THE IMPORTANCE OF COMBINING “HORIZONTAL” GROWTH WITH “VERTICAL,” OR SPIRITUAL, GROWTH: Much of what I write about could be called “horizontal” growth, or tools, thinking processes, angles of vision, or making the mind our friend, that while in of themselves are not counted as bhakti, they're essential for it, and to me, inseparable for remaining, or becoming, an enthusiastic devotee, and happy human being—the spiritual and material sides of life. Horizontal growth means in the broadest sense being a balanced person strongly influenced by the mode of goodness, where our physical, emotional, mental, and intellectual requirements are naturally addressed, but in such a way as to be made favorable for bhakti practices.

To put this in devotee lingo, we could say this is within the purpose of the socio-religious system of Varnasrama, but to me, without the baggage. Without getting into the details, formally designating a person as this or that varna appears counter-productive in today’s world. However, we can serve its purpose by helping devotees discover and deal with their life issues, become balanced and happy human beings, and find an occupation, and possibly a mate, that compliments their natural proclivities, all within the context of spiritual advancement.

Many devotees struggle from not addressing their past or personal life issues which bleed into their spiritual lives and can make it difficult to avoid making aparadhas or offenses to others and in fully absorbing themselves in sadhana, which is the ultimate healing method. In such a condition we have a divided mind and our out of integrity and in conflict with ourselves.

Some say to me, “Just chant Hare Krishna!”

Sure, if you can chant purely without distraction, and are happy in the process—go for it. I am all for that, and see the purpose of personal growth work as total absorption in the spiritual life.

Simply stated, If your dealings with other people don’t trigger your past hurts with the same kinds of relationship problems continuing to reoccur, but instead your dealings with others are generally full of kindness, compassion, and love, and you are happy and making spiritual progress, then you don’t need anything else.

In my experience, without focused, and often, assisted introspection and personal growth work, this is extremely rare. Regardless of how balanced we are, most devotees can benefit from assistance in understanding themselves, because we all have our blind spots and many have unhealthy ways of relating to at least some types of persons. Compassionate and wise feedback are an essential part of spiritual advancement.

We see sometimes devotees who have been practicing strict sadhana for 30 or 40 years who feel stuck in their lives, feel something is missing, and are not happy people. They may have being doing everything right in terms of sadhana, but have never engaged in serious introspection to sort out their past and really understand themselves.

We can do harm to ourselves by using our spiritual life as an excuse to not embrace our humanity, and understand what we need to do as our life’s work. This is why every temple and community of Vaishnavas needs to address both the personal growth and spiritual needs of its members, and is why we need an army of professional devotee therapists and lay counselors who know when to refer out. This is my bias based on my own personal growth work and in working with devotees.

WHAT WE LOVE CAN REVEAL OUR OCCUPATIONAL DIRECTION and PEOPLE WHO LOVE SOMETHING ARE THE BEST TEACHERS ABOUT IT: This is another simple, profound truth, and yet for me, and perhaps others, naming what we love can be a challenge. Personally, growing up, I came to see love as a meaningless word. First of all, I was so emotionally shut down, or out of touch with myself as a defense to a violent home, I never felt the emotion, and only officially, occasionally used it.

Then, when my mother—from my perspective—left me with my alcoholic father, when I visited her she would say she “loved me.” I questioned what kind of loving person would abandon me. After talking up the path of bhakti at 19 and living as a single monk, I also imbibed a further view that love was only for Krishna, and anything else was lust.

So in a sense, love became like a four letter, or curse, word, reinforcing my previous negative association with it. It represented attachment and bodily consciousness, and we “weren’t the body,” so it was to be avoided. We didn’t want to be sentimentalists! As it turns out this is a very shallow understanding of bhakti, and is an incomplete view our teaching more akin to the impersonalist path of jnana which stressed renunciation and detachment for their own sake.

However, since I was with other inexperienced persons, many of whom were recovering from the acute distress of living a materialistic life, and from relationships which were not centered on God, it was a natural response to the lifestyle we were trying to transcend. Many perspectives or practices may be good for a while, but not for all time, and some are our life, like hearing and chanting about Krishna!

After I first moved out of the temple in search of my material self, healing from my past, and finding my calling, I used to listen to motivational speakers. I greatly appreciated their teachings, but I got to the point of trying to apply them to my life, and I came up short. I would hear, “Live with passion,” from Tony Robbins, and I would draw a blank. This was partially due to my past as I outlined above, but also my particular mellow, laidback personality. Thus it has taken me a long time and much personal growth work and sadhana to really understand what I “love” to do.

Now, love can be used very cheaply too, like “I love ice cream,” but if we can go deeper in personal maturity we can uncover what moves us to action, what we are stimulated to think about, or what we're enthused (i.e. love) to do with our time. To me this is essential in uncovering our gifts and life work. There is a book with the title, “Do What You Love, The Money will Follow,” which expands on this. Generally we will only excel at what we love to do, and this is one of the many secrets of a fulfilling life, that, and doing our work as a devotional offering.

My hope is that you will spend some time with this idea, especially if you are searching to better understand yourself and what you are meant to do as a way to serve God, or Krishna. What we love is also our “fun.” So to me, my fun is sharing this with you and ideally seeing how you apply it and are transformed in the process.

Source: http://www.krishna.com/blog/2016/04/1/importance-combining-%E2%80%9Chorizontal%E2%80%9D-growth-%E2%80%9Cvertical%E2%80%9D-growth-and-power-love-reveal-our

The sun rose on the eastern horizon. My taxi wound onward and onward through tiny villages of thatched huts and hand-painted advertisements towards the holy land of Vrindavan.

Five years.

Five years had spun by since I had last come to Vrindavan. My heart ached with prayers to see past the pollution and noise and Westernization to experience the essence of Vrindavan. The real Vrindavan. The sacred Vrindavan.

We edged closer and closer to Vrindavan and I folded my palms to sing and to pray. Tears came to my eyes. I wanted the real Vrindavan and yet I struggled with the possibility of what I was going to see. I would be in Vrindavan for only three days, conducting both business and pilgrimage. Three days to get it all done, three days to get to the essence.

My second morning, I woke up scribbling shopping lists in my mind. By the time I walked over to the temple of Krishna Balaram for morning services, my mind was SWIMMING with stuff to get done in Loi Bazaar. I was eager to sit down and do a full inventory of all cash outflows on this trip, and my mind raced with plans.

While in the temple, I thought, "I know I have only chanted two rounds of japa meditation, but let me just spend an hour or two on this accounting first. Then my mind will be more at ease and I'll be able to be more focused in japa."

When I came back to my room, I felt: No.

Krishna is first. Krishna is priority. I must put Him first.

I decided to chant a minimum of eight rounds, sitting down, in my room, before doing anything else.

I "looked" at the sound of the holy name springing from my mouth. I remembered that the definition of "mantra" is man - mind, tra - to control, so a mantra is meant to control my mind. And recently, I felt that my mind was controlling ME.

I realized that of course my mind is going to wander. So I was forgiving. I came back, came back to the sound. Every time I came back to the sound of the holy name, there was this feeling of "whuuuumph" like my mind had been flying around and suddenly I was pulled down to land, whuuuuumph, back on the holy name. It was awesome. I almost felt like I could hear thatwhuuuuumph sound.

