Ananta_Indradyumna

Honoring a Special Disciple – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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Honoring a Special Disciple – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

On July 1st, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami honored the birthday of his long-time disciple and travel companion, Ananta Vrindavan das, who has accompanied him all over the world on his preaching tours. Ananta Vrindavan das is known for his skillful photography and videography of devotee events (retreats, weddings, festivals, etc.). Just now, Ananta Vrindavan das is in Poland, as the Polish Tour (Festival of India) has begun and he is capturing the magical moments with his camera.

To honor his disciple, Indradyumna Swami wrote a very sweet birthday note on his Facebook page:

Dear Ananta Vrindavan: A very happy birthday to you today! You are rendering a most valuable service to our movement by capturing for posterity many of the significant moments in the modern day pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You are appreciated by thousands of devotees around the world for your expert and artistic photos and videos. We are all so fortunate to have you onboard! You and I have been everywhere together! Looking forward to many more adventures with you. Yours always, Indradyumna Swami

Many of Ananta Vrindavan das’ photographs for print can be found on his website and also on his personal Facebook page.

All glories to the Devotees spreading Mahaprabhu’s mercy in Poland! All glories to Srila Gurudeva! All glories to Ananta Vrindavan das and his seva rendered at the lotus feet of Srila Gurudeva!

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit the Swami’s facebook page and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, his recent Russian tour, etc.

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The Festival of India in Poland begins! – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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The Festival of India in Poland begins! – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

This past month, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami visited His Holiness Giriraja Swami in Carpinteria, but now he is off to Poland, as the long-awaited Polish Festival of India tour is about to begin in a few days.

The Devotees in Poland have been there for months now preparing and training and practicing. The Summer tour will be the culmination of all of their joint and individual efforts.

Looking ahead to the tour, Indradyumna Swami wrote on his Facebook page:

The Festival of India – the Polish Tour – begins in a few days. It will be our 28th year of performing along the Baltic Sea coast. Three hundred devotees are arriving at the base. I can’t wait for the nectar that comes from sharing our good fortune with others!

“The result of Krishna consciousness is that one becomes increasingly enlightened and he enjoys life with a thrill, not only for some time, but at every moment.”

[ Srila Prabhupada, Bhagavad Gita 18.76, purport ]

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All glories to the Devotees spreading Mahaprabhu’s mercy in Poland!

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit the Swami’s facebook page and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, his recent Russian tour, etc.

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Visiting Giriraja Swami in Carpinteria – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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Visiting Giriraja Swami in Carpinteria – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

After the Sadhu Sanga Kirtan retreat, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami headed to ISKCON Silicon Valley, where he participated in several home programs and visited with his Godbrother, His Grace Vaisesika dasa, and the devotees of the booming Silicon Valley community.

Now he is visiting His Holiness Giriraja Swami, in Carpinteria, where he will stay for the next three weeks. While there, he is recovering from an arduous preaching tour in Russia and Ukraine, but he is already looking ahead to the upcoming Polish tour, which will take place in Poland and also come to the United States in the Fall.

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Giriraja Swami wrote:

Indradyumna Swami Maharaja has come to spend four weeks with me at my ashram in Carpinteria, and today, watching him do his Deity worship, I was reminded of a statement in Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.23–24 purport) that a devotee “unable to worship the Deity must at least see the Deity worship, and in that way he may achieve success also.” Deity worship is one of the five most potent items in devotional service, and witnessing Maharaja’s worship had a powerful effect on my heart.

In a Facebook post, Indradyumna Swami wrote:

Our Festival of India in Poland will begin towards the end of June and continue until August 20. It will be our 27th year of hosting large festivals along the Baltic Sea coast. All glories to those devotees who spend their summers with us, giving their lives and souls to spreading the glories of the holy names far and wide.

“The devotees of Krishna are the most exalted persons on this planet, better than kings, all of them, so we should always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar or the best qualities of a person.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter to Atreya Rsi; February 4, 1972)

All glories to the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! All glories to all the followers of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Goswamis!

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit the Swami’s facebook page and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, his recent Russian tour, etc.

