By Krsnarupa Devi DasiRupa Raghunatha’s original ancestors were Christian missionaries in the 1790s. Thomas Hassall was called the ‘traveling parson’, because he used to preach from Sydney to Canberra and Newcastle riding his horse town to town. Rupa Raghunatha says, “Now I feel like I have the same missionary spirit not on four legs, but on four wheels! Often Rupa Raghunatha will set up a table with books and prasadam on the street, or walk around to each shop and show them books personally. He often feel...
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- 22 Sep 2015
By Acyuta GopiHe came to a place where he knew no one and was unsure if anyone would be able to help him carry out his mission. He fought sea sickness, life threatening heart attacks and braved the roughest conditions because he had such firm faith and conviction in the orders of his guru and the message of Lord Caitanya. Because of his journey and his sacrifice, I am here today. Because of his amazingly selfless personality I am able to say I've dedicated 30 years to this movement. Because of all of his hardship...
- 22 Sep 2015
By Yadubara DasACHARYA, The Life and Legacy of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In celebration of Srila Prabhupada's arrival in Boston 50 years ago, when he brought the practice of Bhakti Yoga to the West, we are pleased to release a special preview clip of Acharya the Movie! Please post, share and support!
...- 22 Sep 2015
By ISKCON BangkokBy Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, on the 50th Anniversary of his reaching the western lands, devotees from ISKCON Bangkok paid a visit to the Indian Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Upon reaching the office, the devotees were warmly welcomed with a sweet, “Hare Krishna”, by the Ambassador himself. The Ambassador was very happy to see the Bhagvad Gita translated into Thai and the Thai devotees who were present there. A Damodar doll, some books by Srila Prabhupada(translated int...
- 21 Sep 2015
By Padma devi dasiDue to the recent passing away of His Grace Brahmananda dasa, in July 2015 I ventured to Sri Vrindavan dhama. Prior to his passing, Brahmananda and I had planned to write an article together for Back to Godhead magazine about Srila Prabhupada translating SrimadBhagavatam in the small Chippiwada temple in Old Delhi in the 1960s. At the time of our discussion, neither Brahmananda nor I had the resources to pursue the necessary research for the article, so now I decided to complete this task on beha...
- 21 Sep 2015
By Kalasamvara DasISKCON Auckland, New Zealand: Dignitaries from the US consulate, Human right commission, National MP, Labour MP, and NZ Police took time out to spend the day at the Hare Krsna temple as part of the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada. They all spoke very nicely appreciating ISKCON contribution to society, garland Srila Prabhupada, preformed the bathing ceremony of Srila Prabhupada and enjoyed a wonderful feast. After the program at the temple and spending time with the devotees they had nothing...
- 21 Sep 2015
By Mayapur Sasi dasaFor the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of August. 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
...- 20 Sep 2015
By Padmapani dasThus we can understand that the essence of Krishna consciousness is love -- love for the Supreme Lord and all His parts and parcels. So Prabhupada arrived on the shores of America with a most appealing message at a remarkably appropriate time in the history of the world. Young people everywhere were screaming and clamoring for love, and Prabhupada distributed the highest form of love without charge. "Please chant Hare Krishna and be happy" he would tell us again and again. It's no wonder that Lord...
- 20 Sep 2015
By Muralidhara-priya DasThe devotees in Surat, India celebrated 50th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in USA, along with the Vyasapuja of HH Bhakti Charu Maharaj. However the main theme of this convention was to encourage devotees to participate in construction of the TOVP. With folded hands HH Bhakti Charu Maharaj gave a presentation on the TOVP project in front of thousands of his disciples whom had come from all over India and different parts of the world. He explained that the desire of Srila Prabh...
- 19 Sep 2015
By Iskcon MayapurA Maha Harinam Sankirtan was held in Krishnanagar city on 8th Sep, 2015. This was the second Maha Harinaam held in Krishnanagar. The sankirtan was inaugurated by Rajkumar Malakar, inspector in charge, Kotwali P.S., Krishnanagar. The procession started from Rajbari Maidan at 4:30 PM and it covered city’s important areas like Kshanish Park, Sadar Hospital, Post Office, Kitowali police station and returned back to Rajbari Maidan. The procession was colourful and there were many flags, festoons, Abh...
- 19 Sep 2015
By Samantha TurnbullHare Krishna devotees established the Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula school in 1980 at Eungella on the outskirts of Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales, Australia. The introduction of new teaching programs has resulted in students outperforming others across the nation in this year's tests. Students performed above the national average in all categories in the compulsory literacy and numeracy exams. The school also performed above the average achieved by other Australian independent school...
- 19 Sep 2015
By Antony BrennanIn Australia the Gold Coast Bhakti Centre celebrated the 50th anniversary of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in New York City, USA, on the 19th of September, 1965, by organising a Ratha Yatra as part of the Toowoomba Flower Festival in South East Queensland . The Toowoomba Flower Festival attracts more than 70,000 people, who line the streets of the city, along a four kilometre route, to view a street parade. The parade is widely reported on news and variety...
