Indradyumna Swami: The other day we went on pilgrimage to Batesvar, the maternal home of Nanda Maharaja, where he grew up before marrying Yasoda-mayi and moving to Gokul. It was far away, but worth every minute of the 3-hour drive. Batesvar is situated on the banks of Yamuna river. We saw the ruins of a...

Yesterday we went to Mehrana, the maternal home of Mother Yasoda. It’s a very beautiful village, not far from Nandagram, where she spent her youth before marrying Nanda Maharaja. After a blissful kirtan, attended by many of the local villagers, we spoke for over an hour about Mother Yasoda’s personality and pastimes, relishing her special...

Devotee: Prabhupada, before this movement came here we were so caught up in sinful activities. How is it that we were so fortunate to be benedicted with this great Hare Krsna movement? Prabhupada: It is Krsna’s mercy. Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to give you. Now He has come here. You take advantage of it. Caitanya Mahaprabhu...

by Amala Bhakta Swami During His presence on earth about five hundred years ago, Lord Krsna’s most recent incarnation often displayed His divine powers. This is the second of three articles describing the mirac-ulous events in the life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The information herein comes from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and Sri Caitanya-Bhagavata. Soon after Lord Caitanya began His...

I am reading sankirtan stories regularly. They are always inspiring. One day I received an email containing a link to “Vijay Prabhu’s Special Class on Book Distribution.” Before going out to distribute books, I listened to the lecture. A great lecture. I heard this new anecdote about how books are patient and help in time:...

In 1989, I had just returned to Canada from a six-year term in New Delhi, serving there as the temple president. I would walk the halls of McGill University and distribute books to students. One Indian student named Arjun Singh was quite intrigued by my activities and eventually got a book from me. Fast forward...

Jananivas Dasa Please Give Me A Sign A prayer in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque leads a young Christian to Lord Krishna. by Visakha Devi Dasi John, a slight, fair-complexioned traveler who’d left home to broaden his perspective on life, found himself stranded in Istanbul....

By Rashi Singh Nurturing our faith helps ease the inevitable suffering of life in the material world. I’m groggy. It’s early. I’m way too tired to go to work today. After nearly shattering my alarm clock, I slowly drag myself out of bed. I shower, worship my deities, chant my rounds, and head downstairs for...

Deena Bandhu Das: One day, Nitai Madhav Prabhu invited me to give class at HH Pritivardhana Maharaja’s Gurukula in Mayapur. We were awestruck at the lush beauty and traditional engineering marvel of that place. We saw that students from all over the world come there to study Vedic culture. It is a perfect example of...

ISKCON has temples, either rented or under construction, in 32 cities throughout Ukraine. There are eight cities where ISKCON is located that have seen significant military activity. These include Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Mariupol, Zhytomyr, and Chernigiv. In the cities where Deities were regularly worshipped, those Deities have either been secured safely, relocated to a...

There are four BBT titles that are soon going to print in Lutsk, where there is a printing press and a devotee printer authorized by the BBT. He is printing 10,000 copies of Beyond Birth and Death in Ukrainian, and Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita Volumes 1, 2, and 3 in Russian. Even amidst the conflict, book...

...

I am very glad to learn also that you are feeling joy while chanting the mantra Hare Krishna. Yes, it is exactly like this. If anyone chants this mantra in good faith and in simple understanding, then surely this transcendental vibration will act immediately...