By Govinda dasi
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to our beloved Srila Prabhupada!
It is with great sadness that I have heard the news of our beloved Godbrother Brahmananda Prabhu. There was a sobbing message on my voicemail, from Kosha Rupa, and the rest of my day was spent in bereavement.
Brahmananda was, is, a very great soul. He loved Srila Prabhupada dearly. He never wanted to usurp his position. He never felt he was an ideal disciple, but his love, his he
Much can be said about our dear godbrother Bramhananda, but you know some devotees are just special. Just seeing him could make one smile and as one of Prabhupada’s original “white elephants” his efforts to serve him “in the day” are legendary. As one of the heavy pullers of our “mule team” for Prabhupada, those early devotees did so much for him. They cleared and paved the way for later devotees and enlivened many. Days were glorious but rigorous, filled with exhaustion and sweet surrender. Ti
“These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle—that is, one should always remember Krsna and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Krsna mantra. Therefore one must strictly chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra twenty-four hours daily. One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds. In our Krishna consciousness movement, we ha
There is a great connection between stillness and listening. “Don’t move” we say when we hear some noise around the house in the middle of the night. In yoga we hold the body still in order to hear the breath. We will hold the shoulders of our child while we tell her something important.
In the tradition of mantra meditation, the repetition of a sacred sound, how we listen, how we hear the mantra is the difference between a successful practice or not. Although in the Krishna Bhakti practice the
Good chanting does not depend on our adherence to mechanical rules. It is not a matter of just doing the dos and avoiding the don’ts and then our job is done. No, not at all! Chanting is an offering of the heart – a heart filled with feelings of humility, a desire to surrender and a sincere service attitude. It is ultimately a loving call to Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. This means we need to chant with a firm understanding of our relationship with Them (sambhandha). “My Lord, I have a relationship
We make arguments that spiritual life is difficult. We always find a reason to say it is difficult. It is difficult because I am too young. It is difficult because I have to study. It is difficult because I have to work. It is difficult because I am married. It is difficult because I am not married. It is difficult because I have to cook. It is difficult because we have a house. It is difficult because we have a mouse! (laughter) We find so many reasons to make spiritual life and taking up Krsn
Croydon devotees decided to do the Rathyatra differently this year because of COVID 19 social distancing. We have had a wonderful Jagannath Rathyatra done in the car not in the cart.
Jagannath, Baldev and Subhadra went to 15 houses to give darshan to Their devotees in the car. The Rathyatra team had made a list of local devotees where Lordships could visit. The devotees were sent a WhatsApp message asking confirmation and their address. The time slot was given to everyone in which Lordships will
By Ekalavya Das
The ISKCON Harinam Sankirtan Ministry was appointed this year by the GBC. The minister is Lokanath Swami. In one of its first initiatives, the Ministry began Kirtan Fest Global, a global brand to promote Kirtan Festivals throughout the world. What better place to start than Mother India?
Kirtan Fest Global organized the Kirtan Fest India Online for ISKCON India from 10th May - 17th May, 2020 from 9 am-9 pm, which was live streamed on Facebook. The event was so popular that th
The Global Devotee Care Directorate is happy to share the inauguration of a weekly Devotee Care webinar series called ‘Vaishnava Seva’ – an effort to emphasize a culture of devotee care in ISKCON temples and communities.
We will be moderating conversations with senior ISKCON leaders, administrators, and caregivers etc.
We will interview HH Jayapataka Swami who is an ISKCON GBC and Co-Minister of the Congregational Development Ministry on the “Importance of Devotee Care for Preachers involved in
Prajapati Dasa (in the middle, in plaid chadar) on a morning walk with Srila Prabupada.
Prajapati Dasa, a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has lived at the ISKCON Dallas, Texas, USA, temple for more than two decades. During this time he established very loving relationships with college professors, often giving tours to groups of students with a baritone voice and animated expressions. Everyone relished his theatric like performances.
He would al
The higher planetary systems have heavenly planets where one can enjoy, but above these celestial planets are planets of sages – the Maharloka and the Tapaloka, and ultimately the Brahmaloka. So, the Maharloka is the residence of the manus according to the Brhad-Bhagavatamrta. So the manus are basically prajapatis – they are forefathers of mankind. In the beginning, the universe is empty and only Brahma is there within the universe. Then from the mind of Brahma, various sages manifest and finall
Govardhana Dasa was born in Durban, South Africa, and first met the devotees in 1982. Although attracted by their harinamas, he was reluctant to take a copy of The Science of Self-Realization from them, but after reading the first sixty pages, he instantly became a vegetarian and started chanting Hare Krishna. Saved by Srila Prabhupada’s books, Govardhana Dasa remains connected to them to this day: he began by distributing them and now serves as a trustee of BBT Africa and as a global BBT trust
Pilgrims wear masks and stand six feet apart while taking darshan of Sri Sri Radha Vrindabanchandra
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, ISKCON temples worldwide have been in lockdown, unable to connect with their communities or give spiritual knowledge to newcomers in person, and instead shifting these activities online. Without in-person outreach activities, the last few months have also seen temples struggling to maintain themselves, with centers in Italy, Franc
Syamananda Prabhu, a disciple of Hrdaya Caitanya, established the temple of Sri Radha-Syamasundara in Vrndavana.
Sri Syamananda, Srinivasa and Narottama Dasa Thakura are eternal associates of Sri Gaurasundara. For the purpose of preaching the holy message of Sri Caitanya all over the earth they appeared in this world.
Sri Syamananda father’s name was Sri Krsna Mandal. His mother’s name was Sri Durika.
After some time the boy took initiation from Hrdaya Caitanya Prabhu and was named Krsna das. He
