A south county staple since 1995, Llama Fest brings llama owners from around the county together to complete in a course of 10 obstacles including ramps, jumps, tires, hoops and even getting in and out of a van. Llamas were given scores out of 100 and the top performers were awarded ribbons.

About 4,000 people milled about the temple Saturday eating spicy chili, riffling through llama-themed merchandise and hanging out with the llamas waiting to compete.

We somehow or other don't have the kirtan session from last time. We had the equipment et al but nothing got recorded. Sorry about that. We'll be more careful next time.

We squeezed into the library for the sake of variety (and for practical concerns), which some found great, but others too cosy (warm) for comfort. We had a great time though.

Here is at least a photo from the event, featuring Gopal playing the harmonium and Kiyo in the background.

By Braja Bihari Das, Candramauli Swami, Malati Devi, Nityodita Prabhu, Suddha-jiva Prabhu, Mukunda Prabhu, Bhuta-bhavana Prabhu, Parvati Devi

One of maya's greatest tricks is to create discord between devotees. Since our theme is loving exchange, I want to paraphrase one of his sayings, that "We don't let maya compromise the soul's need for loving exchanges."

By Indrani DD, Romapada Swami, Cintamani DD, Jayapataka Swami, Anuttama Das, Rukmini DD, Kamagiri DD, Krsnanandini DD

What a wonderful day this is. Loving exchanges. It has been happening from the moment I arrived here and all I could do was thank Bhakti-tirtha Swami Maharaj. He taught us what love is.

By Radhanath Swami

We have all gathered today to express our sincere love and gratitude to HH Bhakti-tirtha Swami Maharaja at this most holy occasion of the inauguration of his Samadhi mandir.

Vidyasagar Lokhande: 4 Bedroom colonial with in-law apartment on sale in woodbridge CT (USA) 4br 5 bath formal dining and living room.

By Karuna Dasa

I've been studying some basic sociology and would like to share some more thoughts about varnasrama.

By Tamal Krishna Goswami

We cannot calculate the debt which we owe to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Practically this Krishna consciousness movement is based upon his design because it is he who revived the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and who gave it a modern outlook towards expanding the preaching mission worldwide.

By Deveswara Krsna Das

ISKCON Dhaka, Bangladesh is going to Celebrate The Festival of Chariot (RATHA YATRA) of Lord Jagannath from 16th July to 24th July, 2007. Distinguished dignitaries personalities and guest from home and abroad are expected to join in this 9 days long programme.

By Bhakta Corey

Every one of us wants to distribute books. But what if someone is entangled in householder life, and just don't have time? Well, there is good news for them.

Kishore Krsna das: Retail framed picture store for sale, open on weekends only, great devotee business, work two days and make a decent living.

Atul: What is the email address for Radha govinda das residing in vrindavan and what is the address /Tel/Fax for Loi bazaar - the store for vaisnava texts on internet.

Adiguru dasa: Dear Devotees, New Vrindavan Community is pleased to announce a spiritual retreat with HG Govinda Prabhu and HG Gauranga Prabhu, the senior leaders of ISKCON Chowpatty temple.

By Caitanya Caran Das

By the power of the latest technology, humans can now fly in the sky like the birds and swim in the water like the acquatics?

By Aja Govinda Dasa

They invited my father to give a taste of Indian food, music, dance, and culture and philosophy to the employees of USDA/NRCS. First of all our family presented live music while chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra after I explained them Mantra meditation.

by Josh Bonfili

Hello, Just wanted to stop in and share some of my photos from the event

I took a lot, so more to come.

Ratha yatra photos

If anyone would like a copy of a specific picture just email me and I’ll email you the High Quality version that you can print.

stupidwisdom@gmail.com

1966 July 16 : "I invited your Guru Maharaj to join as head man but he desired to have the property in joint name with Kunjababa. So I became silent and left the whole scheme. Let us now forget all these past incidences."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1968 July 16 : "I understand you are now leading a nice Kirtana party in the streets, and there is good response. The time is fast approaching when we will have to perform such public Kirtana in all the important cities of the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 July 16 : "Everything belongs to Krishna, and if He likes, He can immediately give us the whole USA, but because we are prone to the allurement of maya, He is very cautious."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 July 16 : "If people gave up cigarette smoking and contributed the money they save for spreading Krishna consciousness - we could change the face of the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 July 16 : "Sankirtana Party and Book Department - they are our right and left hands. So everything should be done very carefully and in remembrance that this is Krishna's business that we are doing."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

• The difference and nondifference of Ratha-yatra in Puri and around the world.

Vasárnapi program Budapesten júli 15-én, Bg.5.2.

