Still in Toronto, and showing a new trail for the group of walking companions. We are dodging on foot the main motorists thoroughfares and taking to the neat hidden pathways at the University of Toronto. Near Yorkville we stood behind an artist's iron sculpture of a bull. It is symbolic. The bull stands for the principle of dharma and that's what we must always stand behind.
Now dharma, or duty, is always the obligation of a monk, and travel is one of them. Being the weekend of Ratha Yatra, the
From Back to Godhead
Conceptions of God in the Bhagavad-gita encompass those of other traditions and give full picture of the Absolute Truth.
“The Bhagavad-gita teaches a pantheistic view of God,” he said, his confidence and years of learning clear from his authoritative tone. “The massive vishvarupa—Krishna’s universal form, which encompasses all material phenomena, including time—tells us much about God in the Gita.”
His friend, another scholar of some renown, seemed to disagree.
“The Gita go
My heart is like a desert, hot with the rays of the sun. This is my internal mental condition. The desire for temporary, material things cannot satisfy me because by nature they are death producing. And not one or two, but thousands of such death-producing desires have taken shelter in my mind. So, my subconscious region is always burning. This is my condition. But somehow, by the grace of sadhu and my guru, the holy name of Krishna with its infinite prospect has entered through the holes of my
By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura
The holy command of Shri Guru has been that we shall serve Godhead in association with one another. By the word ‘we’ he did not mean any one individual. There are many persons who are very selfish, indeed. They say, ‘I alone shall serve. It is incumbent on me alone. No one else has any claim to join me in my service of Godhead.’ But the kind heart of Shri Gurudeva says, ‘Come, let all of us jointly worship Godhead by giving up malice.’ The service of G
Sri Madan Mohan Temple at Karoli
and Srila Sanatana Gosvami
Glory to the all-merciful Radha and Madan Mohan! I am lame and ill advised, yet They are my directors, and Their lotus feet are everything to me. (Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Antya lila 1.5)
Srila Sanatana Gosvami was the principal disciple of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and is one of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavana. Sanatana Gosvami (or Santosha as he was named at birth), appeared in Jessore in Bangladesh in 1488 as the son of Mukunda, the p
By Atma Tattva Das
The 2024 Krishna Bhakti Art 4 exhibition, a transformative event hosted by the Krishna Balaram Ashram, was held in Manila on July 7th, 2024. Set against the backdrop of the Balaw Balaw Restaurant, a prominent art gallery in Angono Rizal, this annual event captured the essence of Krishna’s consciousness through a stunning array of visual artworks, music, and cultural expressions.
The event’s start was memorable, and many important people attended, including Vice Mayor Gerry C
July 18, 2024 – The Saranagati Village, a Vedic Eco Community located 4.5 hours northeast of Vancouver in British Columbia’s southern interior, was given an immediate fire evacuation notice last night. The expansive property, threatened by these latest local wildfires, is home to about 30 families. It includes a K-12 school, a goshala, and a temple. Everyone was safely evacuated to the local village and government resources provided hotels and food allowances. A generous neighbor from the vill
On this day number 2 of a walk with Bhakti Academy we landed ourselves at a picnic table to attempt a concentrated session with the maha mantra. At this hour, 6.45am, we could find no disturbances externally, perhaps internally. Everyone could speak for themself on this, but chronically that agitating does get in the way. As it was put by one of the callers later on in the afternoon on the Gita zoom, "I'm lucky to have just one minute of internalization."
Such is the nature of the monkey mind.
Why Follow Caturmasya?
“The real purpose behind the vow taken during these four months is to minimise the quantity of sense gratification. This is not very difficult.”
