Author Archives: Dandavats

By Gangadhara das

One should never climb into a tree, grasp the unripe fruits and forcibly pull them off. Similarly, the followers of Srila Rupa Gosvami never abolish the initial systematic process of devotional service. The rupanugas never teach that the perfection of devotion can be reached by abandoning the consecutive order of development stages on the path. (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada; Prakrita Rasa Shata Dushani). The followers of Srila Rupa Gosvami never leave the path of the great devotees [mahajanas] and run to pursue a ‘new’ path. One should never mistakenly call material obstacles ‘useful for devotional service’, thereby following the wrong path.

Anantacarya dasa: Lord Jesus Christ lived for two years in the temple at Jagannatha Puri. “Lord Jesus Christ lived for two years in the temple at Jagannatha Puri. He was thick and thin with the priests in that temple, and he took his spiritual training…

Pusta Krishna das: Today I had a personal epiphany, a realization that can help us all remember Krishna with affection.Read More…

By Ananda Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi With Christmas upon us, we take a look at what our Founder, Srila Prabhupada said about Jesus. The title is from a letter Prabhupada wrote in 1965 to a Mrs. Sally Agarwal. Prabhupada stayed with Sally and her husband…

Nrsimhananda Das: We don’t need to talk to the doctor; we have Srila Prabhupada’s PERFECT example. Read More…

By Narottama Dasa This journey started with an intense eagerness to bring back enthusiasm, life and energy to our brahmacari ashram. So, my friend Mukharavinda Dasa and I decided to walk 654kilometers from the city of Johannesburg to the city of Durban…

By Vamsidhari Das Sri Mohan Bhagavat is a famous personality throughout India. This is due to the fact that the BJP that is ruling India at present is the political wing of the RSS. The Prime Minister of India is an “RSS pracharak”, a full time dedica…

By Krishna Nandan Das & Bhagavati Kripa Devi Dasi

As an offering for ISKCON 50 and for the pleasure of Guru & Gauranga, teachers of NICE (Narasimha Institute for Children’s Education) decided to conduct ‘Srila Prabhupada Book Review Contest’ in the schools as an interschool competition. The main aim of this contest was to introduce Srila Prabhupada to as many students as possible. Execution: The teachers of NICE approached 90 schools for this project. We presented this project to the Principal of the school with a file containing a letter, a booklet that described Srila Prabhupada and his achievements, a Question Bank consisting of 100 questions based on this booklet (question bank was prepared by H.G. Kamal Lochan Prabhu). Here the questionnaire was of the objective type. This contest should ideally be conducted in school premises itself, depending on the convenience of school authorities. The students from std. 4th to 6th formed the junior section and students from 7th to 9th, the senior section.

By Sitalatma das​

The subject of Moon landings has been contentious for devotees since forever and it is often cited as a reason to accuse us of shutting down our intelligence and blindly following gurus, or, even worse, as a reason to attack Śrīla Prabhupāda’s integrity. The fact that we don’t have an official position on it doesn’t help either, leaving each one of us to our own devices. There must be devotees who made their peace with it and take one of Prabhupāda’s explanations as a shared truth between them and can’t care less what the rest of the world thinks about it. Intruding into these personal relationships would be inappropriate. Yet there are also devotees who simply don’t know what to say and try to avoid the topic if it comes up or blurt out the first thing that comes to their minds. One such strategy is to compare Prabhupāda’s Moon statements with the bulk of his spiritual message and declare them insignificant. This is a tacit admission that Prabhupāda was wrong. There are also devotees who go into Moon landing conspiracy and continue arguing that it was a hoax, often coupled with arguments that the Earth is really flat and NASA has been lying to people about every aspect of their programs and all other world space agencies and governments are in on it. This makes for a lively debate but also makes them look insane in the eyes of many.

By Romapada Swami The mood and the importance of visiting Dwaraka. Connection Between South India Yatra And Dwaraka Yatra. Krsna Establishes The Dwaraka Fort and Mira Bai. Rukmini’s letter, Kidnap and Marriage with Krsna. Rukmini’s Marriage (Contd.) Kr…

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 November 2016. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 I…

By Nameera Sarjoo

The Hare Krishna Movement distributed food, drinks and sweet parcels in the Ladysmith community on Saturday morning. They went out to different areas to hand out fresh, hot food and juices. The recipients were extremely grateful for the devotees’ kind gesture, saying that it really touched their hearts and lifted their spirits. The friendly team also took some time to mingle with the people, making it a special day for all. This ‘Food for Life’ programme was initially started by His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It is a worldwide initiative that continues on a daily basis. Ladysmith’s ‘Food for Life’ provides this service once a month to the community and surrounding areas. The members of the Hare Krishna Movement wish to place on record their sincere appreciation to all the donors and well-wishers.

