Author Archives: Dandavats

By Praghosa das Srila Prabhupada: When one becomes angry, he forgets himself and his situation, but if one is able to consider his situation by knowledge, one transcends the influence of the modes of material nature. One is always a servant of lusty de…

Sri Damodara-janani’s eloquent narrations are illustrated with original full-colour artwork.

By Ishvara Krishna Das

I would like this work to be considered a contribution not only to the study of the Bhagavad Gita, but to the emerging field of Comparative Theology, as once the structures of great theological works could be articulated, these could be compared, contrasted and grouped together, thereby offering a unified sense of pluralistic spirituality which may serve as an alternative to materialism. Originally, Greek philosophy was inseparable from Greek religion, and only gradually was it articulated as a universal philosophy. Similarly, this work may further a slight step in this direction, in that it emphasizes the Bhagavad Gita’s philosophical nature, relevant also in a non-Hindu context. Examining many of the available academic editions, one realizes that they offer an introduction followed by a verse translation; the present edition joins the few editions which render the text divided into sections, and add a commentary; I hope that this approach proves to be useful. Let me conclude by quoting the Bhagavad Gita itself: “This is a royal science, a royal mystery, the supreme purifier, experienced directly, it conforms to dharma, pleasant to act upon and eternal.”

By Anand Caitanya das

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has established Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), with a vision to enable sustainable built-environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in sustainable built-environment by 2025. With a modest beginning of 20,000 sq.ft of green footprint in the country in the year 2001, today over 4,205 IGBC green building projects, amounting to over 4.61 Billion sq.ft are adopting IGBC green building rating systems. This in turn has enabled India become one of the top 5 countries in the world in terms of largest registered green building footprint. The Green Building Congress 2017 was the 15th annual flagship event of IGBC and is the largest event on green buildings in Asia. Over 3000 participants attended this event with over 150 leading National and International experts shared their thoughts and perspectives on sustainable built environment.  The Congress also hosted World GBC Board Meeting and Annual Members Meet. The event attracted participation from several countries including Singapore, Srilanka, Hong Kong, Australia, China, UK and USA. Shri Gauranga Das was also one of the master speakers of the conference and shared about the Sustainability Initiatives at Govardhan Ecovillage.

By Padmapani das

Our dear Godbrother, Tribhuvanatha das, departed from this world on October 16, 2001. A lot has been written about Tribhuvanatha Prabhu over the years — his dynamic preaching programs, his ecstatic harinamas, his fired up classes, etc. — but I simply remember him as my best friend.

By Srila Vyasadeva “O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Shuka Muni. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean…

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 September 2017. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100…

By Your causeless mercy only, we are now able to think of Your lotus feet. This is our greatest gain. Dear Lord, everyone knows that the body is a breeding ground of diseases. Now we are aged, and instead of being proud of our bodily strength, we are …

By Danae King

On a recent sunny morning, Dr. Piyush Gupta was gazing across a broad expanse of land just west of Hilliard. Many might just see a dew-covered field dotted with groups of trees, but Gupta can imagine a large, white stone temple rising up from the ground. The site, just off Walker Road, is the future home of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Columbus, of which Gupta is a council member. ISKCON is a society for Hare Krishnas, who believe meditation can purify one’s consciousness. The society, located in a small house near Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center since the 1980s, purchased the more than 50 acres of land in March 2016, and plans to start building on it soon. The land is just one sign of the vibrant, growing Krishna community in Columbus.

By Sri Nandanandana dasa This goal of life, to see the Lord everywhere and in this way be absorbed in Him, was also specifically described by Prahlada Maharaja when he was trying to convince his materialistic and demoniac friends about what is the purp…

By Anuttama Dasa

Ujjain, India; October 11—Zonal Supervisors, an important leadership role created by the Governing Body Commission (GBC) to improve management in ISKCON around the world, was the first topic of today’s GBC meeting. Working directly under an individual GBC member, a Zonal Supervisor assists that GBC member by supervising a number of temples and projects within a particular geographical zone. Currently most GBC members directly oversee all the temples in their zones. Some GBC members have intermediate managers under them, with different titles such as “Regional Secretaries” who oversee a group of temples. But, there is no standard process. One problem is that sometimes a GBC member may have dozens of temples under them directly. Being stretched so thin puts a lot of pressure on individual GBC members, and has led some local leaders to complain they lack sufficient guidance and presence of their GBC representative.

By Bimal Krishna Das The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chauhan, visited ISKCON Ujjain on 6th October. He was greeted by a large group of devotees chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. As he stepped out of his car, he became so ins…

By Anuttama dasa

The second day of the Governing Body Commission (GBC) Mid-Term Meeting began with a report of a one-year study of how to improve the effectiveness of GBC meetings. Members were presented with a 94-page document or “Meetings Manual,” and a second 23-page guide on “Decision Making.” Both texts were drawn from research conducted by the GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT). In preparing the manuals the SPT underwent a detailed analysis of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings on management as well as a review 40 professional studies and books on meetings and decision-making. Vraja Vihari Das, a SPT member, led a morning series of plenary and small group discussions to introduce the two documents. The GBC discussed the advantage of creative arguments (open mindedly exploring a variety of positions) vs. attached arguments (only wishing to push one’s own agenda or opinion, and thus shutting down other possible solutions, or sources of information).

