By Varanasi Devi DasiThe geography of donations collecting started to expand. Devotees from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Dnepropetrovsk joined us. Transcendental stories never ended. Immediately after the Vyasa Puja of His Grace Chaitanya Chandra Charan Prabhu we received a call from a young man named Marian. He served in the Ukrainian Army and phoned from the hot spot. Once during the “silence”, he visited the website of Alexander Khakimov (HG Chaitanya Chandra Charan Prabhu) and saw a banner of the Vedic Pl...
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- 24 Oct 2015
By Vijaya DasaSeptember was a good month, as always, thanks to all the sincere book distributors worldwide. Next year is the fiftieth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada founding ISKCON, and on this occasion devotees will hold events and celebrations. Book distribution, as everyone knows, is very dear to Srila Prabhupada and was a big factor in his spreading Krsna consciousness throughout the world in a short time. So we would like to celebrate by distributing twelve million books for the pleasure of His Divine Grace...
- 24 Oct 2015
By Iskcon MayapurThe special status of cows and the benefits of caring for them are found throughout the scriptures. All the demigods reside in the body of the cow and the cow is considered divine due to the presence of these divinities in her body. Further, cows are very dear to Lord Krsna. He’s known as Govinda (one who gives pleasure to the cows) and Gopala (protector of the cows). He lives in Gokul (the place of cows) as part of a family of cowherds. He says, “I can be worshipped within the Cows by offeri...
- 24 Oct 2015
By Satsvarupa Dasa GoswamiOne day in April, 1966, someone broke into Srila Prabhupada's room on Seventy-second Street and stole his typewriter and tape recorder. As Prabhupada returned to the building, the janitor informed him of the theft. An unknown burglar had broken the transom glass above the door, climbed through, taken the valuables, and escaped. As Prabhupada heard the details of the crime, he became convinced that it was the janitor himself who had broken in and stolen his things, and that the man was now...
- 24 Oct 2015
By Basu Ghosh DasIt is significant that the New Capitol of the recently bifurcated State of Andhra Pradesh is going to be constructed at Amaravati, just 50 kilometers North of Kondaveedu. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new capitol of Andhra Pradesh yesterday. Presently one of the leaders of ISKCON in Andhra Pradesh, Sriman Satyagopinath Das, who is temple president of three temples, at Rajamundry, Anantapur, and Guntur, through his efforts has obtained eighty one acres land from the Andhra ...
- 23 Oct 2015
By Chandan Yatra DasSaksi Gopala Temple is a very important temple located almost midway between Jagannatha Puri Dhama and Bhubaneswar, in a town called Saksi-gopala, about 20 km west of Jagannatha Puri Dhama. The Saksi-gopala Deity here, being 5000 years old, is an exceptionally special one. It is said that Vajranabha, Lord Sri Krishna’s great-grandson, installed two Gopala Deities in Vraja Mandala namely Saksi-gopala and Madana Gopala (Madana Mohana). The Saksi-gopala Deity is the life-size Gopala Deity who wa...
- 23 Oct 2015
By Ishita BhatiaMEERUT: In times of rising intolerance over cow-related issues, here is a heart-warming story from Hapur. A Muslim family in city's Sikander Gate colony celebrated the first birthday of their cow, Julie. A 10kg specially-designed eggless cake was ordered and she was also made to wear a birthday cap as guests who came over to attend her birthday relished on pakodas, fruits and sweets. "Julie and her mother Bholi are just like family members to us. We take care of them like we take care of other ki...
- 23 Oct 2015
By Ajamila dasaThe Krishnanagar Jail Preaching program yesterday, upon the invite of the Superintendent, went surprisingly far better than expected. The one hour program commenced with 5 male and 4 female ISKCON devotees chanting on a platform with a powerful Durga Festival sound blasting system under a big shade giving tree in the centre of the huge complex that houses at this time approximately 800 prisoners. Around 500 prisoners gathered around, including some Muslims, and actually participated in the chantin...
- 22 Oct 2015
By Brigid BeattyThe walking monk kept to the narrow shoulder of Route 85 in Rayburn on Tuesday morning. Trucks roared by and curious motorists occasionally slowed to get a closer look at the 63-year-old man dressed in saffron robes. Bhaktimarga Swami, a Canadian native and Hare Krishna monk, was headed toward Butler on a journey that began in Boston on Sept. 20. From Butler he plans to head back east to New York City. “I'm walking for several purposes,” Swami said. “For personal and inner growth — to tak...
- 22 Oct 2015
By Bhakta NikhilFriends, disciples and well-wishers of HH Subhag Swami Maharaj gathered in the holy land of Jaipur to participate in a festival of hearing, chanting and sadhu sanga between the dates of 15th ~ 20th October 2015. This is the 5th annual parikrama Maharaj has been holding in various holy places across India. Jaipur, also known as “Gupta Vrindavan” plays hosts to our Gaudiya Sampradaya’s most cherished deities’: Radha Govindadev and Radha Gopinath. As stated by Maharaj on a number of occasions...
- 22 Oct 2015
By Sukanti Radha Devi DasiThe ToVP International team will be touring the UK from the 18th to the 30th of November 2015. Lord Nityananda foresaw the manifestation of a glorious temple in Mayapur, and now He is touring the world in order to invite others to make that manifestation a reality. You will be able to receive the moonlike benedictions of Lord Nityananda in the form of his Padukas (shoes) along with Lord Nrsimhadeva's protection in the form of his Satari (helmet). Jananivasa Prabhu, Ambarisa Prabhu and o...
