It was like the meeting of the brahmins, only some brahminswere not Vedic or even Hindu. Yesterday evening I was on the call with faith leaders of different backgrounds. Our subject was “Our Stronger Together Interfaith Zoom Gathering.” It was the coming together of groups from Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism and it was accomplished by way of zoom. Kevin Moore of the United Church was the convener and we spoke about the pandemic and how to respond to it. In other words, what
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I am 63 years old and this is first time I can remember to get locked down like this from a pandemic as covid19 outbreak. Spiritual life is as it is a social isolation unless it is for preaching purposes. Spiritual life is internalization, doing all the external activities for internal transformation. We want to find ourselves free from the bodily influence, gross and subtle as well. That way lock down is providing all day the opportunity for self- examination and self- improvement. Also the lo
ISKCON Chennai has organised an online summer course for children on the theme – Covil 10 – Ten Temples of India (The Tamil word for temple is Covil). It’s going very well. The course will stretch to 30 days.
It’s very simple to do this course. Marketing happens with devotees forwarding news about the course to their friends, relatives and colleagues on social media. After children register, all you need to do is create a WhatsApp group and post the materials. One dedicated person is enough to
Hear from one of our GBCs as he shares some of his insights about the COVID pandemic, his unique way of connecting with devotees, keeping in touch with temples within his zones, and continuing to overcome personal challenges as he continues with all his duties.
Friday, May 15, 2020 at 11 AM Eastern US time, 8:30 PM India time
(To see this event time in your zone, go here)
Kirtan musician, Jahnavi Harrison and popular singer, Willow Smith have teamed up to release a new song entitled ‘Surrender (Krishna Keshava)’. The piece is a rendition of the sacred prayer for protection and shelter purportedly sung by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as he walked the length of India. This is a first time collaboration for Jahnavi and Willow, who met last year and share a belief in the power of music to heal, uplift and raise consciousness. ‘We had started it some months back, and ha
Bay Street is the place where many lawyers have set up office. That might conjure up uneasy feelings for some people who venture that way on foot. Being that simple monk that I aspire to be, I have little to do with legal affairs and not much need to venture down this street. It’s definitely not my first choice to come to. The place is rather bland from an optical perspective. Perhaps the city is trying to change that. They’re doing it with some green. Yes, trees please?
On a strip of
While much of the world is in lockdown, the seasons are not. So here in Almviks Gard, Sweden, Spring is in full swing and so are we! Please see our little film showing our preparations for the growing season, our spring cleaning of the temple and our oxen being trained!
In Calcutta, 1971, the temple was in quite a bad state because the temple president had become preoccupied in an incense business he had started to raise funds. In the course of his absorption in the business, the devotees in the temple were being neglected. He hardly spent any time with them, and they really had no one to look after them. They were barely surviving. A strong-bodied devotee named Sudama Vipra, who had belonged to the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang, was so famished that he would
By Nityananda-kari Dasi
ISKCON Communications Minister Anuttama Dasa, in collaboration with the Bhaktivedanta College, Radhadesh, adapted the 'ISKCON Communications' training he gives world-wide in the classroom to the online environment - dynamic, powerful and thought-provoking as it is when taught in person. The course is designed for members of ISKCON in order to help them communicate more effectively in their everyday services and especially for those involved in ISKCON Communications m
For two locations - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Scarborough, Ontario—I zoomed out messages about Mother’s Day and what a glorious day it always is when we honour “Mother.” For both communities I began my talk about the beauty of motherhood. Mothers give us birth, feed us, nurture us, put us to sleep, protect us, and much more. “Serve and acknowledge your mom today, if not every day.”
I proceeded, however, to bring up examples of “Bad Mothers” found in the Vedas. From The Ramayana we hear
By Chandan Bhatia
If Nimai could not catch a bird He saw flying in the sky He would weep bitterly and roll in the dust. Sometimes, He cried for the moon and the stars in the sky while thrashing His arms and legs violently, if He could not have them. At such times, everyone would try to pacify the child. Vishvarupa (the elder brother of Nimai) would take Nimai in His arms, but still, the child refused to be pacified. “Give! Give!” He would cry. Indeed, the only remedy was chanting of the Holy Na
By Madhava Smullen
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a financial challenge for all ISKCON temples. With their main sources of income such as book distribution, Harinama Sankirtan, in person hundi box donations, preaching programs and more either decreased or halted, many are struggling to make ends meet.
ISKCON’s South American temples, however, have been among the hardest hit. While centers in some Latin American countries are managing to cover their minimum expenses locally, ISKCON Latin America’s
Today marks the completion of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta by Srila Krishnadasa Gosvami, four hundred and five years ago, at Radha-kunda.
At the end of the Madhya-lila (25.277–279), Srila Krishnadasa Gosvami writes:
“The devotees who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu take the responsibility for distributing nectarean devotional service all over the world. They are like clouds pouring water on the ground that nourishes the fruit of love of Godhead in this world. The devo
The number of calls to our temple/ashram are increasing. This is a fairly typical dialogue:
“Are you guys open?”
“No!”
“Do you know when?”
“It’s hard to say. Most likely we’ll open when most other places do.”
“That’s too bad. I miss (the temple or Govinda’s).”
“There’s not much we can do,” we have to say.
Basically a conversation like the above makes me happy that people are missing Krishna and that there is a spiritual need. It shows that we are wired to need other people and that lonel
With your good wishes, since the lockdown, ISKCON has so far served 4 Crore healthy meals through its 73 kitchens across India to low-income families & migrants.
We thank all the volunteers & supporters for coming forward & helping in this time of need.
We may recall that Ramanuja Acarya’s spiritual master sent him to study under a great self-realised sage, and after a long time, that sage gave him a secret mantra. He said, “If you chant this mantra, you will attain all perfection; liberation from birth and death. Whoever chants this mantra will attain all perfection. It is so powerful but it is a very hidden secret.” So Ramanuja Acarya received the mantra and subsequently, he went onto the main square near the temple. Standing near the gate o
“Yes, from the very beginning I went to New York because I thought that Krishna Consciousness is the most important idea in the world, so let me go to that place, New York, which is the most important city in the world, and if I am able to do anything for Krishna and my Spiritual Master, even I am at the fag-end of my life, at least let me try for it there. So my dreams have all come true, and all of you nice boys and girls are getting the credit. When I was alone in your New York, I was thinki
These days the routine is sleeping, waking, chanting, eating, class-giving, counseling, encouraging, zooming and walking. What I consider amongst all of the above activities which stands out is the walking. I say that because it is outdoor experience that makes it unique.
Of course it was a special and precious one hour of being on the phone with Cameron from Hamilton. We took that time to discuss the intro of the Bhagavad-gita. That was also a breath of fresh air. However, it is that air
When we say Krishna we mean God. When we say God it is not a Hindu God or Muslim God or Christian God and so forth or an Indian God or Russian god or Chinese God. God is God. He is the only one. He is the Supreme Personality. Although He is one but He has innumerable names according to His innumerable pastimes and innumerable qualities. Even in English we notice God is addressed as the Almighty or Omnipotent. Almighty and omnipotent are the names of God. As God is all powerful, He is the Almigh
