After experimenting with various spiritual practices and mantras, an American youth finally comes to Krishna.
I grew up in Los Angeles. Once, when I was visiting a friend I saw a person on TV speaking about spirituality, I found it interesting. He was speaking about Transcendental Meditation, an organization founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I went to their center and took a three-day course. They informed me, if after the course I wanted a mantra they would give one to me but it would cost $12
By Acarya dasa, All-India Padayatra leader
On April 1, 2022, the All-India Padayatra reached Jyotisar on the banks of Jyotisar Sarovar 5km east of the city of Kurukshetra, also known as Dharmakshetra.
There is mention of Kurukshetra in the first sloka of the Bhagavad-gita:
dhṛitarāśhtra uvācha
dharma-kṣhetre kuru-kṣhetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāśh chaiva kim akurvata sañjaya
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjay, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuru
Poland: This week in Warsaw we had a huge ‘wave’ arriving from the east of Ukraine – Donetsk, Krematorsk, and other areas. They have been wisely advised by Niranjana Maharaja to leave as the army forces were coming their way. Maharaja has been so closely involved in helping his yatra so wonderfully.
The majority of elderly devotees want to stay in Poland, hoping the war will end soon so they can go back home, with some going back to Ukraine already! Despite all the uncertainty they just miss ho
After receiving a super inspiring, mercy-filled email from His Holiness Giriraj Swami, encouraging book distribution, we went out on books to cash in on the mercy.
A nice young engineer approached our book table with many questions. He asked, “I’m confused in life, even though I’m very successful materially, so please recommend a book that will help me.”
I said, “Any of these books will help. I especially recommend “Hiding in Unnatural Happiness” and Bhagavad-gita. He took the books and donated
By Ravi Ramgoolam
Jaya Chaitanya Das, the former number one book distributor in North America is back on the scene after two years, this time with his new hip hop album. His first single is set to release on April 29, 2022, and an exciting trailer has just been released.
Jaya Chaitanya Das has been living in the ashram as a monk for six years and has been particularly active in book distribution. He at one time received the title of Number One Book Distributor in America and the main reason w
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
As long as we have the desire for material sense gratification or the desire for material liberation there is no possibility of developing transcendental bliss in Krsna consciousness. Bhukti is the desire for material sense gratification, and mukti is the desire, after being frustrated, for liberation. Real mukti or liberation however, means to achieve devotional service. If one becomes liberated from nonsense then one must engage on
The TOVP Communications Department has collected a large number of Srila Prabhupada’s known quotes relating to the Mayapur project and the TOVP taken from lectures, conversations, morning walks, his books, and other books. It covers a wide range of topics and illustrates how important and dear ISKCON Mayapur, the World Headquarters of the Hare Krishna Movement was to him. He personally said of Sridham Mayapur, “Mayapur is my place of worship.”
There are over sixty quotes in the current collecti
Being absorbed in book distribution, we were hesitant to return to the temple, even for weekends. To stay out on Sunday provided a special challenge, as even today Sunday is a day where hardly any shops are open. Everything freezes to the sounds of bells being rung in empty churches, and the Germans retreat to their flats and gardens to once again cut their lawns precisely, so that no blade of grass can grow without the permission of the well-organized owners.
The neighbors compete over who has
It was a grand fest to honour Lord Ram. From the quarters where I stay in the temple/ashram complex I could hear, one floor below, the beautiful chants, a talk delivered by a visiting friend from Florida, Kalakantha, that triggered applause, and the sounds of drums and bells.
“I’m missing it all,” I contested, due to my inability to walk around. I’m crutch dependent.
I opened the doors to hear more and perhaps peak at the crowd from an above angle and then it hit me – an immediate whiff of coll
On Ram Navami, at ISKCON Juhu, His Grace Payonidhi Das suffered a tragic accident and left this world. Originally from Orissa, he was a loving servant of Lord Jagannath, and he was a full-time resident living as a Brahmachari (monk). He was currently serving in ISKCON Kharghar but had traveled to attend the temple’s Ram Navami celebration.
