By Care for Cows, Vrindavan StaffYou may be concerned with the future of Care for Cows after the passing of Kurma Rupa Prabhu but please rest assured that his great work will continue on for many years to come as per his wishes. Go-Seva ki jaya! Before leaving this mortal world, Kurma Rupa requested his right-hand man and long time go-sadana manager, Keshi Nisudana, knowing his keen sense of propriety and judgement, along with his selfless dedication and management skills, to continue to lead his team in maintain...
-
- 4 Aug 2015
By Madhudvisa dasaThis is another precedent: "We can jump, we can dance, we can play the mridanga, and now we can also lead kirtan, because here, this lady is doing it. Prabhupada asked her to do it." Everybody was in total euphoria. Shyama Devi led the most melodious kirtan. It went on and on. Srila Prabhupada was dancing, and she was dancing, and it built up and was the most fantastic experience that all the devotees could have had. Before the dust even settled from the kirtan, a devotee was on a phone saying,...
- 3 Aug 2015
By Gopijana Vallabha dasOver night the Ganga has risen quite a lot. Many areas cannot be reached without a boat now. Water level is increasing every hour, in front of Gada building the water is around 4.5 feet, and in the Mayapur temple hall the water is around the waist line. Bengali news channels are informing that in the districts of Nadia and 24 Parganas the flood level is expected to increase dramatically, as some small up stream barrages broke due to heavy water load and to expect this water to make its wa...
- 3 Aug 2015
By Samba DasIt was cold winter morning of January 1982, Bhavabhuti Prabhu President of ISKCON Guwahati summon me to his room, he asked me to go to the Airport to pick up H.G.Surabhi Prabhu. The construction of Guwahati temple was in progress and Surabhi prabhu was coming to give his input. I was in touch with ISKCON Mayapur since 1974 but I joined as fulltime only in 1980 and was a new 2 year old Brahmachari at that time. I was quiet enthusiastic that I am going to drive “the Surabhi Prabhu” viswakarma of I...
- 3 Aug 2015
By DavidWOwenThe 90ft chariot carried the Deities of Lord Jagannatha (Krishna), his sister Subhadra, and Lord Balarama – accompanied by music, singing, and dancing. The event began with an inauguration ceremony attended by city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and community leaders at the Hare Krishna Centre, in Granby Street. The procession then made its way to Cossington Park, Belgrave, arriving in the afternoon for a free festival offering free vegetarian food, music , drama and family entertainment for up to 10,000...
- 3 Aug 2015
By Gopijana Vallabha dasOn behalf of Mayapur Management I share the first update on the Flood situation in Mayapur. With the heavy rainfall for the past one week and the following release of water from Farakka dam, flood waters have started to enter into Mayapur and surrounding areas. Since yesterday, Ganges water has been overflowing off Bhakti Siddhanta road, entering ISKCON Campus and flooding the area. Devotees at the ground floor level are vacating and moving to higher levels and many were moving out of May...
- 2 Aug 2015
By Urmila Devi DasiCertainly we Gaudiya Vaisnavas, members of ISKCON, should know what is sinful and what is not. In the ultimate sense, "sin" is anything that is not done 1) for Krishna, 2) with a desire to please Him without wanting anything in return, and 3) without any interruption in the service. Such pure bhakti is the nature of the soul, and anything contrary to that, or less than that, is untruth and sinful. But sin is of different kinds and degrees. Just as one cannot say that because a cat is an ani...
- 1 Aug 2015
By Ravindra Svarupa dasaIt began with an answered phone in my office on an otherwise ordinary day in 1973. A woman addressed me in the distinctive vowels and consonants that revealed her to be a native of Philadelphia—or “Fluffya,” as it’s called in the local dialect. She asked if I were the head person of the Hare Krishna temple. She pronounced “Hare” as “hair.” “Ha-ray Krishna temple,” I responded. “Yes, I am.” “Are you,” she continued, “a priest, minister, or rabbi of your religion...
- 1 Aug 2015
By Bhakta NikhilJamalpur is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. It has a total population of around 2,300,000. On the bank of the serene Brahma Putra River, surrounded by lush green forests beholding the most fragrant of flowers, it was the perfect location for the Lord of Universe to reside. It is very meaningful that this holy river, being connected with our Brahma Madhava Gaudiya Sampradya will play host for our most worshipable Lord. On 31st July, 2015, hundreds of devotees from all over Bangladesh gat...
- 1 Aug 2015
By Subhag SwamiOne day we were in Mayapur, many years back, desiring to have his association I requested him to have a glass of fruit juice with me. During our conversation we spoke about several things. I conveyed my feelings of appreciation in how he helped in establishing a wonderful temple: Punjabi Bagh. Out of his humility, he replied, “Yes, yes but a very small temple though.” I told him that it doesn’t matter; he helps maintain it and guides the devotees there through the expert medium of HG Samba das...
- 31 Jul 2015
By Padasevan Bhakta DasIn the last week of May this year ISKCON was donated a fully functional building located on a 4800 sq. yard campus, on the outskirts of Gurgaon, a sattelite city of Delhi, and home to several major software companies. The property was earlier owned and operated by an NGO called Atma Kalyan Kendra run by its founder Acarya Sudarshan Ji Maharaj. It is located on a Sohna road, a National Highway, and has two major universities, several deluxe hotels and residential apartments within few minute...
- 31 Jul 2015
By DevoteeEvents.comDevoteeEvents.com is the best place to find out what festivals, courses, retreats and other events are happening in ISKCON. You can easily submit your event for free! Built with the latest technology, the site lets you quickly search and filter for specific categories, types, locations and dates of events. Want to know what events your guru is attending? Just select your guru's name in the list. Want to know what's scheduled for broadcast on MayapurTV? Just click on the MayapurTV. Want to know ...
