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By Kalakantha dasa

After You steal butter, Your earrings dance and shine
as You flee Your mother in Gokula pastimes.
Though you are all blissful, all knowing, ever-new
Greatest of controllers, Your mother controls You.

She shows You the stick and she binds You by the waist.
As You rub Your frightened eyes, tears roll down Your face.
Sobbing and quick breaths make Your necklace of pearls shake.
Ropes of her love bind You in Your mother’s embrace.

Relishing Your childhood activities like this,
Yo

hantayam adrir abala hari-dasa-varyo
yad rama-krsna-carana-sparasa-pramodah
manam tanoti saha-go-ganayos tayor yat
paniya-suyavasa-kandara-kanda-mulaih

“Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Krishna and Balarama, along with Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus fe

From Back to Godhead 

Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic means for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions.

The integration of these three – prayers composed poetically and sung individually or collectively – is a powerful and joyful way to channel human emotions towards the divine. In the wor

We are gathered on the auspicious occasion of Sri Govardhana-puja at the feet of Sri Giriraja Govardhana. Many of you may know the history, related in Srimad-Bhagavatam: One day Sri Krishna noticed that the cowherd men were collecting paraphernalia for worship. As the omniscient Supersoul, the Lord already understood the whole situation. Still, as a matter of etiquette, He humbly inquired from His elders, headed by Nanda Maharaja, what their purpose was. He said that no secrets should be kept b

One of the most important days in a person’s life is his Birthday. This day is celebrated and cherished by everyone with special treats and gatherings from families and friends. Generally a Birthday is celebrated by cutting a well decorated and nicely prepared cake, by blowing the candles and making a wish. Then friends and family wish the person whose birthday is being celebrated followed by drinks, eating and partying with music and dance. This constitutes a successful Birthday Party.

Devotee

Govardhana Lila of Lord Krishna has an important message. The same message is also stated in the biography of Lord Chaitanya.

Govardhan Lila

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfPxRvEGQQk

Do you know this prayer sung on the day of Govardhana-puja? Watch a video and read the verses in praise of Govardhana Hill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2J1e74aYkA

This song was composed by Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakura, one of the acharyas in the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. Devotees sing Govardhanashtaka while an arati is performed to Govardhana Hill on the day of Govardhana-puja.

Text 1

krsna-prasadena samasta-shaila-
samrajyam apnoti cha vairino ‘pi
sakrashya yah prapa balim

Dear Friends,

Hare Krishna !

On the occasion of Diwali, ISKCON Desire Tree offers you greetings of joy and good will.

The festive season brings out the best in us. We spend time with our loved ones and love the gifts we give and receive. 

As we celebrate and exchange gifts what can be a better gift than the opportunity to gift - Krishna Consciousness? Yes! Krishna Consciousness.

With your love and generosity you can make this Diwali truly light up the life of a individual by helping us

The story goes that Hanuman was sent by Rama to Ayodhya the day before Rama’s arrival as prearranged with Bharat to let the residents of Ayodhya know how Sita and Rama and all Their retinue were returning.

This was five days before Diwali, and after the Vijaya dasami (victory of Rama ) celebration.

THE STORY BEHIND “DIWALI”
King Dashrath ruled the rich and prosperous city of Ayodhya. He had three wives and Kaikayi was his favourite. She saved his life in a war at a very crucial time. Dashrath

matala hari jana kirtana range pujala raga pathe gaurava bhange

“With reverent regard we must always consider the path of spontaneous devotion far beyond our own reach. Rather, while worshipfully placing this topmost conception on our heads with utmost fervent regard, take shelter of Sri Hari-kirtan as so mercifully given by Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu’s eternal sankirtan.”

From the Teachings of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada and his successors I have learned what is sahajiya. An

Damodarastakam, Verse 1

To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who (due to the offense of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behi

By Adikarta das

When I joined ISKCON in 1974, I immediately felt relief from material suffering. I was, and am, to be honest, a real Kali yuga specimen. The first service I had was working in the garden at Bhaktivedanta Manor. It was nice, after some of the other things I had done,prior to my attempt at becoming a devotee, but I may not be still trying to be a devotee, if I had had to do that my whole devotional life.

After about 10 days, I was asked to go out on book distribution, which, right

From Back to Godhead

By Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

If God is inconceivable, as the scriptures state, can we really know anything about Him?

Sri Isopanisad states that Krsna is simultaneously very far away and very close. The Vedic scripturesencourage us: The best way to know Krsna and bring Him closer is to hear about Him.

As we open any book about Krsna, we’ll immediately feel the richness of the clear and scientific knowledge it contains. We’ll also come to understand that Krsna is by nature inc

By Mahatma das

Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other. ~ Mark Twain

The first thing Srila Prabhupada explained to a friend of mine in their three hour meeting on how to run his business was this: “Don’t compromise your principles.”

Srila Prabhupada often said, “I never compromised my principles. If I compromised I could have attracted more people, but then I would have given them a watered down product that would have neither been genuine nor pure. I was

Penny-wise, pound-foolish – that’s definitely me. I’m the kind of person who buys the cheapest goods, and then forks out double the amount to replace them. Whether its shoes, gadgets, clothes or cars, most things I buy seem to break down, play up or fall apart, costing me a small fortune in the process! One acquisition, however, that has stood the test of time, is the wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita. In 20 years of study, it has never let me down once. Some may question the utility of such ancient