Shopping lists dissolved. My burning desire for that lovely scarf faded. 

I had thought that I had had important business to accomplish and to chant japa was a secondary chore. In those moments of listening to the sound of the holy name, I realized that chanting attentive japa actually empowers me to accomplish ten times what I thought I could ever accomplish.

Thus eight rounds became ten, ten became twelve.

In this simple effort of mine to chant the holy name and SHOW my sincerity, I believe that Krishna reciprocated tenfold and He gave me darshan - or divine vision - of Sri Vrindavan Dham.

After chanting, as I had predicted, my mind was razor sharp and I blazed through my accounting.

When I made my final calculation, I put down my pen and picked up my japa bag and headed down to visit the rooms of Srila Prabhupad. Whenever Srila Prabhupad came to Vrindavan in his later years, he would live in these rooms, and ultimately he left the world in these rooms. Just by walking through the doorway, my mind became as quiet and warm as when I was chanting japa.

Hung on the wall was a picture of Srila Prabhupad that sent chills racing through my body. 

My mind flashed with images of what I think is love - romance and dances and sweet words and smiles. But this picture showed me true love. Srila Prabhupad's body is emaciated, he is lying on his deathbed, which was in this very room, and a disciple holds a dictaphone to his mouth. He is giving commentary on the tenth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. 

In those final moments of his life, he was serving. Giving truth. Giving love.

Let me love the way you love, Srila Prabhupada.

I sat down to chant in front of his murti, or sacred statue, which was seated behind his original desk. In my short time there, I saw an elderly woman from Russia and a monk from India and a young couple from South America come to bow before him. I realized that we all owe him our lives. All of us. 

When I left Prabhupad's rooms, I was on my way to the Welcome Center to book a taxi to get to the airport on Sunday morning. I ran into a girl I've known for several years now, her name is Indulekha, and we started chatting. I got to connect in with the friends she was traveling with, as well as her mother.

We all ended up having lunch together at the MVT restaurant. At lunch, I was told that tomorrow was the celebration of Holi and it would be impossible to do shopping in Loi Bazaar. It would be dangerous. Scary. Hearing their stories, I felt scared.

It dawned on me that I needed to squeeze in not only the rest of my business but all of my pilgrimage goals into one evening.That evening. Oh boy.

In the late afternoon, we set out for Loi Bazaar, the four of us a motley crew - France, Russia, and the US all rolled into one spicy mixture. We talked about Krishna nonstop. We whirled our way through various stores, on a quest to discover an elusive item. At last we were triumphant at the new Ganga Prasad shop near Radha Shyamasundar temple. We high-fived each other!

When I was paying for the bill, I took out my business binder to account for this expense. The pen that I fished out of my bag was this gold pen that  I had brought to India to write elegant thank you notes and such. I wrote the mundane financial equation out in the glittering gold ink and Veni Madhava commented, "Hm, a gold pen,"

"Oh yes," I smiled a little bashfully. I put it back in my bag and fished out a blue pen.

Since we were so close to Radha Damodar Mandir, I declared how much I wanted to go there, and the other ladies were happy to go too. We entered the busy temple, which was blasting with music from the musicians who had set up in the courtyard. Holi was getting into full swing. Radha Damodar were holding little metal Holi syringes, and the other Radha Krishna deities were holding plastic ones! Temple-goers were splashed in bright pink and green and yellow and danced in circles.

The four of us headed into Srila Prabhupad's  humble rooms. His murti was there, also seated behind a desk, studiously bent over with his hand poised holding a pen. We commenced to chant japa. Despite the deafening music, suddenly the room felt quiet, like we were in a cocoon.

When the music paused, I said, "Hey, you guys, lets do a little kirtan while they've stopped their music,"

So we all started singing together, and immediately the music started blasting away again, so we just sang louder. We sang at the top of our lungs!! I suddenly realized that we wouldn't have been singing at the top of our lungs with such abandon, grinning from ear to ear, our hearts pounding, if that loud music hadn't been there. And so inside my heart I offered my gratitude to the musicians, for they had provoked our wild enthusiasm and love for Prabhupad with our chant of "Jaya Prabhupada Jaya Prabhupada Jaya Prabhupada Jaya Prabhupada!!!"

When we had triumphantly concluded our brief kirtan, something curious happened. Veni Madhava said to me, "Why don't you give Prabhupad your gold pen, and take the one he's holding?"

I was astonished, surprised with this idea. "Really? But I've already written with the pen I have, is that okay?"

"Sure," she said.

So with a big smile, I crept forward and replaced Prabhupad's simple ballpoint pen with my gold pen.

The significance of this hit me after we left the temple, and for hours afterward. Prabhupad had somehow guided me so that I would be given his pen, and in his rooms at Radha Damodar where he wrote such powerful scripture in his meditation to save the fallen souls. I am praying that I may follow in his footsteps and write as a service to Krishna.

When my friends left the room, I lingered to offer prayers for a soulful wedding and marriage. When I went to join them, they weren't waiting at the temple entrance. I realized that maybe they had gone to Prabhupad's kitchen. So I headed back inside the temple. My friends weren't there; nevertheless I fell to my knees to offer obeisance.

Propped up against the wall is a picture of Srila Prabhupad quietly eating lunch, taken before he had traveled to the Western world. He is gazing out at the samadhi of Rupa Goswami and his expression conveys his meditation on how to fulfill the Goswami's wishes to share Krishna with the world. So I folded my palms and my prayer came out as a mantra, "The holy name, vaishnava culture, the holy name, vaishnava culture, holy name, vaishnava culture, holy name, vaishnava culture, holy name, vaishnava culture...." I was tingling all over.

When at last we all met up again, my friends said that they wanted to go to the temple of Radha Raman. Although Radha Raman was on my list of places to go, I hesitated because I still had much more shopping to do. But if I didn't go to Radha Raman today, NOW, I would not go at all.

Krishna first. Put Krishna first. Go with the devotees.

I looked at my binder, saw areas where I could adjust, snapped the binder shut and put it in my bag. I would go to Radha Raman.

Darkness had fallen, and our walk to the ancient temple via a shrouded alleyway was fraught with foreboding monkeys and streams of people shouting, their eyes wild and their clothes and faces splashed with crazy colors. When we reached the quiet and ancient temple, apprehension ran through my blood. When we approached the actual temple of Radha Raman, we saw that right outside of the temple entrance people were throwing color and immediately we were all like, "No way." Ruining our nice clothes was one thing. Possible assault was another. 

I folded my palms and called out, "I love you Radha Raman, I do, but this isn't going to work,"

I felt some disappointment but also relief that we were unanimous in turning around. But then Veni Madhava said, "Hey, I have a place to show you to get the special mercy,"

"Really? But how?" I said to her retreating back. She had turned down another dimly lit pathway. We all followed, dubious. Suddenly I could hear kirtan, and I was amazed. Were we coming into the temple the back way or something??

But no, we had come to a room that was full of babajis singing kirtan. This was Sri Gopal Bhatta Goswami's samadhi, the saint who had established this temple hundreds of years ago and had worshiped Sri Radha Raman with such love. The kirtan was so soulful, so straight-up Vrindavan. In those moments, I stepped through all of my painful surface notions of Vrindavan and entered deep into sacred Vrindavan. My friends circumambulated the altar. I sat down to absorb the singing

Although we didn't get to see Sri Radha Raman, we got to offer our respects to His most beloved servant, and that was almost like we had taken darshan of Radha Raman Himself, as He is most pleased when His devotees are glorified.

