By HariKirtan DasRecently I got an opportunity to attend the conference on Rural development based on cows, conducted by National Institute for Rural Development (NIRD) & Panchayati raj (Ministry for Rural Development, Government of India) Rajendranagar, Hyderabad on 3rd of November, 2016. As a pleasant surprise, I met Rupavilas prabhu (Venumadhuri trust director) who was also giving a seminar sharing his experience about Venumadhuri NGO activities. Seminar was well organized by NIRD inviting the elite group consisting of Senior IAS officers, scientists, doctors, scholars, NGO’s director...
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- 16 Nov 2016
By Indradyumna SwamiSo we should arrange things, we should arrange our life in such a way that we don’t become overburdened with unnecessary things and so our whole life revolves either around chanting the holy names or distributing the holy names to others. This is the Internationals society for…this is our business. To get up in the morning and chant, to join the congregation of devotees and chant and somehow assist the sankirtana movement. A famous verse amongst kirtaniya’s. Whatever results was attained in Satya yuga by meditating on Visnu, in the Treta yuga by performing agnih...
- 16 Nov 2016
By Gaurachandra DasRecently, there were incidents of anti-corruption protests started by some national leaders in India. They had started nation-wide awakenings to make the people alert and aware for corruption free India and curbing the use of black-money. Such efforts may be appreciable to some extent but they are not perfect as far as wiping out of corruption from a state is concerned. The people are in general attached to sense gratificatory propaganda, and such protests can’t withdraw sinful tendencies from the minds of the public. Consequently, people are again taken up by such tendencies and the nati...
- 15 Nov 2016
By Nima SuchakThe archives of famed Leicestershire architect Joseph Goddard were handed over to ISKCON in a ceremony on Monday 14th November. Tony and Joe Goddard, the great grandsons of Joseph Goddard, the architect of Leicester’s Clock Tower and the grade 2* listed former bank on Granby Street, signed over archives and their copyright to the care of ISKCON in the presence of members of Leicester City Council, representatives from The Victorian Society, historians and design students. The archives will be placed in a newly built Heritage Room at the Centre for the benefit of schools, c...
- 15 Nov 2016
By Radha Mohan DasAs ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary draws to a close, Bhaktivedanta Manor would like to make an epic final offering. Every December the entire ISKCON world focuses all attention on distribution of transcendental literature, something we all know was so close to Srila Prabhupada’s heart. Indeed, he said it gave him life. When a new book was printed, Prabhupada felt as though he had conquered an empire. He told one disciple - "the best of me is in my books." Last year’s historic “100k Effort” at the Manor was a resounding success, with a record number of devotees partici...
- 14 Nov 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 October 2016. 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 Nov 2016
By Guru Prasad SwamiJagajivan Prabhu was the main person instrumental in opening Peru and Chile. He was a pioneer in some of, especially at that time, the most difficult countries in Latin America; extreme poverty and lack of education amongst the population in general. Even to travel around those areas is a great austerity. In the early and mid-seventies, he would travel by Morales Moralitos; buses full of people who bathed maybe once a month or less, packed in with some animals, sometimes hot, sometimes freezing cold in the passes that reach up to 15,000 feet altitude, with broken windows...
- 13 Nov 2016
By Ananda Tirtha DasThe Annual General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society will begin on February 9, 2017. Following the ISKCON GBC Society's Rules of Order, the GBC Secretariat requests proposals, duly sponsored by TWO GBC members, to be submitted by December 31, 2016. This will allow adequate time for the GBC Deputies to prepare the proposals for presentation at the meeting.
...- 13 Nov 2016
By WIDC StaffISKCON Western India Division Council (WIDC) Brahmachari Sanga was conducted recently at Govardha Ecovillage, Mumbai. It was a 2 day event in the serene and natural setting of GEV located near the Kohoj mountain ranges. The venue provided a naturally refreshing and spiritually enlivening experience to devotees participating from various cosmopolitan cities and rural centers in different parts of Maharashtra. The event was attended by 350 plus devotees from over 43 ISKCON centers. Explaining the vision for this sanga, HG Gauranga Das, Chairman, WIDC, said, “The inspiration fo...
