My God siblings, Krishnadas, Paurnamasi and I landed at Anchorage Airport where we were happily greeted by residents Sudevi and Ryan, a sweet couple, whom we had never met but are connected to culturally. It is our first time to Alaska and I would say everything you read or see about the place is magically true. The couple showed us the downtown, the views of the bay with Mount McKinley in the background and then there is Kincaid Park, which Krishnadas and I explored.
I was under the impression
From Back to Godhead
Is Krishna consciousness polytheistic? A discussion of panchopasana provides a clear answer that also helps us understand all religions.
At first blush, Vaishnavism may seem polytheistic, given the various gods associated with the Vedic pantheon. But if we look slightly beneath the surface, we see there is more to this so-called polytheism than meets the eye.
The concept of monotheism – that there is only one God – tends to be associated with the Abrahamic religions (
By Dhirnayak dasa, Utkal-Banga Padayatra leader
The Utkal-Banga Padayatra recently spent time in the picturesque Mahendragiri region of Odisha. Mahendragiri is a mountain in the Rayagada block of the Gajapati district. The hill is situated amongst the Eastern Ghats at an elevation of 1500m and spreads across the neighbouring Ganjam district. The area is a wonderful creation of the Lord and as we were walking, we felt we were heading towards the Himalayas.
Mahendragiri, referred to in the Ramay
The Story of the First Krishna Deity in ISKCON Two of Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples discover Krishna while shopping for bells in New York City.
When Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York City in September 1965, he felt deep separation from Vrindavan and the major deities there “My Lords, Govindaji, Gopinath, and Radha Damodar,” as he noted in his diary. After seven months of mixed results, he opened his first temple on the Lower East Side. Centers soon opened in San Francisco, Montreal, Los
By Kumari Kunti Dasi and Madan Gopal Das
Narayani Devi Dasi (right) initiates Nila Madhava (left), now Nilambari Dasi, a second-generation ISKCON devotee on Janmastami 2022 at New Raman Reti Temple in Alachua, Florida.
On August 19, Janmastami Day, Narayani devi dasi became the first Vaishnavi (female devotee) in ISKCON to serve as a diksa guru, or initiating spiritual master. On that day she formally accepted her first disciple, now named Nilambari dasi.
Nilambari dasi offered her vows and r
Prabhupada said, “No, you have the spark. The same quality that’s in me is also in you. You should join this movement. It is very important.”
Atma Tattva: In the early ‘80s in Bangalore, I was required to make at least two Life Members a month. I was a bad Life Membership maker and one month I had only ten days left.
I was looking in the telephone directory for Bengali names and I found a ‘Ganguly.’
I called and said, “I’m speaking from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. I want
We are discussing the road of sharanagati – taking shelter, which leads us to Lord Krishna.
Our third step is goptritve-varanam or accepting the Lord as one’s sole maintainer.
On His way through South India Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sang:
“Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna
Krishna Krishna pahi mam
O Lord Krishna! Maintain me. “
Now, seeing the Lord as one’s maintainer requires faith. Bhaktivinoda Thakur sings a song which creates such faith. He says:
“O youthful prince of Vraja. You are the Lord of
In Manchester, Nagendra dashed past me as I attempted to stop him. He did however capture a momentary glimpse of our “Veda” book and seconds later he returned to find out more.
I spoke about “Veda” and also introduced him to the Bhagavad Gita. He then revealed that a couple of years ago someone in the City Centre stood in the exact same spot as me, tried to give him a Bhagavad Gita, and he said he would come back later to take it. However, he never did. Since that day he’s sometimes felt overwh
One year ago this month, the GBC ratified and voted into law the attached ISKCON Code of Ethical Behavior. Here is a brief description of accomplishments this first year.
ADOPTED BY ISKCON AGENCIES
This first year, the Code was made an active part of proceedings in many ISKCON initiatives including the International Child Protection Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Sannyasa Ministry, ISKCON Resolve, and the Dispute Resolution Department.
