Shaunaka Rishi Das stands as a towering figure in the realm of Hindu studies, interfaith dialogue, and spiritual leadership. As the Founding Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS), he has dedicated his life to bridging the gap between academia, spirituality, and global interfaith cooperation, earning widespread recognition for his contributions.
Founding the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
In 1997, Shaunaka Rishi Das co-founded the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies with a vision
The Bhakti Center in New York City is set to host a four-day “Career Dharma Coaching Certification” program from April 24 to 27, led by renowned educator and spiritual teacher Urmila Devi Dasi (Dr. Edith Best). This intensive immersion, based on the book Career Dharma: The Natural Art of Work, is designed for individuals who are passionate about guiding others toward fulfilling, purpose-driven careers that align with their spiritual values.
Participants in the course will be trained to assist
There is a warning for drivers about the oncoming freezing rain. For this reason, I am cancelling several programs, especially trips up north such as Huntsville and Sudbury. Better to buckle down and stay at home. By Providence, I had good reason to stay planted. A good 40 or so people came, studiously, to learn about guidelines of Kirtan. The five-hour workshop proved successful. Let the weather do what it wants. We were absorbed in the cultural practices of chanting, and there are standards
A therapist draws on Lord Krsna’s teachings to help a child control his rage.
THE HOSPITAL ROOM SMELLS strongly of antiseptic as I walk in. Chris sits on his bed, immersed in rapidly pushing buttons with his thumbs.
“Nintendo?” I ask nonchalantly, breaking his concentration.
“Play Station,” he replies, continuing to madly push buttons.
I sit in a chair next to his bed, observing his strategy for blowing things up.
After a couple of minutes, Chris slams the game paddle to the floor.
“I hate thi
Asiatoday got an opportunity to meet a young travelling monk, Chaitanya Charan Das, from ISKCON aka Hare Krishna group. Chaitanya Charan Das is an acclaimed author, scholar, mentor, life coach, and monk. He has been an invited speaker at several international conferences on the interface of science and spirituality, including the World Peace Conference 2006 and World Peace Congress 2008 organized by UNESCO. Based in India, he has given talks at colleges and companies all over the world from A
The foundation stone has been laid for a historic new temple in Birnagar, the birthplace of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur!
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, born Kedarnath Datta, was a revered saint, scholar, and pioneer of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. A distinguished High Court judge in Jagannath Puri, he was also a deep devotee whose life was dedicated to reviving and spreading the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Among his many contributions, he was the first to present the profound philosop
In addition to walking and a home program in Oakville, I had been preparing for a Conscious Kirtan Workshop. Here are guidelines for chanting:
Hare Krsna! Like attracts like. As humans have souls, so to do monkeys, apes. gorillas, baboons all animals, insects, birds, fish, trees, and plants. God is complex hundreds times more than the body and he’s in everyone’s heart guiding their activities.
Why would the Creator make animals alive with emotion and the ability to feel pleasure or pain. Just for them to be alive - then die, vanish, disappear? There’s people out there who don’t believe human or animals have souls.. That would mean
Occasionally, I meet some bold fellow, tall, confident, seasoned, Jewish, who strikes a conversation like the one yesterday.
“I have a friend who was with Rajneesh, but you’re not one of those, right? You’re with Krishna?”
“That’s right!” He went on and on in a most jovial way about India and the Beatles. Then he finished with, “You can attain brahman (salvation). Brahman means spirit. Abraham!” He was trying to tie, linguistically, Hindi and Hebrew together, then left the conversati
There are various kinds of yoga; such as karma-yoga, based on purifying our activities; Jnana-yoga, based on acquiring spiritual knowledge and insight; Raja-yoga, the mystical yoga system; and Bhakti-yoga, attaining union with God through love and devotion. From these yoga systems, additional systems have also developed. But these four basic forms of yoga are all discussed in the primary and essential Vedic text of the Bhagavad-gita. But out of all of them, Lord Krishna specifically directs us
Picture a small Midwestern town: cold weather, silent streets, gray skies, and no crowds in sight—this is what many Krishna communities face. In such situations, how can they do sankirtan?
