The Vraj Parikrama is bursting at the seams this year. We are different. All 140 of us have come with a milieu of accents, skin tones, natures and cultures from all corners of the earth. Yet we have come to Vrindavan as family and Vrindavan is home.
We begin our pilgrimage in the early morning and load into three buses. Kadamba Kanana Maharaja smiles and chats to people in between managing logistics. He is a gracious host and guide on this sacred tr
By Mayesvara Dasa
Those of us who appreciate the magical potency of what Srila Prabhupada gave us know that a miracle of colossal historic importance occurred in the late 1960’s. At that time His Divine Grace came and ignited a worldwide spiritual revolution that has no historic equivalent. Those of us who were blessed to become his disciples all got an opportunity to be part of this extraordinary moment in history. Yet time is gnawing away at all of us every day. One by one we watch the discip
Let us say we won a general election. A majority vote sweeps us into power. All state resources are at our disposal. There will still be a democratic opposition in place, but they will want to see how we give all citizens of the land a Vedic alternative. Where do we start?
Sometimes devotees in their exuberance will say, “We’re going to take over the entire world.” Lord Chaitanya’s prediction has to materialise, but the sombre realities of actualising Vedic models of civilisation with VAD in mi
The Vedic scriptures proclaim that the glories of Lord Krishna are unlimited and eternal and no one is able to reach the end of them. In the same way, who can fully describe the splendid glories of Sri Giriraja-Govardhana, the best servant of the Lord and at the same time non-different from the Lord Himself? To protect his dear vrajavasis from Indra’s wrath, Sri Krishna held the Hill on the small finger of His divine hand for seven days. The area of Govardhan is full of wonderful forests, lakes
The Stolen River, the multiple award-winning documentary about the River Yamuna has been released for public screening in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The film is now available in six languages: English, Italian, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
In celebration of the holy month of Kartik, communities who are wishing to entertain their guests with a heart-rending but inspiring story of young Brajabhasi environmental activists trying to save their sacred land and
By Visakha Devi Dasi
The desire to be soul-conscious inspires a move to a soul-compatible place.
“The soul [jivatma] is unborn, eternal, immortal, and primeval. It does not die when the body dies.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.20)
I first heard details about jivatmathe soulin 1971 during my maiden overseas trip. I was reuniting with my then-boyfriend (later husband) John in India, and to me, a born and bred atheist, jivatma was a quaint irrelevant idea.
An idea, however, can be like a seed: it can germinat
By Bhakti Chaitanya Swami
Hare Krishna dear devotees, this is a long read. Please persevere through it all. I hope it is worthwhile
We just had an amazing visit to the Balaji/Venkatesvara temple, the main temple at Tirupati. Or more correctly at Tirumala, on top of the hill above Tirupati town.
Balaji, arguable more properly known as Venkatesvara or even Srinivasa, was looking amazing. By the kind arrangement of the local GBC, Revati Ramana prabhu, I was able to get special darsana early in the
An innovative new website, Chantnow.com, was offered to Srila Prabhupada on Radhastami, September 9th, and aims to revolutionize online outreach for ISKCON.
The site’s goals are to 1) Make Krishna consciousness relevant, relatable and easy to understand for someone who doesn’t know anything about it. 2) Provide a systematic course that they can follow. And 3) Do all this in a framework where devotees are interacting with them and helping them along the way.
Run by Panchar
By Madhava Smullen
The ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry has released two position papers on perennially debated issues: “Showing Radharani’s lotus feet;” and “Who can participate in public abhisekhas in ISKCON Centers?”
Both can be read in full here: http://deityworship.com/downloads.html#positionpapers
The first paper takes the position that “Srimati Radharani’s lotus feet should not be ever shown publicly at ISKCON temples, whether on a daily basis or particularly on festivals such as Radhast
Yesterday was the disappearance day festival of Srila Prabhupada. At Srila Prabhupada Pushpa Samadhi Mandir, Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, sanyasis, senior godbrothers, community devotees came together to celebrate this festival by offering glorifications, abhisheka, Pushpanjali and a grand bhoga offering. Samadhi Mandir was beautifully decorated with colorful flowers and new asana and golden canopy is offered to Srila Prabhupada’deity. In the evening, Tirobhav Muhurta or the time of disappear
By Anuradha dasi
On October 27, ISKCON New Vrindaban devotees in West Virginia heard of the horrific mass shooting at the Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, a 90-minute drive away from their idyllic rural community. This tragic news affirmed the timeless knowledge of the Srimad Bhagavatam, which instructs us to take shelter of the Supreme Lord in a time where “there is danger at every step” (SB 10.14.58). Devotees visiting New Vrindaban often travel to and from the Pittsburgh airport, and one of t
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you.
As always, this day is bittersweet for me. Knowing that you went back home, back to the spiritual world, is the only consolation for the pain of losing you. Surely our grievous loss was an immense gain for the many residents of the spiritual world. One can only imagine the joyful festivities they held upon your long-awaited return! It is only natural for devotees to appreciate the selfless service of great souls like
In this week's podcast episode with Akrura Prabhu, we discuss thinking partnerships - A powerful process for developing "higher thinking" which received rave reviews from devotees who recently learned about it at one of Akrura Prabhu's workshops.
Some of the points we covered...
From Back to Godhead
In believing our senses, how far do we go?
“Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!”
The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell was once asked what he would say if he found himself standing before God on judgment day and God asked him, “Why didn’t you believe in Me?” Russell replied, “I would say ‘Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!’”
When philosophers or scientists complain about lack of evidence, they mean empirical evidence or evidence that can be interpr
“So at the time of death… Of course, those who are devotees, their position is different. People may say, “The devotee is also dying, and the nondevotee, sinful man, is also dying. What is the difference?” So there is much difference. The example is given: just like a cat catching a rat in his mouth and at the same time carrying his cubs in the mouth. Superficially, we can see that the same mouth is being used, but one is feeling comfortable being carried by the mother, and another is feeling t
