My earliest memories of religion in this life are of my father (my first guru) teaching me about the Great Spirit worshiped by American Indians (“Wakan-Tanka” Who also undergoes quadruple expansion just like the all pervading yet personal Vasudev). He also taught me that I should be respectful of other people’s beliefs irrespective of race and creed. And never look down upon anyone. Ever.
Even though his mother, my paternal grandmother was a devout Baptist (my maternal grandmother was a devout
Crowds of revelers in Dublin, Ireland enthusiastically joined devotees in dancing and chanting the Holy Name to ring in 2020 this New Year’s Eve.
The exhilarating experience has been a tradition for ISKCON Ireland for over three decades, and is well known to the Dublin public.
Started by enthusiastic younger devotees in the early days who wanted to bring the maha-mantra to large crowds, it saw record numbers of devotees participate during the late Tribhuvanatha Prabhu’s tenure in Ireland. For
Worse than being alone is to be with a person who doesn’t like you; too many people have experienced the anguish and chaos caused by an incompatible marriage. Such travesties are systematically avoided in Vaishnava culture because, besides training and restraint in behaviour prior to marriage, all care is taken in matchmaking: “Formerly, boys and girls of similar dispositions were married; the similar natures of the boy and girl were united in order to make them happy.” (SB 3.21.15) “The centra
On 8th Dec. 2019 became a red-letter day in the history of Sri Sri Radha Madhav Temple, ISKCON ROHINI. The temple observed not only ‘Mokshada Ekadashi’ but also witnessed its first-ever ‘Kirtan Mela’.
Month-long preparations fructified into a grand harinaam mela with the slogan ‘CHANT FROM YOUR HEART’ in the presence of exalted devotees from all around the world. As the temple is in the final stages of its completion, the mela was dedicated to its grand opening in 2020. With ‘Adhivas Ceremony’
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)
Excerpt from the Bhagavad-Gita As it Is 7.7:
TEXT 7
mattah parataram nanyat
kincid asti dhananjaya
mayi sarvam idam protam
sutre mani-gana iva
SYNONYMS
mattah—beyond Myself; parataram—superior; na—not; anyat—anything else; kincit—something; asti—there is;dhananjaya—O conquerer of wealth;mayi—in Me; sarvam—all that be; idam—which we see; protam—strung; sutre—on a thread; mani-ganah—pearls; iva—likened.
TRANSLATION
O conquerer of wealth [Arjuna], there is no T
From Back to Godhead
The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control.
Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic means for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions.
The integration of these three – prayers composed poetically and sung individually or collectively – is a powerful and joyful way to channel human emotions towards the divine. In the world’
The first Australian Kulimela, held from late December 2010 to early January 2011, was a major success, drawing around 300 kulis for seminars, devotional entertainment, kirtan, water sports and nature exploration.
The same team has now scheduled a ten-year reunion event, which will run for five days from October 1st to 5th 2020. As before, it will take place at New Govardhana, the picturesque one-thousand-acre farm at Eungella near Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales.
By Nilachala Caitanya Dasa
Here is the yatra going on at Vrindavan. 1000 Nepali devotees yatra with HG Patri Prabhu at Vrindavan. Yatra Stories. Wonderful Kirtan and Katha. It’s super thrilling! Special Address and warm welcome to Nepali Devotees from Member of Parliament (Mathura), Smt. Hema Malini ji. We are really honored by your loving reciprocation and devotees of Nepal will always remember this special day.
The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Brahma Purana and Brahmanda Purana are other two Puranic texts that deal with Ganesha.
Lord Ganesh is known as the son of the Shiva and Parvati, and is the god of luck and of “opening the way.” That is why many people pray to Ganesh before starting a new project, in order to proceed with as few obstacles as possible.
Ganesha became the Lord (Isha) of all existing beings (Gana
From Back to Godhead
Though conceived of in various ways, ultimately the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person who shares intimate loving exchanges with the best of His devotees.
