Lecture on Appearance Day of Lord Balaram by Hari Sauri Prabhu oN 19 Aug 2005 at ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor

(Hari Sauri was born in England on November 17th 1950. In May 1971, he emigrated to Australia where, on the second day of his arrival, he met the members of the newly emerging Krishna Consciousness movement.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Read more about Gundica Marjana on www.harekrishnacalendar.com

 Sri Gadadhara Pandita - Disappearance

Read more about Sri Gadadhara Pandita on www.gaudiyahistory.com 
Audio Lectures on Gadadhara Pandita on www.audio.iskcondesiretree.info 
View coloring book for kids on www.iskcondesiretree.net

Disappearance Day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Read more about Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura on www.gaudiyahistory.com
Listen Bhajans by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura on www.vaishnavsongs.com 
Audio Lectures on Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura on www.audio.iskcondesiretree.info  
Bhajans by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Video Format www.iskcondesiretree.net

Jaya Jaya Jagannath - click here

Jagannath Tatva - click here

Prayers to Lord Jagannath - Kadacit Kalindi Tata Vipina - click here

Jai Jai Jagannath - click here

Jagannathashtakam song with dazzling Jagannath wallpapers - click here

Aerial View of Jaganath temple Puri - click here

Explanation of verse by verse from Jagatnathashtakam Prayers by HG Gauranga Prabhu - click here

Lecture on The Difference between Intellectual Understanding and Actual Realization by HG Radhe Shyam Prabhu on 10 June 2013 

(President of the Pune branch of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) that has over 600 centres worldwide Director of Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture & Education (VOICE) Holds an M.Tech from IIT-Bombay)

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Lecture on Appearance Day of Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja by Giriraj Swami on 14 June 2014 at Carpinteria

(Giriraj Swami has also taught at the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education and continues to lecture and to give presentations at japa retreats and workshops around the world.)

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Lecture on Panihati Cida Dahi Festival by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami on 10 June 2014 at ISKCON Mira Road

(Gopal Krishna Goswami has served extensively in BBT (as chairman and trustee) in India, arranging for translation of Srila Prabhupada’s books into various regional languages and their distribution far and wide. He continues to encourage BBT book distribution in his zones, especially in India.)

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Lecture on About Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura by HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami on 18 May 2014 at ISKCON Silicon Valley

(His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON's founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.)

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Is ISKCON an American organization that sends temple donations from India to America? June 18, 2014

Answer Summary:

1. ISKCON is not an American organization, but an international organization.

2. ISKCON has a standard policy of each center being financially self-sustaining. So normally donations from one temple are not sent to another temple even in the same country, what to speak of outside the country.

3. As special holy places in India like Vrindavan and Mayapur are sacred for ISKCON devotees from all over the world, they give donations for temples there. So there is indeed a flow of donations, but it is into India, not out of India.

4. ISKCON follows the vision of Srila Prabhupada, its founder, who envisioned a global East-West partnership with India contributing spiritual wisdom and the West contributing material resources, so ISKCON uses the latest technology that might make it seem foreign to some undiscerning nationalists.

5. Reactionary Indian nationalists who target ISKCON for its foreign connections are totally misinformed because, though ISKCON started in America, ISKCON India is run almost entirely by Indians for offering cultural and spiritual services to Indians.

6. ISKCON’s contributions in sharing India’s spiritual culture all over the world have been appreciated by eminent statesmen, thinkers and scholars of religion.

Answer:

A video that has gone viral on youtube makes this bizarre claim. The claim is bizarre because nothing about it is true – in fact, the truth is entirely opposite to the claim. Let’s deconstruct the claim point-by-point:

1. ISKCON is not an American organization, but an international organization.

ISKCON by its very name The International Society for Krishna consciousness points to its global mission. It was established in America in 1966 by Srila Prabhupada, but thekrishna-bhakti that it intends to share with the world has been practiced in Indian for millennia. And now ISKCON has over 600 centers, spread across nearly all the countries of the world, thus fulfilling the vision implied in its name. After Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON’s leadership is now shared by a Governing Body Commission, which comprises of spiritual leaders from various parts of the world, with no nation’s leaders having any exclusive or excessive privileges. So from both its membership and leadership point of view, ISKCON is not an American organization, but an international organization.

