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Much Has Happened by Bhaktimarga Swami

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 Much has happened here in sacred Mayapura over the last two days.  Yesterday, a major section of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium opened to the public—the section for priestly preparation.  This includes the cooking facilities.  There was a large attendance.  Nice kirtan.
 
Today opened the gathering of world-wide leaders, called ILS, where we have presenters giving talks on varying devotional topics.  Basically, the ILS is an educational exercise for leaders young and old.  A refresher in some
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Gaura Purnima Festival begins!

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With the raising of Garuda and Hanuman flags, 48th Gaura Purnima festival is inaugurated in a colorful flag hoisting ceremony, held at Srila Prabhupada Park, in front of Lotus building. HH Gopal Krishna Goswami , HH Loknath Goswami, HH Jayapataka Swami , who were participating in the festival since its inception, spoke on the importance of Gaura Purnima festival and how it is so dear to Srila Prabhupada. Devotees from all parts of the world have started arriving at Mayapur, to recharge their s

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By Madhava Smullen
 

Narada Das (Nathan Hartley) appeared on the BBC’s regional Bristol radio station to share a spiritual message of equality with 135,000 listeners on February 20th, quoting the Bhagavad-gita and Srila Prabhupada.

Narada has a background in community engagement and local government, has worked in marketing and communications for the past decade, and is part of the Bath Interfaith Group. He also handles PR and promotions for the UK Hare Krishna Festival Team, and sits on ISK

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By Su-gita Vani devi dasi

Back in 1922, H.H.Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Goswami Maharaj categorically told Srila Prabhupada that Krishna consciousness didn’t have to wait for a change in Indian politics, nor was it dependent on who ruled.

Krishna consciousness was so important-so exclusively important-that it could not wait. Whether in the Indian sub-continent or elsewhere.

So, in this spirit, preaching was inaugurated, in very hostile circumstances, in communist Russia and also in south Africa

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With a  new name on the way and a whole raft of new workshops and activities, Villa Vrindavana Yoga Center is providing yoga enthusiasts an authentic experience in a spiritual community, as well as a non-judgemental, pressure-free zone where they can decide how deep they want to dive.

One of ISKCON Europe’s most beautiful temples, Villa Vrindavana is located near Florence, the gorgeous capital of Italy’s Tuscanny region and birthplace of the Renaissance. Gopi Sundari Dasi, daughter of Villa Vr

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Shiva-ratri by Giriraj Swami

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Today we shall read a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-four: “Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Siva.”

As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaishnava, and why he is so is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is considered the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic scriptures. The glories of Lord Shiva are described in many Bhagavatam chapters, and if we were to discuss all of them, it would take many days. So we are just going t

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Siva-ratri by Giriraj Swami

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Today is Siva-ratri. Vaishnavas generally do not celebrate Siva-ratri, and to begin, I will explain why, with reference to the Bhagavad-gita. We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 7, “Knowledge of the Absolute,” text 23.

antavat tu phalam tesam
  tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam
devan deva-yajo yanti
  mad-bhakta yanti mam api

TRANSLATION

Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods,

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According to the Bhagavad-gita, one’s activities can either be in goodness, passion, or ignorance. 
There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from these three modes born of material nature. 
Bg. 18.40
Teachers will be affected by the modes of nature. Their style of teaching and discipline will, therefore, also be affected. In this chapter we analyze how the spectrum of discipline techniques are influenced by the three modes of

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This January, Prefect Maurizio Falco and Deputy Mayor Elena Baio of the Italian city of Piacenza received representatives from the main religions in the area, including ISKCON devotees Raghunath Das (Renato Dacarro) and Pritha Dasi (Paola Rossi).

Among the other faith representatives were Archbishop Pierluigi Dallavalle, delegate for Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue; Pastor Nicola Tedoldi of the Methodist Evangelical Church; Father Kliment Mishanj of the Macedonian Orthodox Church; and

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The Iskcon Leadership Sanga is held in Mayapur every two years and is arranged by a sub-committee of the GBC called the Strategic Planning Team.
This year about eight hundred devotees from around the world attended. The sanga went for seven days and each day devotees came for a morning presentation and then went to one of seventy-five seminars that were presented.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=82796

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I'm off to India again, this time with Corrado.  Do I like India?  Yes and no, like any place on this planet.  I love spiritual India, her sacred places, retreats.  Overall, people are nice.  They go the extra yard/metre to win the favour of a swami. 

