By Radha Mohan Das

The Bhaktivedanta Players concluded their 40th anniversary year on a powerful and joyful note with a spectacular production of The Lion King – Simha Rāja, presented with a thoughtful Kṛṣṇa conscious twist. This grand finale marked not only the end of a celebratory year, but also four decades of devotional drama, service, and outreach.

The production was staged across three sold-out performances at the Sri Kṛṣṇa Haveli, Bhaktivedanta Manor, featuring a vibrant cast of adults and children working together in the mood of service and family devotion. Each show was packed with eager audiences, reflecting the strong affection the congregation holds for the Bhaktivedanta Players.

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The drama delighted all ages, offering lively songs, humour, and family entertainment, while also weaving in meaningful life lessons—some of them deeply spiritual. Through relatable characters and engaging storytelling, the audience was gently reminded of timeless values such as responsibility, humility, courage, and remembrance of one’s true identity.

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Feedback from viewers was overwhelmingly positive:

“It was a phenomenal experience.”
“Bhaktivedanta Players at its best.”
“A real rollercoaster of emotional journey.”
“The Bhaktivedanta Players’ pantomimes always outdo themselves.”
One travelling devotee from the United States remarked,
“Bhaktivedanta Manor is so fortunate to have plays like The Lion King.”

Indeed, everyone went home on a high note, grateful for an evening of spiritually nourishing entertainment.

Highlights from 2025 for the Bhaktivedanta Players:

The Lion King finale crowned an eventful year for the Bhaktivedanta Players. Other notable highlights in 2025 included:

A grand drama celebration in May
A touring production in Mauritius
An outreach Diwali performance of the Rāmāyaṇa
As the curtain closes on the 40th anniversary year, the Bhaktivedanta Players continue to demonstrate how drama can be a powerful medium for preaching, outreach, and devotional inspiration.

 *Humble Prayer Request*
Dear Vaishnavas,
Please accept our humble obeisances.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
We humbly request all devotees to *offer their sincere prayers* for *His Grace Hari Sauri Prabhu, a senior disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda and His long-standing personal servant*.
Hari Sauri Prabhu is currently *undergoing a heart surgery*, and at this crucial time, we request everyone to kindly pray to *Their Lordships Śrī Śrī Radha Kṛṣṇa, Lord Narasimha and Śrīla Prabhupāda* for his successful surgery, swift recovery, and continued good health.
May the Lord protect His dear devotee and allow him to continue inspiring generations with his service and memories of Srila Prabhupada.

 *Your prayers will be deeply appreciated.*
In service,
*On behalf of Team MVT*
 Hare Kṛṣṇa 

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=116945

The Museum of Sacred Art Foundation (MOSA) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)* have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote Indian Art across seven European countries from 2026 to 2028. The agreement was formalized on December 27, 2025, at the newly renovated Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center in Paris.

The MOU was signed by Mahaprabhu Dasa, Director of MOSA, and K. Nandini Singla, Director General of the ICCR under India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The signing ceremony was witnessed by His Excellency Mr. Sanjeev Singla, Ambassador of India to France, underscoring the cultural and diplomatic significance of the partnership.

Reflecting on the importance of the agreement, Mahaprabhu Dasa said, “This is a very important step in the development of MOSA, to be able to have the support of the Indian government to promote Indian art throughout Europe. We hope to bring the message of India’s spiritual heritage through the visual arts.”

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/mosa-and-iccr-sign-landmark-mou-to-promote-indian-sacred-art-across-europe/

The Religion News Association (RNA) has released its annual Top 10 Religion Stories of 2025, highlighting a year in which faith, politics, and global affairs collided in dramatic and often unsettling ways—from the historic election of Pope Leo XIV as the first U.S.-born pontiff to the far-reaching impact of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on religious communities. Voted on by religion journalists across the United States, the list offers a snapshot of how belief and public life intersected at pivotal moments at home and abroad; readers can explore the full rankings, analysis, and context in the complete article below.

To read the full article, click here.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/rna-announces-top-10-religion-stories-of-2025/

We are entering the New Year, and on such occasions we take stock of what and how we did in the previous year and what we want to do in the next. Studies have shown, and probably many of us have experienced, that most New Year’s resolutions are broken during the first week. Still more are broken in the first month, and almost all are broken within the first three months.

Why does this happen, and what can we do? We are creatures of habit. We have developed certain habits over however many years—perhaps lifetimes—and to change our habits requires sincere desire and determined effort. One study showed that when a person is trying to develop a new habit, he has to consistently, diligently, strive to adhere to the new practice for at least thirty days. After thirty days, he is able to follow more easily but can be derailed by stress or changes in his life. After ninety days, it becomes just as easy to follow the new habit as not, and after a year, it is easier to follow the new habit than not.

So, what new habits do we want to develop in the next year? That depends on our goals. When I visited Pune some years ago, the Malhotra brothers arranged a program for me in the main hall, and at the end of the talk the general in charge of the Southern Command of the Indian Army asked an important question: “What is the aim for which we are born—what is the aim of our life? It certainly could not be to amass some wealth and ultimately die, or to make a building and then die, or to marry and procreate and then die. For our minor activities in life, we have the aims set first, before we get going to achieve them. When we train our people in the army, whatever they have to do, we first tell them what the aim is. And once they are clear what the aim is, then we decide what means to adopt to achieve it. And invariably we don’t go wrong. Now here it is—to my mind, my whole life is going to waste; I am still not very clear what is the aim of my life. Would you kindly enlighten us about the aim of life so that thereafter we can be very, very clear as to what we have got to do to achieve that aim?”

Srila Sanatana Gosvami asked the same question of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:

“ ‘ke ami’, ‘kene amaya jare tapa-traya’
iha nahi jani—kemane hita haya

“ ‘sadhya’-‘sadhana’-tattva puchite na jani
krpa kari’ saba tattva kaha ta’ apani”

“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited? Actually I do not know how to inquire about the goal of life and the process for obtaining it. Being merciful upon me, please explain all these truths.” (Cc Madhya 20.102–103) He said, “In ordinary dealings people consider me to be a learned scholar (pandit), but I am so learned I do not even know who I am. So please tell me who I am and what is the goal of life.” And Lord Chaitanya replied, “By constitution you are an eternal servant of Krishna—jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’—and the goal of life is to be reinstated in your constitutional position as His loving servant.”

