From Back to Godhead
Is life meaningless until we give it meaning?
A young woman from South Africa, where I live, is a candidate for the Mars One project, the brainchild of a Netherlands-based group hoping to set up a colony on Mars by 2025. She anticipates years of vigorous training, many grueling hours of intense research, an eight-month-long journey in a confined spacecraft, and difficult living conditions on a strange planet. She is excited to be part of the first human settlement on Mars,
J. Robert Oppenheimer’s relationship with Indian philosophy, Sanskrit, and the Bhagavad Gita has experienced a revival with the recent controversial Hollywood drama, “Oppenheimer.” While many articles have focused on the atomic physicist recalling a verse from the Gita when he witnessed a nuclear explosion, the author Syama Allard takes a deeper look at the relationship and parallels between Arjuna and the 20th-century scientist:
“(RNS) — On July 16, 1945, in the desert 210 miles south of Los
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
ISKCON Prison Ministry, an initiative of the BBT (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust) Mail Order Department in Los Angeles, has been a spiritual lifeline providing spiritual support and guidance to incarcerated people for five decades.
The mission of ISKCON Prison Ministry is to spread Lord Caitanya’s mercy to those who find themselves in prison within the “prison house of the material world.” Candramauli Swami, who represents ISKCON Prison Ministry at the Mayapur Fes
After a long prairie ride on that familiar TCH (Trans-Canada Highway) from Saskatchewan, we finally landed in the next province, Manitoba, and more specifically, the city of Winnipeg, at 2 am. The next morning (today) was the inauguration of Winnipeg's Ratha Yatra (Chariot Fest), and for that, our team of four was required to be there at 10:30 am. Fine!
The popular Hindu temple on St. Anne's Road was the venue for the event. It was a good choice. The temple became packed in no time prior to our
Nowadays we frequently have the impression that 16 rounds are some kind of eternal standard and it was always this way, but actually Vaishnavas in previous centuries had different standards for Japa.
In the times of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the minimum standard for Vaishnavas (followed even by householders) was to chant one lakh or 100,000 names. This was taught by Mahaprabhu himself, as narrated in the Sri Caitanya Bhagavata:
"As the devotees invited the Lord (Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu) to ta
Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The 47th LA Ratha Yatra was truly a transcendental phenomenon. Guests began arriving the Wednesday before so that they could be engaged in the service for Lord Jagannatha. Some came from as far as Australia.
This was the best of the best for LA and thousands of people came out to see Their Lordships on their chariots.
This slideshow is a pictorial essay of the preparations, the parade and the ecstatic festival on
Sacrifice comes from the word sacred, and in one of the ancient wisdom literature’s there’s a mention about how nobody can live peacefully without some kind of sacrifice, some austerity in their life.
The term ‘austerity,’ conjure images of stern monks, impossible disciplines, and self-denial, however, austerity is not about severe asceticism but about doing something that leads to spiritual fulfillment.
A new program in one of the state prisons
By Mahatma Das
In this article I use the letters X and Y to make my points. X represents either the ideal person we want to be or the ideal goal we wish to achieve. Y represents our conditioned side and acknowledges the reality of being somewhat handicapped in achieving our ideals or even being at a great distance from them. In other words, X is who we want to be and Y is who we are now. In some cases these are polar opposites. Y can even be a self we don’t admit exists, or if we do, a self we d
At Ekachakra Dham, India
YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US TO:
By Atma Tattva Das
In a significant milestone for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the ISKCON Child Protection Office (CPOi) commemorates its 25th anniversary, underscoring its unwavering commitment to protecting the young souls within the community. Spearheading this transformative journey is Kamalesh Krishna Das, the International Director of CPO, whose dedicated leadership has played a pivotal role in nurturing the organization’s profound impact. From its modest
By Thomas Haribol
When people say, “God will give you a sign,” they usually don’t mean that literally, but for me, that’s exactly what He did.
