The life of a monk is so much about building bridges and closing gaps. The endeavour one takes is to connect jivas to the Divine; bringing two worlds together.

I have always admired bridges—those who engineer, those who construct and also those who repair them—while on my walking travels. I had a flashback of men at work on bridges over the Fraser, in Hope, British Columbia, in the rain.

There are many kinds of bridges. One is for the mouth, as in dentures. At noon, over lunch, my temporary bri

Recenly a friend gave a Bhagavad Gita to a person named Donald. From the beginning of his reading he liked it so much. Every day he was reading for two hours. He had smoked for thirty years but stopped, then he had stopped eating meat, and he felt a sense of being purified, all from reading Srila Prabhupada's books.

He contacted the devotees in Columbus, Ohio, and asked whether there was any way to get more books. It was during the pandemic so he wasn't working, meaning he was short of money. H

Devotees and members of ISKCON are pained to learn about the passing of Shri Pranab Mukherjee Ji, Former President of India.
Our hearts go out to family and friends of Mr Mukherjee and pray to Lord Krishna for strength in this our of grief.
He was friend of ISKCON and admired ISKCON’s Founder & Acharya Srila Prabhupada’s contributions to the world.
Over the years, we were fortunate to interact with him in various capacities and remember him for his warmth and humility. He would fondly recollect

 BHADRA PURNIMA 2020 – GROW BY GIVING!

Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.13.13) states, “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra, one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the Supreme transcendental destination.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Amala Purana, gives us the view of the world of the paramahamsas. After compiling all the Vedic literatures, Srila Vyasadeva felt dissatisfied. By the instruction of his spiritual master, Narada Muni, he compiled Srimad-Bhag

 Haridasa Thakura said, “I have had one desire for a very long time. I think that quite soon, my Lord, You will bring to a close Your pastimes within this material world. I wish that You not show me this closing chapter of Your pastimes. Before that time comes, kindly let my body fall down in Your presence. I wish to catch Your lotus like feet upon my heart and see Your moonlike face. With my tongue I shall chant Your holy name, ‘Sri Krsna Caitanya!’ That is my desire. Kindly let me give up my b

Today is the disappearance day of Namacarya Srila Haridasa Thakura, so we shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Eleven, “The Passing of Haridasa Thakura”:

The summary of this chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya as follows. In this chapter it is described how Brahma Haridasa Thakura gave up his body with the consent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and how the Lord Himself personally performed the funeral ceremony and carried the body to t

A package arrived. It came from my sister, Rose Ann. It was kind of her. She sent a homemade mask, crafted by her own hand. The print on this Covid 19 mask is of Radha and Krishna, so I was immediately reminded of something or guru, Prabhupada, said, that when chanting, using the upper and lower lips as well as the tongue, it is Krishna and His internal potency dancing on your tongue.

I’m not a big fan of wearing these masks but I understand they are very necessary. I’m somewhat fortunate to be

ISKCON Miraroad engages 326 children to speak Lord Gauranga’s Pastimes

Every year NICE (Narasimha’s institute for children education), the education wing of ISKCON Miraroad, organizes Spiritual Science Exhibition during the summer vacations, where around 200 children in and around Miraroad, Mumbai participate enthusiastically. This Exhibition is the best way to engage hundreds of children to speak the various beautiful pastimes of the Supreme Lord at the same time. The children come up with inno

On August 15, 1968, in Montreal, I was initiated at the age of 16-an unqualified person meeting such a great and unprecedented saint as Srila Prabhupada. At the same time, the six pioneers from San Francisco, on their way to London received their Gayatri mantra, or second initiation. ~ Rukmini Walker.
On August 15, 1968, in Montreal, I was initiated at the age of 16-an unqualified person meeting such a great and unprecedented saint as Srila Prabhupada. At the same time, the six pioneers from Sa

Our group of resident monks were reading from the book, “Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead”:

“The queens addressed the mountain as follows: ‘Dear mountain, you are very generous. By your gravity only, the whole crust of this earth is properly maintained, although because you are discharging your duties very faithfully, you do not know how to move. Because you are so grave, you do not move hither and thither, nor do you say anything. Rather, you always appear in a thoughtful mood. It ma

Something amazing happened last Sunday, 23 August 2020. More than 500 sankirtana leaders from across the world joined a global Zoom call* 1at 7:30 PM IST. The occasion? “Go To Goloka” – a concerted campaign for the upcoming Bhadra Purnima (2 September 2020) when more than 10,000 sets of Srimad Bhagavatam will be distributed and placed around the world, flooding these dark and turbulent times with the transcendental light of Srimad Bhagavatam.

Led by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaja, HH Bhakti Raghav

Caitanya Mahaprabhu proclaims that the Holy Names will be glorified in every town and village. In our village within a town, the local Topanga Canyon media resonated Lord Jagannath’s mercy. Even though He could not appear on the beach amongst ten thousand or so happy festival-goers, He found his way into every home in our small community nestled in the mountains of Los Angeles county. I take no credit for His appearance here. I just opened the bi-weekly paper to find a darshan of His smile. We m

By Puskar das

In 1956, I moved from one area of Brooklyn (near the temple) to the Benson Hurst area, where I entered fifth grade. Peter Viggiani (a.k.a. Kusakratha) was in my class for the next two years. He also attended the same junior high as I, and we shared some of the same classes. For approximately 5 years we were good friends. He was always quite eccentric and didn’t appear to have many other friends.
“
Those who knew "Kusa” found him to be a bit of an avadhuta, and he was no less so i

I am writing to contend with a sleepless night,

A pain more bothersome than a deep, sharp bite.

And I know there are supposed to be remedies out there,

Been tried again and again I may silently declare.

Everyone will want to be a doctor right now,

Sound advice tends to benefit little and not endow.

To count sheep, or chant mantras, is the likely technique,

I think prayers from others would be really unique.

I was driven today to Cherry Beach for a swim,

To relax nerves and bring some calm within

Where in the world is love to be found? That love which has been glorified throughout the millennium – in songs, in poetry, in words, in exchanges between partners – that love, where is it to be found in this world? Where is that love in comparison to the degree of love that is found in the residents of Vrndavana? And where is that love found amongst the residents of Vrndavana? That love that completely and entirely takes over all existence, that love which rules the Supreme, where is that love