I stepped out of the door when my face was embraced by a fresh hit of a cool breeze. This afternoon was layered by a new snowfall. I quickly judged the shoveling job of our boys. Hmmm. 90% okay. Not thorough but doable. The neighbours and pilgrims that come to visit should be content enough to step their way through without kicking off from their footwear the white fallen flakes.
I had been quite pinned down indoors with classes, both zoom and live, within the warmth of furnace power, the le
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Food-for-Life Nepal (FFLN), a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of marginalized children and communities in Nepal, hosted a hiking program at the Bishnudwar, Shivapuri National Park, Budhanilkantha on February 3, 2024. The tagline for the event was “Hike For A Purpose, Climbing Hills, Nourishing Minds – Every Step You Take Supports a Child’s Education and Nourishment.”
The Hike for a Purpose event brought together 30 individ
Devotee youth and young adults from across Florida participated in the annual Gasparilla Parade held in Tampa, Florida, on January 20th, bringing the mercy of Lord Jagannath to the third-largest parade in the United States.
According to the city of Tampa, the Gasparilla Parade welcomes a crowd of around 300,000 every year to celebrate the legendary pirate Jose Gaspar’s invasion of the harbor. The parade, often referred to as the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, features a lively procession of pirate
Thank you so much for your loving, fatherly support and encouragement towards the festivities in Mayapur. With your loving guidance and direction, the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, and the entirely Guru Param Param, the Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur always manages to come out best each year. We are grateful for your unwavering support, dear Guru Maharaj!
Guru Maharaj from year to year shows us his love and support by sponsoring the prasadam seva for community devotees and for visitors coming
When I was recently in the Gainesville, Florida area, a kind devotee, John Harson, handed me in hard copy some of his poems. I will share two of those short composition that are thought provoking enough. Thank you!
A Teacher
Looking for a teacher?
Look for the eyes of one
Who sees no race, gender or nationality.
Sees no religion or political party
Sees earth as Mother
Sees all beings as souls
Always Been
Mud is sling
Wars are fought
Such a waste of
What earth has brought
All comes down
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Eight and a half years ago, Sharana Prada Das came to Mayapur following his spiritual journey in the 1990s when he first discovered the philosophy he yearned for in Srila Prabhupada’s “Teachings Of Lord Chaitanya.” His relentless dedication in Mayapur has helped transform the Russian-speaking community into a vibrant cultural center.
Sharana Prada Das shared that his motivation for this tireless community service is twofold: to offer a heartfelt homage to Sr
By Jayabhadra devi dasi (Padayatra coordinator)
The Tamil Nadu Padayatra was inaugurated on January 17, 2023, at Tirunelveli, a major city in the state of Tamil Nadu about 75km northeast of Kanyakumari, India’s southernmost point. The padayatra is led by Bhakti Vikas Maharaja disciple Sevananda dasa, who served in the All India Padayatra for five years where he was trained by AIP leader Acarya dasa.
Following the inauguration padayatra headed south before backtracking northwards to Madurai, th
indriyesu manas tani tan-matresu yathodbhavam bhutadinamuny utkrsya mahaty atmani sandadhe
TRANSLATION: He amalgamated the mind with the senses and the senses with the sense objects, according to their respective positions, and he also amalgamated the material ego with the total material energy, mahat-tattva.
PURPORT: In respect to the ego, the total material energy is sundered in two parts — one agitated by the mode of ignorance and the other agitated by the modes of passion and goodness. Due
Today is Sripada Madhvacharya’s disappearance day. Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter 9, describes him:
TEXT 245
madhvacarya-sthane aila yanha ‘tattvavadi’
udupite ‘krsna’ dekhi, tahan haila premonmadi
TRANSLATION
Caitanya Mahaprabhu next arrived at Udupi, the place of Madhvacarya, where the philosophers known as Tattvavadis resided. There He saw the Deity of Lord Krsna and became mad with ecstasy.
PURPORT
Sripada Madhvacarya took his birth near Udupi, which is situated in the South Kan
Shri Madhvacharya appeared near Udupi, Karnataka in South India. He was considered an incarnation of Vayu (wind god). He had an unusually strong physique and extraordinary intellectual power.
Once a fierce tiger attacked Madhvacharya’s sannyasa disciple, Satya Tirtha. Madhvacharya wrestled the tiger and sent him away with his tail between his legs. Madhvacharya took diksha at age five, sannyasa at twelve and left home.
