On 2nd February, Dr Diviash Thakrar and Nilesh represented Bhaktivedanta Manor at a local Tu BiShvat festival, the Jewish tree-planting celebration. The ceremony was led by a mix of civic leaders, faith representatives, and local community members. Its purpose was to foster unity across different faiths, highlighting the connections that bring communities together rather than the differences that divide us. In this way, the event celebrated shared values and collective harmony.
The Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) entered into a strategic collaboration with the Management & Entrepreneurship and Professional Skills Council (MEPSC) and Nalanda Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the Press Club, Kolkata. The partnership marked a significant step toward embedding Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) within India’s formal skill development and early childhood education ecosystem.
Adi Purusa Dasa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, has been at the forefront of prasadam distribution in New York City for more than 26 years. Alongside this service, he operates several hostels in the city, engaging guests directly in seva while helping sustain a steady, weekly prasadam outreach. In a recent interview with Nityananda Chandra Dasa, Adi Purusa reflects on the vision, challenges, and continuity of this remarkable, uninterrupted service in the heart of th
atha bhāgavatā yūyaṁ priyāḥ stha bhagavān yathā na mad bhāgavatānāṁ ca preyān anyo ’sti karhicit
You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am. (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.24.30)
Lord Shiva is revered as the foremost of the Vaishnavas and the eternal protector of the holy dhamas. In V
It was day 2 for allowing pedestrians to walk over the New Demerara Bridge over the river with the same name. The Demerara is quite wide. I used to walk the old floating bridge which is now replaced for a state-of-the-art new rendition built by the Chinese. I love the sensation, the views, and the breezes that are authentic features. A dozen of us went for the thrill. Total duration was fifty minutes of walking on this 2.7 km/1.7 miles and reaches 50 metres in height. In the US, my favourite b
We are afraid to make chanting our number one priority in life because of the fear of failure.
Chanting Hare Krishna can be the most humbling experience, especially if we make it the most important goal of our life. Krishna is inaccessible to the conditioned souls; those who are not qualified won’t get access to Krishna’s intimate association. He reserves the right of not being exposed to the conditioned souls. Thus chanting can expose us to our own disqualifications; chanting can reveal to us
As part of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC) Annual General Meeting 2026, the GBC is hosting an Online Maha Istagosthi and warmly welcomes ISKCON devotees worldwide to participate.
Date: 8 February 2026 Time: 6:00 PM IST Other time zones: USA (New York, EST): 7:30 AM, Argentina (Buenos Aires): 9:30 AM, UK (London, GMT): 12:30 PM, Europe (Central Europe, CET – e.g., Paris/Berlin): 1:30 PM, South Africa (Johannesburg, SAST): 2:30 PM, Russia (Moscow): 3:30 PM, India (Mumbai, IST): 6:00 PM
As part of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC) Annual General Meeting 2026, the GBC will host an online Maha Istagosthi on February 8, 2026, inviting devotees from around the world to participate in a global dialogue and association. The program is being organized as a special AGM-related gathering and is open to the wider ISKCON community.
The Maha Istagosthi will be held via Zoom, with limited capacity. Once the Zoom meeting reaches capacity, participants are requested to join through Y
The ISKCON Youth Ministry has announced its 30th Anniversary Youth Bus Tour, scheduled to take place from June to August 2026, marking a milestone for the long-running program. Open to youth ages 18–29, the eight-week tour will travel across North America, visiting temples, sacred festivals, and national parks throughout the United States and Canada.
The tour began in 1995, so the 30th anniversary should have taken place last year. However, due to problems with their old bus and the time needed
As part of implementing ISKCON North America’s 3/35 Vision, Zonal Supervisors and the new Growth Acceleration Team (GAT) members gathered on Saturday, January 17, 2026, for a Zoom orientation focused on strengthening zonal cohesion, cooperative planning, and practical support for leaders.
