Author Archives: Admin108

By Lokanath Swami

In 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 went on to walk for almost a year in India, doing book distribution all along the way. “People are much less defensive there, and they reciprocated with us more than they did in the West,” he said. “In India you’re not a sect member but a genuine representative of a tradition. You have every reason to feel your value. In India you even take pride in being Srila Prabhupada’s representative, whereas in Europe you always have to fight that sect image they put on you.”

Russia: Five Week Padayatra November 4, 2015 – From July 10th to August 25th 2015 a group of devotees from 8 different cities walked from Rostov-on-don to Anapa. – Among the participants were 3 temple devotees , 23 members of the congregation (10 grhastas, 12 grhastis, 3 brahmacaris and 3 teen-agers). Every day local devotees joined the party, bringing the total up to 50. – Padayatris did 1 public festival and 5 home programs. – They visited 6 cities: Rostov, Taganrog, Stavropol, Essentuki, Krasnodar and Anapa. – They chanted the maha-mantra for around 63 hours, held 3 kirtan melas and 3 sankirtana educational courses. – 4 new devotee joined – Book distributed by 3-6 devotees: 819 small and 1 maha big
Photos and videos: https://cloud.mail.ru/public/Eq3o/FNE3McMWg

Vaishnavanghri Sevaka das: Two historical statements about the transcendental literature of Lord Krishna have created a divine atmosphere to reclaim the fallen souls of Kaliyuga around the world.Read More…

By Padmapani das Words 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-…

By Giriraj Swami A few days before he was to leave us, Srila Prabhupada expressed a desire to travel by bullock cart to different holy places in India. His Holiness Lokanath Swami had been traveling by bullock cart to different places of pilgrimage, a…

By Radhanath Swami We Celebrate Both, Appearance & Disappearance: On the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Prabhupada taught us how to observe this day of the disappearance of the Guru. He explained that there is no …

November 15. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
It is significant that Prabhupada referred to his work as a “Movement.” This doesn’t refer to political agitation with lobbying or marches on the Capital; it refers to the dancing in kirtan in the streets, and in the movement of gathering numbers of disciples all over the world to create a favorable eddy against the current of Kali-yuga disasters. Prabhupada’s movement is like the dance of a young cowherd boy upon the many, many hoods of the poisonous serpent. Prabhupada is still engaged in his movement, still dancing for you and me, and waiting for us to join the dance. To hold back during this dance means to miss the whole purpose of human existence. Prabhupada is gesturing, “Get up and dance. Just surrender to Krishna. Do as I am doing. Do the ‘Swami Step’ back to the spiritual world with me.” Let us take courage in Prabhupada’s words: “If You have brought me here to dance, then please make me dance as You like.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490

Lakhs of Pilgrims throng Braj for Govardhan Puja.
Over one lakh pilgrims thronged the ghats in Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh on Friday and took a dip in Yamuna river on the occasion of Bhai Dooj, officials said. Thousands of brothers and sisters congregated at the Vishram Ghat in Mathura for the special bath meant to appease the Hindu god of death, Yam Raj. Priest Yamuna Das Chaubey said the river is believed to be the sister of Yam Raj, and brothers and sisters should take a dip together on the day. “Only in Mathura, you have a temple of brother and sister,” he said. The Yamuna ghats in Vrindavan and Mathura were swept clean and barricades put up to regulate crowds. “Over one lakh pilgrims, including many NRIs, reached the ghats on Friday,” an official said. A shopkeeper near the Dwarkadheesh Temple said all hotels near the ghats were packed with devotees.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/MUL7DU

Message from the french devotees: Hare Krishna dear Friends
Thank you so much for your concern for the devotees in Paris. We are situated in some distance out of the city, so all the temple devotees are safe. This is another reminder to become serious…

Govardhan Puja 2015 – ISKCON Mayapur (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Vedic scriptures say: “Even if one distributes ten million cows in charity during an eclipse of the sun, lives at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuma for millions of years, or gives a mountain of gold in sacrifice to the brahmanas, he does not earn one hundredth part of the merit derived from chanting Hare Krishna.” (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 3.79 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/zV8sAf

The devotees perform Sankirtana Yajna in Paris, France.
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna mantra is specifically mentioned in many Upanisads, such as the Kali-santarana Upanishad, where it is said: “After searching through al the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting of Hare Krishna.” (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 3.40 Purport)

Shobha Yatra around Vrindavan with Srila Prabhupada (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada’s murti is taken around Vrindavana on a palanquin followed by many of his disciples, grand-disciples, followers. friends and well-wishers.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/DKcq8g

The Sacred Land Of Kurukshetra (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Our parikrama party visited Kurukshetra, where we took darshan of the exact place where Lord Krsna spoke the Bhagavad Gita. We also had an ecstatic harinam around the sacred lakes …

