In 1999, for ISKCON TV, Shyamasundar Prabhu recorded a series of experiences he had with George Harrison and with Srila Prabhupada:
“Srila Prabhupada treated George Harrison like an old, old friend. I spent some time with George this summer. . . . [He] has reached a very high level of spiritual development, I am happy to say. He chants Hare Krishna every day. And he is totally serene, as he has accepted life as it is. He has actually achieved a much higher level of self-realization than I can
Karuna Sindhu and I took to a walk to Mount Sinai Hospital to visit one of our aging residential monks, Jay Sri. His physical condition is complicated. We were surprised to see his spiritual nature despite what he is going through at his age of 77. He has lost a lot of weight, but was hankering for blueberries, cheese, and something else milky. He was happy to see us.
Karuna and I had attended a five-hour seminar on Vaishnava etiquette. All there appreciated the
You may remember the song “I Just Called to Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder. The lyrics describe an unexpected phone call in which Wonder expresses his love—not prompted by any special occasion, but simply from the heart.
It was a major international hit, and remains Wonder’s best-selling single to date, reaching number one in 28 countries worldwide.
This song reminds of how a devotee calls out to Krishna (through the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra) simply to express love for Him, withou
Through bhakti-yoga we can finally reunite with the person we’ve wanted all along.
The Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, discusses dhyana-yoga, or meditative yoga. Texts 13-14 say: “One should hold one’s body, neck, and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.”
Srila Prabhupada’s purport to these
What do you say when your child or a student asks you where birds and other animals came from? If you are educating and teaching them on a Vedic basis, you might quote to them Bhagavad-gita 10.6, where Krishna answers thus: “The seven great sages and before them the four other great sages and the Manus [progenitors of mankind] come from Me, born from My mind, and all the living beings populating the various planets descend from them.”
Perhaps you will also show interested young people the relate
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 19 January 2015, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.10.23)
Misers hold on to whatever wealth they have and do not want to share, and the result is they are being deprived. So here we are in Europe, we brought wealth from all over the world. We got it by hook or Captain Cook, somehow or other, we brought it in. Here it is and now we are sitting on it. But gradually, it is running out. London is still going strong but if you go a bit North, people are poor! It
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 19 January 2015, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.10.23)
Misers hold on to whatever wealth they have and do not want to share, and the result is they are being deprived. So here we are in Europe, we brought wealth from all over the world. We got it by hook or Captain Cook, somehow or other, we brought it in. Here it is and now we are sitting on it. But gradually, it is running out. London is still going strong but if you go a bit North, people are poor! It
Over the years modern science has speculated and researched to find out the number of species on earth, the method that main stream science has adopted is experimental which is commonly known as “seeing is believing”, but without going much in detail regarding the imperfectness of this method, which is based on imperfect senses of the human being and imperfectness of the instruments developed by the human beings by these imperfect senses, it is extremely difficult to understand or gauge the vast
In January the two most sacred dhams in the world were the venues for ISKCON’s #1 and #2 book distribution teams. Vrindavan was #1 with 131,338 book points, and Mayapur was #2 with 120,443 book points.
A big reason these teams rack up such huge scores is the huge numbers of people who visit these holy places and buy Srila Prabhupada’s books. Also, both these temples field fired-up traveling sankirtana parties (like Mayapur’s ten big bus parties).
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ISKCON’s official websites and social media channels have transformed the organization’s global outreach, creating unprecedented opportunities for spiritual connection in the digital age. With tens of millions of views across platforms, ISKCON has successfully leveraged digital technologies to spread Krishna consciousness, foster community engagement, and provide spiritual resources to devotees worldwide. This digital ecosystem has become particularly vital in connecting geographically dispersed
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
Important places to visit in and around Kanpur:
1. Sri Haridev Ji Temple at Budhauli Village, Kanpur Dehat
(Useful information: It is two-hour drive from Kanpur in the remote village of Budhauli in Kanpur Dehat district.)
