Witness another historic milestone for the TOVP live: The Grand Opening of the Legacy Museum of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, planned to become the largest museum in the world for any single person in the history of mankind.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117302

The speaker expresses deep gratitude for being present and begins by explaining the central message of the Ramayana and Bhagavad-gita: the Supreme Truth, known by many names including Krishna, descends into the world in different forms and times to teach eternal spiritual truths. Real happiness begins with understanding our true identity—not the temporary body and mind, but the eternal soul, a part of God. The soul’s nature is ananda (spiritual happiness), fulfilled through pure love and loving reciprocation with the Divine.

Religion, or dharma, is described as learning how to live in all circumstances—success or failure, joy or sorrow—in a way that cultivates this loving relationship with God. The story of Lord Ram and Sita illustrates this teaching. Though born as royal figures destined to rule, they were exiled to the forest due to envy and insecurity within the kingdom. Instead of resentment, they accepted exile as an opportunity for spiritual growth and service.

Living simply among sages, wearing tree bark and surviving on forest provisions, Ram and Sita found profound joy in serving devotees—collecting flowers and offering them for worship. Their happiness came not from power or luxury, but from loving exchanges rooted in devotion (bhakti). The speaker emphasizes that bhakti means offering whatever we have—whether sawing stone or plucking flowers—as an act of love for God. The value lies not in the external act but in the intention behind it.

Stories such as Vishnu Chitta and his daughter Andal, as well as the garland-maker Sudama who served Krishna with devotion, further illustrate that sincere love outweighs material wealth or status. When Krishna offered Sudama any blessing, he asked only for unshakable devotion, friendship with devotees, and compassion for all beings. These three qualities are presented as the true perfection of life.

The speaker explains that everything in creation—air, intelligence, abilities, resources—is a gift meant to facilitate loving reciprocation with God. Like offering a handful of Ganges water back to the Ganges, what matters is not quantity but heartfelt devotion. Even Krishna, in His intimate pastimes, is described as longing for the love of His devotees.

The lecture concludes by connecting these teachings to the Flower Festival. Devotees from diverse backgrounds work together—growing, transporting, preparing, and offering flowers to Krishna. Regardless of social status or nationality, all participate equally in service. Once offered, the flowers become maha-prasad, divine grace shared among all. The festival symbolizes unity, humility, gratitude, and the joy of collective devotion.

True happiness, the speaker concludes, comes from grateful service, loving community, and offering one’s heart to God in every circumstance.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117305

At the GBC Annual General Meeting 2026 in Mayapur, Madan Mohan Dasa shared a report with the gathered leaders on the “Gift Prabhupada” project, an initiative designed to honor and reconnect with the living disciples of ISKCON’s Founder-Acarya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Additionally, in an interview with GBC Communications Director Parijata Devi Dasi, Madan Mohan, a GBC deputy and initiating guru, explained that the project’s goal is to present each of Srila Prabhupada’s surviving disciples with a small, lifelike brass murti of their spiritual master as a token of gratitude for their lifetime of dedication and service.

Approximately 2,500 disciples of Srila Prabhupada are still living, and the project has already distributed around 1,800 of these murtis. Each murti is crafted from alloy brass made with coins donated for Prabhupada’s books in the 25 countries he personally visited. The presentation box, which also serves as a small altar, includes a piece of the jackfruit tree from under which Srila Prabhupada was born in Kolkata.

The initiative, supported by the GBC, was presented at the AGM as it nears completion, with plans to continue making the murtis available at Prabhupada’s birthplace in Kolkata and to maintain contact with his disciples through the database created during the project.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/gift-prabhupada-project-already-reaches-1800-srila-prabhupadas-disciples/

DAY SIX

Day Six of the GBC AGM 2026 focused on recognition of service, updates on child protection initiatives, and the annual review of proposals, reflecting the GBC’s continued commitment to responsible governance and care.

For more details, click on the video below:



Read more: https://iskconnews.org/daily-video-highlights-of-the-gbc-agm-2026-held-in-mayapur/

Śravaṇa Utsav is one of the most anticipated spiritual gatherings during the Gaura Pūrṇimā Festival in Mayapur. Taking place just before the main festival days, it gently ushers devotees into the festive mood by immersing everyone in the nectar of hearing, association, and reflection.

Held over three days, Śravaṇa Utsav 2026 brings together 21 senior Vaiṣṇava speakers, offering one blissful ocean of hari-kathā. The festival is designed to help devotees step away from the noise of daily life and reconnect with the heart of devotional practice through Vaiṣṇava-saṅga.

Theme: “Vaishnava Ke?”
This year’s theme invites deep introspection into what it truly means to be a Vaiṣṇava—not only in philosophy, but in behavior, relationships, and daily practice.

Topics include:
Sensitivity in Vaiṣṇava dealings
Vaiṣṇava tolerance
Art of living and leaving
Performing sādhana in saṅga
“Devotees are my heart and soul”
And many more nectarean topics

Each session is carefully curated to address both the inner cultivation of devotion and the practical application of Vaiṣṇava values in community life.

Senior Speakers
Devotees will have the rare opportunity to hear from many respected and seasoned Vaiṣṇavas who have shaped the ISKCON community through decades of service and realization, including:

HH Jayapatākā Swami
HH Subhāga Swami
HG Anuttama Dāsa
HH Bhakti Dhīra Dāmodara Swami
HH Haladhara Swami
HG Rukmiṇī Kṛṣṇa Dāsa
And many more

Each speaker brings a unique depth of realization, offering heartfelt insights rooted in lived experience and deep faith.

Event Details
Dates: February 10–12, 2026
Venue: Festival Pandal, Mayapur
Live Broadcast: Mayapur TV
Languages: Bilingual lectures (English & Hindi) with live cross-translation
Prasādam: Lunch and evening prasādam provided

A Spiritual Prelude to Gaura Pūrṇimā
Śravaṇa Utsav sets the spiritual tone for the entire Gaura Pūrṇimā Festival. Through attentive hearing and association, devotees gradually become absorbed in the devotional mood, making the heart receptive to the mercy that flows during Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s appearance celebrations.

More than a series of lectures, Śravaṇa Utsav is an experience of connection—to the devotees, to the teachings, and to the spirit of bhakti itself. It gently immerses everyone in the nectar of the festive period, preparing the heart for the deeper celebrations to follow.

Source: https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/ravaa-utsav-2026-vaishnava-ke

From a multi-billionaire to pauper in the street, everyone is seeking the wealth of love. The gaudy gizmos, exotic holidays, luxury cars, sports bikes, late night dance parties, Valentine ‘s day, thousands of friend lists on Facebook, millions of followers on Twitter and 70 mm celluloid screens, may titillate or stimulate the senses and mind, but in the real reel of our life it cannot quench the thirst of love in our heart.

This thirst can be better apprehended by the analog of the gardener. As when the gardener waters the root of the tree, then as the natural by-product twigs, branches are nourished and ultimately we get the reward of fruit. Similarly only when we being part and parcel (soul) of Supreme God(Supersoul), offer our loving propensity in our primary and original relationship with Krishna (Supreme God) with all our heart, then as the natural by-product, we love our brother, neighbor, spouse, boss, country, humanity, dog, cat and so on .

