By Jaya Vamandev Das  

In the spiritually charged atmosphere of Vrindavan, over 450 brahmacharis gathered for the NIDC (North India Divisional Council) Brahmachari Retreat Camp, creating three days filled with learning, reflection, and heartfelt devotion.

The retreat was made especially memorable by the presence of revered senior leaders, including Guru Prasada Swami, Lokanath Swami, Bhakti Ashraya Vaishnav Swami, Radheyshyamananda Swami, Vrindavan Chandra Swami Prabodhanand Saraswati Swami, and Bhaktivedanta Rukmini Krishna Goswami. Their talks were not just philosophical—they were practical, relatable, and deeply encouraging for everyone present.

Senior devotees like Mohan Rupa Das (Temple President ISKCON Delhi), Sundar Gopal Das (Zonal Secretary West UP), Prem Harinaam Das (Temple President ISKCON Kanpur),  Rishi Kumar Das (Regional Secretary Assistant Delhi), Amogh Lila Das, Acyuta Mohan Das (NIDC Chairman), added a grounded touch by sharing real-life guidance on maintaining a steady and joyful brahmachari life.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/450-brahmacharis-gather-for-nidc-retreat-in-vrindavan/

Do you know we have Seven Mothers ?

Yes we have Seven Mother According to Vedic Scriptures Let us see who are they : 

ātma-mātā guroḥ patnī
brāhmaṇī rāja-patnikā
dhenur dhātrī tathā pṛthvī
saptaitā mātaraḥ smṛtāḥ

SYNONYMS
ātma-mātā—one's own mother; guroḥ-patnī—the wife of the guru; brāhmaṇi—the wife of a brāhmaṇa; rāja-patnikā—the wife of a king; dhenuḥ—the cow; dhātrī—the nurse; tathā—thus; pṛthvī—the earth; sapta etā—these seven; mātaraḥ—mothers; smṛtāḥ—should be remembered as.

TRANSLATION
"One's own mother, the wife of the guru, the wife of a brāhmaṇa, the wife of a king, the cow, the nurse, and the earth are known as the seven mothers of a man."
(Cāṇakya Paṇḍita)

Srimad Bhagavatam
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swaim Prabhupada from Canto 1, Chapter 11, Text 28

Seven Mothers

praviṣṭas tu gṛhaṁ pitroḥ
pariṣvaktaḥ sva-mātṛbhiḥ
vavande śirasā sapta
devakī-pramukhā mudā

praviṣṭaḥ—after entering; tu—but; gṛham—houses; pitroḥ—of the father; pariṣvaktaḥ—embraced; sva-mātṛbhiḥ—by His own mothers; vavande—offered obeisances; śirasā—His head; sapta—seven; devakī—Devakī; pramukhā—headed by; mudā—gladly.

After entering the house of His father, He was embraced by the mothers present, and the Lord offered His obeisances unto them by placing His head at their feet. The mothers were headed by Devakī [His real mother].

It appears that Vasudeva, the father of Lord Kṛṣṇa, had completely separate residential quarters where he lived with his eighteen wives, out of whom Śrīmatī Devakī is the real mother of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But in spite of this, all other stepmothers were equally affectionate to Him, as will be evident from the following verse. Lord Kṛṣṇa also did not distinguish His real mother from His stepmothers, and He equally offered His obeisances unto all the wives of Vasudeva present on the occasion. According to scriptures also, there are seven mothers: (1) the real mother, (2) the wife of the spiritual master, (3) the wife of a brāhmaṇa, (4) the wife of the king, (5) the cow, (6) the nurse, and (7) the earth. All of them are mothers. Even by this injunction of the śāstras, the stepmother, who is the wife of the father, is also as good as the mother because the father is also one of the spiritual masters. Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the universe, plays the part of an ideal son just to teach others how to treat their stepmothers.

tāḥ putram aṅkam āropya
sneha-snuta-payodharāḥ
harṣa-vihvalitātmānaḥ
siṣicur netrajair jalaiḥ

tāḥ—all of them; putram—the son; aṅkam—the lap; āropya—having placed on; sneha-snuta—moistened by affection; payodharāḥ—breasts filled up; harṣa—delight; vihvalita-ātmānaḥ—overwhelmed by; siṣicuḥ—wet; netrajaiḥ—from the eyes; jalaiḥ—water.

The mothers, after embracing their son, sat Him on their laps. Due to pure affection, milk sprang from their breasts. They were overwhelmed with delight, and the tears from their eyes wetted the Lord.

When Lord Kṛṣṇa was at Vṛndāvana even the cows would become moistened by affection towards Him, and He would draw milk from the nipples of every affectionate living being, so what to speak of the stepmothers who were already as good as His own mother.

Srila Prabhupada : 

According to Vedic civilization, anyone who supplies milk from the body, she is mother. So cow is mother because we are drinking her milk. So from that point of view, one cannot kill cow.
If a boy wants to understand, "Who is my father?" the only authority is the mother. Vedic literature is considered to be the mother. She gives evidence that God or Lord Krishna is our father.

So now we know that we have seven mothers so let us celebrate this Mothers day by respecting and serving all this seven mothers. How can we serve and love all thsi seven mother is very simple . We can serve all this seven mother if we love our real father the creator of the whole cosmos Sri Krishna. Mother is embodiment of Real Love so if we want to give back her love then Learn to love Krishna by practicing Krishna consciousness bhakti yoga. Formula of Real Love is simple Love the Creator you will love whole creation. Happy Mothers Day 

Hare Krishna.

A Krishna Conscious mother plays a very influential role in the lives of her children, especially in the development of their Krishna consciousness.

A Krishna Conscious Mother selflessly serves her children in the service of Lord Krishna.

A Krishna Conscious Mother constantly prays to Krishna for the welfare of her children.

A Krishna Conscious Mother is the shelter for her children when the world’s ways trouble them.

A Krishna Conscious Mother guides her children to seek the shelter of the Supreme Lord.

A Krishna Conscious Mother constantly prays to Lord Krishna for strength, ability and intelligence to do her service.

A Krishna Conscious Mother sacrifices her desires for the sake of her children.

A Krishna Conscious Mother is like the pillar that supports her children.

A Krishna Conscious Mother is like the glue that keeps the family together.

A Krishna Conscious Mother keeps going and does not quit despite trials and tribulations.

A Krishna Conscious Mother knows who she is in her relationship with the Supreme Lord.

A Krishna Conscious Mother protects her children from the vices of this world.

A Krishna Conscious Mother provides her children with a positive example to practice spiritual life.

A Krishna Conscious Mother strives to work on herself and thus helps her children.

A Krishna Conscious Mother provides facilities for her children to practice spiritual life.

A Krishna Conscious Mother is forgiving, kind, caring and empathetic yet she is daring, fearless and bold.

A Krishna Conscious Mother is a precious gift not only to her children but to the world!

“There are very exalted spiritual understandings in Krishna consciousness. They are not fictional, imaginary, or concocted. They are facts, and every devotee can have the privilege to understand and indeed take part in Krishna’s pastimes if he is actually advanced. We should not think that the privilege given to Mother Yasoda is not available to us. Everyone can have a similar privilege. If one loves Krishna as one’s child, then one will have such a privilege, because the mother has the most love for the child. Even in this material world, there is no comparison to a mother’s love, for a mother loves her child without any expectation of return. Of course, although that is generally true, this material world is so polluted that a mother sometimes thinks, ‘My child will grow up and become a man, and when he earns money, I shall get it.’ Thus there may still be some desire to get something in exchange. But while loving Krishna there are no selfish feelings, for that love is unalloyed, free from all desires for material gain.

