By indiatimes.comBhaktivedanta Manor's serene and peaceful grounds were transformed into a magnificent festival, brought to life with the sound of music, dancing, stage shows, face paintings, stalls selling books, fresh organic produce, jewellery, musical instruments, and CDs. One of the major highlights of the festival held yesterday at Watford, northwest of central London, was the recreation of the beautiful forests of Vrindavan in India where Lord Krishna played when he was growing up.
...-
- 18 Aug 2014
By Tulsi GabbardWhen God appears in this world, He does not do so because He is forced to. Rather, He appears in this world out of His divine love for all living beings and Mother Earth herself. God loves us and beckons to us to love Him. His very essence is divine love. Krishna is all-loving and all-lovable. And the more our love for Him grows, so does our love for others, regardless of their race, religion, or nationality. Such divine love is the essence of Krishna, the essence of Janmashtami, and the essence of real religion.
...- 17 Aug 2014
By Ravindra-svarupa DasaAll over the world we find the kind of literature we call scripture. These works tell us a particular kind of tale. They report those extraordinary occasions on which the divine penetrated into our world, and our tiny space and time housed for a while the eternal and infinite. Witnesses to these incursions, utterly changed by what they had seen, found themselves compelled to pour into the world’s indifferent and disbelieving ear their strange and powerful tales. And just because these witnesses were so changed, others listened, and...
- 17 Aug 2014
By Antardwip DasOver one hundred ISKCON temples and individuals already use this free platform, and provide a much appreciated service to their congregations and devotees world-wide. The service is very reliable with extra server capacity provided for festivals like Janmasthami. The software is constantly getting updated and there are lots of viewers online eager to view some inspiring live broadcast. Join in a great team of people exploring the potential of this opportunity to reach as many people as possible with the Message of Lord Chaitanya. <...
- 17 Aug 2014
By Mayapur Sasi dasaFor the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the North American results from the book distribution for the month of July
...- 16 Aug 2014
By Bhaktisiddhanta SwamiDuring Independence day, on behalf of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Iskcon devotees from Rādhā Kunda assisted in a long-range plan of tree replantation around Giri Govardana. Perhaps a feather within the worldwide mission, is the care for the Holy Dhāma through dhāma seva; a tribute to a place where the founder ācārya desired to circumambulate in his final physical days.
...- 16 Aug 2014
By Yogesh Jhanwar And Naman KashyapBooks are Basis- The same holds true for these students too. Nadia Nath Nimai prabhu is determined to help these devotees to have access to the books of Srila Prabhupada in a language they can read- Braille. However, since BBT doesn’t have any Hindi publication in Braille, this seems to be a long haul. Nevertheless, Nadia Nath Nimai prabhu is unfazed and has even acquired a Braille printer recently as donation. Therefore we humbly appeal to the BBT to help these devotees by proving Hindi pdf copies of books of Srila Prab...
- 16 Aug 2014
By Chaitanya Charan dasThe Srimad Bhagavatam describes its own genesis through the narrative of Vyasadeva, the sage who authored a phenomenal canon of scriptural works. He was a literary super-star. Despite his ability and productivity, he felt inexplicably incomplete. To gain relief, what did he do? He turned inward and upward: inward to introspect, and upward to consult his spiritual master, the celestial sage Narada. Both introspection and instruction led him to the same conclusion: he hadn’t used his talents for their ultimate purpose – glorifying th...
- 15 Aug 2014
By Praghosa dasaThe world we experience often seems so insane and thus the desire for shelter, protection and love is present in all living entities. To perceive the world differently and avail of that protection and shelter, we simply need to accept our dependence on that supreme being who has most recently advented as Sri Krishna Caitanya. Please enjoy this video and allow your insecurities to simply slip away and dissolve into the bliss of loving meditation on our supreme lord.
...- 15 Aug 2014
By Bhaktin Elle MitchellThe Boston center of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, established in 1968 and now known as New Gundica Dham, was one of the most prominent temples in the early years of the Hare Krishna movement. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada set a number of milestones in Boston, distinguishing the yatra's position as a significant center for the development of Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtana movement in the west. It was at Boston’s Commonwealth Pier in 1965 that Srila Prabhupada first set foot on Western soi...
- 15 Aug 2014
By Gadhadara dasDevotees along with Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra arrived from Hare Krishna Centre, Medan, a day ahead of the festival at Binjai to make the necessary arrangements. The festival was arranged at the Mariaman (Mother Durga) Temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples at the heart of Binjai City. The stage had been prepared; the chariot was going through final adjustments; the devotees, around fifteen to twenty, were eagerly making arrangements for prasadam, bhoga offerings and decorations. So many fruits were placed on the chariot for deco...
- 15 Aug 2014
By Manorama dasaEach year, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust publishes a limited number of copies of a Vyasa-puja book—a collection of homages to Srila Prabhupada from devotees and temples all over the world. Srila Prabhupada's unique position as the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is significant in numerous ways. Essentially, he is the instructing spiritual master for everyone within ISKCON.
...- 15 Aug 2014
By TOVP staffThe Mayapur city, Prabhupada said, would be the fulfillment of the desires of the previous acaryas. The city would grow to a population of fifty thousand and would become the spiritual capital of the world. With its gigantic temple in the center and separate quarters for brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras, the city would be a model for all other cities. The day would come when the world’s cities would be ruined, and humanity would take refuge in cities modeled after Mayapur. The development of Mayapur would mark the beginning of a Krsn...
