Author Archives: Dandavats

By Giriraj Swami Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, is my grand spiritual master, but I feel that I never really knew him so well until I read his biography Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava by my godbrother Bhakti…

Jagannath Swami dasa: We are looking for brahmacaris and householders who are book distributors and who would like to become part of our team here at the Berkeley Temple.

By Vrindavanlila Dasi

The Consul and a team of Russian Government representatives visited Mayapur yesterday. They walked around ISKCON campus, visited International School, TOVP, had Diety’s darshan at the temple, prasadam of course. Most photos in this album were made by Nara Hari prabhu, who have hosted this party in his home and took the group around for the site seeing.

By Syama Chandr Das

Mahaprabhu is manifesting His causeless mercy on the devotees in Pakistan who endeavor to glorify Srila Prabhupada on the occasion of Golden Jubilee Celebration of ISKCON. A Gita Conference was arranged on Friday, 26th of March 2016, at Rangi Ram Darbar, PirJu Ghoth, Khairpur District, Sindh. The event was blessed with the presence of around 2000 people who participated enthusiastically in the discussions. The conference was graced by the presence of special guest, HG Sarvabhauma Prabhu (Dr. Shishpal Sharma) who visited the Land of Saints, Sindh, after almost a Decade to spread the message of Bhagavad Gita for peace and prosperity. In his lecture during the conference, he stressed on following teachings of Srila Prabhupada pointing out the fact that it’s a greatest blessing that our Acraya has left to help us awaken the Love for God in this modern age of Kali. HG Sarvabhauma Prabhu is famous in Sindh for delievering Bhagavad Gita Lectures and has inspired many People in the 80’s and 90’s by teachings of Lord Sri Krsna. Again with same enthusiasm, ISKCON Pakistan is pledging to arrange many programs in near future in different cities of Pakistan to enlighten people with the teachings of ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and spread the message of Mahaprabhu.

By Brendan O’Connor

Gradually they are coming out the woodwork. And suddenly it seems that half the people I know are secretly meditating. They range from casual transcendental meditators to practically full-blown Buddhists or Hare Krishnas. And the strange thing is that these are not hippies or crusties or drop-outs or people living alternative lifestyles on an ashram-inspired commune near Sligo. Just regular blokes, a few of them quite senior in what they do. There are thrusting business types and entrepreneurs and generally pretty serious people. These are not people who go for reiki or acupuncture or any of the other usual trappings of the “I’m not religious but I am a very spiritual person” lifestyle. They are fairly practical people. And meditation is just one of their tools, a technology for modern living.

By Tattva Darsi

Bhakta Jay Khush, Radha Krsna Dasa, and Bhrigupati Das distribute books to top medical doctors and professionals at the International Stroke Conference 2016 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Sponsored by Dr. Vinaya Gaura Chandra Das and his wife Padmaksi Sri Devi Dasi, to promote alternatives to stroke patients for recovery. His Holiness Jayapataka Maharaja is the inspiration behind this project, and we’ve dedicated a website for further learning. – www.spiritualstroke.com Srila Prabhupada wanted us to preach to the intelligent class of men the science of Krishna Consciousness. All glories to this wonderful service!

By Vijaya Dasa

January was a good month for Tirupati — the No. 1 temple in the world, with 17,746 book points. Lord Balaji must be very pleased with the sankirtana devotees in Tirupati, because His glories are being distributed in such a big way. Surat also did huge. This is a “small” temple, so there are about eight devotees in the temple, but Surat was the No. 3 temple in the world, with 10,728 book points. I’m in Mayapur at the ILS (ISKCON Leadership Sanga). Twelve hundred devotees have come to hear about how to improve their various services. Recently, Vaisesika Prabhu gave a seminar on book distribution and said many wonderful things. What caught everyone’s attention was his saying, “If you have a Bhagavad-gita and a Srimad Bhagavatam, then you are the wealthiest person in the world.” There was a lot of applause after that. Similarly, Lord Caitanya said, “If one does not have love for Krsna, then one is considered to be poverty stricken.” We want to give this great wealth to others. This is the highest welfare activity in the world.

