Last year there was an incident where I received a major chastisement because of not having properly understood the unique position of Srila Prabhupada. Well, I thought I understood his position but unknowingly and subtly I got led in way that would have meant exactly the opposite! The repercussion for me was polite but very grave, something I had never experienced in my spiritual or even in my material life. It was something I would carry whole life as it taught me a little what is meant b
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GBC SPT: Our team is pleased to invite you all to our bi-monthly series of interviews on the topic of Srila Prabhupada as ISKCON’s pre-eminent Siksha Guru. We are kicking off the series with one of Srila Prabhupada’s most dear disciples HH Giriraj Swami.
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88775
Writing the last chapter of the Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita was an intense experience for me. Prabhupada was teaching “the final lesson,” and I relived the day-by-day remembrances of being with Srila Prabhupada and serving in his ISKCON movement in the final days leading up to his disappearance. Those days were like a drama unfolding. Would Prabhupada stay with us? What would we do without him? And again I felt the grief at his departure. I was also reminded that Prabhupada’s last days were fille
By Madhava Smullen
With the recent COP26 climate conference in Glasgow a current hot topic of discussion, ISKCON will be holding the Felication Ceremony for its biggest Value Education Olympiad yet on November 22nd. There it will recognize hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren from across India and the world who studied environmental values based on the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita.
The Olympiad, organized by ISKCON of Punjabi Bagh, Delhi, is presented by Govardhan Eco Village and ISKCON in
By Madhava Smullen
After being virtually free of Covid-19 for most of the pandemic, New Zealand instituted a lockdown in August after discovering its first case in six months. Auckland, the epicenter of the outbreak, has remained in lockdown for over 90 days now, while most of the rest of the country has been living with minimal restrictions. Domestic borders around Auckland are set to reopen from December 15th for fully vaccinated people and those with negative test results. Meanwhile, ISKCON
One of the Gita Zoom calls for this Tuesday night is located in Owen Sound, Ontario, where our host, Sudhama, resides. Some of us decided to be there physically, so we drove up, a two-and-a-half-hour drive north west. Mahadeva was behind the wheel while his good partner, Annapurna, and I were passengers. To break up the drive we decided to hit a trail off of Hwy 10. A rails-to-trails pathway appeared to our right just prior to Holland Centre, a tiny hamlet, so this then became our down-time, a o
A Gorakshya (Cow Protection) Perspective by Syamasundara Das
I am submitting a response to an article I read very recently by Jennifer Mishler in Sentient Media. Plant-Based Companies Call Attention to ‘the Cow in the Room’ at COP26 (https://sentientmedia.org/plant-based-companies-call-attention-to-the-cow-in-the-room-at-cop26/)
In Jennifer Mishler’s article she mentions ‘environmental harms of animal agriculture, often left out of climate change discussions—and most importantly—not addressed in
Be Very Careful, If one does not chant Hare Krishna, Sarasvati ”Maharaj” may give you a ”Slap”, and ”Sarasvati, is preaching, “Do you know Krsna?”………..
Prabhupada: This girl, Sarasvati… Some boy said, “Oh, why you are chanting? This is not very good.” She gave[him] a slap. Just see. Naisthiki. How firmly she is fixed up, although she is a small child. Bhaktir bhavati naisthiki. Nobody can deviate [her]. A pure devotee of Krsna cannot be deviated. You cannot cheat him. No. He’ll give you a slap.
By Madhava Smullen
This year’s MAN-tra Retreat, held from November 12th to 14th, explored “The Hero’s Journey,” a common story template that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a crisis, and comes home transformed. The retreat applied the template to the life of devotees, who often see a similar awakening or call to adventure, followed by trials and transformation.
There were over 100 registrants from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries for th
By Madhava Smullen
About 170 book distributors, temple presidents, GBC members, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust staff and devotees in general viewed the 12th Annual BBT Africa Conference, held online and broadcast at https://www.youtube.com/c/BBTAfrica on Saturday November 6th.
