nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktisiddhanta saraswati iti namine
You are our special link to the chain
And connection to the spirit vein
You are Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Resident of holy Jagannatha Puri
A genius who was not a light debater
A risk-taker and proven innovator
A lecturer owing to your reading
No wonder you were competent in your leading
A ray of Vishnu, the singha (lion) guru
Caste brahmins and mayavadis you'd pursue
Yet inclusiveness was y
Thirty years ago I was doing the Prabhupada marathon at the Chicago airport. One afternoon, we devotees were so intoxicated by distributing books that we decided to show that one doesn’t have to speak to sell books, that book distribution just depends on our state of consciousness. So we didn’t speak.
Just after loading my bookbag with (20) maha books I tapped a man on the arm and looked him in the eye. He stopped, expecting me to say something. I didn’t. I put a book in his hand, pointed at Pr
“This was because Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma could not joke freely and Yaśodā could not liberally pamper the boys because of the presence of Nanda and his brothers. However for Kṛṣṇa’s relatives the evening meal was a hundred times more blissful because the entire family could eat with Kṛṣṇa. It was a million times more blissful for Yāśodā because of seeing the bliss of the relatives.” – Sri Govinda Lilamrta 20.52
Throughout “Sri Govinda Lilamrta,” which is arguably the most prominent boo
The Institute for Science and Spirituality Trust (ISS), the scientific study wing of ISKCON Delhi, held a 2-day international conference in August entitled, “Philosophy of Vaishnava Vedanta: Culture, Legacy and Traditions.” The conference, hosted in collaboration with Jawaharlal Nehru University and Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi, gathered world-class speakers from around the world. Recently, they have been releasing these significant presentations on their YouTube channel.
The main obj
Hundreds of thousands of Vaishnavas are gathering around the world today to celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada, with the largest gathering held in Sri Mayapur Dham (fuller coverage coming soon).
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the guru of Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appeared in Sri Ksetra Dhama (Jagannatha Puri) on February 6, 1874, as the son of Srila Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura. In his childhood, he quickly mast
Thousands of devotees gathered on day three of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium’s Grand Opening of its Lord Nrsimhadeva Wing in Sri Mayapur Dham.
Describing the day, Anuttama Dasa, Global Minister of Communications, said, “It was an inspiring and auspicious event. Many of the speakers urged us to work cooperatively to raise the needed contributions so the temple may be completed within the next two to three years.”
He continued, “When Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Wing was inaugurated, it was beautifu
Most pilgrims just rush. They are trying to make it on time for the 4:30am arati service at the main temple. Some just want to get in early for "a better front seat." I attend the service at the Pushpa Samadhi which is at 4.10. I also rush.
On the trail to either locations there are always some dogs fast asleep and it gives great meaning, when remembering the phrase, "Let sleeping dogs lie." If that was not the case they are just an annoyance since they are stray dogs.
Occasionally a jackel
𝗘𝗰𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮 “Falling into the sea, He lost consciousness and could not understand where He was. Sometimes He sank beneath the waves, and sometimes He floated above them.” Antya 18.30
During the last twelve years of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He started to exhibit symptoms of Bhava that are beyond our mundane conception. In Madhya Lila, these symptoms of Bhava are said to be like that of Srimati Radharani when she was feeling separation from Krishna thus it is said to be a tra
"Free will" or having a unique independent personality and sense of self, means the individual jiva-souls can express themselves in their own unique way serving Krsna, voluntarily offering their own personal contributions in a "two-way" exchange.
Srila Prabhupāda - "Love means a relationship between "two persons," then there is exchange, then there is love. I must deal with you open-hearted, you must deal with me open-hearted, then there is love. So if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, God, then these thin
Thousands are in Sri Mayapur Dham to celebrate the opening of the TOVP Nrsimhadeva Wing following the 150th Vyasa-puja of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. A schedule of the 150th Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Nrsimhadeva Mohotsava can be found below. Click here for the entire schedule of the three days from February 29 – March 2 in an online flipbook that is downloadable and shareable. The entire program will also be broadcast live on Mayapur TV here.
Source: https://is
On February 25th, Mendoza, Argentina, held its annual “Blessing of the Fruits” festival, thanking God for a bountiful harvest. The cultural event, which has been going on since the 1930s, included religious leaders from different traditions who each contributed to the program. Baladeva Das, ISKCON’s Regional Director of Communications in Latin America, beautifully chanted the Panca-tattva and Hare Krsna mantras and blew a conch shell for the estimated 15,000 people who were gathered at the fest
Devotees from across New Zealand came to ISKCON Auckland to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Temple from January 19-21, 2024.
Day one began with a kirtan festival followed by a Rath Yatra on the second day of festivities. The main celebration was the third day with the Chandan Yatra and a flower abhishek of the Deities, Sri-Sri Radha Giridhari. The temple leadership also reverently celebrated the inauguration of the Ayodhya temple on January 22nd with an abhishek of Lo
I was turning a corner after more than a stroll when I met our Oriental Vaishnava. He asked, "You are the one who walks. I am hoping to walk my country." It sounded like he was leading up to asking for tips.
"What is your country?"
"Japan," he said.
"I'll be happy to share with you all I can about power walking. And how about doing japa at the same time". I was indicating that japa is most appropriate for Japan (japa, meaning mantra meditation).
I was also thrilled to be a Frenchmen wh
“Fake News” is in the news, everyone seems to be or pretend to be worried about it. A news or an information or a story or a data is considered “fake” when the truth is suppressed and is manipulated to suit a certain narrative. Political parties, journalists, twitter warriors, social activists today do not hesitate to spread fake news to further their agenda. Thinking people are up in arms and are vociferously demanding to check the menace of fake news.
It is good to be concerned about the fake
From Back to Godhead
By Guru Dasa (Gurudev D. Allin), a disciple of His Holiness Bhaktimarga Swami.
“Oh, God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 2.2 (First Folio) This line from Hamlet nicely sums up the absurdity of our delusions of self-importance. I wrote this meditation on the importance of humility as part of my effort to shake my own delusions of knowledge and significance.
Human nature see
Srila Prabhupada was given the whole world as his frontier for preaching. He wanted to fulfill Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction that His holy name would be spread all over the world. Prithivite ache yata nagaradi grama / sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 1.117). Srila Prabhupada traveled the world eleven times, published volumes of Krishna conscious books and established 108 temples and centers. Everything was a massive success.
Srila Prabhupada was the pioneer wh
Those jiva-souls who fall to being called the "tatastha-sakti designation" means they have fallen (entered) the material world.
Srila Prabhupada - "So this temporary material world is the taṭastha (materially conditioned) characteristics, and the spiritual world is the permanent (personal) characteristics. So our effort is to get out of this taṭastha (materially conditioned) characteristics and enter the permanent (personal) characteristics. That is called spiritual elevation." (Lecture CC Madhya
The grand opening of Sri Narasimha Wing Temple is currently going on! Auspiciousness in fullness! A day filled with festive dances, exchange, love, unity and divine sanga! Along with the Nrisimha wing temple opening and the grand commemoration of the 150th Appearance Anniversary of ISKCON Param Guru His Divine Grace Ashottara Sata Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada, the Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) in Kolkata, in collaboration with the Saraswata Gaudiya Vashnava Association
Sri Prahlada Dasa:
Today is the holy appearance day of our grandfather or great-grandfather spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada. On Giriraj Maharaja’s instruction, I will attempt to say something about Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s history and share my realizations regarding his contribution and mood. I pray for the mercy of the Vaishnavas that this realization aligns with his authentic teachings.
The appearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati is most sign