By Romapada Das

The third day of the ILS started with a presentation on ISKCON’s 50th anniversary by Anuttama Das, GBC Minister for Communications and Pancharatna Das, Executive Member of the International Fiftieth Anniversary Committee. They spoke about the importance of the 50th as an opportunity for glorifying Prabhupada, educating the public, celebrating achievements, appreciating devotees and accelerating our mission. “Not many of us may be here to see the 100th anniversary of ISKCON,” said Anuttama Das. “This is our big chance to make a global impact, and accelerate our missionary work.”

By Caitanya Carana Dasa The Moment we turn away from Krishna our misery begins. The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty, by David G. Myers, is one among several books that use telling facts and revealing statistics to examine the rea…

By Nimai Pandit dasa

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami appeared in this world on the 2nd of September 1929 in the village of Jagannatha-puri, in the Indian state of Orissa (Odisha). Both the paternal and maternal sides of his family had been very strict Vaisnavas for many, many centuries. His father, Isvara Manik, was from a long line of Gaudiya Vaisnavas and his mother, Pata Devi, was from the famous village of Orissa Gadai Giri. The Giri family from Gadai Giri are the most famous Vaisnava kirtaniyas in Orissa. In fact they have a special invitation from the King of Puri to sing in the Puri temple for Lord Jagannatha whenever they can and this invitation dates back to the 17th century. Where ever they go to do kirtana, people do arati to them, they are kirtana -gurus. That invitation still holds to this day and is written in the history book of the temple of Lord Jagannatha – the Madala-panji.

By HariKirtan Das

There are around six lakhs or more villages in India stretching north, east, west and south. Though certain features like muddy roads, thorny bushes, open drains, narrow roads, etc. are common features in all villages but distinctly the culture, topography, food, lifestyle, occupations, etc. still vary distinctly from place to place all over India. After preaching in the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since the last few months, preaching in Khargone District villages of Madhya Pradesh was a very novel experience. The preaching was organized by Shamik Rsi prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who held many devotional responsible positions. in the USA Yatra and who is also a renowned doctor practicing his profession from the last 45 years. Khargon happens to be his native place.

By Romapada Das

On the second day of the ISKCON Leadership Sanga, Praghosa Das, the GBC Chairman presented several quotes of how Srila Prabhupada’s appearance was predicted in many scriptures and spiritual masters. Titled, ‘The greatest story ever told’, his presentation pointed out the five steps Srila Prabhupada had taken to make his institution more effective: 1. Founding ISKCON 2. Accepting the honorific title ‘Prabhupada’ 3. Establishing his role as the ‘Founder Acharya’ 4. Creating the GBC 5. Setting up Mayapur as ISKCON’s world headquarters Praghosa Das appealed to the delegates to become a part of the ISKCON 50-50 project which is an initiative to ask every ISKCON devotee to distribute 50 books in the year 2016.

By Mark D. Vickers My father, perhaps despairing of my dreams of the East and of becoming an artist, urged me to try for officer selection for the British Army, enticing me with stories of travel, adventure, and a decent salary to boot. To my surprise …

Nitai Charan Das: In its 17th year running, it gives us great pleasure to invite you to our annual Birmingham 24 Hour Kirtan festival.

By Romapada Das

The grand annual Mayapur festival began today with the inaugural session of the ISKCON Leadership Sangha (ILS 2016) with 1,200 delegates attending 87 seminars spread over 12 venues at ISKCON Mayapur.  ILS 2016 features a spectacular 50th Anniversary Expo highlighting the achievements of ISKCON, and stalls from various international projects such as Vanipedia, ISKCON Congregation services, TOVP, Varnashrama Museum of the Sacred Art, Govardhan Eco Village and several others. Speaking at the plenary session on the inaugural day, GBC Chairman, Praghosh Das said, “This year, ILS has been hosted in partnership with our 50th Anniversary Committee and the TOVP. The 50th anniversary is a very important milestone in the history of ISKCON.

