Nothing major but I was feeling a bit woozy from the vaccine I received yesterday, nevertheless I wanted to keep busy. In that regard priestly duties were put to motion. It started with a visitation to Nimai Nitai’s home. Among his family friends was someone’s birthday; Jyoti is her name. She’s a young mother. We celebrated with a cheese cake.
Now you may ask what is it with my involvement in a birthday and what does it have to do with priestly duties? Well, my role in a spiritual community may
"By the grace of the Lord, a devotee can achieve wonderful success simply by willing, but a real devotee does not like that. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught that one should not desire material opulence or material reputation, nor should one try to enjoy material beauty; one should simply aspire to be absorbed in the devotional service of the Lord, even if one does not get liberation but has to continue the process of birth and death unlimitedly. Actually, however, to one who engages in Kṛṣṇ
"Mother Yashoda’s love is unmatched in purity and is unlike any other that even the infinite Lord who pervades the entire creation is bound by her love."
“Because mother loves the most…in this material world, there is no comparison of mother's love. Without any exchange. Even in this material world. Mother loves the child without any expectation of return generally…that is called unalloyed love. Anyabhilasita-sunyam, free from all material gain.”- Srila Prabhupada Srimad-Bhagavatam1.8.31 lectur
By Madhava Smullen
After a successful school year of keeping all students safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, the TKG Academy in Dallas, Texas held a graduation ceremony on May 27th that felt “triumphant,” according to Vice Principal Gopi Gita Dasi. During the event, three students who had attended TKG Academy since preschool graduated from Twelfth Grade, while the rest of the school’s thirty-three students received end-of-year certificates.
Throughout the year, Covid safety protocols such as ma
By Madhava Smullen
An online “Sravana Festival,” with a series of Zoom talks by illustrious guests about the pastimes of Lord Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, is setting the mood for the upcoming Ratha Yatra celebrations at the ISKCON temple in Plainfield, New Jersey and on the Atlantic City boardwalk.
The nectarean spiritual talks, which are taking place every Sunday from 9:00am to around 10:30am EST, began on June 20th with Director of Gopal Jiu Publications Madhavananda Das, who is based
I’ve known Devananda for many years. He grew up in London, Canada, area. I know little about his Jewish descent, but he adopted to eastern ways like I did. Pursuing life in India; living like a yogi/sadhu of sorts was his calling. He’s been active in China and India and teaches shiatsu and massage therapy.
It’s great when he comes around, being about the same age we have something to share about experience in the yoga field, although my chosen approach has been more in the bhakti line. There is
By Dinanatha Das
Japa retreats starting June 26 and running through July 18th, online, hosted by Mahatma Das and Amogh Lila Das.
Register here: http://bit.ly.3pStMZ4
HG Mahatma Prabhu (ACBSP), from Alachua, USA, has been conducting workshops on various topics of importance to devotees like improving japa, forgiveness, compassion, etc. These workshops have immensely benefited the participants to improve their sadhana.
On April 2021, HG Mahatma Prabhu conducted an online Japa Retreat “Transform
One of the first things a serious spiritual aspirant learns is the necessity of surrendering to a spiritual master. ‘Try to learn the truth by accepting a bona-fide guru’, the Bhagavad-gita tells us. Many other Vedic texts exhort us similarly. These are frequently cited by Srila Prabhupada throughout his books. It would be an extremely inattentive student who failed to grasp the idea that without a spiritual master we cannot advance in spiritual life. We sing this every morning in the gurvastak
Sesa das talks about HH Bhakti Charu Maharaja being a ‘courageous firebrand…’ IN GLORIFICATION OF HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU MAHARAJA
Can you picture our dear Vaisnava gentleman His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami as a sword wielding, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, general on the battlefield, a courageous soldier in the thick of battle, waging war on behalf of ISKCON? A more predominant view of Maharaja is one who is a source of inspiration, refuge, and hope. However, as I reflect on my recent G
Video of HH Bhakti Charu Swami glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to USA in a packed Netaji Indoor Stadium which seats 12,000 people. To inaugurate the ISKCON 50th Anniversary year, on August 13th in Kolkata a grand celebration was held with the participation of thousands of devotees from 108 countries, spiritual leaders and dignitaries such as the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
By Krishna Premarupa Das
What is the most difficult service in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)? Most probably, it’s to serve as a diksa guru, or initiating spiritual master.
