By Yamuna Devi Dasi
What a week of Vaisnava sadhu-satsanga this has been! I leave the richer, having exchanged with my family members, old and new, Godbrothers, Godsisters, nephews and nieces. While I feel most unqualified to speak to you today, I am honoured and privileged to join my Godsisters in voicing my concerns as a woman in ISKCON.
As the GBC body, all of you are responsible for establishing Srila Prabhupada’s legacy, which, in these difficult and turbulent times, is at stake. One realm
From Back to Godhead
By Narasimha Swami Dasa
Lord Krishna’s main message in the Bhagavad-gita is clear: He wants us to fully surrender to Him. The most vital part of the Bhagavad-gita deals with the advice Lord Sri Krishna gives to Arjuna on the surrendering process. One of the dictionary meanings of surrender is “to give (something) up voluntarily to another.” Lord Krishna’s simple words of advice on surrendering are easy to understand. So why do most people, including those of us practicing K
New ISKCON Temple Opens in Bengaluru, to serve as a Spiritual & Cultural Centre
ISKCON has brought great joy to the devotees of Sri Krishna by executing the inauguration ceremony of Sri Sri Radha Vinoda Temple & Cultural Centre (ICC) which also houses the shrines of Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladev & Srimati Subhadra Mai, Sri Sri Gaura Sundara Nityananda Natavara at Kumaraswamy Layout, Bangalore. A separate altar has been dedicated for Srila Prabhupada, where his murti is installed.
Sri Sri Radha V
By Kaliarupa Jagannath Dasa
Dignitaries on the Dais- Left to right (audience perspective): HG Varada Krishna Das ( Temple President – ISKCON HBR Layout), HH Bhakti Vinoda Swami (Zonal Supervisor & ISKCON Coimbatore Temple President), Honourable Member of Parliament Sri Tejasvi Surya, Honourable Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, HG Narahari Chaitanya Das (Temple President – ISKCON South Bengaluru), HH Jayapataka Swami (GBC), HH Bhanu Swami (GBC), HH Bhakti Prachar Parivrajak Swami (Chairman – ISKCO
It had been a long enough drive from West Virginia to Canada, and then another two hours beyond the border at Fort Erie. You never know what is going to happen at the border with custom authorities. There is really not much to worry about, though. Those of us in the car – Krishna Kala, Stephen, and I, are natural citizens.
"Are you bringing in alcohol...?" etc.
"No!"
"Where did you go?"
"West Virginia."
"What did you do?"
"Had a men's retreat. Put on a drama."
"How do you know each other?"
"We
ISKCON Sri Sri Radha Vinoda Mandir and Cultural Centre, South Bengaluru
New ISKCON Temple Opens in Bengaluru, to serve as a Spiritual & Cultural Centre
ISKCON has brought great joy to the devotees of Sri Krishna by executing the inauguration ceremony of Sri Sri Radha Vinoda Temple & Cultural Centre (ICC) which also houses the shrines of Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladev & Srimati Subhadra Mai, Sri Sri Gaura Sundara Nityananda Natavara at Kumaraswamy Layout, Bangalore. A separate altar has been dedicated
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
The Vrindavan Institute of Higher Education (VIHE) is organizing a dynamic six-day onsite Teacher Training Course (TTC) in the holy month of Kartik from 18th-23rd November 2023 with Aniruddha Dasa and Bimala Prasad Dasa leading TTC1 and TTC2 respectively.
The course will be held on the premises of VIHE in Vrindavana. Students will benefit greatly by learning the philosophy of learning in the supportive environment of Vrindavana.
The curriculum involves numero
On Saturday, 7 October, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami visited the informal Bottlebrush settlement in Chatsworth, south of Durban. Residents were treated to a taste of the spiritual world through a vibrant and colourful harinam party and delicious prasadam distribution.
This location is home to thousands of residents of Durban who live in impoverished conditions. In this area, the residents create small make-shift shelters with minimal living space, no tar roads, or proper sanitation facilities
When I come to this holy place, New Vrindavan, there is never a problem to gather a small group to form a walking team around the pond for some japa meditation. It's a clockwise direction we take, and it is very calming and reassuring, especially when the understood rule of thumb is 'no talking'. Both men and women are involved. It goes for a half hour or so – not too long. I want people to repeat the program and to come back tomorrow.
