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Bhagavad-gita As It Is - 17.17

TEXT 17
sraddhaya paraya taptam
tapas tat tri-vidham naraih
aphalakanksibhir yuktaih
sattvikam paricaksate
SYNONYMS
sraddhaya—with faith; paraya—transcendental; taptam—executed; tapah—austerity; tat—that; tri-vidham—three kinds; naraih—by men; aphala-akanksibhih—without desires for fruits; yuktaih—engaged; sattvikam—in the mode of goodness; pari-caksate—is called.
TRANSLATION
This threefold austerity, practiced by men whose aim is not to benefit themselves materially but to please the Supreme, is of the
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Activism
 
On May 7th, on the auspicious day of Aksaya Tritiya and second day of Ramadan, Villa Vrindavana devotees in Florence distributed prasadam (sanctified vegetarian food) to the Muslim members in the mosque of Florence.

“I have a long-standing friendship with Imam Izzeddin Elzir, Parabhakti dasa says, and when this year he invited us to participate in their prayer I thought it was a special occasion, during it something special have to be done. So I came to the conclusion that was a great opportu

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So, it worked out fairly smoothly.  We merely called the local wellness centre in Rosedale, and asked if their clinic accepts walk-ins.  It so happens they do in the chiropractic department, and I was good to go for 9:00 a.m. The call was made at 7:30 a.m.  I was practically accepted on the spot.  I met Dr. Suk, a pleasant therapist, and showed him my X-rays made in Mauritius, which were very helpful.
 
He looked at my posture and did a thorough examination.  He then expressed his observations. 
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Events

After years of celebration, the Holi Festival at the ISKCON temple in Washington D.C. is now so embedded in the local culture that it has become an annual family tradition for many.

This year over 4,000 people attended the event, also dubbed Festival of Colors, on Saturday May 4th. So many turned up, in fact, that offsite parking had to be arranged with buses to shuttle them back and forth.

The crowd was extremely diverse – guests were young, old, black, white, Latino and Indian, college stude

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Vyasa Puja Ceremony Speech - Day 3

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In that sacred atmosphere of gratitude and reflection, having offered our words, thoughts, hearts and for some, tears, Maharaja responded:

“I hear from you how I am being perceived. It is not how I perceive myself. It is a paradox. I see that I have to grow. We have to grow in spiritual life. What is the point of having a spiritual master if we do not change? We must be committed and over time quality becomes more important. Ultimately our connection with the spiritual master must bring us to K

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By Yasoda-dulal Das

Great day spent at the Bhakti Center, then with the many exalted souls who came to the Monthly Sankirtan Festival.
Then a drive to a holy place (439 Henry Street in Brooklyn) and walk around the block while discussing pastimes of Srila Prabhupada at that temple.
That place was the site of the first Iskcon temple in New York where Radha Govinda were installed. Hundreds of devotees lived there, and tens of thousands of lives were touched by them with daily Harinams, street pl

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Bhagavad-gita As It Is - 16.16

TEXT 16
manah-prasadah saumyatvam
maunam atma-vinigrahah
bhava-samsuddhir ity etat
tapo manasam ucyate
SYNONYMS
manah-prasadah—satisfaction of the mind; saumyatvam—without duplicity towards others; maunam—gravity; atma—self; vinigrahah—control; bhava—nature; samsuddhih—purification; iti—thus; etat—that is; tapah—austerity; manasam—of the mind; ucyate—is said to be.
TRANSLATION
And serenity, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purity of thought are the austerities of the mind.
PURPORT
To make the mind au
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People

Kamlesh Krishna Das, the International Director of the ISKCON Child Protection Office, has been appointed as a Justice of the Peace Magistrate in the British judiciary system. 

He will be serving within the Magistrate Court, which handles 95% of all legal cases in the UK. He was officially appointed and sworn in on Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is on April 1st, and will be based primarily in Hertfordshire. 

Kamlesh Krishna previously worked with the Ministry of Defense, held senior pos

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Events

Cyclone Fani slammed into Northeast India on Friday May 3rd with heavy rainfall and winds of up to 127 miles per hour, leaving at least 38 people dead in Odisha, hundreds injured and thousands without homes. 

Death tolls were relatively low since over 1 million people were evacuated from about 15,000 villages and 46 towns in Odisha in preparation for the Cyclone.

The sacred city of Jagannath Puri was one of the worst hit, with 25 deaths. According to ISKCON devotee Madhavananda Das, who runs Go

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It struck me like a culture-shock, as I looked out the arched window of Prabhupada's quarters, viewing the damp coolish weather outside.  I have just come back from Mauritius where everyone says it's been intensely hot for the summer.  Now that summer is behind us, it's still hot—at least for me.
 
