By Atma Tattva Das
On a freezing September 21st, 2024, the ISKCON Lenasia Rathayatra Festival reached a highly significant and noteworthy achievement that marks a pivotal moment in its journey—its 25th anniversary.
What began as a small community event has grown into a large celebration, gathering devotees from across South Africa and the world to participate in the vibrant and sacred procession of Lord Jagannatha in the southwest of the Johannesburg Central Business District.
One of the key fi
There we sat, the three of us, on those comfy outdoor Muskoka chairs, waiting, for a fourth member, Partha, of today’s strolling crew. Vrndavan, Nityananda and I were committed to a loop walk which included a stretch of the Trans Canada Trail. Our waiting location on Main Street was quite central to the numerous murals on building walls of the iconic Group of Seven artwork. As a team of experts in “Impressionistic” work of nature scenes defined the art of Canadian mastery. Check out the work of
Today is the auspicious disappearance day of three great acharyas in the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradaya: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, and Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. We shall read about Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami from Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja’s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Thirteen: “Pastimes with Jagadananda Pandita and Raghunatha Bhatta.”
TEXT 89
etha tapana-misra-putra raghunatha-bhattacarya
prabhure de
In around 1503 AD, Raghunath Bhattacharya appeared as the son of Tapana Mishra, a dear devotee of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who hailed from the village of Ramapura on the banks of the Padma River in East Bengal.
Mahaprabhu first met Tapana Mishra when he went to East Bengal during his career as a teacher of Sanskrit. Tapana Mishra had studied many scriptures but was still bewildered about the purpose of life and what to do to attain it. He had a dream in which he was instructed by a Brahmin to go
By Sri Radha Govinda Dasi
ISKCON Community Life, a division of the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, recognized the outstanding contributions to devotee care of three very special individuals by giving them the following awards:
Trailblazer in Community Wellness Award – Rambhoru Devi (ACBSP)
Director/Founder & Training Supervisor, Karuna Care Association. After 26 years of international pioneer outreach work (while raising two sons), Rambhoru Devi completed her B.A. in Religious Stud
The Hindu Mandirs Empowerment Council (formerly known as the Hindu Mandirs Executive Conference) held its annual gathering of North American Hindu Leaders representing all the various Hindu Mandirs and Organizations across the region. ISKCON leaders were among the presenters at the September 27th to 29th, 2024 conference, held in Raleigh, North Carolina.
HMEC is the largest annual conference of its kind, welcoming hundreds of past and present executives, community leaders, and scholars of Mandi
Once every fortnight Vaishnavas all over the world observe a day for cutting down on dietary extravagance. In fact it is a total abstinence of grain. No pizza ! No pasta ! No rice or roti !
Those of us who wandered off to Gir Farms where people come to cuddle cows took advantage of what the fields have to offer at this time of year. Guru Das and I were chewing on raw okra with no pesticides. Peppers were also on the menu, again raw and delicious. Gir Farms owners, Vishal and Yasomati, also tu
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami used to reside on the bank of Sri Radha-kunda. At the time Radha-kunda was just a small pond of water, and therefore sometimes Raghunatha would meditate on enlarging the kund. Then he would chastise himself for desiring something which would require a large amount of money.
Around this time one very wealthy Seth underwent great austerity by walking to Badarikasrama in the Himalayas. Arriving there he very reverently worshiped Sri Badrinarayana and offered much wealth at H
By Atma Tattva Das
Sanga, service, and spiritual adventure awaited devotee youth in the sunny environment of San Diego. The inaugural West Coast summer retreat for The Sanga Initiative (TSI) saw 45 attendees from 24 cities across seven states join together at ISKCON San Diego for an immersive and energizing spiritual experience. A dedicated team of organizers led by Abhirama Thakura Das, Braja Priya Devi Dasi, Kapiduach, and Sruthi worked diligently to organize this experience for West Coast you
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
ISKCON Sacramento recently held a Devotee Care Course from September 13th to 15th, 2024, facilitated by Radha Gopinath Das and Damodar Das. The event, which was attended by 15 participants, was designed to deepen their understanding of the role of devotee care in sustaining a loving and vibrant spiritual community.
