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(Not only) For new Devotees

Online group (not only) for new devotees—offering introductory articles, manuals and instructions, and personal experiences and realizations about Krishna consciousness, Srila Prabhupada, among other content.

Readers are invited to join this group and contribute their own thoughts, ideas, realizations, and questions!

Latest Posts Here

Battlefield Bhajans Vol. 21

September 4, 2008 - 8:19pm — partha-sarathi

Arriving at HG Vaisesika Prabhu's and Mother Nirakula's was wonderful and I was treated to seeing their amazing altar. For those that don't know: ISKCON Silicion Valley is amazing. The program they have in place is cutting edge and really setting an example for the rest of ISKCON to follow. I recommend anyone interested in congregation development to go there and take notes.

Today: the Worst Way of Serving Prasadam

August 28, 2008 - 7:38pm — kaunteya

by Kaunteya das

Actually the method doesn't even deserve the verb 'serving.'

The "system" is: someone brings breakfast prasadam (generally the morning maha plus something cooked in larger quantity and a drink) to the prasadam hall in plastic buckets of different sizes (often without enough spoons for serving); then people come and make their plates.

About ISKCON & Srila Prabhupada

Who is Srila Prabhupada?

September 7, 2007 - 8:07pm — phani

founder.jpg

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)

This online-book collates information about Srila Prabhupada from different sources. If you are aware of other resources regarding his life, please share them with us!

ISKCON GBC Resolutions dealing with Temple Management

September 3, 2008 - 3:13am — phani

These resolutions I found looking through the published minutes of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission, mostly in Dandavats.com archives.

Originally I wanted to provide a reference of laws that exist in our society to deal with problems between rank-and-file devotees and their managers. Such procedures have been laid out by the GBC and I'll publish them here a little later (almost falling asleep, and will have to spend most of tomorrow at the lab's and my doc's waiting room).

I found the spirit of this Guideline from 1996 very inspiring, though, and wanted to bring it to your attention straight away. If everybody followed this, there'd be much less problems than we see today...

Pillars of Success: The Principles and Practices of Reform in ISKCON

August 16, 2008 - 7:49pm — phani

by Ravindra Svarupa das

In this essay, Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu describes his involvement in ISKCON's guru reform movement, instrumental in ending the "zonal acarya system," the dark ages into which ISKCON descendet soon after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance from this planet.

Analysing what went wrong with ISKCON at that time, Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu arrives at conclusions that are important to today's issues as well.

"The point is that the difficulties that precipitated the guru reform movement are intimately connected with psychological patterns and styles of relationships that began to establishing themselves from the beginning. These are grounded in the inability of many devotees to acknowledge and deal fruitfully with their own spiritual shortcomings and failures, or, in traditional vocabulary, their inability to execute the process of anartha-nivrtti (the eradication of "unwanted things" from the heart)."

And while the zonal acarya era is a thing of the past, ISKCON, the institution and we, it's members, would do well to apply the remedial measures he recommended at that time in our own lives and spheres of influence.

"...I concluded that the only way I could responsibly conduct research on such a loaded subject was to attempt to entrust myself to the guidance of Supersoul, the indwelling guide and director of intelligence. I feared more than anything else my own stupidity. I was the Straw Man, and I needed a brain. I decided to entrust myself to Prabhupada's instructions for attaining direction from Supersoul. Thus, as a remedial measure, I undertook to rigorously restore my sadhana to a strict level." ...

"At the beginning of the reform movement, I tried to show how within ISKCON concealment of failure leads to isolation. This principle holds as much for relations among communities as among individuals. Progress in spiritual life, individually and institutionally, depends first of all on the frank acknowledgement of shortcoming, errors, and mistakes. Without that, all "progress" is mere bluff."

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ISKCON & BBT Websites

Japa-group
Latest Post

Chant Like It's Your Last Round

September 6, 2008 - 12:52pm — RasaRasika108

Before chanting my rounds today, I was meditating on the following senario:

You have been given 10 minutes before you have to leave your body...you have enough time to chant 1 round before leaving...how good would that last round be? How much concentration and attention would you invest in that last round?

When I started my Japa...this meditation stayed with me and it helped me a great deal with chanting attentively and with concentration on the Holy Name....I was able to chant some very nice rounds as a result.

