Full Dependence on Krishna Utter Humility by Dravida Prabhu at Chicago on 26 Dec 2015
(Dravida Prabhu is a vaishnava scholar, musician and poet. He has edited Back to Godhead magazine and other books published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust for over 25 years.)
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Don't let a wrong definition of success defeat you by Chaitanya Charan Prabhu
(Chaitanya Charan Das is a celibate spiritual teacher (brahmachari) at ISKCON, Pune. He has done his Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering from the Govt College of Engg, Pune.)
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Lecture on Disappearance Day of Srimati Yamuna Mataji by Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Vrindavan on 08 Jan 2013
(Radhanath Swami was born in Chicago, USA. In his teenage years, he embarked on a journey of discovery of the world and religion that ultimately led him to India where he met Srila Prabhupada in 1971 and embraced his teachings.)
To Listen and Download - click here
Giriraj Swami and Guru Prasada Swami look back at their service in ISKCON over the last 50 years.
“I remember when a devotee came up to me and said. ‘Ten years ago I met you on the street and you gave me a book. From that book I found a temple and became a devotee.’ That is such a rewarding experience. Sometimes, when you distribute books or do any service, you feel a little overburdened because there is so much to do for Krishna. But, when you get that reciprocation from the deities or someone you have preached to, it makes everything worthwhile. You think, ‘I can participate in this way in Krishna consciousness’. That is how I have put my little grain of sand into this movement — by trying to pioneer. And, I am still trying to do that to some degree — if Krishna gives me the chance.”
—Guru Prasada Swami
Source...http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=10519
Madhava Gosh Dasa, age 66, died peacefully at his home in New Vrindaban, WV, January 2nd, 2016, following a long struggle with post transplant liver failure.
He was a pioneer New Vrindaban inhabitant, having lived there since 1973. Inspired by the instructions of his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, he was a lifelong activist of local agriculture and cow protection.
Madhava Gosh is survived by his wife of 41 years, Vidya Dasi; five children, Manjari, Madhu, Vraja, Marken & Tulasi; three grandchildren, Mary, Gracie & Sydney; and many friends.
A memorial service will be held 10:30 am, Monday, January 4th, at the ISKCON New Vrindaban Temple. Friends are welcome at the service and the reception at the family home from 2:30 to 6 pm.
Gosh made two specific requests:
1. The memorial ceremony should start and end on time.
2. Those wishing to do something in his honor should plant a fruit, nut or flowering tree.
So, please show up timely and plant that tree!
Source...http://www.brijabasispirit.com/2016/01/03/madhava-goshs-memorial/
Radha Kunda Seva: December 2015 Photos and Updates (Album with photos)
A Blessed and Happy New Year to you all!
It is cold in Vraja now which makes that hot, fresh and wholesome meal all the more valuable to our Radha Kunda ladies. With your support, we are slowly and steadily feeding more and more widows. They enjoyed their usual monthly feast on the 23rd of December, and then were treated by special sponsorship to a Christmas Day feast of puri, sabji, hot pakoras, and vegetable pulau! Our rented facility is a cramped and tight place to serve them, but by splitting them into two shifts, we’ve been making it work. We are excited and hopeful about the up and coming kitchen-building project and we will keep you posted on the progress of that.
Cleaning continues, and as always we feel so fortunate to have a service that keeps our hearts, hopes, and dreams firmly planted in the most sacred place in the universe, Sri Radha Kunda.
Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com.
Your servants, Mayapurcandra dasa, Campakalata Devi dasi, Padma Gopi Devi dasi, and Urmila Devi Dasi.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/s5r6pU
Source...http://m.dandavats.com/?p=18043
Washington, D.C.—1966 was a significant year. Chairman Mao Tse-Tung’s “Little Red Book” was published for the first time. Despite mass protests, the United States began to bomb Hanoi, North Vietnam’s capital. The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon. Actor Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. Indira Gandhi visited Washington. Walt Disney died. The Beatles performed their very last concert in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park.
And, on New York City’s lower east side, surrounded by a handful of young followers in a small storefront temple on 2nd Avenue, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada incorporated a fledgling religious society. He named it the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON. On that hot summer day, the 13th of July, the Hare Krishna movement was born.