Then we headed out to catch a rickshaw back to Krishna Balaram. We bartered with some of the wallahs there but they were all too expensive. At last, one younger man stepped forward and said that he would take us for 60 rupees. We agreed, and he lead us to a nice auto rickshaw that sat the four of us. Our driver was this old, old man with a turban on his head and a smile upon his bright and weathered face. Just by looking at him, one could see that he was a gentle, sweethearted Brajabasi.

The most amazing thing? He was taking us back to Krishna Balaram via the parikrama marg. This meant that we would have darshan of the sacred places of Imli Tala, Radha Madan Mohan, Kaliya Ghat, Yamuna devi, and so much more. We were being taken on pilgrimage by a true Brajabasi. All of us were so delighted and amazed at our good fortune. The whole way home we exclaimed over the various holy places and offered our respects as we drove by, the temples and the river all silhouettes in the moonlit night.

This was my Vrindavan day. I am still in wonder, total wonder that somehow, SOMEHOW, Krishna answered my prayers to experience the real Vrindavan. I could have never planned such a day in a million years. But somehow, each piece of the puzzle fell together, like magic, magic, magic.

I firmly believe, though, that it all began with a drop of sincerity to chant the holy name. Put Krishna first. The magic will follow 

Source: http://seedofdevotion.blogspot.in/2016/04/vrindavan-magic.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+SeedOfDevotion+(Seed+of+Devotion)

HG Hrdaya Chaitanya Prabhu a member of our GBC body met India’s PM, Narendra Modi, yesterday at Brussels, Belgium. 

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20230 ;

Srivasa Thakura is a close associate of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and a member of the Panca Tattva. He is understood as tatastha-shakti, a marginal energy of Krsna. Devotees who are headed by Srivasa Thakura are described as ‘parts’ of transcendental body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

They all participated in His transcendental pastimes and helped to spread Krsna consciousness, sankirtana-yajna. On the other hand, Srivasa is also Narada – an eternal transcendental associate of Lord Krsna.

Srivasa was studying Srimad-Bhagavatam with Advaita Acarya, who was at that time in Navadvipa. They worshiped Krsna, who as an answer to their prayers, appeared as Caitanya Mahaprabhu

The home of Srivasa, Srivas-angam, was a place where Sri Caitanya perform sankirtana-yajna, congregational chanting of Krsna’s Holy Names.

Source: http://www.ramaiswami.com/srivasa-thakur-appearance/

Question: 

Is there any scientific explanation for the concept of changing bodies? Could a spirit soul transfer to a completely different universe or dimension? Does the soul remain in the body after death for any amount of time?

Our Answer:
Anyone can prove to themselves, using scientific methods, that they perpetually remain the same conscious entity while the body perpetually changes. It's simply a matter of hypothesis and observation. Depending on what kind of science you accept as valid, the Bhagavad-gita gives a thoroughly scientific explanation of transmigration of consciousness through different bodies, especially in the eighth chapter. You may also want to examine Dr. Ian Stevenson's three thousand case studies of children remembering past lives.

A conscious being, atma, may conceivably be transferred to any part of the material world in the next life. One's destination after death is based on the decision of God and His representatives. Our karma and our desire is factored in.

The soul leaves the body at death and does not remain in the body. 

Source: http://www.krishna.com/there-scientific-explanation-changing-bodies

ārtā devān namasyanti

tapaḥ kurvanti rogiṇaḥ

nirdhanā dānam icchanti

vṛddhā nārī pati-vratā

ārtāh — the distressed; devān — to the gods; namasyanti — pay obeisances; tapaḥ — austerities; kurvanti — perform; rogiṇaḥ — the diseased; nirdhanāh — the poverty-stricken; dānam — donations; icchanti — desire [to give]; vṛddhā — old; nārī — lady; pati-vratā — is devoted to her husband;
“The distressed automatically start paying obeisances to the gods [for they have no other option]. The diseased naturally perform various austerities [for they have no other option]. The poverty-stricken desire to give big donations [for they do not have the option of doing it in real life] and an old lady automatically shows devotion to her husband [for all hope of attracting paramours is lost].”

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Sāmānya-nītiḥ, page 157, Verse 168)

[Verse and translation provided by Hari Parshad Prabhu] 

Life’s temptations frequently deviate us from the right path – they make us give up principle for pleasure. Conversely life’s tribulations, especially tribulations that we have no hope of solving on our own, impel us to the right path; they make us accept the available even if it is not particularly appealing, because the alternative is utterly unpalatable. This Subhashita talks about such forced choosing of the right course of action.

People often have a similar utilitarian attitude towards God. Such motivated devotion is usually interrupted devotion. When things go wrong in our life, we come rushing to God; and when things start looking up, we bid him goodbye.

The mistaken notion that God is a dispensable means is illustrated in an insurance company’s ad: “If you don’t have our insurance, it’s time to say your prayers.” Actually, it is always the time to say our prayers and to connect with God. Why? Because we as souls are his eternal parts, and we can find lasting happiness only in loving and serving him. Moreover, even in dealing with our practical problems while living in this material world, no solution can work without God’s sanction. Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.9.19) illustrates how the apparent solution can’t provide the actual solution, if divine sanction is missing: parents can’t always protect their children; medicines can’t always save the sick; and boats can’t always rescue the drowning. Extending this principle, we can contemplate that the insurance company too can’t guarantee us relief. What if it goes bankrupt at the same time when we are facing a crisis?

Of course, motivated devotion is better than no devotion at all – instead of living godlessly, we at least believe in God and worship him, even if for self-centered purposes. How we can rise from motivated devotion to pure devotion is outlined in the Bhagavad-gita (07.16-19). The first verse (07.16) mentions four kinds of people who approach Krishna and start worshiping him: the distressed, the inquisitive, the wealth-seekers and the knowledgeable. Krishna appreciates all of them for their piety in approaching him – he calls them as large-hearted (07.18). Yet he lauds especially the knowledgeable, for they are unmotivated in approaching him – they are interested only in him, so their devotion is one-pointed (07.17). He concludes the section by declaring (07.19) that after many lifetimes, the motivated become unmotivated when they finally understand that Krishna is everything – he is the embodiment and fulfillment of all our heart’s aspiration for happiness (vasudevah sarvam iti).

When we see Krishna as a means to an end, we focus on him only till we get that end. Not only that, if we feel that we can get that end by some other means, we turn away from him. If we find that we can’t get it by any other means, we return to him. But such return doesn’t last for long – it ends when we start feeling that some other means might work better. Thus, we keep taking U-turns in our journey towards Krishna.

The best way to come end such oscillation is by philosophically understanding and experientially realizing that he is the highest end of everything. And Krishna is the end not in the negative sense of the exhaustion of something desirable – he is the end in the positive sense of the termination of something troublesome. Our long and harrying search for happiness that has extended over many turbulent lifetimes ends when we are united with Krishna in love.

Source: http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/03/god-not-means-end-highest-end/

There is no easy translation into English of the Sanskrit word, bhakti. It’s a bit of an anomaly. Bhakti is love, specifically divine love, but even the word love itself is a poor attempt to describe this most cherished of all emotions.

