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Q: You mentioned in your video, diksha refers to getting the mantra and shiksa refers to getting instructions on how to chant it…

Dīkṣā means acceptance into the educational process (aka “sādhana”) of a given school. This acceptance is accomplished by giving the student the school’s study materials (mantra and śāstra)

Q: We already got the mantra from some devotee, we may not even remember whom. Would a formal initiation ceremony benefit us?

Hearing a mantra from someone on the sidewalk is a hap

More than 2,000 people gathered for the Rath Yatra festival Sept. 17 at the Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago as part of the national kickoff celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known as the Hare Krishna Movement.

Prior to the advent of ISKCON movement Jagannath and the “Ratha Yatra” were relatively unknown in the West. However, after its founding, A. C. Bhaktivedanta, founder of ISKCON popularized the festival when he selected Jagann

"A natural human sentiment, compassion finds its highest expression in the works of devotees of the Lord.
The tenderness of the heart experienced toward Krishna is known as bhakti. All other jivas are servants of Krishna. When one experiences tenderness of heart toward them, it is known as daya, compassion. Therefore, compassion is included within bhakti."

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Jaiva Dharma, p. 179

I was aware of the concept of compassion before I met Srila Prabhupada. While studying at Br

Bhakta Priya Devi Dasi: Dear devotees and friends, I urgently need your prayers! My husband, Jagajivan Das is in intensive care, in a critical condition. His heart is giving up. The doctor said that he can leave his body any moment. But we all know how powerful Vaisnava prayers could be. Miracles can happened and he still can pull through. There is still a chance for him to recover. I beg you at your feet to pray for him. Your humble servant, Bhakta Priya dd

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=3

More than 2,000 people gathered for the Rath Yatra festival Sept. 17 at the Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago as part of the national kickoff celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known as the Hare Krishna Movement.

Prior to the advent of ISKCON movement Jagannath and the “Ratha Yatra” were relatively unknown in the West. However, after its founding, A. C. Bhaktivedanta, founder of ISKCON popularized the festival when he selected Jagann

I found today’s blog in a shop window. ‘Give Presence’, the sign said. How clever I thought. In the gifting season of the year, the greatest gift of all is the gift of our presence, on all levels. Whether it is being present in a conversation, being present with our meditation, being present while driving – what does ‘being present’ or ‘giving presence’ mean?

It’s simply ‘being with’. Not half being with, not almost being with, but fully being with. We can’t do this all the time, but we surely m

Every year over 100,000 people line the streets of Towoomba in Queensland Australia for the Grand Floral Street Parade. This year on the 17th Sept Iskcon Bhakti Centre Gold Coast participated with our Rathyatra cart.

Jaganath, Subhadra and Baladev were so well recieved that we won first prize. The theme is flowers so who does flowers better than the Hare Krishnas? The cart was decorated by Sukla Devi Dasi, Rasarani Devi Dasi and Dhruva Das who worked on it for 5hours before the parade. So many

On this date, Sri Visvarupa, the elder brother of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, took sannyasa. It is also the date on which Srila Prabhupada took sannyasa.

“If Srila Prabhupada hadn’t taken sannyasa and come to us, where would we be? We wouldn’t be anywhere—I shudder to think where we would be. So that renunciation is necessary. Sat-nyasa. Nyasa means to give up, and sat means the Supreme. One takes sannyasa to give up everything for the service of the Supreme, Krishna. Many of our acharyas have ta

He had a massive cerebral hemorrhage to the right side of the brain. The devotees there got him into the hospice facility. Soon after left his body.
Swarup Das: I remembered that Nitai Das and I had some very wonderful personal exchanges using the message facility here on facebook - he wrote me the following in 2012:
“Swarup Prabhu, you said you were with ISKCON Press in Boston in those early days. It reminded me of one of my early Krsna conscious memories. I had met the devotees in LA in ‘69 w

EVERYBODY SHOULD JOIN THE SANKIRTAN PARTY ASAP! 
Ramesvara dasa: I remember my first morning walk with Srila Prabhupada. It was when he came to New Dwarka in 1973, and I remember I had just written the sankirtan scores for the day before. I asked Karandar to give it to Srila Prabhupada, which he did. Prabhupada wrote back a handwritten note saying, “Thank you boys and girls. I give you so much thanks, because you are helping me serve my guru maharaj. Surely he will give his blessings, pour his

This is a fascinating photo taken around 1870, on the grounds of Bhaktivedanta Manor. The present building that everyone recognises today was built in 1884, so this is the former building.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31546

First you have to accept and understand that there are a few different typesof statements in śāstra. Some of them are literal information. Others are analogs / analogies. Others are motivational. Others are told through fiction. You have to check the context of the statement to know whether it is a part of a literal, figurative, motivational, or fictional (etc) conversation.

Knowing this, you should be able to make sense of what you’ve quoted below. 

Motivational statements are not “incorrect” n

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the U.S.A. in 1965.
Several years after Srila Prabhupada first arrived in America, a disciple discovered the diary he had kept during his passage from India on the steamship Jaladuta. Inside was a poem, handwritten in Bengali, which Srila Prabhupada had written on board the ship just after it had arrived in Boston harbor. The poem beautifully captures Srila Prabhupada’s first impressions of Western civilization and reveals his hear

Damodarananda Das: We celebrated our 5th Festival of Chariots on Sept 18 in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. It was attended by more that one thousand people. The procession started with prayers and sweeping of the road by the Mayor of the City, Tari Ranner. 
One devotee drew Rangoli in front of the Ratha at every stop. The event was well received by the community and was bigger than previous years.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31557