If someone understands that he is not the body, that he is the soul within the body, and that his real relationship is not with the body or things related to the body but that, as he is a spiritual soul, his real relationship is with the Supreme Soul, then he can adopt the methods that are suitable for reviving his eternal relationship with the Supreme Soul, Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada formed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people this knowledge: We are not the body but the soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. Our real relationship is with Him, and our duty and goal in life is to revive our eternal loving relationship with Him, with God, Krishna. The whole process of sadhana-bhakti is to help us to awaken that eternal love for God.

nitya-siddha krsna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya

“Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” (Cc Madhya 22.107) That love is eternally there within the heart, just as fire is within a match. You just have to strike the match and the fire will come out. Similarly, we just have to strike the heart by chanting and hearing about Krishna and that love will come out.

The main process is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. We are in a Hare Krishna temple. We are part of the Hare Krishna movement, and we are known as Hare Krishna people. We are meant to chant Hare Krishna. And by our chanting Hare Krishna, the mirror of our minds can be cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam), the blazing fire of material existence extinguished (bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam), and ultimately our dormant love for Krishna awakened. Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam.

But there is also the matter of the quality of the chanting. Queen Kunti prays to Lord Krishna,

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir
  edhamana-madah puman
naivarhaty abhidhatum vai
  tvam akincana-gocaram

“Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education, and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” (SB 1.8.26) People on the path of material advancement want good birth (janma), material opulence (aisvarya), material learning (sruta), and physical beauty (sribhih). They cannot approach the Lord with feeling. And when we chant the holy name, we are trying to approach the Lord. The holy name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are the same.

nama cintamanih krsnas
  caitanya-rasa-vigrahah
purnah suddho nitya-mukto
  ’bhinnatvan nama-naminoh

“The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krsna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical.” (Padma Purana, Cc Madhya 17.133)

Commenting on Kunti’s prayer, Srila Prabhupada cites scripture, that by uttering the holy name of the Lord even once, one can destroy the reactions to more sins than one is able to commit. “Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually, the Lord’s holy name has such powerful potency.” We are all suffering because of sinful reactions. If we were freed from sinful reactions, we would no longer have to suffer. As Prabhupada explains, however, “there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere.” Lord Krishna is akincana-gocaram, easily approached by those who are akincana, who have no material possessions.

Now, these statements may give rise to some questions. This word akincana means “without material possessions,” or “without a sense of false proprietorship.” Of course, there should be no duplicity in the matter, but this principle allows us, for example, to have an opulent temple. We may have a beautiful property, but as long as we remember, “This is Krishna’s property. This is Srila Prabhupada’s property. It is not my property; I am here only to serve them and use this property in their service,” we can be free from false proprietorship, false prestige, and false designations. And in that mood we can chant the holy name with feeling, approach Krishna with feeling. Otherwise, there is a subtle rivalry going on between us and Krishna. We come into the material world out of envy of Krishna. In effect, we want to take His position. We want to be the proprietor and controller and enjoyer (isvaro ’ham aham bhogi), which is actually Krishna’s position. While chanting Krishna’s name, we may be thinking, “Why should I be chanting Krishna’s name? People should be chanting my name—‘Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!’ ” That is our sorry plight. We don’t want Krishna to be the center; we want to be the center. So, we chant the holy name with ourselves in the foreground and the holy name in the background. That is our tendency as conditioned souls.

The proper process is to chant with attention. We let go of all those thoughts about ourselves—“I” and “me” and “mine”—and focus on the holy name, on Krishna. Those other thoughts are irrelevant. They may come up, but we don’t pay them heed. We just focus our attention on Krishna, on the sound of Krishna’s holy name. And when we do that, we can actually feel His presence. We can appreciate that the holy name is Krishna Himself reciprocating with our sincere desires to serve Him.

This practice requires effort. We are habituated to think that we are the center of existence and that everything revolves around us. We see everything in terms of ourselves, not in terms of Krishna. But our habits can change. There is a saying that up to the age of twenty, you think that people are looking at you and like you, from the age of twenty to forty that they are looking at you and don’t like you, and then, after the age of forty, that they aren’t even looking at you or thinking of you. So, we have to reform this habit of thinking that we’re the center, always thinking about ourselves and that everyone else is thinking about us, too. We must know that Krishna is the center.

Once, when I was chanting my rounds at the beach in Carpinteria, I was sitting alone, chanting with attention—making a serious effort to be attentive—somehow thinking of different people who were close to me, and feeling how much they were suffering. I was actually feeling their pain. As I continued chanting, that sense of feeling for others expanded to people who weren’t so close to me, and then to the people on the beach, whom I didn’t even know. There weren’t many, but there were a few people surfing. And I was really feeling their suffering. Srila Prabhupada had joked that the surfers were actually “sufferers,” but I was actually feeling their suffering.

Then the feeling went beyond the human beings. There were pelicans at the beach. They fly very high and then suddenly zoom down and crash into the water. I understood that they were hovering high in the sky looking for prey and that when they saw some potential food they came straight down and crashed into the water. Ordinarily I would think, “Oh, how picturesque—flying so high and then diving into the ocean.” But now I was feeling, “They are in anxiety. They are hungry. They need food and are searching: ‘Where is food? Where is food?’ And when they see something and dive straight down and crash into the water, although they are birds, still, coming from that height at that velocity and crashing into the water is bound to be a shock to their system. And they don’t know whether they will actually get that fish or not. And whatever happens, after they come down, they go up and start the same process all over again. They are never satisfied—‘Now we can just relax.’ ” I was thinking, “What a life, full of anxiety, full of pain!”—and feeling it.

