Up north, I go to Muskoka and more particularly to Huntsville, population 10,000. Nityananda and Arpan are my companions. We arrived at 7 am and in this quaint and touristic town you see the well known Muskoka or Adirondack chair just everywhere. Moreover the downtown you can spot dozens of murals of the famous Group of Seven artists (my favourites). On Main Street something special is happening. A new Krishna Culture Centre is opening, which includes a restaurant, temple and living facilities.
All Posts (35215)
Sort by
The sanksrit word for gratitude is krtajna – which translates literally as “knowing what has been done.”
Krishna’s gratefulness
Krishna is aware of any service done for Him – whether it is recognized as important like constructing a big temple, which is visited by millions, or whether it goes unnoticed like the chanting of His Names in the secrecy of the early morning hours. He knows it all and He feels obliged to those who are mindful of Him.
For example, Krishna was grateful to Draupadi becau
By Bhaktimala Devi Dasi
In March, New Gokula Farm held its first Holi festival, and it was a huge success, with around 2,000 people attending. The 550-acre farm, with its lavish organic vegetable gardens and orchards, is located in Australia’s picturesque Hunter Valley, just two hours north of Sydney. It is home to the beautiful full-sized Deities Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda and over 60 cows and bulls.
The Global Party People, a mantra duo, enthused the crowds and had them both dancing and partic
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
The Brahmacharis from the Monastery of the Holy Name in Lithuania are gearing up for their renowned and life-altering summer Harinama Sankirtana Tour. This transformative journey will traverse numerous Baltic and European cities, offering a unique spiritual experience to all who join.
The Sankirtan Tour starts today with the Holy Name Retreat at the Harinam Mandir in Lithuania from May 3-5, followed by a life-changing journey across Europe visiting Poland, the
We had scheduled a morning track through Algonquin Park. It was an idea conjured up by our Bhakti Academy group from Toronto. but it was irresistible for some to stay up late last night. It was a great opportunity to see the aurora borealis, the northern lights, so plan changes. while still in Huntsville before the trip to Sudbury, further north, I ventured on along the main street, called Main, and simultaneously chant softly, the maha mantra. Next I participated in the first mangal arati, a s
There comes a time, sometimes regularly, where we may feel, Oh, Krishna. I can’t do this anymore. This ‘this’ will be different for everyone. It happened to Arjuna in the Gita – he wanted to give up, not to fight, and go off to the forest to be alone. He did not want to deal with people and life’s problems. He told Krishna: I’m not fighting, I can’t do it, I can’t see the point, better if I don’t act and move to the side.
If it can happen to Arjuna, who had everything going for him, including t
From Back to Godhead
“My father and the coach at UCLA were pleased with my volleyball successes, and my mother was satisfied with my academic work. But I wondered if Krishna was pleased.”
I was born in Los Angeles in 1949. My parents were avid volleyball players. My father had been one of America’s best, and my mother had been a third-team All-American. I started playing volleyball when I was four. I passed through school easily. Sports dominated my free hours, and generally my childhood was a
A true Vaishnava’s influence transcends even the boundaries of this material realm, their examples serving as enduring pillars to carry forward their legacy. Rare indeed is the individual endowed with a combination of remarkable qualities and a unique character, embodying dedication, humility, joviality, and kindness. As Srila Prabhupada himself remarked in 1976, “The two brothers Pankajanghri and Jananivasa – there is no comparison.”
Today, in Iskcon Mayapur, we joyously commemorate the 3rd T
I woke up at 2 am needing to visit the washroom. My cell phone’s message revealed that H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami (friend and spiritual guide) had passed away. I couldn't go back to sleep. I pulled out my pen, hilroy notebook and began writing.
He signed his name
He signed his name to that temple guest book
Which triggered events leading to a hook
For that signature meant a follow-up call
In ’68 the invite came from the Montreal Hall
He was energetic, young and thoughtful
And began to s
We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter Three: “Karma-yoga.”
