Author Archives: H.H. Indradyumna Swami

A precious jewel: Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s signature in his autobiography entitled, “Svalikhita Jivani.”

“All rituals and fasts associated with Vedic sacrifice, all bathing in holy places around the world, all penances and fasts within this world, thousands of recitals of Vedic literature, and hundreds of circumambulations of the entire surface of the earth cannot match even a sixteenth portion of the merit acquired by chanting the holy name […]

1.600 devotees enjoyed many hours of kirtan at the Sadhu Sanga Retreat in North Carolina over Memorial Day weekend. Words cannot begin to express the deep joy and satisfaction everyone experienced. Perhaps the following photos of Damodar-rati das can h…

On the way to the Sadhu Sanga Retreat we spent 3 blissful days at New Raman Reti in Alachua, Florida. We also visited the Krsna House in Gainsville. [ All photos by Damodar-rati dasa ]

“If you have got some time, the best thing would be to chant Hare Krishna more and more. Because our life is very short we have to finish our Krishna Consciousness in this life very quickly. We do not know when we shall meet our next death, our next exit from this platform. But before […]

This is a photo of Vladimir, a highly decorated Russian soldier, who by chance walked into our hall program in Yekaterinburg. He fought for years with Russian special forces in both Afghanistan and Chechnya. After listening to my lecture he approached me and said, “Thank you for coming to our country. Yours is a message […]

Welcoming new initiates into the family of ISKCON. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Sochi is located on the Black Sea in southern Russia. It is Russia’s largest resort city. It hosted the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. ISKCON has an attractive temple in a forested area 15 minutes from the city center. Devotees regularly do harinama and book distribution throughout the beautiful city.

A page from Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur’s personal handwritten song book. A rare gem! How fortunate we are to see it.

Krasnodar is located on the Kuban River about 148 kilometers northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in Russia. It was founded on January 12, 1794 as Yekaterinodar, meaning “Catherine’s Gift” in recognition of Catherine the Great’s grant of land to the Black Sea Cossacks. ISKCON has a bustling community of over 300 devotees […]

The Final Moments of Hiranyakashipu From the Subhasita-ratna-bhandagara [When Hiranyakashipu saw his servant running towards him in fear, he spoke as follows:] Hiranyakashipu: “What is it? What is it?” Servant: “O Lord! It is a lion!” Hiranyakashipu: “So what?” Servant: “O Lord! He has a human body! I have never seen such a strange creature.” […]

“In the midst of the age of quarrel, devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu hear songs glorifying the bonefide spirtual master. With much enthusiasm they sing the maha mantra of Lord Hari’s names. They adore their spiritual masters and all saintly devotees of the Lord.” [ Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Sri-Susloka-sloka-satakam, sloka 81 ]

“I am overjoyed to hear that your enthusiasm for chanting is increasing. As our contaminations are removed by chanting, the Lord’s form, qualities, and pastimes will be revealed to us in the holy name. There is no point in making a separate effort to artificially remember the Lord’s form, qualities, and pastimes. The Lord and […]

“Japa must be heart deep and not only with the lips like something mechanical – in other words, chanting with the heart is our goal.” [ Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura ]

” It is My vow that if one only once seriously surrenders unto Me saying, ‘My dear Lord, from this day I am Yours,’ and prays to Me for courage, I shall immediately award courage to that person, and he will always remain safe from that time on.” [ Lord Ramacandra, Ramayana, Yuddha-kanda 18.33, quoted […]

“Srila Prabhupada was visiting Bombay for what turned out to be one of the last times. Although the building was still under construction, his quarters, at his request, had been hastily prepared and he had moved in. Srila Prabhupada was in poor health by this time, and everything was a great effort for him, but, […]

Dear Devotees: Today at 10:05 in the morning in the holy land of Vrindavan, Rasada dasa, a dear godbrother and friend of mine, left this world to join Srila Prabhupada in his eternal pastimes. A number of prominent devotees were present at his side. Ra…

Rostov-on-Don is known as one of the toughest cities in Russia. Add to that the constant flow of military vehicles, Russian troops and weapons across the nearby border with Ukraine and you have a very volatile situation. As a result, Krsna consciousnes…

Loved you once, Love you still, Always have, Always will.

