By Leanne DavisShe said I was welcome any time, whether next week or in a year. She even encouraged me to bring friends. I’m sure those vehemently against religion (which seems to be increasingly the norm these days) will see this as a cunning ploy to reel me in. But I can quite honestly say that I would happily return and enjoy all that the temple and the devotees have to offer without feeling any pressure to become a devotee myself. In the past, I have heard the derisory term ‘Happy Clappers’ used to des...
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- 11 Jul 2016
By Samantha TurnbullFifty years ago, a 70-year-old monk travelled from India to the United States in the hope of starting a spiritual revolution. His name was Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and on July 13, 1966 he incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), formalising what is widely known as the Hare Krishna movement. ISKCON now runs 602 temples, 54 schools and 65 farming communities across the globe. This month, the New Govardhana Hare Krishna community at Eungella, near Murwil...
- 11 Jul 2016
Special month of activities at ISKCON-London to celebrate 50th Anniversary of ISKCON’s Incorporation
By Bhaktin NatashaJuly is a very special month in our ISKCON 50th Anniversary Year. On 13th July, 50 years ago the International Society of Krishna Consciousness was established. ISKCON-London launched its 50th Anniversary celebrations in August last year, with a festival celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's departure from India to the West. Now, in this special month, ISKCON's incorporation month, a number of wonderful events have been planned. What better way to kick-off the celebrations tha...
- 11 Jul 2016
By the Sastric Advisory CouncilMembers participating in the authorship of this paper: Drutakarma Dasa, Gopiparanadhana Dasa, Purnacandra Goswami, and Urmila Devi Dasi “The rules and regulation are that nobody should accept blindly any guru, and nobody should blindly accept any disciple. They must behave, one another, at least for one year so that the prospective disciple can also understand, ‘Whether I can accept this person as my guru.’ And the prospective guru also can understand, ‘Whether this person can become ...
- 10 Jul 2016
By Kripa PressThe first time ever a British Prime Minister offers homage to Srila Prabhupada! He congratulated ISKCON for its 50th Anniversary, and referred to the achievements of Srila Prabhupada. Interestingly, he re-quoted Sruti prabhu who said "we cannot achieve world peace until we seek inner peace."
...- 10 Jul 2016
By Vanamali DasaBeing a devotee of Krsna and a follower of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada brings with it certain responsibilities: rising early, bathing regularly, maintaining regulative principles (including abstinence from meat-eating, illicit sex, intoxication, and gambling), and of course daily chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. But as well as these basic principles of spiritual life. Srila Prabhupada's followers have inherited a great mission, a mission that has been handed down throu...
- 9 Jul 2016
By Krishna Govinda DasRecently Bhakti Charu Swami and Sri Radha Raman Das prabhu had a discussion on ‘Synergy between Spirituality & Finance and Commerce’ on 24th May 2016 at London, UK. The event was organised by Artha Forum and was kindly hosted at Mr. Anil Agarwal’s house, London.
...- 9 Jul 2016
By Romapada DasBhaktivedanta Manor, London has planned a packed week of events from 13th to 17th July to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s incorporation. The events start on the actual day of incorporation on 13th July with a ‘Day of Gratitude’ that will see 5000 cupcakes being distributed to commuters at key locations in central London to say 'thank you'. This will be followed by a special ceremony of offerings to Srila Prabhupada in the form of poems and prayers, and an exquisite lunch for disci...
- 8 Jul 2016
By Iskcon staffAlmost 49 years ago in 1967, the first Ratha Yatra festival beyond the Indian sub-continent was organized and celebrated in San Francisco. Srila Prabhupada was personally in attendance along with many of his first disciples. This Ratha Yatra survey which has just been published, shows all the Ratha Yatra festivals held across the world and confirms the great work ISKCON is doing and how Lord Caitanya's mercy is literally spreading out to reach every town and village!
...- 8 Jul 2016
By Pratik MohapatraRatha Jatra of Lord Jagannath being one of the largest religious festivals of India, is not just limited to its borders but also hugely celebrated outside India. Iconic cities like San Francisco, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo and even the remote corners of Russia celebrate Ratha Jatra in its full glory. By tracing some of the best Ratha Jatra celebrations held across the world, we can deduce that Lord Jagannath is undoubtedly the supreme Lord of the Universe!
...- 7 Jul 2016
By Abhishek JoshiThe process took 3-4 months including script writing and reviewing, soundtrack making, casting, promoting, rehearsing, organising, and many of the team members had sleepless nights just so that they could deliver an offering of real value as a tribute. Something Spiritual began at the end of 2015 with a goal of bringing together people who have amazing talents and engaging them in the service of something bigger than themselves - in the service of Krishna. So far, they have put on 4 small plays, ...
- 6 Jul 2016
By ISKCON 50 Global OfficeISKCON’s 50th Anniversary Committee has released an important resource for the year long celebrations of temples around the world: colourful and informative exhibition panels that showcase ISKCON’s achievements in the last 50 years and can be printed and displayed by temples locally. The ISKCON 50 Expo consists of 16 panels which measure 2.5 feet by 4 feet, and can be downloaded in print quality from the ISKCON 50 website. The panels describe the legacy of the Hare Krishna movemen...