- 13 Nov 2016
By Krishna Prema dasaGita Nagari Baru (GNB) is a village where one hundred and fifty devotees live. GNB has six cows and one bull. They are Surabhi, Candani, Godavari, Kaveri, Gauri, Subhadra, and Ram. We have started to make a replica of Vrindavan forests since 2014. Our goal is to make our village like Vrindavan village, and it will help the devotees to remember Krishna’s lilas more easily. Since we opened this forest, we always gather together once a month to do Go-Puja. Some of our cows will be there for grazing every day.
...- 12 Nov 2016
By Visvadhika dasiOn the very auspicious 8th day of the bright fortnight of Kartika, Mayapur Goshala celebrated Gopashtami. It was a jubilant day celebrated by residents of Mayapur, devotees and guests from many different regions of India and from all over the world. To celebrate the day that Krsna and Balarama reached their Pauganda age and became Gopalas, Goshala staff, with assistance, cleaned and festooned the area with colorful cloths and an abundance of flower garlands for several days before the occasion.
...- 12 Nov 2016
By Krishna-kripa das I share wisdom from the books and letters of Srila Prabhupada. I include excerpts from Satsvarupa dasa Goswami’s Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name and Vaishnava Compassion, as well as his online journal. I share inspiration from a lecture by Bhakti Charu Swami. I share notes on a class by Yogesvara Prabhu on Bhagavad-gita. I include some realizations from Ramabhadra Prabhu, president of Radha Govinda Mandir. I also share notes on the morning classes at The Bhakti Center given by Adi Purusha, Shyamananda, Karuna Gauranga, Vasudeva, Murali Gopal, Natabara Gaurang...
- 11 Nov 2016
By Krishna-kripa dasSelected quotes from Sadaputa Prabhu’s upcoming book "Maya: The World As Virtual Reality" “This is ironic, since the very feature of consciousness that disqualifies it for many modern philosophers is the starting point for meditative disciplines that try to realize the self by discriminating it from nonself.” “Whether we use quantum theory or classical Newtonian physics, it is clear that no known computer or process of computation will enable us to predict what billions and billions of molecules will do. Physicists have taken it as a matter of faith that all of ...
- 11 Nov 2016
By Bhakta Priya devi dasiH.G. Jaga Jivana Prabhu was from New York. He joined ISKCON in 1970. Jaga Jivan Prabhu was initiated by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada in 1972. He was a GBC member. Thank you, dear devotees for all your heartfelt prayers, but my husband left his body at 7:30pm today, November 10th, 2016, in Bhaktivedanta hospital while Srila Prabhupada`s kirtan was playing.
...- 10 Nov 2016
By Kurma Rupa DasIf a family keeps a cow and calf and has a few acres of land, a vegetarian diet is easily sustainable. I know a family in Colorado whose cow gives nine gallons of milk a day and she lactates for four to five years. They have enough land for the cow and her offspring to graze on and even with several months of winter they can easily maintain their cow. (see CFC News July 2010). If you mean to ask will protecting a family cow produce enough income to maintain herself and provide for a family of five people with urban habits, then no, it won’t. In an agrarian setting cows actually giv...
- 10 Nov 2016
By ISKCON DevoteeCareThe Devotee Care Committee, has been researching and working on creating awareness about embedding care in our communities, projects and yatras. After years of consultation and the study of the diverse needs of the various sections of the community, the committee had engaged HG Rasamandala prabhu to work on structured courses to systematically educate care givers and leaders. With his great expertise in curriculum writing and help from other committee members, the Committee has developed two courses and is piloting them to further enhance the quality and practical appli...
