The ISKCON Temple in DC, with its spacious and beautiful new facilities, is able to serve as a significant venue for large gatherings and events in the nation’s capital. This not only benefits the devotees but also strengthens the Temple’s partnerships with community organizations. One such partner, the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB), recently held its biannual meeting with its Maryland Partners on July 26th at the Temple.
“The Capital Area Food Bank leads our region’s efforts to provide equitab
I was destined for the northern city of Barrie which is practically the intersection to cottage country. But before this anticipated destination at beautiful Lake Simcoe, the Bhakti Academy asked me for that sunrise walk on the Beaches Boardwalk, the very place where our guru Srila Prabhupada, took his stroll with entourage in the summer of ’75. This is a special treat for the group, especially when I topped off the program with a reading under a maple tree from the book, "Transcendental Diary
India is currently experiencing a significantly heavier monsoon season than normal with widespread heavy rainfall affecting many regions. In response to these challenging conditions, Hare Krsna TV, a prominent 24×7 ad-free channel, has stepped up to provide much-needed assistance.
The channel has distributed custom-designed umbrellas to over 100 temples and centers across India, benefiting brahmacharis, full-time staff, and devotees. These umbrellas have been met with immense appreciation, arri
As most ISKCON News readers will know from public media reports, the nation of Bangladesh has been witnessing increasing violence, rioting, and destruction of private and public property for days.
Today the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has resigned and fled the country. Official reports are that hundreds of people have been killed including ordinary citizens and police.
The situation is very unstable and precarious. We ask that all ISKCON devotees and friends offer their ardent
What’s this thing about Peterborough. It is a city of more or less 80,000 people. It has a beautiful downtown with that warm Victorian-type of architecture. Two colleges attract students from around the world. Close to my heart in the TraNs Canada Trail running through it next to the Otonabee River.
A major yoga fest has taken place with two hundred attendees in the out-of-doors on an annual basis. That went well until cover set in, however, I’m told there are several groups conducting Kirtan
In a small town situated close to the banks of the River Yamuna there lived a man called Amrita. Nothing in life caused him more anxiety than his fear of death. One day he had an idea that if he befriended Lord Yamaraj, he would be able to keep death at a distance, and so Amrita practiced austerities and meditated upon the Lord of Death, who was verily pleased and granted him a vision.
Lord Yamaraj said, ‘I know by the aid of my divine powers that you seek to befriend me – your wish has come tru
Reflections on Bhagavad Gita, As it is Chapter 1, Text 19
“Translation
The blowing of these different conch shells became uproarious. Vibrating both in the sky and on the earth, it shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.
Purport
When Bhīṣma and the others on the side of Duryodhana blew their respective conchshells, there was no heart-breaking on the part of the Pāṇḍavas. Such occurrences are not mentioned, but in this particular verse it is mentioned that the hearts of the sons of Dhṛt
By Chandrika Sarva Kanti Devi Dasi
Welcoming Our Beloved Residents
It is by the Lord’s Mercy that Krishna’s Home Assisted Living is now a sanctuary for four wonderful souls who have journeyed from afar to be in a Krishna-conscious home that supports their daily needs. As we reflect on the first month since our grand opening, it is with immense gratitude that we witness the harmonious transition of these cherished individuals into our care here in Tucson, Arizona.
A Refuge of Devotion
Many of o
ISKCON Toronto celebrated its much-anticipated 52nd annual Ratha Yatra festival this past month, marking the event as the largest in its history and in North America with over 60,000 participants.
Commencing on Friday, July 12th, the festivities kicked off with its famous 12-Hour Kirtan from 10am to 10pm. Participants from around the world flew in to be part of this epic day of dancing and chanting, led by renowned kirtan leaders. This year’s theme, “Spark your bhakti flame by chanting the hol
Caru from Utah, has been helping me a lot. He has been kind to facilitate my Gita zoom classes for this week including today’s which is the South African group. They showed particular interest in his Colour Fest, popular throughout the world and something he initiated back in 1995/96. Moreover, he is a good presenter of the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness and knows how to relate to all ages.
