Author Archives: Dandavats

By Urmila Devi Dasi

He will think, “I don’t like pain, so why should I give pain to an animal just so I can eat?” He’ll be honest: “I don’t like to be cheated, so why should I cheat others?” And he’ll always speak beneficially: “I like to hear the truth, I don’t like to be insulted, and I want to hear what is useful to me. Let me speak to others that way.” A truly educated person, therefore, will try not to hurt anyone, even by his words.

By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada So this dog’s philosophy will not help you, that “I have got this body, and how to enjoy the bodily sex life.” This is dog philosophy. A dog knows all these things. Your philosophy should be how …

By Dhameshvara Mahaprabhu Dasa In this article, I begin with a confession of what I experience as a common experience for men with an addiction to pornography, based on my life and deep empathetic conversations with others. I will share what I believe …

Sadbhuja Das: The Wonder Team is here After much awaiting, the team of the Manufacturing Company from Moscow arrived to Mayapur. A group of 6 engineers has come to our site to assemble the grand Kalashes. No time was wasted as they enthusiastically beg…

Indradyumna Swami: Over 1,000 devotees gathered for kirtan, classes and a beautiful Ratha Yatra in Depro, Ukraine over the weekend. It seemed the whole city was inundated in the nectar of the holy names!Read More…

By Madhava Smullen

From the very beginning, Tejomaya braved many austerities. He and Manonatha worked with Madhava Gosh in the garden, and would get badly suburnt after a whole day in the sun. By night, they would mix and carry cement used to build Prabhupada’s Palace. In October 1974, the two friends were initiated by Srila Prabhupada. Tejo was transferred full-time to the Palace construction crew, and became integral to the team of whom Prabhupada said, “These devotees are my jewels.”

Transcendental book distribution for going back to Godhead by Shastrakrit DasRead More…

The beauty of the lotus feet of the Lord is compared to the petals of a lotus flower which grows in the autumn season. By nature’s law, in autumn the dirty or muddy waters of rivers and lakes become very clean. At that time the lotus flowers growing in the lakes appear very bright and beautiful. The lotus flower itself is compared to the lotus feet of the Lord, and the petals are compared to the nails of the feet of the Lord.

By Swami B. A. Ashram

For those of us who love Agnideva prabhu and his kirtana, it has been far too long since his last CD. Of course, tracks from his most recent CDs, as well as from his older cassette albums and temple kirtanas from Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, etc., and, more recently, from kirtana festivals around the world, have circulated so widely and for so long that generations of devotees seem to have tunes we identify with him as part of our DNA. We hear the evidence of this in the cheering as Agnideva segues to another “classic Agni tune,” one of those tunes most second-generation devotees grew up with as their parents played them in the kitchen, in the car, and at bedtime, in a kirtana mela. And wherever Agnideva has gone the last few years, devotees have asked about his next CD. And Agni has responded by smilingly assuring them, “We’re working on it.”

By Anand Caitanya das

The conference was organized by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) on the occasion of 10th World Agri Tourism Day, with the main aim to promote Agri Tourism in Maharashtra. Ways to increase employment and investment opportunities in Agro Tourism sector were discussed at the conference. Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra and Pandurang Fundkar, Minister of Agriculture & Horticulture, Government of Maharashtra inaugurated the conference in the presence of Madan Yerawar, Minister of State for Tourism, Government of Maharashtra. On behalf of GEV, Mr. Neeraj Kapoor went and received the award at the hands of Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Tourism

By Romapada Swami Refining our ways of presenting Krishna consciousness as a movement according to time, place and circumstances, without compromising our principles. Subjects discussed: Equality, women’s position, ecology, interfaith discussion, pr…

While in Minsk, Belarus, I was going around distributing books with Vaninatha Vasu Prabhu. I asked him how he joined. He was a doctor in Minsk, a cardiologist. One day, walking down the sidewalk, he saw a devotee at a book table. He stopped and asked …

By Nartaka Gopala dasi Saturday, May 6, 2017: A group of four of us drove the 168 miles from Alachua, Florida to Clearwater Beach, Florida. It was very beautiful as we drove for miles across Old Tampa Bay with the ocean on both sides of the road. As we…

By Bhagavan Dasa Many works of art with sacred themes have been painted under the inspiration of ISKCON-founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. These paintings were originally intended to illustrate books by Prabhupada, author of many original wri…

By Bhakti Niskama Shanta, Ph.D. The orthodox tradition does not allow scientists to build their views on the basis of any divine revelation (scriptures) and thus scientific studies do not include any topics on soul, God and the eternal constitutional r…

It is very rare to come in contact with a pure devotee of Krishna in Kali-yuga. But thanks to the sacrifice of the devotees of Sankirtan – book distribution, many are able to get Srila Prabhupada’s mercy by getting his books.Read More…

By mk.ru

In the first case, a local resident Andrey Puchkov took part in the procession of hare Krishnas, where you just played the drum. The second made a speech before the concert in which they sang the ancient mantras in Sanskrit. The court both times found him guilty of violating the Law “On freedom of conscience and on religious associations”. And in a higher court, the lawyers proved that the actions Puchkov was no sign of missionary activity in the illegal exercise of which he was accused.

