Author Archives: Dandavats

By Braja Vilas das

This Monday, May 9, is Akshaya Tritiya, one of the most important days in the Vedic calendar. Akshaya Tritiya is the appearance day of Lord Parasurama, and it is also the day that the Ganges descended to the earth. Most devotees know it as the beginning of Candana-yatra, but actually many of Lord Krishna’s other pastimes also took place on this day, specifically those which highlight Krishna’s generous and intimate reciprocation with his devotees. The very word Akshaya means “that which never diminishes”. Any service or charity one performs on this day will be paid back many times over. On this day, Sudama gave the Lord a tiny portion of chipped rice and was rewarded with untold opulence. Draupadi was protected by Lord Krishna twice on this day, once when He provided her an unlimited sari at the dice game in return for a tiny piece of cloth, and later, when she needed to provide food for Durvasa muni, the Lord took a single grain from her pot and satisfied the hunger of all the sages.

By Mahatma das Appreciation only costs you a few words, but what it buys is priceless. When Dale Carnegie said to be appreciated is the greatest human need, those who paid attention found appreciation one of the greatest motivating forces known to man….

By Gauranga Dasa Mistakes why we make them and how we can rectify them? To err is human … ” so goes the saying. Safely we can add three more details to the list: tendency to fall under illusion, cheating propensity and imperfect senses. A conditione…

By Giriraj Swami As many of you know, Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself in the role of a devotee. He is Krsna, but with the complexion and mood of Srimati Radharani. There are different purposes for the Lord’s advent. The internal reason for Lord Caitany…

By Daamodara Dhananjaya Das

Outreach – How to beget devotees from a Rathayatra During one of our meetings between GBC-SPN (Strategic Planning Network) Outreach Committee and the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, the subject matter of discussion was how to improve our outreach during the festivals that we celebrate in ISKCON. It has been observed that most of our festivals are successful in creating a majestic impression in the minds of the people, but fail to generate new devotees in a large number. In spite of so much time, labor, money and intelligence being used in each festival, we remain almost unproductive. Especially our Rathayatras are celebrated with a great pomp and circumstance, but they hardly yield any fruits in terms of new devotees. Hence, the GBC-SPN Outreach Committee, in collaboration with the Congregational Development Ministry, designed a process to generate contacts during the Rathayatras and thus, make them worth all the expenditure.

By Kalakantha Dasa O Krishna! In Your absence every moment lasts for years. The whole world seems so empty that my eyes are raining tears. When we no longer expect happiness from illusions, we naturally expect happiness from Krishna. Yet the ever-indep…

By Abhay Charana Dasa

Sankirtana Dasa, long time resident of New Vrindaban community, recently won a Storytelling World Resource Award for his dramatic storytelling CD Hanuman’s Quest. He is also a recipient of  a WV Artist Fellowship Award,  a National Endowment of the Arts Grant,  an Ohio River Border Initiative Grant, and a Next Generation Indie Book Award for his Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest.  For many years Sankirtana had used his background in theater to write, act and direct Krishna Consciousness dramas. Today, he offers dramatic storytelling programs in a variety of venues. He is on the  visiting artist  rosters of the  WV Division of Culture & History, the Greater Columbus Arts Council,  Artsbridge, and is  a member of  the WV Storytelling Guild.

By Kesava Krsna Dasa “O Narada, I am not in Vaikuntha nor am I in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees glorify My name, form, qualities and transcendental pastimes.” (Padma Purana). How many of us are fortunate to have not just good fri…

By Radhanath Swami You see these temples that we are living in, they are not in Kali-yuga. So long as the devotees are taking shelter of Holy name. this is Satya in this room as soon as you go out it is Kali. Why? because everyone here is simply surch…

By Ganesh das Brahma-samhita (5.50) “I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda. Ganesha always holds His lotus feet upon the pair of tumuli protruding from his elephant head in order to obtain power for his function of destroying all obstacles on the path …

Bhaktin Natasha: Padayatra is an excellent way to reach the public and show that the Hare Krishna’s really practice what they preach.

