Founder of the Krishna Temples in Spanish Fork and Salt Lake City, Utah, KHQN Radio, & Utah Holi
HG Caru Prabhu ACBSP, passed away this morning, April 7, 2026, following a car accident in Utah.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117701

ISKCON Resolve stands as a beacon of support and positive change within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Since 2002, this invaluable service has been dedicated to helping devotees navigate conflicts and address concerns in a spirit of collaboration and understanding, guided by the teachings of Srila Prabhupada.

ISKCON Resolve offers a comprehensive suite of confidential and neutral resources designed to empower individuals and cultivate a more harmonious community. Their services include:

Ombuds Representatives: Trained listeners provide a safe and confidential space for devotees to discuss their situations, offering guidance and support.

Mediation Services: Facilitating respectful dialogue, ISKCON Resolve helps parties in conflict work towards mutually agreeable resolutions.

Conflict Competence Trainings: Equipping participants with the knowledge and skills to effectively address conflicts that naturally arise, fostering better communication.

Self-Help Tools: Providing practical resources to manage conflict effectively and promote understanding within the community.

ISKCON Resolve’s commitment to fostering cooperation is evident in its mission: to serve Srila Prabhupada’s vision by helping devotees settle conflicts collaboratively, creating a culture of cooperation that he championed. By utilizing ISKCON Resolve’s services, devotees can save time and resources while promoting positive relationships and a stronger sense of community.

Whether you’re seeking guidance, mediation, or tools to improve your conflict resolution skills, ISKCON Resolve is there to support you in building a more harmonious and collaborative ISKCON. Reach out and contribute to a culture of cooperation that honors Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. You can connect via Admin@iskconresolve.org or +91 9354004055

Read more: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117682

The second Zoom class of a 5-part seminar given by Narayani Devi Dasi on the Prayers of Queen Kunti is dedicated to the verses of Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.23 through 1.8.27. The video answers the questions:
1. How to deal with calamities in one’s life?
2. What to pray for?
3. How to get Krishna’s lotus feet?
The seminar concludes with questions from disciples.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117701

By Sunanda Das, 

Braja Vilasa and the TOVP Team are pleased to announce our annual matching fundraiser: the Prabhupada 50 12-Day Matching Fundraiser. The fundraiser begins on the auspicious Akshaya Tritiya day, April 19, and ends on the most joyful appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadeva, April 30. ALL donations will be matched by Ambarisa prabhu who has pledged another $10 million for TOVP construction.

This fundraiser focuses on the 50th Disappearance Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada on November 1, 2027, which is now the official opening date of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium leading into a three-month-long celebration. All our beloved Mayapur Deities will be relocated into Their new magnificent palace, along with fifteen new acharya murtis.

The matching fundraiser presents another opportunity to be part of this historic project. You can sponsor the new Prabhupada KRSNA Ring, a replica of Srila Prabhupada;s personal KRISHNA ring (installment payments), or give a donation of any amount. Make an extra-large pledge payment. Every dollar will be matched by Ambarisa to help further TOVP construction.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/tovp-launches-prabhupada-50-matching-fundraiser/

A recent “behind the scenes” video published by NDTV showcased one of the ISKCON Krishna Balaram Mandir’s most important services, distributing prasadam to the thousands of pilgrims who visit this iconic temple in Vrindavan. Inspired by the teachings of ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who described ISKCON as “the kitchen religion.”

NDTV is one of India’s leading news broadcasters, with its YouTube channel reaching viewers across India and internationally. NDTV broadcasts in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Nepal, the Middle East, Mauritius, South Africa, Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia and New Zealand, and the channel has generated more than 15 million views.

The scale of the operation is remarkable, totaling millions of plates served over the decades. According to Vishnunam Das, CFO of ISKCON Vrindavan, the temple kitchen prepares approximately 20,000 plates of khichdi daily, along with 6,000 to 7,000 full prasadam meals each day, rising to 10,000 on weekends and even more during festivals such as Kartik.

To watch the full video, click here.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/ndtv-highlights-iskcon-vrindavans-prasadam-outreach/

By Atma Tattva Das, 

A growing body of devotional music emerging from urban bhakti communities is finding new expression through independent artists such as VisnuMaya, a New York-based practitioner and musician whose recent live EP, Puspāñjali, presents an intimate, acoustic approach to contemporary Krishna-conscious songwriting.

Recorded during a small in-person gathering in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the project reflects a broader shift toward personal, experience-driven expressions of bhakti among younger practitioners navigating both spiritual life and creative identity.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/emerging-devotional-music-in-urban-bhakti-spaces/

By Shyama Krsnapriya Devi Dasi  

The School of Rūpānugas continues its mission of offering spiritually enriching educational opportunities to devotees worldwide with the launch of a new Bhakti-śāstrī course beginning May 25, 2026.

Designed to help devotees deepen their scriptural understanding in a structured and accessible way, the 108-day online program offers participants the opportunity to complete Bhakti-śāstrī study through a practical, theme-based format. Organizers say the course is intended especially for devotees who have aspired to study the scriptures more systematically and gain a deeper philosophical understanding.

The course features theme-based lessons designed to provide a deeper, more integrated understanding of scripture. For the first time, classes will also be offered in Hinglish, making the content simpler and more relatable for many participants. The fully online format allows devotees from anywhere in the world to take part.

According to the organizers, the course is designed to make scriptural study both accessible and impactful, helping devotees strengthen their philosophical foundation while practically applying the teachings in daily life.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/school-of-rupanugas-launches-108-day-bhakti-sastri-course/

If time is relative, what about space? How to make time go slowly, or faster?

Most of us live constantly busy, living with the idea that there is not sufficient time. It would not be nice if we could stretch and contract the time at will, getting more time to do things we want, making pleasurable moments last for an eternity, and painfully experiences pass in a moment?

The good news is that time is relative. Time works differently in different parts of the cosmos. It can be stretched or contracted practically infinitely. That’s a point where modern science and Vedic literature agree.

