Colorful Rangoli for Radha Krishna (Album with photos)
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Bhaktivedanta Manor Spring Darshan (Album with photos)
Please find below photos from the Manor on a sunny 28th March.
Sli......

Our Tiny Universe.
Danavir Goswami: From Vedic literature we find that our universe, compared to other universes, is relatively small. The Brahma in charge of this universe has only four heads, whereas Brahmas managing larger universes have proportionately more heads.
“Krsna said, ‘Your particular universe extends four billion miles; therefore it is the smallest of all the universes. Consequently you have only four heads.” (Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 21.84)
Read the entire article here: http:/...

A focus area. Kadamba Kanana Swami: In recent years, a lot of focus is there on individuality, on engaging according to one’s nature, in finding one’s natural place in Krsna consciousness. In the earlier years of this movement, a lot of emphasis was placed on sacrifice – sacrifice for the mission and one’s nature. Both elements are there where people are looking more for individual expression. We can also see more creative ways of engaging in devotional service, which opens up more avenues for more people to connect. So in that way,...

Transcendental Musicbox (16 min video)
Musical talents from all over the world in Mayapur! ...

Harinama at Surfers Paradise - 26 March 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The distinction between a pure devotee and a karma-misra devotee is this: a pure devotee does not desire anything for material enjoyment, whereas a mixed devotee becomes a devotee to become a first-class enjoyer of this material world. (From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Bhag. 10.10.22)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tNGa6d

Lord Krishna everywhere!
Bhakta Dasa: Our team just completed our display at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden show.
First time entry and they expect about 200,000 people to visit over the next 5 days.
We presented Radha and Krishna in the forest of Vrindavan.
The title of our entry is “ SPIRITUAL VISION”.
THANKS to all that helped with this preaching adventure.

Environmentalist seeks FIR for ‘attempt to murder’ Yamuna river, now a living entity.
Motivated by Uttarakhand high court orders declaring rivers Ganga and Yamuna living entities, environmentalists in Agra has asked the Agra police to register a case against those “guilty of attempt to murder” the Yamuna.
The rivers Ganga and Yamuna are losing their very existence. This situation requires extraordinary measures to be taken to preserve and conserve [the rivers]. They are worshiped by Hindus. These rivers are very sacred and r...

How to connect to the Divine.
Question: It is said that God is present everywhere. But I don’t perceive his presence anywhere. Can you explain?
Radhanath Swami: To connect to the Divine presence of God within ourselves and within everything that exists cannot be done with our senses, no matter what microscopes or telescopes we use, no matter how many degrees we have or how many books we memorize. Our sciences may be very helpful in dealing with the temporary problems of this material world, but to actually connect to the Divine—according...

Do you want to know your future? (4 min video)
Gaura Gopal prabhu, in this short clip, explains everything :-)
Srila Prabhupada: “Regarding astrology, you should not listen to any of these so-called astrologers – strictly avoid. Don’t even see them. What is the use of seeing them? Astrology is meant for the materialist, but a spiritualist does not care for the future. Everything is dependent upon Krishna. So where is the necessity of astrology? The devotees’ principle is, let there happen anything as Krishna desires. Let me r...

Distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books in Arabic language (Album with photos)
Satyanarayana das: More Arabic and Farsi books going out on the streets and in the subways of New York City!
And it’s remarkably easy to do, because these people really want the books (and there’s a good reason for that)!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/940n3O

Stay High Forever! (Album with photos)
To chant the holy name and dance in ecstasy is so easy and sublime that......

Surrendering our False Ego.
Question: Our BG discussion group has been rambling for lack of our ability to grapple with the meaning of ‘ego’. All of us generally agree that spirituality is about surrendering the ego or getting rid of 'I-consciousness’. But understanding it conceptually itself seems a challenge. We discussed 'I am not the body, I am the soul’, and 'I am the eternal servant of the lord’ aspects. We also cited the example of sage Valmiki - he must have lost consciousness of body altogether. We would appreciat...