- 31 Jul 2015
By Kesava Krsna dasaI am sure many of us have encountered someone who may have doubted the efficacy of their duty, or were unsure of the completion of a task, to which we, with an air of authority say “Impossible is a word found in a fool’s dictionary.” This saying amongst others form parts of devotee speak as we mimic Srila Prabhupada’s words. It was discovered some years ago that the most common word used by devotees is; so. So is so prevalent and almost infectious that we all know of a so and so prabh...
- 30 Jul 2015
By Deena Bandhu DasSurabhi Prabhu, beloved disciple of Srila Prabhupada and the devotee architect of Vrindavan and Juhu Temples, Samadhi Mandir, and Pushpa Samadhi Mandir. left this world at 2:50 this morning in Sri Vrindavan Dhama as he lost the battle with cancer.
...- 30 Jul 2015
By Hari Narayana DasThis year June 21 was celebrated as the first International Yoga day. People from all walks of life came out to participate in the celebration: India, the US, Beijing, Paris, Manila, Seoul, Bangkok, Taipei and of course, Indonesia. Indonesia, as one of the supporter of the Yoga Day, also organized a mass Yoga relaxation program in its four biggest city, Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, and Denpasar. Through Indian Embassy in Indonesia, as part of the “Friend of India: festival of India in Indonesia...
- 29 Jul 2015
By Jaganmohini devi dasiOh Almighty, create thoughts and actions in the minds of the people of the nation so that they live united. Oh Almighty, bless the people to take a path of life with righteousness as righteousness gives the strength of character. Help all religious leaders of the country to give strength to the people to combat the divisive forces. Guide the people to develop an attitude to appreciate different ideologies and transform enmity among individuals, organizations and nations into fri...
- 29 Jul 2015
By Bhakti Charu SwamiThere should be no compromise in our Vaisnava appearance. We are representatives of Srila Prabhupada. We should aim to be first class representatives. We need to be aware of the bonafide standard of appearance, maintain it and preach it. In the age of Kali deviations easily become the standard. We should be alert to this. Proper Vaisnava dress helps us maintain proper consciousness regarding our identity and responsibility in service to Srila Prabhupada and the Vaisnavas.
...- 29 Jul 2015
By Ravindra Svarupa dasaWhat the punctuation in the title indicates: Quotation marks: Draping the word God in quotation marks indicates that we are first concerned with the signifier, not the signified. (Compare these two sentences: I am interested in God. I am interested in “God.”) Question mark: The mark of interrogation backstopping “God” points us next to questions concerning the concept or idea of God. What does it mean? Aren’t there many different meanings? Isn’t the meaning often vague or ambi...
- 29 Jul 2015
By Vijaya DasaJune was a very good month for book distribution worldwide. Summer months are generally good for us book distributors. The sunny weather puts people in a relatively nicer and happier mood. The highest increase in June was by the temple in Monterrey, Mexico. Something inspired them to do a lot of book distribution. They had a 610% increase, distributed over 1,800 books, and did 2,024 book points, which makes Monterrey the No. 1 temple in all of Central and South America. Congratulations, Monterrey boo...
- 29 Jul 2015
By Jagannath DasDr APJ Abdul Kalam appreciated the services rendered by ISKCON such as Bhagavad Gita Book distribution, Promoting people to become Vegetarian and ISKCON's Food for Life Mid-day meal program. Further he also inaugurated Bhaktivedanta Hospital for Heart Center which is part of ISKCON activities. On behalf of the entire ISKCON Community we would like pay tribute for the former President of India. It is a great loss for India.
...- 28 Jul 2015
By Nandini Radha devi dasiOne main area that was discussed was the need to better ourselves in three “S” areas- sanga (association), sadhana (devotional practice) and sadachara (character). The speaker quoted- “If one loses money, nothing is lost. If one loses health, something is lost but if one loses character, everything is lost.” The topic of hatred and religious intolerance rampant in the world today was also touched upon and the speaker enunciated beautifully how greed is leading to proprietorship ...
- 28 Jul 2015
By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami PrabhupadaIn our country Carvaka Muni has advised, bhasmi-bhutasya dehasya kutah punar-agamano bhavet: "Why are you thinking of your next birth? Another birth is not possible. We see that the gross body is burnt into ashes. And where is the soul? Who is coming back again? Don't care for all these things." Yavaj jivet sukham jivet: "Live happily. Eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy." This philosophy is going on. "There is no mind, there is no intelligence, there is no soul, only this g...
- 27 Jul 2015
By Mayapur.comThe nine day long annual Ratha Yatra celebrations in Mayapur ended on 26th July. Although the festival began on 18th, the festival preparations started much earlier. Special wooden carts were designed for Their Lordships Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra devi this year. People from different parts of the world visited Mayapur for the Ratha Yatra. Many people came from nearby areas. All of them and also the local devotees participated in the festival with great enthusiasm. The Ratha Yatra took place on...
- 27 Jul 2015
By Chaitanya Charana DasaSuppose you are the friend of a millionaire. One day you see your friend's estranged son wandering on the streets, drunk, disheveled, diseased, distressed, and starving. When someone offers him food, he gulps it down and continues his aimless wandering. Then someone else comes and gives him a new set of clothes. He happily wears the clothes, but still remains lost and forsaken. Someone else gives him free medicine, which provides him some relief but no permanent solace. Then you seat him ...
- 26 Jul 2015