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Unity in diversity by Giriraj das

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I recently read a very inspiring verse on dandavats. It spoke about unity among devotees. It was not only encouraging, as it pleases Krishna, it also gave a benediction to all the devotees who remain united despite differences in the group/society. Unity in diversity. let’s read the verse

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
varaṁ vṛṇīdhvaṁ bhadraṁ vo
yūyaṁ me nṛpa-nandanāḥ
sauhārdenāpṛthag-dharmās
tuṣṭo ’haṁ sauhṛdena vaḥ

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear sons of the King, I am very much pleased

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By Madhava Smullen

Two hundred devotees from all over the U.S. are expected to attend “The Living Name Retreat Part 3: The Science of Achieving Full Absorption in the Holy Names of Krishna” from April 9th to 12th in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, and spots are filling up fast. 

The retreat will be the only chance to see facilitator and ISKCON guru Sacinandana Swami in North America this year, as he will be canceling all other U.S. engagements, including Sadhu Sanga, to focus on projects in Germ

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It is important to always turn to Krsna and remember that Krsna will decide. Krsna has His plan. We can think of a chess board where we are a pawn on the chess board. So as a pawn on the chess board, we can see the squares that are closest to us. Oh, there is a horse coming! We can see that, so then we must watch out. But while there are a few squares around us that we can see, we cannot oversee the whole board. We cannot oversee the whole game. Krsna, however, is the chess player and He can se

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I picked up a few sayings which very much resonated with me.  
 
Sayings such as:

“You may not always be called upon to be successful, but you will always be called upon to be trustworthy.”  Mother Teresa.
 
Another very reflective one:

“The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.” Norman Vincent Peale.
 
I take a special liking to this one:

“You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do.”  Henry Ford.
 
Corrado and I went for
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By Madhava Smullen

When the late Sridhar Swami introduced Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to ISKCON in 1995, Serbian-born Akrura Das was intrigued, and began to take leadership training seminars. 

Starting a newsletter called Leadership Excellence, which was read by many top leaders of ISKCON, he was further inspired by the leadership books of Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and learned that people need personal coaching as a follow-up to help them apply their leadership training. 

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Mayapur Panchakros Parikrama

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Tomorrow is Pancha krosa Parikrama – going on Parikrama by walk in and around Mayapur. We will leave from Srila Prabhupada bhajan kutir on 25th Jan by 5 a.m., taking sankalpa ( spiritual vow) to perform this Parikrama. The Parikrama will proceed through Jagai -Madhai ghat, Ganga nagara, Bharadwaja Tila, entering Simantadwip and visiting Jagannath Mandir at Rajapur. After noon prasada and katha, Parikrama will return back to Mayapur. Senior devotees like HG Jananivas Pr, HG Pankjanghri pr, HH B

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Unpredictable by Bhaktimarga Swami

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I rather surprised myself, on this second consecutive day, with a nighttime walk.  Corrado has now moved into the ashram with us, and he and I set a spontaneous faster-than-usual pace.  Both times I returned from a spritely trek in the neighbourhood, feeling no joint issues, especially with my knees.
 
What certainly contributed to the uninterrupted speed was the no-ice factor.  We have been running on above-freezing temperatures, and I'm not complaining.  Mind you, I am a bit of a sucker for t
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"The world will value us as long as we are valid. As soon as we become invalid, the world stops valuing us." 

In the epic of Mahabharata, one of the most important and powerful leaders was Bhismadev. As long as he was active, fit and fine, everyone came to him for consultation and dependent on his performance, skill and valour but as soon as he became incapacitated and incapable of performing and delivering results being fatally wounded by the arrows of Arjuna, he sort of became irrelevant. No
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Diary of A Traveling Monk

Volume 15, Chapter 9

January 23, 2020

“Fortune in Misfortune”

My dear spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to you!

This letter was originally written as a private offering to you, but these days my life is an open book. Because I act as your representative in all that I do, I want to open my heart and share with you the realizations I have gained while dealing with two of life’s greatest challenges: old age and diseas

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Dealing with Anger by Arcana Siddhi

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The Core of Anger

In 1976 I had my first boil. Beneath my skin emerged a red swollen protrusion about an inch in diameter. The inflamed mound soon had a snowcap as the infection made its way to the top. Eventually it erupted through the skin and the infection came gushing out relieving me of the pain. For the next few days the discharge continued to drain out and the boil receded. I was glad to have it over with until a friend of mine asked me “did you get the core out?” Since I hadn’t gotten t