And the dolphins and the sandpipers and the seagulls—the same thing. I was feeling so much suffering on all sides. It was as if the illusion of material happiness and charm had been lifted, and this whole beautiful panorama became a horrible scene of intense suffering, which I was feeling. And I was just chanting, chanting, chanting. Then a little ladybug landed on my hand. Growing up, I thought that ladybugs were auspicious and cute. But this time I looked at the ladybug and thought, “This ladybug is suffering”—and, again, feeling it. Looking at the ladybug, I thought, “I don’t think I can take much more of this. I am feeling too much suffering; I am going to have a breakdown.” I wanted to help these creatures. I was feeling their suffering and desiring to help them, but it was getting to be too much.

Then I had the type of breakthrough that one gets when one chants with attention, with an effort to chant with attention. Suddenly I felt as if Krishna were speaking to me, revealing something to me. I got the intuition, or inspiration, in my heart that Krishna loves these creatures more than I do, more than I can even imagine. He loves them so much that He accompanies them as the Supersoul in whatever species of life they enter. And not only does He love them more than I can ever imagine, but He can actually do something to help them. I may feel for them and want to help them, but what is my capacity to help them? I may not even understand what’s troubling them. Parents sometimes experience that their baby is crying and they want to help but don’t know what the baby wants. They may think the baby is hungry, but the baby may be troubled by something completely different. Or even if they do understand what is causing the suffering, they may be unable to relieve it.

So, I was thinking, “Not only does Krishna love them, but He can actually do something to help them.” And then I came to the bottom of it. The problem was that I was trying to take the position of Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gita (5.29) Lord Krishna says,

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
  sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
  jnatva mam santim rcchati

“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”

When one recognizes that Krishna is the enjoyer, Krishna is the proprietor, Krishna is the best friend, one attains peace. I thought of what Srila Prabhupada often said, so simple yet profound—that your best friend is not he or she who poses as your best friend but he or she who tells you that Krishna is your best friend. Suddenly this whole problem of how to help these suffering souls became very easy. I didn’t have to help them personally; I just had to direct them to Krishna, who could really help them. And it was such a relief.

So, this is our mission: to serve Krishna. And serving Krishna means doing what Krishna wants, and Krishna wants that we should bring other souls to Him. As He says at the end of the Bhagavad-gita (18.69), His dearmost servant is he who preaches the message of the Gita. Na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah/ bhavita na ca me tasmad anyah priyataro bhuvi: “There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also said, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa: “Wherever you go, whomever you meet, just present the message of Krishna.” And that is something any of us can do. It is actually very easy. Any of us can do it.

When devotees, myself among them, first came to Bombay, two of Prabhupada’s early disciples, Shyamasundar and Malati, had a small daughter, Sarasvati, who used to approach respectable gentlemen who visited our center. Although only three or four years old, she would approach them and say, “Do you know who is Krishna?” And then she would answer, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Srila Prabhupada commented, “That is preaching. She is repeating what she has heard from authorities, and even if she doesn’t have full realization, what she is saying is perfect, because she has heard it from authorities—Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So, any of us can preach. We can simply repeat what we have heard from authorities—“Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” “Chant Hare Krishna and your life will be sublime.” “Come to the Hare Krishna temple.” And that will please Krishna.

When I noted devotees here on book distribution, in December, I could feel the enthusiasm to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. I thought, Srila Prabhupada is pleased. They have the spirit to distribute his books. The books are as potent and effective now as ever. So many people I meet—when I ask them how they came to Krishna consciousness, it goes back to a book. They got a book. The formula that Srila Prabhupada gave us over forty years ago still works. By giving them Prabhupada’s books, we are giving them Krishna and Prabhupada, the message of Krishna through Prabhupada, and that is enough to awaken their sense of Krishna consciousness and begin them on the path. Many of us are here because of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

So, we should try to develop the habit of putting Krishna in the center, putting the holy name in the center, putting Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada and their mission in the center, and that will make all the difference. Our spouse can be there, our children can be there, our house can be there, our work can be there—everything can be there—but with Krishna in the center, everything will be beautiful and peaceful. And as long as we persist in habits that may have been with us for many lifetimes—thinking that we are the center, we are the lords, we are the enjoyers, we are the proprietors—there will be so many problems, and in the end whatever we have will be taken away from us anyway.

So, it is most auspicious that we are beginning the New Year in the association of devotees. My request is that we use this coming year, and this valuable human form of life, for their proper purpose, in Krishna consciousness, and that in this endeavor we help and support one another. We can’t do it alone. And I pray that I can always remain in the association of such wonderful devotees, because I am sure that in this association, hearing their instructions, I will be nudged along on the right path, back home, back to Godhead.

Hare Krishna.

[Adapted from a talk by Giriraj Swami, January 2, 2010, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England]

Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog/thoughts-for-the-new-year-6

The Sydney New Year’s Eve celebration in various places around the city is viewed by millions. The biggest crowds always come to the Harbour Bridge and Opera House area, where it is packed from the early afternoon. There are two fireworks displays, one at 9.00pm and the other at midnight.

The Harinama devotees come to the earlier event because the later one is too difficult to navigate because of the huge crowd. As usual, the devotees were ecstatically chanting, dancing and waving to the crowd and some also joined to dance with them.

Source: https://ramaiswami.com/sydney-new-years-eve-harinama-4/

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=12226

Pocket Meditations.
As we settle into the rhythm of the New Year here are some pocket meditations to carry with us every day. These small reminders can bring quality to our lives and thus help us feel more alive. As the Joseph Campbell quote goes – “I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.”
For those practicing bhakti, that means being alive to our relationship with Krishna and others. It’s all about relationship. Nothing mystical in these meditations, but things that can surely, when applied to the practice of bhakti, bring us to mystical experiences.
Always Try to do Things Better
Life becomes interesting when we are aware of what or who we are working with and are asking ourselves how can I do this better, how can I be better. This doesn’t have to be all the time but enough of the time so that we don’t live in a lull – with a sense of comfort, thinking we are all cool or a sense of despair that things can’t be change, can’t improve.

Our life is ours to live and when we serve, when we do things for Krishna, be particularly attentive to quality. And to where our mind is at. These are good places to start when reflecting on how to do things better.