By ISKCON Coimbatore

The first one is the grand celebration of the First Annual Rathyatra of Lord Jagannath at Ooty and the second one is the successful beginning of excavation of land for their new temple project , of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna at ISKCON, Pelamedu, Coimbatore. When Lord Jagannath decided to visit the Queen of Hill Stations, Ooty, He directed the devotees from within to arrange for a grand rath yatra. Residents and tourists at Ooty, attracted by the Rath Yatra posters were inquisitive to see the Lord who had a unique form quite unfamiliar to them . The scene was all set to pull the ratha of the Lord through the main streets of the town. Great care was taken in arranging for prasadam ,accomodation and other facilities for the devotees.

By Hari Narayana das

Kapuas, a regency in central Borneo is a beautiful city located on the bank of the ‘Simpang Tiga’ river which in turn joins three other rivers; Murung Kapuas, Kapuas, and the shore of Javanese ocean. The capital city, Kuala Kapuas is said to look somewhat like Manasi Ganga in Vrindavan. This city was originally built as a port to connect roadways in Borneo. There are a few devotees who live in Kapuas. Since there is not that much active preaching in Kapaus, devotees had become a little unenthusiastic. The heartfelt prayers of the devotees was answered very soon however in the form of a grand Ratha Yatra celebration in Kaula Kapuas, the first ever in area. Under the banner of the Government festival, ‘Indonesian Record for Creativity’, devotees managed to hold the Ratha Yatra celebration.

By Niranjana Swami

My purpose for providing this facility was manifold: 1) to give devotees struggling with sadhana the opportunity to become more accountable for their sadhana practices, 2) to give devotees struggling with sadhana the opportunity to keep a record of their own performance in order to better see for themselves where they are lacking and where they need to improve, 3) to encourage devotees who either were or currently are struggling to come up to the prescribed standards, to maintain steadiness… even if it’s to a lesser standard, 4) to encourage devotees to increase whenever they feel they have the strength and commitment to do so, 5) to encourage devotees with their sadhana in general, simply by providing this extra facility for accountability, 6) to give initiated devotees a private venue to disclose that they are not able to maintain his/her vow to chant sixteen rounds daily, 7) to help initiated devotees better deal with any possible guilt they may have for their inability to maintain their sixteen rounds, 8) to help devotees feel a closer connection between their sadhana and their service to their spiritual master(s), 9) and to show that I understand the struggles devotees encounter with their japa, especially devotees who are not living either in, or near to a temple.

By Gauranga Dasa Why only Krishna? Typically in Indian homes of Hindu families you see a whole bunch of gods on the altar. All are same, they say. But it is not like that. If you take group photo of Microsoft employees with Bill Gates and show it to a…

By Lakshman das Srila Prabhupada often said, “Vrindavan is my residence, Bombay is my office, and Mayapur is where I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Bombay (Mumbai) is where he incorporated the main branch of ISKCON and other branches in I…

By Sri Nandanandana dasa In this way, we can begin to understand that devotional service ultimately brings us to the level of being able to see Lord Krishna directly. It is by this method that numerous other saintly sages and yogis have come to be able…

By Vraja Bihari Dasa “We say God’s on our side but the more important question to ask is are we on God’s side…” (George Washington) Democracy is supposed to be ‘by the people, of the people, and for the people,’ but I fear it may soon be redefined as …

Jaya Gaurasundara dasa: The Temple of the Holy Name is situated in Prabhupada Village, a rural community in the foothills of central North Carolina.

Rama vigraha das: This is a very special and rare occurrence! Please join us!