“You should not expect anything in return. That is real love. Just like a mother is loving her child, not expecting any return. But she still she gives service. So, that is as a little sample of pure love.”

—Srila Prabhupada, talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.31, April 23, 1973, Los Angeles, and room conversation, July 13, 1976, New York

Source: http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=12787

It is an odd development of the modern world that being excessively anxious about our children is considered a virtue. We consider ourselves good parents if we make life easy for them, reward them for the smallest achievement, and are anxious for their safety and well being at all times.
There is, however, a hidden message in all of this anxious attention and it’s not good. As a teacher and school principal for 20 years, I saw all kinds of kids and all kinds of parents. For those who had confidence in their child, their child did great. Those who worried, who expressed that worry regularly, who tried to ‘fix’ every challenge the child had – their children had a weak sense of self. The hidden message was clear – “My parents are worried because they think I am not competent, I’m not capable.”
Being a mother is not easy. But it’s not that hard either. It is said that if a child has a self-assured and guiding adult in their life, they will grow up to be self-assured and self-guiding adults. Mothering means being there, but also not being there. It is patience, it is trusting that the child will figure it out, and it is watching from a distance as they do so.
There are many aspects to good mothering, but this one is key. We have to give our children the skills and emotional strength to make it through life by letting them experience and learn through real life. And that means letting them experience their own struggles. If we smother them, if we overly fret and protect, then we extinguish the fire of trust and competence. It’s a fine line, but we need to have the maturity and wisdom to make the call.
This famous poem can also inspire us be the balanced and stable parents our children need us to be:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
– On Children by Kahlil Gibran

(Rukmini Walker’s speech in honor of International Women’s Day at the Institute for Spiritual Culture, The Glories of Our Mothers Conference, in Mayapur, India, March 3rd, 2019.)

I’m very grateful to have been invited to speak at this conference, on the Glories of Our Mothers. Specifically, I’ve been asked to speak on the traditional Vedic aphorism that, in this world, we must honor seven mothers:

“Our own biological mother; a guru or wife of our guru; a queen or head of state; brahminis, or wives of our teachers; the cow; one’s nurse, and finally, Mother Earth. Manu Smriti says,“The gods dwell where women are honored and respected”.Perhaps that’s why there are so many problems in the world today. So, first of all, our own mother, our first guru, the one who gave us birth. Srila Prabhupada writes in his commentary to Srimad Bhagavatam that, “only fools are ungrateful to their benefactors”. (SB 1.16.26-30, purport)

Maybe you have issues with your birth mother, but thank her! Be grateful! She didn’t choose to abort you. She didn’t throw you in a trash bin. Thank her!

A few years ago, I was traveling through Newark, New Jersey, and I saw a sign on the side of a bus that read: “If you don’t want your baby, don’t throw her in a dumpster, bring her to nearest fire department or police station and – no questions asked – they will take your baby – just don’t throw her in the trash!”

How very sad, for both the mother and the child. These are certainly the dark days of Kali Yuga: When a mother is so destitute of all resources, deprived of all love, that she would even consider throwing her own baby in the trash.

So your mother raised you, she taught you to the best of her ability the difference between good and bad. She tolerated your teenage rebellion, as my mother did when I left home at the age of fifteen and, at sixteen, joined a spiritual path that was strange and foreign to her. I have to say, thank you, Mom!

And ladies, my advice to you is that if you’re looking for a relationship with a man, find one who loves and respects his own mother. Otherwise when there are difficulties – and on life’s path, there will always be difficulties – he will take it out on you – believe me!

A number of years ago, a god-brother of mine, Jayadvaita Swami made a wise observation. He said that the problem with ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), is that we have no grandmothers. It was true at the time. We were so young and arrogant, actually. We had no common sense. And the only “granny wisdom” we would accept was coming from Srila Prabhupada.

Of course, now: we do have many grandmothers. The problem is that when the voices of women: mothers and grandmothers, are silenced, the door is opened for children, and women themselves to be abused. As we’ve so sadly seen our children, and our sisters suffer.

Women, children, need to be protected: from whom? From evil-spirited men! The abusers we are seeing all over the world being exposed in the “Me Too” movement.

I wanted to read you something so egalitarian that Srila Prabhupada’s guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur wrote in, perhaps, the 1920’s, in his Harmonist periodical. He says:

“…Men and women are joined in wedlock for the purpose of serving each other in the joint service of Krishna. The wife is not an object of enjoyment of the husband, nor vice versa… They choose for their partners only such persons who serve God better than themselves. They offer themselves to be accepted by their partners for the favor of being allowed to share in their superior service of Hari…”

The second mother to be honored, is the guru, or wife of one’s guru.

Jahnava Devi, the wife of Lord Nityananda, after his demise, was honored by all the living goswamis as the head of the entire Caitanya disciplic succession. The male renunciates living at Radha Kund carried her by palanquin. She codified and harmonized the teachings of all those who lived and taught after the disappearance of Sri Caitanya.

There always have been, and always will be great teachers who are women. There have always been all different kinds of people. And this is not only a function of modernity.

The earliest Upanisads describe that in the Treta Yuga, an erudite woman scholar named Gargi, debated and defeated the great sage Yajnavalka in the court of King Janaka, the father of Sitadevi. It’s possible that Sita could have met Gargi in her father’s court.

We all have different gifts given to us by God. What we are given is God’s gift to us. How we use it, is the gift we give back to God.

My son, Gaura Vani, and I have close friends in Mumbai. They are pillars of our community there. Their older daughter is so happy being a devoted wife and mother of three beautiful daughters. Her younger sister, from the time she was small, has always known that she wanted to grow up to become the prime minister of India. As Gandhi said, she wants to be the change… She is now an attorney, working in a law firm, and she has every intention of pursuing political office.

Our sons, our daughters may not fit the mold of what you or I think they should do in life. But everyone needs to be honored for their own unique contribution in the world.

The third mother to be honored is a head of state, or, in older times, a queen.

Perhaps you’ve heard about the first Hindu congresswoman, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard? She is known to be bipartisan, and she follows the path of Bhakti Yoga. Every year on Diwali, (the Indian New Year) she goes online and reads an inspirational message from the Bhagavad Gita. She seeks to share uplifting wisdom with the public at large.

In Washington, DC, at an event honoring her election, we met her parents, who also practice Bhakti. Her mother told me that both her daughters are warriors, and both her sons are doing business. Not what one would expect.

Tulsi, who is now running for office of president of the United States, twice served as a soldier in Iraq, carrying a machine gun and she is a devout in her spiritual practice.

Each one of us is like a snowflake. Each one of us is unique, with different gifts given by Krishna, meant to be used for Him, each in our own unique ways.

If I don’t offer my unique God given gifts back to God, then the world will be that much less.

Mother Teresa once said: “We consider what we are doing to be only drops of water in an ocean. But without our tiny drops, the ocean would be that much less.”

I often think about the great Kuntidevi, the mother of Arjuna, the protagonist of the Bhagavad Gita.

She was the queen, and she was a pure devotee of Lord Krsna. She had the right to approach her beloved Krishna’s chariot as He was leaving Hastinapur, to go back to His own city of Dwaraka.

But what if she had stood at the back? What if she had not come forward to offer her extraordinary prayers?

Then the world would have been bereft of hearing her meditation, her words of glorification, and learning from her exemplary devotion.

Srila Prabhupada would sing her prayers in times of difficulty. At the Bhaktivedanta Charity Hospital, in Mumbai, when someone is wheeled into surgery and given anesthetic the last thing they hear piped in to the operating theater is the prayers of Queen Kunti.

In one of her prayers, she says:

“Oh Lord of Sweetness (Krishna), just as the Ganges River forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You, without being diverted to anything else.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8. 42)

And fourth, what about a brahmini, or the wife of a brahmin, or teacher?