By Srila Jiva Gosvami Krishna steals the minds of everyone, yet Radha steals even His mind by Her divine expertise. Thus She is known as Haraa. When the residents of Gokula were crying due to fear of the forest fire, Krishna immediately swallowed it an…

By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada What is your philosophy? It is written by man. What is the value of your philosophy? It is speculation. We don’t say that the Vedas are written by man. They come from a transcendental source. The…

By Krishna Ksetra Swami

Vision, inspiration and facility. Could it be that sometimes misunderstanding comes because you and I have different partial perceptions of the vision and we take our particular vision or understanding of the vision as the whole vision and we may want to say, this is the whole vision, your’s is not the vision. That may be one possibility of misunderstanding. Different inspirations, someone is inspired by, you know, lets keep it simple, especially by prasadam, someone else especially by kirtana. So someone says we have to do prasadam distribution, some says we have to do kirtana everywhere. This can be a kind of cause for misunderstanding. There may also be differences in understanding about facility. How much do we appreciate what facility is being given to us. So in terms of quantity but also other aspects of facility. We may not see where facility is, when its there. Or we may not understand the best way to use facility that is given.

Science Exhibition at Sri Mayapur International School (Album with photos) . Srila Prabhupada: The spiritual science becomes revealed to the devotee from within the heart according to the degree of his surrender to Krsna. Letter to Ekayani, July 25, 1970.

By Ravindra Svarupa Dasa

Rolex or Bolex? In the Philadelphia airport, I had occasion at one time to observe a pair of free-lance peripatetic sellers of watches working the crowds. They drew you aside and offered you a rare deal: a gleaming Rolex watch for a few hundred dollars, a tenth of the retail price. It was imperative to sell them quickly. Naturally you wondered how they were able to sell such expensive timepieces so cheaply, but by their haste, furtiveness, and weighty silences you were led to surmise that the chronographs were stolen goods. Of course, when you got home all delighted with your watch, closer inspection revealed not a Rolex but a “Bolex,” and it soon fell apart. Spiritual life has its Bolex dealers: Reporter: What frankly worries me is that since the arrival in Britain some time ago of an Indian yogi, who was the first guru that most people had ever heard of, a lot of gurus have suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Sometimes I get the feeling that not all of them are as genuine as they ought to be. Would it be right to warn people who are thinking of taking up spiritual life that they should make sure that they have a genuine guru to teach them?

Your servants at TKG Academy: We are pleased to announce that TKG Academy is now enrolling new students for the school year 2016-2017.

By Karuna Dharini Devi Dasi

So far scientists have mastered a few crops, but will they revolutionize the food industry with an engineered fish? In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its intention to sanction the first transgenic living organism. GE opponents quickly dubbed it “the Frankenfish.” It was invented by Aqua Bounty at their farm in Prince Edward Island, Canada. With headquarters in Maynard, Massachusetts, Aqua Bounty has been conducting fishy experiments since the early 90s. To produce the Frankenfish, the genetic material of cold water Atlantic Ocean pout (looks like an eel) is inserted into an artificially compressed salmon egg. The pout puts on fat faster than a salmon, hence the combination makes a fattier fish. However, the material from the pout doesn’t exactly combine with the salmon’s DNA. It is rejected, causing inflammation. A growth factor (GF-1) is then added to accelerate reproduction of the inflammation. The fish grows twice as big and three times as fast as it would have without the engineering.

By Caitanya Carana Dasa

There’s a particle more important than the Higgs boson, and we should be investigating it. Does ‘the God particle’ disprove the existence of God?” a young man asked me after a recent talk, referring to the discovery of the Higgs boson. “The so-called God particle,” I answered, “has zero charge, zero spin, and a near-zero lifespan; it exists for less than a trillionth of a second. Does that sound like God to you?” “No, not really,” replied the questioner, taken aback. “Exactly,” I said. “Its discovery has little bearing on the existence of God; it is just one step forward in the Standard Model, which is just one theory that deals with quantum physics, which is just one branch of physics, which is just one branch of science, which is just one area of human knowledge that deals with material nature, which is just one slice of reality.” I had anticipated questions on this topic and so was prepared. “Let me quote theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, who writes in the Wall Street Journal, in an article entitled The ‘God Particle’ and the Origins of the Universe:

Gunacuda Dasi: That opportunity awaits you now. As the community in Mayapur expands at an unprecedented rate, so too does the needs of Sri Mayapur International School.

