1. Zonal Update
In the zonal report, Malati Devi Dasi shared an inspiring update of the continued development of Krishna Consciousness in different areas of the US Midwest including Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Detroit, amongst others. Highlights included; the commencement of the construction for a grand temple in the greater Columbus area in Ohio, the dynamic outreach taking place including at the many prestigious universities in the region, the deepening commitment to Krishna Consci
By Atma Tattva Das
Spurred by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hare Krishna Africa (HKA) platform has evolved into a transformative online and in-person network of African devotees. This innovative network utilizes social media, Zoom calls, and strategic cross-border connections to serve collaboratively on various issues facing ISKCON communities across multiple countries. Initiated by the visionary minds of Srivas Das Vanacari, Kusha Das, Jnana Caksusa Das, and Kavikarnapura Das, t
Ice has become crystal
Beware, for it is now brittle
Anything can break/snap
Water can’t run from the tap
It is a frozen planet
Snow assumes a blanket
A cover over land mass
Water is now glass
Movement is nil in the yard
Most entities are asleep
There’s a secret you can’t keep
It’s a whisper in the wind
Telling that Nature hasn’t sinned
She inserts a truth
With her face-biting tooth
Leaving moments to reflect
Pondering on what to reject
To simplify. Downscale
Life should not be pale
The white c
On January 18, 7:30 PM EDT, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) and the Vedic Friends Association (VFA) will be hosting an online webinar entitled “The Western Hindu Perspective on the Revitalization of Ayodhya Ram Mandir.”
Webinar panelists include Balabhadra Bhattacarya Dasa, Sri Nandanandana Dasa, and Kavindra Rishi. Balabhadra Bhattacarya is the President of the co-sponsoring organization, the VFA, which has as its aim “to present, preserve, protect and promote the principles and p
I am quite alarmed by the vast increase of homelessness in all the places I go to, and in the areas I walk. We have all seen people pushing a shopping cart with extensions on it; half-full bags dangling to the side. Clothes, sleeping gear, and some processed foods are the contents and more. I imagine for some homeless folks, you might find medications, drugs and other addictions matter.
In my walk with Uday and Navi today, we saw such a woman in a daze standing outside a department store on Blo
Hare Krsna.
The monkeys of Raman Reti can undoubtably be cute. But are they wise? Mostly they use their amazing climbing skills to wander from tree to roof to balcony for the purpose of foraging for soft leaves, berries, or other eatables. When they’re not eating they fight, mate, or sleep. But, however, I’ve noted that they can also be clever and quite brave. Many strongly built males will always fiercely fight to protect from attack the young within their family. That can be said to be a ty
From A Meditation on the Importance of True Humility” in “Back to Godhead, Vol. 53, No. 5 (Sep/Oct 2019):
Guru Dasa (disciple of Bhaktimarga Swami): “The Tao Te Ching advises that humility is the best policy. One quote I like is translated as follows: ‘If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below.
If he wants to lead people, he must follow them from behind.’ (Chapter 66)”
“Jesus also advised humility. He said, ‘So the last shall be first, and the first last: for man
By Aseem Krishna Das
This year’s Sadhu Sanga program, organized by disciples of HH Subhag Swami Maharaja, was held from 30th December 2023 to 4th January 2024 at Janardan Swami Ashram in Nashik, Maharashtra. Each year, Maharaja selects a different place for the Sadhu Sanga program, and this time, it was the Nashik Dham.
Disciples of Subhag Swami Maharaja gathered from different parts of India and abroad to receive the association and celebrate the 84th Vyasa Puja ceremony of their beloved spiri
When I look at the span of a day involving community members, I am touching all rites of passage. Someone is calling about getting married. “Do you have the wedding hall available at such and such a date?” Another individual is personally asking about help to find a partner.
Then out of the crowd a couple approach me: “Please give us blessings, Swamiji, we are going to have our first child in four months.”
And during the feast, again, someone is saying, “My wife is in her last stages with cance
Visakha Dasi has released a new book entitled Virtues for a Happy Life: Bhagavad-gita for Children. This beautifully designed volume makes the wisdom of the Gita easily accessible through photographs, paintings, and straightforward language as it explores four virtues found in the ancient text. “For me, the four virtues highlighted in the book are foundational teachings of the Gita,” said Visakha, “equal-mindedness (seeing everyone as an atma or soul), healthy-mindedness (understanding Krishna’s
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
ISKCON UK is organizing a free international online course called Think Gita based on the teachings of S.B. Keshava Swami Maharaj. The taster session starts today January 11th at 8 pm GMT, and the 4-week course begins on 1st February, every Thursday from 8-9 pm GMT.