By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 Report published yesterday, 20 December 2016. Before Puchkov’s conviction, Frolov told Forum 18 on 7 December that his client had been playing an Indian drum in the procession and had not spoken to anyone. Video footage of …

By Saurav Sarmah Veda means knowledge. The word Veda is related to the Sanskrit root ‘vid’ meaning ‘to know’. So, it encompasses the entire corpus of knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. Actually, knowledge is established through three primary epis…

By Giriraj Swami The Lord advised Arjuna to regulate the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the greatest sinful enemy, lust, which destroys the urge for self-realization and specific knowledge of the self. Jnana refers to knowledge of…

By Chirag Bhatt

Special guests also included Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg; Pat Hallisey, Mayor of League City and his wife Janice; Dr. Catherine O’Brien, vice chancellor of San Jacinto College; David Williams, Principal at Seabrook Intermediate School; Matt Khan of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, who remarked, “The hospitality was exceptional and I learned a great deal about the history of ISKCON.” Also attending were Rev. Gena Davis of Houston’s grace Episcopal Church, a certified yoga teacher who incorporates yoga in her ministry; Rev. David Carter of the Unitarian Church of Wichita, Kansas perhaps the first Gaudiya Vaisnava devotee to lead such a church and congregation; representatives of the local Focolare community; board members of Houston’s Rothko Chapel; and Dr. Zahra Jamal, Associate Director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University. Representatives of Hindu organizations included those from BAPS, Voice of Sanatan Hinduism, Hindus of Greater Houston, ICC, the Hindu Heritage Foundation, Ashtalaksmi Temple, Sri Sita Ram Foundation, Mahatma Gandhi Library, Banke Bihari Pariwar, the Indo American Political Group and the Youth Leadership Development Program (YLDP). The gala also featured art and devotional music (kirtan) by local devotees and a unique ice sculpture and rangoli (colored powder) depiction of the ISKCON logo.

By Giriraj dasa

But now, scientists say that meditators may be benefiting from changes in their brains. The researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. M.R.I. brain scans taken before and after the participants’ meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes.

By Panchatattva Dasa

On our way we noticed a wedding ceremony being held and as we got closer, to our surprise, all the baratis or wedding guests came out to join us in the kirtana. The newlywed couple even took the chance to offer incense to the Lords –we are certain that they received Their blessings. Amazingly, we ended the padayatra in an Arya Samaj Hall, even though it is well known that the Arya Samaj in Mauritius do not accept deity worship in their compound. However, we were warmly welcomed with our deities. Asim Krishna Dasa, originally from India, gave a wonderful lecture bringing the padayatra to a close.

By Paramadayala Nityananda Das The title is meant to call attention to the fact that this question assumes the either/or fallacy. Pusta Krishna: He said that morning “What can we do, Prabhupada?” He said, “What can we do? If we do not compromise, we w…

By Janananda Gosvami The kirtana is at its climax The leader from the top of his lungs bursts forth with a resounding Gurudeva, Gurudeva, Gurudeva Gurudeva ….. Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva etc. Some devotees look at each…

Tattva Darsi; Sankirtana and Book Distribution NewsRead More…

By Vaisesika Dasa Krishna is the well-wisher of everyone. He is simply waiting within the heart to give facility to anyone who wants to approach Him. “Tesam satata-yuktanam, bhajatam priti-purvakam, dadami buddhi-yogam tam, yena mam upayanti te” [B.G…

By Bhakti Raghava Swami Modern Paper Currency Flawed: Within the system of varnasrama, three-fourth of the population does not earn money, namely the brahmacaris, those in the vanaprastha and those in the sannyasa asrama. Grhasthas, in particular the…

By Niscala Dasi

It struck me the other day the astonishing similarity between the words Christmas and Krishna- Prabhupada once pointed out the similarity between the words Christ and Krishna, but when “mas” is added, and the “i” is shortened, the similarity becomes much stronger- one could even say to someone “krsnas tu bhagavan swayam” and they might respond “What was that about Christmas?” We all know the magic and enchantment that the word “Christmas” had over us when we were young, as we knew that from this word, everything of our hearts’ desire would be manifest, and as we chanted the word, we would long for Christmas to come. It is not all that different when we chant the name of Krishna- from Him alone, all the gifts in the world are given. Like the personality of Christmas, Santa Claus, there is the personality of Krishna, who through mystic potency or magic, makes gifts for all the children of the world (such as rain, sunshine, fresh air, potent seed grains, our bodies and knowledge), via the help of His people who work on His behalf, the demigods and other devotees who are known as “desire trees”.