According to the theory of special relativity by Einstein, the flow of time can change by speed or gravity. Someone traveling near the speed of light, or living very close to a strong gravitational field (like a black hole) would age much slower than someone living here on the earth. This can be empirically tested by sending clocks to space: a clock installed in a satellite orbiting the planet runs at a faster pace than an identical clock in the ground.

Similarly, the Vedic literature explains that what is one year for us, is just one day for the demigods in swargaloka. It’s not that they just have longer days: they really perceive the time differently. Similarly, what is 4.3 billion years for us, is just a day for the inhabitants of Brahmaloka. Their lifespan equals trillions of years of our time.

On the other hand, time passes faster in the lower planets. In the hellish planets, that are situated at the bottom of the universe, time passes so slowly that a 100 years there equals to just one day of our time. That’s another reason to try to not go to hell: not only the conditions are not so pleasant, but also the time passes very slowly!

The position of a living entity is determined by his consciousness, therefore we can see that souls with higher consciousness get permission to live in the higher planets, where not only they have better material facilities, but are also less subjected to the passage of time, while souls with lower consciousness are forced to live in the lower planets.

Higher beings not only perceive time in a different way, but they also perceive space differently from us. The 5th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam includes a description of the universe according to the perception of the demigods. We can see how much their higher dimensional universe is different from the gross dimension we can perceive with our senses. What is very far for us, is just a vimana drive away for the demigods. They can go from one planetary system to the other just like we go to the supermarket.

Not only the demigods are less constricted by time and space, but they are less constricted by physical laws. They can fly, create material objects, produce nuclear explosions with their voices, and control the forces of nature at will, just to mention a few examples.

As one’s consciousness evolves, he gains access to higher realms of reality and we become less constricted by time, space and physical laws. However, everyone in the material world is constricted to some extent.

The only one that is not restricted in any way is Krsna. As he mentions in the Gita: kalo ‘smi. Time is one of His energies, and just as all the other energies, time is completely under his control. He can make a night extend for the equivalent of a whole day of Brahma when he is dancing of the gopis, or can make the whole period of the life of Brahma as short as a breath in His form of Maha-Vishnu. He can also manipulate the physical laws at will, like when He lifted the Govardhana hill.

Just like the demigods see the universe differently from us, Krsna has a much higher perception of reality than even the demigods, just like he displayed when he evoked all the Brahmas of different universes in the presence of our catur-muka Brahma. As the creator and controller of the whole material creation, Krsna has complete control over it, just like a programmer has complete control over his own software.

All the experiences that there are to experiment in this material world are already created and happen cyclically. It’s just like a computer game, where all the events in the game are individually created by the developer and showed in a certain order to the player, creating an illusion of continuity. The player can’t change the order or speed of the events, but the developer has complete power. Similarly, Krsna is not under the control of space, time or any physical law. Just the opposite: he is the one that calls the shots.

As long as we are in this material world, we are not only under the influence of time, but also constricted in other ways. For example, in a game the player can’t leave a certain area, there are only certain ways he can interact with other players, certain actions he can perform and so on.

Similarly, reality appears to us in a way that limits our activities. For example, our planet is round, so we can’t leave it. If one tries to escape the planet by walking, he will just end-up going back to the same place. Not only are we imprisoned by these different forces, but our knowledge of reality is very limited.

There is only one place where people are not constricted: the spiritual world. This is the place where there is no time. Everything is eternal, all Krsna’s pastimes exist eternally and we have access to the according to our meditation, or according to the influence of yoga Maya.

There is a place where there is no past or future. Everyone just lives in an eternal present, centered in their desire to serve Krsna. This is the place we can attain as soon as our consciousness is sufficiently purified. Vrindavana is not a geographical location, but a state of consciousness. The inhabitants of the spiritual world are continuously absorbed in this eternal present of constantly chanting Krsna’s names and always glorifying the Lord. As we become absorbed in our services, we have the opportunity of connecting with this eternal present.

So, time is relative. Time flows at different rates in different parts of the cosmos, and there is a place where time does not exist at all. If time is relative, what about space? It happens that space is also relative!

For example, when Krsna was present on this planet, he manifested the whole Vrindavana, the whole spiritual sky inside the boundaries of the earthly Vrindavana, that have a circumference of a few dozen miles. It’s difficult for us to understand how an infinite space can fit into a finite space, but by Krsna’s will it became possible. As he says in the Gita, pasya me yogam aisvaram: “Behold my mystic opulence!”

Krsna’s bending of space was also shown in the pastime of Brahma stealing the calves. At a certain point, he summoned the brahmas of all universes. Every brahma was present in his own universe, just like our Brahma was situated in our universe. In the Vedic literature we get the information that the different material universes are trillions of miles apart. Still, all the brahmas were put together by Krsna’s mystic potency.

Another example is Krsna showing the whole universe inside his mouth to mother Yashoda. To a mundane observer, Krsna was situated on our planet, that is part of the universe of the catur-muka Brahma. If Krsna was situated inside one particular universe, how could the whole cosmos be situated in his mouth? It’s described that mother Yashoda could see herself and Krsna inside Krsna’s mouth. Therefore, not only the whole universe was situated inside Krsna’s mouth, but Krsna Himself was situated inside His own mouth! That’s definitely a feat that our material brains have a hard time conceiving.

Apart from Krsna, even mundane yogis can bend space to a certain extent. A yogi can stretch his hand and grab something that is thousands of miles away by bending space around him. The hand actually stays in the same place, the space around it that bends, shortening the distance and allowing the yogi to grab the object he desires. Similarly, by bending the space around his body, a yogi can become very big, or very small. Again, he doesn’t need to change the structure of his body, it’s the space around him that bends.

These are examples that can be observed in this material world. If we go to the spiritual world, things become even more amazing. In the spiritual world, space (as a limiting factor) doesn’t exist at all. All the inhabitants can freely go from one place to the other simply by thinking. Everything is just one remembrance away! Similarly, in the spiritual sky there is no matter that needs to be manipulated, and consequently no physical laws. Anything can be created simply through thinking, out of one’s own consciousness. The gopis doesn’t have to spend hours cooking in front of the fire manipulating different substances to make a preparation for Krsna. Whatever they want to cook, is created simply by their meditation.