I think of the Yajna Patnis (described in the Tenth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam). The Yajna Patnis are our mothers and gurus of pure devotion. They were most likely illiterate, but their proud husbands knew all the mantras and tantras and yantras of the Vedas…

But what the husbands did not know was that when Krishna, Balaram and the cowherd boys are in the neighborhood and they are hungry that They should immediately be given the results of sacrifice.

“Bhoktaram yajna tapasam

sarvaloka mahesvaram

suhrdam sarva bhutanam

jnatva mam santim rcchati (BG 5.29)”

“Krishna is the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the well wishing friend of all living beings.”

This verse has been dubbed as The Peace Formula.

The simple wives of the brahmins knew what their highly educated husbands did not know: They had conviction and peace, and they were not afraid to go to Krishna with their offerings. And their husbands cursed themselves afterwards: “To hell with our yajnas, and mantras, and tantras! We were so ignorant that we did not take the opportunity to serve Krishna the way our wives did!”

The beautiful Bhagavatam is all about this kind of role reversal. Bhakti is all about uplifting the small people, the humble people like Prahlada Maharaj, like Sudama brahmin, like the simple cowherd girls of Vrindavan, the greatest devotees on the path of Bhakti.

And number five: Mother Cow. She is the emblem of selfless love. Why is she considered so sacred and important in Vedic culture?

She eats only grass, which grows freely everywhere, transforming it into her own life’s blood in the form of a miracle food – milk, like our own mother’s milk. Milk and ghee and all that’s used to worship Krishna, building finer brain tissues so we can understand more subtle spiritual truths.

In the West, milk has gotten a bad reputation, due to factory farming and so many additives, and not knowing that milk is to be taken hot, not cold out of the fridge. And not knowing how the cows are meant to always be protected, and never slaughtered.

She is our gentle mother just seeing her calms the mind. Yet in the dark days of Kali Yuga, like other mothers, she is being abused and killed, although she is so innocent.

And six: The nurse. Maybe our mothers didn’t employ a wet nurse to help her feed us, as they did in older times. But what Lord Viswambhara? Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has a name: Viswambhara. “viswa” means the universe, “amba” means the nurse.

Lord Caitanya, also called Gauranga, is Viswambhara the universal mother who feeds us the nectar of the Holy Name of Krishna. If we will only agree to drink it deeply, knowing that this nectar, this amritaopens the door to our eternal relationship of love of the Supreme Beloved Person, Lord Sri Krishna.

And finally, number seven. The Sacred Goddess who holds us all, each and every day our Mother Earth.

Her gifts are not a commodity, or even a resource to be objectified or misused out of greed. Where is our gratitude for her shelter, for her bounty with which she nourishes us each day?

It’s said that without gratitude, love is impossible.

“Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.” –Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury

In our Bhakti tradition, there’s a prayer that we say each morning before rising from bed.

“samudra vasine devi

parvata sthana mandite

visnupatni namas tubhyam

pada sparsam samastite”

“Oh Mother Earth! You are holding the oceans and the mountains! You are the wife of Vishnu! Please forgive me for placing my feet on you.”

In conclusion, traditional wisdom on the path of Bhakti means to humbly honor our seven mothers:

Our own mother, who is our first guru; our guru on the spiritual path, or the wife of our guru; to honor the head of state or the queen, the wife of a king; to honor a brahmani, a teacher or a wife of a brahmin; to honor our most benevolent mother cow; to the divine nurse who feeds us the nectar of the Holy Name our Lord Viswambhar; and finally our sacred Mother Earth.

We do not know the power of what one book will do. The Bhagavad-gita made me a devotee! It was a Bhagavad-gita that I got from a friend. My friend bought it, read it and then passed it onto me. I have no idea where that Bhagavad-gita ended up after me. I still had it when I moved into the temple but what happened to it after that, I cannot remember.
The books we distribute lives a life of its own and goes from one person to another. It finds people. It is not just that we find people; the book finds people! Somebody will find it and pick it up. Sometimes it is very mystic – Krsna is also part of it. One book can find a hundred people or maybe a thousand. Who knows how many people can actually become devotees because of one book? A book will go here, there and everywhere. So many people may get influenced by it.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=54180

This talk centers on the spiritual significance of prasadam (food offered to God) within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, drawing from a passage in Chaitanya Charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14). The speaker begins by recounting how King Prataparudra, after receiving the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, humbly serves Him and later arranges an abundant offering of food for Lord Jagannath. The text vividly describes an extraordinary variety of offerings—fruits, sweets, milk preparations, grains, and delicacies—emphasizing both their quantity and quality. The speaker highlights that even this extensive list is only a “trailer,” suggesting the incomprehensible opulence of divine offerings.

The key philosophical point is that devotees find satisfaction not in eating for themselves, but in seeing food lovingly offered to Krishna. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself is described as fully satisfied simply by witnessing the offering. This establishes a core principle: prasadam is not ordinary food; it is spiritually transformed, having been touched by Krishna, and is therefore non-different from Him.

The speaker explains that a true Vaishnava does not crave variety for personal enjoyment but delights in offering variety to the deity. The spiritual master is pleased when disciples prepare and distribute prasadam, and even more so when devotees joyfully partake in it. An anecdote about A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada cooking and serving meals personally illustrates how spiritual joy is found in feeding others and witnessing their satisfaction.

A major theme is that prasadam is often underestimated. While chanting, worship, and philosophy are recognized as sacred, eating is sometimes seen as a mundane break. The speaker challenges this, asserting that honoring prasadam is itself a profound spiritual act—an intimate way of associating with Krishna. Stories like Madhavendra Puri tasting even the clay pot that held sweet rice demonstrate the depth of realization: everything connected to Krishna is spiritually potent.

The talk also explores the balance between relishing and regulating prasadam. While it is joyful and abundant, devotees are cautioned not to be driven by the tongue. True appreciation comes from purified senses and spiritual vision, not indulgence.

Finally, the speaker emphasizes the social and cultural power of prasadam. Sharing meals breaks impersonalism, fosters community, and becomes a medium for expressing love among devotees. Cooking, serving, and honoring prasadam together are essential practices that cultivate relationships and spiritual unity.

Key takeaway: Prasadam is not merely food but a sacred medium of divine connection, spiritual transformation, and loving exchange within a devotional community.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117858

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi, 

On Akshaya Tritiya, one of the most auspicious days in the Vaishnava calendar, ISKCON Kolkata laid the foundation stone for a memorial at the birthplace of Srila Prabhupada in Tollygunge, South Kolkata, formally commencing a project that devotees hope to inaugurate on his 131st appearance anniversary in August 2027.

The foundation ceremony, which included Radhanath Swami installing an Anantashesha deity in the ground, drew Srila Prabhupada’s disciples from around the world. The project has been in the making for over two decades, its roots stretching back to a handwritten letter signed by Srila Prabhupada himself just months before he left the world.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-kolkata-lays-foundation-stone-for-prabhupada-memorial/

By Sulochana Kanu Das,

On the occasion of Narsimha Chaturdashi Mahotsav, the “Sarvabighn Binashan Maha Narsimha Yagya 2026” was held on April 29-30th for the first time in Bangladesh. In addition to the thousands of devotees, the event included 508 priests. It was held at the Sri Sri Lakshmi Narasimha and Gaur-Nitai Temple located at ISKCON Mirzapur, Tangail.

