By Radhavallabha dasa, AP Padayatra leader
The Andhra Pradesh Padayatra is currently walking towards Ahobilam, covering about 18km a day. As we passed through the villages around the city of Chittoor, we were often invited to programmes at devotees’ homes.
MLA comes for darshan
On December 6, we reached the small town of Chandragiri where we performed sankirtan in the main square. As news spread that padayatra had arrived, the Chandragiri constituency member of the AP Legislative Assembly,
Fifty years ago, on December 26, 1969, in Boston, Srila Prabhupada awarded me second initiation. He said, “Sucih means purified. And another meaning of sucih is brahman. A brahman means purified. Those who are going to be sacred-threaded today should remember that they are being accepted as sucih, as brahman. After chanting for six months or one year, it is supposed that he has already become purified. Now he should be recognized that he is purified. So this sacred thread means recognition. Sac
By Madhusudana Das
With mixed emotions, we would like to convey to all her Godbrothers and Godsisters that Vaikuntha Murti dasi peacefully passed away after being released from the hospital and being in hospice.
The few days at her home was filled with many well-wishers and video chats with a couple of her very dear friends. So, she left knowing that she was loved and appreciated.
Although she suffered physically for many years her passing was quick and peaceful.
Thank you Srila Prabhupada for
Historically, ISKCON Brooklyn, New York, was perhaps the greatest center of book distribution in the world. In the 1970s, ISKCON Press printed Prabhupada’s books at 32 Tiffany Place near the Henry Street temple. The huge amounts of books distributed from Brooklyn, meanwhile, contributed much of the funds to build flagship ISKCON centers such as the Juhu temple in Mumbai, and Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir.
For the past twenty years, however, book distribution came to a comple
Take sometime to think about all the things you wanted to do in 2019 and is still undone.
“Lord Jesus Christ lived for two years in the temple at Jagannatha Puri. He was thick and thin with the priests in that temple, and he took his spiritual training from Lord Jagannatha. It is because Lord Jesus loved Lord Jagannatha……and because Lord Jagannatha loved Lord Jesus…….that He, Lord Jagannatha, has come to your country”. (Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svami. Identical statement made during two separate Ratha Yatra lectures, 1972).
In those Ratha Yatra lectures, Srila Prabhupad built up to
“If one loves Krishna, he must love Lord Jesus also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus he must love Krishna too. If he says, “Why shall I love Krishna? I shall love Jesus,” then he has no knowledge. And if one says, “Why shall I love Jesus? I shall love Krishna”, then he has no knowledge either. If one understands Krishna, then he will understand Jesus. If one understands Jesus, you’ll understand Krishna too”
(Srila Prabhupada – Room conversation with Allen Ginsberg, May 12, 1969 / Columbus –
By Ramai Swami
Christmas is celebrated by millions all over the world. Thousands of the ISKCON congregation, although not Christians, visit our temples on Christmas day. Carparks are full and temple rooms packed out.
Srila Prabhupada commented on Jesus Christ many times:
“Jesus Christ was such a great personality–the son of God, the representative of God. He had no fault. Still, he was crucified. He wanted to deliver God consciousness, but in return they crucified him–they were so thankless. Th
By Giriraj Swami
“Now these Christmas holidays have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you’ll observe nice festivities. Why? It began with God consciousness. Jesus Christ came to give you God consciousness, and in relation to him these festivities are going on. It may have degraded into another form, but the beginning was God consciousness. Now we may have lost it. But people cannot be happy without reviving God consciousness. It may be named differently—‘Krishna cons
By HH Krishna Ksetra Swami
I presented a copy of my book ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ to Dr. Nanditha Krishna, President of the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and author of several books, here in Chennai. Dr. Krishna kindly wrote an endorsement for the book, on quite short notice, prior to its publication (included in the book’s front matter):
“The cow is integral to the economic, cultural and spiritual well being of Hindus and is central to the natural, human and divine spheres of life,
Is there an evidence that the Holy Name is still powerful nowadays, in 2019?
Being the doubtful person that I am, Krishna removed all doubts from my mind in the last few weeks.
In 2018 we purchased a house for helping devotees with accommodation alongside facilitating a Krishna Conscious Airbnb, that house is also called Yashoda House Detroit.
When we got the house in 2018, it seemed like it’s just going to be another material struggle.
But this year, a miracle has happened that proved that the
ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) recently ended a lengthy, detailed consideration of the Vaishnavi diksa guru question that has been under consideration since 2003. The Vaishnavi Ministry welcomes the new resolution, which upholds important spiritual principles and Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition while accommodating concerns about local communities having different cultural standards. The resolution permits Vaishnavis to initiate disciples while allowing regional leaders
Indradyumna Swami: Last week here in Durban, South Africa, I visited my dermatologist – a skin specialist. Unfortunately, he found a Malignant Melanoma skin cancer on my face. The tumor was very near to the first one I had five years ago. It is called recurrence cancer. I had a PET/CT scan to see if this second tumor had metastasized (spread) throughout my body. The result came back clear. It had not spread. Nevertheless, as a precaution, my oncologist (cancer doctor) asked that while surgicall
Greta and the Veda
Dear Greta,
My congratulations for achieving so much during such a short a time! At the same time – in the second part of my letter – I would like to inform you about a really important issue.
In 2018 as an innocent girl you started to demonstrate on your own in front of the Parliament of your country because of the global warming. It turned out that you are an expert on the science of the problem. At the same time, you are also emotional about it. You have been chiding the p
Chennai, India - The ISKCON Communications Ministry hosted the Fifth Annual Vaishnava Christian Dialogue in India, December 16-18. The Dialogue is part of a global effort by the Ministry to promote understanding between members of ISKCON and other major religious communities.
Previous dialogues were held in Tirupati, India. This one was held at ISKCON’s temple in Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.
In India, the dialogue takes the form of a three-day meeting between Gaudiya Vaishnavas,
About my Vrindavan days from “By his example”:GOVARDHAN HILL
A few days hence, before sunrise, with a group of about thirty people, we began our walk around sacred Govardhan Hill. The entourage included the Maharaja of Bharatpur, two queens, the prince, various relatives, zamindhars (landowners loyal to the king), agents, a doctor, and eight soldiers dressed in Jat military uniforms, part of the Maharaja’s private army. Twelve servants carried the supplies and the largest incense sticks I have
After years of collective dedication in devotional service by the community, in December 2019 the management of New York’s Bhakti Center made the final mortgage payment to own the 25 First Avenue building outright.
It was the community members’ heartfelt contributions have made it possible for the people of New York to find their spiritual home and enter the family of Srila Prabhupada, Sri Gaurachandra, Sri Sri Radha Muralidhara and the beloved community of devotees for generations to come.