We can understand that just as matter, both time and space are a phenomenon that affects only conditioned souls. Although time and space can be defined as real in the sense that someone created and someone is experiencing it, both are actually ephemeral, not more real than a game running on a computer. We become attracted to this ephemeral manifestation simply because of our own foolishness. Self-realized souls are capable of seeing things in the proper perspective, and thus they become indifferent to this phenomenal world.

So, accepting the idea that both time and space are relative, and thus illusory, what is real? Actually, the only thing that is real is consciousness. The reality is simply a manifestation of consciousness. By changing our consciousness we can (literally!) change our reality. One with the appropriate consciousness can travel all around the universe, like Narada Muni, or even reach the spiritual sky, without even having to leave his body! Even Druvasa Muni, an ordinary mystic that is far from being a pure devotee was able to do that, going all the way up to the Vaikunta planets.

From this, we can see that although expressed in simple language, the Vedic literature brings us ideas that go much further than the most far-out science fiction. The universe is much bigger and more mysterious than we can imagine, and the key to unlock its mysteries is the purification and expansion of our own consciousness.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=82384

Developing the quality of empathy has many benefits for aspiring devotees of the Lord.

When I was doing my clinical psychotherapy internship in graduate school, a supervisor stressed connecting with our clients through realized empathy. Most of his interns came from privileged backgrounds, and he felt we needed more than just a theoretical understanding of our clients’ pain.

My first session in “experiential empathy” was with Doris, who suffered from schizophrenia. A slight woman in her early 30s, she had an attractive face, but it was worn from exposure, as she would often choose to be homeless rather than stay in shelters. She would often sit in the waiting room carrying on conversations with imaginary persons who seemed real to her.

Doris wasn’t a strong candidate for therapy, yet her case manager and I would provide her support. Once in a while she would have some respite from her illness and would talk about her numerous losses, including relationships, and her dream of being a teacher.

After my initial sessions with Doris, my supervisor had me spend an afternoon in a session designed to develop empathy for schizophrenics. Through earphones, a myriad of voices began to assault me-calling me names and demeaning my character. While listening to these voices, I was given a list of simple tasks to perform, such as going to the corner store to buy batteries. After two hours of listening to the taped voices and running my prescribed errands, I was spent. Physically and mentally exhausted, I joined with others to share our experiences. The training was effective in achieving its goal. I learned more about people plagued by this most debilitating illness and felt increased compassion for them.

My next client was a middle-aged man with multiple sclerosis. Wheelchair bound, he showed symptoms of depression, and his doctor referred him for mental health counseling.

By now I was familiar with my supervisor’s relentless conviction for experiential empathy, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw a wheelchair waiting for me in his office. For the next hour, he had me running small errands throughout the hospital while awkwardly learning to maneuver the wheelchair.

Reflecting on that internship, I appreciate how my supervisor approached this most important element of therapy-joining through empathy. Empathy helps us care about people by identifying with their suffering. It also helps us avoid falling into the trap of thinking we’re superior to others. And it helps us develop humility-the gateway to making spiritual progress and developing a loving relationship with God.
Krishna’s Help

Krishna helps His fledgling devotees by purifying any mentality that prevents them from coming closer to Him. When we form opinions of people and their situations, we should do so with the desire to be of assistance and to please our guru and Krishna. That kind of thinking will help us advance in spiritual consciousness. But if we evaluate others with a mentality of exploiting them or putting them down-to elevate our own sense of importance-that kind of judgment will hinder our spiritual progress.

One of the most unwanted qualities in the heart of a practitioner of bhakti-yoga is the tendency to judge others without concern for their spiritual welfare. This leads to faultfinding and puts us at risk of vaishnava aparadha, or offending Krishna’s devotees. If we are fortunate, Krishna will correct this tendency in our heart. Sometimes Krishna, the originator of experiential empathy training, will place us in a situation similar to that of the person we are judging. Although this can be disconcerting, it is the Lord’s kindness to help uproot the qualities in our heart that are obstacles to loving the Lord and His devotees.

When I was a young devotee, I was strict about attending all the temple programs. But I found myself critical of devotees who didn’t always attend. One devotee suffered from an illness and did her best to come when she could. But I felt she could do better. Not long after those thoughts contaminated my consciousness, however, I became ill and often missed mangala-arati, the early-morning worship.

Krishna accomplishes many things by one action, and one result of my illness was a diminishing of my critical mentality. Krishna has often placed me in situations similar to those of people for whom I lacked empathy, helping me develop more understanding of others’ difficulties.

The saying atmavan manyate jagat means that we tend to see others as we are. Often the very thing we find reprehensible in another is a negative quality lurking within ourselves. So it is prudent to reflect on this when we form opinions of others and to look within our heart to expose our own faults.
Prabhupada’s Example

By his example, Prabhupada taught us to be lenient with others and strict with ourselves. He was uncompromising in his service to Krishna and his daily spiritual practices. Yet he showed understanding and compassion toward his neophyte disciples, who often struggled to follow the basic practices of bhakti-yoga. As his disciples matured, he would sometimes sternly correct them, but only out of duty, to help them progress in their spiritual lives.

In the early days of the Hare Krishna movement, Prabhupada asked one of his first disciples, Syamasundara Dasa, an expert craftsman, to carve a deity of Lord Jagannatha from wood. At one point Prabhupada came to see how the work was progressing. When he entered the room, he saw a pack of cigarettes sitting on Lord Jagannatha’s head.

“It’s all right,” Prabhupada told his embarrassed, contrite disciple.

Prabhupada didn’t need to become addicted to cigarettes to understand his disciple’s plight. He instructed Syamasundara to reduce by one the number of cigarettes he smoked each day until the habit was gone. Prabhupada was a pure devotee, his consciousness crystal clear. Because he had no contamination in his heart, he was free of the propensity to find fault or condemn.

