By Mathura Lilesvari Devi Dasi
The most auspicious month of Kartika month starts on Nov 1st. For years, devotees in ISKCON Malaysia have been bringing the opportunity of offering ghee lamps to Lord Damodara during Kartika to masses of people. This year, due to the pandemic, the Malaysian devotees are initiating a project like never before — a virtual lamp offering aimed to set a record in the Malaysia Book of Records.
The task is simple - they need at least 3,000 devotees and well-wishers fr
“To the supreme controller, who possesses an eternal form of blissful knowledge, whose glistening earrings swing to and fro, who manifested Himself in Gokula, who stole the butter that the gopis kept hanging from the rafters of their storerooms and who then quickly jumped up and ran in retreat in fear of Mother Yasoda but was ultimately caught – to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances. “- Damodarastakam
Day 2, Damodar month, Darshan Gallery
Source: https://www.mayapur.co
As you are aware, Damodar masa is here, and it is around this time of the year that His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami Maharaj leads his annual Kartik Parikrama in and around Braj. This year, however, due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Parikrama will not proceed in person. And as you are likely aware, Maharaj has recently tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently resting in Simhachalam, Germany. But this will not take away from the spirit of Kartik at all, as Maharaj has previous
Since past few years ISKCON has had a small temple in the heart of Varanasi, in Bhelupur and now the temple is expanding and evolving into the impressive ‘Sri Sri Radha Gopal Mandir Vedic Indian Cultural Center’ (VICC). The talented young devotees’ ensemble of the Temple envisions making ISKCON VICC the most attractive place in Varanasi succeeding the popular Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the Ghats of River Ganga.
VICC aspires to become a source of enlightenment for spiritual seekers and a cultura
It was a typical October day, I mean to say, perfect for walking. The wind, a cloud and the sun were above and around, not only me but everyone. I was walking west on Dupont and at one crossroad, at Davenport, also known as the Ancient Trail used by the Huron for centuries, I met one road worker. His name is Jordan, he left his tools and came down.
“Hare Krishna!” said Jordan. “We’ve met. I know Phil, who is in Hungary now at the farm community… I do chant and follow some of your classes on Zoom
Uttama-adhikari is living in a close relationship with Krsna. The uttama-adhikari is always thinking about Krsna in every moment. And every moment is dedicated to Krsna. This devotee is not wasting a single moment on anything else.
kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ
viraktir māna-śūnyatā
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā
nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ
(Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 23.18-19)
When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krsna fructifies, many symptoms manifest in one’s behaviour. One of them is a taste for chanti
I walked to “Theatrics Plus” and the friendly clerk found for me what I came for, a prop for the virtual drama that a group of us are putting together. “Rolling the Dice” is the name of the play. The highlight of the story focuses on some shady gambling from the “Mahabharat.” The props I purchased were dice, four of them at $2.50 a crack. They look good, roll nice, sound good when you shake them and are made in China. According to the epic, the iconic dice are supposed to be made of the bones of
Drizzle! Drizzle! That is the sum and substance of weather conditions today and tonight. My encounter with it was in the evening. I didn’t mind. My full day was indoors, where it was rather dry. The important thing is one’s state of mind, regardless of the situation. Krishna is within and without. So let the rain come down.
I received a call from someone in Edmonton. He, like many, are quite affected by the fear culture installed by Covid-19. My response to him was to not get over-exposed to the
Appearing near Katva, Krishna Dasa Kaviraja left for Vrndavana after Lord Nityananda told him in a dream: are are krishnadasa, na karaha bhaya, vrndavana yaha tanha, sarva larya haya, “0 my dear Krishnadasa, do not be afraid. Go to Vrndavana. For there you will attain all things.” (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 5.195)
Krishna Dasa took diksa from Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami. He lived a renounced life at Syama-kunda near Manasa Pavana Ghat, Radharani’s midday bathing place.
Sri Jiva Gosvami, as per his cu
By Madhava Smullen
The cabin where Shyamasundar Das, one of ISKCON’s earliest pioneers, worked on his ‘Chasing Rhinos With the Swami’ trilogy burned down last month in the Lionshead wildfire in Oregon, USA.
