Justin Connor - Kaliyuga

Gorgeous post-apocalyptic pop music that recalls early Pink Floyd and Radiohead.

Justin Connor’s debut album, Kaliyuga, boldly sets out to go where no CD has ever gone before. Can you imagine floating through a sonic montage of spacy melodies, introspective lyrics, and a soulful, meditative voice reminiscent of a young Roger Waters?

"The album title, 'Kaliyuga', is a Vedic reference to the age that we’re all currently living in – an age defined by war, greed, consumption, decadence, and an overall deterioration of human existence. After months of pouring through various Vedic texts,” Justin says reflectively, “I began to sense a strong correlation between many of the deeper truths and questions that I was having trouble understanding in my own life, to the many obstacles that this time period reflects…so I guess this album evolved in an attempt to elicit consciousness, while remaining aware of the many pitfalls that 'Kaliyuga' may present along the way."

www.justinconnor.com

ISKCON Nepal

Please take the Darshan of their Lordship Budhanilkanthaji the self manifested deity of Lord Vishnu in Nepal. This deaty is just next to Iskcon (Hare Krishna) Temple in Kathmandu Nepal.

iskcon nepal

Mayapur 2006: Experience Navadvipa Dhama's Ever Increasing Sakti

Srila Prabhupada started the Mayapur Festival in 1972 as a facility for his followers to enter Sridhama Mayapur for enlivenment, empowerment, and purification. From its humble beginnings, the Mayapur Festival has developed dramatically and now attracts thousands of devotees, who, upon entering Mayapur, experience the incredible glories of Kali-yuga's most powerful dhama.

www.chakra.org

Gita Jayanti, Festival of the Bhagavad Gita - Sunday December 11

Bhagavad Gita (Song of God) is the crest jewel of India’s ancient wisdom. Five thousand years ago Lord Krishna spoke these 700 verses to His friend and disciple, Arjuna. They have illuminated and guided the path of Indian civilization ever since.

Part of the celebrations will be a ceremony in which offerings will be placed on the sacred fire while chanting each of the 108 principal verses. There will be a drama called “Dracula Gets A Gita”, music, dancing and feasting. A power point presentation on the big screen will tell you ‘everything you always wanted to know about the Gita.’ Hot meals will be served throughout the evening.

www.utahkrishnas.com

WVA Meeting Report Kartik 2005

The 12th annual meeting since the foundation of the WVA was conducted in the Vinod Vani Gaudiya Math next to the temple of Sanatan Goswami in Vrindavan, Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan. It was nice to see the new magazine of the WVA came out for kartik and an increased participation of members showed up.

Srila B.B. Tirtha Maharaja, the president of the WVA gave a very inspiring speech. The meeting went until a large parikrama party arrived and a great feast was served.

www.vina.cc

Mexico Spiritual Adventure Bus Tour

Organized by volunteers of ISKCON Youth Ministry, this tour is ideal for young people age 15 and up to experience Krishna conscious adventures in a shorter time period than the 10-week Summer festival tours. Get your feet wet on the Winter tour and see how you like it. Caution: You might catch the bliss bug.

www.krishna.com

'Care for Cows' Mailing List Now Open

The 'Care for Cows' Project in Vrndavana is helping many abandoned cows in Sri Vrndavana dham. We presently need to acquire more land for their protection. The Care for Cows Mailing List has been activated to share ideas and information in this regard. Devotees and well-wishers wanting to join this mailing list are welcome to sign up at

groups.yahoo.com/group/CareforCows

Pearls of Devotion - New book releases

This book is a collection of divine sermons of a pure devotee—Most Revered Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Gosvami Maharaja, the most affectionate disciple of Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad, the founder-acarya of Sri Caitanya Gaudiya Math. These thought-provoking sermons are empowered with divinity and are the cure for our material miseries.