On the first day of the two-day event, there was a Sankalp and Adhivas Kirtan. The next day, the program included Mangal Arati, a Kirtan Mela, special worship of Lord Narasimhadev, the offering of food and thousands of Tulsi leaves, and a Mahalakshmi Narasimha Maha Yagna. In the afternoon, there was a discussion meeting with Bhakti Advaita Nabadwip Swami, Vice President of ISKCON Bangladesh, who was present as the chief guest. A Narasimha Mahima Kirtan was also held, followed by a Mahaabhisheka in the evening, and finally the distribution of Mahaprasad to about 5,000 devotees.

The evening also included a delightful cultural program and a Vedic drama performed by local devotees, which elicited a special response from the devotees.

Everyone participating in the yagna wore a unique type of dhoti and saree, creating a special devotional atmosphere. In addition, an image of Lord Nrisimhadeva was gifted to all the devotees present. The great yagna ceremony was officiated by Bhakti Advaita Navadwip Swami.

Also present online to bless the gathered devotees was Bhaktiprem Swami from Ujjain, India. Local guests, including Bimala Prasad Das, were present as special guests.

The meeting was presided over by Prem Swarup Das, Director of ISKCON Mirzapur. Through this great sacrifice, collective prayers were offered for world peace and the destruction of all obstacles.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/devotees-gather-for-maha-narasimha-yajna-in-bangladesh/

Maya’s Friend Norm

The Vedic scriptures reveal that Mayadevi, Lord Krishna’s deluding potency, works with certain energies that have the capacity to make material life seem like normal life.

As we go about our everyday activities in the material world, we are continuously confronted with the normality, or normalness, of material existence. In other words, we are constantly bombarded with the notion that material life, with all its mundane rationality, constitutes normal life and that this world is where we belong. As Srila Prabhupada affirms, however, material life, which is devoid of love of Lord Krishna and service to Him, is very abnormal.

Within the material realm of existence, it is Mayadevi, the personification of Krishna’s deluding potency, who convinces the materially embodied spirit souls that material life is normal. Consider the following conversation between Maya, Norm (a fictional character herein invented to represent Maya’s ability to normalize material life), and John (who represents a typical materially conditioned person):

Mayadevi: Hi, John, this is Norm. I told you about him. He’s one of my oldest friends.
John: Hello, Norm. Maya has told me a little about you. You’re a psychologist, is that right?
Norm: Yes … I work with people who have identity problems. I try to help them find themselves, to find their real selves.
John: Oh … that’s nice. Do you use any particular methods in your work?
Norm: Yes … Well, let’s say you were one of my clients. I would get you to think about what makes you feel the most normal. You know—in what circumstances do you feel the most habituated, the most ordinary? When is it that you feel the most comfortable?
John: I guess that would be when I am working at the office … or when I am playing with the kids … stuff like that.
Norm: But at which time do you feel the most normal, more than at any other time?
John: Hmm … I suppose it’s when I think about how I have succeeded in creating a good life for myself and my family, how it’s given me a sense of belonging in this world … a sense of achievement. I think that’s it. It’s also knowing that I have done it all by myself—I didn’t have to count on anyone else to do it.
Norm: Great! Well that’s who you truly are—a great achiever, capable of being successful in this world and independent of others. That’s who you really are, John, and you should be proud of it!
John: Wow, I guess you really know your stuff! I always thought that my true identity lay somewhere deep inside myself, in a place that I could only access by meditation and yoga … you know… a spiritual type of thing.
Norm: Well, John, the truth is that no one has ever found out who they are by doing yoga. It’s simply not the way. You need to find the thing that makes you feel familiar, when you feel the most relaxed and at ease. That’s when you are really in touch with yourself.
John: Yeah … I suppose so …

As a pure devotee of the Supreme Lord, it is Mayadevi’s service to Krishna to deceive materially embodied souls into thinking that their identity is material instead of spiritual and that the material environment is their normal environment. The potency by which she deludes the soul into such thoughts is called avaranatmika shakti, an energy given by Krishna that enables her to cover the individual soul’s original pure consciousness with whatever material desires are manifest within the individual’s heart. Mayadevi’s other potency, called prakshepatmika shakti, enables her to pull or throw the spiritual soul down into the material world, immersing the soul in materialistic life. By the combination of these two potencies, Mayadevi very skillfully dresses up the material energy to delude the materially embodied person into a false sense of what is normal.

Mayadevi’s avaranatmika potency instills the notion “I am comfortable within my current situation; everything is fine with my material life. Why should I change it?” As Srila Prabhupada explains:

This spell of maya is called avaranatmika shakti because it is so strong that the living entity is satisfied in any abominable condition. Even if he is born as a worm living within the intestine or abdomen in the midst of urine and stool, still he is satisfied.
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.7.44)

In the Third Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.30.4) Lord Kapila states that “the living entity, in whatever species of life he appears, finds a particular type of satisfaction in that species, and he is never averse to being situated in such a condition.” Overcome by such an illusion, materially embodied beings cannot understand whether they are happy or distressed, fortunate or unfortunate, and so on. Nor can they understand that Mayadevi’s avaranatmika potency has debilitated their capacity to distinguish between what is false and what is normal. Thus the materially embodied person consequently endures Mayadevi’s façade of ordinariness, rationality, and familiarity—i.e., normality.

Primarily the avaranatmika potency infiltrates the materially embodied soul’s consciousness by means of some form of material identity. After collecting countless impressions from the material world, the materially embodied person’s mind and intellect offer a type of “false identity package deal” to the pure spirit soul, based on these impressions. The inherently pure soul must thereby choose whether to accept or reject what is being offered. If the soul accepts the deal, Mayadevi’s avaranatmika potency makes the person’s choice seem like the normal, or natural, thing to do. Mayadevi thereby smoothes the soul’s path towards a life founded on a particular material identity. For souls who reject the deal, Mayadevi withdraws her potencies and allows them to progress toward realization of their spiritual identity, their actual identity. Such is the service of Mayadevi.

The Spell of Diversion

Through her prakshepatmika potency, defined as her “spell of diversion” (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 20.6) Mayadevi throws spiritual souls down into material existence, compelling them to adopt reasons for remaining entangled in material life. By convincing them that spiritual life is for fools, the prakshepatmika energy propels spiritual souls away from religious activities through aversive arguments. The prakshepatmika energy thereby works as an antithesis to spiritual life by anti-normalizing or making unattractive the path of spiritual self-realization. The confused spiritual soul thereby learns to think of spiritual life as abnormal and unnatural, or perhaps as a life that befits fanatical, extremist, emotionally deprived, or less intelligent persons. At the very least, the materially embodied person who succumbs to the anti-normalizing influences of Mayadevi’s prakshepatmika potency is overcome with the thought that “spiritual life just isn’t for me”: Srila Prabhupada writes,

When somebody is trying to come to Krishna consciousness, the prakshepatmika-shakti will dictate, “Why are you going to the Krishna consciousness society? There are so many restrictions there, so many rules and regulations. Better give it up.” And the conditioned soul thinks, “Why, yes, this Krishna consciousness is nonsense. Let me give it up.”
(Dharma: The Way of Transcendence, Chapter 10)

Our conceptions of what constitutes our everyday mundane experiences are often distorted, perverted, and exaggerated due to the depth of our conditioning by the material energy. We perceive that we are experiencing the results of arrangements we ourselves have made for our own material prosperity, when in actuality we are experiencing reactions to our past sinful activities. Within this predicament we do our best to normalize our material indulgences and their subsequent consequences, according to the demands of our material senses. Such attempts by materially embodied souls to normalize their own suffering within the material world are also symptoms of contamination by Mayadevi’s avaranatmika and prakshepatmika potencies. Pitifully, these two potencies end up dictating our own arguments in favor of material life.

