By Prasar BhartiContemplation and prayer remind us that that people of all faiths have an obligation to perform seva, or service to others. And the flame of the diya, or lamp, reminds us that light will ultimately triumph over darkness. Here in the United States, Diwali also reminds us that our nation is home to many faiths and traditions, and that our diversity makes us stronger, which is why I’m proud that this year Democrats and Republicans in Congress joined together for the first-ever celebration of Diwali on Capitol Hill. Over the last five years,...
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- 22 Oct 2014
By Indian MediaNineteen ISKCON devotees were injured when a Vrindavan bound bus rammed against a tree after one of its tyres punctured near Maghera village falling under Vrindavan police station today. "While eleven devotees were rushed to district hospital, eight were taken to Paras Mani Hospital. Nobody is in critical position," Dy SP Anil Yadav said. The accident occurred this afternoon when a tyre punctured and the bus, carrying 50 pilgrims, hit a tree. The pilgrims are on Kartik parikrama, and were proceeding to ISKCON Vrindavan via Goverdhan from Badr...
- 22 Oct 2014
By Gaurangi Devi DasiThe Padayatra Ministry is still very much active, and padayatras are happening in different parts of the world. Less talks definitely does not mean less walks. The immediate goal of the Ministry, from March 2014 till the end of 2016, is to celebrate ISKCON’s 50th birthday with 50 padayatras. We are inviting you to participate in this glorification of ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada. This goal of 50 padayatras is very feasible, as Padayatra is basically a low-cost project of variable duration that can be carried out in man...
- 22 Oct 2014
By Ramlakshman Das20 devotees registered for the course, out of which, more than 15 devotees were regular. After brief introductions, H.H.Bhakti Rasamrita Maharaj suggested to Dr. Sreekumar Prabhu that one presentation should be made using quotes ,conversations and purports from Srila Prabhupada’s books on cow protection. I prepared a presentation with the help of Sreekumar Prabhu and we presented it to the participants. During the noon session they requested me to present my experience with the yathra that I had embarked on couple of weeks ago and exclu...
- 22 Oct 2014
By the ISKCON Communications MinistryTirupati, India—The Governing Body Commission (GBC) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) recently completed a special three-day session during which the GBC Body considered whether or not this worldwide Vaishnava community should endorse and implement the policy of having women serve as diksa-gurus, or initiating spiritual masters, within the ISKCON society. The special session was held from October 16-18 and was part of the GBC’s Annual Midterm Meeting. During this first of its kind confe...
- 21 Oct 2014
By Madhavananda DasEveryday, ISKCON devotees around the world sing the song, “Jaya Radha-Madhava” before the Srimad Bhagavatam class. It is also sung in most Gaudiya Math temples -- generally during the time of the Raj-bhog-arati. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Prabhupada was especially fond of this song, which expresses the sweet mood of worship of Vrindavan. Yet how many people know about the Radha-Madhava Deities for whom Srila BhaktivinodeThakur wrote this wonderful song?For the last 14 years Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, the origina...
- 21 Oct 2014
By Bhajahari dasDue to Tribhuvanatha's prabhu disappearance day falling on Thursday the 16th Oct. last week, the turn out for Harinam was exceptional. You will see from the following 3 short video clips that the devotees were in blissful mood.I treasure the opportunities I get for taking these amateur video recordings of the Vaisnavas performing SAMKIRTAN. One day when I can no longer make it out onto the streets of London's Wild West End I will be able to relive these special special evenings.
...- 21 Oct 2014
By Arjuna Krsna dasBoth Rama Laksman prabhu, Director for IDVM Secretariat located in Sri Mayapur along with Arjuna Krsna prabhu, Co-Director for IDVM Department of Education undertook an extensive tour to various ISKCON rural projects in India. Their travels took them to Nilachal Dham, a new project under ISKCON Juhu temple close to Mumbai in Maharashtra, Nandagram Farm in Gujarat, Pathmeda on the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat, Panchavati in Tamil Nadu, close to Salem, Venu Madhuri in Maharashtra, Govardhan Eco Village in Maharashtra, a project run under...
