Devotees in Moscow are focusing on staying connected to Srila Prabhupada and his vision as they celebrate ISKCON’s 50th and look toward the next 50 years.

They began their 2016 as they mean to go on, with the second annual “Our Prabhupada” festival. The first, in December 2014, saw Suresvara Das speaking about Srila Prabhupada as ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya.

At this year’s festival from January 15th to 20th at the ISKCON Moscow temple, hundreds of devotees learned about Srila Prabhupada as a person from Hari Sauri Das, who personally served him for sixteen months.

Hari Sauri gave his famous Living Bhagavatam seminar, discussing Prabhupada’s approach to different aspects of devotional service and life such as chanting, prasadam, cleanliness, health, and management. He showed how Srila Prabhupada applied the philosophy of Krishna consciousness in myriad practical ways, within a modern context.

“Hari Sauri Prabhu endeared us to Srila Prabhupada, presenting him as a loving, caring father to us all,” says Moscow ISKCON 50 coordinator Vrajarenu Das, who acted as translator for part of the seminar.

Next, from January 22nd to 24th, 400 devotees attended an ecstatic Kirtan Mela at ISKCON Moscow with B.B. Govinda Swami, Niranjana Swami, and local kirtaniyas like Saci-Suta Das, Abhay Chaitanya Das and Haridas Thakur Das.

Moscow devotees also plan to reach out to newcomers with Kirtan during ISKCON 50. Three hundred members of the public are expected for a Mantra Yoga event on April 23rd, where they’ll chant different mantras such as Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. They’ll then hear a talk on the effects of mantra meditation, followed by a long session of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.

Moscow ISKCON 50 Coordinator Vrajarenu Das speaks

Previous Mantra Yoga events have featured speakers like Bhakti Vijnana Goswami, Bhaki Vaibhava Swami, and Russian ISKCON guru Chaitanya Charan Das; so while this April’s speakers haven’t been confirmed yet, they’re bound to be illustrious.

Two “Kirtan Moscow” events on April 30th and May 9th will follow at the temple, and is expected to draw relative newcomers who are taking the next step, and are specifically interested in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. The May event is also expected to draw 300 people.

ISKCON Moscow’s main ISKCON 50 festival will be held from June 18th to 26th, and will be an umbrella for several different events. It will kick off with a Vaishnavi Festival on the 18th and 19th, which will likely be attended by 200 to 250 local Moscow devotee women.

The special guest speaker will be Mondakini Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada from France. Mondakini was one of the earliest pioneers of Krishna consciousness in Russia, and was married to Russia’s first devotee Ananta Shanti Das. She remains strongly connected with the Russian ISKCON Community.

“We expect that she will invite two more female disciples of Srila Prabhupada to join her for the festival,” says organizer Ekanga Dasi. “They’ll talk about Prabhupada, and help audience members develop their personal relationships with him. There will also be classes on Prabhupada’s books, Deity worship, and cooking. The main purpose of the festival is Vaishnavi association, and I hope it will leave participants with a taste of communication and cooperation.”

The ISKCON 50festival will also include celebrations of the 45th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s visit to Moscow and the 24th anniversary of the installation of Sri Sri Dayal Nitai Saci Suta, the presiding Deities of ISKCON Moscow. Key Srila Prabhupada disciples will attend and tell stories of the early days.

“One major goal of the festival is to lay a proper foundation for succession,” says Vrajarenu. “We can see that Srila Prabhupada’s disciples are leaving us, and so we have to ensure that the new generations know what Prabhupada was like as a person, as a leader, as a loving father.”

As well as the festivals and events, there will be special seminars and publications for ISKCON’s 50th.

Already on Sunday February 28th, Vatsala Das, a brahmachari and well-known preacher in Moscow, gave a seminar on Prabhupada’s Seven Purposes of ISKCON, and how we can apply them today.

Niranjana Swami chants at the recent Moscow Kirtan Mela

The GBC foundational document “Srila Prabhupada: The Founder-Acarya of ISKCON” was also just printed in Russian.

The next issue of “Vaishnavism: Open Forum,” a journal for devotees who specialize in outreach to academics, sociologists, authorities and the media, will be dedicated to ISKCON 50.

Bhakti Vijnana Goswami is currently writing commentaries on a previously published document called “The Constitution of ISKCON,” which describes fourteen aims of ISKCON.

“Maharaja’s version will be published as a brochure for ISKCON devotees and newcomers,” says ISKCON Russia Communications Director Radha Damodara Das “And it will allow for a better understanding of Srila Prabhupada’s vision and ISKCON’s mission.”

Finally, a book entitled “Vaisnavas in the Socio-Cultural Context of Modern Russia,” intended for authorities and academics, will communicate to them ISKCON’s place in the world and in Russia today, and explain Srila Prabhupada’s mission, especially its social and moral aspects.

“We are planning on a number of conferences, round table discussions, and meetings on the subject,” says Radha Damodara.

Summing up the aims of Russia’s ISKCON 50 celebrations, Vrajarenu says, “Our society, ISKCON, is growing and changing, with new generations coming in. And it’s very important nowadays to help them understand Srila Prabhupada’s vision and keep that connection.”

If they do, ISKCON Russia has a bright future. Sixty million Bhagavad-gitas have been distributed in Russia over the years; today, there are tens of thousands of mostly native congregational devotees in Moscow alone; and with the work of innovative preachers, more and more intelligent youth are reading Prabhupada’s books and chanting the Holy Name. 

“I believe that Russia has a very huge potential for Krishna consciousness,” says Vrajarenu. “And ISKCON’s 50thanniversary is a great opportunity to meditate on the possibilities.”

“The next milestone is the 50th anniversary of ISKCON in Russia in five years,” he concludes. “And that, too, will be a very important date for our society here.”

Source: http://iskconnews.org/russian-iskcon-50-focuses-on-prabhupada-connection,5436/

Around fifteen ISKCON devotees brought the sound of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the taste of sanctified vegetarian food to a huge anti-nuclear march in London on February 27th.

It was Britain’s biggest anti-nuclear march in a generation. Thousands of campaigners gathered from all over the world to protest the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons program, estimated to cost £41 billion. The money, they said, should be spent on education and the National Health Service instead.

“Books not Bombs,” read some placards, a sentiment ISKCON devotees could certainly get behind.

The march made its way from Marble Arch in Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, where protestors including Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke.

Volunteers from devotee-run charity Food For All kept marchers going by distributing 1,000 plates of a full prasadam feast, including rice, subji, pakoras, cake, and a drink. With Food-For-All’s trademark creativity, the sanctified vegetarian hot meals were served from rickshaws at the beginning, middle, and end of the march.

“People loved it!” enthuses Food For All director Parasurama Das in his lilting Irish accent. “The moment we set up, there was a long queue. Imagine, you’re on a long protest march, and there’s nothing to eat or drink. Everyone really appreciated it.”

Devotees also provided the soundtrack, elevating walkers’ spirits with kirtan. Brahmachari Dayal Mora Das, in his saffron robes, sang out a beautiful Hare Krishna tune in a clear voice. A Bhaktivedanta Manor farm volunteer played a full drum set from a wheeled float. Parasurama and Food For All volunteer Grant accompanied on ukulele and electric guitar. And a protestor joined in on his trumpet.

