The Hindu Mandirs Empowerment Council (formerly known as the Hindu Mandirs Executive Conference) held its annual gathering of North American Hindu Leaders representing all the various Hindu Mandirs and Organizations across the region. ISKCON leaders were among the presenters at the September 27th to 29th, 2024 conference, held in Raleigh, North Carolina.
HMEC is the largest annual conference of its kind, welcoming hundreds of past and present executives, community leaders, and scholars of Mandi
Once every fortnight Vaishnavas all over the world observe a day for cutting down on dietary extravagance. In fact it is a total abstinence of grain. No pizza ! No pasta ! No rice or roti !
Those of us who wandered off to Gir Farms where people come to cuddle cows took advantage of what the fields have to offer at this time of year. Guru Das and I were chewing on raw okra with no pesticides. Peppers were also on the menu, again raw and delicious. Gir Farms owners, Vishal and Yasomati, also tu
By Atma Tattva Das
Sanga, service, and spiritual adventure awaited devotee youth in the sunny environment of San Diego. The inaugural West Coast summer retreat for The Sanga Initiative (TSI) saw 45 attendees from 24 cities across seven states join together at ISKCON San Diego for an immersive and energizing spiritual experience. A dedicated team of organizers led by Abhirama Thakura Das, Braja Priya Devi Dasi, Kapiduach, and Sruthi worked diligently to organize this experience for West Coast you
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
ISKCON Sacramento recently held a Devotee Care Course from September 13th to 15th, 2024, facilitated by Radha Gopinath Das and Damodar Das. The event, which was attended by 15 participants, was designed to deepen their understanding of the role of devotee care in sustaining a loving and vibrant spiritual community.
Throughout the three-day course, the facilitators explored key insights into what it truly means to care for others within the ISKCON community. Pa
What a pleasure it is to hear from an expert on the early days of the Hare Krishna movement as it took hold in the U.S.’s west coast in the summer of love, 1967. Guru Das has come to grace us with his presence and making us feel present in those olden golden times. He was a former civil rights activist but became a radical in the Vaishnav tradition under the watchful guard of the spiritual master, Prabhupada.
Guru Das, who is now in his 80’s was an instant hit with our youth.
Now, for the youn
Frustration gives way to illumination during one extraordinary night in the life of a prostitute.
While prostitutes are often depicted negatively in traditional literature, some religious texts depict them positively as testimonies to the transformational potency of divine grace. Thus, in the Gospel is found a story of a prostitute (considered by some to be Mary Magdalene) who was redeemed by Jesus. In Gaudiya Vaishnava literature such as the Chaitanya Charitamrita comes the story of the saint
Madhvacharya was born into a Brahmana family in the coastal town of Udupi, South India. His early life was marked by extraordinary events and displays of divine power, such as turning tamarind seeds into coins and defeating a snake demon with a touch of his toe.
His exceptional intellect and insatiable thirst for knowledge led him to embark on a spiritual journey at the age of twelve when he accepted sannyasa, a renounced way of life. Madhvacharya traveled extensively across India, seeking wisdo
By Jagdish Shyam Das
The ISKCON Youth Forum (IYF) Gaya, hosted its grand annual Youth Festival, “VIPLAVA – Glories of Vedic India,” on September 15, 2024, at Gaya, Bihar. Over 1,000 enthusiastic young devotee participants from across Bihar gathered for this transformative experience.
IYF has spent the last decade empowering young minds through seminars, festivals, and personal development initiatives. Its mission is to inspire the next generation to tap into their inner potential, cultivate serv
By Nandita Mehta
ISKCON’s Congregation Development Ministry is continually working to help temples and devotee communities grow and flourish by providing various preaching programs, such as Bhakti Vriksha, programs for children, and more. They also want to highlight the success stories from communities and events worldwide that would inspire devotees.
In this article, they highlight the expanding devotees’ service in the Whitefield area of Bangalore, which has grown into a large congregation of
By Kumari Kunti Sherreitt
At the end of the year Malati Devi Dasi will officially resign as a GBC member. In New Vrindavan, at the North American Leadership Conference’s final day of events, a ceremony in the temple room was held to thank her for endless service to ISKCON in this capacity. Anuttama Dasa, Praharana Dasi, Kuladri Das, and Jaya Krsna Das each spoke of her glories and dedication to ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada. As part of the appreciation, she was given a gift and plaque.
