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Nature did us a wonderful favour when she dumped tons of snow on the ground, on rooftops, trucks and automobiles as well as on snow. Yes, snow upon snow. It engulfed the north-eastern front of the continent. Perhaps for the first time in months the public had a break from hearing about covid and omicron. What came more in the minds of motorists, in particular, was, “Will I get home safe in this storm?”

From my window, I could see people stuck in deep snow and others with tires spinning, but the

"Everyone must perform sacrifice," Lord Krsna says. And He comes
as Caitanya Mahaprabhu to show us how easy it can be.

A lecture in London on September 5, 1973

yajna-dana-tapah-karma
na tyajyam karyam eva tat
yajno danam tapas caiva
pavanani manisinam

"Acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity, and penance purify even the great souls." (Bhagavad-gita 18.5)

There are four stages of spiritual life: brahmacarya [celibate stude

By Sunanda Das

Prabhupada Placing Ananta Sesha in the TOVP Foundation Pit, 1972

1972 was a year in Sridhama Mayapur filled with many beginnings. The Radha Madhava Golden Jubilee Festival from March 2 – 5 commemorates four of them. These include:

• 50th Anniversary of Chota Radha Madhava’s Installation/Arrival
• 50th Anniversary of the ISKCON Mayapur Gaur Purnima Festival
• 50th Anniversary of Prabhupada Placing the Ananta Sesha Murti
• 50th Anniversary of Jananivas Prabhu as Mayapur Head Pujari

In a

Someone sent me a question asking about the status of coco. The sender found out that some Vaishnavas of the bhakti tradition consume chocolate. “So where do we stand?” was his basic question, a question worthy of asking his guru.

My answer to him was that our guru, Prabhupada, was not favourable to chocolate because of its caffeine content. When Prabhupada heard that some of his disciples were consuming hot chocolate in the evening as things were winding down, he wanted a stop to it. My good f

Faith is not bhakti but is a very important part of bhakti. The Cambridge dictionary defines ‘faith’ as, “a great trust or confidence in something or someone.” Srila Prabhupada has explained that “faith means unflinching trust in something sublime” (Bhagavad-gita 2.41, purport). He further explained, “Faith means firm conviction that if I become transcendentally engaged in the service of the Lord, then my life becomes successful. This is called faith. And that conviction must be firm, not totte

Last week I was asked, “What’s the most important practice for advancing in spiritual life?” Srila Prabhupada said chanting of Hare Krishna is most important. Some have suggested that devotee association is more important because without it, most of us wouldn’t have the strength to chant Hare Krishna.

I agree. But I think there is a principle even more fundamental than this.

OUR VERY DESIRE TO ADVANCE IN SPIRITUAL LIFE IS THE CORE CONDITION UPON WHICH OUR ADVANCEMENT IS BUILT.

“One’s devotion a

By Anandini Tikunov (8th-grade student) 

Alachua Students Map Out a Sustainable, Eco-friendly Future for their School

From January 3rd to January 14th, 2022, students at the Bhaktivedanta Academy North America (BANA) in Alachua, FL participated in an interdisciplinary project based on building a sustainable school. The project was executed by the middle school and high school student cohorts and their teachers. BANA is currently undergoing an expansion, and the school’s leaders wanted to involve

One of the people who comes on board for the Thursday Gita class, sourced from Alachua, Gainesville, is a Godsister by the name of Sankalpa. She is one of the rock pillars of our weekly group, which is a closely-knit group that enjoys each other’s company. Sankalpa is European, married to American born Janmasthami, and they have two boys (of marriageable age), Prahlad and Devala. I’ve engaged both boys in dramas in the past. She is a saintly person and lives a responsible life. In a picture tha

Understanding Different Perspectives of Srila Prabhupada’s Statements
Recap of ISKCON Communications Global Conference

More than 100 leaders and devotees doing communications services from around the globe including India, the US, the UK, South Africa, and Europe joined the online conference on Saturday, January 22nd.

The headline event for the conference, “Reconciling Different Perspectives on Srila Prabhupada’s Statements”, by Radhika Raman das (Utah State University Professor, Vaishnava scho

Based on the book Japa Affirmations by Mahatma Dasa

Ancient Vedic texts address the notion that no amount of material accomplishments can deeply satisfy us. Our consciousness has been affected by the material atmosphere, and as we try to exploit resources, we are in fact getting more and more entangled in mundane complexities. Vedic wisdom attributes this condition to a lack of spiritual awareness. The Vedic scriptures share with us that we are all spiritual beings and that we can elevate our c

The material world is toxic, always was and always will be. The Vedas speak of the three energies (modes) that trigger this confusion (Bhagavad-gita 7.13). The cause of this misfortune and its sustainability is also stated in the Gita, text 7.27. Verse 9.12 reveals that those who are bewildered arrive at whimsical conclusions. Hence toxicity continues.

