Politically Correct Handbaskets
From Vishoka dasa
posted November 20, 2005

There’s a streetcar named desire, and there’s a chariot drawn by mules called “second guessing” and so there are various handbaskets and conveyances, which take one merrily down to Patalaloka, all the while thinking one is politically correct.

Srila Prabhupada told us of the story of the cobbler and the Brahmin and Narada Muni. Narada often went to see Lord Narayana and one day the Brahmin requested him to inquire from Lord Narayana when he, the Brahmin, would go back to godhead. click here for complete editorial

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MARRIAGE She insists: ‘I am still available sha!’
By DANJUMAH ISAH (everunique@yahoo.com)
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Posted on RVC News: November 10, 2005

Though the joy of motherhood is boundless, for Stella Monye, a mother of two kids, there is still something missing in the life of a single parent.

So for fans of the singer who are wondering why she has remained single all these years, here it is.

In an exclusive interview with Sunday Sun, Stella whose songs always revolve around the theme of love revealed that she remained single because she has yet to find a “Mr. Right”.
click here for complete story

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SUN OR RAHU?
From Danavir Goswami
posted October 29, 2005

Several devotees have asked for my opinion about a news site named Sampradaya Sun (SS) which has recently begun to broadcast ISKCON-related topics on the internet. The website is puzzling because, on one hand it strives to appear "ISKCON-friendly" by displaying colorful photos of Krishna, devotional announcements, preaching reports and editorials, etc. while on the other hand it propounds ritvik theory, Vaisnava aparadha and condemnation of ISKCON. I find it like using Krishna as bait for a wicked hook.

On the whole, I think SS seriously breeches Vaisnava etiquette and undermines the faith of ISKCON devotees in the process of bhakti as given by Srila Prabhupada.

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Thanksgiving Kirtan
On the Plaza, Kansas City, MO
Hare Krsna!

Kusakratha Prabhu's Passing
a letter from Dhananjaya das
posted October 7, 2005

Dear Hari Sauri prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I want to inform you that our dear godbrother Kusakratha prabhu left this afternoon at 8 minutes before 4 p.m.; that is at 3.52 p.m. on 7-10-2005 in MVT flat number B14.101 - Padma Sambhava's flat. He passed away very peacefully in the presence of Aindra prabhu & his kirtan group & other assembled vaishnavas who were chanting the Maha Mantra very sweetly. Krishna Kumari the local RN was also present. His passing was confirmed by Dr Parikh who resides at the MVT.

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,
Dhananjaya das
General Manager
MVT Vrindaban

This paper is in response to Rocana dasa’s article “Faith Before Initiation” posted on the Sampradaya Sun website. Many questions and questionable statements were presented in that article. I am prepared to answer them all however I think it is best to concentrate on thoroughly addressing one of the incorrect statements first: (Click here for the full article)

One Good Eye & One Bad Eye
posted September 30, 2005
From Danavir Goswami

Dear Rocana Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I will respond briefly to your recent article entitled “Danavir’s World” posted on the Sampradaya Sun website. I speak on my own behalf here—not officially as a spokesman for the GBC or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. (Click here for complete letter)

Kushakratha prabhu called the "Goloka Airlines" hospice staff here at terminal 108, MVT (Mayapur-Vrndavana Trust Guesthouse) in Vrindavan last month. He has finally colapsed and is finally accepting seva from the devotees here. He is bedridden and only skin and bones. Because he took no chemotherapy he is actually doing pretty well....... (Click here for the full update)

Commencement Address by Steve Jobs
Posted July 11, 2005

Stanford Report, June 14, 2005 'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
(Click here for the full article)

In Rememberance of Bhakti Tirtha Swami

Dear disciples and family of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Resolved that we the undersigned members and devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Incorporated, in a meeting under the Presidency of His Holiness Danavir Goswami today the 2nd of July, 2005 at Rupanuga Vedic College, Kansas City, express our profound bereavement on hearing the passing away of Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja, the dynamic sannyasi preacher and dear disciple of His Divine Grace Om Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Sri Srimad A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

We offer our respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of Sri Srimad Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja who gave his life for spreading Krishna consciousness and demonstrated extraordinary qualities of divine absorption at the final stage of his life. We offer our assistance to you, his dear spiritual children, in your efforts to further his mission.
(Click here for the full letter)

Moral Thesis Unravelled
Editorial by Danavir Goswami
Posted May 13, 2005
revised August 7, 2005

Recently a paper by the title “Vaisnava Moral Theology and the Homosexual Issue” (hereafter Moral Thesis) appeared on a public internet news forum frequented by ISKCON devotees and followers. In a previous work entitled “Chaste Harlots” I have comprehensively responded to the “Homosexual Issue” brought forward in the Moral Thesis, thus I will not do so again here. In this paper, I will attempt to analyze and unravel, if you will, the rather protracted Moral Thesis, considering the paper’s assumptions and their implications for ISKCON. (Click here for the full article)

New Lectures Added from Danavir Goswami's MP3 Series
Posted March 28, 2005

The new lectures for this month from Danavir Goswami's MP3 Lecture Series cds have been added to the lecture page. Enjoy! www.rvc.edu/lectures

BhagavadGita Audio On RVC
Posted February 14, 2005

Dear Devotees,

We are so happy and fortunate to now offer the complete Bhagavadgita As It Is narration produced by Kamlesh Patel from Gitamrta.org .