Payonidhi Prabhu and a few other Brahmacharis were taking Prasadam in the Govindas Garden -ISKCON Juhu (Shri Rama Navami Kalash Donors Prasadam Area) at aro
Appreciating the celebrations of Rama Navami at the Varachha branch of ISKCON in Surat, the Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi pointed out the relevance of the teachings of Lord Ramachandra to modern times.
Murtimaan Das President of ISKCON Varachha said, “The Prime Minister compared Lord Rama’s own ideal example of compassion with the activities of ISKCON based on compassion and commitment, and the selfless service the organisation extends to society in line with the teachings of Lord
On March 30, 2022, Washington County Circuit Court Judge Brandon Thompson found Sean Lawrence Michel-White guilty of two counts of first-degree bias crime, second-degree bias crime, two counts of fourth-degree assault, and harassment in a bench trial. He was then sentenced to three years of formal probation after serving seven months in jail. Deputy District Attorney Mitchell Diesko prosecuted the case against the defendant.
On August 29, 2021, the defendant went to an ISKCON Temple located in
During the current Covid 19 pandemic threat period, to share and care deeply about each other is very important at the same time as Krishna devotees we should have an implicit faith in Krishna. avasya raksibe Krishna visvasa palana leaving it upto Krishna.. mar bhi rakha bni jo icch tohara Nitya dasa prati tuva adhikara (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s saranagati songs) Relevant to this Covid 19 situation, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote a short article during the period of the Bubonic Plague outbr
Leading up to next month’s appearance of the original child protector – Lord Nrsimhadeva, this is the perfect time of the year to focus on the Lord as the protector and ourselves as His instruments.
This month ISKCON’s Child Protection Office is sharing child abuse prevention and response resources via newsletters and daily Facebook postings. This is a time for devotees to feel encouraged to share information and insights on child protection from all points of view – scriptural, legal, ecclesia
On October 17, 2019, the BBT and GBC cooperatively appointed an Editorial Review Panel (ERP) to address devotees’ concerns about making changes to Çréla Prabhupäda’s books after his physical departure.
Formed with the mandate to review all proposed and previously published edits to Çréla Prabhupäda’s books in the English language, the ERP has now been convening for more than a year, and they are making progress in their review. The panel consists of devotee scholars and editors who were nominate
The winter retreats offered by the sacred village of New Vrindaban, West Virginia were a wonderful endeavor. The four-night mini-retreats ran every week from Thursday through Sunday, starting on January 5th until the end of March. It opened many avenues for newcomers and experienced devotees alike.
For new devotees, there were Japa meditation classes, lessons on how to wear tilak, and sessions on how to perform achaman- purification ritual. The newbies were also welcomed to meet residents of Ne
I had a sore craving for some leftover pear slices in the lunch room’s fridge. It was after midnight and insomnia hit me so I made it down the stairs, picked up two garbage bags outside Govinda’s Restaurant, which is adjoined to our ashram, to toss in the trash room. The bowl of small pear bits was still there. I transferred them into a small katori dish and made my way up with the fruit securely in hand.
The clock had turned to be April Fool’s Day and I don’t think within the somewhat strict r
As I write this article there are pictures on the news of hundreds on people lying on the ground simulating the unjust death of George Floyd, a black man, by an officer of the law. People on the streets all over the country are demanding action, demanding that the police be reformed, defunded and/or disbanded. Cries of “racism” echo throughout the land. In the news, some of the talking heads are saying it’s “a few bad apples” and others warn of a more systemic problem. Is it individuals on the
When I first went to India, Lord Ramachandra was the first deity I ever saw because the first temple I went to was of Lord Ramachandra and that was my temple! It was a small round temple and later on, they renovated and made it into a big marble temple. Oh, I miss my small round temple; it was so nice; the deities were really close but now they are high up and far away.
Then, when I went to Benares, I picked up the “Sri Rama Jaya Rama” mantra from a temple. It was playing twenty-four hours a day
