| | | | HARE KRSNA! Dear Friends Hope this meets you well! We, at the ISKCON of Silicon Valley (ISV), are eagerly awaiting the auspicious appearance day festival of Lord Caitanya which will be celebrated on Sunday, March 16, 2014. It is on this day of Gaura Purnima, the Lord incarnated in this world as His most munificent and merciful of all incarnations, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There are many references in the sacred texts declaring Him to be the 'Yuga Avatar' - the particular incarnation who appears in this age for the purpose of establishing the spiritual practice most practical for this time. Lord Caitanya mercifully appeared in this age of Kali to award what no other incarnation has ever offered, PURE LOVE FOR GOD (Krishna Prema). He started the glorious Sankirtana movement thereby giving everybody, irrespective of caste and creed, an opportunity to get connected with Lord Krishna in love and devotion and thus go back home back to Godhead, the ultimate goal of one's life. The entire life history of Lord Caitanya is vividly described in the book, Sri Caitanya Caritamrita and this week, we will hear the glorious pastimes of the Lord direclty from this sacred scripture. With great happiness in our hearts, we welcome you to the ISKCON of Silicon Valley. | | | Wednesday, February 26 - Bhagavad Gita Class THE REASONS FOR LORD CAITANYA'S APPEARANCE READING FROM CAITANYA CARITAMRITA In Sri Caitanya Caritamrita,it is explained that there are three internal and three external reasons why Lord Caitanya appeared in this Age of Kali. Join us for this wonderful discourse as we hear about why the Lord appeared and how we can reap the benefits of His appearance. Speaker: H.G. Vaisesika Das Time: 6.00 – 8.00pm Discourse will be followed by Sandhya Arati and Prasadam | | | Friday, February 28 - BHAJAN NIGHT BY ISVWOOD |  | | ISVWOOD presents the Musical Bhajan Night Venue – ISKCON of Silicon Valley
Date: Friday Feb 28th at 6:00 pm
Musical NIGHT: 6:00 pm - 7:59 pm
Sandhya Arati: 7:59 pm - 8:19 pm
Bhajan Sandhya (Night) this FRIDAY: 8:19 pm - 9:19 pm (prasadam served during this time) | | | Saturday, March 1 - Srimad Bhagavatam BENEFITS OF TAKING SHELTER OF LORD CAITANYA READING FROM CAITANYA CARITAMRITA Lord Caitanya, who is Lord Krishna Himself, is the most mericful incarnations of the Lord for He did come to kill the miscreants, rather award everyone with the most precious gift of Krsna prema, love for Godhead. Through His Sankirtana movement, he showed that even those unqualified for spiritual life or too sinful to chant the names of God, can attain success and go back to Godhead. Join us for this engaging discussion! Speaker: H.G. Vaisesika Das 7.30 – 10.00am: Brahma Samhita Recitation & Discourse on "Benefits of Taking Shelter of Lord Caitanya" 10.00 am: Guru Puja and Prasadam | | | Saturday, March 1 - Grand Harinam Sankirtan/Rain Dance |  | | HAPPY RAIN DANCE - TO BRING BACK THE RAIN! California, the most populated state in the country, is facing the worst drought in a century of record keeping. On January 20 of this year, California Gov. Jerry Brown, declared a state of emergency, urging everyone to pause and reflect on how we are all dependent on rain and Mother Nature. The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Sanksrit text and timeless wisdom of India, teaches how production of food grains is dependent on the rain and rain is dependent on chanting spiritual mantras or hymns, as an offering of gratitude to our Supreme Lord for providing us with the basic necessities for existence. The chanting of mantras in a call and response style, also known as Kirtan, is an ancient method of invoking sacred energies for bringing prosperity. The tradition of publicly dancing and singing Kirtan was inaugurated by Lord Caitanya, one of the greatest teachers of the school of Bhakti, over 500 years ago. He practically demonstrated how the chanting of these mantras repeatedly can bring all auspiciousness in the lives of people. ISKCON of Silicon Valley (ISV) is organizing a happy rain dance on Saturday, March 1 at 5.59pm @ University Avenue, Palo Alto in an effort to end California's drought. The 'Rain Dance' will include singing and dancing accompanied with traditional instruments and everyone can participate. The power of prayers is very strong and coming together to chant and dance as an acknowledgement to the Lord, will not only bring rain but prosperity to the entire state of California. Please join us for the rain dance to bring the back the rain! WHAT: 'Happy Rain Dance' - To End California's Drought
WHEN: Saturday, March 1 @ 5.59pm
WHERE: University Avenue, Palo Alto CA (Intersection Of University Ave & Emerson St.) | | | Sunday, March 2 - Sunday Love Feast |  | | REMEMBERING LORD CAITANYA CAN MAKE DIFFICULT THINGS EASY Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's trancendental mission was to distribute love of Godhead to everyone, and anyone who accept Lord Krishna as the Supreme, can take to the process of chanting Hare Krsna and become a lover of God. He is Krsna, teaching His own service, from the position of a devotee. Lord Krsna, in the form of Lord Caitanya, has made it easy for everyone to approach Him. Srila Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami, the author of Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, explains that for one who remembers Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, even the most difficult things can be made easy. Join us as we hear the sublime teachings of Lord Caitanya in this very beautiful discourse! Speaker: H.G. Vaisesika Das 4.00 – 5.45pm: Discourse on "Remembering Lord Caitanya can make difficult things easy" 6.00pm: Arotik followed by Sandhya Arati and Prasadam First held in 1966 at the request of Srila Prabhupada (the founder of the Hare Krishna movement), the Sunday Love Feast has evolved as an integrated celebration of Lord Krishna’s pastimes: chanting, hearing spiritual knowledge, dancing, eating and generally sharing the bliss of Lord Krsna’s presence. Since then, this weekly Sunday Love Feast festival is celebrated in all Hare Krishna temples around the world. We extend a warm and hearty welcome to you, your friends and family. Please join us at ISV for this wonderful event every Sunday. Furthermore, to offer sumptuous prasadam to the devotees is an auspicious activity. If you would like to sponsor a Sunday Feast, to commemorate a special occasion (like birthday or wedding anniversary) or just in general, please write to us at isvconnect@gmail.com. We will offer the bhoga to the Deities and serve prasadam to all the devotees in your name. Donation amount for the Sunday Feast is $301 only. | | | | | |
