplanes take off and land. Kumar loved that part of it.

Before long I had established ongoing correspondences with scores of people throughout the world. Some of the “regulars” would write pages and pages telling me about their lives, their families, their schools or jobs, and some expressed a desire to eventually become full time devotees. I always encouraged them to buy japa beads and begin the practice of mantra meditation and to purchase and study Srila Prabhupada’s books. Eventually cassette tapes from Golden Avatar Productions as well as several record albums became available. As they became more and more familiar with the philosophy they began asking very relevant and intelligent questions. I liked seeing that because it was a sign that they were advancing in Krishna consciousness nicely. In order to best respond to the letters I was constantly referring to Srila Prabhupada’s books. Very often my desk would be covered completely with books open to different pages with bookmarks and notations. Srila Prabhupada was spending so much time in L.A. in those days and so I got to listen to his Srimad-Bhagavatam classes every morning and often accompany him on his morning walks. That personal association afforded me a great advantage as far as my being able to emulate his mood and preaching style.

We were also getting many letters from people incarcerated in jails and prisons. I compiled a list of their names and addresses of their institutions and sent it around so that they could also contact one another. A little community of prison pen pals arose and began to rapidly grow. It wasn’t too long before so many people were writing to us each day that I had to begin recruiting some godbrothers and sisters to help me answer all the letters. That helped a lot but unless the devotee writing the reply had access to a typewriter or at least had good penmanship — and unless their spelling and grammar were okay I ended up having to retype what they wrote.

Things were running smoothly but I felt something was missing. I needed to find a way to further engage these folks in Krishna consciousness. They were reading, chanting, listening to records and tapes and some were even turning fellow students or co-workers on to Krishna consciousness. I could tell, however, that many of them were hankering to engage in some kind of service. and so around 1975 it dawned on me to establish a membership program by mail.

I invited people to pledge monthly donations in any amount and by doing so they would become a donor member of ISKCON. We made up official looking receipts and membership cards and according to the amount of money they sent we put together different “packages” that included BTG subscriptions, books, beads, tapes, etc. … and an invitation to stay free of charge at any of our centers. I modeled it after the life member program established by Srila Prabhupada in India but I scaled down the requirements and rather than a onetime donation for life membership I encouraged them to send monthly contributions — as much or as little as they wanted or could spare.

The idea immediately took off, especially when we began including invitations to join the program along with our standard information packets. Each time a new member would come aboard I would start a file for them. The first thing I would do is send them a form to fill out giving us their names, addresses, ages, where they went to school or worked, how they came in contact with K.C., etc. and I asked that they send back a photo of themselves as well. In that way it became much more personal. I began putting together a monthly membership newsletter called “Bhakti Rasa” and we even started making sweets (laddus, burfi, lugloos, etc.) and sending them in little boxes to each member once a month.

The membership program was growing bigger every day although sometimes we’d lose a monthly donor on account of them joining the Movement. Some came to join us in Los Angeles which meant that after months or even years of corresponding I got to meet them personally. Some of the people who came through the mail order and the membership program ended up becoming very dear godbrothers and sisters as well as personal friends. When I first began meeting devotees on the Internet — especially here on facebook — I’d sometimes get a message from someone telling me that I had written them some letters back in the 70’s and some even said they still had those original correspondences. Imagine how good that made me feel.

The photo above is from a tour of BBT warehouse, offices and Order Dept. that we gave Srila Prabhupada when, for a short time, we were located at 8575 Washington Blvd, around a mile from the temple on Watseka Avenue.

One day while looking over the growing list of members (at the end of the first year there were almost 150 people sending donations every month and many of them also corresponded regularly) I noticed that there was a large concentration of addresses in Southern California. I decided to write a letter to everyone who lived within a few hundred miles of Los Angeles and engage them in a special kind of service. At that time both myself and Ranadhira were renting spaces at local swap meets to make a little extra money on the weekends. We’d sell Spiritual Sky merchandise as well as Indian tapestries. Ranadhira would also take tapestries to a Mexican dressmaker downtown L.A. and have him cut a design for a woman’s “spaghetti dress” which simply meant an ankle length garment with thin shoulder straps. Sometimes we’d sell turquoise jewelry as well.

So I asked our “local” members to clean out their garages, basements, attics, utility sheds, etc. and put aside whatever they thought could possibly fetch some money at a flea market. I requested that they write us or give us a call and we’d arrange to come and pick their stuff up. I chipped in with my friend Kadamba for a pickup truck which I used to haul all the donated items back to the BBT warehouse where we sorted out and priced everything. Sure enough … letters and calls poured in and I found myself driving all over the place — from Santa Barbara to San Diego and out to San Bernardino. It was way to make some extra money for the departmentit and a great opportunity to meet these people face to face. I ended up spending an entire day with one elderly gentleman named Alan Rahm. He was born in India of an Indian father and English mother but they relocated to the U.S. when he was still a young boy.

