ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kadamba Kanana Swami

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Here are the latest updates for   "Planet ISKCON" - 53 new articles ISKCON Melbourne, AU: 12Hour Kirtan - Saturday 12 March ISKCON Melbourne, AU: The Return of the Urban Mystic Australian News: Making Flower Garlands Australian News: The Journey Home- Autobiography of an American Swami. A book review by Satyaraja Dasa H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 15 March 2011--Clear Away the Clutter--and--How You Say Krishna is the Only God? Australian News: Janmashtami with Gaura-Nitai Australian News: Home Deity Worship seminar with HG Nrsimha Kavaca dasa Vraja Kishor, JP: Sin, Immorality, and Devotees ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Send Us Pictures of Your Gaura-Nitai Deities! ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana Japa Group: Japa Sankalpa ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhanu Swami Gaura Yoga, NZ: Full Moon Festival Mukunda Charan das, SA: Go Raksha (Cow Protection) Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Better devotees than Christ had Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 249 H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Gustav Stickley in Dallas H.H. Sivarama Swami Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters ISKCON Toronto, Canada: One of Our Biggest Festivals of the Year this Saturday! Join us for Gaura Purnima Celebrations! Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Prita - He is beloved to all living beings! Gauranga is coming! Gauranga! {Part 4 of 11} H.H. Sivarama Swami H.H. Sivarama Swami: Morning Puja Kirtans in Oxford, UK: The Ides of March... Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Paraprosdokians Part 2 ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Coming to the Temple (Part One) - Presentation from Yesterday's Sunday Feast Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : My Favorite Shortbread Australian News: Sweet Bird of Youth – A Program with HH Devamrita Swami ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Earthquake and Tsunamis Strike Japan! A Call for Prayers! H.H. Sivarama Swami: It was New Zealand before, Japan now – earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown – where next? Kirtans in Oxford, UK: January Kirtan. Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Srila Prabhupada on Sankirtan Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Three truths for a preacher Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: There is no limitation Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: The most munificent personalities Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Brahmande Brahmite Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: A friend from down under Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Spanish books ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Swarupa Sakti Mataji Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Fail : Martha Stewart’s Edible Candied Citrus Peel Roses Gouranga TV: Lecture – Prahladananda Swami – SB 10.1.22 – Unclean and Lying Japa Group: Stop Your Other Activities ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kadamba Kanana Swami ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kadamba Kanana Swami Vraja Kishor, JP: View from Southern Japan More Recent Articles Search Planet ISKCON Prior Mailing Archive ISKCON Melbourne, AU: 12Hour Kirtan - Saturday 12 March That 12Hour Kirtan session last Saturday was a real spiritual treat for the mind and senses! Kadamba Kanana Swami and Madhava Prabhu were the stars of the day and they really blew the roof of the temple off... so to speak. Here are pictures of some of the featuring kirtaniyas and the crowd they gathered throughout the day.   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: The Return of the Urban Mystic Devamrita Swami will be addressing an audience of spiritual seekers at Krishna Fest tomorrow, Wednesday 16th March. This program is especially designed for newcomers and those inquisitive souls who have just recently come into contact with Krishna Consciousness. 123 Swanston Walk at 6pm; you're in for some mind-blowing wisdom.   • Email to a friend • •   Australian News: Making Flower Garlands I made some garlands to offer Gaura Nitai who live in their deity form at my house. I am not expert at making garlands, and I am seeking instruction. But I thought you might be interested to see how I make them so you might be inspired to try yourself, if you had wanted to do it. It’s not very hard as you will see. I am making the garlands for small deities so they are sweet little garlands and, I think, easier to make than the large and sometimes complex garlands you see in the temple. I bought some small flowers, you can see them in the picture these are Hyacinths. They have a nice scent that should please Gaura Nitai, and the flowers are small enough to look perfect when they wear them. I bought pink ones and purple ones. A few weeks ago I made some garlands with white ones. In the picture you can also see the thread I use. This is crotchet thread. I use this as it is more durable than cotton. It’s also easier to manage and tie knots in. You can also see the needle I am going to use. I like a larger needle, easier to manage and a lot easier to thread then a small sewing needle. This one is a sail-makers needle. I don’t know if that it what it is really for but the pack had that written on it. It is about 4 times bigger than a regular sewing needle. You can also see the needle threader that I use. Sometimes it is so hard to see the little eye of the needle. This threader works really well. It came in the pack with the needles I bought. I get a tray which I have on my lap to do the work. This way the flowers don’t roll around everywhere and I don’t lose my needle. The first thing I do is remove the flowers from the stems and sort them into colours. I take care to cut of the little pieces of stem that poke out of the bottom of the flowers so they all look as neat as possible. As you can see here the next thing I do is place the flowers in the shape of the garland I want to make. This way I can see how best they might look, and I can make sure I have the right number of flowers. This also helps me when I am sewing the garland together. I can pick the flowers up in the right order and facing the right way. \ With small flowers like this you have to take great care that you don’t damage them. Here I am pushing the needle through the flower and out of the bottom. This will ensure that the flower is facing up. When I get to the other side I need to push the needle through the bottom and out of the petals. This way both of the sides of the garland will have flowers facing upwards. Here I have made some headway on the first side of my small garland. You can see the thread going through the flowers and that I have them all the right way up the way I set them out. I decided to have one colour them the other all the way along so it would make a nice effect. What do you think? At the bottom of the garland, in the middle, my design has two flowers of the same colour hanging down. One garland I will make pink flowers hanging down and the other will have purple flowers hanging down. I make them hang by threading them sideways like this. I insert the needle in the top third. Too high and the flowers will break and too low means they wont hang down nicely. Then I start on the second side. Here you can see that to keep the flowers facing up I am inserting the needle in through the bottom of the flower. You have to be careful to get the needle as close to the centre as possible as this is the strongest part of the flower. This way it is less likely to tear and come off the thread. Here is one of the finished garlands. What do you think? The deities are about 12 inches high so 6 small flowers on each side is enough length. Here are Lord Caitanya and Nityananda wearing the garlands I made for them. I think they look great. Nitai Gaura Haibol. I am only just learning how to make garlands. I would really appreciate any advice. Is there some other pattern I could use? Are there other ways to make garlands for small deities like these? Have you tried making your own garlands? Let me know how you went. Hope to hear from you. Hare Krishna Share this story your way:   • Email to a friend • •   Australian News: The Journey Home- Autobiography of an American Swami. A book review by Satyaraja Dasa I was intending to write my own review of the autobiography of Radanath Swami, The Journey Home. I read the following review, by Satyaraja Dasa and decided it is better than anything I could have written. Whilst reading the book I laughed, I cried, and one day I missed my stop on bus. It is a very inspiring book. A great read; exciting, evocative, satisfying and spiritually uplifting. I found it to be a real page turner. Enough from me, here is the real review by Satyaraja: The Journey Home is a spiritual memoir—the real-life, autobiographical account of an exceptional countercultural youth who leaves America in search of himself. Trying desperately to access the continent within, he sets out first for Europe, visiting cathedrals, holy places, and hippie hotspots. With little more than a seeker’s heart and a blues harmonica, he leaves few avenues unexamined, as his overland journey takes him through the Middle East and beyond. Western religious ideals and the models who exemplify them are his first natural guideposts and ports of call. He is open, nonsectarian and, most of all, earnest. Ultimately, he arrives in India by the end of 1970, where he finds himself living the life of a wandering sadhu, a mendicant, with little money and fewer resources. His travels lead him in many directions, both geographically and philosophically, and the reader watches him age with the wisdom of centuries. In a few months, his young world is augmented by experience and realization. We accompany him into a magical land of yoga, meditation, and soul-stirring revelations. At various points in his journey, he meets deformed lepers and frightening Naga Babas, contemplative Buddhists and mystic yogis—even old friends from the West and angelic devotees. Through the author’s personal encounters, the reader is introduced to many of the prominent yogis, monks, and gurus of the era—Swami Shivananda, Swami Rama, Swami Satchidananda, Swami Chidananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Ananda Mayi Ma, Neem Karoli Baba, Muktananda, even the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa—either directly or through their legends and teachings. We meet many nameless luminaries as well, and those whose names, if not for Radhanath Swami, we would have never heard. Our blossoming seeker meditates under the original Bodhi Tree—the Buddha himself meditated and achieved enlightenment here!—and studies with masters and saints. Each experience inches him closer to his goal. We witness, with him, the burning of dead bodies in Benares and fascinating pilgrimages to ancient cities (and inner worlds) where life takes on new meaning, high in the Himalayas, Tibet, and in holylands innumerable. He lives in caves, deep in forests, under trees, and moves throughout the subcontinent with a thirst for “the truth” that is rarely seen—anywhere. The book is replete with touching, heartwarming (and sometimes heart-rending) episodes—like when he rejects the advances of a beautiful woman for the sake of his quest, or when he feelingly and with tears bids his harp goodbye, throwing it, once and for all, in the River Ganges, or when he meets his eternal guru. All such scenes are recreated for the reader with deep emotion and storytelling expertise. Both descriptive writing and perceptive analysis are plentiful in this book, making it a precious gem that will enrich the reader with its shining brilliance. The meeting with his eternal guru is, in many ways, the pivotal episode in the book. It was on this momentous occasion that all he had learned would suddenly gel for him. The Indian print of Lord Krishna our young seeker had carried with him for numerous months, uncontrollably attracted to it, now had personality, definition—it was the Supreme Lord as evoked in the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra. This sacred chant, too, was something he had carried around for many moons, having mystically received it through the grace of the Ganges River. But now, by his guru’s grace, he was able to connect the form with the mantra, the Godhead with His spiritual sound vibration. It all came together, like the three rivers—the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the Sarasvati—in Prayaga. Still, his quest continued, even after meeting his master, just so he could be sure that he had left no stones unturned. But it was in his master’s eyes that he found his way home. This is where he discovered the true depth of the Ganges and the ultimate meaning of the Himalayan masters; the value of lineage