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Kadamba Kanana Swami’s stay in Durban continues. He is still in the compulsory recovery phase after his surgeries. During this time, Maharaj has been making a weekly appearance at the Sunday Program. On the special occasion of Gaura Purnima (23 March), a day that is known for special mercy, Maharaj extended himself to be part of the morning program at the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple in Durban and to be part of the evening program at the New Jagannatha Puri Temple in Phoenix, about 40 km a

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From left to right: Venkatachalpati, Venkatash Krsna, Gaurnataraj and Nikunja Rasa.

By Abhay Charan dasa

The Congregational Development department (the CD team) is taking care of members and pilgrims alike this winter with an array of services. From Go Puja and Parikramas, offered by Venkatachalapati dasa, to outreach programs such as daily phone calls by Venkatash Krsna dasa, or gifts of delicious sweets from our Goshala, made by Sri Rupa dasa, the CD team has it covered. Gaurnataraj das

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Basu Ghosh Das: Here are the links:

1. Tulasi arati — http://tinyurl.com/h5aexo7

2. Abhishek — http://tinyurl.com/gtj5uvb

3. Deity Darshan  — http://tinyurl.com/hoof6h6

4. Holika dahan [burning of the demoness Holika] —

http://tinyurl.com/jjm3bw3

5. Sandhya arati — http://tinyurl.com/jcvk7kx

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=20017

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Holding Sound

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I hold my breath and watch as life takes hold
Or lets quickly go a young life lived too soon

While destiny does her part and coldly plays
The hand that is written, to be, come what may

Life, as breath, heaves and sighs and speaks
Shifting sands beneath our stumbling feet

Giving sometimes glory everywhere
And taking sometimes more than we can bear

We come with nothing, entering with a cry
And leave with less, or even a bitter goodbye

And in between, as destiny pushes us ‘round
We grasp a

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Gaura Purnima by Ramai Swami

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Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in Mayapur in the town of Nadia just after sunset on the 18th of February 1486. The moon was eclipsed at the time of His birth, and the people of Nadia were then engaged, as was usual on such occasions, in bathing in the Bhagirathi with loud cheers of Haribol.

His father, Jagannatha Misra, and His mother, Saci-devi, both descended from ‘brahmana’ stock originally resided in Sylhet. Mahaprabhu was a beautiful child, and the ladies of the town came to see Him with

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Gaura Purnima celebrations at Iskcon of Silicon Valley! Ecstatic Kirtan lead by Vaisesika Dasa Prabhu and amazing prasadam! Haribol!! 
Srila Prabhupada: The sound of the spiritual world is nectarean and eternal, whereas the sound of the material world is hackneyed and subject to end. The sound of the Holy Name – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare – everlastingly increases the enthusiasm of the chanter. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.21.22 Purport)

Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=1

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The 4th item of sadhana

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“sādhu-vartmānuvartana” seems to sometimes be controversial when explained to people with a certain background. It is an extremely important principle, evidenced by the fact that Śrī Rūpa puts it immediately after the very first principles related to guru.

It establishes that bhakti (practiced by implementing the instructions of theguru) must be within the philosophical and moral framework established by the Vedas and exemplified by the sādhus.

Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī makes this very clear by quoting

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By:  for ISKCON News on March 23, 2016

Harinama on Australia's Gold Coast

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu performed His sankirtan pastimes 500 years ago, He predicted that His holy names would one day be chanted in every town and village throughout the world, thus benedicting the fallen souls of Kali Yuga. Over the centuries following the Lord’s disappearance, His dear associates spread His mission far and wide, culminating with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur’s establishment

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An Instrumental Tribute To The Son of Mother Sachi

On the auspicious occasion of the appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we offer two Esraj songs unto His divine lotus feet. These songs, ‘Ujjvala Varana Gaura Vara Deham’ and ‘Nava Gaura Varam’ were composed by Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. The melody has been taken from the albums of H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami.

Esraj is an important instrument in traditional vaisnava music and by the 1980s the instrument was nearly extinct. Of late, this

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MAY WE BE BLESSED TO MEDITATE ON, UNDERSTAND, APPRECIATE, AND APPLY TO OUR LIVES, THE UNPARALLELED MERCY OF SHRI KRISHNA CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU, THE KIRTAN AVATAR, ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS APPEARANCE IN THE WORLD: For me, on appearances day of any incarnation of God, or great devotee, I question myself on how much I appreciate their special teaching and gifts to the world. Today, I am thinking of both the beauty and insanity of being in the material world, and what it would be like to have never

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By Mahaprabhu das

On Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016, a terrorist attack with multiply blasts has shaken Belgium’s capital Brussels killing and injuring dozens at Zaventem Airport and in the subway.