Chanting All Thirty-Two Syllables “As Srila Prabhupada’s secretary and more than once in any case, I sat before Srila Prabhupada chanting my japa. Sometimes we hear people, and myself, saying, ‘Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare. Srila Prabhupada would stop me, and more than once, say to me. ‘Chant the entire mantra,’ and […]

Lots of time to chant as I recuperate. The real medicine. “Just always chant Hare Krsna. Never mind whether you are in a factory or in a hell, in a shack or in a skyscraper – it doesn’t matter. Just go on chanting: Hare Krsna, HareKrsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama […]

Being in and out of hospitals the last few weeks I have seen alot of people suffering. I am eager to get back on samkirtan and chant the holy names for the benefit of the fallen souls. “If the surface of the globe is overflooded with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, the people […]

Dear devotees, Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I would like to thank all of you for your concern, your care and especially your prayers during these last few days. As my dear friend Govinda Swami reported, I wa…

It was with great sadness that we left Tatarstan yesterday. The small group of devotees pushing on Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement there – so far away from the rest of the world – are the sweetest devotees you could ever imagine. Please everyone send them your blessings!

Krsna consciousness continues to grow in leaps and bounds throughout Russia, 44 years after Srila Prabhupada visited Moscow. I never cease to be amazed at the number and quality of people joining. This was especially evident when myself and Bada Haridas did last Sunday’s love feast program in Moscow. Easy to love these devotees with […]

By dint of circumstances I have been forced to think of my own welfare this past month. Having been saved, I am now free to travel again and think of the welfare of others. My dear Lord, thank you! I will serve You well. “‘He He Krsna! O ocean of mercy! Protect! Please protect these […]

Attendance was down at this year’s Durban Ratha Yatra because of heavy rain. Nevertheless, thousands braved the wet weather to enjoy 4 days of transcendental festivities. A high point was when national television came and interviewed us. The interviewer, a young lady who dressed in a sari for the occasion, chanted and danced with us […]

Thousands of people turned up for Durban’s 27th Ratha Yatra festival along the beachfront yesterday. The 5-hour parade captured the attention of both locals and tourists as 3 large chariots rumbled through the streets. The festival continues for 3 more days with attractions in an assortment of tents, large and small, not far from the […]

Разъяренному Маха-Вишну самосветящемуся вездесущему Нрисимхе в явлении страшному и всеблагому как смерть самой смерти – поклоны. [ Нарасимха-анустубха мантра ]

When, by His grace, the Lord puts His devotee into difficulty, many lessons are to be learned. In the following days I will humbly try to share the realizations I got during my recent bout with cancer. “One who, at the time of death, chants the holy name, ‘Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!’ will not have to […]

“A person who has developed detachment can give up the bondage of material society, friendship and love, and a person who undergoes great suffering gradually becomes, out of hopelessness, detached and indifferent to the material world. Thus, due to my great suffering, such detachment awoke in my heart; yet how could I have undergone such […]

Just before leaving India a few weeks ago we recorded a promotional video of our theater, Usa and Aniruddha, in a proffesional studio in Mumbai.The filming took an entire day. Once the video is edited and completed we will use it to promote our show in…

As I was getting into my taxi to leave Vrindavan today literally hundreds of thousands of people were on the parikrama marg, circumambulating the holy town. The crowds were so big that my taxi couldn’t move an inch. So I got out of the car and began taking photographs of all the beautiful people passing […]

Tomorrow I am leaving Vrindavan. I have been fortunate to have spent much of the past 5 months in this transcendental abode. Today I went out to Radha Kunda to offer prayers of gratitude and ask blessings for my forthcoming preaching in the west. I als…

Nashik was the abode of Lord Rama during His 14 years in exile and one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in present day India. The beautiful Pancavati forest once covered the entire area. Nashik is located on the banks of the sacred Godavari riv…

The famous temple of Trimbakeshwar is situated 25 kilometers from the city of Nashik, in the state Maharashtra. Inside the ancient temple is one of the 12 famous Jyotirlingas, self manifested deities of Lord Siva, found in India. It has been a place of…

Our 6 week festival tour in the Mumbai area is finally coming to a conclusion. Yesterday, while doing some errands, I took photos of life in the city, comparing old India with that of the new.

“If anyone thinks of Me, when in sound mind and body, as the very cause and all pervading personality of this universe and as one without birth, then I assure you that I will remember this devotee of Mine when upon his deathbed, lying helplessly like a stone or a log of wood. I will […]

Yesterday I went to a rough part of Mumbai to pick up a puja plate I had repaired in an old junk shop. Several ethnic groups live side by side in a tense neighborhood surrounded by poverty and filth. To my surprise I found Lord Jagannatha and Lord Bala…

The Radha Vrindavan Chandra Temple in Pune, India is situated on 6 acres of land just minutes from the center of the city. They have a congregation of over 2,000 members. 200 brahmacaris live permanently in the temple and construction is going on to ev…