www.vina.cc

Braj Rakshak Dal - A formidable forum to serve the dham

Braj Mandal is the unique place of Pilgrimage in the world. There are 1300 villages in Braj Mandal and many hills and forests. And of course the most famed places of Krishna lila such as Vrindavan and Gokul, Varsana and Nandagram and practically all these forests, villages and mountains relayed to the wonderful pastimes of the divine couple Radha Govindaji and their many lilas. The Srimad Bhagavatam describes many of these pastimes and many acaryas have further elaborated on them. And the entire cultures of India, practically all music and dance styles are inspired by what happened in this special region. We cannot think of any other place in the world with such an extensive influence on India and on the planet and which has been a place of pilgrimage since times unaccounted for in history practically.

www.vina.cc

Food for Life's Change Of Heart

Food for Life, Vrindavan, has printed 100,000 copies of this picturesquely illustrated booklet in Hindi, for free distribution to visiting pilgrims and residents of Vrindavan. It is a novel take on the desperate need for urgent action to save Vrindavan and Brajbhumi. An English edition will be printed shortly.

www.vina.cc

First official Diwali celebration on Staten Island

Members of the of Staten Island Indian community celebrated Diwali in Snug Harbor on November 3 --the first such event to be sponsored by a City Council Member in Staten Island.

Council Member Michael McMahon (D-North Shore) who was welcomed by cheers and applause by the crowd, said, "The pride of America is in its cultural diversity and the pride of its individual communities rest upon the foundation of shared experiences, cultural contribution and trust between and among the diverse group. Our Indian Community is proud of its historic contribution to the American way of life and to the life here in Staten Island, notably your community in all its diversity express itself in business, medicine, culture and arts and the Diwali festival of lights celebrates this positive force of this in Indian community. Together as one community of Staten Island we share this festival of lights, triumph of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and light over darkness so that we may not only be happy of our own but the world at large and pledged to continue the ceremony every year."

The event began with the lighting of the lamp by Rabindranath Panda, the education consul at the Consulate General of India in New York, Michael McMahon, Gadadhara Pandit Das, priest and teacher at the Hare Krishna Temple in Manhattan, Dr. Krishne Urs, Chairman, Staten Island Hindu Temple, Banthe Kondanna, Staten Island Sri Lankan Buddist Temple and Rajiv Gowda, Council Member, District 31, NYC Community Education Council.

Following the ceremony, the guests were treated to delicious vegetarian food from Taste of India II and Diwali Sweets from Staten Island Hindu Temple.

www.indiapost.com

Prisoners celebrate Kartik Purnima in Baripada Jail

The inmates of 120-year-old Baripada circle jail today participated in a day-long "Bhajan and Sankirtan" inside the campus to celebrate Kartik Purnima.

The prisoners chanted "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna-Krishna Krishna Hare Hare" while moving round a flower bedecked pedestal on which the portrait of Krishna and Radha was placed.

In the morning, 31 women prisoners, had visited the temple of Lord Hanuman located just in front of the jail and paid their obeisance.

news.webindia123.com

Hanuman The Film

Download promo video 1 promo video 2

www.hanuman-thefilm.com

George Harrison Concert and Memorial Service

On December 4th, our Iskcon temple here in Tucson, Arizona, will celebrate our 5th Annual Sriman George Harrison Memorial Service & Concert. George did so much to assist his beloved spiritual master in the spreading of Krishna consciousness around the world, that we try to show our humble appreciation every year with a festival in his honor during the Sunday Feast program.

All you need is love (Krishna).

www.vnn.org

Yah Elah - Hare Krishna

Ya Elah is a group born out of a longing to illuminate the beauty, mystery and power of the world's many Spiritual Paths. "Our music combines the sacred texts and liturgies of many traditions to reveal the deep knowing of our hearts, that all life is one. We send these songs out as prayers on the breath of our hearts. May they help to bring healing and a sense of wonder at the ways we have named and connected to the Divine."

Song: Yah Elah - Hare Krishna (2:57 min, Mp3, 2.8 MB)
License: CC-by-nc-sa 1.0
Source: magnatune.com

Hare Krishna - Matchless gifts

flickr photos

Hare Krishna holds peace festival

Devotees from different parts of the world, including India, Ghana, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroun, and Nigeria, attended the festival, which kicked off at the Palmgrove Estate gate, Ikorodu road.

