Author Archives: Dandavats

By Urmila Devi Dasi

Many people will argue that without birth control, families will have a dozen or more children. Yet in societies where birth control isn’t practiced, the average number of children per family is six. Six children per family may seem too many for the earth, but the entire present world population could fit in France or in the state of Texas, with 1,500 square feet per person. We could feed ten times the present population on an American-style diet, and thirty times the population on a Japanese-style diet. (Colin Clark, Oxford University) All the world’s scriptures urge us to have many children, and describe children as a blessing. The only burden on the earth mentioned in the Vedic scriptures is that of a large population of sinful people who live lives of crime and deceit. The Lord, Sri Krishna, is unlimitedly wealthy and can easily provide adequately for all His obedient children. Harmful Side Effects Not only does birth control not solve the problems for which it claims to be the solution, but it has harmful side effects as well.

By Sesa Dasa Sri Caitanya inaugurated the sankirtana movement of the congregational chanting of the holy names of God. While living here in Nadia, He would travel from village to village, chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Ra…

By Keshav Murari Das

Yes we are talking about Sunder hall of Hotel City Park Pitampura, where about 150 businessmen with family, who are contributing for ISKCON Rohini project gathered on Sunday, 29 May. Subject was to present progress report of ISKCON Rohini construction. In the this program HG Varah P ( CO-President Punjabi Bagh) perform kirtan. Then the Deep was ignited by HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj. Rukmini Krishna P (Co-President Punjabi Bagh) briefed the audience about the contribution of ISKCON around the world followed by the presentation by HG Keshav Murari P (Temple president Rohini) on progress report of Rohini Project. The beginning of Program was done by Chanting of Manglacharan by Mayapur Gurukul Boys. Project Chairman HG Ved Vyas P welcomed all the guests & Maharaj. HG Ved Vyas P mentioned that in future the temple will have Gift shop, Museum, Guest house, Large Temple hall with 3 altars SRi SRi Panchtatwa, Sri Sri Radha Madhav & Sri Sri Sita Ram Laxman Hanuman. HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj in his speech spoke about that how temples are serving & saving the humanity. He thanked them for contributing in Project. Later he presented every well wisher a beautiful gift of Krishna Art Book. Donors & visitors showed their interest & commitments for finalizing this project in next two years positively.

By Kirtan Rasa Das

A few months after I started working with ISKCON Prison Ministry, I received a letter from an inmate which helped drive home to me the nature of this service and just how important it is. “I only know what I read in your letters and Prabhupada’s books,” was part of his response to me, regarding my reply to a question he had posed. His words brought me a sudden, clearer understanding and. I’ve often since reminded myself of them. Although I had some idea of the nature of this service when I began, this particular letter made me acutely aware of how isolated and cutoff these men and women can be and how critical is our role as one of their few, if not only, avenues of inquiry and discourse. As a devotee, I’ve naturally come to understand association as a fundamental element of the bhakti-yoga process. I also have practical, personal experience of what it can be like to lack this association.

By Times of India

MUMBAI: Gita Champions League (GCL), a popular national contest on Bhagwad Gita , has for the first time becomes global in 2016 by opening the competition to school children from all over the world. GCL, an educational initiative of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), will now be open to children from schools all over the world to test their knowledge and understanding of Gita, an ISKCON press release said on Sunday. In 2016, GCL contests are taking place in Australia, Mauritius, Kenya, South Africa and United States of America apart from Indian cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Nashik, Belgaum, Ujjain. This year, around 8000 students from around 134 schools have participated in the contest in Mumbai. Taking inspiration from the competition in Mumbai, GCL contest is also happening in many other cities in India, the release added. Recently, the GCL contest was held in Mauritius and Malaysia. It is slated to start in South Africa and USA also in 2016. The spiritual leader of ISKCON, Radhanath Swami said, “GCL helps the school children to absorb the teachings of Bhagwad Gita. We have attempted to enrich the lives of children in a right manner so that it becomes a helping hand for them to learn self-discipline and imbibe within them a strong value system.”

