Due to the enthusiasm of the devotees of the Mayapur community, Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja celebration has grown over the years, and has now become a six day festival. Many departments of Mayapur join together to host glorifications of Srila Prabhupada on different days. These festivals are so sweet and personal; they keep the devotees constantly absorbed in gratitude for Srila Prabhupada, and allow them to express that gratitude to him.

Krsna's Village of Peace at this year's Woodstock festival in Poland exceeded the expectations of everyone. With a steady stream of people passing through our site the lines for prasadam got longer and longer, large crowds spilled out of the Mantra Yoga Tent and all other activities were fully packed. From this one can appreciate that Lord Krsna is truly 'all-attractive.'

In Hari-bhakti-vilasa, verse 2.147, Srila Sanatan Goswami quotes Sammohana-tantra: One should hide one's ista-deva, one should hide one's guru, one should hide one's mantra, and one should hide one's japa-mala. Wise persons keep their valuables in a confidential place. Similarly, an intelligent sadhaka does not advertise his or her guru, nor do they broadcast themselves as disciples of their guru. Considering themselves as low, fallen, and unfit to be considered disciples, sincere devotees do not want to advertise who their guru is.

Garuda and Dravida Prabhus yesterday in LA. "We're called the International Society for Krishna consciousness and once an astrologer said that Srila Prabhupada would built a house in which the whole world can live. Let's first see if we can live in it then we can invite others, that's my proposal let's make sure that our house, when we do invite people in it, it's a really happy and vibrant and loving and trusting house for ladies and gentlemen"

Lord Balarama is the direct expansion of Krishna, and from Him, all the other expansions of the Lord come. He exemplifies service to Krishna, and is present wherever Krishna is. His only mission is to please Krishna by rendering service to Him, whether it is in the creation of the material worlds, maintaining the spiritual world or as His personal paraphernalia.

The Bhaktivedanta Gita Academy performs such a valuable service, not only teaching the students the most valuable spiritual knowledge, but also engaging them practically in Krishna consciousness and giving them a taste for devotional service. Every year, the students go on a couple trips to different places, do harinam, hold preaching programs, workshops, and house programs. Their teachers and mentors accompany them, and on occasion, they are joined by senior devotees and Prabhupada disciples, who guide and encourage the students.

From Polish origin, Kulangana devi dasi spent her childhood in Warsaw and along with her family, she escaped of being arrested by the Naziz during Word Ward II. “We were arrested by the Gestapo and we had to leave our house with our luggage. There were so many of us all walking in a long line. So many children too. There was a train nearby and people were getting on. They said that the train was going to a big prison camp. My father had brought one cow with him, and when the leader of the Gestapo saw that my father was a farmer he told him: “Oh, you are a farm...

Neither Filippo Paonessa nor his wife-to-be Sukhayanti Dasi had any previous experience in cow protection or agriculture when they met at the Toronto ISKCON temple. But they found that they were both inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s words on simple living and shared a desire to follow them practically. Sukhayanti had grown up in Israel and traveled the world in her twenties, meeting devotees at a Rainbow Gathering in Germany in 2005. Attracted by their authenticity, she visited the farm temple of Simhachalam in the Bavarian forest and decided she wanted to join ISKCON.

Every year the youth of Mayapur come together and work to make the festival what it has been for the past thirty-two years – an intimate exchange of love. Serving together tirelessly for more than thirty days is as enlivening as it is exhausting, and every year the sweetness grows. They begin preparations for the Jhulan Yatra festival approximately a month before Radha Madhava’s swing pastimes. They transform a wildly overgrown forest into a breathtaking flower grove, decorated with ponds, fountains, waterfalls and lights, and permeated with aromatic smoke which no...

I share notes on a lecture by Srila Prabhupada. I share excerpts from Sri Ksetra, a glorification of Jagannatha Puri by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura disciple Sripada Sundarananda Vidyavinoda, soon to be published by Touchstone Publishing. I share excerpts from the books and poems of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on Janananda Goswami’s talk from the Antwerp Ratha-yatra stage. I share notes on classes in Paris by Janananda Goswami, Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu, Bhavasindhu Prabhu, Raja Dharma Prabhu, Vicaru Prabhu, Aksayananda Prabhu, and Tamoha Prabhu. I sh...