As a matter of fact, the test of any faith or religion –whether Hinduism, Muslim, Christian, Sikhism, Judaism or any other is that how much the follower has developed the ‘love of God’ And conversely, any religion or faith in spite of many elaborate details or popularity, if fails to develop the quintessential ‘love of God’ then it is merely show-bottle or cheating religion.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, properly known as the “Avatari” or Source of all incarnations of God is the combined form of Radha & Krishna.The unique credit of this most munificent Avtari is that he is freely distributing this highest sublime gift of ‘love of God’ to the most unqualified people of this unfortunate age of quarrel & hypocrisy. Accompanied by his weapon of naam sankirtana & his eternal associates, the great Apostle of ‘love of God’ advented to kill the demonic mentality of ill-fated people of this Kali-yuga or Dark Age. The unsurpassed mercy of Lord Chaitanya made even beasts forget their natural animosity to the extent that tiger embracing deer in the jungles of Jharkhand.

Lord Chaitanya advented Himself at Çrédhäma Mäyäpura, a quarter in the city of Navadvépa in Bengal, on the Phälguné Pürëimä evening in the year 1407 Çakäbda (corresponding to February 1486 by the Christian calendar). Being the youngest son of His father, Çré Jagannätha Miçra(a learned brähmaëa) and mother Çrématé Çacédevé, he became the object of their paternal affection. After performing his notorious childhood pastimes as Vishwamber and his scholastic pastimes as famous Nimai Pandita, Lord inaugurated the non-sectarian sankirtan movement. Later Lord accepted renounced order of life and was named as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. For six years then he toured continuously all over India beginning from Cape Comorin and extending through Bengal to Våindavan distributing love of Kåiñhëa by chanting, dancing and feasting (honoring prasadam).

HDG AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the foremost saint and scholarly exponent in Chaitanya’s line of disciplic succession expounded that“Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation.”(BG 3.3 Purport). The real religion of simple process of chanting, dancing, feasting as originated by Lord Chaitanya is based on the most authentic scholastic timeless precepts of Srimad Bhagavatam, Brahma Samhita, and many other rich transcendental scriptures. Thus naturally Chaitanya’s sankirtan movement drowned people from all masses and classes including Buddhists monks, Mohammedans like Haridasa Thakur, Chand Kazi, smarta –hindu Brahmanas , erudite Maya Vadis Guru like Prakasananda Sarasvati, tattva-vadis ,atheists,pathans ,influential governors and ministers ,multi-billionaire zamindars ,into ecstasy of ‘love of God’.

Lord Chaitanya, through his flawless example of a perfect devotee, taught us to pray to Krishna, Supreme God for the wealth of love:

“Prema-dhana vinä vyartha daridra jévana

‘däsa’ kari’ vetana more deha prema-dhana”

“Without love of Godhead, My life is useless. Therefore I pray that you accept me as your servant and give me the salary of ecstatic love of God.”(CC Antya 20.37).

The formalities of cheating religion, the greed of economic development, glamor of sense gratification and relief of merging into supreme, all seem insignificant like a fig in front of this most precious gem in the treasury of Lord. Anyone who has sufficient intelligence can worship the great Apostle of ‘ love of god’ by chanting the mantra for deliverance culminating in attaining this priceless gem of love.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)

There have been some people who have declared that the worship of Deities or images or the murti in the temples is but a recent invention of Vedic culture. However, that is not an accurate point. It is true that according to the different yugas or ages (such as Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga) there are different processes for spiritual development that have been more recommended than others. For example, meditation was the recommended process for Satya-yuga, when people lived much longer and could sit in meditation for long periods of time. Then in Treta-yuga it was best to engage in various and extravagant rituals, havans, yajnas, or fire ceremonies. Then in Dvapara-yuga it was best to engage in elaborate worship, with opulent offerings to the Deities and prayers and mantras sung to the Deities. So, all of these processes have continued down through the ages to some degree or another. However, in Kali-yuga, though we still see all of these processes used, it is now the chanting of mantras, especially the Hare Krishna mantra, that is the most highly efficient and recommended process of spiritual growth in this age.

So, Deity worship as seen in the temples has been around for thousands of years. And as evidence of that, we can find references in the Vedic texts, as well as in the historical holy sites around India.

HISTORICAL SITES OF ANCIENT DEITY WORSHIP

For example, seven kilometers south of Gokula, not far from Mathura, is the Dauji temple. Dauji is the Deity of Lord Balarama that was originally installed 5,000 years ago by King Vajranabha, Krishna’s great-grandson. From Lord Krishna and His queen Rukmini was bornthe great warrior Pradyumna, one of His prominent sons, who married the daughter of Rukmi, Rukmavati. They gave birth to Anirudha. Anirudha married Rukmi’s son’s daughter, Rachana, and from her was born Vajra, who would remain among the few survivors of the Yadus’ battle. (Bhag.10.90.35-37)

In fact, King Vajra established a number of Krishna deities in the area. The present Dauji temple was built 200 years ago by Shyama Das of Delhi. Many people also attend this temple to get darshan of the single Deity of the 6 feet tall Lord Balarama. From the other side of the temple you can see the Deity of Revati, Lord Balarama’s wife. Nearby is the Balabhadra Kund or Kshira (milk) Sagara (sea) where the Deity of Lord Balarama had been hidden during the Moghul invasion. Near this kund is a temple to Harideva, and in the bazaar is another temple to Banke Bihari.

East of Mathura is Vrindavana, and in Vrindavan is the Radha-Govindaji temple that is another of the seven major temples of Vrindavan. It is across the road and a little farther down the street from the Rangaji temple. It was established by Rupa Gosvami where he discovered the Gopala Deity. The beautiful temple is made out of red sandstone and was completed in 1590. The temple is now only two storeys tall but once reached up to seven storeys. The Muslim fanatic Aurangzeb, doing his dirty work, dismantled the upper five storeys of the temple due to his envy. While his men were destroying the temple, there was a loud thunderous noise that shook the ground. This put fear into the hearts of the men and they immediately stopped and ran away. Due to fear of the Moghuls, before they arrived the devotees moved the original deities to Jaipur where today many pilgrims go to see them. So the temple now has pratibhuh deities, or representative expansions, of the original Radha-Govindaji that are worshiped. The original Govindaji Deity is said to have been installed thousands of years ago by Vajranabha.

Also, in Vrindavan, farther into the eastern part of town, are many other temples, including the large and ornate Lala Babu Mandir with Radha, Krishna, and Lalita deities. Then at the corner where we turn off from Loi Bazaar to go toward the Banke Bihari Mandir, we find the Gopishwara Mahadeva Shiva temple with a Shiva linga, said to have been originally installed by Krishna’s great-grandson, Vajranabha, and is the place where Lord Shiva did austerities in hopes of entering the rasa-lila dance as a gopi (cow-herd girl). In the morning devotees wash the linga with milk and other items, and then later the pujaris dress the linga in bright colored clothes.

A few miles from Barsana is Nandagram, another place where Krishna performed many childhood pastimes described in the Bhagavatam. On top of the hill is the main temple that has Deities of Krishna, Balarama, Nanda Maharaja (Krishna’s father), Mother Yashoda, Srimati Radharani, and two of Krishna’s friends. There is also a Shiva lingam in a small shrine across from the temple called Nandisvara, said to have been installed by Vajranabha many hundreds of years ago. It is considered that this hill is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. From the top of the walls that surround the temple we can get good views of the area, and someone who is familiar with it can point out other nearby places connected with Krishna’s pastimes that we may want to visit.

