Blog

A few weeks ago I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen for nearly 40 years, way back then he was an old school friend of mine and he had some interesting thoughts on all things Hare Krishna!

He began by letting me know (in colorful language), that at the time he thought I was ‘nut-job fruitcake’ when he heard I had become a Hare Krishna devotee, however now he considers that it was not so strange after all. His logic went something like this – it now seems that half the people he knows are private

By Matt Richtel

“If we become too much attached for getting money, that is the material world. There is no satiation. Idam praptah, that Bhagavad-gita word: ‘I have got so much money, now my bank balance is so much, and I shall get further money and my bank balance will be like this.’ This is the demonic mentality. We shall require money, whatever is absolutely necessary, that much money I must get. That is an order.

“We cannot take more than what is necessary. This is actually spiritual commun

Perhaps it’s the season, winter, that permits sounds to be more crisp and distinct. Whether inside or outside, noises subtle or loud had somehow got my attention today. Thank God for noise, sweet or sour.

Practically every hour the train just north of our temple/ashram shakes the window panes ever so lightly and with its companion is the gritty noise of its wheels gripping against the tracks.

You’d be lucky to hear the choo-choo whistle. While I sat, momentarily at a bench near those tracks, I

Jai Shree Radhekrishna 🙏🌼🌼

Hari bol 🙏🌼🌼

“So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). This is Sanskrit word. It is meaning that ‘This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra will cleanse your heart.’ Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. So as soon as the heart is cleansed, then all our material problems are solved. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni, the Sanskrit word, means that 'This material world is just like a forest fire.’ So forest fire… I think all of you must have got some knowledge

Many people haven't given much thought to the question of whether there is life after death, and many even prefer to ignore death. Still, we all must die. Like a tiger, death stalks each of us. Sooner or later it will strike.

So what happens after death? In the West there has been much speculation about reincarnation, the existence of repeated personal lives. Plato, Emerson, Thoreau, Jung, Schrodinger, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Ford all believed in reincarnation, and their idea

By Acarya dasa, All-India Padayatra leader

We padayatris were in Vraja-mandala parikrama from October 20 onwards while our Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar’s chariot remained parked in the courtyard of the Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram temple. Our oxen were on vacation at the Bhaktivedanta goshala and having completed parikrama we were then staying in Vrindavan dhama. I regularly visited the oxen at the goshala and they were all in good condition. One day I suddenly got the news that Vitthala had left his bo

His Grace Jnana Sukriti Prabhu (ACBSP) from Caracas left his body on the auspicious day of Sat-tila ekadasi. He was present during the visit of His Divine Grace in Venezuela in February 1975 and had the opportunity to serve him, to attend his classes and receive initiation on that occasion. He was a very scholarly devotee, renowned preacher, astrologer and visionary administrator. A very important member in the development of Krishna Consciousness in Venezuela. Please pray for the departed soul.

From ISKCON Philadelphia

Dear Devotees,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We regret to inform you that our dear friend and longtime congregational member, His Grace Caitanya Jivan Prabhu, a disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, has departed from this world on January 30, 2022. He leaves behind his wife, Jaya Sita devi dasi.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/the-passing-of-caitanya-jivan-das/

As I turned the corner at Yonge and Bloor, on my evening walk amid corporate giant edifices, I was drawn to the actual writing on the wall of one of them. Below street level, where now exists a bustling commuter train called the subway, was an underground non-denominational cemetery called Potter’s Field. It’s hard to believe that just less than 200 years ago was a sprawling 2.4 hectares of this burial ground where 6, 700 people were buried at what was then the edge of “The Woods.”

It’s a good

We are all looking for ways to progress in life, to be happy and to feel real love. From a young age, there is something deep within, that tells us that there is more out there, but we cannot find these truths alone. We must rely on the parampara, or the bona fide system of disciplic succession. Only through this unbroken chain of Vedic knowledge, can we realise the Absolute Truth.

While allowing ourselves to trust this Vedic knowledge is a challenge, and also the reward when we can realise the

From Back to Godhead

By Sacinandana Swami

This little-known holy place played a major role in the inauguration of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana movement.

During the month of Karttika, which falls across October and November in the lunar calendar, devotees of Lord Krishna are advised to increase their concentration on His worship by dedicating their daily devotional hearing and chanting to Srimati Radharani, His eternal consort. This advisory for Karttika is best carried out in a secluded

Section 700: Gurus and Disciples

701.2 ISKCON Spiritual Masters Conditions for Second-generation Diksa-gurus — 2019 [Governing law]

Whereas ISKCON Law 7.3.2 now reads: “As taught by Srila Prabhupada, the etiquette of not initiating in the presence of one’s diksa-guru will be upheld in ISKCON. However, Srila Prabhupada and historical precedents also teach us that disciples may sometimes initiate in the physical presence of their diksa-gurus, if so directed by them. In such a case, the disciple s

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

The 2021 GBC Resolutions have finally been released. Due to the global pandemic, it was not possible for the GBC Body to conduct in-person meetings and therefore the AGM 2021 was conducted online. Similarly, the 2022 AGM will also be conducted online.

To ensure online resolutions become final and binding, two resolutions were passed to change the GBC’s Rules of Order. These are included in the Resolution file.

D

I have to hand it to them; Cameron and Vallabha Hari took their shovel carving through the imposing mounds of snow around the building and succeeded in making it accessible for pedestrian walkways with snow walls. Bravo to you guys!

To those who are intimidated by natures imposition, I would like to offer this advice: take them as Krishna’s way of reminding us that 1) we are not God – we are not in control, 2) Krishna is giving the opportunity to learn modesty, 3) life in this world is not all

Draupadi. Her admirable character is revealed in the most humiliating incident of her life – her disrobing by the wicked Dushasana. Though victimized in body, she refuses to be victimized in her heart. Her exceptional character transforms the lowest point in her life into the highest point. The incident in which she is the most dishonored, she emerges as the most honorable.

On that dark day, her period has just ended and she has emerged after bathing, wearing a single cloth before she puts on h

The area outside ISKCON Mayapur campus is underdeveloped and has no waste management system. Owing to this, Murari Mohini Devi Dasi has taken up this initiative and started Mayapur- Clean And Green. She supervises groups that clean the streets of Mayapur, collect the garbage, and transport it to the waste and recycling areas.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/mayapur-clean-green/