ABOUT Bhagavad Gita Premier League

Bhagavad Gita Premier League is a contest based on Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita Premier League gives creative interface to access unparalleled wisdom of Bhagavad Gita and apply it in one’s life.

THE PURPOSE OF Bhagavad Gita Premier League

Our children are our future. Their minds are like sponges that can absorb anything dropped into it. The television, movies and the internet together expose the child to violence, pornography and insanity that the child can easily get influenced and succumb.

The solution is to give a positive and morale-boosting exposure to the children, help them remain focused; empower them to think with a balanced mind. As there is a hidden Arjuna in every child, we should be able to search that Arjuna in the child and allow him to grow. This can be best done with the teachings of Bhagavad Gita. Many management colleges have already implemented courses based on Bhagavad Gita in their curriculum, to shape the future managers.

WHAT IS Bhagavad Gita Premier League

To serve this purpose, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is organizing a Bhagavad Gita Contest entitled, Bhagavad Gita Premier League (BGPL). This contest will be a fun, inspiring and motivating way to help the children absorb themselves in the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, enrich and refocus their life in the right manner. Bhagavad Gita Premier League will be a helping hand to learn self-discipline and build a strong value system for the participants.

NEW COURSE : Classical Wisdom: Renaissance of Consciousness
Unravel the mystery of peace in the midst of overwhelming struggle and be the cultural engineer to navigate your life to the ultimate transformation.

Now than ever before, there is a dire necessity of change in human consciousness, otherwise our own mind and actions will destroy ourselves and perhaps the planet. The insanity of the collective egoic mind, amplified by science and technology, is rapidly taking our species to the brink of disaster. Evolve or die: that is our only choice now. People are feeling depressed about the shallowness of modern life and materialism.

Planet Earth and humanity are currently going through a momentous transformation - a phase of accelerated evolution that is making the attainment of higher states of consciousness available to all who have the intent to awaken, and the willingness to integrate some key spiritual practices into their lives. Each individual who awakens adds to the collective awakening of our planet. By raising our level of consciousness and expanding our awareness – in the midst of personal trials and global challenges – we can effectively alleviate not just our own suffering but also the suffering of those around us. 

This course will enable you to create the best mental and emotional environment, shift your perspective, allow you to explore a newer way of life and expand your horizons. The course is designed to provide you with a variety of simple but powerful practices to align you with the moving stream of evolution and assist your journey of awakening. The material is drawn from the core teachings of the world's ancient classical wisdom - Bhagavad Gita, but is presented in a contemporary, universal format.

Each of the 7 lessons will focus on a specific facet of your awakening process, offer suggestions and action steps for applying the material, and provide you with an easy-to-practice mantra meditation.

This course is for new and uninitiated devotees who are interested in understanding the practical wisdom of Gita. If you have come to know about this course late but have a desire to join the course then please contact us, we will try to work out something to cover the past sessions.

Theory Sessions : 
1) Existential Crisis
2) Perfect and complete solution
3) Unearthing the roots
4) Viewing through right lenses
5) Cloud of knowledge
6) Searching for the lost mind
7) Renaissance: Plug-in the mind into soul

Practical Sessions:
1) Breathing techniques
2) Mantra Meditation - a daily dip

Free Gifts
1) Science of Self realization (worth $10)
2) Chant and Be Happy (worth $5)
3) Chanting bead (worth $10)
4) CD - Kirtans (worth $10)
5) CD - Lectures on Life changing topics (worth $10)

Before every session free yummy food will be provided.

Course Fees :
Professionals ($20)
Students ($10)

Batch 1 :
Sunday Dates : Sept 10 - Dec 17
Sunday Timings : 7:30-8:30 pm

Batch 2:
Wednesday Dates : Sept 6 - Dec 20
Wednesday Timings : 8:00-9:00 pm

Course Completion: Certificate

Contact:info@iskconboston.org OR 857-445-1112

Course Facilitator: Vanamali Pandit das

HH Niranjana Swami will be visiting us in Boston with Dhirasanta Das Goswami Maharaj on December 17 - December 25.

