Mayapur Parikrama 2017 and TOVP Palanquin Mayapur (videos)
The vision of Srila Bhaktivonde Thakura is fulfilled!
In 1885, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote: “Very soon the unparalleled path of hari-nama-sankirtana will be propagated all over the world… . Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German, and American people will take up banners, mridangas, and karatalas and raise kirtana through their streets and towns. When will that day come? Oh, for the day when the Western fair-skinned men, from one side, while cha...

Radha Kunda Seva: February 2017 Photos and Updates (Album with photos)
February was a peaceful month of steady service. Cleaning every day. Distributing prasadam every day. Construction is still on hold as we wait for the government crackdown on structures built close to the parikrama path to dissipate. 7000 buildings around Govardhan have been marked for demolition. And our construction managers tell us that this isn’t a good time to begin new construction. We will keep you updated, and in the meantime, we are grateful to be serving at Radha Kun...

Gaura Purnima Issue of KK Bindu #395: Several first time translations for the upcoming day of Gaura Purnima.
CONTENTS INCLUDE: * ADVERSITY AS MERCY – His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada describes eligibility to enter the spiritual world.
* SRI CHAITANYA KAVACHA – A first-time translation done especially for this issue of Bindu of a little-known prayer for protection.
* THE GREAT FIGHT AT HOLI – Vrindavan pastimes of Krishna and the gopis. Presented in honor of the upcoming festival of Holi, this is another fi...

TOVP: Visions of Material and Spiritual Universes.
Ordinary human observation, no matter how greatly enhanced by telescopes, satellites, and other instruments, cannot see past the outermost reaches of the universe. Exhibits in the Vedic Planetarium will seek to illustrate how yoga, meditation, and study of scripture, coupled with devotional practices, can reveal what lies beyond the limits of human perception. Left: The material universe, which is the object of scientific study, represents only one-quarter of the creation. The unlimited spiritual world ...

TOV: Changing Bodies.
Level One of the Vedic Planetarium addresses the question “Who am I?” and the first exhibit is designed to give visitors a visceral sense of themselves as nonmaterial beings: souls who inhabit temporary material bodies. Seeing themselves change from man to woman, from young to old, from Indian to European, or white to black, visitors will know they are seeing a computerized simulation. Yet by combining entertainment with a photo-realistic sensation of reincarnating, this exhibit is intended to prompt a rethinking of id...

TOVP: The Universal Form.
In the Bhagavad-gita, Sri Krishna poetically describes how He can be perceived in nature. “Of luminaries,” He declares, “I am the radiant sun. Of heavenly bodies I am the moon, of bodies of water the ocean, of purifiers the wind. Of subduers I am time. Of secret things I am silence… .” In memorable language, He offers a meditation on the natural world as His virat-rupa, or universal form. Among seasons, Krishna adds, He is flower-bearing spring, and of stationary things the Himalayas. The Bhagava...

TOVP: Planetarium.
Exhibits on the first three floors are designed to prepare visitors for the film they will view in the top-floor Planetarium. The 200-seat amphitheater will feature a full-dome video projection theater with ambient acoustics, intended to immerse the audience in a simulated journey out of the material world and into the eternal Vaikuntha realm. This experience on the Planetarium’s top floor will bring together the many perspectives described in the dozens of previous exhibits, including the soul different from the body, life on ...

TOVP: Model Chandelier.
Srila Prabhupada envisioned the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium as an emotionally stirring and aesthetically beautiful experience. He proposed that this could be achieved by showing all the spiritual and material worlds in a giant chandelier suspended from the temple’s center dome. As currently envisioned, this cosmological chandelier will hang down more than 200 feet and weigh 10,000 pounds. To understand the many components of the chandelier, a twenty-foot replica will be incorporated into Level Three of the Vedic Planeta...

Barsana 17-03 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: Last week, Abhimanyu Prabhu brought 100 Ukraine devotees for parikrama so we went to the sacred place of Srimati Radharani, Barsana. We even got a rare picture of Brishabhanu Maharaja! It’s Holi time, so watch out as you come along with the pics of Vittalrukmini Das!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/DQcFkN

Distinguishing Paramatma and the Mind.
Question: What is the difference between the dictation of the Paramatma and the mind? How can one tell if the mind or Paramatma is speaking to us?
Romapada Swami: In BG 2.22’s purport, Srila Prabhupada gives the example of two birds sitting on a tree. One bird (Jiva-atma) is eating the fruits of the tree while the other bird (Paramatma) is simply watching His friend. If the Paramatma is just watching, how can the Parmatma dictate the soul? Can you please help me with this confusion? Please help me und...

Magic in Middle Earth (Album with photos and videos)
Kurma Dasa: Here’s some footage of Saturday’s Sadhu Sanga at the home of Ananda Hari Prabhu and Srimati Pavani devi. A record 40 devotees attended from all over Ireland, some even driving down to Wicklow from the Northern Kingdom, Ireland.
Thank you to everyone for making it such an auspicious and joyful event. The association of great souls, reading from Krishna Book, exuberant kirtan and a spectacular feast - who could ask for anything more?
Find them here:

A new Sannyasi for Iskcon.
Akincana Das is now Bhaktijivana Vrajananda Swami.
On 1st march H.G. Akincana Das took Sannyasa......

