By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
ISKCON New Vrindaban hosted a three-day Women’s Retreat on October 12-15 with the theme “Trust Your Intuition.” The event aimed to infuse joy, rejuvenation, and relaxation into the weekend, featuring an array of workshops, guided meditations, daily yoga sessions, self-care activities, and engaging experiences such as a scavenger hunt, dance lessons, and a distinctive food and drink encounter.
Welcoming over 50 women from across the US and Canada, the diverse a
The 6th annual MAN-tra Men’s Retreat will be returning to the Holy Dham of New Vrindaban, West Virginia, USA, Friday, September 29th thru Sunday, October 1st.
With an aim to empower devotee men to integrate Krishna consciousness into all aspects of their lives, the MAN-tra Retreat was conceived by H.H. Bhaktimarga Swami and H.G. Anuttama Prabhu in 2018. Every year the retreat features a variety of special guest speakers covering topics relevant to devotee men, as well as dramas, ecstatic kirtan
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Their Lordships Sri Sri Kisora-Kisori
My wife and I were living in Madison Wisconsin in the early 1970s. I had gone there to join an experimental theater group. In 1973 we decided to move to the Evanston temple. I arrived early, just a few days before the June installation of the Deities, Their Lordships Sri Sri Kisora-Kisori.
Actually my wife and I visited Chicago several times to see the devotees.
First in 1971 when Bahulasva and several brahmaca
Nearly 100 fresh-faced devotees in their late teens and twenties flocked to New Vrindaban on Mother’s Day weekend for the Vaishnava Arts Festival on May 12-14. The largely Western-raised crowd enthusiastically attended mangala arati, performed kitchen and cleaning seva, and participated in the inspiring sessions seamlessly – although most had been practicing Krishna consciousness for less than five years, and some only a few months.
These bhaktas and bhaktins had something special in common: t
By Thomas Haribol
Fifteen members of the New Vrindaban community recently participated in an intensive four-day Devotee Care Education and Training Course led by Jai Nitai Dasa and his wife, Bhava Bhakti Devi Dasi. Previous to their Devotee Care service, the presenters served in the ISKCON London temple for 25 years. Fourteen of those years, Jai Nita served as Temple President.
The course is a ministry of Devotee Care International, an initiative of the GBC. Its goal is to “embed the culture o
Amburish cooking Sweet Rice in Pitts at Bahulaban in New Vrindaban 1982
Few prasadam stories from New Vrindaban’s history are as legendary as those of the late Amburish Dasa’s sweet rice and Pitambar Dasi’s ice cream.
Straight from the cow barn and prepared by the cowherd couple with deep love and devotion, they were much-craved treats in the austere lives of New Vrindaban’s early devotees.
Neither Amburish nor Pitambar had any cooking or cow-care experience before becoming devotees. Amburis
By Thomas Haribol
Springtime in New Vrindaban is like stepping into a colorfully painted landscape, and Mother’s Day weekend will unite its beauty with some of our movement’s most talented artists, musicians, writers, and creators in the second annual Vaishnava Arts Festival, May 12-14th, 2023.
Fittingly, the idea for the event came through the creative collaboration of HG Kalakantha Prabhu and HG Anuradha Dasi. “Coming from a background of Waldorf School’s pedagogy, I’m always looking for w
New Vrindaban’s outdoor Gaura Nitai deities are being carefully restored thanks to our generous donors
Restoration of the prominent and iconic Gaura Nitai deities began at New Vrindaban in the spring of 2022, led by Balaramshakti das and others. In October, Rukmavati devi dasi took over the project, starting with a surgical pressure washing to clean their surfaces and continue the painstaking process of removing old paint.
The giant deities were designed and created by a team of devotees, inclu
Tropically settled on the southern coast of the Sunshine State, Delray Beach is a welcome home to many- especially those looking to catch some waves or connect body, mind, and spirit! A month before the Bhakti Lifestyle Retreat, five New Vrindaban devotees had scoped out the area during a short fall vacation earlier. At the time, they didn’t realize Krishna would soon place them back in Delray Beach to gift a spiritual revolution to the salty-haired yogis they had crossed paths with- but they w
Board members and residents visit Vrindaville, a new development of 1-4 acre land plots that devotees can purchase for building homes.