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How can one understand the esoteric personality of Srimati Radharani? She is the principal inspiration for the Lord, and only confidentially revealed in the Vedic scriptures. Yet, She takes shelter within the deepest realizations of pure hearted bhakti yogis. Lord Sri Krsna is bewildered by the profound brilliance of Her transcendental qualities and thus awakens a yearning within Himself to exhibit, absorb and experience Her divine nature. The influence and presence of Srimati Radharani, the em

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While chanting in the temple in Vrindavan during Kartik I overheard some boys talking in Marathi. I approached them and asked where they were from in Maharashtra. Their village was Khutalwadi in Kolhapur district, the place of the Mahalakshmi temple, an ancient pilgrimage site in Kolhapur city. By the Lord’s arrangement our Maharashtra Padayatra was about to go to Kolhapur in the coming days, so I took their addresses and contact numbers. They said, “Please come to our village when your padayat

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People Are Problems by Bhaktimarga Swami

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 Back from the U.S.  Back to work.  Back to play.
 
My day began with the chant, a look at sastra, and then a breakfast.  Some leftovers do not intimidate me.  Warm them up, as Uttamananda did, and they can be tastier than the day before.  Then jet lag got the better of me.
 
I went for a much needed nap, and as I was about to doze off, images of the infamous New York City blackout entered my mind.  I had seen the documentary by the name "Black Out" on the plane last night.  Quite devastating!
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All Glories to Sriman Jaya Vijaya Prabhu.

Recently His Grace Jaya Vijaya Prabhu left his body from cancer of the bile duct. On behalf of the ISKCON Australia Management Council I have been asked to offer heartfelt condolences to his young family – his wife Varsana Radhe devi dasi, his sons – 11-year-old Arjuna and 2-year-old Kartikeya, his extended family as well as all his numerous friends.

Jaya Vijaya Prabhu had been serving as Temple President of the Brisbane ISKCON Temple for several years

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On 6th February, Varaha Dvadasi will be 17 years since the opening of our Vrinda Kunda Temple! To celebrate, we will do special parikramas to the Holy Places of Braja. The program will culminate with our famous Kalash Yatra, an ecstatic Sankirtan procession with the ladies carrying water pots with coconuts on their heads on 16 Feb. Programs will be going on from 6 – 22 Feb-3.

We will depart almost every morning from Krishna Balaram Mandir by bus and go on parikrama to different pastime places

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The hit film on Srila Prabhupada’s life, HARE KRISHNA! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami who started it all opens in 20 cities in Italy starting Jan. 23 and running through March 15. There is the possibility of releasing the film in up to 100 cities throughout the country if it continues to draw crowds.

It all started when Mukundananda Prabhu from Rome and I met last Kartik in Vrindavan. He expressed keen interest in bringing the movie to Italy and I encouraged him to find a distributor.

O

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Our Experience by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Included in our morning sadhana, at Rockwood Manor, was a line-up of chairs, and seated upon them were the direct students of Srila Prabhupada, our Guru Maharaja.  There were six of us. We were given three questions to answer, from our personal perspective, and were obliged to deliver to the thirty or so listeners, our experiences.
 
Question One:  What encourages you to stay (in devotional life) and to keep going?
Question Two:  What fears do you encounter about the future, and also what hope
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When farmers have a good harvest, they say it was a good year. That’s the feeling I have at the end of each and every year; “it was a good year.” For the prison ministry, it’s always a good year! The IPM harvest is always aplenty; this is confirmed by the inmates’ wonderful testimonials and the wonderful things that happen in their lives.

Yesterday I was sharing with two friends some anecdotes to illustrate why I love this service so much, what inspires me to keep going, despite the heavy load

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On January 9-12, 2020, thirty devotee attorneys, jurists and law students hailing from the United Kingdom, Russia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Hungary, Lithuania, Brazil, Nigeria, Uganda, Singapore and the United States attended the 2020 ISKCON Global Conference of Devotee Attorneys at the Historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, Florida. The term “devotee attorney” refers to any devotee or friend of Krishna, who is an attorney, jurist or law student.

Created by the GBC Body at its 2018 GBC Annual

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To be a well wisher of others, one could say: “Well, from now on, I’ll give something to every beggar on the street!” That is nice, but what will that person do with it? Maybe something destructive to himself? Maybe buy some intoxication? What good is that?

So no! We have to change the world into a world where everyone gets divine consciousness. We were out today and as we came back, we saw some police cars on the highway. The blue lights were flashing on the side. It looked like they were catc

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