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
Candana yatra starts on the third lunar day of the waxing moon of Vaisakha month, and continues for twenty days. Lord Jagannatha gave direct instructions to King Indradyumna to perform this festival at this time. Smearing the body of the Lord with ointments is an act of devotion, and the best of ointments is sandalwood paste. Since the month of Vaisakha is very hot in India, the cooling effect of the sandalwood is very pleasing to the body of the Lord.
Sandalwood paste is ap
I’m not sure of the history of Aksaya Tritiya. But ksaya means to diminish, so aksaya means that which never diminishes, or which goes on increasing. So this day is considered a very auspicious day to start anything from which you want the fruits never to diminish. I see that people start their businesses on this day, do grha pravesha on this day, start their journeys on this day. And there is a big festival in Nandagram on this day. But if you want to come and see it, you have to book your tax
Akshaya Tritiya, one of the most important days in the Vedic calendar. Akshaya Tritiya is the appearance day of Lord Parasurama, and it is also the day that the Ganges descended to the earth. Most devotees know it as the beginning of Candana-yatra, but actually many of Lord Krishna’s other pastimes also took place on this day, specifically those which highlight Krishna’s generous and intimate reciprocation with his devotees.
The very word Akshaya means “that which never diminishes”. Any servic
The day known as Aksaya-tritiya occurs on the third (tritiya) day of the waxing moon in the month of Vaisakha. Every second of this blessed day is completely auspicious, and so there is no consideration of any one period (muhurta) being better than another. Aksaya means “inexhaustible”; anything a person undertakes on the day of Aksaya-tritiya is bound to succeed, especially the performance of devotional activities, which guarantee inexhaustible benefit.
It is said that Aksaya-tritiya is the
Akshaya Tritiya day is the very auspicious day - there's no inauspiciousness to be found today so even checking muhurthas is considered unnecessary, so auspicious it is. Whatever one does for devotees, and for Krsna that person will get more benefit and it is eternal benefit and never lost.
Some important events have taken place on Akshay Tritiya -
1. Appearance of Lord Parasurama.
2. Appearance of Mother Ganga.
3. Beginning of chandan yatra (sun is directly above our head for 21 days and he
Krishna Conscious devotees have been visiting the border cities of El Paso and Juarez to preach at various yoga centers since the early 1970s, but they now have a permanent presence in the city thanks to a flourishing home program run by a dedicated grihastha couple Krishna Charan Dasa and his wife, Jasmine Kim Fong. It’s called the New Nilachal Bhakti Yoga Community, and it is the temple home of Jagannatha, Balarama, and Subhadra.
A Not-So-Chance Meeting
In 2010, Krishna Charan (then Alfredo G
