A Global Phenomenon! In total, from April 18th to May 3rd more than 400 singers along with participants in over 150 countries joined together online for 360 hours, or 15 days of nonstop live Maha-Mantra Kirtan. Chanters hailed from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Hawaii, Germany, Indonesia, South Africa, Kenya, Iceland, Guyana, Slovenia, Mauritius, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the US, the UK and many, many more countries. Over 1,400 posts were made on the Global Pandemic Kirtan Facebook page, mostly kirtan videos. There were 1.2 million reactions to these videos from around the world, and 5...

2020 is certainly a year that will not soon be forgotten. For most, if not all, of us, it has brought about many unexpected changes. Changes to our daily routines, our work, and even our relationships. Whenever we’re put into difficult situations, it gives us the opportunity to take shelter in the loving protection of the Supreme Lord, our Supreme Friend. It propels us to reflect upon and draw upon the lessons we've learned from the past and also to consider what changes we can make to live a better life, now and in the future. So if we take the opportunity to slow down and connect with w...

The North American press release for Janmastami. Janmastami celebrations at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temples in North America and around the world will look different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Janmastami falls on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 in North America. ISKCON temples in North America will be hosting simple, socially distanced Janmastami programs where guests and devotees are invited but can only stay for a short period of time and only pre-packed meals are served. All guidelines by local governments such as masking will also be ...

We are happy to share that over the last two years, in addition to the preservation work in the library, the team at BRC has made significant strides in conducting pioneering research in the field of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in collaboration with international universities led by reputed devotee scholars worldwide. We have also started MA and PhD programs on Gaudiya Vaishnavism in affiliation with Mumbai University wherein students are being guided by international devotee scholars.

When WTRF came to do an interview for a piece about New Vrindaban on channel 7’s “Discover West Virginia” program, I had no idea this would be Kirtan the baby peacock’s debut into stardom. After all, it was meant to be a general documentary, and at the end of the interview, I had just casually mentioned Kirtan’s story... It all started one day when we were sitting at home chanting japa, and we heard a strange banging, or rather scratching, at the front door. We tried to ignore it, hoping whatever it was would go away, but it didn’t. Finally, overcome by its sheer determination ...

An internship program has been launched to help build a website and carry out important research for the still under-development project “ISKCON at the United Nations.” After applying and going through a rigorous approval process, The Office of Communications for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) received ECOSOC status with the UN in 2016, the highest level at which an NGO can be associated with the UN.

Since everything in this material world is temporary, loss is an experience we all must go through. Rambhoru Devi encouraged participants to look at the different losses they have undergone throughout their lives and create a “timeline of loss.” With the help of a “feelings chart,” she guided us in understanding the emotions connected with those losses and exploring how certain feelings such as fear hold us back in various ways.

Summertime is Ratha Yatra time! The Ratha Yatra festival is a celebration of reunion, when Their Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, who had been separated from Their devotees during a two-week “sick” leave, finally return and are taken out on a pleasure ride in a gorgeously decorated chariot. On a deeper level, it signifies the ecstatic reunion of Krishna with the residents of Vrindaban after Krishna had been away for a long time on business in Mathura. For us at New Vrindaban, this year’s Ratha Yatra, which took place on Wednesday evening, was a reunion of all the devotees...

Soon after Maharaja's departure, a devotee came to chant and offer sacred items and prayers, including the recitation of Brahma-samhita and the Gajendra-moksa slokas. He described Maharaja's body as youthful and effulgent. Bhagavad-gita was on his chest and Srila Prabhupada's kirtan was playing in his right ear. He was annointed with Tulasi leaves, Ganga water, and maha oil from Nrsimhadeva in Sri Dham Mayapur. These items had been kept in Maharaja's room in preparation for this moment.

ISKCON Temple’s free food initiative that has been feeding people on alternate weeks in Auckland CBD in the last few years has now expanded to schools providing hundreds of children with free lunch once a month. This initiative ‘Food for Life- No One Should Go Hungry’ in Schools started last year as a part of reaching out to the broader community, and ISKCON contacted four schools so far in different parts of Auckland providing them with free food.

Last weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the iconic Glastonbury Music Festival – a renowned feature of the UK cultural scene. This massive event attracts over 250,000 people, hosting live stage performances from the most famous international artists, and is shown worldwide by the BBC. It’s also a very important event for ISKCON in the UK as the movement’s biggest annual outreach event connecting with the diverse British public.

I would like to give a piece of good news for your pleasure. In Turkey, we started to publish Online Back To Godhead Magazine in Turkish language. This was desire of HH Sivarama Swami for long time and pandemic time was a good period for Turkish devotees to form a team of 13 and start working on the project. From layout to any single details are made by our devotees here in Turkey. On the auspicious Sayana Ekadasi day, we published our Turkish BTG titled as "Benligin Kesfi" which means Disovery of Self. We know that there is a lot to improve and we plan to do it by next publishings ahead...