Don’t be Lazy

In a verse in the Srimad Bhagavatam, this tendency to be lazy is grouped with a few other qualities. “O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.” SB 1.2.12

We all have it and we should be careful. Where do I cut corners? Where do I give in? Where do I not hold strong because I am too lazy?

Commitments to vows, honoring time and managing it well, protecting what’s important and knowing your own bio rhythms can help keep laziness in its corner. Being lazy about our daily meditation on Krishna’s names is like trying to light a fire with wet wood. Not happening – and neither will any tangible and visceral spiritual growth and experience.

Watch our Words

This meditation is a reminder to do two things – watch how we speak to others and watch how we speak about others. Both can make or break relationships. In the word “namaste”, the well known Sanskrit greeting, is the understanding that we are honoring the Lord in the heart of the other person. We should remember that for the rest of the conversation too!

As bhakti yoga practitioners try to move away from harsh, critical, put-down, defensive and proving ourselves ‘right’ talk. We should watch our words, our tone, and practice kind, loving, trust-giving, and empowering talk. Listen more, don’t over react and don’t take things too personally. I know (personal experience) that this is easy to say and not so easy to do. And remembering that the mind and heart feast on words, spoken and unspoken, we can still make the choice as this Native American story shares:

A tribal elder tells his grandson that inside each of us there are 2 wolves doing battle. One wolf is growling with envy, greed, sorrow, anger, resentment, and arrogance. The other wolf is growling with love, joy, kindness, empathy, compassion, humility, and peace. The grandson asks, “Which wolf will win the fight?” And the elder responds, “Whichever one we feed.”

The practice of bhakti yoga, connecting with Krishna through mantra, study, and service, brings these pocket meditations to life. And the practice of these meditations strengthen our bhakti. It’s a win/win, so keep them close and apply them often.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=35231

By Janananda Gosvami

Hey that’s not what Prabhupada said. You’ve got it the wrong way round. He said ” resolution, then revolution, then dissolution—no solution!

What do you mean revolution? Another ISKCON reform, a changing of the guards, change the structure of the management, get rid of the tyrants at the top, throw out the guru system, bring in the uttama bhagavata, a philosophical revelation. Aha! An unveiling of the hidden mysteries of ISKCON history, the latest solve the problems technique. The real truth. A social upheaval. What’s he talking about?

I guess some think these are the solutions and would like to make resolutions about it. I ain’t got much of a brain for all the unending speculations and even sincere endeavours flying around, even though like others I get caught up in them only too often. I’m all for a revolution but rather one of conscious transformation.

Mahaprabhu certainly started a revolution, but it was one of transformation by spreading the Holy names. Prabhupada also was a revolutionary to the max.

Dear Sri Dhruva (Secretary to Sri R. D. Birla)
You will understand from the informations that this Krishna Consciousness movement is a major revolutionary renaissance specifically delineating social and religious conception of life based on authorized Vedic culture.

20 August, 1974
Dear Swami Jara Kumar,
In this age the spiritual revolution was recommended by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He demonstrated that the Yuga Dharma for this age is the Sankirtan – chanting of the holy names. If we want the degraded mass of people to be elevated, we must stop their sinful activity. To stop sinful activity one must purify the mind and the best process for purifying the mass mind is the chanting of the maha mantra Hare Krishna. This can be done in public where everyone has a chance to hear and be purified.
We experience that people are becoming more friendly and helping our movement in America simply because we are performing this sankirtana yajna. I hope you can understand this. This movement is authorized and confirmed by great acaryas as well as the sastras and also by Lord Caitanya Himself Who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, non different from Krishna.

Hawaii Jan 18th 1974 SB 1.16.22
So if you make a revolution of this sankirtana movement, everyone chanting and dancing, the government will be changed immediately. So push this movement.

A Revolution? The solution. Let’s make a resolution!
So what’s your solution? A simple formula. What did Srila Prabhupada himself follow on with in Mayapura in 76. What did Srila Prabhupada request as medicine in his last days. “Amala Harinama, amiya bilasa”.
Add the chanting of Hare Krishna more and more to our lives. Okay here’s the suggestion. Let’s go beyond the mechanical process of minimizing the chanting – 16 rounds finished. Thank god. Kirtan – maybe a few minutes a day. Harinama Sankirtan – forget it. Chant while I work – no way. In the bathroom, the car …. UUUh. No more – I did my bit this morning.
Come on that’s to simplistic. Agreed many practical mthings have to be dealt with intelligently. However Mahaprabhu has made the process simple in this age. Chant Hare Krishna. All of our activities should lead to our awaken of our attraction for chanting.

“But I’ve been chanting for 30 years and where am I?”. “Perhaps we have become a bit lethargic in our approach. It’s good that we are keeping the flame going but to cook the preparation we have to turn the temperature up. Prabhupada gave a lecture – trying to cook from 300 miles away. If we want to go forward maybe we have to go forward. We want change. Let’s make change

Chant more and more. The revolution starts at home – transform ourselves. Expose ourselves more and more to the Holy names. “The only reform required is to change our perception of the world by exposing ourselves to the transcendental holy names of the lord.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

Here’s the resolution – CHANT MORE. We don’t have to stop what we are doing even – just add the chanting.

“Chanting the holy name is the chief means of attaining love of Godhead. This chanting or devotional service does not depend on any paraphernalia, nor on one’s having taken birth in a good family. By humility and meekness one attracts the attention of Krsna. That is the verdict of all the Vedas. Therefore if one becomes very humble and meek, he can easily attain the lotus feet of Krsna in this age of Kali. That is the fulfilment of all great sacrifices, penances and austerities because when one achieves ecstatic love of Godhead, he attains the complete perfection of life. Therefore whatever one does in executing devotional service must be accompanied with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord.”
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 4.70-71

If people are simply induced to chant Hare Krsna mantra . . . Just see. Even a child, he is taking part. It is natural . . . they are dancing and chanting. So this movement is so important.
Somehow or other if you can engage them in chanting and dancing, the whole world will be united. (Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture, Bombay, December 27, 1974]

19 September, 1969
My Dear Tamala Krishna,
You write to say that you do not know what is my desire, but my desire is an open secret. I simply want all over the Western countries people may take this simple formula of chanting, dancing and eating Krishna Prasadam, and being happy. I am simply surprised that they should not accept this simple formula and be happy themselves. My only desire is that all people become happy and prosperous in Krishna Consciousness.

