The Governing Body Commission (GBC) of ISKCON resumed its regular online meetings on Wednesday, 6 December after the Kartik break. Two significant topics were discussed at this meeting.
1) CPO Directorship
An important topic discussed was the strengthening of the international Child Protection Office (CPO) including future and succession planning. The discussion grew out of a shared report submitted by two GBC appointed committees to review the current CPO systems and structures and propose imp
By Yudhistir Govinda Das
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), one of the specialized agencies of the UN with a membership of 192 countries and several dozens of associate partners, recently had its biennial (one in two years) full body meeting at its headquarters in Paris, France which included Member States and Associate Members, together with observers for non-Member States, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and founda
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Annually, the Prabhupada Marathon unfolds as a transcendent occasion for benevolence across ISKCON communities on a global scale with the “Live to Give” Campaign. This year, the BBT MCI Team (Marketing, Communications, and Innovation), under the expert leadership of Vaisesika Dasa, has set the goal of distributing 3.7 million Bhagavad-gitas worldwide between September 30th and January 7th, 2024.
Vaisesika Dasa said, “This campaign aims to realize the seventh p
I had no opportunity to touch nature today, other than the five kilometre brisk walk from Union Station to the ashram. Yes, it was fresh and early. Our train from Ottawa left us still for over two hours near Pickering, which landed us at our destination at 1:30 am. I wheeled my suitcase once again down the stretch. Good for wheels. Good for legs.
Planned for the day was two home visits where both parties expressed the desire for lamp offerings to the figurines of Krishna and Yasodha, His mom.
Vraja’s Nāndimukhi became Sāraṅga Ṭhākura in Gaura-lila.
Śrī Saranga Ṭhākura is mentioned in the listing of branches of the Chaitanya trunk of the tree of devotional service along with Rama Das, Kavidatta, Gopal Das and Bhāgavata Acharya (Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.10.113). He is also known as Sarnga Ṭhākura, Sarngadhar and Sarngapani.
He used to live in Modadrumdvīpa, which is the island in Nabadvīpa that represents, of the nine types of devotional service, the service attitude. The name of the
Shri Narahari Sarkar Thakura was born at Shri Khanda. Shri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami describes that the residents of Shri Khanda formed a branch of the desire tree of love of God. “Shri Khan davasi (the residents of Shri Khanda) Mukunda and his son Raghu nandan were the thirty ninth branch of the tree, Narahari was the fortieth, Chiran Jiva the forty first and Sulochana the forty second.
They were all big branches of the all merciful tree of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They distributed the fruits
By Savitri Devi Dasi
The Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (VIHE) will start its new series of the Bhakti-vaibhava course from 4 January to 5 April 2024. The course will begin from Canto 1 and be held on-site in Sri Vrndavana Dhama.
Apart from the regular classes, there will be classes for the memorization of verses, group work, and presentations by students. It will also include japa sessions, value classes, dhama darsana, and festivals. The course will be a verse-by-verse study of Srim
Before tucking into bed last night my host, Sreyas, a doctor at one of Ottawa’s hospitals, brought me to see his father, 91, recovering from surgery. This is one of those comforting obligations that goes with the priestly portfolio. The next morning, however, I had the pleasure to visit, not the aged and mature, but those classes of youngsters at the Bhakta Prahlad Montessori School.
Krishna Dulal, who is sometimes described as entrepreneur extraordinaire, is also the manager of the school, and
From Back to Godhead
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lecture given in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, on June 25, 1976
With practice, we can become free from limited affection centered on the body and can then realize the ideal of loving everyone.
ko griheshu puman saktam
atmanam ajitendriyah
sneha-pashair dridhair baddham
utsaheta vimochitum
“What person too attached to household life due to being unable to control his senses can liberate himself? An attached householder
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Mayapur Clean & Green, an environmental initiative led by Murari Mohini Devi Dasi, recently welcomed new devotee volunteers who enthusiastically contributed to the cleaning activity for several days and helped raise funds for the laborers. Their service highlights the challenges of a rapidly expanding population in Mayapur without a matching infrastructure, waste management resources, financial support, and more volunteers to keep the Holy Dham clean and safe.