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In Appreciation of Vaisesika Prabhu – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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In Appreciation of Vaisesika Prabhu – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

After the Sadhu Sanga Kirtan retreat, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami headed to ISKCON Silicon Valley, where he participated in several home programs and visited with his Godbrother, Vaisesika dasa and the devotees of the booming Silicon Valley community.

Indradyumna Swami wrote on his Facebook page to commemorate the event yesterday:

One of my samkirtan heroes, Vaisesika Dasa, distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books at the St. Louis Airport in 1986 … 32 years ago. He’s still distributing those books, as well as inspiring others to do so. Under his direction, every Saturday over 100 devotees in ISKCON Silicon Valley go out to sell these most valuable literatures. Vaisesika Dasa is exemplary in every regard. God bless him!

Indradyumna Swami very much looks up to his Godbrother and even spoke about him at length at one of the home programs held in Silicon Valley. He wrote in an earlier Facebook post:

Dear disciples: Recently I had the good fortune to visit ISKCON Silicon Valley, here in the USA, where I had the association of my dear godbrother, Vaisesika prabhu. Please listen to the glories of this wonderful devotee as I praise him and his good wife, Nirakula dasi, at a home program one evening. The talk is entitled, “In Appreciation Of Vaisesika Prabhu” and is available on: www.narottam.com

All glories to the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! All glories to all the followers of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Goswamis!

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit the Swami’s facebook page and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, his recent Russian tour, etc.

Indradyumna Swami

Sadhu Sanga Retreat: The Best Ever – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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Sadhu Sanga Retreat: The Best Ever – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

Two weeks ago, over 2,000 devotees of Krishna gathered at the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina,  for the Sadhu Sanga Kirtan retreat that His Holiness Indradyumna Swami organized with the help of his disciples. The kirtan event was attended by many disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and kirtan leaders included Govinda Swami, Badahari das, Madhava Naidoo, Niranjana Swami, Vaisesika das, Jahnavi Harrison, Agnideva das (a surprise!), Indradyumna Swami, Radhanath Swami, and others.

Indradyumna Swami wrote on his Facebook page to commemorate the event yesterday:

This year’s Sadhu Sanga Retreat in Boone, North Carolina, USA was the best ever. Over 2,000 devotees from all over the world attended and there were 150,000 views of the livestream videos. Prasadam was served 3 times a day which amounted to 20,000 plates served over the entire event. There were 14 kirtaneers – some of the best in ISKCON – who melted the hearts of everyone who attended. Everything was 1st class: the organization, the facilities, the prasadam, the decorations, the sound system and the transcendental atmosphere.

Ananta Vrindavan das, one of Indradyumna Swami’s disciples, released a long-awaited video covering the event and it can be found on his facebook page or on Indradyumna Swami’s Facebook page. Ananta Vrindavan das worked tirelessly over the course of the last two weeks, and especially in the last 24 hours, to put this video together. Now everyone can relive the experiences or have a taste for what this retreat is like by watching the video footage.

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All glories to the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! All glories to all the followers of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Goswamis!

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit the Swami’s facebook page and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, his recent Russian tour, etc.

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Ukraine: Preacher’s Paradise – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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Ukraine: Preacher’s Paradise – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

Before the annual Sadhu Sanga Kirtan retreat, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami wound up his most recent preaching tour with a trip to Ukraine. Tha marked the end of 6 weeks in Russia and eventually Ukraine. From Ukraine, he spent a day in Warsaw resting before flying out to Chicago and eventually to Boone, North Carolina, where the Sadhu Sanga Retreat took place over Memorial Day weekend.

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Ananta Vrindavan das, one of Indradyumna Swami’s disciples, captured the trip in video and in photos, as usual, and his album can be found here on his facebook page.

In a Facebook post, Indradyumna Swami gave very encouraging words about the trip:

As the spring tour winds down we find ourselves in the wonderful association of the devotees in Dnipro. This is an ideal place to wrap up the last 6 weeks of travel in Russia and Ukraine as the devotees here have an insatiable taste for the Holy Name and dancing in kirtan. Whether it be in a public setting such as the Rathayatra in Dnipro, a festival celebrating the association of devotees, or in powerful temple programs, devotees love kirtan. As a team we feel quite humbled to have been blessed to serve Srila Prabhupada sharing his message of Krsna consciousness with these devotees.

