Rains came all night – a good sign. I spent the night at Chemainus, Vancouver Island, in a lovely and quaint 10 x 10 AirBnB, washroom of the same dimension right next door, and with a brief boardwalk two doors down is a gorgeous temple of Jagannath. The exterior and interior geniuses behind this heavenly arrangement are Gadadhar and Manoharini, crafts-persons, hosts, and above all, good devotees of Krishna.
After the night rainfall, a perfectly coordinated sun came out. I stuck to my
Pain is a Stronger Motivator Than Pleasure
In the seminar I give on prayer, devotees look at their obstacles to bhakti and consider why it is important to overcome them. Then I ask devotees to focus on the pain they feel when they allow these obstacles to impede their spiritual progress. I ask this because if we do not associate significant pain to our anarthas, we may not be motivated to give them up. It is said that people don’t change when they see the light; they change when they feel the h
Sometimes people ask who is Lord Balarama? And the answer is that He is the brother of Lord Krishna. However, He does many things besides that.
Have you ever wanted to introduce your friends, family, or colleagues to the Gita? Do you want to get involved in the outreach mission? Or maybe you just appreciate Srila Prabhupada’s books so much that you’re naturally looking to connect others to them.
As more people turn to the internet in search of answers, comfort, and clarity, the Think Gita initiative, based in the UK, is meeting them where they are—online. With its latest free course, Fight Your Fears, launching on August 6th, Think Gi
Meet the family behind Bhakti Lifestyle (left to right): Kalin, Srinivas Acharya Das, Gauranga Priya Devi Dasi, and Sashin serving up compassion, one handcrafted meal at a time.
When the COVID-19 pandemic upended global industries in 2020, Srinivas Acharya Das found himself among thousands retrenched from long-standing corporate roles. But what began as a personal economic crisis gave birth to something far more meaningful: Bhakti Lifestyle, a family-run, Krishna-conscious vegetarian and vegan
Ferns are in great grown on the Fir Crest Trail where I trekked solo. With Tony and Nitai Priya we ambled along Rebecca Spit, a peninsula with so much driftwood on both sides. The Spit was the popular one for pedestrians and runners. Both trails offer peace, tranquility. During these two strolls, clouds were teasing, at least where we roamed. That left us in doubt. Will the badly needed rains come? Canada turns dry in the summer like never before according to those of us who have been
It is with heavy hearts that we share the sorrowful news regarding the Divan family, who were scheduled to arrive at New Vrindaban’s Palace Lodge on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. The family of four elderly pilgrims—Dr. Kishore Divan (89), Mrs. Asha Divan (85), Mr. Shailesh Divan (86), and Mrs. Gita Divan (84)—began their road trip from Buffalo, NY, with plans to visit Pittsburgh and then New Vrindaban.
The Divans did not show up on Tuesday night at the lodge. The family was later reported missing, a
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple in Tallahassee, Florida, is seeking dedicated devotees—either individuals or couples—to join its growing spiritual community and contribute to the expansion of Lord Chaitanya’s Sankirtan mission.
Located at 1323 Nylic Street, ISKCON Tallahassee is home to an active preaching center that combines traditional temple worship with dynamic outreach, especially among students at Florida State University (FSU). The temple team is loo
Join us for afternoon celebrations at Radha Madhava Temple, 4–6 PM:
Lalita Sakhi – August 4th
Tungavidya Sakhi – August 26th
Visakha Sakhi – August 31st
Champakalata Sakhi – September 1st
Indulekha Sakhi – September 3rd
Rangadevi Sakhi – September 7th
Sudevi Sakhi – September 7th
Chitra Sakhi – September 26th
Read More https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/save-the-dates-sakhi-appearance-days
The period from the 1980s to the present marks a pivotal turning point in history. If we consider a similar period — for example, from the mid-1930s to the 1980s — we can see that even then profound transformations occurred.