A few weeks after spending that day talking with Alan I got a visit from a woman who looked to be in her mid 20’s. She said she was Mr. Rahm’s granddaughter. She was holding a square white box. I thought that maybe he sent her with some special item .. perhaps an heirloom or antique .. that we could add to our flea market inventory. She handed me the box and then explained that her grandfather died a few days ago. His last request was that he be cremated and his ashes be delivered to me so that I could arrange to have them sent to India and sprinkled in the Yamuna or Ganges River. In our talks I told Alan that devotees would often go to India for pilgrimage especially during Gaur Purnima when we’d have a big festival in Mayapur. I assured the young lady that I would see to it that his request was fulfilled and after a few weeks after asking around I found somebody who was on their way to India and willing to take Alan’s remains. Until that time the box remained on a shelf in my office. It became customary that whoever came into my office for whatever reason would first go over to the box and say “Hare Krishna” to Mr. Rahm’s remains.

In 1976 I decided to attend the Gaur Purnima festival in Mayapur. The flight to India was to leave from JFK in New York which meant I had to first make my way from Los Angeles to New York. Instead of flying there a day before I decided to leave ten days early and drive across the country. My idea was to stop in and visit as many people with whom I was corresponding as possible. On that first trip (I did another one the following year) my best friend Srutasrava accompanied me. We stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico — Chicago, Illinois — Kokomo, Indiana — Marion, Virginia — and Titusville, Pennsylvania.

As a side note — that year we reserved an entire Air India 747 airplane to accommodate all the devotees going to Mayapur for the festival. The plane left JFK Airport in New York and the only nondevotees on it were the flight crew (pilot, co-pilot and attendants) .. although by the end of the flight devotional feelings in them were undoubtedly awakening. Prasadam was prepared and loaded onto the airplane and at mealtimes the flight attendants did the serving. We had rip-roaring kirtans — going up and down the aisles (some of the sannyasis occupied the first class section where an altar with Radha and Krishna was set up (I believe they were brought by the Radha Damodara Traveling Sankirtan Party). It was quite an experience.

So — back to the cross country drive from L.A. to New York the week before the flight. In Marion, Virginia we visited a young man named Allen Putnam with whom I had been exchanging letters for several years. He was incarcerated at a mental institution for the criminally insane. When he was a minor he shot and killed a guard at a railway depot. We stayed overnight at his mother’s house. She was also writing to me and ordering books to bring to Allen on her visits. She treated us like royalty. After visiting Allen she drove us to the Virginia State Penitentiary around a hundred miles away to visit another boy, Billy Kelly, who was also writing letters and who, like Allen, was in for a murder he committed when he was a minor. He and Allen met in the Virginia penal system some years back and kept in touch. At some point in time Allen began writing to Billy and telling him all about Krishna consciousness and he convinced Billy to start chanting, reading and writing letters to me with questions or just to have someone else to talk to about his life and Krishna consciousness. Some years later Billy’s story was used as the basis of a movie called “Apprentice to Murder.”

In Titusville, Pennsulvania I visited another mail order member named Wendell Phillips. I noticed that when he wrote to me he used letterhead saying “Phillips Motors” and I asked him about it. It turned out that he owned a used car lot. On both that first trip cross country and the next one as well I stopped and stayed with Wendell and while there he took me to the car auction where he bought his cars to resell on his lot. He told me to pick out the car I wanted and then he bid on it. The first time around I purchased a Datsun station wagon and the second time a Mercury Comet. They were both used cars but only a few years old and in excellent condition. I only paid a few hundred for each whereas they would have sold for at least a thousand at any other used car outlet. I arranged later to have the cars driven back to L.A. and ended up giving them away to some householders in the community.

Meeting just a few of the people I was writing to was a wonderful experience. The membership program continued successfully year after year as did the BBT Order Dept. but I unfortunately left my service and moved away from the Los Angeles ISKCON community in February of 1980. Many changes had been taking place since the departure of Srila Prabhupada in 1977 and let’s just say that I was disturbed with much of what was going on at the time.

Epilogue

I’m sorry to have ended the above story on a sad note. Thirty-six years have gone by since 1980 and so much has changed in ISKCON (hopefully all for the good) as well as in my own life (hopefully most for the good). With faith in the unlimited mercy and potency of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I remain hopeful for both the ISKCON institution and myself. I am hopeful that Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON mission will continue to be a transcendental instrument for spreading Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtana Movement to every town and village and I have hope against hope that I will somehow always have the opportunity to associate with and to serve the devotees of the Lord and never let go of the lotus feet of Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga. Hare Krishna!

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32786

Did you know about the “septic tank of Iskcon”? “Mother Yamuna’s tears made me a devotee!” Lord Chaitanya never had a chilly pepper. As devotees we are the greatest personalists hypothetically, theoretically, scripturally but how many of you are lonely? How should we treat the protective “wire-mesh” that Srila Prabhupada installed around our tender plant of devotion? I was very bewildered, every one was telling me to do everything, some would say the most important is the chanting, others, reading is the most important thing, others, offering obeisances was the most important, others, prasadam is the most important, it was going on and on and on and everything was the most important. I had no idea what to do!

For Video Click here

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32791

Kadamba Kanana Swami: Vedic culture says that nature will respond according to the behaviour of people. The behaviour of nature is directly related to the behaviour of people on the planet. This is something that I never thought of before coming to Krsna consciousness, it had never occurred to me. And the reason for this correlation is because nature has a divine origin – behind nature is the Supreme Lord and everything in this world is going on under the control of the Supreme Lord. As the Bhagavad-gita explains, ‘Not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Lord’.