The semi-annual joint board meetings with ECO-Vrindaban, ISKCON New Vrindaban, and the Village Council took place on October 21-23rd. Members met in multiple sessions to discuss the achievements of 2022 and speak about initial plans for 2023. “The combined board meeting this year was a very positive experience. New Vrindaban is unique in that it’s managed by thr
Written By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications
Archival Research by Chaitanya Mangala Dasa
ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada visited New Vrindaban four times, giving the devotees there his association and dispensing practical advice for simple living that remains invaluable not only to New Vrindaban, but to all ISKCON rural farm communities to this day.
During his first visit, running for over a month from May 20th to June 23rd 1969, Srila Prabhupada encouraged the sma
By Khusboo Basan
Situated at New Vrindaban, West Virginia is Srila Prabhupada’s smriti shrine or memorial shrine – Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold. The beautiful palace that was constructed by the disciples of Srila Prabhupada in 1973 as an offering of love to their spiritual master.
Over time, large parts of the concrete domes, outer wall, balustrade railing, and steps started to deteriorate, sections of wrought iron rusted irreparably, and the roof sustained leaks.
In 2009, a Palace Restoration
By Khusboo Basan
Launch of the First-ever Vaishnava Arts Event at the Festival of Inspiration
If you are feeling stagnant, want to learn a new skill, or just want to have a great time, then this Mother’s Day New Vrindaban has something very special for you!
Announcing the first-ever VAISHNAVA ARTS FESTIVAL (at the Festival of Inspiration) from Friday, May 6th through Sunday, May 8th, 2022.
Art is a crucial part of any culture, and in Vaishnava culture, all art is meant for the pleasure of Krish
The winter retreats offered by the sacred village of New Vrindaban, West Virginia were a wonderful endeavor. The four-night mini-retreats ran every week from Thursday through Sunday, starting on January 5th until the end of March. It opened many avenues for newcomers and experienced devotees alike.
For new devotees, there were Japa meditation classes, lessons on how to wear tilak, and sessions on how to perform achaman- purification ritual. The newbies were also welcomed to meet residents of Ne
By Madhava Smullen
In response to the success of its summertime Sunday Brunches at Prabhupada’s Palace Rose Garden, ISKCON New Vrindaban is set to offer a series of winter retreats that will give newcomers as well as devotees a chance to refresh and recharge in a spiritual setting. The four-night mini-retreats will run every week from Thursday through Sunday, starting on January 5th until the end of March.
These will be preceded by the West Virginia farm community’s annual Christmas retreat, fro
By Madhava Smullen
Prabhupada’s Palace at New Vrindaban, West Virginia – Srila Prabhupada’s preeminent smriti samadhi, or memorial shrine, in the West – is getting a brand new roof and beautiful new domes as part of its ongoing restoration.
Devotees began building the Palace themselves back in 1973 as a residence for Srila Prabhupada, when he expressed a desire to retire to New Vrindaban and translate his books. Young, inexperienced, and unpaid, they trained themselves in construction and artisa
The new Devotee Care Team started in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in April 2021, is providing resources, assistance and association for residents of the large rural community.
The team is run by Lilasuka Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who first moved to New Vrindaban in 1980 and has served there as a day school teacher, communications director and handcrafts store owner; and Beverly Nava, who came in 2016 and has served as restaurant manager and HR representative.
While
By Madhava Smullen
The new Devotee Care Team started in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in April 2021, is providing resources, assistance and association for residents of the large rural community.
The team is run by Lilasuka Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who first moved to New Vrindaban in 1980 and has served there as a day school teacher, communications director and handcrafts store owner; and Beverly Nava, who came in 2016 and has served as restaurant manager and HR representative.
While
By Madhava Smullen
To celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON New Vrindaban in West Virginia is set to hold the Prabhupada 125 Tournament from Friday September 24th to Sunday September 26th.
The tournament, which will take place at New Vrindaban a month after Prabhupada’s August 31st Appearance Day, will be open to all and will feature a series of exciting prizes for the winner and runners-up. Contestants should register here, and will have nearl
This past weekend, New Vrindaban hosted hundreds of devotees for its 24-Plus Kirtan event. It was the first major festival held in over a year since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and devotees traveled from all over North America to be a part of it. Among them was a group of nine Vaishnavis from Krishna House in Gainesville, Florida. Most of them were new devotees who had joined during the pandemic and had never been to New Vrindaban, or for that matter, to any major ISKCON festival.
To re
