Śravaṇa Utsav is one of the most anticipated spiritual gatherings during the Gaura Pūrṇimā Festival in Mayapur. Taking place just before the main festival days, it gently ushers devotees into the festive mood by immersing everyone in the nectar of hearing, association, and reflection.
Held over three days, Śravaṇa Utsav 2026 brings together 21 senior Vaiṣṇava speakers, offering one blissful ocean of hari-kathā. The festival is designed to help devotees step away from the noise of daily life and
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From a multi-billionaire to pauper in the street, everyone is seeking the wealth of love. The gaudy gizmos, exotic holidays, luxury cars, sports bikes, late night dance parties, Valentine ‘s day, thousands of friend lists on Facebook, millions of followers on Twitter and 70 mm celluloid screens, may titillate or stimulate the senses and mind, but in the real reel of our life it cannot quench the thirst of love in our heart.
This thirst can be better apprehended by the analog of the gardener. A
By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)
There have been some people who have declared that the worship of Deities or images or the murti in the temples is but a recent invention of Vedic culture. However, that is not an accurate point. It is true that according to the different yugas or ages (such as Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga) there are different processes for spiritual development that have been more recommended than others. For example, meditation was the recommende
By Radha Mohan Dasa
On 2nd February, Dr Diviash Thakrar and Nilesh represented Bhaktivedanta Manor at a local Tu BiShvat festival, the Jewish tree-planting celebration. The ceremony was led by a mix of civic leaders, faith representatives, and local community members. Its purpose was to foster unity across different faiths, highlighting the connections that bring communities together rather than the differences that divide us. In this way, the event celebrated shared values and collective harmon
As ISKCON approaches its historic 60th Anniversary in 2026, devotees across North America are preparing to honor a legacy that has transformed countless lives and shaped spiritual communities worldwide. To mark this miraculous milestone and heartfelt offering of gratitude to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda and his extraordinary vision, ISKCON New York will host a weekend celebration under the theme “Origins: Celebrating the Past – Envisioning the Future.”
At the core o
Śrīla Prabhupāda Connect Day is an initiative to help devotees deepen their relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda—not just as a historical figure, but as our eternal guide, well-wisher, and spiritual master. This special day is part of the ISKCON Global 60–50 initiative, commemorating 60 years of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s miracles that continue to shape lives all over the world.
On 9th February 2026, devotees remember, honor, and reconnect with Śrīla Prabhupāda through association, hearing, kīrtana, and
I enjoyed my stay in Guyana, particularly in Georgetown where I maximized my stay. When oil comes into the country, or rather, is discovered, operations really do take off. For Guyana it’s new roads, housing developments, casinos, shopping malls, and of course, faster cars and more of them. I exited the country in many areas of older residences, there is so little scope for durable sidewalks and walkways. Pedestrians are truly at the bottom of a pecking order, but that’s progress, if I could sp
Though Prabhupada was present for only the first eleven years of ISKCON’s fifty-year history, he continues to guide and inspire his followers to expand what he began.
“It’s an astonishing story. If someone told you a story like this, you wouldn’t believe it. Here’s this person, he’s seventy years old, he’s going to a country where he’s never been before, he doesn’t know anybody there, he has no money, has no contacts. He has none of the things, you would say, that make for success. He’s going
By Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami
From Back to Godhead
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, appeared in India in the fifteenth century. His mission was to freely distribute pure love of God to everyone without considering who was qualified or unqualified. He predicted that the whole world would one day hear the chanting of the Lord’s holy names. The first of the following three narratives is excerpted from Srila Prabhupada’s introduction to Srimad-Bhagavatam. The fina
By Gargamuni Das
October – November 1966: NEW YORK CITY, “Happiness on 2nd Ave.”
We used to make these leaflets called “Stay high forever.” People really got a kick out of those.
Gargamuni das: We had a big tape recorder that weighed 50 pounds. I was in charge of that.
Brahmananda would bring it down from Prabhupada’s closet every night.
So my job was to set up the tape for Prabhupada’s lecture.