2. ISKCON has a standard policy that each center is financially self-sustaining. So donations from one temple are not sent to another temple even in the same country, what to speak of outside the country.

According to the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita, the sacred text that is the scriptural basis for ISKCON, every person is a soul with the spiritual potential for devotion to God, Krishna. With this principle, Srila Prabhupada wanted ISKCON to universalize krishna-bhakti by inspiring people all over the world to practice it and further share it with others. That’s why whenever he established centers anywhere in the world, he intended the local devotees there to take up the initiative for maintaining and expanding it. Accordingly, ISKCON has a standard policy of financial independence and self-sustainability for each of its center. So, there’s no transfer of donations from even one center to another even within the same country, what to speak of from one country to another. What to speak of sending donations from country to country or city to city, donations are normally not sent even within the same city from one temple to another. That’s why for example in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai where ISKCON has many temples, some are huge, some are modest and some are small, depending on the capacity of the local patrons to support the temple.

3. As special holy places in India like Vrindavan and Mayapur are sacred for ISKCON devotees from all over the world, they give donations for temples there. So if there is any flow of donations, it is into India, not out of India.

The only exception to this principle of self-sustenance is with regards to temples in pilgrimage places that are sacred for ISKCON devotees all over the world. Srila Prabhupada wanted at these places magnificent cultural centers built around majestic temples – devotional retreats that would attract, shelter and inspire seekers from the world over. So, he encouraged temples and devotees everywhere to contribute for the devotional projects at these places. Thus, for example, for the temple in Sridhama Mayapur, near Kolkata, one of ISKCON’s prominent patrons, Alfred Ford (Ambarisha Dasa), the great-grandson of the famous American industrialist, Henry Ford, has personally contributed as well as solicited with his global contacts donations to the tune of Rs 250 crores. The Mayapur Temple is going to be the biggest Vedic temple in the world and will significantly enhance the cultural glory of India.

So, on the exceptional occasions when donations do move from one place to another, that movement is from is not from India to elsewhere, but from the rest of the world to India, to enhance India’s cultural glory by making those holy places more attractive for visitors.

4. ISKCON follows the vision of Srila Prabhupada, its founder, who envisioned a global East-West partnership with India contributing spiritual wisdom and the West contributing material resources, so ISKCON uses the latest technology that might make it seem foreign to some undiscerning nationalists.

Srila Prabhupada wanted ISKCON to serve as a vibrant vehicle for the spiritual rejuvenation of the entire world. To this end, he applied the traditional metaphor of the blind man-lame man joining forces to progress along the way. The West having to a large extent lost its spiritual moorings due to excessive materialism is like the proverbial blind man and the East, especially India, due to its financial weakness caused largely by nearly a millennia of foreign domination and exploitation, is like the lame man. ISKCON works to integrate the strengths of both – the spiritual wisdom of India and the material expertise of the West – for offering world-class facilities for the progressive respiritualization of the whole world. ISKCON has been a pioneer in using the latest technology and other such material resources in its temples. Such things that are not seen in other traditional temples (though many other temples have also started integrating such things too) may give some undiscerning Indian nationalists the mistaken impression that ISKCON is a foreign organization. But it isn’t – it's firmly rooted in the krishna-bhakti tradition coming from India and simply uses global resources for sharing that tradition with the world.

5. Reactionary Indian nationalists who target ISKCON for its foreign connections are totally misinformed because, though ISKCON started in America, ISKCON India is run almost entirely by Indians for offering cultural and spiritual services to Indians.

