Featured Posts (13102)

Sort by

2515190965?profile=original

My dear god brother H H Purna Candra Goswami went to his samadhi some time back and we heard many praises. HH Bhakti Vijnana Goswami was lamenting that Purna Candra Prabhu was not so well known world wide since he had much to offer.

He did leave us a very beautiful book that I think should be studied by anyone who is serious about spiritual advancement while serving, in any position, within ISKCON.

The book is titled, UNSPOKEN OBSTACLES ON THE PATH TO BHAKTI. The title says a lot.

Most of the d

Read more…
Comments: 0

The Form of Service

By Bhaktimarga Swami

The ground was under my feet, from about 11,000 metres up in the air.  It was farewell to Spain for now, after a week of classes, meetings, walking, and fun. I want to thank all those good souls who looked after me while I was at Vraja Mandala, the farm community outside Madrid, and the group who manage Hare Krishna Centro in the downtown district.
 
I claim no physical kilometres today, only those in the dream state in planning a 15 km trek through some ravines, along an a
Read more…
Comments: 0

By Sita Rama Lakshmana Das

On 20th June 2018, ISKCON Perth organized a corporate outreach program at an engineering company named Downer Edi Limited based locally. The program was well attended (25 people) including company’s senior leadership and management. It was led by the visiting guest speaker, mentor and life style coach His Grace Gokuleshvara Das from ISKCON Juhu, India.

Australians or colloquially known as Aussies, are known for their laid back, easy going and predisposed to be friendl

Read more…

By Nitai Das

Events

Cape Town, known as the beautiful ‘Mother City’ at the tip of South Africa, saw a weekend mesmerized with the holy names and laughter-filled devotee association which was graced by the presence of BB Govinda Swami and Akincana Krishna Das. 

Bhakti Bash, a 4-day festival from 21-24 June, was launched by the year-old Vaishnava Sena youth group of ISKCON Cape Town. Joined by the Krsna Balaram Youth Group (KBYG) and devotees from around the country, the festival started off with a kir

Read more…

Appreciating Bhakti Tirtha Swami

2515254038?profile=original

On July 5 we celebrate the divine disappearance day of Sri Srimad Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja, who left our world on this date on the Vedic calendar in 2005.

Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-eight: “Puranjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life,” discusses the disappearance of the spiritual master:

TEXT 48

uttisthottistha rajarse
  imam udadhi-mekhalam
dasyubhyah ksatra-bandhubhyo
  bibhyatim patum arhasi

TRANSLATION

O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surroun

Read more…

On a Camino Branch

By Bhaktimarga Swami

Janardan, president of the Krishna Centre in Madrid, led our party of three (including Narottam) through the dark, dry trail from Fuencarral, on the very outskirts of Madrid.  This is more like what I envisioned The Camino to be—countryside, bushes, farms, dogs barking, remoteness, and maybe other pilgrims. But NO, we were up early, at 4:30 a.m. to take the first steps of a short distance—12 kilometres.

How powerful it was!  Janardan’s cell phone was our map and flashlight
Read more…
Comments: 0

One Day Padayatra in Gujarat

2515254114?profile=original

By Murali Mohan Dasa

During the auspicious month of Purushottama, on Sunday June 10th -ekadasi day- devotees from Ahmedabad conducted a padayatra from Ujala Circle near Sarkhej to Khodivar Matta temple. We started early morning at 6.00 am and walked till noon so that padayatris’ would be saved from the scorching heat.

As before we had our nicely decorated Deities of Nimai-Nitai Deities and Srila Prabhupada accompanying us on a palanquin carried on a devotee’s head. Around 120 devotees participa

Read more…

Miracles of Nimai

2515254234?profile=original

By Kadamba Kanana Swami

From the very beginning, Nimai showed transcendental features as a child. For instance, he was showing the footprints of Vishnu on the bottom of his feet. There were also some amazing things that were happening in their family house. When Nimai was just a baby, his parents used to hear the footsteps of a child running around their house, yet Nimai was not even walking yet. So his father, Jagannatha-Mishra thought that it was the Saligram Sila that was running around the

Read more…
2515254047?profile=original
Miguel de Cervantes is the famed author of the fictitious character “Don Quixote” and is memorialized just a few blocks from Hare Krishna Centro.  It was natural to take a stroll there.  Gathering Narottam, a student from Mayapura, India, and Bhakta Jyan, of Guadalajara, to take the lead, browsing about became our way of winding down the day.
 
The monument is impressive, situated by a pond of water, and just about every tourist who comes to Madrid, takes a walk around while taking a few snap
Read more…
Comments: 0

By Radhapadma Devi Dasi

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada, Gaura Nitai, Sri Jagannath, Baldev and Shubhadra and Sri Sri Radha Giridhari.