It is not that he is personally involved with every aspect of it, no, these things are simply going on by his will, by his desire. He does not need to sit in the control room and make sure that nature takes its course but still, nature is acting according to a divine plan. One does not exclude the other.

It is not that we are not in this world… we are! It is not that spiritual life means that we do not deal with this world. Of course, we deal with this world – we live in this world and we have to take care of it but it is not the all and everything.

In most traditions, whether we are looking at a more Asian traditions where Hinduism became predominant…. or even Far East Asia where Buddhist tradition is more prevalent, whatever it maybe, we find that in all these kinds of traditions, the human form of life is recognized to be in a unique position amongst all other forms of life! The human form of life stands out in that sense. In the human form of life one is held responsible for one’s actions. This is a common understanding.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32797

The microprocessor giant Intel Corporation invited Radhanath Swami to speak at their headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The event was organized and coordinated by the Intel India Association.
Speaking on the topic ‘Growing Through Adversity”, Radhanath Swami began the talk by quoting Winston Churchill, “Success means going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” He then narrated the story of Sindhutai Sapkal, a woman he had met who runs many orphanages around India and has nurtured over 1000 orphans. A village woman, she had been married at age ten to a 32-year-old man. When she was nine months pregnant, he beat her senseless and abandoned her, leaving her for dead. When she recovered, Sapkal was deeply depressed. Just as she was about to commit suicide, however, she spotted an orphan and took him under her wing. She had found her calling in life. She began an orphanage, and gradually opened much more, becoming a world-famous philanthropist. She won around 270 national and international awards. Her former husband, now eighty and having lost everything he had, came to her for shelter, and with no resentment, she took him in as her ‘oldest child.’

We have many choices in life, Radhanath Swami explained. But the best way to positively affect society is to use our lives to give love to others, find love within and transform ourselves, and ultimately love God.

He shared that Sapkal had told him, “My life was a path of thorns, but I made friends with those thorns.”

Quoting the Bhagavad-gita, Radhanath Swami said true fulfillment in life comes from within us. “When we don’t have internal fulfillment, nothing external can satisfy us,” he added. Swami stressed on building a strong internal foundation, which can withstand tumultuous storms in our life.

“A meaningful life is what we give not what we get, ” he said. Elucidating this further, he explained how the roots of red wood trees, which have lifespans of thousands of years, move horizontally, and intertwine with the roots of other redwoods and thus gain stability. As human our roots are our hearts.

Sriram Govindarajan, Hardware Design Engineer at Intel Corporation said “ After hearing the talk, I felt at ease to deal with situations around me. The key takeaway for me was having a strong connect with your inner self, makes you realize what is important in life and focus on them rather than the petty disturbances that are usually not in our control. Instead of regretting about things that we lack in life we could give to people who are less fortunate than we are.”

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32799

By Namhatta ISKCON Vrindavan:

The Transcendental Pastimes Of Lord Jaganatha’s 2nd Rathayatra in Mathura Vrindavana.

17th Oct 2016, During the auspicious month of Damodar, ISKCON Vrindavana Namhatta Department organized the 2nd grand Rath Yatra festival in Mathura to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON. The event co-ordinated with the 2016 Braja Mandal Parikrama with the parikrama devotees gathered in Mathura that very day to attend the festival on Oct 17, 2016. Due to the overwhelming support of the residents of Mathura and the enthusiastic participation of local and visiting devotees, the celebration is now marked to be an annual event on ISKCON Vrindavana’s calendar.

For photos please go to the link: https://www.facebook.com/587926797996015/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1025091094279581.

Celebrations began at 9:00 am with a Pandal Program at Kedar Dham Mathura.. Festivities began with a devotional welcoming of Sri Sri Jagannatha , Subhdra and Baladeva with a showering of floweres and kirtan. A marvelous feast of numerous preparations and arati was offered to the Lord of the Universe. Sweet kirtan and discourse was given by HG Panca Gauda Prabhu, HG Deena Bandhu Prabhu, HG Dadhi Bhaksa Prabhu, HH BA Janardan Swami, HH Gaurnarayan Swami, HH Prabodhananda Swami, HH Radha Raman Swami.
Numerous Prabhupada disciples were present and many countries of the world were represented through the attendance of devotees from abroad. Also the Vrajamandal Parikrama devotees numbering about 1500 had their schedule coordinated to join in the event and many Mathura-vasis , naturally bound in affection to the Lord by birth, also participated. Prasadam was distributed to about 2500 devotees in the morning.

Ratha Yatra Started at 1:00 pm, with Jagannatha Astakam by HH Prabhodhananda Swami and Maha Aratik by HG Pancagauda Prabhu.
After about half an hour, Sri Sri Jagannatha , Subhdra and Baladeva were seated on the Ratha, Many thousands of devotees came forward to pull the Cart of the Lord in ecstasy sending the wheels of the Lord’s Rath in motion at 2:30 pm
. In a scene reminiscent of Jaganatha Puri, the Ratha got stuck in the middle of Chowraha for over 90 minutes. By the Lords mercy, this transcendental advertisement attracted even more of the residents of Mathura who were about their daily affairs. In the evening, many thousands more than expected Mathuravasis attended the post-Rathayatra evening celebration. If the Ratha had happened to get stuck in any other part of the route it would have caused very severe traffic problems in an already congested urban network.