As early as 8:00 a.m hundreds of joyful and excited devotees and invited guests had converged on Palmgrove Estate entrance for the take off of the event.

Later, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Praveen Verma, formally declared the festival open by sweeping the road in front of a beautifully decorated chariot, which bore the symbols of peace.

In his vote of thanks, Bolaji Rosiji, executive director of the Guranga Foundation, said: “The event signaled the beginning of a revolution in Nigeria, as we see different religious and ethnic nationalities coming together and working joyfully together.”

sunnewsonline.com

Lord of the Epics

The Mahabharata. Hindu mythology's greatest epic might just become Bollywood's biggest ever cinematic venture. The magic of this powerful epic is currently being recreated by producer Bobby Bedi into a trilogy with a budget of Rs 300 crore.

"The trilogy will capture the battles, intrigues, spiritual complexity and cultural aesthetics of India, 4,000 years ago. This will be my big project for the next three years," says Bedi, adding that he discovered the power of the Mahabharata's storyline after reading Girish Karnad's script for Agnivarsha.

What will bring the superstar touch to the Mahabharata is the cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan (together on the screen for the first time) and Rani Mukherji.

"While Rani will play Draupadi, Shah Rukh and Aamir will play Karan and Arjun, but I can't reveal who's who. I hope to make a historic movie series in the manner of The Lord Of The Rings.

My Mahabharata will have the same imagination, special effects and creativity of Peter Jackson's trilogy.

In fact, we've asked The Lord Of The Rings' team to work with us on this project. Mani Ratnam will direct the trilogy, which will roll soon," says Bedi,the chairman of CII's entertainment committee.

Times of India

Hare Krishna Devotees greeted Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon From Arizona, Usa

Devotees from Sri Sri Radha Madhava Hari Dham, Hare Krishna Temple, ISKCON Phoenix, Arizona greeted the Mayor of Phoenix Phil Gordon during the groundbreaking ceremony of Ekta Mandir. The Mayor was garlanded by HG Jaya Gaur Sundar, President, ISKCON of Phoenix.

The Mayor greeted by saying Hare Krishna in response, and gracefully accepted the blessed garland, promising to visit the Hare Krishna Mandir in near future!

Earlier, HG Vijay Gauranga performed the groundbreaking ceremony puja for the forthcoming EktaTemple building, which will be ready in two years at the cost of three million dollars!

www.chakra.org

Massimo Schuster’s puppets retell the Mahabharata in contemporary light

Like many visitors to India, puppeteer and storyteller Massimo Schuster professes his love for the country. ‘‘I’ve been visiting India for the past 15 years, but I don’t love India blindly,’’ he says.

Schuster is the president of UNIMA, an international body of puppeteers, and is in the city to perform his puppet show Mahabharata, at National School of Drama’s Abhimanch Auditorium, today. As he instructs the light men at NSD, lights bathe the decidedly Western looking, child-sized puppets fashioned by the noted Italian artist Enrico Baj. "The idea was to make the puppets partially Indian and partially Western. While there is no attempt to copy Indian art, the costumes use Indian shawls," says Schuster. He performs alone, relating the stories, as light and sound create an effect on the stationary puppets

Mahabharata has completed 100 shows and toured Africa, the US, and most of Europe. But does his largely Western audience relate to these quintessential Indian stories? "True, Mahabharata is the spirit of India, but for the Westerner, it gives a peek into what other cultures have developed as their value system," he says, emphasising on the need of such stories in an increasingly "Americanised" world.

"We need epics today. We live in a world driven by money. Epics speak about the human spirit, about values and culture," he says.

cities.expressindia.com

Kalam to participate in Mahabharata Utsav

President A P J Abdul Kalam is scheduled to take part in the nine-day ''The Mahabharata Utsav'' to be held here from November 13.

Addressing a press conference here, Former Chief Justice of India M N Venkatachaliah, also the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Mahabharata Samshodhana Pratisthanam organising the Utsav, said the event was a national festival of Indian cultural heritage.

