For the past ten years, the Mayapur Academy – run by the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry – has offered devotees a four-month intensive training course that equips them with all the knowledge, skills and values they need to serve as pujaris in ISKCON.
Many successful graduates have come away from the course with diplomas in archana. But it’s not always easy for devotees to travel so far and be away from their services or homes for four months.
To address this challenge, the Mayapur Academy is esta
On Sunday January 29th in a special program at the New Govardhana Farm in Murwillambah, Australia, Mukunda Goswami shared memories of the Mantra-Rock Dance he helped organize fifty years ago on January 29th 1967.
The Mantra-Rock Dance concert was a key event in both ISKCON’s early growth and in the counterculture scene of the time, and commemorating it is an important part of ISKCON’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
After Srila Prabhupada established his first American temple at 26 2nd Avenue in
World Holy Name Week celebrated the 50th anniversary of ISKCON this year in style, running for closer to two-and-a-half weeks, from July 28th to August 14th.
The celebration, organized by Lokanath Swami, Janananda Goswami, and Ekalavya Das, included several key sacred days throughout its run, including the disappearance days of Sri Raghunandana Thakura and Sri Vamsidasa Babaji.
Most notably it included the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of ISKCON in New York on July 28th, and the 50th an
Creation of this universe starts with Brahma
The hard way but that is our choice. So when it is describe in the Bhagavat purana how the Lord creates this material world. Krishna personally has nothing to do with material existence, Krishna is Rasabihari, He is simply enjoying loving relations with the Brijwasi’s. Narayan of Vaikuntha He also has nothing to do with this material existence, He is simply enjoying with the goddess of fortune and the entire servant of the Lord. It is described tha
Pujaris from all over North America gathered in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in January to gain inspiration, support and training from two events organized by the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry: the inaugural North American Head Pujari Sanga, followed by the third annual Weekend Pujari Training.
First off, twenty-one head pujaris and deity department managers from seventeen temples gathered for the Head Pujari Sanga, from January 3rd to 5th.
Proceedings began with attendees taking the time to ge
On Saturday January 14th, Sura Das of ISKCON Los Angeles was invited to speak at Culver City’s 12th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Culver City Hall.
Sura serves as the secretary and treasurer of the Interfaith Council of West Los Angeles, and represents ISKCON Los Angeles on the Council.
This theme of this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration was “Peaceful Warriors for Positive Change.”
Sura Das spoke to an audience of a few hundred people, including the Mayor and City
In this week the construction of the bas-relief on dedicated to the first Saint of ISKCON near to the Samadhi of Śrīman Jayananda Thakur, on the wall behind the Samadhi in the temple of Lord Jagannātha, was completed. Three sections of the bas-relief depicted scenes from the life of Jayananda his outstanding contribution to the development of the mission of Lord Caitanya, his spiritual master Srila Prabhupada’s love and gratitude to him.
Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhu, the sculptor of the project is a
On Sri Advaita Acarya’s appearance day, I share with you a talk about Him by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, given on April 6, 1975, in Mayapur, India. —Giriraj Swami
advaitam harinadvaita
acaryam bhakti-samsana
bhaktavataram isam tam
advaita acaryam asraye
“Because He is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Lord, He is called Advaita, and because He propagates the cult of devotion, He is called Acarya. He is the Lord and the incarnation of the Lord’s devotee. Therefo
"Sripada Madhvacarya took his birth at Udupi, which is situated in the South Kanarada district of South India, just west of Sahyadri. This is the chief city of the South Kanarada province and is near the city of Mangalore, which is situated to the south of Udupi. In the city of Udupi is a place called Pajaka-ksetra, where Madhvacarya took his birth in a Sivalli-brahmana dynasty as the son of Madhyageha Bhatta, in the year 1040 Sakabda (A.D. 1119). According to some, he was born in the year 1160
Appearance of Bhishmadeva.
Geneology:
From Vishnu were descended in the following order - Brahma-Atri-Candra-Budha - Pururavas - Ayus - Nahusha- Yayati - Puru - Janamejaya - Prachinvaa - Pravira - Namasyu - Vitabhava - Shundu - Bahuvidha - Samyati - Rahovadi - Raudrasva - Matinara - Santurodha - Dushyanta - Bharata - Suhotra - Gala - Gardda - Suketu - Brhatksetra - Hasti - Ajamidha - Riksha - Samvarana - Kuru
- Jahnu - Suratha - Vidaratha - Sarvabhauma - Jayatsena - Ravyaya - Bhavuka - Chakrodd
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday I went out with devotees on a Food For Life program in a Zulu township near Durban here in South Africa. As we drove to the township Vrindavan Candra das, who heads up Food For Life in Durban, told me the township was one of the most notorious in the country.