Hrdayananda Maharaja: “We don’t know how we can increase our desire for chanting.”
Prabhupada: “By performing sankirtana. Just like if a man drinks, and if he drinks and drinks, then he becomes a drunkard.” The example amused the audience, and they broke into laughter. “Drink more and more and you become a drunkard,” Prabhupada continued. “Similarly, chant more and more and you become-perfect chanter.”

“The Krsna consciousness movement has started performing sankirtana yajna in different places, and it has been experienced that wherever sankirtana yajna is performed, many thousands of people gather and take part in it. Imperceptible auspiciousness achieved in this connection should be continued all over the world. The members of the Krsna consciousness movement should perform sankirtana-yajnas one after another, so much that all the people of the world will either jokingly or seriously chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and thus they will derive the benefit of cleansing the heart. The holy name of the Lord (harer nama) is so powerful that whether it is chanted jokingly or seriously the effect of vibrating this transcendental sound will be equally distributed. [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.10, purport]

Okay I’m getting a bit carried away, but to be carried away in the waves of Nama Sankirtan is not such a bad thing.

Oh I almost forgot another part of the revolution. Another resolution, perhaps another solution. Think about it. Put more effort into coming together for the morning programme with the devotees and dance and chant together, chant japa together, hear class together, honour prasadam together..Oh! and go for Harinama sankirtan on the street with the sankirtan party.
United we stand…

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4790

“For us, every day is a New Year. Nava-nava-rasa-dhamany. Our Krishna consciousness is so nice, the more you advance, the more you see new year, new year. That’s all. Nothing is old. People are seeing that ‘They are simply chanting the same old slogan, Hare Krishna.’ But we are feeling new pleasure in every moment. Take any other chanting, you cannot chant more than a few hours. But the Hare Krishna mantra we can chant perpetually. So, unless there is new enlightenment, how we can do that?”

In this conversation in Los Angeles on January 3, 1974, Srila Prabhupada referred to a verse by Sri Yamunacharya:

yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit

“Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, and I have been enjoying an ever new transcendental taste.”

May you all have a wonderful, Krishna conscious New Year.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=81253

How to Change this Year? You Need to Freak Out!

Our cultural conditioning tells us we should make resolutions for the new year. Of course, the perennial problem is that most of us haven’t followed through on our previous year’s resolutions. And it can even get depressing to think about how many times this has happened. So maybe it is better we don’t make any resolutions this year. This way we’ll have nothing to lament about in early February when we haven’t followed through.

Well, actually I think it’s a better idea to understand why we don’t follow through on our resolutions, since I doubt that we will ever lose the tendency to want to change things about ourselves and our lives that aren’t working well for us. So the important question is, “How do we permanently change our actions?”

It is said everyone wants to see change in others and the world; but nobody wants to change themselves. Why? Because it is difficult and uncomfortable. It seems easier to keep the status quo, even if the status quo is less than desirable.

The secret to change is to understand the process Krsna uses to change people and then willingly apply this process on ourselves. So how does He do it? Before I answer this question I would like to ask you to think about a time you changed something in your life. What caused you to change?

Next, think about something you told yourself you would change and never followed through on.

Herein lies the answer to change.

We change when we have to, either to survive, to prevent ourselves from extreme distress, or when we are really sick and tired of something in our life that we just can’t tolerate anymore. And we normally don’t change, even when we want to, when the above conditions are absent (unless, of course, someone is forcing us to change and making our lives miserable if we don’t, which is really a nuance of the same principle: we don’t change when we see the light, we change when we feel the heat).

Before I reveal the simple open secret Krsna uses and how we can personally apply it in our lives, we first must acknowledge that there are many things in our lives we have the power to change: our sadhana, relationships, health, abilities, or level of success, to name just a few.

But when does the change actually take place? We change when we make the decision that, “I have had enough, I must change.” If there is something we don’t change that we could change, then we need to acknowledge that we are deciding that changing is more painful than leaving things as is.

It is important to mention here that there are many more things we can change than we are willing to admit. Once we stop blaming others or situations for our shortcomings, it becomes clear that not changing is a choice to keep the status quo – which, of course, might be rooted in a belief that this is just the way I am. Anyway, no matter who you are, you can always be a better version of you.

In most cases, not changing is actually more painful than changing. But how do we realize this? Focus on results you are getting that you don’t want and the actions producing these. Then ask yourself this question: If I don’t change _____________ (fill in the blanks of a behavior or a result of a behavior you getting), then in ten years (when you are still reaping the negative results of not changing this behaviorv, belief, attitude, habit, etc.) how will you feel? Does thinking about living the rest of your life with the particular disability, belief system, fear, lack of self-confidence, inhibition, lack of relationship skills, level of health, finances, success, sadhana, service, etc. totally freak you out?

If not, keep meditating on it until it does! This is the key to change. Our present circumstances (which are caused by the behavior you need to change) have to become intolerable to us. If they are not, our efforts to change will fail. We will still be okay with how things are. 
“Okay” is really the enemy.

If you actually allow yourself to deeply meditate on this question, and allow yourself to feel the discomfort of answering the question, it can be powerful. Because until you say “I have had it” you probably will opt for the pain of continuing to not achieve the results and changes you need in exchange for experiencing the pain of not changing.

How can I says this? I have changed things in my life that were extremely difficult for me to change, some actions and thinking which I felt were wired to my nature. But living with the results year in and year out made life so unpleasant that one day I said, “That’s it!”

Sometimes it took me decades to come to this point.

