I get concerned these days about travel and the time it takes to get somewhere by a vehicle. It can take so long with so many more people and so many more cars.
The drive to Niagara Falls from Toronto used to be one and a half hour — max. These days it’s a frustrating extra hour. There and back is almost a whole, or at least a chunk of, your day. But we were lucky, maybe smart. It’s all in the time of day you leave and time of return that can determine a good or bad trip. Our return was a mere
Kartik and offering lamps 🪔are synonymous. While you must be offering at your home, even at the local Temple but then there is a unique 👉 advantage of offering lamps 💫in the 💥holy Dham of Sri Mayapur in the auspicious month of Kartik🌅, so why would one want to miss this cumulative ✨spiritual ✨benefit?
Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. During the Kartika month, mill
A splendid day kicked off with strong sadhana at the temple including a Bhagavatam class outlining how self-realization can truly take off by way of the nostrils. Such was the case for the adorable four Kumara sages. They caught a whiff of the fragrant Tulsi (sacred green), which were found at the feet of Vishnu. From there on those boys excelled in their devotion.
Our group of Bhakti Academy, along with Ajamil and I, made our way to Queen’s Park once again, this time under an old horse-chestnu
“So during Kartika month we can more easily obtain the favor of Radha. If Shri Radha recommends us to Krishna, we can be sure he will take notice”
Prabhupada speaks in the Nectar of Devotion (summary of the Bhakti-Rasamrita-Sindhu) about the power of performing devotional service during the month of Karttika:
“One of the most important of these ceremonial functions is called Urja-vrata. Urja-vrata is observed in the month of Karttika (Oct.-Nov.); especially in Vrindavana (Krishna’s place of “bi
People are running around–“Oh, I am the manager. I am the factory owner. I am this. I am that. We know his politics, we have to defeat our competitors.” All these things are created just like a man creates a situation in a dream– svapna–drastur ivanjasa.
So when someone asks, “When did we come into contact with the material nature?” The answer is that we have not come into contact. By the influence of the material energy, we THINK that we are in contact. Actually, we are NOT fallen. We cannot b
After a blissful kirtan at Queen’s Park, and once all participants dispersed, I chose to go solo on foot on the very active streets on this Friday night. It is quite remarkable to see the demographical change the city is experiencing. There is an increase in Asian presence, more particularly Chinese and Indian folks, many of them students. By the time I reached Dundas Square at Yonge, it was a very low and crammed protest by youth of Iranian dissent. With place cards and mantras of slogans “Fre
Audio: Click here
The “American Dream” is built on the presumption of free will: If we try hard enough and work smart enough, we can reach our goals. Yet karma and destiny are some of the biggest influences in our life. Now new findings in neuroscience have a lot to say about free will vs. determination.
Why bother? Considering how short life is, why should we bother about taking care of the different aspects of health? In the Sri Caitanya-siksamrta (chapter 2.1, p. 67-68) Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains why: “If people do not follow these rules [regarding health of body and mind], they cannot pass through life smoothly. […] One will not be able to take the mind from material thoughts and direct it to thoughts of God. As a result, sinful thoughts and an atheistic attitude will dominate the m
Our global team continues to distribute unprecedented numbers of Srimad Bhagavatam sets through the Bhadra Campaign.
This year, 250+ communities from 50+ countries distributed 45,800 sets of Srimad Bhagavatam, smashing the worldwide goal of 43,000 sets. The long-term goal is to reach 100,000 sets by 2026.
This Bhadra Campaign was launched in 2017 by the BBT MCI Team (Marketing, Communications, and Innovation) under the leadership of HG Vaisesika Prabhu. By uniting a global team around this comm
We Need Your Help! Our Temple received flood waters from the aftermath of hurricane Ian.
After spending the whole day on Thursday moving all of the temple’s belongings to a higher level, we came back home this morning at 2:00 am. The swamp at the back of the temple filled up and pushed its waters out onto the temple property, including the temple itself. The temple’s kitchen was the first to be flooded. Water seeped through the walls into our spare room mixed with water from the kitchen. Next,
I was showing Vallabha Hari new locations for any future strolls he may wish to take. He is accustomed to taking the main through-fares. Little did he know that there are marvelous tucked away green spaces beyond the brick and mortar of buildings. If one ever takes a flight that soars above the city of Toronto, they will find a 17% green cover. That’s not a lot for trees, shrubs and grass but it’s something. With the current craze for new condos coming up, it could threaten the spaces of calm.
indriyesu manas tani tan-matresu yathodbhavam bhutadinamuny utkrsya mahaty atmani sandadhe
TRANSLATION: He amalgamated the mind with the senses and the senses with the sense objects, according to their respective positions, and he also amalgamated the material ego with the total material energy, mahat-tattva.
PURPORT: In respect to the ego, the total material energy is sundered in two parts — one agitated by the mode of ignorance and the other agitated by the modes of passion and goodness. Due
A newly digitised film!
“Auf der deutschen Hare Krishna Farm”
A film about the German Farm, now known as Simhachalam, from 1982. Narrated by Sacinandana Swami and filmed and edited by Brahma Muhurta Das.
This little gem of a film shows extatic kirtans, bountiful farm life, Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohana, beautiful cows, happy devotees and lots of prasadam from 40 years ago! Set deep in the Bavarian Forest this film shows the lives of devotees in the first years of the farm. A real must see for any
ISKCON’S venture with UNEP and the Government of India to address climate change through Value Education for school students.
2,30,000 students from 15 countries participated in the Value Education Olympiad (VEO) organized by ISKCON in collaboration with the UN Environment Program in the year 2021. Along with live sessions, and practical workshops, 200000 trees were planted by EKal school students under this program. Fast forward to the current year of 2022, the olympiad is happening again with
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
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