Sophisticated Illusions

We would be wise to not underestimate the sophistication and strength of Mayadevi’s normalizing and anti-normalizing capacities, her ability to confuse us about what is normal and abnormal for the eternally spiritual person. She has the capacity to bewilder and thereby encumber both the beginner and those more advanced on the spiritual path. Even though we may have been devotees for many years, we still risk being exposed to these potencies and overcome by them. They often gain ground in undetected and unanticipated ways. “Maya, the energy underlying all material existence, is more subtle than ordinary phenomena.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.85.44, Purport). Here’s an example of the subtle effects of Maya’s potencies: “Maya is so subtle that even if one is able to avoid hearing about sex, money, and atheists, and even if one joins a society of devotees, one may still become a victim of pride and hypocrisy.” (Narada-bhakti-sutra, 4.64, Purport). The qualities of pride and hypocrisy are certainly ominous enough to transform a spiritualist into a materialist.

In essence, the avaranatmika and prakshepatmika potencies challenge our experience of normality. While we may be able to understand the philosophy of what constitutes normal (or spiritual) life and abnormal (or material) life, our everyday experiences may very well leave us confused. As people dedicated to advancing spiritually, we want to feel comfortable yet not lax; we want to be dedicated yet not fanatical; we want to be surrendered to spiritual authority yet still maintain some independence; and we want to be assured that we are on the right path yet also go our own way. Within such circumstances we do our best to identify the fine lines that separate our spiritual consciousness from our material consciousness. That is, we do our best to perceive what constitutes our normal consciousness and what constitutes our abnormal consciousness. Reliance on relevant knowledge from the Vedic scriptures can enhance our perceptions of such differences.

According to Srila Prabhupada, normal life means to love Krishna. It means to experience the love that Krishna has for us as parts of Him. It means to be attracted to Krishna’s pastimes and to desire to please Krishna. When we are influenced by Krishna’s internal spiritual energy rather than by His external material energy, then we can be assured that we are experiencing normal life—spiritual life—which is synonymous with spiritual consciousness. By cultivating such an understanding of what is normal, what is usual, what is intrinsic to our spiritual selves, we can relinquish all of our cumbersome abnormalities and return to our inherent, peaceful existence of loving Krishna. As Srila Prabhupada said:

We being part and parcel of Krishna, our natural tendency is to serve Krishna. Natural tendency. It is not artificial. When you forget Krishna, that is artificial. So our normal life means to love Krishna, to serve Krishna. That is our normal life. Without serving Krishna our life is abnormal, madman’s life.
(Conversation, 1975, Nairobi)

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16755

Exploring Your Word of Honor Being Committed in a Non-Committal World

By Mahatma Das

Imagine this scene. After millions of lifetimes you finally make it back to the spiritual world. As you approach the gates of Goloka you are asked to wait because Krsna wants to come and personally greet you. You are getting more excited at every moment. You can hardly believe you have finally made it back to your eternal home.

In the distance you see a beautiful blue form coming towards you. Finally, after transmigrating through 8,400,000 species of life since time immemorial, you get a glimpse of your eternal Lover and Friend. His enchanting form captivates your eyes and mind. You drink in His beauty as if it were the sweetest nectar. Your heart begins to pound in anticipation of being able to talk to Krsna, to touch Him, to play and dance with Him.

You can’t stop crying as you reflect on the innumerable lifetimes you turned your back on Krsna and on the fact that you are now reuniting with Him. Finally, the supreme Lord, appearing as the most enchanting cowherd boy, approaches you. This is the greatest moment in your eternal existence. You stand anxiously waiting. You are speechless.

Krsna appears concerned about something. He is happy to see you, yet also has a serious look on His face. He remains looking at you for a few moments without speaking. As you wait you wonder what might be His first words to you. Each second feels like an eternity. You think, “Will He express His happiness in seeing that I returned to the spiritual world? Will He express His affection for me?” Yet He still looks concerned about something – and this puzzles you. Finally, looking compassionately into your eyes He tells you,

“I don’t know if I can trust you?”

You’re devastated. Your mind is reeling. You can’t stop crying. The fact that Krsna has doubts that He can trust you tears your heart apart. You want to disappear. The thought that you have let down the One who deserves all your trust is unbearable.

Krsna waits by your side as you gradually gain your composure. You want to say to Him, “No you can trust me.” Yet as you reflect on why He questions your trustworthiness, you think of promises you made to Him, your guru, your spouse, your friends – even to yourself – that you didn’t always keep. Of course, you had your reasons to not keep them. But whatever the reasons, you now know that you let Krsna down.

Can God Trust Me?
What if Krsna appeared before you today? Would He have reason to say the same thing to you? Thinking “Am I trustworthy to God and guru?” is a powerful meditation for bringing into focus our relationship with commitment. Do your activities demonstrate to Krsna that He can trust you, that you are true to the promises you have made and continue to make to Him, your guru and others? In other words, are you 100% committed to your vows? If not, you need to be or you’re asking for trouble.

Krsna tells us in the Gita to offer Him all we do, eat, offer and give away. Just as one can offer Krsna an existing thing or a present action, one can also offer Him a future action along with the perseverance to fulfill it. That offering of perseverance is characteristic of a vow. A subsequent change in one’s purpose is like taking away something that has been dedicated to Him. Think of it like taking food off Krsna’s plate as it is being carried to the altar.

Vows are Personal
When we make a vow to Krsna it helps to think of it in terms of our personal relationship with Him. For example, if you make a promise to a very dear friend and then find it difficult or inconvenient to fulfill, you’ll likely keep your promise if you know your friend will be upset if you don’t come through. We can think the same way about our promises to Krsna. When we are having trouble following our vows it’s helpful to think that we will be letting Krsna down if we break our promises. And if I let Krsna down, that damages my relationship with Him.

Steven Covey talks about the emotional bank account. Every time you do something positive in a relationship, you add deposits to your emotional bank account. And every time you do something negative, you make withdrawals. So if you find it difficult to maintain vows, it’s helpful to think in terms of your emotional bank account with Krsna. You can impersonalize your relationship with Krsna by thinking He really doesn’t feel bad when you don’t keep your spiritual vows and promises to Him. But since He wants you to love Him and come back to Him, don’t you think it hurts Him on some level every time you do something that moves you further away from Him?

How You Do Anything
Another thought to ponder is your relationship with commitment in general. Consider if not being able or willing to be trustworthy in your spiritual life also influences your trustworthiness in other relationships – and vice-versa. I think it does. As it is said, “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

Vows Empower Us
Prabhupada didn’t teach that people primarily keep vows because they are sense controlled or spiritually strong. He taught that people keep vows because they value their word or honor. Because they value their word of honor they tolerate provocations that could cause them to break their vows. He knew it wasn’t easy and he knew that many of those who took initiation had a very degraded past. But he also knew we could remain steady in Krsna consciousness if we took our vows to heart. He taught that vows empower us to do what ordinarily would be difficult; they make us rise beyond our normal abilities.

We can easily get this formula backwards. If we think we need spiritual strength to follow our vows it’s natural to blame a fall on spiritual weakness. But it is being committed to the promises we make to guru and Krsna that give us the power to be self-controlled. It’s just like fasting. Once you make the determination to fast on a particular day you get the strength to do it. If you think, “maybe I will fast the whole day,” the chances are you won’t make it. Would you loan money to a friend who brings in a contract that says, “Maybe I will pay you back?”

Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t have the energy to exercise?” It seems logical to them that energy is needed to exercise. But we know that the reason they don’t have energy is that they don’t exercise. Saying, “I don’t have the spiritual strength to follow my vows,” is exactly like saying, “I don’t have the energy to exercise.