2. Sri Kesavadev Ji Temple at Rasdhan, Kanpur Dehat
(Useful information: It is two-hour drive from Kanpur in the remote village of Rasdhan in Kanpur Dehat district. Rasdhan is 3 km from Budhauli.)
3. Sri Jagannath Mandira – Monsoon Temple at Behta Bujurg, Bhitargaon
(Useful inf
I made a visit to the Mayapura district hospital to see for myself the expansion and to offer encouragement to staff and the visionaries behind the project. The project manager is Hari Lila, a good friend. When he came to Canada for a fundraising tour, I introduced him to Scarborough Bluffs off of Lake Ontario. It was summertime. The weather was beautiful and the water really clean. We played the game ‘Hari Ball’ with the boys of Bhakti Academy. We really enjoyed ourselves.
Srivasa Thakura, one of the members of the Pancha-tattva, lived in Navadvipa-dhama in Mayapur, near the residence of Jagannatha Mishra and Sacidevi, where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared. Later, when Lord Chaitanya began His sankirtana movement in Navadvipa-dhama, He and His other most confidential associates would meet at Srivasa-angana, the home of Srivasa Thakura, and have kirtan throughout the night. The kirtans at Srivasa-angana were ecstatic, and only the most intimate devotees of Sri Ch
After a long time, we once again had the joy of celebrating the divine twins, HG Jahnanivas Prabhu and our beloved Sripad Pankajanghri Prabhu, just as we always have in the past. This year, on the 19th, the atmosphere was nothing short of blissful—filled with heartfelt offerings, cherished memories, and the ever-present mercy of Sri Sri Radha Madhava as we celebrated their 81st Vyasa Puja!
Seeing the radiant smile of HG Jahnanivas Prabhu was a sight that warmed every heart. It was as if the love
Our best audience to date is the group of students from SMIS. This beautiful flock of over 300 enthusiasts graced the auditorium. Oh, how they love the story of the dwarf avatar! The performers were in top form. They repeated their excellent performance (I don’t want to say ‘perfect’ because you can always tweak or polish – improve). It was an evening show.
I asked the young students what their favourite portion of the drama was. As usual, that is very individual, whether it was the b
Gleanings from the prayers of Yamunacharya
By Rishabh Verma
Servant at ISKCON Gold Coast Australia
We often hear from devotees that the aim of one’s life is to attain Prema for Krsna so that one is eternally able to serve Him with enthusiasm. In doing so, one is often reminded of their constitutional position as a Jiva subservient to the pleasure of the Supreme Lord. From the aspect of the Jiva, there seems to be no question about their constitutional relationship with Krsna. However, to fully b
It was kind for one devotee to stop with his scooter and offer me a lift to go a few metres up to a restricted area. I thanked him for the offer, but declined, as I often do on the road. My ‘no thanks’ was followed by my explanation.
“Our guru, Prabhupada, did not care for such conveyance in Mayapura. He told one of his disciples to sell his scooter right after he purchased it. It was nice and quiet here for a while. Outside of trucks that bring in supplies, people walked or cycled. T
Gargamuni Swami, a young man in his early twenties was alone, a traveling mendicant. He had recently arrived in Gainesville from Miami where he had been teaching with three other sannyasis. They had decided to go separate ways, he making his way up to Gainesville.
Far from being cosmopolitan like his hometown of New York, Gainesville was a small college town, with only two main streets and a paltry excuse for a downtown. However, in the last couple of years it had become a bastion of progressiv
Russian devotees have a strong presence here, not so much in administrative posts, but physically and culturally. Every day, without fail, you are bound to see and hear a group of musical Russians engaged in kirtan for the public’s pleasure. For our drama’s opening acts, we have a group of young female dancers. Their teacher, also Russian, asked me to give a gift to each performer, a token of their graduation. Young Vanamali, who does some martial arts display, is very Russian, and is also i