KOLKATA: So what if you won’t be able to tug the rope of Lord Jagannath’s Ratha this time? The chariot itself will come to your home, albeit virtually. Because of the Covid pandemic, Iskcon has been forced to cancel its 49-year-old rathayatra in the city and also the 6-kilometre-long yatra at Mayapur from the Jagannath Temple at Rajapur. Iskcon this year is taking a unique initiative to virtually bring the chariot home to the devotees. The project, called Mercy on Wheels is a completely digital initiative that will see 108 virtual rathas rolling out to devotees’ homes in so ...

The aim of the Revisions Review Panel (RRP) is to examine all proposed and previously accepted text changes to Srila Prabhupada’s books in the English language—a painstaking service being approached by panel members with commitment, time, and critical analysis. However, the emphasis will be on reviewing any posthumous editing or particularly controversial edits.

Hare Krishna community delivers free meals to health care workers and other hungry people around Gainesville. Krishna Lunch has been a staple at the University of Florida (UF) for nearly 40 years but, like many things, coronavirus brought the daily campus tradition to a swift halt. Now, the meals are being distributed to other hungry folk.

The ISKCON Harinam Sankirtan Ministry was appointed this year by the GBC. The minister is His Holiness Lokanath Swami. In one of its first initiatives, the Ministry began Kirtan Fest Global, a global brand to promote Kirtan Festivals throughout the world. What better place to start than Mother India?

Among them was Food For All in Holborn where, in an impressive culinary feat, 2,000 portions of vegan curry were cooked in a giant aluminium pot, large enough for five adults to stand in, and delivered to the Spurs Stadium and homeless shelters in King’s Cross, Camden and Kentish Town. Donations yesterday included £10,000 from The Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe. Chairman Peter Sherratt said: “We are starting to scale up our assistance to vulnerable children and are thrilled to support the Food For London Now appeal and The Felix Project.”

Racking their brains to find a way to keep “Krishna Lunch” going in conformity with public health guidelines, Krishna House president Srutisagara Das and his management team devised a “Krishna Lunch To Go Only” program. Shortly thereafter, work began on a novel plan to deliver Krishna Lunch to local hospitals where healthcare professionals heroically treat patients infected with the COVID-19 virus.

The words ‘This is London Calling’ were used by the BBC World Service during WWII as part of its broadcast to occupied countries. Now the Planet is again being invaded by an invisible foe, but with all foes Srila Prabhupada felt protected by the Supreme Lord Krishna and encouraged us to be fearless in spreading the mission of Lord Caitanya. By taking the right precautions, and following government procedures, it is possible to engage in Prasad distribution in these dark days of Kali Yuga.

As the ground in Zagreb is still periodically trembling, after two major earthquakes which happened on the morning of March 22nd, when all inhabitants of Zagreb run out of their homes, we are glad to inform you that our beloved deities Sri Sri Gaura Nitai are regularly worshiped without disruption, the Nova Jaladuta temple building did not suffer any major damage, while nobody of the devotees from Zagreb was reported as seriously affected. As an immediate precaution measure the upper part of the altar was temporarily removed.

In the 1970s Srila Prabhupada spoke forcefully against the philosophical materialism which for some time has functioned as the dominant philosophy behind the sciences, and most other academic fields (1). Prabhupada insisted that consciousness and life itself could not be reduced to the unconscious mechanics of material objects and processes. As a direct result of this teaching that “life comes from life” and not from dead matter, the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) was formed to engage devoted scientists in the task of rationally demonstrating that materialism does ...

“Kirtan is 2020 Vision for Cambodia“ was organized to bring people's attention to the local programs so that they can become involved in devotional service to the Lord. The beautiful festival is an initiative of Srila Prabhupada's disciple, Kala Das who is assisted by two local devotees from Indonesia, Kumudaksha Das and Guna Avatara Das. The festival started on 26 January and continued for five days. Every day we visited different places, predominantly in the area of Siem Reap city. Wherever we went we brought kirtan with us. All the instruments and a portable sound system were a...

With traditional architecture- pillars and stone carvings, ISKCON Salem’s granite temple promises its name in history for centuries! For the past several years devotees have been working on the temple’s construction, which is coming out magnificently. A 108 ft tall towering shikar is being built, which would instill the grandness of this place of worship. The soaring shikar would be further decorated with 28 gopi carvings. Sri Sri Radha-Gokulananda and Lord Chaitanya are the presiding deities of the temple.

Honorable Governor mentioned on this occasion, “The spiritual power of Govardhan Ecovillage and the prosperity and wealth of BSE along with the intellectual capacity of IIM Ahmedabad will lead to ultimate prosperity of India and not just of Palghar district and it will prove as a milestone. We wish that through Govardhan Ecovillage, message of serving the people in villages will go to entire India and to the entire world.”