- 21 Oct 2014
By Nanda Kishor dasISKCON’s Bhakti Yoga Society (BYS) operates on campuses at some of the most prestigious universities in South Africa and is program dovetailed for university students. This year the society was awarded the accolade for the Most Outstanding Student Society for 2014 at the University of Witwatersrand (WITS), one of Africa’s leading universities at a sepcial event earlier this month. The award was handed over to the BYS Chairperson – Jyotika Heerabhai by the University’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Adam Habib alongside prominent public figu...
- 21 Oct 2014
By radhanathswami.comOn the 8th of October, Radhanath Swami attended the annual Sharad Purnima festival at the Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple, Mumbai. Sharad Purnima is the first day of the holy month of Kartik, the full moon night when Krishna danced with His beloved devotees the gopis in the forest of Vrindavan. Every year on the night of Sharad Purnima, the devotees at the Mumbai temple come together to decorate the altar, giving it a look of the lush forest of Vrindavan. Amidst melodious chanting of kirtans, more than 2,500 devotees were treated with a v...
- 20 Oct 2014
By Mayesvara DasaMany people who seek pleasure predominantly from mundane sense gratification eventually discover towards the end of their life that it just doesn’t satisfy the soul. We see the results of this when we observe the elderly. Many have lost their zest for life. They have been to see Santa Clause, the beach, amusement parks, ballgames, fairgrounds, political conventions, group protests, pumpkin hay rides, prominent site seeing and all the other pleasures of life enough already. Their interest in all the phantasmagoria of this world has dwindled...
- 20 Oct 2014
By Madhava SmullenA brand new Devotee Relations Department was officially established in March 2014 at the ISKCON New Vrindaban community. The new department is headed up by Sukhavaha Dasi, who joined ISKCON in New Vrindaban back in 1974 and has lived and served there for many years. Sukhavaha holds a degree in social welfare from Penn State University, and has taken courses on leadership, leadership training, and compassionate communication. She’s also the author of the book, Revealing the Heart: The Practice of Compassion.
...- 20 Oct 2014
By Devaki Devi DasiAs we all know, in these modern days there has been an increase of violence and aggression towards women. We can understand this to be the direct result of the fact that women don't receive protection any longer. And of course, ladies can only be protected if they desire to receive protection. It also includes that we have to give up our independance - the price to be payed in order to receive protection. The whole idea of equality of men and women makes this difficult, if not to say impossible. To begin with, let us remember that this re...
- 18 Oct 2014
By Stephen LaceyTony Kaye (Pratapana Das), 67, and his wife Janet (Jayasri Dasi), 55, joined the Hare Krishna movement in the 1970s. They run a restaurant and art house-cinema in Sydney's Darlinghurst. The couple have two adult children, Srirama and Vraja. Tony was asked to run the temple in Sydney, and to marry me. The leaders asked if I would be interested, especially considering there's an 11-year age difference between us. I said I would, because I knew who they were talking about and I felt under Krishna's protection. And so we got married along with th...
- 18 Oct 2014
By Bhaktisiddhanta SwamiAfter bathing in Radha Kund, Krishna declared that henceforth, anyone who with firm faith took their bath on this day would achieve the same ecstatic love that Radharani had for Him. Radharani and Her girlfriends then took bath in Shyama Kund and Radhika declared that anyone who takes bath in Shyama Kund, will achieve the same ecstatic love that Krishna has for her. This pastime occurred at 11:45 p.m. on the eighth day of the waning moon in the auspicious month of kartika. Last night thousands delighted in the dīpa-dāna and midnigh...
- 18 Oct 2014
By the GBC Community Relations Office of the Strategic Planning NetworkSrila Prabhupada wanted the GBC to lead ISKCON through good governance and to establish global policies, and he wanted an expansive, thriving movement that served both the public and those who accepted its shelter. For the past eight years, the GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) has been helping the GBC explore the ways in which ISKCON needs to grow into the vibrant movement Srila Prabhupada wanted it to be. From these deliberations came The Strategic Planning Network, a group of devotees ...
