ISKCON Sacramento celebrated its first Ratha Yatra in front of the California State Capitol Building, which serves as a museum and the State’s working seat of government, on Sept 18, 2022. More than seven hundred devotees from all over California participated in the event with great excitement. Sacramento now joins Srila Prabhupada’s grand vision of celebrating the Jagannatha Ratha Yatra festival in every city. This festival will put ISKCON Sacramento on the map of worldwide ISKCON centers that
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It was in two thousand fifteen
That Sally was happy to be seen
By those who admired her
At New Vrindavan it did occur
Known to be the special agent
The one so absolutely patient
In signing the fateful papers
For Swamiji to reach those skyscrapers
To New York all the way from Bharat
To tell us what we had forgot
I sat with her for an hour or so
When her pleasant words began to flow
When she put her name to submit
"I didn't think much would come of it
His picture looked quite intimidating"
But si
Life sometimes appears to us like a labyrinth. One has to make the right choice each time the passage bifurcates. A labyrinth is an irregular structure, with many passages, hard to find way through or about… So are some choices in life…
That was the case of Arjuna, the great devotee-warrior from Bhagavad-gita, who saw himself faced with a decisive battle. Anyone who ever found himself or herself in front of an important life-choice, to a greater or lesser degree, can relate to the experience of
In spiritual life, liquor is not really glorified like one of the material pleasures in life. It is rather condemned. It is placed in the same category as poison. Well, it is true that it is not nourishing the cells in the body. Each time you take some liquor, you are burning some brain cells and you begin to see it in the regular drinkers at the bars. Their faces are a bit puffed up. Some have red veins showing and their hands also are a bit swollen and reddish. And their brain is dull and not
To commemorate the anniversary of the docking of our guru (Prabhupada) on American soil, I delivered a class, basically a reading of this event at Boston harbor in September, 1965. A group from the Harmony collective came to hear of this milestone. Seven years ago, I began my US walk at the pier and I followed, as best as possible, the old Lincoln Highway leading me to San Francisco. The theme of the track was “Walking for our Teachers.” For me, it was just a token of gratitude. Thank you Prabh
Dear Devotees,
On the occasion of the Gaura Purnima Festival 2021, we announce the launch of a new book “The Spark of Renaissance”. Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu was present in India and as a mere by- product of His presence on this planet; He sparked the energy that hit Europe and caused the Renaisssance. You can download from Amazon Worldwide
Click on the below link:
https://amzn.in/eH2s6Wp
Please pass this message to your groups on Social Media and your communities worldwide. Some more about the
By Yogesvara Gopinath das
Lord Jagannath showered his unlimited mercy on the streets of East London in the Annual East London Rathyatra on Sunday 25th September. It was truly a colourful and memorable Cultural event organised by devotees in East London and HG Parasuram Prabhu from Food for all.
This is a unique festival when Lord Jagannath comes out of the temple to give his mercy to everyone on the street once a year. This festival started thousands of years ago in Jagannath Puri in India. Th
I appreciate the chanting of sixteen rounds. It is the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that comes through these rounds. And that is the minimum, better if I chant more! I appreciate whatever service that I can do, whether I like that service or whether I do not like that service. Some services are nice and some appear to not be nice in itself. Some things are not so nice to do. Like I have had to go and fight Court cases. I do not particularly enjoy that, it is not my thing. It is a real auste
When I first met my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I felt that there was never a time when I did not know him. I never tire of telling of my first meeting with him on the streets of Lower East Side New York.
At the time, I was hurrying from my Mott Street apartment, which had become a refuge for psychedeliacs, to a much quieter apartment on Fifth Street where I hoped to get some peace. I was walking down Houston Street and across Bowery, past the rushing
Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,
PAMHO. AGTSP.
