Author Archives: H.H. Indradyumna Swami

On the final day of our Kartika parikrama we visited Varsana, the home of Srimati Radharani when she was a young girl. We spent hours traversing the beautiful area, sometimes stopping to have kirtan and katha. All along the way we prayed for service to…

As the auspicious month of Kartika drew to a close, our parikrama party choose to circumambulate sacred Govardhan Hill one more time. We knew well that Giriraja is very merciful to those who pray for eternal residence in Sri Vrindavan dhama.

The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram in the countryside, just on the banks of the Yamuna river, is a perfect replica of what all of Vrindavan must have looked like hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. We relished hearing and chanting in the sanctified atmosphere of that holy place realizing that our Kartika […]

The final album of our parikrama to Jaipur takes us to various spots throughout the city; the famous Amber Palace on a mountain overlooking the city, to Kanak Vrindavan where Radha Madhava, the original deities of Jayadeva Goswami, are worshipped and to a house program at a devotee’s home. Everywhere we continued kirtan and katha […]

“Is it a new moon or Her brilliant form? Is it a golden lotus or Her brilliant face? Are these Her two eyes or are they two cakora birds? Is this Her glance or is it a wave of nectar?” Such questions cannot be asked about Sri Radha. Her beauty exceeds that of any beautiful […]

One afternnon while in Jaipur we held an initiation for two young Ukrainian girls; Taralaksi dasi and Madhavi-lata dasi. The auspicious ceremony was made even more auspicious by the fact that it was held in the temple of Radha Gopinatha. Certainly an o…

In this album our parikrama party visits the most popular temple in Jaipur where Radha Govinda, the beloved deities of Srila Rupa Goswami, are worshipped. The outstanding feature of this temple is that each day tens of thousands of people visit to have the Lord’s darshan.

The city of Jaipur in Rajasthan is a popular tourist destination because of it’s colorful cultural heritage. It is even more fascinating for vaisnava devotees of the Lord, however, because many of the original Vrindavan deities reside there. This 1st of 3 Jaipur photo albums centers around our parikrama party’s visit to the temple of […]

Scripture says that Vrindavan is the most sacred place within the universe. Within Vrindavan, Govardhana Hill is considered the most holy. And on that transcendental mountain the lake of Radha Kunda is most sacred of all. The photography of Ananta Vrindavan das shows us why …

The other day we visited Surya-kunda, where the Sun God performed austerities to see and serve Lord Krsna. His wish was fulfilled when Srimate Radharani asked him to warm the Lord’s transcendental body with his rays after Krsna came out of the water from battling the Kaliya serpent. Surya kund is also a place where […]

Because our parikrama party consists mainly of Russian and Ukraine devotees we observed Govardhan Puja at the Radha Gokulananda Temple in Vrindavan, so we could translate each of the English lectures and talks into Russian. Everyone was excited because…

Tomorrow, October 25, ISKCON devotees in Vrindavan will officially launch a new book entitled, “Yamuna Devi – A Life of Unalloyed Devotion.” The two-volume set, authored by Yamuna devi’s dearmost friend Dinatarini dasi, describes Yamuna’s devi’s life as a devotee of Krsna and most notably as a disciple of her spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. This […]

Usually when someone mentions the downtown area of a city it conjures up images of big buildings, traffic jams, bars and discos. But downtown Vrindavan is a different story. The center of Vrindavan is full of ancient temples, deities, sadhus, stores se…

Vrinda kunda is situated in a beautiful rural area of Vrndavan Dhama. It is the place of Vrinda devi, who, as the helper of Purnamasi plays an important role in planning the daily pastimes of Radha and Krsna in Vraja. In that most sacred spot we had bh…

Yesterday we visited Premavan, the forest of love. Within Premavan is Prema-sarovara, a lake of love made from the combined tears of Radha and Krsna when they experienced intense separation from each other. The scenery there is reminiscent of what Vrin…

Yesterday we visited Pavana-sarovara, a sacred lake near Nandagram. Our program was the same as everyday; hearing and chanting the glories of Lord. Such sravanam and kirtanam seems to be especially potent in the holy dhama. Local tradition says that th…

Last night Brahmananda Dasa launched a new book “Swamiji” wherein Steven J. Rosen ( Satyaraja dasa ) recounts Brahmananda prabhu’s service and association with Srila Prabhupada in the early years of the Hare Krishna Movement. While reading and commenting on the book, published by Torchlight Publishing, Inc. Brahmananda prabhu gave rare and valuable insights into […]

Yavat and Ter Kadamba are favorite desinations for pilgrims visiting Vrindavan. Yavat is where Radharani lived with Her “husband” Abhimanyu. Ter Kadamaba is where Nanda Maharaja had a gosala of cows. It is also one of the places that Srila Rupa Goswami did bhajan. Our parikrama party sat for hours hearing the different pastimes that […]

Two days ago we formally welcomed a number of devotees into our Gaudiya Vaisnava family – Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON – by accepting them as disciples. The joy of the occasion was evident on the candidates faces and captured most expertly by our Kartika parikrama photographer, Ananta Vrindavan dasa. The ceremony took place near ISKCON’s gosala, […]

Govardhan parikrama is always one of the highlights for devotees during the month of Kartika in Vrindavan. Our parikrama party swelled to over 450 devotees as we walked around the sacred mountain, all the while praying to Giriraja to one day be able to…

