By Atma Tattva Das

As the month of Kartika approaches, devotees of Krishna around the world are gearing up for one of the most spiritually potent times in the Vaishnava calendar. Taking place during October and November, this month is revered as the holiest of the year, and it offers a unique opportunity for spiritual advancement. From candlelit offerings to vows of austerity, Kartika is a time when devotees focus their hearts on Lord Krishna, specifically in His childhood form as Damodara, who

Kartik and offering lamps are synonymous. While you must be offering at your home, even at the local Temple but then there is a unique advantage of offering lamps in the holy Dham of Sri Mayapur in the auspicious month of Kartik, so why would one want to miss this cumulative spiritual benefit?

Let’s make the most of our Kartik !! There are nine options for offering lamps for you.  pick the frequency and category that suits you the most from the array of these.

Kartika is the best and most glorio

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय नौ परम गुह्य ज्ञान

मयाध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सूयते सचराचरम् ।

हेतुनानेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते ।। 10 ।।

मया– मेरे द्वारा;अध्यक्षेण– अध्यक्षता के कारण;प्रकृतिः– प्रकृति;सूयते– प्रकट होती है;स– सहित;चर-अचरम्– जड़ तथा जंगम;हेतुना– कारण से;अनेन– इस;कौन्तेय– हे कुन्तीपुत्र;जगत्– दृश्य जगत;विपरिवर्तते– क्रियाशील है।
भावार्थ : हे कुन्तीपुत्र! यह भौतिक प्रकृति मेरी शक्तियों में से एक है और मेरी अध्यक्षता में कार्य करती है, जिससे सारे चार तथा अचर प्राणी उत्पन्न होते

By Atma Tattva Das

On a freezing September 21st, 2024, the ISKCON Lenasia Rathayatra Festival reached a highly significant and noteworthy achievement that marks a pivotal moment in its journey—its 25th anniversary.

What began as a small community event has grown into a large celebration, gathering devotees from across South Africa and the world to participate in the vibrant and sacred procession of Lord Jagannatha in the southwest of the Johannesburg Central Business District.

One of the key fi

On September 28, 2024, Devotees gathered in NYC to celebrate the grand opening of the “Bhakti Loft” on the second floor of their iconic Brooklyn building. 

“Over the past year, we have been busy renovating our balcony space on the second floor, which was underutilized,” said Aditya Devi Dasi, VP of ISKCON NYC. “Now we have transformed the place, including restoring the arch windows which were an original feature of this 1920’s building. This finally allows light to flood into the space and even

There we sat, the three of us, on those comfy outdoor Muskoka chairs, waiting, for a fourth member, Partha, of today’s strolling crew. Vrndavan, Nityananda and I were committed to a loop walk which included a stretch of the Trans Canada Trail. Our waiting location on Main Street was quite central to the numerous murals on building walls of the iconic Group of Seven artwork. As a team of experts in “Impressionistic” work of nature scenes defined the art of Canadian mastery. Check out the work of

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय नौ परम गुह्य ज्ञान

मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमुर्तिना ।

मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः ।। 4 ।।

मया– मेरे द्वारा;ततम्– व्याप्त है;इदम्– यह;सर्वम्– समस्त;जगत्– दृश्य जगत;अव्यक्त-मूर्तिना– अव्यक्त रूप द्वारा;मत्-स्थानि– मुझमें;सर्व-भूतानि– समस्त जीव;न– नहीं;च– भी;अहम्– मैं;तेषु– उनमें;अवस्थितः– स्थित।

भावार्थ : यह सम्पूर्ण जगत् मेरे अव्यक्त रूप द्वारा व्याप्त है। समस्त जीव मुझमें हैं, किन्तु मैं उनमें नहीं हूँ।

तात्पर्य : भगवान् की अनुभूति स्थूल

By Sri Radha Govinda Dasi  

ISKCON Community Life, a division of the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, recognized the outstanding contributions to devotee care of three very special individuals by giving them the following awards:

Trailblazer in Community Wellness Award – Rambhoru Devi (ACBSP)
Director/Founder & Training Supervisor, Karuna Care Association. After 26 years of international pioneer outreach work (while raising two sons), Rambhoru Devi completed her B.A. in Religious Stud

The Hindu Mandirs Empowerment Council (formerly known as the Hindu Mandirs Executive Conference) held its annual gathering of North American Hindu Leaders representing all the various Hindu Mandirs and Organizations across the region. ISKCON leaders were among the presenters at the September 27th to 29th, 2024 conference, held in Raleigh, North Carolina.

HMEC is the largest annual conference of its kind, welcoming hundreds of past and present executives, community leaders, and scholars of Mandi

PLEASE COME AND JOIN OUR COURSES GIVEN DURING JANUARY 2025....!

Click on the link below:
COURSE SCHEDULE FOR MAYAPUR.pdf

SCHEDULE AND VENUE

 * All courses will be offered this year from Monday to Friday, 10:30am to 1:00pm - NOT IN THE AFTERNOONS LIKE PREVIOUS YEARS.