holders and the wisdom of the Vedas; the secrets of mysticism and the heart of devotion. His master’s very being spoke of purpose, mission, and unending love. Home, too, was in Vrindavan, Lord Krishna’s holy playground, which embodied his master’s essence. Throughout this work, we find the author’s culminating realizations, as well as correspondence written to family from distant lands, set apart from the rest of the text, both with italics and with inset block quotes. These are often pithy and rich, thought-provoking and even profound. In fact, the block quotes, along with the book’s picture sections, showing the author as a youth, with family and friends—so one can visualize the main players in his life—and with spiritual “celebrities,” such as the Dalai Lama and others, add immeasurably to the book’s overall effect. After trekking for months through hostile lands, often barely escaping with his life, he approaches the threshold of an eternal and magical realm where, realizing that he has at last reached the precipace of his spiritual goals, of Bhakti, or devotional mysticism, he makes the astonishing and almost anticlimactic decision to leave. He returns back to the world from which he came in order to share what he has learned. It is an extraordinary choice, given what he survived to get there: a journey filled with bizarre and often dangerous characters; mystical, life-altering experiences; treacherous encounters that left permanent marks on him and on those around him. The narrative of that journey unfolds as an engaging tale, a love story, and an education in spiritual reality in all its forms. We are with him through solitude; when he stumbles upon saintly and accomplished teachers; and as he experiences moments of splendor and enlightenment. The fact that he graphically and effectively conveys all this is quite an achievement for a first-time author. The act of turning back, of potentially denying one’s own salvation so that the world may benefit, holds a revered place in most wisdom cultures. Bodhisattvas, the “enlightened beings” of Buddhism, are motivated by such a wish and forego their own entrance into nirvana, the state of enlightenment, in order to work for the progress of society. In the Jewish faith, the tzaddikim or “righteous” men and women (tzidkanit) are great souls who strive to uplift the oppressed and establish justice. The history of Christianity bears testimony to the price paid by Christian mystics, apostles and martyrs who served as conduits for the spirit of God in the world. And in India the title sadhu is awarded to learned spiritualists who embody the holy life and serve as teachers and guides. Not all sadhus risk their spiritual attainment to help others. In traditional India, there are basically two types of sadhus. One type is called bhajananandi. These are sadhus who shun society and live in forests or caves, where they devote all their days to intense penance, rigid study, and sing bhajans, sacred hymns. They remain aloof from money matters, their diet is austere, and for most seekers of enlightenment their path is impossible to follow. The other sadhus are known as goshtananandi. These sadhus travel to populated cities to give everyone a chance to hear about God and the principles of a holy life. Their path requires them to confront one of the greatest challenges of the divine call, namely how to live a holy life in utterly unholy surroundings. They show it is possible to remain egoless in an ego-driven environment. Simply put, their teaching is as follows: how to be both in the world and yet not of it. According to a brief Author’s Note at the back of his book, Radhanath Swami emerged from his years of travel wanting to explain for others the beauty and mystery of what he had discovered, and therein lay a dilemma. Judging by this very intimate account, he is a shy soul who finds it uncomfortable when a spotlight is focused on him. Writing an autobiography was just not his style, but he undertook the exercise in response to appeals made by a number of his admirers. One friend in particular, Bhakti Tirtha Swami (1950–2005), was an African-American guru who had risen from an impoverished childhood to become a Princeton graduate, civil rights activist, High Chief in the Warri kingdom of Nigeria, and a spiritual leader with students on five continents. He was also one of the few people in the world who knew the full scope of Radhanath’s odyssey. In 2005 as Bhakti Tirtha Swami lay dying from cancer, he made a request. He asked Radhanath to set aside his reservations and write the story of his journey to God. At first Radhanath refused, saying that writing about his own life would be “sheer arrogance.” “Don’t be miserly,” Bhakti Tirtha told him. “Share what has been given to you.” He passed away two days later. In some ways, Radhanath Swami’s hesitation over coming back into the world after his discovery of Bhakti was justified. After all, having gone through the numerous experiences related in this book, his was now the peaceful and fulfilling life of an accomplished recluse; why take backsteps into the drudgery of material life? Associating with those focused on sense gratification, he knew, would engender the worst of risks. But his ultimate choice, in terms of path and teacher, tells the story. At this point, we can let the name be known: By selecting Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896–1977), a pure devotee—an activist, who lived only to help others—as his guru (after declining offers of initiation from several yogis and other adepts in the Himalayas and elsewhere), Radhanath Swami cast his fate to the wind, cut his matted locks, and bought a ticket back to America. More than a symbolic gesture of moving away from the mindset of physically renouncing the world, these were first steps toward an “engaged” form of devotion. This contemporary strain of the Bhakti tradition maintains that people who are aware of their spiritual identity must help to reduce suffering in the world around them. They must share what they’ve been given. Every recent generation has had its bestselling mystic guidebook, often focusing on the life of an exemplary seeker. The 1940s gave us works on the lives of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda as well as Paramahansa Yogananda’s now classic Autobiography of a Yogi. Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain, detailing the Trappist monk’s quest and accomplishment, came soon after that. The following decades produced a slew of mystic accounts, prominent among them are Carlos Castaneda’s series on Yaqui shaman Don Juan Matus and the cult classic Miracle of Love: Stories About Neem Karoli Baba. The Ochre Robe, an autobiography written by Agehananda Bharati, dominated the genre in the ‘80s, but there were others. These first autobiographical books, as listed above, focused on Shaktas or the neo-Hinduism associated with Advaita Vedanta, or on yogis, as in the case of Yogananda. For a Christian hagiography, Merton was decidedly more modern in his approach. Biographical tales of Yaqui shaman mysticism and of Neem Karoli Baba, both, were tinged by the psychedelic mode of the ‘60s and by generic Hinduism. Agehananda was a Dasanami sannyasi, following the philosophical conclusions of Shankara. The next generation belongs to The Journey Home. Like its predecessors, it offers readers an intimate look into a true seeker’s life, and into the tradition he ultimately chose to follow. But what is unique here is that the tradition of choice is Vaishnavism. The books mentioned above, and so many others like them, invariably sidestep the Vaishnava tradition. There may, of course, be many reasons for this: Those focusing on Western spirituality need not look at the Vaishnava sages and their theological background at all. It simply doesn’t figure into their survey. But the Eastern texts are another story. With Vaishnavism accounting for the vast majority of “Hindu” practitioners in the world today—a statistic that was initially brought to light by Agehananda Bharati himself—its omission in the pages of the world’s spiritual biographies is inexcusable. That being said, the time has finally come for Vaishnavism to be given its due, and there is hardly a more worthy representative than Radhanath Swami. Indeed, he has learned from and appreciated every single religious leader and tradition that has crossed his path. He views reality in an unabashedly pluralistic way, never discounting the value and merits of any genuine form of esoteric spirituality. He is nonjudgmental in the best, most enlightened way—as a Saragrahi Vaishnava, one who looks to the essence, seeing all religion as just so many roads to the same goal, which is, of course, God. This makes him a superlative Vaishnava, indeed. Thus, The Journey Home stands tall in the long line of spiritual classics mentioned above—and it richly deserves to be there. It, too, has found a home. Steven Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa) is an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He is also founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies and associate editor for Back to Godhead. He has published twenty-one books in numerous languages, including the recent Essential Hinduism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008) and the Yoga of Kirtan: Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting (FOLK Books, 2008). Share this story your way:   • Email to a friend • •   H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 15 March 2011--Clear Away the Clutter--and--How You Say Krishna is the Only God? A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(TM) Tuesday 15 March 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. Today's Thought: Clear Away the Clutter Uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA There is nothing worse than a cluttered brain because in such a confused state one cannot properly focus on anything, especially on life's ultimate goal of realizing God. Therefore the intelligent person regularly cleanses his mind by chanting God's holy names. Such regular chanting gradually clears away all the mental clutter and the devotee becomes solidly fixed in blissful, wise, and compassionate one-pointed Krishna consciousness. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Deeply Absorbed in Japa http://www.backtohome.com/images/Prabhupada/sp_japa.gif Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How You Say Krishna is the Only God? Jesus Christ is the real truth. How do you say that Krishna is the only God? Where is the proof of His existence? Could God be dual characterized? Servant of God Answer: We Only Say to Purely Love God We are not trying to prove to you that Krishna is God. We simply desire that everyone should purely love God. That's all. There is a Supreme Being who is the source of all existence. This we can prove. That Supreme Being is known by different names in different languages. You may address God according to your English language. That is very nice. But please try to understand that God is multilingual. He accepts us no matter what language we use to approach Him, as long we approach Him with love. Whether we address Him in English, Latin, Sanskrit, Spanish, or whatever is not important. What is important is addressing Him with love. God is not particular about which language we use to address Him. He simply desires our love. Of course, if we truly love Him, we will obey His Biblical injunction against killing and stop eating the flesh of slaughtered animals. There is no reason to torture our innocent brothers and sisters, who have feelings and emotions just like we do, just for the sake of enjoying the taste of some bloody flesh in our mouths. You asked if God can be dual. The answer is that He must be one. He cannot be two. Just as a nation has only one supreme court; there cannot be two supreme courts. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at:http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed:http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought Copyright 2005-2011 by Ultimate Self Realization.Com Distribution of this material is encouraged. Simply we request you to acknowledge where it is coming from with a link to our sign up page: http://www.backtohome.com Our records indicate that at requested to be enrolled to receive e-mails from the Ultimate Self Realization Course at: This request was made on: From the following IP address:   • Email to a friend • •   Australian News: Janmashtami with Gaura-Nitai This is what Janmashami looks like at my house. New green outfits and a crown each for Gaura-Nitai and fresh garlands made from sweet smelling pink and white stock and rose petals, with stock hanging garlands and roses around their altar. Here you can see a little closer. You can see the folder rose petals at the bottom of the garlands I made for Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and there are some more the sweet scented pink and white stock handing by the doors. Here there is more of the sweet little flowers and roses outside on the front of the altar. The roises look great but they have little scent this time of year. I like the stock as it has a strong scent so the whole house has a nice smell. Here you can see one of the roses. Some of them I placed along the roof of the altar temple, some I tied with string to the pillars at the front and I used tape to fix the a rose in the middle of the arch. I am pretty sure Sri Caitanya and Prabhu Nityananda like the flowers and the scent as well, they keep dancing the whole time! See what I mean? What do you think? Hare Krishna Share this story your way:   • Email to a friend • •   Australian News: Home Deity Worship seminar with HG Nrsimha Kavaca dasa On May 23rd and 24th I attended the Home Deity Worship seminar presented by HG Nrsimha Kavaca dasa at Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha Mandir in Sydney, Australia. Here he is starting the class in the temple room. We spent two whole days hearing about and practicing how to worship deities in the home to the best standard possible. Here we are making notes in a group exercise, answering the question: “What do the the various elements of worship symbolize. Why do we offer them.” We were each given a book containing course notes. The notes describe the process of home deity worship, the methid and the reason. Srila Prabhupada hosted the entire event from his seat in the temple. Many of the quotes in the seminar notes are from Srila Prabhupada. Nrsimha Kavaca also told us stories and anecdotes from Srila Prabhupada’s pastimes with deities. Our teacher showed slides of images, tables and lists, from time to time, to give us insight into many aspects of home worship. Here he is helping us to discuss the various levels of service you might wish to employ depending on a variety of circumstances and available resources. We looked at, and discussed, various sizes of altars and how they might be arranged depending on space, resources, and circumstances. Here you can see a small altar. We became familar with each of the items of paraphenalia used to offer worship. An arati tray is a beautiful thing when you start to understand more about them and how they are used. We made good use of our books to study and research. We were given exercises to complete and our teacher led us in group discussions. Sometimes we broke into small groups and shared our understanding and experiences. The seminar was very practical. Here we are learning how to make ghee wicks by twisting cotton wool and dipping it into melted ghee. We took turns at sounding the conch. It’s not so easy as our pujaris make it look and takes some practice to master. Don’t try too hard it doesn’t help. AAAAUUUUUUUMMMMMM The seminar was in the temple room so we get to participate in the arati at Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha’s altar. By now we were able to appreciate even more the worship of our lords. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare It is such a beautiful thing to be able to take darsan of Sri Sri Radha Krishna and particpate in their worship. Then it was off the the temple kitchen where you can see Nrsimha Kavaca teaching us how to clean the puja items with tamarind paste mixed with salt. We all got to try our hand at scrubbing and washing an arcaman cup and spoon. It was great fun to learn in the association of devotees like this. I had to give my spoon an extra scrub. Back in the temple room we found out how to use the acaman cup and spoon to purify ourselves and the items of worship. Waking the deity and putting them to bed was next. Those who have room for a bed can lay their deities in it. There are also practices for those who don’t have the facility of a bed. Bathing and cleaning the deities is very important. You need to make sure they are comfortable whilst you are doing this. Nrsimha Kavaca showed us how to mix tilak clay and lemon juice as a cleaning agent. Dress their lordships with care making sure everything looks presentable for the days activities. I would recommend this seminar to anyone who has deities at home or who is thinking about it. There is a great deal to learn and HG Nrsimha Kavaca das reveals everything in a fun and easy way. We were all inspired to improve our efforts in home worship. Now we have a much better understanding of what we are doing and why. We also got a deep insight into the efforts of our wonderful pujaris at the temple Everyone who completes the seminar gets a certificate. You can find out more about deity worship at the website of the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry http://www.deityworship.com/ and the Mayapur Academy http://www.mayapuracademy.org/ My thanks go to HG Nrsimha Kavaca dasa for providing us with such a wondeful learning experience. Hare Kishna Share this story your way:   • Email to a friend • •   Vraja Kishor, JP: Sin, Immorality, and Devotees Ajamila was once a religious brahmana engaged in Shaligram worship and had actually developed a significant amount of bhakti (devotion) for Narayana by so doing. But then, by the play of the planets dispensing the fruits of karma at their appointed times, he came due for a sinful detour. He abandoned his devoted wife and children and become the fool of a prostitute who he gave everything to. He clung to this awful way of life till his dying breath. He had a child with the prostitute whom he loved above all other persons – therefore he named that boy “Narayana.” When he was dying, he used his dying breath to call out to the boy… “Naaaraaayana… Naaaraaayana….” Why is it that this wretchedly sinful man was able to call out to Narayana by a twist of fate with his dying breath, and why did that coincidental call attract the mercy of Narayana, who dispatched his angels to rescue Ajamila from the servants of death? The answer is that although Ajamila became a man of “sin” he never once became a man of “aparadha.” There is a HUGE difference. Moral life and spiritual life have a lot in common but they are not identical, as Ajamila’s story illustrates. “Sin” means to do things that are morally forbidden to ones social role. “Aparadha” means to dislike Godhead. Ajamila did all sorts of immoral things, “sins,” but never once did he feel any dislike for God in his heart. He never once thought that way. He simply fell in lust/love with a lowclass woman and wrecked his moral life as a result. He became carried away by a tsunami of sense gratification and lust which made him pursue immoral behavior – but never once did his heart think, “yeah – who needs this damned Narayana character anyway, he is just a bother, and his followers are also a pain in my ass!” Sin creates bad karma, that is true. But bad karma cannot block the transcendental results of divine love (bhakti). Therefore all of Ajamila’s immorality did not really pose any significant threat to the status of his affection for God, Narayana. Aparadha (“offense”), on the other hand  is the only thing that can stand in the way of divine love (since by definition it is the negation or absence of divine love). I ask you, then, what is worse: To be a murder, thief, adulterer, and all around villain? Or to be a flawless moralist who thinks that a personal God is a bother and the lovers of that god are bothersome crackpots? If you want good karma, it is worse to be a villain. But if you want divine love it is worse to be the moralist who hates the divine person. Therefore Bhagavad Gita 9.31 records Krsna boldly saying, “Even if my beloveds somehow become immoral, because they still love me truly above all others, I still consider them the holiest of people, I never abandon them! I fully purify them!” Extreme immorality is better Than offenses to bhakti Then perhaps the lovers of Krsna are free to be immoral? No, since love of Godhead is the purest state of spiritual being, morality and purity are the natural and normal side-effect of love of Godhead. The normal state of a bhakta is natural moral purity. However things are not always normal. Sometimes abnormal things happen. Thus sometimes, by twists of fate, some bhaktas become immoral. Ajamila was one of those outstanding cases. As long as our horrible behavior does not change our attitude of loving Godhead, these sins are not serious impediments to the progress of Bhakti-yoga. What usually happens, though, is that we don’t want to admit that we are immoral. We justify our immorality. “I may be bad, but I am a devotee!” Or, “I can continue being a villain because I love Krsna” – This justification is itself an aparadha. Thus it ceases to be a relatively harmless moral sin and becomes a negation of divine love! Aparadha means the antithesis of love. Love means to please the beloved. To say, “I can continue being a villain because I love Krsna” is an aparadha because it employs Krsna in my own service, “Krsna will pay my bail.” Thus it is the opposite of love – it is selfish lust. To use others for ones own satisfaction is lust. To please others for their own satisfaction is love. To use Krsna as a vehicle for being a villain is itself an aparadha – which is far worse that whatever villainy one is trying to justify. The clue here is not to obsess over morality or religiosity, but to obsess over selflessly loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who has that obsession is guaranteed transcendental success, even if they make a moral train wreck of themselves – as I myself am always so prone to do.   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Send Us Pictures of Your Gaura-Nitai Deities! With Gaura Purnima around the corner we're planning a special surprise featuring images of Gaura-Nitai deities worshiped in the homes of members of the ISKCON Toronto community. If you would like us to include your Gaura-Nitai deities please send us a picture by 5 PM on Thursday, March 17th. Please email pictures to info@torontokrishna.com (high resolution pictures are prefered).   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana There is this beautiful verse from the Rig Veda that we read everyday before going on the altar that is quite appropriate to our sharing of Their Lordships' darsana with you, dear devotees and friends. We earnestly pray that we can come up to that standard: "Just as those with ordinary vision see the sun's rays in the sky, so the wise and learned devotees always see the supreme abode of Lord Visnu. Because those highly praiseworthy and spiritually awake brahmanas can see that abode, they can reveal it to others." We shall continue to bring the wondrous darsana of the Deities to your avid eyes and eager hearts for as long as They so desire.   • Email to a friend • •   Japa Group: Japa Sankalpa “Krsna I will do this. From now on I will chant my rounds with great concentration and great attention. I won't let my mind be distracted. I won't listen to my mind.” And that is our determination and then we say: “But actually Krsna please help. Krsna please help me do this. I am very confident; I am very bold that I can do this. But actually I can’t do this without Your help, without Your mercy.” Process Of Improving Habits by Mahanidhi Swami   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhanu Swami Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.21-25 - One of the ten main topics of Srimad Bhagavatam is the change of different Manus. In Kali yuga there is no qualified king and the varnasrama system doe not work (...manvantaresanukatha nirodho muktir asrayah).   • Email to a friend • •   Gaura Yoga, NZ: Full Moon Festival The upcoming full moon is a very special one, find out why, this sunday!   • Email to a friend • •   Mukunda Charan das, SA: Go Raksha (Cow Protection) Go Raksha translates from Sanskrit to English as ‘Cow Protection’.  The piety of a country was determined in Vedic Culture by the happiness of its cows.  The various demigods, or Hindu gods, are believed to reside on different parts of the cow’s body.  The cow is also one of the seven mothers in Vedic Culture.  The killing of the cow is generally considered to be tantamount to killing your own mother in India.  While the Vedas accept that while there is incredible benefit, or punya, to be made by taking care of cows, there are dire consequences for those who are in any way connected to the killing of a cow. Cows are not protected in the west.  Cattle-raising and cow farming are euphemisms for the wholesale slaughter of cows in the West.  The culture of go raksha, or cow protection, in India respects the productivity of the cow.  The cow produces more milk than it needs for its own offspring – making her a wonderful provider for humanity.  Milk and dairy products are an important part of the human diet.  Milk is important for the development of brain tissues as part of the pure vegetarian diet recommended for the culitvation of a spiritual life. Why would you want to kill a creature that is producing so much for you?  