Parasurama stirs up a storm in 'the biggest pot in the Western world'

The whole combo, meanwhile, was broadcast over a powerful sound system. 

“We were the only people that put a full band together like that, and everyone was saying, ‘Gosh, you guys are really organized!’” says Parasurama. “They were just walking, but when we kicked off, people were joining in, and dancing. It was really cool!”

The devotees were featured chanting in the Channel 4 TV coverage of the event, and serving prasadam in the BBC coverage. 

At the end of the rally, they presented a letter to Jeremy Corbyn, the politician speaking out against the nuclear program. 

“We invited him to visit Food For All’s center Matchless Gifts, because he’s vegetarian, he knows about our efforts, and we are based in Islington, the part of London where he works,” says Parasurama.

A video of the event

A lot of people, in fact, know about Food For All’s efforts these days, and the charity is planning to reach out to even more soon. 

Parasurama and his crew currently feed around 1,000 homeless people and students in London every day, and will soon increase that number to 5,000 a day. They plan to ask London Mayor Boris Johnson to suppor the project, called “Feed the 5,000.”

Parasurama says he can cook all 5,000 meals at once in what he dubs “the biggest pot in the Western world,” a giant vessel that truly has to be seen to be believed.

But what’s most interesting about Food For All is that all of the fruit and veg it uses would otherwise be thrown away by supermarkets for being aesthetically unappealing, despite being perfectly good. 

This has put a prasadam charity run by devotees at the forefront of a new movement to stop waste. The cover story of March 2016’s National Geographic magazine, entitled “How ‘Ugly’ Fruits and Vegetables Can Help Solve World Hunger,” says that a third of the planet’s food goes to waste, often because of its looks – enough to feed two billion people.

And who is one of the people it cites as working to solve this problem? “Peter O’Grady, a Hare Krishna who runs a charity kitchen in London.”

Food For All is also becoming a favorite of activists, who often call asking for prasadam to be distributed at their demonstrations – the anti-trident rally was not the first, and won’t be the last.

On Saturday March 5th, for instance, the charity will cater A Million Women Rising, a march from Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square protesting domestic abuse, sexual assault and other violence against women. Parasurama will cook for the event, while all female devotees will serve the prasadam. 

“The people at these marches are conscientious, good, caring, thoughtful people, who are trying to make the world a better place,” says Parasurama. “We’re also trying to make the world a better place, through chanting and serving prasadam. So they’re great people to connect with. And they love Hare Krishnas!” 

Source: http://iskconnews.org/devotees-chant-serve-prasad-at-uk-anti-nuclear-rally,5437/

I Think the main ideas of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindu (without technicalities) are:

1) What is love?

2) How can you “practice” love?

3) How do you practice love? 

4) What are the inspirations to practice love? 

5) How is love experienced?

1) What is love? 

Love is an expression of affection.

Affection is the desire to make someone happy and prosperous.

Pure love is when that expression has no ulterior motive and is given top priority.

Topmost pure love is when that pure love finds the topmost beloved, Krishna – who is the root of all other beloved things.

2) How can you “practice” love?

Love can’t be manufactured. Nothing you do can “create” it, but you can do things to make your heart much more receptive to it, more capable of being an agent of it.

This is done by emulating the expressions of love. By emulating something, it gradually becomes more than an emulation. We gradually get a feel for it. It becomes a feeling, not just an action.

Our emulation has to gradually acquire more and more emotional content, more and more sincerity – that makes the heart fully receptive to love, and inspires the Goddess of Love, Sri Radha, to bless our hearts with her own presence.

3) How DO you practice love? 

You should have a guide, someone who understands and exemplifies love.

You should respect everyone and everything, lovingly.

You should live in a place nearby or connected with the beloved – like Vṛndāvana. Or you should make the place you live into a place connected with the beloved.

You should practice having a personal relationship with the beloved – by keeping an image of him and treating him like a person whom you can interact with, feeding him, etc.

You should become close with others who also love the beloved.

You should hear about the beloved in great detail – by studying Śrīmad Bhāgavatam very deeply and the explanations of it given by great lovers of Krishna.

You should sing about the beloved. Especially, you should sing the name of the beloved. 

4) What are the inspirations to practice love?

The inspiration to practice love may be your understanding that love is the most perfect law, the ultimate religion, the essence of all that is good. Additionally, the specific inspiration to practice love for Krishna is to understand that Krishna is the most perfect beloved, for he is the original person (the most fully qualified), and is the root of all other beloved things including one’s own self.

Another inspiration may be the beauty of love itself. When we become attracted to the specific beauty of love for Krishna, our inspiration to practice it becomes very passionate, and all of our practices become focused by the specifics of that inspiration.

5) How is love experienced?

The practice of love gradually purifies the practitioner from all things antithetical to it. Then it enters the purified core of your being like a divine Queen rising to her gentle and opulent throne. There it expands and consumes your entire being eternally in the thrilling bliss of an ecstatic divine love affair.

The foundation of this ecstasy is the type of affectionate relationship you have with the beloved, Krishna. It may merely be a lack of any selfishness, or it may be a desire to actively serve him, or it may admit no boundaries to how it strives for doing so – taking on a friendly character. It may even take a protective flavor, like the affection of a parent for a child. It may even escalate to the pinnacle of all affectionate relationship – the absolute intimacy, protection, service, and selflessness found in unabashed romantic passion.

The ecstasy of this divine relationship can be tasted when it is stimulated by the beloved or by things connected to the beloved, and then expressed in thoughtful and reflexive ways, and adorned with various thrilling emotions.

The experience of the ecstasy of divine love is the supreme happiness, and therefore is the soul’s supreme aspiration, the ultimate goal of life. It fulfills our every want and need through its selfless absorption in the beloved, Sri Krishna.

Vraja Kishor

Source: https://vicd108.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/technicality-free-the-essence-of-bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu/

Every year at the time of the Mayapur Gaura Purnima festival, the GBCs from all over the world come to meet.

There are many proposals of various kinds put to the GBC body and discussions go 

Source: http://www.ramaiswami.com/mayapur-gbc-meeting/

Giving fingerprints to purchase food? Reports on what is happening in Venezuela, and what the world awaits, needs your attention because it might come to you soon. Last August Natural News reported that Venezuelan farmers and food producers were now required to sell anywhere from 30 percent to 100 percent of their products to state-owned stores. The order covered staple foods such as rice, milk, oil, sugar and flour. It quoted theFinancial Times saying that the desperate Maduro government has taken the extreme measure of nationalizing the nation’s food industry.

It has only become worse since then. Empty food selves, long queues with many opting to sleep in line in order to ensure their turn, and police guards at food stores have become the way of life in Venezuela. Military aid is necessary to ensure social stability at state-run stores.

In order to convince hungry Venezuelans to voluntarily register for the program, Food Minister Felix Osorio promised that anyone who signed up and give the government their fingerprints, would be eligible for discounts and prizes.

