Author Archives: David Haslam, UK

The nice thing about being ill, if their is such a thing is that it forces you to stop. Shivering and coughing its hard to chant and even basic care of the deities takes an eternity the material body demonstrates…

So Srila Prabhupada gave us the perfect example from which to follow and this year I pondered having a small Sunday feast program, putting into action rather than just talking. Planning is the key and having little experience I decided…

Over the last month I’ve been busy on community group visits as always I allow the group’s to decide what subject they would like me to cover; this time around most wanted me to explain what the understanding of Jesus…

Diksha Diksha Diksha £250/Rs11,000 Diksha Perception Understanding Background How much does initiation cost? If you ask those fortunate to have been given first and second initiation by Srila Prabhupada, their was zero exchange of money, no courses, indeed Srila Prabhupada…

Gluttony or Gluttony without bhakti, over the past few week’s I have been pondering this. December is meant to be the time of year of peace and goodwill to all mankind as those from the Christian faith remember the appearance…

Just to wish you all a wonderful Krishna Conscious 2016

May your japa and seva be blissful and sweet
Hare Krishna

I was interested but also saddened whilst sat in a class recently to hear the individual state that they were sorry to say but they thought that the second generation devotees were much better than the original Prabhupada disciples and…

After some thought I have decided to revamp my blog appearance, it has been a while several years since the last time this happened and I hope that those who read my blog will find it easier and more pleasing…

HG Parsharam Prabhu sent me this inspirational link; as always this is normally a prompt for me to share

A simple and beautiful video by
Hare Krishna Street Parties
Be inspired

Today’s huge THANK YOU must go to one of my oldest and dearest friends Chris Foreman aka Chrissy Boy from Madness. Chris has been a tower of strength in my life for as long as I have known him and is one of thee most compassionate people I have ever met. Thank you so much […]

Anti ISKCON, or Anti people leaving ISKCON? The other day I was challenged regarding aspects of ISKCON and it’s initiation requirements, the question was posed isn’t this making business you only give initiation if you have money right; they explained their perception if ISKCON. Sometimes the pill is hard to swallow, but the question I […]

The other day I was invited to a small program with some dear old friends, it was nice to be invited out but then their was a hitch knowing pictures of the event will appear on line. Why would this appear to be a problem? It’s may appear trivial but as it is another sampradaya […]

Vraja Mandala Parikrama by Dayal Mora das The time was coming around for the temple to send me to India again. Finally! I have the great fortune to serve as brahmachari leader at Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara Dham and I have been serving here for three and half years. I’m into Harinam and it’s a […]

Govindas Swansea, was smashed up and ransacked on Thursday night, 19th November. Burglers broke a hole in the roof to get in, then they went through the whole building, smashing up anything of value on their way, and stealing cash and valuables, which were used in the worship there. Govindas is home to a vegetarian […]

So the other day was Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day and although a little sombre is also a time to reflect and show gratitude for a life less ordinary, indeed non of us would be practitioners of bhakti if it hadn’t been through Srila Prabhupada’s service in fulfilling his guru maharajah’s wishes. However my time wasn’t […]

Over the years I’ve found that sometimes that best way to understand the word’s of Srila Prabhupada is to have a practical experience that brings the simplicity of Krishna Consciousness home; making you appreciate the wealth of knowledge and the ability to put things into place. So here goes. Two days after my previous months […]

Freedom of speech? Are we free in devotional circles to express a view or opinion, or is anything contrary to the management position simply aparadha? Fear of being ostracised or seen as a trouble maker is not a healthy position to be in, this doesn’t matter if your in devotional circles or outside of devotee […]

Its always interesting to see how word’s are interpreted or understood depending on either the individual’s or societies perspective of the word. And for those who are interested in the history of words will not how the meaning of some words have changed over the years, even in my short 40+ years there is a […]

It was so nice to be invited to listen to HG Kripamoya Das as he visited Cardiff the capital of Wales, this was an introduction to Krishna Consciousness arranged by two amazing devotees Steve and Emma. The wonderful thing was it’s informal nature demonstrating how there is no such thing as Western or Eastern religions, […]

Dear Devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada, Calais and the refugees. On the 21th October 2015 we set off from Bhaktivedanta Manor with two vehicles loaded with Prasad and provisions such as sleeping bags, tents, clothes etc. We were heading to a place called the ” Jungle “, just outside […]

It doesn’t matter, or does it? I’ve written many years ago a concern regarding initiation, I find myself revisiting the same subject matter fitting individual’s into a set rigid rules irrespective of the individual or their needs; the round peg in a square hole analogy. What is most saddening is that the latest initiation initiative […]