Can you imagine a world without milk and dairy products like cream, yoghurt and butter? Pure ghee (clarified butter) is considered one of the most effective medicines in the ayurveda (Indian natural medicine) – especially when it has been stored for over ten years. Cow ghee – made from pure milk – breaks down cholesterol and has many other health benefits.  Cow dung has been scientifically proven to have antiseptic qualities.  Cow dung itself is an excellent fuel and also a source of methane gas.  In Vedic culture, the bull ploughed the fields – executing many of the tasks performed by modern-day machinery.  The culture of go raksha was, therefore, eco-friendly, human and economical. Cow protection not only advocates a negative action, ahimsa or non-violence; it encourages a positive action and that is to love and respect cows.   The dwelling and grazing area for cows in Hindu culture is called a goshalla. Sacred cows in India are treated as commodities in the West.  The word ‘cow’ in Ancient Rome was pecus. A person’s wealth was measured by the number of cows he owned, hence the English word ‘pecuniary’.  Cows and grain were the basis of wealth in the agrarian Vedic culture.  The fact most of us depend on large food chainstores for grain and dairy products in our modern times is proof that we are living in a bankrupt civilization.  Humanity has become removed from nature.  After all, who of us can confidently say they know how to milk a cow? Filed under: Go Raksha Tagged: cow farming, go raksha, Hare Krishna, how to milk a cow, postaweek2011, pure ghee   • Email to a friend • •   Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Better devotees than Christ had Regarding Jesus Christ, unfortunately he could not meet such nice devotees as I have met. Jesus said, Thou shalt not kill, but their first business was to kill him. And still this killing is going on. In that sense I am very fortunate to have assistants like you. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Yasomatinandan, 27 April, 1977   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1967 March 14: "They are never for public show. They are very confidential and meant for advanced devotees who know Krishna well. The neophytes will be misguided by such pictures. I hope you will understand me right." Prabhupada Letters :: 1967   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1969 March 14: "There is no material advancement here, I am seeing practically. The Western type of civilization, industrialism and capitalism, is not material advancement. It is material exploitation." Prabhupada Letters :: 1969   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 March 14 "PROCEED VRINDAVAN IMMEDIATELY. AWAIT INSTRUCTIONS. - BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 249 www.sdgonline.org. A Writer of Pieces New format–I will begin with a poem writ­ten on the day of its print­ing. Then I will print ran­dom excerpts of books I have printed over the last 30 years. I hope this vari­ety will be pleasing. Advertisement: I have lost a typist for my daily posting. I’m requesting a volunteer to take at least a few days and do the typing so that I can continue to post them daily. If anyone would like to volunteer please write to Caitanya candrodaya at bger108@gmail.com. Poem for March 14 Distracted japa. Get back on the track. Accumulate your rounds. In the back of my mind, the activities of Mukunda with Swamiji in San Francisco. He thought the Haight Ashbury night was beautiful: “Everything is beautiful.” They went to see the Indian ambassador to the U.S. to ask him for a big building for a San Francisco temple. He wouldn’t help. Prabhupada was not disappointed. Then he left San Francisco and had his stroke in New York. The devotees in San Francisco stayed up all night praying for him, and he wrote them that their prayers had saved his life. Yesterday we held a first grain food ceremony for Tulasi Dasi, a beautiful baby. She couldn’t crawl but reached out first inclining toward the money but then casually placing her hand and then her head on the books, showing her tendency. Dhanurdhara Swami said samskaras are important, and we want good impressions for this child. She is getting the blessings of the Vaisnavas. Baladeva cooked a feast in an hour and a half. At least fifteen people were present to take it. I spoke with Maharaja and then came back to read more of Mukunda. I’m feeling steady as long as I can compiling lively pages of the autobiography. Today I’m slower. But I’ll do my sixteen and dictate excerpts from the “Old Friends.” Saci will come on time and read the Krishna book. I’m taking the longevity that’s due me, whatever it is, and using it up in a Krishna conscious routine. I welcome an audience to my musings.   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS www.sdgonline.org. The Week Before Gaura Purnima (1994), Chapter 7 On Thursday morning, only three days before Gaura Purnima, the sannyasi spoke on vande sri krishna caitanya nityanandau sahoditau (Cc. Adi 1.2) Since the temple Deities were Gaura Nitai, he told stories of Srila Prabhupada visiting ISKCON Gaura-Nitai Deities in Caracas, Miami and Atlanta. Srila Prabhupada said on his arrival there, “You are very fortunate. These two prabhus, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda are with us tonight… Parama karuna bahu dvijana.. He’s so kind. So take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and be happy.  Srila Krishnadasa-kaviraja says the first wonder is that the Lords appear simultaneously. The second wonder is that They dispelled the darkness within the core of the heart. In the question period after the lecture Dhama dasa, who was translating asked, “If we worship Radha-Krishna as They are in Vaikuntha, how will that develop into the spontaneous stage of Vrndavana?”  The visiting sannyasi replied that awe and reverence (the Vaikuntha mood) toward Radha and Krishna was prescribed by Srila Prabhupada for our temple Deity worship. This refers to punctuality, gorgeous dress and food, saying prayers, cleanliness, bowing down, etc. It’s good for us, we cannot imitate Sanatana Gosvami and put the Krishna murti in a tree and give Him only stale capatis. Be confident that the way Srila Prabhupada taught us to worship Radha-Govinda is the most direct way to attain Goloka Vrndavana. In The Nectar of Devotion and Krishna book we hear of the spontaneous mood of Krishna’s madhurya pastimes. Eventually, by devotional service we will enter vraja-bhakti, not Vaikuntha. Someone asked, “You said that we should only hear about Krishna from Srila Prabhupada and not from mundane scholars, but what about hearing about Radha and Krishna from Vaisnavas besides Srila Prabhupada.” The sannyasi replied that hearing from others were risky. No one is as wise and experienced as Srila Prabhupada in teaching to westerners. Stakes are high and we shouldn’t gamble,” said the sannyasi but Dhama dasa couldn’t comprehend the idiom “the stakes are high.” “It’s like stakes in gambling. If you bet a high sum of money, then you lose, you go way down.” “Oh!” “If we mistake Radha and Krishna for an ordinary boy and girl and then imitate Them, we will lose everything.” The rescued Maria. Two householder couples with their three children were the guerilla troops. They wielded weapons of full prasadam and pudding pasta and sweet creamy pastries. When they arrived at the hovel the found the door open, lock broken and Maria inside with her mother. The mother greeted the devotees wearily but not fanatically. She couldn’t resist the children who were immediately interested to explore the hovel and its backyard and to befriend the dog chained outside. Maria’s mother was commiserating with her daughter about the way the deprogrammers handled things. “I thought he would only talk with you,” said Mama, “I didn’t imagine he would lock you up with no food. I’m very sorry.” The prasadam was a hit. The matajis were expert cooks. Yet the samosas were a bit odd to the mother, she had to admit the lasagna was very good. They had a picnic feast in the backyard. Mama Mia agreed that Maria could go back and live with the devotees. Yes, Mama would talk with the police. After two hours together, the devotees drove Maria’s mother home. Daughter and Ma embraced, promised to visit each other regularly, and the devotees took Maria back to the temple. She was happy. “I chanted the whole time. They took away my beads, but I counted on my fingers.” The sannyasi visiting was glad to hear of it. Devotees held a kirtana and planned another feast of Maria’s return. They asked the sannyasi would he like to meet with Maria? He thought a moment and then said, “I don’t believe it’s necessary. My policy is I don’t meet with women.” “I know, but I thought you might want to make an exception, she expects you.” “She could write me a letter if she wants. That’s what I usually do.” He didn’t see the need to get drawn into a face to face talk. Maria was already doing alright so the devotees dropped the subject. The sannyasi said, “I’ll give the class tomorrow about Lord Caitanya. They already knew that. About four in the afternoon the sannyasi received a phone call from India. At first he thought it would be Narahari but it was a Godbrother, Pancakarma Prabhu. He said he had been appointed to an investigating follow up committee as part of the society’s annual meeting. In regard to the topic of raganuga inclinations he was appointed to talk with the sannyasi. “What is your schedule,” asked Pancakarma. “I’m here at this temple until right after Gaura Purnima.” “Well, I can meet you there. I’m about to leave India to reach England by Gaura Purnima. I have a flight tomorrow morning. I think I can re-route it via Rome.” The sannyasi saw no alternative but to agree. It would be convenient for him. “They should have heard me this morning,” he thought. “I spoke so loyally and conservatively, almost like a right-winger. I think that way too, although my thoughts are more refined than what I can speak to a big group. I’m not afraid of an investigation. “What do they want?” the sannyasi asked. “Is there anything I should do to prepare?” “No,” said Pancakarma. He laughed all the way from Delhi, “just be prepared to be grilled for a few hours.” The meeting would be Friday afternoon. Fair enough. The Wild Garden (1994)–Field Notes Govardhana Hill—almost purple in the sunlight; the trees are green this time of year. Rocks jut out like square chunks, reddish-yellow, stained black and other shades by the weather. We are on the inner path around Govardhana, a sand road. It is purnima, a day when many Vrajavasis circumambulate on the outer hard-top path. My mood is all western but my spiritual essence (spirit soul) has been directed here by my spiritual master. My American-born Godbrothers guide me. They are more acclimated to India. Before we started walking we sit under a tree and read Govardhana is the tilaka marking of Vraja. It is a place of Govinda’s pastimes. “Please accept unhappy me and grant me residence near You… don’t consider if I am acceptable…” (Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami) As we hear about the residents of Gokula, today’s residents walk by. The children here are beautiful and exotic looking. Srila Prabhupada brought me to this place to hear of Krishna’s pastimes. I know to control myself and not commit offenses. When you walk around Govardhana your sense of self becomes small or lost. You just keep watching the man ahead. When he bows down in a sacred place you do too. I’m usually self conscious about it and that makes it hard to pray while I lie prostrated in the sand. But I keep up the pace, walking on my tender soles over the foot-worn earth and chanting Hare Krishna. Days like this do something for the soul. “This is Anyora where the huge form of Krishna manifested as Govardhana Hill and ate all the offerings cooked by the devotees. Krishna kept saying, “More, give Me more.” The people offered more capatis, more rice, more vegetables, but He demanded, “More!” Then they offered Him a tulasi leaf, and He was satisfied. This is a busy village, my friend says. According to Bhakti-ratnakara anyone who sees a resident of Anyora becomes liberated. As he says it I see the face of an old man with drawn-in lips. I don’t question it. I just keep walking. I prefer the woods to the villages. I ask, if the devotees like Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami pray for residence near Govardhana, and if you say that these little rock piles have been put together by people as prayers for residence at Govardhana, then why don’t any sadhus live here today as we see in other places in Vrndavana?” “Because there are so many gundas. Many places in Vrndavana are dangerous because of that.” Innocent pilgrim. Radha kunda—just to say it simply: I offer my obeisances to Srila Prabhupada. He is my sole connection. Only by his permission do I come here. I have no knowledge of or taste for Radha-Krishna’s pastimes. I’m just a fool in a body. But I have the pranama-mantra engraved in my heart. I chant it as my heart’s prayer again and again at Radha kunda. The Worshipable Deity and other Poems (1984) Blooping. He starts finding