In ISKCON’s Indian temples, non-Indian devotees are often seen, usually while they are on a pilgrimage to India. The presence of such foreigners attracts a lot of attention and may give the impression to some people that these foreigners run ISKCON. But that’s far from the truth. ISKCON was started in America in 1966 and for the first one-two decades of its history, its global leaders were primarily Americans, because they happened to be its initial members. But since the 1980s, hundreds and thousands of Indians have started practicing Krishna consciousness and they are now the prominent members and leaders of ISKCON, who actively share its cultural and spiritual gifts with fellow Indians. ISKCON India has books, courses and cultural centers customized to serve the needs, interest and concerns of Indians.

Moreover, today, ISKCON India is the leader for the rest of ISKCON with respect to number of practitioners, number of temples and number of spiritual books distributed.

So not only is ISKCON India essentially Indian, even ISKCON international has a prominent Indian presence. Hence, allegations about ISKCON’s foreign roots or connections are totally baseless.

6. ISKCON’s contributions in sharing India’s spiritual culture all over the world have been appreciated by eminent statesmen, thinkers and scholars of religion.

Here are a few examples:

"The ISKCON movement has few parallels in the world in terms of its rapid global spread, its trans-national, trans-ethnic, and trans-professional appeal, its outward simplicity, and the devotional energy of its followers. In the less than three and a half decades since its inception it has established temples in practically all parts of the world, and many of them are marvels of beauty, such as the one that is being opened in New Delhi today. The maha-mantra of Hare Krishna Hare Rama reverberates to the dancing feet of ISKCON devotees each morning and evening in temples from Stockholm to Sao Paulo and from Miami to Mäyäpur. What ISKCON has achieved is indeed globalization of the Gita appeal."

- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Former Prime Minister of India

"Guess again if you think Bollywood, or Indian writing in English, is the country's biggest cultural export. You may not come across any of these if you visit Cochabamba in Bolivia or Gaborone in Botswana, what you will find instead is a centre of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) ... It is easy to see where the Krishna movement's global appeal lies. In the midst of today's impersonal institutions and vast bureaucratic collectivities, it promises an intimate relationship with a personal god."

- Times of India editorial, Jan 6, 2006

"The Hare Krishna movement arose out of next to nothing in less than twenty years and has become known all over the West. This is an important fact in the history of the Western world ... 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."

- Dr. A.L. Basham; Eminent scholar of Hinduism, Author of A Cultural History of India

When ISKCON is striving tirelessly and selflessly for preserving and sharing India’s spiritual culture in India as well as over the world, as has been recognized by unbiased and eminent authorities, it’s unfortunate that some people with mistaken notions are making baseless allegations against it. We hope that this document clarifies the misconceptions and helps us all focus unitedly on the important work of raising global human consciousness by sharing spiritual wisdom and devotional culture.

To know more about ISKCON's contributions to India, please see these series of talks centered on the acronym India: 
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/04/iskcons-contributions-to-india- 1-overview-acronym-india/

INDIA acronym:

I – Internationalization

N – Non-discrimination

D – Development

I – Infrastructure

A – Appreciation

Chaitanya Charan das
TheSpiritualScientist.com

On Saturday, June 21, 2014, ISKCON organized the first time ever Jagannath Rathayatra festival at Navsari.

Navsari, (pronounced "nuvsaari") located 37 kilometers (23 miles) South of Surat, in South Gujarat, is an old town located nearby the Purna River.

It's an ancient place, with a history going back two thousand years.

Here is just a glimpse of it's hoary past:

"Navsari, one of the oldest cities of Gujarat, has an inspiring history of over 2000 years. According to the Greek historical writings, a celebrated Egyptian astronomer and geographer named Ptolemy mentioned Navsari's port in his book written about 150 A.D. The geographic location he showed as Narispa, is in fact the Navsari of today.