“ Just like in Jagannātha Purī, Ratha-yātrā festival, sometimes the ratha, chariot, will be stuck up, will not move. People draw it, but does not move. Even King Pratāparudra engaged some elephants, and the ratha is not moving. And Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would say, “All right, let Me try.” So He would go back side of the car and with His head push it, and very easily it will go.” (Lecture on SB 1.16.11 — Los Angeles, January 8, 1974)

Many Coconuts were broken and, in the tradition of the Gajapati King, a golden broom was used to clear the path for the Lord. It seemed that all business owners, ashrams and other locals were sprouting from every corner to offer arati, flowers and many types of preparations and refreshments which were then distributed to the assembled devotees in the form of Lord Jaganatha’s transcendental Remnants.

And very melodious and enthusiastic kirtans drowned all the participants in the ocean of transcendental bliss. Everyone was jubilant on this occasion as the atmosphere was surcharged with Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Local residents were captivated by the dancing foreign devotees and the next day all the local news papers published pictures of foreign matajis in colorful saris dancing before the Lord’s cart.

To an onlooker of the procession, the first thing to see was a large banner announcing ISKCON’s 50 Year Celebration. Next was a larger than life poster of Prabhupada followed by an 8 ft high replica of his Bhagavada-Gita As It Is. After this there was a well organized skillful team of matajis quickly applying beautiful rangoli decorations to the roadside. Finally one could then bear witness to the transcendental form of the Lord Who’s beauty is comparable to the ocean of devotees joyfully pulling the cart while chanting His Name.

Ratha Yatra finally concluded at Hirakunja Residency at 6:30 pm with a wonderful feast Prasadam for a devotee crowd swelling to more than 3000 strong followed by Sandhya Arati, lamps in offering to Lord Damodara. A cultural program of dance and drama went into the late hours of the evening.

If you are planning to come to Vrindavan during the month of Kartik in the years to come, please take note and participate in ISKCON’s Mathura Rathayatra. The event is only 30 minutes from ISKCON’s Krsna Balarama Temple in Vrindavana. Arrangement is made for the free travel of devotees to and from the event by bus however the journey can easily be negotiated by auto rickshaw.

By Srila Prabhupada’s mercy the event is proving to be a very sweet celebration that harnesses the devotional enthusiasm of the residents of Mathura and ISKCON devotees both local and abroad.

This morning I was reminded of the importance of chanting sixteen rounds. Sometimes I think my work or service is more important than my chanting…but in the following verses and purports Srila Prabhupa makes it very clear; “One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds.”, and I thank the devotee who reminded me of this important instruction.

…There are many regulative principles in the śāstras and directions given by the spiritual master. These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle-that is, one should always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Therefore one must strictly chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra twenty-four hours daily. One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we have recommended that the neophyte chant at least sixteen rounds. This chanting of sixteen rounds is absolutely necessary if one wants to remember Kṛṣṇa and not forget Him. Of all the regulative principles, the spiritual master’s order to chant at least sixteen rounds is most essential. (from purport Madhya-lila 22.113)

…Of all the sacrifices, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is the purest representation of Kṛṣṇa. (from purport Bg 10.25)

…Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja comments in this connection, “One can become perfectly successful in the mission of his life if he acts exactly according to the words he hears from the mouth of his spiritual master.” This acceptance of the words of the spiritual master is called śrauta-vākya, which indicates that the disciple must carry out the spiritual master’s instructions without deviation. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks in this connection that a disciple must accept the words of his spiritual master as his life and soul. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu here confirms this by saying that since His spiritual master ordered Him only to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, He always chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra according to this direction (‘kṛṣṇa-mantra’ japa sadā,-ei mantra-sāra). (from purport to Adi-lila 7.72)

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Madhya-lila 22.113

smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur
vismartavyo na jātucit
sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur
etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ

SYNONYMS

smartavyaḥ—to be remembered; satatam—always; viṣṇuḥ—Lord Viṣṇu; vismartavyaḥ—to be forgotten; na—not; jātucit—at any time; sarve—all; vidhi-niṣedhāḥ—rules and prohibitions mentioned in the revealed scripture or given by the spiritual master; syuḥ—should be; etayoḥ—of these two principles (always to remember Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu and never to forget Him); eva—certainly; kiṅkarāḥ—the servants.

TRANSLATION

” ’Kṛṣṇa is the origin of Lord Viṣṇu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the śāstras should be the servants of these two principles.’

PURPORT

This verse is a quotation from the Padma Purāṇa. There are many regulative principles in the śāstras and directions given by the spiritual master. These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle-that is, one should always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Therefore one must strictly chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra twenty-four hours daily. One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we have recommended that the neophyte chant at least sixteen rounds. This chanting of sixteen rounds is absolutely necessary if one wants to remember Kṛṣṇa and not forget Him. Of all the regulative principles, the spiritual master’s order to chant at least sixteen rounds is most essential.