By Chandan Yatra Das The care of the house where Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was born was later taken on by the Gaudiya Matha. Now the entire house has been developed nicely, with a beautiful temple, devotee quarters, etc. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta S…

By Kripamoya dasa

In a dangerous situation you don’t let go of your child. Or in sports. In England we have a game called cricket. Anybody here in India know the game cricket? Ok its an unusual game. I am finishing now. We don’t play it very well. But in cricket to make the team, if the ball comes to you, you have to catch the ball. If you don’t catch the ball once, twice, three time you get the name butter fingers. Your fingers are made of butter, you couldn’t catch the ball and you don’t make the team. So in this team, ISKCON team we cannot be butter fingers. We have to catch those souls when they come to us and hold on. Catch them and hold on. P;ant the seeds grow and offer the fruits. Its very important. Otherwise we are spending more man hours in meeting the public than any other organization on the surface of this planet. If you look at the number of man hours spent by ISCKON touching the hearts and lives of the people, day after day after day, we need to be able to transfer that huge amount of human energy into people who have been saved and who have been gradually delivered. So please fix your mind on the spiritual home of everyone, that home which is your home, become very determined to go there in this very lifetime and take people with you, take them with you. Every one of you, be acharya and take 10, 20,30.50,a 100 with you. Why not? They have no one else except you. No one else is going to do it. But you do it.

By Ravindra Svarupa Dasa

The quest for knowledge and self improvement has occupied the minds of sincere seekers since the beginning of time. There are key elements of the bhakti practice that provide the foundation for this work. They may surprise you! To those dedicated to preserving their illusions, the sober realism of the wise looks like pessimism. The image of this world as an all-devouring fire should be kept in mind. The Vedic sages advise us to see this world as it is.

By Mathura Lilesvari Devi Dasi

Yes! 50 years of ISKCON is a big deal. We have come a long way since Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON in 1966 but we still have miles to go. Srila Prabhupada envisioned Malaysia as a fertile ground to cultivate Krishna Consciousness as early as 1971. In May 1971, Malaysia was fortunate to have its soil blessed by the dearest devotee of Srimati Radharani, AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In Malaysia, the devotees are enthusiastically and creatively coming up with various ideas on how to commemorate ISKCON’s 50 years. One such idea focuses on book distribution. Srila Prabhupada has always emphasised on book distribution. Our movement was largely expanded in the early days due to book distribution. Keeping this in mind, the devotees in Malaysia came up with an idea that combined book distribution and ISKCON50 celebrations. Every devotee in Malaysia is encouraged to distribute 50 Srila Prabhupada books as an offering to ISKCON50. 50 books a year translates to an average of only 4 books a month. This is something practically and doable by even a child.

By Indradyumna Swami

Mahesh leaned over and, to my surprise, began to speak in fluent English. “Sir,” he said, “this is a most auspicious day for me. Somehow by dint of my past pious activities, I have the good fortune to serve a sadhu. Such opportunities are rare.” Then he quoted a verse from the Padma Purana: “My dear goddess, of all types of worship, the worship of Lord Vishnu is the best, and even better than the worship of Lord Vishnu is the worship of His devotee, the Vaisnava.” “What?” I said. “How do you know that verse?” “I study sastra,” he replied softly, still gripping the chair. “You’re a devotee of Krsna?” I asked. “One day,” he said. “One day I hope to become a devotee of the Lord.” “Are you from a family of Vaisnavas?” “No,” he said. “I am an orphan. The devotees of the Lord are my family.” Then he quoted a verse from the Bhagavad Gita: “The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me.”

By Sutapa Das

Puttur is a place 50 km away from Mangalore, Karnataka. 20 years ago, one person (now Bhakta Prashanth at ISKCON Mangalore) from Puttur received one book written by Srila Prabhupada from His Grace Madhava Prabhu of ISKCON Mangalore. He was so inspired by the book and the spiritual guidance given by Madhav prabhu that he started preaching in his small town. Over the years that followed, more than 1000 copies of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is were distributed there. Recently, ISKCON Mangalore Sri Jagannath Mandir organized a Bhagavad Gita contest across more than 15 schools in Puttur, as an effort to attract the school children and their parents towards devotional service. Around 800 students took part in the contest, and the winners were given awards on Feburary 14th 2016.

