By Madhava Smullen
Excitement is ramping up for “MAN-tra,” ISKCON’s first ever Men’s Retreat, to be held in New Vrindaban, West Virginia from October 5th to 7th.
Headlined by guru Bhaktimarga Swami, kirtaniya Gaura Vani, and comedian Yadunath Das, the event is subtitled “Being a KC Guy in the 21st Century,” and is gathering hype as the place to be this fall.
The idea formed while ISKCON Communications Director Anuttama Das was accompanying Bhaktimarga Swami on his most recent walk across the
The Supreme Court of India ruled that no one should be barred from the Jagannatha temple in Puri because of his faith or nationality, providing legal support to Srila Prabhupada’s long-standing desire that his disciples be allowed to enter, as described in the following excerpt from my forthcoming book about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu:
Srila Prabhupada was concerned that his foreign disciples were not allowed entry into some Hindu temples, notably the Jagannatha temple in Puri. In April 1974, Sy
By Mahatma Das
(The following is an excerpt from an unfinished book about my life in Krsna consciousness. It details the history of how big book distribution began in Iskcon, a history which has not been chronicled in any Iskcon publications. The scene takes place in Vancouver, Cananda, November of 1971.)
At this time in Iskcon (1971) big book distribution had not yet begun. We only distributed Back to Godhead magazines (BTG’s) on the street. We usually got donation of 25cents per magazine. If
Deccan Chronicle, 05 July, 2018, New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Puri Jagannath temple to consider permitting every visitor irrespective of his religious faith to offer respects and make offerings to the deity subject to regulatory measures. The court will extend this to other temples also in due course.
A Bench of Justices AK Goel and Abdul Nazeer passed this order taking note of the report of the Puri District Judge who has observed that in spite of the earlier orders, Thal
By Giriraj Swami
While I was leaving the Dallas Fort Worth airport on July 4, a large American flag flying in the wind caught my eye, and I was surprised by how happy I felt. I reflected on how fortunate we were to live in a country where we have freedom of religion, and how Srila Prabhupada said, “America has been so good to me to give me money, men—everything. I have no designation that ‘this is my country,’ but because they have given me so much facility, I cannot forget my obligation to the
By Bhaktimarga Swami
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu spent His later years in Jagannatha Puri, Orissa, immersed in love of Godhead and absorbed in wonderful pastimes with His intimate associates and with the Deity of Krsna in Puri, known as Jagannatha, “the Lord of the universe.” This was nearly five hundred years ago.
One of the most attractive of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes was His role in the yearly Rathayatra, the Festival of the Chariots, in which Lord Jagannatha parades through the main street of the city on a huge deco
By Hari Narayana das
raghunatha-dasa nityananda-pace gela
cioa-dadhi-mahotsava tahaìi karila
At this time, Raghunätha däsa approached Çre Nityananda Prabhu and, according to His order, prepared a feast and distributed prasadam composed of chipped rice and yogurt. CC. Madya Lila, Text 283
There is a special preparation of chipped rice is mixed with yogurt and sometimes with sandeça and mango. It is a very palatable food offered to the Deity and then distributed to the public. Raghunätha däsa Gos
The process is that you should memorize the purports of my books and then speak them in your own words. Do not adulterate or change anything. Then you will be the perfect preacher. - Srila Prabhupada in a Letter to Janajanmadhih, Bombay, 15 November, 1975
At Mayapur Institute we train our students to become perfect preachers.
My dear god brother H H Purna Candra Goswami went to his samadhi some time back and we heard many praises. HH Bhakti Vijnana Goswami was lamenting that Purna Candra Prabhu was not so well known world wide since he had much to offer.
He did leave us a very beautiful book that I think should be studied by anyone who is serious about spiritual advancement while serving, in any position, within ISKCON.
The book is titled, UNSPOKEN OBSTACLES ON THE PATH TO BHAKTI. The title says a lot.
Most of the d
By Sita Rama Lakshmana Das
On 20th June 2018, ISKCON Perth organized a corporate outreach program at an engineering company named Downer Edi Limited based locally. The program was well attended (25 people) including company’s senior leadership and management. It was led by the visiting guest speaker, mentor and life style coach His Grace Gokuleshvara Das from ISKCON Juhu, India.
Australians or colloquially known as Aussies, are known for their laid back, easy going and predisposed to be friendl
By Nitai Das
Cape Town, known as the beautiful ‘Mother City’ at the tip of South Africa, saw a weekend mesmerized with the holy names and laughter-filled devotee association which was graced by the presence of BB Govinda Swami and Akincana Krishna Das.
Bhakti Bash, a 4-day festival from 21-24 June, was launched by the year-old Vaishnava Sena youth group of ISKCON Cape Town. Joined by the Krsna Balaram Youth Group (KBYG) and devotees from around the country, the festival started off with a kir
On July 5 we celebrate the divine disappearance day of Sri Srimad Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja, who left our world on this date on the Vedic calendar in 2005.
Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-eight: “Puranjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life,” discusses the disappearance of the spiritual master:
TEXT 48
uttisthottistha rajarse
imam udadhi-mekhalam
dasyubhyah ksatra-bandhubhyo
bibhyatim patum arhasi
TRANSLATION
O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surroun
By Murali Mohan Dasa
During the auspicious month of Purushottama, on Sunday June 10th -ekadasi day- devotees from Ahmedabad conducted a padayatra from Ujala Circle near Sarkhej to Khodivar Matta temple. We started early morning at 6.00 am and walked till noon so that padayatris’ would be saved from the scorching heat.
As before we had our nicely decorated Deities of Nimai-Nitai Deities and Srila Prabhupada accompanying us on a palanquin carried on a devotee’s head. Around 120 devotees participa
