Blog

By Atma Tattva Das, 

In 1975, a small band of determined devotees in apartheid South Africa faced a task that seemed almost impossible: bringing His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to their country. Fifty years later, as ISKCON South Africa celebrates the golden jubilee of that historic visit, one of the movement’s earliest pioneers, Riddha Das, reflects on the challenges, miracles, and mercy that shaped the beginning of Krishna consciousness in the nation.

Born in Durban in 194

By Atma Tattva Das,

On November 25, 2025, devotees gathered at ISKCON Midrand for the opening of a facility that many described as long overdue. The new End of Life Care Room, developed by Devotee Care South Africa under the regional leadership of Jayananda Das, marks a turning point in how the South African devotee community supports its members in their final days.

The vision did not appear suddenly. It began almost a decade ago, when a devotee care workshop in 2019 inspired Jayananda and othe

By Atma Tattva Das

Salika Das’s journey of faith began in childhood, shaped by both hardship and an insatiable search for truth. Born into a Muslim-Christian household in Nigeria, he grew up amid the complexities of a polygamous family. The loss of his younger brother at the age of three left a profound mark on him. “The departure of this young boy affected me a lot,” he recalled. “I started questioning the cause of death, and that got me more deeply into asking esoteric questions.” This curiosi

Every morning, I would arrive at the temple for Mangal Arati, and there he would be—opening the door for me with a broad smile, a hearty welcome, and the warmt

Riktananda Dasa (center in red sweater) helping to pull the cart with Srila Prabhupada at 1975 San Francisco Rathayatra.

Just before noon on April 3, 2025, Riktananda Dasa Adhikari (Richard W. Arthur), a most dear disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, departed this world for Goloka Vrindavan.

After breaking his spine and hospitalization, Riktananda Dasa decided for himself to forgo any rehab or treatment and leave his body. For over a month, he ate nothing but small

A long, long time ago when I was not an ISKCON devotee I developed a growing interest in spiritual life. After many years of taking drugs and attending rock concerts I had become sick of life.

I had been manager in several companies I worked for, most of the time I had more money than I needed and I had freedom and independence. Somehow I was not satisfied. I started wondering if real happiness existed. I discovered that no matter how hard I tried I just could not break free from certain activit

Join us for an enriching online workshop “Building the Future of ISKCON with Care, Part 2” on Saturday, March 1st, 12:30-2:30PM EST facilitated by Jai Nitai Das, North American Representative, ISKCON Devotee Care Office.

Following the initial well-received workshop from November 2024, sponsored by the North American Regional Governing Body, this second workshop will focus more on practical application strategies to cultivate and embed devotee care in our Vaishnava communities.

This workshop will

Over 500 years ago, in the sacred land of Navadvipa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Taking on the golden hue of Srimati Radharani, He descended to distribute the yuga-dharma of sankirtan—congregational chanting of the holy names. His life exemplified devotion, compassion, and the unifying power of kirtan, transforming the hearts of countless souls and ushering in a golden age of Krishna bhakti.

This year, as we prepare for the grand festival

By Atma Tattva Das

In the heart of New York’s concrete jungle, devotee musician Premananda Kirtan Das orchestrates spirituality and creativity into harmonious melodies. With his music, he doesn’t just entertain; he enlightens. In an ISKCON News interview, he shared insights into his creative process, his spiritual journey, and the profound interplay between the two.

Born in South Africa, Premananda draws from his roots in Bhakti yoga to weave devotional themes into his compositions, guiding his

The influence of maya is very difficult to overcome. In our scriptures, the material energy is therefore compared to an ocean. When you sail the ocean you never know when the weather will become stormy and high waves will make it impossible for you to continue your journey. Material life is similar – you never know when difficulties will shake you. Krishna explains this fact to Uddhava and then says: “Devotees are like a strong boat that comes to rescue those persons who are repeatedly rising a

By Maharishi Das

The phone rings at 6 AM. I had gone to sleep at 3 AM, as quite often I work late, and then chant my rounds.

“Hi Mik. This is Mr Cooke.”

Mr Cooke explained that he was driving back from a music festival in Germany. I was very sleepy, but asked him how I could help. He told me he would be passing by my house, and needed to get something from me.

My mind started thinking about what he might purchase. Would it be a big sale? After all, I am conditioned as a businessman!

Two hours l

When I was young, I was always searching for ways to develop my devotion to The Lord. As I have grown older, I not only seek to develop new ways, but how to nourish them as well.

In my search, I seek to understand as well as to grow, as I feel they go hand in hand. I have found there are all kinds of devotees and while learning, I found some on the impersonal path. I was interested to see what the difference was from personalism. Krishna tells us that the personalist seeks to engage himself in l

An Early Essay by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
A pure devotee is just like the Desire-Tree from whom we can have on request everything desireable. This is no myth or bluff but it is actual fact. The devotee can deliver to us the mercy of God and what is not obtainable by one who has got the mercy of God? Therefore the devotees are the most magnanimous in their charitable disposition of mind. They are also the deliverer of the fallen souls and we need to offer our o

"By the grace of the Lord, a devotee can achieve wonderful success simply by willing, but a real devotee does not like that. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught that one should not desire material opulence or material reputation, nor should one try to enjoy material beauty; one should simply aspire to be absorbed in the devotional service of the Lord, even if one does not get liberation but has to continue the process of birth and death unlimitedly. Actually, however, to one who engages in Kṛṣṇ

This year, we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the appearance of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, born in 1896 in Calcutta. Leading up to his Appearance Day or Vyasa-Puja on August 31st, ISKCON News is commorating the occasion with a series of articles glorifying his achievements, contributions and qualities.  

A Mission of Care

One of Srila Prabhupada’s prominent qualities, embodied in his entire mission, was care for all living beings. Out of

How did you come to Krishna consciousness?

Whilst growing up and into adulthood, I was extremely curious and interested to learn about Ayurveda, yoga and the philosophies of various religions. In my head, it was a big mess of different philosophies and teachings, but I was leaning more towards the learnings of various yoga systems from Indian gurus. A bit later, I stumbled upon the definition of bhakti yoga (devotional service). In the beginning, I felt like it wasn’t for me but my feelings sta

If one has drunk the poison of offending a devotee, one should, with that same mouth, drink the life-giving nectar of sincerely praising (and serving) that devotee. Haridasa Thakura says, “If anyone offends a sadhu in a moment of delusion and madness, he must fall at the sadhu’s feet and bitterly repent; weeping with full contrition, he must beg for forgiveness. He should declare himself a fallen wretch in need of a Vaisnava’s grace. A sadhu is very merciful; his heart will soften and he will e

By Mani Manjari Devi Dasi

Paechter (1999) explains that there are two types of curriculums or ways in which teachers transmitted their own views and values to students: the intended hidden curriculum and the unintended hidden curriculum. In the intended hidden curriculum, the teachers are aware of the views and values they are given to their students. In the unintended hidden curriculum teachers are not aware of the views and values they are given to their students; since those views and valu