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The 2014 ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) was inaugurated on Sunday, February 16, 2014 in Sridham Mayapur and the 8 days which followed were filled with seminars, parikramas, cultural programs and prasadam. 

Out of the 88 seminars and workshops which were presented, 25 were hosted by the Ministry. Some of the topics presented were:

Super Sunday: The Art of the Sunday Program

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: His Outreach Vision

From Seeker to Practitioner: How to Integrate New People

Two Great Outreach Initia

HH Radhanath Swami:

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

mantratas tantratas chidram
desa-kalarha-vastutah
sarvam karoti nischidram
anusankirtanam tava

(word to word meaning is read)

TRANSLATION: There may be discrepancies in pronouncing the mantras and observing the regulative principles, and, moreover, there may be discrepancies in regard to time, place, person and paraphernalia. But when Your Lordship's holy name is chanted, everything

TEXT 17

pitaham asya jagato
mata dhata pitamahah
vedyam pavitram omkara
rk sama yajur eva ca

SYNONYMS

pita--father; aham--I; asya--of this; jagatah--of the universe; mata--mother; dhata--supporter; pitamahah--grandfather; vedyam--what is to be known; pavitram--that which purifies; om-kara--the syllable om; rk--the Rg Veda; sama--the Sama Veda; yajuh--the Yajur Veda; eva--certainly; ca--and.

TRANSLATION

I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support, and the grandsire. I am the object of

Prabhupada: So in the bodily concept of life, material necessities can be fulfilled by money or-eating, sleeping, mating. But because these things do not give satisfaction to the Western people anymore, because they have seen enough of them-eating, sleeping, sex life and defense-natural inquiry is what is Brahman? And that answer can be had from India, nowhere else. Therefore they have got inclination. Whenever they see some Indian swami, Indian person talking about spiritual, they flock. But th

Five days of non-stop kirtan, thousands of people and the spiritual atmosphere of Sridham Mayapur!

View videos - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhtmKWc6vRTCaRJEVG-7_RzDeaLofTKLE

Download audio - http://audio.iskcondesiretree.info/index.php?q=f&f=%2F06_-_More%2F01_-_ISKCON_Mayapur%2FKirtan_Mela

"Prabhupada stated that all the devotees in the world should come to Mayapur and constantly have kirtan. He was very blissful as he told them of Bhaktivinoda Thakur's statement that he had searched the fourteen worlds but found nothing of value except the chanting of the holy names. Srila Prabhupada said that this was Mayapur's purpose, to come and chant."

"We may have problems in different parts of the world, but they will go away if we simply come together and chant. Lord Caitanya always chant

Hare Krishna Friends,
I am Bhakta Steven, soon to be a published author.  I recently met (Gary Liss) Gary Prabhu at The Krishna Lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He lectured on his travels with boyhood friend (Richard Slavin) Radhanath Swami.  I wrote a poem about them and it's posted on dandavats.com.  Right now it's on the front page.
I am inviting everyone to read it and leave comments.  Bhaktivedanta told me to write so I am.  
Hari bol!!

SB 9.4.67
My devotees, who are always satisfied to be engaged in My loving service, are not interested even in the four principles of liberation [sālokya, sārūpya, sāmīpya and sārṣṭi], although these are automatically achieved by their service. What then is to be said of such perishable happiness as elevation to the higher planetary systems?

PURPORT
Śrīla Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura has estimated the value of liberation as follows:
Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura realized that if one develops his natural devot

Srimad Bhagavatam 3.29.13

salokya-sarsti-samipya-

sarupyaikatvam apy uta

diyamanam na grhnanti

vina mat-sevanam janah

TRANSLATION

A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation -- salokya, sarsti, samipya, sarupya or ekatva -- even though they are offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

Lord Caitanya teaches us how to execute pure devotional service out of spontaneous love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Siksastaka, He prays to the Lord: "O Lord, I do not wish to gai

satyam gyaanam anantam nityam anaakaasham paramaakaasham
goshTha praangaNa ringaNa lolam anaayaasam paramaayaasam |
maayaakalpita naanaakaaram anaakaaram bhuvanaakaaram
kshmaamaa naatham anaatham praNamata govindam paramaanandam || 1 ||

mrutsnaamat seeheti yashodaa taaDana shaishava santraasam
vyaadita vaktraalokita lokaaloka chaturdasha lokaalim |
lokatrayapura moola stambham lokaalokam anaalokam
lokesham paramesham praNamata govindam paramaanandam || 2 ||

traivishTapa ripu veeraghnam kshitib

TEXT 16

aham kratur aham yajnah
svadhaham aham ausadham
mantro 'ham aham evajyam
aham agnir aham hutam

SYNONYMS

aham--I; kratuh--ritual; aham--I; yajnah--sacrifice; svadha--oblation; aham--I; aham--I; ausadham--healing herb; mantrah--transcendental chant; aham--I; aham--I; eva--certainly; ajyam--melted butter; aham--I; agnih--fire; aham--I; hutam--offering.