Here is there schedule, please mark your calendars.

December 17 - Boston Sunday Feast program (alone, without Dhirasanta Das Goswami) Maharaj will do both (Gaura arotik and Shayana) kirtan.

December 19 - Community program at Malden MA from 7-9 pm

Community Hall,
Malden Garden
520 Main St, Malden MA
RSVP:malden.bv@gmail.com

December 20 - Wednesday evening program at the temple (together with Dhirasanta Das Goswami Maharaja), Maharaj will do both (Gaura arotik and Shayana) kirtan.

December 21 - Community program at Norwood MA from 7-9 pm

Tentative place
801 Village Road East
Norwood MA 02062
RSVP:shukla.hp@gmail.com

December 22- Dhirasanta Das Goswami Maharaj may do (Weymouth/Quincy) home program

*December 23* - Saturday evening program only for *STUDENTS* at temple from 6-9 pm (No Devotees please)

December 24 - Boston Sunday Feast program (Dhirasanta Das Goswami Maharaja could do this program). Niranjana Swami will do both (Gaura arotik and Shayana) kirtan.

December 25 - Special Christmas Program in temple from 6-9 pm

Srimad Bhagavatam classes:

Saturday, December 23: SB class by HH Niranjana Swami at temple
Sunday, December 24: SB class by HH Dhirasanta Swami at temple
Monday, December 25: SB class by HH Niranjana Swami/ Dhirasanta Swami at temple

During this month of Thanksgiving, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the things we are most grateful for from a spiritual perspective. Primary among them is our dedicated group of devotees we have within our congregation and temple. Thank you for everything you do to make ISKCON Boston great. 2017 has been a busy year for the management and temple and it’s important to take the time to acknowledge all your services and accomplishments. You all provide outstanding services to our daily temple operations, festivals, outreach and finances. Without your commitment and love, we would not be the organization that we are now. We are grateful for all your help, support and contributions each and every day.

We wish each and every one of our members a Thanksgiving and holiday filled with spiritual bliss, abundance, relaxation and quality time spent with Krishna's holy name, reading scriptures, devotees, family and friends.

As a special gathering, to stay in touch, to count the blessings, please join us as we feast and give thanks to the devotees and Sri Sri RadhaGopivallabha on Wed 11/22 for Thanksgiving celebrations in our temple.

Warm wishes and gratitude from
Vanamali Pandit das
On behalf of ISKCON Boston

Please join us for Gaura Purnima celebration on Sunday, March 4.

Gaura Purnima is a Gaudiya Vaisnava festival that celebrates the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa, India. Gaura Purnima means “Golden Full Moon”. The name signifies that Lord Caitanya took birth at time of full moon and He blesses everyone with the moonlike rays of His teachings.

Lord Caitanya is non-different than Sri Krishna, appearing as His own devotee. He spread the congregational chanting of the Holy Names and taught that one can attain enlightenment by chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Schedule:

4:00 PM - Kirtan (Singing)
5:00 PM - Stories on Lord Caitanya
6:00 PM - Gaura Arati (Singing & dancing)
6:30 PM - Abhishek (Bathing Deities in various foodstuffs)
7:30 PM - Announcements
7:40 PM - Bhajan (Song) & Skit
8:00 PM - Prasadam (Vegetarian Feast)

Wednesday Feast on February 28 is canceled for a smaller Gaura Purnima celebration on the actual day on Thursday, March 1 and a full Gaura Purnima festival on Sunday, March 4.

H.G. Vrajendra Kumar Prabhu is a senior devotee from Russia. He was born in 1960 in Vladivostok. Since his childhood he has been interested in yoga and Eastern philosophy. He got his master’s degree in philology, translation, Asian studies and the Japanese language from the Far Eastern Federal University. In 1979 he read the ancient scripture Bhagavad Gita for the first time.

After his visit to India in 1984 he began a deep study and translation of the ancient Vedic scriptures. In 1990 he received his first initiation from H.H. Prabhavisnu Maharaja. In 1999 he graduated from the Mayapur Institute for Higher Education with a Bhakti-Sastri degree (Master of Philosophy). In 2014 he established his online astrology school.

