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On the 28^th of March this year in the Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, a grand celebration will be held on the occasion of the appearance day of Srivasa Thakura. Srivasa Thakura is one of the most prominent devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and was present in Mayapur along with Sri Caitanya in the 15^th century.

One of the most striking features of the Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, ISKCON’s World Headquarters in West Bengal, India, are the Deities of Sri Sri Panca-tattva who preside over the te

On March 17 the ISKCON Ahmedabad temple devotees conducted their thirty-third monthly one-day padayatra. Called the Glories of Gaura-hari, a shorter walk this time of just 6km, the padayatra was held to promote the glories of Gaura-purnima, the appearance
day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

We were going to do padayatra after Gaura-purnima but decided it should come first so that we could advertise the festival. The temple devotees wanted to celebrate Gaura-purnima in as opulent a fashion as Janmas

Vrindavan. Recently, I was thinking and reading about Vrindavan. I thought about how it would be to go to Vrindavan. How does it happen? How would I do it?

To learn, I checked and researched. I found the ISKCON Vrindavan website. I saw Visit Vrindavan and Travel Assistance and read.

The information stated, “The most convenient airport for coming to Vrindavan is Delhi.” So, I searched several websites for flights from Jacksonville, Florida to Delhi, India. The flight times varied: 20 hours, 24 h

Sanscrit is one of the oldest and most complex languages. The richer the language, the greater is it’s capacity to formulate elevated concepts. “Vicara” in Sanskrit means “to reflect on oneself”. A similar reflection can prove to be illuminating, if it prompts us to take stock of ourselves and become conscious of our own limits and talents.
It signifies being aware of our personal responsibilities, where they begin and where they end.
It signifies learning to perceive and overcome difficulties,

It is not enough to maintain physical hygiene – we need to take care that our mind and our heart remain pure. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura once said, “Negativity will only control you if you allow it to enter your mind.” In other words, if you think negatively, if you always look into the abyss, the abyss will stare into your face. This is very important. On the other hand, if we think that everything is possible, everything will be possible for us – because we will attract these thi

During difficult times, our mind is usually disturbed, our intelligence confused, and our ego hurt. Of these seven quotes from Radhanath Swami’s book The Journey Within, three are for the mind, two for the intelligence, and two for the ego.

For the mind
Mind has three functions: thinking, feeling and willing.
Keep thoughts positive, be hopeful:
1. Hope can nourish, sustain, and inspire us to grow even in challenging circumstances.
Here is a quote to help you cultivate the right feelings:

2. If

sri bhagavan uvaca
abhayam sattva-samsuddhir
jnana-yoga-vyavasthitih
danam damas ca yajnas ca
svadhyayas tapa arjavam

ahimsa satyam akrodhas
tyagah santir apaisunam
daya bhutesv aloluptvam
mardavam hrir acapalam

tejah ksama dhrtih saucam
adroho natimanita
bhavanti sampadam daivim
abhijatasya bharata

Srila Prabhupada: The first thing is that bhagavan uvaca. These things required for purification. Sattva-samsuddhih. The human life is meant for sattva. Sattva. Sattva means existence. We are existi

By Radha Sakhi Dasi

Who is a hero? In simple words, a person of distinguished courage or ability admired for his/her deeds and noble qualities. Then who is a legend? A Legend is a person who is extremely famous in his/her field whose glories and valour are celebrated through traditional stories coming down through time. Touchstone Media’s ‘Pauranic Caritavali’ celebrates the glories of the true legendary heroes from the Puranas.

The Puranas herald the tales of heroes of different times since cr

By Kadamba Kanana Swami

Sometimes I feel that the temple is transcendental, the Bhagavad-gita is transcendental, the holy name is transcendental, and the devotees are transcendental. Everything is transcendental expect me; I am not transcendental. But to some extent we are elevated to the transcendental platform, because we are chanting Hare Krsna, taking Krsna prasadam and engaging in devotional service.

So the transcendental energy is working through us at times, and then we are on a transcen

The Shantipur festival was first celebrated in the 15th century by the great saint Sri Advaita Acharya. The festival took place at his home in Shantipur on the occasion of the disappearance day of his spiritual master, Madhavendra Puri. On that day he fed all the devotees who came to his home prasadam, or sanctified food offered to the Lord.

Lord Caitanya attended the celebration and ate along with all the devotees. He stated that whoever comes to Shantipur and honors prasadam on this day will

By Kadamba Kanana Swami

In The Nectar of Devotion there is a reference to ‘sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā,’ that we must make devotional service more dense. One of the symptoms of bhava is avyartha-kālatvam (Cc. Madhya 23.18-19) –   not to waste a moment. In theCaitanya-caritamrtait is said that while the associates of Caitanya Mahaprabhu were taking prasadam they were chanting the holy name in between bites. So they were not wasting a moment; their devotional service was very dense.

It is also said tha

Some devotees think, that because they are devotees, they must preach instantly to whomever they meet. Perhaps if we had the required force of purity, we could effect changes in people’s hearts on first contact. The reality is however, that not everyone has the required sukrti to appreciate our words; we have to create it for them.

By Kesava Krsna Dasa

Being in the workplace alongside the same faces, day in, and day out, can present challenges for a devotee keen on preaching. Simply letting eve

The intelligent people of kali yuga will do devotional service to the Lord and how will they do this, by the process of yagnas and sankirtan. There are many kinds of yagnas but the most appropriate yagna for this kali yuga is Hari naam sankirtan, congregational chanting of the holy names.

Lord Krishna’s leela in dvapara yuga which He manifest, He got lot of bliss in that leela. But the people of kali yuga would be devoid of experiencing that bliss. How can these people experience that happiness

March 21st, 2019 – On the auspicious birthday of Lord Caitanya, Gaura Purnima, in the ISKCON Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir in Sridhama Mayapur, four qualified candidates accepted sannyasa from His Holiness Jayapataka Swami in order to further spread the mission of Mahaprabhu.

Sannyasa is the renounced order of life accepted by many followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself accepted sannyasa in order to further the spread of the sankirtana movement. Srila Pra