By Ravindra Svarupa dasa

In Sanskrit the word haṁsa is the name for both a bird and an advanced yogī. The bird has such estimable qualities that its very name became applied to the spiritual practitioner.

In English, Prabhupāda followed a well-established convention and rendered haṁsa as “swan.” The advancedyogī or devotee is accordingly “swan-like.”

For example, Prabhupāda once remarked, in reference to his disciples: “So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means swan-like, they should be like swans. Their behavior should be like swans. They should live in clean place, at refreshing place.”

In this second usage, haṁsa has probably become most generally encountered when prefixed by the superlativeparama, meaning “highest,” best,” and so on.  Strictly speaking, paramahaṁsa denotes the highest of the four ranks of sannyāsa (see ŚBh 5.1.27, purport), but it is used in more general sense to describe the best of the sages or devotees.

We often see the word placed as a title before the names of a variety of spiritual teachers.

If dedicated transcendentalists are compared to swans, it should come as no surprise that committed materialists are likened to crows. The Bhāgavatam (1.5.10) describes worldly literature as vāyasaṁ tīrtham—a pilgrimage site for crows, that is to say, a garbage pile. In his commentary to this text, Prabhupāda elaborates on the bird metaphor:

Crows and swans are not birds of the same feather because of their different mental attitudes. The fruitive workers or passionate men are compared to the crows, whereas the all-perfect saintly persons are compared to the swans. The crows take pleasure in a place where garbage is thrown out, just as the passionate fruitive workers take pleasure in wine and woman and places for gross sense pleasure. The swans do not take pleasure in the places where crows are assembled for conferences and meetings. They are instead seen in the atmosphere of natural scenic beauty where there are transparent reservoirs of water nicely decorated with stems of lotus flowers in variegated colors of natural beauty. That is the difference between the two classes of birds.

A special talent traditionally attributed to the haṁsa is said to be the basis of the extension of the avian name to a spiritually advanced person. Prabhupāda explains (Kṛṣṇa chapter 85):

The word paramahaṁsa mentioned here means “the supreme swan.” It is said that the swan can draw milk from a mixture of milk and water; it can take only the milk portion and reject the watery portion. Similarly, a person who can draw out the spiritual portion from this material world and who can live alone, depending only on the Supreme Spirit, not on the material world, is called a paramahaṁsa.

Even one of the avatāras of the Lord bears the name “Haṁsa.”

Therefore, after all this, it may come as a shock to discover that the avian haṁsa is, in fact, a goose—in taxonomical nomenclature, the anser indicus, known otherwise as the “bar-headed goose.”

As we shall see, the haṁsa—the anser indicus—is an extraordinary,  amazing bird fully qualified to give its name to great devotees and even to the Lord himself. So why then the English “swan?”

The reason can only be that in English-speaking countries, the goose has long been the subject of very bad p.r.  So much so, that the very word “goose” has come to be synonymous with “fool” or “idiot.”

Even proverbially, the goose has suffered invidious comparison with the swan, as, for example, in this still remembered observation—made in 1786—by Horace Walpole, Fourth Earl of Oxford, concerning the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds : “All his own geese are swans, as the swans of others are geese.”

Two centuries later, the goose received the same unfavorable evaluation in popular lines by Charles Kingsley:

When all the world is young, lad,
And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen. . . .

It’s no wonder, then, that the only good translation, connotatively speaking, for haṁsa is “swan.” It’s a no-brainer, really: Consider the expressions “goose-like great sage,” or “top-most goose-like devotee.” They just don’t do the job.

Nevertheless, it is time we end this historic discrimination and rehabilitate the goose. Especially the haṁsa. Of course, this effort was pioneered in the celebrated 2001 documentary Winged Migration, in which the haṁsa itself takes a cameo star-turn (see the beginning of Chapter 7 in the DVD).

The actual haṁsa—anser indicus or bar-headed goose—is in its own right the perfect emblem and symbol for the greatest of transcendentalists.

Like the swan (Cygnus), it is beautiful . . .

. . . and likewise graceful in water:

In fact, you can see from this photograph why Europeans could take the haṁsa for a kind of swan.

In flight, the haṁsa is spectacular:

Interestingly, the Wikipedia article notes of the haṁsa: “It has sometimes been separated from Anser, which has no other member indigenous to the Indian region, nor any at all to the Ethiopian, Australian, or Neotropical regions, and placed in the monotypic genus Eulabeia.”

A “mon0typic genus” is a genus that contains only one species. In other words, the haṁsa is in a class by itself. And not a goose (Anser). I don’t know who came up with the name Eulabeia, but it is appropriate: According to alexicon of New Testament Greek, eulabia means “reverence toward God.”

Haṁsas are “super birds,” in the judgment of S. Marsh Tenney, a professor of physiology who has studied them extensively. “They do everything even better than other birds.” He is quoted in an article in Audubon magazine by Lily Whiteman, who gives quite an account of the birds’ annual prodigious feat:

At 29,028 feet, Mount Everest is tall enough to poke into the jet stream, a high-altitude river of wind that blows at speeds of more than 200 miles an hour. Temperatures on the mountain can plummet low enough to freeze exposed flesh instantly. Its upper reaches offer only a third of the oxygen available at sea level—so little that if you could be transported instantly from sea level to Everest’s summit, without time to acclimatize, you would probably lose consciousness within minutes. Kerosene cannot burn here; helicopters cannot fly here. Yet every spring, flocks of bar-headed geese—the world’s highest-altitude migrants—fly from their winter feeding grounds in the lowlands of India through the Himalayan range, sometimes even directly above Everest, on their way to their nesting grounds in Tibet. Then every fall these birds retrace their route to India. With a little help from tailwinds, they may be able to cover the one-way trip—more than 1,000 miles—in a single day.

In other words, the haṁsa when migrating flies at about the normal cruising altitude for passenger jets.

Moreover, by using tailwinds, the geese capitalize on weather that could pulverize lesser creatures. “These birds are powerful flappers, not soarers that just glide with the wind,” says M.R. Fedde, an emeritus professor of anatomy and physiology at Kansas State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, who has conducted laboratory studies of the bar-headed goose’s respiratory system. Partly because their wings are huge, have a disproportionately large surface area for their weight, and are pointed to reduce wind resistance, “they can fly over 50 miles an hour on their own power,” Fedde says. “Add the thrust of tailwinds of perhaps 100 miles an hour if they are lucky, and these birds really move.” Able to gauge and correct for drift, bar-headed geese can even fly in crosswinds without being blown off course. The same powerful and unremitting flapping that helps propel them over the mountains also generates body heat, which is retained by their down feathers. This heat, in turn, helps keep ice from building up on their wings.

(Here is the complete article, with more wonders of the bird and some speculation so far-fetched it only deepens the mysteries of the haṁsa.)

We hear of great yogīs and sages in past ages retiring to the Himalayan mountain fastness to practice severe austerities as they sought the divine in profound and prolonged meditation. It is said that by power of yoga practice, these paramahaṁsas could greatly reduce their respiration, thereby slowing their metabolism; they could at will increase their bodily heat. Thus remaining in a remote place which provided them with neither air, nor food, nor heat, they pursued their spiritual goal with unwavering determination.

