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A very kind-hearted Markandeya was at arrivals to pick up my check-in, my carry-on and myself. The airport at Buenos Aires has very much improved with its renovations. I got through the customs with a cinch. On the freeway, I could see the usual tall hardwoods and, with it being spring, good fragrances are in the air. Colours too. The purple-flowering jacaranda is stunning. There’s also the very red santa rita, which gives life just by looking at it. However, in man’s world of duality there is

Srila Prabhupada appeared to Prthuputra Swami, the first French sannyasi, just before Prthuputra died. Maharaja had done a lot of service for Srila Prabhupada’s preaching mission. But after Srila Prabhupada’s physical demise, Prthuputra left Krishna consciousness. He broke the regulative principle and went back to the sinful lifestyle he had led before. Nevertheless, he never criticized ISKCON or Krishna consciousness.

Some years later Prthuputra contracted AIDS. As the disease progressed, he en

Kirtan is the call-and-response form of chanting that characterizes the Hare Krishna movement. It is the fundamental religion of the age – the soul crying out for God as a means to reunite with Him.

Robert Gass, author of Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound, believes that ritual chanting is among the most universal of human impulses, as well as one of the first: “We have no recordings of the earliest humans,” he writes, “but when we encounter indigenous tribes who’ve had little contact with m

By HH Bhakti Raghava Swami

I was walking down Rideau Street in the city of Ottawa some time during the summer of 1973. Although I had still not found what I really wanted in life, I was somewhat relieved that I had been able to walk out of the expected social pressures of modern day society.

I had already finished my university studies, graduating from Ottawa U in 1968, had worked for three years as a Social Worker with the Children’s Aid Society in my home town of Timmins in Northern Ontario,

When I boarded Delta Airline enroute to Atlanta, as a stopover for Buenos Aires, I had a little chat with the flight attendant. I remarked that customs were so long and so slow. “Unacceptable!” I said.

Her remark, “It’s always like that here (Toronto). I love the city, but the airport…” And as she said this her eyes were rolling. I thought to lodge a complaint next time I had the chance, regarding an improvement in service that could happen at the Toronto Airport. Afterall service is everything

My dear devotees,

Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

In a letter to me dated December 1971, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Go on increasing books, and go on increasing my pleasure.” December is a special opportunity to focus on Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we distribute books—and thus increase his pleasure. As he wrote in the same letter, “I am most pleased especially to hear that you are distributing many books.”

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
  yasmin prati-slokam ab

All the wealth we can accrue from a whole lifetime of service is insignificant compared to the blessings of our spiritual master. It is blessings that are the principal factor and not only of our spiritual master but of the entire sampradaya, of the previous spiritual masters. One should however not jump over though. One should approach through the lineage and through the Vaisnavas and therefore, one has to become soft.

In the beginning, we make distinctions between Vaisnavas, thinking, “This Va

Road rage is very much on the rise. On the previous night, while on the freeway, two drivers involved in a collision were almost at each other’s throats in a shouting match, blaming each other for the accident. They used unholy terms. Not surprising is that this overall “etiquette” on our roads is on the rise. Too many cars. Not enough roads. Levels of speed are up. More and more motorists cut each other off. Check out the words kama, krodha and lobha in the scriptures and where these traits le

“They [the masses] must have their illusions at all costs; they turn instinctively, as the insect seeks the light, to the rhetoricians who accord them what they want. No truth, but error has always been the chief factor in the evolution of nations…. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduces them.” (Gustave Le Bon, 1995: 132).

The advent of ‘modernity’ saw the eradication of the ancien regime

I received an email from someone who wanted to hear about my struggles as a devotee and how I have gotten through them, since he finds himself struggling with his chanting and feeling allured by the material world. Though I think most of the readers here are seasoned devotees, I thought I would share this in the hope that someone might find it useful, even though these are basic understandings.

Any physical life is a long journey, and so is cultivating a life of devotion. Lord Chaitanya has com

ISKCON Gurugram Temple near Badshahpur, on Sohna Road, hosted their inauguration this weekend. The grand ceremony took place from 26th to 27th November. Haryana Governor, Sri Bandaru Dattatreya, was present as the Chief Guest at the event. As well as many ISKCON GBC leaders such as Gopal Krishna Goswami, and Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami.

Rain had dominated the sky; not a major wash out, but a pleasantly quiet, meditative send-down of moisture. Umbrellas become popular on such days. I put mine to good use with small errands in the downtown area of T.O., which is where I actually live.

But for the evening I was destined for the suburbs, to Mississauga to be specific. To get there, the plan was to take the subway train. As I entered the east-west line of the subway at St.George Street, I was met by a TTC (Toronto Transit Commissio

The Lord’s mercy comes in many forms and the story behind Odana Sashti is one amongst many to tell.

On November 29th we will have the festival of Odana Sashti is one that marks the beginning of winter. During the Odana-sasthi festival the devotees dress Lord Jagannatha and Balarama with starched cloth. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to the Lord. That covering is directly purchased from a weaver, and freshly purchased cloth is usually starch

By Ekachakra Prana Dasa 

The Prabhupada Marathon has inspired book distribution throughout ISKCON since 1972. Now it is being celebrated as the Live to Give campaign. 

This year our global team has set an unprecedented goal to distribute at least three million Bhagavad-gitas between September 11th and January 7th, 2023. Last year we distributed 2,805,444, smashing the goal of 2.2 million.

Vaisesika Prabhu said, “The purpose of the campaign is to carry on the work of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a

Imagine for a moment that all the cars in Vrndavana are replaced by cows. The Parikrama path would no longer be a road, but it would a nice soft sandy path like it used to be before. A Vrndavana filled not with vehicles but with cows. Bullock carts would become the natural means of transport. And in this way, the whole society becomes centered around the cows. Not only the Vaisya community, but obviously all the other various ashramas are also depending on the cows. Without ghee, there would be

By Giriraj Swami 

Last night I was blessed to visit with my dear godbrother His Holiness Partha Sarathi Das Goswami at his residence at Govardhana. Upon my arrival, he graciously greeted me with the verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.10)

bhavad-vidha bhagavatas
  tirtha-bhutaù svayam vibho
tirthi-kurvanti tirthani
  svantah-sthena gadabhrta

“My Lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all plac

I couldn’t resist bringing my dear friend, Kalakantha, to the Beaches area of the city, not for a swim and certainly not for any gazing at scantily clad beach lovers. We are not like that and besides, it is much too cold for swimwear only. The favourable 19⁰ Celsius is, however, unique for this time of the year. The reason for any recommendation to invite him and members of the Bhakti Academy to the sand and sun was that, historically, it was at the Beaches boardwalk that our guru, Prabhupada,

Give Thanks to Whom?

At the end of this month the people of America celebrate “Thanksgiving”. As the title implies, the whole purpose of this event is to stop and become consciously grateful for the things we have each been given particularly in the area of bountiful food. Traditionally it is God, the Supreme Lord who we thank to for the gifts of the wonderful harvest and the blessings of family, friends, and good health etc.

For those who acknowledge the personal concept of God Thanksgiving is

Memoires of Sudama Maharaj Leaving His Body And My Experiences Taking Care of Him

August 5, 2008

I pay my respectful obeisances to my loving Spiritual Master A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, my eternal guru whom I love and thank for giving me the Hare Krishna mantra and instructions on devotional service. I pay my obeisances to all the assembled devotees who I know, whom I don’t know but am spiritually related to and to all the spirit souls I have known in this lifetime that have left the