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“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

“The throne is yours, Bharatha. All yours.” The words dripped from Kaikeyi’s lips like sweet poison, enchanting yet deadly. She held the world in her hands and was handing it to him, gift-wrapped. Only a fool would walk away. Did it matter that her delicate fingers were steeped in blood and tears? His father’s blood and the tears of all of Ayodhya?

Power, such a seductive thing. It begins when we are infants and learn that a shrill cry can get you immediate attention. First we cry because we ne

There are bumper stickers that say, “I’d rather be hang-gliding”. For devotees of Krishna it could read, “I’d rather be distributing books”. Book distribution is that beautiful experience that melts the heart and is not
easily forgotten.

However, sometimes we neglect to distribute books, so Krishna sends certain reminders. Here are several reminders I have experienced:

Once I was standing outside the LA temple when a couple approached me. “Don’t you remember us? You gave us a calendar.” I vague

Like Ravana of the Ramayana, the heroes and heroines of today’s movies have a fatal flaw.

The Ramayana is an ancient Vedic saga of action, romance, wisdom, and adventure; a saga that has inspired a quarter of the world’s population for millennia; a saga that depicts a past when beings of celestial might both divine and demoniac interacted on our terrestrial realm; a saga of the struggle between good and the evil; a saga in which God descends and teaches virtue, righteousness, and spirituality b

Food for Life Hungary reached a historic milestone on 17 November when the head of the humanitarian program, Bhakta Vatsala Dasa, received the “For the City of Budapest” award from the capital’s mayor, Gergely Karacsony. The honor, given on Budapest’s 150th Birthday, also conferred honorary citizenship on Bhakta Vatsala. The 150th celebration commemorated the unification of the three historical parts of the city: Buda, Pest, and Óbuda.

Dozens of honorary citizens, artists, and celebrities who h

INSTED OF A JACK'O'LANTERN, A DEVOTEE FROM VANCOUVER CARVED OUT OF A PUMPKIN THIS EXTRAORDINARY PIECE DEPICTING KRISHNA LIFTING GOVARDHAN HILL.

I get so fascinated by Shyamasundar’s book, “Chasing Rhinos.” There were a few spots that I shared with Cory and Uday.

One of George Harrison’s acquaintances, David Wynne, had connections with the Queen. He offered her a Bhagavad-gita As It Is. According to David, she read the book for about half an hour and remarked, “How marvelous it would be to compl

Certain phrases and ideas tend to be especially memorable for devotees who regularly read Srila Prabhupada’s books. One such idea is that we must know not only that God is great but also how He is great.

Here’s one example of Prabhupada making this point.

The highest summit of spiritual perfection is knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is firmly convinced of the different opulences of the Supreme Lord, he cannot engage in devotional service. Generally people know that Go

The third verse of the Siksastakam is trnad api sunicena – “one should be humbler than a blade of grass.” You may wonder, “How can I be humbler than a blade of grass?” Let’s look at one way this is possible.

May you always think of Krsna.

Mahatma Das
 

Do Not Resist

Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that grass doesn’t resist when it is walked on or thrown around. It doesn’t complain or scream out, “How dare you step on me or throw me here and there?!” As we say in California, “It goes with the flow

We concluded our last discussion on the existence of the self with the recognition that accepting our own existence somehow or other implied the existence of God, quoting Srila Prabhupada’s words “One can understand the nature of the Supreme by thorough study of oneself” (Bg 2.16, purport) (http://www.dandavats.com/?p=12367#more-12367).But by what process can this understanding be achieved?

Descartes concludes from his first two meditations that the self exists. He begins to ponder the nature o

ISKCON Malaysia Headquarters, Sri Jagannatha Mandir, Kuala Lumpur created a record this year where a team of devotees conducted Damodara Program or also known as Deepa-Damodara Programs at a total of 25 local primary schools (ages 5 to 12) in the whole of Damodara month (from 27th Oct to 29th Nov). This is a grand milestone for Sri Jagannatha Mandir, with a total lamp shown at 104,747 and with 8656 total plates of Prasadam distributed.

The Damodara Month preaching was inspired by HH Srila Jaya

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

Staff and well-wishers join Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s global Minister of Communications, to celebrate the opening of the new office; asking for Srila Prabhupada’s blessing.

The ISKCON Mayapur Communications Department, which temporarily closed due to budget constraints and the challenges posed by the 2019-2020 COVID-19 crisis, has officially reopened in Room Number 204 of the Lotus Building, ISKCON Mayapur. 

The reinstatement ceremony featured respected personal

By Atma Tattva Das

Earlier this year, devotee Texito Langa released his latest musical offering, a single titled “Oh Afrika!” that is a poignant call for collective spiritual awakening and intentional unity to overcome the many struggles that plague the continent. This musical endeavor not only reflects Texito’s personal journey but also carries profound significance for the broader International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) community on the mother continent.

Texito’s journey in t

By Prishni Sutton 

The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) hosted its second international conference, “Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana: Current Research on History, Philosophy, and Science,” on November 17–19 at the BIHS Headquarters in Gainesville, FL. Use of this lovely facility, the former home of the president of the University of Florida, was secured with the generous support of Hridayananda Das Goswami.

This conference was a natural outgrowth of three prior BIHS cosmology

This conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and physicist Gregory Benford took place in October, 1973, at the Los Angeles Krsna center.

Dr. Benford: You are probably familiar with what Western theology calls “the problem of evil”: Why does evil exist?

Srila Prabhupada: Evil is the absence of good, just as darkness is the absence of sunlight. If you keep yourself always in the light, where is the question of darkness? God is all-good. So if you keep yourself al

Srila Prabhupada: (chants mangalacarana prayers) Today is birth, appearance day of Srimati Radharani, Radhastami. Fifteen days after Krsna’s birth, Radharani appeared. (pause) Radharani is Krsna’s pleasure potency. Radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini-saktih. The Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has got varieties of energies, as it is confirmed in the Vedic literature. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. Na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate. The Supreme Lord has

“In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.”

(Bhagavad-gītā 2.40)

“Activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Kṛṣṇa without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental quality of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at any stage. Any work begun on the material plane has to be completed, other

श्रीमद् अगस्त्य संहिता अध्याय १३१-१३५

सिंहासने समासीनः सहितः सीतयानुजैः ।

अतसी कुसुम श्यामो रामो विजयतेऽनिशम् ॥१॥

अर्थ- अतसी यानी तीसी के पुष्प के समान श्याम वर्ण वाले अपने अभिन्न स्वरूपा श्रीसीताजी के साथ दिव्य सिंहासन में विराजमान एवं अनुज श्रीभरतजी श्रीलक्ष्मणजी श्रीशत्रुघ्नजी तथा श्रीहनुमानजी से सदा सेवित सर्वेश्वर श्रीरामजी सर्वदा सर्वोत्कर्ष रूपसे विजय प्राप्त करें अर्थात् सभी परिकरों से सेवित दिव्य सिंहासनासीन श्रीरामचन्द्रजी को सादर दण्डवत् प्रणाम करता हूँ।

स्वाश्रमे संश्रितं शिष्यैः प्रातर्

जगद्गुरु श्रीमलूकदासाचार्यविरचितं 'मलूकशतकम्'