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“All my desires to work as an engineer seem to have dwindled by seeing your lotus face in New Vrindaban. I am enjoying the nectar of devotion more and more every day. I have been going on sankirtana every day for an average of six to eight hours, sometimes even fifteen, ever since I have been in this temple. I love to go out on sankirtana and distribute your books, and Krishna is rewarding me with unexpected pleasure.” (Letter from Jasomatinandan Das to Srila Prabhupada, 1973)

Remembering Jasoma

Stephen drove me to Brampton, to an expansive recreation park called Sesquicentennial. There is not a more flat expense of parkland that I’ve seen, except for Saskatchewan. The place is green, clean and all who visit are in jeans, which is a slight exaggeration when it comes to attire. Brampton, in general could easily be mistaken for a suburb of New Delhi, just cleaner. The reason I say this about the place is that the whole area is rather dominated by people mostly from North India.

Stephen an

अध्याय नौ – श्रीभगवान के वचन का उद्धरण देते हुए प्रश्नों के उत्तर (2.9)

1 श्रील शुकदेव गोस्वामी ने कहा: हे राजन, जब तक मनुष्य पूर्ण पुरुषोत्तम भगवान की शक्ति से प्रभावित नहीं होता तब तक भौतिक शरीर के साथ शुद्ध चेतना में शुद्ध आत्मा का सम्बन्ध कोई अर्थ नहीं रखता। ऐसा सम्बन्ध स्वप्न देखने वाले द्वारा अपने ही शरीर को कार्य करते हुए देखने के समान है।

2 मोहग्रस्त जीवात्मा भगवान की बहिरंगा शक्ति के द्वारा प्रदत्त अनेक रूप धारण करता है। जब बद्ध जीवात्मा भौतिक प्रकृति के गुणों में रम जाता है, तो वह भूल स

By Mathura Lilesvari Devi Dasi

The most auspicious month of Kartika month starts on Nov 1st. For years, devotees in ISKCON Malaysia have been bringing the opportunity of offering ghee lamps to Lord Damodara during Kartika to masses of people. This year, due to the pandemic, the Malaysian devotees are initiating a project like never before —  a virtual lamp offering aimed to set a record in the Malaysia Book of Records.  

The task is simple - they need at least 3,000 devotees and well-wishers fr

By Vraja Vihari Das

Let’s not let the important restrictions due to Covid-19 get in the way of us having a wonderful Kartika! 

In the Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada writes: “One of the most important of these ceremonial functions is called Urja-vrata. Urja-vrata is observed in the month of Kartika; especially in Vṛindavana, there is a specific program for temple worship of the Lord in His Damodara form.” 

While most of us will miss out on being in Vrindavan and some of us won’t even be abl

“To the supreme controller, who possesses an eternal form of blissful knowledge, whose glistening earrings swing to and fro, who manifested Himself in Gokula, who stole the butter that the gopis kept hanging from the rafters of their storerooms and who then quickly jumped up and ran in retreat in fear of Mother Yasoda but was ultimately caught – to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances. “- Damodarastakam

Day 2, Damodar month, Darshan Gallery

Source: https://www.mayapur.co

अध्याय आठ – राजा परीक्षित द्वारा पूछे गये प्रश्न(2.8)

1 राजा परीक्षित ने श्रील शुकदेव गोस्वामी से पूछा कि नारद मुनि ने, जिनके श्रोता ब्रह्माजी द्वारा उपदेशित श्रोता जितने ही भाग्यशाली हैं, किस प्रकार भौतिक गुणों से रहित भगवान के दिव्य गुणों का वर्णन किया और वे किन-किन के समक्ष बोले?

2 राजा ने कहा: मैं यह जानने का इच्छुक हूँ। अद्भुत शक्तियों से सम्पन्न भगवान से सम्बन्धित कथाएँ निश्चय ही समस्त लोकों के जीवों के लिए शुभ हैं।

3 हे परम भाग्यशाली श्रील शुकदेव गोस्वामी, आप मुझे कृपा करके श्रीमदभागवत सुन

As you are aware, Damodar masa is here, and it is around this time of the year that His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami Maharaj leads his annual Kartik Parikrama in and around Braj. This year, however, due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Parikrama will not proceed in person. And as you are likely aware, Maharaj has recently tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently resting in Simhachalam, Germany. But this will not take away from the spirit of Kartik at all, as Maharaj has previous

अध्याय सात – विशिष्ट कार्यों के लिए निर्धारित अवतार (2.7)

1 ब्रह्माजी ने कहा: जब अनन्त शक्तिशाली भगवान ने लीला के रूप में ब्रह्माण्ड के गर्भोदक नामक महासागर में डूबी हुई पृथ्वी को ऊपर उठाने के लिए वराह का रूप धारण किया, तो सबसे पहला असुर (हिरण्याक्ष) वहाँ आया । भगवान ने उसे अपने अगले दाँत से विदीर्ण कर दिया।

