If I had one wish, I would wish to see you
I wish to see your skin as fresh as the dew
I wish to see Your beautiful black locks,
curling on your hair like the night
I wish to see your hands
that have so much might.
I wish to Your blue aura, even though you are black, I see blue
Lord! When I look at you, I shall see blue
Blue like the vast oceans, holding millions of souls
Your strength holds me up. You are my my pillar, my pole.
I wish to see you, the real you, plain and true
Your elegant smile, and radian
LCVS retreatants on harinam in France.
ISKCON London is happy to announce the relaunch of the London College of Vedic Studies (LCVS) with fresh, innovative ideas and courses, keeping the community at heart and driven by the community to fulfill their requests for various courses.
Due to staffing limitations, LCVS was dormant for some time, but with our new team of devotees, we are trying to revitalize the college, offering community support and care through facilitating courses and workshops to
We are pleased to present the 3 January 2025 GBC Meeting Highlights Report. This report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the online GBC meeting highlighting the key topics discussed.
The meeting commenced with a welcome to all members by Guru Prasad Swami, followed by Madhusevita Das reading from a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam by Srila Prabhupada on 24 May 1973 in London, England.
The following key topics were discussed:
1. GBC EMERITUS STATUS FOR MALATI DEVI:
Guru Prasad Swami offe
SB 1.1.2 … sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ‘tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat …As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.
Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.1.2
By the hearing process Krsna IMMEDIATELY (sadyo) is established in the heart.
Please note the word RAPT [attention, in the previous quote] – there is a consistency in the Bhagavatam methodology. One has to hear attentively.
The sadhana of hearing
Visakha Dasi has released a new book entitled Bhagavad-gita for Children, Krishna Is… This beautifully designed volume is a meditation on Krishna’s representations and energies in this world. Through simple phrases that accompany beautiful illustrations that are ready for coloring, children can easily grasp the Gita‘s relevance. Even more, they are reminded of who Krishna is and how He’s present all around us all the time.
“For me, the teachings of the Gita are meant to be accessible to people o
The TOVP A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Legacy Museum, a Tribute to the legacy of our Founder-Acharya, is another grand project being undertaken by the TOVP Team under the direction of its Chairman Ambarisa das and Vice Chairman Braja Vilasa das. Phase 1 of the museum is scheduled to open during a grand and historic celebration on February 18, 2025.
The idea for such a museum is long overdue, and currently most of Srila Prabhupada’s memorabilia (tadiya) is scattered across the Earth, in the hands of v
The day began with the ever so regular mangal arati the singing service to Krishna at the 4:30 AM time slot. The deities here in the local temple are known as Radha Goipinath, the same as my deities in Toronto. The temple, inside and out, is clean.
The crime that was being talked about is real. A few months back, gangsters broke in and stole donations and other goods from the temple. The male residents were tied up by ropes. One of them, Kavi, my good friend from the UK, was bullied and
Just after the 12 years of exile of the Pandavas was completed, they were considering where to spend the remaining 1 year incognito. While still in the forest, a brahmana came to them and reported that the sticks which he used for igniting his sacrificial fire had somehow gotten entangled in the antlers of a deer, and the sticks were now gone. The sage asked the Pandavas to see if they could possibly return the sticks. In a search for that deer, a very unusual event took place. They could not f
By Karnamrita Das and Arcana siddhi Devi Dasi
I have been speaking to a friend about how personal and spiritual growth can be related, or how our being balanced human beings in the mode of goodness is a good foundation for Krishna consciousness. Thus I thought of posting this article by my wife and I: Chanting the holy name and engaging in Bhakti-yoga (Krishna consciousness or devotional service) is the ultimate process of purification and healing in our tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The p
At the end of December, ISKCON Communications Europe released the new ISKCON Communications Journal (ICJ) in a bookmarked, digital format. Click here to access the 2024 ICJ. You can read the Introduction, which summarizes all the articles, by clicking here.
The articles, written by devotees, are rooted in the teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and offer different thoughtful perspectives on important issues. For example, the first article in this volume is a histo
Since 2019, the ISKCON Ministry of Education has been organizing an annual symposium named Viplavah to unite ISKCON educators and leaders worldwide, foster collaboration, and share invaluable insights to expand Srila Prabhupada’s vision for education.
The theme for the 2024 symposium, held virtually from December 18 to 22, was Children’s Education. The event highlighted remarkable contributions from educators across the globe, with presentations recorded and shared on the Ministry’s official Yo
My flight to Trinidad and Tobago was with Caribbean Airlines, boarding in Toronto. The distinguishable hummingbird insignia, flying backwards and flapping at high speed, was my lead to the proper queue.
I was surprised that devotees who booked me put me on business class seat 1A. That was kind of them. When the flight attendant came around asking for a preferred breakfast, I made it clear, “No animals!” Anyways, she got it.
When I went through customs at Port Au Spain, I handed in my form.
Delhi, Wednesday 20th June, 1956 (Series #8)
Edited and Founded
Under direct order of His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhakti-Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada
By Goswami Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta
____________
In the Secretariat Buildings in New Delhi there is an inscription on the stone that Liberty does not descend upon a people but it has to earned before it can be enjoyed. Actually this is the fact and we have seen it that much sacrifice had to be rendered by the people of India before they co
From Back to Godhead
By Sadaputa dasa (Dr. Richard Thompson)
In The Late Eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, European scholars and scientists began to come in contact with the culture of India. Many were impressed by the antiquity of Vedic civilization and the deep spiritual and material knowledge contained in the Vedic literature. But other European intellectuals were dismayed by these developments. For example, in 1825 the British scholar John Bentley wrote of his conflict with the sci
From Back to Godhead
By Navin Jani
Prescience and the Vedic Literature
One aspect of the Vedic culture—knowledge of the future—may seem at first glance to contradict free will, but this is not so. In fact, St. Augustine’s explanation of this phenomenon in relation to the omniscience of God parallels the Vedic understanding. Others had argued that if God already knew what we were going to do, that would prevent us from having free choice; we could not help but act in the way God had foreseen. In
Edited and Founded Under Direct Order of
His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhakti-Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada
by Goswami Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta
Delhi, Friday 5th October, 1956
Asha, Pasha, Satai, Baddha,
Kama, Krodha, Parayana,
Ihante, Kamabhogartham,
Anyaena, Artha, Sanchayan.
(G. 16/12).
Translation
The atheists, who accumulate wealth unlawfully for the matter of sense-gratification, are bound up by hundreds of thousands hopes against hope by network of it.
Purport
In our issue of Back to Go
“They [the masses] must have their illusions at all costs; they turn instinctively, as the insect seeks the light, to the rhetoricians who accord them what they want. No truth, but error has always been the chief factor in the evolution of nations…. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduces them.” (Gustave Le Bon, 1995: 132).
The advent of ‘modernity’ saw the eradication of the ancien regime