By Rati Gopika Devi Dasi
ISKCON Malaysia Headquarters, Sri Jagannatha Mandir in Kuala Lumpur, achieved a record during the 2023 Damodara month with 222,709 lamps offered and 19,821 plates of prasadam shared. Out of this, a team of devotees conducted the Damodara Program, also known as Deepa-Damodara Program, at 25 local primary schools (ages 5-12), facilitating the offering of 104,747 lamps and the distribution of 8,656 plates of prasadam.
The Damodara Month initiative, inspired by HH Srila Jaya
If I didn’t wheel my suitcase down the city streets to Union Station from the ashram, a distance just shy of a 5 kilometre mark, I might not have put any walking in for the day. I felt to almost be in Vaikuntha, the spiritual world. Traffic was not nil, but quiet. For a good part, I stuck to the bike lane where you don’t have these cuts in the concrete. I arrived just after 6 am, and in a nice way, tuckered out, ready to plop down on the comfy train seat. With my japa meditation complete and pr
Answer Summary: By contemplating how meditation is where the biggest action is.
Answer: Action is what catches our attention. For example, in a cricket test match, when the action slows down as the batsmen start playing defensively, our interest sags. But when the action rises – the bowler delivers a googly that clean bowls the batsman or the batsman hits a huge six, for example – then our attention peaks effortlessly.
A break that we don’t need?
When it comes to meditation, we often think of it
We all have heard Srila Prabhupada warn us that television and media strengthen our materialistic mentality and divert us from service to Krishna—our consciousness being formed largely by our association. However, it is often difficult to keep our children away from the influences that are so pervasive in our culture.
Aggression and Television Viewing: The problems associated with children watching TV go beyond moral and spiritual concerns. There is mounting evidence of the many negative psycho
My dear devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
In a letter to me dated December 1971, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Go on increasing books and go on increasing my pleasure.” December is a special opportunity to focus on Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we distribute books—and thus increase his pleasure. As he wrote in the same letter, “I am most pleased especially to hear that you are distributing many books.”
tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slo
Initaitive
Under the guidance of H.G.Kamalalochan Prabhuji (ISKCON Miraroad temple President ) devotees from Miraroad temple particularly teachers running the Narsimha Institute of Children’s Education (Sunday school) took this initiative of making students of schools and colleges light the lamp. Approaching Schools Teachers of NICE institute (Narasimha’s institute for children education) approached schools in Mira Road, Borivali, Kandivali, Dahisar,Bhayender,Surat, Ahmedabad ,Rajasthan. With m
“Often the answer to our prayer does not come while we’re on our knees, but while we’re on our feet serving the Lord and serving those around us.”
— Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Nair, a devoted nurse, had just completed a demanding night shift and was en route to her home. Despite being a single mother of three, juggling a
full-time job, and even working overtime today for extra income, her passion for her profession radiated through her.
Her beaming smile conveyed not only her love for serving the sick
This year’s Festival of the Holy Name, held over Thanksgiving weekend (November 24-25, 2023) in Alachua, Florida, was another spiritual success, welcoming hundreds of devotees to the two-day kirtan event.
The annual gathering is “fully organized and subsidized by second-generation devotees; the festival attracts every member of our local temple community as well as friends and congregation members from all over Florida and beyond,” said Mukhya Devi Dasi, Temple President at ISKCON’s New Raman R
I love the lines of Shakespeare that made me think a little bit more about Diwali, the light festival of optimism. Here it is from William Shakespeare, “How far that little candle throws its beams. So shines a good deed in a weary world.”
I had to ponder on what kind deed did I execute today? Well, here goes. I had to dredge memory, but could only come up with something miniscule compared to the heroic deeds of others. It was on my night walk when the sidewalk got tight and with a municipal tre
