By Bhakti Raghava Swami
Towards the end of the Cow Culture Conference held in Kuala Lumpur on October 7, 2018, during the question-and-answer session, a devotee asked for practical advice on how to adopt a Vedic farm lifestyle. He wanted to know whether there are any model farms around the world that we could follow, and also what he, a city-dweller, could do if he were to live on a farm.
I was very happy he asked this question because it signalled to me that the devotee was keen t
From Back to Godhead
By Satyananda Dasa
Lessons on life, death, and living in a spirit of devotion
ISKCON devotees commonly use the phrase, “Going back home, back to Godhead.”Have you ever thought about what this means when a traveler is anxious to return home? Home is where our family is, where there are people who love us, who trust us. It’s the place we’re comfortable and happy. It’s the place we feel most natural.
The world we live in is foreign to the soul; we are strangers in a foreign la
Jadurani dasi: On this particular day, he took us downtown where he went when he first got off the Jaladuta boat. Because the captain was doing some shopping, so he took Prabhupada and Prabhupada was pointing out different places that he remembered. The next day, Prabhupada took all the devotees for a tour of where he first landed.
I was in the back and I ran up so that I could walk right next to him, and he turned to me and he said, “If the jackals glorify you, what’s the benefit?” In other wo
By Radha Sakhi Dasi
Local media in past few weeks, has been mostly reporting news about political, sports and social events with paprazzi, but this time while covering the GBC Meeting, they were not just amazed and awestruck but they were deeply touched. Kurma Avatar Das has been in touch with the local media for quite some time now, and an event of this stature being hosted in Iskcon Kanpur obviously attracted a lot of media attention. He is mediating and coordinating the media coverage of the
Film stars, sports stars, rock stars, politicians, rich and mighty have innumerable fan following. Their fans surround their senses with the images of their beloved stars, decorate their houses with their pictures and keep each and every update of their favourite celebrity. They have a dream to meet their icons at least once in their life. They want to touch them to feel, want to shake hands with them, get their pictures cliqued with them and if possible have breakfast/lunch/dinner with them. B
By Caitanya Caran Das
The basic storyline of Ramayana is very similar to that of a typical movie.
Both feature a hero, a heroine and a villain; both depict the villain lusting for the heroine; both delineate an exciting confrontation between the hero and the villain, culminating in the destruction of the villain and re-union of the hero and the heroine. However, there is one vital difference – in the movie, the hero, the heroine and the villain are all actually villains.
Many people think of a
To keep the promise of His father intact, Lord Rāmacandra immediately gave up the position of king and, accompanied by His wife, mother Sītā, wandered from one forest to another on His lotus feet, which were so delicate that they were unable to bear even the touch of Sītā’s palms. The Lord was also accompanied by Hanumān [or by another monkey, Sugrīva], king of the monkeys, and by His own younger brother Lord Lakṣmaṇa, both of whom gave Him relief from the fatigue of wandering in the forest. Hav
By Madhava Smullen
At MAN-tra, ISKCON’s first ever men’s retreat last weekend, devotee men bonded and dedicated themselves to self-improvement. They learned how to find themselves, become stronger, happier and more productive in society, balance Krishna consciousness and other duties, and how to become better husbands and fathers. They also aired and addressed challenging personal issues not often discussed.
One hundred and twenty-five men attended MAN-tra, held from October 5thto 7thin New Vr
From Back to Godhead
The Vedic contribution to one of the central debates in Western philosophy.
Sam Surya goes to his city’s orphanage one day and makes a large donation. Elsewhere in town, Andy Andhakara robs a bank. What led these two to make such drastically different choices? Was it their own volition, or the force of some other factor? In other words, were their actions predetermined, or did Sam and Andy have free will?
These questions concern one of the pivotal debates in Western philos
Question: You mentioned the shooting incident. I am curious to know how this specific experience affected you in a personal way, if it is not too personal to share?
I will keep it simple. I do not want to speak about the material side of it, you know, the conspiracy, who pulled the trigger and all that. That is for the tabloid newspaper so we leave that out. I could see that the ultimate cause of all this was Krsna, so I did not get into the mood of who did it! It was Krsna who sent this to me.
In Mayapur, there is a bus that stops everyday in front of the gate of our Sri Caitanya Candrodaya Mandir. When one gets on the bus in Bengal, it is not uncommon that people are involved in a heated discussion because Bengali people are fiery people and they like politics. So often times, great discussions would be held on the bus and even when the original people who started the argument got off the bus, the argument stayed on the bus the entire day.
So in the same way, even when the people wh
By Radha Rasikraj Das
The youth are the driving force of any movement. So much so that vibrant ISKCON what we see today had it’s earliest members as the hippie youth of New York.
Since the beginning of creation the youth are being preached to carry forward the words of Lord Krishna far and wide. Narada Muni, acharya in our parampara, is the pioneer of Youth Preaching.
With it’s purity, enthusiasm, knowledge and dealings ISKCON has been instrumental in attracting youth from all walks of life int
By Radha Sakhi Dasi
Iskcon Governing Body Commission (GBC) Meet for the first time is happening in Iskcon Kanpur. Spiritual Leaders from all over the world, from America to Europe to China to Africa to Asia to Australia to Russia, everyone has come together to transform this small temple of Kanpur into a true United Nations. The GBC Meeting commenced on the 15th of October and will last till the 21st of October. The last time Iskcon Kanpur hosted the global spiritual leaders at this magnitude
In the purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.4.12, Srila Prabhupada nicely explains the art of fanning the spark of good qualities in another person. Here, Sati speaks to her father Daksha after he insulted her husband Lord Shiva. Before she quits her body in a blazing fire, she instructs her father as follows: “Twice-born Daksha, a man like you can simply find fault in the qualities of others. Lord Shiva, however, not only finds no faults with others’ qualities, but if someone has a little good qual
On September 27th, 2018, history was created when the first cohort of high school seniors (Year 12) students graduated from the Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukul in Eungella, NSW, Australia.
The Gurukul, as it is commonly known, is the only Hare Krishna high school outside of India.
Over the past several years, the school has been steadily growing.
The graduation was a true community affair with the entire school and New Govardhana community invited to the graduation ceremony. Pr
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
The purpose of chanting is about taking shelter. Everyone needs shelter in this world; we know that very well. But where is our shelter other than at Krsna’s lotus feet? That is our situation, there is no other shelter! Everything else is illusory shelter. Real security and shelter is found in Krsna and that is the essence of spiritual life.
When we are new in spiritual life then we think we are advancing – we feel we are advancing, we feel things are changing, we feel o
Different countries are famous for their varieties of export. The Middle East exports, for instance, are known for oil and Holland is known for exporting flowers and cheese. Different countries export different things and India exports gurus. That has been a big thing for a long time.
Once there was a group of people doing a play and they needed someone to play the part of a guru. Somehow they asked an Indian devotee to play this part. This person sat on a raised seat and upon sitting he asked,
Seventy-two women, ranging in age all the way from 12 to 76, attended the Vaishnavi Retreat in Lake County, California from October 5thto 7th. Amongst them were 23 Srila Prabhupada disciples, and many second generation devotees and new bhaktins. They hailed from London, South Africa, New York, Washington D.C., Phoenix, Portland, Gainesville, and all over Southern California.
A continuation of the long-running Vaishnavi Retreat run by Malati Devi Dasi at New Vrindaban,