In the foothills of the large Girnar Hill in Gujarat is the Radha-Damodara temple with beautiful Deities of Krishna’s four-armed form. As Lakshmi-Narayana, the Deities are formed of the typical black and brown stone, and are described in the Skanda Purana as being self-manifested over 12,000 years ago. Next to the main temple is another for Lord Balarama and Revati, His consort. The original temple at this site is said to have been built 4500 years ago by Vajranath, Lord Krishna’s grandson. Not far away is a place where lived Vallabha, the 16th century Vaishnava acharya.

Another interesting story is in regard to Guruvayoor in south India, which has the Deity of a four-armed standing Vishnu with a chakra in the right hand, conchshell in the left, and mace and lotus flower in the other two. Sri Krishna showed this form of His only twice during His appearance on earth: once to Arjuna just before the battle of Kurukshetra while speaking the Bhagavad-gita, and once to His parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, at the time of His birth. This Deity is said to have been worshiped by Lord Krishna Himself at Dwaraka thousands of years ago. The legend is that when Krishna left this world, He gave the Deity to His devotee Uddhava to look after it. He then ordered Brihaspati, the guru or spiritual teacher of the demigods, and Vayu, demigod of the wind, to take care of this Vishnu Deity and to install it somewhere for the benefit of humanity. When they arrived at Dwaraka to get the Deity, the city of Dwaraka had already sunk into the sea. After searching in the water, they found the Deity and went south. Not knowing where to go, they sat down by the side of a lake and began to meditate. Soon, Shiva appeared and after some discussion they decided to start a new temple for the Deity of Vishnu near the Rudratirtha Lake. Since that time 5,000 years ago, the place has been known as Guruvayoor (guru for Brihaspati and vayoor for Vayu). Hundreds of devotees visit the temple everyday for seeing the Deity. Western devotees, however, are not allowed in without a letter of permission from the Arya Samaj.

Other examples could be given of the stories and legends of deities that are found in various temples throughout India, or holy places where temples have been established thousands of years ago, but I have supplied much of that kind of information in my book Seeing Spiritual India. However, there are additional references in the Vedic texts which show the importance of Deity worship from many thousands of years ago.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES TO DEITY WORSHIP

For example, even in the Puranas there are stories that include the importance of worshiping Deities. In the Bhagavata Purana (4th Canto, 8th Chapter) there is the popular story of the great sage Narada Muni teaching Dhruva Maharaja the best way to become spiritually realized. Therein he explains the form of the Lord upon which to meditate and how to worship the Deity or Sri Murti of the Lord. The interesting thing here is that the Bhagavata Purana was composed by Srila Vyasadeva about 5,000 years ago, and the incident of Dhruva Maharaja is known to have taken place thousands of years before that. So, this gives some indication of how long Deity worship has been going on.

Narada Muni describes, “The Lord’s form is always youthful. Every limb and every part of His body is properly formed, free from defect. His eyes and lips are pinkish like the rising sun. He is always prepared to give shelter to the surrendered souls, and anyone so fortunate as to look upon Him feels satisfaction. The Lord is always worthy to be the master of the surrendered soul, for He is the ocean of mercy. The Lord is further described as having the mark of Shrivatsa, or the sitting place of the goddess of fortune, and His bodily hue is deep bluish. The Lord is a person, He wears a garland of flowers, and He is eternally manifest with four hands, which hold [beginning from the lower left hand] a conchshell, disc, club, and lotus flower. The entire body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, is decorated. He wears a valuable jeweled helmet, necklaces and bracelets. His neck is adorned with the Kaustubha jewel, and He is dressed in yellow silk garments.” (Bhag. 4.8.46-48)

This gives a little idea of the descriptions from Narada Muni to Dhruva Maharaja. Yet, he goes on to explain that yogis who meditate on this form very soon are freed from material contamination. The mantra “Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya” is also worthy of chanting in one’s meditation. But the physical form [Deity] of the Lord should also be installed. Then Narada describes how the Deity should be worshiped and with what procedures and paraphernalia. He also says, “It is possible to worship a form of the Lord made of physical elements such as earth, water, pulp, wood, and metal. In the forest one can make a form with no more than earth and water and worship Him according to the previous instructions.” (Bhag. 4.8.56) This shows some of the elements of which a Deity can be made. But a devotee who seriously engages in this process becomes blessed by the Lord according to whatever is his desire.

Furthermore, in the 11th Canto, Chapter 27 of the Bhagavata Purana, Lord Krishna explains to Uddhava the details of Deity worship, how it is important, the benefits of someone installing a Deity in the temple, maintaining it, or the harm that comes to one for dishonoring the Deity or the temples.

Therein, Uddhava relates that all the great sages, including Narada Muni, Srila Vyasadeva, and Brihaspati, have declared that such worship brings the greatest benefit possible in human life. The instructions for this process first emanated from the Lord Himself, and were thereafter also spoken by Lord Brahma to his sons, headed by Bhrigu, and by Lord Shiva to his wife, Parvati. Thus, this method of worship is appropriate for all orders of society.

Then Lord Krishna begins to explain some of the important points of Deity worship to Uddhava. Some of what He relates are that a person should worship only after cleaning the body with water and the use of mantras. One may worship the Deity form, or a form on the ground, in fire, in the sun, in water, or within the worshiper’s own heart, and offer the appropriate paraphernalia in loving devotion. The Deity form appears in eight varieties, such as in stone, wood, metal, earth, paint, sand, with jewels, or in the mind wherein the offerings are provided mentally. A Deity may be temporary or permanent, the latter of which, once installed, should never be sent away. The Deity may be cleaned or bathed, and, thereafter, once the devotee has purified himself and the items, offered the appropriate things according to the type of Deity it is.

“Even very opulent presentations do not satisfy Me if they are offered by nondevotees. But I am pleased by any insignificant offering made by My loving devotees, and I am certainly most pleased when nice presentations of fragrant oil, incense, flowers, and palatable foods are offered with love.” (Bhag.11.27.18)

In this way, the instructions of Lord Krishna continue in how to care for the Deity and what is to be offered, by which a person can receive both material enjoyment and liberation. Afterwards, “Singing along with others, chanting loudly and dancing, acting out My transcendental pastimes, and hearing and telling stories about Me, the devotees should for some time absorb himself in such festivity.

“The devotee should offer homage to the Lord with all kinds of hymns and prayers, both from the Puranas and from other ancient scriptures, and also from ordinary traditions. Praying, ‘O Lord, please be merciful to me!’ he should fall down flat like a rod to offer his obeisances.

Placing his head at the feet of the Deity, he should then stand with folded hands before the Lord and pray, “O my Lord, please protect me, who am surrendered to You. I am most fearful of this ocean of material existence, standing as I am in the mouth of death.” (Bhag.11.27.44-46)

In this way, Lord Krishna concludes: “By worshiping Me through the various methods prescribed in the Vedas and tantras, one will gain from Me his desired perfection in both this life and the next. The devotee should more fully establish My Deity by solidly constructing a temple, along with beautiful gardens. These gardens should be set aside to provide flowers for the regular daily worship, special Deity processions and holiday observances.

