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Madhavendra was a holy man
Definitely not a regular layman
He carried the title of brahmin
Perhaps he can be called a shaman

For when he reached a sacred hill
He felt a very tingling thrill
A trance had overtaken him
A genuine shaking in every limb

After a bath by the lake
He went to take a break
Beneath a tree he went to rest
Somewhere near a high bird’s nest

A young boy suddenly turned up
And woke the monk somewhat
He brought him something hot
It was milk in a rustic clay pot

“I brought you s

Nearly 100 fresh-faced devotees in their late teens and twenties flocked to New Vrindaban on Mother’s Day weekend for the Vaishnava Arts Festival on May 12-14. The largely Western-raised crowd enthusiastically attended mangala arati, performed kitchen and cleaning seva, and participated in the inspiring sessions seamlessly – although most had been practicing Krishna consciousness for less than five years, and some only a few months. 

These bhaktas and bhaktins had something special in common: t

On Saturday, May 20th, devotees celebrated the 22nd year of the Festival of Chariots at the beach and Seawalk Pavilion in Jacksonville, Florida.

The popular gathering, attended by devotees and locals alike, served out more than 1,200 plates of prasad throughout the day. In addition, about 500 individually packaged date fruits with a “Have a DATE with us” invitation were distributed by Lilla Purushottam Das and his wife Rukmini Dasi during the first 10 minutes of the procession.

Many booths were

By Thomas Haribol

The famous Cedars of Lebanon have been prized for thousands of years for their resiliency and strength.  Most famously, they were used in the building of ancient houses of worship (temples). Today, the modern republic of Lebanon,  bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and Syria, is home to nearly four million people, including a pioneering devotee family who moved there in 2010. Like the Cedars of Lebanon, their service to Krishna has shown great resilience and strength through ma

I'm not the biggest fan for rain as a medium to walk through, but I do see that plant life is favorable. It shows in its colour – green, and it all gives off a shiny surface. My walking becomes constrained to the indoors, but no problem, at the New Vrindavana temple, there is this corridor system running at the building's perimeter that makes it conducive to walkthrough. That channel, I took advantage of until the 5:00 am arati service, which was wonderful. I mean, everyone was on a thump with

My first visit to this sacred land of New Vrindavan was back in the summer of ’73 at Janmasthami time. It was a real treat because for some months after joining, I had been a bit claustrophobic from being in the city of Toronto. For twenty years of my life, I was accustomed to country living which included getting up at 5:30 am to milk our family cow. But when I arrived here in the Appalachian destination with Toronto pilgrims, I found it to be as country and rustic as could be.

All the visitor

On May 19th, about 120 devotees participated in the second Ratha Yatra in Israel (and in the entire Middle East) held at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, one of the largest parks in the country, with over 16 million annual visitors. Tel Aviv is also where the first preaching center was established in 1994.

In July 2022, the first-ever Ratha Yatra in the Middle East was held in the coastal city of Haifa, known for its openness to multiple religious traditions. In addition, Haifa is the worldwide headquar

By Visakha Dasi 

Wanting to recognise and honour the contribution of diverse faith communities to modern Britain, as well as to encourage harmony amidst such communities, King Charles III of the United Kingdom featured leaders of different faiths in the regal pageantry of his coronation. In the history of British coronations, which date back a thousand years, it was the first time that faiths other than Christianity were included. As the representative of Bhaktivedanta Manor at this gala event,

We set out for a retreat to New Vrindavan, W.V., and it took a while. Our caravan of three vehicles arrived at the American border, Niagara Falls, and the hiccup was that two of our passengers were required to go for questioning at the building of doubt – Customs. No real problem, just time.

We picnicked at Goat Island near the falls, and one of our drivers misplaced the key to the car. A ranger was kind to return it when a pedestrian found it on the grass. No problem, just time.

After a long s

By Padma Devi Dasi

Can knowledge of the three modes of nature shed light on the underlying causes of substandard environmental practices?

