On September 26, 2025, police officers in Tuapse, Russia, detained Indradyumna Swami while he was attending the Sadhu Sanga 2025 festival, which was organized by the Krasnodar yatra. The police officers’ reason for detainment was that he had engaged in religious and missionary activity without the proper documentation. However, the Krasnodar yatra had arranged a special humanitarian religious visa for him, specifically authorizing him to speak on religious topics at the festival. Despite this, t
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By Ramai Swami
Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami was born in a Nadiya family of physicians at the village of Jhamatpur, within the district of Barddhaman, near Naihati. His father was Sri Bhagiratha, and his mother was Sri Sunanda. He had a younger brother named Syama das.
The deity of Gaura-Nityananda installed by Sri Kaviraja Gosvamis is still being worshiped there. It appears that his family line is no more. More information about the early life of Sri Kaviraja is available in a book called Anan
Today is the auspicious disappearance day of three great acharyas in the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradaya: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, and Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. We shall read about Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami from Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja’s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Thirteen: “Pastimes with Jagadananda Pandita and Raghunatha Bhatta.”
TEXT 89
etha tapana-misra-putra raghunatha-bhattacarya
prabhure de
In around 1503 AD, Raghunath Bhattacharya appeared as the son of Tapana Mishra, a dear devotee of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who hailed from the village of Ramapura on the banks of the Padma River in East Bengal.
Mahaprabhu first met Tapana Mishra when he went to East Bengal during his career as a teacher of Sanskrit. Tapana Mishra had studied many scriptures but was still bewildered about the purpose of life and what to do to attain it. He had a dream in which he was instructed by a Brahmin to go
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami used to reside on the bank of Sri Radha-kunda. At the time Radha-kunda was just a small pond of water, and therefore sometimes Raghunatha would meditate on enlarging the kund. Then he would chastise himself for desiring something which would require a large amount of money.
Around this time one very wealthy Seth underwent great austerity by walking to Badarikasrama in the Himalayas. Arriving there he very reverently worshiped Sri Badrinarayana and offered much wealth at H
By Shyama Rasika Devi Dasi
Three years ago, the dedicated organizers at Senior Connection of Montgomery County— a non‑profit offering volunteer‑based, escorted transportation to seniors over 55 in Montgomery County —welcomed an innovative suggestion by Shyama Rasika Devi Dasi and Nikunkja Ras Das (disciples of Radhanath Swami and members of ISKCON of DC): what if a chartered coach trip could take our Montgomery County seniors to New Vrindaban in West Virginia?
The organizer welcomed the idea ent
Siddhanta das (ACBSP), well-known producer of the Memories of Prabhupada series, has launched a new video project entitled Lessons from Letters. The series highlights the personal correspondence between Srila Prabhupada and his disciples during the formative years of ISKCON.
In the 1960s and 70s, long before email or instant messaging, letters were the primary means of communication with ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya. Disciples often wrote to Prabhupada with philosophical questions or practical conce
Ram Lila, my host, said, “You go ahead. I’ll catch up to you,” indicating the Albion Trail which runs along the East River. Fine, so I did leave just a little bit after 8 AM. Nice trail. Apple trees with wormless fruit are spotted here and there. The sun was shining on the river which appeared like glass. No ripples at all. After a few minutes I heard a shuffling of footsteps behind me. They belonged to Ram Lila and his 8-year-old son, Achintya.
As a threesome we plodded along starti
As a family therapist, I counsel people both within and outside the Hare Krishna movement. I recently received an e-mail from a young woman devotee who was unhappy in her relationship with her abusive husband but was conflicted about leaving him.
“Maybe it’s good that I feel bad about myself,” she wrote, “because that will help me develop humility.”
This wasn’t the first time I had heard this logic.
The Bhagavad-gita teaches that humility is essential for spiritual progress. Unfortunately, devo
Frequently asked Questions on Mentoring
When I was initiated in 1975, Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to my temple president at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, asking him to make sure I followed all the rules. He wrote:
13th November, 1975
My dear Prabhavisnu das,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter undated and accept upon your recommendation the following as my initiated disciples….I also accept the following as twice-born brahmanas and their threads and mantra sheets are
From Back to Godhead
“Both the Vaishnava theists and the materialists each present their own set of amazing stories. The choice is . . . which set of amazing stories to believe.”
