Oh, how I miss green! How I miss us — groups chanting together in that outdoor or indoor space. Every day I reminisce.
My isolation will end on the coming Monday but it still won’t be normal. Regardless, we learn from our guru, Prabhupada, that whatever the circumstance, make it bhakti-centric.
So, I do my best. I spent quite the time today clarifying an issue. It was rumored that I was taken to the hospital. The calls came in. There is nothing further from the truth. As long as we touch an ele
By Madhava Smullen
Bhagavat Seva, an ISKCON Silicon Valley project with the motto “Distributing Ancient Wisdom Through Education” is offering online Sunday School, and using the course fees to distribute full Srimad-Bhagavatam sets. Coordinators also hope that the program can be replicated by devotees in their local areas first nationwide, and eventually internationally.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/bhagavat-seva-sunday-school-uses-course-fees-to-distribute-bhagavatam-sets,7760/
There are few North American fellows stepping up for the renounced title, sannyas. We have a queue of people from Eastern Europe and India but it is rare to find on the list of candidates anyone from the western frontier taking this esteemed position.
It has been a long road for Ekalavya, born and raised in New York City in what he calls “the centre of Kali Yuga”. To go from being a talented street musician who discovered monks in Cork, Ireland to be awarded the new name of Sri Krishna Chaitany
An old brahmin priest lived in a holy place, at an ashram, with his seven disciples. There they worshipped some very old and famous Deities of Radha and Krishna. Many people would come to see these Deities and make donations for Their worship.
The guru, however, was growing weak due to old age. He knew it was time to soon leave his body, but did not feel confident to hand over to his disciples the entire service of these Deities.
One day a pilgrim donated a large ruby to the Deities.
I think it
According to Winston Churchill : “If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.”
The Lord has designed each of His human masterpieces uniquely, therefore the individuality of every living being is a fact. Hence disagreements are a part of everyday life. We are engaged in a casual conversation or trying to perform service in the temple. And suddenly a divisive hot-button issue comes up. How do we navigate the tension when there are drastically different perspectives? Is it possib
Here is a statement by Prahlāda Mahārāja, one of the twelve authorities, regarding the distinction between a devotee and a brāhmaṇa expert in karma-kāṇḍa, or Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. There are four varṇas and four āśramas, which divide human society, but the central principle is to become a first-class pure devotee. It is said in the Hari-bhakti—sudhodaya:
bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya
jātiḥ śāstraṁ japas tapaḥ
aprāṇasyaiva dehasya
maṇḍanaṁ loka-rañjanam
“If one is born in a high family like that
Lord Nrsimha roars loudly and causes others to roar. With His multitudes of arms, He tears the demons asunder and kills them in this way. He is always seeking out and tormenting the demoniac descendants of Diti, both on this earth planet and in the higher planets, and He throws them down and scatters them. He cries with great anger as He destroys the demons in all directions, yet with His unlimited hands He sustains, protects, and nourishes the cosmic manifestation. I offer my respectful obeis
Jahnavi Harrison released her latest single, “Divine Maha-mantra” on March 28th (Gaura Purnima). This latest offering will be the artist’s 4th single release since her 2015 album Like a River to the Sea.
Jahnavi Harrison was raised in a family of Bhakti-yoga practitioners at Bhaktivedanta Manor, one of England’s most important spiritual landmarks. As a child she was fascinated with song and story, and has nurtured that interest through her life long exploration of mu
On the 21st of this month we will celebrate the birthday of Ram. This is my latest poetical rendering. It is in his honour.