By Bhaktimarga Swami Yesterday’s (Oct. 11) SB class in Iskcon Ujjain. Don’t tell Krishna how big your problems are, tell your problems how big Krishna is! Like there is an expression in Spanish “pochito” meaning “little, very little or small”. So when …

By Lokanath Swami During the Kartik of 1972, Srila Prabhupada stayed at the Radha-Damodara temple and we stayed at Kesi Ghat where the palace of King Bharatpur is located. We would wake up early in the mornings and take bath in the Yamuna River along w…

By Candramauli Swami The devotees had seen in second volume of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavatam, there was a verse and a purport. In the purport, it was written in verse form, it was names of Krishna. He Krishna Govinda Hari Murari, He Natha Narayana Vasu…

By Sukanti Radha devi dasi This is the first TOVP Europe Tour opening the door of opportunity for every devotee to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity. Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari and Lord Nityananda’s divine lotus shoes will travel to Bel…

By Anuttama Dasa

The Mid-Term Meeting focuses on strategic, organizational and development issues, whereas the Annual Meeting focuses primarily on proposals for new legislation to become ISKCON Law. This morning’s meeting began with an update on the progress of the GBC Organizational Committee (Org Dev). Org Dev’s role is to serve the devotees of ISKCON by building ISKCON’s administrative capacity; understanding that while ISKCON has grown substantially in its first 50 years, its administrative elements have not kept up. Org Dev reported it is working on multiple issues.

By Vaisesika Dasa Vows like the urja-vrata are pleasing to the Lord and they come highly recommended by sastra, guru and sadhu. Just by following these simple vows during Kartika month, no matter where one resides, a devotee will gain rapid spiritual a…

By Padmapani das Our dear Godsister, Saradiya devi dasi, departed from this world on Sri Krishna Saradiya Rasayatra to be with her eternal father, Srila Prabhupada. Her sincerity and love for Srila Prabhupada is unparalleled. May we follow in her foots…

By Ishvara Krishna Das This paper is engaged with the topic of reincarnation in the Bhagavad gītā, better termed “rebirth”. It first looks into the epistemological aspects of rebirth, and highlights the type of knowledge or terminology underlying the v…

By Niranjana Swami

We never experienced anything else in Prabhupada’s presence other than his burning desire to give Krishna, and that’s what captured our hearts, and that’s what makes us want to make this life successful by doing something to make Prabhupada smile. And if some day we can become so blessed to be able to do that which he wants us to do, then that’s the only reason why we live in this world. There is nothing else.

By Bradley Malkovsky There are two strong arguments advanced by reincarnationists against the teaching of one earthly life. The first argument regards reincarnation as a more reasonable expression of divine mercy and love than the disproportionate and…

By Satyaraja Dasa Reincarnation, of course, is accepted as a given in India’s mystical literature, and, according to Eastern sensibility, its truth undergirds any genuine metaphysical understanding of life. We are spirit-soul, say texts like the Bhagav…

By Vaikunthanath das

It is a miracle of good fortune that Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, Saradiya dasi, should leave her physical body on the very day of the Sri Krsna Saradiya Rasa-yatra (October 5, 2017). She left at 6:15 a.m. San Diego time. The time zone in India is twelve and a half hours ahead of California, so it was 6:45 p.m. in Vrindaban at that moment. The moon rose at 6:03 p.m. in Vrindaban. So Saradiya left her body just as the moon was rising above the horizon in Sri Vrindaban Dham.

By Madhava Smullen Since moving back two years ago, he has been serving as the construction and maintenance manager for ISKCON New Vrindaban, overseeing a team of seven. Together they are assisting the effort to physically revitalize key parts of New V…

Anantashesh Das: Srimad Bhagavat is the precious jewel, it is an unlimited radiance of Krishna’s presence.

By Gandharvika Radha Devi Dasi

“Even though it lasts for only a brief moment, the human form of life is very rare and valuable. In the same way, the brief month of Kartik is also very rare and valuable.” – Kartika Mahatmya by Srila Sanatana Goswami. H.G. Vaisesika Prabhu has selected Chapter 9 for Kartik 2017! Make a vow to recite Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 9 every day from 6 Oct 2017 to 3 Nov 2017.

By Hanumatpresaka Swami My dear servants, please bring to me only those sinful persons who do not use their tongues to chant the holy name and qualities of Krsna, whose hearts do not remember the lotus feet of Krsna even once, and whose heads do not bo…

By Badrinarayan Swami Today’s SB Class in Iskcon Ujjain. “Lord Yamaraja took upon himself the responsibility for the offense committed by his servants. If the servant of an establishment makes a mistake, the establishment takes responsibility for it. A…

By Bhakta Wilfred The Hare Krishna devotee community from Nairobi was fortunate to attend and an enlightening talk was given by Her Grace Manasiganga Mataji. She spoke at length about oneness as God’s children irrespective of religion and creed and ho…

By 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.

By 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.

Srila Prabhupada: So that is success. Hear and repeat, hear and repeat. You haven’t got to manufacture. Any one of us, simply if you reproduce the purport which I have given in the Bhāgavata, you become a good speaker.

By 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.

By 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