It is the grand conceit of the materialistic worldview that “man is the measure of all things.” When we dig a little deeper, we find that this premise is based on a profoundly arrogant presumption, namely, that all reality can ultimately be subordinated to our sense perception and intellect.
At the same time, many
“Sripada Madhvacarya took his birth at Udupi, which is situated in the South Kanarada district of South India, just west of Sahyadri. This is the chief city of the South Kanarada province and is near the city of Mangalore, which is situated to the south of Udupi. In the city of Udupi is a place called Pajaka-ksetra, where Madhvacarya took his birth in a Sivalli-brahmana dynasty as the son of Madhyageha Bhatta, in the year 1040 Sakabda (A.D. 1119). According to some, he was born in the year 1160
I am very grateful to be with all of you, thank you for being here. Bhakti Vinod Thakur has written that the difficulties endured in his service to the Lord, for the pleasure of the Lord, is his greatest happiness.
“Material life is when we put the flickering pleasures and securities of the mind and the senses in the center of our lives, our decisions, our aspirations, our goals are according. Spiritual life or true bhakti is when we put the pleasures of God or Krishna in the center of our lif
Also known as Dussehra, Vijaya Dashami is the celebration of Rama’s victory over the demon Ravana. The story of Rama’s killing of Ravana is found in the Ramayana. Vijaya means victory and dashami means tenth and so Vijaya Dashami is the victory on the 10th lunar day.
If the Nava Ratris are a time of purification and the attainment of spiritual powers and wisdom, the Vijaya Dashami celebration, which follows the day after the last Nava Ratri in the fall is the culmination of that time of purifica
I wish to offer my gratitude to everyone who has so kindly assembled today on this auspicious occasion of Dussehra. Today all over the world there are millions and millions of people celebrating this day. But like most spiritual occasions not so many know why? – It is a characteristic of kali yuga that even very sacred things are perceived very superficially. Often times religious festivals of all religions are more of an opportunity for some sort of social entertainment than for genuinely cult
Shri Madhvacharya appeared in 1238 A.D. near Udupi, Karnataka in South India. He was considered an incarnation of Vayu (wind god). He had an unusually strong physique and extraordinary intellectual power.
Once a fierce Bengali tiger attacked Madhvacharya’s sannyasa disciple, Satya Tirtha. Madhvacharya wrestled the tiger and sent him away with his tail between his legs. Madhvacharya took diksha at age five, sannyasa at twelve and left home.
He appeared with a mission to fight and defeat Sankara’
We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Nine, Chapter Ten: “The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Ramacandra.”
TEXT 20
te ’nikapa raghupater abhipatya sarve
dvandvam varutham ibha-patti-rathasva-yodhaih
jaghnur drumair giri-gadesubhir angadadyah
sitabhimarsa-hata-mangala-ravanesan
TRANSLATION
Angada and the other commanders of the soldiers of Ramacandra faced the elephants, infantry, horses, and chariots of the enemy and hurled against them big trees, mountain peaks, clubs, and arrows. Thus the soldi
Lord Vishnu imparted the knowledge of reaching Him to four great personalities – Lakshmi Devi, Lord Shiva, Sri Brahma, and the four kumara. These four personalities imparted the knowledge to four great devotees who started the four Sampradayas. Lakshmi to Ramanujacharya – Sri Sampradaya, Shiva to Vishnuswami – Rudra Sampradaya, Brahma to Madhvacharya – Brahma sampradaya and the four Kumaras to Nimbarka – Kumara Sambradaya.
Today is the appearance day of Sri Madhvacharya. Madhvacharya (acarya me
Dussehra (Dassera) is one of the significant Hindu festivals, celebrated with much joy in the entire country. The occasion marks the occassion of Lord Rama and brother Lakshman approaching Mother Durga to ask her for her blessings in His planned attack on the demon Ravana. It is therefore considered that the Supreme Personality of Godhead's approaching her for blessings to remove material impediments to His spiritual goals should be the approach of the humble devotee of the Lord to clinche the
The statement from ISKCON Communications said, “September 28, 2025 – The International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) extends heartfelt condolences to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the passing of their President and Prophet, Russell M. Nelson. His life was marked by exceptional service both in medicine and in sacred leadership. Before his full-time church ministry, he was a world-renowned heart surgeon and medical researcher, serving as director of