Prabhupada was very insistent in having his lectures tape recorded – so much so that when the tape r
On 2nd February, Dr Diviash Thakrar and Nilesh represented Bhaktivedanta Manor at a local Tu BiShvat festival, the Jewish tree-planting celebration. The ceremony was led by a mix of civic leaders, faith representatives, and local community members. Its purpose was to foster unity across different faiths, highlighting the connections that bring communities together rather than the differences that divide us. In this way, the event celebrated shared values and collective harmony.
From our communit
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi,
The Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) entered into a strategic collaboration with the Management & Entrepreneurship and Professional Skills Council (MEPSC) and Nalanda Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the Press Club, Kolkata. The partnership marked a significant step toward embedding Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) within India’s formal skill development and early childhood education ecosystem.
The MoU was sign
By Nityananda Chandra Dasa,
Adi Purusa Dasa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, has been at the forefront of prasadam distribution in New York City for more than 26 years. Alongside this service, he operates several hostels in the city, engaging guests directly in seva while helping sustain a steady, weekly prasadam outreach. In a recent interview with Nityananda Chandra Dasa, Adi Purusa reflects on the vision, challenges, and continuity of this remarkable, uninterrupted service in the heart of th
atha bhāgavatā yūyaṁ
priyāḥ stha bhagavān yathā
na mad bhāgavatānāṁ ca
preyān anyo ’sti karhicit
You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am. (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.24.30)
Lord Shiva is revered as the foremost of the Vaishnavas and the eternal protector of the holy dhamas. In V
It was day 2 for allowing pedestrians to walk over the New Demerara Bridge over the river with the same name. The Demerara is quite wide. I used to walk the old floating bridge which is now replaced for a state-of-the-art new rendition built by the Chinese. I love the sensation, the views, and the breezes that are authentic features. A dozen of us went for the thrill. Total duration was fifty minutes of walking on this 2.7 km/1.7 miles and reaches 50 metres in height. In the US, my favourite b
We are afraid to make chanting our number one priority in life because of the fear of failure.
Chanting Hare Krishna can be the most humbling experience, especially if we make it the most important goal of our life. Krishna is inaccessible to the conditioned souls; those who are not qualified won’t get access to Krishna’s intimate association. He reserves the right of not being exposed to the conditioned souls. Thus chanting can expose us to our own disqualifications; chanting can reveal to us
As part of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC) Annual General Meeting 2026, the GBC is hosting an Online Maha Istagosthi and warmly welcomes ISKCON devotees worldwide to participate.
Date: 8 February 2026
Time: 6:00 PM IST
Other time zones: USA (New York, EST): 7:30 AM, Argentina (Buenos Aires): 9:30 AM, UK (London, GMT): 12:30 PM, Europe (Central Europe, CET – e.g., Paris/Berlin): 1:30 PM, South Africa (Johannesburg, SAST): 2:30 PM, Russia (Moscow): 3:30 PM, India (Mumbai, IST): 6:00 PM
As part of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC) Annual General Meeting 2026, the GBC will host an online Maha Istagosthi on February 8, 2026, inviting devotees from around the world to participate in a global dialogue and association. The program is being organized as a special AGM-related gathering and is open to the wider ISKCON community.
The Maha Istagosthi will be held via Zoom, with limited capacity. Once the Zoom meeting reaches capacity, participants are requested to join through Y
The ISKCON Youth Ministry has announced its 30th Anniversary Youth Bus Tour, scheduled to take place from June to August 2026, marking a milestone for the long-running program. Open to youth ages 18–29, the eight-week tour will travel across North America, visiting temples, sacred festivals, and national parks throughout the United States and Canada.
The tour began in 1995, so the 30th anniversary should have taken place last year. However, due to problems with their old bus and the time needed
By Raman Reti Dasi,
As part of implementing ISKCON North America’s 3/35 Vision, Zonal Supervisors and the new Growth Acceleration Team (GAT) members gathered on Saturday, January 17, 2026, for a Zoom orientation focused on strengthening zonal cohesion, cooperative planning, and practical support for leaders.
The orientation was led by Indresh Gaura Dasa and Vrinda Devi Dasi (Zone 1 Zonal Supervisors), whose Zonal Support Office model is serving as a practical foundation for developing Growth Ac