Now he teaches the Bhakti-Sastri course in Mayapur, India and preaches Krishna consciousness in many countries, proving its applicability to our lives in the modern scientific language.

You are invited to spend upcoming weekend in the association of HH Niranjana Swami and His Grace Madhavananda Prabhu for series of lectures at the temple.

Tentative Schedule:

Lectures by HH Niranjana Swami - TBD

Lectures by HG Madhavananda Prabhu:

Friday, April 20: 7 - 9  pm - The Ecstasy of Insignificance
Saturday, April 21: 6 - 9 pm -  Lessons in Entering Vrindavan
Sunday, April 22: Morning Class
Sunday, April 22: Feast Lecture -  Living Alone in the Crowd

His Holiness Niranjana Swami is a Vaishnava sannyasi, initiating guru and a governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

He was born on December 10, 1952, in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. In 1972, his spiritual search took a turning point when he saw a Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, on the counter of a bookshop in Washington, DC. After completing his study of the "Gita", he continued his research of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy by purchasing and reading several other publications from the same author, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

During this time, he returned to Massachusetts, continued his work as a house builder, and simultaneously pursued further studies by regularly visiting the Boston ISKCON temple. By mid-1973, he accepted a monastic life, moved into the Boston temple, and accepted initiation from his spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in the early spring of 1974. Soon thereafter he received brahminical initiation.

In 1986, at ISKCON's world headquarters in Sri Dhama Mayapura, West Bengal, His Holiness Niranjana Swami accepted the renounced order of life, sannyasa. Since that time, wishing to satisfy his spiritual master, Niranjana Swami has been traveling extensively throughout North America, the former Soviet Union, and India, lecturing on the teachings found within the books of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

His Grace Madhavananda Prabhu joined ISKCON in Los Angeles in 1982. He moved to Bhubaneswar in Orissa in 1993 where he has been living since. He was instructed by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaj to edit his lectures into publications. For over ten years he has been serving as the director of ISKCON Gopal Jiu Publications, the editor of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Magazine, and the email magazine Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu.

You are welcome to attend Bhakti Sastri course with His Grace Balgovinda Prabhu at the temple.

Dates:

April 9 - April 16 - Sri Isopansad Module 
May 1 - May 7 - Nectar of Instruction Module

Course fees:

$100/module (includes meals and course material)

His Grace Balgovinda Prabhu is a senior bramhacari (monk), experienced teacher and successful preacher from ISKCON Pune. For the last 20 years he has not only been practicing Krishna Consciousness but has been actively distributing the message of Bhagavad Gita to thousands of engineering, medical and management students from premier institutes like IIT and NIT. He also conducts life style management and leadership courses for professionals from MNCs and within ISKCON all over India.

He is serving as a Vice President of ISKCON Pune and also the co-director of LOTUS VOICE. Along with HG Radheshyam Prabhu, the global pioneer of youth outreach in ISKCON, Balgovinda Dasa was instrumental in founding and running some of the thriving youth outreach VOICE all across India.

Please contact Niskinchana Nitai Prabhu (Nandkishore.sawant@gmail.com) for more information.

You are invited for a two day festival on April 28 and April 29, Nrsimha Caturdasi. It is the appearance of Lord Nrsimha, Lord Krishna's incarnation half-man and half-lion. 

Lord Nrsimhadev is the destroyer of all obstacles on the path of one's devotional service and protector of one's devotion. He came to protect His devotee Prahlada from his demoniac father. We offer specific prayers to Him at the end of worship, begging Him to please forgive any offenses that might have been committed unknowingly, and to remove all obstacles on the path of our spiritual lives. 

The actual date of His appearance is on Saturday, April 28.  We are going to have a small celebration in the evening and then next day, on April 29, we will have the main festival.