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ISKCON released the following statement to the media, “A video of some altercation at ISKCON Patna surfaced yesterday night. It is unfortunate and painful that some differences between different members of the community escalated into something that doesn’t represent the teachings and values of ISKCON, which are practiced by lakhs of its members across the world.
The affected members from yesterday have been offered support by ISKCON.
Being a responsible institution, all grievances are taken se
Here is a poem found in my recently published set of literary work called “The Walking Monk Poems. 1 available through Amazon or myself. This piece is called “Love and Marriage,”
Partnership is when two are one
In pain and in fun
Sharing any burden
Is the method to learn from
Listening is that skill
Requiring just the will
Complementing each other
Helps one to discover
Sacrificing is the key
In a mutual ‘we agree’
Compromising is forever
Simply say ‘no’ to ‘never’
Being gentle is
By Jaya Govinda Das
After five months of intense traveling throughout North America to solicit support for the Mayapur Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP), the dedicated team of Jananivas Das, Sunanda Das, and Braja Vilas Das arrived last week on the Canadian West Coast, the final leg of their journey.
While in Vancouver, they also drove four hours to visit the interior community of Saranagati Village. In addition to their desire to visit the community, they also made the long journey to pre
During the prestigious World Food India 2024 event, held in New Delhi on September 19-22, 2024, Haribol Foods made a significant impact with its strong presence and innovative offerings. The event, known for attracting global leaders in the food industry and thousands of attendees, provided an ideal platform for the company to showcase its commitment to ethically sourced and traceable food products. Haribol’s participation included displaying its wide-ranging products, which feature cruelty-fre
I am still reflecting on the laughter and tears that come out of our viewers at Saturday’s performance of “The Jagannath Story”. It appears that some version of joy and melancholy shapes our world. I was saddened to hear upon my return from West Virginia, the place of the performance, that one of our young boys, 7, passed away in our Montreal community. That’s young and innocent. And while there in W V I witnessed a happy-go-lucky Annasuya, our sound cue girl, being so cheerful. That made me ch
From Back to Godhead
A look at Lord Caitanya’s “Eight Instructions” and their relevance to japa, the individual practice of chanting Hare Krishna.
A friend once told me this analogy about spiritual life: a flock of geese share strength by flying in a V formation, but if one goose goes down, the others can’t help. Similarly, though seekers of enlightenment help each other, success ultimately depends on personal effortand the kindness of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna.
Krishna’s kindness appears i
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Syama Gauri Devi Dasi, originally from Hungary, shared some of her spiritual journey in a recent interview with ISKCON News. Her service over the years has taken her around Europe, including temples in Budapest, Scotland, and most recently to Folkestone, UK. She now lives there with her husband, Priya Kunda Das who hails from Liverpool, and together they run a small preaching center called Atma Lounge in the seaside town of Folkestone, in southern England.
Fro
Dear ISKCON Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
We are deeply saddened to share the difficult news regarding the health of His Holiness Giriraja Swami. Maharaja has been diagnosed with Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD). This degenerative neurological disorder has been increasingly affecting him over the past three years, with more significant clinical symptoms emerging in the last year.
This cruel disease is characterized by the progre
This morning an hour and a half was set aside for an initiation of two devotees. From the U.K., now residing in New York, is Joseph, one of the actors from the night before. He’s a good performer, is intelligent, and shows lots of devotional qualities. His Sanskrit name is Jivan Mukta. Suneel is living here in New Vrindavana, is humble, and has a sweet disposition. His new name is Saranya.
A person from Nepal, Gambhira Gaur, received his second diksha, in the absence of Gopal Krishna Goswami who
Dear Malati,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 22, 1973.
You write that things are in a crisis in England, with oil shortage and IRA bombing. Therefore, we have to take shelter of Krsna. If Krsna wants to kill us that is not wrong, if it is His desire. Our business should just to be to follow the regulative schedule, deity worship, distributing prasadam, chanting, book distribution and never mind the material danger. Krsna Consciousness means
