By Bhakta Bhupendra Solanki
Devotees from a small preaching centre in the UK, ISKCON South London, have taken the spirit of Srila Prabhupada’s words to heart. They have embarked on an ambitious project to show that the spirit of co-operation is well and truly still alive in ISKCON, 125 years after Srila Prabhupada’s appearance.
Kirtan 125 is an offering of 125 hours of kirtan bringing together all the temples and centers in the UK. Live broadcasts on YouTube and Facebook will take place on the
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
The essence of the process that we are following in this movement is the chanting of the holy name. This process is the yuga dharma – the dharma (religion) for this age of Kali. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has made this chanting of the holy name widely available to us and also added his extra mercy. The holy name has been chanted widely throughout the millennia but in this particular millennia, there is the added mercy of the Lord himself. Therefore, now it is very easy and
When I first encountered the Holy Name, it was in a musical situation. There was a workshop in Amsterdam, some jam session with a piano player named Burton Green. He still lives there, in Amsterdam. We somehow or other had a jam session. Burton said, “let’s try to do some ragas.” I had been to India, had gotten some sitar lessons so I learnt a few ragas and played guitar. So we were going to do some ragas. Next moment, he says, “let’s do some mantras.” I said, “Yes, why not.“ Ragas, mantras and
In observance of the World Holy Name Festival.
Srila Prabhupada came to the Western world to give us the holy name. He did so on the order of his spiritual master, with full faith in the holy name, that if people like us would just chant the holy name, everything else would follow.
Srila Prabhupada had a godbrother named Akinchana Krishnadasa Babaji, whom Prabhupada said was a paramahamsa, a liberated soul. Babaji Maharaja approached another godbrother of Prabhupada’s, who had been sent by Sri
English rendition of the beautiful song Kevalastakam (madhuram madhurebhyo api… harer namaiva kevalam.)
Sweetest among sweet
Most auspicious pathway
Holy Name Alone
No Other Way (1)
In all fourteen worlds
Only reality mainstay
Holy Name Alone
No Other Way (2)
True relation is one
Which can convey
Holy Name Alone
No Other Way (3)
Call out in shelter
Before death us slay
Holy Name Alone
No Other Way (4)
Lord eternally dwells
Where saints sing & pray
Holy Name Alone
No Other Way (5)
Mistaken this j
Candramauli Swami:
In the kirtana of the holy name, so much mercy is easily available, but we can miss it if we do not do two things: be eager for it and appreciate it.
Our consciousness is what makes this sangha (spiritual gathering).
We want to glorify Krishna in the form of the holy name.
I pray that I can never forget the value of the association of devotees, especially when we get together for kirtana.
We have our favorite kirtana leaders and our favorite melodies, but these our secondary t
Video: Click here
Let us join together to hear from the very experienced Kirtan leaders from London as they reaffirm the Purpose #4 of ISKCON (To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)
About the Team
Radhika Ranjan Das
Full time working professional who has been practicing Bhakti from a young age. Much of his time is spent in sharing kirtan with diverse audiences. He is a core mana
Let us try to learn the fundamentals of chanting of the Holy Name from Srila Prabhupada as our founder acharya explains its importance, the dos and don’ts and also the remedy if we commit offenses while chanting.
It is recommended that such chanting be performed very loudly. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nārada Muni says that without shame he began traveling all over the world, chanting the holy name of the Lord. Similarly, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised:
tṛṇā
The Festival of the Holy Name Global Pandemic Kirtan ran April 18th to May 3rd 2020
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, ISKCON devotees have adjusted to staying at home by organizing a whole host of creative online events in place of in-person festivals and seminars. One of the most popular virtual events, drawing at least 1.2 million viewers, engaging multiple generations of devotees and inspiring many others to hold their own major online kirtan events to this day, was the Global
I heard a wonderful talk in which Srila Prabhupada—and Srimad-Bhagavatam—glorified the chanting of the holy names. I was present when Srila Prabhupada gave the talk at the Ardha-kumbha-mela in Allahabad on January 31, 1971.
