In mid September as the summer drew to a close, 55 of the Manor youth gathered in the Sri Krishna Haveli to meet old friends and new at the aptly named “Reconnect” event. The gathering saw both Manor nursery and Gurukul alumni, and many others who have also been born and raised in the Manor community, get together to engage in energising activities, deep discussion, rocking kirtan and delicious prasadam. This event came about after a longing of the youth to gather more frequently and connect mo
youth (12)
On saturday this past week our boys youth group came back from an ecstatic Harinam sankirtan tour through southern Sweden that lasted 12 days, we were lead by Sandipani Muni Krishna Das in book distribution and Harinam while Paramesvari mataji coordinated the trip and made sure we had prasadam everyday.
It was truly a special adventure filled with blessings from Lord Chaitanya, Srila Prabhupada and senior devotees.
The boys are very enthusiastic and inspired, especially by Sandipani Prabhu, who
By Madhava Smullen
In honor of Srila Prabhupada’s 125th birth anniversary, a special Zoom series for teens and youth will run this August, in which Prabhupada disciples will share memories of serving the ISKCON Founder-Acharya during their own youth.
Sitalila Dasi of ISKCON Sydney, Australia, a mentor and certified counselor who helps run Sunday Schools and youth camps, is organizing the “Prabhupada Special Series” with her husband Sumedha Gauranga Das. The two are co-directors of Teen Tweet
Husband and wife Radhe Radhe Devi Dasi and Nandanandana Das, second generation devotees and disciples of Bir Krishna Goswami, are running a series of online kirtan festivals to bring devotees around the world together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Born in South India, Nandanandana attended Vrindavan Gurukula; while Radhe Radhe was born and raised in Vrindavan and later relocated to Australia to establish the Bhakti Centre on the Gold Coast with her father Jamalarjuna Das.
Before COVID-19, t
By Madhava Smullen
What leads one to become a Hare Krishna youth leader, initiated brahmana, real estate and food company manager, GBC trainee, and yes, a magician, all before the age of thirty-five?
For Dattatreya Yogesvara Das, it began with family. His mother Shaktimata Dasi, who joined ISKCON in 1973, worked for the BBT in the early days; his father Bhutabhavana Das, a Prabhupada disciple, was one of the pioneers who first brought Krishna consciousness to Africa.
What’s more, as the el
By Madhava Smullen
The Vice Principal of an ISKCON school in Dallas, Texas, is offering online bhakti courses for teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching them The Nectar of Instruction using Srila Prabhupada’s purports and Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Along with her other classes, Gopi Gita Schomaker of TKG Academy shifted her Bhakti Leadership series to the video conferencing platform Zoom when COVID-19 struck in March. Current online courses include “The C
While chanting in the temple in Vrindavan during Kartik I overheard some boys talking in Marathi. I approached them and asked where they were from in Maharashtra. Their village was Khutalwadi in Kolhapur district, the place of the Mahalakshmi temple, an ancient pilgrimage site in Kolhapur city. By the Lord’s arrangement our Maharashtra Padayatra was about to go to Kolhapur in the coming days, so I took their addresses and contact numbers. They said, “Please come to our village when your padayat
In August 2009, at the tender age of 8, Jagannath moved to Sridham Mayapur with his Mum. He was admitted to Sri Mayapur International School, grade 2 class. His natural attraction to the holy Dham was instant!
Jagannath was an all-rounder from his childhood – he actively participated in all sports (cricket, football, basketball, volleyball & table tennis) as well as devotional activities such as playing mrdanga, harmonium, kartals and singing. He was also blessed academically.
In 2012 Jagannath
By Madhava Smullen
The latest tour by ISKCON Youth Ministry saw youth help put on four Rathayatras in the Caribbean, and some become inspired to take on active roles in the Hare Krishna Movement.
A total of about twenty-five youth participated throughout the tour, with fourteen from around the US being joined by about five local youth in both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Ages ranged from seventeen to twenty-four, with the tour running from December 14th to January 5th.
Three Rathaya
By Madhava Smullen
Now in its sixth year, Brazil’s Radha Krishna Camp will run from January 20th to 26th 2020, with a bilingual program in both English and Portuguese that is open to international youth.
The camp will be organized by Brazil’s Vaishnava Youth Secretary Vaikuntha Murti Das and his wife, Secretary of Education Subhadra Dasi.
Around forty youth, aged 12 to 17, are expected from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru and USA.
The event will be held at Govardhana Eco Village, forty-five minu
By Madhava Smullen
For the past twenty-five years, ISKCON Youth Ministry’s Manorama Das and his wife Jaya Sri Radhe Dasi have taken youth on tours across the US, Canada and Mexico, where they spread Krishna consciousness and get inspired themselves in the process.
Since 2015, they’ve branched out to tour the Caribbean every two years.
“The main reason we decided to switch it up from our regular Mexico winter tour is that devotees starting organizing Rathayatra festivals in the Dominican Rep
Srutakirti dasa, Srila Prabhupada Remembers His Youth
Sometimes Srila Prabhupada affectionately spoke about his father. When he did, it was always with great fondness.
“My father would make sure that whatever I wanted I would get,” he said.
“Even if it was in the middle of the night and I wanted puris, my father would say to my mother, ‘Make him puris if he wants puris.’ Sometimes my mother would resist, but my father would make her do it. It was like that. I don’t know. Maybe my father knew. H
