It is a day of rest, perhaps deserved. Yes, we have been going strong over the last eight days at twenty kilometres. A pause is always good. Downtime. A handful of us on the “Walk for Devotion” project are taking it easy in this tiny town, Durbuy, and specifically at beautifully showcased Radhadesh. It is an oasis of a tastefully done tourist trap and includes a Radha Krishna temple, restaurant, bakery, boutique, art museum, a cow shelter, a playground, an extensive walking trail, land to
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, advised the cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajna and begin the Govardhana-puja in order to chastise Indra, who was very much puffed up at being the supreme controller of the heavenly planets.
The honest and simple cowherd men, headed by Nanda Maharaja, accepted Krishna’s proposal and executed in detail everything He advised. They performed Govardhana worship and circumambulation of the hill.
The cowherd men inquired from Krishna how He wanted the Govar
Krishna Lifts the Govardhan Hill.
Once in the beautiful land of Vraja,
For Lord Indra they wanted to do a puja
Begging to Indra to supply them rain
So that in time they can harvest their grain
Seeing this Krishna was not happy,
He told his father this is unnecessary,
‘You should worship Govardhana hill,
This is what I really feel’
The gopas and gopis were all so happy,
To worship Govardhan they were all ready,
With laddu, halava, pakora and puri
They offered it all to Govardhana joyfully
Hearin
Govardhana Puja is celebrated in the month of Kartika (October – November) to commemorate the pastime of Lord Sri Krishna lifting the Govardhana Hill to protect the residents of Vrindavana from the wrath of Indra.
When the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna saw the residents of Vrindavana preparing for Indra-yajna, He suggested that they should forgo the worship of Indra and instead worship the Govardhana Hill. On coming to know of this, Indra became angry and sent a devastating rainfall over Vrindavana
We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.”
TEXT 32
gopair makhe pratihate vraja-viplavaya
deve ’bhivarsati pasun krpaya riraksuh
dhartocchilindhram iva sapta-dinani sapta-
varso mahidhram anaghaika-kare salilam
TRANSLATION
When the cowherd men of Vrndavana, under instruction of Krsna, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly king, Indra, the whole tract of land known as Vraja was threatened with being washed away by constant heavy rains for s
One time some mad elephants attacked Rasikananda. Calmly, he chanted "Gauranga, Gauranga, Krishna, Krishna" while sprinkling water on the rampaging beasts. The elephants immeditately stopped charging, humbly bowed their heads, raised their trunks, and bellowed "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" (In the wallpaper: Rasikananda Prabhu, and some elephants).
Shri Rasikananda Prabhu (Rasika Murari) appeared as the son of a king. He became a perfect sage, Gaudiya Vaishnava scholar, rasika bhakta, and
What is Govardhan Puja?
The tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam relates many of Krishna’s pastimes. Of these, “The Lifting of Govardhan Hill” is one of our most important. It tells the story of how Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill in Vrindavan for seven days and seven nights, balancing it on the tip of his small finger and thus providing a huge umbrella under which all the residents and animals of Vrindavan could find shelter from the devastating rainstorm sent by Lord Indra (god of rain and king of h
DIWALI FESTIVAL: 10th October. 1968,
(Letter from Srila Prabhupada to Hamsadutta dasa written from Seattle., Letters book Vol 1. p.549.)
Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating 100’s of candles, indifferent parts of the temple, and offering a special Prasad to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the Kingdom of Lord Ramachandra, while Lord Ramachandra was out of His Kingdom due to His 14 years banishment by the order of His father. His young
The meanings of Dipavali, its symbols and rituals, and the reasons for celebration are innumerable. Dipavali celebrates Lord Rama’s glorious and long-awaited return to His Kingdom of Ayodhya after his fourteen long years of exile in the forests.
It commemorates Lord Krsna’s victory over the demon Narakasura who had kidnapped and terrorized the gopis of Vrndavana. Before the evil Naraka was finally killed by Bhagavan Krsna in the presence of Satyabhama, he begged pitifully for mercy; thus, upon
“Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, quoting from the Vaisnava-tosani of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, says that the incident of Krsna’s breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by Mother Yasoda took place on the Dipavali Day, or Dipa-malika. Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kartika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.9.1 purport
“My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense
On the auspicious occasion of Diwali, I share with you a description by Smriti “Baby” Warrier (later initiated as Sravana dasi), whose family were tenants at Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, of how when she was a child she and her brothers wanted to set off fireworks, and how Srila Prabhupada responded.
