Blog

By Sankirtana Das

ISKCON’s North American Leadership Conference was held October 4-6th at New Vrindaban, West Virginia, gathering over 120 leaders from across the continent. Sankirtana Dasa, a long-time resident of NV, reflects on its relationship to Srila Prabhupada’s mood and mission, his experience and realizations attending some of the sessions, and insights from interviews with leaders over the multi-day gathering. He also includes participant feedback on the conference and the host communi

By Drutakarma das

In the news currently there are many reports about mastodon bones found in San Diego, California. Their age challenges current scientific ideas about the peopling of the Americas. I wrote about these discoveries in 2005 in one of my columns for Atlantis Rising magazine (the column’s name is The Forbidden Archeologist). Here is that column:

California Dreaming: The State Highway 54 Mastodon Blues

By Michael A. Cremo

Atlantis Rising

In 1992 and 1993, paleontologists of the San D

By Sitalatma Das

Part of our ISKCON folklore is a story of early devotees wondering who were those māyāvādīs Śrīla Prabhupāda always rallied against – because no one knew any particular māyāvādī at the time, and then it hit them – they (we) are the māyāvādīs! Not by our professed ideology but by our attitudes and by the quality of our relationships, which were often very impersonal in nature. A lot of Bhāgavatam classes were spent on uncovering impersonalism in our lives afterwards. Otherwise a

From Back to Godhead

Reciting Shlokas that glorify Lord Krishna can awaken the soul to eternal knowledge.

Today, as I came by bus in the morning,” reported our ethics lecturer, “a person was repeating a Shloka. What is the purpose of such muttering? What is the use of such repetition of words such as modaka hasta (with the modaka sweet in hand)? This is a silly practice.”

This statement came as a real surprise to me as I had been taught many Shlokas as a child and I enjoyed chanting them too wh

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय अठारह उपसंहार -- संन्यास की सिद्धि

ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति ।
भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारुढ़ानि मायया ।। 61 ।।

ईश्वरः– भगवान्;सर्व-भूतानाम्– समस्त जीवों के;हृत्-देशे– हृदय में;अर्जुन– हे अर्जुन;तिष्ठति– वास करता है;भ्रामयन्– भ्रमण करने के लिए बाध्य करता हुआ;सर्व-भूतानि– समस्त जीवों को;यन्त्र– यन्त्र में;आरुढानि– सवार, चढ़े हुए;मायया– भौतिक शक्ति के वशीभूत होकर।

भावार्थ : हे अर्जुन! परमेश्वर प्रत्येक जीव के हृदय में स्थित हैं और भौतिक शक

By Radha Mohan

On the auspicious occasion of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day, Srila Prabhupada’s disciples from throughout the UK were invited to Bhaktivedanta Manor to worship Srila Prabhupada, make offerings of gratitude to him, and receive a special gift.

The gift, made by devotees in Russia headed by Madan Mohana das, was a small deity of Srila Prabhupada in a box that opened into an altar.

Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were delighted to receive this treasured form of Srila Prabhupada a

By Atma Tattva Das

Kirtan, the sacred practice of chanting and singing the names of The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, is a profound tool for meditation and self-expression. For Premanjali Dasi, kirtan is not only a complete devotional activity but also a transformative experience she aims to make accessible to all. Through her innovative Learn Kirtan initiative, she has opened the doors for individuals—particularly those new to bhakti—to embrace the art of kirtan as a means of med

“By performance of yajña, the conditioned souls gradually become Krishna conscious and become godly in all respects. In the Age of Kali, the sankirtana-yajña (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age. Sankirtana-yajña and Krishna consciousness go well together. Lord Krishna in His devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5

Hare Krsna movement is not a "For Ascetics Only" club.