During that earlier period, industrialization entered a phase of extraordinary efficiency, drastically reducing costs and making technologies widely accessible that had previously been reserved for a few. Home appliances and automobiles became common goods, radically chan
The 2025 edition of Srila Prabhupada Tributes has just been released. This beautiful collection of offerings glorifies our beloved Founder-Acarya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, through the heartfelt words of disciples from across the world. This project is guided by and inspired by the vision of Jayadvaita Swami.
The book is now available for FREE DOWNLOAD in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats directly from the downloads page.
We read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter 19:
TEXT 1
vrndavaniyam rasa-keli-vartam
kalena luptam nija-saktim utkah
sancarya rupe vyatanot punah sa
prabhur vidhau prag iva loka-srstim
TRANSLATION
Before the creation of this cosmic manifestation, the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahma with the details of the creation and manifested the Vedic knowledge. In exactly the same way, the Lord, being anxious to revive the Vrndavana pastimes of Lord Krsna, impregnated the hear
At the North European BBT, we have begun using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool in the translation and editing of Srila Prabhupada’s books from English into other languages. Naturally, this raises important questions among devotees – about AI’s accuracy, interpretive ability, and the spiritual integrity of the resulting texts. AI is not intended to replace human expertise. Rather, it func- tions as an assistant – highlighting grammatical inconsistencies, offering alternative phrasings, o
This summer, ISKCON Farmington Hills successfully organized four powerful Rathayatra festivals across Michigan—bringing the mercy of Lord Jagannath to the cities of Ann Arbor, Canton, Farmington Hills, and Lansing. Under the inspired spiritual leadership of Yugal Kishore Das, Temple President, several devotees joined hands and talents to build our own beautiful cart for this year’s Rathayatra, adding a new layer of devotion and community spirit to the celebrations. With each chariot festival,
This tall, lean fellow didn’t look like he had it all together. He saw me walking and started cursing. As he crossed the street, there was no shortage of colourful words directed to me.
“Why don’t yah go back where you came from?”
I wasn’t going to be silent. “I’m from here – born, raised, and bred in this country.” He carried on in a cross way with mouth and legs. A cigarette can was in his way, so he gave it a kick landing the can on the street after it had a good roll. A trash
Our visiting monk from Florida, Brhat Mrdanga, showed me the notes he took from my class involving the theme of shifting gears in life, or altering one’s career and what people often call paradigm shifting. The focus in the class was based on a Canto Nine avatar, Parasurama, who was born a brahmin (priest), but took on the disposition of a ksatriya (warrior). He felt he did the needful due to oppressive force from unruly kings. In other words, he demonstrated how, in certain circumstances,
Hare Krishna.
Nestled amidst the serene countryside of Lanchang, Pahang, Malaysia, lies a sacred jewel ISKCON Malaysia’s New Godruma Dhama Farm which propagates cow protection and farming projects in its humble attempt as envisioned by the divine teachings of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Named after Godruma, the sacred island of Navadvipa where the Surabhi cow came to worship Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, this present-day Godruma is now rising as a Vedic eco-village cen
Yudhistir Govinda Das, Trustee and Country Director of Communications for ISKCON India, was recently interviewed by Times Now, an English-language TV news channel in India with millions of monthly readers.
In a thoughtful exchange with interviewer Namya Sinha, Yudhistir explores the profound impact of chanting Krishna’s holy names on mental well-being and spiritual growth. He explains that chanting—especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—helps individuals purify their thoughts, center their mi
On August 3rd, nearly 77-year-old Sivarama Swami will take on a remarkable challenge—swimming 10 kilometers through the cold waters of the River Thames. His goal? To raise funds for printing and distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books in the Turkish language, expanding the reach of Krishna consciousness in the Turkish-speaking world.
“I’ve been preaching in Turkey for years and I’ve seen firsthand the hunger for Krishna consciousness and the lack of resources,” Sivarama Swami shares in a promoti
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself."– Bhagavad Gita 4.7