Please see the RVC homepage to access this wonderful narration.They are offered in English, Sanskrit, Hindi, and Arabic.

Happy Valentine's Day
Posted February 14, 2005

Happy Valentines Day to Cupid (with bow),
from Lord Nara-narayana.

New Online Giftshop
Posted February 4, 2005

Please take time to visit the new online giftshop. You can order your Krishna conscious books and other supplies directly online with your credit card.

RVC Utilizes Paypal in it's Funding Efforts
Posted February 4, 2005

We have now utilized Paypal to aid us in our funding efforts. Please visit our funding page to see the changes and please help if you can

Stamp On Jagannath Temple Released
from the Hindu
posted October 8, 2003

INDIA, Sep 29 (RVC) — THE DEPARTMENT of Posts is celebrating the variety and diversity of the country's temple architecture through a set of four commemorative stamps. Temple architecture in India reflects the advanced construction material used and the skills of the artisans of the area. The stamps released on Monday pay homage to the ingenuity and the brilliance of the builders, the designers and the artists involved.

Each stamp has a face value of Rs. 5 and depicts the facade of the temples. The Vishal Badri temple, dedicated to Badrinath by Adi Sankara, in the Himalayan valley of Garwhal, which is also home to the hot mineral spring, known for its spiritual and medicinal value. The Mallikarjunaswamy temple in Srisailam, which houses one of the 12 Jyothirlingams of Lord Siva and located on the Nallamalai hills near Krishna river, made history with the entry of Satavahanas, the early rulers of Andhra.

click here for complete story

Diksa or Ritvik?
from Danavir Goswami
posted October 3, 2003

What has been the standard system of initiation (diksa) conducted throughout the ages in all bonafide Vaisnava sampradayas, today we neophyte American devotees desire to change.

"That is your American disease. This is very serious that you always want to change everything." Srila Prabhupada

Following Srila Prabhupada's departure, in order to uphold the noble, American, tradition of unnecessarily changing things, some of us voted in favor of sannyasa rights for women. At present, some of us lobby for reductions on the number of regulative principles to be followed and the number of rounds that are meant to be chanted each day. Nevertheless, our attempt to eliminate the process of Vaisnava diksa (initiation) via a so-called "ritvik" jump must be counted among our most preposterous new propositions to date.

click here for complete story

Indian PM Receives Vrindavan Janmastami Prasad
from His Grace Deena Bandhu Prabhu
posted September 17, 2003

Remembering our successful program from last Janmastami, this year also the devotees from Krishna Balaram Mandir, Vrindavan presented Janmastami Prasad to the Honorable Indian Prime Minister, Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Our good friend and secretary of the Sri Sri Krishna Balaram committee, Col. RC Ravat, again made all the arrangements and he went with Sri Sarvabhauma Das, Vice President of ISKCON Vrindavan and Rupa Raghunath from Vrindavan Food For Life. Rupa Raghunath commented that five thousand years ago, all the doors in Kamsa's prison opened automatically.

click here for complete story

(This article responds to an article of the name “Quest for Justice” which was recently posted on the Sampradaya Sun website.)

It is one thing to offer friendly, constructive criticism and quite another to denigrate the entire International Society for Krishna Consciousness with all its members and activities. Without pure devotional service to Sri Krishna, mundane scholarship and mental speculation shall always be inadequate.
In this paper we reply to the twelve main allegations put forward in the “Quest for Justice” as follows: (Click here for the full article)

A Letter to Kusakratha Prabhu
posted September 11, 2005
Written by HH Danavir Goswami

Dear Kusakratha Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am very sorry to hear that you are facing more complications with regard to your physical body. You are using this devastating illness to show the world how to be a surrendered soul of Sri Sri Krsna-Balarama.

It was wonderful to see you last March in Vrndavana, blissfully performing your daily duties, visiting Krsna-Balarama Mandira, taking kichari prasädam in association with the devotees, etc. As you have been brilliantly successful in your long thirty-six years of devotional service to ISKCON, I am sure that you will also be fully victorious in this present effort. (Click here for the complete letter)

Without Discrimination
Posted August 7, 2005

Every morning while I was visiting Rostov, Russia, we would drive from the apartment where I was staying to the temple, an old house in a poor neighborhood of dirt streets outside the city. The temple didn't have facilities for more than a handful of devotees, what to speak of guests. Over 100 devotees would line the road to greet us with kirtan, but one morning I noticed three or four dark-skinned people in ordinary clothes among them. Indradyumna Swami.... (Click here for the full article)

Friendly Fire
A sannyasi’s statements on the Internet provoke a response from HH Danavir Goswami
Posted June 1, 2005

Sannyasi: “I am not different from Srila Swami Maharaja in any way. In the beginning he told you, A, B, C, D. A, apple; B, ball; C, cat; and D, dog. I am telling something more, by his desire. We should not remain in first grade for all time. If we are not gradually developing our study, then we are like foolish persons. We cannot remain in the same position, in the same stage, always. If Srila Swami Maharaja were here now, he would tell you all the same things that I am telling. Surely he would.”

