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A few years ago, the words “Bhadra Purnima” may not have meant anything to devotees at all. Now, after seven years of organized campaigns run by the BBT Marketing, Communications, and Innovations Team, those two words remind devotees of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Through this campaign, the distribution of Srimad Bhagavatam is being integrated slowly but surely into the fabric of the international society of Krishna Consciousness. 

Devotees all around the world put pedal to the metal and “taxed their

The last 5 days of the month of Karttika are traditionally known as the Bhishma Panchaka or the Vishnu Panchaka. Grandfather Bhisma fasted for these five days, preparing to give up his life.

In the Hari Bhakti Vilasa, it is said that if one is capable, one should observe fasting from certain foodstuffs on the Bhishma-panchaka for the pleasure of the Lord. This is optional. “The fast should begin by remembering Bhismadeva on the Ekadasi day and should end on Purnima [the full moon].

The Padma Pur

The most adorable and transcendentally fragrant tulasi is endowed with transformative potency and has a special significance in the worship of Lord Krishna.

What kind of offerings please God? Gorgeous, expensive, elaborate…? Not necessarily! If one can afford, one may make magnificent offerings to God, but what the Supreme Lord is looking for behind any offering is love and devotion. In a nutshell, attitude behind an offering is greater than the magnitude of the offering.

Lord Krsna says in Bha

Paramahamsa Srila Gaura Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj was born into a vaishya family on the banks of the Padma River in Bagayan village in Faridpur district in what is now Bangladesh. His given name was Vamsi Das. He was born sometime in the middle of the nineteenth century. He is important to us because he was the diksha guru of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada. Vamsi Das’s parents had him married at an early age according to the custom of the time, but he always remained detache

By Giriraj Swami

Today is the disappearance day of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was a great devotee - a maha-bhagavata. He was a disciple of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and was very renounced. He had lived for many years in Vrindavan, roaming the twelve forests, chanting the holy names of Krishna, eating by begging alms, and sleeping under trees. Later, after Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discovered Lord Chaitanya’s birthplace in Mayapur, Srila Jagannatha da

SRILA GAURA-KISORA DASA BABAJI 

RENUNCIATION PERSONIFIED

Srila Gaura-Kisora dasa Babaji is the spiritual master of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He was born in a vaisya family in a small village beside Padma River in Bangladesh. Following his father, he earned his livelihood by selling grains. He was devotionally inclined from childhood and spent many hours singing bhajans and hearing Krishna-katha. He was married very young but when his wife died in 1849, he immediately left home and went

A few months ago, a song from the sixties kept popping up in my mind.
From past experiences I felt that I might have to transform it into something Krishna conscious. Reflecting on the lyrics, I thought I thought it could be turned into a song to Prabhupāda.
I kept the first verse and parts of the second and third.
If my gratitude to him was as strong in 1977 as in these days, I would have written this after his departure.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=116355
 

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

The Annual General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society will begin in February 2025. Following the ISKCON GBC Society’s Rules of Order, the GBC Secretariat requests proposals, duly sponsored by two GBC members, to be submitted by January 1, 2026. Note that no proposals will be entertained after this date.

Please follow the format for GBC Proposals, attached as a fillable PDF (https://www.dandavats.com/wp-content/upl

In Rome, a special event was held in the presence of Pope Leo XIV to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the landmark declaration of the Second Vatican Council that reshaped the Roman Catholic Church’s relationship with other religious traditions and underscored the importance of interreligious dialogue and mutual understanding.

The event took place in the prestigious Paul VI Hall in Vatican City, bringing together hundreds of representatives from different faiths, united by the d

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi,

Bhakti Kids, an initiative of ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, invites devotees worldwide to participate in the 2025 Bhisma Panchaka Challenge, a powerful five-day spiritual intensive that promises to multiply your devotional efforts one hundred times over.

Running from November 1st through 5th, this special observance coincides with the final five days of Kartik month, a period Krishna Himself describes in scripture as extraordinarily auspicious. “

Responding swiftly to Gajendra’s fervent plea, Lord Vishnu, mounted atop his Vahana Garuda, hastened to the scene. Witnessing the divine approach, Gajendra, in an act of profound devotion, raised a lotus with his trunk. Pleased by this heartfelt gesture, Lord Vishnu wielded his Sudarshana Chakra, severing the crocodile’s head and liberating Gajendra from mortal peril.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=116415

By Atma Tattva Das

Across continents and cultures, from Russia to Vietnam, Greece to India, crowds have stopped mid-stride to watch a river of color glide through their streets. Women in coordinated saris dance in rhythmic unity, cymbals shimmering as Krishna’s holy names rise through the air. This joyful vision, both elegant and devotional, is a model to many of how Harinam Sankirtan can be presented to the public.

At its center stands Nilachala Devi Dasi, sankirtan leader of Nitya Harinam, a co

On September 15-16, 2025, Georgetown University convened religious leaders and scholars for a major two-day conference commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on the Catholic Church’s relationship with non-Christian religions.

The event, titled “Nostra Aetate at 60: Legacy and Challenges for Reconciliation and Interreligious Understanding,” was co-sponsored by Georgetown’s Office of the President, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, a

It is stated in the Kārttika-māhātmya section of the Padma Purāṇa:

śuklāṣṭamī kārttike tu

smṛtā gopāṣṭamī budhaiḥ

tad-dinād vāsudevo ‘bhūd

gopaḥ pūrvaṁ tu vatsapaḥ

“The eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kārttika is known by authorities as Gopāṣṭamī. From that day, Lord Vāsudeva served as a cowherd, whereas previously He had tended the calves.”

The word padaiḥ indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa blessed the earth by walking on her surface with His lotus feet. The Lord wore no shoes

By Parsada dasi

During kartik last year, a very dear friend of mine, Padma visted Sri Vrindavan Dham, and a sincere devotee for many years. She arrived a day after the much celebrated Gopastami festival. As we made our way to the ISKCON goshala that afternoon, I described to her our Gopastami festival, where our Srimati Radharani is dressed as the cowherd boy Subal and at this time Her devotees relish the sweet darshan of Her lotus feet, the only time in the year except Radhastami. On this wo

suklastami karttike tu
smrta gopastami budhaih
tad-dinad vasudevo ‘bhud
gopah purvam tu vatsapah

“The eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartik is known by authorities as Gopastami. From that day, Lord Vasudeva served as a cowherd, whereas previously He had tended the calves.”
-Srimad Bhagavatam 10.15.1, translation

Many important pastimes take place on Gopastami. One pastime takes place on this day a few years after Krishna first started tending the cows. On this day, Jat

Today is Gopastami, the day on which Krishna and Balarama and other boys Their age, who previously had tended the calves, were given charge of the cows. This event is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.15.1):

tatas ca pauganda-vayah-sritau vraje
  babhuvatus tau pasu-pala-sammatau
gas carayantau sakhibhih samam padair
  vrndavanam punyam ativa cakratuh

“When Lord Rama and Lord Krsna attained the age of pauganda [six to ten] while living in Vrndavana, the cowherd men allowed Them to take up the

In this thoughtful reflection for Religious News Service (RNS), Joshua M. Greene (Yogeshvara Dasa) recalls his memorable 90-minute conversation with Jane Goodall during the 2000 United Nations World Peace Summit. Though surrounded by religious dignitaries in robes and rituals, Goodall stood out by speaking of nature itself as sacred rather than relying on institutional affiliations.

Greene notes that Goodall’s legacy challenges believers of any faith to reconsider how we relate to the natural wo