“One who offers the Deity gifts of land, markets, cities and villages so that the regular daily worship and special festivals of the Deity may go on continually will achieve opulence equal to My own. By installing the Deity of the Lord, one becomes king of the entire earth, by building a temple for the Lord one becomes ruler of the three worlds, by worshiping and serving the Deity one goes to the planet of Lord Brahma, and by performing all three of these activities, one achieves a transcendental form like My own. But one who simply engages in devotional service with no consideration of fruitive results attains Me. Thus, whoever worships Me according to the process I have described will ultimately attain pure devotional service unto Me.” (Bhag.11.27.49-53)

The process of Deity worship is so important and special to the Lord, that He also gives a warning to anyone who may try to impede in this process: “Anyone who steals the property of the demigods or the brahmanas [priests], whether originally given to them by himself or someone else, must live as a worm in stool for one hundred million years. Not only the performer of the theft, but also anyone who assists him, instigates the crime, or simply approves of it must also share the reaction in the next life. According to their degree of participation, they each must suffer a proportionate consequence.” (Bhag.11.27.54-55)

Also, Sukadeva Goswami, over 5,000 years ago, explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam the means for worshiping the physical Deity of the Lord, starting with this prayer: “‘My Lord Vishnu, full of six opulences, You are the best of all enjoyers and the most powerful. O husband of mother Lakshmi, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are accompanied by many associates, such as Vishvaksena. I offer all the paraphernalia for worshiping You.’ One should chant this mantra every day with great attention while worshiping Lord Vishnu with all paraphernalia, such as water for washing His feet, hands and mouth, and water for His bath. One must offer Him various presentations for His worship, such as garments, a sacred thread, ornaments, scents, flowers, incense, and lamps.” (Bhag.6.19.7.)

He also emphasized the importance of worshiping the Deity of Lakshmi-Narayana: “If one desires all opulences, his duty is to daily worship Lord Vishnu with His wife, Lakshmi. With great devotion one should worship Him according to the above-mentioned process. Lord Vishnu and the goddess of fortune are an immensely powerful combination. They are the bestowers of all benedictions and the sources of all good fortune. Therefore, the duty of everyone is to worship Lakshmi-Narayana.” (Bhag.6.19.9)

One other example is in the popular story of Prahlada Maharaja and the Lord’s half-lion avatar Lord Narasimhadeva. Therein, Prahlada explains the nine processes of bhakti-yoga, devotional service, to the Lord. The verse is:

sri-prahrada uvacha

shravanam kirtanam vishnoh

smaranam pada-sevanam

archanam vandanam dasyam

sakhyam atma-nivedanam

“Prahlada Maharaja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia, and pastimes of Lord Vishnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him–these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.” (Bhag.7.5.23) In this verse, the word archanam means “offering the Lord respectful worship” in the form of the Deity, the archa-vigraha.

A further recommendation for engaging in Deity worship is found in the Bhagavata Purana on the occasion of the solar eclipse at Kurukshetra, when many sages gathered to participate during the time of Lord Krishna. Upon being questioned about the best way to become free from the karmic bondage to fruitive and sensual activities, they replied: “It has been definitely concluded that work is counteracted by engaging in Vedic sacrifices [rituals] as a means of worshiping Vishnu, the Lord of all sacrifices, with sincere faith. Learned authorities who see through the eye of scripture have demonstrated that this is the easiest method of subduing the agitated mind and attaining liberation, and that it is a sacred duty which brings joy to the heart. This is the most auspicious path for a religious householder of the twice-born [brahminical] orders–to selflessly worship the Personality of Godhead with wealth honestly obtained.” (Bhag.10.84.35-37)

Many of these stories that we are relating herein are also repeated in other texts, such as the Vishnu Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha, and Brahma Puranas, and others. So, they are not exclusive to the Bhagavata Purana, which shows how important they are.

All in all, this shows that Deity worship has been a serious aspect of the Vedic process for spiritual development for many thousands of years. Thus, as it is further said, anyone who engages in the worship of the Deity in the temple is said to have reached the truth of studying all of the Vedas.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IDOL AND DEITY WORSHIP

What we have been describing is called, in certain cultures, such as the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) idol worship, which immediately has the connotation of something bad, false, evil, wicked, and certainly misdirected, as if it will take one to hell. It can conjure in the mind something to do with pagan worship of the devil, or other aberrations as something being a false god. It is, however, most peculiar that none of these religions have nor do they offer a clear concept of what is God or what He looks like. But they seem to offer a clear conception of the imaginary idea of what is the devil or Satan. They cry against the process of Deity worship, when that has been outlined most precisely in the Vedic texts, but they cannot give a substantial description of God or the various ways in which He can be worshiped. Christianity is responsible for this more than any other sect.

There is certainly a difference between idol worship and worship of the Deity in the temple. So, let us briefly clarify this point. In this age of Kali-yuga, the worship of and desire for the almighty dollar is certainly a popular but easily recognized form of idol worship in this age. And it extends itself in many ways and forms. Worship of a product of our imagination is also a form of idol worship, which should be avoided. We cannot make up just any form and expect suitable results from worshiping it. But we must understand that the authorized Deity is not someone’s imagination, but is formed according to the precise descriptions in the Vedic texts, and is installed according to the exact processes as outlined therein as well. That is what makes the difference. It is similar to the authorized mailboxes set up by the government. If you put your mail in them, it will be picked up to be delivered to the address that is on your envelope. However, if you make up your own mailbox, the letter placed therein will go nowhere. Similarly, a pure devotee or acharya who is qualified to communicate with God is also qualified to install Him in the Deity form. Then Krishna accepts that form as His expansion to receive service, prayers, obeisances, and worship from His devotees through this authorized means.

The thing to understand is that once the Deity in the temple has been established through the sacred rituals that call the Divinity to occupy the Deity, the Deity then becomes an expanded form of the Lord. Thus, by worshiping the archa-vigraha or Deity form of the Lord, one can approach the Lord who then accepts the service of a devotee by His omnipotent energy. The archa-vigraha of the Lord descends upon the request of the acharyas, the spiritual masters, and works as an expansion of the Lord in allowing us to view the spiritual form of God with material eyes, and in accepting the service of the devotees. Otherwise, for most people, it is very difficult to see that which is spiritual with material senses, at least until we are qualified with a spiritual consciousness. Thus, the Deity is also the Lord’s causeless mercy on us.

Foolish people who have no spiritual perception, or no knowledge of spiritual scripture, consider that the Deity is merely made of material elements, and is, thus, something material, not spiritual. But they do not know or realize that the Lord, being the controller of both material and spiritual energies, can turn what is material into something spiritual, and what is spiritual into something material again. Thus, He can appear as both spiritual or material, but His spiritual nature is never compromised in any way. That is the difference, and that is what must be perceived. When a person begins to realize that, then the act of darshan, or seeing the Deity is not a mere exercise in respect and veneration, but it opens the relations between the devotee and God so that it becomes seeing the Deity and being seen by the Deity. There is a special reciprocation between the devotee and Divine which opens to a new level of experience, and new level of a loving devotional relationship. That is when the Deity is no longer mere stone, paint, or wood, jewels, etc. It is the Divine, vibrant with life that is revealed by the Infinite Supreme to the infinitesimal living being.

