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End of life care and bhakti wisdom – Interview with HH Giriraj Swami 

HH Giriraj Swami was born Glenn Phillip Teton, the only son of a respected Chicago lawyer who was later appointed judge. In March of 1969, while studying at Brandeis University in Boston, he met His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), from whom, he felt, he learned more in one brief exchange than he had learned in his many year

This year’s Janmastami festival was the best attended to date. I think the post pandemic mood combined with a weekend day combined to encourage devotees and congregation to celebrate Krishna’s birthday in force. There was a blissful feeling throughout.
Thanking the many, many devotees who made this festival a joy to attend, in person or even online, is the cherry on the cake for me.
While the days of preparing are long, they aren’t arduous. Devotees take so much transcendental enjoyment in thei

Long long ago, I flew into Heathrow airport from Delhi, when Heathrow was plain and bare. I had a long long layover before my flight to New York. There were no shops just a huge lounge and being naturally shy, especially in dhoti and kurta, I sat alone. I had with me, in a miniature valise, my special Gita that was wrapped in a beautifully soft red velvet cloth. I had no prasadam with me, just a long a of long flights fasting ahead. Carefully keeping the cloth between over my legs so the Gita w

There was the cry of a loon, which enthused Krsnadas and I to walk to its source, Sand Lake. Once we reached there, the loon was hard to spot. We did witness an osprey with deliberate determination to get breakfast. It sailed in the air, then dove like a dart for a catch. Looks like it caught something in its beak. Its speed restricted us from picking up all the details.

I did spot a group of sandhill cranes in flight at noon. That was majestic. Too bad it rains quite a lot. Sudevi tells us tha

My God siblings, Krishnadas, Paurnamasi and I landed at Anchorage Airport where we were happily greeted by residents Sudevi and Ryan, a sweet couple, whom we had never met but are connected to culturally. It is our first time to Alaska and I would say everything you read or see about the place is magically true. The couple showed us the downtown, the views of the bay with Mount McKinley in the background and then there is Kincaid Park, which Krishnadas and I explored.

I was under the impression

From Back to Godhead

At first blush, Vaishnavism may seem polytheistic, given the various gods associated with the Vedic pantheon. But if we look slightly beneath the surface, we see there is more to this so-called polytheism than meets the eye.

The concept of monotheism – that there is only one God – tends to be associated with the Abrahamic religions (

By Dhirnayak dasa, Utkal-Banga Padayatra leader

The Utkal-Banga Padayatra recently spent time in the picturesque Mahendragiri region of Odisha. Mahendragiri is a mountain in the Rayagada block of the Gajapati district. The hill is situated amongst the Eastern Ghats at an elevation of 1500m and spreads across the neighbouring Ganjam district. The area is a wonderful creation of the Lord and as we were walking, we felt we were heading towards the Himalayas.

Mahendragiri, referred to in the Ramay

The Story of the First Krishna Deity in ISKCON Two of Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples discover Krishna while shopping for bells in New York City.

When Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York City in September 1965, he felt deep separation from Vrindavan and the major deities there “My Lords, Govindaji, Gopinath, and Radha Damodar,” as he noted in his diary. After seven months of mixed results, he opened his first temple on the Lower East Side. Centers soon opened in San Francisco, Montreal, Los

By Kamala Priya Devi Dasi & Praghosa dasa

On the 5th of March 2022 the Euro RGB gave their blessings for the creation of the ISKCON Relief team. The core team that then moved forward with this relief initiative was Kamala Priya dd, Mahaprabhu das, Parabhakti das, Praghosa dasa and Sukanti Radha dd. So much has happened since then that it would be difficult to include everything in this report but I will attempt to include all the key developments via this summary:

Read more: http://www.dandavat

By Kumari Kunti Dasi and Madan Gopal Das 

Narayani Devi Dasi (right) initiates Nila Madhava (left), now Nilambari Dasi, a second-generation ISKCON devotee on Janmastami 2022 at New Raman Reti Temple in Alachua, Florida. 

On August 19, Janmastami Day, Narayani devi dasi became the first Vaishnavi (female devotee) in ISKCON to serve as a diksa guru, or initiating spiritual master. On that day she formally accepted her first disciple, now named Nilambari dasi.

