On Thursday 25th of February we watched the news with horror and we knew at that very moment our next door neighbours will need our help. On the same day we got a call from Ukrainian temple in Kiev, asking “If we were to send our woman and children would you look after them?” Our reply ” Of course, but what about you? We need to stay back and fight and protect our homeland and our temple and our elderly who don’t want to leave their homes.”

Hare Krishna. Many devotees and friends are asking how they can help the devotees caught in the middle of the deadly and devastating fighting in Ukraine. ISKCON has over 3,000 initiated devotees in the country, over a dozen temples, and three beautiful farms. I have attached a few photos of the main temple in Kiev. ISKCON’s international governing body is in regular, daily contact with the Ukrainian devotees. Because of the very delicate and dangerous nature of the situation, we cannot say more than this.

Internal guidelines for ISKCON Communities for proposed responses to the crisis, including holding prayer/kirtan vigils and a coordinated global harinam/ public protest event on Saturday October 23. ISKCON communities are requested to organize local participation in these efforts in support of our fellow Vaishnavas in Bangladesh.

The Covid crisis continues to affect India and Bangladesh and the ISKCON communities there in a terrible way. We have lost many members of our extended ISKCON family, and people in the surrounding regions of our communities are struggling with the Covid disease and its impact on food supplies, financial security, and more.

As I am sure you will know, India is going through a very severe wave of Covid 19 at the present time. Many have referred to it as a tsunami as opposed to a wave and our ISKCON communities have been badly affected too. The GBC members are deeply concerned by the suffering of our fellow Vaishnavas in India, Bangladesh and beyond. Hundreds of devotees are now infected and some have left this world while others are seriously ill.

As you may know, His Grace Pankajanghri Prabhu, the beloved, longstanding pujari of Sri Sri Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva from Sri Dham Mayapur, is critically battling the Covid-19 virus. We request devotees worldwide to please offer prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva to protect His beloved servant in every way. Pankajanghri Prabhu has spent decades offering prayers at the lotus feet of Nrsimhadeva on behalf of devotees worldwide, always prepared to serve absolutely everyone in this way. Let us now reciprocate with his loving-kindness in the same manner.

Two days ago there was a raid in Moscow and 3 harinama parties were arrested at the same time and were charged with illegal rallies and obstructing pedestrian movement. Last summer in the same way the harinama party was arrested in my hometown, but we have won all 18 cases in court with the help of Maha Balram prabhu. We have the right to practice freedom of religion in gatherings, and it has been recognized by the courts in many cities. But if we lose the 48 cases now being tried in Moscow, not only will the devotees face heavy fines, but the precedent of loss of the suit in the ca...

In Mayapur, because of the outreach programs, various namahatta devotees attending in Mayapur, somehow the coronavirus has spread amongst our namahatta preachers. Of them, two swamis, His Holiness Gauranga Prema Swami and His Holiness Bhakti Vilasa Gauracandra Swami have tested positive. So they have quarantined the whole namahatta and they are undergoing treatment. But this disease is, you know – it is hard to make the devotees understand that this is a serious thing, it is still there.

On behalf of our ISKCON GBC representative, His Holiness Lokanath Swami Maharaja and our ISKCON Pandharpur Community, we are appealing to you for your kind help. On Oct, 16th, Sri Pandharpur Dhama was flooded by the Chandrabhaga River. The damages are estimated at more than USD $56,000. We are not in a position to rebuild our losses. Sri Sri Radha Pandharinath’s crops and flowers growing in the fields are now submerged in water and gone. Their Lordships’ temple, goshala, ashram, guest house, Govinda’s Restaurant, offices, BBT Books, Gurukula, and Srila Prabhupada Ghata ...

After a period of repeated fevers, it has been confirmed today that His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami has tested positive for Covid-19. Maharaja's health condition is stable at present with a low-grade fever. Doctors plan to run further tests tomorrow to rule out any complications. Let us join together to pray that Maharaja's health may be stronger than ever so that he may continue in his glorious service.

Her Grace Bhumi dd (ACBSP) is one of ISKCON's early pioneers. She joined at the tender age of 19 and has served Srila Prabhupada's mission since then as a leading book distributor and cook. She has never taken anything for herself, but now she needs help. Recently Bhumi was diagnosed with ovarian cancer which has resulted in bone osteoporosis and a fractured spine. She has used up all her life savings paying for expensive medical treatment. Now, unable to even pay her rent, she faces the danger of eviction.

