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Special Come Together by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Sages, avatars and the sacred texts called "Veda" all say the same thing, that the best action you can take in spiritual life is to embrace the company of spiritual comrades.  And so that's what we did today, in a special way, as we do every year.
 
This year, two of our ladies in their mature years, arranged a lunch for those of the Canadian branch of our mission.  But, wait a second, we had Americans in there too; one who qualified as a "Resister" or as we used to say "Draft Dodger".  Yes, i
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Our Premiere by Bhaktimarga Swami

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"Are you excited about your debut?"  asked one of the many attendees at the Mayapura retreat, referring to our first performance of "Grandsire".

"It's in good hands," I said, meaning that our cast has put in a lot of hard work to the best of their abilities.  Cronje—who is now Karuna Avatar (initiated name)—is the lead actor.  It's a big job for him—lots of lines to memorize and blocking to remember.  He's also involved in numerous martial arts scenes in this production.  He and the other play
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Sri Purusottama Dasa Thakura

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"The twenty-third and twenty-fourth prominent devotees of Nityananda Prabhu were Sadasiva Kaviraja and his son Purusottama dasa, who was the tenth gopala. Since birth, Purusottama dasa was merged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and he was always engaged in childish play with Lord Krsna." [C.C. Adi 11.8-39]

"Sri Sadasiva Kaviraja was extremely fortunate. His son's name was Sri Purusottama das. He was never externally conscious of his material body. Nityananda Candra

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Elephant On the Loose by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Every Saturday night in Mayapura, there is what's called the Hati Fest which is when the two elephants, Vishnupriya and Laksmipriya, have their procession through the crowds.  Saturday night is a busy night, drawing pilgrims from all over Bengal and the world.  https://www.instagram.com/p/B8lWnTSgelX/?igshid=x1fj5vz3w6pk

It was during these last two days, at the ILS event, when I felt like an elephant in a crowd of multitudes.  There is this massive banquet hall, constructed like they do for a
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Gaura Purnima Festival begins!

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With the raising of Garuda and Hanuman flags, 48th Gaura Purnima festival is inaugurated in a colorful flag hoisting ceremony, held at Srila Prabhupada Park, in front of Lotus building. HH Gopal Krishna Goswami , HH Loknath Goswami, HH Jayapataka Swami , who were participating in the festival since its inception, spoke on the importance of Gaura Purnima festival and how it is so dear to Srila Prabhupada. Devotees from all parts of the world have started arriving at Mayapur, to recharge their s

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By Madhava Smullen
 

Narada Das (Nathan Hartley) appeared on the BBC’s regional Bristol radio station to share a spiritual message of equality with 135,000 listeners on February 20th, quoting the Bhagavad-gita and Srila Prabhupada.

Narada has a background in community engagement and local government, has worked in marketing and communications for the past decade, and is part of the Bath Interfaith Group. He also handles PR and promotions for the UK Hare Krishna Festival Team, and sits on ISK

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By Su-gita Vani devi dasi

Back in 1922, H.H.Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Goswami Maharaj categorically told Srila Prabhupada that Krishna consciousness didn’t have to wait for a change in Indian politics, nor was it dependent on who ruled.

Krishna consciousness was so important-so exclusively important-that it could not wait. Whether in the Indian sub-continent or elsewhere.

So, in this spirit, preaching was inaugurated, in very hostile circumstances, in communist Russia and also in south Africa

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What follows is an article I wrote which was featured in Padayatra Worldwide magazine:

The image was so vivid—autumn leaves spiralling down from the heights of hardwoods.  Our eyes were widened to the stark reds, oranges, and yellows.  It was captivating.  A magical descent.  Prettier than snow.  Beauty reigned for sure.  We saw it also in the lichen, fungi and mushrooms.  David sees it in the wild ginger.  He forged some for the dhal to be cooked up for later on.  For snacks along the trail,
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With a  new name on the way and a whole raft of new workshops and activities, Villa Vrindavana Yoga Center is providing yoga enthusiasts an authentic experience in a spiritual community, as well as a non-judgemental, pressure-free zone where they can decide how deep they want to dive.

One of ISKCON Europe’s most beautiful temples, Villa Vrindavana is located near Florence, the gorgeous capital of Italy’s Tuscanny region and birthplace of the Renaissance. Gopi Sundari Dasi, daughter of Villa Vr

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Shiva-ratri by Giriraj Swami

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Today we shall read a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-four: “Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Siva.”