By Sacinandana Swami Lord Krishna says, “Under My protection My devotee reaches My eternal abode.” Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to this verse: “To a devotee who is engaged in Krishna consciousness, the Lord is very, very kind. In spite of al…

By Subhag Swami It is said that the higher authorities are always observing us. The sun, moon, air, fire and the ten directions, they are noting our actions. We cannot escape this. A sadhu, who by dint of his spiritual advancement can perceive this, re…

By Shyamananda dasa He who sees an object is called the seer, and an object seen by the observer is called the seen. The instrument of seeing, is called sight. It is a common error to deem the sense of sight the actual seer. Whatever we can measure by …

By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Every spot on earth where discourses on God are held is a place of pilgrimage. Possession of objects not related to Krsna is our main malady. Those favored by God find their paths set by thorns. We are put to test …

By Kamala-sundari Dasi How do we upgrade our home to a sacred space or temple? A temple is a place of worship, centred around spiritual activity. When I speak to resident devotees at the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple about their lives there, the commo…

By Madhava Smullen

New website iskconconnection.org hopes to get an accurate count of all ISKCON members for the first time ever, and to help them feel part of an international family by connecting them to all the inspirational activities in ISKCON around the world. The website is the face of ISKCON Connection, ISKCON’s global membership program, developed by the GBC and based at ISKCON’s headquarters in Mayapur, West Bengal. “We’re inviting all devotees, well-wishers and friends of Krishna to stand up and be counted as part of our spiritual family,” says team-leader Praharana Dasi. “This is important because we have no idea how many of us there are in the world – we just have guesses.”

By Abhirama das Almost one and a half year ago, 3 devotees living in Villaggio Hare Krishna (near Milan) moved to Turin to open a new ISKCON center. Turin is the third most important Italian city and it is inhabited by about 1 million people. One year …

By Isa das RABBI: In the Torah, Moses describes to the people some of the requirements of a king. One of the requirements is, “When [the king] is established on his royal throne, he must write a copy of the Torah as a scroll edited by the Levitical pri…

By Padmapani das Prabhupada never accepted anything for himself, nor did he ever enjoy the facilities offered to him by his disciples and followers. Those who had the good fortune to personally serve or spend time with Srila Prabhupada all attest to th…

By Kesava Bharati Dasa Goswami

How to judge whether the hearing is being done properly by measuring its effect: “A devotee should always see that his Vaisnava qualities increase with the advancement of his Krsna consciousness. A devotee should be blameless because any offense by the devotee is a scar on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotee’s duty is to be always conscious in his dealings with others, especially with another devotee of the Lord.” (Bhagavatam 3.16.5, purport) Herein lies the secret to improving our dealings with one another and, by the cooperative spirit that results from such amicable dealings, to solve seemingly intractable problems.

By Nashvin Gangaram

Srila Prabhupada is the soul of ISKCON and ISKCON is his body. Because ISKCON is a spiritual organization, both body and soul are non-different. Srila Prabhupada continues to act effectively in this world so long as ISKCON remains the instrument of his will. He holds a unique position in ISKCON as its Founder-Acharya: “Just like if I am taken as the origin of this Krishna consciousness movement, that means I know everything directly and indirectly of all this movement. If I do not know directly or indirectly everything of this movement, then I cannot be called the Founder-Acharya.” (Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture, Caracas, 21 February 1975)

By Bhakti Charu Swami

Srila Prabhupada: “From your letter, I can understand that you are reading my books nicely and understanding our philosophy. This is wanted. By reading my books carefully, you will become enthused to distribute them more and more in greater quantities. If you continue in this way being very much determined to achieve success in this lifetime, following all the rules, chanting at least sixteen rounds, and reading my books, then all of your desires to advance in Krsna consciousness will be fulfilled and you will surely attain spiritual perfection and be able to go back to Godhead, very soon.”

By Dusyanta das

Now we can follow the Global Economic model and hear the comprehensive reports and opinions on Capitalistic health it has now become apparent that the capitalistic model is on the cusp of failing and disappearing. It’s not that an economic model that has been conceived by man will last forever as long as we maintain its veracity. All things created by man are imperfect, transient and liable to fail. And today in 2016 the Capitalistic model has reached its zenith and now is on the way down and out. It does not come as any surprise for devotees that man-made processes and systems have a limited capacity and lifetime. Capitalism is created, approximately 250 years ago, its maintained for some time and then its self-destroyed.

By Dwaipayan De It is worthwhile mentioning over here, that a cell, which is the basic constituent of a human body, has a definite life span, and once a particular cell dies, it is replaced by another. In this way, it is believed that over a span of 7 …