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Before I took my walk today I was sitting, and across from me was our senior-most monk who resides in our ashram. His name is Dakshin, a native of London, Ontario, and he became committed to bhakti, devotion, back in 1974 when he joined in Vancouver.

He’s a jolly and dutiful type of person and in the temple portion of our building he does two poojas (rituals) per day and also functions as our security for three hours. He can look mean with his stick and bears a grave persona, however, deep down

In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa describes four kinds of pious men (su-kṛtinaḥ) begin to render devotional service unto Him – the distressed (ārto), the desirer of wealth (arthārthī), the inquisitive,( jijñāsuḥ), and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute (jñānī)’

catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ su-kṛtino ’rjuna
ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha (BG 7.16)

Dhruva Mahārāja was arthārthī Bhakta- desirous of wealth. He wanted a kingdom bigger than his grandfather Lord Brahmā. W

If one commits an offence, one has the duty to denounce that immediately; to denounce the offender. In the Caitanya Caritāmṛta, we have the story of how Gopāla Cāpāla became envious of Srivasa Thakura, who is a great devotee, and tried to diminish Srivasa Thakura’s prestige, due to which Gopāla Cāpāla then suffered leprosy as a result. He was then forced to stay outside the village as lepers are very contagious. Then one day, Gopāla Cāpāla met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and fell at His feet and ask

An interview with Giriraj Swami by the ISKCON Strategic Planning Office, July 9, 2020, via Facebook.

Gauranga Dasa: Hare Krishna. We welcome all the devotees who have joined this weekly care conversation, Vaishnava seva. This week we are very honored to have with us His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja. We welcome His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja, who is one of the most senior of Prabhupada’s disciples. He was very active on the GBC, and was one of the founders of ISKCON India, especially the

Most days, on which I embark on my evening trek, I have a destination in mind to go either east, west, north or south. Sometimes I have no pre-arrangement so I let the wind talk to me. If the air currents go north/south, I’ll take that. If the breezes are more active east/west that’s where I feel I am being guided. Not since the summer of ‘77 has there been such an extended heat wave.

Martha Reeve and the Vandellas had a hit song on the charts. “Heat Wave” expressed in its lyrics a love-fever th

The Global Devotee Care Directorate invites everyone to their weekly webinars focused on Vaishnava Seva and Devotee Care, an effort that emphasizes the culture of devotee care in our ISKCON temples and communities. We are pleased to announce this week’s discussion was led by HH Niranjana Swami Maharaj, who is the force behind one of the world’s largest thriving communities of devotees in Ukraine.
 

About HH Niranjana Swami

His Holiness Niranjana Swami was born

I never met Michael before but he seemed to know us. Just to make sure he had the right group in mind, he asked, “Hare Krishna?”

“Yes indeed,” I responded.

Then Michael, a man about fifty years old, proceeded to speak about a deity of Krishna which was moving His eyes—a deity owned by a Hindu friend of his. He inquired about our philosophy: “Is this pantheism?” simply because I had mentioned about seeing divinity in all things.

“Yes, brahman is everywhere, however, there exists a Supreme Brahman

Shri Raghunandana Thakura made his appearance within this world in Shri Khanda. In his home he became acquainted with the worship of Shri Gopinatha from an early age. One day his father, Mukunda Dasa, who was a doctor, had to go away on medical business.

He called Raghunandana to his side. He told Raghunandana to see to it that their deity was served with great care and attention. He told him to be sure and feed the deity. At the appointed hour, taking the order of his father on his head, Raghu

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

HH Bhakti Charu Swami’s sudden departure has left an empty space in my heart.

Up to the last moment, I was praying and hoping that Maharaja would be able to overcome this disease.

I was always cherishing his association because it filled me with warmth, with a feeling of a close family member that was always there for me when something would go wrong. A hug from Maharaja was a booster in my Bhakti.

Maharaja’s ou

Excerpts from OBL Kapoor’s “The Saints of Bengal” (Srila Prabhupada’s Godbrother)

Vamsidasa Babaji was a siddha-mahatma in the disciplic succession of Sri Narottama Thakura. The name of his diksa-guru was Harilal Vrajavasi and the name of his vesa-guru was Ramananda Vrajavasi. But it was difficult to know that he was siddha, because he lived far away from the world in a solitary place on the bank of Ganga near Baral Ghata in Navadvipa, as if he was renounced by the world, as an idiotic and worth

Last weekend, July 17-19, Rambhoru Devi Dasi, a respected Srila Prabhupada disciple, Interfaith Chaplain, and Clinical Pastoral Educator, revisited New Vrindaban to offer a three-day workshop on the topic of “Bereavement after Loss and Self-care.”

Rambhoru Devi is a certified professional in her field. Her formal training includes a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies, a Master of Divinity Degree, a Masters’ Degree in Patient Counseling, and Board Certification from the Association for Cli

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaja was one of the most ardent and steadfast supporters of the TOVP. Over the years he personally spoke incessantly about the project, raised funds for construction, attended fundraising events, and was recently planning to travel with the North American TOVP Tour to many temples until the COVID-19 shut everything down. His temple in Ujjain is also overseeing the production of all the parampara murtis for the TOVP altar.

Below Sadbhuja prabhu speaks about Bhakti C

HH Bhaktimarga Swami and Mother Krsnannandini share their thoughts and memories of Bhakti Charu Swami

Video: Click here

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=87655

By Kalakantha Dasa ACBSP

My experiences trying to keep sane in the prevailing pandemic through Deity worship.
Sri Kapiladeva: 0 My mother, My devotees always see the smiling face of My form, with eyes like the rising morning sun. They like to see My various transcendental forms, which are all benevolent, and they also talk favorably with Me.

Maydvadis and atheists accept the forms of the Deities in the temple of the Lord as idols, but devotees do not worship idols. They directly worship the Per

By Satsvarupa Das Goswami

I received an email from Vanamali Pandit, the temple president of Boston. He has invited me to conduct a Zoom presentation for the 49th installation anniversary on July 19th. I have agreed to do it because Prabhupada sent me alone to Boston in 1967 to open a center. I stayed there for several years and watched it grow. I have a soft spot for Boston ISKCON. I will share my memories, including the several visits of Prabhupada to the Boston temple and his installation of

Zoom calls to different global locations and kirtan sessions going abroad are occupying some of my recent days. The endeavours towards publications are also engaging. There are four works in progress—“Saffron Road,” about my walking experiences, a book of poems I’ve compiled, a collection of scripts I’ve written over the years, detailing Vedic tales, and the most recent is an e-book, which is very much in the embryonic stage, “Krishna in the Maple Leaf.” It is exciting for me and it has require

Let us hear how to overcome the overwhelming mental health challenges in one’s spiritual life from Citi Sakti Devi Dasi who is an expert psychiatrist and practicing spiritual life for more than two decades.

About Citi Sakti Devi Dasi

Citi-Śakti Devi Dasi is a disciple of H.H Bhakti Tirtha Swami and is based in London, UK. She serves as a preacher, mentor & sangha leader. In her endeavors to make Krishna consciousness available to as many as possible, she reaches a broad variety of people interna

This Sunday on the Children at Home Show by Gopi Gita Schomaker, we invite Her Grace Vrindavaneshvari Aguilera, a dear disciple and spiritual daughter of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami and the Early Childhood Director of the Bhaktivedanta Academy Gurukula school in Alachua. She shares how her family has been touched by him, and how they navigate the natural grief that arises by his departure.