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By Ambarisa Das

Dear ISKCON Leaders,

Please accept our obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Greetings from Sridhama Mayapur and blessings from Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva, Sri Nrsimha, and our Guru Parampara. Gaur Purnima 2019 Mahottsava ki jaya!

We are very pleased to announce on the most auspicious day of Gaur Purnima 2019 the launch of the promotion campaign for our historic 10 day fundraising event from May 7th (Akshaya Trittiya) until May 17th (Nrsimha Caturdasi). Th

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By Jayabhadra devi dasi

On March 10, International Women’s Day, the Amravati, Maharashtra, ISKCON Girls’ Forum successfully completed the movement’s inaugural vaisnavi one-day padayatra.

Padayatra’s objectives

1.      Dedicating the walk to the martyred soldiers on the Indian border.

2.      To bring world peace through harinama.

3.      To unite all vaisnavis for the common cause of spreading the holy names.

4.      To create awareness of spiritual literatures like Bhagavad-gita.

INSPIRATION:

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Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s Boat Festival takes place over the course of one week during the summer, but devotees from around the world get to participate in the festival for one day during the annual Gaura-purnima festival.

This year, the festival took place on the 16th of March. Sri Sri Radha Madhava are taken from the temple on procession, riding atop a carved wooden palanquin. They are brought to the pukur, or ornamental pond, that sits beside Srila Prabhupada’s Puspa-samadhi Mandir. The pond i

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Santipur Festival today!

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Today is the famous Santipur festival, Govinda Dwadasi. Devotees from Mayapur visit Santipur in large numbers in many buses, eagerly engage themselves in cooking and serving hot Kichuri to around 50,000 dhamvasis along with Harinam Sankirtan.

The Shantipur festival has been a key part of ISKCON Mayapur’s Gaura Purnima festival for many years.Historically, it was put on by fifteenth century saint Advaita Acharya in honor of the Disappearance Day of his guru, Madhavendra Puri. Since then, it’s be

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All You Need Is Love!

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By Louise Guthrie

“How long does it take to get to the Beatles Ashram?”

The prompt and almost blasé way that locals here in Rishikesh, self-styled yoga capital of the world, respond to this query suggests it’s one they have become very used to over the last 51 years. Lou and I have, by necessity, established this fact as we pick our way along a slender thoroughfare running parallel with the broad silvery-green slate of the slow-moving and holy river Ganges. But shop-keepers’ and traders’ respon

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On the occasion of Sri Madhavendra Puri’s disappearance day, we share two verses and purports from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta which, by Sri Madhavendra Puri and Srila Prabhupada’s causeless mercy, may help us progress in Krishna consciousness.
jaya sri madhavapuri krsna-prema-pura
bhakti-kalpatarura tenho prathama ankura
“All glories to Sri Madhavendra Puri, the storehouse of all devotional service unto Krsna! He is a desire tree of devotional service, and it is in him that the seed of devotional

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New Zealand massacre ISKCON response

By Bhakta dasa

The horrific massacre that unfolded in Christchurch New Zealand on Friday 15th March, in which to date 50 human beings have lost their lives, is truly a very dark moment in history, not only for Muslims but for all who treasure the gift of life.

On behalf of the Australian and New Zealand Hare Krishna Movement, I wish to convey that ISKCON members all over the world offer their sincere prayers to all who are suffering due to this insane act of evil madness.

Our deepest sympathy g

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Awakening From a Nightmare

By Sesa Dasa

In medicine, a coma, or comatose, (from the Greek “koma”, meaning deep sleep) is a profound state of unconsciousness.

Talk about living a nightmare. There was a report on the news that a Belgian man “though to be in a coma for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time.” Alex Watts of Sky News Online writes, “For the whole time, he was trapped in his own body with no way of letting friends and family know he could hear every word they were saying.”

It gets worse. In an intervie

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Sri Laddu-Gopal comes in Viraha Bhavan

By HH Satsvarupa Das Goswami

Amith, an Indian devotee who lives in Albany, recently came back from a pilgrimage to Kumbha-mela in India. In the ISKCON tent he saw a murti of Laddu-Gopal, and he was very attracted to it. He thought of buying it and giving it to me as a gift. When the devotee-sellers heard that it was coming to me as a gift, they donated two sets of clothes. Laddu-Gopal is very beautiful. He is crawling, and in His right hand He is holding forth a laddu. I think I like him better

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On the Rooftop by Bhaktimarga Swami

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On the rooftop of the house, "Radha," local birds fly about—doves, cookoos, and more.  Some land on the shrubs and any other object which would be perfect perches.  Mahasrngha, a very amiable type of person from Poland, is the proud owner of this home, which I step into every year when I come to Mayapura.
 
