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Bhakta Mukesh: Arrival of a sadhu is the sign of Lord’s mercy; and when this mercy coincides with Balarama Jayanti that precedes Lord Krsna’s appearance day – it’s all the more a reason to rejoice in festivity and dance in ecstasy. Therefore, to celebrate the confluence of these holy tithis with the arrival of HH VedaVyasaPriya Swami Maharaj, the Journey of Self Discovery, Wellington, organised several events and festivities including a two-day Otaki retreat in honour of Maharaj and other senio

When we talk about the planet’s earliest civilization, we are talking about the world’s earliest sophisticated society after the last ice age. This means that according to the Vedic time tables, various forms of civilization have been existing for millions of years. But the first record of an organized and developed society was the Vedic culture that arose in ancient India with the Indus Sarasvati civilization, and then spread out from there in all directions around the world.

Often times we se

Dear Maharaj,

You were special. I have never met anyone like you. You were so cool, totally real, and uniquely funny; and you had this unusual sixth sense for making people Krishna conscious. You just knew how to get into people’s hearts, both devotees and non-devotees, and you knew exactly what was needed to do this in every situation. You touched the lives of many, many people because you were both a special person and deeply cared for others. Your related to everyone and thus everyone relate

A gentleman who is involved in education in ISKCON, and for whom ISKCON functions as his religious institution was bemused when he made the decision to send his daughter for university studies. Some well meaning friends commented that going to the university was morally and religiously evil or contaminating. He asked us if we could write a little about this. As we began to discuss the topic a little we found that it is a common theme amongst many people who have a life in both the religious and

My dear godbrother and friend, Giriraja Maharaja,

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

I am not usually without words but glorifying you is challenging because there is so much to say and so little time to say it! I could talk for hours about your extraordinary qualities as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, as well as reminiscing about our 30-year friendship which is one of the deepest and most satisfying in my life.

Friendship is an essential ingredient in Krsna c

By Akruranatha Dasa

From time to time we hear that a certain devotee is “mature”. We know it is a positive thing, but what does it really mean? How can we become the kind of devotee that others will call “mature”? What is the evidence regarding “maturity” in our revealed scriptures?

I think it is a good topic for discussion and would like to hear the realizations of others. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. One of the hallmarks of a madhyama adhikari is knowing how to properly interact with diff

This is a compilation based on the works of Srila Prabhupada.

Compiled by Premanjana Das

(Pranjal Joshi)

1)

“If you sit down and write some article on Krsna, that means you have to concentrate on Krsna’s activities or Krsna’s devotees’ activities, and that very process will purify your heart. Therefore we always recommend to our students that you write articles, read our magazine, read our book. In this way if we keep ourself… Work for Krsna. This… We have come here in this pandal or in this Ku

The dictionary defines the word ‘Renunciation’ as follows – ‘the formal rejection of something, typically a belief, claim, or course of action.’ All over the world, we come across people who practice the spirit of Renunciation – There are some who renounce bad/harmful habits or renounce bad association, and there are some who renounce negative thoughts/words/deeds, etc. Again, we find people, who are a bit more serious and claim to belong to the Renounced order of life altogether, like the sain

Protect and Provide

If a case of illicit sex between a man and an unmarried woman were brought before Prabhupada, he never blamed the woman. He said it is the man’s fault because the man is supposed to be strong and intelligent, and that a woman naturally and innocently follows a man.

A man’s role is to protect and provide. Protection and exploitation are opposites. So if a woman went along with a man’s sexual aggression, Prabhupada wouldn’t blame her. Why? Because the man is supposed to guide

KRISTINA ORREGO/Alachua County Today

ALACHUA – It’s 4:30 a.m., and while the rest of the world is asleep, the Hare Krishna temple in Alachua is softly lit and gently buzzing.

Women wearing ornate saris and men in white, flowing dhoti and kurta remove their shoes before stepping onto sacred ground.

They enter, bowing their heads and prostrating their bodies in the direction of the statue of Srila Prabhupada, the pioneer of their movement that began 50 years ago.

Beads in hand and eyes closed, th

Monk Walks To Promote A Simpler Way Of Life. 
By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN – He’s on a walk across America, and last Friday Bhaktimarga Swami was in downtown Buchanan on his way west toward Lake Michigan. Clothed in his orange robes, Swami made his way through town as well as west along Elm Valley Rd.
Swami is in the middle of a three-year trek across the country. He began his walk last spring and walked through the fall.
Swami has been walking for nearly a month this year, starti

Question: While traveling by trains I see many children begging. They seem hungry and I can’t bear the sight. When they ask for money, one side of me says I shouldn’t give them the money, for they might give it to people who’ll misuse it. My other side says that I should. What should I do? 
Radhanath Swami: Real joy comes through service – through serving without expecting anything material in return. When we do something and we get something in return, it gives satisfaction to the mind and to

Bhaktimarga swami: If there could ever be a New Year’s resolution that resonates universally, I would say it could be to step-up on cooperation. Cooperation appears to be a high symptom of love.
Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had remarked that love is demonstrated by the ability to work as a team.
In other words, cooperate.
Some quotes I like on the topic are:
“Even freckles would form a nice tan if they could ever get together.” – Anonymous
“You cannot clap with one hand alone.” – John Taylor Woo

Gunagrahi Maharaja gave everything he had to Srila Prabhupada. He served ISKCON continuously for forty-nine years. He was a master at engaging people in Krishna consciousness. He made friends quickly and for life. He was largely responsible for the successful spreading of Krishna consciousness among the straight-edge youth. He didn’t complain and he didn’t lament. He had a flair for designing tasteful and novel ways of presenting Krishna consciousness. He innovated incredible Govinda buffet res

ISKCON GAYA

Dear Prabhuji/Mataji
PAMHO. All glories to Srila Prabhupad.
ISKCON Gaya celebrated Janmastami festival for two whole days. On 2nd September, program started at evening with kirtan lead by Hg Narad Prabhu followed by Gaur Arati lead by Jagdish Shyam Das (General Manager, ISKCON Gaya). A drama titled “Mahamurkh” played by ISKCON Youth Forum, Gaya devotees. Hg Rambhadra Prabhuji(Director, Youth Forum, Bihar) gave a talk on the transcendental activities of Krishna. He says that if we ca

HH Gunagrahi Goswami Maharaja, my very oldest devotee friend, the munificent kind soul who made me a devotee, passed away this morning just before 4 AM this morning.

He was surrounded by loving godbrothers and devotees, singing the holy names loudly and in ecstasy.

He had been unconscious since the afternoon .. but when the end was eminent I was screaming the mahamantra into his ear and each time he would respond.

He was such a kind loving devotee.

A radiant star has stopped shining in this wor

ISKCON’s Governing Body Commissioner Anuttama Das speaking at the World Hindu Congress in Chicago, USA.
On behalf of ISKCON he received the recognition by the World Hindu Congress for taking the message of Gita worldwide and introducing it to the ethnic community of the countries.
The audience comprising of Head of States, Business leaders, Scholars, Celebrities along 2500 delegates from 60 countries appreciated the legacy of Srila Prabhupada.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=66188