The scheme was not made mandatory when it was first implemented, but critics warned that it would become just another way for the state to keep tabs on its people, and could even serve as a precursor to rationing.

Bloomberg News also reported: “Inside a Plan Suarez grocery store … in eastern Caracas, shelves were mostly bare. Customers struggled and fought for items at times, with many trying to skip lines. The most sought-after products included detergent, with customers waiting in line for two to three hours to buy a maximum of two bags. A security guard asked that photos of empty shelves not be taken.”

One non-profit group recorded more than 500 instances of violent protests throughout Venezuela, along with 56 instances of looting, and scores of attempted lootings of grocery stores, pharmacies and warehouses – all in the first half of 2015. Even delivery trucks were targeted.(Excerpts sourced from:http://www.naturalnews.com/053125_Venezuela_economic_collapse_food_crisis.html#ixzz41hilkRmN)

So what went wrong? Why the country cannot feed even its own citizen? In reply, any modern economist would start lecturing on high inflation rates, deepening financial deficits, and so on. Thee is no dearth of buzz words today. Some class of people would talk of increasing world population or blame the land or farmers, and political leaders would quickly blame the ruling party.

Where does the reality lie? The answer is surprisingly simple for those who are acquainted with Vedic life style, called Varnashram system.

I read in a book by Srila Prabhupada: “Many may claim that in the modern age material scientists have helped increase agricultural yield. But we fearlessly proclaim that it is precisely such atheistic views that have brought the world to the present acute food crisis. If we are not careful, the day will soon come when fruits will be reduced to just skin and seed, cows’ udders will dry up, and paddy fields will grow only grass. The scriptures predict that these things will come to pass in the Kali-yuga”. (RTW 2.10)

I also read in Bhagavad Gita (3.14): annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah
yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavah. Meaning, all living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.

Srila Prabhuapda explains:

“Food grains or vegetables are factually eatables. The human being eats different kinds of food grains, vegetables, fruits, etc., and the animals eat the refuse of the food grains and vegetables, grass, plants, etc. Human beings who are accustomed to eating meat and flesh must also depend on the production of vegetation in order to eat the animals. Therefore, ultimately, we have to depend on the production of the field and not on the production of big factories. The field production is due to sufficient rain from the sky, and such rains are controlled by demigods like Indra, sun, moon, etc., and they are all servants of the Lord. The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who cannot perform them will find himself in scarcity—that is the law of nature. Yajna, specifically the saìkirtana-yajna prescribed for this age, must therefore be performed to save us at least from scarcity of food supply.”

That’s what! Foolish people are running chicken farms instead of growing grains, governments are supporting slaughter houses instead of cow protection programs, farmers are allured to leave villages, alcohol consumption is made into a status symbol instead of calling it crime, and education system is aimed at atheism instead of godliness. The result of such activities is unequivocally outlined in India’s ancient Vedic scriptures, and, admit it or not, what we see today in the world is nothing but a proof of the authenticity of those immortal words.

Today it is Venezuela, tomorrow it will be someone else. It is only a question of time and no country will be spared unless they take drastic steps to implement Vedic lifestyle based on simple living and high thinking. Some of the visible reasons for today’s worsening food crisis are irresponsible farming and industrialization of agriculture, like GMO, animal slaughter, oil and alcohol industry, destroying of trees, promotion of prostitution in various ways, and on top of all, denial of the supremacy of God. Again, by not admitting facts none in the past has been ever able to change facts nor will it be ever possible. Vedas are the words of God and so the wisdom stored in it is infallible.

According the law of karma, the reactions of past activities will come but by the grace of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtana-yajna humanity can still be saved from the otherwise looming disaster. The saving mantra of the day is, turn to Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.

Source: http://mayapurvoice.com/svagatam/biometric-scanning-now-required-to-purchase-food-what-went-wrong/

We are trying to create the most aesthetic and colorful gardens in India for the pleasure of the Lord.

By clicking on an icon number, you will get a glimpse of how magnificent the surrounding TOVP gardens will look. There are currently 2 sections available: Vegetation and Outdoor furniture.

Here is the link for the masterplan: http://masterplan.tovp.org

 NOTE: For best visual experience please follow the following guidelines.

Use FULLSCREEN mode to get the best visual experience. Fullscreen mode can be activated by clicking an icon in the top left corner of the map.

Please be patient while the images load initially. Due to their large size (high resolution) it will take some time to load the maps fully. And then, when you click each pin/point on the map the first time wait for each image to load fully, it will autoposition itself properly on the map. The second and all consequtive times you load the map and each point it will open almost instantly.

Source: http://tovp.org/news/art-architecture-design/the-tovp-masterplan/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-tovp-masterplan

The ISKCON Leadership (ILS) seminars in Sridhama Mayapur during ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary celebrations and the Gaur Purnima Festival are underway and a dynamic partnership with the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) Fundraising Team is helping to facilitate this year’s seminars.

These seminars are organized every two years under the direction of Gopal Bhatta Das to educate, train and inspire ISKCON devotees in different areas of management, outreach, devotee care and much more. They are attended by hundreds of GBC’s, sannyasis, Temple Presidents, Congregational Development leaders, Bhakti Vrksha leaders and general devotees from all over the world. 

This year also brought some additional inspiration and excitement to the gathering when the attendees themselves forged together to combinedly pledge $250,000 to the TOVP which included a $100,000 donation from Gopal Bhatta himself. The TOVP Team is very appreciative of this generous action which will undoubtedly be a springboard for further contributions during the Gaur Purnima Festival.

Visit the ILS website for more information: www.ilsglobal.org

Gunagrahi das Goswami Health Update - Official.
Written by Mahahari das and Gandharvika devi dasi
Dear Devotees, family and well wishers,
Please accept our obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and His Holiness Gunagrahi das Goswami.
My Husband and I both spoke to His Holiness Gunagrahi Maharaja today.
After undergoing his second MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) it was discovered that the cancer has gotten worse. It has not spread to new areas of the body, but has gained strength in existing areas. He is also experiencing increased pain throughout the body, especially in the areas of the tumor near the spine. He is in good spirits and plans to continue the treatments for now. He will be in contact with the doctors, medical professionals and senior devotees as to what he plans to do next. We ask that the devotees please pray for his well being and that he may suffer the least pain possible.
Due to the intense situation, he will be minimizing even more his email, and we request that devotees only write him positive communication if necessary.
As requested in a previous update, he welcomes 30 second video greetings. Please send those to: gandarvika@yahoo.com
Your servants,
Mahahari das and Gandharvika devi dasi

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=19380

The Heart of a Vaisnava. 
A wonderful lecture by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami about the Vaisnavas who voluntarily, out of their causeless mercy come down to this miserable place, this material world.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/Sdmkcz

We have commenced the stainless steel structure for the West Wing kalash.

What you’re seeing in the photo and video is the first segment for the small dome. There will be three more layers on top of that. This gives an indication of the immense size of the kalashes. Soon work will commence on the main dome kalash.

