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Srimad Bhagavatam Verse: 9.11.18-19

Date: 23 Jan 2019

Speaker: HH Subhag Swami

Text 18: After mother Sītā entered the earth, Lord Rāmacandra observed complete celibacy and performed an uninterrupted Agnihotra-yajña for thirteen thousand years.

Translation 19:

After completing the sacrifice, Lord Rāmacandra, whose lotus feet were sometimes pierced by thorns when He lived in Daṇḍakāraṇya, placed those lotus feet in the hearts of those who always think of Him. Then He entered His own abode, the Va

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Churning Srimad Bhagavatam

By Giriraj dasa

Srila Prabhupada described Srimad Bhagavatam as the encyclopedia of spiritual life and Caitanya Mahaprabhu called it the amala purana (spotless Purana).

We all know the famous Gita Mahatamaya verse :

sarvopanishado gavo, dogdha gopala-nandanah
partho vatsah su-dhir bhokta, dugdham gitamritam mahat

All the Upanisads are like a cow, and the milker of the cow is Lord Shri Krishna, the son of Nanda. Arjuna is the calf, the beautiful nectar of the Gita is the milk, and the fortunate

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By Dhirasanta Das Goswami 

Once there was a sweeper in a well-known Krishna temple and he was very sincere and devoted. Every time he saw thousands of devotees coming to take darshan of the Lord, he thought that the Lord is standing all the time and giving darshan and He must be feeling very tired.
So one day very innocently he asked the Lord whether he could take the place of the Lord for a day, so that the Lord could have some relief and rest. The Deity of Krishna replied, “I do not mind taki

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By Mina Sharma

A new logo to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON UK has today been unveiled by the organisational team.Designed by Anantacarya Das, the striking logo encompasses the colours of the Union Jack and features a map of the UK in the background.Speaking today, Praghosa Dasa, UK GBC Chairman said:“The 50th anniversary is an historic milestone for ISKCON UK, where we lookback at the incredible story of how our first temple and deities were established in London, to today where th

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By Krishna Bhagavan dasa

The Bhakta Program at RVC is a three-month introductory course in Applied Vedic Culture teaching the basics of Krishna Consciousness, and in 2018 there were eight participants.

The Bhaktas:

Bhakta Blake (29 years old) is part of a bhakti yoga community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he is currently the Sankirtana Leader and Outreach Director there. He completed the bhakta program course at RVC.

Bhakta Blake comments, “The Bhakta program at Rupanuga Vedic College provides a

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Christmas All Year Long by Bhakti Lata Dasi

  

As a child, Christmas was a time of great anticipation and excitement. Until my teen years that is, when it became more and more a source of disappointment—but that’s a story for another time.

Christmas, a time of giving and receiving, of goodwill for all mankind, is experienced all year long in devotional service, and it is certainly true of the prison ministry service. It is Christmas every day! And there is no disappointment, no letdown, and no hype about it: it is the real deal and it bri

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We love to picnic, barbecue, celebrate birthdays and entertain guests. We may hesitate on what fast-foods are on offer. Here is some “Party-pooping” information, which should enhance our parties even more. So “let’s party,” as they say.

Technology has enabled soya to transform into burgers, sausages, prawns, chicken breasts, steaks and more. Do we have the time to make the bread rolls to go with them? Not a problem, we can always get a few dozen from the local bakery.

In this era of instant fas

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“Because of my state of complete foolishness and paucity of pious activities, although the Lord offered me His personal service, I wanted material name, fame and prosperity. My case is just like that of the poor man who, when he satisfied a great emperor who wanted to give him anything he might ask, out of ignorance asked only a few broken grains of husked rice.”

PURPORT

In this verse the word svārājyam, which means “complete independence,” is very significant. A conditioned soul does not know

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Events
 
By Madhava Smullen 

Srila Prabhupada walks with Yamuna Devi, one of the pioneers of ISKCON UK

In 2016, ISKCON centers all around the world celebrated the 50thanniversary of the society’s incorporation on July 13th, 1966 by Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada. Now, ISKCON UK is set to celebrate the 50thanniversary of its own incorporation, a story which has itself long been ISKCON legend.

Throughout 2019, already-scheduled festivals like London Rathayatra, Janmastami, and 24-Hour Kirtan will b

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People

By Madhava Smullen 

Shyamasundar Das, one of ISKCON’s earliest pioneers, has released Volume Two in his two-part series “Chasing Rhinos,” which gives a personal, insider’s account of major events in ISKCON’s history and a sense of the “anything’s possible” excitement and drive of those early days.