Schedule:

Saturday, April 28, 2018

6:00 PM - Lord Nrsimha Pastimes
7:00 PM - Kirtan & Pushpanjali (Call & Response singing & Flower offering)
8:00 PM - Prasadam (Vegetarian Feast)

Sunday, April 29, 2018

4:00 PM - Kirtan (Call & Response singing)
5:00 PM - Lord Nrsimha Pastimes
6:00 PM - Kirtan & Pushpanjali (Call & Response singing & Flower offering)
7:00 PM - Sunday School Recitation of Nrsimha Kavacam
7:15 PM - Announcements & Prasadam (Vegetarian Feast)

Available Sponsorships:

Altar decorations - $251.00
Feast sponsorship - $151.00
General donation for the festival - $101.00

More details available soon...

Maine: Famed for its stunning coastline, a paradise for nature lovers, tall trees, beaches, blueberry patches and (now) Hare Krishna's. Join us for a home program in Portland ME for a serene escape. Come on an empty stomach, we will feed you sumptuous prasadam in Portland, a magnet for foodies :)
We will have a harinaam in downtown Portland Maine with HG Eklavya Prabhu, yeah!!

Date: Saturday June 09 at 11 am

Address: 

Lauryn Hottinger

64 Winter St, Apt 3

Portland ME 04102

If you want to join us, either you can drive and meet us at the above address or come with us, we will start from temple at 9 am.

Please RSVP at vanamali@iskconboston.org

Introducing professional yoga classes at ISKCON Boston for the first time. Learn a genuine approach to yoga from an accomplished yoga teacher and practitioner. All Levels are welcome to attend this class just need to bring in your mat. 

Date: June 10
Time: 10:30 - 11:45 am
Location:  Sandipani Hall Second floor, 72 CommonWealth Ave, Boston, MA 02116.
Contact:info@iskconboston.org or 857-445-1112
Charges: Donation based, expected donation $5
Walk-ins are welcome.
Teacher: Mandy Aridi
Mandy is an art historian and a RYT certified yoga teacher with a deep passion for spirituality, nature, music, and human connections. After spending many years living abroad & working in academics as a lecturer of art in Dubai, UAE, she eventually pursued her passion for both hatha and bhakti yoga. She has completed three yoga teacher training courses at Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Schools in Mysore and Mumbai, India. Mandy was teaching yoga in studios, private homes, workshops, and public events as well as working as an assistant teacher in yoga teacher training courses in Dubai and India before eventually serving as a yoga teacher in a traditional Indian ashram at Govardhan Eco Village near Mumbai. She has over 1000 hours of yoga certification specializing in traditional hatha yoga, pranayama, and meditation.

Tentative Schedule at Temple:

Wednesday June 6 - 6:00 pm Feast Talk and Kirtan
Thursday June 7 - 8:00 am SB class 
Thursday June 7  7:00 -9:00 pm Kirtan  
Friday June 8 - 8:00 am SB class 

After reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and seriously practicing the path of devotional service, Niranjana Swami took initiation from him in 1974, in Boston, USA. In 1986, he took sannyasa vows in Mayapur, India, and then proceeded to travel extensively throughout North America, the former Soviet Union, and India, lecturing on the teachings found within the books of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Devoted to assisting others on this path, Niranjana Swami is also an initiating spiritual master in ISKCON. His home base is Kiev, Ukraine.

The management and spiritual leadership experience Niranjana Swami gained during his tenure as president of ISKCON Boston from 1979 to 1983, and his service as regional secretary of New England in 1984, readied him for his GBC appointment in 1987. As a GBC member, Niranjana Swami’s zonal assignments include Moldova, New England, and North American Festival of India. He also serves as co-zonal secretary for Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, as well as three regions of Russia: Central Region, Moscow, and Kaliningrad. Currently Niranjana Swami assists the Parallel Lines of Authority Committee, which is part of the Strategic Plan for the GBC, by contributing his vision and experience.

His heartfelt kirtans, insightful classes, and his selfless and caring personality inspire and nurture many ISKCON devotees in their spiritual lives. He consistently trains, supports, and empowers others to manage in a way that makes ISKCON members feel needed and protected, and creates systems of counseling to help spread this ethos further.

One of Niranjana Swami’s achievements is the annual Ukrainian Bhakti-sangama festival that he originally conceived and developed over the last ten years. Well organized and lauded for its devotional atmosphere, Bhakti-sangama hosts thousands of devotees from the CIS and all over the world, uniting them around hari-nama, krsna-katha, and vaisnava-seva.

