Jaya Govinda and I took to the road with a rented four-wheel drive to address any springtime muddy roadway dynamics at the Saranagati farm community. We left Vancouver through rain on the Trans-Canada Highway (AKA ‘The #1’), and as we headed north for our destination-the rain let up. I was recalling how thirty years before, I tread this trail on foot for my first cross country trek. “Hard to believe,” I mentioned to Jaya.
The drive is sweetly scenic, especially from Hope to the Ashcroft area.
By Atma Tattva Das,
Devotees from across Gauteng, South Africa, gathered at the grounds of ISKCON Midrand for the first Devotee Care South Africa (DCSA) event of the year, a regional Family Fun Day designed to strengthen relationships and promote practical support within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness community.
The in-person gathering brought together devotees from temples and namahatta communities throughout the province for a day combining devotional association, family a
Miatta Fahnbulleh (center) with faith leaders at the IWD event. Photo source.
Women representing several faith traditions gathered at Westminster on March 10 to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) in a meeting hosted by Miatta Fahnbulleh, the UK Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities.* The event brought together women from Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Hindu, and other communities to highlight the vital role women of faith play in strengthening social cohesion and supporting vulnera
In July of 2024, a raging fire did much damage in Venables Valley (devotee name – Saranagati). It took down buildings, fences, water sourcing, and destroyed thousands of trees, some of which are lying and many others ready to snap off. Another great loss is wildlife. Bears are now rare to be seen as well as deer, grouse, and other forms of glorious wild animals. It will take some time to see a restoration of the place. Yet, because spring is around the corner, hope is arriving in the form of bu
What is the appropriate response of a Vaisnava or person of faith during a time of national or global crisis? The examples of great souls and of scripture can help us understand what a Vaisnava response can look like.
From a certain perspective, we are always in a time of crisis. In the material world, there is danger at every step. Although the material world is the wonderful creation of the Divine, it is not our home, and our material position is never secure. A large part of spiritual practi
We often get questions about surrender, like “how can we surrender”. Recently I was reading one old BTG, 2001, and found a nice practical statement from Srila Prabhupada. If we search “surrender” on the vedabase we find 7445 hits, so we know it is an important topic. And we all know the conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita:
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami mä suca
TRANSLATION
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall de
Over the years I’ve come across various articles, statements and websites which have been critical or even downright offensive towards Srila Prabhupada. As a disciple — or should I say an aspiring disciple since being a true disciple is no easy thing — I find these writings to be intolerable and I’ll tell you why.
At great personal inconvenience, Srila Prabhupada left the peaceful and holy village of Vrindavan at the advanced age of 69 (almost 70) to travel by steamship across the Atlantic Ocea
In 1999, for ISKCON TV, Shyamasundar Prabhu recorded a series of experiences he had with George Harrison and with Srila Prabhupada:
“Srila Prabhupada treated George Harrison like an old, old friend. I spent some time with George this summer. . . . [He] has reached a very high level of spiritual development, I am happy to say. He chants Hare Krishna every day. And he is totally serene, as he has accepted life as it is. He has actually achieved a much higher level of self-realization than I can
Fulfilling a Prophetic Vision!
A historic collaboration has taken shape!
The Bhaktivedanta Research Centre (BRC) has launched an online Bengali language course in partnership with Scottish Church College—the very institution where A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada studied in the 1920s.
The course is live on Scottish Church College’s homepage.
https://onlinecourses.scottishchurch.ac.in/
This initiative brings to life the powerful prediction of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, who foretold
Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) warmly welcomes you to a Special 9-Lecture Series on the Bhagavad Gītā by the esteemed scholar Prof. Ithamar Theodor.
This series offers a rare opportunity to engage deeply with one of the world’s most influential spiritual and philosophical texts, the Bhagavad Gītā – through structured, academic, and devotional insights.