- 21 Oct 2015
By Suhotra dasAccepting that it is your fault that you are fallen into the cycle of birth and death is what surrender is all about. It is only by accepting this that we can sincerely accept the Lord's help in getting ourselves delivered from this fallen state. Logically, if it is not your fault, then you are not really fallen. Just like, if you end up in prison for a crime you did not deliberately commit (maybe you were just a victim of association, but you personally did not intend harm), then you are not reall...
- 20 Oct 2015
By Padmapani das"I think it's easy to see that the moral of my story is that drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, only cause suffering ... Philosophically, I've kept an ongoing relationship with the Bhagavad Gita, the glory I bask in, always finding answers for everything and solace." This is not the first time Ms. Hynde has extolled the virtues and glories of the Gita. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper on September 14, 2014, she commented: "My favourite book is the Bhagavad Gita. It’s a 700-verse H...
- 20 Oct 2015
By Tilak Krishna DasThis paper serves as a critique to the ontological view of the organism as a complex machine. In the seventeenth century, the French philosopher René Descartes claimed that only the human body has a soul, and all other organisms are mere automatons made of meat and bones. Influenced by such a line of thought, most of the scientists were also thinking that only humans are conscious and all other creatures are not. Based on empirical evidence, our published paper presents a case for ubiquity of ...
- 19 Oct 2015
By Rachael LeValleyNine years running, this year is the second year the festival hosted a 24-hour kirtan! Sri Nama Prabhu, with us through the darkness and the Transcendental Sound Vibration sent into the night, emanating from New Talavan which sits in the middle of all the ill-effects and results of the material world - slaughterhouses, the “entertainment” of illicit sex, soil erosion, government corruption, the legal and illegal drug industries that prey on the human Soul, the human rights abuses… Yes, Na...
- 19 Oct 2015
By Bhajahari dasOne of the things I love about our two SKP leaders in London, Parasurama and Govinda Prabhus, is that they are always willing to invite younger devotees to lead Kirtan while out on Saturday Night Harinams. They only request that the Kirtan leader sings simple melodies that all the devotees can follow and that will also be memorable to the public. Last night the Kirtan in Leicester Square was led by young Madhava Anderson Prabhu, a former Kuli and the son of Krishna Dharma and Cintamani Dhama Prab...
- 18 Oct 2015
By Romapada SwamiWe can see from Srila Prabhupada’s example, that although cow-protection was very close to his heart, where he in fact had direct knowledge of the same set of facts as you, he himself did not give up drinking milk. Instead his response was to work very hard to educate people about cow protection. He wrote profusely and very appealingly about it in his books. He trained his western followers to appreciate the value of a civilization and economy based on cow-protection. He fascinated them by show...
- 18 Oct 2015
By Praghosa dasaThe GBC is meeting at the Govaradhan Eco Village in Wada for their annual Midterm meetings. The main focus is on Strategic Planning and the ongoing effort in areas such as succession, expanding the preaching and edging ever closer to bringing the holy name to every town and village, devotee care, continuing the work of finalising the ISKCON constitution etc. In addition to all those strategic issues the GBC will also devote three days to discussing fundamental topics such as guru tattva in ISKCON....
- 18 Oct 2015
By Jagannath Das On Thursday October 8th 2015, Mr. Satish Agnihotri, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), along with his associates, including the Chief General Manager, Mr. H.S. Yadav met with Ghanashyam prabhu during their visit to ISKCON Mayapur. They arrived Wednesday evening to Bengal on official business and made a special trip to visit the holy dhama. Being accommodated in our conch building VIP suite for the night, they attended mangala-arati Friday morni...
- 18 Oct 2015
By Caitanya Charan DasModern society has devised ingenious ways of attempting to somehow forget this emptiness of the heart. Typical is the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry. Dubbed as the boredom industry, it provides people an escape-way from the frustrating grind of daily life to a celluloid world. There, they vicariously become a dream character, who speaks smartly, behaves flawlessly, fights heroically, wins invariably and enjoys erotic fantasies unlimitedly. But all that the entertainment provide...
- 17 Oct 2015
By Subhang Balaram DasaSince the last thirty-two years All India Padayatra has been traveling all over India, distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. The devotees of All India Padayatra have been walking through Andhra Pradesh since the last nine months. Currently more than 30 devotees including Srila Prabhupada’s disciple HG Akhiladhar Prabhu are part of this Padayatra. On the 12th evening they reached Akaramapalli Namahatta center run by ISKCON Tirupati. HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj joined them in the evening...
- 17 Oct 2015
By Satsvarupa dasa GoswamiThe East Coast was hit by severe blizzards, seven inches of snow fell on the City, with winds up to fifty miles an hour. The City of New York offered warm rooms and meals for people living in tenements without heat. JFK Airport was closed, as were train lines and roadways into the City. For the second time within eight days, a state of emergency was declared because of snow. As a lone individual, Srila Prabhupada could not do anything about the snow emergency, or the international warfare – he saw these as more symptoms of the age of Kali. Al...
- 17 Oct 2015
By Bhaktivedanta Manor CommunicationsPlease find below the September 2015 edition of the Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter, available for download. Main stories in this edition include: *Janmashtami Celebrations *Open Day *50 years on: Honouring our Founder Acarya *First ISKCON UK National Convention *ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations *The Mahabharart Tour (with the Bhaktivedanta Players)
...- 16 Oct 2015
By Rukmini Devi Dasi“Life doesn’t really make sense, does it?” I ask. “The equation doesn’t balance. We are born. Soon it’s all about getting an education. We hunt for a job, create a family, and die. What is the point of it all? Shouldn’t we ask why?” Looking straight at me, Dreadlocks doesn’t flinch. “We are driven by the taste of happiness. It is what we want most, right? Yet even those who have all the things we want can’t shrug off the feeling of being unsatisfied. Is it surprising tha...
- 16 Oct 2015