From Back to Godhead
Lord Krishna’s words made their way to us after a long historical journey.
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Although many articles have been written about the Gita as a philosophical poem, exploring its meaning and theological implications, and although both devotees and nondevotees have written elaborate studies of Srila Prabhupada’s translation, few articles deal with the text as a historical phenomenon, something that
By Srimati Dasi
Let’s face it. It’s not easy trying to live Bhagavad-gétä in today’s world — it’s tough! And the taste is more often bitter/sweet than sweet/sweet. Govindadeva gives the practical essence of living Bhagavad-gétä in verse 18.66. The Kali-yugian heart has no trouble with the first half of the equation — abandon all varieties of religion. That’s very much in tune with today’s life standards. But the second half — surrender unto Me — that’s the tough part. Why do we find it so tough
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Across the world, COVID has, for better or worse, changed the way we do many things in our lives. Countless children have attended school, Sunday school and even ‘camp’ online this year. More than ever before, children live online – making new friends, developing established relationships, learn, recreate, etc.
With the added stressors COVID has brought, it is no surprise that child abuse has increased, in perso
In the US, gurus and yogis have attracted tens of thousands of followers. But there is a huge gulf between American devotees of Hinduism and immigrants from the subcontinent.
In March last year, more than 65,000 people attended Utah’s famous Festival of Colors. The event was held at an ISKCON temple, and only a small percentage of attendees were Indian or Hindu. It was just one sign of how firmly Hinduism has come to be established in the US. Today, tens of millions of non-Indian Americans engag
ISKCON Youth Forum [IYF] Delhi celebrated its annual Youth Festival, ‘VIPLAVA- A Revolution in Consciousness’, from October 22nd to 24th 2021, at Fogla Ashrama, Bhaktivedanta Marga, Srī Vrndāvana Dhāma, for 2000+ youth from across the nation.
IYF is the youth wing of ISKCON Delhi and has for the last decade been engaged in organizing seminars, holding festivals, and conducting development programs with the prime objective of empowering youngsters to unleash their potential and become servant le
The ’Handbook of Hinduism in Europe’ is the first encyclopedia to this extent that explains the development of Hinduism in Europe, its various traditions, the philosophy as well as describes Hindu-rooted movements such as ISKCON. The encyclopedia consists of two volumes with 65 chapters in total, written by 60 researchers from all over Europe. The editors are Prof. Knut A. Jacobsen from the University of Bergen (Norway) and Dr. Ferdinando Sardella from Stockholm University (Sweden), who are amon
By Madhava Smullen
Govardhan Eco Village (GEV), ISKCON’s 100-acre farm in the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range in Maharashtra, recently completed the final fourteen rooms for its 42-room Mahavan guest building using energy-efficient mud block building technologies.
The same techniques are also currently being used to build the 9,000 square foot Bhajan Ashram, a retreat facility for senior brahmacharis and sannyasis, which will be completed by the end of the year.
The Eco Village will
There is an expected rule for covid restrictions and therefore we have limited attendance for our extended festival of Govardhan, here in the province of New Brunswick. Nevertheless, those who came to the location, the home of Kadamba Priya, had a sweet time. Now, today, Sunday, November 7, we take on dutifully an event to honour our world teacher, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who passed away in 1977. It is an anniversary celebration today and we will remember him, sadly
One of Lord Krishna’s most delightful pastimes occurred when Mother Yasoda caught Him stealing butter and took a rope to bind Him. We may wonder, “Is it possible to bind the unlimited Supreme Personality of Godhead?” Yes, but a rope alone is not enough…. (From the Srimad-Bhagavatam, translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.)
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=91074
A poem in honour of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:
Reflect Reflect
Reflect, reflect on His Divine Grace
Mirror the values he’s put into place
Set into practice what he’s left us
Deliberate on his love, then discuss
Evermore is this our obligation
Of commitment and unbroken dedication
May we shine in his powerful glow
Like the formation of crystal, soft snow
Clean and clear directions he’s given
Moving us until we’re self-driven
Let us act with the same heart
With the s
Series: Srila Prabhupada-Our Preeminent Siksha Guru – Day 02
Speaker: Vaisesika Das
Occasion: Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day Special
On Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day festival , here are some lesser-known facts related to ISKCON Founder acharya Srila Prabhupada by Vaisesika Prabhu.
GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) is pleased to invite you to the Day 2 of our 3 day series celebrating Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day festival reflecting on the role of Srila Prabhupada as our preeminent
By Madhava Smullen
The South African National Council (SANC), which has served as the overarching management structure for ISKCON in South Africa since the late 1980s, is undergoing sweeping changes in its structure and approach. The aim of the transformation is to “more fully realize Srila Prabhupada’s vision for Krishna Consciousness in South Africa and to present Krishna Consciousness in a very dynamic and relevant way to all people of our country.”
The effort began about a year ago when the
Krsna’s plan unfolds in our life and we have to allow it to do so. Over time, our destiny will become clear and we begin to see Krsna’s plan. We are all in one sense family members of Krsna now that we are part of the Acyuta-gotra. The Acyuta-gotra is the infallible family lineage of Krsna. Before I was in Krsna consciousness, I went to Gaya and I stayed in a dharmasala. The manager asked me, “What is your gotra (family lineage)?” I said, “Well, in my country we do not really have that.” So the
At the MANtra retreat today, brilliant presentations were made, for instance, by Partha regarding marriage and the topic “Making an Ally,” referring to relationship development. Yadunatha entertained us with his skits. He is just great at getting us to laugh at ourselves and our habits, which could sometimes come across as fanatical. Dravida blessed us with his MANTRA RAPS. Anuttama took hold of a panel discussion, all under the umbrella of “The Hero’s Journey.” One that I really relished, prese
By Giriraj Swami
We have again reached December, that most auspicious time of year when the book-distribution marathon takes place. In honor of the occasion, I quote two verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam that embody the devotee’s mood in distributing Krishna consciousness.
naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas
tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah
soce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyartha-
maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan
“O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material
Last year there was an incident where I received a major chastisement because of not having properly understood the unique position of Srila Prabhupada. Well, I thought I understood his position but unknowingly and subtly I got led in way that would have meant exactly the opposite! The repercussion for me was polite but very grave, something I had never experienced in my spiritual or even in my material life. It was something I would carry whole life as it taught me a little what is meant b
GBC SPT: Our team is pleased to invite you all to our bi-monthly series of interviews on the topic of Srila Prabhupada as ISKCON’s pre-eminent Siksha Guru. We are kicking off the series with one of Srila Prabhupada’s most dear disciples HH Giriraj Swami.
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88775
By Madhava Smullen
With the recent COP26 climate conference in Glasgow a current hot topic of discussion, ISKCON will be holding the Felication Ceremony for its biggest Value Education Olympiad yet on November 22nd. There it will recognize hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren from across India and the world who studied environmental values based on the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita.
The Olympiad, organized by ISKCON of Punjabi Bagh, Delhi, is presented by Govardhan Eco Village and ISKCON in
By Madhava Smullen
After being virtually free of Covid-19 for most of the pandemic, New Zealand instituted a lockdown in August after discovering its first case in six months. Auckland, the epicenter of the outbreak, has remained in lockdown for over 90 days now, while most of the rest of the country has been living with minimal restrictions. Domestic borders around Auckland are set to reopen from December 15th for fully vaccinated people and those with negative test results. Meanwhile, ISKCON
One of the Gita Zoom calls for this Tuesday night is located in Owen Sound, Ontario, where our host, Sudhama, resides. Some of us decided to be there physically, so we drove up, a two-and-a-half-hour drive north west. Mahadeva was behind the wheel while his good partner, Annapurna, and I were passengers. To break up the drive we decided to hit a trail off of Hwy 10. A rails-to-trails pathway appeared to our right just prior to Holland Centre, a tiny hamlet, so this then became our down-time, a o
