Author Archives: Dandavats

By Parasuram Das Yesterday was a historic day in Prasad Distribution, it was the first day cooking at “Krishna’s Castle”, the new Prasad Distribution kitchen/ Temple in the City of London. The City of London is a one mile area, established by the Roman…

By Lokanath Swami

Tamal Krishna Maharaj had come back to Bombay and in the meantime something happened with me. I was getting ready for marriage, it was arranged, temple president was involved and my parents were very happy, thinking that I became normal so they also had come and everything was but then, on the day of the ceremony, the girl’s parents came and then they parked the car, some distance away from the temple. They said jewelleries and sarees for you, please come to the car, they brought her to the car, and made her sit down in the car and (actioning they drove the car away), they kidnaped her. I was very much down thinking why bad things are happening to good person like me?

Balabhadra das talks about how religious principles are derived from protecting cows. Srimad Bhagavatam class at ISKCON Houston, February 18, 2018.Read More…

By Partha Das Srila Prabhupada said the chanting of Hare Krishna is the panacea for all material problems and all diseases. But at least for myself I find it’s very hard to chant attentively day after day, month after month, year after year. It’s very …

By Sacinandana Swami “One should become like the ocean. The ocean is filled by many thousands of rivers, and millions of tons of its water evaporates into clouds, yet the ocean is the same unagitated ocean. The laws of nature may work, but if one i…

By Sukanti Radha Dasi

The TOVP World Tour continues and is now being organized to visit nine European Countries in the Spring of 2018. Led by Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s divine lotus shoes (Padukas) and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s sacred helmet (Sitari) from the Mayapur Chandodaya Mandir, They will be accompanied by His Grace Jananivas prabhu (head pujari of Mayapur), His Grace Ambarisa das (TOVP Project Chairman) and his wife, Her Grace Svaha mataji, and His Grace Vraja Vilas Das (Global Fundraising Director).

By Giriraj Swami

This is the real purpose of our society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness: to become Krishna conscious—to chant and hear about Krishna and fix our minds on Krishna, mainly through the process of chanting and hearing in the association of devotees

By Vishnujana Dasa

What is Transhumanism? Transhumanism is the belief that through the use of technology, man will “transcend” the limits of his conditioning-his mortal coil-and will become something “post-human”-a god essentially

By Indradyumna Swami Either you follow Buddha philosophy or Sankara philosophy or Vaisnava philosophy, the ultimate goal is Krsna. You have to approach Krsna through these different types of philosophy. They are partial realizationRead More…

The procedure is called Lithotripsy, wherein a laser is used inside the body to destroy the stoneRead More…

Bhaktisiddhanta is an icon in the Gaudiya Sampradaya who was also an iconic astronomer before he became a lifelong renunciate. Read More…

By Khonika Gope-Kumar “By 10 o’clock the night was very dark and cloudy. Across the Ganges, in a northern direction, I suddenly saw a large building flooded with golden light. I asked Kamala if he could see the building and he said that he could. But m…

By Krishna-kripa das

I share many quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures. I also share notes on talks by Varsana Swami, Rtadhvaja Swami, Adikarta Prabhu, Akhandadhi Prabhu, Madana Mohan Prabhu, Nagaraja Prabhu, Garuda Prabhu of Tallahassee, Murali Gopal Prabhu, and Hanan Prabhu. I share quotes by Prishni Devi Dasi and Nama Kirtan from conversations and by Jagannatha Misra Prabhu from his latest book, The Book III.

By Bhanu Swami Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51in Mayapur on 17-02-2018. Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults but there is a great benediction given to the people of this age: the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. There is no way to overesti…

This is our second reminder to kindly submit your homage to Srila Prabhupada for his Vyasa-puja book by April 15Read More…

Mayapur Kirtan Mela is a unique chance to chant 12 hrs a day prayerful kirtan with all devotees together.Read More…

I’m thrilled to have been a part of the first (and hopefully not last) Rathayatra at this festival.Read More…

By Sunanda Das In the wake of the recent historic Chakra installation ceremony on February 7th, the TOVP is pleased to release this specialTribute song, Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, to all devotees worldwide. Written and composed by Yamuna Jivana d…

By Vaishnava Das Govardhan Ecovillage hosted a 4-day conference, Hinduism and Ecology: Towards a Sustainable Future, from 11th to 14th of December 2017. The conference was jointly organized by Yale University, Govardhan Eco Village, Bhaktivedanta Vidya…

By Mayapur Sasi dasa For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of January 2018. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 In…

By honika Gope-Kumar A lot of Bengali devotees lament that even though A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada instructed a number of his senior disciples to preach in Bangladesh, he personally never visited Bangladesh. However, devotees would be hap…

By Pandava Sena Global It was through the youth that Srila Prabhupada established this International Society and it was the youth that he engaged in fulfilling the desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! In order to help build and further develop youth grou…

By Krishna Dharma DasIt is often said that chanting is the most important limb, but Prabhupada interestingly makes the following comment, “When we speak of hearing and chanting, it means that not only should one chant and hear of the holy name of the L…

By Bhakti Vinoda Swami

As leaders we get to do so many different things but we should be knowing that we are under the radar of Maya and Kali. “You are the leader who is going to take people out of the world and send them to Godhead, you are working for Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s organisation! You are a dangerous guy for me. I am going to attack you!” And definitely iskcon leaders who are proponents of pure bhakti are going to be attacked more and more in their leadership positions.