Kavicandra Swami reports the news from the preaching of the Sankirtana movement in many Asian countries (19 min video)
China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Bali, also Israel and west Africa.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/nK0Sx7Read More…

Dallas Plans 50 Hours of Kirtan for ISKCON’s 50th.
For the past seven years, Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji Mandir in Dallas has rung in the new year with an epic multi-hour community kirtan organized by second-generation devotees. From twelve hours in its first year, it has grown to twenty-four hours, and even featured a thirty-six-hour marathon for its fifth anniversary. This New Year’s Eve, the community is going above and beyond with fifty hours of kirtan in celebration of both the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the US in 2015, and the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s incorporation in 2016.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/9VBMrh

Little Conch: ‘Breaking News: Shootings and explosions in Paris’
Last night as I laid my head to the pillow, a red notification popped up on my phone. ‘Breaking News: Shootings and explosions in Paris’, it announced. The disaster had just happened, mere minutes earlier. There was very little information, just a handful of facts and speculations. I closed my eyes with a sigh and a prayer. Earlier that evening at home we had sat around a live stream from Wembley Stadium of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dazzling welcome reception to the UK. There was a sparkling stream of dancers, a full symphonic orchestra, giant rangolis in national colours, and much general hoo-ha. Modi spoke from the podium on India’s bright future, painting a vision of a country energised by solar power and high speed trains.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/1PZzml

November 14. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
One of my favorite lines from the poems that Prabhupada wrote is, “Make me dance, make me dance, O Lord make me dance as You like.” Prabhupada declared himself a puppet in the hands of Krishna, and he asked Krishna to please fulfill the actual meaning of the name Bhaktivedanta. That poem wasn’t written as the musings of a reclusive scholar, it was written on board the Jaladuta, a freighter with one Indian-style passenger cabin. The one passenger, Bhaktivedanta Swami, had no money, yet he was striking out for America. The poem was written by a preacher, who although fearless, appeared to be momentarily overcome by his first sight of an American city. Even Lord Krishna hesitated when He faced the Aghasura demon. Srila Prabhupada didn’t hesitate in his purpose or waver in his determination, but he realized and admitted his helpless situation to Krishna, his friend.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490

By Giriraj Swami After starting his mission in New York and San Francisco, Srila Prabhupada suffered a stroke, and after all efforts to recover in America had failed, he decided to return to India to recoup his health. Before his departure, he visited …

The Hare Krishna devotees in London (3 min video)
We spent a week with a group of modern day samaritans. We wanted to know what they believed in and how they function in modern society.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/rFXpuhRead More…

By Ash Elder

Many 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.

Plaque installed in honour of H.g Surabhi Prabhu (Album with photos)
ISKCON Vrindavan
Find them here: https://goo.gl/1nJoS3Read More…

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 fru…

Launch of Lokanath Swami’s Vraja-mandala Darsana at Govardhan Eco-village.
During the recently held midterm GBC meetings and on the inauguration of the Twelve forests of Vrindavan, HH Radhanath Swami also Lokanath Swami’s Vraja-mandala book with the following: Lokanath Maharaja, Haribol!! Lokanath Swami Maharaja has been going for decades taking hundreds and hundreds and thousands of devotees on Vraja mandala Parikrama and he has compiled this book with all the information that he has researched and all the realisations that he has and all the enthusiasm is incredible and all the devotees had been with him. And now here I, we, have Vraja-mandala Darsana, a thirty days Parikrama series. Haribol!! I don’t have to ask you to purchase a book. I don’t think you could resist. We all thank you Lokanath Swami Maharaja . Thank you for your wonderful encouragement here at Govardhan Eco-village. Then Maharaja gave a tour of the Vrindavan project to the assembled devotees.

The Most Sacred Path! (10 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: The parikrama marg, the path around Vrindavan, has been traversed by pilgrims daily for thousands of years. The 10 kilometer walk takes 3 hours. Unlimited spiritual benefit is incurred by walking around Vrindavan’s thousands of temples, samadhis, sacred cows and people. This is especially true during the month of Kartika, when one’s devotional practices are enhanced a thousand times over.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/ANg533