One may sell books or enlist life members or render some other service, but these duties are not ordinary duties. These duties serve as an impetus for remembering Kṛṣṇa. When one goes with a saṅkīrtana party or sells books, he naturally remembers that he is going to sell Kṛṣṇa’s books. In this way, he is remembering Kṛṣṇa. When one goes to enlist a life member, he talks about Kṛṣṇa and thereby remembers Him. Smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit. The conclusion is that one must act in such a way that he will always remember Kṛṣṇa, and one must refrain from doing things that make him forget Kṛṣṇa. These two principles form the basic background of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter 10, Text 25

maharṣīṇāṁ bhṛgur ahaṁ
girām asmy ekam akṣaram
yajñānāṁ japa-yajño ‘smi
sthāvarāṇāṁ himālayaḥ

maharṣīṇām—among the great sages; bhṛguḥ—Bhṛgu; aham—I am; girām—of vibrations; asmi—I am; ekam akṣaram-praṇava; yajñānām—of sacrifices; japa-yajñaḥ—chanting; asmi—I am; sthāvarāṇām—of immovable things; himālayaḥ—the Himalayan mountains.

TRANSLATION

Of the great sages I am Bhṛgu; of vibrations I am the transcendental om. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa], and of immovable things I am the Himalayas.

PURPORT

Brahmā, the first living creature within the universe, created several sons for the propagation of various kinds of species. The most powerful of his sons is Bhṛgu, who is also the greatest sage. Of all the transcendental vibrations, the “om” (omkara) represents the Supreme. Of all the sacrifices, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is the purest representation of Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes animal sacrifices are recommended, but in the sacrifice of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, there is no question of violence. It is the simplest and the purest. Whatever is sublime in the worlds is a representation of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the Himalayas, the greatest mountains in the world, also represent Him. The mountain named Meru was mentioned in a previous verse, but Meru is sometimes movable, whereas the Himalayas are never movable. Thus the Himalayas are greater than Meru.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Adi-lila 7.72

mūrkha tumi, tomāra nāhika vedāntādhikāra
‘kṛṣṇa-mantra’ japa sadā,–ei mantra-sāra

SYNONYMS

mūrkha tumi—You are a fool; tomāra—Your; nāhika—there is not; vedānta—Vedānta philosophy; adhikāra—qualification to study; kṛṣṇa-mantra—the hymn of Kṛṣṇa (Hare Kṛṣṇa); japa—chant; sadā—always; ei—this; mantra—hymn; sāra—essence of all Vedic knowledge.

TRANSLATION

‘You are a fool,’ he said. ‘You are not qualified to study Vedānta philosophy, and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of all mantras, or Vedic hymns.

PURPORT

Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja comments in this connection, “One can become perfectly successful in the mission of his life if he acts exactly according to the words he hears from the mouth of his spiritual master.” This acceptance of the words of the spiritual master is called śrauta-vākya, which indicates that the disciple must carry out the spiritual master’s instructions without deviation. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks in this connection that a disciple must accept the words of his spiritual master as his life and soul. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu here confirms this by saying that since His spiritual master ordered Him only to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, He always chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra according to this direction (‘kṛṣṇa-mantra’ japa sadā,-ei mantra-sāra).

Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. Therefore when a person is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious it is to be understood that his relationship with Kṛṣṇa has been fully confirmed. Lacking Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one is only partially related with Kṛṣṇa and is therefore not in his constitutional position. Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, the spiritual master of the entire universe, He nevertheless took the position of a disciple in order to teach by example how a devotee should strictly follow the orders of a spiritual master in executing the duty of always chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. One who is very much attracted to the study of Vedānta philosophy must take lessons from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In this age, no one is actually competent to study Vedānta, and therefore it is better that one chant the holy name of the Lord, which is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, as Kṛṣṇa Himself confirms in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15):

vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

“By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.”
Only fools give up the service of the spiritual master and think themselves advanced in spiritual knowledge. In order to check such fools, Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself presented the perfect example of how to be a disciple. A spiritual master knows very well how to engage each disciple in a particular duty, but if a disciple, thinking himself more advanced than his spiritual master, gives up his orders and acts independently, he checks his own spiritual progress. Every disciple must consider himself completely unaware of the science of Kṛṣṇa and must always be ready to carry out the orders of the spiritual master to become competent in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A disciple should always remain a fool before his spiritual master. Therefore sometimes pseudospiritualists accept a spiritual master who is not even fit to become a disciple because they want to keep him under their control. This is useless for spiritual realization.

One who imperfectly knows Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot know Vedānta philosophy. A showy display of Vedānta study without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a feature of the external energy, māyā, and as long as one is attracted by the inebrieties of this ever-changing material energy, he deviates from devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. An actual follower of Vedānta philosophy is a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu, who is the greatest of the great and the maintainer of the entire universe. Unless one surpasses the field of activities in service to the limited, one cannot reach the unlimited. Knowledge of the unlimited is actual brahma-jñāna, or knowledge of the Supreme. Those who are addicted to fruitive activities and speculative knowledge cannot understand the value of holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is always completely pure, eternally liberated and full of spiritual bliss. One who has taken shelter of the holy name of the Lord, which is identical with the Lord, does not have to study Vedānta philosophy, for he has already completed all such study.