The orientation was led by Indresh Gaura Dasa and Vrinda Devi Dasi (Zone 1 Zonal Supervisors), whose Zonal Support Office model is serving as a practical foundation for developing Growth Ac
Leaders from around the world once again came to Sridham Mayapur to attend the annual GBC meeting. This includes Sabha, GBC Deputy, Ministers, Zonal Supervisors and others.
As usual, there were various topics starting with a wonderful BBT presentation given by His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu that was very enlivening. Other highlights were the Mayapur report and master plan shown in 3D video.
It was an ordinary day in some way at the Nimai Pandit Study Centre. As a guest, I was asked to conduct most of the program in the morning – leading the kirtan chants plus deliver the class. With the assistance of a most reliable Saci Suta, we did something a little different – screened two of my music videos, “Every Guy” and “Stellar Dad.” I took some time to express to the twenty or so sitting before me young men and four women, the importance of responsible practical life, parenthood, and e
On the all-auspicious disappearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati we should all try to remember His divine instructions and make them our life and soul – guru mukha parma vakhya cittete koriya aikhya ara na koriho mane asa. This philosophy that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati epitomises and that he expounded is well worth remembering on this day when the prediction of Padma Purana – sri-brahma-rudra-sanaka vaisnavah ksiti savannah catvaras te kalau bhavya hy utkale purusottamat
Though Lord Caitanya is known as Krsna’s hidden incarnation, His biographers have preserved accounts of His displays of divinity.
SOON AFTER LORD CAITANYA began His movement for chanting the holy name of the Lord (sankirtana), many of His followers would sing, dance, and play musical instruments for many hours in glorification of Lord Krsna. Some envious brahmanas resented the Lord’s increasing power and influence over the people and decided to try to check Him at any cost.
Praghosa Prabhu reflects on the universal role of the guru in Krishna consciousness, emphasizing that the soul is not defined by bodily distinctions such as gender. Citing multiple statements from Srila Prabhupada, he argues that spiritual qualification—not gender—is the true criterion for becoming a guru. Srila Prabhupada explicitly encouraged all his disciples, men and women alike, to become spiritual masters, even stating this on his own Vyasa Puja day.
Personal spiritual journey that began in a nominally Methodist upbringing, passed through a brief period in Mormonism, and eventually led to the practice of Krishna consciousness after meeting early Hare Krishna devotees in Ohio in the late 1960s. Inspired by vegetarianism, yoga, and spiritual philosophy, the speaker wrote to Srila Prabhupada and received a defining reply: one need not abandon one’s existing faith but should learn to love God through chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and associat
Yogesvara das: In February 1970, shortly after joining the London Hare Krishna devotees in their temple off Oxford Street, we were visited by a warlock, a male witch. London had an active community of occultists in those days (the Swedenborg Society, for example, named after an 18th century Swedish spirit-channeler, had its offices just next door), and the Krishna temple attracted hundreds of unusual visitors including yogis, sorcerers, and ecstatics who would pretend to fall into a trance and r
On February 4, 2026, the Governing Body Commission (GBC) formally inaugurated the ISKCON Constitution at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mayapur. The event marked a milestone in the history of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as GBC Chairman Govardhana Das offered a copy of the Constitution to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Ācārya of ISKCON.
History of the ISKCON Constitution
In October 2006, the GBC convened a special meeting
The ISKCON India Communications Conference was successfully held from January 17-19, 2026, at ISKCON Mayapur, bringing together communication representatives from temples across India and neighbouring countries. The conference, hosted by the Communications Team at ISKCON Mayapur, served as a national platform for dialogue, capacity building, and strategic planning.
A total of 41 communication representatives from various zones and temples across India participated in the three
Harita Madhavi Devi Dasi is a Krishna-conscious practitioner who uses rap as a contemporary medium for devotional preaching. Appearing on stage in full devotional attire, she delivers mantra-infused verses that introduce audiences to the core teachings of bhakti-yoga through rhythm and rhyme. Based in Mayapur, her work reflects a growing effort within ISKCON to engage younger generations through culturally familiar forms while remaining rooted in traditional practice.