(By the way: Even though we can hardly imitate them today, we can apply their principles practically—at least according to the directions of Bhāgavad-gītā, which set forth what is, in effect,  a domestication of the path of transcendence. You don’t have to go to the Himalayas: you can do it right at home.)

Yet even for us, the prodigious, Himalayan-traversing haṁsa is a fitting emblem and symbol for the paramahaṁsa, the great, heroic athletes of the spirit in whose footsteps we should follow.  Let us therefore cherish the memory not only of the human paramahaṁsa but of the bird haṁsa as well.

And compared to the haṁsa, the swan is nothing but a goose.

www.soithappens.com 

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20174 ;

The family of vaisnavas is somehow or other our support. Prabhupada made this movement a very personal one. In the beginning, we overlook how important relationships are because we are not used to it. In the material world, when a relationship does not work, you just cut it off and try another one… then another one and another one.

Now I’m not talking just about friendships. So many friends came and went in our lives in the material world but spiritual relationships are very different. Spiritual friendships are different because devotees are very rare. Therefore, devotees are precious and the relationship with the devotee is precious and once broken it is difficult to repair; not like a broken pot that can be glued back together.

Therefore with devotees we cannot just afford the mentality that if it does not work, get rid of this one and get another one! Because the day will come when we will need all the devotees. The day will come when we will very much depend on devotees because the vaisnavas are sustaining us in our spiritual life and without them it becomes so difficult. The day will come when all artificial behavior in our relationships will have to go because that cannot sustain us and time will test us. As they say, “It all comes out in the wash!” It means that sooner or later, it has to get real.

In the beginning, maybe one can have a Shakespearean performance of Krsna consciousness but at one point we need genuine relationships and genuine friendships. This is very important therefore we must be very careful to make sure we avoid unpleasant exchanges between devotees even for the sake of service. Sometimes, it may be necessary that a devotee is not doing it proper and you have to straighten him out.

We sometimes have to chastise but it is an unfortunate thing to do because in the course of it we may break a relationship. That is just one thought that comes to my mind: friendship between vaisnavas.Friendship is not just by declaration, not just Facebook friends or face-value friends, friendship means more.

Source: https://www.kksblog.com/2016/03/the-family-of-vaisnavas/

By Uddhava Bandhu Das

The yearly boat festival in Vrindavan, part of the Gaura Purnima celebrations, is most popular amongst the devotees. The sunken courtyard of Krishna Balaram Mandir is flooded and becomes a beautiful kund where small Radha Shyamasundara are taken on gentle ride on Their swan boat. They glide to every corner of the lake to the sounds of resounding kirtan to see all Their devotees and admirers.

The surface of the temple lake is completely covered by flower petals by artisans in a beautiful flower rangoli design that mysteriously stay in place. This year’s design includes a huge lotus motif in rose petals with the ISKCON lotus-tilak symbol done in golden flower petals bordered by real floating open pink lotuses.

Seven-hundred kilos of flower petals were used to decorate the temple room and used by devotees to rain down on their Lordships that created a festival for the eyes. In total, over one-hundred thousand individual flowers were used for the festival decorations, taking sixty devotees about thirty-six straight hours.

The Vrindavan boat festival originally started in 1979, but we learn from long-time resident Daivi shakti Mataji that interestingly, the temple was purpose-built by Surabhi Prabhu to be flooded for a boat festival from its inception.

In the early days of the festival, devotees would perform dramas and place bhoga on the different banks of the temple lake. The Deities would then stop in Their boat to view the dramas and accept the devotees offerings. 

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20186 ;

By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)

As we look around the world, or watch and read the news, practically everywhere is affected by some kind of natural disaster. Floods are displacing millions of people, forest fires are destroying thousands of acres and burning out of control, earthquakes continue to force people to live in fear, and tornadoes and hurricanes have become more fierce and numerous than ever. And if that is not enough, droughts are causing massive crop damage and water shortages.

The fact is that nobody likes a loss, no matter how great or small it may be. And a disaster can take years to recover from, which can only increase our struggle to exist in this world. So what are we to make of all this? Is this just our own bad luck? Is this some kind of karmic reaction we are suffering? Is this merely the way life goes on in this material world? Or is this what God is doing to us? In fact, where is God in all of this? Or how many times have your heard someone ask, how can God be so cruel?

From a spiritual perspective, when we ask “Where is God in all of this?” we must understand that to blame God for the way the world works is our own ignorance. And this ignorance is only the misguided perception of the absence of God, just as darkness is only the absence of light. From the very beginning, the world and everything in it is temporary. Or did you forget that? Our existence in this material world is also temporary. But we get so accustomed to the idea that things are going to go on the way we expect them to, that we are thrown completely out of whack when they don’t, and especially when the world throws reversals into our life. I have an old saying: Show me a world with security, and I will show you an illusion. The point is that change is the only constant in this world, which also implies that change means a lack of security due to not knowing what we can really expect in the future. And it is a challenge to remain balanced in all of this. And the only way you can do that is by attaining a spiritual consciousness. Let me explain:

Natural disasters go on in varying degrees on a daily basis, whether we notice them or not. Nature also means neutral, and it acts in whatsoever way it does to provide balance, even if it may seem cruel, as in the way stronger animals feed off the weak. That is a law of nature, and however cruel it may seem to be. In this world, that is how balance is maintained in many cases so that certain species do not overpopulate. In this and so many other ways, nature acts in a way to help maintain balance in this world.

So when natural disasters hit humanity, as in events mentioned in the first paragraph, it forces us to become more clear regarding the temporary nature of this world, and more cooperative with that principle, whether we like it or not. Natural disasters can also provide a way to discern what is really important and what is not. We may have lost so many of our possessions, but we may still have our life. And if we lose our possessions or someone we know, we again have to realize the importance of how to live with whatever time we may have, fully knowing that tomorrow is promised to no one. Then we have to shed those things that, in the end, we are bound to lose anyway. Loss is no easy thing in one’s life, but better to go through stages of preparation than to be tested only at the very end of our lives at the time of death when it may be more difficult than ever to lose everything you hold dear. We need to be ready to go forward into the next realm rather than being held back by all the longings we have for the attachments we have accrued in this life. This is the lesson we should learn by experiencing various natural disasters on a personal level, or by observing those that go on around us. In this way, disasters of any kind can act as lessons that pull away the layers of illusion that hold us to the false impression of who or what we think we are in this material realm.

This is how there is some good in any situation, regardless of how awful it may seem. God does many things in one move, or one act. And in one major event, so many things may have been put into motion for many positive things to take place in the long run. Sometimes you can see that in the change of the psyche of innumerable people in the world that may have been affected by whatever event has happened, especially when they deal with the event by pulling together to sort out the new challenges they have to face. In this way, there is hope for a new vision, a new awareness, a new spirit of cooperation and view of each other.

For example, when a tornado destroys a neighborhood or town, everyone has to drop their ego and their differences in order to work together to make things operate smoothly again. So many trees may have been blown over, downing electrical lines and stopping the flow of power or communication. Then people must work together to help clean up, get things working again, or check on the elderly to see if they are all right. And the more we work together, the easier it becomes for everyone. But is that not the case with life in general? Sometimes we forget this, until a natural disaster again forces us to take a second look at who we are, who are our neighbors, and possibly with less judgmentalism than before. So sometimes we must get conked on the head, so to speak, to force ourselves to look at who we are and where our life is taking us. It is strange that sometimes this will not happen unless some major turning point or challenge takes place in our lives. These things show how well the world can move when we cooperate, when we acknowledge our need for each other and also our joy at being needed or giving to a higher cause by helping others.