Few noticed the event. Fewer still would have expected this 70-year old swami and his band of reformed hippies to be more than a blip in the avant-garde history of New York City. But, fifty years later the society Prabhupada created is arguably the largest and most influential of global Vedic (Hindu) organizations, and the 600 plus Hare Krishna temples around the world attract an estimated nine million worshippers per year.
“Besides scholars, few people know the depth of the Krishna movement’s roots in India’s historic Vaishnava tradition, nor ISKCON’s impact as a leading proponent of devotional bhakti yoga around the world,” says Dr. Ravi Gupta, head of Utah State University’s Religious Study Department.
Srila Prabhupada passed away in November 1977. But, the movement he began has proven to be a resilient one. ISKCON today claims not just 600 temples, but 65 eco-farms and 110 vegetarian restaurants. Its affiliated Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is the world’s largest publisher of Vaishnava literature and has distributed 516 million books and magazines.
In addition, ISKCON’s affiliated Annamrita Food Relief program feeds 1.2 million school children every day in India, and ISKCON is the official faith partner with the British government for the Krishna Advanti schools, which oversees multiple schools. ISKCON’s world headquarters in Mayapura, West Bengal India, draws one million pilgrims each year and a new Temple of Vedic Planetarium is under construction that will hold 10,000 people in the main worship hall.
As early as 1975, scholars took note of ISKCON’s growth. Dr. A. L Basham, author of the famed book, “The Glory That Was India,” wrote that “The Hare Krishna movement… is historically very significant, for now, for the first time since the days of the Roman Empire, an Asian religion is being openly practiced by people of western origin in the streets of western cities.”
“ISKCON teaches that every living being is an eternal soul, and that happiness comes from awakening our relationship with God, Sri Krishna, the all-attractive person,” said Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s Communication Minister. “People know that a consumer driven life is a dead end; when they experience the joy of bhakti, or devotion, they realize this is what they are looking for.”
ISKCON inaugurates a year of celebrations marking the 50th Anniversary on New Year’s Eve. Throughout the year events will include major Rathayatra (“Giant Chariot”) parades down New York’s 5th Avenue, Washington’s Independence Avenue, Toronto’s Yonge Street, and London’s Trafalgar Square; as well as celebratory festivals and events to coincide with the July 13 anniversary date.
In addition, gala VIP dinners are planned for Sydney, London, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Washington. And, a 64-year old Krishna monk will walk for six months across the entire United States, commemorating Prabhupada’s teachings and ISKCON’s growth across America and the world.
Source...http://m.dandavats.com/?p=18057
Marriage Anniversary!
Aniruddha Dasa married to Acintya Rupa Dasi for 35 Years!
Shrila Bhaktisiddhata Sarasvati Thakur: “If we simply engage in discussing topics of the Lord while living anywhere by the Lord’s mercy we can realize the glories of devotional service, the Lord’s mercy, and come to remember the Lord in our day-to-day life. A devotee should live wherever the Lord is pleased to keep him and should forget his own material miseries. When the propensity to serve the Lord is awakened in the heart while discussing hari-katha in the association of devotees, then we will automatically remember Hari under all circumstances.
Source...http://m.dandavats.com/?p=18051
Over the last year the Auckland temple devotees organised about 10 Rathayatras in the area. The big cart was used for the city and a smaller cart for the suburbs and nearby towns.
A few days ago a Rathayatra went around the farm itself and the devotees danced and chanted ecstatically in front of Their Lordships, Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi.
Washington, D.C.—1966 was a significant year. Chairman Mao Tse-Tung’s “Little Red Book” was published for the first time. Despite mass protests, the United States began to bomb Hanoi, North Vietnam’s capital. The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon. Actor Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. Indira Gandhi visited Washington. Walt Disney died. The Beatles performed their very last concert in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park.
And, on New York City’s lower east side, surrounded by a handful of young followers in a small storefront temple on 2nd Avenue, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada incorporated a fledgling religious society. He named it the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON. On that hot summer day, the 13th of July, the Hare Krishna movement was born.
Few noticed the event. Fewer still would have expected this 70-year old swami and his band of reformed hippies to be more than a blip in the avant-garde history of New York City. But, fifty years later the society Prabhupada created is arguably the largest and most influential of global Vedic (Hindu) organizations, and the 600 plus Hare Krishna temples around the world attract an estimated nine million worshippers per year.