In many places there are stories connected with particular Deities and various temples across India and beyond of how the Deity acted in various ways in reciprocation to the love of the devotee, or in other ways to show the supreme spiritual nature of the Lord in His Deity form. The Lord Jagannatha Deities in Jagannatha Puri is one such place with myriad pastimes that have taken place between Them and the devotees. Many of these are recorded and can be read and enjoyed, which show that such pastimes with the Deity, of which some people would call miracles, have continued from ancient times down to the present day.

In the Vedic tradition, there have been numerous spiritual authorities and acharyas who have attained high levels of realization, love of God, and relations with the Lord through the Deity. These include Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Vallabhacharya, Sri Chaitanya, along with Saint Jnanadeva, Namadeva, Kabir, Tulasidas, Meera Bai, Ekanatha, Tukaram, Ramadas, and many others who have pastimes with the Deity that have been recorded. Reading the biographies of such advanced devotees can be especially inspiring.

Even Sri Adi Shankaracharya had specific relations with the Deity in the temple. Some people may question how this could be since Shankaracharya was an impersonalist, one who accepts that God has no ultimate form but remains impersonal as in the Brahman effulgence. However, if we study a little of his history, we will see that he not only had special communications with the Deity of the Lord, but he also established Deities in various temples. He was known for having installed a Shiva linga at his matha at Gokarna, worshiped the Deity at Ramesvaram, constructed the Kamakshiamam temple and installed the image of Devi therein at Kanchipuram, visited Tirupathi and recited slokas that glorified the form of the Lord, Bhagavan Venkateshwara, from foot to head. He built the Sringeri Matha after having constructed a Sri Chakra on a rock and worshiped the image of Sarada Devi. He had also established a temple of Lord Krishna, his family Deity, at his birthplace of Kaladi for his mother, which you can still see today. He had also visited the Guruvayur temple many times. Near the end of his travels, Sri Shankara went to Badrinath where Lord Vishnu appeared to him and explained that His Murti or Deity form was in the Alakananda River, which should be taken out and established in a temple that Shankara was to build. Thereafter, Shankara had the Deity of Lord Vishnu, Badrinarayana, taken from the river and constructed and consecrated a temple and installed the Narayana Deity therein. The pujas or worship ceremonies were established and Shankara brought suitable Brahmana priests from Kerala and appointed them the traditional temple priests after giving them proper training.

In this way, it is clear that Sri Shankara recommended and established Deity worship in various parts of India for the practice and preservation of Sanatana-dharma, and for the personal spiritual development of the people.

In conclusion, with the kind of evidence as provided above, the importance and the antiquity of temple Deity worship in the Vedic tradition cannot be denied.

[Dear Devotees, I know there are more quotes from shastra that could be used to help verify the authenticity of Deity worship in the Vedic system. I’m especially looking for any quotes of verses from the Shruti literature, such as the four Vedas, the Brahamanas, or Upanishads. So if you know of any, or have any you could forward me, you can reach me at Srinandan@aol.com, and I will add them to this article. Thanks for any help in this regard.]

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=8626

By Radha Mohan Dasa

On 2nd February, Dr Diviash Thakrar and Nilesh represented Bhaktivedanta Manor at a local Tu BiShvat festival, the Jewish tree-planting celebration. The ceremony was led by a mix of civic leaders, faith representatives, and local community members. Its purpose was to foster unity across different faiths, highlighting the connections that bring communities together rather than the differences that divide us. In this way, the event celebrated shared values and collective harmony.

For the full details, click here.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/bhaktivedanta-manor-representatives-planting-seeds-of-unity-in-uk/

As ISKCON approaches its historic 60th Anniversary in 2026, devotees across North America are preparing to honor a legacy that has transformed countless lives and shaped spiritual communities worldwide. To mark this miraculous milestone and heartfelt offering of gratitude to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda and his extraordinary vision, ISKCON New York will host a weekend celebration under the theme “Origins: Celebrating the Past – Envisioning the Future.”

At the core of the celebration is the unifying concept “60 Incredible Years – 60 Impactful Stories.” This initiative seeks to illuminate how ISKCON has touched individuals, families, and societies over six decades—while also inspiring reflection on the future we are collectively shaping. Through personal narratives of service, transformation, faith, and dedication, these stories will demonstrate ISKCON’s enduring relevance and its ability to uplift everyone.

In preparation for this celebration, the organizing team will reach out to temples in North America and invite devotees to share stories that inspire, heal, and inform. These narratives will highlight ISKCON’s positive values, individual and collective endeavors, and the priorities shaping its present and future. The purpose of this campaign is to strengthen unity among North American temples by connecting, engaging, and involving communities in a spirit of revolutionary cooperation and appreciation —especially in preparing and empowering the next generation.

Ultimately, these stories will stand as living testimony to ISKCON’s mission: to transform lives and make a meaningful difference in the world through devotion, service, and compassion. We request that everyone submit their short stories by JUNE 15 here or via email.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/celebrating-iskcon-60-incredible-years-with-60-impactful-stories/

Śrīla Prabhupāda Connect Day is an initiative to help devotees deepen their relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda—not just as a historical figure, but as our eternal guide, well-wisher, and spiritual master. This special day is part of the ISKCON Global 60–50 initiative, commemorating 60 years of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s miracles that continue to shape lives all over the world.
 

On 9th February 2026, devotees remember, honor, and reconnect with Śrīla Prabhupāda through association, hearing, kīrtana, and shared realizations. The day was designed to remind us how Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy is still active and how his vision continues to guide ISKCON today.
 

The day began early with Maṅgala ārati, darśana ārati, and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class from His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda. This beginning set the mood for the entire day. Shortly after, HG Gauranga Dās Prabhu from Govardhan Eco Village gave a brief and inspiring presentation on the preservation of rare manuscripts and sacred texts, lovingly handed over by HG Jahnaviās Prabhu. These valuable works are now being preserved and made digitally accessible to the public, ensuring that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s legacy continues for generations to come.
 

This was followed by ārati by HG Rameshwar Prabhu and a procession to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s room at the Lotus Building, creating a deeply emotional and prayerful atmosphere. From there, the main event began, featuring senior Vaiṣṇavas, devotees, and students sharing realizations on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s life, miracles, compassion, and unstoppable mission.

Throughout the day, speakers reflected on how Śrīla Prabhupāda empowered ordinary people to do extraordinary service, how humility and cooperation were central to his teachings, and how sincere devotional practice attracts Krishna’s mercy. Kīrtans, talks, and panel discussions reminded everyone that what Śrīla Prabhupāda began is not finished—it is only expanding.
 

Śrīla Prabhupāda Connect Day is not just a program—it is a reminder. A reminder to stay connected to our spiritual roots, to appreciate the sacrifices of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and to carry his mission forward with sincerity, unity, and gratitude.

To catch up: https://www.youtube.com/live/wNhfCZJgesM?si=Tbpugo6h11Wef-bK
 

Hare Kṛṣṇa 
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Source: https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/rla-prabhupda-connect-day-9th-february-2026

Though Prabhupada was present for only the first eleven years of ISKCON’s fifty-year history, he continues to guide and inspire his followers to expand what he began.