1970 July 16 : "Regarding swamis and swaminis, you have been misinformed. Among my disciples there is only one Swami, but there is no Swamini. Woman is never offered Sannyasa in the Vedic culture."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Partha-sarathi dasa, a Sergeant First Class in the active duty US Army and is currently on his fourth tour in Iraq. He has received permission from his Commanding Officer to have 2 Ratha Yatra’s, on US Bases, one being Mosul then other being Talafar.

 

For two weeks Gopinatha has to accept the cold wintery mornings here in Melbourne.

This visit is special. It's family business [rather than temple activities] that highlight this week, for my mother turns ninety in two days.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow night we will give her an unforgettable evening of candles, flowers, a specially prepared prasadam dinner, and of course the darsan of Sri Sri Radha Ballabha.

   read more »

O Lord of the demigods! Please quickly take away this useless material existence that I am undergoing. O Lord of the Yadus! Please destroy the boundless accumulation of my sinful reactions. Aho! It is certain that Lord Jagannatha bestows His lotus feet upon those who feel themselves humbled and helpless. May that Lord of the Universe kindly become visible unto me.

Dr.Subas Pani

Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India. The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira, Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel Sudarshana are taken out from the temple precincts in an elaborate ritual procession to their respective chariots. The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North. After a stay for seven days, the deities return to their abode in Srimandira. Ratha Jatra is perhaps the grandest festival on earth. Everything is on a scale befitting the great Lord. Full of spectacle, drama and colour, the festival is a typical Indian fair of huge proportions. It is also the living embodiment of the synthesis of the tribal, the folk, and the autochthonous with the classical, the elaborately formal and the sophisticated elements of the socio-cultural-religious ethos of the Indian civilization.

Evening Address to Pandas and Scholars in Jagannatha Puri by Srila Prabhupada, January 26, 1977.

Click here for PURI ONLINE, a live stream of Ratha-yatra

1972 July 16 : "If you have taken a wife for grhastha life, why are you neglecting? That is not Vaisnava. Vaisnava means he is very much responsible, and if he is householder, then he must be responsible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 July 16 : "I cannot give sannyasa to any devotee who has not proven himself to be responsible in all respects. Better you prove yourself first by being ideal householder and forget all this nonsense."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.60.25 - The exchange of rasa in relationships.

David Haslam, a health care professional in the UK, has written a commentary on my article Report From the Grhasta Nectar Zone, sharing some of his realizations in connection with the topic of caring for women:

We are also aware that the mental health of woman is a great concern, with a high percentage on anti depressants and an increase in self harming especially with the young women. What to say of the miss understood post natal depression, after all giving birth is a happy event isn’t it? We have also seen an increase in alcohol dependency described by NHS staff as a time bomb; why? It’s the pressures of being a mum, wife, business woman trying to have a size zero body. Ask yourself this why the woman in the 1950’s were happier than their counterparts now? This after years of so called equality.

Read the whole article on his blog: Simple Thoughts.

I've been enduring a whole swathe of dental surgery lately. The following politically-incorrect joke gave me a chuckle...

A Scotsman phones a dentist to enquire about the cost for a tooth extraction.

"£85 for an extraction, sir"

The man replies "£85!!! Huv ye no'got anythin' cheaper?"

"That's the normal charge," says the dentist.

"Whit aboot if ye didnae use any anaesthetic?"

"That's unusual, sir, but I could do it and knock £15 off."

"Whit aboot if ye used one of your dentist trainees and still withoot an anaesthetic?"

"I can't guarantee their professionalism and it'll be painful. But the price could drop to £40."

"How aboot if ye make it a trainin' session, 'ave yer student do the extraction with the other students watchin' and learnin'?"

"It'll be good for the students" mulled the dentist. "I'll charge you £5. But it will be traumatic."

"Och, now yer talkin' laddie! It's a deal," said the Scotsman. "Can ye confirm an appointment for the wife next Tuesday then?

Evening bhajan in the Budapest temple, 15 July.

1968 July 15 : "I am contemplating forming a party with you and your wife. My special instruction is that you practice Sankirtana very rhythmically and in a responsive way. One chants first and the others follow. That is a nice system."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 July 15 : "Have very nice Love feasts. They are one of our very strong attracting influences and this program was encouraged by Lord Caitanya."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 July 15 : "Our movement is for ananda - simply bliss - chanting, dancing, feasting and philosophizing. Each month there are many festivals. Observe them, and I will give you a long list of others."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 July 15 : "A recording with the Beatles, Donovan and the Rolling Stones is very good. Turn them towards Krishna Consciousness and our Sankirtana Movement will be appreciated all over the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

Íme Maharaja 2007. július 14-én, Új Vraja-dhamában tartott leckéje Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakuráról és a varnasramáról VIDEÓN!