I could just go out in proper wear, and bear the rain, but reason says, "Sometimes you just have to take it easy."  So that's what I did.  My mind wandered to two years ago.  In May, I set out w
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Vyasa-puja Ceremony - Day 3

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he guro jnana-da dina-bandho
svananda-datah karunaika-sindho 
vrindavanasina hitavatara 
prasida radha-pranaya-prachara

“O spiritual master, O giver of divine wisdom, O friend of the fallen, you are the giver of your own bliss and you are the only ocean of mercy. Although dwelling in Vrindavana, you have descended for the welfare of fallen souls like myself and you are preaching the divine love of Radha for Krishna. Please be kind upon me.”

(from Prayers in Glorification of the Spiritual Master

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Offering to Lord Nrisimhadeva

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Hare Krsna dear devotees.

We sincerely hope you had a blessed Nrisimhadeva Caturdashi celebration!

On behalf of ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry (CDM), we would like to express our deepest gratitude for helping us to assist in Srila Prabhupada’s preaching movement.

As you all know, Lord Nrsimhadeva is not in need of anything from us; but when we offer Him something according to our own capacity, He blesses us with everything that we need to progress in achieving the ultimate goal of our l

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Bhagavad-gita As It Is - 17.15

TEXT 15
anudvega-karam vakyam
satyam priya-hitam ca yat
svadhyayabhyasanam caiva
van-mayam tapa ucyate
SYNONYMS
anudvega—not agitating; karam—producing; vakyam—words; satyam—truthful; priya—dear; hitam—beneficial; ca—also; yat—which; svadhyaya—Vedic study; abhyasanam—practice; ca—also; eva—certainly; vanmayam—of the voice; tapah—austerity; ucyate—is said to be.
TRANSLATION
Austerity of speech consists in speaking truthfully and beneficially and in avoiding speech that offends. One should also recite the
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Day Broken Up by Bhaktimarga Swami

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The layover in Istanbul was a good seven hours, providing an opportunity to divide up time with either sitting, lying, standing or lotus-sitting.  There are carpet patches which interrupt the tile floor, and they were just perfect for doing some yoga stretching.  I guess in an international setting like this, one might  expect a guy in orange robes to do such maneuvers.
 
Personally, though, I had to address my right side pain, a new feature to aging. It helped.
 
I indulged in a breakfast, an
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By Kishori Jani

We lost one of the pillars of the Iskcon movement, one of the stalwart female pioneers in Srila Prabhupada’s mission- in the most glorious way! Her service to SP in the US, Kenya, Mumbai and Vrindavan is almost unparalleled. The stories and glories go on and on…

But the true test comes at the end.. And the whole affair at the end for her was SO beautiful and uplifting! Witnessing it gives me so much courage and confidence that this path is real! Experiencing such a glorious pass

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(English version of the ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’ by Sri Rupa Goswami)

Edited by Tridandi Goswami Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta Swami

Text

Akhilla, Rasa, Amrita, Murti, Prasrmara, Ruci, Ruddha, Taraka, Pali, Kalita, Syama, Lalita, Radha, Preyan, Bidhu, Jayati.

Akhila=All inclusive, Rasa=Mellow, Zest, Amrita=Nectar, Murti=Form, Prasrmara=Expanding, Ruchi=Attractive features, Ruddha=Controlling, Taraka=of the name, Pali=of the name, Kalita=Influenced by, Syama=of the name, Lalita=of the name, Radha=

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The Amazing Pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadev

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By H.G. Andharupa dasi

My name is Andharupa dasi initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1975 at Miami Florida. I was asked to tell my story of my cure from Hepatitis C.

The summer of 2004 His Holiness Jayapataka Maharaja visited New Ramana reti temple in Alachua Florida. I approached Maharaja and asked him for his blessings for my departure from this world. My illness: Hepatitis C of 3rd stage fibrosis of the liver. I was undergoing medical treatment for a duration of 48 weeks with only 45% chance to be

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Bhagavad-gita As It Is - 17.14

TEXT 14
deva-dvija-guru-prajna-
pujanam saucam arjavam
brahmacaryam ahimsa ca
sariram tapa ucyate
SYNONYMS
deva—the Supreme Lord; dvija—the brahmana; guru—the spiritual master; prajna—worshipable personalities; pujanam—worship; saucam—cleanliness; arjavam—simplicity; brahma-caryam—celibacy; ahimsa—nonviolence; ca—also; sariram—pertaining to the body; tapah—austerity; ucyate—is said to be.
TRANSLATION
The austerity of the body consists in this: worship of the Supreme Lord, the brahmanas, the spiritual ma
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A short sketch on the life and character of Prahlada 

“Devotional service rendered to God with an unmotivated heart and unwavering regularity completely satisfies the self.”

The Unobstructed Flow of Bhakti

Did you ever notice the flow of oil being poured into a bowl? Compare it with the flow of water being poured into a cup. The difference is that the flow of oil (taila dhara) is seamless and consistent without obstruction, resembling a glossy finished column. On the other hand, the flow of w

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