Srimad Bhagavatam Class (02.09.17) by HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami
(His Holiness Bhakti Rasamrita Swami completed his B.E. from M.S University Baroda, MBA from Bombay University & worked for some time in a multinational Bank. Inspired by the teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder acharya of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness.)
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Bhavnagar is one of the large cities of Gujarat, located in the Southeastern side of the Saurashtra peninsula. Named after it's founder, Raja (King) Bhavsinhji Gohil, it was founded in 1724.
Presently Bhavnagar is the sixth largest city in Gujarat, after Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda (Vadodara), Rajkot and Jamnagar. The population of Bhavnagar is six lakhs (6,00,000) , but unofficially it is probably more.
Mainly due to economic and climatic conditions over the past fifty years, large segments of the population of Bhavnagar district have migrated to both Bombay and Surat.
The history of ISKCON at Bombay is a long one, beginning with it's establishment during 1971 by ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Part of this history is that a number of persons from the Bhavnagar town and district over the years came in contact with and joined ISKCON. These devotees have played a pivotal role in the establishment of ISKCON at Bhavnagar.
Sriman Kundal Krishna Das is one of the natives of Bhavnagar who came in touch with ISKCON at Mira Road, one of the prominent suburbs of Bombay, where one of four ISKCON centers has been established in the Bombay metropolitan area. He took spiritual initiation from senior ISKCON devotee and disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Sripad Radha Govinda Swami, some years ago.
The ISKCON Mira Road temple, now under construction, has a sizeable number of Bhavnagar natives living in the nearby surrounding areas, as a result of the massive expansion of Bombay over the past twenty-five years.
Kundal Krishna Prabhu [seen in this picture: http://tinyurl.com/kxkaw97 ] has become a keen Gujarati lecturer, especially expert in describing the stories of Lord Krishna in the “dashama skanda” - the tenth canto.
Kundal Krishna Prabhu was inspired to establish an ISKCON center at Bhavnagar. Taking permission from and working with Jasomatinandan Das, ISKCON zonal secretary for Gujarat, he returned to Bhavnagar three years back. Today ISKCON Bhavnagar operates a small temporary temple, in a rented premises.
Today there are around four hundred grihasta (householder) congregational devotees living at Bhavnagar, who regularly participate in ISKCON's various programs.
Inspired by Kundal Krishna Prabhu, a very generous donor made possible the purchase of a property at Bhavnagar, that is more than three quarters of an acre, on a main road in a developing area, on the outskirts - but not outside -- of the town. The property was registered in the name of ISKCON in January of this year.
For the very first time, Kundal Krishna Prabhu and his team organized a Jagannath Rathayatra (Festival of the Chariot of the Lord of the Universe), on Sunday, April 27, 2014. The festival began at three in the afternoon, and moved through many of the main roads of Bhavnagar. The vernacular press covered the festival here: http://tinyurl.com/mk4r5rp.
The Rathayatra procession was joined by a larger group of three thousand local residents including the regular ISKCON congregational devotees. A “Bhagavat saptah” (narration of the story of Srimad Bhagavatam, one of the ancient histories of India) preceded the Rathayatra, and enthusiasm for the Rathayatra was generated amongst the wider group of participants of the saptah program.
Deities of Lord Jagannath, the form of Lord Krishna that has been worshipped in the grand temple at Puri, Orissa, in Eastern India, along with his elder brother Baladev, sister Subhadradevi, and principle weapon, the Sudarshan chakra, were placed on the Rath (Chariot), and nicely decorated.
The Grand Rath where the Deities were placed on for the procession was constructed at Bombay and transported to Bhavangar for the festival. It will remain as a permanent fixture at ISKCON Bhavnagar. The special feature of this Rath, besides it's massive size, is that it has a retractable canopy. The Rath was decorated profusely with flower garlands, and a banner was draped over the back of the Rath. “Hare Krishna” appeared in massive letters in English on the side of the Rath, and “Hare Rama” on the side of the Rath.
