2016 is an historic year for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It marks the 50th anniversary of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada’s founding and incorporating ISKCON. All over the world ISKCON devotees will mark this occasion with special events. We hope to create some interest in Alachua County also. If you have any ideas on ways to glorify this occasion, please contact Mukhya devi dasi at the Temple Office, or let me know you’d like to be part of a planning team. Go towww.i
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By Subhang Balaram Das
25th December 2015, marked the first day of the 14th ‘Bhagavat-Katha Saptah’ in Pune with HH Lokanath Swami Maharaja. Every year devotees from all over the world set aside the last seven days of the year and join Maharaja for ‘nityam bhagavata-sevaya’. Surely there is no better way than this to not only end a year, but also begin a new one. This katha proved to be a very special one as there was glorification of one dhama each day.
It was a feast for devotees accompanying
Our sacred plant, Tulsi devi, is doing very well this winter – not because it’s been a mild winter so far but because we have a new greenhouse positioned to get a large dose of the daily sun. Tulsi devi thrives on plenty of sunshine and we see such a difference in her plant health between this year and last.
Who does not love the bright sun on a cold winter day? It keeps our spirits up as it floods into our rooms bringing life and energy. Sunshine is also a metaphor used in the teachings of bha
Giriraj Swami and Guru Prasada Swami look back at their service in ISKCON over the last 50 years.
“I remember when a devotee came up to me and said. ‘Ten years ago I met you on the street and you gave me a book. From that book I found a temple and became a devotee.’ That is such a rewarding experience. Sometimes, when you distribute books or do any service, you feel a little overburdened because there is so much to do for Krishna. But, when you get that reciprocation from the deities or
Madhava Gosh Dasa, age 66, died peacefully at his home in New Vrindaban, WV, January 2nd, 2016, following a long struggle with post transplant liver failure.
He was a pioneer New Vrindaban inhabitant, having lived there since 1973. Inspired by the instructions of his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, he was a lifelong activist of local agriculture and cow protection.
Madhava Gosh is survived by his wife of 41 years, Vidya Dasi; five children, Manjari, Madhu, Vraja, Marken & Tulasi; th
Radha Kunda Seva: December 2015 Photos and Updates (Album with photos)
A Blessed and Happy New Year to you all!
It is cold in Vraja now which makes that hot, fresh and wholesome meal all the more valuable to our Radha Kunda ladies. With your support, we are slowly and steadily feeding more and more widows. They enjoyed their usual monthly feast on the 23rd of December, and then were treated by special sponsorship to a Christmas Day feast of puri, sabji, hot pakoras, and vegetable pulau! Our re
Washington, D.C.—1966 was a significant year. Chairman Mao Tse-Tung’s “Little Red Book” was published for the first time. Despite mass protests, the United States began to bomb Hanoi, North Vietnam’s capital. The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon. Actor Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. Indira Gandhi visited Washington. Walt Disney died. The Beatles performed their very last concert in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park.
And, on New York City’s lower ea
Over the last year the Auckland temple devotees organised about 10 Rathayatras in the area. The big cart was used for the city and a smaller cart for the suburbs and nearby towns.
A few days ago a Rathayatra went around the farm itself and the devotees danced and chanted ecstatically in front of Their Lordships, Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi.
“Joy of Devotion” Inspires a Half-Century of Growth
Washington, D.C.—1966 was a significant year. Chairman Mao Tse-Tung’s “Little Red Book” was published for the first time. Despite mass protests, the United States began to bomb Hanoi, North Vietnam’s capital. The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon. Actor Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. Indira Gandhi visited Washington. Walt Disney died. The Beatles performed their very last concert in San
As is our annual tradition, devotees from Toronto's Hare Krishna community braved the cold and joined tens of thousands of revelers who were ushering in 2016 on New Year's Eve. While the main (massive) festivities were happening at City Hall, the devotees, led by Bhaktimarga Swami, stationed themselves across the street at Old City Hall with drums, cymbals, voices and more!
Over 100 devotees took part in the outdoor chanting (harinama) and the unanimous feedback was that this year's c
Over 100 devotees took part in the outdoor chanting (harinama) and the unanimous feedback was that this year's c
We are well aware that the ‘tree’ is a person, residing at the temple. The tree is matter, the soul makes it grow and strive for life. Nevertheless, we don’t advocate jungle philosophy; humans have a right to clear a living space (viz. Sri Isopanisad verse One). We advocate yukta vairagya, or pragmatism in clear consciousness. Srila Prabhupada told the New Vrndavana devotees to use local trees to build houses. He also pointed out that fruit and flowering trees are in the mode of goodness
Honouring Srila Prabhupada to Kick Off 2016
Festival Report by: Smruthi Venkateshan
Pictures by: Sahil Srivastava
Though many of us may have been a bit tired after ringing in the New Year, the Toronto Hare Krishna community gathered up all their energy and enthusiastically celebrated the annual Srila Prabhupada Festival on the evening of January 1st, 2016!
The festival is celebrated annually to give tribute and thanks to Srila Prabhupada for starting the Hare Krishna movement in the West ther
Saturday night kirtans have moved from the Lotus Room in Sydney to Govindas Asrama nearby.
This is because the restaurant is so crowded that both the regular customers and those from the kirtans could not fit in at the same time.
Nevertheless, the program goes on nicely with beautiful kirtan and sumptuous prasadam.
We usually find dīkṣā translated as “initiation” because to “initiate” something is to start it, to set it in motion – and dīkṣā is the thing that starts us in a certain direction.
In bhakti-yoga, dīkṣā is the thing that starts our devotional practices, sādhana-bhakti. Dīkṣā is the beginning of yoga. By dīkṣa we are accepted into a “school” of yoga and begin to be given whatever techniques and materials the school employs in its educational process.
Dīkṣā must be followed by śikṣā, specific
ISKCON Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada personally introduced the Life Membership Program in the early 1970’s. He invited everyone across the world to take advantage of residing in ISKCON temples – all over the world – for a couple of days, of attending spiritual programs and receiving Krishna conscious association.
A one-of Life Membership donation is $1,111.
Your spiritual honors:
- a Life Member is entitled for free accommodation for three days pe
The Eye to See the I features 121 reflections on the Bhagavad-gita that make its insights appreciable in brief, relishable nuggets of wisdom. The book published in hard copy on Janmashtami last year is already nearing the end of its first print run and will go for the second print soon. Recently released on kindle, it is now available free for five days from 6th Jan to 10th Jan.
Some of the reflections in the book are:
- Money talks – and walks away as it is talking
- We can’t replace the min
I believe that the by gone year was pretty inspiring to be more introspective to our lives and practices to all of us reflecting our personal room for improvements in many folds. Every day we are trying to grow as better devotees, sincere servants, conscious human beings, and loving persons; we promise ourselves everyday to be better than ever. Srila Prabhupada describes this journey of excellence as “War against Maya”. It is definitely challenging but not impossible. The strength we draw to
Did you notice an increasing number of earthquakes, floods, tsunamis and cyclones taking more lives these days than they used to a few hundred years back? That’s not all: nature has many other ways to punish humankind for their blatantly thoughtless activities and fiddling around with nature’s already established arrangement for maintaining the universe, our Earth being just a tiny part of it.
The ongoing madness of human beings on the planet, drilling deep into the earth for oil, gold and o
