kirtan (99)

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By Atma Tattva Das

Madhumangala Das, a devoted adherent of the Hare Krishna movement in Japan, shares a compelling narrative of spiritual growth intricately woven with the cultural tapestry of the “Land of the Rising Sun.” Reflecting on his journey, Madhumangala’s insights offer a profound glimpse into the collective experience of the Japanese devotee community—a journey marked by resilience, cultural adaptation, and unwavering dedication to the service of Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

“In the be

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The world around us is changing at an ever-increasing rate. The notion of keeping up with the changing world may have relevance in devotional service. But is this perspective relevant in all areas of our practices of bhakti? Are there some elements of devotional service that must always be constant? Srila Prabhupada wrote:

The greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create our own process for worshiping the deities. … Whatever is going on, follow it just to the exact

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From Back to Godhead

How we value, acquire, use, and relate to money reflects our inner state of being.

Sri Sukadeva Goswami said, “Money does not stay in one place. It passes from one hand to another. Ultimately no one can enjoy money, and it remains the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.14.24) Money is God’s energy. He created it, He owns it, and He controls it: “Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord

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The Transcendental Effects of the Holy Name

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Sri Namamrta

1. The Holy Name Revives One’s Dormant, Eternal Krsna Consciousness
2. The Role of the Holy Name in the Progression of Devotional Service
3. The Holy Name Frees One from the Reactions to Sins
4. By Chanting the Holy Name, the Mind Becomes Controlled
5. The Holy Name Protects One from Pride
6. By Chanting, One Develops Forbearance
7. The Holy Name Eradicates Material Desires and Sinful Activity
8. The Holy Name Cleanses the Heart and Frees One from Material Contamination
9. The Holy

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From Back to Godhead 

For anyone interested in spiritual progress,
gambling is more than just a harmless amusement.

High’s convenience store is bustling with last-minute shoppers picking up odds and ends for a holiday dinner. Having run out of milk, I find myself in the crowded store, standing in a line that wraps around the food aisle. I resign myself to the waiting, and chant the Hare Krsna mantra softly to myself.

An elderly shabbily dressed woman at the counter draws my attention. She’s fr

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You cannot follow nicely unless you hear nicely, and you cannot lead nicely unless you have learned to follow nicely.

Yamuna: From the very beginning of our programs in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada became known as one “who is startling India with kirtan.” Our kirtans were full of so much excitement they were so thrilling that we were like one throbbing heartbeat, the heartbeat of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission of Krishna Consciousness.

It is difficult to describe how much potency we felt in the

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By Mother Gopi Gita 

On Tuesday, October 17, Gopi Gita Schomaker, aka Mother Gopi Gita, Founder of Leadership Parenting, presented a western song, bhakti mantras and Leadership Parenting to a full concert hall at the Portland House of Music. This was the culmination of many months of internal work. A live band with drums, two guitars, keyboard, trumpets and more, accompanied the performance. Gopi Gita is a leader in ISKCON, coaches parents and educators internationally, and has served children

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From Back to Godhead

A look at Lord Caitanya’s “Eight Instructions” and their relevance to japa, the individual practice of chanting Hare Krishna.

A friend once told me this analogy about spiritual life: a flock of geese share strength by flying in a V formation, but if one goose goes down, the others can’t help. Similarly, though seekers of enlightenment help each other, success ultimately depends on personal effortand the kindness of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna.

Krishna’s kindness appears i

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Vrindavana Bhajana

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Written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami in 1958,
Published December of that Year in Gauḍīya Patrika,
The Magazine of the Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti.
Verse 1.
I am sitting alone in Vṛndāvana-dhāma
In this mood I am getting many realizations.
I have my wife, sons, daughters, grandsons, everything,
But I have no money so they are a fruitless glory.
Kṛṣṇa has shown me the naked form of material nature,
By his strength it has all become tasteless to me today.
yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ
“I

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By Sacinandana Swami

Haribol! Haribol! Haribol! (chorus)…Hare Krishna. I’m Sacinandana Swami and am every excited to be here with all of you. Hare Krishna… yes now since Malika Mala has arrived, we all feel complete. Before Malika Mala arrived it felt as if one kidney was missing. Ha ha.. But now we are complete. Hare Krishna.

