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Last evening a group of us (some of our actors), two Floridian devotees, and two additional monks from Canada, decided early next morning (today) to do the walk around Govardhan Hill.  Included in our group also was Daniel from Ukraine.  He showed up at our rendezvous spot at MVT Restaurant after being showered by green tones of Holi powder.  A dish of salad was placed on his head.  Wow!  A piece of modern art?

After a thirty-five minute rickshaw drive, we began the brisk bare-foot walk so po
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Ten Of Us by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Ten of us drove down the smooth Yamuna Expressway to Vrndavan. https://www.instagram.com/p/BvG3yrrgEKu/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=n3ekjhgspjo1 Vrndavan is special. It is meant to be home. Yet there's one thing that strikes my mind when I come here:  "I wish I could clean it up."
 
What is it about this place that could use a make-over?  Despite it being Krishna's place, there is a complacency about tidiness. If we really love Krishna then we will see to it as being like a temple. There
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One of the highlights of the Mayapur Gaura-purnima festival every year is, for some, the theatrical drama directed by His Holiness Bhaktimarga Swami. Every year, Bhaktimarga Swami works with a diverse cast and crew, many of them second or third generation ISKCON members, to create a dramatic performance for all of Mayapur’s visitors from around the world.

This year at the 2019 Annual Gaura-purnima Festival in Mayapur, Bhaktimarga Swami and his players performed “The Queen’s Secret.” This dramat

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My Only Walking by Bhaktimarga Swami

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My only walking today consisted of the circumambulation of the Krishna deities of Radha Govinda.  If you do that too much at a certain speed, it could make you dizzy. I took breaks during this early time before full sunrise.  My host, or rather our host, is a monk from Maharastra, Lokanatha Swami.
 
He kindly arranged for a chair for me next to his, and in front of his chair was his laptop.  He sat me down and showed me what he does each day, during this time, at the computer.  Morning time ma
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Run for Fun by Bhaktimarga Swami

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The tiny portion of walking turned into a sprint at the Delhi Airport, when Keesh and I took to a competitive move down the runways and to the exit. Frivolity struck despite my sixty-six-year-old body, which took up the challenge of his thirty-two-year-old machine. I really didn't care much for what other passengers thought of a monk in apparent playfulness. Most of those people on the Air India flight were Bengalis or folks from the Delhi area, and I'm sure they've seen their share of holy
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Lord Caitanya is not Worshiped Alone

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Today is the appearance day of Srivasa Thakura is one of the most prominent devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and appeared in Mayapur along with Sri Caitanya in the 15th century.

One of the most striking features of the Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, ISKCON’s World Headquarters in West Bengal, India, are the Deities of Sri Sri Panca-tattva who preside over the temple. These five Deities are cast of eight different kinds of metal and weigh approximately two tons. At nine feet tall and shining

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The BBT’s new Krsna Book app

By  Kaisori Devi Dasi

Available on Apple’s App Store/iTunes store:

The BBT’s new Krsna Book app

With the full text in English, Russian, and German, with more languages being prepared.

The text is fully – and quickly! – searchable in each language. Easy-to-read with many customizable features, including the ability to bookmark, highlight, and make notes. Full Sanskrit diacritics on the text and a glossary, just as in the print edition.

Switch easily from one language to another – you can compare

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O adorable Krishna!
let my longing eyes behold thy form.
let my ears hear thy flute.
O healer of all sorrows,
show me Thyself!
~ Unknown.
 
 **** 

By Arti

I have been a regular visitor to the ISKCON Temple in Jaipur, Rajasthan for almost an entire past decade. Rajasthan being my ancestral state, we make
it a point to travel here once at least every year. To say then, that I have a personal affinity for this state, and the Jaipur ISKCON temple wouldn’t be an exaggeration… from being a simple

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By Jambavati Devi Dasi

Yesterday in Dunedin New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was visiting a local Mosque to comfort and reassure the Local Muslim Community after the recent terror attack in Christchurch where 50 Muslim Worshippers were brutally murdered while praying.

She then made her way to The Otago University Clubs and Societies Building where ISKCON Dunedin holds their Krishna Lunch Program.

Daily feeding at least 250 hungry and very grateful students and staff..delicious nutrit

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By Radha Sakhi Dasi

Who is a hero? In simple words, a person of distinguished courage or ability admired for his/her deeds and noble qualities. Then who is a legend? A Legend is a person who is extremely famous in his/her field whose glories and valour are celebrated through traditional stories coming down through time. Touchstone Media’s ‘Pauranic Caritavali’ celebrates the glories of the true legendary heroes from the Puranas.

