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As I stand where earth, sea, and sky meet, and watch the sun rise before me, it’s easy to feel the emotion of gratitude. Who am I to be so blessed and where does all this life and beauty come from?

Prabhupada says it well:

Every living entity, especially persons in the human race, must feel grateful for the benedictions offered by the grace of the Supreme Lord. Therefore anyone with a simple heart of gratefulness must be Kṛṣṇa conscious and offer devotional service to the Lord. Those who are act

Having been appointed just a matter of weeks ago, one of the first meetings the new Ambassador for Ireland, Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, wanted to arrange was with ISKCON!

A very nice, knowledgeable and humble man we spent about 40 minutes discussing Sanskrit (which he has studied and his father was a professor of), Vedic culture and the achievements of Srila Prabhupada.

Before leaving we presented him with the complete edition of the Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta. Somehow that seemed hugely appropriate giv

From Back to Godhead

Understanding the concept of destiny disempowers passivity and empowers a focus on duty.

Indian thought is sometimes deemed fatalistic, holding that everything is destiny, predetermined by our past actions, and thus leaving little room for human initiative. While Indian literature is filled with diverse thoughts, some of which may be fatalistic, the bhakti literature, which is among the most influential Indian literature, offers a far more nuanced and empowering outlook on l

There are places in Sudbury I just had to revisit as part of my personal “memory lane.” First of all Ramsey Lake, a sixty-five feet deep and eight kilometre-long body of water within the city limits; a place I would gravitate to fourty-nine years ago.

Damodara, my host in the city, drove a few of us to Cambrian College, where I attended as a fine arts student. Two boys accompanying us are current students in the computer science field. The campus has expanded since my time.

Finally, I just had t

By Kamala Radha devi dasi

Godhead is a new Los Angeles-based Krishnacore band. Krishnacore is a subgenre of hardcore punk that draws inspiration from the Bhakta Yoga traditions. Although some hardcore punk bands had already made references to Krishna Consciousness in the 1980s punk scene, this subgenre was established in the early 1990s by bands like Shelter and 108. Godhead recently released their first EP and just had their first show on November 21st at Programme Skate & Sound in Fullerton, C

By Madhava Smullen

Light of the Bhagavata, a new 25-minute film by ISKCON guru and GBC Bhaktivaibhava Swami, brings to life the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita, teaching the viewer about the nature of the soul and taking them on a meditative and enlightening journey from planet earth, through galaxies, to the eternal, blissful world of freedom from all anxieties. 

The film is designed to appeal to newcomers who are curious about Krishna consciousness and would like to find true inner peace

It is the constitutional position of the living entity to be a servant of Krsna. Therefore, this means that we are always in a relationship with Krsna. Service is our natural position. If we are not serving Krsna, then we are serving others – family, profession, society at large, animals, plants and so on – in so many ways, we are serving other living entities. Therefore, serving is our nature. But ultimately, everything finds its origin in Krsna and everything is only a spark of Krsna’s splendo

This is where it all began for me. My seed for bhakti was planted on Yonge St., in Toronto, and Victoria, B.C., where I had brief encounters with Krishna monks. However, it was here in this town, Sudbury, the nickel capital of the world, where my actual practice of devotion began. That’s why I’m excited to be back. To arrive here hits some sentimental nerves. It pushes emotional buttons. I met devotees during Christmas in 1972.

First of all, I really like the airport. If I say, it’s an incredibl

By Sadbhuja Das

As everyone knows, the Nrsimhadeva Deity will be installed on a separate altar in the East Wing of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. The temple room of Nrsimhadeva will be smaller than the central hall, but nevertheless, it will be beautifully decorated and very majestic. The Grand Opening of this wing is scheduled for 2023.

One of the features of the Nrsimhadeva temple room, in addition to a huge chandelier, will be eight, two-meter (7’) figures of demigods, who, standing on

My wife and I once stayed at her friend’s apartment. We knew that she was an avid collector of clothes, but we were amazed to find not only closets full of unused clothes – many with price tags still attached – but also boxes and boxes of unworn shoes.

As it turned out, my wife’s friend had a compulsion to find the perfect jacket or pair of shoes. She believed that if she were to succeed, her social image would be rightly aligned, and she would feel joy.

Unfortunately, when she got home her new

The curve that sets everything straight.

Nowadays I find myself increasingly cautious when sending emails or pinging my friends on messengers. This is not because I’m worried about privacy or security, but because of the danger of misinterpretation. Occasionally I’ve messed up a relationship because of a reckless choice of words or an inconsiderate presentation of thoughts. The written word is a serious form of communication. It’s archived, allowing us to revisit it. But it’s limited, since it l

Yesterday, December 2nd, at about 5:30 am California time, during the auspicious Brahma Muhurta period, His Grace Sura Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and long-time servant of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), left his body in Los Angeles. He had been hospitalized since November 26th, after being diagnosed with Covid-19. His son, Ram Nomi, and his daughter, Sitapriya, were in the room chanting when he departed. Srila Prabhupada’s chanting was also playing softly in the background. Sura

This conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples took place at New Vrindaban, West Virginia, USA, on June 24, 1976.

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, once you said, “The tractor – this is the cause of all the trouble. It took all the young men’s farm work. It forced them to go into the city and become entangled in sensuality.” You said people had to leave the country and the simple life of goodness and God consciousness. And so they went to the

From a devotee who is distributing Bhagavad-gita and other books in Hungary:

“I was going door to door. A lady opened her door, and I showed her books. She invited me in and said she would get a donation for me. I was astounded at what I saw in her house. There was a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ, 2.5 meters high (about 7 feet tall). I was awed. It was so nice. The lady returned and saw me appreciating the picture.
She said, “I think you will understand what I’m going to tell you since you l

By Anuttama Das

Close to 5:30 a.m. this morning, December 2nd, 2021,  my dear Godbrother and neighbor for the last 26 years left his body in a room at Southern California Hospital (near the New Dvaraka temple). He had been hospitalized since November 26th, with Covid-19. His son, Ram Nomi, and his daughter, Sitapriya, were chanting with him when he departed. Srila Prabhupada's chanting also accompanied him. Sura had his japa beads and was wearing a Nrsimha pavitra from Mayapura.

We are all uniq

“Then we come to Bhāgavata, then we come to Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in this way. So from next year, unless one passes bhakti-śāstrī, he cannot be second initiated.”
Morning Walk – January 6, 1976, Nellore
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Dark, ominous clouds set in and at the corner of Guy and Maissoneuve Streets in downtown Montreal, thousands of Concordia University students were making their way to destinations – classrooms, apartments, or coffee shops. Snowflakes hit our faces, but just momentarily, at this busy student hour as we chanted away letting the nippy nature of the night not bother us too much.

Students were curious. With a big percentage being from India they are indeed familiar with the sound. We received smiles

- Srila Prabhupada and George Harrison, London, 1973

“I liked Prabhupada’s humbleness. I always liked his humility and his simplicity The servant of the servant of the servant is really what it is, you know. None of us are God—just His servants. He just made me feel so comfortable. I always felt very relaxed with him, and I felt more like a friend. I felt that he was a good friend. Even though he was at the time seventy-nine years old, working practically all through the night, day after day, w

The last time George associated with a large group of devotees was when he and his wife, Olivia, visited the Manor in the summer of 1997. We had invited him to a celebratory dinner a few days after we got permission to build the new approach road.

This dinner was held shortly after we had another amazing fundraising dinner called “Prabhupada’s Dream”, during which guests and patron members of the Manor were invited to raise funds to buy the land for the approach road. That evening the target was