For many years I have wondered why it is so difficult to find devotees who are inspired to not only correspond with inmates but to do so steadily as well. It’s been quite a bottleneck since there are far more inmates who write than there are volunteers to reply to them.
It seems that often the devotees who volunteer with IPM have an unrealistic, romantic view of what this service is and they get discouraged when reality turns out to be different. I am wondering if, in some way, this IPM NEWS it
The participants of “Unraveling the Mysteries of the Sacred Universe Level 1” were asking themselves this very question while attending this informative workshop co- sponsored by the Bhaktivedanta Institute of Gainesville and the Krishna Institute in Alachua on May 20-21.
How we view the universe impacts our understanding of ourselves. Additionally, the more we push the boundaries of knowledge, the more knowledge expands before us. In the Vedic literature it is said, sa-tattvato ‘nyatha-buddhir
This message was given to me on a magnet many years ago from a friend who sold it at her store. It is a cute and funny saying, but never more true for me than at this time. For those of you in anxiety trying to figure out your life mission or calling, take some solace that I am still figuring that out for myself at 67! You can do it at a much younger age than I have. I am learning what I want to do when I grow up, and for me that time is now, and every day thereafter!
I just got pushed out of t
O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.
(SB 1.1.3)
Hare Krishna dear devotees,
Please let us relish as we read, chew, nibble or feast upon the nectarean introduction of Srimad Bhagavatam by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura:
The clou
Sri Adikesavaperumal Temple
On April 4th we arrived at Thiruvattar to visit the Sri Adikesavaperumal Temple. The temple is one of the 108 divya desams (divine places) and is a holy site for all Vaisnavas. It is located in a picturesque area surrounded by three rivers: Kothai, Pahrali and Thamirabarani. The temple houses a 22 foot (6.7 meter) long deity of Lord Sri Adi Kesava Perumal in His bhujanga sayanam posture (sleeping with His head facing south and His feet facing north). In order to have
Remembering Not to Forget: But if its amnesia you want, Krishna will give it to you
It’s funny how if you give Krishna, God, an inch, he gives you a mile. I remember in my earliest days as a devotee, I had left the movement for some time. I was home, watching TV with my family. All of a sudden, right on the screen there was an ad for the television station with a photo of New York City streets. There he was, my Godbrother Bhaktivinoda, with a close-up of the Channel Two logo below his chin. I h
One of the first devotees to land on Irish soil in the early seventies did so on a motorbike, with the intention of getting a slot on the famous TV program, ‘The Late Late Show’. That devotee was Tribhuvanatha and being Irish, he knew this would be an excellent opportunity to introduce the fledgling Krishna movement to the people of Ireland. Although unsuccessful in his attempt, it would not be too long before the first group of devotees began to sing and dance on the highways and byways of
A historic event for ISKCON was the acquisition of 60 acres of land near NH-2 for construction of the new eco-friendly campus for Bhaktivedanta Gurukula and International School (BGIS)
The construction work in the new school begun with the auspicious Bhumi Puja ceremony in the presence of HH Gopal Krishna Maharaj and former honourable PWD minister of UP, Shri Shivpal Yadav on 16th May 2015.
A lot of progress has been made since then.
A new exclusive road of 3 KM length named ‘Bhaktivedanta Gur
“There is no harm. If one could not proceed, it doesn't matter. Failure is the pillar of success. Then try. Again you will try.” - Room Conversation with Madhudvisa and others -- August 17, 1977, Vrndavana
By then the ropes attached to the back of the cart had been retracted and the Gurukula kids dispersed into the crowds, hopefully under the supervision of their respective teachers. Jayapataka Maharaj had been waiting on the top of the deck with the d
A new book is being released this summer featuring the individual voices of 108 women in the Bhakti tradition. Over the last three years, Krishna Kanta Dasi—founder of the Vaishnavi Voices Poetry Project—has been collecting the poetry of vaishnavis, or female practitioners of bhakti, from all over the world to produce Bhakti Blossoms: A Collection of Contemporary Vaishnavi Poetry.