In the Bhagavad-gita (6.32) Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that spiritually advanced persons can understand both the happiness and the distress of others. Because of their own experience in the material world, they understand that people suffer because they forget the Lord and are happy when united with Him.
Saving the Coat

Like all spiritual qualities, empathy or compassion has a counterpart in the material realm. My supervisor was helping me develop empathy, but because he lacked knowledge of the eternal soul within the body, his conception of feeling another’s pain was based on only the body’s suffering. Prabhupada tells the story of a man who jumps into a lake to save a drowning man and returns with only the man’s coat. Born of the material mind, this kind of empathy will have only temporary value unless employed in our spiritual lives.

Srila Prabhupada deeply felt the pain and suffering of the souls in this world. Once, in Mayapur, he saw a scene from his balcony that brought tears to his eyes. Children were fighting off dogs to get food left on discarded plates. Prabhupada then said that no one within ten miles of the ISKCON Mayapur temple should go hungry; they should be fed with spiritually uplifting prasadam. Prabhupada’s compassion meant elevating people’s consciousness so that they could eventually be freed from all suffering.

Empathy is a natural quality of the soul. Following in Srila Prabhupada’s footsteps, we should cultivate concern for the suffering of others while understanding the ultimate goal of life. That doesn’t mean we have to use the means devised by my supervisor-enacting another’s suffering condition. But we can do practical things to develop empathy.

First is to have a student’s mind-an inquisitive mind that seeks to understand the lessons ever present in our environment. The Eleventh Canto of the Bhagavatam gives the example of a brahmana who describes twenty-four entities whom he considered his gurus. For example, he says that he learned valuable lessons from a pigeon, a honeybee, and a prostitute. Being open to what we can learn from others will help us appreciate the struggles of others and feel a connection we might have missed.

Another technique that can help us understand another’s world is reflective listening. Also known as empathic listening, it requires the listener to summarize both the speaker’s words and the feelings behind them.

Another powerful mindset is to practice seeing people for their potential rather than for who they were in the past or who they are in the present. Everyone is a pure soul with an eternal relationship with Krishna. Remembering this can help us see beyond people’s material conditioning, allowing us to care about them and want to help them.

Finally, we want to be in the mood of service to others. When we look for ways to serve rather than exploit, our hearts open and we naturally feel the connection that eternally exists between all living entities.

These are just a few suggestions for how we can move in the world in such a way that we expand the mentality favorable for developing empathy in our role as a spiritual practitioner.

Because of his spiritual perfection, Prabhupada could always clearly diagnose our suffering and worked tirelessly and patiently to give us the remedy. Despite having once said that our hearts were as hard to clean as coal, he didn’t give up on us. Now that Srila Prabhupada is no longer physically present on the planet, we have to extend his compassionate, empathetic nature to all the living entities who have the opportunity to take shelter in Lord Chaitanya’s movement.

When the guru leaves the world, the disciples have to rise to the occasion and take up the legacy of their beloved teacher. The guru will empower sincere disciples to carry on the mission. Sincere disciples of a Vaishnava guru are themselves Vaishnavas, deserving of the prayer offered in ISKCON temples each morning: “I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17712

On September, HH Radhanath Swami was in New York City to speak at The Bhakti Center for their 3rd Annual Pearl Festival, celebrating Radhastami (the Divine appearance of Srimati Radharani). A special feature of this festival is that all guests received the opportunity to write a prayer on a paper pearl and offer it, along with a real pearl, to Radharani. All the real pearls were then collected, strung into a necklace and offered to Radharani as a gift. Below are some excerpts of his talk.

“The Latin poet Virgil, has written, ‘Love conquers all’. The second part of what he wrote, in many ways is instrumental. He said, ‘Love conquers all, so let us all be conquered by love’. This is the principle of bhakti. The first and great commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and the natural consequence of that is that you will love your neighbor as yourself. And according to the Bhagavad-gita you will see every living being as your neighbor.”

“But that actual ecstasy of loving God really comes when we become conquered by God’s love. Krishna, who is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the one God who has many names and has descended into this world many times, in his fullest expression, comes once in a day Brahma to this world. Sri Radha comes with him. The one Supreme God is ever as two personalities, Krishna, the Supreme object of love, and Srimati Radharani, who is the ultimate supreme lover.”

“The deepest pleasure that everyone is seeking in this world is to love and to be loved. The origin of that experience is the love of Sri Krishna and Sri Radha. We are all part and parcel of Krishna and our nature, our greatest potential, is to love Krishna. This love for Krishna is within every heart. It is the nature of the soul.”

“In bhakti the goal of life is very different than what we see many religious people have done throughout history. People want to conquer others on a material platform in the name of God. In bhakti, we understand that the higher principle is to be conquered by love. Radharani is giving us the capacity to be conquered by Krishna’s love and to conquer Krishna by our love – that is bhakti.”

“Like a pearl, a little grain of sand goes into an oyster and just by staying there for some time it becomes a precious natural pearl. So whoever we are, if come into the association of those who have been blessed by the grace of Sri Radharani and Krishna, then naturally from our hearts, that pearl of love will grow and there is nothing more priceless than that.”

Soon you will be offering a pearl, but it is not things that give Krishna happiness, only love can do this. The real pearl is our love. I like this festival because I was born on Pearl Harbour Day! (laughter) But the Pearl Festival is a festival of love, of making an offering and when we write our prayers in bhakti we pray, ‘How may I please you my Lord, how may I serve you? How may I be the servant of the servant of the servant of the instrument of your love and compassion in everything I do?’ That is the highest prayer and it is that prayer, when offered sincerely, that conquers Krishna and in reciprocation, His and Radha’s love conquers us. – Radhanath Swami

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20094

By Prabhupada Ashraya Dasa   

The devotees of ISKCON Aravade recently completed a glorious seven-day padayatra to Shri Dham Pandharpur, carrying the divine forms of Sri Sri Gaur Nitai Sundar and Srila Prabhupada. Nearly 400 devotees joined this sacred journey, transforming the roads of Maharashtra into a moving temple filled with kirtan, katha, and prasadam.  