I have seen people at japa retreats say “That’s it” about bad japa. In fact, if they don’t say this, they tend to eventually default to the bad habits they had before they came to the retreat. We can apply this principle to our service, marriage, finances, etc. As long as we are okay with okay we won’t change, because we won’t need to. When we are no longer okay with okay japa, an okay marriage, an okay sadhana, okay service, okay financial situation, etc. we will change.

The point is this: Resolutions must be goals connected with deep seeded needs to change. When the “I should” becomes “I must,” then we will change.

And this is exactly how Krsna helps us become Krsna conscious. When we hit dead ends in our lives and the walls close in on us, we have to act differently. It is discomfort which moves us into different ways of thinking, being and acting. And when we act differently, we get different results. We can’t change by knowing we need to change, we change by acting differently. As long as we continue to act the way we always have, no amount of knowledge not acted up will change anything in our lives (other than maybe we can give some good lectures on how to change!)

Patanjali writes in the Yoga Sutras that attachment arises from remembering past pleasant activities. As we remember the pleasure of these activities, we become attached to doing them again. Detachment works in a similar way: we remember the pain of past activities and we thus detach from them. If your brain links pain with activity in the past, as well as in the present and the future (if I do that I will suffer) , you will give it up. It then becomes a neural response because you feel the pain in your nervous system. It is no longer information; you simply can’t act that way again.

We have often heard it said that we don’t really believe that material life and the material world is that bad, for if we did we would be completely surrendered. But we know the material world cannot satisfy us. This is why we became devotees. So, why are we still attached? It is because the conviction is only in our minds, not in our nervous system, not on the gut level where we look at an activity and say, That would be so painful that I could never do that again.”

So if you want to make a resolution for this year, you will need to associate so much pain with not following through that there will be no other option than to do it. This is how Krsna brought us to Krsna consciousness, and this is how Arjuna became Krsna consciousness. Using this same process we can make resolutions we actually follow through on.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=23163

By Giriraj Swami

“For us, every day is a New Year. Nava-nava-rasa-dhamany. Our Krishna consciousness is so nice, the more you advance, the more you see new year, new year. That’s all. Nothing is old. People are seeing that ‘They are simply chanting the same old slogan, Hare Krishna.’ But we are feeling new pleasure in every moment. Take any other chanting, you cannot chant more than a few hours. But the Hare Krishna mantra we can chant perpetually. So, unless there is new enlightenment, how we can do that?”

In this conversation in Los Angeles on January 3, 1974, Srila Prabhupada referred to a verse by Sri Yamunacharya:

yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit

“Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, and I have been enjoying an ever new transcendental taste.”

May you all have a wonderful, Krishna conscious New Year.

Hare Krishna.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=81253

HH Niranjana Swami: The renewed inspiration devotees feel when going out to distribute books does not come from taking breaks, but from pleasing Srila Prabhupada by sharing Krishna consciousness. Book distribution naturally forces one to speak about Krishna, fulfilling Lord Chaitanya’s instruction to tell everyone about Krishna and “become a guru.” Even if books are presented in different ways to attract people, Krishna is present on every page, and even reading a single line can have spiritual impact.

Maharaj recounts teachings from Chaitanya Charitamrita, emphasizing that one does not need to abandon family life to preach; simply sharing Krishna’s message is sufficient and brings no obstacle to one’s duties. He highlights that although books can be distributed anytime, the current period (end of December) is especially auspicious. He urges devotees to report even small acts of sharing Krishna consciousness, as this is how Lord Chaitanya’s mercy spreads.

Addressing fear, he acknowledges that many devotees feel anxiety when approaching people, but reminds them of Krishna’s instruction “do not fear”—by surrendering to Lord Chaitanya’s desire, fear disappears and miracles happen. He then gives a practical note: videos uploaded to the website must be in MP4 format, not MOV, or they will not appear.

Finally, he speaks about Navina Nirada Prabhu, a long-time book distributor and author of Nectar of Sri Krishna Sankirtana, praising his lifelong dedication and encouraging devotees to read the book and look forward to his future contributions to the website.

By Murali Shyam Das, 

The two-day Navarasa Festival, held on December 20-21, 2025, organized by ISKCON Youth Forum Patna, unfolded as a vibrant celebration of spirituality, culture, and youth empowerment under the inspiring theme “Bliss of Bhakti.” The festival witnessed the enthusiastic participation of over 1,000 youths, all dressed in traditional dhoti-kurta and tilak, symbolizing cultural rootedness and devotional unity.

By Dr. Nitai Madhav Das,

The years 2026 and 2027 mark a significant milestone for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) —60 years since its founding and 50 years since the disappearance of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. These years provide an important opportunity not only for commemoration but for collective reflection, recommitment, and purposeful action.

The Indian Continental Committee (ICC) 60–50 Committee in India has been constituted to guide this national observance with a clear objective: to deepen Prabhupāda consciousness across the movement while strengthening ISKCON’s spiritual and institutional foundations. The emphasis is on ensuring that remembrance leads to lasting outcomes rather than remaining limited to ceremonial observances.

The 60–50 period is envisioned as a phase of conscious alignment and purposeful engagement across ISKCON in India. Temples and centers are encouraged to systematically focus on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, instructions, and life, while strengthening Srimad Bhāgavatam culture, devotional standards, and Vaishnava conduct. The intent is to translate appreciation for the Founder-Ācārya into sustained spiritual focus, disciplined practice, and responsible service.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/icc-forms-60-50-committee-to-guide-iskcon-indias-2026-27-focus/

Since the new year is around the corner, it’s natural to talk about new year’s resolutions. You might be thinking about doing something you’ve put off or making some changes for the new year. You might even be making the same resolutions you made last year at this time. Or maybe you just don’t make them anymore because you never follow through on them anyway.

“There’s hope”

Do You Just Want It or Are You Committed to Get It?

Srila Prabhupada cites Dhruva Maharaja as a perfect example of determination. He says that we should be as determined to be Krsna conscious as Dhruva was to see Krsna. Dhurva was willing to undergo any austerity to see Krsna. We learn from this that there’s a big difference between wanting something and being committed to achieving it. This is the difference between determination in the mode of ignorance and determination in the mode of goodness. In the mode of ignorance determination doesn’t get past the dreaming stage. In the mode of goodness determination is unbreakable and sustained by constant self control.

