During a flower-offering ceremony in Bombay, Ekanatha decided to internally act “very humble” just before approaching his spiritual master. As he offered flowers, he loudly declared in his mind that he was a “number one rascal” and unworthy to be there, deliberately avoiding eye contact. After returning to his place, another devotee told him that his spiritual master had given him a huge smile. Realizing this, he felt embarrassed and understood that his spiritual master had perceived his thought
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Please join us again in prayers for HG Ekanatha Prabhu ACBSP, from the The Bhaktivedanta Archives. Yesterday afternoon on Vijay Ekadasi, he suddenly left this world from heart failure in Sandy Ridge, North Carolina. He did a marvelous service preserving Srila Prabhupada’s books, tapes, photos, etc. and maintaining the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase! Faithful Prabhupada man and wonderful devotee, he will be sorely missed!
Ekanatha Das of Dutch origin joined ISKCON Amsterdam in 1972. He came to India in 1
In a recent video presentation, ISKCON Vrindavan highlighted its ongoing Devotee Care Project, an initiative dedicated to supporting senior devotees and sannyasis who have spent their lives serving the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda. The project seeks to provide a spiritually uplifting environment where devotees can receive physical, emotional, and spiritual support while residing in the holy dhama. See our earlier coverage on this project here.
The initiative was made possible through a land dona
By Radha Krishna Das
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the departure of His Grace Raktak Das on Monday, February 9, 2026, due to a massive heart attack. He was surrounded by the Holy Name and devotees Radha Krishna Das and Avinatha Das.
Radha Krishna Das has been caring for Raktak Das for over 1.5 years. He helped him with meals, appointments, shopping, association, and anything he needed. We are ever grateful to Radha Krishna das for his service attitude.
The following remembrance
In the teachings of Harinama Cintamani, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains that the Holy Name is not different from the Lord Himself. Whether chanted softly on beads as japa or sung together in kīrtana, the Holy Name is complete, spiritual, and full of mercy. By attentive chanting, the heart becomes purified and gradually develops genuine attraction for devotional service.
It is in this spirit of chanting and service that the Gaura Pūrṇimā Festival Season has now officially begun in Sri Dham M
Another holy pilgrimage was to Surabhi Kunja and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Bhajana Kutir.
While living here Srila Bhaktivinoda wrote the Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, which describes the glories of Navadvipa dhama. He also discovered Lord Caitanya’s appearance place during this time. Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s samadhi and Gaurakisora dasa Babaji’s bhajana kutira are also here.
Upstairs in the main house is the bedroom of Bhaktivinoda Thakura. There is a temple next to the original house where Gaura-Ga
In honor of the upcoming appearance day festival of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu we are continuing with excerpts from a rare little-known Bengali book called, “Gambhiraya Sri Gauranga”, which speaks about the pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the Gambhira in Jagannath Puri. We hope that the text and rare artwork herein bring some pleasure to the readers.
Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu issue 616 Gambhiraya Sri Gauranga
Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117328
Statement from the Executive Committee of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission on Vaisnavi Diksa Guru – GBC AGM 2026
At the GBC AGM 2026, the GBC considered and approved a proposal submitted by the GBC – ISKCON Bureau (IB) Committee concerning the topic of Vaisnavi Diksa Guru. The GBC Executive Committee presents the proposal below in its original form, as approved by the GBC. The proposal approved by the GBC is as follows:
Whereas the GBC – ISKCON IB joint committee was given the responsibility
By Kasisvar Das
A new outreach initiative, the Gita Game, is being introduced as a creative tool for community building and book distribution. Developed by a team of ISKCON devotees from the Bhagavad-gītā Institute in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the board game emerged from years of educational work rooted in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. The Institute operates as a branch of the Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology, founded by His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami.