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/hundreds-join-padayatra-from-iskcon-arvade-to-pandharpur/

By Atma Tattva Das,

The devotional community at ISKCON New Talavan, Mississippi, USA, is preparing to inaugurate their newly constructed temple complex, built for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Radha-Kantha and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, through a series of public events scheduled from May 14 to May 25, 2026. The multi-day, in-person program will include a Vastu Yajna, kirtan gatherings, and a formal opening ceremony, marking the completion of a project that has been under development for several years.  The opening reflects a broader effort within ISKCON communities to establish durable centers of worship and outreach in rural settings.

The project has been undertaken by members of the New Talavan community, an established ISKCON farm community in Mississippi, with support from donors and a small construction team working largely on-site. The initiative was significantly shaped by donor Dr. Jagdish Somani, who sponsored the construction in memory of his late wife and encouraged a transition from renovating an older structure to building a new temple.

Radhe Shyam Ananda Das, who joined the construction effort during its second year, describes the shift as a defining moment. “The original idea was simply to renovate the pujari room,” he said. “But it became clear that building a new structure would better serve the long-term needs of the community.”

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/new-talavan-temple-nears-opening-after-years-of-community-work/

Excerpt from the lecture by HH Nirañjana Swami

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 8.16

Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma, March 4, 2014

The following is a partially-edited transcription of an excerpt of a lecture given on March 04, 2014 in Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma – CC, Ādi-līlā 8.16

This verse stresses the importance of chanting the Holy Name so that one can achieve the ultimate goal of this chanting. I wanted to read something also in connection to this. It is short but very relevant to this verse. In the words of our param-guru Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, in answer to the question, “How should we chant the Lord’s Holy Names?” I find this very relevant to myself and therefore I’ve been sharing it with many devotees and I would like to read it first, and then in some way try to explain the meaning behind it.

“Pure devotees do not chant the Lord’s Names to counteract sinful reactions, accumulate piety, attain heavenly pleasures, to mitigate famine, devastating epidemics, social unrest, disease, civil strife or to obtain wealth or an earthly kingdom. Since the Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to ask Him to fulfill our wishes is to treat Him as our servant. This is an offense. Therefore, calling the Lord’s Names for any reason other than to attain His devotional service is useless. Jesus Christ told us not to take the Lord’s Name in vain.

However, this does not mean that we do not need to always chant the Lord’s Names, while sleeping, awake, eating or enjoying happiness. To chant the Lord’s Names, begging for His service, is not a useless activity. It is our only duty.

But to make a show of chanting for some other purpose – in other words to fulfill our own desire – is useless. We should not take to the chanting of the Lord’s Names uselessly. We should not chant to attain religiosity, economic development, sense gratification or liberation. Instead we should always chant to attain the Lord’s service.”

I thought this was very relevant. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura here explains that unless one is actually chanting for the service, then any other purpose – any other purpose – is materially motivated. And he gives a long list of what is materially motivated: for social unrest, for epidemics, for material prosperity, any chanting to relieve distress, whether individually or collectively.

Therefore, he uses a strong word, he says it’s ‘useless’ – which we may question, because sometimes we hear so many verses which explain that even once chanting the Holy Names of the Lord will eradicate all kinds of sinful reactions for millions of births. And here somebody may be chanting, collectively with a large group, for a particular purpose, yet he defines it as useless chanting.

It makes me think of a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the 3rd Canto, spoken by Devahūti. She says that anyone whose work does not lead to religious life; and any one whose religious, ritualistic performances do not elevate one to renunciation; and anyone who is situated in renunciation that doesn’t lead to devotional service to the Supreme Lord, is to be considered to be a dead body, although breathing.

Here, in this verse, emphasis is given on the ultimate goal. If we want to actually achieve the ultimate goal of chanting, which is the essence of today’s verse, we have to become free from offenses. And unless the ultimate goal is achieved, which is devotional service to the Supreme Lord, any other achievement is useless. Because the only full achievement of chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, is to achieve love for the Supreme Lord. Love, which is freed from all material desires.

Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.1]: as Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains: such devotional service should be freed from the influence of karma and jñāna. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also states that [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.22],

bhukti-mukti-spṛha yavat
pisaci hṛdi vartate

As long as the desire for bhukti (the desire for material enjoyment) and mukti (the desire for relief from suffering, liberation), are within the heart (these desires are considered to be like two witches which haunt one like a ghost), then one will never be able to taste the bliss of devotional service to the Supreme Lord. And therefore it is stated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta that the goal of chanting is to achieve this love.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura here also states that to approach the Lord for something for ourselves is an offense. We should not ask anything for ourselves. He says that all these other purposes for which one chants are considered to be useless, unless we actually purposely, with intent, sit and intensely pray for the service to the Lord. That service, that opportunity to engage in devotional service, is bestowed by the mercy of the Lord, and also bestowed by the mercy of the devotee of the Lord.

Śrīla Prabhupāda in his commentary quotes the verse that Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura emphasizes as the siddha-praṇālī for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, which is, [Śikṣāṣṭakam, verse 3]

tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

Lord Caitanya Himself has stated, when explaining this verse, that a devotee who is engaged in the chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord does not retaliate, even if he is rebuked or chastised. He never retaliates or says anything to anyone else about such activity. He gives an example that, even if a tree is cut, the tree will not complain, and even if the tree is drying up, it will not ask anyone for water. He says that such forbearance must be practiced by the devotee. Thus a Vaiṣṇava should engage in the chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord, and he should never ask anyone for anything for himself. If someone offers, he will accept, but if someone doesn’t offer, he is satisfied to accept whatever comes by its own means.

But then He says something very, very important: this type of behavior solidly maintains a devotee’s devotional service. This type of behavior: he doesn’t ask, he tolerates. So forbearing! There is a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

tiraskṛtā vipralabdhāḥ
śaptāḥ kṣiptā hatā api
nāsya tat pratikurvanti
tad-bhaktāḥ prabhavo ’pi hi

“The devotees of the Lord are so forbearing that even though they are defamed, cheated, cursed, disturbed, neglected or even killed, they are never inclined to avenge themselves.”[Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.18.48]

This verse is spoken about Parīkṣit Mahārāja by Śamīka Ṛṣi, when he learnt that his son had garlanded a snake around Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s neck. He was extremely disturbed, because he understood that Parīkṣit Mahārāja is a saintly Vaiṣṇava. In his heart he was thinking, “If only Parīkṣit Mahārāja would counteract what has happened to him by cursing my son, then that will be proper, just punishment for him.”