With this new vision of ourselves and who we are and how we fit into the world, we may then see how God is found in all the acts of care and concern in each person around us. When the world comes together to help each other or those who have been affected by the disaster, all the kindness, consideration, the prayers, the donations, the heart-felt love that is now more prevalent than ever, is all part of our spiritual nature. When we consider all of this, we can see that each act of kindness is like the light of God everywhere. We simply have to be more willing to keep this spiritual renewal and vision in our heart and minds in our everyday lives.

In this way, the tragedy itself, whatever it may be, will have made us more humble, more cooperative, and a kinder person. It makes us realize our vulnerability, both individually and collectively. It makes us realize how fragile life can be, and how we should also appreciate whatever blessings we have. It forces a reassessment of who we are and, if we learn the lesson properly, gives an opportunity for a voluntary renewal in our spirituality. It also helps separate the superficial from what is really important. That is why we must always cling to our spiritual identity and the grace of God and be ready for anything.

Regarding those who may have died, what do we do for them? We have to remember that the soul, our real identity, never dies. It is eternal, so it merely moves on to another realm. Death is a soul’s change of focus from one plane of existence to another. The legacy of those who have departed is the renewed unity found in us survivors, and the reason to work together more closely than ever. It shows the reason why we must shed our dislike or unfamiliarity with each other. Their legacy is that this has brought us together in a mood of solidarity. It reawakens us to our dependency on God and His protection. This is the legacy of those we have lost in such situations. This is their gift to us. Let us keep this gift precious so it does not take another tragedy or loss to again reawaken ourselves to how special we all are.

We also must understand that in these sorts of tragedies, no one is sacrificed or dies in vain. The Lord of all casts aside no sincere soul, regardless of caste or creed, for all paths ultimately point toward the same God. They have not left us but only gone on before us. There is always a purpose behind everything, whether we understand it or not. So let us give them our blessings and pray for their safe journey to higher realms. Let God bless and guide all those who have departed from us.

However, when such disasters are related to man-made problems, like the failure of nuclear reactors, or oil spills and the like, this is simply because things are becoming too complex and out of control, or too far away from the way we need to cooperate with nature. It is a sign that we need to change and simplify our lives and actions. It is like nature shaking the tree to drop the unnecessary fruits. Then we merely have to change our vision and the values that we have to again begin to move in the right direction.

Disasters or tragedies created by fanatical religious terrorism is in a category by itself, apart from natural disasters. Such events are not a display of one’s allegiance to God, but a show of hatred for one’s fellow man, only because a section of society seems different, or that they follow a different spiritual path. This is spiritual blindness. Let us not follow in their ways of being oblivious to the unity and Divinity with all of us. But let us drop the superficialities and cooperate together, knowing full well that such is the way to make life easier for all of us. The desire to conquer or convert is the most divisive path there can be, and we have seen for many centuries that it has been the most cruel and destructive as well. And has the world gotten better because of it? No, in fact, it has only increased the fear and chaos in the world instead.

Let us also remember as we face such predicaments or tragedies, our greatest strengths and developments are often revealed through our most difficult challenges. Therefore, through such tests and by working together to improve things because of such difficulties, we will come ever closer to see the real potential and character of ourselves and the people involved. It will show the world the exceptional possibilities of real cooperation and understanding that can exist. It can show everyone the unity that can come from a spiritual renewal and reawakening.

Therefore, in such situations we should pray for the dead that they can be escorted to higher realms by God’s guiding light. We also pray for the well-being of the injured, the survivors, and the families who have lost loved ones, that they be soothed by God’s grace. We pray for us to become free from the shock and sadness that this sudden change has caused. But let us learn the lesson in the proper way so we can move forward with progress.

Let us also pray for the help from the volunteers and rescuers, those who donate much needed money to rebuild, and all who give their time and prayers to get us through this tragedy. Let the light of love, hope and upliftment shine forth and fill the world with God’s grace, beauty and power. Let everyone see the sense of living in peace and cooperation. Before we attack or criticize others, let us see our own faults which we must route out. Let us work on cleansing our own minds and purifying our own hearts, and then extend that encouragement to others.

Let us turn hate to love, enmity to friendship, strangeness to familiarity, greed to generosity, war to peace, and fear into hope. Let us pray for the good of all, and grow with the challenges, finding strength in the Supreme. May God protect us in all directions and guide us through whatever difficulties that appear in our lives.

In conclusion, let us offer our respects to God, and let Him kindly vanquish our demon-like desires for selfish or fruitive activities in this material world. Please dear Lord, appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this temporary realm. May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living beings become calm by practicing devotion to You, for by accepting such service they will realize Your Divinity in each and every person, and thus think of each other’s welfare. Therefore, let us all engage in the service of the Supreme Being, Lord Sri Krishna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him. (Bhagavata Purana 5.18.8-9) 

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20184

Gunacuda Dasi: Sri Mayapur International School has a service opportunity for an Early Years teacher beginning in August 2016.
We require a trained teacher for our class of 4 and 5 year old students. The successful candidate should have previous experience teaching young children. Knowledge of teaching reading and writing ,using synthetic phonics, is essential as well as experience of working with children who have English as an additional/second language.

We require an enthusiastic devotee who can plan teaching, learning and assessment of a Krishna conscious curriculum. The applicant must be able to provide an educational environment conducive to the learning of the children in the class in line with the school educational philosophy based on the teachings of Srila Prabhupada.

We are looking for a caring teacher who can understand the needs of the individual children in the class, structuring their learning so that they progress at a rate which challenges them in a secure devotional environment.

If you would like to live and serve in Sri Mayapur dham, please email your CV and details of professional and devotional referees to mayapurschooloffice@gmail.com There may be other vacancies for suitable candidates in the Primary school.
More details of the remuneration will be given on receipt of your application. 
Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20182

ISKCON Communications Conference 2016. 
On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON we have a very interesting and rich Conference with many known speakers:
- Srila Prabhupada The Greatest Communicator by Anuttama prabhu
- How to discuss and resolve controversial and sensitive issues in ISKCON by Kaunteya prabhu
- ISKCON and Interfaith by Radhika Ramana prabhu
- Video Skills for High Impact Communications by Krishna Lila dasi
- Preaching, Undue Influence and Religious Freedom – Panel Discussion by Shaunaka Rsi, Prof. Raffaella Di Marzio and Maria Cristina Carratu
- First Draft Screening of Joy of Devotion and Feedback session by Krishna Lila dasi
- ISKCON Communications Europe report by Mahaprabhu dasa
- Communications Reports by participating Yatras
- 50th Anniversary report by Madayanti dasi
- Outing to Florence. We will meet interesting people and visit amazing places.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/9eT7jY

How Did ISCOWP Start?

By Balabhadra dasa

In 1981, our family (myself, Chayadevi, son Baladeva and daughter Lakshmi) moved to the farm community called Gita Nagari in the state of Pennsylvania, USA.