Nilambari dasi offered her vows and r

After two years of separation, MAN-tra is back in New Vrindaban, Sept. 9-11th, 2022.
While technology allowed the annual men’s retreat to go virtual over the past couple of years, and carry on with exciting seminars, performances, and discussions, and to have the association of Vaishnava men from around the world, nothing can replace the value of in-person, face-to-face devotee association.

“The MAN-tra retreat was born of a desire to build up spiritual comradery and to enhance the better quali

A kind Sarva Rasa from Vancouver and his friend, Bharat from California, scooped me up at Vancouver’s airport and delivered me to Port Coquitlam for some recording on a “Green” initiative that’s chalked out by the ISKCON leaders of North America. Environment should be a top concern for everyone, especially for those on the spiritual path.

My hosts in this town are Janakijivan and Nandi Mukhi and I have to thank them for one of the better rests I’ve had in months. Their place on Manning Street i

Prabhupada said, “No, you have the spark. The same quality that’s in me is also in you. You should join this movement. It is very important.”
Atma Tattva: In the early ‘80s in Bangalore, I was required to make at least two Life Members a month. I was a bad Life Membership maker and one month I had only ten days left.
I was looking in the telephone directory for Bengali names and I found a ‘Ganguly.’
I called and said, “I’m speaking from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. I want

We are discussing the road of sharanagati – taking shelter, which leads us to Lord Krishna.
Our third step is goptritve-varanam or accepting the Lord as one’s sole maintainer.
On His way through South India Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sang:
“Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna
Krishna Krishna pahi mam
O Lord Krishna! Maintain me. “
Now, seeing the Lord as one’s maintainer requires faith. Bhaktivinoda Thakur sings a song which creates such faith. He says:
“O youthful prince of Vraja. You are the Lord of

In Manchester, Nagendra dashed past me as I attempted to stop him. He did however capture a momentary glimpse of our “Veda” book and seconds later he returned to find out more.

I spoke about “Veda” and also introduced him to the Bhagavad Gita. He then revealed that a couple of years ago someone in the City Centre stood in the exact same spot as me, tried to give him a Bhagavad Gita, and he said he would come back later to take it. However, he never did. Since that day he’s sometimes felt overwh

One year ago this month, the GBC ratified and voted into law the attached ISKCON Code of Ethical Behavior. Here is a brief description of accomplishments this first year.
 

ADOPTED BY ISKCON AGENCIES

This first year, the Code was made an active part of proceedings in many ISKCON initiatives including the International Child Protection Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Sannyasa Ministry, ISKCON Resolve, and the Dispute Resolution Department.
 

ADOPTED BY TEMPLES

Several temples have made the

By Khusboo Basan 

Situated at New Vrindaban, West Virginia is Srila Prabhupada’s smriti shrine or memorial shrine – Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold. The beautiful palace that was constructed by the disciples of Srila Prabhupada in 1973 as an offering of love to their spiritual master.

Over time, large parts of the concrete domes, outer wall, balustrade railing, and steps started to deteriorate, sections of wrought iron rusted irreparably, and the roof sustained leaks.

In 2009, a Palace Restoration

Donations Needed

Vraja-Govinda prabhu, his wife and two children have to leave Kherson, a city in the frontline. This city is in the south of Ukraine. Now it is one of the two toughest flashpoints of this horrendous war.

Vraja-Govinda prabhu is a wonderful Vaishnava from the Kherson ISKCON community. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, a true devotee of the holy name. Vraja-Govinda prabhu’s primary service is to preach and glorify Krsna’s holy name. He regularly attends and leads harinama and ch

I was asked to give the class to the members of the Bhakti Academy Toronto and with gladness I’ve delivered. The theme from the first canto of the Bhagavatam was on overcoming the ills of a dark age, referred to as kali. What is always good about degradation, as we observe in these times, is the opportunity to bring on brightness. Of course, to do that takes a little more than switching on a light. It takes solidarity of purpose – a combined determination to overcome weakness. Cohesive Kirtan,

By Radha devi dasi, ISKCON Vaishnavi Minister

At the 2022 Annual General Meeting, the GBC appointed South African devotee, Champakalata devi dasi to the post of ISKCON’s Justice Minister. Champakalata devi’s appointment follows the resignation of prior minister, Sesa das, on the grounds of ill health.

Champakalata devi, a disciple of HH Indradyumna Swami has been practicing bhakti yoga since 1978 when her parents joined ISKCON in Durban, South Africa. She has an impressive resume of ISKCON serv