By ISKCON MayapurIn 2019, kirtan is readily available anywhere in the world. Kirtan is daily performed in temples and on the streets across the globe. Every year, more kirtan events are held, some drawing hundreds of thousands. Kirtan recordings and albums are available online at any time. Even so-called mainstream culture in the Western world is embracing kirtan as a form of meditation in the music and yoga scene. Kirtan is now available for all. But it wasn’t always like this. Before the 15th century, the chanting of God’s own holy names was a sacred activity reserved for the highest of ecclesiastic...
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- 10 Mar 2019
By Bhakti Caru SwamiIt is so unfortunate that today, especially in India, that people think these are fairy tales, concocted stories. No, these are not concocted stories, these are historical facts. These are facts. People think that this is mythology or whatever because they never read them. They never read the scriptures but they will say that these are all fairy tales. Another thing is that it's not just by reading the books that they understand. They will need a teacher to reveal those scriptures. We are so fortunate that we came across Srila Prabhupada's teachings. That is how we get to know what the s...
- 10 Mar 2019
By Brijabasi Das Sri Locana dasa Thakura, he very beautifully describes sankirtana as an actual yajna. He says in his Caitanya Mangala – “The living entities ears are sacrificial openings, yajna kunda, our ears are yajna kunda, the tongue is a sacrificial ladle that you pour the ghee with, sound of Krishna’s glories is charming sacrificial ghee. So the sound of Krishna’s names or glories is actually that ghee that you pour into the fire. When the ladle of the tongue pours that ghee into the opening of the ears, the ghee enters the heart. In the heart the ghee adds fuel to the fire of ecstatic love....
- 10 Mar 2019
By Devamrita SwamiMaterial society is ripped apart, material family life is ripped apart, material desires are ripped apart. It is natural that the conditioned soul in this world wants shelter. One of the inconceivable characteristics of the conditioned soul in Maya is that it's not only we cannot perceive the full extent of the forest of illusion. We also cannot perceive how helpless we are. We can’t fully appreciate how tiny and helpless we are. Because we have surrounded ourselves with so much bad shelter. It’s natural for us to want to take shelter.
...- 9 Mar 2019
By Yugala Kishor Gour dasaOn the 10th of March it will be exactly 60 years ago, 10th of March 1959, that the MS Jaladuta was launched at its shipbuilding yard in Lubeck Germany. It is this vessel that brought Srila Prabhupada from Calcutta, via Boston, to New York on a journey that started on the 13th August 1965, in what became an astonishing journey and also the beginning of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This launch was organised by the Lubecker-Flenderwerke AG yard in Northern Germany at the completion of the ship. This event is standard in the shipbuilding industry and is likene...
- 6 Mar 2019
By Parasuram dasaAt the official opening of Krishna's Castle in the City of London on March 1st 2019, representatives from 10 banks and businesses were in attendance. Since 14 months Krishna's Castle, situated in the heart of the banking world, has been a hive of devotional service. We need about 10 volunteers daily and half of them are bankers who come to do their Corporate Social Responsibly.
...- 5 Mar 2019
By Mayapur InstituteThe Mayapur institute (MI) provides an environment favorable to aid spiritual growth. It started in the year 2000 with just 3 Bhakti Sastri students and today after 19 years of operation, more than 200 students from 30 different countries are receiving graduation certificates. To date, 3000 students have graduated from Mayapur Institute. Definitely, this must be a great joy to Srila Prabhupada. Mayapur Institute is fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s vision sincerely over the last 19 years.
...- 5 Mar 2019
By Iskcon Mayapur The video of the Mayapur Festival 2019 grand inauguration and Flag-raising ceremony. HH Bhakti Charu Swami, HH Gopal Krishna Goswami and other leader's speech about the meaning and importance of the festival to more than 10.000 devotes present from all over the world.
...- 4 Mar 2019
By TOVP staffOn or around Gaura Purnima 2022 all of ISKCON will ecstatically celebrate together the Grand Opening of the magnificent Temple of the Vedic Planetarium at the World Headquarters of ISKCON in Sridham Mayapur on its 50th Anniversary, and our beloved Mayapur Deities will at last be moved into Their long-awaited new home.
...- 4 Mar 2019
By Vijaya DasaThere's a temple in Europe that's a relic of ISKCON's past. It's in Czech Republic and is called Prabhupada Bhavan. There are about fifteen brahmacaris whose main service is book distribution. This is the No. 1 temple in Europe in the Small Temple category in January, with 3,149 book points.
...- 3 Mar 2019
By Sri Giridhari Dasa19 February 2019, Chennai: Tamil Nadu Government has issued "Best Translator Award 2019" to Sri Giridhari Dasa, for translating Srila Prabhupada's Sri Caitanya Caritamrta into Tamil. The government has recognized that the translation work of over 8,000 pages was done in fine language with elegance. In the function held in Chennai Secretariat Office, the Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Mr. Edapadi K Palaniswami issued the award along with a certificate, and a cheque for INR One Lakh. The Honorable Deputy Chief Minister Mr. O Panner Selvam, Tamil Language and Cultural Development ...
- 3 Mar 2019
By London College of Vedic StudiesSri Sri Radha-Londonisvara are some of ISKCON’s famous Deities, in fact Srila Prabhupada’s Lilamrita recalls the story of Their installation with great affection. Therefore as a result the Deity worship department at our Temple is always striving to serve Their most beautiful Lordships with ever increasing love and devotion. One way in which this endeavour is manifest is through constant training. As such, we recently held the course ‘Introduction to Pujari’, facilitated by the our Head Priest HG Murli Manohara dasa.