Srila Prabhupada said, “The conclusion is:
na vai sa narakam yati
neksito yama-kinkaraih
yady apy amangalo martyo
visnu-loke mahiyate
[SB 6.2.48] [‘Because this very confidential historical narration has the potency to vanquish all sinful reactions, one who hears or d
Lithuania’s Holy Name Monastery brahmacaris were on a traveling preaching tour, doing 1-2 public Harinama Sankirtana Yajnas per day in different cities across the Baltic countries.
They returned to the monastery late on Sunday (12th of July). During the night at around 1:30 AM on July 14th, one of the brahmacaris heard a cracking sound and went to check it. He saw the temple building on fire. Brahmacaries quickly took the Deities out to safety from the burning building.
H
Let us join together to hear from the very experienced Kirtan leaders from London as they reaffirm the Purpose #4 of ISKCON (To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)
About the Team
Radhika Ranjan Das
Full time working professional who has been practicing Bhakti from a young age. Much of his time is spent in sharing kirtan with diverse audiences. He is a core manager for Kirtan L
In the UK, the Hare Krishna Festival team has stayed at home and stopped all their outreach activities since March 23rd due to COVID-19, a hard time for devotees used to distributing the Holy Name.
From June 1st, however, the UK government has begun to ease restrictions slightly. Up to six people are now allowed to gather in public or private outdoor spaces without wearing masks, as long as they remain two meters (six feet) apart.
The allowances have spurred the Hare K
What is namahatta other than the marketplace of the holy name?
Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote this book where he explains that this marketplace of the holy name is widely available and it can be purchased for the price of one’s faith.
He said there are those who are looking after the marketplace, those who are supplying the marketplace, and there are personalities who look after different marketplaces and sometimes come to supply that marketplace with fresh inspiration.
Then he describes that he
Two hundred devotees from all over the U.S. are expected to attend “The Living Name Retreat Part 3: The Science of Achieving Full Absorption in the Holy Names of Krishna” from April 9th to 12th in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, and spots are filling up fast.
The retreat will be the only chance to see facilitator and ISKCON guru Sacinandana Swami in North America this year, as he will be canceling all other U.S. engagements, including Sadhu Sanga, to focus on projects in Germ
Gita Mela is an event organised by ISKCON Mayapur dedicated solely for interacting with the tourists. A winter festival that is held from December to January pays close attention to the guests by giving them valuable association of the devotees and showing them the importance of Bhagavad Gita.
Also called the big ‘fair’ of knowledge, the guests are allowed inside the Gita Mela Campus to see the big dioramas exposing Srimad Bhagavad Gita’s main teachings, they attend the question and answer sess
My dear Hari Nam Prabhu:
By the grace of Shrila Prabhupada
and my shiska gurus who represent
Lord Chaitanya and Nitai,
(who have brought you in Kali-yuga)
I have been introduced to you
in the process of japa and kirtana.
With whatever humility and gratitude
I can embody, I thank you for
remaining with me over the years,
many of which were quite poor spiritually--
yet you somehow enabled me to keep chanting.
I have reasoned that due to my chanting
I was able to remain at least some type
of devot
Is there an evidence that the Holy Name is still powerful nowadays, in 2019?
Being the doubtful person that I am, Krishna removed all doubts from my mind in the last few weeks.
In 2018 we purchased a house for helping devotees with accommodation alongside facilitating a Krishna Conscious Airbnb, that house is also called Yashoda House Detroit.
When we got the house in 2018, it seemed like it’s just going to be another material struggle.
But this year, a miracle has happened that proved that the
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)
I heard a wonderful talk in which Srila Prabhupada and Srimad-Bhagavatam glorified the chanting of the holy names. I was present when Srila Prabhupada gave the talk at the Ardha-kumbha-mela in Allahabad on January 31, 1971.
Srila Prabhupada said, “The conclusion is:
na vai sa narakam yati
neksito yama-kinkaraih
yady apy amangalo martyo
visnu-loke mahiyate
[SB 6.2.48]
[‘Because this very confidential historical narration has the potency to vanquish all sinful reactions, one who hears or describ