TEXT 41
tasmat tvam indriyany adau niyamya bharatarsabha papmanam prajahi hy enam jnana-vijnana-nasanam
TRANSLATION
Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bharatas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
The Lord advised Arjuna to regulate the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the great
"The cause of it [the world's malady] is spiritual. We are suffering from having sold our souls to the pursuit of an objective which is both spiritually wrong and practically unobtainable. We have to reconsider our objective and change it. And until we do this, we shall not have peace, either amongst ourselves or within each of us. "
Arnold Toynbee
London Observer
25 October 1972
The reason for Mr. Toynbee's remark is that, at present, governmental plans for social development around the world
By Satyaraja Dasa
The ideas of the Western philosopher Kant come close to the concept of dharma.
For some, duty is a dirty word—we want to do what we want to do. Period. To hell with duty. But let’s consider this more seriously: What is duty, and should I be concerned about it? Clearly, duty means different things to different people. And yet it’s not uncommon to wonder: What am I meant to do? Is there a reason I was put on this earth?
Duty is a term loosely applied to any action or course of a
By Sacinandana Swami
Our greatest problem is that we have turned away from Krishna. This one action has turned into our existential dilemma. We are lost servants. But strangely we think, at least unconsciously, that it is Krishna who has abandoned us. Only when we become eager to meet Krishna again, and serve Him with body, mind and heart – as eager as a drowning man is eager to breathe again – can we attain our spiritual success. Real love, however, will only flow when we move out of the cente
A conversation with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In June 1976 at New Vrindaban, a Hare Krishna farm community in West Virginia, Srila Prabhupada fields questions sent to him from the editors of Bhavan’s Journal, one of Bombay’s leading cultural and religious periodicals.
Devotee: Here is the first question:
“It is said that the greatest strength of Hinduism is its catholicity, or breadth of outlook, but that this is also its greatest weakness in that there are very few
The Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah welcomes thousands of students every year thanks to long-term relationships the devotee community has cultivated with public and private schools in the Beehive State. Groups are treated to a Temple tour with a presentation, Q&A, and prasadam, as well as time with the cows, llamas, exotic birds, peacocks, and other residents.
“Today we had the pleasure of hosting 100 children from the American Preparatory Academy in Draper,” said Caru Das, T
In just 480 days, Vanipedia has achieved a significant milestone—500 YouTube shorts on its channel Vanimedia Mayapur, which was first launched in 2013. These concise videos, typically lasting no more than one minute, have played a crucial role in expanding the channel’s reach and engagement with a surge in viewership—from ten million views to an impressive 31 million within just one year and six months, alongside a subscriber base of 126,000.
Vanipedia, started by Visnu Murti Das, is an onl
My heart grieves today, having heard about the departure of such an outstanding Vaisnava as His Holiness Gopal Krsna Goswami. I offer my condolences to the thousands of Vaisnavas and Vaisnavis worldwide whose hearts must be aching with intense feelings of separation from the physical loss of their spiritual master, guide, friend, and well-wisher.
Last year, I posted a blog about my meeting with Gopal Krsna Goswami in Delhi. If you have not read it yet, please do. It follows below. You will get a
Hare Krishna dear disciples and well-wishers of
H.H. Jayapataka Swami Maharaja,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru Maharaja.
The day before yesterday Guru Maharaja was taken to the hospital for some scans of the brain to evaluate his inability to speak, for the past few days he has been finding it difficult to speak even though he was alert and aware of things. By mercy of the Lord fortunately there was no sign of any new stroke.
To all esteemed devotees worldwide,
It is with heavy hearts that the global members of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) express their profound sorrow at the passing of His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami.
His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja was appointed by Srila Prabhupada to serve as a BBT Trustee. In this capacity, Maharaja dedicated himself tirelessly to the expansion of the publication and distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
In his prolific development of new devotional c
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
“In Kal
