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By Ritudvipa dasa, UP Padayatra leader

The coronavirus lockdown kept the Uttar Pradesh Padayatra confined to the village of Bhilwal 30km from Lucknow for five months, about forty per cent of the time since padayatra’s inauguration in September 2019. However, by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and our spiritual master, Lokanath Maharaja, the padayatris were able to take up their service again on October 22, 2020, continuing with our programmes and festivals while strictly observing social distancin

Dear Devotees,

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

The GBC Strategic Planning Team (GBC SPT) is looking for devotees to join our team and take on responsible service in several key areas.

If you would like to join yourself or help us find qualified devotees to be part of a highly dynamic, forward looking team, dedicated to helping manifest Srila Prabhupada’s brilliant vision for all of ISKCON, then read on to know more.

At the start of the pandemic in March, the

Every year after kartika the VIHE holds the Holy Name Retreat and the Govardhana Retreat at the foot of Giriraja. However, as many of you might have expected, we will not have the retreats at Govardhana this year BUT we have decided to present to you a wonderful online retreat helped by our esteemed speakers HH Sacinandana Svami, HG Bhurijana Prabhu, HG Jagattarini Devi Dasi, and HG Madhavananda Dasa so that you may start the new year with Giriraja’s blessings. The dates are January 2-6, 2021.

J

Devotees around the world are aiming to distribute at least two million Bhagavad-gitas during the last quarter of 2020, as part of the Prabhupada marathon and the Live to Give campaign.

The campaign will culminate with World Gita Day (also known as Gita Jayanti) on December 25th. To mark the occasion, there will be a live Zoom broadcast wherein ISKCON communities from all over the world will glorify the Bhagavad-gita As It Is in creative ways, concluding with a COVID-safe fire yajna broadcast on

The sun was hitting the rooftops, and people too, and it was beckoning people to come out of hiding. Yes, people like me. At 9°C who wouldn’t go for a stroll with Friday night optimism in the air. I set out for Bloor Street.

At Hot Docs movie house the curved art deco. awning shelters a homeless crew. How many? I don’t know. They do seem to hoard a lot of paraphernalia. It’s a bit unsightly with it sprawled out, including a half dozen comforters or so.

One of the blanket proprietors did see me a

अध्याय बारह – ध्रुव महाराज का भगवान के पास जाना (4.12)

1 महर्षि मैत्रेय ने कहा: हे विदुर, ध्रुव महाराज का क्रोध शान्त हो गया और उन्होंने यक्षों का वध करना पूरी तरह बन्द कर दिया। जब सर्वाधिक समृद्ध धनपति कुबेर को यह समाचार मिला तो वे ध्रुव के समक्ष प्रकट हुए। वे यक्षों, किन्नरों तथा चारणों द्वारा पूजित होकर अपने सामने हाथ जोड़कर खड़े हुए ध्रुव महाराज से बोले।

2 धनपति कुबेर ने कहा: हे निष्पाप क्षत्रियपुत्र, मुझे यह जानकर अत्यधिक प्रसन्नता हुई कि अपने पितामह के आदेश से तुमने वैरभाव को त्याग दिया यद्

By Indulekha Devi Dasi

Vatsala Prabhu, our spiritual brother, left his body tonight. His whole world was serving at the Indian Festival, whenever I had contact with him he always lived and spoke about this service. Sending my sympathy and support to His Daughter and the rest of the family.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=91962

Srimati Tungavidya Devi Dasi, wife of Trikalajna Das, left this world from Sri Vrindavan Dham due to an accute cardiac arrest on 14 December 2020 at 4:20am.
Around 1980s, she served Sri Radha Madan Mohan of ISKCON Washington DC with all her love and dedication while Trikalajna Prabhu served as the Temple President. She constantly served the deities and preached zealously bringing many lost souls into Krishna consciousness. She was extremely loved by the local devotees. Both Mataji and Trikalajna

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=91985

By Mohan Luthra

The first thing that has changed about the Bhaktivedanta Manor Gurukula is that it is no longer called that, it is now simply referred to as the Gurukula – The Hare Krishna Primary School. This is part of the story which has seen big changes happen over the last year and half.

In 2017, due to the construction of the Haveli, the Manor School had to move to the nearby picturesque Elton Cottage. Here a former residence has been transformed into a well-equipped school. While the teac

By Jyotisvara dasa

In today's world, scientific temper, or temperament occupies the center stage in deciphering the nature of reality. 

Scientific temper refers to an individual and social process of thinking and acting, including questioning, observing physical reality, testing, hypothesizing, analyzing, and communicating. Scientific temper also describes an attitude, which involves the application of logic. This term was popularized by late Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who urged his

The express postman left a parcel for us about a week ago. We had been waiting for it and it just so happened that he left it at the wrong door. A passerby in a nearby address noticed it sitting right by the door. It’s surprising that no one bothered to pick it up off the street and run away with it during the entire week. It appears that there are still some honest people in the world. This pedestrian did spot it and brought it to a proper door where he found one of us.