But then he realized, “Wait a minute!” tiraskṛtā vipralabdhāḥ, śaptāḥ kṣiptā hatā api. “How will it be possible? Parīkṣit Mahārāja wouldn’t do that. Because devotees of the Lord are so forbearing, that even if they are cheated, cursed, neglected, disturbed, insulted or even killed, they are never inclined to avenge themselves. What can I do? Parīkṣit Mahārāja will never counter-curse. I can only simply pray to the Lord, that somehow He sees the situation and He understands what needs to be done to correct the situation, because Parīkṣit Mahārāja will never counter-curse my son.”

Such is the characteristic of a devotee. A devotee is so forbearing. Cheated, cursed, neglected, insulted – insulted! – disturbed or even killed! But he will never avenge himself. Why? Because he is so forbearing, he is so tolerant!

This type of devotional service, this type of mood in the chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord, as stated by Lord Caitanya Himself, is the behavior that solidly maintains devotional service for the devotee. It gives him the means by which he can actually be situated in devotional service, because he is so tolerant that the Lord cannot neglect! Others may neglect, but the Lord will not neglect! How can the Lord neglect such a devotee?! He cannot neglect! He cannot turn away.

Look what happened to Ambarīṣa Mahārāja! When Ambarīṣa Mahārāja was cursed he didn’t even pray to the Lord for protection, but the Lord protected him. Durvāsā Muni first went to Lord Brahmā; then he went to Lord Śiva; and then he went to Lord Viṣṇu. Of course, Brahmā and Śiva were not able to provide him relief, because that’s what he wanted, he wanted relief. “Please relieve me.” Brahmā says, “I can’t.” Then Lord Śiva says, “I can’t.” And then he came to Lord Viṣṇu and said, “Please look at me, I am suffering.” And Lord Viṣṇu says, “Sorry, I can’t do anything to help you.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura in his commentaries to these verses explains the mood the Lord has in His conversation with Durvāsā Muni. When Durvāsā Muni approaches the Lord for protection and says, “Please, can You mitigate my distress? You have invoked this cakra, certainly You can remove it.”

But the Lord says, “I am sorry, I am not independent. I am completely under the control of My devotee. The devotee is always in My heart and I am always in the heart of My devotee. The devotee doesn’t think of anyone but Me and I don’t think of anyone but him.”

And then, what does Durvāsā Muni say? He says, “Certainly, when You see somebody suffering and they are coming to You for protection, certainly You must be inclined to feel for his suffering.” He’s begging, “Please have a heart.”

And the Lord says, “Sorry! Actually I can’t even think of your suffering. I don’t have a heart and I can’t even think of your suffering.”

Durvāsā Muni says, “How is it possible?”

And then the Lord explains, “My devotee is so dear to Me. He is My devotee because He always takes Me into the core of his heart, and he is always praying to Me, ‘Please let me engage in Your service.’ My devotee doesn’t want anything else. He’s always thinking how he can serve Me. So therefore, I approach My devotee and I say, ‘Please let Me give you something.’ But My devotee says, ‘I don’t want anything.’ And the Lord says, ‘I want to give you something. Anything!’”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=63836

By Bir Krishna Das Goswami

To read the following article on the original pdf document (61MB) click here: https://devoteecare.org/magazines/004souvenir%20complete%20_%2060MBFILE.pdf

Read more: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88995

From Back to Godhead

Far from being a sentimental activity, devotional service is based on well-defined principles that systematically guide a practitioner to ultimate perfection.

Discussions about the relationship between science and religion usually end in a stalemate: Scientists accuse religionists of relying too much on faith, which they say is experimentally unverifiable, while religionists accuse scientists of relying too much on physical and chemical laws, which they say fail to measure the emotions and sentiments of a conscious living entity. The scientists fail to address or even acknowledge consciousness and its attendant needs; religionists fail to provide a satisfactory scientific and logical explanation for the practices they follow. The refusal of scientists to experiment beyond mechanistic science and the inability of religionists to present religion as a bona fide science have only widened the gap between the two parties.

A study of the Vedic scriptures, however, reveals that the true Vedic religion is not a matter of blind faith but is an actual science, verifiable by experiment. Unlike conventional religions, which force their practitioners to accept dogma on faith, the Vedic religion (also known as sanatana-dharma, bhagavata-dharma, or Krishna consciousness) repeatedly prods its students to inquire and question at every step. Sentimental practice is never encouraged. While other religions teach us to love and serve God, the beauty of the Vedic scriptures lies in their ability to explain the dynamics of this spiritual relationship by revealing the precise, well-defined principles that underlie it. A deeper understanding of this subject will nourish the faith of the faithful and satisfy the intellect of the intellectuals.

1. The Law of Attraction

Newton’s law of gravitation states that every object possessing mass attracts every other object with a certain strength, called the gravitational constant, or G. Furthermore, the effect of G (called force, or F) reduces as the distance between the two objects increases. According to the spiritual law of attraction, every spirit soul is attracted towards the Supreme Soul, Krishna. Being an eternal part of Krishna, we are constitutionally meant to love and serve Him. All we need to do is uncover our loving propensity by practicing devotional principles. Just as iron filings get attracted to a magnet, all of us in our pure state have a natural attraction towards Krishna. Lust and many other unwanted things prevent the full exhibition of these loving feelings, just as rust prevents the full attraction of iron filings towards a magnet.

The spiritual law of attraction differs from Newton’s law in some areas. Whereas the attractive force (G) exerted by each mass on other masses is the same (G is a constant), the attraction (in this case, the affection or love) that Lord Krishna has towards the wayward spirit souls is much greater than what those souls have towards Him. Srila Prabhupada writes, “He [Krishna] is just like an affectionate father, who is more eager to see his son than the son is to see him. There is no contradiction in such a quantitative difference in affection.” (Mukunda-mala-stotra 1, Purport)

The attraction between Krishna and His devotees is unaffected by the physical distance between them, unlike the attraction (F) between two physical masses. Other material barriers, like the language in which a prayer is intoned, one’s social or financial standings, or any other mundane criteria, have no effect on this spiritual relationship.

