Author Archives: Dandavats

Social Media: ISKCON UK Annual Communications Conference with Avelo Roy, September 2017

Hare KrishnaBy Gauri das

A few years back a brand expert was asked about ISKCON UK’s presence on social media. His response was simple and to the point: ‘the good news is that you are not scary anymore, you are just confusing’. Though temples and devotees do have a solid presence on social media, the big question remains, how effective is that presence? To examine this question, devotees from across the UK came together at Bhaktivedanta Manor for a weekend of communications training that focused on social media.

Sri Amritsar Yatra
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Hare KrishnaBy Chandan Yatra Das

Rama-tirtha-sarovara, a very important site of the great sage Valmiki’s ashram is in Amritsar. Valmiki wrote Ramayana here. Mother Sita spent her period of exile at this place in Valmiki ashram, after Lord Ramacandra banished Sita, His wife and eternal consort, during His later earthly pastimes. Pregnant and alone, Sita sought shelter at the ashram of Valmiki, where she soon gave birth to Lava and Kusha, sons of Lord Ramacandra at this ashram. Lava and Kusha spent their childhood here at Valmiki’s ashram. During Ashvamedha Yajna by Lord Ramacandra, Lava and Kusha captured a challenged horse. The fight between Lord Ramacandra’s forces and Lava and Kusha took place here at Rama-tirtha-sarovara. Lava and Kusha tied Hanuman to a tree at a place near to today’s Durgiana Temple. The cities of Lahore and Kasur, which are both now in Pakistan, and close to Amritsar, are said to be founded by Lava and Kusha, respectively.

Rath Yatra Procession invites Hundreds in the Hills of Uttarakhand
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Hare KrishnaBy Bhakta Aseem

Uttarakhand is famous as ‘Devbhoomi’ , ‘The Land of Demigods’. It has many beautiful and serene valleys. Definitely a heaven for the yogis! But we are not yogis, we are Krsna bhaktas! Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna Consciousness movement is so nice that any other process than bhakti yoga looks so petty for this age. Anywhere we preach and people are so much attracted towards this timeless philosophy i.e. The Science of Krsna Consciousness.

ISKCON’s Govardhan Ecovillage adjudged National winner among NGOs
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Hare KrishnaBy Anand Caitanya das

ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco Village won the Spirit of Humanity Award in the Livelihood category. The 8th edition of the Spirit of Humanity awards was held on 14th Sept 2017, in a gala event at J W Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai. The event was organized by AmeriCares, a non-profit disaster relief and global health organization providing immediate response to emergency medical needs and supporting long-term health care initiatives for people around the world. The Spirit of Humanity awards recognize and reward exemplary contributions made towards the society in the fields of Child Care, Education, Health, Disability, Livelihood and Women’s Empowerment. Following a stringent 3-step evaluation process, spread over 6 months, the best-in-class NGOs were identified from each zone.

Walking With Purpose—Bhaktimarga Swami, known as the Walking Monk, passes through Amador
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Hare KrishnaBy Rachel Norris

Human life is meant for cultivating your spiritual self. Spirituality is not just about doing some yoga, some poses, looking good and wearing tight clothes. It’s more about expressing kindness to everyone and addressing those little demons inside of you: the lust, the anger, the greed. We all know sex is on people’s minds, that’s fine. Krishna says ‘I am sex, which is not promiscuous, but is responsible sex.’ When it comes to greed, we all have wants and needs, but when a need becomes greed, then we know we’re overboard. I believe walking and meditating at the same time helps to calm down the tendency of getting angry, that’s what Krishna consciousness is all about. We all know that we leave this body, make an exit and expire, so is there any preparation for that? Yes, get clean. Clean the heart and work on those little demons inside. Do that, and you can love and you will be loved. If you’re just a bag of emotions, there will always be something wrong

Sri Dham Mayapur Celebrates World Holy Name Week
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Hare KrishnaBy MCO staff

Chanting the holy names is also a way to glorify and honor our savior, Srila Prabhupada, who gave the gift of the holy names to the world. For this purpose, World Holy Name Day was established by the GBC in honor of Srila Prabhupada’s Centennial celebrations in 1996, to honor the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the West. World Holy Name Day has since expanded into World Holy Name Week, which every year inspires devotees to please Srila Prabhupada and to purify themselves and the world through the chanting of the holy names throughout the days.