Have you ever thought it would be nice to achieve something – but then not do much about it? If you have, you probably didn’t achieve it. However, have you ever committed yourself to achieving something no matter what the cost? If you have, it’s likely you succeeded. So if you make a new year’s resolution and are not committed to achieving it, there’s a really good chance you won’t follow though.

There can be many reasons why you wouldn’t commit, but one of the most common is to think you can’t do it. We often tend to minimize our own abilities and thus see many of our goals as difficult or impossible to achieve. Yet it’s more often the case that we are qualified to do it and either we haven’t tried hard enough or we simply haven’t learned how to do it (BTW, successful people as a class are not super talented and don’t have super high IQ’s).

“Determination”

Although there may be many obstacles on the path of the sincere devotee who is preaching the glories of the Lord, such obstacles increase the determination of the devotee. Therefore, according to Srila Jiva Goswami , the continuous obstacles presented by the demigods form a kind of ladder or stairway upon which the devotee steadily progresses back to the kingdom of God.

One of the common factors among very successful people is that they all had tremendous obstacles to overcome. It was the problems they had to overcome that drove them to greater and greater heights.

In 1982 I went to Johannesburg, South Africa to be the temple president. When I first arrived I quickly learned that things had not been going well. It was a constant uphill battle just to keep things from falling apart. After some time I was finding it difficult to maintain my enthusiasm. One devotee suggested that it would be beneficial for me to read the Prabhupada lilamrita. As I read about all the struggles that Prabhupada faced in establishing, maintaining and pushing on Iskcon, I understood that if I allowed myself to become deterred by obstacles I would never be able to achieve anything significant. I then felt strongly that Krsna had put Prabhupada through so many difficulties in order that we have his example before us. Prabhupada faced the greatest challenges. And these challenges simply made him more determined.

How do you react when you are faced with repetitive challenges?

“Walking on the Head of the Obstacle”

In the previous chapter it was explained that although the demigods place obstacles in the path of the Lord’s devotees, by the mercy of the Supreme Lord the devotees are able to place their feet on the head of such obstacles and thus pass beyond them to the supreme destination.

You can tell the caliber of people by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage them. Obstacles will look large or small to you according to whether you are large or small. Did you know that legal immigrants – most of whom have fewer advantages over native-born Americans – are four times more likely to become millionaires? Therefore, we shouldn’t pray that Krsna put smaller obstacles in our way, but we should pray that he give us the strength to overcome the obstacles.

When Prabhupada told devotees how to deal with their problems (which was always to be more Krsna conscious), he would often say, “What is the difficulty?” He meant Krsna consciousness is the easily available solution and the only difficulty is not taking this solution.

“Change Doesn’t Come Easy”

Following through on a resolution usually entails making a change – and change is not always easy. If we don’t like something, we want to change it. The problem is we desire change for everyone other than ourselves! Changing ourselves often entails changing long standing habits, and that can be difficult. Did you know that when Columbus set sail for new lands most people thought the world was flat and that he was going to fall off the end of the planet? Of course that didn’t happen, proving that the world wasn’t really flat. Yet people were so resistant to change that most everyone kept on believing the world was flat while the younger generation was being taught in school that the world is round.

“From the Inside Out”

Unless you make a change within it’s unlikely that you will make a change without. One of the difficulties we face in changing is that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are. When you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.

“Act like the person you want to become. Before you can do something, you first must be something.” (Goethe)

That can be scary. We tend to cling to what we know, even if we are not satisfied with it. Fear holds us back. Yet the only way to overcome the fear is to go out and do the very thing we are afraid of doing.

If you make new year’s resolutions, realize that you probably desire improvement – yet at the same time resist change. The problem is you cannot get one without having the other. The reality is that change is possible only if you want it bad enough. You are the way you are because that’s the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be any different you would be in the process of changing right now.

“Continually Commit”

One of the most important things to understand is that committing to change is not a one time affair. You must commit continually. I think a lot of us make the mistake of thinking we have committed to something when what we did was make a decision to change or commit, but not a decision to commit daily.

“Focus on Solutions”

If you make a resolution and have trouble following through and then start to become discouraged, you can do one of two things – and the one you choose will color your perspective. You can look to place the blame or you can look at yourself to discover your opportunities. The choice is yours. Life is usually 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. So think what you can do, not what you can’t do. The more you hit roadblocks, the more you need to devise ways to get around them. Keep trying if something doesn’t work.The more you think about solutions, the more solutions you’ll come up with (dadami buddhi yogam tam).

Success is really just the ability to solve problems. Overcoming an obstacle is simply solving a problem. Every person has to face obstacles, make changes, and deal with problems. Successful people are just better than the average person at dealing with the same kinds of problems you and I face everyday.

So if you are dealing with difficult problems, imagine yourself sitting in front of Srila Prabhupada as he instructs you to be more determined to follow Krsna consciousness and then asks you, “What is the difficulty?” That one question can make the biggest problems appear insignificant.

“Exercise”

Here are some questions to answer that will help you move forward.

1) What specifically is holding you back from making or following through on a resolution?

2) What must you do to overcome what’s holding you back?

3) Which of these will you pursue, what will you do, and when (write down on your a calendar or daytimer what you will do and when you will do it)?

4) If you don’t get anywhere, go back to question one.


Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=5031

By Sesa Das

OK, I admit it. I’m a junkie, a New Year’s resolutions junkie. Every year I make so many resolutions, and every year I fail to keep them. I know I am not alone in this. Is there a support group out there?!