By Rsiraja Das

Cosmology has been of great interest to devotees ever since Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed his disciples to construct the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. However, since the Vedic cosmic model is so different from the modern one, devotees often struggle with many common differences such as heliocentric vs. geocentric models of the “solar system”, flat vs. round descriptions of the planets, rotating vs. stationary models of the Earth, the enormous mountains which cannot be observed, etc. Somewhat surprisingly though, devotees unquestioningly accept “higher” and “lower” planetary systems, and linear vs. cyclic time, which are fundamental to grasping Vedic cosmology, because they change space and time from flat-linear (in modern science) to hierarchical-cyclic (in Vedic cosmology). What we have unquestioningly accepted (although not adequately understood) holds the key to a better understanding of Vedic cosmology.

By Caitanya Carana Dasa Are we the makers of our destiny or is life pre-destined? In the Mahabharata, Vidura explained to Dhritarastra, “Destiny determines the consequences of our actions, not our actions themselves.” This means that we are not like pr…

By Kesava Krsna Dasa

Many times devotees try to reconcile this essentially Christian concept with Vedic understanding, but end up writing lengthy explanations that do not always satisfy the curiosity. This is because it is mostly incompatible with the truths of Bhagavad-Gita, for it has to be broken down in a simplified manner to give a satisfactory and brief explanation. Predestination As we may know, the five truths covered by Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, namely Krishna, the jiva souls, nature, time and action or karma are revealed. Of these, karma or action does not fit in to the predestination scheme. Yes, we can argue that our actions determine our ‘predestination’ or fate, but this is not the predestination of God’s doing.

By Zayani Bhatt

As a part of ISKCON’s 50th year celebrations, devotees from Bhaktivedanta Manor, academics from around the country and students from Bath Spa University gathered at the picturesque and quaint university on Saturday 23rd April to talk about their shared interest in the Hare Krishna movement. The day, organised in collaboration with Religions, Philosophies and Ethics at the University, was dedicated to talks, presentations and a panel discussion on the history of ISKCON including its greatest achievements and challenges, its position within the larger British Hindu community and its future and the potential challenges it may experience going forward into the next fifty years. The academics included Dr Dermott Killingley who used to be of Newcastle University and Professor Kim Knott of Lancaster University, both of whom have extensively studied the Holy Scriptures such as the Bhagavat Gita, and the theology and practice of Srila Prabhupada’s movement.

By Brittany Nunn

Davis is Hindu. His family is a part of the Hare Krishna community in East Dallas and is heavily involved at Kalachandji’s, the Hare Krishna temple that moonlights as a vegetarian Indian buffet. He was afraid the other students would spurn him if they found out. “My family is weird because I have an Indian religion, I live in America, but my dad’s side of the family is African, so my middle name is African,” he says. “Because of my religion I’m vegetarian, so that’s kind of weird.” He went to TKG Academy in elementary school where he was surrounded by other Hindu kids and families. Public school was a culture shock and some of the other kids bullied him in junior high because of a small ponytail he wore as a part of Hinduism.

By Giriraj Swami This verse appears in Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.4.68) in connection with a misunderstanding between Durvasa Muni and Maharaja Ambarisa. As a result of this misunderstanding, Durvasa Muni tried to kill the king, when the Sudarsana cakra, the…

By Jagabandhu das My Father-in-law was at first alarmed by the framed photo of Srila Saraswati Thakur adorning our living room wall captioned with His Divine Grace’s bold declaration that “…Western civilization must be crushed.” I explained that th…

By Vraja Bihari Dasa Making sense of Vedic Rituals. Are traditional rituals mere acts of blind faith, or are there scientific reasons behind following them? An envelope protects and carries something valuable. It is the inner content of the envelope th…

By Syamananda Dasa Scientists today are searching for evidence but are not looking for it. You can see a particular event but if you are not exactly trained in the science of investigation you may never find it. Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the f…

By Radhika Ramana Dasa This is the age of the internet. People are spending more and more time online. They are emailing, socializing, chatting, downloading, uploading, sight-seeing, blogging. And of course, they are searching. In fact to perform all t…