- 10 Nov 2016
By Mahavaraha DasOn the evening of the 27th of Oct 2016, Bollywood fashion designer Rohit Verma invited HH Jayapataka Swami to have a Damodar program at his fashion studio in Mumbai. It was a short and well organized program for which Rohit Verma had invited about 50 of his close friends. Maharaja described the Damodar lila to the audience. He stressed in the fact that Srila Prabhupada , ISKCON'S Founder Acharya wrote him a letter that the Karthik month was a special opportunity like a discount offer for those people who are otherwise busy at work. "It brings all auspiciousness by doing a...
- 9 Nov 2016
By Vaishnava dasLets face it: we are tiny tiny organisms on a speck of dust we call the Earth which floats in the unimaginatively vast realms of space. Can we really work it all out on our own? In cosmic terms, are we not like ants?...And, can an insignificant insect ever be able to comprehend human politics? So how can humankind be absolutely sure there is no cosmic hierarchy, beyond what our tiny brains are able to perceive, or our eyes, telescopes and microscopes can see? But to be fair science doesn’t claim it has Absolute Knowledge. Rather it is a process…BUT that process focuses...
- 8 Nov 2016
By Indradyumna Swami“Just as the Ganges is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and Lord Shambhu (Siva) the greatest of Vaisnavas, so Srimad-Bhagavatam is the greatest of all Puranas.” [ Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13.16 ] Mount Kailash, 22,000 feet (6,705 meters) above sea level, is a special and sacred dhama because it is there that Siva meditates deeply on Lord Krishna and meets with great sages like Narada. It was at Mount Kailash that the Ganges descended with great force from the spiritual world to the material world and was caught by Lord Siva in his matte...
- 8 Nov 2016
By ISKCON-DelhiAfter offering pushpanjali to Srila Prabhupada and an arati to Their Lordships, he was taken on a guided tour of the museum by HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja. The Ambassador was very keen on knowing the full story of Srila Prabhupada and how he established ISKCON. He appreciated the work of ISKCON and the Food For Life program while recalling his visit to New Vrindavan in the early 80's. During the friendly and informal conversation Maharaja briefed the Ambassador on ISKCON's history, its activities and stressed the need for people to genuinely become God-conscious. As a token o...
- 8 Nov 2016
By ISKCON’s Congregational Development MinistryYouth Engagement- Interview with Daru Brahman Das (Social Worker, Care and Assistance, Mayapur) The thing about young people teenagers, in my experience, they won't go anywhere they don't feel wanted so we have to somehow convey that we really want and value young people. And has to be real because they can suss. You know, they are going through so many changes in their bodies, in their minds, relationships, their roles, their thinking, they need a place where they can just be and be real and be accepted. We really need to convey that to the...
- 7 Nov 2016
By Sri Radharamana dasaThe day before the start of a three day festival native to India, Clifford Chance LLP hosted their very first employee Diwali celebration; probably the first across any global Law firm. Over 75 top lawyers and business services staff congregated at the Headquarters in Canary Wharf, London on 27th October to understand and extract spiritual wisdom from the pastimes of Lord Rama. Clifford Chance LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in London, and a member of the "Magic Circle" of leading British law firms. It is one of the ten largest law firms in the world m...
- 7 Nov 2016
By Madhavananda dasMahattama (“especially great person”) — A mahattama sees whatever good qualities others have and magnifies them, not seeing even the smallest fault. Viswanath describes their attitude, “This person has stolen my cloth because he is cold, and though he has a weapon, he doesn’t attack me because he is merciful. He is virtuous.” Ati-mahattama (“extremely great person”) — An ati-mahattama sees good qualities in others even where there are none. Their attitude is, “In this world there are no bad people. Everyone is good.”
...- 6 Nov 2016
By Giriraj SwamiAt the time that Srila Prabhupada and his disciples acquired New Dvaraka, I was in Boston, and there we heard the news that Srila Prabhupada had gotten a wonderful property that had been a church. Srila Prabhupada made New Dvaraka his Western world headquarters and spent months on end here--at one stage he stayed for eight months--and established it as the model center. And he personally trained the devotees. A devotee named Silavati was the head pujari, and under Prabhupada's guidance she and others devotees established an exemplary standard of Deity worship. Then if any temple wanted to lear...
- 6 Nov 2016