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Each year I try to come for the Seattle Rathayatra, which goes over two days during the Labor Day long weekend. The first day started at a local park where devotees and guests came with their families.

As you can see in the pictures, there were stalls with free prasadam, snacks, books, kirtan and drama stage, and many others. A favorite attraction were the areas with calves and goats from one of our nearby farms. Their Lordships, Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra sat on a beautiful swing.

Sourc

The Seattle Rathayatra was held on the second day of the festival and started a few kilometers from the park. Their Lordships, Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra rode majestically on Their chariot through the streets for two hours until They came back.

There was also a smaller Rathayatra cart in front and the kirtan was led by devotee children between ten and fifteen years of age. I started off the kirtan in front of the bigger cart and other devotees took over.

When Their Lordships were brou

The Governing Body Commission (GBC) has released its latest Meeting Highlights Report for August 22nd, 2024. The report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the online GBC meeting highlighting the key topics discussed:

“ISKCON GBC MEETING HIGHLIGHTS REPORT
22 August 2024

We are pleased to present the 22 August 2024 GBC Meeting Highlights Report. This report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the online GBC meeting highlighting the key topics discussed.

Discovering Spiritual Knowledge

By Atma Tattva Das

Radha Damodar Dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, has been a dedicated servant of ISKCON for over five decades. His journey within the Krishna Consciousness movement includes the significant effort of preserving 1,684 play scripts, which are not just text on a page but a living part of our cultural heritage. They have long been an essential tool for preaching as well as providing devotional entertainment within the community.

Radha Damodar’s involvement with ISKCON began in

There is some renovation going on. Yes, here at 243 Ave. Rd., the temple is making way for a much needed elevator to take care of the elderly and the handicapped. It is going to change the force of our handsome building, perhaps even improve it and add more dignity. The process of it getting there is rather messy but that’s what happens even when assembling a good-looking cake. Things get untidy.

From a series of lectures by HH Radhanath Swami, introducing the Spiritual Counselor System that has been successfully deployed at Sri Sri Radha-Gopinath Temple in Mumbai, Chowpatti.

Inroducing the Counselor System

Service To The Vaishnavas – The Highest Religious Principle

Vaisnavism has been manifested in its purest and most wonderful form through the love and teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates. The most beautiful aspect of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes is the loving interac

THE NEED TO SUBLIMATE INDIVIDUAL WORK FOR ULTIMATE PERSONAL SATISFACTION AND HAPPINESS

Many a times, we wonder “what bit of good have I done today ?” After all, everything said and done, life is pretty mechanical and also largely material. We follow the same working routines day after day, year in and year out, in whatever profession or calling we have chosen for ourselves, or had been pushed into or drifted into by the compulsions of need, convenience, location, education, ambition, or just in

The universe around us appears to be orderly and symmetrical. The planets rotate perfectly in their orbits. Our bodies possess complex circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems. Even the atoms are highly structured. All this suggests that the universe was created not by chance, but by an intelligent person. If human beings can create houses, skyscrapers, and many other structures, it is plausible that a person far more powerful than any human created the universe and everything in it.

A V

World Cleanup Day, a global event aimed at combating litter and waste pollution, is a cause that resonates deeply with ISKCON’s values of environmental stewardship. The ISKCON Environmental Initiative (IEI) is calling on our temples, congregation members, temple devotees, youth groups, and nama hatta groups worldwide to participate according to their capacity, reinforcing our shared responsibility towards Mother Earth. 

“As we all know, the Earth, Mother Bhumi, is suffering due to irresponsible

By Atma Tattva Das

The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Africa (BBTA) has once again honored the legacy of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with the release of the 2024 Pan-African Vyasa-puja book. This annual offering, now available for free download on the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust-Africa (BBTA) website, provides a platform for devotees, friends, and well-wishers across the African continent to express their gratitude and reverence for Srila Prabhupada.

This year marks the 128th Vya

On August 20, 2024, the Co-Directors of ISKCON Mayapur officially inaugurated the Sridham Mayapur Board of Education, marking a significant step toward enhancing and transforming the educational scenario of Mayapur.

The Board’s focus will be on key areas such as curriculum development, teacher training, and student support services. Its primary mission is to ensure that all students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for success both within ISKCON and in the wider world.

The Boa

I popped out of the door of the Air BnB, we are staying in along the lakeside at 7 a.m . I managed to gain a few steps on a peaceful road when I received a call from a sensitive and kind person thinking about the recent death of Bindu Madhava.

From Back to Godhead

“From the viewpoint of eternity, a life span of five thousand years is the same as that of five years: both are a flash, both temporary.”

Two summers ago when the Reforestation Department of the Sequoia National Park in California gave away excess baby Sequoia trees, I got four and planted them on our nine-acre property in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Sequoias don’t produce useful things like fruits or flowers. They simply live—for thousands of years. And t

Excerpt from the lecture by HH Nirañjana Swami

Baltics Winter Festival, January 17, 2014

The following is a partially-edited transcription of an excerpt of a lecture given on January 17, 2014, at the Baltics Winter Festival – Chanting with Feeling

Today I wanted to read and speak from a few quotes about the Holy Name. Some of them I have read recently and found a lot of significance to them, not only to myself but those with whom I shared them. A lot of times the devotees struggle to make their

Srila Prabhupada once said that when devotees give up practicing Krishna consciousness it is ‘fifty percent their fault, and fifty percent ISKCON’s”. In this article I would like to explore what I perceive as a systemic problem contributing to our society’s fifty percent of the blame.

It is surely surprising that someone should get as far as seriously following the process of Krishna consciousness, only to give it up again. Most of us experienc

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

The auspicious inauguration of ISKCON Raipur was held from August 17-19, 2024. The special grand installation ceremony of the Deities, Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari, took place on August 19th on the occasion of Balaram Jayanti, Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day.

Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh, is a vibrant and rapidly growing metropolis in central India. According to tradition, Chhattisgarh, and specifically the region around Raipur, is considered her birthpl

The ISKCON Hungary Yatra completed its 30th annual padayatra recently, a 14-day event from July 8th to 21st. Devotees walked 120 kilometers, beginning their journey in the northern city of Eger.

The padayatra’s organizer, Triyuga Das, reflected on the significance of this milestone and the importance of ensuring that the legacy of the padayatra continues for generations to come: “As an organizer and leader of the padayatra pilgrimage, I find it very important that when we grow old and are no lon

I swear that one of the quietest places on earth while being a tourist attraction is the southern most chunk of Canada - Pelee Island. As the name implies water surrounds it. There are no crazy party places, no cannabis joints and not even a McDonald’s. It is my pause and my breath of fresh air. And it was to be a dream come true with not a crowd. 9 Americans and 3 Canadians was the sum total of our devotee population landed after a perfect ferry ride.