“Besides scholars, few people know the depth of the Krishna movement’s roots in India’s historic Vaishnava tradition, nor ISKCON’s impact as a leading proponent of devotional bhakti yoga around the world,” says Dr. Ravi Gupta, head of Utah State University’s Religious Study Department.
Srila Prabhupada passed away in November 1977. But, the movement he began has proven to be a resilient one. ISKCON today claims not just 600 temples, but 65 eco-farms and 110 vegetarian restaurants. Its affiliated Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is the world’s largest publisher of Vaishnava literature and has distributed 516 million books and magazines.
In addition, ISKCON’s affiliated Annamrita Food Relief program feeds 1.2 million school children every day in India, and ISKCON is the official faith partner with the British government for the Krishna Advanti schools, which oversees multiple schools. ISKCON’s world headquarters in Mayapura, West Bengal India, draws one million pilgrims each year and a new Temple of Vedic Planetarium is under construction that will hold 10,000 people in the main worship hall.
As early as 1975, scholars took note of ISKCON’s growth. Dr. A. L Basham, author of the famed book, “The Glory That Was India,” wrote that “The Hare Krishna movement… is historically very significant, for now, for the first time since the days of the Roman Empire, an Asian religion is being openly practiced by people of western origin in the streets of western cities.”
“ISKCON teaches that every living being is an eternal soul, and that happiness comes from awakening our relationship with God, Sri Krishna, the all-attractive person,” said Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s Communication Minister. “People know that a consumer driven life is a dead end; when they experience the joy of bhakti, or devotion, they realize this is what they are looking for.”
ISKCON inaugurates a year of celebrations marking the 50th Anniversary on New Year’s Eve. Throughout the year events will include major Rathayatra (“Giant Chariot”) parades down New York’s 5th Avenue, Washington’s Independence Avenue, Toronto’s Yonge Street, and London’s Trafalgar Square; as well as celebratory festivals and events to coincide with the July 13 anniversary date.
In addition, gala VIP dinners are planned for Sydney, London, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Washington. And, a 64-year old Krishna monk will walk for six months across the entire United States, commemorating Prabhupada’s teachings and ISKCON’s growth across America and the world.
* * *
For more information about ISKCON 50, see: www.iskconnews.org; www.iskcon50.org
Source...http://m.dandavats.com/?p=18035
Source...http://iskcontoronto.blogspot.it/2016/01/pictures-from-incredible-new-years-eve.html
Saturday night kirtans have moved from the Lotus Room in Sydney to Govindas Asrama nearby.
This is because the restaurant is so crowded that both the regular customers and those from the kirtans could not fit in at the same time.
Nevertheless, the program goes on nicely with beautiful kirtan and sumptuous prasadam.
Source...http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2016/01/care-for-some-feedback.html
Honouring Srila Prabhupada to Kick Off 2016
Festival Report by: Smruthi Venkateshan
Pictures by: Sahil Srivastava
Though many of us may have been a bit tired after ringing in the New Year, the Toronto Hare Krishna community gathered up all their energy and enthusiastically celebrated the annual Srila Prabhupada Festival on the evening of January 1st, 2016!
The festival is celebrated annually to give tribute and thanks to Srila Prabhupada for starting the Hare Krishna movement in the West thereby delivering the message of Sri Krishna worldwide. When he was 70 years old, Srila Prabhupada traveled by a cargo ship to the West, following the instructions of his spiritual master to spread the message of Krishna Consciousness to the Western world.
On the evening of January 1, 2016 the devotees at the temple started the Srila Prabhupada Festival by collectively offering flowers to the feet of Srila Prabhupada. During this ceremony the Deity of Srila Prabhupada beamed with delight and was surrounded by a sea of beautiful flowers.
Shortly thereafter, Bhaktimarga Swami showed a video honoring Srila Prabhupada’s contributions to ISCKON and lectured on what devotees can do in their lives to further Srila Prabhupada’s vision.
With renewed spirits and new oaths the devotees all joined together in an ecstatic kirtan and closing kirtan (arati). Later, a vegetarian feast was served to all the devotees and it maintained a simple cooking style while having a high taste.
As the festival concluded all the devotees left with more energy than ever before and seemed ready to embrace the New Year and its new beginnings!