Manuals & Instructions
Video by Mahatama dasaRasaRasika108

Here is a very nice video broadcast on krishna.com live where Mahatama dasa talks about the mood of chanting and how we should be aware of pronounciation and concentration on the sound vibration.

[Watch Video]
Ten tips for the aspiring devotee of KrishnaDavid Haslan

Short video clip with real tips, accompanied by funny pictures.

[Watch Video]
Sita-pati Analyzes Examples of Live Debatesphani

Sita-pati Prabhu explains what to do and which mistakes to avoid during public debates, using video clips of online discussions between different opponents.
How to organize the roomsita-pati

Great points from Seth Godin, easy to apply to a Krishna Conscious outreach program - especially if you are free from the layers of constraints and expectations imposed by doing a traditional program in a temple. My comments, based on doing the Hare Krishna Sunday Feast in Brisbane's Govinda's restaurant for two years, inline:
Quoting out of contextsita-pati

That is to say, if I take a whole lot of things that Srila Prabhupada said on one subject in different environments to different people, and then stick them all together and present this aggregation in a different environment I may be "quoting Prabhupada verbatim", but I'm doing so in a way and a context that he himself did not do, and one that does not necessarily reflect the same intent that he had when he made those statements.
VedaBase Hint: Copying Large QuotesMadhava Gosh

Madhava Gosh Prabhu shows how to quote larger sections of text from the folio without having to stitch together small pieces.
Preaching at the Workplacephani

Kesava Krishna Prabhu explains that preaching to people who are not interested in Krishna consciousness, but who we have to live with on a daily basis, requires more than quoting quotes and explaining the philosophy: we have to make them like and respect us before we can expect them to listen.
Public Speaking: A Few Tipskmdasa

Kripamoya Prabhu shares some useful tips for devotees not used to public speaking.
The "Giving Class" - Classsita-pati

"Here's some more nectar on giving class. This is a guide to giving class written by Mahavan prabhu, who heads up the Parama Karuna Men's Ashram in Wellington, New Zealand. It's very detailed and specific and is nicely complemented by the comic book I published the other day."
Stem Cells at the Water Coolerphani

"That can get tricky, especially when someone tosses me the inevitable “So, what do you guys think about _____” type of question. Fill in the blank with the hot topic du jour – immigration, Iraq, the environment, same-sex marriage – and suddenly… is it me, or did it just get a bit hotter in here?"
Brahmacaryaphani
How to Prepare and Offer Prasadamphani

Explanation of the basic principles and prayers to offer suitable food to your home deities via Srila Prabhupada, published by Sankarshan Prabhu at his website, Ultimate Self-Realization.
Setting up Your Altarphani

Basic Instructions on setting up your home altar, published by Sankarshan Prabhu at his website, Ultimate Self-Realization.
Krishna Consciousness at Homephani

The principles of Krishna consciousness, explained for new devotees who want to take up the process at home.
How Many Devotees Have Tulasi at Home?kaunteya
Bhakti-vriksha Manualphani

An important publication of the Congregational Development Ministry where the Bhakti-vriksha Program is explained in detail. The online-publication is almost complete; some references and report-forms are still missing. You can purchase a hard-copy of the book in our Online Bookshop, at this address.

More Posts in this Channel

Local News

August 27, 2008 - 9:31pm — Ravindra Svarupa

It is Tuesday afternoon and a day of rest. Peace and quiet reign beneficently over the Philadelphia temple as we recover from the hubbub of the holiday weekend. In this case the original meaning of "holiday" actually applies: "holy day." For us, the holiday is the day we work the hardest. Since our hard work is exclusively for the pleasure of the Lord, however, it produces no karma. (In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna defines karma as work that generates future material bodies.) In this case, then, our karma-less holiday is a foretaste of the permanent vacation from mrityu-samsara, the treadmill of birth and death in the world.

Battlefield Bhajans Vol. 20

August 21, 2008 - 7:32pm — partha-sarathi

Ali Asalim Air Base, Kuwait

 I am sitting in Kuwait at the moment, having finished fifeteen months in combat, the time I have here is a very slow pace. The operational tempo I am use to is slowing down, making more time in my life for devotional activities.