“It’s an astonishing story. If someone told you a story like this, you wouldn’t believe it. Here’s this person, he’s seventy years old, he’s going to a country where he’s never been before, he doesn’t know anybody there, he has no money, has no contacts. He has none of the things, you would say, that make for success. He’s going to recruit people not on any systematic basis, but just picking up whomever he comes across and he’s going to give them responsibility for organizing a worldwide movement. You’d say, ‘What kind of program is that?’ There are precedents perhaps. Jesus of Nazareth went around saying, ‘Come follow me. Drop your nets, or leave your tax collecting, and come with me and be my disciple.’ But in his case, he wasn’t an old man in a strange society dealing with people whose backgrounds were totally different from his own. He was dealing with his own community. Bhaktivedanta Swami’s achievement, then, must be seen as unique.”

– Historian of Religion Prof Thomas Hopkins in Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna: Five Distinguished Scholars on the Krishna Movement in the West

This astonishing story has continued for many decades after Hopkins’s insightful observation, made in the early 1980s, though of course not at the same dramatic scale or pace. In this article I will try to document how the legacy of bhakti-yoga that Srila Prabhupada brought to the world is continuing and expanding even now.

Srila Prabhupada wanted to share his love for Krishna with the whole world, and to fulfill that divine aspiration, he urged his followers to distribute more and more books, build more and more temples, and inspire more and more people to take to the practice of bhakti-yoga. Therefore, the movement he started, popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement, has often used success in these activities as its definition of success. And rightly so, because these activities have been and will continue to be pivotal in shaping the movement’s composition, outreach, and trajectory. But the movement often gets reduced to these highly visible activities alone, and much has already been written on them. Therefore I will dwell on other ways in which the bhakti legacy moves on. I will not attempt a comprehensive analysis of the entire movement, a task best left to a historian. Nor do I claim that my examples of ongoing legacy are the most important or the most representative; these are just the examples that strike me from my limited perspective as a second-generation Indian member of the movement.

Emergence of a vibrant congregation

Perhaps the single most striking feature of the Hare Krishna movement’s history is its shift from a temple-based movement to a congregation-based one. The word congregation conventionally refers to any group of people who come together, including for religious purposes. Within the ISKCON lexicon, however, it generally refers to people who worship at the temple but live independently, outside the temple management structure. Though the term congregation member is not used uniformly throughout the ISKCON world, when I use it here I’m referring to both initiated devotees and people who have not yet made that commitment.

ISKCON started in America and then spread to other countries, mainly in the Western world. Its devotional culture was so utterly different from mainstream Western culture that devotees felt the only way they could practice their adopted spiritual culture was by moving into the temple, which offered a safe haven from the materialistic outside world. Predictably, many of the movement’s early members were renunciants. Even many married couples, sometimes with children, lived and served in the temple, which provided for their basic needs. But as the years passed, most devotees found their initial zeal of having joined an exotic movement cooling down. And more and more devotees got married, started families, and pursued careers, thus leaving the temple environment. For its first decade or so, more than ninety percent of ISKCON’s members lived in the temple. Now more than ninety percent of its members live outside. Among some of the movement’s leaders, this dramatic shift in demography initially caused some concern that ISKCON’s spiritual standards would be diluted. But what emerged was not so much dilution as consolidation – the movement became stabler as devotees settled to a level of practice they could sustain throughout their lives. Indeed, dedicated congregation members now manage temples. They also occupy the highest ecclesiastical positions in the movement, including those of gurus and Governing Body Commission (GBC) members.

As the composition of the movement has changed from temple-supported renunciants (including families) to financially independent householders, its mode of interaction with the world has changed from renunciation to penetration. In its first few decades, dhoti- or sari-clad devotees dancing and distributing literature were the movement’s defining face. They exist even now, but they no longer represent the movement’s cross-section. The well-educated, influential professional is as much integral to the movement as to modern society. The tech-savvy colleague in the office may well be a Hare Krishna, a modern bhakti-yogi who has both penetrated into and integrated with the mainstream culture. According to individual nature and commitment, each member performs a delicate dance of balance between tradition and modernity.

Establishment of vibrant systems of education

Srila Prabhupada emphasized that devotees should systematically study the Vedic scriptures he translated and commented on. Such study would deepen their philosophical conviction and fine-tune their spiritual practices. Accordingly, ISKCON temples diligently conduct a daily morning class on the sacred Srimad-Bhagavatam. Additionally, ISKCON has come up with programs for systematic scriptural study catering to all its members, from newcomers to seasoned practitioners. Most centers periodically conduct introductory courses on the Bhagavad-gita that give newcomers an overall grasp of its coherence and relevance. For regular practitioners, many temples and educational centers offer the Bhakti Sastri course, which provides progressive study of the movement’s essential literature. Thousands of students all over the world have availed themselves of the course, the teaching of which is supervised by the ISKCON Board of Education. Additionally, many devotee communities have started schools to provide their children with a holistic education that teaches not just material knowledge and skills that secular schools offer but also spiritual wisdom and values that the tradition offers. Further, for youth studying in universities, several temples have started customized youth centers near colleges. These centers provide students havens for community and spirituality where they can de-stress from the academic tension of their competitive careers.

Evolution of multifarious community support systems

The movement has developed other community-support systems as well. ISKCON has been at the forefront in reaching out to the larger community through its extensive food-relief programs. Hare Krishna Food for Life is the world’s largest vegetarian food-relief organization. With projects in over 60 countries, it provides more than 1.5 million free meals daily, including in disaster areas in various parts of the world. The Indian wing of this initiative, ISKCON Food Relief Foundation, runs a Mid-day Meal program, providing nutritious and delicious krishna-prasada every school day to over 1.2 million students from all backgrounds.

To provide philosophical and practical guidance to members, devotee communities in various parts of the world have developed devotee-care systems, such as the counselor system. To help devotees find compatible spouses, leaders of several devotee-communities have set up marriage boards and other matrimonial portals, physical and digital. To help train talented and dedicated young devotees to take up the mantle of the movement’s leadership and thereby enable a smooth succession from one generation of leaders to the next, various leadership-training forums have also been established.

Devotee professionals have also set up hospitals and hospices. The bhakti tradition places great importance on departing from the world in a spiritually conducive circumstance and consciousness. Accordingly, devotees have set up a hospice in the holy land of Vrindavan, where committed practitioners can prepare to face life’s final exam – death – in a setting that is medically and spiritually favorable. As the body takes its inevitable course towards destruction, the soul takes its conscientious course towards spiritual elevation, if not liberation. Similar hospices are planned for other places, including Mayapur, West Bengal, home to the movement’s world headquarters.

Spreading of eco-friendly culture

Srila Prabhupada repeatedly stressed the principle of simple living and high thinking, and he wanted to demonstrate it through self-sufficient communities that featured God-centered eco-friendly living. In his cutting critique of materialistic civilization’s reckless encroachment on nature, Srila Prabhupada proved prescient. Over the last four decades since Prabhupada’s critique, many studies have shown how indiscriminate exploitation of the environment has jeopardized the future of humanity, indeed of the earth itself. As the world is becoming increasingly aware of the staggering ecological and economic costs of our past centuries of environmental exploitation, green consciousness is rising. Bhakti-yoga takes this ascent of human consciousness towards its zenith in Krishna consciousness, which re-envisions the universe as a cosmic family, with God as the father, nature as the mother, and all living beings – not just human beings – as children.

