By Mukhya devi dasi
The second Community Development Conference was a big success this past Saturday. There were over 100 devotees in attendance, and another 25 facilitators. The essence of the day was moving into specific focus groups of individual interest, and meeting together to see what is working, what is needed, and what being more involved would look like. The teams went through exercises together as a preview of what the actual committees (which will be identified based on a form eve
Vrsabhanu dasa: Inis Rath Island in Northern Ireland was purchased by the Hare Krishna devotees in the mid-eighties and Sri Sri Radha Govinda were installed in 1986 with a big ceremony. The deities have been worshipped for over 30 years and the annual festivals attract many people. The beautiful setting is very conducive for practicing spiritual life. At the present moment a small group of devotees are struggling to keep the project going. If you wish to support this project please click on the
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. KINDLY POST THIS ON YOUR TEMPLE NOTICE BOARDS.
We had a great festival in Vrndavana after the Mayapur Gaura Purnima Festival. The day before Ram Nauvami, the temple held a huge community event, Shobha Yatra with all the small Deities on palanquins, moving along in kirtan, department to department. First stop was the Samadhi. It was ladies day at the Samadhi, and we cordoned off the front entrance to protect them
If we are at all aware of how dependent we are on God–for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the very ability to eat and drink and breathe, to think and feel and will, and to walk, talk, and sense–we will feel grateful and want to reciprocate God’s kindness. We will want to do something for He (or She or They) who has done, and continues to do, so much for us.
Often we take things for granted until we lose them. I use my right hand to chant on meditation beads, and one
The quality of humility and the quality of being able to develop love of God come together. It is not possible to develop love of God if there is no humility in our hearts. A person who is proud, how can he hear!? His ears are blocked because he is overwhelmed by his own ideas that he cannot even hear what everyone else says. But if one is humble, then one can think, ‘Yes, I need mercy.’
So a humble personality is eager to hear and being eager to hear from superior personalities also brings abo
Recently our beautiful deity of Vrindadevi arrived at our ashram in Carpinteria. As Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura prays in his Vrindadevi-astaka (3, 6, 8):
samasta-vaikuntha-siromanau sri-
krsnasya vrndavana-dhanya-dhamni
dattadhikare vrsabhanu-putrya
vrnde namas te caranaravindam
“Vrishabhanu’s daughter Radha made you guardian of Krishna’s opulent and auspicious abode of Vrindavan, the crest jewel of all Vaikuntha planets. O Vrinda, I bow to your lotus feet.”
rasabhilaso vasatis ca vrnd
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
There is another world than the one we live in. It is transcendental and is not subjected to the material influences of our world. There, Lord Brahma operates on a different time scale to ours where one of his days includes thousands of cycles of the four yugas – even one cycle of which in our world is considered to be a very long period of time. In fact, kali yuga does not even manifest in such higher regions of the universe. It is said that in the heavenly planets, the
At one stage on my evening japa walk today, the first day of Purusottama, my mind became restless, which disturbed me a lot, and I didn’t know what to do. Then suddenly within me I heard my disciple Damodar’s ringtone of Sripada Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja preaching forcefully: “Why are you unhappy? Because you are not surrendered. Surrender just now! Just now surrender and become happy, and there will be no more anxieties.” I began to earnestly pray to Maharaja to help me. And I felt immediate
Dandavat pranam. Srila Prabhupada jayatah.
Below is text of a response I wrote and posted to the Krishna Katha conference on PAMHO in response to the question: “Could someone please post the scriptural significance of performing/attending mangala aarti?”. It was just found by someone Googling for “mangal arotik” and sent to me. Copying it to a few friends and students, one godbrother friend who seems to have appreciated it very much responded urging me to send it to you.
From the nature of the
By Madhusudanan Das
There is a treasure that every devotee must seek. Not only is this treasure to be coveted by a Vaisnava, it is also always sought from a devotee. But what could possibly be desired by those who do not aim for the material?
Dr. O.B.L Kapoor narrated a story about Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada who was once a pharmacist, gave him a tonic at the pharmacy. When the doctor asked for his tonic to Krishna Prem, Srila Prabhupada replied, “I do not have a tonic, but I have a form
By Chandan Yatra Das
Sri Sri Radha Madhava enjoy various wonderful water pastimes in Mayapur, such as the boating pastimes They enjoy during the Candan-yatra season. Following the Candana-yatra festival another festival of water pastimes, known as Salila Vihar, is celebrated. The Salila Vihar festival is meant for the pleasure of the Divine Couple to keep Them cool during the hot summer season. In the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila,Chapter 10, texts 41-52, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami describes the water p
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
We really have to take responsibility for our own Krsna consciousness; to make arrangements for it. If we say, “Oh, I find it very difficult to be a devotee. I find it difficult to avoid the influence of maya.” In such an instance where it is difficult to resist maya, we must be careful and consciously keep a safe distance from such maya.
Sometimes, we have devotees who are also professionals. They have their jobs which require them to perform all kinds of activities, bu
This year in Sridhama Mayapur between the 16th of May and the 13th of June, the resident devotees will make their way to the temple each evening through the summer heat for an opportunity that only comes once every three years. At the temple, the twilight will be illuminated by hundreds of handheld lamps moving in circular motions as they are offered to the Deities by the devotees. Simultaneously, songs written by the Vaishnava acharyas in glorification of Radha and Krishna will be sung.
An obs
By Acarya Dasa
On May 2nd we were at Hospet, on the bank of the Tungabhadra River, 12 km from Hampi. Officially named Hosapete, the town is located in the Bellary District of central Karnataka. We stayed there for 3 days and performed sankirtana in different areas. Sarveswar Shyam Dasa, a disciple of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaja, made all arrangements for our accommodations.
BIRTH PLACE OF HANUMAN
We also visited Hampi, as it is just 12 km from the city. Anjeyanadri Hill is an interesting destin
By Sunanda Das
The following is an explanation about the auspicious nature of the month of Purusottama.
Every few years when the month of Purusottama appears the TOVP fundraising department encourages donors to consider making larger pledge payments or completing their pledges during this month since donating to spiritual purposes and making similar vratas (vows) increases one’s bhakti and love for the Lord when offered during Purusottama month.
If you have already completed your pledge or mad
Video: Click here
Michael Scherer: On Mother’s Day, I spoke with the president of the Hare Krishna temple in the Washington, DC area. Ananda Vrindavaneshwari Devi Dasi is widely respected and has done a lot to develop the local Hare Krishna community. We talked about her early years in Ireland, her travels, and her current work.
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=46144 ;
By Madhava Smullen
On April 25th, twenty officials and staff from the Israeli Embassy, including a representative from its Community Relations office, visited ISKCON of Washington D.C.
“Part of their community relations involves interacting with and learning about different religious communities,” says Amrita Hari of ISKCON Communications, which is based in D.C.
“When they wanted to visit a Hindu temple, they approached the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), an advocacy group that has had a goo
The Jagrata Chatra Samaj is a Spiritual Academy for Formation and Education (SAFE), an outreach program specifically aimed for students from schools and colleges in West Bengal, India. Their goal is to improve the quality of students within society at large in order to promote the long-term wellbeing of Srila Prabhupada’s movement and its members.
A team of eleven devotees goes to different schools and colleges in Nadia, Barddhaman, Murshidabad and Midnapore Districts of West Bengal and holds