- 19 Sep 2015
By Mina Sharma‘Today is the 38th day of our journey and we reached New York Port at 12/30 p.m. about three hours later than the scheduled time.’ Srila Prabhupada, Sunday 19th September 1965 In 1922 Kolkata, a young A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada met his spiritual master for the first time. In that meeting he received the instruction to go to the west and teach the message of Krishna. He took the instruction to heart as he later told his followers: ‘Because I have been ordered by my superior,...
- 19 Sep 2015
By Sri Nandanandana dasaFirst of all, as explained in The Ancient World by John Haywood, “India is the birthplace of two of the world’s great religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. Today, nearly half the world’s population live in countries whose cultural development has been influenced by one or both of these religions. Apart from India itself, these countries include China, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia. The influence of ancient India was not just limit...
- 19 Sep 2015
By Sri Giridhari dasMaraimalai Nagar is a small town located at the outskirts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, South India. Our Janmastami was a grand success. * More than 2,500 people attended * For the first time, we had a long program starting from 5 pm extended up to the mid-night. Prior to the program, we had erected a huge pandal for easy distribution of prasadam. The program was well advertised throughout the area through banners, pamplets, and announcements. We had depicted Krsna lila in chronological order through...
- 19 Sep 2015
By Rajesh HiraniIn today’s fast paced world, where the use of technology is outweighing the quality of our interactions, it is easy to be physically in one place and mentally in another. Being present in every moment and every action empowers us with clarity of thought, enhances our creativity, and maximises our performance. Bhakti Rasamrita Swami delivered an interactive seminar on how the art of consciousness, mindfulness and meditation can help us to achieve our ambitions in both our personal and profession...
- 18 Sep 2015
By Goloka EducationOn the occasion of Janmastami 2015, the team at Goloka Education offered our long awaited online Sanskrit Vocabulary Course. This course is based on our previously published Samskrita Citrakosha – a picture dictionary which is designed to teach 324 high frequency words in the Sanskrit language. The following day, on Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance day, we offered a high quality Sanskrit alphabet practice book – Aksharabhyasah. This book is the first in a series to teach the writing of Devana...
- 18 Sep 2015
By Romapada DasThe success of the Boston celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America has been reported widely in various devotee websites and American media. If any temple has not yet observed a celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of Prabhupada’s arrival in the US, there is still time. Temples that have missed out can celebrate the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in New York on 19th September with a special programme in his honour. Temple...
- 18 Sep 2015
By Hari Narayana DasThe annual of Krakatau festival which went on for almost a week was closed with the Lampung Cultural Carnival on 30 August 2015, centralized in Mahan Agung at Dr. Soesilo Street, North Teluk Betung . The carnival was followed by hundreds of participants from various parts of Lampung and other parts of Indonesia. The Lord of universe, Lord Jagannath also took part in the carnival just to shower His mercy to the people of Lampung on His Ratha yatra and established the presence of the Hare Krishna...
- 18 Sep 2015
By Mina SharmaPrabhupada’s vyasasana (seat) was surrounded by flower displays and many garlands adorned him. The prayers he wrote on arrival were sung as devotees meditated on his profound humility and compassion. In a special talk, temple president Sruti Dharma Prabhu, spoke of the many gifts of Srila Prabhupada. The observance was both joyful and sobering, as feelings of both appreciation and awe were expressed reflecting on the sacrifice andhumble beginnings of Prabhupada.
...- 17 Sep 2015
By ABC TV(Australia's national broadcaster) Can you imagine not meeting your husband/wife before the wedding? Hare Krishnas Jayasri (Janet) and Pratapana’s (Tony) first words to each other were “I do”, when they met at the altar of their arranged marriage in 1981. See how they've kept their marriage. Pratapana dasa & Jayasri dasi of the Sydney Govindas’ community are featured prominently through out the series, representing a Hare Krishna couple who had an arranged marriage and who are still happily marrie...
- 17 Sep 2015
By Lila Purusottama dasaWhat is the meaning of this free-will? According to societal convention, it appears that a powerful person will be able to actualize his free will while a less privileged person in the society has less ability to actualize his/her free will. As per this convention, some have free will while others do not have. In another convention, what all I desire are expressions of my free will. Some are fulfilled while most of them remain unfulfilled. However, here is the contradiction. Something th...
- 17 Sep 2015
By Indradyumna SwamiYesterday was an historic day in the Mongolian yatra. We performed harinam samkirtan for the first time in the country since 1992. In the early morning, when the Gobi desert sun was still tolerable, we took to the streets of Sainshand, a town of 23,000 people, with mrdungas, kartalas and the sweet chanting of Krsna's holy names.The people loved it and chanted and danced alongside us. In the afternoon we held the first Krsna conscious hall program in the town. Finally, in the cool air of ...
- 17 Sep 2015
By Mina SharmaIn the UK, Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in Boston will be celebrated by Bhaktivedanta Manor and ISKCON London, who are hosting a day of special educational talks and kirtan to commemorate this epic journey. In Boston, thousands will gather at the Commonwealth Pier where Srila Prabhupada disembarked the ship, to mark a full day of remembrance, contemplation and celebration. On Saturday 19th September, the day Srila Prabhupada reached New York, celebrations will continue at Bhaktivendanta Manor with a...
- 17 Sep 2015