Source: http://tovp.org/news/construction/beginning-of-west-wing-kalash-installation-first-segment/

1st March 2016, Mayapur, India

By Romapada Das

At the pre-launch of ISKCON Connection on the 7th day of the ILS, Praharana Devi Dasi explained that the new initiative will help connect every devotee to our worldwide community. ISKCON Connection, which will be formally launched on Gaura Purnima day this year, is a 50th anniversary initiative.

“Any ISKCON devotee can register on the website, and will be able to connect to other ISKCON devotees, become familiar with GBC activities, be nurtured in spiritual life, and access a secure database of ISKCON members,” said Praharana Devi Dasi in her introductory talk.

Devotees can fill a form on the prelaunch site at www.iskconconnection.org straight away, but they will get a welcome letter and be able to access the facilities on the site after its formal launch on 23rd March.

In the next presentation, Kaunteya Das presented ISKCON’s 3 ecosystems made of the guru-disciple relationship, ISKCON as an organisation, and society at large. He explained that these ecosystems were interconnected and interdependent, but not interchangeable.

“Srila Prabhupada has told us that human society means that which is making progress towards spiritual realisation,” commented Kaunteya. “There may be differences that may sometimes surface between the needs and priorities of the management and those of the spiritual master, but these can be resolved. An organisation without the spiritual mentorship of a Guru is dead, and a social ecosystem without spirituality is mundane.”

After the plenary sessions in the morning, ILS delegates had to walk through the Expo area surrounded by different booths hosted by various ISKCON projects. Booths included those set up by the Tribal Care Initiative Mayapur, Govardhan Eco Village, Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple, Congregation Development Ministry, BBT, Museum of the Sacred Art, Back to Godhead, Kirtan Academy, VOICE and many others.

Bhakta Ashwin from ISKCON Pune NVCC who was hosting the VOICE stall said, “VOICE has been training and educating youth since 1996 and over 10,000 students have participated in different courses. It also has over a dozen youth hostels across the country close to prestigious colleges. ILS delegates who came to our stall appreciated the wide variety of training and preaching material we have here for youth, corporates, congregation and children.”

At the Kirtan Academy booth nearby, Chaitanya Chintamani Dasi was upbeat about promoting a 3-month course on kirtans.

“Mother Laxmimoni told us that the Kirtan Academy was the best kept secret of Mayapur,” she laughed. “Therefore we set this booth up and signed up many interested people whom we will contact later for our courses. It has been good to just get the word out and see how positive people feel about our work.”

The President of ISKCON Chennai, Sumithra Krishna Das felt that the booths and stalls at ILS helped him to get timely and up-to-date information about preaching activities and tools. “The best part were the free gifts so many of the stalls were handing out,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “However, it rained heavily on the second day. Water clogged the access area, and we could not get inside. The organisers helpfully sanded the entire area, and we could get access to the stalls the following day.”

Krishna Jhan Das from ISKCON Guyana expressed admiration for the commitment and dedication of the devotees who had set up the different stalls.

“They are helping Srila Prabhupada push our movement to the next level,” he concluded. “I have had a lifetime of experience by coming here, and hope to share this knowledge and apply it when I get back to my country.”

THINK 50! Act 50!

Source: http://iskconnews.org/day-7of-ils-connection-with-iskcon,5430/

Everything Srila Prabhupada did, he did for our benefit, for the benefit of the living entities and especially for his disciples.
Ambarish: I found a palatial estate that was the Fisher Mansion and later became the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center. We went there to look at it, and Srila Prabhupada immediately liked it. He mentioned, “Who would not like such a building?”
Govardhan said, “Well, Ambarish doesn’t like it.” It was dirty, and there were dogs in it, and the neighborhood was really bad. I couldn’t see what was going to happen to it, but Prabhupada had a vision of what this place could be.
Govardhan said, “Ambarish thinks it’s maya.” Prabhupada said, “Yes, but Krishna is also maya, and maya can be utilized in the service of Krishna.”
After we looked at the building, we went to see the man who owned it. We were sitting by his pool. He was materialistic and greedy and wanted as much money as he could get, but the neighborhood was so bad that I couldn’t see how he was possibly going to get that much money, three-hundred-fifty thousand.
Prabhupada told the man that he liked the building. He said, “Of course, we’re mendicants, we’re monks, we don’t have much money.” He suggested that the man give the building.
The man was cool. He didn’t seem too shocked with that suggestion, but the real-estate lady almost fell over backwards in her chair, because she was counting on her commission. Her jaw dropped when Prabhupada said that.
The owner was respectful and said he couldn’t possibly do that, as he had invested money in the property. So they settled on a price, and Prabhupada asked if Lekhashravanti and I could come up with the money. We ended up purchasing the building that way.
We were walking in the gardens, when Prabhupada explained that he wanted to make this Detroit building a showplace for Krishna consciousness. He specifically mentioned putting in diorama exhibitions.
He was very enthusiastic about these diorama exhibitions because his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, had used dioramas throughout India as an effective way of preaching.
Prabhupada saw that non-devotees like Disney were using them, and he wanted us to have them. Dioramas were one of the first things that I wanted to get working on when we bought the property.
I was concerned with the neighborhood because there was a lot of crime and burned-out buildings. Prabhupada said “If you simply bring Krishna here, everything will improve.” At the time, I didn’t have much faith in that, but it’s well known how the neighborhood has improved.
Now there are luxury condominiums there, and there’s the first new housing development within the city limits of Detroit in forty or fifty years.
The whole neighborhood has been transformed, and they have said specifically that it’s because the temple is there. Prabhupada could see that this was going to happen.
What I learned from this experience was that simply by following the instructions of the spiritual master, you become successful. As disciples, we don’t have to try to be innovative or think up new things, but just by following Prabhupada’s directions things will work out.
Prabhupada could see past, present, and future because he was in touch with Krishna. The Detroit building has worked out really well.
It has become a wonderful center and people who would never visit any other temple come there. I think Prabhupada would be very pleased with the way things developed.
The night after the new temple was purchased, the real-estate lady and her partner, two middle-aged Polish women, came to congratulate Prabhupada. They both were intoxicated and were laughing.
Prabhupada was kind and friendly with them, and he was very happy too, because he had purchased the building at a good price. Prabhupada didn’t discriminate. He always made whomever came feel comfortable. His attitude was so personable it was amazing.
During the last few months of his life, I knew Prabhupada was really ill, but I never thought that he was going to depart. I thought, “How can he leave? He can’t leave us now,” so I did not go to India.
In retrospect I wish I had gone, but Govardhan, the president of the Detroit temple, went, and when he first went into Prabhupada’s presence, Prabhupada said, “How is Ambarish?”
He was on his departure bed, yet he was asking how I was doing. It’s amazing to me that he was always so concerned. Right up to the end, he was translating and giving instructions.
Everything he did, he did for our benefit, for the benefit of the living entities and especially for his disciples. It’s such an example of love. I never knew what love was before I met Srila Prabhupada.
I had no idea, because we get so many perverted reflections. He was an example of Krishna’s love, and it is amazing that we’re able to see that.
—Ambarish
Excerpt from “Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint”
by Siddhanta das
www.prabhupadamemories.com

On Monday, 15th February 2016, HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja addressed approximately 600 students and congregational members at Sagar Institute of Research & Technology collage, Bhopal (India). HH Bhakti Prema Swami Maharaj also accompanied Maharaj in this program.