Since 2017, the internat
Devotees from around the world gathered online for a special training session organized by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) Marketing, Communications, and Innovations Team to strengthen efforts in distributing Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. Facilitated by Shyama Bhakti Devi Dasi, the call brought together experienced speakers from ISKCON communities in India and Europe to share practical strategies, inspiration, and realizations on presenting Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings to diverse audi
Today is Shiva-ratri. Vaishnavas generally do not celebrate Shiva-ratri, and to begin, I will explain why, with reference to the Bhagavad-gita. We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 7: “Knowledge of the Absolute.”
TEXT 23
antavat tu phalam tesam
tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam
devan deva-yajo yanti
mad-bhakta yanti mam api
TRANSLATION
Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods,
Q. 1. Lord Krishna told Arjuna: “Those who claim to be directly My devotees are actually not my devotees. But those who are devotees of my servants are factually My devotees.” In Srimad Bhagavatam purports of first canto, Srila Prabhupada mentions that Lord Shiva is a pure devotee of Lord Krishna. According to the above sloka, does it not directly imply that all of us must serve Lord Shiva? How far is this justifiable?
Yes, Lord Shiva is certainly worshipable, as a great devotee, but not indepe
Today, Sivaratri here, we did special worship of our deity of Gopisvara Mahadeva, gifted to us by His Holiness Indradyumna Swami. We prayed to Gopisvara,
vrndavanavani-pate jaya soma soma-maule
sanaka-sanandana-sanatana-naradedya
gopisvara vraja-vilasi-yuganghri-padme
prema prayaccha nirupadhi namo namaste
“O gatekeeper of Vrindavan! O Soma, all glories to you! O you whose forehead is decorated with the moon (soma), and who is worshipable to the sages headed by Sanaka, Sanandana, and Narada!
Today is the auspicious Maha Sivaratri , a day to honor and pray to lord Siva. Lord Siva is known as Ashutosh, one who is pleased very easily, so somehow if we can please him on this Maha Sivaratri then we can make rapid progress in Krishna consciousness
Who is lord Siva?
He is the greatest of all devotees. Vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: Sambhu, or Lord Siva, is the ideal Vaisnava. He constantly meditates upon Lord Rama and chants Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Lord Siva has a Visnu-Sv
On February 14, 2026, the Executive Committee of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC) released the following statement following the 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Mayapur.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/statement-from-the-executive-committee-of-the-iskcon-gbc-on-vaisnavi-diksa-gurus/
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi,
A historic milestone was marked in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur on February 11, 2026, with the grand opening of the TOVP Yajña Śālā, accompanied by an extraordinary celebration that will be remembered for years to come. The Yajña Śālā opening marks another significant step in the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium project.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/tovp-yajna-sala-opens-in-sridhama-mayapur-with-grand-celebration/
Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 7 (texts 36-42) describes the benevolent activities of Lord Siva when the living entities were threatened by the deadliest poison (halahala):
“Srila Sukadeva Gosvami said: ‘Lord Siva is always benevolent toward all living entities. When he saw that the living entities were very much disturbed by the poison, which was spreading everywhere, he was very compassionate. Thus he spoke to his eternal consort, Sati, as follows.
“ ‘Lord Siva said: “My dear Bhavani, ju
When I was young, no one called it Valentines Day, everyone called it Saint Valentines day. You remember? Now they just call it Valentines Day because they don’t want to think about saints (laughter). Because it’s actually totally contradictory to the whole conception of what valentine’s day is all about. Who was saint valentine?
There were 2 saint valentines. And they were both celibate monks how were preachers of God consciousness. One of them was a catholic priest who lived in Rome and who p
Today, February 14, , I was struck when Srila Prabhupada, at the conclusion of his class on Sri Isopanisad, spoke about love—the love that Krishna wants and the love that will satisfy us:
“Any religion—it doesn’t matter whether Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion—if you are developing love of God, then you are perfect in your religion. . . .
And what kind of love? Ahaituki: without any cause. ‘O Lord, I love You, God, because You supply me so many nice things. You are order-supp
