My final step before turning back to home, back to ashram, was on a park bench at the park, when a young man, James sat next to me.
"I'm just waiting for some buddies," he informed me. "Your day is full?" he asked.
"Yes, quite. I'm Bhaktimarga Swami. Swami for short."
"I'm James Ensley." We shook hands and it didn't end there. Like most people, meeting a monk is a first, let alone a walking monk.
I had a similar exchange just a few minutes before. I was sitting down to chant my gayatri ma
Both in living and in dying, this senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada's exemplified the essence of Krsna consciousness.
On June 5, 1986, Gauri-devi dasi passed from her body in the holy land of Vrndavana, India. For seventeen years she had been devotedly serving her spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Gauri was a sincere and dedicated preacher, giving herself fully to Srila Prabhupada's mission and working tirelessly to distribute his
On Thursday, the new Boeing Starliner made history by successfully docking with the International Space Station (ISS). One of the two astronauts aboard, Sunita Williams, brought some “essentials” along on the mission, including the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and some homemade samosas.
Navy Officer Williams was first selected for NASA’s astronaut program in 1998. This flight is her third space mission and the first time a woman has piloted a new orbital spacecraft. Williams, 59, the daugh
Over Memorial Day weekend 2024, more than 3,100 devotees gathered in Frisco, Texas, for the 11th annual US-based Sadhu Sanga Kirtan Retreat, organized by Indradyumna Swami. The sold-out event was held at the Frisco Convention Center near Dallas, Texas and welcomed devotees from 46 states and 14 countries.
Attendees enjoyed 24 hours of joyful kirtans from Acyuta Gopi Dasi, Bada Haridas, Gaura Vani Dasa, Indradyumna Swami, Madhava Dasa, Mayuri Gandharvika Priya Dasi, Mukunda Datta Dasa, Vaisesika
The Bluffs, situated at the west coast of Lake Ontario, are a real gem to visit. The cliffs and accompanying what appears like huge ant hills are a sight to see, so for our Tuesday morning outing, our local Bhakti Academy students and I went for some hours to explore. The beach is clean, so is the water, the trails and trees are a paradise. The peninsulas formed (by man) are pleasant parks and to some degree protect the bluffs from erosion. The natural beauty and the human implementation are a
Bhakti-yoga involves practice, and therefore repetition, but done right, it never gets stale.
Like Lord Krishna Himself, the regulated practice of devotional service to Him never gets old when undertaken with seriousness and sincerity.
Srila Prabhupada had an extraordinary ability to say something repeatedly, something we’d heard him say many times before, but say it in such a way that we appreciated it afresh. We’d hear the statement as if we’d never heard it before, although in fact we’d hea
A life of Krishna consciousness provides plenty of freedom to satisfy our inspiration to create.
Our creative urge, born of our being part of Krishna, will be most fulfilling when connected with His purposes.
Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original creator. In the Bhagavad-gita (10.8) He says,
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me.” Th
On June 5th, 2024, a group of Greek-Catholic seminarians visited the ISKCON Kyiv temple with their professor as part of their religious studies curriculum, which includes learning about other spiritual traditions.
Under the guidance of Acyuta Priya Das and Bhakti Caru Das, the group of seminarians experienced a warm and welcoming atmosphere at the New Navadvipa Mandir Temple. The guests actively participated in a lecture, posed thoughtful questions, and were treated to prasadam and kirtan. In
By Radhapriya
The Muskoka Cultural Centre in Huntsville, Ontario celebrated its Grand Opening during the 3rd week of May 2024, with the aim of spreading Krishna Consciousness, prasadam, and kirtan in a welcoming environment to the local and larger community.
By Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, devotees are always trying to spread goodwill through the preaching of bhakti-yoga. One aspect of that is bringing people access to Vedic literature, darshan of the Lord, prasadam, kirtan, and association throug
The great pious king, Yudhistira, answered the pressing question, "What is the most wondrous thing in the world?" And here is what he said, "Everywhere, all around me, people are dying yet those of us who make this observation, feel that they will not perish. This is the greatest wonder."
Does that mean that something inside us will indeed persist through lifetimes?
