Srimad Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami writes: “All glories to Madhavendra Puri, the storehouse of all Krishna-prema! He is a desire tree of bhakti, and it is to him that the seed of bhakti first fructified. The seed of Krishna-prema next fructified in the for of Sri Ishvara Puri, and then the gardener himself, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, became the main trunk of the tree of bhakti.
Isvara Puri was born in the town of Kumara Hatta on the full moon day of the month of Jyestha to a family of Brahmins haili
The Executive Committee (EC) Chair, Revati Raman Dasa, shared a brief report of some assignments overseen by GBC EC in 2023-24. Some of these assignments include:
– Assisting Ukrainian devotees with challenges faced in the current situation
– Responding to many concerns about child protection matters
– Moving Forward with the Mayapur-Vrindavan Child Protection Office (CPO) Inquiry
– Media & Public Relations Issue
– Peru
– Bhaktivedanta Institute
– Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) Exhibits
The
The individual jiva-souls (marginal living entities) are eternal spiritual living PERSONS who can never be destroyed, terminated, divided into pieces or extinguished.
The individual jiva-souls are indestructible and were NEVER created, they have ALWAYS existed like Krsna has always existed.
We are all "old souls" because the jiva-souls have perpetually existed and were NEVER created.
The implications of existing for infinity is mind boggling because this means there really is no death for the jiva-
The International Temple President meeting, hosted by ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) on 27 February 2024 at Mayapur, commenced with a warm welcome extended by the GBC to the International Temple Presidents. The meeting, attended by more than 150 participants, both in person at ISKCON’s international headquarters in Mayapur and online, was proficiently facilitated by Tapana Misra Das, vice chairman of the GBC Executive Committee (EC). Each table was hosted by a GBC member, with Temple
On March 3rd, thousands of devotees who were gathered in Sri Mayapur Dham for the opening of the Nrsimhadeva Wing of the TOVP witnessed the Pancha Tattva Maha-Abhisheka, which occurs every five years.
This joyful event also marks the 20th anniversary of the Sri Sri Pancha Tattva installation in 2004. Senior leaders from around the world performed the abhisheka ceremony. “The Pancha Tattva have endeared themselves to the global community of ISKCON devotees who look forward to this rare Maha-Abh
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktisiddhanta saraswati iti namine
You are our special link to the chain
And connection to the spirit vein
You are Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Resident of holy Jagannatha Puri
A genius who was not a light debater
A risk-taker and proven innovator
A lecturer owing to your reading
No wonder you were competent in your leading
A ray of Vishnu, the singha (lion) guru
Caste brahmins and mayavadis you'd pursue
Yet inclusiveness was y
Thirty years ago I was doing the Prabhupada marathon at the Chicago airport. One afternoon, we devotees were so intoxicated by distributing books that we decided to show that one doesn’t have to speak to sell books, that book distribution just depends on our state of consciousness. So we didn’t speak.
Just after loading my bookbag with (20) maha books I tapped a man on the arm and looked him in the eye. He stopped, expecting me to say something. I didn’t. I put a book in his hand, pointed at Pr
“This was because Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma could not joke freely and Yaśodā could not liberally pamper the boys because of the presence of Nanda and his brothers. However for Kṛṣṇa’s relatives the evening meal was a hundred times more blissful because the entire family could eat with Kṛṣṇa. It was a million times more blissful for Yāśodā because of seeing the bliss of the relatives.” – Sri Govinda Lilamrta 20.52
Throughout “Sri Govinda Lilamrta,” which is arguably the most prominent boo
The Institute for Science and Spirituality Trust (ISS), the scientific study wing of ISKCON Delhi, held a 2-day international conference in August entitled, “Philosophy of Vaishnava Vedanta: Culture, Legacy and Traditions.” The conference, hosted in collaboration with Jawaharlal Nehru University and Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi, gathered world-class speakers from around the world. Recently, they have been releasing these significant presentations on their YouTube channel.
The main obj
Hundreds of thousands of Vaishnavas are gathering around the world today to celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada, with the largest gathering held in Sri Mayapur Dham (fuller coverage coming soon).