One who is unfit to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa but thinks that the holy name is different from Kṛṣṇa and thus takes shelter of Vedānta study in order to understand Him must be considered a number one fool, as confirmed by Caitanya Mahāprabhu by His personal behavior, and philosophical speculators who want to make Vedānta philosophy an academic career are also considered to be within the material energy. A person who always chants the holy name of the Lord, however, is already beyond the ocean of nescience, and thus even a person born in a low family who engages in chanting the holy name of the Lord is considered to be beyond the study of Vedānta philosophy. In this connection Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.7) states:

aho bata śva-paco ‘to garīyān
yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā
brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te

“If a person born in a family of dog-eaters takes to the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, it is to be understood that in his previous life he must have executed all kinds of austerities and penances and performed all the Vedic yajñas.”

Another quotation states:

ṛg-vedo ‘tha yajur-vedaḥ sāma-vedo ‘py atharvaṇaḥ
adhītās tena yenoktaṁ harir ity akṣara-dvayam

“A person who chants the two syllables ha-ri has already studied the four Vedas-Sāma, Ṛg, Yajur and Atharva.”
Taking advantage of these verses, there are some sahajiyās who, taking everything very cheaply, consider themselves elevated Vaiṣṇavas but do not care even to touch the Vedānta-sūtra or Vedānta philosophy. A real Vaiṣṇava should, however, study Vedānta philosophy, but if after studying Vedānta one does not adopt the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, he is no better than a Māyāvādī. Therefore, one should not be a Māyāvādī, yet one should not be unaware of the subject matter of Vedānta philosophy. Indeed, Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited His knowledge of Vedānta in His discourses with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī. Thus it is to be understood that a Vaiṣṇava should be completely conversant with Vedānta philosophy, yet he should not think that studying Vedānta is all in all and therefore be unattached to the chanting of the holy name. A devotee must know the importance of simultaneously understanding Vedānta philosophy and chanting the holy names. If by studying Vedānta one becomes an impersonalist, he has not been able to understand Vedānta. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15). Vedānta means “the end of knowledge.” The ultimate end of knowledge is knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, who is identical with His holy name. Cheap Vaiṣṇavas (sahajiyās) do not care to study the Vedānta philosophy as commented upon by the four ācāryas. In the Gauḍīya-sampradāya there is a Vedānta commentary called the Govinda-bhāṣya, but the sahajiyās consider such commentaries to be untouchable philosophical speculation, and they consider the ācāryas to be mixed devotees. Thus they clear their way to hell.

Source:https://theharekrishnamovement.org/2016/10/28/remembering-krishna-is-the-essence/

Srutidharma das was invited to the Diwali function at Number 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister, Theresa May MP.

Along with the Prime Minister and other dignitaries such as the Indian High Commissioner Mr Dinesh Patnail, Srutidharma das lit the ceremonial lamp before being invited to say a few words and lead the Diwali prayers.

He shared three meditations:

• Diwali is all about giving to our families, community and our country.

• Through forgiveness we can have a new start. The Lord forgives, so who we are we not to?

• Being grateful. With Remembrance Sunday coming up, a day when all those that made the ultimate sacrifice in war are remembered, he asked those present to be grateful for the religious freedom and equal opportunities we share today. 

Echoing the Prime Minister’s own words, Srutidharma das added that the fact that the community is celebrating Diwali at the Prime Minister’s home is the symptom of “a fairer Britain.” He then proceeded to recite the first verse of the Sri Isopanisad, the Panca-Tattva mantra and the Hare Krishna mantra.

Prime Minister Theresa May,  Indian High Commissioner Mr Dinesh Patnail, Srutidharma das about to lit the ceremonial lamp

During the Prime Minister’s Diwali message, she made reference to Srutidharma’s speech and also gave reference to the government funded Avanti Schools Trust, of which ISKCON is the faith affiliate.

Later the Prime Minister met separately with Shailesh Vara MP and Srutidharma das, in which she recognised Bhaktivedanta Manor as a prominent part of Oliver Dowden MP’s constituency of Hertsmere, and looked forward to the day she can visit.

Jai Nitai das, the Temple President of ISKCON-London said "It's wonderful, that in celebrating 50 years of ISKCON that today the movement is recognised for its tremendous contribution for the spiritual life of the British people and thus involved to celebrate with the Prime Minister."

Other ISKCON devotees present at the function included Mahaprabhu das (Head ISKCON European Communications and Chair of the Hindu Forum of Europe), Dhruva-kusa (Head of Pandava Sena), and Braj-vadu dasi of Veda London.

Source:http://iskconnews.org/iskcon-devotees-attend-diwali-at-number-10-downing-street,5894/

Dedicated father and pujari Ragunath Das Zaldivar is currently celebrating an incredible 14 consecutive years of Kartik festivals at his and his wife Yamuna Devi’s home in Alachua, Florida.