By radhanathswami.com

On April 22nd, 2016 Radhanath Swami joined faith leaders from around the world at Church Center of The United Nations in New York City to encourage world leaders to sign the Paris agreement on climate change. The event (The Interfaith Climate Change Statement To World Leaders Handover Program) was mainly organized by GreenFaith, in partnership with a number of faith based organizations. Although a climate change agreement was made in Paris, each individual country that signed on still needs to approve it through their respective parliaments and legislative bodies. The Interfaith Climate Change Statement presents the positive judgement of the Paris Agreement from 250 global faith leaders, and urges its prompt signature and ratification by governments so that it can come into force as soon as possible. It also calls for action relating to emission reductions and a swift phase out of fossil fuel subsidies. The statement serves to renew the strong commitment of the faith community to remain active in defining the moral responsibility to care for the Earth,

Nila Kamal das: It is said that ‘simplicity is vaisnavism’. Krsna Mayi Mataji was the embodiment of this statement, her dealings and behavior just like that of a child.

By Giriraj Swami

Much has been said about the power of positive thinking, that the secret to success is to think positively about what you want to achieve and that such thoughts will attract positive results–practically without limit. Such claims may foster a sense of optimism about the possibilities for material success, but how realistic are these claims, and how beneficial are these approaches and techniques? I have always been impressed by Srila Prabhupada’s bold, frank realism and find it a refreshing relief from so much naive, sentimental optimism. After all, we are in the material world, and we stand to benefit if we consider all possibilities, even “negative” ones. Speaking on Bhagavad-gita 1.6, Srila Prabhupada said, “Duryodhana first of all pointed out the military strength of the opposite side. This is intelligence. One should take calculation of the opposing elements, or the enemy’s side. In fighting, the first thing is to take estimation of the enemy’s side, how much they are strong, how they have arranged. Then one should calculate how to counteract, how to fight with them. This is intelligence. Without taking calculation of the other side, if you are not prepared, how can you become victorious?

By Ravindra Svarupa dasa

As soon as I am desiring something, immediately my body is formed. Immediately a particular type of body begins to form, and as soon as I am mature to change, my next body I get according to my desire. Therefore we should always desire Krishna. Then from this life, the Krishna-approaching body or the spiritual body will be formed. The more you become sincere servant of Krishna, the more your body becomes Krishnaized, electrified. Therefore advanced Krishna conscious person is considered to have a spiritual body. The same example, as I have given several times: just like iron rod. You put into the fire, it becomes warmer, warmer. The more it is connected with fire, it becomes warm, warm, warm. And at last it becomes red hot, so that at that time, if that iron is touched to any other thing, it burns. It does not act as iron; it acts as fire. Similarly, by this Krishna consciousness, continuous chanting, you will make your body spiritualized. At that time, wherever you go, wherever you touch, he’ll be spiritualized. Similarly, the iron: Without being spiritualized, without being red hot, if you touch, it will not act.

By Abhijit Tolley At this point another question raises its hood, especially in the minds of the cynical. “So, after all,” they say, “all you want is your own happiness. You are not really as selfless as you want us to believe. You are serving God beca…

New Vrindaban: Join us for the 16th annual Festival of Inspiration this Mother’s Day weekend Friday, May 6, through Sunday, May 8, 2016.

By Prem Sindhu Gauranga Das

From 11th to 13th April, an enthusiastic and energetic group of 60 devotees arrived in the Holy Dhama of Govardhana for a Holy name retreat under the guidance of H.H. Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami and H.G. Srivasa Prabhu from Africa. The devotees in attendance were from several countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Malaysia, Brazil and India. They came to the shelter of Haridasavarya Govardhana, the greatest of the devotees of Lord Krishna, to receive spiritual impartations, to be touched by the Holy presence of H.H. Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami and to get motivated for spreading the Holy names in their nations. The retreat offered the participants a dynamic mix of spiritual enlightenment and exciting spiritual visits to various holy places in Govardhana.

Navakishori Devi Dasi: It is a living project with over forty short videos of wisdom from women who have been practicing Bhakti.