Iskcon Soweto

14/02/2017

HG Gopa Kumar prabhu and HG Satyaraja prabhu, saving souls in Soweto, Vilakazi Street

14/01/2016

"In the stage of perfection called trance, or samadhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact."

BG 6.20-23

03/08/2015

Words from George Harrison

Everybody is looking for KRSNA.
Some don't realize that they are, but they are.
KRSNA is GOD, the Source of all that exists, the Cause of all that is, was, or ever will be.

As GOD is unlimited, HE has many Names.
Allah-Buddha-Jehova-Rama:
ALL are KRSNA, all are ONE.

By serving GOD through each thought, word and DEED, and by chanting of HIS Holy Names, the devotee quickly develops God-consciousness.

By chanting
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama
Rama Rama, Hare Hare

one inevitably arrives at KRSNA Consciousness.
(The proof of the pudding is in the eating!)

excerpt from Chant and be Happy.

12/02/2015

28/12/2014

with Iskcon Pretoria, Sandton and Soweto.

09/12/2014

with HH Maha-Visnu Swami

03/12/2014

The value of one devotee

Sometimes we don't understand how deeply personal this movement is and that one soul who has rendered service is being so much appreciated by Krsna, is being so much appreciated by Krsna's pure representative. Just one devotee. If only we could understand the value of just one devotee then maybe our whole devotee association would be different.

p58, Words of a Public Hermit, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami

02/12/2014

Not by our strength

There's a famous story about Visnujana, which I like a lot. Visnujana, for those who don't know, was a very famous kirtan leader. So someone asked Visnujana, 'Why are you always so enthusiastic in kirtan? Where are you getting this amazing energy from?'

Visnujana said, 'Actually I'm not always enthusiastic in kirtan, but I just act enthusiastic, then the devotees become enthusiastic and that makes me enthusiastic!'

That's such a nice story because it really describes the reality of our life and it is really how it works. Sometimes we forget who we really are and we see ourselves walking around with our neck beads, our kavaca, our brahmana threads, all the attributes we have and all the slokas we know and all the other things, and we think, 'Well, we are actually vaisnavas!' in the sense of like real vaisnavas but we are vaisnavas very much by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda,.And by the grace of the Lord and His pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada, somehow or other we are here.

p6, Words of a Public Hermit, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami.

02/12/2014

Thank you

We would like to thank and acknowledge our dear Lord and friend Sri Krsna for always making such wonderful arrangements for us.

We would like to thank and acknowledge His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada for giving us such a wonderful movement as ISKCON.

We would also like to thank and acknowledge HG Mahaprabhu Prabhu and his wife HG Malini Devi Dasi without whose love, care, guidance, dedication and tireless effort, Iskcon Soweto and the Soweto Namahatta would not exist.

We would also like to thank and acknowledge HH Bhakti Narasimha Swami for gracing us with His auspicious presence over the weekend and for giving such illuminating and wonderful classes at the Soweto Namahatta and the Iskcon Soweto Sunday Love feast on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Last but not least, we would like to thank all the amazing and beautiful devotees in Soweto who despite so many difficulties and challenges still manage to keep a smile on their faces and remain so dedicated and enthusiastic. You are all heroes!

01/12/2014

with Bhakti Narasimha Swami

01/12/2014

The Landscape of Krsna Consciousness

Spiritual life can be compared to driving and in our spiritual life, we start driving in the night. So in the night when it's pitch dark, you can't see anything and all you do is drive on the white lines on the side of the road - the striped lines on the road. You are just watching those white lines; your eyes are all the time going to the line and you're trying to stay within the lines and you don't see anything.

You have a little bit of headlights but you don't see much. That's how spiritual life is in the beginning. So in the beginning we are very much focused on the regulations and we have some light of hearing and chanting but the light doesn't reach very far.

But then as we are making spiritual advancement and while driving, gradually the day breaks. The light comes through and we suddenly begin to see that there is a whole landscape out there. We're driving and we still stay between the lines but we also see the whole landscape of Krsna consciousness. So in the beginning it's narrow but gradually our vision of what Krsna consciousness is increases and we realize that actually it's not narrow, it's unlimited! It is full of all kinds of varieties and gradually, by Krsna's mercy, we become empowered.

Words of a Public Hermit, Kadamba Kanana Swami