Meanwhile at the temple ashram, residents are little by little, or perhaps a lot putting all the ite
Sometimes people say that they want to see God, or that God is not perceivable. And this is confirmed in the Vedic scripture, but with additional points of instruction on how we can perceive the Supreme Being. The Svetasvatara Upanishad (4.20) explains “His form of beauty is imperceptible to mundane senses. No one can see Him with material eyes. Only those who realize, through deep pure-hearted meditation, this Supreme Personality, who resides in everyone’s heart, can attain liberation.”
Krishna
From Back to Godhead
Are we the makers of our destiny or is life pre-destined? Find out here . . . .
In the Mahabharata, Vidura explained to Dhritarastra, “Destiny determines the consequences of our actions, not our actions themselves.” This means that we are not like programmed robots that have no free will, or no choice. Our past karma does determine what will happen in our life, but it does not determine how we will react to it.
Destiny is something like a weather forecast on a journey. A we
In the text “Caitanya Caritamrta “ we read about a flood - the flood of love of God, that is. Flooding is always an interesting dynamic. More commonly a flood refers to an over abundance of water that comes as a sudden melt down of ice or snow, or a gush of water from the skies.
Passionate rain came pouring down creating power outage and flooding in Southern Ontario, resisting traffic flow. The Don Valley, a major thoroughfare in Toronto got majorly impacted. For commuters and walkers, like ou
Human relationships in this modern world are scary. There is so much fear whether a relationship will last. For instance, will a marriage work out or not? Why have we changed?
This is because of the culture that we live in and the changes in the Western world and in the modern world that we witness around us. Previously, holding marriage as sacred was a very serious social thing. And if one wanted to break a marriage, it was considered as a disgrace, to the extent that the entire society an
Materialistic society teaches us to be aggressive and calculating so we can push our way through. In Vaisnava culture it is opposite – we offer respect. The reason: when you give respect without expecting something in return, you open yourself up to the power of divine blessings.
Imbibing a culture of respect, where you are deferential towards others in general but especially towards elders and vaisnavas, brings a tremendous potency to you that cannot be accessed otherwise. The driving force of
A look at what the Srimad-Bhagavatam has to say about time, a concept that has challenged philosophers for centuries.
Time is a little difficult to define. Philosophers and theologians have tried for at least twenty-five centuries. Albert Einstein remarked, in the midst of slightly more esoteric statements regarding physics, that time was what his wristwatch measured. St. Augustine said that he knew what time was as long as no one asked him to explain it. And sounding a note of frustration in
The Governing Body Commission (GBC) has released its latest Meeting Highlights Report for July 24th, 2024. The report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the online GBC meeting highlighting the key topics discussed. You can read the report here or watch a video report on their YouTube channel. You can also follow the GBC on their Facebook page.
Source: https://iskconnews.org/highlights-report-from-july-24th-gbc-meeting-released/
There is never, ever a dull moment in Krishna Consciousness. The internal fire alarm bell went all blaring out repeatedly until the fire brigade came. I was doing my announcements at 5am when the incident happened. The fire panel indicated the source of possible smoke or flames was coming from the main floor. Six men came in full fire fighter gear. One attempted to open the panel. The alarm kept scorching. No source found. The panel was re-set with a host of fire fighters and our own men (a doz
By Nama Prabhu Dasa
5 April, 1974
Seattle
Dear Sukadeva,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter, undated, and I have noted the contents…
One of the symptoms of a devotee is that he is kind, so if our Godbrother becomes ill it is our duty to help him get the proper medicine and treatment so that he can recover…. So there is no question of ill treating of our own Godbrothers simply because they are sick, nor should you allow such neglect to go on. So long we have
Some time ago I forgave four devotees who were responsible for causing great pain and frustration in my life. Actually I didn’t forgive them of my own accord. I was asked to forgive them – for my own benefit. First I focused on the ways these people hurt me. Then I was asked to look at them in a different light; to consider that they were just doing the best they could in the particular situation they were in. Next, I was asked if I would be willing to forgive them, not with the hope that they
