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Aloha and Namaste,

2020 is certainly a year that will not soon be forgotten. For most, if not all, of us, it has brought about many unexpected changes. Changes to our daily routines, our work, and even our relationships.

Whenever we’re put into difficult situations, it gives us the opportunity to take shelter in the loving protection of the Supreme Lord, our Supreme Friend. It propels us to reflect upon and draw upon the lessons we’ve learned from the past and also to consider

Janmastami; Lord Sri Krsna’s Appearance Day Lecture
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Montreal, August 16, 1968

So today, is the birth appearance ceremony of Lord Krsna. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says:

janma karma me divyam
yo janati tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti kaunteya
[Bg. 4.9]

“My dear Arjuna, any person who simply tries to understand about My transcendental birth or appearance and disappearance and activities, janma karma…” The Personality of Godhead is

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”

TEXT 18

tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam
samahitam sura-sutena devi
dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam
kastha yathananda-karam manastah

SYNONYMS

tatah—thereafter; jagat-mangalam—auspiciousness for all living entities in all the universes of the creation; acyuta-amsam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never bereft of the six opulences, all of which are present in all His plenary expa

By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Yamuna Devi: Three Years Ago, on Janmastami, Lord Krsna’s appearance day, I received a copy of the diary Srila Prabhupada wrote aboard the steamship Jaladuta. It’s a personal account of his first journey from India to America. Though I had read excerpts in various publications, the full handwritten text revealed a richness I had barely realized before.
Often difficult to read, the cramped and sometimes blurry script describes dramatic events with life-threatening heart attacks, repeated illness

Janmastami is just one day, but how we spend it can deeply inspire us for the whole year.
Krishna consciousness mean we are conscious of Krishna. He becomes an active part of our life – like a close friend or an affectionate family member we love to be around. Krishna consciousness, then, is loving to be around Krishna.
Here are 5 ways to love and be with Krishna on his birthday:
1. Come early, stay late – be close to Krishna today, close to the Temple. This is our day with Krishna. There will

Janmastami is coming up… we celebrate the appearance of Lord Krsna in this world. Remember that this week is especially a week for serving Krsna, and the more we do so then the more Krsna will reveal Himself and we begin to see right here and now, and at the end of our life, we can go back the spiritual world!
In this world, there are churches, mosques, temples – there are so many different religious groups. Sometimes, in the airport, I see Jews with their black hats and curls on the side of th

Janmastami is an opportunity for us to spend our whole day with Krsna. We cannot waste a second! Krsna’s qualities are so unlimited, that being absorbed in them leave us no time to eat and definitely no time to sleep. Watch out! Watch out for the enemies this Janmastami – the bed, the pillar, a comfortable arm chair, soft pillows, the wall. Beware of these enemies that try to eat away our time from Krsna! Oh no, not today. It is Sri Krsna Janmastami! It is the day to serve Krsna all day!

Video:

From Ananda Vrindavan Champu by Srila Kavi Karnapura Translated by Bhanu Swami & Subhaga Swami.

Now we will discuss the truth about the transcendental birthplace of Bhagavan and the appearance of Lord Sri Krishna. Once upon a time, Bhumi, the predominating deity of the earth, felt overburdened by different demons posing as members of the royal order. Feeling aggrieved upon seeing her miserable condition, the lotus-born Brahma appealed to Ksirodakasayi Visnu, the maintainer of the universe, sayi

The glorious advent of Lord Krishna or Janmastami is celebrated with charming grandeur and magnificent pomp worldwide by millions of exuberant Vaishnavas. Due to the outbreak of a global pandemic, the entire devotee community has been urged to celebrate Janmastami at home.

Since the pandemic, the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team has been providing useful resources online. For this Janmastami we have compiled a celebrate-at-home Janmastami portfolio, which is a compilation of guidelines and in

By Dravida dasa

Due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, this year the BBT published Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja book in pdf format only. You can download the book by clicking on this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BuMNtvuBKoTtSP_uTuE9k1rNqrZtzJ0O/view

Your servants,
Members of the NABBT Book Production Team

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88201

Giriraj Swami read and spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.12.

“As members of ISKCON we all under the authority of Srila Prabhupada. And we can serve Srila Prabhupada according to our individuality. But by definition, devotional service must be anukula—favorable—and for our service to be favorable, we have to know what our master wants. We can’t properly offer the master something he doesn’t want under the plea that that is my individuality, because that is a false conception of individuality. So, t

From Bhagavad-gita As It Is, purport 13.8-12: “False ego means accepting this body as oneself. When one understands that he is not his body and is spirit soul, he comes to his real ego. Ego is there. False ego is condemned, but not real ego. In the Vedic literature it is said, ahaṁ brahmāsmi: I am Brahman, I am spirit. This “I am,” the sense of self, also exists in the liberated stage of self-realization. This sense of “I am” is ego, but when the sense of “I am” is applied to this false body it

For many devotees in our movement, Krsna is anything but a friend. They do not dare to think in this direction. Some feel it is sahajiyaism, or taking things too lightly, while others think, “He is so far away and inaccessible. A friend is someone I can call with my smartphone or write a whatsapp to. Krsna is a friend? Is this just a swami-hype? How can we relate to this?” My dear devotees, you can only find peace in your life if you become aware that:

Krsna is your best friend and there are de

This is several questions made in the form of an article. I find them intriguing and aspire for answers. I beg kind insightful devotees to offer insights, and, if they find time, to evaluate or critique the answers which i have offered according to my own limited understanding. The very questions are written in bold text. The purpose of this is for my insignificant self to gain clearer understanding on the subject. That would help me in completing a written presentation on Vedic culture, which

Janmastami is about focusing on the lotus feet of Krsna, about meditating on Krsna, thinking about Him, reading about Him and just getting totally absorbed in the thoughts of Krsna. This is the purpose of Janmastami, to somehow or other be completely absorbed in Krsna. In some temples, the Krsna book is being read the whole day on Janmastami. So in this way, devotees can go in and out of this room and hear about pastimes of Krsna all day, and it is a nice thing to do for Janmastami. Many devotee

Reading of Stories told by Srila Prabhupada by H.H. Suhotra Swami recorded on 31st August 1994 in Radhadesh, Belgium

This evening we’re going to read from a collection of stories that were told by Srila Prabhupada on different occasions. So very lengthy file and some of the stories I have not seen before, so we can’t go through all of them, obviously, but I’ve selected the ones which I consider to be for myself most interesting, namely the new ones. Some old ones too. So without further delay w