Maharaja was enthusiastically greeted by the audience and after Maharaja arrived, a drama named “Live from Ahobilam” was performed. Thereafter, Guru Maharaja started the program with a very wonderful prayer. Maharaja began the class and described the glories of Sri Narsimhadeva and Prahalada Maharaja. He also glorified the actors for their wonderful acting skills and presentations.

In the class Maharaja focused on the concept of devotion where he also discussed the philosophy of scriptures depicting the transmigration of the souls from one body to another and the cycle of birth and death. Maharaja said that the best way of understanding the Lord is by directing ourselves on the track that is illuminated by “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”. He said that “the best way to understand the taste of pudding is by tasting it”. Similarly, the best way to understand devotion is by practicing it. He also said that Krishna and Arjuna had the conversation to cultivate the instruction of devotion within his devotees. Maharaja said that the best way to understand any person is asking him directly, similarly to know the Lord, you need to read His book of instructions “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”. Maharaja gave the conclusion in Hindi Tro accommodate the Hindi speaking audience.

Maharaja also answered several questions asked by the students, which was followed by an ecstatic kirtan led by Him. Many students joined Maharaja on stage dancing in the kirtan with Maharaja. In this way the program was concluded.

The next day, 16th February 2016, Maharaja gave Srimad Bhagvatam class at ISKCON Bhopal temple. HH Bhakti Prema Swami accompanied Maharaja. After that Maharaja visited “Transcendental classes”, a coaching institute opened by the local ISKCON youth forum devotees.

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=19424

By Praghosa Das

The ILS seminars in Sridhama Mayapur during ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary celebrations and the Gaur Purnima Festival are underway and a dynamic partnership with the TOVP Fundraising Team is helping to facilitate this year’s seminars.

These seminars are organized every two years under the direction of Gopal Bhatta prabhu to educate, train and inspire ISKCON devotees in different areas of management, outreach, devotee care and much more. They are attended by hundreds of GBC’s, sannyasis, Temple Presidents, Congregational Development leaders, Bhakti Vrksha leaders and general devotees from all over the world.

This year also brought some additional inspiration and excitement to the gathering when the attendees themselves forged together to combinedly pledge $250,000 to the TOVP which included a $100,000 donation from Gopal Bhatta himself. The TOVP Team is very appreciative of this generous action which will undoubtedly be a springboard for further contributions during the Gaur Purnima Festival.

Visit the ILS website for more information: www.ilsglobal.org

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=19422

THE AROMA OF CUMIN, TURMERIC, FENNEL AND CLOVES grows stronger as we walk through the crowded parking lot towards the ISKCON of Houston in Oak Forest, its towering temple domes glowing overhead like beacons in the night. Sounds of chatter, chanting, bells and drums join the fragrance drifting from the entrance of the temple’s multicultural center.

Inside, a line has formed for the Sunday Love Feast, which begins promptly at 7:30 p.m. The completely vegetarian, South Asian–style meal is always open to the public—along with the meditation and Bhagavad Gita class that precedes it—and tonight’s queue is filled with Krishna followers and visitors alike.

For Hare Krishnas, food is as much an expression of faith as the prayers they chant in their well-known, 16-word mantra: “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” Food prepared with love and devotion is said to inspire the same in those who consume it—as long as it’s offered to Krishna first in acknowledgement of the cerulean-skinned deity’s omnipotence.

Dinner is served cafeteria-style, and volunteers greet us with a friendly “Hare Krishna” before spooning food onto our plastic plates. Inside a great hall, we find a spot on the floor where white-and-purple-striped running cloths are laid out in place of tables. Adults catch up over dinner, while youngsters run through the hall and teenagers sit poring over homework.

We’re nibbling on parathas between bites of spicy dal, white rice, rajma chawal and cinnamon couscous when a man wearing a simple grey beanie and linen robes sits down in front of us, introducing himself as Krishna Kripa. Before long, the 58-year-old priest, who formerly worked in marketing, has covered an array of topics: Oak Forest property values, the purpose of the pouch of wooden beads around his neck (for praying), the ISKCON’s mission, even the meaning of life itself (progression towards a higher spiritual plain).

After dinner, Kripa and his wife lead us across a manicured lawn into the heart of the 24,000-square-foot temple. “We have to go pick up my uncle from the airport, but please come to our son’s wedding this Saturday,” says Kripa’s wife, who has also invited several other people during our brief walk. Once inside the dazzling structure, its ivory ceiling carved into a massive, three-dimensional lotus flower and its walls decorated with paintings of azure-hued Krishna, we watch the night’s worship service come to a rousing close.

We sit near a group of young Krishna devotees, Kripa’s son among them, singing elegantly in time with a pulsing mridangam drum and wheezy harmonium. Their chants echo warmly while devotees come and go, laying prostrate in front of the altar that houses a human-sized statue of Krishna—here, painted the dark blue of a night sky—and his female manifestation, the golden-toned Radha, to say their nightly prayers.

Finally, a priest in saffron robes wafts incense around the statues as he sends them to bed for the evening (ceremonially, at least), and then trumpets into a large, heavy conch shell to end the worship service. Thick, green velvet curtains close across the altar, and everyone files out for the evening. For the first time, the temple is silent.

Source: http://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2016/3/1/sunday-love-feast-houston-hare-krishnas-march-2016

So I am begging for the blessings of all my teachers and all of you assembled here. We shall listen, study a verse from the Fourth Canto, 30th Chapter, called the Activities of the Pracetas, this is verse 35, one of my favourite verses. Please repeat. 

yatredyante katha mrstas trsnayah prasamo yatah nirvairam yatra bhutesu nodvego yatra kascana 

Translation: “Whenever pure topics of the transcendental world are discussed, the members of the audience forget all kinds of material hankerings, at least for the time being. Not only that, but they are no longer envious of one another, nor do they suffer from anxiety or fear.” 

So this is a very beautiful, interesting verse, as are all the verses of Srimad Bhagavatam, meant to turn our consciousness back towards the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, meant to teach us how to see Krishna, how to see Him everywhere. Because this is the solution to all the ills of the material world, the material society. Srila Prabhupada explains in this verse, the characteristic of this world. It is full of envy. It is indeed the characteristic of this world. As soon as we accept a material body, Prahlada Maharaja says dehinam, those who are materially embodied, they are immediately full of anxiety. And one of the anxieties is that somehow we cannot conceive of a world where everyone is a well-wisher of another. There is envy in our heart and there is envy in the heart of others. And when interact with each other we suffer the results of that envy. In Srimad Bhagavatam as been given to us, its our great great good fortune, to remove this awful conditioning, which is completely the opposite of what our original nature is about. Srila Prabhupada explains that Krishna katha, as we hear many times is non-different from Krishna. 