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya Lila 4.169, Purport
In the purport to Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 4.169, Srila Prabhupada explains that the Caturmasya period begins in the month of Ashadha (June-July) from the day of Ekadasi called Sayana-ekadasi and ends in the month of Kartika (October-November) on the Ekadasi day known
Writing the last chapter of the Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita was an intense experience for me. Prabhupada was teaching “the final lesson,” and I relived the day-by-day remembrances of being with Srila Prabhupada and serving in his ISKCON movement in the final days leading up to his disappearance. Those days were like a drama unfolding. Would Prabhupada stay with us? What would we do without him? And again I felt the grief at his departure. I was also reminded that Prabhupada’s last days were fille
On July 18th, the “Bhakti: The Art of Krishna” exhibit opened to the public for a limited one-month run, concluding on August 18th. The one-of-a-kind exhibition takes patrons on a transformative journey through Lord Krishna’s life, from his childhood Gokul to the giving of the Gita on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra.
The exhibit is housed at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai, where Founder and Chairperson Mrs. Nita Ambani was on hand with Radhanath Swami to inaugurate the
It was 6am when I announced to members of the Bhakti Academy that I'm walking. They knew what I was hinting at and that it was an invitation to hit the sidewalk. I had a route in mind. It was a mix of residential park green space, ravine forest and more stately home - a one hour trek and a very new one for them.
Off we went!
Some were used to the Prabhupada speed. Our walkers at the back could easily be labelled as members of the Turtle clan.
The forest section is "better than Vrndavan in Indi
We’re back on the Baltic Sea coast in Poland with our summer ‘Festival of India’ for the 34th year running. It never ceases to amaze me how thousands upon thousands of people attend our festival programs through July and August each summer and enjoy the wonderful world of Krsna consciousness. Each year we strive to present a high class, professional show imbued with Bhakti to touch their hearts. Srila Prabhupada, thank you for the great privilege of carrying on your misssion in this world. Pl
On July 16, Anuttama Dasa, Global Minister of Communications for ISKCON released a letter and statement regarding a widely distributed story about the 1976 Rathayatra and former US President Donald J. Trump.
“Dear Devotees of ISKCON,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
There have been many reports on social and traditional media over the last few days regarding former US President Donald J. Trump and the Rathayatra carts built for the New York City parade in 197
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
The ISKCON New Gokula Farm in Australia’s Hunter Valley celebrated their 2024 Rath Yatra on July 7. The 550-acre property, renowned for its large organic vegetable gardens and orchards, is situated just two hours north of Sydney and the presiding Deities are Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda.
Srila Prabhupada, in his lecture in San Francisco on July 5, 1970, glorified the significance of Rath Yatra. He said, “Simply by seeing the Lord on the chariot, one makes advance
After a great rest at the home of Shreyas, I opened the shutters to the window and saw the sun's rays drawn in. Usually I'm up and around by this time of day-up before sign of Surya, the sun god, but we played hard in Ottawa, singing and then swimming. Hamm! Maybe I should do more of this if it guarantees an attack on insomnia.
Mahadeva and Annapurna picked me up headed west but before we hit the infamous 401 Highway, we encountered some mechanic difficulty in the exhaust area. Mahadeva always
As the age of Kali-yuga moves forward, many people are wondering how bad social conditions will get before they improve, and what can we do about it now. Yet the Vedic texts contain a specific prescription for staying free from the heavy influence that this age of Kali-yuga brings.
In spite of all the changes predicted to happen in society and on the planet, there are still many ways, both material and spiritual, to stifle or even get free of Kali-yuga’s influence. If we are going to change any
The Islamic population in Bangladesh constitutes approximately 91.04%. Although spreading Krishna Consciousness in Bangladesh has faced its challenges throughout the decades but still devotees are enthusiastic and are trying their level best to continue preaching throughout the country. As declared by Srila Prabhupada, related by Vaiysaki Das " I put on my head the dust from the feet of whoever preaches in the Muslim countries." p? thivite ache yata nagaradi-grama sarvatra pracara haibe mora na
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On July 13th, ISKCON celebrated the 58th anniversary of its incorporation by our Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada. As part of the incorporation, Prabhupada composed the “Seven Purposes of ISKCON.”
To commemorate this anniversary, the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team held a transformative online gathering called “Envisioning a Krishna Conscious World,” hosted by Pancharatna Das. This broadcast delved into ISKCON’s seven purposes and the innovative ways these powerful principles can be applied i