ADOPTED BY TEMPLES
Several temples have made the
By Khusboo Basan
Situated at New Vrindaban, West Virginia is Srila Prabhupada’s smriti shrine or memorial shrine – Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold. The beautiful palace that was constructed by the disciples of Srila Prabhupada in 1973 as an offering of love to their spiritual master.
Over time, large parts of the concrete domes, outer wall, balustrade railing, and steps started to deteriorate, sections of wrought iron rusted irreparably, and the roof sustained leaks.
In 2009, a Palace Restoration
Donations Needed
Vraja-Govinda prabhu, his wife and two children have to leave Kherson, a city in the frontline. This city is in the south of Ukraine. Now it is one of the two toughest flashpoints of this horrendous war.
Vraja-Govinda prabhu is a wonderful Vaishnava from the Kherson ISKCON community. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, a true devotee of the holy name. Vraja-Govinda prabhu’s primary service is to preach and glorify Krsna’s holy name. He regularly attends and leads harinama and ch
I was asked to give the class to the members of the Bhakti Academy Toronto and with gladness I’ve delivered. The theme from the first canto of the Bhagavatam was on overcoming the ills of a dark age, referred to as kali. What is always good about degradation, as we observe in these times, is the opportunity to bring on brightness. Of course, to do that takes a little more than switching on a light. It takes solidarity of purpose – a combined determination to overcome weakness. Cohesive Kirtan,
By Radha devi dasi, ISKCON Vaishnavi Minister
At the 2022 Annual General Meeting, the GBC appointed South African devotee, Champakalata devi dasi to the post of ISKCON’s Justice Minister. Champakalata devi’s appointment follows the resignation of prior minister, Sesa das, on the grounds of ill health.
Champakalata devi, a disciple of HH Indradyumna Swami has been practicing bhakti yoga since 1978 when her parents joined ISKCON in Durban, South Africa. She has an impressive resume of ISKCON serv
Rishi Sunak and his wife celebrated the festival of Janmashtami at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire, near London. Mr. Sunak and his family have made visits to the temple in the past. Today, Mr. and Mrs. Sunak were welcomed with the customary tradition of the blowing of a conch shell, and they were garlanded before they toured the Temple, which was donated by George Harrison of the Beatles. The couple were greeted by Her Grace Visakha Dasi, the temple president, who said “We invite everyone
Dear Devotees
Hare Krsna
All Glories to Guru and Gauranga. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The most auspicious of all months is just weeks away! The Month of Kartika is said to be very auspicious that whatever little Spiritual activities performed in this month are rewarded with greater spiritual results than usual. Just Imagine immersing your consciousness in this month by visiting 30 Sacred Holy places in Gaura Mandala Bhumi where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates performed blissful
By Mathuresa Das
Many initiatives to promote Sastric education in different countries of Latin America have been formed. The desire of responsible and capable members of our communities to help devotees to excel in the knowledge of the scriptures in a systematic and scientific way is very praiseworthy and worthy of being supported.
In an effort to integrate these different initiatives, H.H. Hanumatpresaka Swami promoted the creation of the Spanish language magazine, Jayam, in mid-2018, as part o
Non-violence when wrongly applied can cause greater harm to society than direct violence.
The first question often asked about the Bhagavad-gita is why was it spoken on a battlefield? Despite a common view that religion is a major cause of war, in most people’s minds the two should remain separate. Religion or spirituality should result in peace not conflict. If one’s spiritual practices bring about the bloodthirsty desire to eliminate the followers of some other faith th
saḿsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-
trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on a forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master delivers the materially afflicted world by extinguishing the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is an ocean of auspicious qu
The first people that I met at the Radha Govinda Cultural Centre, as preparations were underway, was a group of volunteers from the Jesus Christ Seventh Day Adventist. Sweet folks they are. They were made security patrol to keep chariot chanters and chariot rope pullers in line and away from traffic.
The route established by organizers of the Edmonton’s Chariot Fest is an industrial park area of the city’s south. Basically it is not a public zone but for some Hindu temple destinations along the
