Bhakti Centre is a unique project, inspired by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who wanted to open a Youth Hostel in London to distribute Hari Katha. Ideally located, Harrow-on-the Hill tube is only a few minutes’ walk away. Central London is just 18 minutes by train. It is therefore perfect for students or young working professionals.
At present Bhakti Centre is open to men only between the ages of 18-35. The hostel is run to Krishna conscious standards with prasadam (sanctified ve
It’s a scene that has been repeated countless times on the thoroughfares of cities throughout the Western world-from Hollywood Boulevard and Fifth Avenue in America, to London’s Oxford Street and the Champs Elysees in Paris. There, in the midst of traffic, shops, restaurants, and movie theaters, people suddenly find themselves confronted by a group of young persons singing and dancing to the beat of cylindrical drums and the brassy cadence of hand cymbals. The men are dressed in flowing robes a
1. When taking over a position, department, project, preaching center, temple, etc., to immediately begin making drastic changes.
2. To play favorites or to speak against or criticize certain sections of devotees.
3. To do or say anything that will instill a lack of trust in a devotee’s spiritual master.
4. To not give devotees facility to offer suggestions and ideas, voice opinions, or express observations in a way that will be given attention and be responded to.
5. To expect devotees to be e
In the Gita, Krsna says that only one who is free from sinful life can engage in His service with determination:
“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.” (Bg. 7.28)
Souls conditioned by material nature become used to obeying the demands of the senses.
One Vaisnava poet has compared the senses and their unhealthy dema
New Delhi – 21st January, 2017: ISKCON Govardhan Eco Village (GEV) won a prestigious United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Award for India on 18th January in Madrid, leading over 55 countries in the category of ‘Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations’.
The UNWTO awards are recognized as one of the world’s most coveted awards in the global tourism sector. The 13th edition of this award saw 139 applications from 55 countries.
Govardhan Eco Village, spread over 70 acres in Wada n
Indradyumna Swami: An update on my condition. Unfortunately, the bacterium infection which I contracted from my prostate biopsy has developed into Septicemia, a serious and dangerous blood infection. I am in a good hospital here in South Africa with the best doctors and they are administering strong antibiotics. Once again I am humbly appealing for your prayers that I may quickly recover and continue with my services to Srila Prabhupada.
Jayapataka Swami: The sankirtana devotees were cooking fo
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Introduction
Jiva Gosvami (1513-1598) is the youngest of the six Gosvamis of Vrindavana[i] who are honoured as genuine representatives of the teachings and faith of Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534). All of them, except Jiva Gosvami, were personally inspired, instructed or commissioned by Caitanya. (Kapoor, 1984, 54). It seems that Jiva did not have the privilege to associate with and learn from Caitanya; in 1535, at the time he joine
“Life was tough from the start … a slap on the backside. But at age four came my first hard taste of reality.”
THIS IS THE STORY of my life. Or better yet, the story of two lives: the one my spiritual master saved me from, and the one he gave me. Both concern the same person, but one life was temporary, ignorant, and full of suffering, and the other is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss. This is the story of the miracle, for me at least, of how I was delivered from the ocean of material
My life took many unexpected turns. I made plans but I could not fulfill many of them and I had to face many surprises – sometimes pleasant and sometimes unpleasant. I lived in many countries. Many people think that I am from Holland but to tell you the truth, I am not! Even in this life, my birth was in Vrindavan because my spiritual life began in Vrindavan and thus Holland feels like a last life. I can remember it only vaguely. I’m from Vrindavan actually! But there also, I faced ups and down
Our life is full of anguish when others unjustly blame us… we feel offended and angry, and feel a strong urge to defend ourselves. Is there another way, a way to freedom?
tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā/ amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to ot
SELF-ABSORPTION isn’t thought of favorably and generally means to be excessively concerned with one’s own life and interests without taking into consideration other people. Some synonyms are egoism, self-centeredness, narcissism, self-importance, self-preoccupation, etc. However, in my thinking this morning while chanting, which is the attempt to “hear” God in his holy names, or become absorbed in the Supreme Self, we need to be self-absorbed in the sense of becoming aware of those parts of our
An ambitious new ninety-minute documentary film about the life of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada is set to be released in June this summer, and will be a historic event.
It will be released in art theaters in twenty key cities throughout the U.S. beginning with the Village East Theater in New York City, just ten blocks from 26 2nd Avenue, where ISKCON began.
The film was originally entitled “Acharya,” but has been renamed “Hare Krishna: The Mantra, the Movement, and the Swami Who Started It A
The following is a list of (what I consider to be) mistakes that either I have made or have seen other devotees make while preaching. By preaching I mean helping a person come closer to Krsna. So “mistakes” would be saying or doing anything that could or will get in the way of this. Granted, we can sometimes make a mistake and it will not have adverse effects, so these are not absolutes. And it is even possible that some of these “mistakes” may occassionally end up helping someone. However, in
Long, before the advent of Islam, even as early as the third millennium BCE, India had cultural bonds with the Mesopotamian civilization, now the region of Iraq and Iran. As explained by N. N. Bhattacharya, there are plenty of references to establish a very close contact between India and the Islamic world. Actually, Iraq was an area that had been a part of the Vedic civilization at one time. The extreme antiquity of India’s trade with the West-Asia (now known as middle-east) is an establishe
New clothing company “Mata and Me” might just about be the most adorable idea ever: matching devotional outfits for mothers and daughters (and fathers and sons) that make a pretty picture and encourage a sweet family bond.
Sadly, this was something often missing from owner Ananda Lila Dasi’s own early life.
“I had a very tough childhood and adolescence, and I never met my father,” she says. “But when I came to Krishna consciousness in 2008, it changed my life. My spiritual master, Giriraja Swa
I first came to know about ISKCON in Pune at around 1998. My sister informed me about the ISKCON temple on the Janmashtami day. First time when I saw the temple structure from outside I felt that it’s not a traditional temple which is seen in India. That was confirmed when I went inside the temple as to see the devotional attitude and energy in the temple was just fantastic. Till that point I had not seen so much devotional energy anywhere else. All the devotees chanting and dancing in ecstacy
Most devotees’ lives and views on devotional service change as their ashram changes. When several devotees pass through ashram changes at approximately the same time-or even if one respected devotee within a temple changes his ashram-a temple can become affected.
My writing down these developmental stages, which is similar for both individual devotees and temples (If the majority of devotees within a temple are in a similar ashram situation, it can be said that that temple is at that particula
Question: Is it possible to go back to the spiritual world just chanting the Mahamantra without accepting diksa from a spiritual master?
Romapada Swami: As described in Caitanya Caritamrita, to chant the holy name of the Lord one need not depend upon other paraphernalia or practices, for one can immediately get all the desired results of linking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It may therefore be questioned why there is a necessity for initiation or further spiritual activities in dev
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT: Krishna Village
Byron Bay is hippie central through and through and so of course the Krishna Village Eco-Yoga Community would be based nearby. About an hour’s drive away, you’ll go from the breezy beaches or Byron to being nestled in rolling hills and lush greenery, with thick grass and fresh water creeks. This is Eungella, a town in New South Wales with a peaceful, back-to-nature vibe that’ll transform even the most plugged-in of urbanites, given enough time.
All-n
Prabhupada wrote so many books and some people never read much more than a Whatsapp message! They never get around to finishing the Bhagavatam.
Even after nine years in Krsna consciousness, they are still reading the ninth chapter of the first canto. If they go at this pace of one chapter a year then they might not make it because Bhagavatam has something like 355 chapters, which means you would have to become 355 years old, which is maybe not going to happen and in that case, you might never f