It is completely identical with Him. This statement has been made again and again that there is no difference between the words that describe Krishna and Krishna Himself. It is difficult indeed for us to understand that. Therefore we are requested always to be very submissive, to the instructions of the spiritual master who says, to engage in sravanam, kirtanam, as much as possible. Any services that we perform are certainly meant for our deliverance and are certainly transcendental. At the same time it is the same teachings of Prahlada Maharaja that tell us that, unless the services that we perform are backed up, substantiated by hearing and chanting, they will not actually be able to give us the full satisfaction because service means that which is done for Krishna in a pure consciousness. And the pure consciousness is generated not from us but from Krishna, it is generated from our association with the Supreme Lord. And as soon as we deviate just a little bit from that association, immediately the atmosphere of the material world takes over, contaminates our heart, contaminates our mind. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, kirtaniya sada, sada harih, all the time hear and chant about Krishna. Srila Prabhupada says we should organise our life in such a way that we can always hear and chant about Krishna. 

So the material world has an atmosphere that is actually completely against this remembrance of Krishna. It is pulling our mind, especially in this age, towards all kinds of sinful activities. We are pulled from outside, we are pulled from within, suffering the reactions of so many of our previous offences, previous sins and we are left to battle in this world, truly just like a straw that is floating in the current of a river. It is a great benediction to us when one day we can be blessed with this realisation that we are no more than a straw that is floating on a river. A river that flows with a very very strong current. And sometimes the river bashes us on the left side of the river and suddenly our mind and association becomes sinful. And then after some time the river sends us or the water flow sends us on the right side of the river and suddenly we are surrounded by pious activities, our mind is peaceful. And sometimes the river starts going round and round and round and we feel like we are descending,

descending, descending into an abyss full of darkness and it seems that we shall never get out of there. This is a great blessing upon us when we can realise that, that we are being bashed left and right and there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it. The only thing, the only person that can actually help us is Krishna and specifically its Krishna in the form of sound. mantra-murtim, Krishna is called, mantra-murtim-amurtikam. It is difficult to understand for us because we cannot see the sound, we cannot see the sound. We hear, we hear. And it is difficult to actually to get this point that the sound itself is the presence of Lord Krishna in our life around us. The manifestation of Krishna from the sound is described in the scriptures. It is said that the Vedic scriptures of which Srimad Bhagavatam is the king, they are compared like a wind. 

There is a wind that blows naturally in the world. And when it passes over a fragrant flower and then enters our nostrils, although there is some separation between us and the flower we experience the beauty, the quality of the flower, the beauty of the flower and we recognise the flower because we have knowledge that sometime in the past there was that fragrance and it was associated with a rose. We remember and we appreciate and within our mind we see the flower, we experience its qualities, we have its direct association. So Bhagavatam says actually, Lord Brahma explains that the Vedic mantras they are like a wind that is travelling around this world and it enters not the nostrils but the ears. And this sound of the Vedic mantras is just like the wind that carries the aroma of the flower. It carries within it the form, qualities and activities of Krishna. It describes the activities and it carries them encapsulated within that sound. The sound itself comes from Krishna, He is origin of all sound. Caitanya Mahaprabhu told us that this Hare Krishna mahamantra has come from Goloka Vrindavana. So it has come from there. The sound is carrying Krishna’s aroma and when it enters the ears, if we are attentive enough and desirous to be with Krishna and submissive to the order of our spiritual master, that sound will go deep, deep, deep, deep within our heart. The heart is described as a very subtle space wherein the soul resides and within the heart the sound is going to release the fragrance of Krishna’s lotus feet. This is how the very very advanced devotees meet Krishna. It begins all with sound and the sound manifests the fragrance of Krishna’s lotus feet. It manifests the form of Krishna’s lotus feet. This is why we came to this movement, hearing this beautiful descriptions. We came here with a great hope, hope against hope. Srila Rupa Goswami defines the hope of the devotee, it is hope against hope because we realise day after day that we are not qualified. And at the same time we read the descriptions of that Lord of our heart and the main description is His love for us, its His nature as merciful. He is merciful to the most fallen. This is our only good fortune. 

We do not have any other. Pride is great obstruction, obstacle on the path of devotional service. It is the beginning of all fall, when we begin to identity with this body, with this mental capacity, with this material intelligence, with the place where we have taken birth and somehow associate with that ideas of superior- inferior, and we start relating with people in a way that is going to cause a lot of chaos. We have to uproot. And if we don't make an effort to uproot, Krishna will help us, He will help us to remove that dangerous weed of pride. Because as long as that pride is there, the feeling with which the mahamantra has to be chanted will never come. Pride, envy are the diseases that plague this world. And they plague each and every individual. The solution is given in this verse. It is in one sense the essence of the Bhagavatam verses that directly talk of hearing and chanting. So coming together to hear and chant, this is the essence of what Srila Prabhupada taught us. Here the verse explains, yatredyante katha mrstas, the katha of the Lord is pure, never contaminated. It is pure transcendental sound and wherever Prabhupada says the topics are discussed, the word idyante actually means worshipped, the word of the Lord are worshipped. The form of the lord is worshipped through arati, dressing, bhoga offerings and the words of the Lord are worshipped by recitation. They are worshipped by hearing them submissively, attentively, respectfully. This is a form of worship, it is called the Bhagavata marga. We worship the Lord through sound. This is indeed the worship that will keep us going till the end of life. At the last moment it is said when the soul is ready to leave this material tabernacle, what is to be done - remember! What is the best way to remember - chant! Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare This kirtana, sravanam is the king of all processes, although we cannot minimise any process because they are all equal. Each and every one of them has the capacity to liberate us but unless we have heard we won’t know what to do and unless we chant it will be very difficult to keep Kali at bay. So the katha is pure and the effect of the katha is that it brings what everyone is searching for, trsnayah prasamo yatah, from this katha there is satisfaction, satisfaction. This is what everyone wants. We are burning in this world due to material hankerings. There are unlimited wants. I want so many things. 

In our discussion on devotee care we learn to make a difference between the needs and the wants. We have needs which are essential for our existence and we have wants which are simply overflowing and which bring in our lives which is not essential. And actually divert us from the path of Krishna consciousness. So this dissatisfaction that we experience is manifest as greed for example. We always want more. Lust. We always want to enjoy. Because within the heart there is no peace. There is no satisfaction. There is no tranquility. The state of satisfaction is searched for by all the great sages, by all the great yogis. We are searching for that place within the heart where there is satisfaction. And the secret is written in a very obvious way on the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam - hear about the Lord, chant about the Lord and it also says in the association of devotees because thats where He manifests! Prabhupada used to make jokes - someone has gone to search for Krishna in the bushes in Vrindavana. Krishna is not in the bushes of Vrindavana - at least not for us who are plagued by all anarthas. We cannot find Krishna in the bushes. We will find Krishna in the loving association of the devotees. So this is the nature of Krishna katha. It gives satisfaction by removing all the material hankerings Srila Prabhupada says because it makes one pious. Indeed pride, envy, these are not the qualities of a pious person. These are the qualities of the demons. So to remove those qualities is the first step on our path towards Krishna. Then this is the quality of Krishna katha. When the heart is at peace, it is also explained in Bhagavatam how the heart can be at peace. Its by learning how to desire spiritual life more than anything else, how to desire to achieve Krishna more than anything else, how to desire to fulfil the orders of the spiritual master more than anything else. I remember once many years ago receiving a hand written note from my own spiritual master saying that ‘If you are not ready to hear, what is the use of me giving you instructions!’ It is in the association of devotees that we get that determination to hear and chant and to focus on our spiritual life. It is not easy indeed. There are many distractions, many distractions from all over but we have to learn, we have to learn to create a bubble around ourselves. We have to go around in a bubble so that we do not get affected by so many interactions of the material modes of material nature. Whatever happens is but that. Usually anything that disturbs us in life it is an interaction of the material modes of nature. Anything spiritual is pleasing, it is pleasing to the soul, in general pleasing to the mind, if we apply it gently, properly. 