Turn down your world’s lights and enter Krishna’s world!
Mahatma das: Chanting means to enter Krishna’s world and put your world on hold.
It’s so ironic sometimes, when we’re chanting instead of being absorbed in Krishna or krishna leela or something about Krishna we are absorbed about what am I going to do later today, the problems I have to solve, the appointments I have to meet etc. So we’re actually absorbed in our world rather than Krishna’s world and to me that’s quite ironic because we are cha...

Artistic guidelines from Srila Prabhupada.
On one occasion, when Srila Prabhupada, and Goursundar and I, arrived in San Francisco, there was a new painting of Narada Muni hanging on the temple wall. I was impressed. It was one of Jadurani’s latest works. Jadurani’s technique had improved immeasurably, and her proportions were also much better. Her colors were more subtle, so the painting showed great technical improvement over her past works. Looking at it from a purely technical point of view, as a trained artist, it was indeed much better ...

Bhale Bharath Award of Excellence conferred to Bhaktivedanta Research Centre.
Bhale Bharath, a non-religious socio-cultural mission based in Bangalore, recently conferred the Bhale Bharath Award of Excellence to Bhaktivedanta Research Centre on 15th March 2017 at Seshadripuram College, Bangalore.
BRC was honored for its outstanding contribution in the preservation and dissemination of ancient Indian Cosmology, Vedic Wisdom and Vaishnavism. Sriman Gangadas Prabhu received the award behalf of BRC.
During the interactive session, Sriman Gangadas P...

Guns or no Guns? (2 min video)
H.H. Sivarama Swami addresses the recent debate that has divided the USA. Sivarama Swami, throug......

When Ajamila chanted with the wrong conception, why did Vishnudutas come?
Chaitanya Charan Das: Question – When Ajamila chanted the names of Lord Hari with the wrong conception (i.e. with the conception of his son), then why did Vishnudutas appear over there?
Answer– Acharyas have explained that initially Ajamila chanted the names of Narayana with the thoughts of his son in his mind but as he called out his son, ‘Narayana’, the Lord’s name invoked the true knowledge in his mind. At that time when he saw Yamadutas coming...

Reading Festival - 23rd March 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In material consciousness we are trying to love that which is not at all lovable. We give our love to dogs and cats, running the risk that at the time of death we may think of them and consequently take birth in a family of cats or dogs. Thus love that does not have Krsna as its object leads downward. It is not that Krsna or God is something obscure or something that only a few chosen people can attain. Caitanya Mahaprabhu informs us that in every country and in every scripture th...

Checkmate!
Smara Hari: My first personal contact with Srila Prabhupada was when I went on a morning walk with him. I was just a young boy about seventeen or eighteen.
I hadn’t even joined the temple but I had heard that Srila Prabhupada was coming and the devotees had encouraged me to stay overnight to see Prabhupada.
He came and he went on a morning walk before class as he does and we went to a small park, Russell Square.
There were about ten devotees with Srila Prabhupada and I was the new boy. I was the bhakta.
As such I was beh...

Initiation ceremony this morning in Bhaktivedanta Manor, UK (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: I wish that every one of you should be Lion’s descendant. Our Lord Krishna assumed the form of Lion & killed the atheist, Hiranyakasipu, & by disciplic succession we shall also kill all impersonalist atheist. Absolutely there is no Krishna Consciousness for the impersonalist. From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to: Madhusudana – Navadvipa 2 November, 1967
Find them here: https://goo.gl/rZJ1nv

The Ancestral Home Of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami:
Several days ago we visited the ancestral home of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur in Choti, Orissa. We are continuing the efforts of Fakir Mohan prabhu, a friend of ISKCON, to acquire the original land that Bhaktivinode Thakur resided on there for many years. We hope to build a small temple on the property to accommodate his deities, Sri Sri Radha Madhava. We met with the mayor of the village and a number of landholders in the area. They were very favorable to the pro...

“Why Do We Exist?”
Sankarshan Das: The other day I had a wonderful meeting with a gentleman named Danny, who is writing a paper on “faith and reason.” I explained to him purely from the standpoint of logic how we can understand what is sometimes called by theologians “the ground of our being.”
That we exist is, of course, self-evident. Otherwise, how could we be reading this lesson? Consciousness or awareness is the symptom by which we can understand that we do indeed exist.
But the question we are raisi...