Response: The sannyasi uses the term “Srila Swami Maharaja” to indicate His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Several assertions are made above which we shall address. (Click here for the full article)

Srimad Bhagavatam Class Transcript and MP3 by Danavir Goswami Given in Mayapur
Posted March 27, 2005

Please take some time to read the new transcript we have of Danavir Goswami's Srimad Bhagavatam class in Mayapur, India. This class covers canto 1, chapter 13, verse 26. Topics that Maharaja discusses include the different stages of transcendentalists, renunciation in old age, trusting Krsna to take care of all of our material needs, the importance of remembering Krsna at the time of death, and more! No time to read it? Then listen to it! Click here for more info

Don't Miss the RVC Gaura Purnima Festival 2005
Posted March 3, 2005

You are cordially invited to the 2005 Gaura Purnima Festival. This is the Celebration of the appearance day of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the most munificent incarnation.

Friday March 25th, 2005,

click here for schedule & more info!

New Lectures Added from Danavir Goswami's MP3 Series
Posted February 15, 2005

We just added some new lectures to the lecture page. We also updated it! On each lecture you now have the choice of listening instantly with streaming MP3 audio or you can download it to your own hard drive and listen to it that way. New lectures will be posted every month so come back often! www.rvc.edu/lectures

Srila Prabhupada Chanting Japa
Posted February 14, 2005

We have just added two files of Srila Prabhupada chanting japa on the RVC homepage. You can access these MP3 files at the bottom right side of the homepage directly under Srila Prabhupada's picture. Hare Krsna!

Chaste Harlots
Editorial by Danavir Goswami
Posted February 6, 2005

Whatever meager humility and scanty sincerity of purpose I possess, let it be offered to the assembly of Vaisnavas in an attempt to correctly express the teachings of our beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I beg his forgiveness for entering such a debate yet we pray to Govinda that we too will be saved in our hour of trial as was Draupadi.

The views conveyed in this paper are my own-not an official policy statement of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. (Click here for the full article)

History of RVC Academics
by Maharsi dasa Brahmacari and Danavir Goswami
Posted February 6, 2005

The Rupanuga Vedic College was exempted by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education as a theological divinity-degree awarding college on December 4, 1998. Since then, more than one hundred students took courses at the RVC, with an average period of stay of one academic year (two semesters) per student. (Click here for the full article)

New Books From RVC Publications
Posted February 4, 2005

Two new book titles, Bright Side and Vaisnava Society Journal #7, plus a brand new Sampradya Poster available in the online giftshop.

Past Student Testimonial
by Arya Siddhanta dasa
Posted February 4, 2005

"There is no better place in America, possibly the world to get the proper training and association a brahmacari needs for a life long commitment to Srila Prabhupada and the Krsna Consciousness movement." (Click here for the full article)

Brazil: Rock Star Welcomes Devotees
By Giridhari Das
Posted October 8, 2003

Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We had a nice program here in Brasilia, Brazil, and I thought I'd tell you about it. The largest rock festival in the history of Brasilia is taking place this weekend, and one of the main bands is The Pretenders. Last Wednesday I got a call from the event organizers telling me that the leader of the band, Ms Chrissie Hynde, wanted to get together with the Hare Krishnas to do a pro-vegetarian media-op. It was held today.

click here for complete story

Ritvik Initiations In ISKCON (July 9-November 14, 1977)
from Danavir Goswami
posted October 3, 2003

Recently a new version of ritvik-oriented hypothesis debuted, via internet news site, which we can call Sampradaya Acarya theory, for lack of a better name. This theory differs from the traditional Ritvik theory, which originated in the late 1970’s, in two primary ways, 1) by dispensing with the need for a proxy-representative ritvik (priest) and 2) by eliminating the requirement for taking initiation (diksa) entirely. Persons interested in a thorough refutation of both Ritvik and Sampradaya Acarya theories showing how both deviate from the standard Vedic system delineated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness may read another article of mine entitled “Diksa or Ritvik”.

click here for complete story

From the President's Desk
His Holiness Danavir Goswami
posted August 30, 2003

All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

August 26, 2003 Krishna Era 5231

Dear Friends,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful service and help you have given to RVC over many years and especially this past year.

Since our last newsletter, forty residential students took classes at RVC; three students passed their Bhakti sastri exam, (one of these also received the Associates Degree in Vaisnava Philosophy); two students were awarded Bhakti-vaibhava titles (ISKCON's first) one of which received the Bachelors of Vaisnava Philosophy.

click here for complete story