By Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata SwamiFirst Meeting with Devotees: Sarvabhavana Prabhu, who joined ISKCON recalls, "I and a friend of mine, who later became His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, went from Calcutta to Hamburg in 1970. There we met the devotees for the first time and accepted an invitation for the Sunday feast. [Srila Prabhupada and Disciples in Germany by Vedavyasa Dasa]
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- 5 Jul 2020
By the GBC Executive CommitteeSoon 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.
...- 5 Jul 2020
By Indradyumna SwamiDear disciples of Bhakti Charu Maharaja, Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. On this auspicious day of Guru Purnima I want to express my condolences to all of you on the departure of your beloved spiritual master, Bhakti Charu Maharaja. I had planned to write an offering to him today, but I feel a letter to console all of you in your grief would be of greater service to him.
...- 5 Jul 2020
By the GBC Executive CommitteeYou are all aware by now of the passing of HH Bhakti Caru Swami Maharaja. Most if not all of you would be well aware that he was an outstanding disciple of Srila Prabhupada and a great leader in Prabhupada’s ISKCON. Under the circumstances it would be appropriate for all ISKCON centers to observe his departure with a special program, or even more than one special program, bearing in mind, of course, the current situations in different parts of the world because of the same Corona virus which has taken Maharaja
...- 5 Jul 2020
By Bhakti Caitanya SwamiAt 8.30am this morning, Florida time, I received a phone call from one of your more senior Godbrothers who is currently there. He was in a deeply emotional state, and I immediately understood what he had called me about, before he could even tell me. Your Guru Maharaja had departed from this world, back to Srila Prabhupada and Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna just one or two minutes before. I am a member of the Executive Committee of the GBC Body, so I dutifully reported this information to our secretariat, for distribution throughout the ISKCON world, but as I did this I felt mys...
- 5 Jul 2020
By Anuttama dasaI write with a very heavy heart. I can only imagine the sense of grief and pain you must all be feeling today, experiencing the separation of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami. Your Guru Maharaja was truly an exceptional Vaishnava, spiritual master, and human being. All who knew him, including all his God-brothers and God-sisters, were affectionate towards him and inspired by his presence, his warm, friendly nature, his genuine caring for all those he met, and his deep love and commitment to Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON.
...- 5 Jul 2020
By Kalakantha dasWhen you first met Srila Prabhupada he recognized you as a special soul, so much so that within a short time he accepted you as a sannyasi disciple. For the next 45 years you faithfully kept your difficult vows, travelling constantly, promoting Krishna consciousness in service to Srila Prabhupada. Your astonishing, flawless legacy will forever inspire all of Srila Prabhupada's followers. Today, hearing the devastating news of your departure, I remember your unbroken loyalty and determination.
...- 4 Jul 2020
By Praghosa dasaSo, so much wishing I was paying my obeisances to you in person, then giving you a big hug and then discussing the glories of Srila Prabhupada with you. There was no way anyone in your sweet company could fail to be immediately immersed in the transcendental pastimes of His Divine Grace once with you for a minute or two As a young man you left Bengal and by Krishna’s arrangement came in contact with Srila Prabhupada’s mission thousands of miles away, via his book ‘The Nectar of Devotion’ and immediately accepted Srila Prabhupada as your spiritual master. Thus began your service to yo...
- 4 Jul 2020
By the GBC Executive CommitteeIt is with overwhelming heartache that we announce to you the departure of our beloved godbrother and a dearmost servant of Srila Prabhupada, His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami. From his earliest days as a young devotee, Maharaja had the extraordinary privilege of serving as one of Srila Prabhupada's confidential, personal servants. And ever since, His Holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaja's life has been an offering of love at the lotus feet of his spiritual master.
...- 4 Jul 2020
By the GBC Executive CommitteeFor 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.
...- 4 Jul 2020
By the GBC Executive CommitteeWe 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.
...- 4 Jul 2020
By BCS Medical Care TeamThe 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.
...- 4 Jul 2020
By Subroto DasEach year more than 70 lakh people from different parts of the world visit Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and headquarter of ISKCON. Over the years Mayapur has evolved as a significant tourist destination of not only West Bengal but the entire world. However this year the global pandemic cast a spell of gloom on the devotees, pilgrims and visitors all over the world who come in search of spiritual enlightenment and submerge in the blissful ocean of Harinam Sankirtan.
...- 3 Jul 2020
By Rizwan MohammadISKCON 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.
...- 3 Jul 2020
By Narada dasLast 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.
...- 2 Jul 2020
By Nrsimha Krsna dasI 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...
- 2 Jul 2020
By Hari-dhama dasaIn this presentation, Hari-dhama dasa discusses an important social issue for the Society: that of providing care for the terminally ill in the movement. Since Vaisnava hold very dear the hope of dying in the association of devotees and at a place of pilgrimage, ISKCON faces a challenging task in providing this facility and care for its members. The author argues that both spiritual care and medical care should be available to patients, be they in a secular hospice or...
- 1 Jul 2020
By Purushottam Nitai DasRecently I underwent oral surgery and realized what it means not having the ability to speak. The surgery which lasted for more than 2 hours was quite complicated and very painful. After surgery my mouth and gums were swollen and it was almost impossible for me to open my mouth and speak. Now as per the vow taken during initiation we are supposed to chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna maha-mantra daily irrespective of any circumstances and so I tried to comply with...
- 30 Jun 2020
By Jayapataka SwamiWe 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.
...- 30 Jun 2020
By Vijaya dasSrila Prabhupada said, “Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would be very pleased if a disciple distributed just a few small books.” More than 100,000 books were distributed worldwide in May, though we were locked down (with a few exceptions), so I am sure that Krishna and the acaryas are pleased. Now is a time when people will take Krishna’s timeless wisdom more seriously. Difficulty is a blessing in disguise, to help people wake up from the illusory slumber of material life.
...- 30 Jun 2020
By Sri Nandanandana dasaAs we look around the world, or watch and read the news, practically everywhere is affected by some kind of natural disaster. Floods are displacing millions of people, forest fires are destroying thousands of acres and burning out of control, earthquakes continue to force people to live in fear, and tornadoes and hurricanes have become more fierce and numerous than ever. And if that is not enough, droughts are causing massive crop damage and water shortages. The fact is that nobody likes a loss, no matter how great or small it may be. And a disaster can ta...
- 29 Jun 2020
By Gauranga DasThe Global Devotee Care Directorate is pleased to announce the launch of a new website www.iskconcourses.com for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada, and all the devotees. Spiritual Care is one of the critical areas of Devotee Care. To facilitate this Spiritual Care element, we have brought together various online courses run by different ISKCON institutions in the area of Scriptures, Spiritual practices and Skills, and made it accessible from this one website. We have categorized them in different levels based on one's level of connection with the p...
- 28 Jun 2020
By ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning TeamAn interesting talk with Mandira Mani and Advaita Simha das, who were interviewed by Vraja Vihari das. Mandira Mani dd and Advaita Simha das are sister and brother, both second-generation devotees in ISKCON. They were born in the USA and then moved to New Zealand in 1981 where they grew up as part of the Christchurch temple community.
...- 28 Jun 2020
By ISKCON Deity Worship MinistryAbhisekas in ISKCON centers may only be performed by suitably qualified brahmanas according to the same pancaratrika standards as Srila Prabhupada established for daily temple worship. The only exception, per Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, is bathing Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra annually for Snana Yatra. Supporting Information This applies to any deity in an ISKCON center, whether the understanding of some may be that the deities are installe...
- 26 Jun 2020