Author Archives: Dandavats

By Gaurav Masand

After receiving a grant of $500,000 from the Victorian government, and planning permissions from the local council, the ISKCON Temple recently held a ‘Ground breaking Ceremony’ and has begun construction of new kitchen facilities along with a redevelopment of the dining area. The ground breaking ceremony was attended by the likes of Martin Foley MP, Margaret Fitzherbert MLC and other eminent supporters. All speakers congratulated ISKCON and pledged their support for this noble cause. Ted Baillieu, former Premier of Victoria, who has been actively involved with this initiative, paid tribute to the great service provided by Food for Life Melbourne as embodying a timeless message of peace and harmony. “This project will provide a boost to a service which has contributed so much to the multicultural heart of the most livable city of the world,” he said.

By Sri Krishna Purusottama Das

Small temples are where the big action is! ISKCON Nellore is famous as a fired-up preaching center in Andhra Pradesh. Under the leadership of His Holiness Sukadeva Swami Maharaj, the temple is doing exceedingly well on all grounds. Preaching is on full steam, with their large congregation now actively preparing for the upcoming “Gudur Rath Yatra,” set to happen in another one month. Devotees also distribute books regularly. During a recent program, they distributed 300 copies of Bhagavad Gita As It Is at Jammalpalem, near Kavali, on the occasion of Antyesti of late Ketureddy Kesava Reddy. ISKCON Nellore also recently held a public preaching program on Hanuman Jayanti at Gudur,. Temple leadership is actively inspiring the congregation to get involved and develop the land into a well-shaped, thriving devotional farm community that is dependent simply on the Lord’s mercy and the provisions of Mother Nature.

By Nate Rabe

George Harrison embraced Hinduism in 1969 after a meeting with Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the international Hare Krishna movement. He recalled that the impact of the meeting was similar to a door opening in his sub-conscious. Once he stepped through, everything changed. Referring to himself thereafter as “Closet Krishna”, Harrison continued to visit India regularly throughout his life and never lost faith in the simple message of love of Lord Krishna. After his spiritual awakening, Harrison’s music took on a strong spiritual aspect. Often combining elements of American religious music, such as gospel choirs, with Sanskrit lyrics and Indian instruments, the songs he wrote in the 1970s are among the more beautiful and melodic expressions of spiritual longing in all of popular music. While his first solo album,1970’s All Things Must Pass, is perhaps the most “spiritual” of his many records, yielding classic cuts such as What is Life and My Sweet Lord, Harrison’s India/Hindu oeuvre is far richer than that one album. This week we take a look at several other lesser-known compositions that every Harrison fan should be familiar with.

By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami PrabhupadaWhen a person is advanced in spiritual consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, he naturally becomes very sympathetic toward all living entities suffering in the material world. Naturally such an advanced person…

By Niranjana Swami Much can be said about compassion, and although we’ve covered many of its different facets, there is still much more that can be said, specifically in terms of our relationships with each other as practitioners of Krsna consciousness…

By Giriraj Swami An instructive incident that took place in Calcutta. The temple president there became very preoccupied in a business that he had started to raise funds for the temple, and meanwhile the temple had almost no money. Somehow, in the cour…

By Kavicandra Swami My dear god brother H H Purna Candra Goswami went to his samadhi some time back and we heard many praises. HH Bhakti Vijnana Goswami was lamenting that Purna Candra Prabhu was not so well known world wide since he had much to offe…

By ISKCON-London Communications

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, and to increase the public’s awareness and appreciation of the movement, the theme for this year’s Open Days is “50 Years of Contribution to the Global Community”. Attendees start a journey of self-discovery and gain insight into topics including the science of the soul, attaining inner and world peace, mantra meditation, yoga and vegetarianism – many of these being new concepts for the attendees. Whilst we welcome new guests to the Temple on a daily basis, the Open Days provide a structured series of interactive sessions for the public to learn about our philosophy and culture. It provides an opportunity to answer questions such as what goes on inside a Hare Krishna Temple, what are the Hare Krishnas’ beliefs and other questions that often cross the minds of passers-by or the spiritual seeker.

