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bhagavan api ta ratrih

saradotphulla-mallikah

viksy- arantum manas cakre

yoga-mayam upasritah

Sri  Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in all opulences, yet upon seeing those autumn nights scented with blossoming jasmine flowers, He turned His mind toward loving affairs. To fulfill His purposes He employed His internal potency.    – S.B 10.29.1

On this most sacred and holy evening on the full moon night of the month of Kartik,in the forest of Vrindavan the moon starts rising on th

According to Vrinda-kunda Baba, Srimati Vrindadevi appeared on the full-moon night at the end of Kartik, or Damodara.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, in Sri Vrndadevi-astaka (6-8), glorifies her:

rasabhilaso vasatis ca vrnda-
vane tvad-isanghri-saroja-seva
labhya ca pumsam krpaya tavaiva
vrnde namas te caranaravindam

“By your mercy, people attain residence in Vrindavan, the desire to serve your masters’ lotus feet, and the desire to assist in the rasa dance. O Vrinda, I bow to your lotus f

By Vraj Patel 

“The Hunger Free Zone” is a non-profit organization of ISKCON Baltimore with a mission to distribute prasadam to the community at large. With its own food truck, devotee volunteers go out every day, except Sunday, to distribute free vegan prasadam to the people of Baltimore City. Since its inception three years ago, the Hunger Free Zone has distributed over 167,600 free vegan meals.

Grateful recipients note that the food is delicious and shared freely with all. “I’ve partaken of t

By Atma Tattva Das

Devotion and drive have shaped Gauranga Das’s commitment in the classroom and success in the boxing ring. His professional journey has also included a broad range of experiences serving others, each contributing to his development as a person and a devotee.

A central pillar in Gauranga’s life is his deep devotion to Lord Rama, who is the embodiment of virtues such as righteousness, courage, and compassion. “My faith in Lord Rama inspires me every day,” he shared, explaining ho

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.”

TEXT 32

gopair makhe pratihate vraja-viplavaya
  deve ’bhivarsati pasun krpaya riraksuh
dhartocchilindhram iva sapta-dinani sapta-
  varso mahidhram anaghaika-kare salilam

TRANSLATION

When the cowherd men of Vrndavana, under instruction of Krsna, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly king, Indra, the whole tract of land known as Vraja was threatened with being washed away by constant heavy rains for s

Dear Devotees,
 
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
 
The Annual General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society will begin in February 2025. Following the ISKCON GBC Society’s Rules of Order, the GBC Secretariat requests proposals, duly sponsored by two GBC members, to be submitted by December 31, 2024. Note that no proposals will be entertained after this date.
 
Please follow the format for GBC Proposals, found as a fillable PDF here:
https://gbc.iskcon.org/wp-cont

From Back to Godhead

For a long time scientists have been asking, 
What’s going on? And some of them 
have tried to find out, 
What’s behind it all?

Sir Isaac Newton once made a remarkable model of the solar system. Thanks to a clever hand-cranking mechanism, all of the tiny spinning globes orbited a small “sun.”

On entering Newton’s study, one of his colleagues, a materialist, couldn’t help noticing the model. He was flabbergasted.

“Dr. Newton,” the man stared, “who made this wonderful cont

By Nandini Devi Dasi 

As most ISKCON readers know, Saranagati Village was evacuated on the evening of July 17th, 2024. During our three-week absence, some devotees lost their homes, and others lost their wood sheds, outbuildings, storage structures, and equipment like chainsaws, the community plow, and sander.

We are not able to get insurance as we are an off-grid community, and so we have to cover the costs of cleanup and rebuilding. The government helped with our basic needs while we were eva

Bhakti Center NYC celebrated its seventh annual Diwali Festival on November 1st, attended by over 1,000 people. The popular evening event included kirtan, food stalls, dance, drama, and children’s activities like henna and face painting.

Several well-known publications, like the Gothamist, list the Bhakti Center as the number one place to celebrate Diwali in the city. Local print and television media covered the event, most notably CBS New York, which broadcast a live report from the event. You

By Yudhisthira Dasa  

This article aims to open the door to an emotionally and spiritually healthier attitude toward our ongoing journey of self-realization. This approach stands in stark contrast to the sectarian and fear-based renunciation that many of us in the first and second generation of ISKCON have experienced, albeit generally with no detrimental intent. After all, we took birth in human bodies for a purpose, not to deny it, but to see our human experience as an opportunity to learn bet

By Ananda Tirtha Das

The Annual General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society will begin in February 2025. Following the ISKCON GBC Society’s Rules of Order, the GBC Secretariat requests proposals, duly sponsored by two GBC members, to be submitted by December 31, 2024. Please note that no proposals will be entertained after this date.

To submit a proposal, please use the fillable .pdf here. Once completed, the proposal should be emailed here.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/gbc-releases-proposal

Paramahamsa Srila Gaura Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj was born into a vaishya family on the banks of the Padma River in Bagayan village in Faridpur district in what is now Bangladesh. His given name was Vamsi Das. He was born sometime in the middle of the nineteenth century. He is important to us because he was the diksha guru of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada. Vamsi Das’s parents had him married at an early age according to the custom of the time, but he always remained detache

By Giriraj Swami

Today is the disappearance day of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was a great devotee - a maha-bhagavata. He was a disciple of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and was very renounced. He had lived for many years in Vrindavan, roaming the twelve forests, chanting the holy names of Krishna, eating by begging alms, and sleeping under trees. Later, after Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discovered Lord Chaitanya’s birthplace in Mayapur, Srila Jagannatha da

Contrary to some erroneous reports in Indian media, ISKCON of Houston plans to hold its Festival of Bliss on Saturday, November 9th. The following is a statement from Saranga Thakur Dasa, President, ISKCON of Houston:

“ISKCON Houston To Adapt Its Festival for 2024

In the spirit of cooperation, ISKCON Houston is voluntarily adapting its Festival of Bliss plans for 2024, by featuring the Deities of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, who famously brought the cha

In this video, HH Bhaktimarga Swami discusses the importance of devotional service, as explained in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, specifically SB 7.11.8-12. The verses delve into qualities essential for spiritual growth and human advancement, such as truthfulness, compassion, cleanliness, tolerance, control of mind and senses, and simplicity. HH Bhaktimarga Swami emphasizes that these are universal values applicable to everyone, regardless of their societal role.

He elaborates on the concept of varṇāś

By Chaitanya Arya

On November 2, 2024, more than 1,200 devotees from remote villages in the Satpura hill range came together to celebrate the auspicious Giriraj Govardhan Puja Mahotsav. The event, led by Nitaipad Das and Markatshyam Das, with the cooperation of Upanand Das, Jayant, Gopal, Vasant, and Chaitanya, took place in a tribal region along the South Gujarat-North Maharashtra border. This large gathering of tribal devotees signifies a growing movement to revive Krishna Consciousness in com