- 15 Aug 2014
By Basu Ghosh DasIndore, the economic capitol and largest city in Madhya Pradesh, is going to become the home of a major ISKCON Sri Sri Radha Govinda temple. On the auspicious day of Baladev Purnima, the full moon day in the Hindu month of Shraavan, observed by Gaudiya Vaishnavas as the appearance day of Lord Balaram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna, a "bhumi puja" - "worship of the earth" ceremony was performed to initiate the construction activity there.
...- 14 Aug 2014
By Prabhupada priya devi dasiOn one of Srila Prabhupada’s visits to London, a young women had inquired, “Srila Prabhupada, do they preach Bhagavad-gita in Hell?” His face was serious as he replied with a rhetorical question, “This London is not Hell?” The woman was puzzled and thought perhaps Srila Prabhupada had not understood her question so she repeated it. Srila Prabhupada responded even more emphatically, “I am saying, this London is not Hell?”
...- 14 Aug 2014
By Nrsimha Caitanya dasThen, a historical moment occurred - after 10 years, our Czech Padayatra was visited by His Holiness Lokanath Swami, the minister for Padayatra! His holy presence was so transcendental and sweet, that we were immediately transferred directly to the spiritual world! He also participated in two evening programs for public, where he addressed people with a talk and he lead lively kirtan. Altogether, we held 121st Czech Padayatra completed! Again it was such a blissful and unforgettable event!
...- 13 Aug 2014
By Niranjana SwamiBy Lord Krishna's grace, the first phase of our refugee relief effort in Ukraine has been very successful in transporting, securing, and sheltering the lives of over two hundred of His devotees, including a large number of children. Ukrainian leaders managed to relocate and accommodate the refugees' families, provide adults with temporary or permanent employment and single mothers with adequate maintenance for them and their dependent children. Unfortunately, due to disrupted communications in areas of combat, we cannot provide an exact num...
- 13 Aug 2014
By ISKCON GBC Executive CommitteeOn behalf of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission and the entire International Society for Krishna Consciousness we, the Executive Committee of the GBC, join the chorus of tributes from around the world to honor His Grace Madhudvisa Prabhu, who departed from this world on August 5, 2014. Madhudvisa Prabhu was one of the earliest disciples of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and immediately applied his enthusiastic nature to the Sankirtana Movement. As a prominent figure of the original Hari-nama sankirtana groups of devotee...
- 11 Aug 2014
By Pusta Krishna dasHe was honest and admitted how little he knew of Krishna consciousness at the time, but he served in his own infectiously happy mood. He and I spoke rather honestly and openly about our own frailties in life. He never tried to portray himself as a “big, big” self-important person. Rather, he was a salt of the earth kind of person. Very simple hearted. His place in the history of sankirtan is very well established by his own peculiar style of sankirtan chanting of the Holy Names. He was the first to chant the Holy Names very rapidly i...
- 9 Aug 2014
By The GuardianI'm a qualified accountant, I work in Croydon at the Home Office, and people there call me Ash but at the Hare Krishna temple I'm Acyuta. I got involved with the Hare Krishna movement in my last year of uni about 10 years ago. A few monks came down, and gave a class on karma and why bad things happen to good people, and I found answers I had been looking for. I was initiated in 2007, and given a baptism name: Acyuta Charan Das.
...- 9 Aug 2014
By the GBC Strategic Planning TeamIf you're interested in seeing ISKCON grow in a healthy, sustainable way, if you see us as a global community with high standards of excellence in our outreach and in how we care for one another, and if you are a goal-oriented team player who knows how to take an idea and get it into the world of action, we'd like to speak to you.
...- 9 Aug 2014
By the GBC Strategic Planning TeamA Comprehensive Summary, Our Service, A Growing Need, The Strategic Initiatives, The Iskcon Constitution, Srila Prabhupada’s Position, Parallel Lines Of Authority And Economy, Iskcon Culture, Building Capacity For Leadership, Team building, Succession, Gbc Organizational Development, Organizational And Environmental Scanning, Regional Leadership, Expanding Outreach, Devotee Care, Special Initiatives, Service Organizations And Affiliates, Conflicts Of Interest, Bringing The Plan Into The World Of Action, Ministries And Off...
- 8 Aug 2014
By Kaisori DasiI'm writing to you about the GBC strategic planning work and how you can help. Strategic planning is about looking toward the future, and that's a service that requires help from many devotees with all kinds of skills. The GBC began its strategic planning work to help ISKCON grow into a healthy, sustainable, world-class organization. If you wish to see ISKCON as a global community with high standards of excellence in every area of its endeavors, please read on.
...- 8 Aug 2014
By Indradyumna Swami"Last year," the young man continued, "I went to Woodstock and met you people there. I went to the Questions and Answers tent and listened attentively. Suddenly I had all the answers to the questions of life that I had been asking. It was as if a light had been turned on. Seriously. I wanted to buy the book that the speaker was quoting from, the Bhagavad Gita, but I had no money. I have been waiting all year to buy the Bhagavad Gita. I was so surprised to find you people in town today. In fact I just walked into this festival by chance."...
- 8 Aug 2014