- 18 Oct 2014
By Shyam Sunder Priya DasIt was like any other day, I was on my way for Life Membership preaching. Nothing was different except for little gossips here and there, people making fun of those tv commentators talking blah blah about the so called cyclone, same thing had happened a couple of months back, people went gungho about the cyclone and at the last moment it changed its direction and nothing happened. The boy at the petrol pump interrupted my thoughts, he asked me teasingly shall I make it full tank swamiji, You know the cyclone is coming. I laughe...
- 17 Oct 2014
By Iskcon VizagDue to hud hud cyclone our temple hall, Mechanised Kitchen, book godown, Rice godown, homeo Clinic, whole big shed with doors windows, goshalla, North side boundary wall, Guest house reception, guest house glass windows, water tanks, Main gate, few vehicles, airconditions, all elctrical system have been extensively damaged.No devotee was injured by the mercy of the Lord. We request you to pass on this message to your relatives, friends and colleagues and support us to renovate the damaged structures.
...- 17 Oct 2014
By radhanathswami.com“When we do things on a superficial level, disturbances will always affect us. But if we find deep, inner fulfilment, external troubles can’t change us. Only a house built on shifting sand would be affected by storms.” This was the message Radhanath Swami shared with over hundred CEO’s and HR heads of various companies at the Chief Learning Officer’s (CLO) summit at the Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai, on 10th October’ 2014.
...- 17 Oct 2014
By Zachary Feder and Khatera SahibzadaIn an age where authoritarian power is being questioned from the classroom to the boardroom, the emerging research is conclusive -- Humility is a dramatically more powerful and effective way of leading. Scientific inquiry into the power and effectiveness of humility in the workplace has shown that it offers a significant “competitive advantage” to leaders.
...- 17 Oct 2014
By Krsnabaladev DasUrgent action is needed to improve access to hospice and palliative care: It is time to start dispelling the myths. World hospice and palliative care day is a day of celebration for the progress that has been made in reducing pain and suffering.. Bhaktivedanta Hospice celebrated Hospice & Palliative Care Day yesterday, October 14, 2014, in the town of Vrindavan, India and used the opportunity to dispel unhelpful myths and promote hospice and palliative care facts in the common man.
...- 17 Oct 2014
By Muralidhara-priya DasDevotees explain that by offering lamps to the Lord, this means that we offer our eager desire for devotional service, which is the only thing that can conquer Krishna. So we offered lamps on behalf of our Golden donors first to Sri Sri Radha-Damodar, then to Sri Sri Radha-Mahhava and Ashta-sakhis, Lord Nrisimhadev, Sri Pancha-tattva, Tulasi Devi and finally to Srila Prabhupada. We have a sincere hope that all of Them will give us a rope of love, by which we tie Krishna in our hearts.
...- 16 Oct 2014
By Bhajahari dasSATURDAY NIGHT HARINAM London: This week the Harinam was literally 'Out of this World'. The Party was joined by Jaya Krsna prabhu and his nice son Eka Chakra Patel. They brought with them the same dynamic energy that they put into their Krsna Conscious theatre performances. Many other younger devotees were also present and the mood was so lifted due to their inspired enthusiasm that many scores of on lookers were pulled into the purifying fire of Lord Chaitanya's Samkirtan.
...- 16 Oct 2014
By the GBC Community Relations Office of the Strategic Planning NetworkIn honoring ISKCONs diversity, the SGGS will help us to also awaken to what unifies us – to value those things and protect them through open, clear communications. The SGGS offers a forum for all participants to hear and be heard, resolve differences, and discuss the important issues that affect the movement. Ultimately, the Sanga also facilitates moving things from dialogue to an action plan. Devotional service is infinitely more effective, joyful and attractive when performed in the a...
- 15 Oct 2014