I observe more and more that people are nasty to each other. The trying times of COVID are bringing out the worse in people, especially through

When first joining the Bhakti Centre I had so many devotees offering to help with my spiritual journey, that I did not know which direction to take. I was quite bewildered until I met Rasarani, a most advanced devotee who would come to be my Siska Guru. She told me I could follow a progressive path in Bhakti, and she would be my guide. 

My first and possibly most difficult challenge was to try to control the mind and senses, or Sraddha. Rasarani explained that she used small tokens to help her

When first joining the Bhakti Centre I had so many devotees offering to help with my spiritual journey, that I did not know which direction to take. I was quite bewildered until I met Rasarani, a most advanced devotee who would come to be my Siska Guru. She told me I could follow a progressive path in Bhakti, and she would be my guide. 

My first and possibly most difficult challenge was to try to control the mind and senses, or Sraddha. Rasarani explained that she used small tokens to help her

My daughter, Jennifer, and I first experienced Krishna consciousness together. We met some yoga teachers, who introduced us to kirtan and eventually, classes to teach us of Krishna. While I took to this straight away, Jennifer had more interest in yoga asana and kirtan.  

The devotees that we met were very clear that it is best not to push or force people, but rather to lead by example. I have tried very hard to do so, although I am very far from perfect myself. However, when I took initiation in

Social trends are currently moving toward traditional family values. Ms. Faith Popcorn (that's really her name), president and founder of BrainReserve, a Manhattan firm specializing in detecting consumer trends, attributes America's return to Mom-and-Pop ethics to a backlash from the excesses of the recent past The fear of AIDS is the coup de grace, prompting a return to stable, long-term relationships. But in a PhiladelphiaInquirer interview, Ms. Popcorn warns that as soon as an AIDS cure is

Jayadeva’s father was Bhojadeva, and his mother’s name was Bamadevi. They lived in the Birbhum district of what is now West Bengal in a village called Kenubilva Gram. He was born at the beginning of the twelfth century AD.

Jayadeva Goswami’s wife was named Shri Padmavati. When he was the court pandit of Lakshman Sena, he lived on the banks of the Ganges. Approximately three hundred years before the appearance of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shri Jayadeva Goswami lived in Bengal.

He was the author

On January 10, my beloved disciple Palika Dasi left her body in South Africa. Kindly read Madri Dasi’s beautiful description of this wonderful devotee.

Bitten by the Krishna Bug: Honoring the Life of Palika Dasi

By Madri Dasi

A few days ago, I heard of Palika’s transitioning from this mortal world. I did not want to cry because her life was over, but I smiled.

Palika was always “on the go.” During recent calls with her illustrious children and other family and friends to offer my condolences, we

Kripamayi Devi Dasi was one of the first Hare Krishna devotees in Thailand. As a young girl, she would pray to Lord Buddha for guidance. Her Buddhist guru one day handed her a piece of paper with the maha-mantra written on it.

From then on, she started chanting the maha-mantra. By Krsna’s arrangement, she met a devotee who gave her the Bhagavad Gita wherein she found the same mantra she had been chanting. Following the address given in the book, she went to the temple, but the temple was closed

January 19 is not just another date on the calendar. It is observed globally as the ‘Holocaust Remembrance Day‘ by the Kashmiri Pandits.

Jammu, Jan 19 (PTI) Displaced Kashmiri Pandits on Wednesday observed January 19 as the ‘Holocaust Day’ to mark the exodus of their community members from the Valley in 1990.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/news-brief-remembering-kashmir-on-holocaust-day/

Prabhupāda: So you all become bhagavad-dūta, bhagavad-dūta, messenger of God. That is perfection of life. Otherwise you shall be obliged to become the servant of the senses. Go-dāsa and gosvāmī. The bhagavad-dūtas are gosvāmī, and the servants of the senses are go-dāsa. Unfortunately the go-dāsas are claiming to be gosvāmīs. That is the cause of falldown of Indian Vedic civilization. One has to become gosvāmī. Gosvāmī means refuse to follow the dictation of the senses. Simply he has to follow t