When Prabhupada was asked how we become determined, he said we become determined by following the regulative principles. The devotee asking the question was confused because he really meant, “How do we get the determination to follow the principles?” Prabhupada said that it is not your business how to get the determination; it is Krsna’s business to give you the determination. Again, what he meant was that if we just commit to our vows Krsna will give us the strength and determination to follow them. Why? Because it is Krsna’s business to give us the strength. Prabhupada was pointing out that we can’t fight with maya but we can stand behind Krsna who dispels maya’s darkness. When you keep your vows and you are standing in Krsna’s light.

Getting a Perspective on the Four Regulative Principles
It seems impossible for most people in Kali-yuga to follow the four regulative principles. Because of this it can be easy to think that I am only human and it is “normal” that I can’t follow. Yes, it’s true that it is normal not to follow; but as devotees we are not meant to be “normal.” Normal in Kali-yuga means sex, drugs, meat and gambling. “Normal” means living under the influence of Kali, or as Prabhupada said, being a victim of Kali-yuga. Although following the four rules seems to be an elevated thing to do, Prabhupada’s take on it was different – these are simply the activities of pious human beings

Thinking this way about the regulative principles brings them down to earth. They are not a set of rules that only special souls can follow. Prabhupada even felt that through the establishment of varnasrama dharma, everyone could follow these principles. So it’s important not to put the four rules on such a high pedestal that following them seems like some super human task reserved for special devotees.

How Does it Make You Feel
Right now, think of all the promises you haven’t kept – the little and the big ones. Maybe you haven’t returned something you borrowed. Maybe someone is expecting you to call them or answer an email and you’ve been putting it off. It could be that you promised a friend or your spouse that you’d do them a favor, but haven’t found the time to do it. What’s on your list? And, of course, there are the obvious bigger promises and vows you may not have kept: chanting a fixed number of rounds, chanting your gayatri, following the regulative principles, chastity to your spouse, etc.

Take a minute to do this before reading on. You can do it in your mind if you wish.
This exercise will really help you. Can I trust you to do it before you go on?

Now, write down or think of the reasons you haven’t followed through on these promises and vows. These are the reasons you tell yourself you haven’t yet done them. Here are some of the reasons people give in my workshop for not keeping the little promises they make:

“I forgot,” “I am too busy,” I am lazy,” “I’m overwhelmed,” “it’s not important,” “I can’t find the time,” “it’s okay if I don’t do it,” “I don’t feel like doing it,” “it doesn’t matter,” “I’ll do it someday,” “I have more important things to do,” “I don’t know why I forgot.”

For the more serious promises or vows, participants have given these reasons:

“I just can’t do it,” “I am not that tolerant,” “it’s too difficult, “I am too weak,” “Krsna understands,” “I was young when I promised,” “I didn’t know what I was doing when I promised,” “I didn’t really mean it when I promised,” “I have enough trouble just keeping my material life together,” “I didn’t learn responsibility when I was growing up,” “I don’t know why I made that promise,” “I shouldn’t have made that promise,” “The person is not worthy of my former commitment.”

So make your list before you read on.

Now imagine this scene. Your best friend, someone you have known your entire life, is starting a business. And this is not just any business; it is a business in an emerging industry that has huge potential for growth. If your friend can get in on it now, it is certain that he will make a huge amount of money. He needs $100,000 to invest in the business. It just so happens that you have managed to save $10 a day over the last 20 years, and with the compounded interest you now have amassed a savings of $100,000. You plan to retire in two years and move to Vrndavana. You will be able to do this by living off the interest of this $100,000.

Your best friend approaches you with the idea for his business and asks you for a loan of $100,000. He promises he will pay you back within two years. The prospects of the business are so good that he offers to pay you 18% interest on the loan. Since you don’t plan to move to Vrndavana for another two years and you want to help him, you are happy to loan him the money. Plus, with the 18% interest you’ll be getting, it’s a win-win situation.

Excuses 
The agreement is that he will begin paying you $8500 a month in six months. By the time you are ready to retire you will have been paid back your $100,000 plus interest.

It’s now a year later and his business is not going as planned. Your friend has only paid you $8,500. You are becoming concerned, but since he is such a close friend you trust that he will stick to his word, you are not overly concerned. It is now 18 months later and he hasn’t paid you any more money. You have a serious talk with him and find that he isn’t going to be paying you any more money. You’re shocked. You can’t believe a friend would do that to you.

Now go back to your list of reasons for not always keeping your promises. Imagine that this friend is giving you those very same reasons to explain (or justify) why he won’t be paying you back.

How does that make you feel?

Vows, commitments and promises are about relationships. If you really value a person and the relationship you have with them, wouldn’t that be shown in how you value the commitments you make to them? Isn’t it a contradiction to some degree to say, “I value our relationship and I really love you,” yet at the same time not keep your word of honor to that person?

Acknowledging the truth in those questions (i.e. answering yes to them) has done amazing things to strengthen my commitment to the vows I made to Srila Prabhupada, as well as strengthen the commitments I make to others, especially those dear to me. In my exploration of my word of honor I have discovered that the reason I may not follow my vows perfectly (this includes thinking about not following them while I externally follow them) is because I am not 100% committed to the vows I made. If you can imagine a situation that would make it virtually impossible for you to keep your vows, then you too can acknowledge you are not yet 100% committed (if you had a zillion dollars, all the fame in the world, easy opportunities to enjoy the opposite sex, lived in the heavenly planets, etc.).

But if we are not committed 100% to guru and Krsna, maya will find that one tiny space to enter, that 1% percent of non commitment, that weak link, and that’s where she’ll enter. You know where your weak link lies. It’s where maya continually works on you. It is said you are only as healthy as your weakest organ. Similarly, we are only as strong as our weakest commitment to guru and Krsna.

Meditating on these questions has been helping me close those spaces in powerful ways. It’s almost mystical. Contemplate those questions. Take them with you. Ask them a hundred times a day. If you get nothing else from this newsletter but this, you have really gotten everything.

So ask yourself, “How much do I value my relationship with Krsna, my guru, my spouse, my friends, my business partners?” Do I value those relationships enough to keep all the promises I make to them?
________________________________________________________________________

Festival of Inspiration

If you are coming to New Vrndavana for the Festival of Inspiration May 11-13, I want to invite you to a couple of workshops I am doing. On Friday, May 11 at 11:45 I am giving a workshop on vows. The workshop is designed to help you explore your personal relationship with vows and with your word of honor. The workshop will help you become a more committed person, both in your spiritual life and in your personal relationships.

I was motivated to develop this workshop because I saw that our society needed structured systems that offer support for those who have taken vows (which is all of us because we either take formal initiation vows, vow to voluntarily follow some principles and chant a fixed number of rounds, or we make commitments within an asrama). The more I thought about it the more it seemed a paradox to encourage devotees to take vows that are difficult to follow, yet at the same time offer no structured support system to maximize the potential for their success.

This workshop is my personal attempt to offer that kind of support.

This workshop will help you:

1) understand what is preventing you from being 100% committed to others – and to yourself.
2) effectively deal with the guilt and feelings of failure that result from not following your vows.
3) see why you may be reluctant to take vows or make commitments.
4) explore new vows you may wish to make and how to understand when you are ready to make them
5) strengthen you resolve to continue following the vows you have made

If you can’t make it to the Festival of Inspiration this year, we plan to offer this workshop as an online course. I will keep you posted on its development but if this sounds like something you will be interested in, please email me and I will send you more details.

Education, Guidance and Support 
I will also be assisting a workshop on the topic of spiritual support and personal growth in Krsna consciousness. This will take place on Friday, May 11 at 4:45 pm. As you may know, I have been working with a group of devotees to develop online courses in conjunction with live presentations. In this seminar we explain the educational philosophy and how it is used to create a supportive network and community of practice. We will give a brief description of the kinds of courses we intend to offer. And you will have a chance to participate in discussions about your own educational needs and suggest courses you think are important for us to offer.