Throughout the three-day course, the facilitators explored key insights into what it truly means to care for others within the ISKCON community. Pa
What a pleasure it is to hear from an expert on the early days of the Hare Krishna movement as it took hold in the U.S.’s west coast in the summer of love, 1967. Guru Das has come to grace us with his presence and making us feel present in those olden golden times. He was a former civil rights activist but became a radical in the Vaishnav tradition under the watchful guard of the spiritual master, Prabhupada.
Guru Das, who is now in his 80’s was an instant hit with our youth.
Now, for the youn
From Back to Godhead
Why hearing is the first and most important of the nine kinds of devotional service to the Lord.
When I first read that hearing is the most important of the nine kinds of devotional service, I was confused. I was twenty-one at the time and had been hearing all day every day for my whole life. What was so special about hearing? Then I read that the “hearing” prescribed wasn’t meant for mundane topics but for the activities and qualities of Krishna and His devotees. This hea
Frustration gives way to illumination during one extraordinary night in the life of a prostitute.
While prostitutes are often depicted negatively in traditional literature, some religious texts depict them positively as testimonies to the transformational potency of divine grace. Thus, in the Gospel is found a story of a prostitute (considered by some to be Mary Magdalene) who was redeemed by Jesus. In Gaudiya Vaishnava literature such as the Chaitanya Charitamrita comes the story of the saint
By His Divine Grace Srila A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada
sri bhagavan uvaca
abhayam sattva-samsuddhir
jnana-yoga-vyavasthitih
danam damas ca yajnas ca
svadhyayas tapa arjavam
ahimsa satyam akrodhas
tyagah santir apaisunam
daya bhutesv aloluptvam
mardavam hrir acapalam
tejah ksama dhrtih saucam
adroho natimanita
bhavanti sampadam daivim
abhijatasya bharata
Srila Prabhupada: The first thing is that bhagavan uvaca. These things required for purification. Sattva-samsuddhih. The human life is meant for sat
“Sripada Madhvacarya took his birth at Udupi, which is situated in the South Kanarada district of South India, just west of Sahyadri. This is the chief city of the South Kanarada province and is near the city of Mangalore, which is situated to the south of Udupi. In the city of Udupi is a place called Pajaka-ksetra, where Madhvacarya took his birth in a Sivalli-brahmana dynasty as the son of Madhyageha Bhatta, in the year 1040 Sakabda (A.D. 1119). According to some, he was born in the year 1160
Madhvacharya was born into a Brahmana family in the coastal town of Udupi, South India. His early life was marked by extraordinary events and displays of divine power, such as turning tamarind seeds into coins and defeating a snake demon with a touch of his toe.
His exceptional intellect and insatiable thirst for knowledge led him to embark on a spiritual journey at the age of twelve when he accepted sannyasa, a renounced way of life. Madhvacharya traveled extensively across India, seeking wisdo
Lord Vishnu imparted the knowledge of reaching Him to four great personalities – Lakshmi Devi, Lord Shiva, Sri Brahma, and the four kumara. These four personalities imparted the knowledge to four great devotees who started the four Sampradayas. Lakshmi to Ramanujacharya – Sri Sampradaya, Shiva to Vishnuswami – Rudra Sampradaya, Brahma to Madhvacharya – Brahma sampradaya and the four Kumaras to Nimbarka – Kumara Sambradaya.
Today is the appearance day of Sri Madhvacharya. Madhvacharya (acarya me
By Jagdish Shyam Das
The ISKCON Youth Forum (IYF) Gaya, hosted its grand annual Youth Festival, “VIPLAVA – Glories of Vedic India,” on September 15, 2024, at Gaya, Bihar. Over 1,000 enthusiastic young devotee participants from across Bihar gathered for this transformative experience.
IYF has spent the last decade empowering young minds through seminars, festivals, and personal development initiatives. Its mission is to inspire the next generation to tap into their inner potential, cultivate serv