We arrived at 0400 hrs and were processed. Afterwards I wanted to stay awake for the long flight, but there was a problem—our plane was broken down in the States.  Oh well, I thought, let me go and walk around.

The Nature of the Self: A Gaudiya Vaisnava Understanding

August 19, 2008 - 6:59pm — Ravindra Svarupa

by Ravindra Svarupa das

The Sparks of God

The soul, or self (atma), is described as a separated, minute fragment of God, the Supersoul (paramatma). God is like a fire; the individual souls, sparks of the fire. As the analogy suggests, the self and the Superself are simultaneously one with and different from each other. They are the same in quality, for both the soul and the Supersoul are brahman, spirit. Yet they differ in quantity, since the Superself (param brahman—"supreme brahman"—in Bhagavad-gita 10.12) is infinitely great while the individual selves are infinitesimally small.

More Words of Wisdom from Vaisesika Prabhu

August 14, 2008 - 6:10pm — gauranga kishore

Here at ISKCON Silicon Valley we are in the middle of our Janmastami Vyasa Puja Sankirtan Festival, which is another two weekend event. We've completed the first weekend and we are heading into the second. Below are the emails that Vaisesika Prabhu has sent out to inspire us to perform the sankirtan yajna.

 

Gajendra and the US Army

August 13, 2008 - 7:00pm — partha-sarathi

Mother Mitravinda is also a soldier, she joined the Army some time ago and has made the transition to her first assignment. Below is a letter she sent today about some preaching she is doing.

"...Sitting there in the motor pool I was able to give a book report and tell of the pastimes of Gajendra. The soldiers were so excited that i called BBT and ordered more books, I was low and need to stock up again."

Toilet Blues

August 12, 2008 - 2:09pm — kaunteya

by Kaunteya das

The building has some unofficial affectation at officially representing ISKCON in town, and we were shocked to observe some of the incongruities in appearance and accommodation, towering among them the inappropriateness of the bathroom facilities.

Too Much Money Can Ruin Things

August 22, 2008 - 6:22pm — Madhava Gosh

We have seen that material nature is everywhere, even in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

“Home, country, family, society, wealth and all sorts of corollaries are all causes of bondage in the material world, where the threefold miseries of life are concomitant factors.”

SB 1.10.11-12

Good Association

August 20, 2008 - 4:12pm — David Haslan

This is an amazing clip available on youtube about association, well edited and put together, it’s a must to be checked out

Watch Video

Brooms and Other Cleaning Utensils in Srila Prabhupada's Room

August 19, 2008 - 5:08am — kaunteya

by Kaunteya das

In the temple where I am at the moment there is Srila Prabhupada's room. Actually Srila Prabhupada visited twice this temple, and therefore his room is "really" his room. There is also a Deity sitting in the room (in the "holding the translation microphone" mudra), and in front of the deity sit, day and night, brooms and other cleaning utensils.

Life in Boxes

August 14, 2008 - 3:20pm — David Haslan

As I sat overlooking the small Welsh Valley village were I live one thing occurred to me the importance of BOXES in our lives.

We live in a box, and we watch or listen to a box.
We then get into a box, this takes us to work we like to call it a car or public transport.

We work in a box or use boxes for work, surrounded by boxes that contain instruments for us to use or boxes to help us produce write or communicate.

Battlefield Bhajans Vol. 19

August 13, 2008 - 10:41am — partha-sarathi

Today is Rupa Goswami's disappearance day. It was also the day of the last program in Iraq. This program was with the Indian-bodied contract workers here on the base. While going over material to discuss during the class it made perfect sense to speak about the pastimes of this pure soul, Srila Rupa Goswami. ...

But to my amazement more people kept coming, and more and more! When the program started the place was packed, there was no sitting room. I made a remark that all of Mosul is in there, and one man said "Prabhu, this is the last program, everyone is here because we don't know if a devotee will ever be in Mosul again."

Invocation: “Entering the Inner Kirtana”

August 12, 2008 - 7:57am — Ravindra Svarupa

The following is an invocation recently given by Ravindra Svarupa dasa to ISKCON youth participating in a japa retreat in Saranagati Village as part of the Krishna Culture Festival Tour.

First, let me tell you how happy I became when Purusa-sukta Prabhu informed me that you all have made this retreat a part of your bus tour.

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