Seminar Package for Temples
I have developed a two day seminar package for temples. It consists of one introductory session online, a Friday evening workshop on self development, a Saturday seminar on forgiveness, a Sunday seminar on Prayer (approximately 9 to 5 each day) and then two online follow up courses over the next few weeks where we deal with the real life challenges of integrating the knowledge and techniques we gained in the seminar into our lives.

If you feel that your temple or community would benefit from this, please contact me and I will give you more information and details about this program. Note that openings for this seminar package this summer are limited, so if you are interested in doing something this summer, please contact me soon.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=84448

By Sankirtana Das (ACBSP)

1.Devotees need to educate the public as to why they are chanting on the public streets around the world. The holy name of Krishna is both a personal meditation for our own spiritual well-being and, as Prabhupada explains in the purport of Adi, 17.141, “for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society.” The chanting parties should distribute brochures or flyers to inform everyone who passes by and invite them to participate when they have the chance.

2. So many books are going out, but are devotees staying in touch with people who purchase them? Book distributors need to take time to get people’s contact info and follow up to encourage them to read or to see if they have any questions. Important to establish relationships. Devotees who distribute books and share Krishna Consciousness with people need to pass out their own contact cards.

3. The Back to Godhead (BTG) magazine that Prabhupada started in 1944 is vital to the Krishna Movement and must be maintained, even if in a modified way. He wanted it to be as popular as Time magazine. We also need articles about timely events.

4. In a letter of Dec 18, 1974, Prabhupada encouragingly writes, “In your country there is a very good system of democracy.” Devotees have to understand the potential he saw in the USA and encourage adherence to the US Constitution and protect religious freedom. Devotees should be aware of active elements in the administration that would undermine the Constitution and religious freedoms, and actually hinder the Sankirtana Movement in the public arena.

5. Over the years, many people were attracted to Krishna Consciousness (KC) and appreciated the Movement. But for one reason or another, they moved on. Devotees need to find ways to reconnect with these folks who are now in their 50s, 60s, & 70s. They might not be interested in institutions, organized religion or even yoga, but invite them back to experience the meditative path.

6. Prabhupada tells us not to do anything “hampering our reputation,” nor “deteriorating to the popular sentiments of the public in favor of our movement,” and “we should not become unpopular in the public eye.” This is an important factor in how we police our own movement.

Prabhupada cautions the devotees – “We must spread this movement in such a way that they will not misunderstand us and take offense.”

7. Communication is essential – on sankirtana, book distribution, college programs and outreach to the public. Devotees need to develop a variety of outreach programs, to establish relationships and create alliances. Prabhupada especially mentioned college students and the faith traditions. Devotees need to educate the public as to what is dharma and adharma to help people make informed decisions.

8. Prabhupada talks about “love and trust.” How devotees relate to one another is of the greatest importance.

9. Love will alter the dynamics of the world. Devotees need to be ambassadors of Krishna’s love. This also means creating Krishna Conscious communities and relationships. When Prabhupada established ISKCON in July of 1966 ISKCON was ONLY about community. Temple worship appeared several years later. Devotees need to re-create that atmosphere of community prominent in the early days. Three things Prabhupada focused on: to be inclusive, to be inspiring and to be empowering. In a letter to Bhagavan dasa,1969, Prabhupada wrote —“I am so glad to see that you have developed the art that whenever someone comes to serve Krsna, you know how to engage him as he likes to serve Krsna, not forcing him to do something that he does not like to do. No intelligent person will accept that process.”

10. Prabhupada’s disciples, now in their 60s, 70’s, and 80s, and still participating in the movement, are an invaluable asset to ISKCON. In any other community or culture, they would be considered elders who freely share their matured wisdom and experiences with anyone who enquires from them. These devotees have been meditating on the holy name of Krishna for a half century or more. In the early days of the movement, these devotees were ready to make any sacrifice to fulfill Prabhupada’s smallest desire. Many gave up ambitions, careers and college educations. And now, over 50 years later, it is certainly time for the movement to invest in these elders, men and women alike.

11. Over several years now my main focus has been writing numerous articles to show how dharma (or KC) is relevant to the concerns and issues of a western audience. We have to make KC timely and relevant.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117855

By Satyanarayana Dasa

Especially in this time of crisis, Arabs and Persians alike are desperately seeking guidance and knowledge of God from the wisdom of India, which they deeply respect: Ancient spiritual knowledge above religion. And that’s what we are all about, and they know it!

In fact that is the very order of the Prophet Mohammed: “If you seek knowledge, go to the East!” To facilitate these sincere souls in obtaining this transcendental knowledge worldwide, and especially in their sacred mother tongues which touch their hearts at the deepest level – we launch this first issue of the “Arabic and Farsi Book Distribution Mission” newsletter. This was lovingly put together by our dear and most dedicated Krishna Kumar Prabhu spontaneously after his latest tour. We humbly request our sincere readers to please just add these blessed Arabic and Farsi books to your bookbags and join together with us in helping Srila Prabhupada realize his fervent heartfelt desire to fully open up this planet’s last major frontier to Krishna’s Mercy!

Read more: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117960
 

By Gurmann Saini

ISKCON Helsinki has launched an extensive renovation project to restore and modernize its temple complex at Malmi Manor—one of Northern Europe’s most important centers for spreading Krishna consciousness. For more than four decades, the temple has served as a gathering place for spiritual learning, kirtan, festivals, and community outreach.

Set within heritage buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, the temple is not only spiritually significant but also culturally protected. This means that every step of the renovation must carefully follow the City of Helsinki’s preservation guidelines.

“We feel very fortunate to have the wonderful place for Their Lordship Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and the devotee community. And to connect the Finnish heritage with the spiritual teachings of Srila Prabhupada,” says Tapo Divyam Dasa, Temple President.

The need for renovation is both urgent and unavoidable. The project, scheduled between 2025 and 2029, aims to bring the facilities up to modern safety and public-use standards. Without these upgrades, the temple may no longer be permitted to host public programs.

Planned improvements include structural reinforcement of aging wooden elements, upgraded ventilation and HVAC systems, enhanced fire safety measures, and repairs to floors and balconies. Interior spaces will also be reconfigured to better accommodate visitors and community activities.

At the same time, the vision goes beyond basic repairs. ISKCON Helsinki hopes to create a more welcoming and functional environment for guests, with improved visitor areas and, in the future, a new auxiliary building to support kitchen services and cultural programs.

To support the project, ISKCON Finland has launched an international fundraising campaign at GoFundMe. The estimated cost for the main temple renovation is 350,000 €+, of which around €50,000 has already been raised through local contributions. Steady, ongoing support will be essential to keep the project moving forward over the coming years.

