By Vijaya DasaChowpatti, "the simple temple" inspired by Radhanatha Swami, had a great month in March, distributing over eleven thousand books in Mumbai, an increase of 641%. That's a nice offering during this 50th anniversary of ISKCON's founding. Phoenix, in Mauritius, also had a good month: about 4,000 book points and an increase of 999%. It's a small island, and the devotees are steadily distributing books to these fortunate islanders year after year. As I was passing through the Istanbul airport a few days ago, en route to Moscow, I distributed a book to another traveler in transit t...
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- 21 Apr 2016
By the TOVPOn Thursday, April 14th, in conjunction with the auspicious appearance day of Lord Ramachandra, the new U.S. TOVP office celebrated its Grand Opening in Gainesville, Florida. The new office is located in a house donated exclusively for TOVP use by Ambarisa prabhu and will serve as the communications and fundraising headquarters. The celebration also coincides with the formation of the new U.S. non-profit, TOVP Foundation Inc., whose Chairman is Sesa das, also the newly appointed Chairman of the GBC. T...
- 21 Apr 2016
By Dr. med. Ludwig JacobAs a medical doctor, Ph.D. and specialist in vegetarian and vegan diets, (I wrote a 500-page medical book quoting over 1400 scientific studies on this), my research and personal experience with the health problems of senior devotees have shown clearly that we urgently need to improve and re-think our eating and health habits. The world-wide devotee community has already a large percentage of cardiovascular diseases and of neuro-degenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson with the high probability of developing an epidemic. One of the easier ways to revert th...
- 21 Apr 2016
By Govinda dasaParasurama Prabhu, who runs the Food For All centre in London, grew up in Ireland at a time when it was considered very strange to be anything other than a Catholic. In fact, he never met anyone from a different religion until he was eighteen, when he met a protestant. The story of how he joined the Hare Krishnas is interesting. In 1983, when he was eighteen, he seriously prayed to the Virgin Mary to reveal to him the absolute truth. Being a lay missionary for many years, he repeated a verse from the Bible: "Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] s...
- 20 Apr 2016
By Gaurangi Devi DasiThroughout 2016 ISKCON will celebrate its 50 years since its incorporation on July 13, 1966. The Padayatra Worldwide Ministry started to work on taken place, 10 are planned and 14 remain to be done. Each different padayatra in the same country is counted as one, unless they are continuous or annual walks. This system allows us to honour the several padayatras taking place in India and other large countries. Most of the following suggestions are based on the contents of the Internati...
- 20 Apr 2016
By Gaurangi Devi DasiThe 2016 Padayatra Newsletter is very attractive and innovative. Lokanath Swami liked it so much that he was thinking of printing an extra 1000 copies. Most were distributed here is Mayapur during the ILS (ISKCON Leadership Sanga) and the festival. It is not feasible to mail one to every temple, but I tried to make sure that most temples got one, provided I met representatives from that country. In any case you can download this issue, and previous ones, from the padayatra website (padayat...
- 19 Apr 2016
By Satyananda Krishna DasHG came in contact with one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciple HG Gopal Prabhu and started practising Krishna Consciousness while associating with Srila Prabhupada’s early soldiers in Malaysia. His Grace started his preaching during his younger days from 1960’s where he formed his own troop of Sankirtan Devotees and conducted congregational chanting frequently in nearby premises.HG got the opportunity to met Srila Prabhupada during Srila Prabhupada’s visit to Malaysia in the year of. ...
- 19 Apr 2016
By Ajita dasaA series of earth works have recently been completed at New Govardhana. By this venture the main lake, ‘Manasi Ganga’, has been cleaned and land reclaimed behind the Retreat Centre and the old dairy. Manasi Ganga was excavated in the early 80’s during Ramai Swami’s management. The lake was then used for various water sports and festivals. It gradually became infested by a highly invasive lily called Nymphanea Mexicana. One characteristic of this lily is the strong smell emanating from the ro...