The origin of the name "Navsari" has a very fascinating history. In the past, the city of Navsari has been associated with many names such as Nag Vardhana, Nag Shahi, Nag Sarika, Nag Mandal, Nav Sarika and Nav Sareh. Some of the legends associated with the various names of Navsari are as follows: Shayashray Shiladitya, who ruled over Navsari in the seventh century named this city NAG VARDHANA in honor of his Guru Nag Vardhana. During the same period, the name changed to NAV SARIKA as is evidenced by a recovered copper plate dated 669 A.D. The legend is that Shayashray Shiladttya presented a copper plate to a priest in his town. The copper plate read that Shiladitya, the ruler of "Nav Sarika," had bestowed a nearby village upon this priest of the Kashyapclan."

[from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navsari]

At present the population of Navsari is one hundred and thirty five thousand (one lakh thirty five thousand here in India). Residents of the Navsari town and surrounding villages -- Navsari is now a district headquarters -- have migrated all over the world, to places such as Fiji, the UK, USA, etc.

The Rathayatra began at the train station at 3 PM, and the local MP, Sri C.R. Patil presided at the inauguration. Bhakti Vikas Swami and Jasomatinandan Das ISKCON Gujarat zonal secretary addressed those gathered at the inauguration, and Bhakti Vikas Swami performed arati to Their Lordships Jagannath, Baladev, and Subhadradevi.

About a thousand, mostly congregational devotees participated in the Rathayatra procession, coming from Surat, Baroda, Bombay, Bharuch, as well locally.

Ten foreign devotees, headed by Ajamila Das and Tirthakara Das, were specially invited from Mayapur Dham to attend the Rathayatra. ISKCON Gujarat leaders, Basu Ghosh Das, President of ISKCON Baroda, and Satchidananda Das, President of ISKCON Vallabhvidyanagar also participated in the program.

The procession went through the main roads of the old Navsari town and ended at the Sanskar Bharati School grounds. There a thousand members of the public listened to lectures by Bhakti Vikas Swami and Jasomatinandan Das. Bhakti Vikas Swami, a native of England, spoke in Hindi, and Jasomatinandan Das, a native of Surat, spoke in Gujarati. Prasad packets with sweet "bundi" were distributed throughout the procession.

At the conclusion of the lectures, prasad was served to the public. There was kichadi, kadi, and lapsi. All of the prasad was cooked by ISKCON initiated devotees.

The main organizer of the Rathayatra festival was Jaya Govinda Das, a local businessman and farmer, and an initiated ISKCON devotee, who has become a very enthusiastic pracharak (preacher) for ISKCON at Navsari. He was assisted in organizing the festival by congregational devotees from Surat headed by Radhesh Das and Hanuman Das. Subal Shyam Das, who organizes the "Pandava Sena" at Surat, also participated in the festival.

Pictures of the festival can be seen at the following link: click here

HH Gopal Krishna Goswami met the honourable President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on 12th June, 2014 at the President’s official residence in New Delhi and presented him the BBT’s deluxe edition of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is along with the maha-prasad of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi.

Maharaj thanked the President for inaugurating ISKCON’s Pune center last year and invited him to inaugurate ISKCON upcoming center in Kanpur later this year, and presented him with a brochure of this 12 acre project and explained him the different activities that would be held there.

President expressed his pleasure to open the temple as “ISKCON is a good organization, doing good work”.

Your insignificant servant,
Giriraj Das

HH Gopal Krishna Goswami met the honourable President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on 12th June, 2014 at the President’s official residence in New Delhi and presented him the BBT’s deluxe edition of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is along with the maha-prasad of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi.

Maharaj thanked the President for inaugurating ISKCON’s Pune center last year and invited him to inaugurate ISKCON upcoming center in Kanpur later this year, and presented him with a brochure of this 12 acre project and explained him the different activities that would be held there.

President expressed his pleasure to open the temple as “ISKCON is a good organization, doing good work”.

Your insignificant servant,
Giriraj Das

On Auspicious Occasion of Jagannath Ratha Yatra on 29th June.
Listen to Jagannath Ashtakam sung in Original Traditional style by HG Ananta Nitai Das
FREE DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE AT - click here

Dear Devotees,
Please accept our respectful obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We are pleased to inform you that ISKCON Visakhapatnam will be celebrating 6th Annual Ratha Yatra of Their Lordships Jagannath Baladeva and Subhadra Devi in Visakhapatnam city on Sunday 29th June 2014 starting from Vuda park at 4.00pm.