Supporters can contribute through one-time donations, monthly sponsorships, volunteering, or by simply sharing the campaign within their networks. The fundraising page is available here: https://gofund.me/e54c9bbb1

“This renovation marks an important moment for the future of Krishna consciousness in Northern Europe. With collective effort, the Helsinki temple can continue

to serve as a place of spiritual nourishment, community connection, and cultural exchange for generations to come.” says Rahul Charlewar, project coordinator, ISKCON Helsinki

For more information,

please visit GoFundMe campaign page: https://gofund.me/e54c9bbb1 or
contact Guruttama Dasa Communications Manager, ISKCON Finland
gurmann.saini@krishna.fi

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117967

Malati was showing signs of labor when I went to check on her at 6:45 am Monday morning. I had to do an airport run for some devotees but I mentioned it to Anandavidya before I left for Pittsburgh. Malati proceeded to disappear from the barn. Anandavidya was unable to locate her as she was nowhere to be seen. Morning milking takes place at 7. He was however worried about her and ventured out into the horrendously muddy field to search. She was found down the hill behind the Palace. After herding her back into the barn he continued to milk the other 5 cows. She gave birth to her fourth calf on Monday Dec 4th at 11:20 am. I returned from the airport run just in time to see a brand new baby. Anandavidya reported that the rather large calf took some extra time getting out. Remaining half way in and half way out for sometime, with a little extra help she was gently pulled to delivery.
What a beautiful little girl and a healthy mother. We were counting our blessings for an easy birth free from complications. For the next day and a half we were immersed in appreciation of the sweetness of these two. Malati is a very strong cow and has so much affection for her calves. Around 1:00pm the afternoon of Dec 5, I was working in the barn and watched a wild turkey enter the field with Malati and her baby. Malati got up and chased that turkey with great speed and determination, clearing the field of any potential dangers for her little one. I was thinking how wonderful that she had recovered from birth and could run with such energy.
Evening milking is at 6:00pm. We noticed that Malati was uninterested in coming inside at milking time. We assumed she was tired as her calf had picked up on the drinking process and was likely keeping her busy. By the end of the milking Malati was in distress. She was showing signs of struggle being unable to stand. Within the next hour their was an incredible acceleration of problems. She was on her side all four legs sticking straight out. Her stomach was bloated and swollen. Her head lay flat on the ground as she struggled with each breath.
I called Hari Bhakti and asked that the vet be called. I was not able to sleep. I called Dr. Nick. He called Tom Bach. Dr. Nick asked for more details so we went down to access her situation again. I was just so sad to see her I was practically in tears trying to tell Dr. Nick that she was in trouble. I called Ranaka and let him know that we would surely be losing her over night. Dr. Nick called back with an idea. He suggested milk fever. I had thought that perhap there had been a birth complication internally or even a second calf that was struggling to exit. But the diagnosis of milk fever was something I hadn’t thought of. I researched it online and learned that she needed calcium. The stores were all closed it was around 11 at night. I searched our medicine cabinet at the barn and found a tube of calcium supplement. Anandavidya and I forced the tube down her throat and used a broom stick to get the calcuim gel out of the tube. (you are supposed to use a special gun which we didn’t have) Malati seemed to get better. She was able to pick her head up and we brought her water and hay. We treated her with uterine bolus’s just incase there had been an internal infection. She was shivering and shaking. We got her baby inside for the night. And had to try to get some rest ourselves. I woke up and drove to the barn to check on her every two hours. By the morning milking at 7 she seemed to be barely alive. We rushed through the morning milking. Malati had been struggling and her head was stuck under the fence.
I called Hari Bhakti to make sure the vet would be called ASAP. Instead of trying to make more calls with the bad cellphone reception I drove down to the big barn to ask for help. I went over to find some strong people to try and get her sitting upright. Anandavidya used the tractor and a rope to pull her out from the fence. John and Gintas came over to help just as Ray arrived. With the tractor, Ray was able to use the bucket to pull her into an upright position. If a cow is not sitting upright their organs will not work. Getting her into the upright position was great. She was able to breathe and even ate a little hay. She sat propped up against the tractor bucket and gradually the bloating decreased. We began to feel a little hope. I drove to the store to buy more calcium. And we gave her another tube.
By 3:00pm Dr. Mores our veterinarian arrived. He gave Malati an IV treatment of calcium. She was definitely improving. Her front legs were moving and she would occasionally struggle to stand. We milked the cows and went home for some such needed sleep.
In the morning we found Malati in a very precarious position. She had broken through the fence and in her struggle to pull herself up with her front legs she had scooted herself down hill and was headed down a very steep incline. I call it a cliff. What could we do? She weighs 1500 pounds. We had to milk the cows. By the end of milking she had slid entirely down to the bottom of the incline. I could barely get down the hill it was so steep. Yudhistur Prabhu was walking up to the temple and was very surprised to find her at the bottom of the hill. He stayed and chanted with her for a half an hour thinking that she didn’t have much of a chance of surviving. She had rolled to her side again and the bloating took over. Immediately after milking the entire maintenance crew came over to help. Her legs were very stiff and she was weak. However all signs of swelling had gone indicating the milk fever had been cured. Cows are very big and strong in so many ways but there they have so many weaknesses. If a cow remains sitting for 72 hours without standing their muscles degenerate and they lose their ability to stand. With Anandavidya, Bhagavan, John, Gintas, Dev, Moses and myself we were able to rock her back and forth, pushing her legs under her and bringing her to a sitting postion. Finally she could breath again! We gave her food and water. Gradually the bloating decreased and we were hopeful once again.
Raye arrived with the tractor, harness and the hip huggers. First he had to clear a road in order to reach Malati. Manuevering a large tractor on the side of the hill (I call it a cliff), he was able to turn around, and pick Malati up with hip huggers. The hip huggers are a metal device with two circles that fit over the cows’ hip bones. The tractor and the cow made their way up a very narrow steep incline balancing ever so carefully. Anandavidya walked calmly next to the tractor ensuring that the cows feet would not slip under the wheels. I closed my eyes, tried to breathe deeply and prayed that no one would get hurt.
By 12 noon Ray was able to set Malati down in front of the barn. She had been through a lot. We brought her baby out and the two were reunited. The maintenance crew came back to try and push Malatis legs underneath her. We were able to lift Malati again with the hip huggers and let the baby drink. We milked her. And then she seemed to get some enthusiasm and she began to use her back legs. She was already up in the air but she was standing on her own. She tried to walk. We yelled and cheered as she took a few steps.
Amazingly she was up and walking, she even ran a bit to keep up with her very energetic calf. We lead her around with enticement of grain and bananas encouraging her to keep moving and using those leg muscles.
We put her in the field and went home for some lunch. By evening milking she was sitting again. We tried to encourage her to stand. She got up on her own and walked into the barn for evenings milking. It felt so nice to have her back with the herd. What an adventure. She was able to get up and sit down on her own.
Saturday night we let her sleep in the barn with her calf as the temperatures took a dive. The floor inside the barn was too slippery and her weakened back legs could not find traction. She struggled for a good 24 hours. Finally I went for help once more. Sunday morning Anandaviya and I decided to bring the maintenance crew back as our levels of frustration were boiling over. Bhagavan, John, Dev, and the two of us struggled to get Malati outside to the earth were her legs could dig in and give her the support needed to stand. After a few hours we had dragged her about four feet. She had worn the skin off her legs trying to get up. Running low on ideas we called for more help. Malati (Prabhupada’s Malati) came over and gave some encouragement. I found Varsana Swami in the Prasadam room. And Ranaka came up to help.
Using a pulley and a chain through the barn ceiling, we used hip huggers to raise her off the ground. The boys took turns standing on a bench tightening the pulley and gradually lifting her up. We milked her to give her some relief. Malati looked so sad. She was hanging in the air but seemed to have given up on her desire to stand. It wasn’t until her calf rounded the corner that the life returned to her eyes. She saw her calf and she used her legs to stand up. We were able remove the support and she walked on her own. Thank the Lord! What a strong cow. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=54130

By Atma Tattva Das,

A large-scale public gathering, the March for Unity and Peace, is scheduled to take place in downtown Atlanta on Saturday, June 6, 2026, bringing together participants around themes of unity, healing, and collective action. The city, shaped by the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., provides a fitting backdrop.

The event will begin at Walton Street and Forsyth Street, with gates opening at 9:00 AM and the march commencing at 12:00 PM. Organizers are calling for broad participation, inviting individuals, faith groups, and civic organizations to stand together in a shared call for unity and peace.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/atlanta-devotees-to-host-march-for-unity-and-peace-on-june-6/