By Srila Jiva Goswami
Here we present an excerpt from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust edition of Srila Jiva Goswami’s Sri Tattva-sandarbha. Jiva Goswami was one of the famed Six Goswamis, leading contemporary followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Tattva-sandarbha is the first of six sandarbhas (treatises) explaining the ph
Janmastami is Krishna’s day. More than any other day of the year we should make an effort to meditate on Him on this day. Meditation means to engage in contemplation or reflection. In Bhakti Yoga we contemplate upon Krishna through the use of all the senses – which makes it a most enjoyable practice. In sanskrit it’s called ‘kevala ananda-kanda’ – the path of happiness.
The following list of the 64 qualities of Krishna is a delightful source of meditation. It is taken from the Nectar of Devotio
From Back to Godhead
Through the ages Western man has alternately
pondered or ignored death, the most
persistent yet least understood fact of our existence.
In the year A.D. 138, the great Roman emperor Hadrian lay dying in a villa overlooking the Bay of Naples. For many years he had been the mighty ruler of the Western world, governing an empire that stretched for thousands of miles. In the course of his eventful life as soldier/statesman, he encountered diverse peoples of many customs and fai
“Shoot him,” said the man with the crowbar. Kshudhi felt the cold metal against his skull and chanted Hare Krishna like never before. His nimble nineteenyear old body was tucked under the bed. The other four men with guns hesitated. They attacked the house knowing that a Johannesburg vegetable merchant had kept cash there, but were they ready to kill for it?
Less than two years before, Kshudhi had purchased a copy of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya from a book store in Los Angeles. The book introdu
How often you shout at your friends not to tag you on Facebook photos?
Did you ever had thoughts of wearing burka?
Did you ever fasted to loose weight & then after 1-2 days because of hunger ate whole fridge then sat & wept?
If you practice spirituality, did ever your yearning for God increase seeing a fresh line on your face?
Or did you once went out with your beloved. You both enjoyed & captured lots of photos. Both of you were so happy. But the next day you saw your photos to remember the pr
It was great to go over to Lombok, which is the next island over from Bali, to visit the devotees. There are two centres there, one being a nice facility in the city of Mataram and the other our temple about 30 minutes drive away.
I was able to attend two programs, one on Saturday night in the city and the other at Sunday midday at our temple. The devotees here are very enthusiastic and were eager to come for kirtan, lecture, arati and prasadam.
Active Listening
Adapted, with permission, from The Art of Teaching, by HG Bhurijana Prabhu
Who Owns the Problem?
The first step in trying to solve a problem is to identify who owns it, because you need to approach the situation differently if you own the problem or not. The owner is whoever is tangibly and concretely affected by the problem.
If the problem belongs to the other person, it is appropriate to listen, trying to understand exactly what is going on. If you own the problem, the counse
On this day lord Sri Krishna became a qualified cowherd. Before this day, he was a keeper of the calves.
The Killing of Dhenukasura:
“Thus Sri Krishna, along with His elder brother Balarama, passed the childhood age known as kaumara and stepped into the age of pauganda, from the sixth year up to the tenth. At that time, all the cowherd men conferred and agreed to give those boys who had passed their fifth year charge of the cows in the pasturing ground. Given charge of the cows, Krishna and Bal
Much can be said about compassion, and although we’ve covered many of its different facets, there is still much more that can be said, specifically in terms of our relationships with each other as practitioners of Krsna consciousness.
This whole theme expands from one line in The Nectar of Devotion—that one should not give unnecessary trouble to any living entity. This is a principle of Krsna consciousness that every Vaisnava should aspire to achieve because, as we say every day, vancha-kalpa
There is a lot of emphasis nowadays on the need for love and trust among devotees. We can cite the six loving exchanges between us. We can also use the strength of the often quoted, “your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate.” In spite of our efforts to promote this ideal, can we ever expect a situation where love and trust dominates in all of our devotee interactions?
Are we too big as an organisation to assume that this will happen? Can each of us get by simply by being polite to ea