You have to make the most of any place where you are.  And India, with her dense population, noise, contaminants in the air, and traffic can be one big hurdle.  I have come to the point where I try to overlook that side and view the faces of smil
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This a songbook that I prepared in the last two years.
Here is the link to a website where you can find all the information, a link to request paper copies, a link to download the book in e-book format and a link to download the mp3 files that accompany the songs. https://www.sacredsongsymphony.com/
Combining Philosophy & Music
From the very beginning of my devotional life, I had been intrigued by the bhajans that were sung in the temple. Sanskrit and Bengali seemed to be designed for glorifyin

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By His Mercy, All Our Desires Are Fulfilled

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Those who are intelligent know that everything is supplied by Krishna. So why not depend on Krishna only? Why so many other attempts? Therefore Krishna says,

vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-sakha hy anantas ca
buddhayo ’vyavasayinam
        [Gita 2.41]

Vyavasayi means one who knows business particularly. Vyavasaya. Or one who knows confidently, “This is the cause; this is the effect.” Those who know that Krishna is the origin of everything are fixed up in Krishna. Vyavasayatmika

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Things Going On by Bhaktimarga Swami

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I had a marvelous time at the Scarborough ISKCON Centre enjoying both the soup and the company.  This should not be mistaken for a soup kitchen, (even though at meal time, a soup extraordinaire is, in fact, on the menu), but a centre of spiritual power, where people come together to hear about themselves through the message of the Gita
 
The folks here are reading and discussing the Gita's Chapter 11 which resembles, in some way, a freak of nature.  Awesome images of multi-headed forms fill the
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Speaker: HG Vaisesika Das

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.14

ity uktvadri-dari-kusja-
gahvaresv atma-vatsakan
vicinvan bhagavan krsnah
sapani-kavalo yayau

“Let Me go and search for the calves,” Krsna said. “Don’t disturb your enjoyment.” Then, carrying His yogurt and rice in His hand, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, immediately went out to search for the calves of His friends. To please His friends, He began searching in all the mountains, mountain caves, bushes and narrow passages.”

This is

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The greatest mantra by Kadamba Kanana Swami

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There are so many mantras out there? Why is the Hare Krsna mahamantra considered to be the most powerful one?

Mantras are all invested with power. Previously, there were sages, who by chanting mantras, could do many things. Some people were fighting with mantras. Now we think we are very sophisticated these days; we have missiles for instance. But in the old days, you could just chant a mantra and invoke a great power. So mantras are known to have all kinds of powers. People could light fire by

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Nice Couple by Bhaktimarga Swami

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For a third consecutive day, our Govinda's Restaurant was put to good use.  It catered two hundred guests at the YMCA on Thursday.  Last evening, we held an appreciation dinner for our drama troops of the January 1st  "The Gita” production.  That was nice.  And then today, I sat with members of the wedding party for Narayani and Kent, feasting like crazy after marrying them.  Govinda's keeps busy.
 
Now, about the wedding, held in the temple room—it was simple and sweet.  Narayani and her famil
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What is Truly Important? by Achyut Gopal Das

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One of the books I truly love is the JAPA book my Bhurijan Prabhu. It is such a practical, beautiful and deep book. It just makes so much sense and puts things in perspective.

Here is a small extract from the book on, what is truly important in life. I am sure you will appreciate the deep wisdom of these simple words.
 
"What is the significance of having proved ourselves right and someone else wrong? What is the significance of having achieved crowning success in this world? What is the signif
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By Suta Goswami Das

Prabhupada Bhagavata Swagatham Book Marathon distribution 2019 with Radheshyam prabhu

Traveling with Radheshyam Prabhu and distributing books is nothing short of an adventure. As per the English dictionary, the definition of an adventure is “an exciting or daring experience”. An experience is exciting when you don’t know what is awaiting you the next moment. With Radheshyam Prabhu, every day is an exciting experience, especially during Book Marathon. One day traveling in cro

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Cambodia, a small country between Thailand and Vietnam, has a population of about sixteen million people. Kala Das has regularly visited this land for the last ten years to share Krishna consciousness with people. He is a great source of inspiration for those few devotees who stay there on a regular basis.

“Kirtan is 2020 Vision for Cambodia“ was organized to bring people’s attention to the local programs so that they can become involved in devotional service to the Lord. The beautiful festival

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