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The Storms of Our Lives

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The problem is not really the storms. We know they will come sooner or later. The problem is the shelter.

We are all blasted at some point – hit hard by inevitable pain due to loss or damage. Sometimes it’s a huge nature storm that will take our house away or an emotional storm due to loss and broken-heartedness. It could be a disaster that forces big changes in our lives that is totally our doing and we saw it coming, or something that seemed to come ‘out of the blue’. And don’t think that ju

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2515104421?profile=original

IN THE NAME OF philanthropy … people are feeling compassion for suffering humanity throughout the world,” (SB 5.8.10) Srila Prabhupada writes. But “no one knows where compassion should be applied. Compassion for the dress of a drowning man is senseless. A man fallen in the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing his outward dress the gross material body.” (Bg. 2.1)

“Without knowing the need of the dormant soul, one cannot be happy simply with emolument of the body and mind. The b

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2515104230?profile=original

ISKCON of Radhadesh, Belgium hosted the 2nd European Yoga Congress from May 27th to 29th, sharing insights and techniques with thirteen different yoga schools from twelve countries.

The seeds of the event were sewn in November 2014, when many different yoga organizations met at Yoga Vidya in Germany, Europe’s largest yoga ashram, to explore commonalities and possibilities for cooperation.

That gathering, attended by a delegation of a dozen ISKCON members, resulted in the creation of the Europe

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Much can be said about compassion, and although we’ve covered many of its different facets, there is still much more that can be said, specifically in terms of our relationships with each other as practitioners of Krsna consciousness.

This whole theme expands from one line in The Nectar of Devotion—that one should not give unnecessary trouble to any living entity. This is a principle of Krsna consciousness that every Vaisnava should aspire to achieve because, as we say every day, vancha-kalpa

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One of the most memorable experiences during our last visit to Houston was our trip to the Estelle Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice near Huntsville, Texas on September 19, 2015.
Although we had not planned it into our schedule, Krishna apparently had, so we went along with Krishna's plan. It's always good to cooperate with Krishna's plan.
We were invited to participate by Gopal Krishna Prabhu of the Houston Temple. An enthusiastic and dedicated prison-preacher and alternates wi

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2515104182?profile=original

I felt we were being elevated to the spiritual world. He quoted from Visnujana Maharaja. Visnujana had a program in which he went by boat along the Ganges River, in Bengal, and chanted the holy names all day, stopping at villages along the way and chanting and speaking and distributing books about Krsna. Once, when I was in Los Angeles recovering from being sick in India, Srila Prabhupada received an issue of Back to Godhead with an article by Visnujana Swami, and he remarked that Visnujana ha

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2515104331?profile=original

Your complaint is that you have met two of my young disciples in California and they appeared to you to have “a very negative outlook toward the people they meet.” Of course, I do not know the case and what the circumstances are, but kindly forgive my beloved disciples for any unkindness or indiscretion on their part. SSR 7

Source:http://www.harekrishnamelbourne.com.au/apology-from-prabhupada/

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The rath (chariot) was bedecked with flowers, paper lanterns and garlands of fruit.

And of course, images of Lord Krishna.

A four-wheel wooden chariot, nearly two storeys in height, it made its way slowly through the streets of Brisbane CBD on a Saturday morning in early May.

Built to resemble a temple, with a colourful red and yellow pillar made of cloth topped by a golden coloured dome, it carried the idols of Lord Krishna and Sri Prabhupada, founder of the International Society of Krishna

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Recently a devotee lent me a paperback book distributed by one of our prabhus at this past year’s Mayapura festival. Titled Srila Prabhupada’s Challenge, it is concerned with Prabhupada’s views on science. Unfortunately, this book features several misquotations. While undoubtedly a sincere effort, these shortcomings were likely unwittingly incorporated. The devotee promoting this book appears to have been distributing on his own with a book bag along one of the main thoroughfares of the Mayapu

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2515104281?profile=original

Maha-ashraya Prabhu, ACBSP, left his body while living in Manaus, Brazil. Last May 30th, close to midnight. He was born in Chicago and was 61. He surely went to Krsnaloka to take part in Krsna’s pastimes.