...- 2 Mar 2019
By Navina Nirada Dasa"So you want to become Prabhupada?" These words of a senior devotee rang in my ears, and I started pondering. He had asked me about the purpose of my stay in Mayapur. I told him that I'm attending the Bhaktivedanta Course. Although appreciating his fervor, I have mixed feelings regarding the connotations of his question, some of which I'll address in this thesis. Reflecting on his undertone, I conclude the topic must be worthy to explore, if it stirs up such a reaction. As devotees in ISKCON we often casually use the term "Bhaktivedanta" dozens of times daily. Are we doing this simpl...
- 1 Mar 2019
By Parasuram dasaFor this project we got 100% support from the police, the Mayor, local politicians, local charities, local businesses, supermarkets, football clubs and one unique aspect of the project is we made solid friendships with some ministers from a Christian church and we are working together as a serious team. The cafe is beautiful, clean and friendly. So many people came for the opening ceremony that many couldn't get through the door. The Mayor loved the taste of so many different preps and remarked that only people who serve out of love can produce such food.
...- 28 Feb 2019
By Jaya Gaursundar DasaThe Lord’s Potencies are inconceivable (acintya): That which cannot be thought of, understood, imagined or believed. While taking Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to Mathura, and taking bath in the Yamunā, what Akrura saw in the water was four-armed Lord Vāsudeva. His complexion was dark blue like a fresh raincloud, He wore yellow garments and He lay on the lap of thousand-hooded Ananta Śeṣa. Lord Vāsudeva was receiving the prayers of perfected beings, celestial serpents and demons, and He was encircled by His personal attendants.
...- 28 Feb 2019
By Matsya Avatara DasMarriage is a samskara; one of the ten sacraments that serve to elevate a person's consciousness from the human level to the spiritual experience. Such elevation and transformation of consciousness is the purpose of human life. Samskaras trace and orient the path of a person in the world, from birth to death.
...- 28 Feb 2019
By Karnamrita dasaThe idea that it is better to give than to just receive (to just be "on the take"), is a universal truth understood by people of all religions. In addition people understand that giving is actually getting, or by giving you are nourished and benefited. In a broad sense we can tell people that Krishna consciousness is all about learning how to give, rather then just being an exploiter. So people should be encouraged to begin the process of giving somewhere, somehow, to someone. Ultimately from our vision giving to God and saintly persons ...
- 27 Feb 2019
By Indradyumna SwamiEver since becoming a devotee of Lord Krishna in 1970, I have been fascinated with the Kumbha Mela festival. This year I decided to join millions of other pilgrims in the journey to the Ardha Kumbha Mela where, from January 15th to March 4th, ISKCON devotees were to follow in Srila Prabhupada’s footsteps by bringing his books, the Holy Names and prasadam to the festival. Kumbha Mela is the largest religious gathering in the world. Estimates anticipated that 120 million pilgrims—nearly double the population of England and France combined—would visit the Mela over seven weeks. Th...
- 26 Feb 2019
By AdministratorNew Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday boarded a metro train from Khan Market station on way to attend an event at ISKCON temple in south Delhi's East of Kailash, officials said. Modi unveiled a giant Bhagavad Gita, running into 670 pages and weighing 800 kg, at the temple, located near Kailash Colony metro station. Dubbed the 'Astounding Bhagavad Gita', and measuring 2.8 m by 2 m, it is billed as the "largest principle sacred text ever to be printed," according to ISCKON.
...- 26 Feb 2019
By Giriraj DasOne hears so much about renunciation in our movement and many times as grihasthas (householders) we become confused as to what is actual renunciation for us and how can we practically apply it in our daily life. I searched on this topic and found some gems which I am sharing below. We should be aware that as long as we remain attached to material enjoyment we will not be able to remain properly fixed in the process of bhakti yoga. As householders our goal should be progressive renunciation of material enjoyment and not the dry renunciation from family life as practiced by j...
- 26 Feb 2019
By Gautam SahaMost of the times, we are running after money (dhan). Money is what makes the world go round, or so it appears. Many a times, this appears to be true. Money enables us to buy goods and services, food, clothing and other basic necessities of life, possessions, home, car, luxuries, etc; Since Laxmi is the goddess of wealth, we worship her to bless us with her favour and benediction. As we are mostly obsessed with money and its acquisition, we do not realize that Laxmi also benedicts us with beauty (soundarya) , strength...
- 25 Feb 2019
By Dusyanta dasaOne of the main problems with today's modernity is the usage of machinery. And why so many Bulls are slaughtered is because there is no work for them to do. If we can understand the nature of today's farming activities it is apparent that we all follow and support an industrialized farming model. This means we support the use of tractors, the diesel they need to be powered, and we support the use of pharmaceutical artificial fertilizers to grow all the food. Once we have become fully integrated into this agricultural model and system it means as Srila Prabhupada is so eloquently pointing...
- 25 Feb 2019
By Caitanya Carana DasaMaterial desires are like parasites because they almost always subvert, even sabotage, our best interests. When they divert us from our goals, they are the sources of distraction, as explained above. And when they themselves become our goals, their effect is even more deleterious: they become sources of frustration and even devastation. This is the surprising and challenging assertion of the Bhagavad-gita (5.22), which states that the intelligent stay away from material pleasures the goals of material desires because they recognize that such pleasures lead not to hap...
- 24 Feb 2019
By Hari Narayana DasAs one of the participants of the festival devotees prepared the chariot nicely. the preparation was held at parking area in front of stores area. Devotees from Bali came earlier and made flower garland and the chariot team reassembled the chariot. A bus full of devotees from Lampung also participated on the ratha yatra of Lord Jagannath. They also carried Lord Jaganntah, Lord Balaram, and Their beloved sister Subadra devi on long journey from Lamung to Bogor. Devotees from Lampung arrived in Bogor at 01.00 A.m. and directly headed to Sri Sri Radha Govinda temple.
...- 23 Feb 2019