A second-generation devotee and disciple of Radha-Govinda Swami, Ragunath began holding Kartik for his home Deities Sri-Sri Radha-Madan-Mohan in 2003, the same year he began worshipping Them.

He has not missed a single year since. And during Kartik – running from October 15th to November 13th this year – he doesn’t miss a day apart from Sundays.

“I do it as a vow, or vrata for my Lords,” he says. “It’s a major commitment for a family. The kids might make a mess, but you have to make sure the house is clean for an entire month! And no matter what event is happening, or what household responsibility you have, you have to be back home at the same time every day, and your door has to be open for everybody to come.”

Sure enough, at 6:15pm every day, devotees – mostly second-generation with their young families – crowd into Ragu’s home temple room.

Averaging around a dozen, but rising to as many as forty-five during busier periods, they offer dipas, or ghee wicks, to Radha-Madan Mohan and Lord Damodar. Some make the event one of their own Kartik vows, attending every one.

A different devotee sings the Damodarastakam prayers every evening, with the children sometimes taking turns too. The kids also help by handing out the wicks and purifying each worshipper’s hand with achaman water.

Everyone then reads out the translation of the prayers together. Afterwards, some stay for homegrown lemongrass tea, or, on special days, prasadam. The forty-five-minute program is finished by 7pm, so that it is sustainable throughout the month. 

Ragunath's son Purusottama and his friend Vayu light the wicks to offer for Kartik

“People like it because of the personal, family-like environment,” Ragu says. “It’s especially nice for the kids, who can get really involved. Not everyone has home Deities, but they want to see their kids engaged in service to the Lord. And when they come here, they can. The children help out, chant, and see their friends offering wicks to the Deities.”

For Ragu, setting a good example in Deity worship for his own children -- Chandramukhi, 12, Vanamali, 9, and Purushottama, 3 – goes beyond Kartik too.

His beloved Radha-Madan-Mohan have Their own dedicated temple room in his house, along with Their own full pujari room complete with private refrigerator, sink, and closet. Every morning before work, Ragu offers puja to Them, and every evening he puts Them to sleep.

“Kids get very attached to Deity worship, and if parents set the right example with it, it can really help in their spiritual development,” he says.

Kartik is a major part of that. And it makes an impression. As ISKCON News chats with Ragu over the phone, we hear his children singing Damodarastakam at the top of their voices in the background, unbidden.

“It brings a lot to your life, that’s for sure,” Ragu says. “There are so many spiritual benefits from taking on any kind of vow like this during Kartik.”

Source:http://iskconnews.org/dedicated-dad-and-pujari-celebrates-14th-consecutive-home-kartik-festival,5895/

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — The Ramkumar family piled into their van early Saturday morning and drove five hours west from their home in the Washington suburbs into the American heartland.

They passed cows and horses, church after church, Trump-Pence yard signs. And then they arrived at the Palace of Gold.

They parked, took off their shoes and entered the temple. They lowered themselves all the way to the ground, foreheads touching the floor in obeisance. Then they took their seats and began to chant: “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.”

The Palace of Gold — ornate, lavish and completely unexpected on this remote hilltop — was built by early devotees who taught themselves to cut marble and stained glass in order to pay homage to the traditions of India.

Back then, members of the Hare Krishna faith — more formally known as ISKCON or the International Society of Krishna Consciousness — were mostly young, white hippies drawn to a new version of counterculture spirituality. They gave up their jobs and their homes and then gave up alcohol and drugs and extramarital sex. They went to live in remote communes and proselytized to strangers in airports.

Today on the 50th anniversary of this homegrown religion, something remarkable has happened. After waves of migration to the United States from India over the past two decades, the vast majority of Hare Krishna’s believers in America are no longer white Americans. They’re Indian immigrants like the Ramkumars, who hold down regular jobs and drive to temples to worship, rather than live in communes.

[Georgetown, a Jesuit university, is the first U.S. college with a Hindu priest as a chaplain]

With its roots in centuries-old Hindu beliefs, the religion invented in 1966 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada reminded Ramkumar Manoharan and his wife, Jeyasree Jeyabalan, of the complex faith of their childhoods.

“We used to worship different forms of God, all the forms of God. … We were like a supermarket of gods,” said Manoharan, an IT contractor for the Department of Homeland Security .

Not long after Manoharan and Jeyabalan moved to the United States in the late 1990s, they were told by a relative about a palace in West Virginia built in the style of an Indian shrine. So they decided to take a sightseeing trip.

“And right in this place,” Manoharan says, pointing at the ground in the West Virginia temple, he picked up his first copy of one of Prabhupada’s many books. Now, standing in the same spot years later, he points out the book that changed his life to his 10-year-old daughter Hamsika.

He came to believe what the book said, he tells Hamsika — that there was only one God, Krishna, and that he should worship only the deities who are forms of Krishna.

[We have Christmas, Hanukkah and Eid stamps. Now the U.S. gets its first Hindu stamp.]

After that trip, Manoharan and Jeyabalan started chanting the Hare Krishna mantra at home. Now, they spend two hours every day repeating the three-word chant, praising Krishna over and over again. Hamsika makes an offering on the family altar each morning before skipping off to elementary school, and her 16-year-old sister, Sunethra, chants the Krishna mantra as a break from her SAT prep.