Source...http://iskcontoronto.blogspot.in/2016/01/festival-report-srila-prabhupada.html
We usually find dīkṣā translated as “initiation” because to “initiate” something is to start it, to set it in motion – and dīkṣā is the thing that starts us in a certain direction.
In bhakti-yoga, dīkṣā is the thing that starts our devotional practices, sādhana-bhakti. Dīkṣā is the beginning of yoga. By dīkṣa we are accepted into a “school” of yoga and begin to be given whatever techniques and materials the school employs in its educational process.
Dīkṣā must be followed by śikṣā, specific and personalized instructions on the school’s philosophy and objectives, and similarly personalized instructions on how to employ the techniques and materials (given through dīkṣā) to realize that philosophy and obtain those objectives.
Dīkṣa and śikṣā are compulsory. In any field, to be guided by an expert is essential, but in bhakti-yoga it is absolutely mandatory because the primary subject (pure love, uttama-bhakti) is so subtle and elusive, and so foreign to our current nature.
There is a single practice which comes before this dīkṣā and śikṣā, it is called śrī-gurupādāśraya – to seek (a) competent guru(s). Of course, some education(śikṣā) is required at this stage as well. Thus śikṣā precedes and proceeds from dīkṣā. The śikṣā prior to dīkṣā however, is less personalized and more focused on basics like learning to identify a guru, and determine the most optimum school for one’s current level of “study.”
There are essential and non-essential components of dīkṣā.
The most essential component of dīkṣā occurs in the heart. The disciple decides to accept someone as his or her GURU, guide, sacred teacher – and that person decides to accept the disciple as his or her ŚIṢYA, pupil, sacred student.
The next most essential component of dīkṣā is that the guru transfers specific techniques and materials to the disciple – that he or she will use as the basis of their spiritual discipline and practice. Usually this is gradual, the guru giving the disciple new techniques when he or she is competent and ready for them. In gauḍīya-bhakti-yoga, the most essential among the materials is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the most essential among the techniques is kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṁkīrtana and specific mantra, especially the two Krishna-mantrabeginning “kṛṣṇāya govindāya…” and “kāmadevāya vidmahe…”
These two components are the essence of dīkṣā. Without them, “dīkṣā” is not dīkṣā. Other components often accompany dīkṣā – to make it more emotional impactful and significant for the disciple, and to help the disciple in other ways. Here are some of those components:
Disciple and Guru express their commitment to one another vocally and/or symbolically, before witnesses – often including sādhus, sacred fire, and the sacred mūrti.
Guru gives (a) mark(s) to the disciple that visually identify him or her as a member of the school. These often include the following: a specific tilok mark on the forehead, a specific name, tulasī necklace (and also for kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṁkīrtan), and a specific tattoo or brand.
All of these components are helpful but none are absolutely essential to dīkṣā.
Vraja Kishor dās
Source...https://vicd108.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/diksha-whats-diksha/
ISKCON Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada personally introduced the Life Membership Program in the early 1970’s. He invited everyone across the world to take advantage of residing in ISKCON temples – all over the world – for a couple of days, of attending spiritual programs and receiving Krishna conscious association.
A one-of Life Membership donation is $1,111.
Your spiritual honors:
Your welcome kit:
Note: upon paying an additional $500, you will receive an 18-book set of the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Enrol today! Contact Sarvajna Krishna Dasa (0404-485-861) in the Members Services Office.
Source...http://www.harekrishnamelbourne.com.au/join-our-worldwide-family-international-life-membership/
The Eye to See the I features 121 reflections on the Bhagavad-gita that make its insights appreciable in brief, relishable nuggets of wisdom. The book published in hard copy on Janmashtami last year is already nearing the end of its first print run and will go for the second print soon. Recently released on kindle, it is now available free for five days from 6th Jan to 10th Jan.
Some of the reflections in the book are:
With punchy titles that distill each article’s central message, the Eye to See the I addresses a wide variety of issues, all meant to help us realize and relish the innermost core of our being.
The hard copy of the book can be ordered from voicebooks@voicepune.com, and the kindle version can be downloaded from amazon.in here or amazon.com here
Source: http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/01/the-eye-to-see-the-i-free-on-kindle-for-five-days/