Raja Mukunda, who is the course instructor, is the co-founder and heads the Think Gita project and has been teaching the Bhagavad-gita for four years. He said, “People purchase the Bhagavad-gita, b
Today is Makar Sankranti. Aside from the northward movement of the sun today, it is a very important and auspicious day for the Vaishnava community, as on this day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took to the renounced order of life for the sake of liberating and distributing the Holy Name to us all. Therefore, on this auspicious day, it is important to remember the pastime activities of the Lord because He is also the master of all wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation because He
When we actually care
We are prone to share
With those in times of need
In any physical/emotional bleed
With a gentle pinch of courage
Caring becomes a universal language
Understood by plants, vegetables
Bugs, birds, and all animals
True humans are quite aware
Of the sensitivity called care
By way of touch, a smile
Kind words, listening – all worth while
But we cannot monopolize
Rather own up and apologize
For past abuses done
With a violent cleaver or gun
To compensate, begin this day
With so
Some fifty years ago in Bombay, when I first began to meet people to encourage them to support ISKCON, I was guided by the fourth verse of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Upadesamrta, kindly explained by Srila Prabhupada. It instructed me to reciprocate with the people whom I met in exchanges of love. The more care and affection we gave them, the more they would reciprocate and want to support our cause. And I knew that if they engaged in devotional service, they would enhance their spiritual lives.
dadat
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Hari Mohan Dasa (Mohan Ashtakala), an editor and publisher of a community newspaper in Denver, Colorado, for thirteen years, has written an amazing historical fiction titled “Sadhu.” The book has received immense appreciation from authors and devotees. It explores the spiritual journey of Lord Chaitanya’s elder brother, as well as the historical and social intricacies of Medieval India.
In the list of mentioned testimonials, HH Bhakti Marga Swami said, “Blendin
By Prishni Sutton, BIHS
The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) will host the third installment of an ongoing lecture series based on the books of Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa Dasa, 1947-2008) with a hybrid (online/in-person) event at the BIHS Headquarters in Gainesville, FL, on February 3, 2024, 11 AM to 1 PM EST.
In this series, Thompson’s books are covered chapter by chapter with a presentation summarizing contents and central arguments, followed by a discussion. The focus o
It came to my attention through my meagre introspection that Krishna Consciousness is nothing but a caring culture—a caring for God, a caring for His environment, His creatures, you and me. All that exists is His, and so kindness must prevail in His world.
Caring, for me today, came in many forms. I was happy to receive a call from one of my students. He mentioned he had good news about marriage and a date preferred for the wedding. I was thrilled, of course, as I want to see our young folks
Dear devotees, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Šrila Prabhupada!
I’d like to use this opportunity to inform you about a successful book distribution program that started back in 2012 and is still ongoing. I hope many of you will get inspiration from this report and replicate it in your yatras. During Vrisabha Prabhu’s (my close friend, a devotee from Croatia) stay in Sarajevo in the period from 2012 to 2014, there was an opportunity to enter libraries with Srila Prabhupada’s
“He who was previously a very munificent cowherd boy has now appeared as Mahesa Pandita. In ecstatic love, he dances like a madman as though intoxicated to the beat of a kettle drum. [C.C. Adi 11.32]
According to Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, Mahesa Pandita was formerly Maha-Bahusakha in Krsna-lila. He was a companion of Nityananda Prabhu, and was present at the Danda Mahotsava held at Paninati.
In Bhakti-Ratnakara, Taranga Nine, it is stated that when Narottama dasa Thakura came to visit Khardaha, h
November 4, 2023, marked the first leg of Padayatra Mauritius’ Island-wide Padayatra. Coinciding with the tirobhava tithi (disappearance day) of Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Goswami, the walk was also dedicated to commemorating the forty-eighth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s first visit to Mauritius.
The day’s itinerary covered approximately 10km, starting at the Sri Sri Radha Golokananda mandir in Phoenix then heading north th