The Puranas herald the tales of heroes of different times since cr

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Within walking distance of Mayapura is the village of Sarasvat Gang, which is situated along the Jalangi River.  There my roommates, of Suite 505 of the Gada Building, and I were invited for lunch at Madan Gopal's.  Madan had asked several days ago, "What do you want on the menu?" That was gracious.
 
So, being in Bengal, I had requested neither their sweet delicacies, nor even rice, which is status quo for Bengalis, but some sakor bhaji, mixed cooked greens.  The chapatis were perfectly roun
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The Essence is Transcendence

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By Kadamba Kanana Swami

Sometimes I feel that the temple is transcendental, the Bhagavad-gita is transcendental, the holy name is transcendental, and the devotees are transcendental. Everything is transcendental expect me; I am not transcendental. But to some extent we are elevated to the transcendental platform, because we are chanting Hare Krsna, taking Krsna prasadam and engaging in devotional service.

So the transcendental energy is working through us at times, and then we are on a transcen

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Good Lesson by Bhaktimarga Swami

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I was poised to start the chanting as lead singer for the temple's mangal arati, when a young man came to the mic in front of me.  Some miscommunication I suppose.  I had been asked on the previous day to sing.  It was a good lesson in humility for me. The young man said to me, "It's my birthday today."
 
"How many years?" I asked, and he answered it was his twenty-fifth year on the planet.
 
Behind me was the voice of a peer.  "He should let you lead," implying I'm his senior and that would
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Events
 
By Madhava Smullen

On Saturday March 16th, just a few days before Gaura Purnima (Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Appearance Day), around 250 people visited Manhattan’s Bhakti Center for the Roots of Kirtan festival – described as “dynamic, creative and overflowing with devotion.”

Attendees were a mix of bhakti practioners and newcomers who had heard about the event on social media or in their yoga class.

Roots of Kirtan is one of a series of introductory events by The Bhakti Center that correspo

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Events

By Madhava Smullen

Previously, Rathayatra in Dallas was a small scale affair, with ISKCON Dallas devotees pulling Lord Jagannath’s chariot through their local neighborhood.

But last Spring saw them partner with the Dallas Arts District to put on “Festival of Joy,” a major cultural event for the entire Dallas area.

Despite an unexpected cold front during which temperatures dropped to 29 degrees, three thousand people still turned up. Large outside heaters and hot chai helped, and the activity

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Lifestyle
 
By Madhava Smullen

In his grand vision for New Vrindaban, Srila Prabhupada regularly described cow protection and local agriculture as the “main business” for its residents.

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of cow protection in New Vrindaban – it was back in May 1969 that Prabhupada met and named the community’s first cow, Kaliya. So it’s the perfect time for ECO-Vrindaban to begin a worldwide search for a president to oversee its steadily expanding operations.   

ECO-V is a non-profit enti

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The Shantipur festival was first celebrated in the 15th century by the great saint Sri Advaita Acharya. The festival took place at his home in Shantipur on the occasion of the disappearance day of his spiritual master, Madhavendra Puri. On that day he fed all the devotees who came to his home prasadam, or sanctified food offered to the Lord.

Lord Caitanya attended the celebration and ate along with all the devotees. He stated that whoever comes to Shantipur and honors prasadam on this day will

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To increase our inspiration

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By Kadamba Kanana Swami

In The Nectar of Devotion there is a reference to ‘sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā,’ that we must make devotional service more dense. One of the symptoms of bhava is avyartha-kālatvam (Cc. Madhya 23.18-19) –   not to waste a moment. In theCaitanya-caritamrtait is said that while the associates of Caitanya Mahaprabhu were taking prasadam they were chanting the holy name in between bites. So they were not wasting a moment; their devotional service was very dense.

It is also said tha

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Preaching in the workplace

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Some devotees think, that because they are devotees, they must preach instantly to whomever they meet. Perhaps if we had the required force of purity, we could effect changes in people’s hearts on first contact. The reality is however, that not everyone has the required sukrti to appreciate our words; we have to create it for them.

By Kesava Krsna Dasa

Being in the workplace alongside the same faces, day in, and day out, can present challenges for a devotee keen on preaching. Simply letting eve

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March 21st, 2019 – On the auspicious birthday of Lord Caitanya, Gaura Purnima, in the ISKCON Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir in Sridhama Mayapur, four qualified candidates accepted sannyasa from His Holiness Jayapataka Swami in order to further spread the mission of Mahaprabhu.

Sannyasa is the renounced order of life accepted by many followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself accepted sannyasa in order to further the spread of the sankirtana movement. Srila Pra

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