Ram possesses all the qualities of a superhero
Royal traits of ultimate prince, monarch or pharaoh
Reverent to all, eager to help and listen
With a service attitude acting on what’s given
His build is admirable, countenance grave
A task he’ll tackle meant only for the brave
He never moves suddenly at a reckless whim
No wonder his father, the emperor, adores him
Ram is a h
Dear Devotees, your prayers can make a difference! Lawer of ISKCON Russia, Maha Balaram prabhu, who triumphantly fought for us in the Bhagavad Gita case, has called me to request support of devotees worldwide. Two days ago there was a raid in Moscow and 3 harinama parties were arrested at the same time and were charged with illegal rallies and obstructing pedestrian movement. Last summer in the same way the harinama party was arrested in my hometown, but we have won all 18 cases in court with t
Renowned ISKCON author, Hridayananda Das Goswami, aka Howard Resnick, presents a spellbinding novel that scales literary heights while delivering a powerful Krishna conscious message.
What if an ancient Sanskrit text holds the answers to today’s deepest problems? What if the past—the ancient past—can help us unlock both our present and our future?
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/justin-davis-the-first-novel-by-hd-goswami,7755/
I’m receiving a lot of sympathy calls and mail. How sweet it is! Thank you all!
My peers do the same! Some of it’s fun, like the message I received from Devamrita Swami, regarding recovery:
“Some have written praying that you walk over the Covid. Other say no, “trample it.” I pray, Dance out of it, in your signature Vaishnava-Motown style!”
Thank you, dear Devamrita Swami. You lift my spirits.
Two more sunny spots of the day I’ll describe and brief. For a Halifax group I Zoomed in to deliver a
“Thank you for appreciating my books. Read them carefully and you will preach very nicely”
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Candramukhi– Honolulu, 2 February 1975
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=94593
By Madhava Smullen
‘Strengthening the Bonds that Free Us,’ a Grihastha Course that will teach devotees how to develop the insights and skills for a more meaningful, happy, and inspiring marriage will be offered online via Bhaktivedanta College from April 12th to May 16th. The course is facilitated by husband and wife Partha Das and Uttama Dasi, who have been married for the past fifty years.
Uttama and Partha are part of the Grihastha Vision Team (GVT), a group of Vaishnava couples and professio
By Damodarleela dasa, Maharashtra Padayatra leader
The Maharashtra Padayatra reached Pandharpur dhama on January 26, 2021. We were welcomed at the entrance of the dhama by the devotees and our spiritual master, Lokanath Maharaja. It was a great moment. I jumped from the chariot to offer my obeisances to Gurudev and as I stood up, he put a garland around my neck. I felt so humble and thought the perfection of my life is pleasing him, because padayatra is the heart of our spiritual master.
Maharaj
By Subroto Dasa
The care for the resident devotees is of foremost importance and to ensure this ISKCON Mayapur has initiated the launch of Free Covid Relief Prasadam service for all the devotees infected by Covid and their family members. Prasadam will be delivered at their doorstep by the volunteer devotees in disposable containers.
In a note released by the Management “Devotees who wish to register for this service will need to send their Covid test report to us via Whatsapp message and they
9th April 2021
To HRH Queen Elizabeth and family
It is with great sadness that we of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness write to you today, on the passing of Prince Phillip.
Throughout the years we noted how dedicated he was to the betterment of British society, and humanity at large, a principle which we also, in our humble way, are trying to contribute towards. He tried extensively to establish and support projects for the welfare of the people in general and touched the live
“I was distributing on a sidewalk at an intersection in Barcelona, Spain. Every day I would try to stop the same young lady, but she would ignore me. One day I walked with her a few meters, pleading with her in a friendly way: “Come on! Just take one book!” Pointing to the Teachings of Queen Kunti I was holding, I said, “Here, please take the teachings of the queen!”
But to no avail; she wouldn’t stop.
“However, the next day when I saw her she humbly approached me and asked, ‘Can I buy the Teac
In my youth, I came to Krsna consciousness and I had lots of energy and I used it all with a lot of enthusiasm to do many things. The focus was on doing things for Krsna – doing service. I tried to do a lot of service. In the cause of doing service, I did step on a few toes here and there. I did elbow a few people out of the way or knock them over. What shall I say? But these things were secondary to me because the things that needed to be done in devotional service were the most important. But