Five centuries ago Lord Caitanya, who is the Supreme Lord. Krsna, Himself and the founder of the Hare Krsna movement, predicted that in every town and village around the globe God's holy names would be heard. Twenty-four years ago His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a devoted follower of Lord Caitanya, journeyed from India to the West and began to vigorously introduce Krsna consciousness. As a result, people everywhere hav

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय अठारह उपसंहार -- संन्यास की सिद्धि

मच्चित्तः सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि ।
अथ चेत्त्वमहङ्कारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि ।। 58 ।।

मत्– मेरी;चित्तः– चेतना में;सर्व– सारी;दुर्गाणि– बाधाओं को;मत्-प्रसादात्– मेरी कृपा से;तरिष्यसि– तुम पार कर सकोगे;अथ– लेकिन;चेत्– यदि;त्वम्– तुम;अहङ्कारात्– मिथ्या अहंकार से;न श्रोष्यसि– नहीं सुनते हो;विनङ्क्ष्यसि– नष्ट हो जाओगे।

भावार्थ : यदि तुम मुझसे भावनाभावित होगे, तो मेरी कृपा से तुम बद्ध जीवन के सारे अवरोधों को ल

By Radha Mohan

Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the UK, invited faith leaders from different traditions to join him for breakfast on Thursday, November 14th.

Visakha Dasi, representing ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor, was pleased to hear Mr Starmer emphasise the importance of faith to the fabric of UK society. “That was especially evident”, Mr Starmer said, “during the pandemic when great numbers of people turned to places of worship for shelter and solace in a time of international uncertain

Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the UK, invited faith leaders from different traditions to join him for breakfast on Thursday, November 14th.

Visakha Dasi, representing ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor, was pleased to hear Mr Starmer emphasize the importance of faith to the fabric of UK society. “That was especially evident,” Mr Starmer said, “during the pandemic when great numbers of people turned to places of worship for shelter and solace in a time of international uncertainty.”

For more de

The following incident, described in Watering the Seed, took place exactly forty-five years ago.

Almost every morning in Bombay Srila Prabhupada used to walk on Juhu Beach. One morning I was feeling especially wretched and miserable. Although so many other devotees were present, Srila Prabhupada began to speak as if he were addressing me personally.

He quoted a Sanskrit verse and said there are two words—a-natha and sa-natha. Natha means “master,” so a-natha means “without master” and sa-natha m

By Rupali Chadha, MD

Over the years I have been approached by many a devotee in distress. Though I grew up in ISKCON and have been slowly cultivating my own Krishna consciousness, I am very much a neophyte. I was blessed by Krishna’s will in that I became a physician. I went forward to specialize in general and forensic psychiatric medicine. It is for this reason, I am often approached by devotees when their emotional life becomes overwhelming. Often they are told to chant better rounds or seek

In each of its twelve cantos, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the “flawless ripened fruit of all Vedic scriptures,” tells of miracles and mysticism, of the esoteric and extraterrestrial. We hear a cow, bull, elephant, monkey, and bird speaking deep philosophy. We learn of the four-headed creator who sits atop a lotus flower, of a magnificent aerial mansion, and of a five-year-old who pushes down half the earth with his toe and makes demigods suffocate. We learn of people giving birth to tens of thousands of

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय अठारह उपसंहार -- संन्यास की सिद्धि

भक्त्या मामभिजानाति यावान्यश्र्चास्मि तत्त्वतः ।
ततो मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा विशते तदनन्तरम्  ।। 55 ।।

भक्त्या– शुद्ध भक्ति से;माम्– मुझको;अभिजानाति– जान सकता है;यावान्– जितना;यः च अस्मि– जैसा मैं हूँ;तत्त्वतः– सत्यतः;ततः– तत्पश्चात्;माम्– मुझको;तत्त्वतः– सत्यतः;ज्ञात्वा– जानकर;विशते– प्रवेश करता है;तत्-अनन्तरम्– तत्पश्चात्।

भावार्थ : केवल भक्ति से मुझ भगवान् को यथारूप में जाना जा सकता है। जब मनुष्य ऐसी भक्ति से मेरे प