In the mid 80’s the farm started a program called “ADOPT-A-COW” which was to raise funds to help support the cows. By that time we had a herd of 157 cows and it was way to many cows for the land that we had to work with. We were the 1st ISKCON farm in North America to stop breeding along the commercial dairy way of doing things. It was realized that if you are not killing your unproductive cows and male offspring as a commercial dairy does, then you lose your economic profit. So it was necessary to raise funds to pay for the feed that we could not grow on the farm. My wife and I ran the “ADOPT-A-COW” program from 1988 to 1990. During this time we also were in charge of the agriculture department on the farm.

It was during the celebration of Govardhan Puja and Go Puja in 1989 that a devotee by the name of Adwaita Chandra paid us a visit and had an idea that he wanted to discuss with us. At that time each of the North American ISKCON farms each had a cow protection program. There was “ADOPT-A-COW,” “SAVE A COW” and “MOTHER COW,” each dealing with a specific herd of cows. Adwaita Chandra’s idea was to develop a cow protection program that was universal in application, global not regional. We talked for many hours over that weekend and came up with the name of “INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR COW PROTECTION’ as well as a basic list of goals that have since evolved into the present day goals of ISCOWP. We parted company after the festival and he said, “Think it over and if you want to go ahead with ISCOWP, go ahead.” He is an idea man, consultant type of person, not a cow man or farmer. We decided to organize ISCOWP as a non-profit charitable incorporation. We legalized everything in March 1990.

The spring of 1990 we started traveling to all the North American Rathayatra festivals, the Earth Day Festival, and other programs. We took a team of oxen and led the Ratha Yatras during the parades. At the festival site we would have the oxen available for people to pet, touch, and photograph. The festival visitors were completely in awe of the beauty and size of the oxen. We also had a booth where we sold t-shirts, distributed literature, and had many pictures of the farm and what the oxen did at the farm. “THE OX IS THE BACKBONE OF THE FAMILY FARM, NOT THE SOUP BONE” was one of the slogans that we used to show the usefulness of the oxen in our lifestyle. We did this for approximately 4 summers in which we received positive press coverage throughout the USA. In the meantime we acquired some small acreage (3 acres) in North Carolina to establish a small family farm.

Beginning in 1990 my wife, Chayadevi, began writing and publishing the ISCOWP quarterly newsletter. This newsletter is still printed today. She also started a children’s newsletter and materials but could not find many persons to subscribe, so it was discontinued. Chayadevi does most of the correspondence, fund raising, accounting, photography, curriculum development, designing of original ISCOWP T-shirts and display paraphernalia. In 1993 she began the ISKCON COM cow conference that had approximately 90 members from about 20 different countries. The cow conference formulated cow protection standards that are now ISKCON Law 507 so that mistakes aren’t made and repeated in cow care facilities. Since the beginning of 2005, we have not been active with the cow conference. Now we have a presence on the social networks: Facebook, YouTube, etc.

On the 3 acre North Carolina property we acquired in 1991 we grew wheat, rye, and vegetables with the help of the oxen only, no machines. Eventually we found this acreage to be too small for our family, 2 oxen, and the crops we wanted to grow. A friend of ours had bought a large parcel about 2 hours away in which there was approximately 20 acres in bottom land. An oral contract was made that we could cultivate that property to expand our program. There was no electricity, no water system, and the land had not been worked for years. I lived there in our school bus that we used to travel coast to coast with the oxen and began to cultivate the land with our ox team, Vraja and Gita. We developed a hand water system drawing water from the nearby stream. The living situation was austere. Oil lamps for electricity, hand pumping all water, and living in the school bus that had no facilities but shelter. Here we grew large vegetable gardens, dry land rice, wheat, and rye. No machines were used for farming or living on this property.

For approximately 3 years we cultivated this land until we received an invitation in the beginning of 1995 to live at New Vrndavana and join Varsana Maharaja’s disciples work towards self-sufficiency. It was proposed I would teach the younger devotees the skills I knew so they could get established on the land. We were enthused to make the big move so that we could gain energy and association on the path to establishing cow protection as Srila Prabhupada desired.

We sold our 3 acres, our trailer home, and made numerous trucking trips long distance to move all the ox equipment and household to New Vrndavana. During the first year we trained approximately 10 teamsters and 20 oxen from the New Vrndavana herd. Due to financial difficulties of the New Vrndavana administration our project could no longer receive strong support from New Vrndavana. At this point we had the opportunity to purchase land from New Vrndavana as they were selling land to minimize their financial pressures and to attain funds for expenses. In 1996, we acquired a 57 acre parcel which was the heart of an old family farm. The devotees had worked it about 15 years ago. Some of the buildings were still standing but most were not in good repair. Numerous springs, a stream, pastures, and forest were some of the features that attracted us to purchase the property.

In 1998, I was appointed the ISKCON Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture to advise and instruct ISKCON centers and devotees protecting cows. To this end, ISCOWP and the members of the cow conference created the Minimum Standards for Cow Protection which is ISKCON Law 507. I traveled to various ISKCON centers and cow protection projects worldwide for the purpose of establishing these standards and distributing cow protection knowledge. It was my pleasure to also acquire knowledge through these travels. In 2012, I resigned from this position due to on-going, unresolved health problems..

In the last 19 years we have been working to establish ourselves on the ISCOWP Farm. We have built two modified earth shelter homes and one cabin for trainees, refurbished the old standing barn, built a new barn adjoining the old barn, built a hay barn, a geriatric barn and an equipment storage/workshop building, installed new fencing (ongoing process) and a new water system, reclaimed the pastures from rose bush weeds (ongoing project also) and removed truckloads of garbage. Twenty-four cows and oxen (mostly rescues) reside here protected and loved in a beautiful environment. Since 1996 we have acquired two adjoining parcels and another parcel that will make the land holding 165 acres. Now we have more facility for the cows and oxen.

We have been growing much of our food and preserving it by canning and drying. There is a big deer and groundhog population here that tries to eat much of the garden. A very important resident, Rudra the dog, guards the garden and has been quite successful in scaring off the wild animals. However, the deer became so profuse that we built a 9 foot fence around the 1 acre garden with the help of our donors.

We have come to realize that no matter how many cows one can rescue, save and care for, there will be thousands more suffering and in the need of love. Both the meat and commercial dairy industries make profit from exploiting the cow, her brothers and her children. If you can become vegetarian and not take milk from the commercial dairy industry but only from life-protected cows (Krsna – Dairian), then you are contributing to lessening the demand for meat and commercial dairy products. The less demand the less the supply and the less suffering for Mother Cow. One person’s diet change a drop in the bucket? That is why we feel education is so important to saving more cows. Many people do not realize the correlation between diet change and saving cows. Once people understand the correlation and how much Mother Cow is suffering because of the meat and diary industries, they will be encouraged to make a diet change. Our goal is to not only protect the ISCOWP herd but to spread information about diet change and the need for cow protection. We are looking forward to hearing from you at:iscowp@gmail.com. and please feel free to explore this website.

Written By :
William E. Dove (Balabhadra dasa)
President of ISCOWP

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20188

By Radha Mohan das

As part of ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, Bhaktivedanta Manor’s main drama group The Bhaktivedanta Players were invited to perform in ISKCON Mayapur for its huge international Gaura Purnima festival.