New Vrindavan has 25 resident peacocks, some of which are a
FIRST CONTACT WITH THE HOLY SOUND
My life took an apical turn when I stumbled across the Hare Krishnas. Being born in India I had some knowledge of “Krishna” but I was like most Indians are – conscious of Krishna but not Krishna Conscious. Being just “conscious of Krishna” didn’t mollify my thirst for happiness. When I was introduced to the programs conducted by the Hare Krishnas near our college campus new hope dawned upon me. What mesmerized me the most in these programs was the chanting of t
Wikipidia defines Vaisnavism as “one of the major Hindu denominations.” This definition is misleading. To be a Vaisnava transcends any religious, social or ethnic designation. A Vaisnava can come from any caste, or any racial or ethnic group. Bhaktivinoda Thakura referred to this as “the principle of natural brotherhood.” This depicts a state when people give up their biases, hatreds, and separatist religious mentalities. And only then, Bhaktivinode explains, “the people of all castes and count
The Monk’s Podcast with Radhika Raman Prabhu is an immensely penetrating and relishable discussion on Harmonizing faith and reason in bhakti.
Faith and reason are both sources of authority upon which beliefs can rest. Reason is generally understood as the principles for a methodological inquiry, whether intellectual, moral, aesthetic, or religious. Faith, on the other hand, involves a stance toward some claim that is not, at least presently, demonstrable by reason. Thus faith is a kind of attit
From ISKCON Israel: “Hare Krishna! Please accept our obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. On behalf of the leadership of ISKCON Israel, we inform you that due to the outbreak of the War, there are no casualties among the devotees. HH Bhaktivigyana Goswami Maharaj [flight has left safely for Dubai]. HG Audharya Dhama Prabhu is also safe…Many prabhus have been drafted into the army and are now on the front line. Young mataji soldiers too. Many families have sons and husbands now in the co
By Anuttama Dasa
The Governing Body Commission (GBC) of ISKCON has released a decision clarifying initiation standards in ISKCON. The decision came, in part, as a response to a thorough paper produced by ISKCON’s Sastric Advisory Council (SAC) entitled “Brahma-gayatri Mantra in ISKCON -Varnashrama, Bhakti – Principle or Detail?”
The SAC paper was studied in detail by the GBC in plenary sessions and by an ad hoc GBC Committee. The committee drew from the paper what they considered the essential
Coyotes sounded in the night just as the bonfire was about to begin. We were lucky to secure veteran monk, Varshana Swami, resident sannyasi in the rural community of New Vrindavan, who spoke about the pastimes of walking monk, Chaitanya.
Sometimes people naturally ask which Vrindavan is better – the original in India, or New Vrindavan in the hills of West Virginia. The explanation by our founder/teacher, Prabhupada, is that they are non-different. Indeed, both of the locations are of a transce
By Bhakti-Rasa devi dasi
History was made on October 1, 2023, as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) proudly welcomed its first centre in the North West province of South Africa.
The event was a testament to the dedication of the Klerksdorp Hindu Samaj, established in 1963, to ensure that the years of hard work in developing its temple and community will continue to flourish under ISKCON’s care. The temple was built in 1983.
To mark this auspicious occasion, the Klerksd
ISKCON’s Ministry of Cow Protection and Agriculture held its first European Farm Conference with face-to-face attendees following a three-year gap due to COVID-19. The September 29th-October 1st event brought leaders from across Europe together to share the latest ideas and solutions for sustainable farming practices.
This year, the event was held at the Lark Hill Farm near Leipzig, Germany, the vision of Robert Kuene, who works the 300-hectare organic, arable farm dedicated to regenerative fa
HH Jayapataka Swami at Udupi yesterday for the footprint installation ceremony of Lord Chaitanya.
HH Jayapataka Swami: We are going to install the lotus footprint of Lord Caitanya in Udupi. So, Syamarasika das arranged for me to do the abhishek of the lotus footprint here in the Mangaluru temple, which will be later installed in Udupi. So, I did the abhishek of the lotus footprint while devotees were chanting Hare Krishna. Many devotees, including Nama Nistha das, Varada Krishna das were prese
It's always a pleasant ride to the Appalachians where trees are now giving a hint of fall with orange and green tones. Five carloads of bhakti yogis were off for the journey from the Toronto area all in preparation for this years 'MAN-tra Retreat'. This is our sixth year for the gathering, and we did survive during the pandemic, fortunately, by going online. Back we are again in person. Hurray!
In the vehicle that I was in, we were remembering Krishna, Prabhupada, and it came naturally to recal
