JULY 26, 2024 UPDATE:
In the latest community update from Partha Das, we learned that the Saranagati Village residents will be permitted to return to the area on Saturday, July 27th, for a four-hour window. During this time, they can assess the damage better, check on the status of their homes, water their gardens, etc.
The latest damage assessment is that six homes and 12 structures were lost to the fire. Some of those structures may have been small cabins (i.e., houses). The temple, goshala,
The brainstorm session on zoom was stimulating with reps from Durban, Pune, Chowpatty and Toronto. The topic was using arts as a medium to spread Krishna Consciousness globally. It was a zoom call and it was a second instalment of this nature.
And while performing arts is in the air, our local theatre team is working to prepare for the weekend Ratha Fest. We are blessed to have a young York University graduate who majored in Theatre Arts. Arina is her name and her experience is making a diff
Kirtana (pronounced keer-ton-uh) is a Sanskrit word that means “praise” or “glory.” The more common Hindi pronunciation is “keer-ton,” dropping the final “a.” Simply understood, it is a form of song that centers on glorifying God, commonly performed in a “call and response” style of singing.
There is Nam-kirtan, which are songs composed of God’s sacred names, and Lila-kirtan, or songs that celebrate the esoteric activities of the Divine. There is Sankirtan, when the songs of praise are performed
By Anuttama Dasa
It has been almost thirty years since I first attended a conference of the American Family Foundation, now the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). I was recently in Barcelona, Spain, for their latest international gathering.
What I’ve learned, both in those meetings and through my leadership role in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), is that we in the Hare Krishna movement need to be concerned about “cultic behaviors.”
When I first atten
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a peaceful fraternal movement incorporated in 1966 in New York by its founder Acharya His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and it is aimed at teaching a simple way of living in harmony with nature and to achieve the ultimate goal of human life. “We shall call our society ISKCON.” Prabhupada playfully coined first the acronym, although many alternative names were proposed by his close associates. The principal place
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has potential as a peaceful extra-governmental force for this kind of change, nationally and internationally. In 1966, Srila Prabhupada included in ISKCON’s articles of incorporation a far-reaching statement of the movement’s purposes. Among them: “To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.”
Srila Prabhupada did not, however, recommend high-pressure lobbying. Instead, he emphasized the
from Back To Godhead Magazine #15-05, 1980 - a brief history of the incorporation of ISKCON
by Satsvarupa Dasa Gosvami
July 11, 1966. 26 Second Avenue, New York City: A few sympathetic, interested people gather in a small downtown storefront to help an Indian swami’s mission by adding their signature to a legal document.
Today, ISKCON has branches all over the world. Millions of lives have been transformed by the Hare Krishna mantra and the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita—thanks to the vision
By Jagannatha Damodar Das
On July 7th, Surat hosted a Rathayatra that will be remembered for its grandeur and spiritual significance. The day dawned with mild clouds and gentle sunshine, providing a perfect setting for Lord Jagannatha’s divine journey through the city streets.
The atmosphere was charged with spiritual fervor as devotees, and curious onlookers alike thronged the path of the magnificent chariot. Despite the textile markets and shops along the route being closed, devotees tireles
On July 8th, 2024, a missile attack in Kyiv heavily damaged the main children’s hospital in the city, leaving over forty dead in the strike. Food-for-Life Ukraine was on the scene quickly, providing fresh water and nourishing prasadam to rescue workers and victims.
“As soon as we saw the news about the terrible attack on the children’s hospital, we contacted our team and came to the temple’s kitchen,” said Dayananda Ram Das, FFL-Ukraine coordinator. “While the prasadam was being prepared in the
Hare Krishna dear dandavats readers, please accept my humble obeissances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. I beg for your patience while reading my personal tribute to Viśvambhara, a very dear Godbrother, whom I can say was instrumental in the Lord’s overall plan for making me a devotee. I will get into details. That the way liffe is. It is only through details of a person’s life that we can try to grasp the essence of that person.
Viśvambhara has always been at the root of my Kṛṣṇa consciousne
Dear devotees, friends and well-wishers,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
On Guru-Purnima day at 12:10 am (UTC -5) in Montreal Canada, our dear friend His Grace Visvambhara Prabhu a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupda, departed from this world. He was accompanied with Srila Prabhupada’s continuous chanting of the maha-mantra in his ears. and in the association of his godbrother and godsister. He had been fighting with cancer for many months.
Visvambhara Prabh
Surat embraced the grandest Rath Yatra in decades on 7th July, 2024. The day dawned with mild clouds and gentle sunshine, a perfect backdrop for Lord Jagannatha’s divine journey through the city streets.
The atmosphere was charged with spiritual fervor as devotees and curious onlookers alike thronged the path of the magnificent chariot. Despite the textile markets and shops along the route being closed, devotees tirelessly distributed books to every soul eager for darshan.
In the Rath Yatra par
By Atma Tattva Das
The first edition of Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto One in Turkish has recently been published after years of dedicated effort. This project was led by Nrsimha Krishna Das and his wife, Krsnamala Devi of ISKCON Turkiye. The new volume was recently presented to their spiritual master, Sivarama Swami, at New Vraja-dhama in Hungary.
Nrsimha Krishna Das, who serves as the Zonal Supervisor for ISKCON Turkiye, has been instrumental in steering this ambitious project. Based in Istanbul, he
They were such a beautiful bunch. Brian Carwana of "Encounter World Religion" never fails to bring the loveliest people to the temple. The group of fifty folks, mostly retired, had already visited the Vishnu Mandir north on Yonge St. They will be seeing a Jewish Synagogue on Saturday. And if Brian pulls off another successful pilgrimage, which he usually does, he'll most likely stop at a Buddhist Temple and Mosque as well.
The group gathered around, seated on the chairs we arranged to view t
By Chandni RAJ
On June 23, 2024, ISKCON New Mayapur, situated in the serene countryside of Centre-Val de Loire, France, organized a Holi Festival mainly attended by locals from nearby towns and villages. For those who are accustomed to croissants, baguettes, and the Fete de la Musique, a completely different kind of Indian festival with traditional Indian music, dance, and throwing colors on one another provided a huge surprise and fun for all. Food stalls, clothes and jewelry kiosks, face-pain
The following are my thoughts on a late night walk, The poem is called:
Montreal Night Stroll
When I shut the big wooden door behind
I knew that I had hit a fateful time
At an early hour lost to darkened streets
There at the mercy of Kali's unique treats
An explorational stroll then began
Down Rue Ontario where each man
And woman take to omnibus night vibrations
Of gross and sensuous sensations
Indifferent I am to the objects about
When some take to the bottle and shout
And others ta
For Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s disappearance day, I thought to read one verse and purport about him from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Branches of the Caitanya Tree”:
TEXT 105
sri gopala bhatta eka sakha sarvottama
rupa-sanatana-sange yanra prema-alapana
TRANSLATION
Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, the forty-seventh branch, was one of the great and exalted branches of the tree. He always engaged in discourses about love of Godhead in the company of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvam
This weekend four Chariot Fests are being held within the Quebec/ Ontario area. Burlington, Oakville, Kingsville and Montreal. It is Burlington's 2nd, Oakville's 1st, Kingsville's (I'm not sure), but Montreal's running for decades is the largest. After beautiful overnight showers and a persistent overcast sky, the procession began at Sherbrooke and Ste. Laurent.
A large number of police escorted. They were great and most co-operative. By the end of the day, at festival site, Joanna Mance Park,