By Radha Krishna Das

Who remembers the motto of the Strategic Planning team? “More devotees, happier devotees.” Why is it we are focusing on more devotees and happier devotees? Because Krishna will be pleased. If they are not happier there won’t be more. More devotees means external growth. Happier devotees means internal growth. Which one is more important? It’s just so interesting we are focussing really a lot on spreading Krsna consciousness. And that’s a really good goal and we should focus on that, but at the same time we should really focus on developing ourselves. Growth starts with you first.

By Sankirtana das In this article I will analyze the personal and social consequences that arise from inner conflicts and we will investigate its concomitant “sense of personal failure”. We will then examine progressive and regressive reactions to deal…

By Danavir Goswami As mentioned in our previous posts Yoga Mart and Zombie Jamboree, catering to the whimsical public taste can compromise our faithfulness to the parampara. It is very risky to adopt a process of chanting that was not handed down throu…

By Bhaktimarga Swami Srimad Bhagavatam class in Mayapur, 13 February 2018. Hiranyakasipu was terrorizing the universe, abusing his own son and was atheist. But Prahlad Maharaja, risking his life, he kept sharing Krishna consciousness. Similarly in this…

By Abhaya Mudra Dasi In the material world the three gunas function simultaneously. In some situations and individuals sattva will prevail, in others rajas or tamas. They all are necessary for the proper function of the material machine. But when a m…

By Patita Pavana das

“Lord Shiva, the spiritual master of the entire world, is free from enmity. He remains ever peaceful and self-satisfied. Among the devatas, no one is greater. How, then, is it possible that Daksha could be inimical towards such an auspicious personality?” (SB 4.2.28)

By Vrsabhanu das

In the “sublime and auspicious land of Gaurasundara on the charming bank of the Bhagirathi, Gaudadesh[Sridham Mayapur], which is eternally shining and full of bliss” (extracted from Navadvipastakam Verse 1, Srila Rupa Goswami), on the auspicious Appearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, the GBC College for Leadership Development held the 2018 Graduation ceremony at the ILS (ISKCON Leadership Sanga). Twenty-three leaders from various locations in Africa, Bangladesh, China, India, Italy, Russia and Singapore, received their GBC College Graduation certificates and gifts in the presence of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, Srila Prabhupada, and over 600 ILS devotees including many ISKCON Gurus, GBCs and sannyasis.

By Thakur Saranga dasaWest Bengal’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited Sri Sri Chandrodaya temple of Iskcon Mayapur where he was greeted by the GBC ( governing body commission ) sannyasis with warm welcome and the chief minster was then escorted to…

By Simheswara Dasa

ISKCON is a preaching movement. Srila Prabhupada wanted the respiritualization of the entire human society. In the preface for Canto 1 of the Srimad Bhagavatam Srila Prabhupada wrote “Human society, at the present moment, is not in the darkness of oblivion. It has made rapid progress in the fields of material comforts, education and economic development throughout the entire world. But there is a pinprick somewhere in the social body at large, and therefore there are large-scale quarrels, even over less important issues. There is need of a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship and prosperity with a common cause. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will fill this need, for it is a cultural presentation for the respiritualization of the entire human society.” It is indeed a big order. But it can certainly be done in small and big installments by the combined preaching efforts of all preachers.

By Bhakti Vinoda Swami In ISKCON, when you become a leader you may obtain several assets. By being in a dress of a sadhu, with the tilak and the saffron, people will bow down to you and worship you and they may give your donations or properties, so man…

By Praghosa das

The aim of this paper is to present how the “No Objection” procedure, the mechanism the GBC has established to encourage devotees to serve as diksa-gurus in ISKCON, is not contrary to Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta. We will examine how the system came to be and why it remains in place as the best option available for now for the GBC to ensure as best it can, that ISKCON has qualified diksa-gurus available to its aspiring bhaktas. It will also look at how the procedure best helps the GBC manage a multi-guru system within one organization. That dynamic of a governing board managing an institution, which includes within it multiple gurus, is, of course, a relatively new concept in Gaudiya Vaisnava history. However, regardless of the structure, Srila Prabhupada certainly expected those serving as diksa-gurus to be qualified. The question then arises: should ISKCON’s ultimate managing authority, the GBC body, be responsible along with the prospective disciples to ensure that those serving as diksa-gurus meet set qualifications? However we manage the procedure that allows diksa-gurus to initiate in ISKCON, ISKCON’s performance in this area puts Srila Prabhupada’s glorious reputation very much at stake.

By Vaisesika Das When you give to Krishna, because we are parts and parcels of Krishna, then we also become enriched simultaneously. This is a principle that Prahlad Maharaj mentions in the ninth chapter of the Bhagavatam. He gives the example that whe…

By Nikunja Vilasini Dasi I grew up thinking that I had to be the best—in the classroom, in extramural activities, and in everything else—to be successful in life. Although I excelled in most of what l did and was at the top of my class, the unimaginabl…