By the GBC Corresponding SecretaryThe Annual General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society will begin on February 22, 2016. 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, 2015. This will allow adequate time for the GBC Deputies to prepare the proposals for presentation at the meeting. Please follow the new format for GBC Proposals, attached as a fillable PDF. Plain text submissions are also acceptable. GBC ...
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- 18 Nov 2015
By Mahaprabhu dasMonday 16 November the Hindu Forum Europe (HFE) celebrated Diwali for the first time in the EU Parliament, Brussels. Host MEP, Neena Gill congratulated Hindus with this big success. The Ambassador of India, Mr. Manjeev Singh Puri, and the Ambassador of Mauritius, Mr. J. Koonjul, lit symbolically a dipa in the presence of other MEPs and staff of the Parliament. ISKCON devotees from Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Italy and Switzerland were among the more than 100 attendees of this historical event. Acco...
- 17 Nov 2015
By Racitambara devi dasi14 November 2015. 76 years ago today, a boy named John was born in an insignificant bump in the road called Moose Hill, Ontario, in Canada. He grew up on a farm where his parents raised cows for slaughter. Later, he left home and travelled to Port Hardy, at the north end of Vancouver Island. He was into all kinds of intoxication, But one day, a friend sent him Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita As It Is. After reading it, John decided to go to Vancouver and spend his Christmas holidays at ...
- 17 Nov 2015
By Rsiraja DasThe law of karma in Vedic philosophy (and indeed in numerous Eastern religious philosophies) is a moral law that judges a person's actions. All judgments are based on whether an act is right or wrong, and these judgments are in turn based on comprehending the meanings of actions. For instance, before you can judge whether an act of shooting is right or wrong, you must first comprehend a physical sequence of events as "shooting", which itself requires associating meanings with facts. If meaning...
- 17 Nov 2015
By Hari Narayana DasThe peak of the 259th Anniversary celebrations of Yogyakarta was flooded by millions of people who wanted to see the cultural parade on Wednesday, October 7, 2015. Four thousands participant participated in the parade. They performed traditional dances, classic dances, and modern dances attractively along the main street of Yogyakarta. The participants were not only from the areas of Yogyakarta but also from other areas in Nusantara. The committee also invited groups of art and communities in ...
- 17 Nov 2015
By Madhavananda dasWe are shocked and deeply pained today to hear about the sudden departure of one of the bright moons of our society. H.H. Gaura Krishna Das Goswami, a beloved disciple of HH Radha Govinda Maharaja suddenly passed away in the sacred land of Vrindavan. I don't know any other details except that he had a sudden heart-attack and that it was somewhere in Vraja. Our phone has been ringing this morning with devotees contacting us and pouring out their hearts in grief. Gaura Krishna Maharaja was a very ...
- 17 Nov 2015
By Niranjana SwamiAnd especially what was also very, very satisfying to me was seeing that not only we are preserving the parampara by manifesting these three symptoms but that these events are also wonderful opportunity for distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. For me that is the icing on the cake. That makes it so sweet. These events are very, very good opportunities to inspire people to want to know more about this. And therefore these are very, very, good opportunities for making Srila Prabhupada’s books ...
- 16 Nov 2015
By Urmila Devi DasiKrishna speaks all languages and accepts prayers in any one of them. Still, Sanskrit, which is the language of His own abode and the planets of the demigods in this universe, is especially suitable for understanding and glorifying Him. So, when we started a gurukula, we first looked for a Sanskrit teacher. Over many years, we had several teachers who used varying methods, achieving mixed results. I suppose we included Sanskrit in the gurukula simply because Prabhupada told us it was compuls...
- 15 Nov 2015
By Gaurangi Devi DasiThe Padayatra Worldwide Ministry headed by Lokanath Swami started to work on its offering of 50 padayatras on Gaura Purnima 2014. To this day 22 padayatras have taken place, 8 are planned and 20 remain to be done by all of you. We are inviting all the devotees worldwide 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...
- 15 Nov 2015
By Lokanath SwamiIn 2008 Sankirtana Dasa was not new to padayatra. He had first heard of padayatra in 1987. After ending his career as a book distributor in Europe that year, where he found the mood no longer suited him, he traveled to India. He was introduced to padayatra in Vrindavana in1987 when he attended an information session led by Bhadra Dasa, who was recruiting devotees to join the walk from Vrindavana to Dwaraka. It was then Sankirtana realized that padayatra was just what he’d been looking for. He w...
- 15 Nov 2015
By Padmapani dasWords can't describe the devastation that we all felt. Hearts broke and tears flowed everywhere. The universe was in sorrow. The pure devotee of Lord Krishna had left the planet. We had lost our master, our protector and our ever well-wisher. Suddenly the universe became cold and dark, and all hope instantly fled from our lives. How could we go on without Prabhupada? It was inconceivable. I remember that I could barely speak a word for the next three days. It was the same for most of us there in ...
- 15 Nov 2015
By ISKCON Desire TreeAs we approach the beginning of ISKCON's 50th year we took the opportunity to interview some of ISKCON's leaders on a variety of topics, while they were gathered at the Govardhan Eco Village in Wada. This interview is with Praghosa prabhu, the current GBC chairman, and it is on the topic of ISKCON outreach.