By Sri Nandanandana Das Narottama Dasa serves Srimati Radhika as Camaka-manjari. His samadhi is in Radha Gokulananda’s temple courtyard.The following excerpt comes from Prema-bhakti-candrika: “Radha and Krishna are my goal in life and death, and They …

By Bhakti Vigna Vinasa Narasimha Swami So today the auspicious day of the appearance day of Lord Nityananda. We will attempt to speak some of the glories of Lord Nityananda for the pleasure of the devotees. Lord Nityananda appeared in Ekacakra dhama…

By the GBC Executive Committee

We are writing to give you a brief official update from Mayapura regarding the upcoming ILS and GBC meetings. Several nights ago there was an incident in Mayapura outside the Conch Building where tempers flared and a scuffle ensued among several dozen devotees. Angry words were exchanged and some began pushing and shoving. One devotee was hit in the head with a stick. There were no serious injuries. However, that such tension has manifest in the Dhama raised concern for many devotees. This incident is related to a few underlying management and community issues that have surfaced over the past few months. The GBC members, most of whom are now in Mayapura, have been meeting with local leaders and other devotees to assess the source of the problems, cool tempers, and consider how to resolve the issues. As might be expected, rumors have circulated, including some rather wild exaggerations and untrue speculations. Some have questioned whether the upcoming meetings will be postponed. The GBC wishes to confirm that the GBC meetings, the ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS), and the Mayapura Festival will go on as scheduled.

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 January. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5

By Giriraj Swami Nityananda Prabhu, as the first expansion of the Lord, is the original spiritual master. He is the first servant of the Lord, and He is the first teacher to give knowledge of the Lord (outside of the Lord Himself). The duty of the spi…

By Chaitanya Charan das Chaitanya Bhagavata gives us special insight into the transcendental psychology of Nityananda Prabhu. When he heard about the fallen condition of Jagai-Madhai, his eyes lit up with not just compassion but also ambition – the amb…

By Mohini Radha Devi Dasi A Greedy Gang of Thieves: Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura has narrated this astonishing pastime in Chaitanya-bhagavata (Antya-khanda 5.527–706). The leader of the gang, who had been born in a brahmana family, had rejected relig…

By Radhanath Swami Lord Nityananda – The epitome of Compassion. So Lord Nityananda, he was in the sublime mood. Although he was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he took the most humble position in order to satisfy Lord Gaurasundara. Caitanya Maha…

By Artha Forum

On 17th January, Artha forum organized its 5th event in Singapore held at Tanglin Club on the back of very successful events in 2013 and 2014. The conference titled “Conscious Leader” was attended by over 120 entrepreneurs, industrialists, corporate leaders and professional in yet another successful event by Artha Forum (a Not for Profit initiative dedicated to bringing relevance of Ancient Wisdom in Modern business). Bhakti Charu Swami was invited to be the keynote speaker for the event. Esteem corporate leaders from Singapore shared the dias including Vikram Rao of Crayon Data, Dr. Charles Chow – Founder and MD of East West Group, Subba Vidyanathan – MD and Regional Head of Retail Banking at SCB, Sumita Ambasata – Founder of Flowering Tree Inc. and Gowthaman Ragothaman – COO at Mindshare Asia Pacific & Global Client Lead at WPP. Other eminent business leaders present during the event were Jayesh Parekh Co-Founder of Sony Entertainment Television, Anurag Srivastava of Jungle Ventures, Chandrasekhar Pingali – Managing Director at I Cube Consortium Limited and Sanjiv Aiyar – President PAN IIM Alumni.

By Hari-sauri dasa There are different incarnations or appearances of Lord Varahadev. Previously the white boar incarnation has been described. The one that is in the Bhagavatam as we receive it is the story about the red incarnation and His fight with…