Wow! Really! What if a s

श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु ने इस युग के लिए एक अच्छा अस्त्र प्रदान किया है, जैसा कि भागवत में कथित है - सांगोपांगास्त्र - इस युग में माया को भगाने का नारायणास्त्र ---

हरे कृष्ण मंत्र का जप है, जिस पर भगवान चैतन्य के पार्षदों-अद्वैत प्रभु, नित्यानन्द, गदाधर तथा श्रीवास - ने बल दिया है।     तात्पर्य श्रीमद भागवतम 4.11.1 श्रील प्रभुपाद

अध्याय ग्यारह – युद्ध बन्द करने के लिए ध्रुव को स्वायम्भुव मनु की सलाह (4.11)

1 श्री मैत्रेय ने कहा: हे विदुर, जब ध्रुव महाराज ने ऋषियों के प्रेरक शब्द सुने तो उन्होंने जल ल

By Mandakini Devi Dasi

Dear devotees we are very sad to inform you that one of the first preachers in the Soviet Union Brahmananda Puri Prabhu left his body out of Covid. During that time where circumstances were extreme, he published Srila Prabhupada’s books in clandestinity, at his own life’s risk. He came from Armenia and became so enthusiastic after reading Srila Prabhupada’s books that most of his village inhabitants became devotees. Let us all pray that he reaches safely the Lord’s mercy g

In the spirit of Srila Prabhupada Marathon, here is a story from some thirty years ago in Russia, as told by Gautama Rishi Prabhu.

You know how Sanskrit names sometimes sound funny in our languages? So this Gautama Rishi went on sankirtana with a friend called Akula Das. Akula means "shark" in Russian. Not "sounds like" but literally means shark. For our English speakers, internet says that Akula class attack submarines make lion’s share of Soviet/Russia’s nuclear submarine force. "Akula" is tou

By Madhava Smullen 

After many years residing on the third floor of Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra’s temple, Tulasi Devi at the New Vrindaban farm community in West Virginia has been offered a beautiful new dedicated greenhouse to provide her with a high standard of care. 

An intimate servant of Lord Krishna who appears in the form of a plant, Tulasi Devi is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam as very dear to Lord Krishna. Her leaves are placed on the lotus feet of the Lord, and her Manjari flow

My day finished with a piece of lightly sweetened carob cake. The topping of the day, not the cake (with no icing), was a continual cleanup in the temple’s pantry, some emailing, some calls to promote the Gita-drive known as “Give to Live,” and a call with Radhanatha Swami, something we regularly share.

My conversation with Radhanatha was private enough, however, we did cover conversations of a more sharing nature. First of all we were both participants in a forum of eulogies about our recently

अध्याय दस – यक्षों के साथ ध्रुव महाराज का युद्ध (4.10)

1 मैत्रेय ऋषि ने कहा: हे विदुर, तत्पश्चात ध्रुव महाराज ने प्रजापति शिशुमार की पुत्री के साथ विवाह कर लिया जिसका नाम भ्रमि था। उनके कल्प तथा वत्सर नामक दो पुत्र उत्पन्न हुए।

2 अत्यन्त शक्तिशाली ध्रुव महाराज की एक दूसरी पत्नी थी, जिसका नाम इला था और वह वायुदेव की पुत्री थी। उससे उन्हें एक अत्यन्त सुन्दर कन्या तथा उत्कल नाम का एक पुत्र उत्पन्न हुआ।

3 ध्रुव महाराज का छोटा भाई उत्तम, जो अभी तक अनब्याहा था, एक बार आखेट करने गया और हिमालय पर्वत मे

The Bhaktivedanta Players of UK have made their Bhagavad-gita audio drama available for everyone to hear during the this most auspicious month of Marga when Bhagavad-gita was spoken, and when whole of ISKCON focuses on the Gita.

The nearly hour-long play consisting of two parts uses carefully chosen music and dramatic sound effects to make listening to the most important conversation in humankind a memorable experience for the audience.

Listen to the audio drama here: https://www.bhaktivedantama

Subuddhi is in her 80’s and it’s a little bit tough for her to get around these days. For her group studies online she requested a copy of the mystical text, Brahma Samhita. She called me and asked for a copy.

“I haven’t yet walked today so I can walk over and drop off a copy. I’d be happy to,” I said.

The sun was in the west and to get to her place at Seaton Village I would have to head west. Great! I know the neighbourhood quite well with its quiet back streets. It’s pretty much and eclectic n