An early yearning to change the world leads to a year-long international journey with unexpected results.
From Back to Godhead
I was born in 1970 in upstate New York and had more or less a typical American childhood – that is, until age fifteen, when I began to perceive the shallowness of it. At that time, I started to read books on philosophy and psychology and to listen more carefully to the weekly sermons at our local Baptist church. I had a lot of questions – about God, about life – but no
On April 14th, 2023, HG Patri Das was honored by the President of Nepal, Ram Chandra Poudel, with the prestigious Suprabal Janashree Medal, the highest civilian award granted in the country. The award recognized his significant spiritual contribution to Nepal by uplifting the people’s consciousness and serving them for over two decades. Patri Das has been a member of ISKCON since 1990, and serves as the GBC’s Co-Regional Secretary of ISKCON Nepal.
As part of the ceremony, Patri Prabhu offered k
Youth from around South India, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala gathered for three days to mark the celebration of “Parivartan,” a mega youth festival organized by ISKCON Tirupati.
“It was a massive festival for three days with boarding facility provided by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), hosted in Mahati Auditorium in Tirupati with more than 2,000 youth participating,” said Revati Raman Das, GBC Chairman and President at ISKCON Tirupati.
We interviewed Kirti
Patita Pavana and I did several revolutions around the Radha Radhanath temple in Chatsworth before taking a few restful moments for our feet on a provided bench. As usual, the myna birds were extremely noisy perched in several trees on the grounds. The sun was just about to make its appearance, when suddenly there was a power outage. The sounds of the birds just very spontaneously ceased with not a beat missing. Gradually the serenading picked up again. When the power came back on, so did a bur
Mother Arca Vigraha left this world on Jahnu Saptami, which this year is May 18.
TEXT
sa ca svarlokam aroksyan
sunitim jananim dhruvah
anvasmarad agam hitva
dinam yasye tri-vistapam
TRANSLATION
Dhruva was seated in the transcendental airplane, which was just about to start, when he remembered his poor mother, Suniti. He thought to himself, “How shall I go alone to the Vaikuntha planet and leave behind my poor mother?”
PURPORT
Dhruva had a feeling of obligation to his mother, Suniti. It was
The Krishna House Dallas ashram recently opened in East Dallas, across the street from the Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji temple. The ashram is following the successful formula of Krishna House Gainesville, which is renowned for bringing hundreds of people to Krishna Consciousness through its warm and accommodating mood. The Krishna House Dallas ashram is a co-ed ashram that provides a live-in experience for those who want to practice Bhakti. To live in the Krishna House you can be working or studyi
One subscriber of ours sent us a question: “I know generally we don’t pray for material benefits but in Srimad Bhagavatam we find prayers such as the Narayana kavacha and Gajendra prayers. Can one read these prayers during times of distress and does one factually get the benefit of these prayers by simply reading them as stated and can these benefits be gained if simply read in English?”
First of all, Srimad Bhagavatam is Amala Purana and one of our most important core literatures of all time,
Krishna Kshetra Swami – teacher, writer, and traveler – is a disciple of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
He has served as a missionary, temple priest (pujari), and counselor for bhakti-yoga practitioners from the time of his formal initiation in 1972. From 1972 to 1976 he was based in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark; then he began to participate in Vaishnava missionary activities in cen
His Grace Patri Prabhuji honored by the President of Nepal with Suprabal Janashree Medal for his spiritual contribution to uplift the consciousness of people of Nepal serving for more than two decades.
Nilachala Caitanya Das
ISKCON Nepal
Budhanilkantha Kathmandu Nepal
By Thomas Haribol
Amidst Potomac, Maryland’s cherry tree blossoms and spring flowers, religious scholars and spiritual practitioners gathered for the 26th Annual Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue on March 14-15th. Attendees include priests, pastors, professors from both the Protestant and Catholic traditions, and leaders and scholars from the Vaishnava tradition. Its founders, Anuttama Dasa, and Rukmini Devi Dasi, hosted the event at the ISKCON of DC Temple. The location rotates between the differen
The following is a letter accompanying today’s release of the “Review of Safeguarding and Child Protection in ISKCON Mayapur and Vrindavan schools” Report
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
In pursuance of our commitment to dealing robustly with child protection, in December 2022, the GBC Body authorized an independent review of the governance and leadership in the Mayapur and Vrindavan gurukulas. The report was submitted to us in February, and
I started a workshop today on “Nine Devotions.” One of these devotions is prayer.
WHAT IS IT WITH PRAYER
Is it not the most divine form of communication
A way of expression, a marvellous supplication
An urge from the heart due to a hurt or a wound
A cry so desperate from feeling so ruined
A call for help as if lost in dense jungle
Seeking signs for a way out of the tangle
Prayer can be a request for strength, hope, courage
It certainly transcends any mundane verbiage
But special requests do no
Chandni Raj, Strategy Consultant – Energy and Environment, New Mayapur
The New Bahulavana goshala in New Mayapur, France, demonstrates dairy farming that provides holistic benefit to the ruminants, the environment they live in, along with the people who care for them. Founded to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to provide protection to cows and work with bulls on the land, the goshala is a perfect testimony to the benefits of Vedic wisdom. While providing superior quality milk that can n
During its AGM meetings in Mayapur this year, members of the Governing Body Commission and members of the Indian Bureau spent an entire day together discussing relevant topics for both leadership groups. Several members of the Indian Continental Committee also joined the meeting.
Approximately fifty devotees met in one of the meeting rooms within the Temple of Vedic Planetarium for two three-hour sessions in the morning and the afternoon.The meeting was facilitated by ISKCON Resolve leader Vraj
Meet Loka Manohara Giridhari Das, a devotee who finds great joy in distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books a few years after discovering them with his family. Today, he is a seasoned book distributor working in Johannesburg’s central business district, an area often associated with high crime rates.
When asked what motivates him to distribute Srila Prabhupadas’ books, Loka Manohara Giridhari Das speaks from the heart, “There’s no other feeling like it, you know…the thrill of distributing Srila Pr
The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) will host an international conference, “Vedic Cosmology: Historical Perspectives and Current Research,” on November 17–19, 2023, at the BIHS Headquarters in Gainesville, Florida. This event is a natural outgrowth of three prior BIHS cosmology workshops – “Puranic Cosmography: Taking the 5th…Canto!” (2019), “Models and Memes and Maps: A Modern Journey through Ancient Cosmography” (2020), and “The Nature of Spacetime and the Evolving Universe:
We were in the middle of our theatrical practice when in walked a group of forty or so young kids and their coaches from a swat camp. “Okay,” I thought, “let’s ask the group if we can do a full performance – our rehearsal – for them.” They agreed whole-heartedly, and so we had an audience, which is a natural stimulation for our performance.
Akshaya Tritiya, Beginning of Chandan Yatra – A Day packed with so much fortunate moments!
The very word Akshaya means “that which never diminishes”. Any service or charity one performs on this day will be paid back in folds.
Here are some wonderful moments to note on this day:
In the Skanda Purana (Utkala-khanda, Chapter 29) it is described that Lord Jagannatha instructed King Indradyumna to keep His transcendental body cool by applying sandalwood paste all over His divine form:
vaisakhasya site pakse tritiyaksaya samjnikatatra
mam lepayed gandha lepanair ati sobhanam
“Smear fragrant sandalwood paste on My body on the day of Aksaya-trtiya during the waxing moon in the month of Vaisakha.”
This festival is called the Candana-yatra festival, which literally translates