- 6 Jul 2016
By Jaya Govinda dasaJuly 1st marked the 149th anniversary of the founding of the world's second largest country; Canada. Towns and villages across the nation celebrated its birthday with fireworks, parades and a host of other joyful events. The city of Vancouver's celebration was extra special as our ISKCON Hare Krishna temple was invited to participate in this year's Canada Day parade. An estimated 300,000 people lining the route, and millions more on main stream news coverage were benefited with the vibrati...
- 6 Jul 2016
By various mediaLawmakers are eager to place new restrictions on Russia's religious sphere, amending the legal definition of “missionary activity” as defined under the Constitution's article on the freedom of conscience and religion. Yarovaya's legislation defines as “missionary activity” any kind of religious practice that takes place outside special establishments, cemeteries, houses of worship, or religious schools. This applies to acts of worship, ceremonies, the distribution of literature, and preach...
- 5 Jul 2016
By Mandira mani dasiYou might remember hearing about the Christchurch earthquakes in the news. What you might not know is that there were more earthquakes after the first big one—no fewer than 10,000 of them. There were sometimes seven or eight earthquakes a day. Everybody living in Christchurch was scared all the time because each earthquake had the potential to bring major destruction. Eventually one of them did: our temple survived the first earthquake, but the biggest of those 10,000 aftershocks brought it ...
- 5 Jul 2016
By ISKCON 50 Global CommitteeISKCON's 50th anniversary committee launched a new look website last week with the aim of making it more user-friendly and to make up-to-date information much more accessible. "The ISKCON 50 website acts like a communication hub for all news and resources that can help our temples celebrate the 50th anniversary properly," explained Romapada Das, International Coordinator for the 50th anniversary. "In particular, we urge temples to visit the resources section of our website from where...
- 4 Jul 2016
By Romapada DasThe 50th anniversary of ISKCON's incorporation falls on 13th July 2016. Although Srila Prabhupada signed the legal documents on 11th July, the actual certificate of Incorporation is dated the 13th July. Hence, it was from this day that ISKCON became a recognised legal entity. There is some confusion amongst the actual date as the Vaishnava calendar says that the Incoporation Day falls on 28th July. This date is according to the position of the moon (the tithi), and hence the Vaishnava calendar dat...
- 4 Jul 2016
By Carsani devi dasiOverlooking some of the farm’s most picturesque countryside, eight new cabins provide comfortable accommodation consisting of a double bed, two single beds, a small kitchenette and en-suite bathroom. Two meals a day are also included in the price – breakfast and dinner. In addition, there are nine rooms available for visitors in the current Guesthouse Retreat located on the hill facing the temple. These are of various sizes, and are suitable for singles, couples and family groups. Other ...
- 3 Jul 2016
By Hari Narayana DasPeople are all originally situated on the platform of Krsna consciousness in their eternal personal relationship of love of Krsna. But due to forgetfulness people become familiar with the material world or maya. To enhance the spirit of devotional service, Srila Prabhupada traveled around the world distributing nectar and spreading the glories of the Lord. He also introduced the ways of performing devotional service to the Lord. Rendering devotional service to Sri Krishna can be done in many w...
- 3 Jul 2016
By Jatayu dasaISKCON was formed by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada who is a perfect student of such literatures. So where is the fault? The fault lies in me, in my heart. Not in ISKCON. Look at it closely, whatever faults are found in ISKCON some are ones that I myself brought into it. Of course, ISKCON was formed so that any man or woman suffering from the pangs of material life can come and learn to free themselves from such troubles. But the troubles and problems I find in ISKCON are not ISKCON's, they ar...
- 1 Jul 2016
By Mukunda GoswamiIt was a hot, muggy day in lower Manhattan during the month of May 1966. I pedalled to 26 Second Avenue where I met the Swami, a friend named Carl and the rental agent, Paul Gardiner, a short, chunky man who was wearing blue denim trousers and a white, short-sleeved t-shirt. We hired the storefront at 26 Second Avenue for $100 per month and a first-storey flat in the same building for $85 per month. The storefront soon became a temple, and the Swami lectured there every day. By October he was ho...
- 1 Jul 2016
By Syama Sakhi devi dasiSituated in the idyllic mountain scenery of the ISKCON Hare Krishna community in Eungella, NSW, the Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula School is the only Hare Krishna school in Australia. It is a small but enthusiastic school with a current enrolment of 90 students and 17 teaching and support staff. The school was established more than 30 years ago, serving the community and its children by providing quality education that follows the Australian curriculum and offering spiritual guidance and men...
- 1 Jul 2016
By Madhavananda DasWe have two choices as to which court we want to work in. The first court is that of the empowered demigod and mahājana devotee Sri Yamaraja. The second court is the court of Lord Nityananda. Working in Yamaraja's court means assisting his chief lieutenant Citragupta, whose job it is to note down all of the mistakes and sinful acts of conditioned souls.
...- 30 Jun 2016
By Hayagriva DasOn the 10th of June around 70 devotees coming from Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto assembled in the Buddhist Retreat Center Pho Da Son in Val-des-Monts, Canada - a perfect setting to go into seclusion for three days and dive deeply into another reality: Harinama eva kevalam - the holy name alone is everything. The participants were keen to embark on this transcendental journey under the expert guidance of Devaki Mataji, and their hearts and minds were open in order to capture insights into the secret...
- 30 Jun 2016