By Gauri Das
At a recent yoga class a student arrived wearing a black t-shirt that said in bold: Vegan. I later saw the same person passing in the street carrying a canvas bag printed with the word Vegan. It was an immediate turn off for me, even though I am now a vegan, an ahimsa vegan.
Back in the 2007, when the RSPCA killed our cow Gangotri, I campaigned against their policy of killing sick and abandoned animals, in both the UK and India. We received international coverage and ultimately
By David Briggs
"It is not easy to maintain self-esteem in an age where divisive politics and a wave of new forms of social media allow for mean-spirited instant judgments."
How would you feel if a loving God took a personal interest in you?
Pretty darn good, according to a growing body of research revealing the mental health benefits of having a close personal relationship with a caring divinity.
In one of the latest national studies, the more participants reported feeling God’s love, prese
By Madhava Smullen
The ISKCON Farm Conference celebrated its 10th anniversary during a major event at New Vrajadhama in Hungary this year, with conference and pre-conference activities running from September 11th to 17th.
The event showed how far ISKCON farms have come in networking and working together particularly over the last decade, with conferences now regularly organized in four continents by the GBC Ministry of Agriculture and Cow Protection.
Because the ISKCON Farm Conference began in
By Ramai Swami
Tuesday night kirtans at Govinda’s Asrama in Darlinghurst draws a wide variety of people from young to old. There are many regulars but about a third are newcomers.
I haven’t attended for over 6 months but was fortunate recently to head up the second half with ecstatic chanting. Everyone was enthusiastic and at the end, to everyone’s delight, a sumptuous dinner was served.
By Shyama Mohini Devi Dasi
on behalf of the BBT Marketing, Communications and Innovations Department
To make our books green we are keen on using paper made from controlled, sustainable forestry practices, and working with printers who use environmentally friendly inks, varnishes, and manufacturing processes.
While it’s not yet possible to make every book we print completely green (it’s more difficult when we print in Asia, for example), most of our books are FSC-certified. It’s no small thing
By Madan Mohan Mohini dasi
In 1997 one of our local friends approached me and asked if we (our Hare Krsna community in N.Carolina) would like to take part in the yearly Stokes Stomp. Without even asking what the Stomp was, I answered yes because it sounded like a nice opportunity to meet people.
Upon inquiry I found out it was a festival along the Dan River, just a few miles from our community, where the locals take part in an hour long, down-home parade the first day. (In the first years we to
By Kripamoya Das
In 1965 an elderly Indian gentleman boarded a steamship in Calcutta. He was a saffron-robed sadhu – a holy man – bound for America, a place he had never visited before, and a place where he had no friends. Almost 70, he had spent the last eight years in the sacred medieval town of Vrindavan, the home of Lord Krishna. In the last years of his life he wanted to give his spiritual message to the world, but at such an advanced age in a foreign country, and with no support, what cou
Srila Prabhupada: Our centers are like the oasis in a vast desert. In the desert there is no water, but occasionally if one is fortunate he may come in contact with an oasis and he is saved. Similarly in this material world we are drying up due to a lack of spiritual knowledge. Our ISKCON centers are meant to give relief to the dried up conditioned souls who are searching after the nectar of joyful life. Letter to Bhagavan, December 18, 1970.
By Achyutananda Prabhu
There were many swamis who came through New York in the 1950s and ‘60s.
Some of them were celebrity gurus, some were yogis, but they were all mayavadis.
They were clever but didn’t explain the entire nature of the Indian culture at all.
They’re what’s called “pancha-pasaka”.
They believe bhakti is only an artificial practice that you do until you merge.
At that time there were also some Buddhists.
I remember one Buddhist came through and there were macrobiotic restaurants
The Vrndavana-dhama: Vaisnava-seva community for Russian-speaking devotees continues its work in Vrndavana.
Our goal is to serve you as best as possible and make your experience of staying in the holy dham and communicating with it the most inspiring and memorable for you.
