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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
By Mauricio Garrido, Ph.D.
In 2012, CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, called for a debate between scientists, philosophers and theologians to find common ground between science and religion over how the universe began. Even though the explanations found in the texts of the world’s spiritual traditions are admittedly not exhaustive in the details referring to the origin of the universe, they do outline key concepts thereof which are important to the development of the philoso
By Govindananda das
Member of the ISKCON Communication team from Croatia, Govindananda das was the only ISKCON representative out of the 181 delegates from all the countries of the world attending the Prajagray 2019 Kumbha Mela.
Under the organization of Ministry of External Affairs Government of India and Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Prayagraj hosted at least one person from every country at the occasion of the sacred Kumbh festival. Kumbha Mela is unique and world’s largest event i
YOGA-PITHA, THE BIRTHPLACE OF LORD CAITANYA MAHAPRABHU;
Deities of Sri Jagannath Misra, the father, and mother Sachi holding baby Nimai in the house they lived
By Chandan Bhatia
Antardwipa: “Antar” means ‘secret’ and ‘dwipa’ means ‘island’, and this island is where Lord Krishna revealed His internal secret feelings about His future appearance as Lord Caitanya.
Yoga-Pitha: Yoga-Pitha is the actual site of Lord Caitanya’s appearance. In 1893, Bhaktivinoda Thakura established this site. He persona
Gaura Purnima is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (who is also known as Gauranga due to His golden complexion), and this year we are celebrating the 533rd anniversary of His appearance on March 21, 2019. This festival also marks the beginning of the New Year for Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to establish Sankirtana (chanting of the Holy Names) – the Yuga Dharma for this age of Kali. He appeared on Phalguni Purnima,
By Gandhari Devi Dasi
We are seeing that now more Iskcon centers are celebrating Holi with burning of Holika and throwing the colored dye festival. So there are some points to be mentioned about these celebrations. I was requested by a senior mataji to share this information.
So if there is anything incorrect please excuse me and add your comments. I will share something about Holi from Vedic point as much as I have learnt.
The coloured dyes are supposed to be thrown with love signifying blessi
By Nitya Kishore dasi
The last two days of Parikrama are just wonderful.. it seems when the kirtan gets really fired up! As I told yesterday we were going to the King’s land situated in Simantadvipa where the process is Sravanam, what is really exciting. ISKCON Rajapur is so beautiful with our Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra deities plus Sri Gauranga and Simantini, the lake and Shiva’s banyam tree. Chand kazi’s samadhi is just about 2 km from the temple, a very sacred place where Lord’s pastim
By Madhava Smullen
“We want every leader in ISKCON to take this course,” says Bala Govinda Das, teacher of the Devotee Care Course “Embedding Care in Krishna Conscious Communities.”
Twenty-six such leaders attended the most recent presentation of the GBC-recommended course, offered from March 5thto 8thin the Chaitanya Bhavan building in Mayapur, West Bengal, India.
They included zonal supervisors, temple presidents, yatra leaders, namahatta group leaders, counselors, and mentors from Panam
Mayapur, India, 10:00 AM– During the morning session of the 2019 GBC Annual General Meeting on March 11th, much of the time was spent reviewing and voting upon various proposals.
Throughout the year, ISKCON members are able to submit proposals to the GBC. These proposals go through a review process and are vetted and voted on by GBC Deputies and committees. The final proposals are then submitted to the GBC body for majority voting.
Over the course of the morning, members of the GBC reviewed a
In 1944, on the auspicious appearance day of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada started the English magazine, Back to Godhead.
75 years later, and during the 50th Golden Anniversary year of the incorporation of ISKCON UK, it is a great honour that the unique story of ISKCON-London - the first ISKCON centre in the UK (opened in 1969) - is shared with the world in this international publication - a publication that Srila Prabhupada later referred to
