The unanticipated deluge of Yamuna River in Vrindavan wreaked havoc, leaving no time for warning or preparation. As the water levels surged beyond control, families were compelled to abandon their cherished homes, seeking refuge from the chaos.
Amid the flood’s devastation in Vrindavan, ISKCON’s compassionate devotee kitchen stepped forward, taking on the noble responsibility of providing nourishing meals to the families seeking refuge at the relief camp. With utmost dedication, they served who
By Thomas Haribol
A new video released by ISKCON Vrindavan shows the extent of the flooding of the Yamuna River as of June 16, 2023. Drone footage shows the impact upon key historical areas like the Keshi Ghat and the Bhaktivedanta Swami Goshala, home to 350 cows, bulls, and calves. The expanding waters of Yamunaji have reached the gates of the goshala, and steps are being taken to ensure the safety and relocation of the cows as needed. On July 17th, a Yamuna Arati was performed.
Food for Lif
In order to get some walking in today, I decided to start with earlier morning sunrays instead of the forecast steam to come later. I enjoyed the track from 1626 Pie IX all the way to Jeanne Mance Park. It's a clear 8-kilometre hike. Sunday morning couldn't be quieter. Of course, on the more commercial streets, one can witness the aftermath of a Saturday night fever. It's rather disgusting what party animalism produces in the way of refuse. This is not a criticism on the city of Montreal per se
By Chaitanya Charan Das
Dealing with arrogant people can be annoying and draining. To view such people positively, we can see interactions with them as opportunities to become humble.
The Bhagavad-gita (13.08) lists humility as a laudable virtue that is integral to knowledge. And humility is primarily a relational virtue; it is demonstrated and developed through our relationships with others. When people are polite with us, reciprocating similarly with them is relatively easy. But when someone
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
On several occasions, Srila Prabhupada expressed the desire for an ISKCON Constitution, to guide his followers in the future.
In 1971, for instance, he wrote: “We are in the experimental stage but in the next meeting of the GBC members they should form a constitution how the GBC members manage the whole affair.” (Letter to Giriraja, 12 Aug 1971)
Through the years, various attempts at writing the ISKCON Constitu
Last week a large rocket crashed into the Temple of ISKCON Kherson causing serious destruction. The roof needs replacing and all the windows are broken. Luckily no devotees were hurt.
The devotees in Kherson are incredible Vaisnavas. The go out on Harinam, book distribution and Prasad distribution daily. They led an austere life, take bucket baths outside like early days in ISKCON. The local people are highly impressed with the devotees’ selfless service in the face of constant bombing.
In Kher
On a peaceful 20-acre tract of land in Sealy, Texas, about an hour west of Houston, a few pioneering devotees have established The Bhagavata Academy Spiritual Retreat Center. It aims to create an immersive setting focused on transcendental education and spiritual nourishment, a kind of detox from the material world.
The Vision
The vision for the spiritual oasis came after years of contemplation and planning by one of its founders, Vatsala Dasa. He and his wife Shashikala Devi Dasi (along with t
It was just a busy beehive at 1626 Pie IX Boulevard, the centre for Krishna Consciousness. The sun was shining, and the humidity was on. At the intersection of Sherbrooke and Ste. Laurent, The chariot, a handsome piece of craftsmanship built and owned by Abhay Charan, a local devotee, was all in spiffy decorum and ready to roll, and not rock, on Ste. Laurent.
First, coconuts were to be smashed on the streets, a ritual for purification. A priest from the platform of the chariot came down hard w
From Back to Godhead
I offer my most respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, my spiritual master and the spiritual master of the universe, from whose lotus lips has sprung the eternal message of the Vedas in the purest line of disciplic succession from Sri Krsna, the Absolute Truth, through Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. He is spreading the teachings of Krsna consciousness around the planet for th
By Atma Tattva Das
To unlock the spiritual potency of the rare month of Purusottama, the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry (CDM) has launched an initiative to encourage and facilitate devotees worldwide to observe this auspicious period in the Vedic calendar. Purusottama Month, also known as Adhik Maas, is a sacred time that occurs approximately every three years and is highly cherished by Lord Krishna’s devotees.
The addition of the Purusottama Month to the Vedic calendar is predicate
By Taravali Devi Dasi
The Vaishnavas C.A.R.E. project continues to expand as a new chapter has formed at ISKCON Delaware, USA. In April 2023, two of the three Vaishnavis who started the local Delaware Vaishnavas C.A.R.E. team attended the official “Art of Caring for Vaishnavas” seminar that took place at ISKCON Philadelphia, presented by Sangita Devi Dasi. Bhaktins Jenna and Sherri were inspired by this much-needed service and formed a team with Bhaktin Staci to assist devotees during their ti
We are entering the sacred month of Purusottama, which comes once every three years and is said to be three times more potent than Kartik. During this month, devotees increase their chanting and hearing, and in particular they read Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad-gita, “Purusottama-yoga,” daily.
In a previous age during the Purusottama Month, Kaundinya Muni repeatedly chanted the following mantra every day throughout the sacred Adhika Masa:
govardhana dharam vande
gopalam gopa rupinam
gokulotsavam
Our bus for the Krishna Culture Festival Tour is up for some repair, and while that's going on, business is as usual with morning sadhana, a spiritual workout. The local devotees are rather occupied with the Chariot Fest preparations. I am gleefully involved with our bus crew with kirtan and class.
The class was based on Canto 10 to do with the cruel King Kamsa Driving the chariot of his newly married sister and brother-in-law. He had just heard an ethereal voice that prophesized his death. He
Two divisions of sastra-smarta and paramartha
The Vedic arya-sastras are divided into two sections - smarta (literature based on smrti) andparamartha (transcendental literature based onsruti). Those who are eligible (adhikari) for thesmarta section do not have any natural inclination or taste for the paramartha-sastras. The thoughts, principles, activities and life goal of every human is constituted according to his respectiveruci (inclination). Generally, smartas accept those scriptures which
By Achyuta Priya Dasa
In this statement, we will summarize and report on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) activities in Ukraine during the almost one-and-a-half difficult and tragic years of the unexpected war that brought immeasurable suffering to the entire nation.
ISKCON in Ukraine is an ancient monotheistic religious tradition based on the Vedic scriptures and numbering tens of millions of followers in India and around the world. In 1965, the Society’s Founder-A
It was tough for a second night in the bus, and not due to intense night heat in sharing space with thirty other people. An additional AC unit was installed. It was the irregular driving from the detours on Hwy. 90 in New York that caused many turns on secondary roads that made the ride somewhat uncomfortable. We were heading north to Quebec where it is a bit cooler. Hoping those notorious fires from Canada were subsiding.
I'm relatively happy despite inconveniences. I have all these younger fo
Wednesday morning, after clamoring aboard a United 747 Jet, I flew over the Pacific Ocean, crossed the international dateline, and landed in Tokyo, Japan at 2:30pm Thursday afternoon.
Ten minutes before our jet landed in Tokyo, our chief purser asked the passengers - who had been without sunlight for nearly eleven hours - to open their window shades.
The instant the passengers opened the shades we were treated to a most magnificent sight: the green earth below with all its majesty and variety.
From Back to Godhead
Making sense of Vedic Rituals
Are traditional rituals mere acts of blind faith, or are there scientific reasons behind following them?
An envelope protects and carries something valuable. It is the inner content of the envelope that’s actually precious. Similarly empty, meaningless rituals are like an empty envelope: devoid of any substance at best or downright offensive at worst.
Going beyond the externals of religion
Twenty five year old Nitin Sawant, a software engineer,