The wildfire began on August 16th and has burned 204,469 acres, making it the sixth-largest fire of the past 100 years in Oregon.
“By Krishna’s grace, I managed to escape with my computer and all my research material,” Shyamasundar says.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/shyamasundar-dass-w
The Sacred Ecology Forum – which facilitates environmental activism and spiritual growth rooted in the Krishna Bhakti tradition – is presenting a special Eco-Bhakti weekend from October 23rd to 25th on Zoom.
The weekend is presented in collaboration with the Bhakti Center (NYC) and the Hindu Life Program at Princeton University, with Allegra Lovejoy organizing on behalf of the Sacred Ecology Forum and Venkata Bhatta Das (Vineet Chander) organizing on behalf of the Princeton University Hindu Life
It was 7 PM. I was in my room just wrapping up on a zoom call with Argentina when David came to my door.
“Are you coming?” David asked in anticipation of our nightly staircase kirtan.
“Yes,” I responded. “By the way, I have to go!” I told the people on the Zoom call. “Good-bye!” I said, as did they. Along with an appreciative, “Gracias!”
We hit on a good topic—the theme of Achintya-bedabeda-tattva, which translates as “the inconceivable, simultaneous principle of oneness and difference.” Also, s
An older man with whitish hair and beard has seen me passing by before, at least twice. Once he offered a quick exchange of words, with a cigarette in his mouth.
“Hi! How are yah!”
Today was similar, “Hey, how’s it goin’?”
“Fine,” I said as I stopped.
“Yah I know, I met a holy man the other day as he was passing…”
“Is that right?” I inquired.
“And, he blessed me. Minutes later I found a $20 bill on the street.” He was chuckling.
“Lucky you! Well, God bless. Hare Krishna!”
“Yeah!”
“Have a good o
By Madhava Smullen
Sometimes when we see a need, the solution is to step forward and fulfill it ourselves.
This is what Arjun Bhattacharyya, a young devotee known in ISKCON as a photographer and assistant to Deena Bandhu Das, realized when he decided to volunteer his own time to add the original Bengali script that had been missing from the digital version of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita.
The service meant a lot to Arjun personally.
“I am born and brought up in Kolkata,” he explains. “So Bengali is
Today marks Sri Rama-vijaya-dasami (Dasara, or Dussehra), the day on which Lord Ramachandra vanquished the powerful tyrant Ravana. As described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.25):
vaksah-sthala-sparsa-rugna-mahendra-vaha-
dantair vidambita-kakubjusa udha-hasam
sadyo ’subhih saha vinesyati dara-hartur
visphurjitair dhanusa uccarato ’dhisainye
“When Ravana was engaged in the battle, the trunk of the elephant which carried the king of heaven, Indra, broke in pieces, having collided with the chest of Ra
Without love, nothing can sustain. If I do not love Krishna, I cannot surrender—it is not possible. Just like a small child—he is naturally surrendered to the parents because there is love. The child loves the parents. So without the basic principle of love—the more you love, the more the surrender is perfect. Just like a small child—you slap the child, he’s crying, yet crying with the words, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,” because there is love. Even in distress the child cannot forget. That is n
I take this project very seriously. “Krishna in the Mapleleaf” is a book project that details the earliest days of the birth and growth of Krishna Consciousness in Canada, during the period from 1967-1977. In these first ten years we will highlight the reflections of the different participants from that period. By the grace of God I am spear-heading the project and I am receiving much practical help from friend and devotee; Wade Wilson, from New Brunswick.
This morning David and I headed for a t
Candidasa was a devoted worshipper of Goddess Durga while his brother was a pure Vaisnava who would worship Shaligram. Candidasa was rich but his brother was poor. Candidasa had a very big and beautiful garden, he used to offer the flowers from the garden to Durga Devi. His brother too desired to offer these beautiful flowers to his Shaligram. And once he mentally offered a beautiful and colourful flower of the garden to his Shaligram. And it so happened that on that day Candidasa offered the s