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the guru of Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appeared in Sri Ksetra Dhama (Jagannatha Puri) on February 6, 1874, as the son of Srila Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura. In his childhood, he quickly mast
Thousands of devotees gathered on day three of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium’s Grand Opening of its Lord Nrsimhadeva Wing in Sri Mayapur Dham.
Describing the day, Anuttama Dasa, Global Minister of Communications, said, “It was an inspiring and auspicious event. Many of the speakers urged us to work cooperatively to raise the needed contributions so the temple may be completed within the next two to three years.”
He continued, “When Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Wing was inaugurated, it was beautifu
Most pilgrims just rush. They are trying to make it on time for the 4:30am arati service at the main temple. Some just want to get in early for "a better front seat." I attend the service at the Pushpa Samadhi which is at 4.10. I also rush.
On the trail to either locations there are always some dogs fast asleep and it gives great meaning, when remembering the phrase, "Let sleeping dogs lie." If that was not the case they are just an annoyance since they are stray dogs.
Occasionally a jackel
𝗘𝗰𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮 “Falling into the sea, He lost consciousness and could not understand where He was. Sometimes He sank beneath the waves, and sometimes He floated above them.” Antya 18.30
During the last twelve years of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He started to exhibit symptoms of Bhava that are beyond our mundane conception. In Madhya Lila, these symptoms of Bhava are said to be like that of Srimati Radharani when she was feeling separation from Krishna thus it is said to be a tra
"Free will" or having a unique independent personality and sense of self, means the individual jiva-souls can express themselves in their own unique way serving Krsna, voluntarily offering their own personal contributions in a "two-way" exchange.
Srila Prabhupāda - "Love means a relationship between "two persons," then there is exchange, then there is love. I must deal with you open-hearted, you must deal with me open-hearted, then there is love. So if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, God, then these thin
Thousands are in Sri Mayapur Dham to celebrate the opening of the TOVP Nrsimhadeva Wing following the 150th Vyasa-puja of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. A schedule of the 150th Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Nrsimhadeva Mohotsava can be found below. Click here for the entire schedule of the three days from February 29 – March 2 in an online flipbook that is downloadable and shareable. The entire program will also be broadcast live on Mayapur TV here.
Source: https://is
On February 25th, Mendoza, Argentina, held its annual “Blessing of the Fruits” festival, thanking God for a bountiful harvest. The cultural event, which has been going on since the 1930s, included religious leaders from different traditions who each contributed to the program. Baladeva Das, ISKCON’s Regional Director of Communications in Latin America, beautifully chanted the Panca-tattva and Hare Krsna mantras and blew a conch shell for the estimated 15,000 people who were gathered at the fest
Devotees from across New Zealand came to ISKCON Auckland to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Temple from January 19-21, 2024.
Day one began with a kirtan festival followed by a Rath Yatra on the second day of festivities. The main celebration was the third day with the Chandan Yatra and a flower abhishek of the Deities, Sri-Sri Radha Giridhari. The temple leadership also reverently celebrated the inauguration of the Ayodhya temple on January 22nd with an abhishek of Lo
I was turning a corner after more than a stroll when I met our Oriental Vaishnava. He asked, "You are the one who walks. I am hoping to walk my country." It sounded like he was leading up to asking for tips.
"What is your country?"
"Japan," he said.
"I'll be happy to share with you all I can about power walking. And how about doing japa at the same time". I was indicating that japa is most appropriate for Japan (japa, meaning mantra meditation).
I was also thrilled to be a Frenchmen wh
“Fake News” is in the news, everyone seems to be or pretend to be worried about it. A news or an information or a story or a data is considered “fake” when the truth is suppressed and is manipulated to suit a certain narrative. Political parties, journalists, twitter warriors, social activists today do not hesitate to spread fake news to further their agenda. Thinking people are up in arms and are vociferously demanding to check the menace of fake news.
It is good to be concerned about the fake
From Back to Godhead
By Guru Dasa (Gurudev D. Allin), a disciple of His Holiness Bhaktimarga Swami.
“Oh, God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 2.2 (First Folio) This line from Hamlet nicely sums up the absurdity of our delusions of self-importance. I wrote this meditation on the importance of humility as part of my effort to shake my own delusions of knowledge and significance.
Human nature see
