This year we won't get the chance to pull Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi's chariots through the streets but don’t let that dampen your spirits. Get ready to welcome Them into your hearts this weekend!
ISKCON Berlin, London, Radhadesh and Zurich are organizing the Spirit of Ratha Yatra, a unique first-time European virtual collaboration festival jointly hosted on Saturday 18th July, 11:00 - 17:00 CEST / 10:00 - 16:00 BST.
The festivities will include Deity darshans, history
By Achyut Gopal Das
Being born in this world is not easy and being born as a woman is definitely not easy and being a chaste woman and trying to live a principle-centered life is definitely, definitely not easy. The struggles a woman goes through being a wife, raising children and running a family is many times beyond comprehension and very often, overlooked. Running an empire is easier than running a family. But probably the biggest challenge of womanhood is in being understood. Every woman loo
Raccoons can be seen during the day or night, but, like most party animals, they seem to prefer the nocturnal time of a twenty-four hour cycle. On my return journey from Bellevue Square Park, I heard the familiar sound of scratching claws against the bark of hardwood trees. There, at George Street, my eye captured three little guys at the same tree, each on different levels.
Partying? I guess. Exploring? For sure.
Anyway, I had just come from the park and was personally disgusted with what hum
The hallmarks of ISKCON, its seven purposes were reaffirmed through a series of interviews and dialogues by the exemplary leaders of ISKCON who personify these seven purposes in their own exquisite ways. COVID-19, a global pandemic might be a menace but ISKCON GBC SPT Team optimized the lockdown situation by utilizing the social media forum to celebrate ISKCON’s incorporation day by reaffirming its seven foundational purposes set forth by its founder Acarya A.C Bhaktived
By Rajesh Hirani
Finally, when Srila Prabhupada said to you strongly:
“I will get better only when I die”
You broke down crying.
But he wished to bind you even closer:
“Is this what you have learnt from me?
The soul is always there – immortal!”
Although your heart ached with constant agony
you always lived with the understanding –
that Srila Prabhupada is constantly there…
Like a mother hiding behind a curtain
who wishes to teach her son to walk
by urging him to search for her: “Come, come…I am
When we fly to greater heights in the sky of bhakti, we become free from darkness in ourselves.
ākāśa — ananta, tāte yaiche pakṣi-gaṇa
yāra yata śakti, tata kare ārohaṇa
(Caitanya Caritamrta Antya Lila 20.79)
The sky is unlimited, but many birds fly higher and higher according to their own abilities.
I started thinking about the sky as the sky of devotional service and how different birds are flying at different levels of devotional service. In the beginning, the weight of old habits is stro
Let us hear from HG Jagattarini Devi Dasi as she reaffirms the Purpose # 5 of ISKCON (To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna).
About Jagattarini Devi
Her Grace Jagattarini Mataji joined ISKCON and first met Srila Prabhupada in America in 1970 (many of you may have heard of this famous story of a successful actress becoming a devotee). Through her connections with the Movement, Jagattarini met her husband
Sri Baladeva, Subhadra and Jagannath
On 12 July, 2020, Summertime is Ratha Yatra time! The Ratha Yatra festival is a celebration of reunion, when Their Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, who had been separated from Their devotees during a two-week “sick” leave, finally return and are taken out on a pleasure ride in a gorgeously decorated chariot. On a deeper level, it signifies the ecstatic reunion of Krishna with the residents of Vrindaban aft
ISKCON Cardiff temple president and Food For Life Wales Director Tarakanatha Das has received a Points of Light award from the UK Prime Minister’s office, and has accepted it on behalf of the prasadam distribution organization.
The Points of Light award is presented to outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community. On Friday July 3rd, Food For Life Wales was recognized for its relief work during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the team of Cardiff devotee
Let us hear from HG Ambarish Das and Svaha Devi Dasi as they reaffirm the Purpose #5 of ISKCON. They are instrumental in the overseeing and construction of “The Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP)”.
About Ambarish Das and Svaha Devi Dasi
Ambarisa das was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1974 in Hawaii. He is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, and has been involved in numerous ISKCON projects around the world including the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center in Detroit, the Oxford Center for Hindu Stu
By Garuda Das, PhD (ASBSP)
I offer you some heartfelt thoughts and reflections here on Vaishnava loss, grief, and the departure of beloved Vaishnavas:
This is a time of grieving such a great loss for you. If the passing away of a loved one were not already challenging enough, factors such as the departed one’s age or the unexpectedness of the departure, the suddenness with which one leaves, how much more of a life one could have lived, the manner in which one departed—to name a few—tend to natu
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Early this morning, 13th July 2020, on the auspicious day of the disappearance of Srila Lokanatha Goswami and the incorporation of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Vapu of HH Bhakti Charu Swami entered into Samadhi at Sridham Mayapur.
The proceedings were captured in high resolution videography and photography and will be available s
On the anniversary today of the incorporation of ISKCON in New York City . . .
Bhavananda: In Svarup Ganj there’s one big astrologer. So, he saw your photograph, and he said, “This is the face of the most powerful spiritual personality on the planet.”
Prabhupada: [laughs] Hare Krishna.
Brahmananda: Then what else?
Bhavananda: Then he said that “I can tell from his face that he can make a house in which the whole world can live peacefully.”
Devotees: Jaya Prabhupada!
Prabhupada: At least I desire
Lokanatha Goswami is mentioned as follows in the Chaitanya Charitamrita :
sange gopala-bhatta, dasa-raghunatha, raghunatha bhatta-gosai, ara lokanatha.
When Rupa Goswami stayed at Mathura, he was accompanied by Gopala Bhatta Goswami, Raghunatha dasa Goswami, Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami and Lokanatha dasa Goswami.
Srila Prabhupada gives the following information about Shri Lokanatha Goswami:
“Shri Lokanatha Goswami was a personal associate of Shri Chaitanya Mahapra
Husband and wife Radhe Radhe Devi Dasi and Nandanandana Das, second generation devotees and disciples of Bir Krishna Goswami, are running a series of online kirtan festivals to bring devotees around the world together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Born in South India, Nandanandana attended Vrindavan Gurukula; while Radhe Radhe was born and raised in Vrindavan and later relocated to Australia to establish the Bhakti Centre on the Gold Coast with her father Jamalarjuna Das.
Before COVID-19, t
Join us to hear from Giriraj Swami on the Purpose #3 of ISKCON (To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead, Krishna).
Video: Click here
Please join us to hear from Radhanath Swami on the Purpose #3 of ISKCON (To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna)
About Radhanath Swami
Radhanath Swami is one of today’s most beloved and respected spiritual teachers. He spent his youth wandering through disparate countries and cultures yearning for a
(an open letter to his disciples and followers)
by Hari-dhama dasa
Hari-dhama dasa, a disciple of His Holiness Mukunda Goswami, is a qualified and experienced bereavement and grief counsellor who has worked in the UK hospice movement for more than 15 years. He is currently the on-call Hindu-Vaisnava chaplain for two major London hospitals. In this open letter he throws light on how to recognise and respond to grief and bereavement in light of the recent departure of His Holiness Srila Bhakti Ch
I do not usually cover the topic of disrespecting vaishnavas, as in one sense, it is a distasteful topic. I do not like to discuss all the unpleasantness of vaishnava-apradha as it is not filling our hearts with great happiness. To make vaishnava-apradha the focus of spiritual life is also not what it is about. Our lives must be dedicated to devotional service. Let us just think day and night about expanding our devotional service and about expanding the mercy of Lord Caitanya in all directions.
