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I HAVE ALWAYS done a bit of travelling, at least since 1975 when I was fortunate enough to join Srila Prabhupada’s personal entourage. I got to travel India and around the world with His Divine Grace, and it gave me my first look at worldwide ISKCON.

I was impressed. Impressed with Srila Prabhupada and impressed with his disciples and the amazing scope of transcendental activity that was manifesting all over the globe. Unity was the key, and that was achieved through the presence and desire of

It isn’t always easy to see the funny side of things. Often I find it happens in retrospect. Recently I set off for a trip to that fabled land of chocolate and respected home of the European Union, Belgium. After loading up my trusty Satnav with the appropriate maps, I struck out by road. All went well until I approached my destination and it became apparent that the old satnav was struggling. It had taken me far out into the snow swept wilds of the Ardennes and as I peered about in alarm it su

I was reading a verse where it says, “Not by any means nor by any weapon, can one take away the possessions of a devotee.” That was interesting because I do watch over my electronics and do not leave them lying around because things sort of move in different directions. But, the possessions of a devotee cannot be taken away by any means because the true possession of a devotee is Krsna and devotional service; and devotional service cannot be taken away! Devotional service is always there. It is

In this article Brother Aelred (Chaitanya Dasa) offers his observations on the effectiveness of ISKCON’s communication of its key messages. These are particularly valuable in view of Brother Aelred’s close association with ISKCON over the years and his unusual position of being both a practising Catholic monk and Vaishnava. He is frank and insightful,with a sincere desire to help devotees. As the Scottish poet Robbie Burns once said, ‘I pray to God the power to give us, to see ourselves as oth

By Hari Parshad Das

What kind of devotees we are making?
Subhaga Swami: Srila Prabhupada wanted all his disciples to become gurus. To spread Lord Caitanya’s message to every town and village many gurus are needed. The guru should be an elevated person, beyond material attraction. That is not easy. We must understand we can never, never, never be happy here [in the material world], despite our dreams. Srila Prabhupada said this movement is for building character. We should be introspective to see how well we are

All of you in the press are doing so hard work. I can simply pray to Krsna for your perfect advancement in Krsna consciousness. One thing I must inform you in this connection that so far our activities in Krsna Consciousness are concerned, everyone of us should read this book very attentively because all conclusive statements in the Kingdom of Bhakti are contained in this transcendental valuable book. It is the essence of all Vedic scriptures enlightening about Krsna Consciousness. If anyone wil

Question: You’ve said, “in love, the pleasure comes from humility.” Can you explain this more thoroughly?

My Answer:  Non-humility means to feel that the self is of central importance. The self, however, is a very dependent entity, so to put it in a central position is unnatural and stressful because it is like putting a weak beam as the support of a house. It is very stressful, and subject to frequent collapse.

Humility is natural and therefore not stressful but joyful. Humility means taking t

WHAT IS ONE ACTION YOU COULD TAKE THAT WOULD IMPROVE YOUR LIFE? As I contemplate my upcoming talks with the title, "Facing Death to Live More Fully Today?", I have realized that this is more of a workshop than a lecture. My talk can't just be words, but has to be an extension of my heart and how I live my life. That, and the empowerment from above/within, will give my words the power to connect to the audience. I have to speak to each person in the assembly.

What I have done in preparation is t

". . .the Brahma-samhita (5.44)says, sristhi-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-shaktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibhartidurga. Maya is like a shadow of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who serves Him in the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this world. Just as a shadow has no independent power of movement but follows the substance that casts the shadow, the illusory energy of the Lord has no independent power, but bewilders the living entities according to the Lord's desire. One of Krishna's

Hacha Puri and the Peace Formula! 
Govinda Swami: Saci, Vrindavan Kirtan, and I arrived in Moscow yesterday afternoon.
On a chilly Moscow afternoon we were warmly received by Radha Raman Giridhari, Sri Rupa Manjari, Sarasvati, and Master Baladev.
We then travelled from west Moscow to south to the home of Nandi Mukhi and Radha Preyan to spend the night. They are Georgian devotees that date back to the early, early days of ISKCON during the Soviet Union.
They are both from well-to-do families dur

Harikesa das: I had been cooking for Prabhupada for a long time, but I reallyhad a hard time making chapatis because we were always in places where there were no proper stoves. To make a good chapati you need a gas stove at leastor coals, and here we are in Mauritius and I'm cooking in a closet on a one-burner electric stove that didn't even have enough power to boil water and I have to make a full meal that he likes up to his standards. So Prabhupada was complaining and complaining about the c

ISKCON Prison Ministry

article by inmate Bhakta David [Excerpts from  two of his letters]

Dear Mother Bhakti-lata,

Hare Kṛṣṇa! My most humble obeisances to you. Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

 I am so very grateful for all the books you sent me and I wish there was more time in the day, but I try to read at least fifty pages each day from a few of them. I am learning and enjoying the process so much! I actually find that now I crave reading this Kṛṣṇa conscious material over the mundane. Still, I am but