Radha Krsna Jhulan Yatra (or swing festival) starts on ekadasi of the waxing moon of Sridhara month. Many temples in Vrndavana celebrate Krsna’s swing festival, some for one day, others for more days.
Traditionally, many of the Deities of the Lord wear various clothing with green over this period until Balaram Purnima. It is a wonderful service for Their pleasure.
Monsoon season is humid and the temperature is hot despite the cooling rains. With so much water coming from the sky and just about
What is a sangha really all about? It has everything to do with brotherhood, sisterhood – family. It appears that this weekend’s program has succeeded in establishing a bonding between some really great people.
In addition to the seminars presented at the meditation hall, there was an organized kirtan scheduled in town, yet rains came that really deterred outdoor events. Yet, one local woman had arranged something called “Evolution” which drew a group of free-spirited people to a beautiful lot.
Padayatra reached Zaregaon on July 17, 2023. It’s a small village in Karmala Taluka and Solapur district. The villagers welcomed us with beautiful garlands. The roads were decorated with rangoli. One of our devotees named Panduranga Jadhav belongs to this village. He invited us for prasadam and prepared Maharashtrian puran poli, a very famous Marathi dish. In all festivals, Maharashtrians make Puran poli. It was offered to our Lordships and we all honored prasadam.
The next day we went for naga
By Krishna Premarupa Dasa
At the age of 70+, Srila Prabhupada travelled fourteen times around the world and planted seeds of devotion to Sri Krishna wherever he went. It’s described in Shastra that wherever a pure devotee places his Lotus Feet, that place turns into a place of pilgrimage (1).
Last weekend we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s first visit to Switzerland (2). Srila Prabhupada arrived at Zurich Airport on Sunday, April 1, 1973. From there, his disciples brought
By Thomas Haribol
Last week, the Parliament of the World’s Religions (PoWR) gathered thousands of people of faith, spirituality, and ethical convictions to Chicago, USA, for their 2023 convention. This year’s theme was “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights.” The historic gathering welcomed participants from around the world to the emblematic city where the first Parliament was held 130 years ago.
It is one of the world’s largest inter-faith gatherings, with 6,500 participatin
After quite the lengthy journey our ride from Gananoque to the current location in Quebec, the duet called Mahapurna and I settled in a heavenly lot with lake and massive meditation hall, a centre for “The Art of Living” folks. The occasion is something that occurs annually as “Vaishnava Sangha”. Vaishnava refers to those loyal to Vishnu (God). Sangha is defined as seeking association. The devotees of Ottawa organized the function which is highlighted by presenters on the science of devotion.
B
Padayatra in Nepal had started on January 19, 2021. Brahmacari Sahastranam dasa from Ukraine, who had been serving in Nepal for twelve years engaged in community and farm services lead the padayatra.
Another devotee,Premharinamdasa from Pune, Maharashtra, who had participated in the Dindi-yatra and served in Padayatra India, joined Brahmacari Sahastranam. Then Sahastranam Dasa had to go back to Ukraine. Then I by mercy of my spiritual master took up padayatra services. Some devotees joined in be
Cherie Dillon runs a butterfly sanctuary and teaching garden and is quite passionate in sharing her information on nature’s way of evolution from a caterpillar to a gorgeous butterfly. Krishna Kalam made his turn with the steering wheel in the driveway of the sanctuary when Cherie came out for an early morning breath. Arjuna, who was the other passenger in the vehicle, asked to go for a pee when Cherie responded, “Just go to the edge of the lot by the bushes. The acid will be good for attractin
Question: Namaste Swamiji. It is said that we should always associate with selfless people, and that’s very critical. Then, how should we interact with the people who are selfish? As you say, we should also love them as they are also part of God. So, if we are surrounded by such people, how should we act?
Radhanath Swami: By being a good example. Of course, if those people open their minds and hearts for us to speak to them about higher virtues and higher truths in life, then that is our servic
By Radha Mohan Das
Bhaktivedanta Manor celebrated its 50th anniversary in style last weekend. Amongst a huge myriad of devotional activities, there was a grand procession of 14 beautifully decorated trained oxen across the centre’s 79-acre estate.
