Last Saturday, April 12th, the St. Augustine Rathayatra filled the downtown streets with melodious kirtan and a joyous atmosphere. During the procession, the beautifully decorated chariot carrying Lord Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra was accompanied by the Hare Krsna mantra, graceful youth dancers, and colorful flags and flowers calling the attention of the spectators who lined the route.
After the parade, the festivities continued with more chanting and the distribution of sumptuous prasada
By Dr. Prasanna Tadi
Professionals from across the nation will be gathering at the serene Veda Foundation in DeLand, Florida, January 17 -20, 2025, Martin Luther King Jr. long weekend, for the 7th Annual Conference of the BMA NA, inspired by the divine instructions and desire of HDG A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and HH Bhakti Charu Swami. The event will span four days, beginning with registration on Friday evening (January 17th) to Monday (January 20th). This retreat is for everyone, not
According to science, compassion is not something that we are born with or that we have or don’t have; it is cultivated by deliberate effort. In November 2024, Bhaktivedanta Academy’s 7th-10th grade students in Alachua, Florida, were engaged in a month-long project entitled “108 Random Acts of Kindness.” To see highlights of the initiative, click here.
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Source: https://iskconnew
By Prishni Sutton
This month, the Bhaktivedanta Institute held its third Richard L. Thompson Lecture Series on Thompson’s book, Parallels: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena, initially published as Alien Identities (1993).
The event featured presentations by Michael Cremo (Drutakarma Das), Christopher Beetle (Krishna Kripa Das), and Bob Cohen (Brahmatirtha Das), along with a small party held in honor of Sadaputa’s birthday.
The day began with a talk by Michael Cremo describing his day
The Bhaktivedanta Medical Association – US (BMA-US) will be holding its 6th annual BMA Conference at Deland, Florida, on February 2nd-4th, 2024.
Their purpose is to provide a spiritual atmosphere where devotees involved in the healthcare field can meet and bond with one another and brainstorm ways to help our devotee communities at large. Part of the global Bhaktivedanta Medical Association, THE BMA-US held its previous 2020 retreat in Houston with over 100 participants from all across North Am
By Lila Sakti Devi Dasi
The dedicated efforts of ISKCON devotees from New Ramana Reti in Alachua, FL, have culminated in a significant act of compassion, as a sizeable humanitarian aid shipment has finally reached the Vaishnava communities in Ukraine.
The situation in Ukraine posed challenges for the shipment, with the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war disrupting regular transport routes. As a result, essential supplies, including deity worship paraphernalia, incense,
By Madhava Smullen
With this holiday season upon us, devotees from Alachua as well as from Gainesville’s Krishna House, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine participated in the St. Augustine Christmas Parade in Florida on December 4th.
Hare Krishna devotees were the first part of the parade in 2012, for which they received the first prize trophy for best float. After receiving a trophy in 2013 as well, they have participated annually since only missing three years including 2019 and 2020.
The parade
By Madhava Smullen
Last weekend devotees celebrated the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s 1971 vist to Gainesville, Florida, as well as his 125th birth anniversary with a three-day festival. The event, which ran from July 29th to 31st, included speeches from pioneer devotees as well as appreciative words from the Mayor of Gainesville and the President of the University of Florida.
On July 29th, the day on which Srila Prabhupada gave his arrival address at the UF Plaza of the Americas, the p
Video: Click here
Brahmatirtha: “…as mayor of Gainesville, there’s many challenges in this day of social media where the like button determines what is right and what is wrong. a little discretion. He has to deal with all of these contentions and he deals with it with grace, with dignity and patience that I do not understand. Just a dear person whose values are true and I say this in the core of my heart truly represent the very of the city of Gainesville. I’m very honored to have had him here w
By Kasisvar Das
Florida is (pre-Covid) a season of Rathayatra festival parades that take over the crowded beaches or towns, typically with eight events across the state: at the Gasparilla festival in Tampa, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Clearwater Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Tampa Bay, and Orlando.
This year, fewer events are scheduled with the Daytona Beach parade just passed on June 26th, and the Clearwater Beach event is upcoming on Saturday, September 18th. It wi
By Kasisvar Das
On June 26th over five hundred devotees from Alachua and other ISKCON communities gathered in Daytona Beach, a picturesque vacation place in Central Florida, for joining the Ratha Yatra Festival. It was a long-awaited event indeed.