As usual, Indradyumna Swami chanted and danced with the devotees in Dnipro, Ukraine and was pleased to see their spiritual enthusiasm and devotion.

All glories to the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who spread the Holy Names far and wide! All glories to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! All glories to all the followers of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Goswamis!

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit the Swami’s facebook page and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, his recent Russian tour, etc.

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Chant and dance! – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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Chant and dance! – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

Over Memorial Day weekend, over 2,000 devotees gathered at the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina,  for the Sadhu Sanga Kirtan retreat that His Holiness Indradyumna Swami organized with the help of his disciples.

At the retreat, there was a disciples’ meeting on Saturday, which has become an annual event for the disciples of Indradyumna Swami. At that time, the vyasa puja ceremony for Indradyumna Swami was carried out and the Swami also read his most recent diary entry, entitled: “He did his time” and available on his facebook page and on his Traveling Monk website. The diary entry discusses a little bit about Indradyumna Swami’s time in the Marines. He is pictured in his uniform below.

The Sadhu Sanga kirtan event was attended by many disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and kirtan leaders included Govinda Swami, Badahari das, Madhava Naidoo, Niranjana Swami, Vaisesika das, Jahnavi Harrison, Agnideva das (a surprise!), Indradyumna Swami, Radhanath Swami, and others.

Soon, the retreat organizers will send out recordings of the blissful kirtans that had everyone up and dancing. A highlight of the event took place when Vaisesika das invited all of the disciples of Srila Prabhupada in attendance to go to the stage to chant and dance up there with him.

Ananta Vrindavan das, one of Indradyumna Swami’s disciples captured the event in video and photography, as usual, and his album can be found here on his facebook page.

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In his diary post, Indradyumna Swami quoted Srila Prabhupada at the end.

“A Vaisnava is always a well-wisher to everyone. The Six Gosvamis, for example, are described in this way: dhiradhira janapriyau. They were popular with both the gentle and the ruffians. A Vaisnava must be equal to everyone, regardless of one’s position. Atmavat: a Vaisava should be like Paramatma. Isvara sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ‘rjuna tisthati. Paramatma does not hate anyone … As the moon never refuses to distribute its pleasing rays even to the home of a candala, a Vaisnava never refuses to act for everyone’s welfare.”

[Srimad Bhagavatam 7.4.32, purport]

All glories to the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! All glories to all the followers of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Goswamis!

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit the Swami’s facebook page and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, his recent Russian tour, etc.

Indradyumna Swami

Fruits and Flowers: The Devotees of Moscow – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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Fruits and Flowers: The Devotees of Moscow – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

The last stop of Indrayumna Swami’s Russian tour was Moscow, Russia. In a youtube video filmed in Moscow, Indradyumna Swami glorifies his Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada:

“We’ve also come with a sense of nostalgia, because this is where our Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada, came during his visit in 1971. Actually, there’s a number of well-known photos of Prabhupada, walking up toward Red Square, walking through Red Square, looking up at St. Basil’s Cathedral. It was during Prabhupada’s visit here that he met Professor Kotovsky. They had some discussion about Krishna Consciousness and just as significant is when Prabhupada’s secretary at that time, Syamasundara das, during a shopping spree getting some fruits and vegetables for Srila Prabhupada, he met one young boy interested. Anatoli came back to Srila Prabhupada’s hotel room and spent a significant amount of time with Srila Prabhupada for a few days speaking about Krishna Consciousness. And by Prabhupada’s boundless mercy, that young man became his first and only Russian disciple, and Ananta Santi, as he was initiated, did a significant amount of service in this country. He also traveled all over the country and preached Krishna Consciousness. So in this way Srila Prabhupada planted the first seed of Krishna Consciousness here in Russia and our good fortune has been during the last few weeks to travel the length and breadth of this country and inspire the devotees who came about as a result of that preaching. A seed grows into eventually a beautiful tree and produces fruits and flowers, so the fruits and flowers of Srila Prabhupada’s preaching up to the present day and certainly for many centuries to come is all the very beautiful devotees who have come forth.”

