The day before the start of a three day festival native to India, Clifford Chance LLP hosted their very first employee Diwali celebration; probably the first across any global Law firm. Over 75 top lawyers and business services staff congregated at the Headquarters in Canary Wharf, London on 27th October to understand and extract spiritual wisdom from the pastimes of Lord Rama.
Clifford Chance LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in London, and a member of the “Magic Circle” of leadin
On the sacred day of Govardhan Puja, Bhaktivedanta Manor hosted a gathering at London’s House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of ISKCON.
The House of Lords is the upper house of the UK Parliament and was built to advise the Crown Imperial since 1295. With the kind permission of the Lord Speaker, the event was hosted in the Principal State Room for an incredible yet intimate gathering of profiled guests renowned in their own discipli
Youth Engagement- Interview with Daru Brahman Das (Social Worker, Care and Assistance, Mayapur)
The thing about young people teenagers, in my experience, they won’t go anywhere they don’t feel wanted so we have to somehow convey that we really want and value young people. And has to be real because they can suss. You know, they are going through so many changes in their bodies, in their minds, relationships, their roles, their thinking, they need a place where they can just be and be real and b
Devotees bring a Jaladuta boat model with them in a Saturday evening Harinama in London (slide show with musical background)
The London Saturday Night Harinama Sankirtan Party’s ranks also were boosted this weekend as many Srila Prabhupada disciples came along to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, which had fallen earlier in the week.
Please find slideshow with sound here:
http://davidc.zenfolio.com/maha_harinama_sankirtan_05112016/slideshow
His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj gave wonderful class on Srimad Bhagvatam Canto 6th, Chapter 17th on verse 36 at ISKCON Vrindavan temple on 6th November 2016. Maharaj initially described the whole pastime of King Chitraketu from Canto 6th of Srimad Bhagavatam and then Maharaj gave whole emphasis on importance of reading Srila Prabhupada books.
The major difference between ISKCON temples in India and in the West that struck me was the difference between weekday activity and weekend activity. As the Indian temples have vibrant monasteries associated with them, these temples are active throughout the week. But most temples in the West have no monasteries at all; so, the activity level there is vey low during weekdays and shoots up during weekends. The highlight in the weekend is the Sunday feast program, where a large part of the local
Wonderful holiday for children was held today at the temple. Thanks to the enthusiasm of our wonderful moms Vaishnavas such holidays have become part of the community that I am personally very happy, because childhood - this is exactly the time when the jiva mind sufficiently pure to accept with all my heart the beauty, purity, the beauty of the spiritual life, Krishna’s service, the time when the form is very bright impressions that will be the foundation of our future life in this strange wor
Krsna’s beauty is stunning! It is said that those devotees who look at Krsna, they gradually become stunned! I am worshipping Krsna in the form of Giriraja Govardhan. It is said that Govardhan Hill is non-different from Krsna. Somehow or other, my Giriraja is really nice, extremely nice. He really is very beautiful! Look on the internet if you want to see Him.
Srila Prabhupada said that if we worship the deity of Krsna then we must try to decorate that deity very nicely and if you do so, then y
Dear Hindu Friends,
1. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we offer our best wishes as you celebrate Deepavali on 30 October 2016. May your celebrations around the world deepen your familial bonds, and bring joy and peace to your homes and communities.
2. The health of society depends on our familial bonds and yet we know that today the very notion of family is being undermined by a climate that relativizes its essential significance and value. So too, family life
This morning we are posting the Siksastakam prayers by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and commentary by our Srila Prabhupada. This is a very nice morning meditation
Sri Siksastakam
The Eight Instructions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
From: “Teachings of Lord Chaitanya” Original version 1968
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared 500 years ago in Navadvip, West-Bengal and is considered the most recent incarnation of the Supreme Personalit
Gaura Govinda Maharaja on Saranagati, Unconditional Surrender
Saranagati is the chief symptom of a devotee. Saranagati should be complete. The symptoms of it are there. One should have firm faith, drdah visvas, that “avasya raksibe krsna”, Krishna will protect me. If you have no faith, you cannot achieve the goal; asraddhadanah purusah… says the Gita: You’ll have to come back in this mortal world. The Vedic siddhanta is that everything is based on firm faith, sastriya sraddha.
Saranagati, unc
When one corner of the spiritual world becomes covered by a cloud of illusory energy then Krsna cannot be seen, nāhaḿ prakāśaḥ sarvasya, yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ, mūḍho ’yaḿ nābhijānāti, loko mām ajam avyayam (Bhagavad-gita 7.25), Krsna becomes covered by his yogamaya energy.
āvṛtaḿ jñānam etena, jñānino nitya-vairiṇā, kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya, duṣpūreṇānalena ca (Bhagavad-gita 3.39), Krsna becomes covered when lust is burning in the heart. In this way, the living being resides in this covered portion
After one of my talks in an American university, a student who had heard attentively and asked good questions approached me and enquired, “What is your name? I couldn’t get it when you were introduced.” When I answered, she shook her head regretfully and said, “I will never get that.” Even just Chaitanya was difficult for her to repeat. One of her friends, who had tagged along with her and had been not so interested in the talk, just rolled her eyes and muttered something about unpronounceabl
Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,
Dandavat Pranam. Jaya Srila Prabhupada.
You may be glad to know that the US Ambassador to India, Mr. Richard Verma, visited Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi temple yesterday.
Mr Verma has previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State, Member of the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board and a member of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism.
After offering pushpanjali to Srila Prabhupada and an arati to Their Lordships, he
Govardhana Puja – the sweetest day of the year – celebrates the day when Lord Krishna as a young boy lifted Govardhana Hill with just His little finger, to protect the residents of Vrindavana village from Lord Indra’s furious thunderstorm.
The king of heaven’s outrage was caused by Krishna’s family and friends offering huge amounts of delicious food to Govardhana instead of him, as a thank you for the hill’s indispensable role in their livelihood and caring for their cows.
Copying this, devot
“Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding.” (Bhagavad-git
We may approach the Lord for something material and he may fulfill our desire, but in such a way that we don’t approach him again for that desire. So, it is better if we approach the Lord and great souls like Giri Govardhan with spiritual desires like the gopi’s—just to serve and please Krishna—without any desire for themselves. By serving and pleasing Krishna we become pramodah—we become exceedingly happy. That is how we become happy. Not by trying in our own independent way to enjoy but by
Today we honor the disappearance day of His Dive Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with a half day fast and are celebrating your disappearance with remembrances and prayers.
The Disappearance of a Vaisnava was explained very nicely by Srila Prabhupada is a lecture given on the disappearance day lecture of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja Prabhupada on Dec. 13, 1973 in Los Angeles:
“So spiritually, appearance and disappearance, there is no difference. Just like in mate
A friend returning from India and dealing with jetlag added a small line in an email to me – my goal today: to stay awake.
That jumped out. What a goal, not just for the day, but for life.
In spiritual life when we think of being awake, we think of being conscious, being mindful of how we are relating with the world and with others. Being awake in bhakti means being awake to Krishna, to our particular relationship with Him, and our intentional effort to honor, respect, and grow that relations
This is an old post I saved many years ago in my files, which I found on The Bhaktivedantas website. After re-reading it, I realized why I saved it. It is good information.
Krishna Consciousness in a Nutshell
by Hansadutta das
Krishna consciousness is the original consciousness of every living being, and it is explained in different Vedic literatures. One of these literatures is the Chaitanya-charitamrita. Chaitanya-charitamrita means “characteristic of the eternal living force”. Every living