Hare Krishna! The Film: National Event Screening in Over 80 Cities!
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Hare KrishnaBy Visakha Dasi

My mission of life is to propagate the idea of cultivating spiritual vision, which alone can bring about peace and prosperity of the human society.” – Srila Prabhupada. Celebrate International Peace Day with Prabhupada! Hare Krishna! will show in over 80 Regal Cinemas nationwide. Bring along your family, friends, colleagues, yoga buddies or student groups to see the film!

President of Sri Lanka H.E. Maithripala Sirisena released a cow from the slaughter house and gifted it to ISKCON Goshala on his birthday
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Hare KrishnaBy Mahakarta Das

On the occasion of the 66th birthday on 03rd of September 2017, the President of Sri Lanka had special offerings at the Dehiwala Vishnu Temple in Sri Lanka and released a cow from the slaughter house and handed it over to Mahakarta Das – the temple president of ISKCON Sri Lanka. The pictures attached show the details of the ceremony. ISKCON Sri Lanka conducts cow protection program in the name of ISKCON Goshala. There are more than 50 cows including calves and bulls protected and maintained in the Goshala.

A Report: ‘Indian Government conveys their Best wishes on Sri Krishna Janmastami 2017’
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Hare KrishnaBy ISKCON Communicatios INDIA

This year, Sri Krishna Janmastami 2017 will be remembered for various reasons all across India & its capital, though Krishna Janmastami is a mega event of this country. The day of Janmastami is one of a pious occasion for Vaishnavas community that coincided with Indian Independence Day (15th August 1947) on this year. The occasion is well estimated for gathering of thousands of Krishna Devotees all across the ISKCON temples of India. ISKCON Communications India coordinates the Indian Government officials included Ministers, Judicial, bureaucrats and Dignitaries that representing Indian Government to help in catering the need for strengthening Krishna conscious movement within the government network. The presence of dignitaries from various leading organizations included as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Prime Minister Office (PMO), Delhi Police, Central Bureau of India (CBI), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian Judiciary.

Lord Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Indonesian Independence day celebration
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Hare KrishnaBy Hari Narayana Das

Lord Jagannath’s chariot closed the parade where Thousands of citizens both the surrounding community, domestic and foreign tourists packed along Malioboro Street until Zero Kilometer Point, August 26, 2017. They enjoy various performances on the parade to commemorate the Independence Day was that attended by thousands of participants from various quarters.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura – The Seventh Goswami
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Hare KrishnaBy Mayapur Communication Office

“Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German and American people will take up banners, mrdangas and karatalas and raise kirtana through their streets and towns. When will that day come? Oh, for the day when the fair-skinned men from their side will raise up the chanting of ‘jaya sacinandana, jaya sacinandana ki jaya’ and join with the Bengali devotees. When will that day be? On such a day they will say, ‘Our dear Brothers, we have taken shelter of the ocean of Lord Caitanya’s Love; kindly embrace us.’ When will that day come? That day will witness the holy transcendental ecstasy of the Vaisnava-dharma to be the only dharma, and all the sects and religions will flow like rivers into the ocean of Vaisnava -dharma. When will that day come?” -Bhaktivinoda Thakura

A Special Way to Observe Vamana Dvadasi
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Hare KrishnaBy Mayapur Communication

Srila Prabhupada said that to honor festivals such as Rama Navami and Vamana Dvadasi, a small boy could play the part of Krishna’s incarnation and the devotees could worship him accordingly. So every year in ISKCON Mayapur, a young gurukula boy takes on the role of Lord Vamanadeva. At midday on Sri Vamana Dvadasi, the curtains of the altar are drawn back to reveal that Lord Vamanadeva has appeared. A young brahmachari boy stands on the altar, dressed in a saffron dhoti and deerskin, and wearing a flower garland. He carries a chatram, or umbrella, in one hand and a kamandalu, or waterpot, in the other.

New Vrindaban Invites All North American ISKCON Farmers To Second Annual Farm Conference
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Hare KrishnaBy Madhava Smullen

Themed “Back to the Basics,” the aim of the conference is not only to discuss the big picture end result; but also to provide practical first steps and a support network for those who feel inspired to carry out Prabhupada’s instructions on simple living, yet lack the experience or knowledge. ECO-V General Manager Ranaka Das, who has served at New Vrindaban for over forty years, will give participants a tour of the cow protection facilities along with a history of New Vrindaban’s cow protection program – the first in the Western World.