 * It will take place in the class room of the Vaisnava Academy, 2nd floor (opposite the Goshala in Mayapur)

 * 30th of Dec to 3rd of Jan 2025:
 Mentorship in Krishna Consciousness

 * 6th to 10th of January 2025:
 Meeting Death wi

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय नौ परम गुह्य ज्ञान

राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम् ।

प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम् ।। 2 ।।

राज-विद्या– विद्याओं का राजा;राज-गुह्यम्– गोपनीय ज्ञान का राजा;पवित्रम्– शुद्धतम;इदम्– यह;उत्तमम्– दिव्य;प्रत्यक्ष– प्रत्यक्ष अनुभव से;अवगमम्– समझा गया;धर्म्यम्– धर्म;सु-सुखम्– अत्यन्त सुखी;कर्तुम्– सम्पन्न करने में;अव्ययम्– अविनाशी।

भावार्थ : यह ज्ञान सब विद्याओं का राजा है, जो समस्त रहस्यों में सर्वाधिक गोपनीय है। यह परम शुद्ध है और चूँकि यह

By Atma Tattva Das

Sanga, service, and spiritual adventure awaited devotee youth in the sunny environment of San Diego. The inaugural West Coast summer retreat for The Sanga Initiative (TSI) saw 45 attendees from 24 cities across seven states join together at ISKCON San Diego for an immersive and energizing spiritual experience. A dedicated team of organizers led by Abhirama Thakura Das, Braja Priya Devi Dasi, Kapiduach, and Sruthi worked diligently to organize this experience for West Coast you

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

ISKCON Sacramento recently held a Devotee Care Course from September 13th to 15th, 2024, facilitated by Radha Gopinath Das and Damodar Das. The event, which was attended by 15 participants, was designed to deepen their understanding of the role of devotee care in sustaining a loving and vibrant spiritual community.

Throughout the three-day course, the facilitators explored key insights into what it truly means to care for others within the ISKCON community. Pa

What a pleasure it is to hear from an expert on the early days of the Hare Krishna movement as it took hold in the U.S.’s west coast in the summer of love, 1967. Guru Das has come to grace us with his presence and making us feel present in those olden golden times. He was a former civil rights activist but became a radical in the Vaishnav tradition under the watchful guard of the spiritual master, Prabhupada. 

Guru Das, who is now in his 80’s was an instant hit with our youth.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) – Canto 2: The Cosmic Manifestation – SB 2.9: Answers by Citing the Lord’s Version

Frustration gives way to illumination during one extraordinary night in the life of a prostitute.

While prostitutes are often depicted negatively in traditional literature, some religious texts depict them positively as testimonies to the transformational potency of divine grace. Thus, in the Gospel is found a story of a prostitute (considered by some to be Mary Magdalene) who was redeemed by Jesus. In Gaudiya Vaishnava literature such as the Chaitanya Charitamrita comes the story of the saint

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय आठ भगवत्प्राप्ति

वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम् ।

अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम् ।। 28 ।।

वेदेषु– वेदाध्ययन में;यज्ञेषु– यज्ञ सम्पन्न करने में;तपःसु– विभिन्न प्रकार की तपस्याएँ करने में;च– भी;एव– निश्चय ही;दानेषु– दान देने में;यत्– जो;पुण्य-फलम्– पुण्यकर्म का फल;प्रदिष्टम्– सूचित;अत्येति– लाँघ जाता है;तत् सर्वम्– वे सब;इदम्– यह;विदित्वा– जानकर;योगी– योगी;परम्– परम;स्थानम्– धाम को;उपैति– प्राप्त करता है

Madhvacharya was born into a Brahmana family in the coastal town of Udupi, South India. His early life was marked by extraordinary events and displays of divine power, such as turning tamarind seeds into coins and defeating a snake demon with a touch of his toe.

His exceptional intellect and insatiable thirst for knowledge led him to embark on a spiritual journey at the age of twelve when he accepted sannyasa, a renounced way of life. Madhvacharya traveled extensively across India, seeking wisdo

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय आठ भगवत्प्राप्ति

आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोSर्जुन ।

मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥ 16 ॥

आ-ब्रह्म-भुवनात्– ब्रह्मलोक तक;लोकाः– सारे लोक;पुनः– फिर;आवर्तिनः– लौटने वाले;अर्जुन– हे अर्जुन;माम्– मुझको;उपेत्य– पाकर;तु– लेकिन;कौन्तेय– हे कुन्तीपुत्र;पुनःजन्म– पुनर्जन्म;न– कभी नहीं;विद्यते– होता है।

भावार्थ : इस जगत् में सर्वोच्च लोक से लेकर निम्नतम सारे लोक दुखों के घर हैं, जहाँ जन्म तथा मरण का चक्कर लगा रहता है। किन्तु हे कुन्तीपुत्र! जो मे