The Covid-19 pandemic delayed everything in the world and many festivals and events were placed on hold for months. Millions of people have been pulled out of their comfort zone to realize what Bhagavad-Gita calls the reality of this temporary miserab
By Madhava Smullen
The Bhaktivedanta Academy in Alachua, Florida, a thriving spiritually-centered Pre-K through 10th grade Montessori and International Baccalaureate school, is seeking applicants for its new internship program for Pre-K and Elementary teachers.
An informal internship program has already been running for some time; however, with the school now looking to double its capacity over the next several years, a formalized program is being launched to prepare for future growth. Beyond b
By Madhava Smullen
A devotee men’s group started in Alachua, Florida in 1992 has offered both spiritual and practical support, as well as close friendships, for members over the past 28 years.
Several current members have been part of the group – named Sadhu Sanga Men’s Group – from the very beginning, while the rest joined between fifteen and twenty-five years ago. Starting when they were young men, the group of householder devotees (both Prabhupada disciples and grand disciples) now range
In the 1970s Srila Prabhupada spoke forcefully against the philosophical materialism which for some time has functioned as the dominant philosophy behind the sciences, and most other academic fields (1). Prabhupada insisted that consciousness and life itself could not be reduced to the unconscious mechanics of material objects and processes. As a direct result of this teaching that “life comes from life” and not from dead matter, the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) was formed
By Prabhupada-priya Dasi and Guru Gauranga Das
On March 11, 2020 the University of Florida (UF) suspended on-campus classes and urged students to go home in light of public health concerns related to COVID-19. Several days later, ISKCON Gainesville (also known as “Krishna House”) suspended operation of its “Krishna Lunch” program.
Racking their brains to find a way to keep “Krishna Lunch”going in conformity with public health guidelines, Krishna House president Srutisagara Das and his managemen
Gaura Mandali, a new Kirtan Academy for children – with plans to introduce adult classes soon – has launched in the New Raman Reti ISKCON community in Alachua, Florida.
The project’s director and, so far, sole teacher Thakura Das, grew up in a setting perfect for meditating on the Holy Names, and had a strong attraction to kirtan from early on.
Born and raised on the Nova Gokula farm in Brazil, simple living and high thinking was the norm for Thakura.
“My dad was the cow
First established by Brahmananda Das in the 1970s, ISKCON of Tallahassee, Florida closed down before restarting in a new building in the 1990s. After struggling with financial and organizational challenges in more recent times, the center is once again getting a new lease of life with a new name – the Tallahassee Krishna House – and a new young president, Brajananda Das.
Originally from West Palm Beach in South Florida, Brajananda, 31, joined ISKCON in Gainesville in 2012 and served as a full
On January 9-12, 2020, thirty devotee attorneys, jurists and law students hailing from the United Kingdom, Russia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Hungary, Lithuania, Brazil, Nigeria, Uganda, Singapore and the United States attended the 2020 ISKCON Global Conference of Devotee Attorneys at the Historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, Florida. The term “devotee attorney” refers to any devotee or friend of Krishna, who is an attorney, jurist or law student.
Created by the GBC Body at its 2018 GBC Annual
The Festival of the Holy Name, an annual community staple in Alachua, Florida is celebrating its tenth anniversary starting this week with an incredible ten days of kirtan.
The festival began in 2010, when second generation devotees Govinda Syer, Gaura Shakti Allin and Govinda Cordua decided to create an immersive experience for Alachua community members who couldn’t make it to kirtan events around the country.
The team, under the banner of the Kuli Mela Association (KMA)
By Guru Gauranga das
Venue: The Historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, Florida
Date of Conference: January 9-13, 2020
Gainesville – Sept. 17, 2019 – The ISKCON Law Department has announced that it will host the 1st ISKCON Global Conference of Devotee Attorneys at the Historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, Florida (USA) on January 9-13, 2020.
According to ISKCON’s general counsel, Devakinandan Prabhu, the 2020 ISKCON Global Conference of Devotee Attorneys will offer devotee attorneys, jurists a