...- 14 Nov 2015
By Ash ElderMany students search for ways to connect with God on campus and the UNF Hare Krishnas do it through sung prayer and meditation. Sura, a club member was singing the Hare Krishna mantra, a 16 word mantra composed of three Sanskrit names of the Supreme Being; “Hare,” “Krishna,” and “Rama.” The mantra is chanted in order to create vibrations which connect the consciousness with God.
...- 14 Nov 2015
By Haresh Govinda DasAs every year this time also ISKCON Ahmedabad celebrated Govardhan Puja in a very fabulous way. All the devotees enterprisingly fabricated the replica of Govardhan in the temple. Govardhan Hill was adorned with various kinds of fruits, dry fruits and many other preparations like different kinds of sabjis, sweet items, rice, etc. Gujarat Chief Minister Smt. Anandiben Patel also honored this festival and took the blessings of Giriraj. Honorable Chief Minister was welcomed by Temple President H...
- 13 Nov 2015
By Urmila Devi DasiWE CROSS Oxford Street with five mrdanga drums, two loud and deep African drums, karatala cymbals, an accordion, and an electric guitar. Our chanting party consists of over a hundred members, from so many countries and ethnic backgrounds that the diversity is startling. There are men in dhotis, in suits, and in jeans, women in saris, colorful dresses, and subdued business clothes. We race or dance down the street, singing as fast as we run, churning up waves of spiritual joy. The lead singer we...
- 13 Nov 2015
By Ravindra Svarupa dasaOn the eleventh of July, 1966, in New York, Srila Prabhupada incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. By then, Prabhupada had already discovered an audience for his exposition of Srimad Bhagavatam, an expositon he characterised as 'a cultural presentation for the respiritualisation of the entire human society' (Bhag. Canto 1, Preface). In a further step toward the culture of 'respiritualisation', he established ISKCON. ISKCON was to be an exemplary society, within...
- 12 Nov 2015
By the GBC Strategic Planning TeamThe GBC is pleased to invite you to the ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) 2016 in Sridham Mayapur, India, on February 24 – March 2. If you already attended a previous ILS you already know what an amazing event it was, with over five hundred ISKCON leaders in 2102 and more than a thousand in 2014; Consider some of the past successes of the ISKCON Leadership Sanga: We spent 8 days participating in over 85 seminars and workshops presenting valuable ideas on how to spread Krsna Conscio...
- 12 Nov 2015
By Rsiraja DasThe first thing to be recognized in Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy is that Krsna is Reality. Srimad Bhagavatam states that there is a reality which is also the Absolute Truth. That reality is, however, understood in many different ways. Indeed, Srila Prabhupada writes at the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam that the concept of Absolute Truth and the concept of God are not on the same level. The concept of God is like the driver of a car who controls the car, but this concept does not explain how the car...
- 12 Nov 2015
By Nityananda Chandra DasDue to the extensive help from a large body of devotees here in Dallas the Govardhan Puja festival has been exceedingly grand this year. There is a video included of the cake mountain preparations. Bhaktin Brittany decided to spend the night on Saturday so that she could work the whole evening Saturday and Sunday in preparation. She is was amazing a real trooper. She has a wonderful service mood. Both my wife and her slept just for a few hours and spend both days just working hard. La...
- 11 Nov 2015
By Nila Kamala dasIn continuation with Vraj Parikrama, on the 9th of November, HH Subhag Swami Maharaj took a group of 70 devotees to Badrinath. Buses departed from our Krishna Balaram Mandir after mangal arti, ensuring an auspicious start to our yatra. A bumpy ride which lasted for two hours led us to our desired destination. We were told that in 1932, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur came to Badrinath as part of Vraja Mandala parikrama along with hundreds of his disciples. We feel fortunate to be walking in the...
- 11 Nov 2015
By Giriraj SwamiToday Brahmananda Prabhu was placed in his samadhi in Vrindavan, and all the devotees present felt their hearts melt with love for Srila Prabhupada and Brahmananda Prabhu. I sent an offering to for the occasion, which Bhurijana Prabhu kindly read out for me: One thing was certain in my mind—that I would be present for the dedication of Brahmananda Prabhu’s samadhi in Vrindavan—but as Srila Prabhupada said, “I have my plans, you have your plans, and Krishna has His plans.” Brahmananda Pra...
- 10 Nov 2015
By Abhaya Mudra DasiEven when living entities harbor inimical desires towards Shri Krishna, He satisfies them. Shri Krishna’s arrangement of male and female prototypes in the material world creates an illusion of genuine relations between two different energies. And through the interaction of male and female entities other bodies take birth. The material world mimics (or reflects in a perverted sense) the spiritual world wherein there is constant interaction of Shri Krishna with His innumerable liberated servant...
- 10 Nov 2015
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaSimilarly, previously the Vedic knowledge was coming by hearing. There was no need of books. But when this age, Kali-yuga, began five thousand years ago, the Vedic scriptures were recorded. First there was only one Veda, known as Atharva Veda. Then Vyasadeva, just to make it clear, divided it into four and entrusted his various disciples to each take charge of one school of Veda. Then he wrote the Mahabharata and the Puranas to make the Vedic knowledge under...
- 9 Nov 2015
By Anuttama dasThe wisdom traditions of the world teach that God is the all powerful source of existence. The teachings of bhakti or Krishna consciousness give us greater insight into the personality of that all powerful Lord. One aspect we explore this Sunday is that Krishna is unconquerable yet he agrees to be conquered by the love of his devotee.
...- 9 Nov 2015