By Acarya dasa, All-India Padayatra leader

January 6, 2021, marked the start of the All-India Padayatra’s seventh chapter of its grand march around India, including the char dham yatra. Leaving in 1984 from Dwarka padayatra has continued nonstop for thirty-six years, covering all of India and completing its sixth round in Dwarka on New Year’s Day. Having enlightened Dwarkawasis with sankirtan for five days the padayatris then departed on their current tour.

The seventh whole-of-India padayatra i

By Parijata Devi Dasi

Mumbai’s iconic Mumbai Central Railways Station, which has earned name of one of the finest architecture and heavy footfall railway terminal in India, witnessed history in making when the first ISKCON book shop namely the ‘Hare Krsna Books’ was inaugurated on 7 January 2021.

The permanent book store is strategically placed at the Mumbai Central Railway Station on Platform No. 1 and 2 which is largely reserved for trains with high priority preference. 

The shop was inaugurat

I just wasn’t bold at all in terms of walking. I merely went around the block at 4 a.m., before the first rite of the day — mangal arati. The rest of my day of devotion entailed calls and meetings — all very meaningful. It included discussions about our mission in Cuba, where I’ve been involved for 12 years. The pandemic has not been easy on that country, like many. Our devotees are not able to gather together and Zoom is somewhat difficult to utilize due to lack of internet access.

I did enjoy

Message from the Honorable Prime minister of India Shri Narendra Modi ji for the Celebration of 43rd anniversary of Sri Sri Radha Rasbihariji Temple, Hare Krishna Land, ISKCON Juhu Mumbai.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=92663

Huge 43th anniversary ceremony of Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari ji Mandir at ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai on 14th Jan 2021

For more photos: Click here

From Back to Godhead

Why Krishna’s holy names are the greatest treasure.

Some people fantasize about accumulating immense wealth and dream of what they would buy if they only had enough. To them, happiness hovers elusively on the other side of that new car, that big house, that diamond necklace.

While many of us will say, “Money can’t buy happiness,” do we really believe it? If not money, what is the solution to our hankerings? What is the greatest treasure that will bring true happiness? And h

From Back to Godhead

Why we should surrender to Lord Krishna’s lotus feet.

At the junction of two ages, amidst two immense armies arrayed on the battlefield at Kurukshetra, Arjuna scans his foes and becomes confused. When Krishna expounds eternal dharma to enlighten him, Arjuna addresses Krishna as pavitram paramam: “the purest of the pure.” (Bhagavad-gita 10.12) Arjuna adds, “All the great sages . . . confirm this about You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.”

Apart from the Bhagavad

It’s a general concern of devotees which we hear in many of the classes, forums and seminars on what can be the real key to balance one’s material and spiritual lives.

There is a very interesting statement made by famous French priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience but we are spiritual beings having a human (material) experience.” It’s true that because of our past conditionings, desires and lifetimes of karma, we are having a

Yamuna Devi, an ISKCON pioneer, one of the first disciples of Srila Prabhupada, and a much loved and deeply inspiring figure for devotees all over the world, passed away on December 20th, 2011. Now, as a tribute to her on this ninth year of her passing, Dinatarini Devi, Yamuna’s companion in devotional life for 37 years, has compiled her original Deity book, Yamuna Devi: A Study of Seva Puja.

Coming this Spring, the historical gem details Yamuna Devi’s studies in Deity worship from the early 197

From Back to Godhead

False Prestige heads a list of weeds, such as Lust, Greed, and Anger, that block the growth of the vine of Bhakti.

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita metaphorically describes love of God as a creeper, or vine. The following story is based on that metaphor.

I reared my head like a cobra, not to strike at someone but to catch the sun. Holding a jumbo glowing flower at the top of my green leaves, I dominated the garden with my presence.

My name is False Prestige, and I call myself an

Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Extraordinary Merit  

Appearing as the nephew of Srila Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis, Srila Jiva Gosvami  displayed all the charming features of a maha-purusa (divine person). He had lotus eyes, a high nose and forehead, broad chest, long arms, and a radiant golden body.

Srila Jiva Gosvami was the direct disciple of Srila Rupa Gosvami

By Madhava Smullen

A Hare Krishna Community Radio station based in Alachua, Florida had a soft launch on Christmas Day, broadcasting a series of devotional programs on the holiday as well as over four days at New Year’s. The project, run by Sudharma Dasi, aims to grow into a full-time digital radio station and eventually to reach out to listeners beyond the ISKCON community with devotional music, interviews, discussions, meditations and more.

Sudharma Dasi, a Srila Prabhupada disciple, previousl

By Giriraj Swami

Today is the disappearance day of Srila Jiva Gosvami, one of the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, direct disciples of Lord Chaitanya. Srila Prabhupada writes, “Srila Jiva Gosvami composed and edited at least twenty-five books. They are all very much celebrated . . . After the disappearance of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami in Vrndavana, Srila Jiva Gosvami became the acarya of all the Vaisnavas in Bengal, Orissa, and the rest of the world, and it is he who used to guide them

“Sri Jagadisa Pandita is the savior of the world. He distributes the nectar of love of Krsna just like a dense mass of dark clouds in the sky distributes rainfall.” [C.C. Adi 11.30]

Sri Jagadisa Bhatta took his birth in the region of Gauhati. His father’s name was Sri Kamalaksa Bhatta, who was the son of Bhatta Narayana, who hailed from Goyghar Bandyaghata. Both the mother and father of Jagadisa were very devoted Visnu-bhaktas. After his parents passed away he came with his wife to live on the

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten describes the branches of the tree named Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 1

sri-caitanya-padambhoja-
  madhupebhyo namo namah
kathancid asrayad yesam
  svapi tad-gandha-bhag bhavet

TRANSLATION

Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If even a doggish nondevotee somehow takes shelter of such devotees, he enjoys the aroma of the lotus flower.

PURPORT

Srila Jiva Gosvami (CC Adi 10.85)
In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (195) it is said that Srila Jiva Gosvami was formerly Vilasa-mañjari gopi. From his very childhood Jiva Gosvami was greatly fond of Srimad-Bhagavatam. He later came to Navadvipa to study Sanskrit, and, following in the footsteps of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, he circumambulated the entire Navadvipa-dhama. After visiting Navadvipa-dhama he went to Benares to study Sanskrit under Madhusudana Vacaspati, and after finishing his studies in B

Sound Is The Weapon Of The Revolution (Om Namo Narayanaya) was originally recorded live while The Hanumen were staying at a friend's home in the midst of a tour in November of 2019. "Later, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, isolated in our own home studios, we were able to record a range of great overdubs later to fill out their grand vision for the piece,” - says Vishvambhar Seth, a founding member of the Hanumen band. 

"This song is perhaps best described as a revolutionary bhakti journey

Srila Prabhupada would be found reading his own books. Someone asked, “Srila Prabhupada, you are reading your own books?” Prabhupada said, “I did not write these books, Krsna dictated these books. These books are pure and transcendental, descending from the spiritual world. The knowledge in these books is absolutely perfect.” Where in the world do you find that? We have advertisements everywhere – advertisements in our faces, trying to convince us that we need this and that to make us happy. It

The whole world is looking, once again, at US internal strife. This time a group of protesters stormed the capital building in Washington DC. It was a mob scene and it was ugly. It was described to me when I was on the phone with a friend from Vancouver, during the time that I was polishing brass in our temple. My immediate response, as I listened, was that it is shameless behavior on the part of the former US president simply being a poor sport.

I later took to seeing some visual coverage of th