FLORIDA FREEZE
I packed swimming trunks
Not a restriction for monks
Anticipating a dip in the springs
After tightening the drawstrings
Once I arrived in Tampa
Felt a freeze known by Santa
There were the usual bearded trees
The Spanish moss, but strange breeze
An Arctic vortex hit the land
My dreams for dipping totally canned
Even alligators do not prefer
For them cold waters – not secure
It’s Canada’s attack on the US, this cold
Trump’
“From the viewpoint of eternity, a life span of five thousand years is the same as that of five years: both are a flash, both temporary.”
Two summers ago when the Reforestation Department of the Sequoia National Park in California gave away excess baby Sequoia trees, I got four and planted them on our nine-acre property in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Sequoias don’t produce useful things like fruits or flowers. They simply live—for thousands of years. And they grow—hundreds of f
Krishna House in Gainesville, Florida, famous around the world for its innovative and successful ashram program, and Krishna Lunch on the University of Florida campus, has released a new video on YouTube. In less than five minutes, the creative film gives you a “peak into the experience of participants in the Krishna House Ashram.”
Common misconceptions are addressed in a welcoming and colorful presentation of Bhakti life. Krishna House is based on Srila Prabhupada’s example in his first ISKCON
Siddha Hari Das (left); Two children visitors at the mall receive some books from his booth.
A book distribution program led by Siddha Hari Das was successfully conducted at Michigan’s largest mall, Great Lakes Crossing Mall, from December 3rd, 2024, to January 12th, 2025. This innovative initiative was well received by the visitors and became a remarkable endeavor in spreading Krishna consciousness.
A total of 4,222 books were distributed, including 454 Bhakta Stacks (1,816 books), 120 Saptha S
Boar is a wild animal, probably not known for its beauty or great work. But when God appears in the form of a boar, He looks extremely beautiful and performs the most wonderful deeds. Just as the Supreme Lord appears in the human society as Lord Rāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa, He also incarnates in the animal society as Varāha (Boar), amongst the birds as Haṁsa (Swan), amongst the aquatics as Matsya (Fish) and so on.
According to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the Supreme Lord appeared as Varāha (a wild boar) twice –
So on the occasion of Varaha’s appearance day, we are reading a verse in relation this pastime. This is from Canto Three, Chapter Eighteen “The Battle Between Boar and Hiranyaksa”, Text number two.
dadarsa tatrabhijitam dhara-dharam
pronniyamanavanim agra-damstraya
musnantam aksna sva-ruco ’runa-sriya
jahasa caho vana-gocaro mrgah
Translation:
“He saw there the all-powerful Personality of Godhead in His boar incarnation, bearing the earth upward on the ends of His tusks and robbing him of his
Topic: Lord Varahadeva’s Appearance Anniversary
Verse: SB 3.18.2
Speaker: HH Bhakti Sundar Goswami
dadarsa tatrabhijitam dhara-dharam pronniyamanavanim agra-damstraya musnantam aksna sva-ruco ‘runa-sriya jahasa caho vana-gocaro mrgah
TRANSLATION: He saw there the all-powerful Personality of Godhead in His boar incarnation, bearing the earth upward on the ends of His tusks and robbing him of his splendor with His reddish eyes. The demon laughed: Oh, an amphibious beast!
PURPORT: In a previous ch
Residents of Klerksdorp patiently waiting to be served prasadam at ISKCON Klerksdorp.
In October 2023, the establishment of ISKCON Klerksdorp in the North West province of South Africa marked a significant milestone for the movement. Formerly managed by the Klerksdorp Hindu Samaj, the temple transitioned into ISKCON’s care, heralding a new chapter of spiritual service in the region. Less than a year later, the temple’s leadership initiated a feeding program that has already begun to touch hundre
In the Alachua temple, I delivered my third and last class on the heroism of the avatar, Varaha, who saved the earth in His most unique way. Back at the home of my hosts, Ananta Sesa and Vaishnavi, I led a Gita Chat on Zoom with devotees from the Caribbean. Chapter 1.32 – 35. Those verses are Arjuna’s rationale leading to his declining to fight. A major theme behind these verses was that Krishna, the main pundit, was actually a good listener. This is another trait of heroism.