On Saturday, 5th of June, the GSC hosted a three-hour online conference for ISKCON diksa gurus. This was the first of its kind as a virtual event. The event was titled the "Challenges of Being a Guru in ISKCON".
The Guru Services Committee (GSC), a standing committee of the Governing Body Comm
It is quite the achievement, first of all, that there is a leadership college that trains men and women to be just that – leaders in a spiritual organization. I was invited to the GBC College Graduation and here’s a message from our graduate from Canada. His name is Anuttama. He sent me a letter tonight.
“Hare Krishna Maharaja (that’s me) and Prabhus (other blessers),
I wanted to inform you that I graduated from the GBC College leadership for Zonal Supervisor today. It was a longer journey than
So, it’s the first day of summer but I was reminded of one other aspect of today. It’s Father’s Day. I spent the night with a family in Bracebridge. They have a gorgeous shrine in their front room. At 7 a.m., we all came together for chanting, puja, and a discussion on the Bhagavad-gita, 14.4, referencing Krishna on the topic of fatherhood, where He claims, as God, to be the ultimate Dad.
We drove south to Toronto and on very short notice I was requested to give a class for our Vancouver Centre
More than 1,000 local residents and devotees gathered at the Spanish Fork temple on June 20th to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Radha Krishna Temple joining the religious landscape of the predominantly Morman state of Utah.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/20th-anniversary-celebrations-of-spanish-fork-radha-krishna-temple,7897/
Nature is a knock-out. That is easy to see in the more northern regions. I mean to say there is this gorgeousness about Mother Nature from whatever angle you look, but everyone has their preferences, geographically. During my walks, I was truly taken by the desert beauty of Utah, the mountainous power of B.C., the ruggedness of rocky Newfoundland, the green tones of Ireland, and the exotic wonder of beachy Mauritius. But there’s something special about the Muskoka cottage country.
Karuna, Madha
Hare Krishna dear Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati reveals the secret of Navadvipa-dhama in his Navadvipa Satakam (verse 78):
aradhitam nava-vanam vraja-kananam te
naradhitam nava-vanam vraja eva dure
aradhito dvija-suto vraja-nagaras te
naradhito dvija-suto na taveha krsnah
“If you worship the nine islands of Navadvipa, you are actually worshiping Vrndavana and can easily gain entrance into that confidential place. If y
By Madhava Smullen
The Bhaktivedanta Academy in Alachua, Florida, a thriving spiritually-centered Pre-K through 10th grade Montessori and International Baccalaureate school, is seeking applicants for its new internship program for Pre-K and Elementary teachers.
An informal internship program has already been running for some time; however, with the school now looking to double its capacity over the next several years, a formalized program is being launched to prepare for future growth. Beyond b
Srila Prabhupada emphasized that management and preaching go together. “Good management follows preaching like a shadow,” he wrote, “and the best thing is that the managers should always be preaching.”
At a certain stage in India during Srila Prabhupada’s presence, Tamal Krishna Goswami, who was the GBC for India, wanted to leave and go to the West to preach. At first Srila Prabhupada was reluctant, because he depended on Tamal Krishna Goswami to manage activities in India, but eventually Prabh
ISKCON Gurugram was awarded a Certificate of Commitment by the World Book of Records (WBR) to recognize the exceptional services offered by the devotees at ISKCON Gurugram in serving the needy during the Covid pandemic. The award was received by Rambhadra Das, President – ISKCON Gurugram. Rambhadra Das stated that “I dedicate this award to the global ISKCON family, my mentor HH Gopal Krishna Goswami, and Vivo India, Rapido, IOCL, GAIL, PTC and Sudhir Generators and all o
Last year my brother, Jerry, popped by to drop off vintage photographs of our biological family.
They came in two cardboard boxes with one of them labelled “Brownies,” which my sisters were members of. Likely that box contained Brownies chocolate bars or cookies, which were fundraisers for the organization. That one box, still kicking around with old pics in it, has been around for 55 years. The box itself is vintage.
In any event, I’m copying some of these photos for posterity’s sake and I’m h