Mayapur parikrama with hundreds of devotees from Russia (Album with 293 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If you make your friendship with Krsna, that will never break. If you make your master Krsna, you’ll never be cheated. If you love Krsna as your son, He’ll never die. Similarly, if you love Krsna as your lover or husband, He will be the best husband, the best lover. There will be no divorce. That is Krsna consciousness. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 4.13-14 – New York, August 1, 1966
Find them here:

TOVP 2017 is a presentation by TOVP Chairman, His Grace Sriman Ambarisa das, about the current progress of the TOVP construction and......

Nationalism is also enviousness!
Giriraj Swami: Today, listening to Srila Prabhupada’s talks in Juhu, I heard something that struck me as especially timely and relevant. “Krishna says advesta sarva-bhutanam: You should not be envious to any living entity. But the present civilization means to become envious. I do not wish to criticize anyone, but this enviousness is the basis … Nationalism is also enviousness. ‘Why foreigners will come here?’ This is enviousness. Why should they not come? Who is foreigner and who is nation...

Indians Gear Up For The Festival Of Color, And Some Americans, Too.
Caru das said that it had always had good participation of Indian-Americans. “But when westerners started flowing in like a river, the people from India became less visible. “But we still have several hundreds of Indian Americans, if not thousands, along with 50,000 Americans who gather at the temple from Spanish Fork and other neighboring cities like Springville and Provo for the two- day festival. This, in fact, is the largest Holy festival in the United States,” Ad...

Ecstasy in Christchurch, New Zealand, during the first Sunday Feast program after the earthquake (Album with photos)
During the earthquake, back in 2011, in the temple, pujari Sevananda Das had just finished offering midday arati, and several devotees were singing kirtan when intense tremors began shaking the three-foot marble deities of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurachandra violently.
Sevananda held tightly onto Them to protect Them, but Their Lordships were flung off the altar, taking Sevananda with Them. The heavy wooden altar followed, flying through the a...

Demystifying Reincarnation 1 - Incredible delusion or credible vision (video) by Chaitanya Charan Dasa.
Guest (4): Prabhupada, is it true that can a human body takes a form of a human body in the next birth?
Prabhupada: No. Krsna doesn’t say. Tatha dehantara-praptih [Bg. 2.13]. You will get another body, but that does not mean human body. That will depend on your price. Just like if I say, “When your coat is old and torn, you’ll purchase another coat.” So that another coat, what kind of coat, that will depend on your price, a...

Lord Krishna The best teacher.
What makes a great teacher? Teaching is one of the most complicated jobs today. It demands broad knowledge of subject matter, curriculum, and standards; enthusiasm, a caring attitude, and a love of learning; knowledge of discipline and classroom management techniques; and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people. With all these qualities required, it’s no wonder that it’s hard to find great teachers. Lord Krishna is the best teacher the world has ever seen. Today’s teachers, professors ...

Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk.
Bhagavad-gita describes that God is a being who manifests at different levels. Although people are not attracted to the external practice of renunciation, they are attracted to the result of renunciation, peace of mind. There are universal characteristics of God, and in Bhagavad-gita we see the personal identity of God, Krishna, who has these characteristics. In the story of the prodigal son, the word ‘prodigal’ means wasteful. When Europeans went to India, they saw the worship of many gods and assum...

Anger towards children.
H G Mahatma Prabhu here writes to a devotee how to deal with children when they don’t listen and what to do when that might makes us angry..
“Nothing can make you angry if you don’t allow it.
Don’t teach your children to respond to situations with anger; teach them to respond with kindness, understanding and help. How do you teach them? You act with kindness and understanding. Your kids will be just like you. You are their acarya. What they see you doing as they are grow up tells them that this is...

American pop artist Miley Cyrus to have a Hindu wedding.
She has often posted photos of herself reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and recently published some of her house turned into an ashram. She is now planning to get married with Vedic ritual, dressed in a sari, somewhere in Nepal.
There is a lot of talk in the media about her interest in the Vedic culture, a careful google search will reveal a lot of relative information.

Today while cleaning up the winter debris in our backyard garden, I removed a stringy pile of dead leaves from our Japanese iris. Just below this dry tangle I suddenly beheld a set of tiny, but vibrant new shoots that had eagerly poked their heads above the ground.
Seeing these little green treasures emerging from the frozen soil, I was suddenly invigorated and sat admiring the enthusiasm and spontaneity of this little plant. The miracle of life in ones bhakti garden is sometimes covered by the debris of mental cares and useless desires for happiness ...

A letter of appreciation to the devotees of the Christchurch temple in New Zealand on the occasion of the inauguration of their new temple. Their original temple was destroyed in an earthquake in 2011.
Indradyumna Swami: Dear Devotees of the Christchurch yatra,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to the presiding sannyasis, His Holiness Ramai Swami and His Holiness Bhanu Swami.
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the momentous re-opening of your temple. Yesterday, I watched the live...