This morning, a family from Vancouver is up on the flat roof sharing space with me in preparation for a diksha ceremony.  One of the women, Satuja, took a seat by the havan and opposite h
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Lifestyle by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Many of our crew members are quite ill with fever, but like real troopers they’re carrying on with the show.  A number of them wouldn't mind participating in the walking events, called parikrama,but they see the need to reserve time for this valuable service, the service of ‘enterlightenment’.  https://www.instagram.com/p/BusClNfAYIX/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=vhwl8jadjx5m
 
Appreciations have been pouring in or just vocalized to actors and myself as we walk around the campus.  "We love
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Events
 
By Madhava Smullen

Parabhakti Das, President of ISKCON’s Villa Vrindavana community near Florence, Italy, presented at a panel discussion on preserving authenticity in yoga during the European Academy of Religion’s annual conference this spring.

The conference was a four-day event running from March 5th to 8thin Bologna, Italy. Thirty to forty different panels a day covered diverse topics from religious freedom, to interfaith dialogue, to religion and social change. 

These were led by acade

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Events

March 10, Mayapur, India, 5:30 PM – The 2019 GBC Annual General Meetings continued with a report from the Deity Worship Ministry. The Deity Worship Ministry provides education, resources, and guidance to facilitate and encourage the maintenance and development of Deity worship in ISKCON, in accordance with the standards and mood established by Srila Prabhupada. 

Nrisimha Kavacha Dasa, ISKCON’s Deity Worship Minister, presented the report, which focused on the worship of Radha Krishna Deities i

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An Aspiration by Giriraj Swami

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While chanting japa this morning, I thought of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s verse about the holy name:

tunde tandavini ratim vitanute tundavali-labdhaye
  karna-kroda-kadambini ghatayate karnarbudebhyah sprham
cetah-prangana-sangini vijayate sarvendriyanam krtim
  no jane janita kiyadbhir amrtaih krsneti varna-dvayi

“I do not know how much nectar the two syllables ‘Krs-na’ have produced. When the holy name of Krsna is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When

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Our topic was "guru."  I will paraphrase what I said—in regard to women being empowered as gurus—to the assembly of senior men and women.  All others who commented on the topic are to be confidentially honoured.
 
"I read the Bhagavad-gita first at the age of twenty.  In Chapter One, Prabhupada purports that women are less intelligent. I struggled with that.  I read on and came to Chapter 10, text 34, where our guru, Prabhupada, comments that intelligence is a feminine trait.  My mind struggl
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Activism

Food For All, a prasadam distribution charity run by Parasurama Das, held a grand “re-opening” for a unique café in Watford, England near Bhaktivedanta Manor on February 25th. 

The café was previously known as Gokula and was run by the late Bhaja Hari Das, who passed away from a heart attack.

Food For All took it over two years ago. “I began giving out free meals every Monday, and it became very popular,” says Parasurama. “130 homeless people came the first time. 

With the re-opening, Food For

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Gauranga! Nityananda!

On the 6th day of Parikrama, we are wondering in the island of Rudradvipa where Nidaya Gat (border) is situated.

Early morning all the pilgrims left Pratapnagar by boat.. it is always a great time crossing the merciful waters of Mother Ganga with so many devotees, such an unique experience!

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left His house (where the Yoga Pitha is situated) in the early morning heading to the Ganga. He crossed the river by swimming on His way to Katva to take sannyas

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ISKCON Chairman, Honorable Gopal Krishna maharaj ji, my cabinet colleague Mr. Mahesh Sharma, my associate in the Parliament Mrs. Meenakshi Lekhi, other important members of ISKCON, and ladies and gentlemen present here.

I was told that people from many countries including America, UK, Russia, and Hungary have arrived to attend this program. My warm greetings to all of you.

Friends, today is a very important day.

Hare Krishna! Today is an important day. In the morning I participated in the Gandh

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Every Year by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Every year we arrange a lunch for the Canadian pilgrims. This year, Gauranga's Garden became our venue for bhakti-yogis from the Great White North to assemble.  Monks/swamis well known like Sivarama, BB Govinda, Gopal Krishna and Bhanu Swami came, either on foot, or by rickshaw, to bless the occasion of eating.  We also saw some happy cooks.
 
We are also in the swing of what is called "Kirtan Mela," which takes the shape of a five-day marathon of chanting with instruments.  Traditionally kir
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