For the eveni
The Vedic contribution to one of the central debates in Western philosophy.
Sam Surya goes to his city’s orphanage one day and makes a large donation. Elsewhere in town, Andy Andhakara robs a bank. What led these two to make such drastically different choices? Was it their own volition, or the force of some other factor? In other words, were their actions predetermined, or did Sam and Andy have free will?
These questions concern one of the pivotal debates in Western philosophy. Are human beings
Local vendors participate and new bins get installed at Hulor Ghat, one of the adopted spots.
Mayapur Clean and Green, led by Murari Mohini Devi Dasi, has recently introduced a new strategy for protecting Mayapur from environmental challenges. This strategy encourages individuals and organizations to adopt specific areas of the Dham. This initiative seeks to generate funds for cleaning activities and secure regular sponsorships for essential equipment, ensuring the sustained upkeep of Mayapur.
W
Over the past decade, New Vrindaban has grown rapidly, with a 36% increase in residents each year. To meet this demand, the community has built 10 new apartments and 5 cabins, bringing the temple’s total to 48 apartments. Additionally, 50 plots of land are being developed for devotees to buy and build homes. The growing number of young families in the community has created a need for enhanced support in fostering a Krishna-conscious lifestyle for children and parents.
Recently, ISKCON News inter
My annual visit to Gainesville is always rewarding. This well-established college city draws young students. At the heart of the town rests a true refuge for students at the U of F. It is called Krishna House, and this is the location where you get this excellent training in bhakti yoga. In fact, this is the model we follow in Toronto with the Bhakti Academy, designed for students who cultivate a devotional life while going to school or work. It is such a miraculous program.
We spoke
We are familiar with the literary devices of similes and metaphors. In a simile, we may say something like, “The summer air was as hot as a furnace”, but in a metaphor we do not simply compare two things but describe one as the other, as in Sandburg’s poem: “The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches, and then moves on.”
The language of metaphor and poetry is the language of emotion and love. In the Italian film “Il Postino” (The Postman), a simple
The Vedic scriptures reveal that Mayadevi, Lord Krishna’s deluding potency, works with certain energies that have the capacity to make material life seem like normal life.
As we go about our everyday activities in the material world, we are continuously confronted with the normality, or normalness, of material existence. In other words, we are constantly bombarded with the notion that material life, with all its mundane rationality, constitutes normal life and that this world
Since 2009, our ISKCON Girls’ Forum team in Amravati has been frequenting the Dr Narendra Bhiwapurkar Blind School, engaging the students in kirtan and other spiritual activities. On these occasions, I always had the feeling that the children should be reading Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is to enlighten their lives. But where to get a Braile Bhagavad-gita was the big question.
For the full story by Jayabhadra Devi Dasi, visit the ISKCON Padayatra website for this and other inspiring n
ISKCON Bhagavata Mahavidyalaya (IBMV) is offering a 27-hour Diploma in Bhagavad-gita course, divided into 18 sessions of 1.5 hours each. Scheduled from February 1 to February 21, 2025, the classes will be held Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM IST. The course will be conducted by Premasindhu Gauranga Das who is the Director of Administration at IBMV.
The program welcomes individuals ages 15 and above, regardless of their prior knowledge. It offers an in-depth exploration of the Bh
From Back to Godhead
Fulfilling our duty as parents requires taking care of our children’s spiritual needs.
As the mother of ten children, I am often asked, “How do you fulfill your family responsibilities and still make progress in spiritual life? When do you find the time to serve God?”
“It’s a matter of vision,” I reply. “I realize that I can serve God by caring for my children and husband with love and respect.”
Being a mother and wife is my duty, and I don’t distinguish it from my service
It’s not that the weather was incompatible for walking this morning with a cold, wet rain, I just wasn’t prepared, clothing-wise, to dare the elements. I was indoors most of the time, yet happily busy. The sadhana program in the Alachua temple was great, though low in attendance due to a cold floor. The kitchen at the back end has no heat, so you could see everyone’s breath. The solution for the cooks is to keep warm through action.
I visited the men’s house where male devotees reside
