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By Chintamani dasi ACBSP

What is this? Oh my, Srila Prabhupada appearing with Allen Ginsberg? On the same stage? How is it possible?

It was true. We put these posters all over the Ohio State University campus. I was in the room when Srila Prabhupada was talking to Sriman Allen Ginsberg before the event. I was shocked, quite honestly, at how humble Srila Prabhupada was, how he was asking Ginsberg’s opinion on the venue. It was amazing. Anyway, about 2,000 midwest teenagers from the “All American

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Complete Happiness

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By Kadamba Kanana Swami

In Navadvipa, before taking sannyasa, Lord Caitanya was known by two names, either Nimai or Visvambhara. Visvambhara was His former name, meaning the maintainer of the entire universe. 

It is said in the Caitanya Caritamrta: He thought, “How can I be called Visvambhara, the maintainer of the whole universe, unless I give people entire happiness?” How can you say you are maintaining someone if you are only feeding them, if you are only providing them a roof over their hea

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Aksaya Tritiya

By Giriraj Swami

Today is Aksaya Tritiya. In May 2003 I wrote Deena Bandhu Prabhu, my godbrother who is based in Vrindavan, about the date, and his reply follows:

My dear Giriraj Swamiji,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I’m not sure of the history of Aksaya Tritiya. But ksaya means to diminish, so aksaya means that which never diminishes, or which goes on increasing. So, this day is considered a very auspicious day to start anything from which you want the f

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From Milk to Saltwater Oceans

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By Bhaktimarga Swami
 
Kala and I started off in the ‘sark’ with a walk in the quaint downtown.  We moved in stride and then ‘crunch’ came the sound and sensation.  
 
Wait a minute, I know that sound, I thought, so I confessed to Kala that I just cracked the shell of one of those huge snails.  
 
We briefly talked about whether this slow-but-sure mover was going to make it through.  No municipal lights were there to reveal his actual identity.  Will he be reincarnated?  Hard to say, but one t
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By Venu Govind Dasa

On 10th April, 2019, the auspicious occasion of Sri Ramanujacharya appearance day, His Grace Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu accepted Sannyasa Diksha from HH Radha Govinda Dasa Goswami Maharaj in ISKCON Vrindavan. He received the name HH Vrindavan Chandra Dasa Goswami Maharaj from his dear Guru Maharaj in the courtyard of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir.

HG Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu is one of the senior stalwart disciple of HH Radha Govinda Dasa Goswami Maharaj. He is simple, sincere

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On the occassion of appearance day of Sri Gadadhara Pandit, abhisheka took place, with bhog offering, pushpanjali and Arti. In Navadvipa, Sri Gaura -Gadadhara is worshipped at Champahatti. These were the deities worshipped by Sri Dwija Vaninatha, nephew of Sri Gadadhara Pandita. Sri Bhakti Vinod Thakura’s worshippable deities were Sri Gaura -Gadadhara at Godrumadvipa. During Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtan lila, Sri Gadadhara Pandit used to reside in Gadadhar Bhavan at Srivas Angan. In Sri Yogapith, the

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Never Ever

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By Bhaktimarga Swami
 
Never ever have I seen or heard such forceful rain. It was an all-nighter, and penetrated, somehow, through windows and doors, leaving us with a threat of flights being cancelled to various destinations, ours being Mauritius.  When finally we did arrive and having survived the consistent pounding of water, Sukadeva, 19, and I experienced another hiccup. Our itinerary said we leave today, while the computer at the airport wicket read that we were on for tomorrow. Yikes!
 
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Choose Your Chaos

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By Achyut Gopal Das
 
There is a very interesting theory called the Deterministic Chaos Theory. I was quite fascinated when I first learnt about this theory and the impact it can have on our life. We live in a world with so many laws both gross and subtle. Better to understand them and live our life in accordance with them, because as the saying goes "You can't break the law but can break yourself against it". With this little introduction let us try to understand this theory in action. 

Det
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By Ambika devi dasi, VCC secretary 

As many are aware, New Govardhana’s Vaishnava Care Committee (VCC) has formed to assist seriously ill devotees and those in need of palliative care within our community. On 20 February, the VCC officially registered as a non-profit incorporated association. The VCC has also applied to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) for charity status, which, if approved, will allow tax deductions for contributors. The VCC requires this status be

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Power of Sound

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By BB Govinda Swami 

Sound is the most powerful energy we will contact in our lives. It is powerful because it affects our consciousness. Whether we remain immersed material sound or spiritual sound will determine the development of our consciousness.

