Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
On July 25th, 2019 two Russian devotees died in car accident. The departed devotees are Vaninanth Prabhu (brahmacari from Nizhniy Novgorod temple, disciple of Gopal Krishna Goswami) and Nandakisor (14 years old Gurukula student). They were going to Sankirtan tour when their car was hit on the highway by a big truck. There were two other devotees in the car – Adhoksaja Prabhu (sannyasa candidate and Sankirtana l
By Visakha Priya Dasi
Sacitananda dasa passed away on July 27.
His Grace Satcitananda dasa was born in 1950 as Ashok Gulab in what was then known as Rhodesia. His father had left his native Gujarat (India) at the age of two, and his mother joined him in what had since become Zimbabwe after her marriage was arranged with Satcitananda’s father. Their son grew up in Salisbury (now Harare) and was educated up to A level. He then joined his father’s business as a general merchant in the smaller town
An incredible eight thousand people attended the Krishna Valley Fair in Hungary over the weekend of July 19th to 21st, many of them tourists vacationing at the nearby holiday hotspot of Lake Balaton.
These numbers have been consistent over the past few years for the Fair, which draws nearly a third of the 30,000 people that visit Krishna Valley throughout the whole year.
A big percentage of the Fair crowd are return visitors to Krishna Valley, one of the largest and o
The theme of this week’s Architecture Department Report is ‘Ornamental Embellishment Research’. Recently the TOVP AD Research Team visited Gujarat and Jaipur to analyze complex ornamentation work undertaken by the country’s leading temple designers and makers – the Swaminarayan Group. It was interesting to see the various parallels drawn between ISKCON and Swaminarayan in terms of their design and construction processes.
One of the striking outcomes of this study is that the TOVP GRC (Glass Rei
Questions about INATTENTIVE CHANTING and answers by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura from his books:
Q. What is the main impediment blocking one from developing attachment for chanting?
A. If one gives up all the offenses in chanting, but remains inattentive, he can never develop attachment for chanting. (Sajjana Tosani 11/1)
Q. What are the various definitions of inattention while chanting?
A. O Lord! All anarthas are produced when we do not pay attention to our chanting. The exalted devotees have d
The English Dictionary defines the word “spiritual” as “Relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things”.
Now before we attempt to delve deeper into this topic, it is essential for us to understand as to who we actually are? The answer to this question will help us make sense of life, in the first place, and lead us to the gradual understanding of what truly is the goal of it. In other words,the more we discuss and brainstorm on our own identity, the
What do John Lennon (of the Beatles), Indira Ghandi (Prime Minister of India), Allen Ginsberg (popular 60’s speaker), Sterling Moss (Formula One Racer), have in common? They all met Srila Prabhupada.
To say that the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Srila Prabhupada, was an epic “Communications” person, is an understatement.
From July 25-28th at the Washington DC ISKCON temple conference hall, the topics of Communications as a department
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had one desire. He had a desire to flood the entire world with an ocean of transcendental Krsna prema. One should see that in the spiritual world, Krsna is always engaged in loving exchanges with all His devotees. And it is said that those devotees purchase Krsna by their service. Rupa Goswami explains in the Nectar of Devotion that pure devotional service is sri Krsna-akarsani – that it can attract Krsna! So, that is the best thing we can do – flood the entire world! We
My obeisances. Jaya Prabhupada. All glories to his book distributors.
In 1967, I paid Prabhupada $16 for a set of three books that comprised the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. That was the amount he charged, and it was more than a day’s work for an hourly employee.
In 1971-72, I was privileged to witness an explosion in book distribution. A number of devotees came up with innovations concerning how to sell books, evolving new methods, strategies, and sales pitches. Prabhupada told the distri
“Humility of great souls is the purity within…” This statement reveals the humility of Srila Prabhupada. Although he is the Founder Acarya of a worldwide Organization, he never considers himself to be the best of the Vaishnavas; rather he considers himself unqualified and insignificant. This is one of the shining characteristics of great souls.
Great souls see smallness in themselves and greatness in others. Small souls consider themselves the best devotees. A Kanishtha Adhikari feels, “I am th
‘Srila Prabhupada’s Aphorisms of Logic’
⁃ by London College of Vedic Studies
HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is known and respected for his exceptionally well structured and academic presentations on the Vedas. This special seminar ‘Srila Prabhupada’s Aphorisms of Logic’ was no exception to the high standard that he always delivers.
Maharaja explained that an aphorism is a concise and catchy expression of a general truth or principle. An aphorism is referred to as a ‘sutra’ in the Vedic teachings. Th
There is no perfect time or place,
so if we wait, we will never accomplish,
or sing the song which vibrates our heart
meant to nourish every cell in our body.
To breathe out, one only has to breathe in,
but we can’t hold our breath forever;
so begin today while you are still breathing
because there are no tomorrows or could-bes.
Only a string of nows, do-days giving potential
at least one step of progress on the miles ahead
though even a step back can help us go forward
on our forever journey of
While I was chanting japa this morning, my mind was flooded with a verse from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s song Gurudeva!:
jogyata-vicare, kichu nahi pai, tomara karuna sara
karuna na hoile, kandiya kandiya, prana na rakhibo ara
“Upon examining my value, I find that I have none; your mercy is essential to me. Therefore, if you are not merciful I will constantly weep and I will not maintain my life any longer.”
Later, I saw just how appropriate and relevant the rest of the song was to my effort
For the first years of our devotional life we may not give much attention to
the topic of the false ego. We may not even be aware of how it affects us –
every day, prompting us to say things which we should better not say, and do
things which we should better not do. We may not realize the existence and
impact of this constant companion, because the false ego works in very
subtle ways. It can so easily remain hidden.
In due course of time, we may come to understand just how important this
topic
While in Bali I was able to go out and visit the newly completed Visnu Garuda monument in the Nusa Dua area. This is the fourth highest of its kind in the world standing at 120 metres tall. An amazing architecture and sculptural achievement, although actual worship of the Lord would have been even better.
I also had the opportunity to be with my god brother and co-GBC for Indonesia, HH Kavicandra Maharaja. We attended the Rathayatra and other preaching programs together and it’s always nice t
WELCOME TO SRI KSHETRA PARIKRAMA
PURI DHAMA
14-17TH NOVEMBER 2019
On behalf of ISKCON Mayapur, we would like to welcome you to celebrate our 15th anniversary of Sri Kshetra Parikrama. This parikrama dates back to the time of Vidyapati, who was one of Lord Jagannatha’s most intimate worshippers, serving under the great King Indradyumna. Following the footsteps of our previous Acharyas, ISKCON Mayapur has been organizing this parikrama for the last 14 years. Honoring this tradition ISKCON Mayapu
