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By Ravi Ramgoolam

"I want that you all my students shall very vigorously try for this book distribution."  Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Kirtiraja -- Vrindaban 27 November 1971

Mahotsaha Das has proven that the words of our founder Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are still living strong in the hearts of many.  Our beloved Srila Prabhupada’s heartfelt call to all his students of Bhakti Yoga to push vigorously for book distribution is amazingly still being carried down

By Madhava Smullen

With this holiday season upon us, devotees from Alachua as well as from Gainesville’s Krishna House, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine participated in the St. Augustine Christmas Parade in Florida on December 4th.

Hare Krishna devotees were the first part of the parade in 2012, for which they received the first prize trophy for best float. After receiving a trophy in 2013 as well, they have participated annually since only missing three years including 2019 and 2020.

The parade

It was a full day of rain and I’m not used to this, but such is nature.

Special about today, though, is that it’s the birthday of Vrnda. Who is Vrnda? Well, she’s a very sweet and intelligent woman who is doing a lot for this movement. She has an incredible devotional and legal head and is most helpful in so many capacities, most of all acting as the zonal secretary for our North Zone here in North America. She assists me in my GBC responsibilities. GBC stands for Governing Body Commissioner.

It

Yoga is often misunderstood as merely breath control, asanas or exercises; for some it is about practising some rules and regulations based on morality and for others it is cultivation of scriputral knowledge. But the real purpose of Yoga is to fix our mind on the Supreme.

According to Bhagavad-gita, yoga can not be practiced unless we practice mind control. An uncontrolled mind restricts the soul from reaching its natural blissful state, which a practioner is trying to acheive through yoga.

Ou

What did it mean when Srila Prabhupada said that ISKCON cannot be destroyed from the outside, but only from the inside?

Yes, ISKCON can be destroyed from the inside. Srila Prabhupada is referring to a forest fire here. There are two forest fires that Krsna swallows. One of these forest fires is the disagreement that comes about in the spiritual movement in the sanga of the devotees. And so, this is highlighted as something that can destroy our movement from within. As long as there is a core g

By helping us see that we are meant to become like our Lord because we are his parts. Just as he has forgiven us, we should forgive others.

Bhakti wisdom is also to understand that we are eternally the part of Krishna, mamaivansho jeeva loke. Just as we are parts of God, we are meant to be godly. If we look at our own lives we have committed so many misdeeds in this life and previous lives. There are so many reactions that we could have got for those misdeeds. One reaction to past misdeeds is t

From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 11:

“In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa there is the following statement about self-surrender: ‘My dear Lord, a person who has surrendered himself unto You, who is in firm conviction that he is Yours, and who actually acts in that way by his body, mind and words, can actually relish transcendental bliss.’”

“In the Nrsimha Purana, Lord Nrsimha-deva says, ‘Anyone who prays unto Me and takes shelter from Me becomes My ward, and I protect him always from all sorts of cal

From Back to Godhead

In believing our senses, how far do we go?

“Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!”

The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell was once asked what he would say if he found himself standing before God on judgment day and God asked him, “Why didn’t you believe in Me?” Russell replied, “I would say ‘Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!’”

When philosophers or scientists complain about lack of evidence, they mean empirical evidence or evidence that can be interpr

A fresh snowfall descended recently and has blanketed the surface throughout most of the province. Nature, it seems, speaks to us all the time. With the whiteness of snow, the message is “be introspective,” “be pure,” “be still,” “be calm.” When spring comes around the message is “move about,” “clear the space,” “dance and sing,” “stretch,” “grow.” When summer rolls in I hear it saying “take in the sun,” “relax,” “swim,” “play.” And when autumn ushers in it says “breathe,” “eat,” “sleep,” “smell

By Jyotisvara dasa 

What is this conference all about?

Consciousness has been the most elusive object in all scientific explorations of reality. With gradual advances in modern science, it is increasingly receiving the singular focus simply because all our perception of reality is rooted in it. 

Despite incredible success in Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience as well as basic sciences like physics and biology, we have practically no clue as to how information translates int

If we were to distill the Bhagavad-gita to one word, it would surely be, “Krishna.” If we were to distill the Bhagavad-gita to eighteen sentences, one per chapter, it might read like this:

Before a just and vital battle, recognizing beloved relatives and mentors among his opponents, the great warrior Arjuna tells his friend Krishna that he will not fight.

Krishna points out that by giving up the battle Arjuna would fail to see the spiritual essence in others, fail in his duty as a warrior and fa

Someone sent me an article by James Clear (in the photo). I thought he made a very interesting point. So many times we heard Srila Prabhupada say, “Just give them my books.” Of course, sadhu sanga helps explain the books according to time, place and circumstance. But I thought you all might find this interesting.
“Any idea that is sufficiently different from your current worldview will feel threatening. And the best place to ponder a threatening idea is in a non-threatening environment. As a res

For thousands of years Greece has been known as a land of great thinkers, with such men as Aristotle, Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras, Plutarch, and Archimedes leading the way. It stands to reason that a “thinking man’s” movement such as Krishna consciousness should do well there.

International Society for Krishna Consciousness devotees have been active in Greece for over forty years, with some success. Over the years, eight different temples opened in Athens, and at least one successfu

The Hare Krishna devotees in Russia are growing in numbers every year and chanting the names of Lord Krishna for the spiritual benefit of everyone. However, on November 23, 2021, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France took a decision based on an appeal from the Centre of Societies for Krishna Consciousness in Russia and its Head of Law Department Maha-Balarama das. The reason for the appeal to the ECHR was the negative assessment of the Hare Krishna organization by the state au

By Pranjal Joshi

The journey of a young millionaire, who blends spirituality with entrepreneurship.

It's evening; a young Bengali gentleman sitting in his office in Kolkata completes a webinar on entrepreneurship and moves on to an online TV interview. Interviewer asks him questions relating to investment, business and startups and he answers them all with fervid expressions. Being in limelight, guiding budding entrepreneurs, focusing on resolving queries and making people think differently is a

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

In the first verse of the Bhagavad-gita, the low-minded king Dhrtarastra asks his secretary, “O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?” Kim akurvata: “What did they do?” Srila Prabhupada says that this is a foolish question. The two armies had gathered to fight, so what is the question of what they did? Srila Prabhupada gives the example that if someone sits down before a plate of food, intending to ea

By Madhava Smullen

One of the biggest book distributors in East Africa, Dwarka Vasini Devi Dasi, along with her teams Vaishnavi Sanga and Krsna Kids Sena, distributes about eighty percent of ISKCON Nairobi’s total during the December Prabhupada marathon every year. Throughout the rest of the year, she and her niece Ambika Gopi Devi Dasi are the main book distributors in the Kenyan capital. With her efforts, ISKCON Nairobi has gone from distributing about 5,000 books during the marathon to 30,000

All the abilities and gifts we have, come from the Supreme Lord. He gives and He takes – that is the nature of material existence. Sometimes, we do not get anything at all, that happens. We miss out! Everybody gets it, but we might not. That means we are chosen by Krsna for some higher purpose. Everyone gets sense gratification and we do not get it – this means Krsna wants something higher for us, He wants something more for us! Krsna does not want us to forget about Him and simply enjoy the mat