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Gita Jayanthi -

An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading His Bhagavad Geetha. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavath Geetha just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavath Geetha do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The randfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of

water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavath Gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives."

After you cleaned, now you can able to understand the meaning and know your loopholes(bad habits - impurity) inside us and we try to fill(close) that holes after that we become fulfilled for lifetime.
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[Universal ISKCON]

New Orleans Ratha Yatra 2009 -
For detail contact:
Subarata Das @ 504-343-8492
Divyagopal Das @ 504-338-6775
Sarvatarak Das @ 504-975-9960
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Gaura Purnima 2010 – Festival Schedule. -

3 Feb	Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati’s apperance day. HH Gour Govinda Maharaja’s disappearance day.
6 -17 Feb	GBC meetings
13 Feb	Devotees Arrival
14 Feb	Festival Inauguration
15 - 17 Feb	Panca-tattva Abhisheka of the Holy Name Cultural programs, Sponsored Sat-sanga Seminars
15 Feb	HH Tamal Krishna Goswami’s Disappearance Congregational Preaching Night
16 Feb	Book Distribution Awards
17 Feb	Parikrama Adhivasa, afternoon visiting Yogapitha
18-24 Feb	Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama
24 Feb	Sri Sri Radha-Madhava Boat Festival
24 - 27 Feb	Festivities and Cultural programs
25 Feb	Ganga Puja
26 Feb	Santipur festival
27 Feb	Visit Katwa to commemorate 500 years of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sannyas, Immersion of Ashes of Departed Souls, Elephant Procession
28 Feb	Ratha Yatra Gaura Purnima
1 Mar	Jagannath Mishra’s Feast
2 Mar	Devotees Depart

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Gopastami -
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Diwali and Govardhana Puja -

A must to attent !!!!!

[Universal ISKCON]

Go-Puja 2009? - New Talavan Farm Community - Date: Saturday, November 7th 2009

Click on the picture to expand it.
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[Universal ISKCON]

Online Puja - By gopijana

[Universal ISKCON]

Pung Cholom Manipuri Drums -

Brilliant "Pung Cholom" performance presented by artists of Manipur Jagoi Marup. " Pung" is a unique drum that is the soul of vaishnavite sankritana music of Manipur. Usually performed by a group of male drummers, it demands a combination of dance, rythmn, acrobatics, and skilful coordination between the performing group-members.
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Festival of India 2009 - Utah - by Amrita Gopal Das

“Breathtaking!”
“I’m speechless! Such a beautiful festival!”
“Captivating.”

These are a sample of the comments recorded in the guestbook signed by hundreds of visitors to the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah. The Rajastani-style center—the only one of its kind in the state—held the annual Festival of India celebration on Saturday, September 12th. Welcoming a crowd of over three thousand, Caru dasa and Vaibhavi Devi Dasi (both disciples of Srila Prabhupada) along with one hundred local volunteers manifested the spirit of India: serve the people loads of prasadam, crank up the krsna-kirtana and encourage cheers and claps when Ravana’s giant body is scorched to bits by flaming arrows.

Situated in a gorgeous valley surrounded on all sides by picturesque mountains, the Krishna Temple is well-known as the “place to be” throughout the year, mainly because of the various festivals that are held here. This year’s Festival of India attracted all types: energetic college students, families spanning two or three generations, and many curious and open-minded Mormons. Utah has a strong link with the Mormon Church, and their theology and lifestyle shares some important elements with Krishna consciousness. Preaching was brisk and joyful, as the festival participants were eager to learn more about the cultural and spiritual origins of the festival. Distributing Bhagavad-gita to many of the philosophically-inclined visitors was easy, since the Mormons appreciate authoritative literature.

And what to speak of the chanting! Kesava-Acarya dasa, a renowned kirtaneer from New York, along with Sri Ram on mrdanga sweetly sang the Lord’s Holy Name to the backdrop of a brilliantly setting sun. Later on in the evening a group of local devotees got everybody dancing to rock-style kirtana. Inside the temple room different groups of chanters led the packed crowds in non-stop harinama. “I thought the roof was going to cave in at one point because of all the dancing,” said Vaibhavi Devi Dasi. In addition to the all-auspicious chanting, young dancers from Abhinaya Company in San Jose, California, charmed the crowd with several styles of traditional dance. On the main stage devotees performed scenes from the Ramayana. Plus rows of booths offering such services as henna and Indian dress created an otherworldly atmosphere enjoyed by all.

The festival’s finale was especially spectacular: a 20-foot effigy of Ravana disintegrated into fiery shards before the delighted crowd. A glittery fireworks display capped off the evening.

Mercy and fun were the words of the day…all for $3 a head!

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Source:
Utah Krishnas

Another link:
Beatty family Blog, India fest

Varanasi x Benares x Kashi x India -

Varanasi, India aka Kashi aka Benares - The oldest inhabited city in the world. More than 5,000 years continuous history.