At the recent national ISKCON strategic planning meetings in Melbourne (11-12 October), leaders set a goal to increase book distribution across Australia by 20% in 2025 compared to 2024.
ISKCON Brisbane has already achieved this target – with more than 2 months still remaining in the year!
For those unfamiliar with our book distribution mission: we share the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic texts compiled and translated by our founder, Srila Prabhupada. These books offer spir
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By Mahavana Das
Report on the “Purposeful Leadership” Seminar by His Grace Gauranga Darshan Das
In an era when leadership is often equated with power, wealth, and visibility, His Grace Gauranga Darshan Das presented a refreshing vision at the seminar titled “Purposeful Leadership: Purpose Must Lead, Profits Shall Follow.”
The event was organized by the Atha Forum, co-organized by the Gita Read Society, and hosted at the Gauranga Centre, Singapore. It attracted over 70 business leaders, entrepren
Over the last few days, Mahārāja has been experiencing episodes of bloody sputum and increased oxygen requirement due to the presence of thick mucus plugs in the lungs, along with a few episodes of fever. With regular medications, nebulizations, and intense chest physiotherapy, the lung condition improves temporarily but tends to get congested again.
To address this issue and to diagnose the underlying cause, today Mahārāja is undergoing a specialized procedure to remove the mucus plugs in Chenn
By Atma Tattva Das
As the recent festival of Diwali illuminated homes around the world, S.B. Keshava Swami invites seekers everywhere to ignite a different kind of illumination: the light of inner wisdom. Find Your Jewels is the first online course under Keshava Swami’s newly unveiled Wisdom That Breathes platform, a global educational and community hub designed to share timeless spiritual insights for the modern age.
The Find Your Jewels course draws inspiration from a timeless parable that Kes
Just to let you know up front, there is no real happiness in this world. The majority of us are struggling to achieve two things: to have a vantage point to procure wealth and pleasure, and to avoid pain and suffering. Unfortunately, this is an impossible task. Even if you think you’ve achieved something, it will change shortly. There is no permanent situation. Every generation and era has its own problems. It is said that the guiding principle in the material world is the survival of the fitt
I was told by a number of folks, the ones we met at Radhadesh, Den Haag, and Naalwijk, that we were very lucky in regards to the weather during our trekking in Holland. “You had practically no rain – unusual for this time of year.”
I consider myself blessed on many counts. Our first nine hours were spent at Radhadesh’s castle. The class I delivered was on the topic of renunciation. I told the listeners of how my dad, while I was in the tub and he was shaving in the washroom, out of nowhere
By Sunanda Das,
The TOVP Management is pleased to announce that the TOVP Grand Opening is now scheduled to open in coordination with the 50th disappearance anniversary of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada during a three-month-long celebration beginning on November 1, 2027.
In conjunction with this arrangement and to support the ongoing intense work required to achieve this historic goal and offer the TOVP to Srila Prabhupada as a worldwide offering from all of ISKCON, we have launched the Prabhu
By Harshit Chaitanya Das
The Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, witnessed an extraordinary gathering of over 15,000 youth for UDGAAR 2025 – The Festival of Culture and Wellness, organized by ISKCON India Youth Council (North Wing). The event brought together young people from more than ten states, promoting cultural values, wellness, and a lifestyle of self-discipline and devotion.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/udgaar-2025-unites-15000-youth-for-culture-and-wellness-at-igi-stadium/
By Nidhi Chaudhari
This year’s offering from Pune to the World Holy Name Festival 2025 stood as a living expression of Srila Prabhupada’s vision – that the Holy Name be heard in every town and village.
The Pune Padayatra, organized under the guidance of Lokanath Swami and Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami, brought together over 700 devotees from six ISKCON temples of Pune — Hadapsar, Ravet, Kalewadi, BCEC, Camp, and NVCC – who united to walk, sing, and serve together in one spirit of devotion.
For t
It is a day of rest, perhaps deserved. Yes, we have been going strong over the last eight days at twenty kilometres. A pause is always good. Downtime. A handful of us on the “Walk for Devotion” project are taking it easy in this tiny town, Durbuy, and specifically at beautifully showcased Radhadesh. It is an oasis of a tastefully done tourist trap and includes a Radha Krishna temple, restaurant, bakery, boutique, art museum, a cow shelter, a playground, an extensive walking trail, land to
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, advised the cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajna and begin the Govardhana-puja in order to chastise Indra, who was very much puffed up at being the supreme controller of the heavenly planets.