By Acarya Dasa

We have realized that the people of Chennai do not respond when we address them in Hindi. So we have now begun to ask aTamil devotee to do all the announcements. This Tamil devotee actually taught Sahadev Dasa a few words in Tamil which he uses when he distributes books. This proves that a difference in language does not bar one from preaching the message of the Lord. We have seen how inspired people are by hearing a foreigner speak about the message of God. They may not listen to us but they are attracted to him. Whenever we ask Sahadev Dasa about how he does it, he responds by saying, “I just meditate on the lotus feet of Gaura Nitai and say, Oh merciful Lord please bless these souls. It works and people take a Bhagavad-gita.”

By the GBC

Devotee Outreach Initiative: Whereas a number of devotees, active in ISKCON in the past, have rendered service to Srila Prabhupada’s mission with devotion and distinction but are now distant from, though not inimical to, ISKCON; Whereas reaching out to such devotees with affection and gratitude during the 50th anniversary year of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America and the founding of ISKCON would be pleasing to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON: RESOLVED: That the GBC Body wishes to empower a team of devotee volunteers to reach out with affection and gratitude to those who once served Srila Prabhupada energetically and faithfully in ISKCON. Although no longer engaged actively in ISKCON, these devotees may not be inimical to ISKCON. Such an outreach team of devotee volunteers will be coordinated informally by Guru Gauranga Das and Badrinarayan. Swami.Whereas a number of devotees, active in ISKCON in the past, have rendered service to Srila Prabhupada’s mission with devotion and distinction but are now distant from, though not inimical to, ISKCON; Whereas reaching out to such devotees with affection and gratitude during the 50th anniversary year of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America and the founding of ISKCON would be pleasing to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON: RESOLVED: That the GBC Body wishes to empower a team of devotee volunteers to reach out with affection and gratitude to those who once served Srila Prabhupada energetically and faithfully in ISKCON. Although no longer engaged actively in ISKCON, these devotees may not be inimical to ISKCON. Such an outreach team of devotee volunteers will be coordinated informally by Guru Gauranga Das and Badrinarayan. Swami.

By Kasya das Gradually he loses good faith, and finally stops to believe anyone and anything. Everywhere he sees only bad. No other choice is left for him, but to become a cynic, because he is not educated in the culture of Krishna consciousness. He kn…

By Sivarama Swami About a week later I overheard a conversation between my mother and grandmother. Granny was saying that this was not some ordinary book. She said that what Prabhupada was saying is what Jesus Christ said and that Krsna is God. I was v…

By Bhakta Patrick

“If I ever decided… like… not to be a devotee” the words caught in my throat, “would you be disappointed?” “You shouldn’t let me influence what direction you take your spiritual life” she said, “You need to do what you feel is right, regardless of what anyone might think”. “Don’t worry about it. This place is meant to be a shelter; somewhere where you can come to rest and plug in, not where you have to worry about living up to expectations. We’re not here to make you into a devotee. We love you, and we care about you, and we just want to help you have the best spiritual life you possibly can.”

By Sivarama Swami In the Vedanta-sutra it is said that sabda liberates us. When we say Hare Krishna, all the potency of Godhead is there. It is like being in the presence of the Lord, like reading all the Vedas, like seeing the spiritual world, like he…

By Sukhada Devi Dasi One day Charles suffered a great deal and was afraid. Visnupriya gave him a Back to Godhead magazine, and he was pleased to recognize the picture of Nagaraja Dasa, whom he had met. “Oh, I know him!” Charles said, “I think I’ll read…

By Kevala Bhakti das

On Friday, May 20, 2016, Toronto’s Hare Krishna Community celebrated the appearance day of Lord Narasimhadeva – Lord Krishna’s half-man, half-lion incarnation. Lord Narasimhadeva descended to protect his young devotee Sri Prahlada Maharaja from his torturous father, King Hiranyakashipu. There are many prayers to Lord Narasimha that invoke powerful mantras for protection, appealing to the Lord’s half-lion incarnation and His weapons. These are for protection from such things as malevolent spirits and material desires, as well as increased devotion and a peaceful world. The festival kicked off with a lively kirtan and was followed by an enthralling class by Vaisesika Prabhu. The class focused on this most munificent form of the Lord and devotees were hanging off every word of our guest speaker.