He appeared with a mission to fight and defeat Sankara’s Mayavada (imperson
By Shyama Rasika Dasa
On February 11, 2024, devotees gathered at ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai to perform the abhiseka of stone imprints of the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which will be installed at Nasika, Kolapura, and Mumbai where Lord Chaitanya visited.
“It was the desire of Srila Bhakisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada to install 108 lotus footprints of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at the places where Lord Chaitanya visited to create awareness of His presence in that place. He installe
Sri Advaita Acharya Appearance Day!
It is said that material nature has two features, namely the material cause and the efficient cause. The efficient causal activities are caused by Mahā-Viṣṇu, and the material causal activities are caused by another form of Mahā-Viṣṇu, known as Advaita. That Advaita, the superintendent of the cosmic manifestation, has descended in the form of Advaita Ācārya to associate with Lord Caitanya. When He is addressed as the servitor of Lord Caitanya, His glories ar
“You just make Balarama your son, Subhadra your daughter and Lord Jagannatha your husband.” This is the instruction Srila Prabhupada gave me in 1972, and this is the story about how this came to be.
In the spring of 1972, Srila Prabhupada visited Tokyo yatra for the second time. It was so wonderful to see him again.
During his visit, Sudama, my husband at the time, came to me and said that he had just asked Srila Prabhupada if he could take sannyasa. Srila Prabhupada told him he would have to a
By Praghosa dasa
The first minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf invited our Karuna Bhavan devotees to government building Atlantic Quay, Glasgow, yesterday. He was presented with the Deities Maha garlands and was pleased to receive Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita. Here you see him chatting with the temple president, Prabhupada Prana Prabhu.
In 2017, during the Padayatra march in the Czech Republic, I was hit by a car with two other devotees. The driver of the car had an epileptic seizure and drove at full speed into our ten-member harinama group. She only stopped when she hit a gas station, in the place where cars are pumped with fuel. I stayed between the pillar and that car, the other two were lying on the road. They said they flew like rag dolls, but even in the initial shock they didn’t know about me, because I remained wedged
By Prishni Sutton
This month, the Bhaktivedanta Institute held its third Richard L. Thompson Lecture Series on Thompson’s book, Parallels: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena, initially published as Alien Identities (1993).
The event featured presentations by Michael Cremo (Drutakarma Das), Christopher Beetle (Krishna Kripa Das), and Bob Cohen (Brahmatirtha Das), along with a small party held in honor of Sadaputa’s birthday.
The day began with a talk by Michael Cremo describing his day
By Sutapa Das
On January 18, 2024, Sri Udupi Dham in Karnataka, India, witnessed a paryaya (transfer of worship) to Sri Puthige Mutt, which was one of the most significant events in the whole of Karnataka. The three-day celebration, with a series of Vedic rituals and cultural events, created great jubilation in the Holy Dham of Udupi.
Sri Puthige Mutt officially invited ISKCON devotees to grace the occasion. ISKCON was represented by Revati Raman Das, the GBC Chairman. Sri Sugunendra Teerth Swa
jaya jaya sundara nanda-kumāra
saurabha-sańkaṭa-vṛndāvana-vihita-vasanta-vihāra
“O handsome son of Nanda, O Lord who enjoys springtime pastimes in the fragrant forest of Vrndavana, all glories to You! All glories to You!”
– Srila Rupa Goswami
The Vasanta season is celebrated as the best of seasons, not only because it represents life and joy, but because it is the most fortunate of all the seasons, as Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the Vasanta season.
“King Vasanta (the personificat
The Food For Life Monterrey team of devotees is joyfully distributing prasadam and the holy names in Mexico’s second-largest city, bringing spiritual and physical nourishment to the community’s most needy populations.
Monterrey, located in the northeastern part of the country, nestled against the picturesque Sierra Madre mountain range, has over one million residents. Though it’s a major economic hub, the community still faces issues of economic disparity and food insecurity.
Different devotee
On February 8, 2024, during festivities in New Delhi celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Appearance of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative postage stamp honoring Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s significance as a spiritual leader.
The India Post noted, “This stamp emphasizes his immense contribution to the spiritual upliftment of millions in India and abroad.”
Additionally, a commemorative coin was unveiled. The 150 rupee no