In 2015, I was driving south on I-15 to vacation at Capitol Reef National Park. This busy interstate carries millions of cars to the “Mighty Five” national parks in southern Utah. I’d traveled this western artery many times, but on this particular drive, I was gobsmacked to see a colorful “sign” along the road, a billboard showcasing a “Krishna Temple.”
The hawk was in flight and had something clutched to its claws, and while the bird was beelining itself above me, I saw a second bird, a blackbird, making irregular dashes at the hawk. More than once it lunged towards the larger bird. Within seconds, the smaller bird gave in and took its own course, most likely frustrated by its intruder who likely stole something from the tinier bird.
This outdoor trekking that I do in the morning offers dramas such as this that you won't find when pacing on a
It's well known that the Vedas mention cases of polygamy. It's mentioned that this practice was common in previous ages since many men would remain as lifelong celibates, as Brahmacaris and later Sannyasis, and thus not enter into family life, just like many others would die in wars. In this way, the female population in Vedic societies would be almost always greater than the male population available for marriage, and the problem would be solved by some men marrying more than one woman.
Another
By Rasananda Sankirtana Dasa
Association means protection. By associating with devotees, we are protected from the dangers of the material world the same way a calf is protected by the herd of elephants. However, the voice of kali is telling us to leave the herd behind and everyone is accepting it proudly like wearing a t-shirt saying, “leave the herd behind.” Right, because isn’t our refusal to follow the herd that led us to Krishna consciousness? Our emancipation from Big brother and Uncle Sa
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Bhaktivedanta Charity Trust, under the guidance of its lifetime chairperson, HH Jayapataka Swami, in cooperation with the Gaura Foundation, is restoring one of the holy places (Lila Sthali) in Navadwip, Mayapur. This is traditionally recognized as the place where Lord Balarama was approached by village Brahmanas to rescue them from the ferocious attacks of the demon Mayasura. Still, it has sadly been neglected for a long time.
Sri Radha Govinda Dasi, the found
Registration begins 1st August!!
It is our great pleasure to announce ISKCON MAYAPUR’s 11th annual six-day Kartik Navadwip Mandal Parikrama during the most auspicious month of Kartik (organized by the Mayapur Chandra’s). The Parikrama dates are 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 21st & 22nd November, 2023.
There will be two days break, for Srila Prabhuap’s disappearance day (17th of November) and Gopashtami (20th November) so that devotees can participate in the festivals.
For this year also, the parikram
We need a drummer in our little music band to make it complete. While Mahadeva is on guitar, Annapurna is on harmonium. I play on the kartalas or tambourine; we figured that the person who is left, Gaurav, could try his hand at the djembe we just purchased.
Since we have yet to reach a few more cities and communities on our tour, we thought that we could get the most out of our devotee-power. It is working out perfectly so far with Gaurav as our driver. He has a nice personality that makes our
Hare Krishna
Radhe Radhe
I am blessed to find this group and been accepted by it.
I belong to Bharat, trying to be sanatani in this juggling lifestyle.
I observe daily multiple people who are of same age ,my colleagues where they disgrace me if they get to know that I been to temple, again it's same religion people.
May be because of movies dialogues current generation are like this.
There are many preachers in this world who would tell about our history but I think it is not reachable to everyone hea
We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Because we are spiritual, we are eternal, and existing in a constantly changing, impermanent world feels unnatural. This incongruity between our spiritual natures and the material nature can lead to subtle frustrations and dissatisfaction.
The desire to become attracted to the material world is perfectly reasonable because the material world is a perfect reflection of the spiritual world. All the vari
By Sri Baladeva Dasa (One day padayatra organizer)
On Sunday, July 30th, 2023, a grand and successful one day padayatra with bullock cart was organized in manusmudia village (80km from Jamshedpur). The event was a testament to the community’s unity and enthusiasm, bringing together residents from all walks of life to celebrate a memorable day.
The padayatra commenced at Kadam tala chowk where devotees gathered with all their offerings and bhogas to welcome their Lordships Sri Sri Nitai Gaurach