By thehansindia.com

Amaravati: International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) is constructing 108 mini temples (mandirams) at the upcoming Golden temple premises at Changheeskhanpet near Kondaveedu in Guntur district. These mini temples will depict various phases in the life of Lord Krishna like ‘Kali Mardanam’, ‘Godavardhanagiri’, ‘Geethopadesam’ and others. The mini temples will depict various phases of the life of Lord Krishna First phase of construction to be completed in two years Two audio-visual theatres being set up to disseminate Vedic knowledge A show using robots is being mooted to drive home the impact of good and bad deeds The Iskcon started construction of Golden temple with a cost of Rs 200 crore. The phase one works which began few months ago are expected to complete within two years. It is said that the temple will be a cynosure of all eyes after the completion of construction and will attract tourists from far and wide.

By Lakshman das
The significance of rathayatra reached the far corners of the globe now and especially where ISKCON temples are located ever since Srila Prabhupada organised the first rathayatra in San Francisco in 1967 as briefed below. The rathayat…

By Sri Paramahamsa Gaura dasa

On the 4th of May, 2016, I graduated from the school and now along with my two good friends Baladev Śrīman dāsa and Krishna Caitanya dāsa we are helping as trainee principals and headmasters of the Academy. I hope that I may be a servant of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission and be an instrument in the gurukula educational system we all know was so dear to him. In conclusion, my experience of gurukula was by far the greatest thing I could have ever imagined. I love my gurukula, my life, so much that now even though I graduated, and could go where I like — and ‘experience’ the world — I really want to stay and serve in the gurukula. I want to help others, and to make sure that their experience of gurukula will top even mine. When I think back it fills me with pride to say that I really lived such a life. The relationships I made will last a lifetime, and my memories I hope will too. Of course, there were ups and downs; being six in the ashram is no walk in the park. But thinking back I wouldn’t have changed my past for that of a prince. For it made me what I am today, and although I’m not much, I really do want to serve and I ask for your blessings.

Brijlata Dasi: Interested in being part of a school where values come first?

By Giriraj Swami Today is the disappearance day of one of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s most confidential associates, Sri Ramananda Raya. Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself in the mood of Srimati Radharani, with Her bodily luster. Thus Lord Caitanya is the com…

By Chandan Yatra Das ‘Srila Ramananda Raya was an incarnation of the gopi Visakha. Since Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Lord Krishna Himself, there was naturally an awakening of love between Visakha and Krishna. Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the comb…

By Satyaraja Dasa

Everyone likes to converse with loved ones. There is nothing quite as satisfying as sitting back and spending time with like-minded souls, sharing thoughts, ideas, and intimate feelings. In spiritual life, too, there is nothing quite like conversation – a back-and-forth that deepens one’s knowledge of transcendence and increases the possibility of spiritual loving exchanges. Because dialogue is a fundamental form of communication and interaction, numerous texts from antiquity have used conversational structure as a literary device to convey deep truths. Religious works such as the Bible, Buddhist sutras, and Confucian texts partake of this method, and in philosophy Plato’s use of dialogue is particularly well known.

ISKCON South London: We hope you are able to join us at 42 Enmore Road, South Norwood.

By Gunaavatara das

Resently by Krishna mercy and Prabhupada mercy we have a chance to visit Hong Kong and conduct some various program related to the Campaign, and few other program. We had four seminars in diferent scedule time, one is about ISKCON four movement and Surabhi Campaign, Best Practice ISKCON where Maharaja introduce about the farm project all around the world, and on the other day we also have peace inter faith dialoge. One very inspiring program that we visited one local goshala where they have 150 cows, bulls, and calves, the owner is one chinese leady who love cows very much. So we become to relise actualy there is cow protection movement been going on not to far from our temple, same is in Cambodia, Thailand, and many other places, because although those people may not yet be devotees, but due to their natural love that inspire them to protect the cow. As how all living atities naturly is to love Krishna and by daily seeing the Krishna form, name and pastime we will review our pure love to Him. It similar naturaly we will develope love to cow if we live with them and be friend to them.