TRANSLATION

But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the

Srimati Tulasi Devi --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Srimati Tulasi devi is one of the most exalted devotees of the Sri Krishna. All scriptures stress on the importance of getting the mercy of Tulasi devi if one has to make progress in the path of devotion. In the Skanda Purana it is said: ‘Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hea

MiraBai (1498 - 1547) was a Rajput princess who lived in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. She was a devout follower of Lord Krishna. MiraBai was one of the foremost exponents of the Prema Bhakti (Divine Love) and an inspired poetess. She sang in vraja-bhasha, sometimes mixed with rajasthani, in praise of Giridhara Gopala (Shri Krishna), her lord for whom she developed in her heart the most intense love and devotion. MiraBai was born in 1504 AD at Chaukari village in Merta District of Rajasth

.. गोपीगीतम् .. गोप्य ऊचुः .
जयति तेऽधिकं जन्मना व्रजः
श्रयत इन्दिरा शश्वदत्र हि .
दयित दृश्यतां दिक्षु तावका-
स्त्वयि धृतासवस्त्वां विचिन्वते .. १..
शरदुदाशये साधुजातस-
त्सरसिजोदरश्रीमुषा दृशा .
सुरतनाथ तेऽशुल्कदासिका
वरद निघ्नतो नेह किं वधः .. २..
विषजलाप्ययाद्व्यालराक्षसा-
द्वर्षमारुताद्वैद्युतानलात् .
वृषमयात्मजाद्विश्वतोभया-
दृषभ ते वयं रक्षिता मुहुः .. ३..
न खलु गोपिकानन्दनो भवा-
नखिलदेहिनामन्तरात्मदृक् .
विखनसार्थितो विश्वगुप्तये
सख उदेयिवान्सात्वतां कुले .. ४..
विरचिताभयं वृष्णिधुर्य ते

Shukdev Gosvami said: Having offended Lord Krishna, Satrajit tried as best he could to atone by presenting Him with his daughter and the Syamantaka jewel. Maharaj Parikshit inquired: O Brahmana what did King Satrajit do to offend LordKrishna? Where did he get the Syamantaka jewel, and why did he give his daughter to the Supreme Lord?

Shukdeva Gosvami said: Surya the sun-god, felt great affection for his devotee Satrajit Acting as his greatest friend, the demigod gave him the jewel called Syaman

Teachings of Lord Krishna



Lord Krishna, is the one of the most loved Gods of the Hindu religion. His teachings on various aspects of human life to Arjuna during the epic battle of Mahabharata are world famous. His teachings were written in form of a book by famously known as Bhagwad Gita. Bhagwad Gita literally means divine songs of Lord. Teachings of the lord, are relevant even in the present age. They are being promoted by a number of spiritual gurus. Few of his important teachings are as f

[This great prayer is taken from Bhagawatham - kili pattu by Thunchathu Ezhuthachan. Lord Prahladha praises and prays Lord Narasimha murthy after he saves him from Hiranya Kasipu, his faher. The prayer is very touching. The first part of the prayer is almost in Sanskrit and the later part in Malayalam. This is normally sung to get victory over enemies, to get rid of fear of death and for getting cured of diseases.]
Dhoorjatim lokaika nadham narasimha,
Maarjava veerya parakrama vaaridheem,
Agni n

Significance of the Dasavataras


1 Matsyaavathaara



The story of Mathsyaavatara is as follows:



Hayagreevaasura took the Vedas when Brahma was supposed to be sleeping and hid them under the sea. Lord Vishnu assuming the form of a large fish retrieved them Now, Hyagreevaasura represents the men of wicked or perverted intellect who influence others and cause the extinction of the wisdom of the Vedas. The word hayaa in Sanskrit has ,besides horse , another meaning, a class of men, kaashta thul

In the glorification of sankirtana, Kirtan Mela, we are asked to, speakers these days, Bhagavatam speakers are asked to select a verse that glorifies the Holy name. So here is one such verse Eleventh Canto, Chapter Fifth, Text number 36.

kalim sabhajayanty arya
guna jñah sara-bhaginah
yatra sankirtanenaiva
sarva-svartho 'bhilabhyate

Translation: Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this Age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-y