Biggest Ratha Yatra In Mathura!
In keeping with Srila Prabhupada’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations, ISKCON Vrindavan’s namahatta department is organizing the biggest RathaYyatra in 20 years in Lord Krishna’s birthplace, Mathura.
A host of dignitaries, sadus and international devotees are expected to be pulling the Lord of the universe with His Brother Lord Balarama and Sister Lady Subhadra in to His birthplace.
His Grace Radha Shyamsundar, head of ISKCON Vrindavan Namahatta Department said: “ This is truly a momentous occasion for ISKCON in Vrindavan. We are delighted to say that we had the full cooperation of the authorities concerned. Top class arrangements have been made to welcome Their Lordships to Mathura. The cultural programs will certainly melt the hearts of our guests. Best prasadam arrangements have been made. We invite everyone to come and participate in glorification of our founder-acharya, Srila Prabhupada.
DATE: 16 NOVEMBER 2015
TIME: 09:00AM
ROUTE: KEDARNATH DHAM, MASANI CHAURAHA
Read more: https://goo.gl/y0NTSJ

November 13. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
In 1965, Srila Prabhupada had no Movement to manage. He was relatively free to work on the Srimad-Bhagavatam, but he had other things that took up his time. Every morning he had to take a long walk from the yoga studio room on 72nd Street to Dr. Mishra’s apartment on Riverside Drive where he cooked his lunch. He also was involved in trying to buy a building as a temple and writing many thoughtful letters to India seeking support. He also washed his own clothes daily and sometimes spoke to a few young men who would come to his room and had to instruct them in Krishna consciousness. Today’s meditation describes how throughout his career Prabhupada had to sacrifice time in writing his books to execute other activities in his mission.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490

Parikrama in Vrindavana (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: A walk around Vrindavan during Kartika reveals the beauty and sanctity of it’s ancient culture.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/8fD13c

My Mother Made Us Feel Valued and Included (6 min video)
Gopisvari Dasi shares how her mother raised her and her siblings in the most beautiful way. She made each one of them feel included and valued. Because she was always happy even with very little…

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. Back To Godhead – The Hare Krsna MantraOur chanting party consists of over a hundred members, fr…

Goverdhan Puja in the temple Courtyard, Shree Shree Krishna Balarama Temple – ISKCON Vrindavan (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EyNh0DRead More…

By Ravindra Svarupa dasa On 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 e…

By Niranjana Swami Management is a headache. It can be a very big headache. But I’ll tell you why I’ve taken up such a responsibility for so many years. It’s because I see it in relationship to serving Srila Prabhupada’s mission; because, I’m one hundr…

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s Diwali Message 2015 (2 min video)
As we light our lamps on Diwali, may we meditate upon its deeper meaning, and choose light over darkness every day!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/f7kO12

Mayesvara Dasa: The celebration of Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for the abundance of food we might otherwise take for granted.Read More…

Vatican Emissary Sends Divali Message of Goodwill.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, drafted a message to Hindu communities world-wide on the occasion of Diwali, or Deepavali, the Hindu or Vedic New Year. Cardinal Tauran led the Catholic delegation to the first Hindu-Catholic Dialogue in the United States. Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s Minister of Communications represented ISKCON at that historic event.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/7o42Dh

Govardhana Puja to Uplift Devotees with a Mountain of Sweetness.
It’s not something you see every day. A group of young girls and boys are huddled in the middle of the temple hall, some shocked and some cheering. They’re looking unbelievingly at the particularly effulgent boy at their center as he lifts an impossibly heavy burden. The young boys and girls might be made of cardboard, but their emotion and the divine pastime they’re portraying shines through as if it’s really there. The hill Lord Krishna’s lifting, fashioned out of cloth by artist Laksmana Dasi, looks like it weighs a ton. And above it, hanging high above the the temple hall, the demigod Indra grips a dark cloud and peers over the edge as shimmering icicle lights make it look as if it’s really raining through flashes of lightning.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/OjwNOK

By the GBC Strategic Planning Team

The 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 Consciousness and care for devotees. We learned about the GBC’s strategic plan and the work being done to implement it. We listened to Srimad-Bhagavatam classes given by our most senior leaders. We took part in unforgettable parikramas and kirtanas. We relished the association of so many devotees that are performing similar services.

November 12. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Today’s meditation is a general reflection on Prabhupada’s books. Prabhupada always did the needful – whatever was best for spreading Krishna consciousness. His own Krishna consciousness was mature; therefore, he wanted to give Krishna consciousness to others. As he preached, his own enthusiasm and attachment to Krishna increased more and more. Although he was perfect, the ocean of Krishna consciousness is always increasing. The BBT publishers list many of Prabhupada’s accomplishments in the “About the Author” section at the end of Prabhupada’s books. Finally they state, “Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution, however, is his books.” Thus we think of Prabhupada as a writer of transcendental literature. He was a translator and a commentator on sastra. He was a philosophical writer who carefully represented the parampara in modern English. His writing contained his personal experiences and realizations.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490

Harinama in Podolsk (Album with photos)
Podolsk is an industrial city of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River.
Srila Prabhupada: Kirtan means sometimes chanting with music, and sometimes speaking. Both of them are kirtan. Kirtayati it…