The teachings of Mahabharatha were relevant even today and provided an answer to many problems. Even the mighty Pandavas could ultimately win the war only with the guidance of God and this was a message the epic gave to all generations, he said.

news.webindia123.com

Sri Gopastami

On this day Radhika is able to join Krishna for His gostha lila (cowherding pastimes), disguised as a cowherd boy. How does She manage that?

On this day Krishna feels great separation from Sri Radhika in the morning. His friend Subala (who looks just like Radhika) decides to help Him out by saying, “Just sit and wait here, Kanai! I will bring Your beloved here in no time!” He hurries over to Yavata, the village where Sri Radhika lives (with Her husband), and knocks on the door of Her mother-in-law Jatila’s house. Jatila opens the door and asks him: “Subala, what do you want here?”

gaudiyadiscussions.com

Observing Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day

Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Here is the extraordinary person who dedicated his life to teaching the world about Krishna consciousness, ancient India’s most noble message of spiritual wisdom.

Srila Prabhupada wrote more than forty volumes of translation and commentary on such classics as Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), Chaitanya Charitamrita, and the Bhagavad-gita.

Vaishnava blog feeds

Govardhana Puja in Vrndavana 2005 picture gallery

www.iskcon.net.au

ISKCON UK on TV

ISKCON UK will appear in a Channel 4 religious “reality documentary” on Saturday the 26th of November and again on Saturday the 3rd of December 2005 at 7 pm. We have not been given confirmation of the title but this I will make public in due course.

The previous ISKCON UK National Communications office has been instrumental in ensuring that ISKCON UK devotees, training as priests, were going to represent the UK Hindu community as part of a series which shows how the major religions in the UK prepare and train their followers. At times it was an arduous task convincing Channel 4 that ISKCON is truly a representative of ancient Hindu (Vedic) culture.

Vaishnava blog feeds

Diwali in Governor’s Mansion

Last night Utah history was made with the first Diwali celebration in the Governor’s mansion.

Ambassador Sen explained that Diwali means “row of lights.” As light dissipates darkness, it represents the triumph of good over evil. We must resist darkness and ignorance by allowing the light from within to brightly shine.

Vaishnava blog feeds

Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir celebrated Govardhan Puja

Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir celebrated ‘Govardhan Puja’ on November 3,2005.
The program started at 12.00 noon with bhajans and kirtans which went on for an hour. After which H.H.Radhanath Maharaj delivered a lecture extolling the nature of Govardhan Hill and how he is always serving Krishna and pleasing Him by his service.

Vaishnava blog feeds

The Godfather of Russian Rap

Long before the birth of MC Pavlov, Alexei Pavlov went through a spiritual rebirth when he became a Hare Krishna devotee in the mid-1980's. The first among his friends to start smoking and drinking (at age 14), he was also the first to give those habits up, quitting cold at age 20 because he already realized he was "doing it too much," he says.

Soon after, Pavlov met a man who was distributing photocopies of the Bhagavad-Gita, the 5,000-year-old scripture of the Krishna faith. He struck up a conversation with the man, and told him of his recent conversion to clean living. "So, you've given up smoking and drinking," said the man. "Now it's time to give up eating meat." "Why?" asked Pavlov. "Because it's nothing but dead flesh," said the man. And from that moment on, says Pavlov, he has not had a bite of meat, fish or eggs. "It's dead flesh!" he says, with his characteristic conviction. "Oh, man, it's so simple! Who wants to put dead, rotting flesh in their mouth? As soon as he said that, I couldn't even imagine eating meat anymore."

www.russianchronicles.com

Fireworks, Lights Brighten Diwali Hindu Festival

Diwali may be news to many U.S. residents, but "it is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in the world, being a national holiday in India, Fiji, [Nepal], and Trinidad," G. Padmanabhan of the Hindu Temple Society of North America in Flushing, New York, said in an e-mail interview.

Diwali comes from the Sanskrit words deepa and avail and literally means "row of lights." Padmanabhan explains that one story holds that on Diwali, the Hindu Lord Krishna destroyed Narakasura, the demon and titan of hell who conquered and plundered heaven and Earth.