In sharp contrast to Newton’s law, the attraction between Krishna and His devotees has been known to increase with distance. Love in separation from Krishna is described as the highest form of love, higher even than love in union with Him. The most exalted devotees, the gopis of Vrindavan, experienced this form of love. After first enjoying a decade of Krishna’s association in Vrindavan during His early pastimes, they later had to undergo a century of separation from Krishna while He spent His time in Hastinapura and Dwarka. All the while, their love for Krishna kept increasing despite their being separated by a great distance.

Bhakti, or loving devotional service, is known as shri-krishnakarshini, “that which attracts Krishna.” Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes in Jaiva-dharma, “The devotee whose heart is infused with shuddha-bhakti [pure devotion] attracts the attention of Krishna—along with that of all His close associates—by the power of his love. Love is the only way to conquer Sri Krishna; no other means are viable.” By the power of his devotion, Prahlada, although a five-year-old boy, could attract the Supreme Lord Nrisimhadeva, who appeared just to protect His dear devotee. Between a magnet and iron, it is the magnet that has the power to attract, not the iron. But with bhakti, the devotee—an infinitesimal spirit soul—can attract the infinite, all-powerful Krishna.

2. The Law of Reciprocation

Like Newton’s third law of motion, the law of karma states that for every action there is a reaction. However, the karmic law—an aspect of material nature, which is working under Krishna’s direction—is universal; it does not act merely in the realms of physics or chemistry. Pious actions result in pleasurable reactions, while sinful actions lead to hellish sufferings.

In the Bhagavad-gita (4.11), Krishna says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly.” To those who consider God impersonal, He reveals Himself as the impersonal Brahman. To yogis who meditate on the form of the Lord within the heart, Krishna reveals Himself as the Paramatma, the Supersoul, who resides in the heart of every living being. But to those who accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna is eager to reveal His supreme form of sac-cid-ananda: His eternal personal form of full knowledge and bliss.

When Krishna entered the wrestling match Kamsa had organized in Mathura, He appeared differently to different groups of people: “The various groups of people in the arena regarded Krishna in different ways when He entered it with His elder brother. The wrestlers saw Krishna as a lightning bolt, the men of Mathura as the best of males, the women as Cupid in person, the cowherd men as their relative, the impious rulers as a chastiser, His parents as their child, the king of the Bhojas as death, the unintelligent as the Supreme Lord’s universal form, the yogis as the Absolute Truth, and the Vrishnis as their supreme worshipable Deity.” (Bhagavatam 10.43.17)

Fully surrendered devotees of Krishna receive the greatest reciprocation from the Lord. The Chaitanya-bhagavata relates the story of Vasudeva Datta, a greatly powerful devotee of the Lord. Feeling extreme pain to see the sufferings of conditioned souls, Vasudeva Datta requested Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to let him suffer for the sins of everyone in the universe. The Lord was so pleased by Vasudeva’s compassion that He said, “This body of mine belongs to Vasudeva Datta. . . . [He] may sell Me wherever he likes.” (Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda 5.27–28)

Devotees are ready to sacrifice everything for the pleasure of the Lord, and the Lord is ready to give Himself to His devotee. Srila Prabhupada writes, “This transcendental reciprocation exists because both the Lord and the devotee are conscious. When a diamond is set in a golden ring, it looks very nice. The gold is glorified, and at the same time the diamond is glorified. The Lord and the living entity eternally glitter, and when a living entity becomes inclined to the service of the Supreme Lord he looks like gold. The Lord is a diamond, and so this combination is very nice.” (Gita 9.29, Purport)

The principle of reciprocation assumes extreme proportions when we offend great devotees or render service to them. The scriptures repeatedly warn us about the dangerous effects of vaishnava-aparadha, offense at the feet of an advanced soul. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu described this as “the mad elephant offense,” which can uproot and destroy the tender devotional creeper we are struggling to cultivate. The best way to avoid this is to always remain humble, expect no respect from anyone, and offer all respect to others.

On the other hand, service rendered to a pure devotee awards us untold benedictions. For example, mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimukteh (Bhag. 5.5.2): A little service offered to a devotee opens immediately the doors of eternal liberation.

3. The Law of Subjugation

As the master of the universe, Krishna controls everything and everyone. But one who has bhakti can control Krishna by love. Bhakti-yoga therefore is superior to all other spiritual practices, like karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, or ashtanga-yoga.

The story of King Ambarisha and Durvasa Muni reveals this point clearly. Durvasa Muni had attempted to kill the pious Ambarisha for an insignificant offense. But Ambarisha remained unfazed and took complete shelter of the Lord. To protect His dear devotee, the Lord released His personal weapon, the Sudarshana chakra, and destroyed the demon Durvasa had sent to kill Ambarisha. The chakra then started chasing the Muni to kill him. Durvasa fled the scene and approached various demigods for help. Unable to get shelter from anyone, including Indra, Brahma, and Shiva, the great mystic finally approached Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha, requesting the Lord to withdraw the scorching chakra and thus save his life. To his surprise, the Lord expressed His inability to protect him and ordered him to beg forgiveness directly from Ambarisha. Lord Vishnu said,

aham bhakta-paradhino
hy asvatantra iva dvija
sadhubhir grasta-hridayo
bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyah

“I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.” (Bhag. 9.4.63)

Only after being forgiven by His devotee, the Lord assured, would Durvasa stop being chased by the chakra.

Other examples of Krishna’s subjugation to His devotees: As a small child, Krishna would dance like a puppet when the adult gopis of Vrindavan clapped their hands. During the rasa-lila, sometimes the gopis would sing and Krishna would dance just to please them.

