I was born in 1948 into a farming family. My uncle, my mother’s brother, was the family member who had more cows than the rest of us. All the family farms were simple in their operation and completely rural in their location. My uncle’s farm was the largest at 180 acres, and in the 1950’s and 1960’s I spent a considerable amount of time being, and eventually working there.
Uncle was primarily a dairy farmer who also grew 60 acres of tobacco as his cash crop, which kept him afloat as a farmer fo
By Bhaktimala Devi Dasi
In March, New Gokula Farm held its first Holi festival, and it was a huge success, with around 2,000 people attending. The 550-acre farm, with its lavish organic vegetable gardens and orchards, is located in Australia’s picturesque Hunter Valley, just two hours north of Sydney. It is home to the beautiful full-sized Deities Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda and over 60 cows and bulls.
The Global Party People, a mantra duo, enthused the crowds and had them both dancing and partic
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
The Brahmacharis from the Monastery of the Holy Name in Lithuania are gearing up for their renowned and life-altering summer Harinama Sankirtana Tour. This transformative journey will traverse numerous Baltic and European cities, offering a unique spiritual experience to all who join.
The Sankirtan Tour starts today with the Holy Name Retreat at the Harinam Mandir in Lithuania from May 3-5, followed by a life-changing journey across Europe visiting Poland, the
We had scheduled a morning track through Algonquin Park. It was an idea conjured up by our Bhakti Academy group from Toronto. but it was irresistible for some to stay up late last night. It was a great opportunity to see the aurora borealis, the northern lights, so plan changes. while still in Huntsville before the trip to Sudbury, further north, I ventured on along the main street, called Main, and simultaneously chant softly, the maha mantra. Next I participated in the first mangal arati, a s
There comes a time, sometimes regularly, where we may feel, Oh, Krishna. I can’t do this anymore. This ‘this’ will be different for everyone. It happened to Arjuna in the Gita – he wanted to give up, not to fight, and go off to the forest to be alone. He did not want to deal with people and life’s problems. He told Krishna: I’m not fighting, I can’t do it, I can’t see the point, better if I don’t act and move to the side.
If it can happen to Arjuna, who had everything going for him, including t
From Back to Godhead
“My father and the coach at UCLA were pleased with my volleyball successes, and my mother was satisfied with my academic work. But I wondered if Krishna was pleased.”
I was born in Los Angeles in 1949. My parents were avid volleyball players. My father had been one of America’s best, and my mother had been a third-team All-American. I started playing volleyball when I was four. I passed through school easily. Sports dominated my free hours, and generally my childhood was a
Over the years modern science has speculated and researched to find out the number of species on earth, the method that main stream science has adopted is experimental which is commonly known as “seeing is believing”, but without going much in detail regarding the imperfectness of this method, which is based on imperfect senses of the human being and imperfectness of the instruments developed by the human beings by these imperfect senses, it is extremely difficult to understand or gauge the vas
From Back to Godhead
After the disappearance of Jayananda Das on May 1, 1977, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada instructed devotees all over the world to commemorate the event every year as they would any great Vaishnava’s disappearance day.
Therefore we respectfully submit these pages to all devotees and friends of ISKCON as a means to remember and understand more about Jayananda’s devotional service. Of course, we will see how he joined ISKCON and how he left this mortal world. More importan
A true Vaishnava’s influence transcends even the boundaries of this material realm, their examples serving as enduring pillars to carry forward their legacy. Rare indeed is the individual endowed with a combination of remarkable qualities and a unique character, embodying dedication, humility, joviality, and kindness. As Srila Prabhupada himself remarked in 1976, “The two brothers Pankajanghri and Jananivasa – there is no comparison.”
Today, in Iskcon Mayapur, we joyously commemorate the 3rd T
I woke up at 2 am needing to visit the washroom. My cell phone’s message revealed that H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami (friend and spiritual guide) had passed away. I couldn't go back to sleep. I pulled out my pen, hilroy notebook and began writing.
He signed his name
He signed his name to that temple guest book
Which triggered events leading to a hook
For that signature meant a follow-up call
In ’68 the invite came from the Montreal Hall
We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter Three: “Karma-yoga.”
TEXT 41
tasmat tvam indriyany adau niyamya bharatarsabha papmanam prajahi hy enam jnana-vijnana-nasanam
TRANSLATION
Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bharatas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
The Lord advised Arjuna to regulate the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the great
"The cause of it [the world's malady] is spiritual. We are suffering from having sold our souls to the pursuit of an objective which is both spiritually wrong and practically unobtainable. We have to reconsider our objective and change it. And until we do this, we shall not have peace, either amongst ourselves or within each of us. "
Arnold Toynbee
London Observer
25 October 1972
The reason for Mr. Toynbee's remark is that, at present, governmental plans for social development around the world
By Satyaraja Dasa
The ideas of the Western philosopher Kant come close to the concept of dharma.
For some, duty is a dirty word—we want to do what we want to do. Period. To hell with duty. But let’s consider this more seriously: What is duty, and should I be concerned about it? Clearly, duty means different things to different people. And yet it’s not uncommon to wonder: What am I meant to do? Is there a reason I was put on this earth?
Duty is a term loosely applied to any action or course of a
By Sacinandana Swami
Our greatest problem is that we have turned away from Krishna. This one action has turned into our existential dilemma. We are lost servants. But strangely we think, at least unconsciously, that it is Krishna who has abandoned us. Only when we become eager to meet Krishna again, and serve Him with body, mind and heart – as eager as a drowning man is eager to breathe again – can we attain our spiritual success. Real love, however, will only flow when we move out of the cente
A conversation with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In June 1976 at New Vrindaban, a Hare Krishna farm community in West Virginia, Srila Prabhupada fields questions sent to him from the editors of Bhavan’s Journal, one of Bombay’s leading cultural and religious periodicals.
Devotee: Here is the first question:
“It is said that the greatest strength of Hinduism is its catholicity, or breadth of outlook, but that this is also its greatest weakness in that there are very few
The Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah welcomes thousands of students every year thanks to long-term relationships the devotee community has cultivated with public and private schools in the Beehive State. Groups are treated to a Temple tour with a presentation, Q&A, and prasadam, as well as time with the cows, llamas, exotic birds, peacocks, and other residents.
“Today we had the pleasure of hosting 100 children from the American Preparatory Academy in Draper,” said Caru Das, T
My heart grieves today, having heard about the departure of such an outstanding Vaisnava as His Holiness Gopal Krsna Goswami. I offer my condolences to the thousands of Vaisnavas and Vaisnavis worldwide whose hearts must be aching with intense feelings of separation from the physical loss of their spiritual master, guide, friend, and well-wisher.
Last year, I posted a blog about my meeting with Gopal Krsna Goswami in Delhi. If you have not read it yet, please do. It follows below. You will get a