- 19 Apr 2016
By Radharani Priya devi dasiLocal ISKCON devotees attended the second annual “Gold Coast Multi-Faith Community Dinner”. The event was hosted by the Queensland Police force at St Anna’s Greek Orthodox Church on the Gold Coast. It was an evening to ‘share a meal and build a community.’ About 200 guests attended, including dignitaries from Queensland’s police force - local Superintendents, Inspectors, Officers, Police Chaplains, as well as the leaders and representatives of all faith groups here on the...
- 19 Apr 2016
By Ravindra Svarupa dasaIn modern times, disbelief has so far entered into the essence of our existence, that both faithlessness and faith have become fundamentally two varieties of faithlessness. During Montaigne’s time, religious wars of unbearable cruelty rent Europe. The absolute certainty of the raging antagonists began to taint conviction itself with bad odor. But Montaigne saw deeper. He descried the doubleness within the very certitude of the religious partisans. He recognized their zeal as a kind of cover up, ov...
- 17 Apr 2016
By ISCOWPShe went down in the north pasture. There was no shade there and it was hot. All the cows gathered around her, licking her and pushing her in an effort to get her up. She tried to but her front legs would not support her which never happened before. We waited to see if she would gain strength and get up but she didn’t. We then decided to get her up with a cow sling with the hope her legs would revive once they were free. Her legs were lifeless. We then moved her, by use of the cow sling, to a shady pla...
- 16 Apr 2016
By radhanathswami.comOver one hundred participants from five yoga and kirtan groups joined for the Bhakti Immersion Retreat held at Govardhan Eco Village (GEV) from January 25 to January 29, 2016. In the words of Vishvambhar Sheth, who headed one of the groups, the retreat consisted of “Bhakti teachings, yoga asana classes, Ayurveda and of course dancing and chanting!” Another group leader John Smritic shared on social media a picture of Radhanath Swami addressing the participants of the retreat (John includ...
- 15 Apr 2016
By Patita Pavana DasaThe album contains 10 songs, all of them are either Vaishnava Bhajans or the Hare Krishna maha mantra tracks except for one which is composed to glorify Srila Prabhupada. The track was named as “Tribute to Srila Prabhupada”, since the album is a memorial to the historic Jaladuta Yatra. The album is targeted mainly towards the main stream music market and for those listeners who are not much familiar towards ISKCON. It features 6 singers and 6 music directors, most of them are highly rated...
- 15 Apr 2016
By Bhakti Prabhava SwamiTo expand ISKCON's preaching mission Srila Prabhupada created sannyasis. Thus the Ministry for Sannyasa Service has established a website to provide information about potential sannyasis to the ISKCON community and to get feedback in order to help in the candidate's training. On this page is the personal data and the devotional history of the Present sannyasa candidates. If you know any of these candidates and would like to express something positive or negative pertaining to their candid...
- 14 Apr 2016
By Mayapur Sasi dasaFor the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of March. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5
...- 14 Apr 2016
By Sesa DasaHere are three questions for you to ponder, dear reader: First, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Second, what do a highway billboard, a small town storefront, and the Greek philosopher Aristotle have in common? And third, what do either of these questions have to do with Lord Rama? The ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana describes the life of Ramachandra, the incarnation of God whose advent in this world is celebrated each spring by Hindus and followers of Vedic culture worldwide. The work conta...
- 13 Apr 2016
By Nila Kamal dasOften referred to as ‘DevBhumi’ or the ‘Land of the Demigods’; Dharamsallah plays host to serene beauty seldom found in the corners of the globe. Throughout the year this small city of 50,000 is flooded with tourists looking to enjoy the fine view of the snowcapped Himalayas and the cool mountain weather. Located in Himachal Pradesh in the district of Kangra, Dharamsallah is home to the world renowned noble laureate and ‘living God’ Dalai Lama. Given that the literal translation of Dharamsallah is ‘Place of Religion’, it is no surprise that the residents her...