If one googles and finds what ‘spiritual retreat’ means it would rather be taken as a quiet place where meditation and self is given importance to. The self these days seem to be more important than anything else in this world, but there definitely is somebody who is the creator of this self – the most important and the connection with this Supreme is of utmost

Read more…

By Satya Medha Gauranga dasa

50 years ago, an enthusiastic young man dedicated his life in the service of Srila Prabhupada to fulfil the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

On 30th of June 1968, 19-year-old Jay shaved up his head, dressed in dhoti and chadar, singing Hare Krishna with joy, was pulling the chariot of Lord Jagannatha on the streets of San Francisco, the chariot that he had been helping to build with His Grace Jayananda Prabhu.

No one had imagined that this 19-year-old Jay, late

Read more…

Events

By Prishni Shutton

On June 16, organized by the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies, Murali Gopal Das presented a lively seminar at New York City’s Bhakti Center titled “Mysteries of the Sacred Universe, based on Sadaputa’s book of the same name. 

Murali Gopal holds a Ph.D. in physics from Ohio University, has served an internship at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, completed his post-doctoral studies at Columbia University, and has taught Sanskrit at the University of Florida. As

Read more…

How Does It Feel

2515254100?profile=original

By Bhaktimarga Swami

At 3:45 a.m., just when the party mode was beginning to subside, a guitarist moved his strings, and with his vocals-outside our window-started to sing, “How does it feel to be on your own, like a rolling stone…”  This Bob Dylan classic threw me back to the sixties, but probably it was also a message that roommate, Yadunandan Swami, and I were to start activating our mission for the day and become rolling stones.
 
Julan Yatra from Tenerife was also to join us on an early at
Read more…
Comments: 0

Lecture by HH Niranjana Swami

Gauranga Festival (Ukraine), June 8, 2016

The following is a partially-edited transcription of a lecture given on June 8, 2016 in Gauranga Festival (Ukraine) – First Time Seeing Srila Prabhupada

I oftentimes say, when devotees ask me to speak about Prabhupāda, that I can say my only qualification is that I happened to be on the planet at the same time that Prabhupāda was spreading the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Movement. I took part in his mission, but I didn’t really hav

Read more…

2515254170?profile=original

Shastrakrit Das: It was a hot and quiet evening and we were just sitting there praying for some mercy. Out of nowhere, this really pious lady approaches the book table with her family. She points to Srimad Bhagavatam first canto and Krishna book asking, ‘how much?’ 
I said, “for Krishna book, you can give some donation, but the Bhagavatam is $200.” 
She was surprised, ‘why this one book Bhagavatam costs so much?’
I told her, ‘Because it’s not just one book it’s an 18 volume set.’ 
She insisted

Read more…
Comments: 0

2515253386?profile=original

ISKCON Panihati celebrated Panihati festival week this year from 22nd – 26th June, 2018 for the first time. His Holiness Bhakti Prema Maharaj was the chief guest for the entire event.

On the day of Ganga-puja i.e. 22nd June we went on Ganga safari via a hired boat from Panihati to Bagh Bazaar Gaudiya Math. About 400 devotees participated in the wonderful kirtans, eye opening lectures by Maharaj and other senior devotees and sumptuous prasadam.

The second day 23rd June was food festival wherein

Read more…

By Madhava Smullen

Events

Care for Cows Vrindavana held a special event to celebrate Kurma Rupa Dasa’s life and service on June 28th, the third anniversary of his passing.  

The founder and director of Care for Cows expired due to cancer in 2015 at the age of 67. But the organization he started continues to support and care for destitute and abandoned cows in Lord Krishna’s holy land of Vrindavana, India.

The commemorative event in Kurma Rupa’s honor took place at the Care for Cows Goshala on the Foo

Read more…

Fiji Holds Its First Kirtan Mela

By Madhava Smullen

Events

ISKCON Fiji held its first ever Kirtan Mela in the island nation’s capital, Suva, from June 8thto 10th, to a rapturous reception. 

The event was organized by Braja Govinda Das, a Sydney-based disciple of Tamal Krishna Goswami, who wanted to give Fijian devotees the kind of international kirtan experience they hadn’t had before.

About sixty international devotees – mainly from Australia and New Zealand – attended, along with several hundred from Fiji.

The festivities kicked o

Read more…

Kirtan Where It Helps

2515254041?profile=original
By Bhaktimarga Swami
 
Most of my stepping today was in the city above, done during our Hari Nama Sankirtan practice.  Approximately twenty-five of us danced or paced up and down through this trendy downtown, armed with mrdangadrum, kartals(cymbals) and our own good cheer.

It’s funny how people respond to our group.  It ranges from disdain, to indifference, to happiness.  Obviously, we come across as religious, and some store owners don’t see us as a draw to their merchandise.  There are a lo
Read more…
Comments: 0

In honor of Yamaraja Prabhu

Lilasuka dasi: In gratitude to His Grace Yamaraja das, cent percent servant of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, to whom the depth of debt that I owe I may never fully know.

Recently I heard that scheduled visits to be with you before your departure were being organized. My eyes widened at the opportunity but I hesitated for too long… primarily due to bodily identification and with doubts such as, “Who am I, with essentially no external connection to you to be so bold

Read more…