In Southeast Michigan, The Harmony Collective Team (THC) has discovered a radiant solution. For the past three months, they’ve brought Krishna’s message to psychic and holistic festivals across the Midwest, finding eager souls ready to embrace wisdom. These indoor gatherings have become a beacon for book d
Newly married Aksh and Gopika attend a Grihastha Vision Team Retreat in 2015.
Inspired by Krishnanandni Devi Dasi,* foundress of the Grihastha Vision Team (GVT), a young devotee couple, Aksh and Gopika Sharma, have launched Better Together – A Vaisnava Family Podcast. The new offering provides a much-needed platform for discussing marriage and family life within Krishna consciousness and aims to create a space for devotees to explore the realities of the grihastha ashram, weaving together insi
Jack Boken is the CEO of Happy Jack Yoga, established in Ontario. He is finishing up his degree in Harvard Divinity School, is a wonderful human being, and a practitioner of bhakti yoga, as well as a host of other genres of yoga.
Jack was kind to invite me into his broadcast this morning as a guest speaker where a series of speakers present their specialization in their brand of spiritualization. I have a number of areas that I dabble in when it comes to the spirit, but of interest to the
When it comes to making relations work for a lifetime, probably the most powerful and handy tool available is forgiveness. Every relationship goes through a patch where it begins to ferment from love to hate. The search is for a process that stops the fermentation from taking place.
When one embraces hate one forgets. When one embrace love one forgives. Hatred is like a storm. Every storm always begins with a small speck of dirt. Very soon the entire sky is engulfed with a dust tornado. Similar
I said to Sandip, “I read about a form of addiction that is increasingly being recognized by specialists as the world’s most widespread and least discussed form of addiction: sexual addiction.”
“Sexual addiction? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just as alcoholics don’t have control over their desire for alcohol, sex addicts don’t have control over their sex drive. Drug addicts, for instance, are not necessarily evil or criminal but are in the grip of a habit that makes them act irrationally an
Sridham Govinda Das, Bhakti Purushottam Swami, Braja Vilas Das and Subhekshana Das at the 9th Tribal Convention in Mayapur.
The 9th Tribal Convention, organized by the India Tribal Care Trust, was held in Mayapur from March 21 to 23, 2025. The three-day event witnessed the participation of hundreds of devotees from across India, bringing together 25 tribal communities, ISKCON leaders, and volunteers.
Deeply inspired by the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, the India Tribal Care Trust aims to upl
Gourangi Gandharvika Devi Dasi describes the Baisakh Month Challenge.
The Baisakh Month Challenge, organized by Bhakti Kids, an initiative of ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, is set to begin from April 14 to May 12, 2025, inviting devotees of all ages to immerse themselves in a month of intensified devotional practice. Inspired by Jayapataka Swami, the challenge is part of a growing series of interactive spiritual programs created under the Bhakti Kids.
Speaking about the importance
Paul is staying with us in the ashram for a month, lives part time in Canada and part in Govardhan, India. He’s a filmmaker and has done some fine documentaries. Among other likes, he’s fairly bold at dipping like other polar bear dippers do, as well as walking.
Along with Karuna Sindhu and I, Paul took to a stroll through the iconic Annex of Toronto where homes are stately, typical of late 1800’s with that warm brick look. We ended up talking the whole way through and just didn’t get to that
From Back to Godhead
When Charles asked his son and daughter-in-law a Hare Krishna couple to move in with him, he knew he’d have to adapt, but his reward was more than he could ever imagine.
Charles was born in 1917. He grew into a man of courage and principles, serving his country in the U.S. Navy for twenty years and then the Civil Service for twenty more. Assigned to a submarine fleet during World War II, he saw his share of pain and suffering and, like many veterans, came to value a safe, s