Srila Prabhupada: “For one who wants liberation from the fruitive reactions of material activities, the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, or glorification of the name, fame and pastimes of the Lord, is recommended as the most perfect process of atonement because such chanting eradicates the
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2515103782?profile=original

Lexington, a small city in Massachusetts and home to one of the sites where the American Revolutionary War began, enthusiastically welcomed Lord Jagannath during the Patriot’s Day Parade celebrated on April 18 this year. Devotees of the Lord participated in the parade pulling the Lord’s cart or ratha and were very warmly applauded and encouraged by the Town and the over 10,000 residents attending the parade. Lord Jagannath’s cart also won the second place in the float competition for the most

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A heavy issue! Kadamba Kanana Swami

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The movement of Lord Caitanya is accommodating all kinds of people but that is not an excuse to stay how we are. We bring all this negative stuff with us, in our hand luggage… just like how when you fly onRyanair, you put on a coat with big pockets and stuff each possible pocket because you not going to let them cheat you out of your money for that extra little kilo. No way! There are devotees who have special vests with special pockets; like a forty kilo vest. Anyway, that is going on and at

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Why we call tilak gopi chandan

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Tilak, the clay “V” marking found on the foreheads of devotees of Krishna around the world, is called Gopi Chandan, but sastra says the Gopi’s tilak is made from sandalwood, not clay. So why the name?

It is sometimes thought tilak is clay from the bank of the sacred Ganges, but this is also not correct. If you do a little research, you will find that tilak is mined from a dry river bed in Dwarka, Gujarat, nowhere near Vrindavan.

So what’s the connection with the Gopis?

It is in the Gargha Samh

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Small temples are where the big action is! ISKCON Nellore is famous as a fired-up preaching center in Andhra Pradesh. Under the leadership of His Holiness Sukadeva Swami Maharaj, the temple is doing exceedingly well on all grounds. Preaching is on full steam, with their large congregation now actively preparing for the upcoming “Gudur Rath Yatra,” set to happen in another one month. Devotees also distribute books regularly. During a recent program, they distributed 300 copies of Bhagavad Gita

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Sacred chanting on the Emerald Isle will mark 30 years of blissful service.

The title read, “Now Irish Eyes are Smiling”, an article in the Back to Godhead magazine by Mathuresa Dasa covered the installation ceremony of Sri Sri Radha Govinda, the presiding deities at ISKCON Northern Ireland’s Govindadvipa temple. The year was 1986, Ireland was still in the midst of a guerrilla warfare conflict, and it was a cover feature and multiple page spread in the publication that was the mainstay of ISKC

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Lord Krishna protects Iskcon Delhi from terroristic attack.
Times of India: NEW DELHI: In the winter of 2015, when Indian agencies were busy tracking down alQaida modules, two Jaish-eMuhammed terrorists had quietly sneaked into the capital. Intelligence sources said the duo rented a room in Lajpat Nagar, assembled six improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and recced at least four places for a strike, including the Taj Mahal and two city spots -Iskcon temple and the Select Citywalk mall in Saket.

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The effect of good news

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Hearing good news about others affects people in different ways. Personally, the feelings it evokes within me serves as a barometer of how emotionally healthy I am and my relationship with the individual. Feelings of joy and "they totally deserve it" are what I aim for. However, in instances where it dredges up not so pleasant emotions, I realize I have internal work to do. 

Just as pain serves as an indication that something is wrong with the body, similarly, negative emotions can serve as a

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God’s Mother

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I received this gift of a figurine on the first day of Kartik, the sacred month we are presently observing. Since I’m mostly confined to my recovery room it has been a welcome gift. I look at it many times during the day and remember the lilas (sacred stories) connected to it.

The figurine is of baby Krishna and His mother, Yasoda. If we are all ready to accept God as a person then it means there are other persons around him. He has parents, aunts, uncles, friends, lovers, community –  interac

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The Heart of the Gita

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Just as a very good sweet will have something hidden inside of it, or a company will have the inner group of key people, the Gita has a core made up of four verses. These are called the Catur Sloki (catur = four, and sloki = verses), and they summarize the entire Gita.

The eighteen chapters of the Gita are themselves divided into 3 parts. The middle six chapters focus on bhakti and are “protected” on either side by teachings on karma-yoga (the first six chapters) and jnana yoga (the focus of t

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Street Spirituality

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High streets are intriguing places; a microcosm of modern life. It’s where people descend in their thousands, searching for something extra to enrich their existence. These urban hubs are a melting pot of entertainers, campaigners, shoppers, beggars and advertisers, a marketplace for the latest commodities and ideas, a space for meeting, sharing and exploring. Here you’ll find people from every imaginable socio-economic background, swarming like bees around a hive.

Enter the monks. Yes, you r

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