By Giriraj Swami
Today Santa Barbara County lifted the evacuation order for the neighborhood of my ashram in Carpinteria, and Kuntidevi will be returning with the Deities and other items, to begin the arduous process of cleaning up the property, reestablishing the worship, and restoring the ashram to proper function. We wish her well in her endeavor, in difficult circumstances, by Srila Prabhupada and Their Lordships’ grace.
Hare Krishna.
By Bhagavan Dasa
Since a long time in its history, Teresópolis, Brazil, has been considered a good place for rest. Its name, "City of Teresa", is due to the fact that the empress Mrs. Teresa Cristina, wife of the emperor D. Pedro II, considered the city one of her favorite places for trip and vacations. Among traders coming from north, Teresopolis also represented a landing place, but shorter: on their way to do business in the port of Rio de Janeiro, they would stop for a day in Teresópolis an
Concerned about India’s falling rank on the Global Hunger Index, ISKCON Food Relief Foundation’s Haryana chapter is to launch a campaign against hunger. Through this campaign, the foundation aims at eradicating hunger and malnutrition from India starting with the Haryana State.
The recently announced Global Hunger Index (GHI-2017) is nothing less than an alarm bell for India. The country ranked 97 in GHI-2016, but has slipped to 100 this year. Concerned about the declining rank, ISKCON Food Rel
By Karnamrita Das
THE POWER OF QUESTIONS and MEDITATION ON WHO WE THINK WE ARE: A natural process for me, almost like breathing, is my daily and frequent contemplation to question myself as to what I am truly absorbed in, focused on, and desire more than anything else, and also my aspirations and highest ideals, or what I want to be absorbed in, and become.( My prayer life is full of sharing this with Krishna, and praying for the empowerment to best serve others by who I am, and who I am becomin
By Giriraj Swami
I have been moved by the many devotees who have written me expressing their concern about the wildfires in the Carpinteria area and informing me of their prayers for me and the other residents. Your concern and prayers mean much to me, and I feel obliged to you all and offer you my heartfelt thanks. Your care is much appreciated, and you all are very dear to me.
Hare Krishna.
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
I remember going door-to-door on book distribution and it was all okay until I came to this one house. The door opened and there was a monster – a huge guy, all leather clad, looking like an enormous Hells Angel. In those days, there were many of them.
I was thinking and I started to pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva, “Oh my god, how do I get out of here quietly?” but it was too late and the guy said, “What do you want?”
I go like, (high-pitched soft voice) “Book.”
He says, “Oh, h
By Danavir Goswami
From its early years to present, ISKCON has witnessed droves of devotees leave their bodies while traveling in automobiles. Although devotees don’t drink and drive, many male devotee drivers that I know are virtual terrors behind the wheel. With a desire to reduce Vaisnava auto tragedies and hoping to improve our service to Lord Krishna, Srila Prabhupada and our spiritual authorities, we humbly suggest some guidelines for devotee drivers to follow.
Let us begin by understandi
ISKCON Baltimore’s Jiva Daya Sankirtana Team has been distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books in many creative ways over the years, including placing them in prison libraries and motels. This year so far, for instance, they have put 500 books in prisons, and 13,000 Bhagavad-gitas in motel drawers.
In June 2016, after brainstorming more ways to share Prabhupada’s books, a five-person team was created to place them in hospitals and hospices.
Bhakti-lata Dasi, Tarini Ganga Dasi, Prema-Dhama Das, S
By Jayadvaita Swami and Guru Gauranga Das
December 6, 2017 - New York Supreme Court for Kings County Room 525 was filled with Krishna devotees opposing a petition seeking approval of the sale of their temple in Brooklyn. Also appearing in court to oppose the proposed sale were attorneys for ISKCON's Governing Body Commission (GBC), an attorney for the newly reconstituted Bharati Center board, and a New York Assistant Attorney General.
New York State law requires court approval of the sale of re
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
There are techniques to book distribution. Vaisesika Prabhu is not only a leading distributor in our society but Vaisesika has demystified it. Book distribution has always been sort of a mystical thing! How do you do it – is it hypnosis OR is it just being assertive OR do you sweet talk people into it, “Hi, are you from here or out of town? Well, you are the lucky one! Congratulations, only a hundred people today get a promotional copy of this book. There you go… ”
Then
By Madhava Smullen
Beloved kirtaniya and Prabhupada disciple Agnideva Das has been discharged from hospital and is on the road to recovery, causing devotees around the world to breathe a sigh of relief.
During a kirtan tour of Australia and New Zealand, Agnideva was rushed to the hospital in Sydney on October 14th with a lung infection and very low oxygen levels.
When he began coughing and spitting up blood, doctors placed him in an induced coma to stabilize his condition, as well as on a venti
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
There are always people who will say no to a book today. In their mind, they had to make the choice and they said no. However, some attachment, some curiosity has been awakened and the next time you offer it, again they may say no but then one day, they will come on their own. They say, “Excuse me. Can I have one of those books?” People like that come out of nowhere. Those are the people who got the ajnata-sukrti (unknown spiritual benefit). Those who say NO today are th
By Dwaipayan De
The dictionary defines the word ‘Renunciation’ as follows – ‘the formal rejection of something, typically a belief, claim, or course of action.’ All over the world, we come across people who practice the spirit of Renunciation – There are some who renounce bad/harmful habits or renounce bad association, and there are some who renounce negative thoughts/words/deeds, etc. Again, we find people, who are a bit more serious and claim to belong to the Renounced order of life altogethe
“My dear boy, whatever you desire while chanting your mantra, by its power you will fully receive. Indeed, you will attain more than you desire. This chanting, please understand, is another form of service to Lord Jagannatha. Have faith in this and never give up your japa. By the potency of this mantra, may you live a long time, may you always have the form of a cowherd boy, and may you develop the right mentality for tasting the mantra’s fruit.”
[ Sri Brhad Bhagavatamrta, Srila Sanatana Goswam
The potency of Prasadam…
In one lecture Prabhupada talked about prasadam, and afterwards one of the devotees asked, “Prabhupada, is it true that if you take prasadam even once you’re guaranteed a human birth?” Prabhupada said, “Yes,” and all the “devotees said, “Hooray!” We were thinking, “Wow, we’ve got it made. We’ve got a human birth coming, and that’s all we have to think about.” But Prabhupada became grave and didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then he said, “But there are some species
For charity to be effective, in either a religious or a practical sense, it must be given to the right person in the right way.
Who to Give to?
Donations are primarily supposed to be given to brāhmaṇas, not primarily to vaiṣyas or kṣatriyas. All śāstra concurs on this basic point. Brāhmaṇas are people who spend the vast majority of their time and energy studying and teaching, especially studying and teaching the Veda. Kṣatriyas are people who spend the vast majority of their time managing organ