- 9 Apr 2016
By Chandan Yatra DasJambavan also known as Jambavantha, is an eternal servant of Lord Ramacandra. He was the King of the Bears (Riksharaj). He helped Lord Ramacandra find His wife Srimati Sita devi and fight Her abductor, Ravana. He was instrumental in making realize Hanuman his immense capabilities and encouraged him to jump across the ocean to search for Sita in Lanka. Jambavan was present at the churning of the ocean, and circled Lord Vamana seven times in a brief time when Lord was acquiring the three worlds from Bali Maharaj. In his previous life, he was the King of the Himalayas who h...
- 9 Apr 2016
By bathecho.co.ukOn Saturday 23rd April, Bath Spa University will be hosting a conference to mark the first fifty years of the Hare Krishna Movement. One of the movement’s leading gurus, His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, will be in attendance and there will be an opportunity to experience the arati ceremony where worship is offered, enjoy Indian dance and join in chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. A panel chaired by Suzanne Newcombe (INFORM), bringing together academics and devotees, will debate what happens when a New Religious Movement is no longer so new. The keynote lecture will b...
- 8 Apr 2016
By Romapada DasOver 20000 students attended a mega youth festival organized by ISKCON Pune on 20th March to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON. The event, which was attended by principles of various colleges, political leaders from the youth community, the education commissioner of Pune and several other VIPs, was widely covered by several newspapers and broadcast on Indian’s national TV channel, Doordarshan. The theme of the event was ‘Drishti - Bharat leads the world’ and showcased India’s real spiritual wealth by means of which the country has the capacity to lead the entir...
- 8 Apr 2016
By Bhakti Charu SwamiDifficulties deepen our realization & purifies our heart so that we serve Srila Prabhupada in a better way. In this material world, it is so easy to do wrong thing but it is so difficult to do right thing. Due to forgetfulness of Krishna,all problems of the world are coming about. The Basis of all difficulties: lust, anger, envy, pride, greed & illusion. Difficulties coming from Karma will give us samskaras which will further impel us to perform sinful acts, but difficulties coming from Krishna will purify us.
...- 6 Apr 2016
By the U.S. TOVP TeamThe U.S. TOVP Team announces the Grand Opening of their new office in Alachua, Florida on the auspicious occasion of Rama-navami. (April 15th) The U.S. TOVP Team will be opening a new office in Alachua, Florida to manage their fundraising and promotional operations in America. The office is a house donated for this purpose by Ambarisa Prabhu. Along with the office, a newly formed Foundation, TOVP Foundation, Inc. has been set up with Sesa prabhu as its Chairman. Sesa is also the 2016 appointed GBC Chairman, as well as the ISKCON Minister of Education. Prior to the Gra...
- 5 Apr 2016
By NimaiThere were about twenty tents built up at the site, each one offering different means of spiritual entertainment e.g. prasadam, clothing, kirtan, books, etc. One tent supplied constant background music and the main stage featured many exciting performances such as: dances, yoga, spiritual lectures and of course a daily drama, which was one of the highlights. Bhakti Marg Swami had quickly trained up a group of devotees to perform in two plays that were featured over the four days. The Bhakti Cloud tent was designed for young people and it featured some really good singers and talent...
- 3 Apr 2016
By Hari Parshad DasBeing non-judgmental about Govardhana-parikrama: Sometimes devotees think that barefoot parikrama of Govardhana is superior to wearing shoes, or that walking is superior to taking a vehicle. One should not consider one type of parikrama as superior to another. Srila Jiva Goswami says in the Gopala-campu (Purva, 15): natrapy anghri-kramitavasyakatvam svacchandatvad yanam apy atra distam Translation: It is not required that the parikrama should be performed by foot. One can also take a vehicle (and obtain the same result).
...- 2 Apr 2016
