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Cremo receiving award at the LA event.

Michael A. Cremo (aka Drutakarma Das) received the Pioneer Award on Friday, February 7, at the 2025 Conscious Life Expo Awards Ceremony from Jimmy Church, a Los Angeles media personality. The event, held at the Los Angeles (LAX) Hilton, featured cutting-edge speakers and authors, including a lecture on Sunday, February 9 by Cremo entitled “Forbidden Archeology and the Consciousness Paradox.” The award honored Cremo for “breaking boundaries in archeology and

At Schipol Airport, Amsterdam, I was greeted by some smiling devotees, and it was Ritam who graced me with a garland of fresh flowers (it’s Holland, you know), accompanied by Namen, wife Violeta, their two kids, and other enthusiasts of the Vaishnava genre.  From there was destination Alpen aan Den Rijn, a town by a canal, by a windmill, and amidst flat, black fields of green.  The greeting meal was kichari and palak panir, Indian dishes.  From that I was fuelled enough to go over the canal by w

For anyone interested in spiritual progress,
gambling is more than just a harmless amusement.

High’s convenience store is bustling with last-minute shoppers picking up odds and ends for a holiday dinner. Having run out of milk, I find myself in the crowded store, standing in a line that wraps around the food aisle. I resign myself to the waiting, and chant the Hare Krsna mantra softly to myself.

An elderly shabbily dressed woman at the counter draws my attention. She’s frantically scratching awa

Ananda Murari Das, a devoted singer-songwriter and practitioner of Krishna consciousness based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, has carved out a unique space in devotional music. His journey, shaped by his monastic life, academic pursuits, and deep family connections, influences his creative work. Through his evocative music and dynamic performances, Ananda blends tradition with innovation.

Ananda Murari’s creative process often stems from quiet moments of reflection, inspired by reading sacred texts or

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Transformative Contributions to Lord Chaitanya’s Movement.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (1874–1937) stands as a monumental figure in the revitalization of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the devotional tradition inaugurated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in 16th-century Bengal. His life’s work redefined the propagation of Krishna consciousness through strategic reforms, technological innovation, and unyielding opposition to religious corruption. This report

Many of us struggling sadhakas know that overcoming laya, sleepiness, during chanting, hearing and meditating is not always an easy thing. Some devotees struggle year after year, regularly wandering in a realms of tamo-guna and sleep while Srimad Bhagavatam-class, japa and gayatri.

Surrendering to Krsna and guru and having their mercy, developing service attitude are the essence for increasing our taste and first appreciation to the process of chanting, but there are several commonsense externa

The first phase of the TOVP A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Legacy Museum is opening on February 18, 2025, showcasing rare personal paraphernalia, artifacts, books, letters, and other historical material for the glorification and perpetuation of the spiritual legacy of ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

In keeping with our understanding that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the greatest proponent of Vedic wisdom in history, and specific

There are many things which we aspire for and even worship, which have no intrinsic value. They have value inasmuch as they are attached to values, and thus can serve perverted or promoting aims. Thus, though they have no value, they have a use. These things which we attach value to, are actually tools for values to be attached to. For example, a knife is neither good nor evil, but can be used for good or evil. It has a use, but no value.

What is it that we worship as human beings that is essen

GBC Communications has released Highlights Reports from the GBC Annual General Meeting held on February 14th and 15th.  Readers can click on the links below to read .pdfs from both days.

February 14th Highlight Report

February 15th Highlight Report

Source https://iskconnews.org/gbc-releases-highlights-reports-from-annual-general-meeting-for-feb-14th-15th/

Vaishnavas C.A.R.E. is hosting a webinar titled “Well-Meaning Words Gone Wrong: What NOT to Say to a Grieving Devotee” to help devotees offer compassionate support during times of loss. Led by Sangita Devi Dasi (ACBSP), an experienced hospice nurse and grief counselor, the session will explore common mistakes in offering condolences and provide practical strategies for sensitive communication. The webinar takes place on Saturday, March 1, with live translations in multiple languages.

In times of

Abhidheya Devi Dasi, the founder of Bhakti Kids Sangha and a mother of two, has recently introduced her book, Varnamala: Garland of Syllables, a child-friendly two-volume series for learning the phonetic sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet from the very beginning. With its thoughtfully curated content, this book is an invaluable resource for parents seeking to introduce their children to Sanskrit—a sacred language central to the Vedic tradition.

Abhidheya Devi Dasi actively conducts workshops, hosts

Over the years modern science has speculated and researched to find out the number of species on earth, the method that main stream science has adopted is experimental which is commonly known as “seeing is believing”, but without going much in detail regarding the imperfectness of this method, which is based on imperfect senses of the human being and imperfectness of the instruments developed by the human beings by these imperfect senses, it is extremely difficult to understand or gauge the vas

From Back to Godhead

One of the basic principles of Krsna consciousness is that one may utilize whatever talent he has in the service of the Supreme Lord. And it is a symptom of a bona fide spiritual master that he is expert in engaging everyone in practical transcendental devotional service. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has thus engaged a number of very talented artists in the service of the Lord by asking them to use their natural artistic inclination in painting pictu

One day, a small opening appeared in a cocoon; a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then, it seems to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could not go any further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly: he took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a withered body. It was tiny and shrivelled wings.
The man continued

The names of Krishna are the repository of all happiness and the greatest wealth. If we chant properly, we will not experience material miseries, but we may experience what the materialist might mistake as misery: the spiritual joy of intense separation from Krishna.

Since that joy comes from proper chanting, we might wonder how we can chant with attention and concentration, even if we are not yet pure devotees of Krishna. How can we control the mind? How can we keep ourselves from thinking of

Krishna House in Gainesville, established in 1971 following Srila Prabhupada’s vision, has been a hub for prasadam distribution, kirtan, and spiritual education. The Bhakti Academy, launched in 2008, has trained over 500 students, with many committing to a lifelong spiritual path while excelling in academics and careers. Krishna Lunch and Krishna CARES serves thousands of meals annually to students and those in need. Now, with six Krishna Houses across North America, the movement continues to ex

“We are giving Krishna consciousness—that is loving, real loving. We are giving [people] eternal life, eternal bliss. Unless we love them, why we are taking so much trouble? The preacher must love the people. Otherwise, why he is taking? He can do it for himself at home. Why he is taking so much trouble? Why at eighty years old I have come here if I do not love? So, who can love better than a preacher?”

— Srila Prabhupada, Morning Walk, Perth, May 17, 1975

Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog

Academic knowledge provides information of the world, but spiritual knowledge awards us eternal liberation

One of my friends in college was known for his immense general knowledge. He knew the names of all recent Hollywood and Bollywood movies, the actors, directors, and producers of each movie, and the winners of Oscar and Filmfare awards from every year. In sports, he knew the winners of each Grand Slam tennis tournament from every year as well as similar information about football and cricket

First Meaning: –

Srila Jiva Gosvami reveals the meaning of each of the sixteen Names in the Hare Krishna Mahaamantra in his Mahaa-mantrartha Dipika as follows: –

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

(1-Hare)
Krishna steals the minds of everyone, yet Radha steals even His mind by Her divine expertise. Thus She is known as Haraa.

(2-Krishna)
He forcibly attracts Sri Radha with the sweet sound of His flute, therefore that Lord of all enchanting

In 1786 Sir William Jones, a Welsh philologist and judge of the supreme court of Bengal, sent shock waves throughout Europe with the following speech he gave in his address to the Asiatic society of Bengal.

“The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly ha