2 सर्वप्रथम प्रजापति की पत्नी आकूती के गर्भ से सुयज्ञ उत्पन्न हुआ; फिर सुयज्ञ ने अपनी पत्नी दक्षिणा से सुयम इत्यादि देवताओं को उत्पन्न किया। सुयज्ञ ने इन्द्रदेव के रूप में तीनों ग्रह मण्डलों

                      Glories of Damodara Month

                               (Kartika-masa)

Kartika-masa, also known as Damodara-masa, in accordance

with Vaishnava calendars, is described in the scriptures as the best

among months.

tasmad vrata tra yam hy etan mama tiva priyankaram

magha kartikayos tad vat tat hai vaikadasi vratam

van aspatinam tulasi masanam kartikah priyah

ekadasi tithi nam ca ksetranam dvaraka mama

ete sam sevanam yastu karoti ca jitendriyah

same vallabhatam yati na tat ha yajanadi

By Madhava Smullen

ISKCON sannyasi Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami Maharaja had recovered after being hospitalized some years ago; more recently, however, his spinal cord condition worsened. He is now once again in hospital and in a serious condition, with devotees around the world requested to pray to Lord Narasimhadeva for his recovery.

“The doctors had warned us that there was a high probability of Maharaja being paralyzed in the event of a surgery, even if successful,” says Rishi Kumara Das o

Since past few years ISKCON has had a small temple in the heart of Varanasi, in Bhelupur and now the temple is expanding and evolving into the impressive ‘Sri Sri Radha Gopal Mandir Vedic Indian Cultural Center’ (VICC). The talented young devotees’ ensemble of the Temple envisions making ISKCON VICC the most attractive place in Varanasi succeeding the popular Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the Ghats of River Ganga.

VICC aspires to become a source of enlightenment for spiritual seekers and a cultura

It was a typical October day, I mean to say, perfect for walking. The wind, a cloud and the sun were above and around, not only me but everyone. I was walking west on Dupont and at one crossroad, at Davenport, also known as the Ancient Trail used by the Huron for centuries, I met one road worker. His name is Jordan, he left his tools and came down.

“Hare Krishna!” said Jordan. “We’ve met. I know Phil, who is in Hungary now at the farm community… I do chant and follow some of your classes on Zoom

अध्याय छह – पुरुष सूक्त की पुष्टि (2.6)

1 ब्रह्माजी ने कहा: विराट पुरुष का मुख वाणी का उद्गम-केंद्र है और उसका नियामक देव अग्नि है। उनकी त्वचा तथा अन्य छह स्तर (आवरण) वैदिक मंत्रों के उद्गम-केंद्र हैं और उनकी जीभ देवताओं, पितरों तथा सामान्यजनों को अर्पित करने वाले विभिन्न खाद्यों तथा व्यंजनों (रसों) का उद्गम है।

2 उनके दोनों नथुनें हमारे श्वास के तथा अन्य सभी प्रकार की वायु के जनन-केंद्र हैं; उनकी घ्राण शक्ति से अश्विनीकुमार तथा समस्त प्रकार की जड़ी-बूटियाँ उत्पन्न होती हैं और उनकी श्वास-शक्ति से

The following official statement has been released by Temple of the Vedic Planetarium Chairman Ambarisa Das and Director of Development Braja Vilasa Das:

Dear ISKCON Leaders and Devotees Worldwide:

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

As you all know, we have planned for some time now to shift the Mayapur Deities into the new TOVP temple room by 2022. In the meantime, of course, the COVID -19 Pandemic came on the scene and all construction came to a halt from mid-M

Uttama-adhikari is living in a close relationship with Krsna. The uttama-adhikari is always thinking about Krsna in every moment. And every moment is dedicated to Krsna. This devotee is not wasting a single moment on anything else.

kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ
viraktir māna-śūnyatā
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā
nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ
(Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 23.18-19)

When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krsna fructifies, many symptoms manifest in one’s behaviour. One of them is a taste for chanti

I walked to “Theatrics Plus” and the friendly clerk found for me what I came for, a prop for the virtual drama that a group of us are putting together. “Rolling the Dice” is the name of the play. The highlight of the story focuses on some shady gambling from the “Mahabharat.” The props I purchased were dice, four of them at $2.50 a crack. They look good, roll nice, sound good when you shake them and are made in China. According to the epic, the iconic dice are supposed to be made of the bones of

नारद मुनि ने कहा – इस ब्रह्माण्ड के भीतर जितनी सारी वस्तुएँ हैं वे सब आपके नियंत्रण में हैं।   (2.5.4-12)~~श्रील प्रभुपाद ~~

अध्याय पाँच – समस्त कारणों के कारण (2.5)

1 श्री नारद मुनि ने ब्रह्माजी से पूछा: हे देवताओं में प्रमुख देवता, हे प्रथम जन्मा जीव, मैं आपको सादर नमस्कार करता हूँ। कृपया करके मुझे वह दिव्य ज्ञान बतायें, जो मनुष्य को आत्मा तथा परमात्मा के सत्य तक ले जाने वाला है।

2 हे पिताजी, कृपया इस व्यक्त जगत के वास्तविक लक्षणों का वर्णन कीजिये। इसका आधार क्या है? इसका सृजन किस प्रकार किया ग