Srimad-Bhagavatam - Eleventh Canto - Chapter 31: The Disappearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. (Spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī to King Parīkṣit). Arjuna took the survivors of the Yadu dynasty—the women, children and old men—to Indraprastha, where he installed Vajra as ruler of the Yadus. Hearing from Arjuna of the death of their friend, my dear King, your grandfathers established you as the maintainer of the dynasty and left to prepare for their departure from this world.

Forget about leaving this place without a purchase. The bookstore is a true Mecca for those who appreciate philosophy and rare books. Here you will find a variety of books published by the BBT, classical Vaisnava texts, and also the newest devotional books. Make sure to check the clearance shelf!

Guruvayur, also called ‘Dwarka of Southern India’, houses the famous Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple. Guruvayur Sri Krishna, also affectionately called as “Sri Guruvayoorappan”, the presiding deity, was installed by Brihaspati and Vayu. Sri Guruvayoorappan is a four-armed form of Lord Krishna in standing posture with a chakra in the right hand, conchshell in the left, and mace and lotus flower in the other two. Lord Krishna displayed this form of His only twice during His appearance on earth: once to Arjuna just before the battle of Kuruksetra while speaking the Bh...

The fact that we are souls having a human experience, doesn’t mean that we can deny the body—we can however, make our body and mind as favorable as possible for spiritual practice. This should be the guiding principle for any introspection, healing, or counseling we undergo. The intern result of such endeavors should be living and acting in the mode or quality of goodness as outlined in the Bhagavad Gita, and being a balanced human being—so helpful for steady sadhana for the long haul of a life.

What is ISKCON? What is this concept? Where are its boundaries? What is part of ISKCON, and what is not? Who is a member of ISKCON, and who is not? Very often, when we talk about ISKCON, we use the word "organization", but when we study Srila Prabhupada's books, we can see that in his books Srila Prabhupada used the word "organization" for ISKCON only once or twice, and basically it occurs In letters, lectures and personal conversations, while he used the word "movement" in his books many times. In this article, we tried to do a detailed analysis of what is the diff...

If one sees this movie for what it is (and is advertised) – the story of the swami who started the Hare Krishna Movement against all odds – then it is an amazing account of spiritual purity, power and accomplishment. The non-devotee, however much he or she may or may not be turned off by Hare Krishna people, has to acknowledge there was certainly something that attracted its followers of the late sixties and early seventies. This film more than aptly shows what that was, or who it was – Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, one of the best kirtaniyas in the world – Bada Haridas Prabhu shared with the HARE KRISHNA Lifestyle some of his most intimate life moments. He opened up about chanting mantras, his family life, and his spiritual master.

Food and the Hare Krishna movement are intrinsically linked. "The Krishna movement has always been interested in food," says Graham M. Schweig, a professor of religion at Virginia's Christopher Newport University. "It's a natural consequence of the temples opening their doors to the public every Sunday for a feast." In the 1960s, Prabhupada taught his first disciples how to prepare Indian dishes that follow the Krishnas' strict dietary guidelines (including an adherence to a vegetarian diet and us...

1. One should hear the pastimes, names, and glories of the Lord from the Srimad Bhagavatam, in which all material forms of region have been are rejected, from a bona fide spiritual master, become fixed in devotional service, and not allow his mind to be deflected to anything else. Patiently and submissively hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam immediately re-establishes a soul in his eternal relationship with Krsna. All other goals are rejected in the Bhagavatam. (1-3) 2. One must hear the Bhagavatam f...

Question: Srila Prabhupada's translation indicates that "a-brahma-bhuvanal - up to the Brahmaloka plane" The Bhagavatam seems to say that Satya Loka is not subject to birth, death, old age and disease. The Bhagavad Gita seems to say that it is subject to these four states. Can you shed on light on this seeming contradiction?

So, what are the prerequisites to join them? “ISKCON is a calling. The person coming to ISKCON actually comes to serve Krishna. He wants to dedicate his life to Krishna,” says Das. As a student of structural engineering in IIT-Madras, he came across a book on Prabhupada at a library in IIT-Bombay. He says, “When I read that, I felt it was something that nobody had taught me. I was very inspired, especially after I finished reading the Bhagavad Gita. I felt this was what I should dedicate my life to. I then switched over to philosophy, did my master’s and got my docto...