This inclusive vision provides an additional impetus towards raising eco-awareness – vegetarianism. Studies have shown that producing and consuming nonvegetarian food harms the ecology much more than the pollution from all the world’s vehicles. ISKCON has been a global pioneer in spreading vegetarianism, especially in the West. This pioneering is philosophical, offering a more spiritual and dignified conception of our nonhuman brothers and sisters. But it is also practical. Through many outlets, ISKCON provides an array of delectable vegetarian dishes of krishna-prasada to a world that mistakenly equates vegetarianism with a diet of vegetables alone.

Besides contributing to the mainstreaming of vegetarianism, ISKCON in various parts of the world has developed eco-friendly communities that subsist on, as Srila Prabhupada would say, “the land, the cow, and Krishna.” Initially these communities tried to avoid all modern things, but in time each arrived at its own balance, using nature’s resources and modern amenities. Today many of these communities serve as not just serene spiritual sanctuaries but also as crucibles of ecological research. They demonstrate that prosperity achieved by living in harmony with nature is a viable, even preferable, alternative to prosperity by exploiting nature.

Presence in the academia

No movement can exist in a social vacuum, oblivious to the intellectual and cultural trends of the larger society of which it is a part. A major place where such trends are understood is the academy, its study of religion being especially relevant to religious organizations. The academy significantly shapes public perceptions of a religion, especially where it is a minority religion and so, for the mainstream society, is more learned about than lived. This principle was relevant to ISKCON in the Western world, where the bhakti culture ubiquitous in traditional India was seen as utterly foreign, if not incomprehensibly alien.

To help correct such perceptions, some devotee intellectuals felt inspired to enter the academy to gain formal training to respectably present the tradition’s voice in today’s multicultural milieu. Such an outreach of the tradition to the academy has important precedents. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Ṭhakura, the spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada, sent one of his scholarly disciples, Sambidanand Das, to London to write his doctoral thesis on the history and literature of the Gauḍiya Vaishnavas. Religious traditionalists often find the academy’s approach to studying religion distressingly unsympathetic to insider perspectives. The output of academic study can sometimes be summed in the epitaph “Operation successful, patient dead.” Yet discerning traditionalists know that the academy will continue to shape how the public perceives the tradition. Scholars are often not privy to insider perspectives. Therefore, if public perception is to reasonably reflect the reality of the tradition’s contributions, the onus falls on insiders to academically train themselves to present the insider perspective in a way intelligible to the outsider.

The late Tamala Krishna Goswami, one of the movement’s most prominent leaders and a sannyasi and guru, gave a major boost to the tradition’s academic penetration by entering the academy and writing a seminal thesis on Srila Prabhupada’s theological contributions. Other devotee scholars have written defining books on the modern-day leaders of the tradition – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Ṭhakura and Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura – and on the foundational books of the tradition, namely the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Satyaraja Dasa has founded the Journal of Vaishnava Studies, now a major voice in the deep study of the Vashnava tradition. Devotee scholars joined hands with the broader Hindu community to set up the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies (OCHS) at Oxford to create a vibrant example of contemporary scholarship. In an academy shaped by Abrahamic stereotypes of religion and dominated by nondualist perceptions of Hinduism, devotee scholars have done pioneering work in ensuring that insider perspectives and the bhakti tradition are given their due place in the academic study of Hinduism.

Of course, the legacy of love that is the bhakti tradition continues most vibrantly beyond the external structures and systems. It lies in the hearts of the thousands of practitioners for whom Krishna becomes an increasingly intimate reality through their daily devotional and meditational practices. And as they resourcefully share that reality with others, they provide serenity amid anxiety, spirituality amid materialism, and purposefulness amid pointlessness.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=44433

By Gargamuni Das

October – November 1966: NEW YORK CITY, “Happiness on 2nd Ave.”

We used to make these leaflets called “Stay high forever.” People really got a kick out of those.

Gargamuni das: We had a big tape recorder that weighed 50 pounds. I was in charge of that.

Brahmananda would bring it down from Prabhupada’s closet every night.

So my job was to set up the tape for Prabhupada’s lecture.

Prabhupada was very insistent in having his lectures tape recorded – so much so that when the tape ran out, he would stop and wait for me to rethread the tape with a new one.

In those days, we didn’t have money; and those tapes, I remember they were three, four dollars for Scotch tapes.

So Prabhupada wanted everything tape recorded. We didn’t think it was important in those days, but now we do. They’re important for preaching.

In the beginning, there was only one or two who were thinking how to give Prabhupada something instead of just taking from him.

Because I had asked Prabhupada, I said, “Swamiji, we’re here with you, and what are we supposed to do? We come here, we take Krishna prasadam, and then we all go away. But what are we supposed to do for you? What are we here for?”

I wanted something definite. Prabhupada said, “The duty of a disciple is to assist the spiritual master in his work.”

That’s all he said. So then I thought, “Work?”

Later on I pondered on this subject, work, and I said, “Prabhupada doesn’t work. What does he do? He doesn’t have a job. He’s a religious teacher.”

So then it occurred to me there’s one thing he does do every day and that’s translate books, and he’s using this typewriter.

Prabhupada wasn’t a typist. He used just his index fingers. That’s how he was typing his books.

So I was walking one day, because there were four or five head shops that would carry Back to Godhead and I would always stop in the shops to see if they’re selling.

So on my way I passed this Grundig shop, and something in the window caught my eye.

It was like a miniature tape recorder, and it said Dictaphone. I said, “What the hell is a Dictaphone?”

So I went inside, and I went up to the man and I said, “What’s this Dictaphone?”

He says, “Well, it’s used by lawyers and doctors to keep notes.” I go, “Oh, yeah?”

I said, “I know somebody who is translating books. It would be good for him?”

He said, “Oh, yeah.” So he showed me how to use it, and I said, “I’m going to buy this for Prabhupada.

Now I’m helping him because this will go a lot faster than typing.”

Practically speaking, the Dictaphone revolutionized Prabhupada’s book.

Because he wanted to do the Gita, and so it would take ages for him to finish typing by hand.

It was 150 bucks [dollars], I think. So I brought it to Prabhupada. I was all excited and puffed up, and I said, “This is helping Prabhupada.”

So I thought, “Boy, how am I going to show Prabhupada how to use this thing? He’s from the village. In Vrindavan, they don’t know what a Dictaphone is.”

So I brought it up to Prabhupada’s room, and I showed it to him. I showed him the mike, and he looked at it.

I said, “Prabhupada, there’s an instruction book here how to use it. I’ll go through it with you.” He said, “No, that’s OK, I know.”

I was shocked. And sure enough, Prabhupada knew. He pressed the right buttons, he was testing it, and I was shocked. He never even looked at the book.

It took me an hour with the guy, he had to show me everything, and here I’m showing it to someone from the village and he didn’t have to look at the book.

Then I realized that this person, he’s not human. How does he know how to work this thing? He never had one.

Prabhupada was very easy with electronics. He wasn’t at all intimidated.

And then boom, Prabhupada started doing the tapes. It was great. But then we had the other problem – the tapes were building up, and the tapes were expensive.

At the end, we had six or seven tapes and we didn’t have money to keep buying tapes.

