"The most enlivening feature of Ratha Yatra for me is the energetic, creative, and responsible participation of so many of our congregation members who fantastically organized everything from the fleet of children's Ratha Yatra carts in the parade to the various workshops on yoga, meditation, and kirtan at the festival sites." --Ravindra Svarupa prabhu

Please find below photos from Bhaktivedanta Manor celebrating the pastime of Lord Damodara during the month of Kartik 2011

ISKCON Vidyadan - Kerala tried out on a sample basis, a one-hour class, 'Power of Habit - How to overcome Bad Habits' on a secular school-student mass containing Hindu, Christian and Muslim boys and girls on the 8th October 2011, in Irinjalakuda (IRJ) of central Kerala, South India

With great sadness in our hearts we inform the Vaisnavas that our Bengali Godbrother Purnachandra left this world in Vrindavan on the Ekadasi night, Oct 7th. His cremation was done at the Yamuna on the very auspicious Paksavardhini Mahadvadasi day. When I was Temple President of Krishna Balarama Mandir, he was the Vice President and Head Pujari.

“Devotee Care, South Africa” opened its new Bhaktivedanta Care Centre, a Hospice-styled Care facility for the ISKCON community. This valuable service, inspired by and based on the model of the Vrindavan Hospice, is a multi-level building designed for assisting devotees in their final days, preparing them for their journey back home, back to Godhead

Back in the humble beginnings of 1973, there were barely 100 people to celebrate Janmashtami at the Manor, with Srila Prabhupada offering the first beautiful arati to Radha-Gokulananda and leading the devotees in encircling the Deities, dancing and leaping in kirtan

“The Krishna consciousness movement is based on this principle: Chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra at every moment, as much as possible, both inside and outside of the temples, and, as far as possible, distribute prasada. This process can be accelerated with the cooperation of state administrators and those who are producing the country’s wealth. Simply by liberal distribution of prasada and sankirtana, the whole world can become peaceful and prosperous.” (SB 4.12.10)

This story has been written by Premanjana Dasa (Pranjal Joshi) on the basis of a conversation that took place between him and His Grace Hari Das Prabhu at the 'Hare Krishna Land' (ISKCON Temple) at Juhu, Mumbai in the months of August and September 2011 in the room of Haridas Prabhu

Announcing Chapter A Day (CHAD) for Kartik 2011! A global initiative!

Video from the recent visit of Radhanath Swami @ HSBC

On October 1, Saturday, residents of Victorville, CA got to witness the first ever Ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannath in their little town. Victorville, located in the Inland Empire desert region of California and having a population of 95,000 welcomed Lord Jagannath to their 10th Annual Spice of Life Multicultural Festival

Lord Jagannatha was seated along with His brother Balarama and sister Subhadra on His gorgeously decorated cart, which was painstakingly transported from Los Angeles once again in record time by His Grace Ratnabhusana, who has been single-handedly designing, building, disassembling, transporting, re-assembling and decorating Lord Jagannatha’s carts for various Rathayatra festivals since the 1980’s

"Balarama represents plowing the land for agriculture and therefore always carries in His hand a plow, whereas Krishna tends cows and therefore carries a flute in His hand. Thus the two brothers represent krisi-raksya and go-raksya.”

The Canadian iteration of the Huffington Post recently posted an article about the Hare Krishnas and the Ratha-Yatra festivals, focusing on Toronto's festival. We thought it might of some interest for Dandavats readers

Is it really true that my teacher and hero has left us? I am still waiting that someone would wake me up and tell me that everything is all right and that it was just a bad dream. While waiting, I try to console my greaving heart with memories

The beautiful deity of Lord Chaitanya along with the deity of Simantini, Goddess of Simantadvipa, have arrived and are waiting to move into Their new temple behind the existing Jagannath Temple in Rajapur. The temple structure is complete and inside the finishing work is underway. The external cladding in terracotta has resumed after pausing for the rainy season. The installation is planned to take place during the Gaur Purnima celebrations in 2012

My name is Bhakta Jeff. I was recently travelling with Bhakti Marga Swami as he began his fourth walk across Canada. Maharaja wanted me to send in all the different news coverage that he got so I am attaching it

I am beside myself with grief and am speechless while trying to digest the reality that His Grace Gopiparanadhana Prabhu has been taken away by Krishna. Krishna’s plan is always perfect but when it manifests in the passing away of such an intimate, loving Godbrother as Gopiparanadhana Prabhu it is painful. But our solace is in our deep confidence that he has attained the ultimate perfection of life, entrance into Radha Giridhari’s eternal lila

If a devotee were to ask, “Please bless me so that I’ll never take birth again in this horrible material world,” would this be asking for some kind of liberation? Hundreds of times, Srila Prabhupada encouraged us to “Go Back home, back to Godhead.” Would it be a form of boldness or naiveté to desire to come back to this world and serve by preaching?

This trip, which was an award to our senior girls who have been outstanding in their personal sadhana this term, turned out to be an amazing preaching experience which left all who participated in it feeling more spiritually exhilarated than they had ever imagined

After the first one at Thrissur on the 29thSeptember, 2011, ISKCON Vidyadan’s second program of Free Bhagavad Gita distribution took off at Kannur in Kerala, India. The inauguration was done by the Prison Superintendent Mr. Sivadasan Thyparampil by lighting the lamp. There were more than 120 inmates who attended the function along with Prison Welfare Officer Mr Mukesh and other senior jail officials

Many a times, we wonder “what bit of good have I done today ?” After all, everything said and done, life is pretty mechanical and also largely material. We follow the same working routines day after day, year in and year out, in whatever profession or calling we have chosen for ourselves, or had been pushed into or drifted into by the compulsions of need, convenience, location, education, ambition, or just innate personal proclivities

Just last year I was discussing with him to arrange a program for him in Indonesia around this year or the latest will be the midle of next year, but he left us so quickly. He is a rare personality, though was a great scholar still he is humble and present himself like some one who doesn't know anything