One Diwali, in the evening, Mother Kanta was in the women’s ashram above our flat and we were outside setting off fireworks. It was around 9:00, and I guess she wanted to take rest, but we weren’t fin
We wish you all a happy Diwali. Diwali, or Dipavali, marks the end of the year, and by the year’s end we want to pay our debts and rectify our relationships—and then try to do better the next year.
The Vedic literatures inform us that in the present age, Kali-yuga, the recommended process for self-realization, or God realization, is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. Lord Krishna appeared about five thousand years ago and spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and at the end of the Gita (18.66), He
ISKCON Mayapur Communications has released a colorful and inspiring newsletter highlighting the month-long celebration of the Aṣṭa-Sakhīs’ Appearance Days, observed during the auspicious month of Dāmodara and concluding on Rāma Ekādaśī. The festival honored the Aṣṭa-Sakhīs (“eight friends”)—the eight principal gopīs who are the eternal maidservants and closest companions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Throughout the month, the Mayapur community united in creative offerings, devotional performances, and h
I believe I’m the most fortunate person in the world because I have just an outstanding team to work with on this walk. The navigation to what is such an excellent route is all taken care of. I have company. Each day there are core coordinators along with fresh and new troupers. We talk about light and deep topics when we are not chanting on our individual japa beads. There’s never a dull moment, really. The scenery is just charming – earthy, green, and prosperous.
At Amersfoort, which i
Diwali festival in India is a 5-day celebration starting from Dhanteras with every single day having its own significance. Out of this, on the Dhanteras day people worship Mother Lakshmi devi and seek Her blessings, especially in form of wealth. The word “dhan” means wealth. This makes them think that Dhanteras is only for worshiping Lakshmi devi, the goddess of fortune. However, this is not a complete understanding. Dhan-teras, or Dhan triodashi, is also the day when Lord Dhanvantari appeared
By Nitai Madhav Das
The ICC Book Distribution Committee successfully organized the Bharat Sankirtan Leaders Sanga on the 23rd and 24th of September 2025 at ISKCON NVCC, Pune. Around 150 devotees — temple sankirtan leaders, senior book distributors, and preachers — gathered from all over India. The atmosphere was filled with devotion, enthusiasm, and gratitude as devotees came together with one purpose: to strengthen Śrīla Prabhupāda’s book distribution mission and keep the sankirtan spirit alive
By Anuttama Dasa
The tradition of distributing Vaishnava literature in Canada dates back to 1896, when Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur sent a treatise on Lord Caitanya to McGill University in Montreal. Decades later, Srila Prabhupada himself visited Canada multiple times, beginning in 1968 with Montreal and later Toronto. His presence inspired a generation of devotees to carry forward the mission.
One milestone came on Thanksgiving Day in 1971, when the Vancouver devotees distributed the first large b
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
The Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) has launched a digital platform providing online access to the Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhan, the comprehensive four-volume encyclopedia compiled by Sri Haridasa Dasa Babaji (1898-1957). The initiative, undertaken in collaboration with Haribol Kuthir, addresses the growing need for accessible digital archives of traditional Vaishnava literature and was commemorated at a special program held on July 6, 2025, at Haribola Kuth
The glorious starting point for a team of seven was at the North Sea, Zandvoort Beach, and we explored on foot Bennebroek by some amazing sand dunes, the forests at mansion Buitenplaats Leyduin, numerous residences at Heemsteds near Haarlem and Zwaanshoek to the finish point, Hoofddorp. The initial companions were Yadu, an avid cyclist, Helga, our filmmaker, Stephan, whom we called our safari master, Namacharya, and Rabindra Svarupa, who are my hosts. Others joined at certain junctions and so
We are gathered here in the auspicious month of Kartik, which is also known as Damodara. Srila Prabhupada wrote in The Nectar of Devotion that just as Lord Damodara is very dear to His devotees, so the month of Damodara is also dear to them. And in the month of Kartik, in the year 1974, Srila Prabhupada completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, in Juhu, Bombay.
When Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, we used to go to his quarters every morning at six o’clock, when he would go for his
