By Sunanda Das
What is known as the ‘bhajan kutir’ in ISKCON Mayapur is the first structure built on the property. It was also the original ‘temple’, functioning as chota Radha Madhava’s first place of worship when They arrived in Mayapur in 1972. An entire day is dedicated to this ‘temple’ during the Radha Madhava Golden Jubilee Festival from March 2 – 5, the 50th Anniversary of that arrival.
The kutir was built by Acyutananda Swami in 1971 on the order of Srila Prabhupada, who personally inst
Take part in this historic inauguration of the reborn Bhaktivinode Asana at #1 Ultadanga Road in Kolkata.
100 years ago this year, on the roof of the building, the seed of ISKCON was planted in the heart of Srila Prabhupada by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.
ISKCON Kolkata acquired this historic property and has completely restored it as it was then.
Join us for a live broadcast of the inauguration on February 21st and be inspired by the power of the humble start of what is now a global
On July 29, 1971, Srila Prabhupada was interviewed on television at the University of Gainesville in Florida (which His Divine Grace described as “a remote corner of the world, thousands of miles from the birthplace of Lord Caitanya”). At one point, Srila Prabhupada was asked the following question:
Interviewer: How would I recognize a true follower of the Krishna consciousness movement by his behavior? What would his traits be? What would his outward expressions be?
Srila Prabhupada: He’d be a
“Hey,” said the rather bubbly guy, tall, middle-aged, jovial. “I haven’t seen you guys for a while. When I was a kid and we saw you bald and white fellows my dad would say, ‘They’re crazy.’Anyways, here I am now picking up a take-out dinner, seeing you guys again after all these years. We used to live one street over...”
Our new friend was amiable and talkative (in a most positive way). He kept Srikant and I very busy listening and we kept quite happy for his being there. He was a character, fo
On February 21 we are celebrating the 148th birth anniversary of Om Vishnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. This is the 100th year since our dear Srila Prabhupada met his guru maharaja on the rooftop of the building at 1 Ultadanga Junction Road. The Gaudiya Matha was there for twelve years, beginning in 1918, and it is from there, joined by his sannyasi disciples, that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati preached. Only three people lived there with him—I think Bhakti Pradip Tir
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura prayed to Lord Caitanya to send him an assistant and a successor from the Lord’s personal staff of preachers. Answering the prayer of the Thakura, a son was born to him on February 6th, 1874 while he was serving as the government magistrate in the holy city of Jagannatha Puri in Orissa.
Through various signs the Lord showed Thakura Bhaktivinoda and his good wife that this was the great soul that had been sent by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to carry on the preaching work t
Like an AM radio song or a first-run movie, a scientific theory has to be catchy if it's going to get anywhere. To begin with, it has to have a name that people will remember. Bright high school students should be able to make science fair displays out of it. Time and Newsweekreaders should want to tell their friends about it. Members of key congressional committees should be able to get the drift of it at the first or second briefing.
Take the big bang theory, for instance; the scientists have
Higher Education
"Maybe I Expect Too Much"
He was the consummate student, disciplined, industrious. He executed homework assignments with ritual precision, distrusted the frivolity of his peers, and adored the pursuit of knowledge. Eventually my friend Ralph, in his search for meaning, committed suicide at the age of sixteen. No one was less surprised than me.
Ralph would confide to me misgivings about his studies and the value of school in general. "It's not what they're teaching us," he would
The search for the source of inspiration in science, mathematics, and art
leads beyond the mechanistic framework of present-day biological theory.
SADAPUTA DASA studied at the State University of New York and Syracuse University and later received a National Science Fellowship. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in mathematics at Cornell, specializing in probability theory and statistical mechanics.
In this article we will examine how human beings acquire knowledge in science, mathematics, and ar
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
One resolution was inadvertently not included in the 2021 GBC Resolution file. This has now been corrected:
https://gbc.iskcon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2021GBCRES.pdf
The title of the missing resolution is “Increasing the Number of Diksa-gurus” and is on page 25.
My apologies for the omission.
Your servant,
Ananda Tirtha das (GBC Corresponding Secretary)
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=96713
On the wedding day of Krishna’s parents, King Kamsa led the chariot of the newly married couple through the crowds when a prophetic voice from the skies revealed his fate; being slain by their eighth son, who would be Krishna. Kamsa became very defensive, unsheathed his sword and was prepared to behead his sister right on the spot. Vasudeva, Kamsa’s new brother-in-law, stepped into action holding back Kamsa’s sword-held arm. The crowd was in a panic. Vasudeva tried to reason with the impulsive
By Kamala Radha Devi Dasi
Bhakti Kids Sanga had started out with having devotional activities for families, resources for parents, and even yoga classes for children, but they heard a need in their community. There has seemed to be an influx of Hare Krishna podcasts popping up, but nothing geared towards children and family. “I’ve even noticed parents on Facebook groups for homeschooling say they wish there was a podcast” Abhidheya devi dasi shared with us.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/b
A few of us created another Zoom Gita Study Group, with a west coast crew. It was our orientation day, but I must not forget to include three families from Saskatchewan, where they are encountering a terrific snow blizzard. “Not to worry,” I ensured Vivek and Amee. When the freak of nature rears its ugly head, we go into our holes and there’s nothing better to do on a wintry night than to cuddle around the comforting words of Bhagavan.
I want to thank those who joined today, and for every altern
The legendary singer and most recorded artist in the world (Guinness World Records) passed away on February 6, 2022 at the age of 92. I had the good fortune of meeting her in 1976 and spending several hours one on one with her over a three-day period.
In the summer of 1976, I received a call from Jagatpurusa das from Mumbai. He said that Lata (she told me to call her by her first name) and Mukesh were coming to Houston to perform in a concert and requested if I could arrange daily prasad for her
By Manojna Devi Dasi
Patanjali Muni das is head of the kitchen at Bhaktivedanta Manor, and he also oversees the preaching activities in ISKCON South Korea. Recently he ceremoniously received the life-size murti (sacred image) of Srila Prabhupada in the temple of Sri Sri Radha Krishnachandra, which is situated on the border of South Korea near to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which divides the South from the North.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/srila-prabhupada-arrives-in-south-korea/
By Snigdhamayi Sudevi Devi Dasi
India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF) is a US-based non-profit charity. They aim to support the poverty-stricken people of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Their focus is to empower poor people through means of education and skill development, thereby making them capable of living a sustainable life. They serve beyond the boundaries of caste, creed, and color.
In January 2022, IDRF extended its support to the India Tribal Care Trust (ITCT) through the Internationa
𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑮𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍!
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬:– bhajatam priti-purvakam
Author: Parasuram das
Blurb:
Valentine’s Day originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine.
Before execution, rather than cursing his unjust killers, Saint Valentine cured the jailer’s daughter of her blindness and execution in those days were pretty grim So basically Valentine’s Day is traditionally about making a sacrifice for a spiritual result, yes it has changed with time.
So this is a humble offering going o
Today is the disappearance anniversary of Sripada Ramanujacharya, the principal acharya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada wrote, “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacharya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days of ISKCON in India, before we had Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is in Hindi, Prabhupada would refer people to read the Hindi edition of the Gita with Sri R
Some years ago, the GBC commissioned their Sastric Advisory Council (SAC) to produce a paper on ISKCON’s responsibility to protect its members from choosing unqualified gurus, versus the disciples’ responsibility to undergo due diligence in testing their prospective guides. This is from the GBC’s request to the SAC:
“Srila Prabhupada states that it is the responsibility of the prospective disciples to examine and test their prospective guru prior to initiation. Given that the GBC gives tacit ap