I was saddened to hear that one of my leading men in my drama productions in Argentina passed away from kidney cancer. Matsya
I sent a telegram to Prabhupada saying, “Can I get out of here?”
Brahmananda: In 1971 Prabhupada was having big public programs in India, and one evening an Arya Samajist challenged Prabhupada. He said, “Oh, Swamiji, you have come to India with your western chelas, but we know all these things. This is our culture. Better you go to the other places and do your work there. All right, you have been to the West, but what about the Muslim countries? What about Pakistan?
You should go to Pakistan
From Back to Godhead
Though he sought enlightenment on an isolated beach through music, meditation, and marijuana, it came to him in a way he’d never expected.
Having had some mystical experiences as a teenager that convinced me of the existence of God, I left my native country, Argentina, for Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, famous for its mysticism and magic. I arrived in the area without plans, money, or acquaintances and moved into a straw hut by the beach a couple of mile
To identify the subtle challenges to our devotional progress, we need the help of scripture and other devotees.
As with any serious endeavor, the pursuit of the true goal of life presents challenges for aspiring devotees, but we need not face them alone.
The purpose of every human life is to go back to Godhead, and the path to Godhead is pure devotional service. Those of us walking on this path will encounter challenges. Identifying these challenges and working to overcome them will accelerate
By Atma Tattva Das
A tornado has caused significant damage in the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, resulting in the loss of eleven lives and injuries to more than 50 people. The town of Tongaat was one of the most affected areas, with numerous homes suffering extensive destruction. In response to the disaster, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) South Africa and its charitable organization, Food For Life (FFL), promptly launched relief efforts to assist
By Tattvavit Das
The four-day ISKCON Communications conference held at Radhadesh on May 25–28 was the thirtieth conference organized by ISKCON Communications Europe (ICE). The first day was dedicated to this anniversary.
Mahaprabhu Dasa, ICE’s current director, invited Mukunda Goswami, the original director of ISKCON Communications worldwide, to open the conference by video.
Mukunda Goswami spoke from Australia, telling sixty participants how he rescued a Los Angeles devotee abducted by her
Well, the "Kirtan Standard Workshop", re-named "Conscious Kirtan Workshop" came out quite successful. In a mere two hour crash course and with co-presenter, Rukmini, the conference room got filled up with enthusiasts who were curious to know about the passion behind a need. And that need was to insist on keeping Kirtan practices on the straight and narrow path. Much of the directives given by our guru, Prabhupada, on the subject are unknown and so, with the morning's presentation it became kno
There is a very, very special dhama located in central Spain about 100 kilometers east of Madrid, Spain’s capital city.
It is geographically right outside the little town of Brihuega, near Guadalajara the nearest city. It is a small farm community, complete with flower and vegetable gardens, a couple of small greenhouses, a beautiful goshala right across the road from the temple, and then a larger goshalla down the road. They have approximately 12 cows and 2 bulls. The five cows that are kept
Quest for Enlightenment
This interview broadcasts the message of a young Danish gentleman who is now a spiritual seeker and walks on the path of enlightenment. This write-up is based on his interview with Premanjana Das (Pranjal Joshi), which was conducted on 14th February 2018 in Jaipur, India. Views expressed here have been shared by Jacob.
Jacob Holck Nielsen is a young devotee of Lord Krishna from Denmark and is now known as Bhakta Jacob (bhakta means devotee).Jacob loves India, as he feels
Busting The Myths and Misconceptions About Lord Krishna
This essay has been written by Pranjal Joshi. Feedback can be given to the writer at pranjal280@gmail.com
It was more than 5000 years ago that Lord Krishna personally descended on this Earth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to bless his devotees, punish the miscreants, spread the Divine knowledge and to establish law and order.
Shri Krishna appeared in Mathura as a son of Nand and Devaki. His birthday is celebrated every year as ‘Janma
Srimad Bhagavad Gita: A Pathway to Inner Awakening
This article on Srimad Bhagavad Gita has been written by Premanjana Das (Pranjal Joshi)
Premanjana Das (Pranjal Joshi) is a writer, blogger, healer, spiritualist, software engineer and a management graduate who has been writing for more than two decades in various magazines, websites, newspapers, and forums.
I have read several books in my life. Each one of them had a message to give and a purpose to serve, since words have immense power to re-