By Govinda caran das

The inspiration for the design came from His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja who had come up with the title “The Seven Petals of ISKCON” for his Gita Nagari retreat last weekend to discuss the seven purposes for which Srila Prabhupada founded ISKCON. The pun here is the fact that there are seven petals in the ISKCON logo, which can be taken to mean the seven purposes of ISKCON.

By Yudhistir Govinda Das

On May 28, 2016, ISKCON celebrated the 500th anniversary of Lord Chaitanya’s visit to Vrindavan at the famous Talkatora Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. The Festival of Inspiration, which was attended by nearly 8,000 people from Delhi-NCR and other parts of India, saw the presence of several senior vaishnavas such as: HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja HH Bhanu Maharaja HH Lokanath Maharaja HH Navayogendra Maharaja HG Basu Ghosh Prabhu among many others The festival was inaugurated by India’s Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma. While addressing the audience he praised the contributions of Srila Prabhupada for taking the message of India all around the world and congratulated the devotees for the 50th anniversary of ISKCON. He also spoke with appreciation for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement. The Hon’ble Minister later released a book on Vraja Mandala Parikrama authored by HH Lokanath Maharaja and was presented a memento by ISKCON India Chairman HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja.

By Chandan Yatra Das Panihati Chida-dahi Mahotsav, also known as the Chipped Rice Festival, is a yearly celebration of the pastimes of Srila Raghnnatha dasa Gosvami and Lord Nityananda Prabhu. This astonishing pastime took place on the banks of the Gan…

Dhruva Maharaja Dasa: June 13th — July 11th SadhusangaOnline.com will conduct a study of one of the most relevant sections of Srimad Bhagavatam for anyone regularly chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the first three chapters of the Sixth Canto.

By Krsnanandini devi dasi Sometimes devotees, especially in the neophyte state, misunderstand the meaning of detachment and attachment. And we erroneously conclude that showing affection or attachment is “maya” or material. Warm, loving interactions wi…

By Damodara Pandit das

The special global event to celebrate ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary at the Sydney Opera House has sold out in record time. The show entitled ‘Transcendental Journey: Hare Krishna Celebrate 50 Years’ was quite an ambitious and optimistic project but with overwhelming support from devotees and Australian public the show sold out in just 3 days. Transcendental Journey is a theatrical, musical and multimedia spectacular showcasing how Srila Prabhupada’s extraordinary journey transformed the lives of millions. The performances scheduled on Saturday 20 August, 2016 follows the life of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as he journeys west to introduce the Krishna Movement in United States in the mid 1960-70’s. The show then presents the Hare Krishna explosion World-wide and the wonderful achievements to date. Showcasing devotional music, dance and drama, the show will explore the challenges a young Bhaktivedanta Swami faced, as well as sojourning back to the era of Sri Chaitanya and then Krishna’s time some 5000 years ago. The show presents the cultural roots of Gaudiya Vaisnavism and celebrates the development of the movement in the West over the past 50 years.

By Bhakti Vijnana Goswami

On May 15, 2016 the festival of Vedic culture Goloka Fest in one of Moscow’s biggest clubs sent everybody for an “Easy Journey to Other Planets”. The program was improved by 108% than previous years and left an unforgettable experience and a great joy to all those who participated. It was designed for a wide audience and was interesting therefore for all, newcomers to this spiritual tradition and for those who practice for many years. All were exposed to teachings of invaluable knowledge about their spiritual nature and reality around us. It was like going on a journey to other planets and learn the Vedic model of cosmogony. The presentations were made by two signor monks and spiritual teachers of the ancient tradition of the Gaudiya Vaishnava, Bhakti Vijnana Goswami and Bhakti Ananta Krishna Goswami There were chanted lyrical, beautiful and fascinating ancient mantras by Aditi Dukhahi Prabhu. A known musical group named “For one thing” performed their show as well as other well-known and distinguished guests. Tasty treats were distributed to everyone and the chanting had everybody dancing and crying from the joy!