faults with the fallible devotees, his scorn reaching all the way to Krishna. Material desires, once thin, fattened like bed bugs in spring. ”Let me try again,” he thinks, ”to wander the fields of enjoyment.” For he a while he retains Krishna conscious words ”You would say I am in Maya,” but when he bloops as good as dead, he awakens into a nightmare as when a soul leaves human life to take the body of a snake. He has come back again into the age of disasters into a species of pain: ”It doesn’t matter. We’ll forget.” He stops before the mirror and thinks he sees himself. Human At Best (2008) Prabhupada describes how the Vishnus are situated on different Vaikuntha planets and how they have different names according to the position of the four symbols in Their hands. That’s a real whopper. I never could tune into the Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha stuff. I can never remember the order or what each stands for. I can’t get interested in what the symbols stand for. It’s not that it’s hard to understand that They exist that way—after all, anything is possible—but why would They just sit there holding these objects. Why are They different only because of that. Why would one be attracted to go to one Vaikuntha planet rather than another because the symbol is in the left lower hand rather than the upper right hand and so on. I just can’t get it, even now after thirty-five years or more. Someone said my presentation of Krishna consciousness is quote “deceptively simple.” Don’t ask me. But I really have to get back into reading Prabhupada’s books in a simple and sincere way. It has slipped out of my daily schedule. I also disbelieve. Perhaps I’ve heard too many times the word “mythology.” I just sound so far our, so strange, these four Gods and expansions and expansions and the whole thing is not “natural,” beyond all experience. It’s only found in the Vedas and from the gurus. But somehow when Prabhupada starts talking about morality and sin, I tune in. I have that much faith. “So now you are utilizing instruments without fulfilling the desires of Aniruddha or the Hrsikesa. That means we are using it for sense gratification, unlawfully. Therefore we are becoming implicated in sinful activities.” Bhakti is just the opposite, using the instruments to serve Hrsikesa. Hrsikena hrsikesa sevanam bhaktir ucayte. Prabhupada says there is no difference between Krishna and His expansions. That makes me feel good. Then I don’t have to memorize all those expansions. Know that Krishna does the whole job and—can you believe in Krishna? Is He easier? That cowherd boy is the Supreme Lord? Well in one sense yes it is easier. We have become used to understand that He is the Supreme. He is our Lord, “the Lord is nava-yauvanam, very young, sixteen to twenty years old. That’s all. Purana. Although He is the adi, origin of all living entities, still He is young. An although He has expanded Himself into multiforms, still He is one. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam. ISKCON in the 70’s, Diaries, August 12, Denver I was with Srila Prabhupada for two weeks before he went to India. Before those two weeks I was with him in LA, Denver and Chicago almost another three weeks. No I am serving in separation. His Divine Grace told me that my main work was with the Library Party. I’m planning to follow them and do a lecture tour September, October, November. Please give me the strength Prabhupada, Krishna to serve you in this way. Prabhupada also said that “the magazine” is very important. I must also write regular essays. He said to mainly travel to the colleges and libraries with this library mission. I can visit the temple occasionally. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. There’s a theme (like a motif in music) and whenever I hear it again I feel an indescribable yearning. The yearning is more a shadow of a yearning. I yearn to yearn more and live more in the life of this theme. The theme? It’s like this: “Those who have developed spiritual knowledge however can see that the spirit is different from the body and it’s changing its body and is enjoying in different ways. A person in such knowledge can understand how the living entity is suffering in this material existence. Therefore those who are highly developed in Krishna consciousness try their best to give this knowledge to the people in general, for their conditional life is very much troublesome. (Bhagavad-gita 15.10, purport) It’s preaching. I have to first realize it—that Krishna consciousness is not just another yoga and that our pride that it is topmost is not just our sectarian loyalty. Realization everyone is changing their body, and Krishna consciousness can put an end to this. Otherwise endless suffering. I’m trying to be engaged in it. It is very practical: You have to order books, sell books, collect money, meet with many obstacles (not that preaching all takes place in a romantic setting with the new devotees surrendering and the whole world appreciating Krishna etc.) but that yearning there has to be bhakti realization and the service. How the conditioned souls are being saved by Krishna consciousness, how it can be proved to be the only authorized movement of love of God. Preaching in ecstasy is the theme. Being absorbed (the false self consumed in the act of delivering Krishna consciousness). The theme is, “I want to preach” as well as, “I’m preaching.” The theme is, “I want to always travel, I want to renounce material desires and fully serve Krishna.” The theme is also, “I am traveling, I am renounced, I am fully engaged in serving Krishna. Yearning and being—in preaching consciousness. With Srila Prabhupada in the Early Days–My Letters from Srila Prabhupada, Volume 1 One of the first times I went to see Srila Prabhupada was from my office during lunch hour. I had decided to stop by and purchase the Swami’s book, Srimad- Bhagavatam. I was dressed in a summer business suit with a shirt and tie. I went into the storefront, and I asked about buying the books. One of the boys said I should go up and see the Swami about it. I went up to his apartment and found him at his sitting place with a few boys in his room. Sitting, smiling at ease, Prabhupada was very attractive. He seemed strong and healthy; when he smiled all his teeth were intact and his nostrils flared aristocratically. His face was full and powerful. He was wearing a khadi-dhoti and he sat cross-legged, his smooth skinned legs partly exposed. He wore no shirt but the upper part of his body was wrapped with a khadi cloth shawl. His limbs were quite slender, but he had a protruding belly. I must have interrupted while he was talking with the young men. I asked him if I could purchase the three volumes of the Srimad-Bhagavatam he had translated. Someone got the books in the closet opposite where he was sitting. I handled the books and asked Prabhupada how much they cost. He said they were six dollar each. I thought that was rather expensive, but I wanted them and I wasn’t bargain hunting. Taking out my wallet I produced twenty dollars and gave it to him. He seemed to be the obvious one to ask the price of the book and to whom to give the money because none of the other boys had come forward to represent him. They just sat and listened to him speak. When I saw that Prabhupada had to personally handle the sale of the books I did not want to bother him. He mentioned something about change, but the boys said they didn’t have any so I quickly asked him to please keep the change on my twenty dollar bill. “These books are commentaries from the scriptures?” I asked, trying to show that I knew something about the books. Srila Prabhupada said yes they were his commentaries. The books were a special color, a reddish natural earth color, like that of a brick, unusual for books in America. I took the three volume set without any bag or wrapping. I stood up and prepared to leave when Prabhupada said, “Sit down”, gesturing that I could sit opposite him like the others. He had said “sit down” in a heavy tone indicating that now that the sale of the books were complete I should sit like the others and listen to him speak. He was offering me and important invitation—to become one of the others who I knew spent many hours with him during the day when I was usually unable to come because of my job. I envied their leisure. They were able to learn much more from the Swamiji and become intimate with him. By ending the sales transaction and asking me to sit he clearly assumed that I had nothing better in the world to do than stop what I was doing and hear from him. All this was true except I was on my lunch hour and was soon expected back in the office. I had planned just enough time to buy the books, go to lunch and return to work. I didn’t want to argue with Prabhupada, but I couldn’t possibly stay. “I am sorry, I have to go,” I said definitely, “I’m only on my lunch hour. As I said this I had already started to move for the door. Prabhupada responded by suddenly breaking into a wide smile; he looked very charmed and happy with me. He seemed to appreciate that I was a working man, a young man on the go. I had not come to see him because I was unemployed and had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Approving of my energetic demeanor he allowed me to take my leave. In retrospect, I think he must have seen that I could use my karmic tendencies to do some active service for Krishna. I was interested in reading his books and began almost immediately. I had developed a habit of glancing down a page, reading feverishly; certain modern authors as well as my friends and I, had developed the writing style to catch at all cost the reader’s restless mind swiftly moving him from sentence to sentence. I immediately perceived that to read Prabhupada’s books, I had to slow down and read more seriously. Although at first I was reluctant to slow myself I felt willing to make the adjustment because I could understand that the subject matter was important. His was an intelligent philosophical presentation of the spiritual—God consciousness.   • Email to a friend • •   Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Gustav Stickley in Dallas   A Gustav Stickley retrospective is on exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art until May 8th. Stickley help found the Arts & Crafts movement in America. For more info on this design style keep reading… print   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Sivarama Swami March 15th, 2011 Never ruin an apology with an excuse. - Kimberly Johnson Vrindavan Experience SRS: This is a blog on a wonderful documentary about Vrndavana, Govinda Swami and two of his disciples are working on: http://www.vrindavanexperience.com/ www.vrindavanexperience.com The Cow and the Monkey A scene that once took place at Govindaji temple. Vrinda Kund Vrinda Kund, the place of Vrinda Devi. One of the most peaceful and very intimate holy places in Vraj. Thunderstorm in Vrindavan It's a hot season in Vrindavan and almost every day a dust storm comes. Sometimes it turns into a thunderstorm with spectacular lightnings. Short rain brings the heat down some and gives a long-waited relief.. Never ruin an apology with an excuse. - Kimberly Johnson   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1975 March 14: "It appears these scientists have become intelligent. Try to meet with them and make arrangement for them to meet with me when I come for Rathayatra. That will be nice." Prabhupada Letters :: 1975   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1949 March 14: "Some way or other your mill area has been named as the Jagannatha Puri and I suggest that an actual temple of Sri Jagannathaji may be erected for the benefit of these mill workers." Prabhupada Letters :: 1947-64   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1966 March 14: "I have lost today the good fountain pen given to me by Gopal. I am very sorry for this but I should not lament because it was given by somebody and it is taken by somebody else." Prabhupada Letters :: 1966   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1970 March 14: "I am very happy your son is growing strong and blissful. That is good news. We need as many Krishna Conscious souls as possible, trained from the very beginning of their lives, to carry on our mission and purify society." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970   • Email to a friend • •   Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1974 March 14: "As he is their elder, they should show the proper respect. It is sometimes difficult for elderly people to live in our ISKCON society, so you have to make it as congenial as possible for them." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Toronto, Canada: One of Our Biggest Festivals of the Year this Saturday! Join us for Gaura Purnima Celebrations! If you have plans for Saturday, March 19th then you should quickly cancel them! The best place to be will be the Hare Krishna temple on Saturday evening. We will be celebrating one of our biggest festivals of the year, Gaura Purnima! Gaura Purnima celebrates the appearance anniversary of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is observed annually (usually in February or March) by Krishna devotees all over the world —especially in the area of Mayapur, India, the place where He appeared in the year 1486. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, appearing as His own devotee, to teach us that we can gain full enlightenment simply by chanting the holy names of the Lord. Those who witnessed the Lord's pastimes saw Him dance and chant with ecstatic love for God, the likes of which had never been seen before. We hope you can join us for what will be a spectacular festival of chanting, feasting, dancing and more! The program will begin at 6pm sharp this Saturday! We hope to see you there. Stay tuned for more details, including a schedule for the evening.   • Email to a friend • •   Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Prita - He is beloved to all living beings! Gauranga is coming! Gauranga! {Part 4 of 11} We are a bit tardy with our posts, so we will need to double post a couple of days this week to finish the Sri Gauranga Ashtottara Shata Nama Stotram (by Sarvabhauma Bhattaharya) by this Saturday, which is Gaura Purnima!   In all the combined posts in this series we will take 108 different names of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Each name describes His benevolent qualities.  Each name is accompanied by a unique picture and as you may have noticed in the first 37 pictures we are trying to match the 108 names to a picture that matches that piece of nectar. Gauranga! Gauranga! So it may be nectar for those who are reading it but it is even more nectar to read and reread each name and look at picture after picture of Mahaprabhu to match His merciful names to woderful pictures of Him. Gauranga! Gauranga!   In today's verse one name is Prita, meaning He is beloved to ALL living beings. This is the nectar of His Name and His Form and it is our duty to our guru maharaj, Srila Prabhupada to try to open people's eyes and reestablish this connection.  So here is vere 7 & 8... Gauranga bol! Gauranga bol! Gauranga! Gauranga! 7) kamalaksheshvara prito gopa-liladhara yuva nila-ratna-dharo rupya-hari kaustubha-bhushanaha Kamalaksheshvara--He is the Lord of the lotus-eyed Lakshmi Prita--He is beloved to all living beings Gopa-liladhara--He is the abode of cowherding pastimes Yuva--He is supremely youthful Nila-ratna-dhara--He likes to wear sapphires Rupya-hari--He likes to wear silver necklaces Kaustubha-bhushana--He is adorned with the Kaustubha gem 8) shrivatsa-lanchano bhasvan-mani-dhrik kanja-lochanaha tatanka-nila-shrih rudra-lila-kari guru-priyaha Shrivatsa-lanchana--He is decorated with the mark of Shrivatsa Bhasvan-mani-dhrik--His form is embellished with many beautiful jewels Kanja-lochana--He has lotus petal-shaped eyes Tatanka-nila-shri--His majesty is enhanced by sapphire earrings Rudra-lila-kari--He sometimes enacts the pastimes of Lord Shiva Guru-priya--He is very dear to His spiritual master   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Sivarama Swami March 14th, 2011 Outdoor kirtana must be done, even at the cost of suspending all editorial work. That is your first and foremost business. Temple worship is not so important. If need be, the whole temple can be locked, but the outdoor kirtana cannot be stopped. - Srila Prabhupada Outdoor kirtana must be done, even at the cost of suspending all editorial work. That is your first and foremost business. Temple worship is not so important. If need be, the whole temple can be locked, but the outdoor kirtana cannot be stopped. - Srila Prabhupada   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Sivarama Swami: Morning Puja Devotees were invited to watch the morning puja and ask questions.   • Email to a friend • •   Kirtans in Oxford, UK: The Ides of March... Not quite the Ides of March, which is tomorrow, but led me to learn that March is named in honour or Mars - the god of war. It's amazing how many of the things we take for granted - the names of the days of the week and of the months, the letters of the alphabet, so many things are steeped in ancient history, and we've long forgotten the meanings of most of them. Well, the god of war will surely be pacified by our next kirtan, this coming Sunday, 20th March and by great good fortune, Jahnavi, who has just returned from a four month tour of America and Australia, with Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits, will lead us in chanting. Jahnavi is a writer, as well as musician, and has been writing a series of articles on Sacred Music for the dance and music magazine Pulse - which turns out to be the first 'talking' magazine! Jahnavi will be accompanied by her father Kripamoya, also an excellent kirtaniya, who we hope will tell us something about the history of kirtan, and how it is we come to be sitting chanting in Oxford today. We hope you can join us.   • Email to a friend • •   Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Paraprosdokians Part 2 <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--> Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America ? Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice. The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas! Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back. A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip. Hospitality: making your guests feel like they’re at home, even if you wish they were. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with. I discovered I scream the same way whether I’m about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot. Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go. There’s a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can’t get away. I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not sure. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water. You’re never too old to learn something stupid. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit ” the target “. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever. A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. “If I could say a few words, I’d be a better public speaker.” —Homer Simpson “If I am reading this graph correctly—I’d be very surprised.” —Stephen Colbert “You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing—after they have tried everything else.” —Winston Churchill “If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.” — Dorothy Parker “I haven’t slept for two weeks, because that would be too long.” —Mitch Hedberg “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” —Groucho Marx “A modest man, who has much to be modest about.” —Winston Churchill “She looks as though she’s been poured into her clothes, and forgot to say when.” —P. G. Wodehouse “I like going to the park and watching the children run around because they don’t know I’m using blanks.” —Emo Phillips “He was at his best when the going was good.” —Alistair Cooke on the Duke of Windsor “There but for the grace of God—goes God.” —Winston Churchill Filed under: Jokes   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Coming to the Temple (Part One) - Presentation from Yesterday's Sunday Feast For our blog readers who were present during yesterday's Sunday Feast, Rupanuga das gave a wonderful introductory class about what our mood should be like when we enter a sacred space like our temple. He also covered some common things that spiritualists are encouraged to do when they visit the temple. We've embedded the presentation below!   • Email to a friend • •   Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : My Favorite Shortbread   Simply sublime, this recipe for shortbread is perfect. An no doubt, it comes from the perfectly good cookbook Heaven’s Banquet by Miriam Hospodar. That is such a good cookbook for Ayurvedic information and vegetarian recipes. My only complaint about … Continue reading →   • Email to a friend • •   Australian News: Sweet Bird of Youth – A Program with HH Devamrita Swami ISKCON YOUTH FORUM SYDNEY are organizing a program that is aimed at the young men of today between 14 – 28 years of age. This is the second event organised by the ISKCON YOUTH FORUM. “We are lucky to have HH DEVAMRITA SWAMI at this program,” Says organiser Hitan Pindoria. “We are asking everyone to come along.” Hiten says. “Devamrita Swami is a great preacher so come along with your questions. Oh yeah, there will be awesome prasadam at the end.” The program is in the Pat Brunton Room at 2 Ernest Place, Crows Nest, on Friday April 1st starting at 630pm. Overcome the unpredictable and incessant dificulties you face in life. Find your oasis of true happiness and fuel the fire of youth. There will be free vegetarian prasadam feast – live music – and interactive discussions. Pick up and drop off is available from North Sydney Station It is essential that you RSVP so you don’t miss out on this opportunity to assciate with HH Devamrita Swami. Please call or email Tejas or Annanth Tejas Ph: 0434 199 133 email: tejas_kaore@hotmail.com Ananth Ph: 0414 977 403 email: ananthsubru@gmail.com Click here and visit the Facebook page for ISKCON YOUTH SYDNEY Click here and visit the Facebook Event page for the program don’t forget to RSVP by calling or emailing Share this story your way:   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Earthquake and Tsunamis Strike Japan! A Call for Prayers! As many of us already know, Japan was struck by earhquakes and tsunamis a few days back. During our Sunday program this evening, a special moment was taken out of the program to chant for all the souls affected by this disaster. We encourage devotees in our community to send your heartfelt prayers to all those affected by the recent events. Below, is an excerpt from ISKCON News: Historic Earthquake and Tsunami Hits Japan An 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Northeast Japan spawned a ferocious tsunami that's caused massive destruction; flattening whole cities, starting raging fires, and killing hundreds. Nearly 88,000 people are reported missing, according to the official Kyodo news agency. "The Tokyo ISKCON Center and Govinda`s Restaurant did not get impacted - says Sanjay Krishnacandra Das, Tokyo Krishna-devotee - apart from some cracks on the walls, there was no substantial damage." The 30 temple resident devotees are safe, they make sure to watch for the emergency evacuation instruction in case of a violent after-shock. ISKCON News will keep readers updated about the situation Japan.   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Sivarama Swami: It was New Zealand before, Japan now – earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown – where next? H.H. Sivarama Swami: It was New Zealand before, Japan now – earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown – where next? March 14th, 2011 7:58 2 Responses to “It was New Zealand before, Japan now – earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown – where next?” 1. Vraja-kumara das says: March 15, 2011 at 4:42 am It would be interesting to see what kind of reaction will be given to those responsible for using radioactive weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan. Google ‘depleted uranium’ and check ‘images’ to see the nightmare effect of these atrocities. 2. Jagannatha Suta Das (IDS) says: March 16, 2011 at 12:52 am This is the beginning of the reaction to extracting sooooo much oil from the ground, I can only see it getting worse, we need to chant Hare Krishna as the time may come sooner than we think. H.H. Sivarama Swami: It was New Zealand before, Japan now – earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown – where next?   • Email to a friend • •   Kirtans in Oxford, UK: January Kirtan. Chakrini, who came from London, to lead our January kirtan - a very focussed chanter with a beautiful voice, has recently been on tour in Canada and will also be appearing on the main stage at the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival in May. She mentioned to us that her main desire is to spread the message of kirtan in Europe and, to that end, has engagements in Spain, Italy and Bulgaria during the summer. We wish her very well in her endeavours and hope she will come to Oxford again soon. Many thanks Chakrini!   