Speakers from Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Mauritius participated in the three-hour conference, which is a platform for an exchange of ideas and strategies on all matters of book distribution, publication, and innovation. Insp
Every trail is unique. Every rock is distinct. Every cloud in the sky is different. Every tree has its own character. And today, I am viewing a waterfall which stands out from any other.
The water from the Sydenham River flows as cascades at Inglis Falls, a lovely drop of rushing H2O. It is one of four waterfalls in the Owen Sound district. Its gorgeousness was the reason for a second stroll for Mahadeva, Anna Purna, and I, but here we were accompanied by local friends who are all nature lovers.
Series: Srila Prabhupada-Our Preeminent Siksha Guru – Day 01
Speaker: Badrinarayan Swami
Occasion: Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day Special
Video: Click here
On Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day festival , here are some lesser-known facts related to ISKCON Founder Acharya.
GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) is pleased to invite you to the Day 1 of our 3 day series celebrating Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day festival reflecting on the role of Srila Prabhupada as our preeminent Siksha Guru wi
By Madhava Smullen
The new Devotee Care Team started in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in April 2021, is providing resources, assistance and association for residents of the large rural community.
The team is run by Lilasuka Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who first moved to New Vrindaban in 1980 and has served there as a day school teacher, communications director and handcrafts store owner; and Beverly Nava, who came in 2016 and has served as restaurant manager and HR representative.
While
There are many limbs of devotional service, 64 to be precise. By engaging in these 64 aspects, we can make so much spiritual advancement. The first is guru-padasraya – taking shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master. The second one is to accept initiation and receive spiritual instructions. The third is serving the spiritual master with love.
Before we reach love, we may serve out of fear. Why? Well, the sastras create a lot of fear in our hearts as it is very clear that we cannot disob
By Niranjana Swami
I was recently inspired. It was the 2nd day of our GBC meetings. I was completely absorbed the whole day, which for me is not something very easy. I am not so inclined to meetings, but on this 2nd day of our GBC meetings, there was only one subject, and that was book distribution. It was affirmed by other GBC members with whom I spoke that this was the most enlivening day ever spent in a GBC meeting because the subject matter was just about Srila Prabhupada’s books.
We got the
From Back to Godhead
Are we the makers of our destiny or is life pre-destined? Find out here . . . .
In the Mahabharata, Vidura explained to Dhritarastra, “Destiny determines the consequences of our actions, not our actions themselves.” This means that we are not like programmed robots that have no free will, or no choice. Our past karma does determine what will happen in our life, but it does not determine how we will react to it.
Destiny is something like a weather forecast on a journey. A we
By Madhava Smullen
Over 30 scholarly speakers are set to discuss Logic in Society, and the sub-theme of order versus chaos in nature, at the Hadai Pandit International Institute’s second online Congress from November 8th to 12th. Viewers can sign up at https://hadaipandit.org/ to log in and watch live on Zoom, or watch at https://www.facebook.com/institutohadaipandit.
The Institute, based in Argentina, is an upcoming online school which will provide Waldorf-style education along with principles
By Madhava Smullen
Wise Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness, an innovative introductory book to the path of Bhakti for a modern Western audience, has been translated into Spanish as Amor Sabio, and is now available in paperback and Kindle editions.
Author Pranada Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, first released Wise Love in March 2018. The book replaces common ISKCON vernacular with more accessible terms for philosophical concepts. “Wise Love” itself, for instance, ref
The article below appeared in NPR: News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Meet Alfred Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford and a Gainesville resident
When most people hear the name “Ford,” they think of cars. But one heir to the company wanted to change that in his own life.
He’s doing so from his home in Gainesville.
Alfred Ford, 71, is the great-grandson of American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford. He wa
An interesting name for a pathway – the “Dynamite Trail.” Well, it does exist. I have the proof as I walked on it this morning. And I had the glory of trekking on the bridge overlooking the Mush-a-mush River. Beautiful sight! And the smells – nostril arousing – especially the pines.
This phenomenal trail led me to the South Shore Waldorf School where one of its teachers, Yogendra, offered me to speak to three of the classes. It was a stimulating day doing these classes – one on the story of Dhru