Burke Rochford, a Middlebury College professor who has studied the Hare Krishna movement since 1975, said that like the Ramkumars, many of today’s Hare Krishna believers started out looking for Hindu temples like those they left behind in India. They soon discovered that Hare Krishna temples and centers were often easier to find in American cities, Rochford said.

As Hare Krishna’s following has grown more mainstream, its profile on the American faith landscape has faded.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Hare Krishnas were a fixture in popular culture. George Harrison sang their mantra in his 1970 hit “My Sweet Lord,” and the mantra resounded on Broadway in the musical “Hair.” Hare Krishnas showed up in their orange robes and mostly-shaven heads as recurring characters in the 1980 comedy “Airplane!” — and in almost every traveler’s experiences in real-life airports too.

“Twenty years ago, when I’d walk into a class and ask people if they knew who the Hare Krishnas were, virtually everybody would raise their hands,” Rochford said. “There was hardly a middle-class person in America who ever went to an airport who didn’t know the Hare Krishnas were in that airport.” Today, Rochford said, about half his young students have never heard of the Hare Krishnas.

[Hindu American Olympian says his religion taught him control on the court]

Although the berobed men in the airports drummed up donations, the attention on the religion was largely negative. The communes where devotees gave all their earnings to the temple and raised their children communally were viewed as cults. Then far darker news came out — ISKCON publicly confessed in 1998 to egregious physical and sexual abuse at the boarding schools where Hare Krishna parents often left their children while they traveled to solicit donations and souls for the movement.

Nowhere are ISKCON’s darkest moments better known than at New Vrindaban, the West Virginia spot where devotees originally set out to build a house for their revered founder, then turned the edifice into a palace dedicated to his memory when he died while it was still under construction.

Kirtanananda Swami, the leader of New Vrindaban’s 400-member commune, inspired extreme devotion in his followers — even when he was arrested and sent to prison on mail fraud and racketeering charges in connection with the murders of two followers who disobeyed him. The New Vrindaban community, which was once supposed to house the founder of the faith, was kicked out of ISKCON entirely.

[Can Hare Krishnas at the Palace of Gold in W.Va. rebuild their tarnished community?]

Today, five years since Kirtanananda’s death, New Vrindaban is back in the fold. In fact, ISKCON showcases the spectacular Palace of Gold in its worldwide marketing material. Although 150 followers are living communally here, the West Virginia attraction serves primarily as a beacon for thousands of Hare Krishna families on pilgrimages, like the Ramkumars, who typically make the drive from their Chantilly home a few times a year. Tourism from those outside the faith is picking up again, too.

There’s even talk at New Vrindaban about adding a yoga center on the luscious grounds, where cows and peacocks roam free.

They may not be in airports anymore — many airports banned them, and ISKCON lost a Supreme Court case claiming a constitutional right to proselytize in the terminals — but the Hare Krishnas still believe in spreading the word about their faith far and wide. Manoharan has traveled with fellow members of the ISKCON temple in Potomac, Md., to distribute literature in cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa.

The religion has found another route to recruitment in the country’s current fascination with Eastern spiritual practices. After all, Hare Krishnas were doing yoga long before every mom in America was wearing yoga pants. And meditation is at the core of their faith. The Hare Krishna mantra consists of three words praising Krishna that are repeated over and over in a precise pattern to clear the mind.

Hare Krishnas have booths at events such as Adams Morgan Day and the D.C. VegFest event for vegans — anywhere passersby might be interested in stopping by for a meditation workshop.

Urukrama Das, a Hare Krishna devotee who was visiting the West Virginia temple the same weekend as the Ramkumar family, marvels at how mainstream culture seems to be moving closer to Hare Krishna culture in the years since he joined the faith in 1995.

A native of Estonia, Das was a full-time religious worker in Denver and then in Kansas City. “Now, if you want to join and be full time in the temple, they look at you like, ‘Do you really want to do that? Finish your education first,’ ” Das said. “Back then, the attitude was, ‘Drop everything and come on in.’ ”

At age 30, he took his first job outside the faith. He now drives a delivery truck for United Parcel Service in Columbus, Ohio.

He spotted a poster in the UPS break room recently, advising employees about tips for healthy living. Get enough sleep and eat your vegetables, the poster said. And for stress relief, try meditation.

“What the hell is meditation?” a fellow UPS driver grumbled upon seeing the sign. Another driver pointed to Das: “Ask him.”

It was the perfect opening. Das found himself explaining his spiritual practice to his colleagues.

Sitting in the temple at New Vrindaban, he looked around at his fellow devotees. They all get it — they had come to this place this weekend to chant all day long Saturday. Under a stained-glass skylight, they sang the mantra to an ever-changing tune, taking breaks from their ecstatic worship to humbly offer food and candles to the deities sparkling on their altars.

“This is an age of the mind,” Das said. “Wow! Right there in the UPS hallway. Even UPS is preaching our way.”

Source:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/10/27/after-50-years-hare-krishna-believers-are-no-longer-berobed-white-hippies-who-drum-up-donations-in-airports/