By Nrsimha Krsna das

When spring comes we always get excited like most of the people. But reason our excitement is about trip to New Vraja Dham, Hungary. Every year we take Turkish devotees twice to New Vraja Dham festivals. With total of 10 devotees we went to New Vraja Dham for Nrsimha Caturdasi and HH Sivarama Swami Maharaja’s Vyasa Puja Festival. Festivals are always wonderful to be a part and always meant to do more sravanam, kirtanam and smaranam. Our devotees took part in kitchen services and chanted and danced in front of Sri Sri Radha Shyama for hours. Actually, the most important part of the festival for us was the initiation ceremony that took place on Nrsimha Caturdasi day. Our 3 devotees Bhakta Nezih, Bhakta Kaan and Bhaktin Gultekin took harinam initiation from HH Sivarama Maharaja and committed their lives in the service of Guru and Gauranga. Their new names are Nanda Kumar das, Krishna Candra das and Gaura Prema devi dasi. Nanda Kumar Prabhu and Krishna Candra Prabhu are brothers by birth and they are the youngest initiated members of our congregation. It is very encouraging to see development of our Turkish Congregation. Iskcon Turkey is expanding. Slowly but surely! It gives more strength and inspiration to do more & more services.

By SriRamaDasa

The Indian Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working on modalities to bring in a new law to combat illegal cow transport and slaughtering. Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Radha Mohan Singh (Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare) called for restrictions on killings saying even in old age cows can be financially viable. He also said that “cow hostels and sanctuaries are being established across the country, and five new veterinary colleges have been set up to take care of old and ailing cows.”

By Krishna-kripa DasLokanath Swami, Candramauli Swami, Sacinandana Swami, Agnideva Prabhu and Vaiyasaki Prabhu share their realizations during the Birmingham 24-Hour kirtana, carefully collected by Krishna-kripa Prabhu. Gopal Guru Goswami:. With the fi…

By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura “Worship of Krishna without Radha is not worship but pride. It is another unauthorized philosophy nourished by the concept of an impotent God. Krishna is alone the enjoyer; all others are to be enjoyed. The or…

By Hari Narayana Das

At present there are only a couple of devotees, Bhakta Putu Parwata and his wife, who reside in Cligeon. They have a good relationship with Mrs . Wira who works as secretary in government office. She also communicated the ratha yatra to the local Hindu community and got the support of the local Hindus to help participate in the festival under the banner of Balinese culture. Hearing the good news from Cligeon, Indonesian leaders spread the word to all Indonesian devotees and requested all those who could to attend.

By Mayapur Sasi dasa

Here’s the good news about the world of book distributors: It used to be said that the sun never sets on the worldwide British Empire, but now it does. However, now the sun never sets on Srila Prabhupada’s book distributors. Every seven seconds a book is distributed, and 24/7 the books go out to conditioned souls. This gives many people the opportunity to understand that they belong in another world, a transcendental world where everyone has full knowledge and an eternal position and feels unlimited happiness in the service of Krsna. In April, one of the temples in Sri Lanka had one of its most successful months. The city with the big score, Batticaloa, is not huge – 300,000 people. And the center has very few book distributors, but they did so well spreading Lord Krsna’s glories that they accumulated 4,510 book points, an 898% increase over April 2015. They distributed 2,760 books.

By Suvarna Radhika Devi Dasi There is one more aspect of spirituality that matches taking a flight. There we are on the plane, looking out the window, watching the fluffy white clouds float by. The flight attendants are charming, and give us what we wa…

Iskcon Sweden:The process of Krishna consciousness brings about a very dynamic and ongoing transformation – a transformation of our life and ourselves.

Dept of Admin: School requires urgently a High School English Teacher for classes 11th & 12th. ISC Board. Qualified candidates please apply.

By Giriraj Swami When I first joined ISKCON in 1969, we all were quite young and not many of us were married. And we were so new to Krsna consciousness and so dependent on Srila Prabhupada that we asked him for guidance in every area. When one devotee,…

Mahakarta Das: Due to the recent heavy rain showers in Sri Lanka, several areas of the country are affected.

By Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami When we think calmly and carefully about this wonderful universe, we can see that everything is working under the control of a supreme brain. The arrangements in nature are perfectly ordered. Things would be at random wi…

By Syamananda Dasa “No one is born hating another because of the color of his skin/ his background/ or his religion. People must learn to hate/ and if they can learn to hate/ they can be taught to love/ for love comes more naturally to the human heart …

By thehitavada.com

World class International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) will construct Shri Radharaman temple at Chouwkital Lamhetaghat over 4 acre land at the banks of Narmada. Gaushala, Free Food for Life, Gurukul, Hospital, Vedic study centre construction has also been proposed. Temple Manager Aditiputra Das said that it will be the third largest temple in Madhya Pradesh. The biggest temple is situated in Indore, while second largest temple is situated in Ujjain. Founder of ISKCON Acharya Bhakti Vedant Swami Prabhupad had started it with an objective of spreading Indian Sanatan Vedic Sanskriti throughout the world. Bhoomipujan for construction of temple will start at 4 pm on May 9.

By indiatimes.com

Mumbai, May 5 () International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which provides mid-day meal free of cost to thousands of school children every day, today opened a state-of-the-art kitchen at the Municipal-run R N Cooper hospital here. The ISKCON Food Relief Foundation’s Kitchen at Cooper Hospital in suburban Vile Parle was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, according to a press release. This kitchen will make healthy and hygienic food for the patients of Cooper Hospital at subsidised rates, besides serving food to thousands of children free of cost in the mid-day meal programme. The Government provides subsidy to ISKCON for supplying food to children. ISKCON Spiritual Guru, Radhanath Swami said establishment of this kitchen at Cooper Hospital is one more step towards fulfilling ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupad’s dream of no one remaining hungry.

By Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey

The devotees of Iskcon Mayapur celebrated Narsimha Chaturdashi, the divine appearance day of Lord Narsimha Deva in the temple on Friday, May 20. To commemorate the occasion, discourses from Srimad Bhagwatam , glorifying the pastimes of the Lord Narsimha Deva was recited by H.H Bhakti Purshottam Swami in the morning followed by “Darshan Arti”. At dusk “Maha-Abhisheka” of the deity was performed by using sandalwood oil and other precious oils. Hundreds of devotees raised their arms and started dancing in ecstatic mood while chanting Narsimha prayers. The festivities included 12 hour Kirtan Mela for two days, palanquin procession, congregational chanting by thousands of devotees and performance of “yagna” to please the Lord. The entire temple campus was beautifully decorated by colourful flowers and the deity of Lord Narismha Deva was the centre of attraction. Lord Narsimha Deva is believed to be the protector of the devotees who face impediments in their lives. Devotees arrived in huge numbers with great joy to observe this festival. There are approximately 300 devotees came from various states of South India specifically to participate in this festival, other than this around 400 devotees came from various parts of Bengal and adjoining states.

By radhanathswami.com

On Saturday, May 7, Radhanath Swami spoke before a capacity crowd at The Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. The Rubin Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the art and cultures of the Himalayas, India and neighboring regions. On the eve of the release of his upcoming book The Journey Within, Radhanath Swami was interviewed by yoga teacher and social activist, Dana Flynn on the topic of how to live spiritually through yoga in an increasingly materialistic and impersonal world. Following the discussion Radhanath Swami took questions from the audience and then the speakers were joined onstage by Ananta Govinda Das, Acyuta Gopi and Govinda Jones, engaging the audience in an uplifting kirtan to conclude the event. One pleasant surprise was that an early shipment of copies of The Journey Within arrived and quickly sold out at the museum’s gift shop. After the talk Radhanath Swami met guests and signed books. Below are excerpts from the evening’s talk.

By Vraj Vihari das

Our Founder, Srila Prabhupada, said that the love a mother has for her child is the closest thing to pure love in this world. We will examine that love as it manifested in famous mothers in the Vedic tradition as well as how it still manifests today.