Yesterday we went to Goluka, in the Vrindavan countryside near the Yamuna river. There we heard the pastimes of Krsna killing the Putana witch and sereral other demons. But mostly we focused on Mother Yasoda binding the Lord with her love. Hearing the …

Two days ago we celebrated the disappearance day of Srila Narottam das Thakur. What better place to observe the event than in Vrindavan, where he lived for many years studying under Srila Jiva Goswami with his dear friends, Srinivas Acarya and Syamanan…

Sringara-vat is just off the parikrama marg, not far from Kesi Ghat. It is a site of Radha and Krsna’s eternal pastimes and the first place that Lord Nityananda visited when He came to Vrindavan. Our parikrama party, now numbering close to 400 devotees, absorbed the mercy of Srngara -vat with many hours of kirtan […]

Yesterday we took 21 boats down the Yamuna river to the asrama of Durvasa Muni. Under a gigantic banyan tree that gives shade to that great sage’s dwelling we discussed his pastimes and had bhajan for many hours. Our parikrama seems to get sweeter day by day.

Volume 14, Chapter 4 Oct 12, 2014   Our team of 300 devotees was exhausted. We had already done 24 festivals along the Baltic Sea coast plus a “Krsna’s Village of Peace” festival at Woodstock, and now we were faced with the blissful but daunting prospect of doing 24 more over the second half of […]

Madhuvan, Vrindavan’s forest of sweetness, is the place of many of Radha and Krsna’s most nectarian pastimes. It is also famous for the place where Druva Maharaja performed penance and austerities to achieve his desire for a kingdom greater than his father’s. After having direct darsan of the Lord, however, he realised his greatest fortune […]

In Kokilavan, one of the many beautiful forests of Vrindavan, live many Kokila’s – or cuckoo birds. Radha and Krsna often meet in the pastorial setting of that forest. There is also a famous temple of Shanidev, or Saturn, that is popular amongst those who approach him for relief from his influence of punishing sinners. […]

On the first day of Kartika I had the unimaginable good fortune to chant 16 rounds on the original japa beads of Srila Jiva Goswami. I chanted slowly and attentively, all the while praying for a genuine taste for the holy names of the Lord. I was well …

“O friend, by great good fortune you have attained this body where you have heard Vrndavana’s wonderful glories and learned that everything in this world is like a dream. Don’t, don’t, don’t put any faith in the mind and body. Run to Vrndavana!” [ Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati, Sataka One, Text 80 ]

According to Srila Rupa Goswami even great devotees may not have the qualifications to visit Radha Kunda, the sacred bathing place of Srimate Radharani. What then of us aspiring devotees? It was only by the causeless mercy of our spiritual master, Sril…

“Oh my beloved Giriraj, I will take bath in all the holy rivers and bathing places near you. I will quench my thirst by drinking the ambrosial waters adorning your foothills and I will walk eternally in this holy dust of Vraja. I beg you Giriraj, kindly give me birth again and again in this […]

Mumbai’s “Thieves Market,” deep in the heart of the city, gets it’s name from notorious robbers of yore who would peddle their stolen goods throughout the market. More tame in modern times, the bazzar teems with items of antiquity like furniture, paintings, lamps, old photos, silverware and more — attracting collectors, tourists, locals and the […]

Macedonia, a landlocked country of 2 million people, is located in southeast Europe. It is bordered by Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. It is the birth place of two famous personalities: Alexander the Great in ancient times and Mother Teresa in re…

Yesterday, as soon as my flight arrived Skopje, Macedonia I was whisked away to a live 30-minute talk show on “24 News,” one of Macedonia’s main television channels. The theme of the program was, “Cultural Origins.” The show was viewed by 50,000 people. Amongst the many topics covered, I elaborated how our Krsna consciousness movement […]

ISKCON’s center in Budapest is a charming temple situated near the center of the city. Devotees run a popular vegetarian restaurant downtown and are much appreciated for their daily Food For Life prasdasam distribution. Both locals and tourists watch with interest when devotees perform regular harinam samkirtan and book distributors are a regular sight on […]

The rural community of New Vraja Dhama in Hungary, with 207 devotees and 50 cows, is Sivarama Swami’s offering of love to his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. Over two decades of selfless hard work by the Hungarian devotees has produced one of the finest projects in ISKCON. The presiding deities, Radha Syamasundara, are worshipped with […]

Our short stay in Zagreb was packed with a variety of programs; classes in the local temple, harinams, a newpaper interview, darsans and a big public program entilted, “Yoga Is Music.” Next stop on the Vaikunatha express: Hungary.

Before leaving Moscow yesterday we stopped near Red Square and the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral. I make it a point to visit there whenever I can. For me it is a place of pilgrimage because my spiritual master’s lotus feet graced those grounds on his one and only visit to Russia in 1971. It was […]

Moldova is a beautiful landlocked country with 3.5 million people in Eastern Europe. It is boardered by Romania and Ukraine. ISKCON has two temples there with 300 active devotees. During my visit I participated in several television shows, numerous new…

Concluding a full day of preaching here in Moldova, I met with a group of 40 distinguished scholars, professors, politicians, writers and poets in the evening. They asked many deep philosophical and spiritual questions and each one of them said they we…