The starting point of the Rathayatra, where the saptah was held, was Vijayrajnagar. From there the Rathayatra procession went to Dairy Road, Nilambagh, Jail Road, Kalanala Circle, Vaghavadi Road, Water Tank, Ram Mantar Mandir, to Dukhishyam Bapa Circle, then Sardar Road, and then to ISKCON's new land near the Lila Circle, where the procession concluded.
The Deities were removed from the Rath onto a stage at the festival, offered a grand feast, and arati, as per ancient tradition.
One of the highlights of the festival was the participation of Sriman Deena Bandhu Das, a senior disciple of ISKCON Founder-acharya Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who has been residing at the ISKCON Krishna Balaram temple at Vrindavan, the holy town that was the site of many of Lord Krishna's pastimes, for the past thirty years.
Deena Bandhu Prabhu led kirtan during the Rathayatra procession and spoke on a stage erected on ISKCON's land at the conclusion of the Rathayatra [Seen here: http://tinyurl.com/knz6y8m ]
Deena Bandhu Prabhu addressed the assembled devotees in Hindi language after the Rathayatra procession concluded. [Seen here: http://tinyurl.com/leld56z ]. Basu Ghosh Das, temple president of ISKCON Baroda, a native of Chicago, who has been residing in Gujarat since 1979 also spoke, addressing the assembly in Gujarati, the language of Gujarat. [pictured here: http://tinyurl.com/l32guec ].
ISKCON Mira Road Bombay temple president Sriman Kamala Lochan Das, accompanied by several brahmacharis from the Mira Road temple, such as Chanda Kopi Das were also there. A group of twenty devotees from Anklav Village in Anand District, led by Sriman Bhakta Avatar Das (who has been connected with ISKCON at New York City for more than 35 years) also joined the festival.
Sriman Murtiman Das, who spearheads a number of preaching programs amongst the large population of Bhavnagar and Saurashtra natives settled at Surat, also participated in the Rathayatra along with a group of ninety devotees.
Sriman Vishnunam Prabhu, ISKCON Ahmedabad vice president, along with his wife, and ISKCON Baroda IYF preachers Vamsidhari Das, Bhakta Das, Ram Gopal Das and Shravananda Das, also joined the festival.
At the conclusion of the Rathayatra, prasad (full bhojan/evening meals) were served to around seven thousand participants of the festival. [Picture here: http://tinyurl.com/lm6mj35 .]
Photos by Vaman Das and Shravanananda Das
Pictures of the festival can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/lrpdqpp
18 April 2018 - 8 May 2018
Aksaya Tritya – Chandana Yatra Starts
Chandana yatra starts on the third lunar day of the waxing moon of Vaisakha month, and continues for twenty days. Lord Jagannatha gave direct instructions to King Indradyumna to perform this festival at this time. Smearing the body of the Lord with ointments is an act of devotion, and the best of ointments is sandalwood paste. Since the month of Vaisakha is very hot in India, the cooling effect of the sandalwood is very pleasing to the body of the Lord.
Read more about Sri Sankaracharya on www.harekrishnacalendar.com
Listen Bhajans by Sri Sankaracharya on www.vaishnavsongs.com
Love and Detachment by HH Romapada Swami on April 2014 At Potomac
(His devotional career began with management, first as president of the Manhattan temple (1977-78), then as regional secretary for New England (1979-82), and then again as president of the Brooklyn temple (1982-83). From 1996 up to 2008, he served continuously as a member of the North American Executive Committee (NA EC), and he was the chairman of the GBC EC in 2009-2010.)
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Lecture on Japa Talk - When Does Real Faith Develops in the Holy Name by HG Radhe Shyam Prabhu on 27 Sep 2012
(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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Param Bhokta Param Isvara Param Mitra aur Param Santi by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami on 12 March 2011 At ISKCON Baroda
(From 1977 to 1979 His Holiness was based in India, mostly traveling in West Bengal preaching Krishna consciousness and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books. He then spent the following ten years helping to pioneer ISKCON's preaching in Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia.)