This rare collection of poems offers honest and inspiring glimpses into the spiritual journeys of contemporary wome
Many things are considered justified in the name of sankirtan. You know, in the name of sankirtan, you can do any damn thing! I wouldn’t think so.
I think that even in the name of sankirtan, sankirtan devotees should be careful and should avoid unnecessary suffering to other living beings. We should be strict about what we eat, we should read the E-numbers and if they’re the wrong ones, we should not eat it.
(Australian accent) “Anyway, who cares about these things! Can’t be fanatic. You know,
People from Panamanian, Colombia and Venezuelan backgrounds attended the talk in the five-star Hotel El Panama
Talks on intriguing subjects at five-star hotels in Panama are drawing professionals, and attracting them to become regulars at ISKCON’s Bhakti Yoga Center in the Central American country.
On May 7th, well-known “spiritual scientist” Chaitanya Charan Das, a former engineer who has an online following of some 400,000 spoke on the topic “Reincarnation – Myth Versus Reality” at the f
At the end of the day, we are not going to be super-devotees. We would like to be but the reality is that we are not. There is Srila Prabhupada. We cannot imagine the magnitude of Srila Prabhupada´s love for Krsna, his surrender in service to Krsna and how Krsna empowered him. It is inconceivable!
We should know that whenever we do some service for Srila Prabhupada, everything will become magic. We know what he wanted. He wanted the whole world to become Krsna conscious – nothing less and it
The following conversation between Srila Prabhupada and Mr. Malhotra recorded in Poona, December 22, 1976, is a good instruction on our relationship between guru and disciple.
Prabhupada: Not equal; representative. Not equal. I send one representative of this man, and he may be very expert, doing very good business, still he cannot be equal with me. He is acting as my representative, that’s another thing. But not that he has become the original proprietor..
Disciple Never Becomes Equal t
Devotees in Newcastle have been catering for lunches at the University of Newcastle for years. The tradition is still going on with the Bhakti Tree supplying wonderful prasadam for students during their break.
Three days a week devotees head out and the students and staff eagerly line up for a plate of rice, subji, koftas, drink and alternatively veggie buns or samosas. Needless to say, everyone is very satisfied.
These two files are scans of Srila Prabhupada’s original notebooks of his initiated disciples which was maintained while he was on the planet.
These notebooks have surfaced recently on the internet, and the links to veiw and save them are as follows:
Disciples of Srila Prabhupada Receiving their Initiated Names
A total of 1,679 first initiates are listed below. There are 1,142 initiated men an
In short, I have summarised what I desire and what I request of you. I also thank you all for coming. I do this festival here every year because of the Kingsday. It is just too big an opportunity to let go by. Although in a way, I feel it is quite intense with all those drunken, intoxicated people. And not just ten of them, but more like ten thousand, many, so it is intense!
But every year, miracles do happen on Kingsday. We see people literally having the time of their life in a kirtan – chant
“We should always be enthusiastic to try for capturing the rhinoceros. That way, if we fail, everyone will say, “Never mind, nobody can catch a rhinoceros anyway,” and if we succeed, then everyone will say, “Just see what a wonderful thing they have done!”
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad changed the world. When he came to America from India in 1965, few Westerners knew the deep spiritual truths behind ancient Vedic culture and civilization. Within a decade most h
On 10th of May, Kadamba Kanana Swami came to England after an incredible Sri Nrsimha Caturdasi festival in Simhacalam temple, South-West of Germany. Sutapa and Vaisnava Sarvabhauma Prabhus picked up Maharaj and took him to Krishna Kirtan’s house where he rested well and had some informal talks with them for that day.
The next morning Maharaj came to the Bhaktivedanta Manor to give the morning Srimad Bhagavatam class on the 10th Canto, chapter 11, verses 33 to 35. Maharaj straight away pulled out
Srila Prabhupada explained that this material world is just a tiny little corner of the spiritual sky and that tiny little corner of the spiritual sky is covered by a cloud, therefore we feel disconnected from the sunshine of the spiritual world. But the effulgence of Krsna, the brahma-jyotir, is pervading in all directions and then there is this little corner of the spiritual sky which is covered by a cloud of illusion, thus we think that we are separated from Krsna and that Krsna is far away