By Shyamasundar Das

Whenever you came to the Swami’s door, your heart was in your throat. (This feeling never left me, even after a thousand trips to that door.) There was a heightened sense that something marvelous was about to occur, a tingling in the blood. You never knew what to expect, just that it would be a wonderful surprise, whatever happened. He’d be sitting behind his little table or in his rocker clicking his beads, dressed in saffron, maybe with a white sweater, sunlight through the south-facing window shining on his freshly-oiled head and his face a radiant gold, emerging from some deep bliss—and he would welcome you no matter what hour of day or night.

By Anuttama das

Anuttama and Sanullah decided to create a forum for deep dialogue between Muslims and Vaiṣnavas in Washington, D.C.—perhaps at the same time providing a format and example for others to follow. It was obvious to both, that very large meetings were not conducive to dialogue that would be truly satisfying. However, their mutual experience of that large-scale event did give them an opportunity to reflect together on the process and transformative power of dialogue itself. It is during those conversations that Anuttama voiced his interest in organizing a small Hindu-Muslim dialogue in Washington D. C. He had confidence in such an approach, having been instrumental in the founding of the still-ongoing Vaiṣnava-Christian Dialogue in 1997. “Given Anuttama’s enthusiasm, his energy, and—particularly—his faith,” says Sanaullah, “I felt it was worth a try.”

By Antardwip das With a click of a button in the MayapurTV masteradmin, broadcasters can co-broadcast on their Facebook page. One single broadcast to MayapurTV gets split at our server to reach both www.mayapur.tv, your temple/individual website and no…

By Kesava Krsna dasa If we intend to be a credible alternative to the woes of society, we must analyze how we conduct ourselves in the public arena – namely the internet. Our discussions are by and large intelligent respectful dialogue. The occasional …

26th Annual Festival Honoring Srila Prabhupada May 27th and 28th, 2017 – Memorial Day Weekend. At ISKCON Los Angeles. If you have never experienced a Prabhupada Festival, we enthusiastically invite you to attend; and if you attended in the past, then …

Kirtan program with Tarana Chaitanya in Athens. Kavicandra Swami: “After a super feast devotees begged for more kirtan”Read More…

It is with our whole heart, that we humbly invite all of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples to Sri Vrindavan Dham, in honor of the solemn and auspicious occasion of the 40thAnniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s Tirobhava, on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of October 2017.

By Anand Caitanya das

Over 150 business professionals & entrepreneurs attended this event. By hearing the experiences of esteemed speakers, the attendees were empowered with answers to the questions “What is the dharma of business? And why is connecting with that dharma vital to the future of humanity and the planet?” Amit Chandra, noted businessman and MD, Bain Capital, called upon the audience to get involved in charitable works and learn to give back to the society. “We must spare at least one-third of the time to do social work,” he said. In a country which celebrates its wealth creators, Amit Chandra and his wife are known to be a couple that both give between 50-75% of their time and annual income to social causes. Many business leaders grapple with the issue of when is the right time to start giving, how much should they give, and should they get involved with their time? Sunil Sanghai in the question and answer session with Amit Chandra requested him to help answer this question for the assembled audience.

By Gauranga Das

The Smart Cities Award Ceremony was part of the Mega Event organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) and the Exhibitions India Group. The three-day event hosted over 400 global exhibitors from around 40 countries across 20,000 square-metres of exposition space on the themes of Buildings India, Solar India, Transport India, Smart Cities India and Water India. Along with the expo there was also a three day conference and other key programmes including the CEO Speaks, Mayor’s Conclave, Smart Cities India Awards, Smart Village Conclave and Youth Leadership Summit. GEV also participated as one of the panelists in the Smart Village conclave which was focused on bringing together individuals, institutions, Government, industry/Technocrats, NGOs, etc. to bridge the urban rural divide and provide best practices, learnings or case studies which the other villages can replicate or learn from.