The Ratha yatra procession will include different kirtan Mandali's, Shennai Party, kolatam dance, procession of different Characters from Ramayana,Mahabharath etc.and will be followed by Prasadam Distribution. Local MLA,prominent citizens along with few thousand lifemebers will be participating in the Procession.H.H.Bhanu Swami Maharaj,kirtan mandali from mayapura and more than 60 devotees from Middle east will be participating.

You are cordially invited to attend the Ratha Yatra along with your temple devotees and congregation.We will be happy to host you and make you comfortable.

Please confirm your visit and the number of devotees who will be coming for the festival
Email :iskconvizag@pamho.net
or
Guest House.vizag@pamho.net

You may contact
Shyamsunder Priya Dasa at 08008170003
Barada Gour Dasa 09441901228

Hoping to have your kind association.

Your Servant,
Samba das
President & devotees of ISKCON Visakhapatnam

On behalf of ISKCON Vraja Manadala Parikrama (VMP), we would like to invite all the devotees to participate in 28th VMP 2014.

Please find below the schedule of ISKCON Vraja Manadala Parikrama 2014

ISKCON Vraja Manadala Parikrama 2014 Schedule : 
 

(Back to Vrindavan by Bus)

The Parikrama will start this year from Oct 8th till Nov 6th.
The participants are requested to reach Vrindavan at least Oct 7th.
We will leave from Vrindavan for Mathura on Friday 9th October after Mangal Aarati at 5:30 am.

So, there will be two nights stay at Vrindavan. Devotees are requested to make their own arrangements for this 2 days Vrindavan stay. Parikrama management will take care of accomodation from Mathura.

Things for Parikrama :
During the first day's Istagosthi, all parikrama requirements like luggage, bedding etc. which needs be taken along for whole month will be announced and also will be mentioned in the parikrama booklet.

Warm Clothes:
As parikrama is starting from first week of October and will end by first week of november, there is a possibility of less cold. But still warm clothes are recommended.

Registration Requirements:
Registration will start 5th October at Krishna Balaram Temple, Vrindavan in front of Balaram hall.

Parikrama fees:
Indian full time Brahmachari - Rs 4,000/-
Others - Rs 5,500/-
Shuttle service - Rs 10,000/-

For any information please contact:
Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir
Raman Reti, Vrindavan - 281121, Dist.- Mathura, U. P.

Phone : +91-9415113744, 9956795831, 9593648074, 9410041238.

Email: ananta.sesa.lok@pamho.net, vraj84@pamho.net, rrs@pamho.net, Brajbhumi.lok@pamho.net

During the Parikrama, devotees from across the world visit the 12 forests of Vraj dham. It is a transcendental expedition, a month-long journey not just through different villages and towns of Mathura but also a journey on the path of clearing the garbage of anarthas filled in people's hearts. Not only seeing, staying, and touching the Dham purifies one's soul, but also Srimati Radharani, personally forces devotees to pull out their deep-rooted weeds of material enjoyment.  One learns the basic principle of ISKCON i.e. 'Simple Living and High Thinking.' Furthermore, the parikrama helps devotees to fix their minds on their whole and sole purpose of life i.e. devotional service. The hardship that the devotees face during the yatra pleases Krishna immensely.

"Observing the vow of Kartika in Vraja Mandala brings love for Lord Krsna. In this way the best result is obtained in Mathura. They who bathe and then worship Lord Damodara in Vraja Mandala during the month of Kartika attain spiritual forms like Lord Krsna's. Of this there is no doubt. O brahmana, it is rare that one is allowed to spend the month of Karttika in Vraja. To they who worship Him in Vraja during Kartika, Lord Krsna reveals His own transcendental form. To the devotees who worship Him in other places, Lord Krsna gives happiness and liberation, but He does not give devotional service, for devotional service turns Him into His devotee's servant. Still, one can very easily attain devotional service by once worshiping Lord Damodara in Vraja Mandala during Kartika." - From Kartika Mahatmaya

Thank you very much.