1970 July 15 : "This forgetfulness is our falldown. You are always with Krsna and when we forget Him we are far, far away. It can take place at any moment."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 July 15 : "None of these are personal affairs. If you take my desires as life and soul, then the whole thing is immediately connected with Krsna. That is the meaning of Parampara."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

If the reader carefully considers, it will be found that the spiritual science gradually evolved from ancient times and became more simple, more clear and more condensed. The more impurities arising from time and place are removed, the more the beauties of the spiritual science brightly shine before us. This spiritual science took birth in the land of kusha grass on the banks of the Sarasvati river in Brahmavarta. As it gradually gained strength, this spiritual science spent its childhood in the abode of Badarikashram, which is covered with snow. It spent its boyhood in Naimisharanya on the banks of the Gomati river and its youth on the beautiful banks of the Kaveri river in the province of Dravida. The spiritual science attained maturity in Navadvip, on the banks of the Ganges, which purifies the universe.

By studying the history of the world, it is found that the spiritual science reached its peak in Navadvip. The Supreme Absolute Truth is the only object of love for the living entities. Unless one worhips Him with attachment, however, the living entity can never attain Him. Even if a person gives up all affection for this world and thinks of the Supreme Lord, He is still not easily achieved. He is controlled and attained by transcendental mellows alone. These mellows are of five types - shanta, dasya, sakya, vatsalya and madhurya.

The first mellow, shanta, is the stage in which the living entity surpasses the pains of material existence and situates himself in transcendence. In that state there is a little happiness, but no feeling of independence. At that time the relationship between the practitioner and the Lord is not yet established.

Dasya rasa is the second mellow. It contains all the ingradients of shanta rasa as well as affection. "The Lord is my master, and I am His eternal servant". This type of relationship is found in dasya rasa. No one cares much for any of the best things of this world unless they are connected with affection. Therefore dasya rasa is superior to shanta rasa in many ways.

Sakya is superior to dasya. In dasya rasa there is a thorn in the form of awe and reverence, but the main ornament in sakya rasa is the feeling of friendship in equality. Among the servants, one who is a friend is superior. There is no doubt about it. In sakya rasa all the wealth of shanta and dasya is included.

It is easy to understand that vatsalya is superior to sakya. A son gives more affection and happiness than any friend. Therefore in vatsalya rasa we find the wealth of four rasas. Although vatsalya rasa is superior to these other rasas, it appears insignificant before madhurya rasa. There may be many secrets unknown between father and son, but this not the case between husband and wife. Therefore, if we deeply consider, it will be seen that all the above-mentioned rasas
attain perfection within madhurya rasa.

If we go through the histories of these five rasas, it is clearly understood that shanta rasa was seen in the beginning days of India. When the soul was not satisfied after performing sacrifices with material ingredients, then transcendentalists like Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanat-kumara, Sananda, Narada and Lord Shiva all became detached from the material world, situated in transcendence and realized shanta rasa.

Much later, dasya rasa manifested in Hanuman, the servant of Sri Ramachandra. That same dasya rasa gradually expanded in the northwest and manifested in a great personality named Moses.

In the age of Dvapara, Uddhava and Arjuna became the qualified authorities of sakhya rasa. They preached this rasa throughout the world. Gradually tha rasa expanded up to the Arabian countries and touched the heart of Mohammed, the knower of religious principles.

Vatsalya rasa manifested throughout India in different forms at different times. Among the different forms, vatsalya mixed with opulence crossed India and appeared in a great personality named Jesus Christ, who was a preacher of Jewish religious principles.

Madhurya rasa first shone brightly in Braj. It is extremely rare for this rasa to enter the hearts of conditioned souls, because this rasa tends to remain with qualified, pure living entities. This confidential rasa was preached by Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, the moon of Navadvipa, along with His followers.

Till now, this rasa has not crossed beyond India. Recently a scholar from England named Newman realized something about this rasa and wrote a book about it. The people of Europe and America have not been satisfied with vatsalya rasa mixed with opulence as preached by Jesus Christ. I hope, by the grace of the Lord, in a very short time they will become attached to drinking the intoxicating nectar of madhurya rasa.

It has been seen that any rasa that appears in India eventually spreads to the western countries, therefore madhurya rasa will soon be preached throughout the world. Just as the sun rises first in India and gradually spreads its lights to the West, the matchless splendor of spiritual truth appears first in India and gradually spreads to the Western countries.

Srila Prabhupad once said that Hawaii is a remnant left over from the previous Yuga.

I believe he has a point.

The view from our house.


Sri Sri Radha Raman, my parent's Deities.