As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaishnava, and why he is so is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is considered the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic scriptures. The glories of Lord Shiva are described in many Bhagavatam chapters, and if we were to discuss all of them, it would take many days. So we are just going t

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Siva-ratri by Giriraj Swami

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Today is Siva-ratri. Vaishnavas generally do not celebrate Siva-ratri, and to begin, I will explain why, with reference to the Bhagavad-gita. We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 7, “Knowledge of the Absolute,” text 23.

antavat tu phalam tesam
  tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam
devan deva-yajo yanti
  mad-bhakta yanti mam api

TRANSLATION

Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods,

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According to the Bhagavad-gita, one’s activities can either be in goodness, passion, or ignorance. 
There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from these three modes born of material nature. 
Bg. 18.40
Teachers will be affected by the modes of nature. Their style of teaching and discipline will, therefore, also be affected. In this chapter we analyze how the spectrum of discipline techniques are influenced by the three modes of

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This January, Prefect Maurizio Falco and Deputy Mayor Elena Baio of the Italian city of Piacenza received representatives from the main religions in the area, including ISKCON devotees Raghunath Das (Renato Dacarro) and Pritha Dasi (Paola Rossi).

Among the other faith representatives were Archbishop Pierluigi Dallavalle, delegate for Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue; Pastor Nicola Tedoldi of the Methodist Evangelical Church; Father Kliment Mishanj of the Macedonian Orthodox Church; and

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We were in the air on Air Canada Flight 846.  14 hours.  Straight.  That's the way to do it.  All passengers apart from the airline staff were ticket holders, except for at least one.  It was a house fly.
 
I spotted him clinging onto the drape that separated passengers from staff and the public washroom.  A free ride, for sure.  I wonder which port he boarded at?  Was it Canada?  The U.S.?  Europe?  And how long ago?  Is family with this fellow? I'm not absolutely sure of its gender, to be ho
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Hare Krishna!!

Hello Friends recently I completed reading ninth chapter of Bhagavad Gita and realized that soo many gems are hidden in this chapter. Though each and every verse of BG is dipped in the sweetest nector guiding, motivating us enlightening us but in chapter 9 Krishna is really revealing the most hidden knowledge so deep so intense that if we can truly realize even a single verse of the whole chapter we can fully achieve the aim of this human life.

I know that I am having no capacity to

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The Iskcon Leadership Sanga is held in Mayapur every two years and is arranged by a sub-committee of the GBC called the Strategic Planning Team.
This year about eight hundred devotees from around the world attended. The sanga went for seven days and each day devotees came for a morning presentation and then went to one of seventy-five seminars that were presented.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=82796

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I'm off to India again, this time with Corrado.  Do I like India?  Yes and no, like any place on this planet.  I love spiritual India, her sacred places, retreats.  Overall, people are nice.  They go the extra yard/metre to win the favour of a swami. 

You have to make the most of any place where you are.  And India, with her dense population, noise, contaminants in the air, and traffic can be one big hurdle.  I have come to the point where I try to overlook that side and view the faces of smil
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This a songbook that I prepared in the last two years.
Here is the link to a website where you can find all the information, a link to request paper copies, a link to download the book in e-book format and a link to download the mp3 files that accompany the songs. https://www.sacredsongsymphony.com/
Combining Philosophy & Music
From the very beginning of my devotional life, I had been intrigued by the bhajans that were sung in the temple. Sanskrit and Bengali seemed to be designed for glorifyin

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By His Mercy, All Our Desires Are Fulfilled

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Those who are intelligent know that everything is supplied by Krishna. So why not depend on Krishna only? Why so many other attempts? Therefore Krishna says,

vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-sakha hy anantas ca
buddhayo ’vyavasayinam
        [Gita 2.41]

Vyavasayi means one who knows business particularly. Vyavasaya. Or one who knows confidently, “This is the cause; this is the effect.” Those who know that Krishna is the origin of everything are fixed up in Krishna. Vyavasayatmika

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Things Going On by Bhaktimarga Swami

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I had a marvelous time at the Scarborough ISKCON Centre enjoying both the soup and the company.  This should not be mistaken for a soup kitchen, (even though at meal time, a soup extraordinaire is, in fact, on the menu), but a centre of spiritual power, where people come together to hear about themselves through the message of the Gita
 
The folks here are reading and discussing the Gita's Chapter 11 which resembles, in some way, a freak of nature.  Awesome images of multi-headed forms fill the
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