About the Speaker
Prof. Ithamar Theodor is Professor of Hindu Studies at Zefat Academic College, Israel, and teaches and advises gradua
By Rupa Wathi
The Sri Mayapur International School (SMIS) has launched a major environmental initiative to transform its campus into a diverse green space. This project, a collaboration between the Mayapur Master Plan office and SMIS Management, successfully introduced a wide variety of flora, totaling approximately 25 major trees and over 80 flowering bushes.
Guests at the event who participated in the planting included Anuttama Dasa (Global Minister of Communications) and Hrdaya Caitanya Das (
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi,
Karuna Chandra Dasa and Karuna Rasa Devi Dasi, a couple based in Mayapur, have introduced KrishnaToys, an initiative aimed to provide children with play materials connected to Krishna consciousness.
The inspiration and heart of the project come from the Vaishnava tradition and the sacred mood of Vrindavan, where Lord Krishna revealed His eternal childhood pastimes. “Our work is offered as humble seva to help bring that mood into the homes of families around th
Of all the judgments we make of others—race, religion, nationality, political affiliations, social standing, etc.—perhaps the most excoriating is moral judgment. We can become highly condemnatory when we deem others to have committed a gross moral transgression. Of late, we have often seen banner-waving groups loudly denouncing those whose activities have not met their standards of what they consider morally correct. The situation in the Middle East has evoked this to a significant degree, with
Uddhava and I had a pleasant trip on the GO train to the Mount Pleasant station in Brampton where a most amicable person, Anjit, picked us up for a home program, which, by the way, was also pleasant. To get to the GO station I decided to walk from our Midtown temple at 243 Avenue Road to the greater building, Union Station. I ended up detouring at Old City Hall. The distance was 4 kilometres. It was the interactions with pedestrians that made the walk better than pleasant.
At Yonge and Dundas
By Atma Tattva Das,
The Recharge Festival 2025–2026, a ticketed residential devotional retreat, brought together members of the New Zealand and wider Australasian Vaishnava community for a structured transition into the new year. Hosted under ISKCON-affiliated leadership at New Gupta Vraja near Ōtaki, the in-person gathering featured daily lectures, kirtan, workshops, and communal service. Senior teacher Devamrita Swami delivered a series of classes during the weeklong program.
The retreat cente
By Swasti Devi Dasi
The International Gita Scholarship Test (IGST), organized by ISKCON Navi Mumbai, is scheduled to be conducted in May 2026 as a global online examination designed to engage youth and adults in a structured study of sacred texts. With differentiated question formats for participants aged 15 and below and 16 and above, and preceded by an 18-day worldwide digital festival titled Gita Amrit Mahotsav, the initiative aims to deepen scriptural understanding while remaining accessib
Sri Govinda Ghosh, an intimate associate of Lord Caitanya, was known for his sweet kirtans at the annual Jagannatha Puri Ratha-yatra festival. Lord Caitanya would at once begin to dance whenever Govinda Ghosh would sing. Govinda Ghosh and his brothers Vasudeva and Madhava are eternal associates of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda Prabhu.
He made his home in Agradvipa, Vasudeva in Tamluk, and Madhava Ghosh in Dain Hat. Govinda Ghosh Thakur’s house is not far from Agradvipa in Kashipura Vishnuta
My beautiful day started with a mouse. At that auspicious time of 4:25 AM I saw him lying in front of the altars. It was motionless, dead. I don’t know the cause of its departure ,but I was rather happy for it simply because where the little creature was positioned was a nearness to God.
One of our stalwart devotees who attends the first service of the day at the temple responded to my pointing at the departed mouse. He knew of a broom and dustpan and proceeded to use it in some form of last
Sometimes people think that the ancient Vedic literature no longer has any real usefulness in this day and age. That it is little better than an antique of foregone days. However, this article shows the universal and ever-relevant nature of the Ramayana, and how it explains the symptoms of society when there is no ruler, or when there is an unqualified leader. This is from the discussion between Markandeya and the great sages and Visishtha when they urge him to install a proper king onto the th