Her Grace Vishaka Dasi, current Temple President of Bhaktivedanta Manor, said, “We are absolutely delighted and deeply honoured to be celebrating 50 years of Bhaktivedanta Manor – this year marks a historic milestone for our Temple; from the extrao
Lord Krsna has innumerable expansions. As far as Krsna Himself is concerned, there are six opulences which are always present knowledge, wealth, fame, strength, beauty and renunciation. He has these opulences in totality, whereas created beings have them in part only.
Knowledge
In the world there have been men who have been considered very rich in knowledge Socrates, Plato, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo, Francis Bacon, Da Vinci, Einstein, etc. History has afforded us innumerable geniuses whose th
In spite of the fact that everything comes from the Supreme Being, He is still aloof from it all. He does not disengage Himself from His eternal pleasure pastimes with His devotees in the spiritual realm. So, in the process of creating the material worlds, the Supreme expands Himself into various forms, which are His plenary parts. Krishna is the primeval Lord, the original Personality of Godhead, so He can expand Himself into unlimited forms with all potencies. They are no different from Him,
Active Listening
Adapted, with permission, from The Art of Teaching, by HG Bhurijana Prabhu
Who Owns the Problem?
The first step in trying to solve a problem is to identify who owns it, because you need to approach the situation differently if you own the problem or not. The owner is whoever is tangibly and concretely affected by the problem.
If the problem belongs to the other person, it is appropriate to listen, trying to understand exactly what is going on. If you own the problem, the counse
Recently, the fourth annual Camp Unity, held on the outskirts of Borehamwood at Well End Scout Activity Centre, had another successful gathering. The popular event allows area children and their families to experience other cultures, foster friendships, strengthen community bonds, and serves as a springboard for celebrating diversity. Hosted by a team of multi-faith leaders, this year saw the largest registration of campers, with 48 children participating from various religious and cultural bac
"One whose happiness is within, who is active within, who rejoices within, and is illumined within, is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme."
Such a well-put message by God, Himself, translated by our guru, Prabhupada. It was this sloka (verse) that our Tuesday evening Zoom class, plus our Pelee Island retreat group dwelt on for reflection and penetration. The statement is clear, "real happiness is within." It does not come from exte
From Back to Godhead
Though conceived of in various ways, ultimately the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person who shares intimate loving exchanges with the best of His devotees.
Here we present an excerpt from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust edition of Srila Jiva Goswami’s Sri Tattva-sandarbha. Jiva Goswami was one of the famed Six Goswamis, leading contemporary followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Tattva-sandarbha is the first of six sandarbhas (treatises) explaining the philosophy of Gaudiya Va
Does anyone aspire to become a sannyasi? Simply having this ambition in the first place is not the desire of a truly renounced person. On the other hand, all those who relish genuine taste in Krishna consciousness, will know what proper renunciation is. For this reason, both men and women can live as sannyasis without having that title.
To emphasise renunciation before taste indicates a lack of understanding on the path of Bhakti. Devotees often preach about the importance of following the four
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
The Chant Now initiative is a part of ISKCON Online, under the leadership of Pancharatna Das. ISKCON Online aims to thoughtfully package Krishna consciousness on all the new media platforms, including websites, apps, online e-learning, social networks, and more.
Chant Now, based out of Mayapur, India, is a team of about six devotees, including a Spanish department. Their primary purpose is to reach out to people who are not devotees of Krishna and encourage th
This precious place, Pelee Island, is promoted to tourists as 'the southernmost inhabited place and best kept secret' in the country. Its population is just under 250 people, but expands in the summer to about 1500. Its distance for walking is 22 kilometres on a quiet perimeter road. The tranquility is what i like, and the lack of commercialism. I know, because in '96 I walked it. No motorcycle engines have I ever heard here.
The trip here, by ferry, is 1.5 hours, and is very therapeutic. We me
About Sudbury, a major nickel mining centre in the world, it had a bad reputation for looking like a rocky, barren place where astronauts experimented before attempting to embark upon the moon landing. That was the rumour going around when I settled there in '72 for a school year. It was barren looking, but a major smoke stack was erected by INCO to ensure that harmful residual smoke was spread far and wide so that a regeneration of wilderness could return to the area. Jane Goodall said of this