The honest and simple cowherd men, headed by Nanda Maharaja, accepted Krishna’s proposal and executed in detail everything He advised. They performed Govardhana worship and circumambulation of the hill.
The cowherd men inquired from Krishna how He wanted the Govar
Krishna Lifts the Govardhan Hill.
Once in the beautiful land of Vraja,
For Lord Indra they wanted to do a puja
Begging to Indra to supply them rain
So that in time they can harvest their grain
Seeing this Krishna was not happy,
He told his father this is unnecessary,
‘You should worship Govardhana hill,
This is what I really feel’
The gopas and gopis were all so happy,
To worship Govardhan they were all ready,
With laddu, halava, pakora and puri
They offered it all to Govardhana joyfully
Hearin
Govardhana Puja is celebrated in the month of Kartika (October – November) to commemorate the pastime of Lord Sri Krishna lifting the Govardhana Hill to protect the residents of Vrindavana from the wrath of Indra.
When the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna saw the residents of Vrindavana preparing for Indra-yajna, He suggested that they should forgo the worship of Indra and instead worship the Govardhana Hill. On coming to know of this, Indra became angry and sent a devastating rainfall over Vrindavana
We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.”
TEXT 32
gopair makhe pratihate vraja-viplavaya
deve ’bhivarsati pasun krpaya riraksuh
dhartocchilindhram iva sapta-dinani sapta-
varso mahidhram anaghaika-kare salilam
TRANSLATION
When the cowherd men of Vrndavana, under instruction of Krsna, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly king, Indra, the whole tract of land known as Vraja was threatened with being washed away by constant heavy rains for s
One time some mad elephants attacked Rasikananda. Calmly, he chanted "Gauranga, Gauranga, Krishna, Krishna" while sprinkling water on the rampaging beasts. The elephants immeditately stopped charging, humbly bowed their heads, raised their trunks, and bellowed "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" (In the wallpaper: Rasikananda Prabhu, and some elephants).
Shri Rasikananda Prabhu (Rasika Murari) appeared as the son of a king. He became a perfect sage, Gaudiya Vaishnava scholar, rasika bhakta, and
What is Govardhan Puja?
The tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam relates many of Krishna’s pastimes. Of these, “The Lifting of Govardhan Hill” is one of our most important. It tells the story of how Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill in Vrindavan for seven days and seven nights, balancing it on the tip of his small finger and thus providing a huge umbrella under which all the residents and animals of Vrindavan could find shelter from the devastating rainstorm sent by Lord Indra (god of rain and king of h
DIWALI FESTIVAL: 10th October. 1968,
(Letter from Srila Prabhupada to Hamsadutta dasa written from Seattle., Letters book Vol 1. p.549.)
Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating 100’s of candles, indifferent parts of the temple, and offering a special Prasad to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the Kingdom of Lord Ramachandra, while Lord Ramachandra was out of His Kingdom due to His 14 years banishment by the order of His father. His young
The meanings of Dipavali, its symbols and rituals, and the reasons for celebration are innumerable. Dipavali celebrates Lord Rama’s glorious and long-awaited return to His Kingdom of Ayodhya after his fourteen long years of exile in the forests.
It commemorates Lord Krsna’s victory over the demon Narakasura who had kidnapped and terrorized the gopis of Vrndavana. Before the evil Naraka was finally killed by Bhagavan Krsna in the presence of Satyabhama, he begged pitifully for mercy; thus, upon
“Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, quoting from the Vaisnava-tosani of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, says that the incident of Krsna’s breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by Mother Yasoda took place on the Dipavali Day, or Dipa-malika. Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kartika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.9.1 purport
“My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense
On the auspicious occasion of Diwali, I share with you a description by Smriti “Baby” Warrier (later initiated as Sravana dasi), whose family were tenants at Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, of how when she was a child she and her brothers wanted to set off fireworks, and how Srila Prabhupada responded.
One Diwali, in the evening, Mother Kanta was in the women’s ashram above our flat and we were outside setting off fireworks. It was around 9:00, and I guess she wanted to take rest, but we weren’t fin