This pesky little urge to make a commitment to a project or to reforming a habit to mark the beginning of each New Year is not new and seems to be quite universal. Brooke Williams’ article, The History Behind New Year’s Resolutions, published in The Colonnade, The Official Student Newspaper of Georgia College and State University, gives this history, “…the tradition of the New Year’s resolution was created by the Babylonians 4,000 years ago. The first day of the year for this ancient civilization was March 23 and one of its popular resolutions was to return something borrowed from a friend during the previous year…The Romans celebrated the New Year on Jan. 1 and shared a similar tradition with the Babylonians. A common resolution in ancient Rome was to ask forgiveness from enemies of the past year. The Chinese New Year has been celebrated for thousands of years as well. Their New Year is somewhere between late January and early February, one of their resolution customs is housecleaning, which tops many modern-day New Year’s resolution lists. Whether or not these civilizations took their resolutions seriously and always achieved what they resolved to do is unknown. Today many resolutions are made with the best intentions, but the majority are not actually met.”

Yeah, I know all about the failures. According to a recent survey conducted by Quirkologist (one who studies the curious science of everyday lives) Richard Wiseman, as reported on www.quirkology.com, which tracked over 3000 people attempting to achieve a range of resolutions, including losing weight, visiting the gym, quitting smoking, and drinking less, “At the start of the study, 52% of participants were confident of success. One year later, only 12% actually achieved their goal.”

These statistics tell only half the story. Please understand, its not that I am just looking for help in a support group, I have years of experience that may help others. Here are a couple of things I know.

First, the reason why most people even try making resolutions is a the cyclical chain of dissatisfaction followed by the consuming desire for a fresh start in some area of their lives, and The New Year provides a great opportunity to remake ourselves. The problem is that most, why most, all, people are concerned only with an external conception of themselves, and thus their resolutions focus of superficial changes. The US government’s Office of Citizen Services and Communications reports, “The most popular resolutions in the Western world include to quit tobacco smoking, stop excessive drinking of alcohol, lose weight, and get physically fit.” Such external changes will never satisfy the real you, and keeps you locked in this repeating cycle of making and breaking resolutions.

Second, following on the first point, is something I learned in the school of hard knocks. Success is about priorities. Success will only come when you have your priorities straight.

There is an interesting lesson about priorities in the Srimad Bhagavatam. As the story goes, Lord Vishnu in disguise as Vamanadeva, a dwarf brahmana, goes to beg charity from Bali, the conqueror of the entire universe. Coming fact to face with Bali, Vamanadeva makes a strange request. He asks for only three paces of land, and that according to His footprints. Bali scuffs at this puny request and tells Vamanadeva he can offer his planets or all the wealth in the universe. Bali chides Vamanadeva, saying He doesn’t know either his (Bali’s) power, or His (Vamanadeva’s) own best interest. In reply Vamanadeva gives the following instruction that is relevant to all those who make New Year’s resolutions.

“One should be satisfied with whatever he achieves by his previous destiny, for discontent can never bring happiness. A person who is not self-controlled will not be happy even with possessing the three worlds.

Material existence causes discontent in regard to fulfilling one’s lusty desires and achieving more and more money. This is the cause for the continuation of material life, which is full of repeated birth and death. But one who is satisfied by that which is obtained by destiny is fit for liberation from this material existence.”

Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 19, Texts 24-25

The lesson: understanding the nature of this material world, the nature of the real self as being spirit soul naturally different from the dissatisfactory experiences of the material world, and striving by means of internal change for lasting spiritual satisfaction, are the real priorities for everyone. Everything else will follow.

Now, obviously this is easier said than done. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be looking for a support group. Fortunately, I do have an idea where to find my support group. They gather daily at the local Hare Krishna temple for classes on Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. So this year my New Year’s resolution is going to be to attend Srimad Bhagavatam class every morning.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=92526

1) ( omitted )
2) To see myself as a survivor rather than a victim.
3) To see how I truly am the architect of my own destiny and how my feeling, thinking and willing determine how my life takes shape.
4) I resolve to reaffirm my dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON with a view to take very seriously his statement that ISKCON is his body and become determined to heal that body or die trying.
5) I resolve to set my sights on the highest possible goal. Srila Prabhupada said he would know his movement was successful if even one of his disciples became a pure devotee. My chances to satisfy this desire of my gurudeva are about as good as a snowflake in hell. Nonetheless I resolve to try or die trying.
6) I resolve to see how any apparent setback or difficulty in my life is there by Krishna’s arrangement and is really just an opportunity for me to rededicate myself to Krishna Consciousness and simply become more serious about my service to guru and Gauranga.
7) To decrease my eating and sleeping and learn to control my tongue by giving more attention to the quality of my chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
8) To make myself more available to anyone who wants support or encouragement in their effort to serve the devotees.
9) To do more to help the devotees distribute Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental literature all over the world.
10) To deepen my faith in the words of Srila Prabhupada and internally challenge and ultimately eradicate any tendency to minimize or neglect his orders.
11) To be strict with myself and always lenient with others.
12) To engage in more interfaith dialogue with members of a wide variety of approaches to God consciousness.
13) To be more effective in my efforts to present the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness to family members.
14) To be more vigilant in my efforts to use every waking moment to advance in Krishna Consciousness.
15) To eat only Bhagavat Prasad and be less distracted by mundane news and worldly events.
16) To become absorbed in Krishna Katha.
17) To fully curtail any tendency to engage in gossip or rumor.
18) To arrange my schedule so I can attend all temple programs without fail.
19) To participate more in Krishna Conscious festivals.
20) To be more gentle, peaceful and kind in all my dealings with my Godbrothers and Godsisters and Godnephews and Godnieces.
21) To always feel and voice my gratitude for the remarkable and rare opportunity I have to engage in Krishna Consciousness and actually develop love for God.
22) To see that anyone I take to be a demon is really only the external manifestation of some anartha or aparada that I have not yet eliminated from my sadhana.
23) To only use my natural built-in fault finding propensity to find fault with someone who is not yet chanting Hare Krishna, knowing full well that the minute anyone says Hare Krishna even once, they are well situated on the path to enlightenment and can no longer be subject to criticism.
24) To avoid my tendency to try to enjoy Krishna Consciousness and redirect any increase in energy back into my devotional service.
25) To seriously practice seminal continence and properly manage my ojas shakti in order to develop brahma tejas and, in that way, be a more effective preacher.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=5043