Your servant,
Anantasesa Das.
Vraja Manadala Parikrama Communication

Jagad Bharta Prabhu (ACBSP) joined ISKCON in December 1973 in Brazil inspired by Siddhaswarupananda and Radhapati Prabhu. He lived in Siddhaswarupananda's temple until Radhapati returned to the U.S., when the temple was then closed. Upon Mahavira's arrival in Brazil, Jagad Bharta immediately joined him as the ISKCON Temple treasurer.

In 1975 he became one of the very first Brazilian devotees to be initiated by Srila Prabhupada. He served as temple commander, book distributor, pujari of the first Gaura Nitai Deities installed in Brazil and other positions of responsibility. Eventually Jagad moved to Alachua where he stayed for one year before returning to Brazil. Throughout the years Jagad continued to serve ISKCON faithfully and most recently maintained an active role in the Child Protection Office in Brazil.

Earlier this year Jagad was diagnosed with two cancerous tumors in the brain. One was removed and the other cannot be surgically removed, but requires immediate medical treatment. The cost of this treatment is $25,000 dollars. This is in addition to the thousands of dollars his good wife Govindanandini and he already spent in medical consultations, exams, and other medical procedures. Although they have health insurance, it does not cover 100% of the expenses. We are appealing to the worldwide community of devotees to help this pioneer of Srila Prabhupada's movement to recover his health.

Kindly donate today as time is of essence.

Dear Vaishnavas,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Guru-parampara ki jaya!

This year's Kirtan Course in Radhadesh will open with a training in the secrets of the Holy Names given by HH Sacinandana Swami. It is based on Harinama Cintamani (the touchstone of the Holy Name) by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

This seminar takes place from 30th June to 6th July. We also welcome students who cannot attend the whole two months course.

The teaching sessions are called: "Mining the jewels of the Holy Names"

In addition to the discovery lectures in the mornings there will be many experience-oriented workshops, lila kathas and kirtans.

The teaching of Harinama Cintamani will guide and inspire the saintly devotees who stay in this world, but who have developed the desire to live in the higher connection with Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes: "/The touchstone of the Holy Name is an unlimited mine of necterean jewels. Those fortunate souls who find them by the blessings of Lord Krsna will always experience the fullness of joy, for they will be lead to worship Krsna in spontaneous love/" (HNC, Conclusion of chapter 15).

One practical tip from Sacinandana Swami: if you wish to experience the next level in your chanting then just listen to yourself chant sincerely!

All the best,
Sacinandana Swami

More about the program:
bhaktivedantacollege.com/events/kirtan-course/

An interfaith panel discussion on the topic of “Spiritual Science and Modern Education” was held at the Macquarie University, Sydney on April 29, 2014. The panellists were Bhakti Rasamrita Swami who spoke on the topic from the perspective of Gaudiya Vaisnavasim and Mr. Kamal Saleh who spoke in the context of Islam.

The panel discussion was attended by several students of the university from various disciplines including law, journalism and liberal arts.

Mr. Kamal Saleh began the session with a brief talk on the various contributions Islam has made to modern education and technological development. Bhakti Rasamrita Swami spoke at length on how spirituality is an essential ingredient of education. He also spoke of how in ancient times unlike the modern age, spirituality was considered a very much essential part of education and equal emphasis was given to spiritual and material education.

The talk was followed by a lively question-answer session in which Bhakti Rasamrita Swami answered several varied questions from students including on what is the process of transmigration of the soul and what would be the method to integrate spirituality into the modern education system.

At the end of the panel discussion, all participants were served delicious prasadam from the ISKCON temple in Sydney.

Source : http://iskconnews.org/panel-discussion-on-spiritual-science-and-modern-education-at-macquarie-university-sydney,4443/