For those inquiring about the present situation, Maharaja is in the Intensive Care Unit in a hospital in Florida, USA. Although no devotees can be with Maharaja due to the pandemic, Maharaja is surrounded with auspicious items. When entering the hospital, Maharaja took along three volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which remain with him along with Bhagavad-gita. Remarkably, the medical team has allowed Maharaja's neckbeads and brahmana thread to remain in place. He also has Vrindavan dust, Tulasi leaves and Ganga water.

We request the worldwide ISKCON community to please pause all other engagements and invest all your hearts in intense prayer and kirtan for HH Bhakti Charu Maharaja. Maharaja has given his life to the service of Srila Prabhupada and the service of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON. We have all been the beneficiaries of that service in so many ways. Now, at this critical time, we must all come together to serve Maharaja by praying to Krishna with all sincerity.

The situation in the last few hours has now become the most critical and dangerous that Maharaj has been in. HH Bhakti Charu Swami remains in intensive care. His ventilation requirements have increased to near what is medically possible, and requires more support to maintain his blood pressure. He has multiple organ failure. Everything that is medically possible is in place. We must prepare for all outcomes.

We all know how dear His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami is, to Srila Prabhupada, and all his followers. And how he is so dear to all the devotees of ISKCON. So it seemed that he was improving a lot, but he had a mild heart attack and that has complicated issues a lot. So that is why we are having a prayer marathon. Because, if the Lord wishes, we hope we can have Bhakti Caru Swami back.

We at ISKCON Vrindavan, a spiritual organization for the cultivation of Krishna Consciousness, are attempting to provide everyone an opportunity to serve these selfless saintly people by donating for FOOD FOR LIFE, so that we may serve nutritious sanctified food to all these devotees. With the finances we receive for this cause, we shall ensure that all the devoted residents of Vrindavan who are depending solely on the mercy of the Lord and his devotees, may be able to continue with their spiritual practices without any concerns about physical subsistence. We, therefore, request all the ...

The government recommended people to go into isolation except essential workers. Our Prasad distribution services now fits into the essential work category, health risk is there but we are following government advice and have a robust health strategy in place. Krishna's Castle kitchen intend to increase from 2,200 plates of Prasad daily to 20,000 plates of Prasad over the next few days. We have thousands of volunteers coming from our Extinction Rebellion friends, but we need to raise an extra £100,000 to get us through the next eight weeks.

In terms of our temples functioning during these extremely challenging times, our temples must be in lockdown too. That means no visitors. So the resident devotees of any given temple should maintain, as best as they can, the worship of their Deities. As all of our temples also rely on congregational devotees to assist with the Deity worship, the Deity program can be reduced accordingly We now need to use the internet as much and as best as we can for outreach, giving as many as possible the soothing message of Sri Krishna Caitanya. In addition we must also use the internet and the phone to...

Because of your outstanding, selfless, activism, at a young age you have been awarded the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Children Award, a World Children Peace Prize, and an Indian Peace Prize. You have the potential to do unfathomable good for the planet in your lifetime. We believe your potential could be magnified by researching the wisdom found in the Vedic Scriptures.

Dear Readers, You have a great opportunity to influence movie fans worldwide to watch "Hare Krishna!" by rating the film on IMDb.com. The more votes and higher the rating the more people will be persuaded to watch the film. If you are inspired, kindly follow the included instructions.

Radhastami, the divine appearance of Srimate Radharani, the hladini sakti pleasure potency and eternal consort of Sri Krishna, is almost more sacred to Gaudiya Vaisnavas than Janmastami. Without the mercy and blessings of Radha we cannot approach the sweetness of Vraja seva and entrance into the supremely pure loving mellow and pastimes of madhurya rasa, the highest perfection of prema bhakti. The little known story below about the esoteric and divine reason for the creati...

Caturmasya and Monsoon is upon us, and the Samadhi Dome is quite damp inside because there was leaking from the Kalash base at the top. We repaired that. But we needed a de-humidifier, which is not a cheap. The Museum roof leaked too, because of damage during a hailstone storm some months before, aggravated by monkeys sporting up there. We’ll have to replace the fiberglass. Vyasa Puja is coming up soon. Srila Prabhupada is sitting right here in Vrndavan in his d...