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Srila Prabhupada on Sankirtan "Sankirtana is our life and soul, and if we execute this transcendental business in all earnestness, then there will be no difficulty in any way. We should not pray to Krishna anything except to ask to engage in His service. If we are engaged in His service then automatically everything will be revealed." - Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Harer Nama, February 11, 1970   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Three truths for a preacher Prahlāda Mahārāja ultimately instructed his class friends, the sons of the demons, to accept the process of devotional service by preaching the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to everyone. Preaching is the best service to the Lord. The Lord will immediately be extremely satisfied with one who engages in this service of preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (18.69). Na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: "There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear." If one sincerely tries his best to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness by preaching the glories of the Lord and His supremacy, even if he is imperfectly educated, he becomes the dearmost servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is bhakti. As one performs this service for humanity, without discrimination between friends and enemies, the Lord becomes satisfied, and the mission of one's life is fulfilled. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore advised everyone to become a guru-devotee and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness (yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]). That is the easiest way to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By such preaching, the preacher becomes satisfied, and those to whom he preaches are also satisfied. This is the process of bringing peace and tranquillity to the entire world. bhoktāraḿ yajña-tapasāḿ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaḿ sarva-bhūtānāḿ jñātvā māḿ śāntim ṛcchati [Bg. 5.29] One is expected to understand these three formulas of knowledge concerning the Supreme Lord — that He is the supreme enjoyer, that He is the proprietor of everything, and that He is the best well-wisher and friend of everyone. A preacher should personally understand these truths and preach them to everyone. Srimad Bhagvatam, Srila Prabhupada purport to 7.6.24   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: There is no limitation "If you study my books very carefully, then I am sure you will find out the means for applying this Krsna Consciousness philosophy in all spheres of life. There is no limitation. Simply it requires a little common sense practicality. The main point is that Krsna is the center of all activities, whatever is going on. Whatever the activity may be, if Krsna is the center, that is all right. The details simply require a little common sense." - Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Amarendra das, Calcutta January 31, 1972   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: The most munificent personalities A brahamana is somebody who gives transcendental knowledge to others, just like we quoted the verse yesterday from Srimad Bhagavatam that certainly one who shares the message of godhead is most munificent. Tava kathamritam tapta jevanam, we quoted that verse from 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. And conclusions of that verse is that the gopis are saying that those who distribute the message of godhead are considered to be the most munificent personalities. So he wanted us to assist him in helping him in spreading this transcendental message, and by seeing that how our lives have changed we should also want to help others to achieve the same benefit. - Niranjana Swami, Sunday Feast Class, 28 November, 2010   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Brahmande Brahmite I had a few minutes on sunday and I took a walk to the subway near my house and it was empty. At a far corner I saw this lady taking a smoke all alone. As I walked upto her I was a little nervous whether she would talk to me and initially she was hesitant and didn't want to talk with me, but as I had nothing else to do I kept trying. Then she touched one of Prabhupada books and I was relieved. She now started to ask questions and said she would take the book. Then started to tell me what a coincidence this was as her friends were supposed to be there an hourago and she was irritated waiting for then alone and I materialized out of nowhere. She said how she was looking for happiness and i told her these books were rare and quoted Brahmande brahmite Kaunas bhagyavan jiva, guru krishna prasase paye Bhakti lata bija and explained who knows which universe and life we met in. I explained the meaning of that verse and she began to cry really badly Saying how she was just coming out of a long term relationship and felt like she had a very deep lifetime connection with this friend and is not able to comprehend how to move on and now she met me. ThIs point I handed her another book and asked her to read that to. She agreed to take it and give donation for it but her eyes and heart were filling up. She kept saying all is good but she was pouring tears. She wasn't poor or foolish but she was just suffering there is so much suffering in this world and so much work for devotees to do, sure there is another person standing alone at street corner crying internally while externally saying all is good.   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: A friend from down under Walking down the street at Yonge and Dundas I met this very tall guy, he looked really lost and I started to speak with him about our books and showed him a small perfection of yoga. He appreciated the book but he was still lost so I asked him who he was and where was he from. He said he was from Canberra Australia and we got talking right away about my last trip to Canberra and his travels. Then he said maybe I should ask you a question as you seem to have materialized out of nowhere. I encouraged him to speak and he told me he is supposed to leave for France in a day and he has just fallen in love with someone. I asked him what was the problem so he said he has to choose between two very beautiful women and he has barely anytime and they are both so similar and he is at a junction. I was thinking he is so distressed how best to present the Bhagavad gita so I said – well you just haven’t met two people you have met a third person. He was confused and then I explained how these books are not from this world, they come from another dimension. I was remembering Prabhupada saying that we should present philosophy seriously and the books will sell on their own merit. So I showed him the picture in Bhagavad gita with three modes and explained to him how karma acts and how these books stop through Karma. I told him how he was too emotional right now and he should take Bhagavad Gita and read the introduction which is 30 pages and then he will clear his mind and know what to do. He told me he will walk down the street, grab a beer in a pub nearby and read the Bhagavad gita introduction. He wanted to learn a mantra and so I explained the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and (it struck me as I was talking to him) explained to him how he was confused between 2 beautiful women but Krishna is the most beautiful personality of all. I sincerely pray that he reads the Bhagavad gita as it is.   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Spanish books Recently in Srimad Bhagavatam class HG Vaisesika prabhu explained how sharing knowledge in the language a person understands is so powerful and he was explaining how they are coming out with Language cards describing books and asking donations. Prabhu was emphasizing how people are so happy to see that its a book in their language. Interestingly I have never distributed a non-English book on the streets and I barely had a few minutes that day. Same day, i saw a man who was cleaning the garbage from the streets and I asked him if he wanted a book on yoga. He said - no English. Remembering the Bhagvatam class in the morning I asked, which language and he said Spanish. I asked him to wait and ran back and grabbed a Spanish book. He was thrilled to see it and gave a donation. Interestingly enough his other cleaner friends were driving a mini garbage truck and they stopped. They said they also wanted it. So i ran back and grabbed a perfection of yoga and a bhagavad gita. As one took the bhagavad gita the other one said he also wanted the same one. they didn't have much laxmi but they were so excited. Then the original cleaner he said he wanted one more. It was amusing and then one of them came out and said they wanted a picture with us and Bhagavad gita.So we took a picture, it was a very real life demonstration of the class we heard this morning. Srila Prabhupada letter to Hrdayananda Maharaj 1972 : Also I am very happy to hear the other books will be coming out very soon. If you can finish Bhagavad-gita As It Is in Spanish and show me at the Mayapur festival that will be very sublime. Please print as many books as possible, this is my real pleasure. By printing these books of our Krsna Conscious philosophy in so many different languages we can actually inject our movement into the masses of persons all over the world, especially there in the western countries and we can literally turn whole nations into Krsna Conscious nations.   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Swarupa Sakti Mataji Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.17-20 - By properly following the process of vaidhi sadhana bhakti under bona fide spiritual master we get purification and we can proceed to higher stages of bhakti (tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat...).   • Email to a friend • •   Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Fail : Martha Stewart’s Edible Candied Citrus Peel Roses Edible candied citrus peel roses. Use them as cake toppers! Use them to bribe your children! Use them to destroy your self esteem! Does Martha care about my self esteem? Does she? If she did, then maybe she would give … Continue reading →   • Email to a friend • •   Gouranga TV: Lecture – Prahladananda Swami – SB 10.1.22 – Unclean and Lying Lecture – Prahladananda Swami – SB 10.1.22 – Unclean and Lying Gouranga TV: Lecture – Prahladananda Swami – SB 10.1.22 – Unclean and Lying   • Email to a friend • •   Japa Group: Stop Your Other Activities You can’t get up and go here and there; you can’t do business; you can’t do anything, except this yoga. That is the whole idea. Stop your other activities, sit down, meditate. So when we sit and meditate, we should not do anything else. You sit tight and hear and chant, hear and chant—for only two hours a day. Japa Reform Notebook by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kadamba Kanana Swami Srimad Bhagavatam class given on Sunday, 13th March 2011 Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.10-16 - A devotee has faith in Krsna that He will always protect the soul (raksisyatiti visvaso).   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kadamba Kanana Swami Srimad Bhagavatam class given on Saturday, 12th March, 2011 Srimad Bhagavata, 12.2.7-9 - Lord Caitanya came to teach how to get influenced by spontaneous love (namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema pradayate).   • Email to a friend • •   Vraja Kishor, JP: View from Southern Japan The nuclear reactiors had their buildings blown apart because steam built up inside, the hydrogen detached from the oxygen, and then exploded (as far as I can tell). It’s not as bad as it sounds. An explosion near a nuclear reaction and a nuclear explosion are two radically different things. Two reactors so far have gone up like this because the earthquake cut their power, and the tsunami flooded their generators – and I bet the shaking probably cracked or blocked up the pipes in and out of the reactor buildings too. In any case, these explosions are not meltdowns in and of themselves. We are still not sure that there was or will be any meltdown. Judging from the reports of radiation levels so far there hasn’t been. (A meltdown happens when the actual radioactive material melts its container and leaks into the environment – as far as I know). Of course I haven’t see ANYTHING with my own eyes, all I know is what comes in on the news. Here where we are in Southern Japan (Fukuoka) nothing at all is out of the ordinary. No shakes from quakes, not a drop from a wave, no blackouts, nothing at all. The damage in other parts of the county seems as far away from me as it probably does from you – well maybe a little closer, since it is the only thing on any TV channel for about 4 days straight now. They are now expecting another tsunami about half the size of the previous. The amount of wreckage is mind-boggling. It is crazy how we live on huge slabs of rock that float on magma and lava. Compared to these huge forces of nature we live in houses of cards with toothpicks a tissues for property. In the natural areas where human beings haven’t built up card-towns and cities, the damage looks SO MUCH less severe, it almost looks serene.   • Email to a friend • • More Recent Articles H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 14 March 2011--Don't Be A Dumb Animal in a Slaughterhouse--and--Can You Request Prayer for Japan? Kurma dasa, AU: Too Busy to Blog ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday, March 13th, 2011 Jahnavi, UK: The S Word ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana

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• SOUV2P.TTF - 57 KB
• SOUV2I.TTF - 59 KB
• SOUV2B.TTF - 56 KB
• SOUV2T.TTF - 56 KB

Balaram

• bai_____.ttf - 46 KB
• babi____.ttf - 47 KB
• bab_____.ttf - 45 KB
• balaram_.ttf - 45 KB

ScaGoudy

• SCAGRG__.TTF - 73 KB
• SCAGI__.TTF - 71 KB
• SCAGB__.TTF - 68 KB

FOLIO 4.2

• inbenr11.ttf - 64 KB
• inbeno11.ttf - 12 KB
• inbeni11.ttf - 12 KB
• inbenb11.ttf - 66 KB
• indevr20.ttf - 53 KB

Biblica Font

• Greek font: BibliaLS Normal
• Greek font: BibliaLS Bold
• Greek font: BibliaLS Bold Italic
• Greek font: BibliaLS Italic
• Hebrew font: Ezra SIL
• Hebrew font: Ezra SIL SR

Disculpen las Molestias

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Planet ISKCON - 2010  ·  Planet ISKCON - 2011

Conceptos Hinduistas (1428)SC

Category:Hindu (mythology) (3256)SC | Category:Hindu mythology (3270)SC | Categoría:Mitología hindú (3288)SC (indice) | Categoría:Mitología hindú (videos) (3289)SC | Conceptos Hinduista (A - G) SK y SC (videos) (3294)SC

Aa-Anc · Aga - Ahy · Ai - Akshay · Akshe - Amshum · Ana - Ancie · Ang - Asvayu · Ata - Az · Baa-Baz · Be-Bhak · Bhal-Bu · C · Daa-Daz · De · Dha-Dry · Du-Dy · E · F · Gaa-Gayu · Ge-Gy · Ha-He · Hi-Hy · I · J · K · Ka - Kam · Kan - Khatu · Ki - Ko · Kr - Ku · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · Saa-San · Sap-Shy · Si-Sy · Ta - Te · U · V · Ve-Vy · Y · Z

Conceptos Hinduistas (2919)SK

Conceptos Hinduistas (2592)SK
A_a-A_g · A_h-A_m · A_na-A_nc · A_nd-A_nu · A_p-A_r · A_s-A_x · A_y-A_z · B_aa-B_aq · B_ar-B_az · B_e-B_hak · B_hal-B_hy · B_o-B_u · B_ra · B_rh-B_ry · B_u-B_z · C_aa-C_aq · C_ar-C_ay · C_e-C_ha · C_he-C_hi · C_ho-C_hu · C_i-C_n · C_o-C_y · D_aa-D_an · D_ar-D_ay · D_e · D_ha-D_ny · D_o-D_y · E_a-E_o · E_p-E_z · F_aa-F_y · G_aa-G_aq · G_ar-G_az · G_e-G_n · G_o · G_ra-G_y · H_aa-H_aq · H_ar-H_az · H_e-H_indk · H_indu-H_isto · H_o-H_y · I_a-I_q · I_r-I_s · I_t-I_y · J_aa-J_aq · J_ar-J_ay · J_e-J_n · J_o-J_y · K_aa-K_aq · K_ar-K_az · K_e-K_h · K_o · K_r · K_u - K_z · L_aa-L_aq · L_ar-L_ay · L_e-L_n · L_o-L_y · M_aa-M_ag · M_ah · M_ai-M_aj · M_ak-M_aq · M_ar-M_az · M_b-M_n · M_o-M_z · N_aa-N_aq · N_ar-N_az · N_b-N_n · N_o-N_z · O_a-O_z · P_aa-P_aq · P_ar-P_az · P_e-P_h · P_o-P_y · R_aa-R_aq · R_ar-R_az · R_e-R_n · R_o-R_y · S_aa-S_am · S_an-S_ar · S_as-S_g · S_ha-S_hy · S_ia-S_il · S_im-S_n · S_o - S_q · S_r - S_t · S_u-S_z · T_aa-T_aq · T_ar-T_ay · T_e-T_n · T_o-T_y · U_a-U_q · U_r-U_s · V_aa-V_aq · V_ar-V_az · V_e · V_i-V_n · V_o-V_y · W_aa-W_i · W_o-W_y · Y_aa-Y_av · Y_e-Y_iy · Y_o-Y_u · Z_aa-Z_y

GENERAL

JUDAISMO | Ärî Garga-Samhita | Oraciones Selectas al Señor Supremo | Devotees Vaishnavas | Dandavat pranams - All glories to Srila Prabhupada | Hari Katha | Santos Católicos | El Antiguo Egipto I | Archivo Cervantes | Sivananda Yoga | Neale Donald Walsch | SWAMIS | ENCICLOPEDIA - INDICE | DEVOTOS FACEBOOK | EGIPTO - USUARIOS de FLICKR y PICASAWEB | AYUDA en INFORMÁTICA | BIOGRAFIAS | BUDDHISMO | CINEMANÍA | DANDAVAT PRANAMS | DANDAVATS | HEBREO - JUDAISMO | HINDUISMO | KABALEH - CABALA | MAESTROS ESPIRITUALES | MEDICINA NATURAL | Mis Escritos | MITOS Y LEYENDAS - MITOLOGÍAS | Religión | TEXTOS BÍBLICOS | Textos Sagrados Antiguos