On March 23rd, ISKCON Belgium has issued the following statement:

“ISKCON Belgium deplores the atrocious acts of violence committed by monsters that do not represent or practice any spiritual tradition but on the contrary, only represent and practice hatred, madness, envy, violence and terror.

Our prayer

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The Garland of Prema-Nama.

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The Garland of Prema-Nāma

“Prema-bhakti is the essence of bhakti. If we prepare a garland of flowers, one thread is required and it is woven together. Similarly, when the question ofnāma-prema-mālā comes, what is the thread of that garland? That thread isprema. The mālā is woven together with the thread of prema. It is nāma-prema-mālā. The example is the japa-mālā. With our japa-mālā we are chanting. That means you should chant the Holy Name feeling acute pangs of separation from Kṛṣṇa. Then

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The Hidden Incarnation

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From Back to Godhead

Who is the incarnation that the  Vedic scriptures do not openly talk about?
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu-Is He an Incarnation?
In this Kali-yuga the incarnation is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is stated in the Shastra, krishna-varnam, Krishna varnayati: “He is simply chanting ‘Krishna,’ although He is Krishna Himself.” Krishnam-varnam tvisakrishnam. Therefore He has hidden Himself. His bodily color is more Krishna, but golden. Krishna has got four colors: Suklo raktas tatha pi
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It has become alarmingly apparent that commercially farmed soils around the world are lifeless and inert. This is because the dependence on chemical or unnatural intervention in the soils, the produce may look the same but it’s nutritional value is lost. The only way to undo this damage is, heal the soil for a few years with cows, bulls and calves.

A friend of mine related a story of a dentist who notice that in the 1940’s the clients jaws began to show signs of deformity (most people need te

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More from the Temple of Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur.
Sadbhuja Das: This is a sample of our first ‘gold-leafing’ experiment, just to see how the effects and color will be matching for the inside- & outside of the altars, and chamber pillars.


Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=19942

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A day for Krsna

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, December 2011, Pretoria, South Africa, Caitanya Caritamrta Lecture)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained to Sanatana Goswami that we must follow in the footsteps of the eternal residents of Vrindavan. We must always act for the pleasure of Krsna. In our sadhana, Krsna must always be in the centre.

My first big festival in the temple was Gaura Purnima. I was celebrating it at the Bhaktivedanta Manor and I had just returned from India. We were in a very big room and we, the

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TOVP ISKCON of Tomorrow

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“You started 108 temples all over the world. Today, you have over 700 centers worldwide. But now, here comes the most important center of them all, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.”

Dear Devotees,

We have something very special for you today. A brand new film from Kriyate, called “For Tomorrow”, was released on the disappearance day of Srila Madhavendra Puri, which is also the celebration of Sri Advaitacarya’s Shantipur festival. This film reveals the timeless sacred beauty of Mayapur th

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TOVP Construction Update, March 2016

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We’re pleased to inform you of the latest happenings at the TOVP: 3 of the 8 chatris have been completed with blue tiles and kalashes.

More segments have been put onto the 3 domes, in preparation for the kalashes. The 4th stage (out of 6) of the decorative sandstone features has been completed.

Also 2 more Demigods; Lord Brahma and Laksmi Devi are nearly completed, while the life-size clay model of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur is going on.


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click on image to enlarge

So today is Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance day. We will honor it with a full day fast, which we will break at the appearance of the full moon with a nice prasadam feast. Also in honor of this auspiscious day, we share with you a lecture given in Mayapur India, on the Gaura Purnima day, in 1976. Hare Krishna!

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Lecture 7.9.38
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Māyāpur, March 16, 1976

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: “In this way, my Lord,

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The irony of a Bollywood Super hero

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“Man is not what he thinks he is; he is what he hides” – Andre Malraux (1901-1976, French Novelist)

Vraja Bihari Dasa: “Wow! He really looks stunning; is he some demi-God?” I asked innocently, looking at a huge billboard.

Sishir, my friend laughed, “He’s known as a Greek God and you should know more than others that appearance is deceptive”

“Well err”, I flustered. I was expected to be well acquainted with the spiritual philosophy of the shallowness of it all.

“Yeah, I don’t see movies, but h

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