By BBT MCIUpdates on all the exciting events happening on World Gita Day!. Empowered by Gita Contest It's time to get your creative hat on! Get out your brushes, pens and cameras for the Empowered by Gita Global Contest part of the World Gita Day We have age categories from 3 to adults plus winners and runner-ups in each will get an exclusive BBT swag bag plus get their work featured on World Gita Day Global event! Get creating right away as deadline is on December 17th, 2020
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- 12 Dec 2020
By the TOVP teamIn 1971, as a young devotee in Calcutta, Giriraja Swami approached Srila Prabhupada, “I have been trying to understand what your desire is, and two things seem to please you the most: distributing your books and building the big temple in Mayapur.” Prabhupada’s face lit up, his eyes opened wide, and he smiled, saying: “Yes, you have understood. If you all build this temple, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”
...- 11 Dec 2020
By Gauranga DasDuring the extended lockdown due to the pandemic situation, the residents of Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV) took to an in depth study of Srimad Bhagavatam, making the most of the collective opportunity. GEV is the home for many scholarly devotees who share the wealth of their Vedic wisdom across the world. As circumstances would have it, many of them like Sanatkumar Prabhu, Gauranga prabhu, Chaitanya Caran prabhu, Damodar prabhu, Gauranga Darshan prabhu, Balaram Sakti prabhu and Madhav Gopal Prabhu were all in GEV from March to November 2020. It was like a sweetshop being unable to distribute ...
- 11 Dec 2020
By Taruni Radhe Devi DasiTOTAL GHEE LAMP OF WHOPPING 132,180! HG Jagabandhu das, a disciple of HH Janananda Goswami Maharaj is a humble youth & highly inspiring devotee who distributes Srila Prabhupada’s teachings through his words, actions and preaching by conducting major scale Ratha Yatra, distributing Mahaprasadham, chanting beads & Srila Prabhupada’s books! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
...- 11 Dec 2020
By Yogesvara dasaUnlike Jews and Christians, who have had a vested interest in the outer world for centuries, Vaishnavas have traditionally focused on the inner world. Today, with the world growing smaller and humanity more interdependent, Vaishnavas face unprecedented change. What does it mean to be a bhakta in the 21st century? Is it sufficient to take initiation from an approved guru? Does it mean engaging in sankirtan on a regular basis? Does it mean worshipping the Diety? Does legitimacy as a Vaishnava depend on strict adherence to rules and regulations? And where does social action fit? Should devotee...
- 11 Dec 2020
By the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning TeamMedical professionals and healthcare heroes across the country are going above and beyond in the fight against coronavirus. This week, GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) invites you to meet, hear and learn from Krsnadasa Kaviraja Das on how to responsibly play our part in this fight. He is one of the many unsung devotee heroes who have put their own lives on the line to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
...- 8 Dec 2020
By Indradyumna SwamiAs you know Vaisesika prabhu is heading up a worldwide effort to distribute 2 million of Srila Prabhupada's books during this Christmas Marathon. It's very exciting! He asked me to address the samkirtan devotees in the first of his online presentations yesterday. Here is my address.
...- 7 Dec 2020
By Prana dasaIn September Bhakti Learning were thrilled to receive an award for Best e-learning Design at the Annual LearnX Awards held in Sydney, Australia. The category for the award was Shift-it-Online. We successfully demonstrated to the judges how we shifted traditional learning content to an online platform, using innovative design and delivery methods.
...- 4 Dec 2020
By Bhaktivedanta Book TrustAfrica Rocks! Amazing strategies and secrets from the African continent for improving your life and building a book distribution empire!
...- 3 Dec 2020
By Vijaya DasaThe Swansea temple in Wales had the best month I've ever seen from this quaint little city in Great Britain. It was the No. 1 temple in Great Britain with 4,906 book points and No. 9 worldwide. And in Bangladesh a temple has come up that I've never seen or noticed before in the newsletter. Coxbazar did huge, with 4,301 book points, making it No. 11 in the world. Both are in the Small Temple category, small but doing big.
...- 30 Nov 2020
By the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning TeamGBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) invites you to hear one of the most exciting and inspiring update from around the globe on the Kartik outreach during the pandemic. The devotees who are sharing the outcome of their results are - Seva Svarupa das - manager for Congregational Development Ministry, with HH Jayapataka Swami as the Minister. Jalaghi dd lives in Mayapur and is coordinatoring efforts in Hong Kong, etc. Amrita Gaurang dd lives in Malaysia and is assisting with the overall outreach
...- 30 Nov 2020
By Giriraj SwamiI first met Mother Krsnanandini at the fortieth anniversary of the installation of Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji in Dallas, on Sri Radhastami in September of 2012. She and her mother, Bhumata, were both initiated by Srila Prabhupada on Radhastami in 1972. At the anniversary, she shared wonderful memories of her meeting Srila Prabhupada in Dallas at the time of the installation of Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji.