Volume 1: San Francisco and London, 1966 – 1970 came out in 2016, and followed Shyamasundar’s experiences as he assisted Prabhupada in establishing Krishna consciousness in San Francisco at the pea

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The age of forgiveness

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By Kadamba Kanana Swami

We must not blindly follow but always use our intelligence to deeply understand our philosophy and all the stories from the different ages. In previous ages, quite outstanding things were possible. In those times, sages had amazing powers and piety was a big thing.

But now, we live in a different age. The first principle of this age is forgiveness, ksama; that is the essence. If there is no forgiveness – forget it! If you cannot forgive then you cannot be a devotee, as i

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Sri Krishna Pusyabhishek 2019

“So we are worshiping Krishna. His simple business is, as we have described, RadhaMadhava, He is lover of SrimatiRadharani. Krishna means lover. This very word Krishna means “all-attractive”. You can attract by your love, not by anything else”. (SrilaPrabhupada, SB 1.2.10 in Delhi, November 16, 1973)

Generally the first major festival of the year in Sri Dham Mayapur is Sri Krishna Pusya abhishek. This is a festival of joy, as every year we get a chance to offer some personal service to our dear

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By Yamuna Devi Dasi

What a week of Vaisnava sadhu-satsanga this has been! I leave the richer, having exchanged with my family members, old and new, Godbrothers, Godsisters, nephews and nieces. While I feel most unqualified to speak to you today, I am honoured and privileged to join my Godsisters in voicing my concerns as a woman in ISKCON.

As the GBC body, all of you are responsible for establishing Srila Prabhupada’s legacy, which, in these difficult and turbulent times, is at stake. One realm

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Vrndavana – Land of No Return

By Brahmananda Dasa

From the beginning of time, man has yearned for the perfect home a paradise, a Shangri-la, a Walden where he could live eternally in peace and happiness. Such a place cannot be found anywhere in the material world, however, for the material world is by its very nature temporary and frustrating. To end our weary searching, we must go beyond this world of duality, beyond the boundaries of space and time, into the spiritual realm.

Vrndavana, India, is that sought-after eternal

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Vaishnava Etiquette

By Bhakti Caru Swami

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Sanatana Gosvami to write Vaishnava Smrti (Hari-bhakti-vilasa) in CC. Madhya-lila 24.324-344:
 
Folding his hands, Sanatana Gosvami said, “My Lord, You ordered me to write a directory about the activities of Vaishnavas. I am a most lowborn person. I have no knowledge of good behavior. How is it possible for me to write authorized directions about Vaishnava activities?” Sanatana Gosvami then requested the Lord, “Please personally tell me how
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By Sitalatma das

January 7 is the date of Orthodox Christmas but most of our devotees are not familiar with that tradition though there are quite a few useful things we can learn from it.

Srila Rupa Goswami wrote in both Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and in Upadesamrita about importance of living in holy places like Vrindavana. Orthodox equivalent of it would be Mt. Athos, which is located at the tip of Mt. Athos peninsula in Northern Greece. They say that Virgin Mary took shelter there during a big

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FATAL FAT

By Caitanya Caran Das

A two inch tongue can kill a six feet man. This traditional saying is being confirmed by modern obesity statistics. The prosperity of the Indian middle class is showing up – in a not-so-pleasant way in the burgeoning waistline, of over 25% of urban Indians. Obesity is the cause of diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, strokes and a variety of other chronic diseases. Unlike infectious diseases which are curable, chronic diseases need lifelong care, leading to enormous expe

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Events

Can physicalism fully explain all features of the phenomenal world? The international conference to be held in Gainesville, Florida, from January 18 to 20, 2019, organized by the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies is a  multi-disciplinary exploration of the possibilities and challenges of the topic of consciousness in science with the participation of scientists and scholars - physicists, philosophers, chemists, biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, mathematicians, computer scien

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Youth for Sustainability

 Events
 
By Kamala Priya Dasi 

More than sixty ISKCON youths and twelve youth leaders participated in a project that included four inspiring youth exchanges during 2017 and 2018. 

Two years ago, six devotees from different yatras started to organize youth exchanges at several ISKCON temples in Europe. They saw a need for ISKCON’s youth to get together, develop deep friendships, integrate into the ISKCON community, and develop a philosophical understanding of our faith.  

The title of the project wa

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Kirtana-Yoga and the Maha-mantra

By Satyaraja Dasa

Kirtana is a simple and effective way to commune with God.

The word kirtana means “praise” or “glory” and is the name given to glorification of God in song, especially in call-and-response style. There are different categories of kirtana. For example, nama-kirtana refers to singing God’s sacred names, lila-kirtana celebrates the transcendental activities of God and His associates, sankirtana is group singing, and nagara-sankirtana is public chanting in the streets. There are n

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