So Srila Prabhupada founded this International Society for Krishna Consciousness to create what he called the Vaikuntha atmosphere. A place where there is no envy amongst ourselves, where there is no fear. Many of us have come to this movement because the material world was full of fear. It was bringing us so much fear. There are many reasons for which we join. This is actually the topic of this Fourth Canto, worshipping the Lord simply for material prosperity, or worshipping the Lord in goodness maybe, out of ignorance, coming for various reasons to Him, to take something, to learn something. But this section of the Bhagavatam, Lord Shiva instructing the Pracetas is teaching us the right purpose to come to the Lord. So whatever, we gave up the material world, we were looking for an umbrella, we were looking for protection. We came here to live the real life of a human being. What is the real life of a human being?

It is to simply endeavour, to forget about all the past that we may have gone through, and simply look at the future. The future is Krishna’s lotus feet, the future is to distribute all over the world this process of hearing and chanting, to flood every street, every corner. This is what Srila Prabhupada gave us as the purpose of this movement. To instruct each and every person about the process of devotional service and to make it, to make a society that where the interactions are such that this hearing and chanting can go on uninterruptedly, both as groups and as individuals. We want to hear and chant uninterruptedly. There is no other solution for the miseries of the world. All fears, meaning that within our own society there shouldn’t be any fear, they should not be afraid. We should be afraid only of breaking our vows, we should be afraid of not following the instructions of the spiritual master. Otherwise there is no other fear. So this is a very beautiful instruction that we are receiving this morning. And the conclusion that is given in the purport is that we must decide like the Pracetas to remain within that society, to remain within that society and to play our best role, to play our best part, to contribute to the Vaikuntha atmosphere. This is our duty. We cannot accuse anyone to spoil the atmosphere. We can only from within our little bubble try to influence, so that this Vaikuntha atmosphere will be generated. This is what Srila Prabhupada wanted. This is what the world needs. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Nitai Gaurapremanande Hari Haribol!

Hare Krsna, 
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada, Sri Guru, and Gauranga! 

SadhusangaOnline.com is presenting a continuous Srimad-Bhagavatam Online Study Series during 2016 wherein we scrutinize a segment of one Canto per month. In February we studied the catuh-sloki verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and in March we’ll learn how Lord Brahma practically applied what he learned while performing his devotional service. despite various obstacles and diversions inherent in this material world. The month of March will be the 3rd of 10 segments during 2016...We invite all to join us at SadhusangaOnline.com. Your servant, Dhruva Maharaja dasa ------------- Sri Vidura said: O great sage, please let me know how Brahma, the grandfather of the planetary inhabitants, created the bodies of the living entities from his own body and mind after the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The greatly learned sage Maitreya said: O Vidura, Brahma thus engaged himself in penances for one hundred celestial years, as advised by the Personality of Godhead, and applied himself in devotional service to the Lord. Thereafter Brahma saw that both the lotus on which he was situated and the water on which the lotus was growing were trembling due to a strong, violent wind...

This had to happen. “It’s a nondescript, pretty-much-worthless stone,” Telegraph quoted Frank Beunk, a geologist involved in the investigation. And you can rest assured, more of this biggest lie on Earth by NASA regarding its claimed moon landing will get fully exposed as the technology advances and people become more mindful of it.

What is more significant is, there was a person who laughed at the TV showing Moon landing back in 1970s. He said the NASA report was fake and that the world was being fooled by them.  Obviously some people had hard time accepting his vision at that time. It seems we are not far from the day when the people of the world will see for themselves how NASA cheated them for decades. The question is, will they ever do it? And at what cost?

After the investigation report below you can read what that great visionary had said and see it unfolding as more reports come to light.

‘Moon rock’ given to Holland by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin is fake – Telegraph

Curators at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, where the rock has attracted tens of thousands of visitors each year, discovered that the “lunar rock”, valued at £308,000, was in fact petrified wood. Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation, said the museum would continue to keep the stone as a curiosity.

“It’s a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered,” she said. “We can laugh about it.” The rock was given to Willem Drees, a former Dutch leader, during a global tour by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin following their moon mission 50 years ago.

J. William Middendorf, the former American ambassador to the Netherlands, made the presentation to Mr Drees and the rock was then donated to the Rijksmuseum after his death in 1988. “I do remember that Drees was very interested in the little piece of stone. But that it’s not real, I don’t know anything about that,” Mr Middendorf said.

Nasa gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in 1969 and the 1970s. The United States Embassy in The Hague is carrying out an investigation into the affair. Researchers Amsterdam’s Free University were able to tell at a glance that the rock was unlikely to be from the moon, a conclusion that was borne out by tests.

“It’s a nondescript, pretty-much-worthless stone,” said Frank Beunk, a geologist involved in the investigation. ‘Moon rock’ given to Holland by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin is fake – Telegraph

And now read what A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, said 2nd June 1975 in Honolulu:

Prabhupada: That is the way of falsehood. If once you speak something false, then to protect that falsehood you have to take to so many other falsehoods. This is the way of falsehood.
Paramahamsa: One lie leads to another.
Prabhupada: [break] …are going to Venus, Americans and Russians combined together?
Ambarisha: This summer.
Prabhup1da: Oh, in the summer. Venus is very cold? Why they have selected summer season? (laughter) [break] …could not go to the moon, and Venus is far above moon. How they will go?
Bali-mardana: They’re not going to Venus, are they?
Paramahamsa: Are they going to Mars?
Bali-mardana: No, they’re just going around the earth, right?
Ambarisha: Yeah, they’re linking up in space.
Devotee (3): Prabhupäda, when they said they went to the moon and they showed films of them landing and walking on the moon, was this all a bluff?
Prabhupada: Yes, here they… All laboratory work, that’s all.
Devotee (3): They all made it up?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Bali-mardana: Prabhupäda, they are not going to go to Venus. The American and Russian, they are just going to meet outside the earth. They are not going to any planet.
Prabhupada: Oh, that is finished.
Bali-mardana: It is too difficult.
Ambarisha: They’re going to meet in space and float around in space.
Prabhupada: That is birds are doing also. What is the credit?
Paramahamsa: They are thinking that “What is the use of going to any other planet, because there is no life on the other planets.”
Prabhupada: Why no life?
Paramahamsa: Well, they have photographs and things.
Prabhupada: Photograph, what is this nonsense photograph? How long it can go up?

