Blog

By Karnamrita Das

[I am continuing the reposting of this 5 part series. The basic premise of this series is to posit that our greatest challenges, problems, reveres, difficulties, hurts, or pain, have the power to crush us (if we let them), or offer the greatest opportunity for personal and spiritual growth. Specifically here, I am speaking of our childhood, and how huge a shadow it casts on our life—which could be good or bad, or likely, a mixture. Our parents are instruments of our karma and a

This Iskcon movement is a treasure box. It is sort of like a gift packet; a big gift packet full of all kinds of goodies! This movement is like that; it is just packed with mercy. None of us really have the capacity to understand Srila Prabhupada! I think that we cannot understand the mercy Prabhupada has given us. We can see some of it.

When I read the Lilamrta and I read the Prabhupada stories that the devotees tell, sometimes I think, “Yes that person describes how they perceived the transce

The Panca Tattva descended to this world. They broke the lock of the storehouse of love of God and they were relishing the love of Godhead. As they were drinking the nectar of Krsna Prema, their thirst was increasing. This is the nature of chanting the Holy Name. One should drink from the cup of the ears for transcendental pleasure and attain laya, nearly fainting in love of God. Lord Caitanya used to jump very high in kirtan and spin wildly. Sometimes he would chant the same line of a kirtan f

By Khonika Gope-Kumar

[Translated and abridged from the Bengali Book “Gauda Mandal Parikrama: The Holy Tirthas in Bangladesh” by Patita Uddharan Das Brahmacari. Publisher: Hare Krishna Publications, ISKCON Swamibag]

After the disappearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates from the planet Earth, non-Vedic philosophies and customs propagated and practiced by pseudo sampradayas completely misled the common population, and Mahaprabhu’s preaching was almost lost. In such a dire situati

February 17, 2018

Dear follower of Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

This is our second reminder to kindly submit your homage to Srila Prabhupada for his Vyasa-puja book by April 15.

In addition, if you’re a direct disciple of Srila Prabhupada, please check out www.sptributes.com to learn about a Vyasa-puja book open to all his disciples. The deadline for submission to this book is also April 15.

The standards for submitting an offering to t

Govardhan Ecovillage hosted a 4-day conference, Hinduism and Ecology: Towards a Sustainable Future, from 11th to 14th of December 2017. The conference was jointly organized by Yale University, Govardhan Eco Village, Bhaktivedanta Vidyapith, and Maharashtra Tourism, and brought together leading faculty from prominent American universities and Hindu leaders from around the world, who extensively explored Vedic solutions to the ecological crisis.

Over thirty academic scholars participated, includi

In the wake of the recent historic Chakra installation ceremony on February 7th, the TOVP is pleased to release this specialTribute song, Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, to all devotees worldwide.

Written and composed by Yamuna Jivana das from South Africa, over fifty devotee singers, musicians, recording engineers and artists from all over the world contributed their talents to help create this beautiful composition in glorification of the temple, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada

Lecture given in Honolulu, May 6, 1976

Our proclivity to enjoy here under the influence of the material nature keeps us bound to material existence.

pravritti-lakshanash chaiva
traigunya-vishayo mune
yo ’sav alina-prakriter
guna-sargah punah punah

“O great sage Sukadeva Goswami, unless the living entity is freed from the infection of the material modes of nature, he receives different types of bodies in which to enjoy or suffer, and according to the body, he is understood to have various inclin

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51in Mayapur on 17-02-2018. Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults but there is a great benediction given to the people of this age: the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. There is no way to overestimate the potency of this Sankirtana-Yajna! The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Bhagavan Himself descended on this planet as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to establish this Yuga Dharma which is available to all without limitation of sex, race, nationality, a

By Ramai Swami

As always, the Mayapur Kirtan Mela is immensely popular and devotees come for all over to attend the 5 day festival.

There are a variety of leading devotees who inspire everyone to follow their ecstatic kirtans, which are interspersed with shouts of Gauranga and Haribol.

The evenings were so packed that I had great difficulty getting through the crowds to be nearer the lead chanters.

Source: http://www.ramaiswami.com/mayapur-kirtan-mela-2/

By Purushottam Nitai Das

Money can buy many things and some believe anything in this world. And so people work hard, extremely hard, to earn a lot. But can money buy everything? Let us try to see what money can buy, and what it cannot.

Money can buy...

• Machines but not meaningful relationships
• A wedding ring but not a loving spouse
• Servants but not friends
• Bungalows but not home
• Sleeping pills but not sleep
• Medicines but not health
• Entertainment materials but not happiness

It is said if you w

By Madhava Smullen 

Three generations of devotees – kirtan artist Gaura Vani, his mother Rukmini Dasi, and his eleven-year-old daughter Kairava – led a group of kirtan lovers on the adventure of a lifetime around Maharashtra, India this winter.

The group comprised of twenty-six aspiring devotees and newcomers to Krishna consciousness from the U.S. and Australia. It included yoga studio owners, teachers, artists and even a state coroner from Pennsylvania.

The tour is an annual affair, and ran fr

“Our propaganda should be focused on spreading kirtana and distributing literature, books and magazines. The process experienced now is that after holding kirtana, they are selling magazines and books successfully.”
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Brahmananda, 30th January 1969
The divine dance of HH Bhakti Vikas Swami made the people of Parvat Patia, Surat tremble in ecstatic love and enchanted the whole area where recently Lord Jagannath Rathyatra took place on 11th February. People of this area b

Speaker: HG Radha Krishna Das
Srimad Bhagavatam 8.7 44
Date: 8 February 2018
Mayapur Dhama

tapyante loka-tāpena sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ
paramārādhanaṁ tad dhi puruṣasyākhilātmanaḥ

TRANSLATION:
It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart.

PURPORT
Here is an explanation of how those engaged in ac

Srila Prabhupada stated: “You are the young generation; you are the flower of your country and society. Practice this most sublime system, Krsna consciousness. Be happy and make others happy. This is the real mission of life.”

It was through the youth that Srila Prabhupada established this International Society and it was the youth that he engaged in fulfilling the desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! In order to help build and further develop youth groups across the globe, we have put together a

By Radha Mohan Das

On Wednesday 15 February, Sruti Dharma das, Temple President of Bhaktivedanta Manor (UK), joined 1000 dignitaries from across the British Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace.

He was then invited to have a private audience with the Queen and other members of the Royal family.

Upon meeting Her Majesty, he discussed her visit to the Krishna Avanti School in 2015, which she remembered well. She also confirmed that the tapestry of Lord Chaitanya gifted to her hung on one of the wall

Srila Prabhupada once said that when devotees give up practicing Krishna consciousness it is ‘fifty percent their fault, and fifty percent ISKCON’s”. In this article I would like to explore what I perceive as a systemic problem contributing to our society’s fifty percent of the blame.

It is surely surprising that someone should get as far as seriously following the process of Krishna consciousness, only to give it up again. Most of us experienced an immediate relief of suffering when we joined,

Speaker: HH Bhakti Vinoda Swami

Transcribed by Madhumati Priyasaki dd

SB: 5.5.18

Date: 11 Feb 2018

Mayapur Dhama

Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Chapter 5 text 18

Verse

gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt
pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt
daivaṁ na tat syān na patiś ca sa syān
na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum

Synonyms:

guruḥ — a spiritual master; na — not; saḥ — he; syāt — should become; sva–janaḥ — a relative; na — not; saḥ — such a person; syāt — should become; pitā — a father; na — not