In northern India, Hindus also worship the god Krishna at his abode, the sacred hill Govardhana. Krishna, believed to be the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, has deep religious significance to Vishnu devotees.

Nationalgeographic.com

Chant-astic Krishna crew in town

MEN in orange robes, hypnotic chanting and vegetarian Indian food it can only mean one thing.

The Hare Krishnas, those perpetually happy, tambourine-shaking God-worshippers that you bump into at Glastonbury at four in the morning and have discussions about "the meaning of it all" descended on Ealing Town Hall last Thursday for the annual Hare Krishna Festival UK.

www.ealingtimes.co.uk

Here, watch Krishna lifting an edible Govardhan hill

A mountain of freshly cooked rice, ponds full of milkshakes and hills of barfis — this may sound like a scene from a fairy tale. However, here we are not talking about any fairy tale, but the Govardhan Puja festival organised by ISCKON at the Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir, Girgaum, Chowpatty. On Thursday, as part of the festivities, a tableaux made entirely of food items on were display.

The ‘mountain of prasad’ depicting the Govardhan hill that Lord Krishna had effortlessly balanced on his little finger for seven days was clearly the centre of attraction for thousands of devotees who thronged the temple to offer their prayers and partake the prasad with divine blessings.“Most of the food has been prepared by the regular members of the congregation at their homes. I prepared about 5 Kg of burfi,” said Shoba Fernandes, a regular visitor and closely involved with the temple’s affairs.

dnaindia.com

Spiritual solutions begin with tolerance

The Interfaith Alliance Hawai'i held its annual dinner and celebration on Oct. 15. It was a wonderful evening of honoring the strength, wisdom and beauty of our spiritual diversity. In a time of such religious polarity and exclusivity, it was an inspiring and hope-filled time.

We were led in silent reflection by a Buddhist minister, a minister of Unity Church chanted a traditional Hawaiian oli, members of Hare Krishna offered their music and chants and a minister of the United Church of Christ led our closing Circle of Peace. In addition to these spiritual traditions, we heard reports about the participation of other faiths: Muslim, Jewish, Bahai and Hindu, as well as a wide variety of Christian denominations.

starbulletin.com

More than 10,000 people from different regions of the UK would participate in Diwali celebrations at Bhaktivedanta Manor Hare Krishna temple,

London: More than 10,000 people from different regions of the UK would participate in Diwali celebrations at Bhaktivedanta Manor Hare Krishna temple, near Watford, on November 6.

The occasion will also be marked by a memorial service for the victims of the Delhi serial bomb blasts which killed 64 and injured hundreds on October 29.

''While celebrating Diwali, we thought we should also remember the victims of the bomb blasts,'' said Gauri Dasa, President of Bhaktivedanta Manor.

newkerala.com

Haryana to bring the holy city of Kurukshetra on international tourist map

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said the state government was making all out efforts to bring the holy city of Kurukshetra on the international map of religious and historical tourism.

"Steps are being taken to provide better facilities to the pilgrims and tourists coming to the land of Gita," Mr Hooda said while speaking at 'Shri Mahachandi Maha Yajna Sammelan' here.

He urged the people of Haryana to work hard for the speedy development of the state in line with the celestial message of Lord Krishna who "taught us to perform our duties without the hope of getting anything in return".

webindia123.com

Mathura resonates with holy chants by ISKCON members

Hundreds of Lord Krishna devotees today took out the 'Vrindavan Parikrama' to mark the 'Nirvana' day of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) founder Prabhupad.

The devotees comprised both Indian and foreign ISKCON members, who were showered with petals along the Parikrama path.

webindia123.com

Mahabharata on a puppet string

Schuster emphasises that texts like the Iliad and the Mahabharata are necessary to encourage people to know and respect cultures other than their own.

French artiste Massimo Schuster has chosen to use puppets to narrate the Mahabharata.

“The Mahabharata belongs to all humanity. Everyone should know that there are great stories outside their own culture,” Mr Schuster says, justifying his choice of the classic Indian epic for a production travelling primarily in Europe.

www.deccanherald.com