By Atmananda dasa

There is no contradiction. Rather, we become both: simultaneously dependent and independent: independent for Krishna; both surrendered – thinking ourselves fully dependent – and autonomous. By becoming instruments, we act as little Krishnas, manifesting His brilliant and magnetic qualities, as Srila Prabhupada does. He instructs and guides us to become fully qualified – like touchstones – to transform others also, into pure servants of the servants of the Lord. Surrender means that we are willing and able to carry out the apparently impossible mission, the desire of guru and Lord Chaitanya, just as we see Arjuna doing on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

By Sunanda Das

For twelve days, from April 21st – May 2nd, Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari led the TOVP Fundraising Team consisting of Jananivas and Vraja Vilas prabhus on a multi-city tour of Malaysia. The results were astonishing and unprecedented for a relatively small country like Malaysia. Over $2 million U.S. in pledges was raised!!!

By Massimo Introvigne

The first is that this trend would not stay in Russia only, it will spread to neighboring countries. Already in Kazakhstan a Jehovah’s Witness, who moreover is suffering with cancer, has been sentenced to five years in a labour camp based on accusations of extremism very similar to those raised in Russia. The second is that these easy accusations of “extremism” will be rapidly extended to other groups. Some Baptist Protestants are already complaining that they are being attacked in Russia as “extremist”, and the same is true for the Hare Krishna (ISKCON) and other communities. But, as I said, with this definition of “extremism” nobody is safe.

By Devaki Devi Dasi When the diagnose of cancer hits us, we experience a sobering wake-up call. It might take some time to come to terms with it, and accept the facts of reality. We might struggle with a tendency for denial – no, can’t be! How can this…

By Mitra Dasa How many of you know Panchagauda? I was impressed with his management skills. The Vrndavan temple is so welcoming, so inviting, clean and on time, yet he doesn’t show any signs of stress. He always had time to talk with me. I took a half …

By Prishni Devi Dasi As one of the founding members of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, Sadaputa dasa left a large collection of historical materials pertaining to the early achievements of the BI during its pioneering unified phase. Part of the mission of…

Srila Prabhupada: “But one thing is, you were spending $900 monthly for deity expenses, and still you are spending $900, so if total income is increasing more than double, why not increase also expense for the deity? We may spend anything and everythin…

By Kesava Krsna dasa

If there is a method for advancing quickly, what is it? The beauty of it is, anyone can do it – married or unmarried, in or out of the temple, renounced or steeped in bhoga-tyaga. But one has to be prepared, because the weapon of detachment – asanga-sastrena BG.15.3, will develop as a natural consequence of sincere chanting.

By Bhuvana Pavani Devi DasiLord Caitanya then inquired: What is the most profitable thing in the world, the essence of all auspicious events? Ramananda Raya replied that there is nothing as profitable as the association of pure devotees.” (Teachings of…

By the GBC Brooklyn Temple Sale Committee

The pending sale of the ISKCON Brooklyn Temple (Radha Govinda Mandir) has generated interest, concern and even controversy in ISKCON, not just in the New York Metropolitan Area but also around the world, especially in light of the GBC Body’s stated opposition to the sale (see attached GBC Resolution no. 314). In order to foster openness, inclusivity and awareness of the current state of affairs as well as to dispel confusion and misconceptions, the GBC Brooklyn Temple Sale Committee is hosting an ISKCON Informational Town Hall Meeting at the Brooklyn Public Library on Monday, May 15, 2017 at 7:00 PM sharp. The evening’s program and ground rules are set forth below.

“I remember at the Ardha Kumbha Mela in Allahabad, when some of your disciples felt it was too difficult to rise early, take bath and attend the morning program with you. Seeing this, you encouraged us by personally going outside in the dark of night, at 3 A.M., to bathe in unheated water and in near freezing weather, despite your age and dwindling health. Then, wrapped head to toe in wool, you sat with us outside in the wet predawn cold for a full three-hour morning program—without fail. In this connection, I pray that this vision of you always remain framed in my heart to give me strength against austerities.”

By Romapada Swami

The process of retraction of bad habits can be summed up as follows: Recognition, Regret, Rectification, and Reinstatement – aided by saintly association and devotional practices. Retraction of bad habits was compared by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura as being synonymous to the jiva’s returning back to the spiritual world, because in effect these bad habits are nothing but the binding effects of our long material association and past activities. The first step in overcoming this material conditioning is of course to recognize the bad habits themselves. This recognition should be accompanied by sincere regret followed by firm resolve to give up the habit. But often we find that despite being aware and regretful for their habits, many people are unable to avoid their sinful tendencies, because of the lack of proper effort. It takes great commitment sustained over time to accomplish the result.

By Gargamuni das The man said thanks and walked away towards his next car. Little did he or I know how much that two minute exchange would alter my life forever. To this day, wherever he is, I thank him, for the bomb he dropped on my life that afternoo…