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By Ananda Jita dasa

On Saturday, September 6th, the auspicious disappearance day of Haridasa Thakura, the first ever Nauka Vihar Utsava, the Boat Festival, was joyfully celebrated in The Netherlands. Hosted by ISKCON The Hague Sri Krishna Dhaam, the event brought together uplifting katha, ecstatic kirtan, and delicious prasadam. More than a hundred devotees from across the country gathered for this unique occasion, marking an unforgettable milestone in ISKCON The Netherlands’ history.

Spirit of

Online Hindi IDC Course to Highlight Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Role and Guru-Tattva

A new offering of the ISKCON Disciples Course (IDC) will be conducted in Hindi this fall, from September 29 to October 3, 2025, providing devotees with a structured opportunity to deepen their understanding of the guru-disciple relationship within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The course, delivered primarily in Hindi with a small portion in English, will be held online via Zoom from 7:0

The Deep Ecology movement is rooted in the conclusions of Professors Lynn White and Arne Naess. By the late 1960s, Prof White, a historian and university president who had studied the development of technology from medieval times to the present, published “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis”. In that influential article, he identified society’s mentality of anthropocentrism (human-centrism) as the root cause of the ecologic crisis. Shortly after that, Prof Naess, philosopher and enviro

By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)

As many of you know, when I was initiated by His Divine Grace, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I was given the name of Sri Nandanandana dasa.

When I was to be accepted for initiation, I was told to write a paper on the significance of being initiated. I did the research from whatever books we had back then, and found that I really liked going through my books of Srila Prabhupada and gathering the information for the paper. The paper was then

karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ‘stv akarmani [ B.g. 2.47]

“You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty”.

The above mentioned verse is one of the most famous verses in Bhagavad Gita, although many know this verse and probably might have recited and heard them many times, very few

The Sri Mayapur Community Hospital project received the blessings and encouragement from ISKCON leaders in North America after a presentation to them at the North American Regional Governing Body (NA-RGB) Conference held in Houston, Texas.

Sri Mayapur Community Hospital Project Director, Harilila Das, traveled from Mayapur to personally present the hospital’s progress and vision to GBC leaders and temple presidents on September 7th. Over the three-day gathering, September 5–7, he met with many l

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi, 

In a welcome move for pilgrims and devotees traveling to the holy dhama of Mayapur, Eastern Railway’s Sealdah Division has announced the launch of a new AC EMU train service connecting Krishnanagar and Sealdah, with key stops en route.

In a letter addressed to Dayaram Das, Co-Director General & President of ISKCON Kolkata, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Jasram Meena outlined the new service details. The train will operate six days a week (Monday to Satu

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi,

Bhaktivedanta University has announced the launch of its second academic pillar, the Faculty of Vocational Education, aimed at revitalizing village life and traditional occupations in the face of rapid urbanization.

With older generations of farmers aging and younger people moving to cities, rural sustainability faces a growing challenge. The new faculty seeks to safeguard the traditional knowledge of India’s villages while integrating modern advancements to m

From Back to Godhead

Sri Brahma-samhita is one of the oldest Vedic scriptures, and it is accepted by Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu (an incarnation of Krsna Himself who appeared 484 years ago) as the essence of Vaisnava (Krsna conscious) philosophy. The first verse of the Fifth Chapter of Sri Brahma-samhita reads: “Krsna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the Prime Cause of

Kama (Cupid) possesses five arrows, with which he inflicts all conditioned living entities. According to Sripad Prabodhananda Saraswati (in his commentary on the Gita Govinda), these arrows are: infatuation, agitation, heart-burning, extreme dryness and destruction. Let us elaborate:

During the course of one’s life, one sees many members of the opposite sex. There is a natural attraction caused by the arrangement of Maya because we identify ourselves with the body (pumsah-striya-maithuni bhava)

ISKCON has recently been invited to contribute to the prestigious Online Certificate Course on Global Interfaith Dialogue, organized by JIS University, Kolkata, in commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s historic address at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. Dr. Bratati Bhattacharyya, Director, Management Studies, JIS University, said, “This academic initiative has been envisioned as a global platform for understanding, reflection, and dialogue across religions, philosophies, and c

By Yadunandan Acharya Das and Nidhi Chaudhari,

It began with a simple thought: “How can we use creativity in Krishna’s service?”

With this vision, the ISKCON Kirtan Ministry launched a global Poster-Making Competition as part of the World Holy Name Festival 2025. What followed was nothing short of inspiring—nearly 350 devotees from across continents picked up their brushes, pencils, and digital tools, pouring their love for Krishna into art. From delicate hand-painted strokes, to intricate sketc

Who or what is God? In our modern world, when we observe the amount of energy consumed by all of the other topics that fill our lives, this question is given almost no consideration or thought whatsoever. As such, we are burdened with so many frivolous misconceptions of God, the Supreme.

For the most part, this lack of attention to the true nature of God is due to the misconception that we cannot know God. Although there is certainly truth in thinking that total knowledge of the Infinite is not

From Back to Godhead

Lessons on life, death, and living in a spirit of devotion

ISKCON devotees commonly use the phrase, “Going back home, back to Godhead.”Have you ever thought about what this means when a traveler is anxious to return home? Home is where our family is, where there are people who love us, who trust us. It’s the place we’re comfortable and happy. It’s the place we feel most natural.

The world we live in is foreign to the soul; we are strangers in a foreign land. In this alien p

From Back to Godhead

By His Divine Grace Srila A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada

sri bhagavan uvaca
abhayam sattva-samsuddhir
jnana-yoga-vyavasthitih
danam damas ca yajnas ca
svadhyayas tapa arjavam

ahimsa satyam akrodhas
tyagah santir apaisunam
daya bhutesv aloluptvam
mardavam hrir acapalam

tejah ksama dhrtih saucam
adroho natimanita
bhavanti sampadam daivim
abhijatasya bharata

Srila Prabhupada: The first thing is that bhagavan uvaca. These things required for purification. Sattva-samsuddhih. The human life is meant for sat

Members of the ISKCON community in St. Louis released a devotional film entitled Geetha Ganam, a project highlighting both the wisdom and beauty of the Bhagavad-gītā.

The title, Geetha Ganam — which literally means “the singing of the Bhagavad-gītā”—refers to the devotional practice of chanting or melodically reciting the verses of the Gītā, often set to traditional rāgas or simple tunes. The film offers viewers an immersive journey into this unique art form, exploring its history, cultural infl

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

On August 14, 2025, the newly formed Srila Prabhupada Connection–Mayapur Team, coordinated by Janmastami Das, in collaboration with Bhaktivedanta National School (BVNS), Mayapur, organized a special children’s competition to commemorate the Vyasa Puja Mahotsava of Srila Prabhupada. The event drew 779 enthusiastic participants from across the ISKCON Mayapur campus and surrounding areas.

Students from four educational institutions participated in the competition,