Those of you who repeatedly come to Sri Vrndavana-dhama know how often you needed someone’s help, but you could hardly get it.
Where to stay? What service can you get in the Temple? How to book a taxi or plane or train ticket
By Jaya Tirtha Caran Dasa
“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
The major surviving temples of the 64 Yoginis, commonly termed as the ‘Chausath Yogini” shrines are two in Orissa and two in Madhya Pradesh in India.
The term ‘Yogini’ called in par language as ‘Jogini’ is the feminine term for a yogi. As a part of the Yogic school of Hindu tradition, they were a part of the Nath Yoga tradition. Some texts refer to the sacred feminine force as incarnation of a particular aspect of Godess Parvati. They are worshipped in many places as “Gram D
The post-monsoon rains were at a peak in Pune and Mumbai this month. The sky remained dim with heavy clouds for days, roads were flooded with rainwater, and muddy rivulets became a common sight across the city. We (the Pune congregation) were wondering if this sordid weather would spoil our plans to witness the 11th Monthly Sankirtan Festival (MSF) event at Pune scheduled for 23rd Sep 17. The MSF program was inaugurated at Pune by His Grace
Vaisesika Prabhu in October 2016, and we eagerly await
The dance forms were supposed to be so pure and pristine that the sculptures ornamenting these exquisite temples showed their postures, some of whom are quite rare and unique. Equally well are the stated “Agamas” or the rules for temple worship wherein dance and music are supposed to be inherent constituent of Deity worship.
The Natya Shastra of Bharatmuni describes the divine origin of classical dance. As Lord Brahma created the fifth Veda by incorporati
By Madhava Smullen
Devotees in the main ISKCON communities in Puerto Rico are reportedly safe after Hurricane Maria struck on September 20th. However, according to pujari Madhava Priyah Dasi, the U.S. territory’s only temple, in mountainous Gurabo, has been “almost completely destroyed.”
“The roof over the pujari room, dining area and kitchen is gone,” she says. “The altar and temple room is flooded, and everything inside it – instruments, vyasasana, and other furniture – is waterlogged. All th
By Kevala-Bhakti Dasa (Keshav)
Krishna's Funskool at ISKCON Toronto is pleased to announce the Gita Contest 2017– Bhagavad Gita competitions for children.
Event Date: Saturday, December 2nd, 2017
Venue: The Hare Krishna Temple, 243 Avenue Road, Toronto
Category 1: Age 3-5 years - Recitation and Translation
Category 2: Age: 6-8 years - Recitation and Translation
Category 3: Age: 9-12 years - Recitation, Translation and application
Category 4: Age: 13-17 years - Cha
Reconnection, a multi-award winning film by ISKCON filmmakers Maxim Varfolomeev (Shyam Gopal Das) and Olga Avramenko (Vijay Radhika Dasi) has premiered online on Tuesday, September 26th.
Reconnection is a coming of age story of a Western young man, Sean, who ends up in the sacred town of Vrindavan and goes through a transformative experience.
The filmmakers themselves had moved to Vrindavan from Siberia, Russia, about ten years ago, and they noticed: "people go to Vrindavan and their lives chan
Opportunities to be part of history in the making, especially spiritual history related to the mission of the Lord, are rare in the material world. With the advent of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu we have been given the most rare chance to develop our love for Krishna and also return to Him. Rarer still is to be part of the building of the Lord’s “adbhuta mandir” in the Holy Dhama of Navadvipa from which the waves of Krishna prema will spread throughout the world.
The TOVP Fundraising Team announces
By Hema Gauri Dasi
Since almost a year or more, Vinod Vihari das has been involved in a program of “World Alliance of religious peace”, “WARP” an NGO based organization in South Korea.
Every month there was a Skype meeting among various religious leaders, like the Christians, Muslims and the Hindus.
Various interesting topics were discussed such as:
A) the importance of the sacred Scriptures, proof of their authenticity,
B) If there is a God and who is He and if we can see Him
C) extremism and