We are happy to share with you that earlier today the Chairman of ISKCON Bureau, HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, along with the ISKCON’s National Directors of Communications called on Honorable President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The Hon’ble President recollected her visits to ISKCON temples in different parts of India. She was glad to learn about ISKCON’s spiritual, cultural, and philanthropic initiatives a
By Chandan Yatra Das
Shukratal is a tiny holy town about 2-3 hours (72 km) from Haridwar on the banks of Ganges River in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Srila Sukadeva Goswami spoke sacred Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) to Maharaja Pariksit (the grandson of Arjuna and son of Abhimanyu), under a banyan tree 5000 years ago.
Here at a place called Sri Sukadeva Temple, there is a gigantic 5100 year old Banyan tree, also known as Akshaya Vat Vriksha, underneath where Sukadeva Goswami,
Bhagavat das: Prabhupada said, “Can you quote this verse?” The two of us looked at each other, and I thought, “Tamal Krishna Goswami will quote the verse,” but Tamal Krishna Goswami thought I was going to do it. Neither of us knew the verse. Prabhupada said, “Just see. You are not reading my books. Every day you have to read, study, and learn my books just like a lawyer learns the law books. You must know everything, chapter and verse. If you do not know, how will you preach? Unless you know my
Back to Lakewood Park, Kaustubha and I went for the sunrise. Unfortunately, from our viewpoint, the sun was peeking out behind the Cleveland skyline and not from the lake itself. All the same, it was a beautiful morning. Other admirers were doing as we were, and out of the lot three young “party animals” were curious about my sun-toned clothes.
“Would you be a monk?” said one, and my response was, “Yes, and you can be one too, for a day, a weekend, or a month. Or fifty years, like myself.” That
By Stephen Knapp
The original form of Lord Krishna is described briefly in the Laghu-Bhagatamrita (Chapter 5, verses 332-342) as the root of all forms of the Lord, which are endowed with good qualities. “The Lord appeared in the mortal world by His internal potency, yoga-maya. He came in His eternal form, which is just suitable for His pastimes. These pastimes were wonderful for everyone, even for those proud of their own opulence, including the Lord Himself as the Lord of Vaikuntha [Narayana].
From Back to Godhead
On the path back home, back to Godhead, householder life often seems like an obstacle course. Stumbling blocks dominate the landscape. Work, social obligations, and household matters such as rearing children and paying the bills can easily become impediments to our spiritual development. Devotees may find themselves pressed to compromise their ideals because of the often negative influence of these constraints.
So how can we successfully prevent the attrition of our Krsna c
Kaustubha and I were ambling along at Lake Erie’s edge in Lakewood Park when one of the many, shall I say, “worshipers” of the water and sun noticed my garb. “Oh! Monk! Yeah! I agree!” As he gives me a fist pump. Perhaps to say “worshiper” was a trait bit over the top, but in reality, people from this neighborhood and the greater Cleveland area come to the spot where massive and smooth concrete blocks have been placed as if stairways for giants; some kind of grandstand for viewing the sun setti
By Kamala Radha Devi Dasi
Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico hard on September 19th and many Puerto Ricans are still recovering from the destruction. As reported by NPR The category 1 storm devastated most of Puerto Rico’s plantain crops– a staple food.
Puerto Rico has been severely impacted by Fiona, leaving many homes uninhabitable, communities under water and bridges and roads ruined. Early data points to a difficult road ahead as locals work to recover.
ISKCON News was quick to reach out to th
This morning a handful of Columbus congregants and I took to trekking along the Ohio River on Riverside. What was to be more of a chanting walk ended up being more of a chatting walk. The conversation hovered around the direct versus indirect sending of the message of the Gita to the world. The trail along the river, with fresh air and blue skies, made for that clear head experience and so I offered my opinion; that we need both.
Boat rowing was going on up and down the current of the Ohio as w
From Back to Godhead
Instead of blaming others for our suffering, we’d do better to understand that we’re all fundamentally complicit in our so-called victimhood.
A victim is a person who suffers from a destructive action. Often we think of victims as innocent and neither responsible nor accountable for what’s happened – for example, people who are randomly shot or children who are abused.
There are victims, however, who may not be completely innocent – for example, a chain smoker who’s a