Pure love of God is of the nature of Krishna’s internal potency, or Srimati Radharani, and has the power to bring Krishna, the greatest person, under His devotee’s control. The Pandavas, for example, bound Krishna with pure affection and kept Him always near them. As Narada Muni said, “My dear Maharaja Yudhishthira, all of you [the Pandavas] are extremely fortunate, for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, lives in your palace just like a human being. Great saintly persons know this very well, and therefore they constantly visit this house.” (Bhag. 7.10.48)

4. The Law of Unification

The perfection of bhakti-yoga lies in dovetailing all of our desires for the pleasure of Krishna. In other words, a devotee sets aside all selfish motives and wishes to fulfill the desires of Krishna. In this way, the desires of Krishna and the pure devotee are one. Whenever a pure devotee speaks, he is speaking on Krishna’s behalf, presenting whatever the Lord would Himself say.

Devotional service to Krishna is so sweet that the devotee and the Lord sometimes forget their own identities. They are so much in tune with each other that there is no difference in their purposes. Ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya mayi te teshu capy aham: “Whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” (Gita 9.29)

Again, in the story of Ambarisha and Durvasa, the Lord makes this famous statement:

sadhavo hridayam mahyam
sadhunam hridayam tv aham
mad-anyat te na jananti
naham tebhyo manag api

“The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them.” (Bhag. 9.4.68)

It is important to note that the oneness attained by a devotee is different from the oneness impersonalist philosophers imagine they will attain by merging with the Supreme. A devotee rejects such oneness as hellish because it means the end of his individual identity, and thus the end of his chance to serve the Lord. Srila Prabhupada gives the example of a green bird entering a green tree. Deep within the branches and leaves, the bird may not be visible to an observer standing below, but the bird never loses its existence. It enjoys the tree’s fruits and flowers. A devotee who has returned to the spiritual world similarly enjoys service to Krishna with ever-growing freshness and sweetness under the shelter of Krishna’s lotus feet.
Judge Your Progress in Bhakti

Rupa Goswami, a sixteenth-century Vaishnava saint and a direct disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, describes the systematic developments a devotee undergoes while practicing the science of bhakti. In the beginning one has faith (shraddha) in some form of divinity or in saints or scriptures. This faith, which is compared to a seed, helps one seek out the association of saintly devotees (sadhu-sanga), where the seed sprouts and takes root as a creeper. Receiving nourishment in the form of hearing and chanting the holy names and glories of Krishna (bhajana-kriya) under the guidance of devotees, the creeper grows luxuriantly. In the process, all the unwanted things in the heart that block the progress of bhakti go away (anartha-nivritti), clearing the path for the creeper.

Carefully cultivating spiritual practices and steering clear of all obstacles, the devotee achieves steadiness (nishtha) in bhakti. At this stage the waves of love of Godhead first appear. As the spiritual practices continue, the devotee’s steadiness matures into intense taste (ruci) for devotional activities, removing all threats of the recurrence of unwanted habits. Such a person is known as an uttama-adhikari.

Shivarama Swami, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, has written Suddha-bhakti Cintamani, based on past acharyas’ commentaries on Vaishnava literature. Discussing the advanced stages of pure devotion, he writes, “As devotees cultivate that taste, they develop concentrated attachment for Krishna (asakti). That attachment polishes the heart to such an extent that at times devotees think that Krishna has appeared there. At other times they intuitively understand their relationship with the Lord, though such realization is still immature.” (p. 303) “At bhava [the next stage], when they transcend the boundaries of matter, the touch of the pleasure potency immediately awakens pure greed in their hearts.” (p. 610) “Love of God (prema), the full manifestation of pure goodness, is like the sun. When a single but fully potent ray of the Krishna-sun touches a devotee’s heart, ecstatic devotion instantly becomes manifest. Just as a spark falling onto dry leaves quickly grows into a forest fire, one ray of pure goodness entering a devotee’s heart quickly flares into a blaze of love for God.” (p. 307)

Attaining the stage of pure love of God is the perfection of our existence, the goal of the human form of life. If we remain sincere, Krishna’s mercy is assured. Like any other science, if we stick to the principles and carefully avoid the dangers, we are bound to attain success in this life.

Recently, thanks to the pervasive presence of Vaisesika Dasa, ISKCON’s Minister of Book Distribution, the devotees of ISKCON London Sankirtan brought an unusual surge of spiritual energy to the streets of London on the grand day of the Monthly Sankirtan Festival (MSF).

This devotional, inspiring, and encouraging spirit was further enhanced by the presence of Nirakula Devi Dasi, who commemorated every devotee’s endeavor.

Sankirtan warriors from the Bhaktivedanta Manor and ISKCON London Soho Radha Krishna Temple united with one heart and purpose as they charged towards the streets of central London. The mission was bold and spiritually significant — the sacred distribution of Srimad Bhagavatam and the echo of the Holy Names on the street, to every soul we meet.

This MSF is a powerful declaration of intent as devotees came together in full support of the Bhadra Campaign’s ambitious goal of distributing 100,008 Bhagavatam sets, while ISKCON London embraces our very own, humble and personal offering of 600 sets to honor 60 years of ISKCON.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/london-devotees-unite-for-bhadra-campaign-book-distribution/

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi, 

Sankirtanamrita: The Nectar of Sri Krsna Sankirtana, the newly released book by Navina Nirada Dasa, published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), has been acclaimed across the ISKCON world as a landmark contribution to Vaishnava literature. Blending memoir, philosophy, and practical guidance, it offers a deeply personal exploration of sankirtana, which is the sacred mission of sharing Krishna consciousness through transcendental literature from nearly four decades of lived dedication.

His journey began in 1984, when he joined ISKCON in Zurich at just 15 and soon became one of the leading book distributors. He has since traveled extensively around the world, served as ISKCON’s Minister of Book Distribution, trained thousands in preaching and leadership, founded the Vaishnava Academy in Mayapur, and was the first devotee to earn his Bhaktivedanta degree from the Mayapur Institute. He started a spiritual center in San Francisco and continues to teach, mentor, and personally distribute books, thereby embodying the message of his work.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/book-review-sankirtanamrita-the-nectar-of-sri-krsna-sankirtana/