For some reason, nobody knew how to type properly because you have to have coordination.

I think because we were all on LSD, nobody could coordinate their foot with their fingers.

Because you had to use a foot pedal, and then you had to hear Prabhupada and coordinate, like driving a car, and nobody could do it.

So all of a sudden this Neal shows up, and he’s from Antioch College.

He has to do a summer course, three months course, joining a religious organization and writing about his experience. That was his paper.

So he thought, “I’ll join you guys.” He said, “I’m going to do it.” I said, “Fine.”

So I immediately asked him, “Do you know how to type?” We just thought we’d ask. He goes, “Yeah, I can type.”

I said, “Do you know how to use a Dictaphone?” “Oh, yeah, that’s easy,” and right away the guy started typing 60 words a minute.

We used to watch his foot – man, the foot was going a mile a minute.

He knew how to go back and go forward in a second if he didn’t understand anything.

And we go, “Wow!” We looked at each other, “This is mystical,” because this is the person we needed and then all of a sudden he shows up knocking at the door.

You don’t know, the devotees then had an inner communication with each other. When things like this happened, we’d look at each other and go, “Wow, this is mystical.”

And then we understood that Krishna provides. That was the famous word: “Krishna provides.”

That’s why you really felt secure when you were with Prabhupada, because you felt nothing could hurt you or touch you and you felt wonderful.

You always wanted to be around him because you felt fully protected – that feeling that everything’s going to work out when you’re with Prabhupada, because everything did work out.

To see an Indian man in Indian dress in a park on Tompkins Square where the majority of the people were old Russian and Polish people, it was just too far out.

So we used to go every weekend Sundays, especially Sundays, to Tompkins Square to chant with Prabhupada. I would be in the crowd with the leaflets, talking and inviting people.

We used to make these leaflets called “Stay high forever.” People really got a kick out of those.

We used that photograph of Prabhupada where he’s sitting and he’s smiling and he’s got his hand on his head.

That photo was…people would look at that and say, “Wow! He is high. He’s so high, he’s trying to keep himself down just from the mantra.”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=54667

On 2nd February, Dr Diviash Thakrar and Nilesh represented Bhaktivedanta Manor at a local Tu BiShvat festival, the Jewish tree-planting celebration. The ceremony was led by a mix of civic leaders, faith representatives, and local community members. Its purpose was to foster unity across different faiths, highlighting the connections that bring communities together rather than the differences that divide us. In this way, the event celebrated shared values and collective harmony.

From our community’s perspective, the devotees reflected on teachings such as those in the Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam, which emphasise being “more humble than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree.” Planting the tree was therefore deeply meaningful, allowing us to appreciate how different faiths approach and celebrate themes of growth, renewal, and care for the natural world. While Tu BiShvat is a significant festival in the Jewish calendar, it also offered us a valuable opportunity to show support and recognise the values we share.

“It was encouraging to see such a wide representation of civic and faith leadership,” said Diviash. “We would like to place on record our appreciation for The Mayor of Hertsmere, Cllr Alpha Bird Collins, and his wife, Reverend Louise Collins, who were gracious and gallant throughout the event, as well as Sandra Parnell, whose warm presence contributed to the spirit of the occasion.”

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117289

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi, 

The Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) entered into a strategic collaboration with the Management & Entrepreneurship and Professional Skills Council (MEPSC) and Nalanda Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the Press Club, Kolkata. The partnership marked a significant step toward embedding Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) within India’s formal skill development and early childhood education ecosystem.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Dr. Sumanta Rudra, Dean of Academics and Trustee, Bhaktivedanta Research Center, and Aradhya Bhagavan Das. Nalanda Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. was represented by its Founders and Directors, Tamal Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee, along with Anil Rana, Director, and Chirabrata Majumder, Co-Founder. Abhijit Mukherjee, Senior Manager – Business Development, represented MEPSC.

The collaboration brought together BRC’s academic and research expertise in Indian Knowledge Systems, MEPSC’s nationally recognized skill certification framework, and Nalanda Learning Systems’ experience in educational content development and implementation. Together, the partners sought to strengthen Pre-school Facilitator and Caregiver Certification Programs, ensuring they were academically robust, culturally grounded, and aligned with contemporary pedagogical standards.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/brc-signed-mou-for-iks-integration-in-early-childhood-education/

By Nityananda Chandra Dasa, 

Adi Purusa Dasa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, has been at the forefront of prasadam distribution in New York City for more than 26 years. Alongside this service, he operates several hostels in the city, engaging guests directly in seva while helping sustain a steady, weekly prasadam outreach. In a recent interview with Nityananda Chandra Dasa, Adi Purusa reflects on the vision, challenges, and continuity of this remarkable, uninterrupted service in the heart of the Big Apple.

Chandra: How long have you been distributing free hot meals at Tompkins Square Park?

Adi: Bhaktivedanta Swami, a.k.a. Śrīla Prabhupāda, started this program of distributing vegetarian food 55 years ago, in 1965. We have continued this endeavor steadily as Interfaith Community Services for the past 25 years, rain or shine.

Chandra: Can you tell us more about Interfaith Community Services?

Adi: Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we gather at our kitchen in the Lower East Side with cooks and volunteers to prepare healthy, flavorful, and balanced vegetarian meals for anyone who is hungry.

At 9:00 a.m., we head to the southwestern corner of Tompkins Square Park and offer any arrangement of our meals free to anyone who is there. If someone wants three containers of salad, two containers of vegetable curries, two containers of rice, and one cake, we give it to them.

As everyone comes through the line, we take their order and prepare it according to their preference. We feel that God’s love is distributed through service, and we want people to know that God loves them.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/over-26-years-of-prasadam-service-in-the-heart-of-nyc/

atha bhāgavatā yūyaṁ
priyāḥ stha bhagavān yathā
na mad bhāgavatānāṁ ca
preyān anyo ’sti karhicit

You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am. (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.24.30)

Lord Shiva is revered as the foremost of the Vaishnavas and the eternal protector of the holy dhamas. In Vrindavan, he resides as Gopeswara Mahadeva, guarding the transcendental pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. In Navadvipa Dhama, Lord Shiva manifests as Vriddha Shiva, the protector of the dhama, residing along with his consort, Praudha Maya.

At Simantadvipa, in Rajapur, Lord Shiva is worshiped within the temple premises of Lord Jagannath. On the sacred occasion of Shivaratri, devotees and pilgrims assemble to celebrate this auspicious festival with abhisheka, hearing the glories of Lord Shiva, Harinam Sankirtan, and a Maha Yajna, all performed for the welfare of all living beings.

This year Shivaratri falls on 16th Feb and the program schedule is as follows:
10:30 am- Maha Yajna ceremony

4.30 pm- Kirtan
5:00 pm- Katha and dance

5.45 pm- Sandhya Arti

6:45 pm- Maha Abhishek

Followed by bhog offering, puspanjali and Maha arati.

For the benefit of devotees staying far away from Mayapur, Mayapur.tv will be doing a live broadcast . We shall also be posting festival pictures of the event.
You can offer abhishek ingredients, or bhog offering or send any seva of your choice for the pleasure of Lord Shiva and His devotees!

Click Here: https://www.mayapur.com/donations/donationform/general 

Source: https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/maha-shiva-rathri-2026-seva-opportunity