Illumination in Pure Devotional Service
We have only a partial recording due to power cut. We worshipped Śrīla Prabhupāda very nicely with a very wonderful puṣpāñjali ceremony.
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The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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Kṛṣṇa’s birthday ceremony was celebrated with Bābājī’s presence in a very beautiful bathing ceremony.
Few technical glitches here and there, but the mercy is still there. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our community site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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We had a great time swimming and performing kīrtan in a little village in South India.
Very nice shots of Bābājī and children with their Deity carts.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our community site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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This is the festival and fire sacrifice offered in remembrance of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda & Sri Gadadhara.
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The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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This shows the latest progress on our farm project in Ullikkadai Village, District Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The ground has been broken for our house and the foundation is being dug. It’s just a hole in the ground, but that’s how it all starts. Then we visit Chandru’s family where there is a brand-new baby calf born just that morning. We may get the cow and calf for our farm as part of a deal to get a new chariot for the local temple.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our community site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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Our friends from Āyyampet invited us to a small village where they were celebrating the marriage ceremony of Kṛṣṇa with His internal energy. The Deities were dressed very nicely, and then a pakkā Vedic marriage ceremony was performed. Then the Deities were placed on a bullock cart and taken around the village, with nice music and saṅkīrtan.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our community site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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We were invited to Āyyampet last night to preach, and wound up spending several hours doing harinām and speaking about bhakti. We didn’t video the opening kīrtan but it was very sweet. After the Nṛsiṁha Prayers and closing kīrtan there was a nice āratī ceremony to Kṛṣṇa, we took milk and banana prasādam, and were invited to another program in a remote village tomorrow. We also took a look at a house for rent half a block from the Kṛṣṇa temple, big enough to accommodate our whole saṅga.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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When our friends from Kumbakonam invited us to Āyyampet for this festival, we had no idea what we were getting into. We just returned from this unimaginably wonderful festival in Āyyampet, where we were welcomed by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, along with all His devotees, to open a preaching center in the town. There is a very nice Kṛṣṇa temple there, and once a year on the spring full moon He goes for a ride around town in His big chariot, pulled by His devotees. The whole town is decorated for the festival, and the streets are full of devotees chanting and dancing like madmen. We came when the Lord was on His way back to the temple, and immediately were asked to lead the kīrtan. We wound up leading for four full hours in the middle of a crowd of ecstatic devotees.
I can’t tell you how beautiful and ecstatic it was: the devotees were dancing in a big circle, the drummers and kīrtan leaders in the middle, pounding out a very sweet tune. The Lord’s chariot stopped on the pretext of a tree that was too big to pass, and for two hours He sat in His big chariot with His queens Rukmiṇī and Satyabhāma, under the beautiful Spring full moon, absorbed in the bhāva of hearing His pure devotees chant His Holy Name. There was incense in the air, big fireworks were going off overhead, the crowd was cheering ecstatically. Since there is no way I can describe it properly, you’ll just have to wait until Kānāi uploads the video he took. Even that won’t really do it justice; you just had to be there. It was ten times as much transcendental fun as we had in Māyāpur.
Afterward of course there was more sweet kīrtan in the temple and in the bhajan hall just across the way, and then a very nice feast. The Kumbakonam ISKCON devotees were also there, and we had a nice friendly conversation. They were also overwhelmed with transcendental pleasure. After the feast one nice gentleman, who has been supporting the prasādam for the Kumbakonam ISKCON temple for over ten years continuously, invited us to move into a house he is building. Our devotee friends in Āyyampet are also connected with the local cable TV station, and will arrange for us to have a regular show. Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement is so perfect, and He is so kind and merciful, who else could treat His servants so lovingly!
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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Last night we had a really splendid adventure that I would like to share with you. Kānāi Prabhu videoed most of it, and I will post the video to YouTube later when the video is finished processing. But I think I need to explain what went on so you can follow the video.
Yesterday was Rāma-nāvamī, the Appearance Day of Lord Rāmacandra. Our dear friend Candramohan has long wanted to bring us to his ancestral village, so he invited us yesterday. We rented a small bus, piled in and took off for the villages.
First we stopped in Ullikkadai, where we will be leasing land and building a small āśram. We looked at the land and building site, then walked to the temple of Lord Jagat-rakṣaḥ Perumal, the Deity of Lord Viṣṇu worshiped by Ambariṣā Mahārāja. He is indeed very beautiful, but unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside the temple. We did take some video of the huge old āmalakī tree behind the temple that self-manifested a Lion Conch when some people attempted to cut it down. Finally we visited Śiva’s house, where we will be staying while the new house is being built. (not shown on the video)
The next scene in the video shows us across the river in Āyyampet, visiting the temple of Candramohan’s family. This is also a Viṣṇu Perumal temple (founded by one of the 12 Alvārs, or great saints of South India) but somehow it is not very famous, making it quiet and secluded. We do a long kīrtan there, punctuated by various typical South Indian temple rituals. In the process we get to meet many of Candramohan’s family members.
I should mention that since these temples were nationalized, the priests are government employees. They are not very devotional, and although they notionally come from brāhmaṇa families, many of them are not very qualified in devotional service. The priest was very impatient with our kīrtan, and made some uncalled-for remarks to some of the people. Candramohan put him in his place though, and we continued without incident. The kīrtan got very ecstatic, especially at the end when we sang Nṛsiṁha-praṇāma. Don’t miss the last part!
The last sequence shows us in Candramohan’s family home, meeting his relatives including father, mother, brother, sister and many more relatives and friends of the family. This was very enjoyable since they are all nice devotees of Kṛṣṇa. We had a lively conversation including much laughter. Last night was sort of like dating someone for a while, then being invited over to meet their family. I think everyone was pleased with the result, especially us.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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This video recounts our first visit to the Yoga-pitha, where Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu made His auspicious appearance in this world. This is the origin and the center of His exalted mission to benedict the entire world with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Video by Śrī Kānāi Prabhu.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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