Before you read further, I thought you may like to watch this short but very interesting video showing how Neil Armstrong behaved when asked to put his hand on the holy Bible saying he in fact walked on the Moon, if he ever did.

Ambarisha: They’re taken from hundreds of miles up in space, and then they say there is no life.
Prabhupada: What is hundreds of miles? It is, er, forty billion, what is that?
Paramahamsa: Four billion.
Prabhupada: Four billion. So how they can calculate?
Paramahamsa: If they took a photograph of the earth planet from up in space, they would probably also say there is no life.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Devotee (3): They say because the atmosphere is not like this planet, others cannot live there.
Prabhupada: Why not atmosphere? The moon planet, there is a planet. There is space. There is surface. There is dust. So why not atmosphere the same? It is made of the same ingredients, earth, water, fire. Why do you say that is not same atmosphere?
Devotee (3): They are saying that it’s too cold or too hot.
Prabhupada: That’s all right. That is here also. There are many cold places. Do they think that in the cold places there is no life? All nonsense. And only nonsense will believe them. I never believed it. Why? Here we see under this sand there is life. The crabs, what is called? They live within, so many hundreds of thousands. We have seen on the sand.
Indian man: And the polar bears for cold season for living in mounds of snows and all.
Prabhupada: There are birds, some birds.
Paramahamsa: Penguins.
Prabhupada: Yes. Penguins birds. There is life.
Bali-mardana: Seals, whales, polar bears…
Prabhupada: There is life everywhere. Bhagavad-gita says, sarva-gah. The life is there everywhere. And moon planet, according to our Vedic literature, that is one of the demigods’ place. People live there daiva age, ten thousand years.
Devotee (3): They will not believe in the demigods…
Prabhupada: So I will not believe them. That’s all, finished. (laughter)
Devotee (3): They cannot see them.
Prabhupada: What can you see, teeny eyes? What can you see? Can you see what is there on the other side of the sea? Then does it mean there is nothing? Your nonsense seeing. Why you are believing of seeing? Your seeing power is very, very limited. Why do you believe in seeing? That is childish, “I cannot see.” What you can see? First of all, let us consider this point. You cannot see anything.
Paramahaasa: Srila Prabhupada, people will be very surprised to find out that the moon is farther away from us than the sun when they read your…, when they read Fifth Canto.
Prabhupada: But at least, they could not go there. Otherwise, why they are giving up this job? They could not go there. That’s a fact. Their plan was to… They were selling land even on the moon planet.
Ambarisha: Selling land on the moon?
Prabhupada: Yes. (laughter)

Source: http://mayapurvoice.com/svagatam/exposed-moon-rock-gifted-holland-neil-armstrong-buzz-aldrin-fake/

Photos by Sridama das

29th February 2016, Mayapur, India

By Romapada Das

After screening a short film about Mayapur on the sixth day of ILS, Brjavilasa Das spoke to the ILS delegates on behalf of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP), stressing the importance of Mayapur in the eyes of Srila Prabhupada. He mentioned that Prabhupada had wanted to establish Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the yugavatarafor this age from the precincts of this temple.

“In 1969, Srila Prabhupada gave his first ever instruction on Mayapur to Gopal Krishna Goswami,” announced Brjavilasa Das. “He told him that if he went to India, he should go to Mayapur and build a temple there.”

He explained that Bhaktivinoda Thakura had seen a vision of the temple from his residence in Svarupaganj, across the river Jalangi. He had also envisioned Americans, Russians and Europeans dancing and singing here with karatalas and mridangas.

“Srila Prabhupada accepted Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s vision as his life’s mission,” explained Brajavilasa. “He was very clear about his vision for the Mayapur temple. He had thanked all his disciples for helping to build the temple as an offering to Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He had instructed all branches of ISKCON to give money for the construction of this temple. Prabhupada had even instructed us to bring the Queen of England for the opening of this temple. In this way, his instructions for Mayapur were crystal clear.”

Jananivas Das, the Head Priest of the Mayapur temple, described how Nityananda Prabhu in a conversation with Jiva Goswami had predicted that the Ganges would flood the birth-place of Lord Chaitanya, 100 years after his birth.

“For 300 years, the birth-place would be submerged under water,” he explained. “And Lord Nityananda had predicted that it would be rediscovered once again. He had said that houses would be built, kirtan would be held constantly, and a great temple would be built. From this temple, service to Lord Gauranga will spread all over the world. All of this is happening here right now.”

Brajavilasa recollected how Jananivisa Das had accompanied him to North America with Lord Nityananda’s padukas (peg-shoes) to 45 temples where they had raised over $16 million from 3000 people. He explained that the total cost of the TOVP project was $90 million, out of which Ambarish Das had given $25 million, and $15 million had been collected by the worldwide fund-raising drive. “We have pledges for an additional $20 million, which leaves us with a shortfall of around $30 million,” he said. “Even if 3000 people pledge $11,000 each, we can complete this temple in the service of Prabhupada.”

Several ILS delegates immediately pledged their support by filling pledge forms. Over $250,000 were collected in less than an hour, with promises of more pledges during the day. A special mention was made of Gopal Bhatta Das, head of the GBC Strategic Planning Committee, who pledged $100,000.

After the TOVP presentation, Kaunteya Dasa mentioned the launch of Bhaktimarriages.com, an online portal for pre-marital counselling and care.

“We support the devotees who wish to get married, to live together as followers of Srila Prabhupada, and to assist each other in spiritual life,” said Radha Govinda Dasi, Project Director of Bhakti Marriages. “We believe that in ISKCON the only way to stable, successful marriages is to learn and follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions. Before getting married, all devotees should go through training. Our portal offers many courses for men and women, offers services in astrological compatibility, and a databank of quotes and instructions from Srila Prabhupada.”

In the evening, ILS delegates were treated to a special film festival organised by ISKCON Television and Vande Arts. Over 20 clips and trailers were screened from various genres such as documentaries, narratives and drama to a packed audience at the Nama Hatta building.

THINK 50! Act 50!

Source: http://iskconnews.org/day-6-of-ils-attracting-the-whole-world-to-mayapur,5429/

Drishti - ISKCON Pune’s Mega Youth Fest! 
The ISKCON Pune temple (www.iskconpune.in) has been conducting youth-development activities on a large scale since 1996 & have reached out to 2 lakh+ students. Thus with an aim to celebrate the golden jubilee, we are organizing a youth festival ‘Drishti’ (www.facebook.com/dyfest). We are inviting more than 1.5 lakh students for this absolutely free program to be held on 20th March 2016, Sunday at Bharti Vidyapeeth College ground, Katraj Pune. We are expecting a turnout of approx. 15,000 students to visit us for this event which will be a mix of cultural, musical & spiritual renaissance. At the end of the event all participants will get free Dinner prasadam. Thus we request you to please bless so that we can bring many many youths in the service of Srila Prabhupada!
For more information click here: http://www.iskconpune.com/drishti/