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By Prishni Sutton 

The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) hosted its second international conference, “Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana: Current Research on History, Philosophy, and Science,” on November 17–19 at the BIHS Headquarters in Gainesville, FL. Use of this lovely facility, the former home of the president of the University of Florida, was secured with the generous support of Hridayananda Das Goswami.

This conference was a natural outgrowth of three prior BIHS cosmology

The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) would like to invite ISKCON News readers to join online for its upcoming conference, “Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana: Current Research on History, Philosophy, and Science,” to be held on Nov. 17–19, 2003. The Bhaktivedanta Institute has invited speakers from around the world to discuss the rich cultural heritage of the Puranas engaged within a contemporary context involving cosmological perspectives drawn from Sanskrit texts such as the B

By Leif Asmark Jensen

(Lalitanatha dasa)

Presented at The Consciousness in Science Conference, Gainesville, Florida, January 20, 2019

Consciousness is our most immediate experience. Yet, when it comes to studying consciousness beyond one’s own conscious experience, we can only study circumstantial evidence. One such category is studies of the symptoms of a conscious action on events or physical objects. This is known as the argument from design.

An argument from design refers to the inference t

By Brahmatirtha Das  

ISKCON, Chowpatty, in academic collaboration with the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies in Gainesville, Florida (BIHS) and the Bhaktivedanta Research Center in Mumbai (BRC), will be hosting an international hybrid cosmology conference at the Govardhan EcoVillage (GEV) just north of Mumbai, November 4–6, 2022, titled “Puranic and Siddhantic Cosmology: Within an Experiential Mathematical Framework.”

For people trained in the modern sciences, Vedic knowledge offers m

By Madana Gopala Das  

The Third ISKCON Communications Global Online Conference was held on Saturday November 5th 2022 on the topic of Unity In Diversity.

Her Grace Vishakha Devis Dasi, president of the Bhaktivedanta Manor and renowned author/film-maker, highlighted the various approaches Srila Prabhupada used in resolving differences amongst his disciples as he navigated the unprecedented growth of ISKCON in the Sixties and Seventies. Some of the methods he used included encouragement, coachin

SPECIAL 2-DAYS CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP 

Today there is an increasing awareness of environmental and ethical dealings with the planet and the food production chain, there is a call to reintegrate with Mother Earth and bring spirituality to the heart of this understanding.

The introduction of positivism into science and technology has led to the widespread adoption of the paradigm of industrial agriculture. This type of agriculture currently represents 30% of the world’s food supply. It accounts fo

By Madhava Smullen

About 170 book distributors, temple presidents, GBC members, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust staff and devotees in general viewed the 12th Annual BBT Africa Conference, held online and broadcast at https://www.youtube.com/c/BBTAfrica on Saturday November 6th.

Speakers from Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Mauritius participated in the three-hour conference, which is a platform for an exchange of ideas and strategies on all matters of book distribution, publication, and innovation. Insp

For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority.

In the run up to COP26 the UK is working with every nation to reach agreement on how to tackle climate change. World leaders will arrive in Scotland, alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and

The second annual International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Law Department conference was conducted May 1st and 2nd, 2021, in a meeting attended by more than 50 devotees, with good representation from six continents. Following formal recognition of the Law Department by the GBC in 2018, the first conference of the Law Department was held in January 2020, in Gainesville, Florida. This year plans to hold the conference in India were scuttled due to Covid-19, and the meeting was held

By Lilasuka dasi

Every temple, project and school in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is required to have a trained and active Child Protection Team (CPT). CPT’s have two main functions – to help prevent and to respond to child abuse concerns in local ISKCON communities. CPT’s have the special focus of helping local management implement policies that enhance safety, including screening those in positions of trust; awareness training for adults and children; and resp

On Saturday, March 13, 2021, the first virtual Child Protection Office (CPO) North America conference was held on Zoom. This was a long-cherished dream of the North American CPO regional director, Lila Suka Dasi, who has wanted to provide ongoing support for the teams that have been created to prevent child abuse in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The Child Protection Office was established by the Governing Body Commission (GBC) of ISKCON in 1997. The GBC's guideli

By Jyotisvara dasa

In today's world, scientific temper, or temperament occupies the center stage in deciphering the nature of reality. 

Scientific temper refers to an individual and social process of thinking and acting, including questioning, observing physical reality, testing, hypothesizing, analyzing, and communicating. Scientific temper also describes an attitude, which involves the application of logic. This term was popularized by late Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who urged his

“In order to encourage the King, who had only seven remaining days of life, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami asserted that there is no use in living hundreds of years without any knowledge of the problems of life—better to live for a moment with full consciousness of the supreme interest to be fulfilled. The supreme interest of life is eternal, with full knowledge and bliss. Those who are bewildered by the external features of the material world and are engaged in the animal propensities of the eat-drink-