...- 30 Nov 2020
By ISKCON MINISTRY OF EDUCATION“All of my students should read our books very diligently at least one or two hours daily and try to understand the subject matter from varieties of angles” Srila Prabhupada Letter to Madhudvisa - Los Angeles, 16 June 1972
...- 28 Nov 2020
By Iskcon Silicon ValleyA call to innovate and look towards the future by H.G. Vaisesika Prabhu! Embrace the new normal as the “now” the Lord has given us to serve Him in new and previously unimaginable ways. Raise the bar, never resting on our laurels, or pining for the past.
...- 22 Nov 2020
By Sukanti Radha dasiDevotees are so creative in serving ISKCON around the world for different festivals. The holy month of Damodara is no surprise for yet another creative way of honouring Lord Damodar with a mobile Temple. The engineering geniuses behind this amazing service are HG Govindaji Das and HG Anand Prabhu of Durban South Africa. Govindaji das serves in various services for ISKCON in Durban. His most fascinating service is being in charge of the feeding section for Durban Ratha Yatra, ensuring over 10,000 plates a day for 4 consecutive days are served to the visiting community. As we all know...
- 21 Nov 2020
By Dahani Devi DasiIn the past, ISKCON has already been accepted as a religious community in Serbia, all until 2007 when it was erased from the list with an explanation that its Statute is more suitable for a civil organisation, not a religious one. Last year devotees finally agreed to join efforts and start the whole process of registration again. One hundred signatures had to be collected and all the legal and supporting documents composed. The request was at first reset to a new round due to objections related to two signatures, which made the devotees collect those all from scratch again. After the sig...
- 20 Nov 2020
By Devshekhar Vishnu DasWith no end in sight, the Corona pandemic continues to take its toll on human health. More in terms of mental than physical. The fatality rate due to the corona has gone up, workplaces are being opened more for economic reasons not because the Corona pandemic is over. In between all these chaotic scenes, Iskcon Chennai-Perambur came up with the idea of providing the sublime knowledge of Bhagavad to masses in form of Bhagavad Gita 18 Adhyay 18 Satra i.e Bhagavad Gita 18 Chapters in 18 Days(1-18 Nov) for Hindi speaking population. Registration was opened on 27th October and Sessions w...
- 20 Nov 2020
By the GBC Executive CommitteeWith heartfelt sadness, we offer our appreciation and respects in separation to HH Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Swami, who departed from this world on the 14th of November in New Delhi, India. Maharaja was one of the early members of ISKCON, accepting Srila Prabhupada as his eternal spiritual master in 1968. Since that time, he dedicated himself to sharing Krishna consciousness with society at large. Maharaja was a pioneer of university outreach and spent many years taking the message of Srila Prabhupada to university campuses in the United States. He also took on leadership respons...
- 17 Nov 2020
By the GBC Executive CommitteeThe impact of Krishnandini Devi's lifetime of humble service on individual hearts and on the community of devotees and beyond, is immeasurable. Hundreds of souls have benefitted from her guidance, wisdom, kindness, and sincere, heartfelt concern. She was a wonderful mother to her own ten children and to so many more who looked to her for both spiritual and material guidance. Krishnanandini Devi was the driving force behind the Grhastha Vision Team, a group of senior grhasthas who pioneered a society-wide forum to train and guide both those embarking upon the grhastha ashram a...
- 17 Nov 2020
By ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning TeamWe are pleased to have Sesa Das with us on our weekly "Ask a GBC" series. It is a wonderful opportunity to hear from the people behind the policies in ISKCON. He was interviewed by Gopal Bhatta Das.
...- 15 Nov 2020
By Rukmini Krishna DasWith deep sorrow, we would like to communicate the global devotee community the departure of HH Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami Maharaja around 6.00 AM today the 14th of November, 2020 due to a second cardiac arrest and complications arising out his surgery for cervical spondylitis and a cardiac arrest. He had been unwell for quite a long time. He was Covid-Negative, when last tested a couple of days before being shifted from the hospital to the ISKCON Punjabi Bagh Temple where he had been based out of, for nearly 15 years. An ICU environment with full-time attendants had replicated in...
- 14 Nov 2020
By ISKCON North American CouncilThe North American ISKCON yatra has much to thank her for. Her devotional services have had profoundly positive influences on our devotee communities for many, many years. Notably, Krsnanandini dd led the Grhasta Vision Team for two decades. The GVT is a North American Vaishnava grassroots organization dedicated to enlivening and strengthening the Grhasta ashram and spiritually- based family life in general. She coined the phrase Strong Families = Strong ISKCON. Her dedication to this cause profoundly assisted so many devotees for many years.
...- 14 Nov 2020
By ISKCON Prison MinistryI attended the Christian services and praised God, but the Bible just didn’t satisfy my intellect. I continued to ask God to carry out His will in my body and one day my cell-mate got a copy of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is and it just sat on his shelf for like two weeks until I picked it up one day and started to read and WOW; I thought, ‘now THIS is what I have been seeking, Sanatana dharma, the eternal religion.’
...- 12 Nov 2020
By Yadubara dasIt doesn't matter how many times I watch this movie , my heart is always hankering to watch it one more time. I experience that Srila Prabhupada is talking with me, his divine grace is giving me instruction, teaching me, helping me lift up from this material world, motivating me, showering his love over me, blessing me in my spiritual advancement. My soul cries tears of joy, love & happiness, peace, harmony and gratitude!
...- 12 Nov 2020