As part of the evening stage program, they performed different dramas over five consecutive nights. This included the premier of Jaya Prabhupada: Every Town and Village which covered Srila Prabhupada’s journey to America and his time in New York with Dr Misra, in the Bowery and rounding off in 26 Second Avenue when ISKCON officially began.

Other plays included Jaya Prabhupada: The Gaudiya Foundation, The Golden Avatar, Tales of Narada Muni and the highly popular Musical Ramayan.

“The international stage program pulled together wonderful mixed audiences from across the ISKCON world and it was an honour to be part of it, ” said Players Director Jaya Krishna das. “…and the feedback was excellent!”

“We considered it a great privilege to perform this drama seva in the Holy Dham, especially in observance of ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary” added actor Radha Mohan das 

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20135

Los Angeles temple wins 3 awards!
Los Angeles temple (New Dwarka) recently received 3 major awards in India during the 2016 Mayapur Gaur Purnima Festival. 
#1 book distribution award for best temple in North America 2015. #1 book distributor Award to Bhakta Jay Khush. 
#1 Senior Disciple book distribution award to Bhrigupati Prabhu. A total combined effort of over 249,000 book points! 
All for the pleasure of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada! 

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20141

by Vikrama Govinda Dasa

To get the special mercy of Lord Caitanya ISKCON Kanya Kumari is organising a padayatra covering the 5 places He visited during His tour of South India . We seek your blessings and also request you to kindly join us and bring as many devotees as possible.

In the Kanyakumari District Lord Caitanya visited these five places, as mentioned in Caitanya Caritamrita ( 2.9.225 to 229) :
1. Kanyakumari – Bhagavathiamman temple
2. Suchindrum – Sthanumalayan temple.
3. Tovalai – Subramaniya Swami temple
4. Bhootapandi – Bhoothalinga Swami temple
5. Thiruvattar – Adikesava temple

Tentative Schedule :

• Friday October 7, 2016 : 5.30 a.m.
  Inauguration of the 50 km walk at the Kanyakumari Temple.
  16,5 km to Suchindrum.
  Evening Public outreach program in Suchindrum (expected crowd of 400 people)

• Saturday October 8, at 5.30 a.m.
  Walk from Suchindrum to Tovalai : 16.5 km
  Evening Public outreach program at Thovalai (expected crowd of 400 people)

• Sunday October 9, at 5.30 a.m.
  Walk from Tovalai to Bhoothapandi : 17 km
  Trip Bby bus to the Adikesava Temple (a distance of 35 km)
  Evening Public outreach program at the Adikesava Temple with

NB : The final schedule will be posted later. This above schedule is subject to changes.

Registration :

A registration fee of Rs.300/- includes simple accomodation in mandapam, bus fare to the Adikesava temple and return to Nagercoil. Prasadam is served free to all the padayatris.
Due to space constraint the registration is limited to 200 people.
Devotees are requested to bring a permission letter of their local ISKCON temple.

Contact :

Vikrama Govinda das
iskcon.kanyakumari<AT>gmail.com
Tel : 098 946 00108 

Source: http://www.padayatra.com/50-kms-walk-in-the-footsteps-of-lord-caitanya-for-the-50th-anniversary-of-iskcon/

One of my favourite quotes is from the business mentor Stephen Covey, who said that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. In other words, don’t lose your focus. To achieve that of course, I need to have a clear aim in life on which to focus. For many years I grappled with that, not being altogether clear what I was trying to achieve beyond survival and hopefully a bit of fun now and again. Finding myself struggling on both counts I eventually consulted the intelligent Mr Covey via his books. This resulted in a bit of navel-gazing and, after I recovered from that, I constructed a personal mission statement which I actually look at from time to time.

For me life’s chief aim is a spiritual one. It’s about finding out who I really am, beyond the temporary names and labels given by this world. Ultimately it’s about attaining the divine abode of God, where I believe I truly belong. I therefore welcome holy celebrations and festivals, because they bring my often misaligned endeavours back into focus, reminding me of the sacred goal of life. Easter is not in my tradition but I have always been an admirer of Christ and his teachings. I see his messages to be very much in line with those of my own Krishna faith, and indeed with those given most spiritual traditions.  From my own experience it seems to me that most faith’s teach that we are not merely material beings, and instead are spiritual souls meant for everlasting happiness, not just the ephemeral variety offered by this world.

Christ famously said that it profits a man nothing if he gains the world but loses his soul. In other words, if our happiness depends only upon the temporary things of this world it will be lost sooner or later. So, as we remember Christ this Easter I shall revisit my mission statement and make sure I’ve got the main thing of my spiritual practise firmly front and centre. 

Source: http://www.krishnadharma.com/pause-for-thought-bbc-radio-2-march-24th/

“Drishti – Bharat Leads The World” | Mega Youth Festival | 20th March 2016 | ISKCON Pune

On the auspicious occasion of ISKCON’s Golden Jubilee, to fulfill the desire of Srila Prabhupada and GBC, we made our humble and best attempts. With little or no idea to start with, the planning and execution of the event was majorly done in past 3 months.

Publicity

– Phase I:

o In a span of only a week (March 9-16), 135000 students got free passes in more than 70 colleges all over Pune.

o Principals and institution heads were given VIP passes along with a brochure about youth preaching activities. Practically all of them gave us red carpet welcome to distribute passes and welcomed us to hold such events and other educational programs for their students in their own premises.

o Online tickets booking was also enabled on townscript.com and bookmyshow.com. Also online facebook publicity was done and website was created for this event.

– Phase II – The registration for the festival was through a “missed call service” mentioned on the free pass. We got 23,000+ unique missed calls.

FREE GIFTS was another attractive feature of the event. Passes given to attendees had 2 coupons – Dinner Prasadam meal coupon and free gifts coupon. Free gifts included

– Vodaphone sponsored free simcards with talktime and data pack

– Another company sponsored free fruit jellies

– Another company sponsored discount coupons for rental cars.

– We also distributed one Srila Prabhupada small book for each attendee.

The highlights of the actual event

– On the day of the program, almost 4 thousand students were waiting before we opened gates.

– The event was attended by 17,000-18,000 students.

– Special stage was erected of size 40×60 feet for performances.

– Our honorable speakers for the events were HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj, HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj, HG Gauranga Prabhu and HG Gaur Gopal Prabhu. HH Hanuman Preshak Swami Maharaj also graced the event.

– The VIPs were principles of various colleges, Mr. Vishwajeet Kadam – leader of youth congress in Maharashtra, The education commissioner of Pune, VIPs from police department etc.

– The cultural performances included

o A drama by HH Bhaktimarga Maharaj “Vande Arts” Team

o A shadow drama on Bhagavad Gita by students of IIT Kharagpur

o Short Videos on ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada

o Kirtans by Vrajvadhus band from Vrindavan

o Marathi dance performance on “Mauli” with dialogue between Tukaram and Shivaji Maharaj

– Dinner Prasadam was distributed to all students. Around 13000 students got full plate prasadam and those who left early got drona prasadam.

– 6 Marathi newspapers published articles about the event

– March 26, 2016 – Saturday, 9:00 AM – Doordarshan broadcasted highlights of the event. Another channel “generation next” will broadcast on Sunday. 

Source: http://www.iskconpune.com/drishti-youth-festival/ ;