I wanted to ask you before I start:

Were you successful in practicing what you were discussing at the end of this morning program?

Yes? Was it working? 50 -50?

Please ke

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Bhaktivinoda Thakur boldly proclaims, ‘sad-anga saranagati hoibe janhara,’ one who follows these six paths of surrender strictly, the result is ‘tahara prarthana sune sri nanda-kumara’. Krsna will respond to our prayer. Why is this so? Because Bhakti is cit-tattva. Devotional service, the Lord and His devotees do not belong to this material world but are of another.

Cit means cognition. The spiritual world is cit jagat; a realm full of perception. You will pray and get the response. In this m

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9045217093?profile=RESIZE_584xWhen we talk about sankirtana, we are, of course, talking about the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names, specifically in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. For many people, this is the first way they come in contact with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, and with Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana movement, by hearing the devotees chanting the holy names. But what is it about this process that makes it so effective, and so important in the way people are first exposed to it?
To answer th

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Q.
Dear Bada Haridas,
I led my first kirtan yesterday evening! I was wondering what is the role of the kirtan leader? I know that practically speaking they are playing an instrument and singing the mantra for the group to repeat, but what is their job spiritually?

I felt a little bit nervous to take on the task at first and was wondering if you could share some of your wisdom in that regard. Hare Krishna!

A.
Glad to hear you are leading kirtan. Thank you for asking such a nice question and for

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By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)

There have been some people who have declared that the worship of Deities or images or the murti in the temples is but a recent invention of Vedic culture. However, that is not an accurate point. It is true that according to the different yugas or ages (such as Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga) there are different processes for spiritual development that have been more recommended than others. For example, meditation was the recommende

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By Sacinandana Swami

There is one foundational principle of the Bhagavata philosophy, which is enacted and taught practically by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu during His earthly pastimes. By understanding it you will be able to live and apply what Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had come to teach us. This foundational principle is to establish a relationship with the Lord through the mood of separation. This is best practiced in kirtan.

RECEIVING THE HOLY NAME

We have heard it so many times – in order to re

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2515111222?profile=RESIZE_584xBy Giriraj Swami

We have gathered at the lotus feet of the Panca-tattva on this most auspicious occasion of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami’s cida-dadhi festival. The background to this incident can be found in the early life of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. His uncle and father, Hiranya and Govardhana Majumadara, were wealthy landlords in Bengal—almost like kings—and had a huge, opulent riverside palace, with boats that plied the river. Hiranya and Govardhana were generous and devoted to brahminical

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Hare Krishna dear vaisnavas

Agnideva prabhu is hosting a retreat in Tobago (neighbouring island to his birthplace of Trinidad in the Caribbean near the tip of South America off the coast of Venezuela)

Please go if you can and share this flyer with those whom you think would appreciate this wonderful opportunity to relish the prayers of our Acharyas in person with agnideva prabhu.

Prabhu will be featuring 6 Bhajans & discussion each day.

Contact
Presthaya@gmail.com
1-425-578-0663

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In honor of Jayananda Prabhu’s disappearance day on May 1, we submit the following account, derived from a letter by Kalindi Dasi to her spiritual master, Candramauli Swami.— Giriraj Swami

 

A Hospice Miracle—Serving Jayananda’s Mother

 

In mid-July I started wearing tilak to my work at the hospice. I thought that since many other spiritual practitioners were expressing their faith by wearing crosses, doves, silk threads, pentacles, and other items, I would wear mytilak, which tells the world t

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SB 1.1.2 … sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ‘tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat …As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.

Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.1.2

By the hearing process Krsna IMMEDIATELY (sadyo) is established in the heart.

Please note the word RAPT [attention, in the previous quote] – there is a consistency in the Bhagavatam methodology. One has to hear attentively.

The sadhana of hea

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Kirtan: Are there rules? By Rasananda das

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“How any spiritual activity should be done is understood from three sources: saintly persons, standard scriptures and the spiritual master”. (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.28.4, purport)

Proper sankirtan – a phrase used by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati in his Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam and by Lord Caitanya Himself – means certain tunes, certain instruments, a certain musical style, certain dress and certain kinds of dancing by the members of the chanting party. In Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan movement, r

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