It may be safe to say that deterioration of the global natural environment is today no longer a contested issue. All nations acknowledge pollution, salination, deforestation, desertification, depletion of the ozone layer, the prevalence of toxic waste dumps, and more, as tangible, problematic issues. What remains a contested issue, however, is the exact fac

In no country is Krsna foreign. The chanting of God’s holy names is natural to every land. In the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord Himself declares, “I am the father of all living entities.” Therefore, since Krsna cannot be foreign or alien anywhere, it is not surprising that the chanting of Hare Krsna is attracting sincere souls all over the world. Because God consciousness is dormant in the hearts of all living entities, glorification of God is therefore the only totally universal movement.

In this article, Suhotra Swami discusses various approaches to acquiring knowledge. He examines this phenomena in terms of the three pramanas (pratyaksa, anumana and sabda), which are the recognised sources of knowledge in the Vaisnava tradition. Suhotra Swami explains that in Vaisnava epistemology sabda (hearing from an authoritative source) is accorded the greatest regard. He examines the methods of direct perception and logical argument and offers an interesting analysis of their limitations

This is actually the goal of any saint, sadhu, holy man, or bhakta, to go through life and perform all of one’s activities while being absorbed in thoughts and awareness of God, like a constant meditation. This is the means of bhakti-yoga by which we are always thinking of Lord Krishna in some way. This is the way we reach the spiritual strata.

“A grass worm confined in a hole by a bee always thinks of the bee in fear and enmity and later becomes a bee simply because of such remembrance. Simila

The small town of Anchorage, Alaska, was filled with excitement on April 27, 2023, as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness devotees organized the first ever Rath Yatra festival in the area. The event was the culmination of preparation by the devoted volunteers who worked tirelessly to bring the ancient festival to the modern world.

Anchorage, a city located in Southcentral Alaska, is known for its beautiful scenery, stunning glaciers, and diverse wildlife. It is home to more than

After a long time, someone has come forward to help the tribals in their area.

“Primitive, ignorant, jungle men, cannibals” – that’s what you call us. But you tend to forget that you and I live under the same sky, breathe the same air, and eat fruits from the trees that flourish on the same soil. We are the one’s trying to preserve this earth. Our preservation can help all of us survive, but the destruction and havoc you create in the name of modernization can lead all of us to perish.”

Long, l

By Sundarnath dasa, Brahmacari at ISKCON Amravati

My village Khairar is located in Odisha’s Nuapada district on the border of Chhattisgarh. People there had no idea about ISKCON. Then one day the fortune of our village shone.

A mataji heard a lecture by Lal Govind dasa, a Gopal Krishna Maharaja disciple, on YouTube. Having got knowledge about ISKCON she became inspired. She learned about devotional life and began chanting, but did not stop there. She encouraged other matajis of the village, and

By Sandipani Muni Krsna Dasa

Last month, devotees from the Harinama Ruci Team* completed a historic preaching tour across the Caribbean region, visiting nine far-off islands and countries rarely seen by the missionaries of Lord Chaitanya’s movement. The group’s members include Vicaru Das and Sandipani Muni Krsna Das from Harinam Ruci team, and they combined with Gopinath Das from Trinidad.

“After two years of waiting for COVID-19 to subside and several months of thorough research, I found the b

By Thomas Haribol

Sukhavaha Devi Dasi will be presenting “Detecting and Disarming the False Ego” online on May 24th, 6-7:30 pm (EDT), as part of the ongoing education offered by ISKCON’s Karuna Care Education Ministry.

According to their website, “Karuna Care Education equips students with the basic tools they need to offer persons in crisis competent, well-informed emotional support and spiritual care. We provide introductory-level training for persons of faith who wish to enhance their interp

One person very respected in our community is a lady in her 80s who also happens to be one of the best cooks and lives near Fiesta Farms west of our ashram. I decided to take that pleasant walk through a fine residential middle-class family-friendly neighbourhood to pay a visit to Subuddhi’s. She is a student of Prabhupada.

While walking, I received on my phone a few dillies on the topic of walking and exercise. I took a few moments to relish my friend Tom from Windsor’s latest installment of j