Immersion in spiritual sound awakens the spiritual understanding that we are parts of Krishna, the absolute truth, endowed with an eternal individual nature filled with knowledge and ecstasy.

In the way an alarm awakens us in the morning, by heari

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ISKCON Brooklyn Rebuilds

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By Madhava Smullen

Many ISKCON devotees around the world are now aware of the conflict and court cases that took place over the past few years regarding managerial authority of the Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, New York City.

The conflict arose when the former board and temple president attempted to sell the property without consulting the congregation and ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission, and against their wishes. (Read more: https://iskconnews.org/gbc-opposes-brooklyn-temple

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Fun Under No Sun

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By Bhaktimarga Swami
 
The temple in Durban has a rather elaborate book display, which on its own merit demonstrates the great wisdom presented on Vedic culture.   https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwnt-fwAD3H/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=xis41sh4hyn8 I took personal note of this as I was preparing to leave for, of all things, a picnic with the volunteer actors whom I worked with.  We drove to an old quarry where a benevolent owner had turned the place into a fun outdoor park with trails and ob
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Relax Your Way Through Life

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By Achyut Gopal Das
 
We all have problems in life, that's given but the question is - how do we deal with them? Generally when faced with difficulties, we panic and stress out, but this doesn't solve the problem rather aggravates it. The best way to deal with our problems is by being calm. How can one remain calm amidst problems? That's a question of practice. The point is unless we are calm we will not be able to see the problem for what it is, what to speak of solving it. Just like if
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By Achyut Gopal Das
 
If we recollect our school days and think about the one instruction that was repeated literally a 'n' number of times, it is this - "Pay attention, Be present". Probably we were fed up of hearing it again and again, but little did we know that, in this simple instruction lies the key to living life to its fullest. We may have thought this instruction to be applicable to us only when we were school children sitting in a classroom but this instruction is all the more
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Much Rain Much Fun

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By Bhaktimarga Swami

The Chariot Festival wasn't a total  disaster despite ongoing rain.  Sufficient tents for shelter offered a space for bhakti. In fact in the Bhakti Cloud tent, it was like a live wire as usual.  Billed as Dance Master, at 3:30 p.m. people were curious for my session of a half hour.  I engaged people in using a part of the body so underused when it comes to dance.  We started with a clapping session over the djembe, then introduced the maha-mantra.  I then encouraged rhythm
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By James Cooper

In 1786 Sir William Jones, a Welsh philologist and judge of the supreme court of Bengal, sent shock waves throughout Europe with the following speech he gave in his address to the Asiatic society of Bengal.

“The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than c

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If a devotee child grows up to be a non-devotee, is this evidence that the parents mood at the time of conception was anything but Krishna conscious? Are the parents to be blamed, or are there other factors that determine this outcome?

Is it possible that in spite of the parents best interest and loving Krishna conscious attention given to their children, that such children can turn their backs altogether, to pursue life, as they desire most? Would there have to be a major problem for this to o

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We Always Have a Choice

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By HH Sacinandana Swami

A gift that the Lord has given to everyone is the opportunity to choose, and especially to make enlightened choices that bring us out of the dark periods of our lives back to a life of enthusiastic Krsna consciousness. It is never appropriate to say “I am a victim of circumstances.” I have seen in my life: no matter the circumstance we can always take shelter in Krsna. You may not always find relief, but you can always find shelter. What do I mean by that? When we are ti

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Events
 
By Madhava Smullen

A group of forty devotees have completed the first one-year GBC College Course in Latin America, which included online classes and two residential courses, preparing them to become ISKCON’s future leaders.

The program began in April last year, and the second residential course, lasting fourteen days, just concluded on April 27th.

The men and women participating ranged in age from twenty-five years old up to their mid-fifties, and hailed from Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Chile,

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The Minister of Home Affairs for South Africa, spent two hours with us at the Festival of Chariots.  Honourable Siyabonga Cwele and I bonded in a certain kind of way, as he was the person who saw to it I could enter South Africa. The day I landed at the airport, I was rejected for a relatively full passport, about which Cwele told a handful of us, "I travel a lot and have a full book where officials manage to stamp somewhere."

In any event I was three feet away from the plane departing with
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