“On average there are 10 murders each weekend”, he said. “The situation is so bad that the police rarely, if ever, enter the township.”
“And we’re going in there?” I asked a little surprised.
“Lord Caitanya is
We interrupted our padayatra for about one year, except for a 10-day walk in May 2016 near Yadagirigutta Ashram, located 70 km from Hyderabad. I’m so happy to announce that on January 14th 2017, we started padayatra again from that place with the same team. We first walked with our oxcart to the village of Kacharam and are now heading towards ISKCON Medachal. Ten gurukula boys and my family members participated for a while. We recently bought two new oxen, thanks to the generous donation of M
Manah siksa is the step-by-step guidebook to how to practice bhakti yoga to achieve spontaneous love for Krishna in Vrindavana.
Sri Manah-siksa seminar pt 1 - HG Urmila Mataji v3
https://youtu.be/Ikh1QHGOvhw
Sri Manah-siksa seminar pt 2 - HG Urmila Mataji v2
https://youtu.be/NVVaRrWIexQ
Sri Manah-siksa seminar pt 3 - HG Urmila Mataji
https://youtu.be/RPAoRdngJME
Playlist containing these videos:
Sri Manah-siksa seminar - HG Urmila Mataji 18-20 January 2017
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?li
I would say that in our Hare Krsna Movement, one of the great causes of devotees becoming dry in their spiritual practices is because they do not get absorbed in reading. You see, chanting is something you do because we measure it – sixteen rounds; it is very clear. But we do not vow to do one hour of reading. We just do not make that vow so we do not give it the same urgency but it should have the same urgency. Reading of scripture is very important; very, very important. If we are not reading
The account of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu’s deliverance of the two drunken sinners Jagai and Madhai demonstrates the harmful results of blaspheming Vaishnavas and the beneficial results possible for those who do not blaspheme. Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (Madhya-khanda, 13.39–43) describes:
“Every type of sin became manifest in the bodies of those two [Jagai and Madhai] except the sin of blaspheming Vaishnavas. They happily spent their days and nights in the company of other drun
A recent presentation in Bhaktivedanta Manor about Iskcon Gainesville's, (Florida, USA) successful program of bringing in new devotees. Focusing in recruiting, preparing the proper environment, tolerate breaking secondary rules and correct once a week, offering respect and appreciation, assigning responsible duties since the beginning, vision for a future devotional career, providing proper living facilities for man and women, access to car, internet etc., zero tolerance in regards the regulati
MAKING MARRIED LIFE AN ASHRAM THROUGH THROUGH WORSHIP OF THE FORM OF KRISHNA, SAINTS, AND THE HOLY NAME: I devoted a previous blog to the power of Deity worship in general and some of my experiences being a temple pujari for so many years. Today, after I dressed our Gaura and Nitai, and beheld the other Deities, all recently worshiped and adorned with new dresses and ornaments, as I chanted, I felt both awe and inspiration that these forms of Krishna and his expansions and energies have allowed
This man from Nigeria purchased a full set of Srimad-Bhagavatam in Nairobi.
“Now our PhDs must collaborate and study the 5th Canto to make a model for building the Vedic Planetarium” proved a mandate from Srila Prabhupada that entered deep into the heart of his disciple Sadaputa dasa, in 1976. Having received his PhD in Mathematics from Cornell University just two years prior, Richard L. Thompson would soon be inducted as one of the founding members of Prabhupada’s Bhaktivedanta Institute.
In that capacity, he devoted over 30 years researching Vedic perspectives on c
Yamuna: Due to the intense preparations for the pandal and the extremely long hours of service over many days, I was taken down with a severe case of jaundice. It was the only time I was extremely ill during my time in India.
So after the Deities were installed, and just as I came back to the tent side of the pandal, I became unconscious, and for maybe two weeks or more I had a burning fever. So I ultimately attended very little of the pandal itself.
We were staying at Dalmia Bhavan at the time