To listen to one of Indradyumna Swami’s classes delivered in Moscow, please visit his youtube channel.

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit Indradyumna Swami’s facebook and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from his ongoing Russian tour.

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Moscow: The Fruit of Srila Prabhupada’s Preaching – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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Moscow: The Fruit of Srila Prabhupada’s Preaching – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

The very last stop of Indrayumna Swami’s Russian tour was Moscow, Russia. Again, he was accompanied  by his dear friends and travel companions, Caturatma das and Badahari das.

Of the trip, Indradyumna Swami wrote in a recent post on his Facebook page:

Our visit to Moscow was the last stop on our preaching tour of Russia. There we discovered literally thousands of devotees, the fruit of Srila Prabhupada’s visit to the capitol in 1971. We arrived on Victory Day, a celebration by the Russian people of their victory over the Nazis in World War II. Red Square was alive with a show of military might. As we stood there we pondered that Srila Prabhupada also came to the same square during his visit to Moscow. In our heart’s we quietly celebrated his victory in bravely and boldly establishing Krsna consciousness in the country many years ago.

Please check Indradyumna Swami’s Facebook profile for updates regarding his Russian Tour. Actually, in several Facebook posts, Indradyumna Swami recounts the inspiring nature of his ongoing Russian tour with Badahari das, Caturatma das, and others.

To listen to one of Indradyumna Swami’s classes delivered in Moscow, please visit his youtube channel.

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit Indradyumna Swami’s facebook and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from his ongoing Russian tour.

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The enthusiasm of the Devotees in St. Petersburg – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

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The enthusiasm of the Devotees in St. Petersburg – Indradyumna Swami Nectar

Towards the end of his Russian tour, Indradyumna Swami traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia with his dear friends and travel companions, Caturatma das and Badahari das. Badahari das went on to narrate a video describing Indradyumna Swami’s visit to St. Petersburg.

Indradyumna Swami summed up the trip to St. Petersburg in a recent post on his Facebook page:

Towards the end of our Russian tour we visited the devotees in St. Petersburg, the cultural capitol of the country. In 6 weeks we had travelled over 10,000 kilometres from the far eastern city of Vladivostok. St. Petersburg was built over 300 years ago by Peter the Great. Our devotees have been active in the city since the late 1980’s. As everywhere we immersed ourselves in Krsna katha and endless kirtans!

Meanwhile, Badahari das narrated the video describing the visit in more detail. He said:

We’ve just had a wonderful three days here with the Devotees of St. Petersburg. Of course, St. Petersburg itself is a beautiful city, probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It’s approximately 315 years old and it was established by Peter the Great as the capitol city of Russia, and it’s  the cultural capital of the city.

We’ve very much enjoyed our stay here with the Devotees, They’re very enthusiastic and Krishna Consciousness has been here for a long time, since the 1980’s. Three hundred regularly initiated devotees and overall, there’s about 1500 in the congregation, so the programs are thriving. There are five restaurants in the city—very successful, nice restaurants. Harinama goes out once a week and there’s Food for Life four times a week. There are around 30 Devotees that do regular book distribution, and approximately 500 of Srila Prabhupada’s books go out in a week. So it’s a very thriving center. We always enjoy our programs here. As always, we’re impressed with the Devotees’ enthusiasm for Krishna Consciousness, the basic program of hearing and chanting. They love to listen to classes and they love kirtan. We go on for many hours with kirtan each day.

Please check Indradyumna Swami’s Facebook profile for updates regarding his Russian Tour. Actually, in several Facebook posts, Indradyumna Swami recounts the inspiring nature of his ongoing Russian tour with Badahari das, Caturatma das, and others.

The excerpt above, spoken by Badahari das, came from a video on Indradyumna Swami’s youtube channel. To listen to one of Indradyumna Swami’s kirtans from St.Peterbsurg, please visit his youtube channel.

For more on Indradyumna Swami’s transcendental travels and lectures, please visit Indradyumna Swami’s facebook and his lecture site at Narottam. On Indradyumna Swami’s official Youtube Channel, you can find many kirtans and classes from his ongoing Russian tour.