By Arcana-Siddhi devi dasi

Krishna, the Supreme Lord, met with both Maharaja Yudhisthira, a pure devotee of the Lord, and Duryodhana, an extremely envious king who had acquired his position through cheating and deceit. Krishna asked Maharaja Yudhisthira to go out into the kingdom and return after finding someone less qualified than himself. And He asked Duryodhana to search the kingdom for someone better than himself. When wicked Duryodhana returned, he told Lord Krishna that he couldn’t find anyone better than himself. Most of us would describe a person like Duryodhana as narcissistic, bombastic, conceited, and egoistic. Many of today’s leaders would t that portrayal.The saintly Yudhisthira, on the other hand, returned unable to find anyone inferior to himself. Such humility is practically gone among today’s leaders.

By Nrsimha Krsna das

We had busy days in Istanbul last week. HH Niranjana Swami visited us in Istanbul for the 5th time. Maharaja arrived on 26 May and left Istanbul on 31 May. We organized 4 programs including Sunday Feast in our Goranga Yoga Center. Programs were advertised as Vedic Philosophy & Bhakti Yoga Seminars and Niranjana Maharaj gave classes on well-known Bhagavad Gita Catur Sloki verses. There was a great interest in Niranjana Maharaja’s programs by Turkish audience. Couple of disciples of Maharaja came from Georgia to get association of their Guru Maharaja. Around 170 people attended for 4 programs. There were regular visitors and devotees also every day we got 4-5 first time comer to our programs. Niranjana Maharaja talked in such simple and wonderful way that new comers could understand speech perfectly and devotees were fully satisfied. New devotees got so much inspiration to do more service to devotees, Guru and Krishna by association of Niranjana Maharaja. In addition some seekers in spiritual path got inspiration to start practicing KC seriously. One of the new comers were very grateful to Maharaja and said to our Sri Rama Prabhu after programs: “I always had difficulty to understand philosophy in my all life however whatever Maharaja said I could clearly understand every single word.” When I told it Niranjana Maharaja, he simply said: “This is what Srila Prabhupada taught us. Present philosophy in a simple way so that everybody can understand easily.”

By Tamohara dasa We all have heard Srila Prabhupada warn us that television and media strengthen our materialistic mentality and divert us from service to Krishna—our consciousness being formed largely by our association. However, it is often difficult…

By Radhanath Swami

It was a fifty-seat commuter jet. The good news was that the plane flew. The bad news was that the toilets were boarded shut, the lighting did not work, and the air conditioner, after all that time, still didn’t work. It was a ninety-five-degree day. The plane was hot, muggy, dark, and Timmy decided he really did need to pee-pee and cried the whole trip. By the time we landed, every passenger was miserable. Except one. As we trudged down the steps of the plane and onto the tarmac, there was Dorothy sitting in a wheel chair that she had requested, smiling and waving as everyone rushed by. The passengers were stunned to see one among them who could be so happy. I stopped to say farewell. “Swami,” she said, “I chanted the mantra nonstop throughout the flight. I can’t remember being that happy in a long time.” She handed me the slip of paper with the mantra. “Will you write a message for me to remember you?” Taking her pen, I wrote of my appreciation for her and a little prayer. She pressed the note to her heart and smiled while tears streamed down her cheeks. Then she said something that I will never forget. “Now, living or dying,” she said, “is only a detail. I know that God is with me. Thank you.”

By Arcana-Siddhi devi dasi While it is the role of the parents to assist the child in making spiritual progress, children also inadvertently assist in their parents’ progress as well. One of the most dramatic examples of this is the story of King Citra…

By Kesava Krsna Dasa If a devotee child grows up to be a non-devotee, is this evidence that the parents mood at the time of conception was anything but Krishna conscious? Are the parents to be blamed, or are there other factors that determine this out…

Tattva Darsi: Bhakta Storm distributes books to a favorable musician!

Radha Shyamsunder Das: An Occasion to receive the Lord into Your Heart, Rejoice, Relive the unprecedented occasion! Repeat the Names of the Lord!

By Gopamatrka devi dasi She went to a Sunday feast, spent the night, and never left. In 1972 she was initiated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and received the spiritual name Ragatmika-devi dasi. For many years, Ragatmika dedic…

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.