18th September Live - World Holy Name Festival 2020

Srimad Bhagavatam Class at ISKCON Chowpatty on 21st Jan 2020.

The gopis would sing of Krsna as He played His flute in Vrndavana forest: “Blessed are all the foolish deer, for they have approached Maharaja Nanda’s son, who is gorgeously dressed and is playing on His flute. Indeed, both the doe and the bucks worship the Lord with looks of love and affection.

Srila Prabhupada’s greatest desire was to spread the chanting of the Holy Names all over the world. To fulfill this desire, the Governing Body Commission (GBC) of ISKCON established World Holy Name Day to commemorate Srila Prabhupada Arrival anniversary to the west, during Srila Prabhupada’s Centennial in 1996. World Holy Name Day, along with many other Centennial programs was a tremendous success.

Bhaktimarga Swami: Our team of three stayed at the ISKCON Centre, Montreal, overnight. I kept myself clear of any space where incense lingered as it agitates or aggravates my sinuses at present. I have some throat issues. I mentioned to the head priest that it might be something for him to think about and take action on. “We use incense in our services but we might consider cutting down. Some Buddhist monks were found to have lung cancer because of large doses of incense.

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HG Bhima Prabhu at Iskcon Juhu

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HH Bhakti Charu Swami, ISKCON Ujjain

As Bhismadeva lay on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, mortally wounded, he remembered Krsna’s pastimes there and prayed as follows: “Sri Krsna is the intimate friend of Arjuna. He has appeared on this earth in His transcendental body, colored bluish like a tamala tree. His body attracts everyone in the three planetary systems. May His glittering yellow dress and His lotus face, covered with paintings of sandalwood pulp, be the object of my attraction, and may I not desire fruitive results.

Who was Srila Prabhupada? What did he do, why did he come, and where did he go? A session with Bhakti Charu Swami in which he speaks about who Srila Prabhupada is and why he came to this planet, as part of our Spiritual Voyager retreat during the 2020 lockdown.

The master of the goddess of fortune resided happily in His capital city, Dvaraka, which was endowed with all opulences and populated by the most eminent Vrsnis and their gorgeously dressed wives. When these beautiful women in the bloom of youth would play on the city’s rooftops with balls and other toys, they shone like flashing lightning.

In this week’s updates, we will inform you about the current situation in the temple and the plan for the coming weeks and also introduce you to ‘Your day in Vrindavan’, an excellent seva opportunity for those who are not in Vrindavan but would like services like go seva, prasad seva, Rajbhoga arati seva, Harinaam sankirtan seva and vaishnava seva to be performed on their behalf.

At the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita, Dhrtarastra says, “O Sañjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?” Dhrtarastra was blind from birth. Unfortunately, he was also bereft of spiritual vision. He knew very well that his sons were equally blind in the matter of religion, and he was sure that they could never reach an understanding with the Pandavas, who were all pious since birth.

>Once a demon named Bhaumasura stole Lord Varuna’s umbrella, mother Aditi’s golden ear rings, and the playground of the demigods, known as Mani-parvata. He also kidnapped 16,100 beautiful young maidens from various royal families all over the world. Indra, King of heaven, went to Dvaraka to describe the demon’s transgressions to Lord Krsna. Together with Queen Satyabhama, the Lord then mounted His carrier Garuda and traveled to the capital of Bhaumasura’s kingdom.

Srila Prabhupada: Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Krishna, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 20.12)

The sun-god felt great affection for his devotee Satrajit, and as a token of his satisfaction the demigod gave him the Syamantaka jewel. Each day the gem would produce about 170 pounds of gold, and the place where it was kept and properly worshiped would be free of calamities such as famine or untimely death, and also of evils like snakebites, mental and physical disorders, and the presence of deceitful persons

Hearing that a total eclipse of the sun was soon to occur, people from all over India, including the Yadus and the residents of Vrndavana, converged at Kuruksetra to earn special pious credit. When Krsna and Balarama saw Nanda Maharaja and mother Yasoda, both the Lords and Their foster parents were overcome with emotion. Raising their two sons onto their laps and holding Them in their arms, Nanda and saintly mother Yasoda forgot their sorrow.

The Monk’s Podcast with Radha Gopinath Prabhu

“I would believe only in a God that knew how to dance.” - Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
A few days ago, I went for a long walk with a very dear friend. We were so absorbed in our talks that we forgot the time. All of a sudden, we found ourselves surrounded by the pitch-black night.
A recent hurricane had torn off the branches of many timeworn trees and uprooted numerous others, leaving us an ominous path back home. Fortunately, my friend had a mobile phone with torchlight function, and our eyes were thus firmly fixed on the bump...

The Global Devotee Care Directorate is pleased to announce their next live conversation with Partha Das and Uttama Dasi on Devotee care in Grihastha Ashram.

When Krsna and Balarama offered Their teacher, Sandipani Muni, anything he desired, he asked for the return of his son, who had drowned in the ocean at Prabhasa. The two Lords at once traveled there on Their chariot and ordered the ocean to return Their guru’s son.

International Shravanam Week

>Once, in the company of her maidservants, Queen Rukmini was personally serving her husband, Lord Krsna, by fanning Him as He relaxed on her bed. Rukmini’s quarters were extremely beautiful, boasting a canopy hung with brilliant strings of pearls, as well as effulgent jewels serving as lamps.

International Shravanam Week

Devotees in Vrindavan narrate their memories from HH Gunagrahi Swami’s devotional life including his glorious departure from this world, occurred under the most auspicious circumstances! Devamrita Swami commented the event as “Iskcon’s finest hour!”