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Lecture on Sunday Feast, Independence by HH Devamrita Swami on 27 April 2014 At Los Angeles
(The mother, a connoisseur of all Protestant faiths, began to attend Presbyterian churches, and there the future swami, at the age of thirteen, delivered his first Sunday sermon. Noting her son’s boredom and lack of challenge at school, his mother pushed for his acquiring a full scholarship plus living expenses to private boarding schools in New Hampshire, where he attended Exeter Academy during the summer and Holderness School for Boys during the regular school year)
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Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Class (03.16.19) Obtaining the Lord%27s Favor by Niranjana Swami on 26 April 2014 At Minsk
(The management and spiritual leadership experience Niranjana Swami gained during his tenure as president of ISKCON Boston from 1979 to 1983, and his service as regional secretary of New England in 1984, readied him for his GBC appointment in 1987. As a GBC member)
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Lecture on Sunday Feast, Formula for Peace by HG Jivananda Prabhu on 27 May 2012 At Dallas
(The mother, a connoisseur of all Protestant faiths, began to attend Presbyterian churches, and there the future swami, at the age of thirteen, delivered his first Sunday sermon. Noting her son’s boredom and lack of challenge at school, his mother pushed for his acquiring a full scholarship plus living expenses to private boarding schools in New Hampshire, where he attended Exeter Academy during the summer and Holderness School for Boys during the regular school year.)
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Lecture on Appearance Day of Sri Srivasa Pandit by Bhakti Vijnana Goswami on 24 March 2014 at ISKCON Vrindavan
(Since 1997 Bhakti Vijnana Goswami has acted as a member of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission and since 2005 has served as one of the initiating gurus of ISKCON.)
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Lecture on Suddha Bhakta Aiswarya se Anasakta hoke Aiswaryavan Hote hai by Bhakti Vikasa Swami on 11 March 2011 at Surat
(From 1977 to 1979 His Holiness was based in India, mostly traveling in West Bengal preaching Krishna consciousness and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books. He then spent the following ten years helping to pioneer ISKCON's preaching in Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia.)
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Watch Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLXIcuoBHu8
Watch Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Dqi-yXEyU
Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Class (07.07.29) by HG Radhe Shyam Prabhu
(His Grace Radheshyam Prabhu President of the Pune branch of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) that has over 600 centres worldwide)
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Lecture on What is the Real Wealth by Devamrita Swami
(His Holiness Devamrita Swami entered this life on October 16, 1950 in New York City, as the firstborn in a family dominated by a very devout and education-motivated Christian mother.)
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Lecture on Abhirama Thakura by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu
(His Grace Caitanya Charan Prabhu is a monk and spiritual teacher in the time honored tradition of bhakti yoga. He is a editor of Back to Godhead, which is the official international magazine of the Hare Krishna movement.)
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Lecture on Beginnning of ISKCON by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on 19 April 2014 at Punjabi Bagh
(HH Giriraj Swami Bhakti Charu Swami’s GBC zonal assignments include Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India and is co-zonal secretary for Calcutta and Mayapur, West Bengal, and North Orissa and Puri.)
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Read more about Appearance Day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita on www.gaudiyahistory.com
View coloring book for kids on www.iskcondesiretree.net
Read more about Varuthini Ekadashi on www.harekrishnacalendar.com
Listen Audio(Hindi and English) for Varuthini Ekadashi on www.iskcondesiretree.net
View recipes for Ekadasi on www.totalveg.com
English Varuthini Ekadashi Mahatmya without Music
Hindi Varuthini Ekadashi Mahatmya without Music
English Narration: Bhakta Neeraj Kapoor
Hindi Narration: Madhava Das (BVKS)
Recording, Editing, Music mixing : Madhava Das (BVKS) at Gopal's Studio (ISKCON Desire Tree)