Niranjana Swami puts ‘devotee care’ as a top priority. His thoughts on this topic have been recorded in a book Taking Care of Krishna’s Devotees, which has inspired many to find ways of improving dealings in devotee communities. His other publications include compilations of his letters to disciples and counselees, and transcribed lectures and interviews in book format.

For further information and access to blog entries, recorded lectures, bhajan CDs and books, check out: http://www.niranjanaswami.net/

Please join us for a wonderful festival of Sri Jagannatha Ratha yatra on Sunday, Aug 19, starting at 11:30 pm at  1 Cambria St (intersection of Boylston St and Mass Ave.)  (please see the map).

Every year in the summer, one of the world’s largest and oldest festivals happens in India - the Ratha Yatra. A Sanskrit phrase, “Ratha Yatra” literally translates into English as “chariot procession.” As such,three richly decorated chariots, resembling temple structures, are pulled through the streets of the small coastal town of Puri in Eastern India.

Boston chapter of International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) located on 72 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA had been celebrating this festival for three decades now. 

On Aug 19th a large chariot carrying the deities will make its way down Boylston Street, starting from Massachusetts Avenue and culminating at the Boston Common Park, where a cultural festival near Park Street T station will follow.

The mood created will be no different to that in Puri India. The procession will be accompanied with an assortment of thunderous instruments, chanting, and dancing by Krishna devotees from all over New England.
 

Tentative Schedule: this is subjected to change, please revisit late July for complete schedule

11:30-2:00 pm Ratha Yatra Parade from 1 Cambria St (intersection of Boylston St and Mass Ave.) to Boston Common Park
02:00-2:15 pm Jagannatha arrival kirtan
02:15-2:45 pm Beginning kirtan
02:45-2:55 pm Band performance
02:55-3:25 pm Significance of Ratha Yatra 
03:25-4:10 pm Kids performance
04:10-4:20 pm Acknowledgements
04:20-4:45 pm Odissi dance
04:45-5:50 pm Kirtan
05:50-6:00 pm Closing words 

Delicious food will be served from 2 pm onwards.

Sponsorship Opportunities:

Feast - $1008.00
Flower Decorations - $501.00
Cart Decorations - $501.00

(partial or any small donation is acceptable)

Parking Information :  ISKCON offers discounted parking rates at the following parking garages

• Boston Common Garage: $10
• Back Bay Garage (Main entrance on St. James Ave. between Clarendon and Berkeley St. Another entrance on Clarendon Street, behind Talbots and next to Rebecca's): $8

Please pick up validation tickets at Guest Reception Tent.

For any queries/information : Vanamali Pandit Dasa:  857-445-1112  or vanamali@iskconboston.org

For Seva/Volunteer:  Surya Prabhu : 504-390-3060  or  suryamaipala@gmail.com

Pleasee see last year promotional video

https://youtu.be/V94NlUo0xnk

Please join us this Sunday, June 24 for an evening feast program with His Grace Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu. There will also be initiation ceremony for bhakta Adam from 5 - 6 pm.

HG Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu (William H. Deadwyler) is an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966 and a Ph.D. in Religion from Temple University in 1980. In 1971 he became an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada. In his decades of service to ISKCON, Ravindra Svarupa Dasa has served as the president of ISKCON’s Philadelphia temple and a member of ISKCON’s ecclesiastical board, the Governing Body Commission. Presently, he continues to serve as a writer and lecturer, and has published a number of articles about Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy and ISKCON, such as “Radha, Krsna, Caitanya: The Inner Dialectic of the Divine Relativity” published in the Journal of Vaishnava Studies. His most recent publication, Srila Prabhupada: The Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, is a GBC foundational document and culminates six years of research of the history and import of Srila Prabhupada’s title “Founder-Acarya.” Currently, Ravindra Svarupa Dasa resides in Stuyvesant Falls, NY where he writes and teaches full-time.

For more information about him, please visit https://rsdasa.com/