This is my offering to my Guru Maharaja on his Vaysa Puja day, it’s a small writing- Hare Krishna Please Accept My Humble Obeisances All Glories to Srila Prabhupada Dear Devamrita Swami Maharaja As I sit scrambling for thought’s and how to share my beep sincere gratitude especially following your recent e-mail to me; looking […]

It’s always nice to receive e-mail’s from devotees and sadly even though many are amazing very few get to see or hear about them. Looking at the contents and knowing that the devotee who shared this was struggling with health and has a heavy study, their focus on seva is humbling. So I hope the […]

Hema Mukhi Dasi In this short video you will see and hear Hema Mukhi Dasi leading our Saturday Night Harinam in Leicester Square. Hema Mukhi is very actively involved doing service for the UK Festival Team that goes all over the British Isles and sometimes into Europe, organising exciting Hare Krsna Festivals. The Festival programme […]

Prasad Distribution in Paris September 27th 2015 The French Revolution of 1798 is regarded by western historians as one of the most important events in human history. The revolution sparked off at the magnificent Place D’ La Republic, this is the location where another type of revolution was to happen, the Krishna Prasad “feeding of […]

Dear Maharajas/ Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada, I wanted to share a nice story with you all about a wonderful project put on by Mukunda Prabhu at the European Parliament in Brussels. The movie gives the illusion that I am the doer but I am simply the cook, and […]

Dear Devotees, Hare Krishna, Kartik starts on the 27th October. Vraj Padayatra from Food For All on Vimeo. It is a special time for spiritual advancement, service performed in Kartik gives 100 times more reward and in Vraj again is another 100 times more reward. And as we know the distribution of Books, Prasad (spiritual […]

A beautiful day to be beside the seaside especially when you have the opportunity to see Lord Jagannatha on his rath-cart ready to pour his mercy on all those fortunate soul’s walking along the promenade. Brighton rathayatra, one of the most unique and one of the most sweetest, many books were distributed along with many […]

Perfectly Standardized Several months ago I was speaking to a number of faith leaders one was excited about his congregational growth, “we have a wonderful Filipino congregation it’s simply wonderful to preach to a full congregation we have had to put on extra service though” Being inquisitive I asked for more detail had the congregation […]

Some 195 miles from my home is Croydon, the high street their could easily take the whole of my village it’s also a wonderful place for Rathayatra. The simplicity and humble nature made this rathayatra have a feeling of intimacy so entering into the spirit of dance and song for Sri Jaganatha was easy. come […]

So I had an opportunity to do an update on palliative care given the recent controversies over the Liverpool care pathways and the changes in “ do not resuscitate” implementation; these changes are to reassure individuals and family that life limiting illness doesn’t mean your put onto a path that ultimately leads to death. However […]

Today has been a wonderful day to contemplate my personal part in this International society for Krishna Consciousness and I returned to a thought from some time ago, what if? What if Srila Prabhupada didn’t take the instructions of his spiritual master seriously? Deciding he is too old or too busy or even may be […]

A beautiful summers day in Wales as Sri Jagannath graces the capital city Cardiff, everyone entered into the bliss. Here’s a small selection of the video clips taken on my smartphone for you all to enjoy. Come join us all next year

The other week I had the privilege of driving HH Mahavishnu Swami between Cardiff, Brighton and London it has been a long time since I’ve been able to do this. During one of the journeys we analysed the reasons people leave ISKCON or withdraw from devotional association, I put forward different arguments and maharaja defeated […]

So this is a follow-up on my last blog posting on “should who gives class alter our feelings and effect us differently? (A Thought) the comments area was wonderfully used to ask the follow on question and the person has kindly allowed me to get again post my reply here. The question ” why is […]

Some time ago an amazing devotee contacted me via Twitter and was asking me a number of questions, at first it was simple to answer within the 140 character requirements. However at one point the questions became so complex I asked for their email so I could answer more fully. Today the same devotee sent […]

I was asked why I’m not writing as much and the output on my blog is no were near what it used to be, had my enthusiasm and love of Krishna Consciousness diminished? Or had I finally been completely fried out by ISKCON and ready to admit defeat jump ship to another more open and […]

Their is a significant difference between philosophical understanding and practical practice in devotional life and developing true bhakti. One of these for myself is being equipoised in both happiness and distress and seeing both as krishna’s mercy. Over the last few weeks and months events happen that push this area into focus with the challenge […]

I had an interesting request today with a idea of how to bring groups of individuals together over distance. It is a simple idea of having a regular sanga using Skype, meeting once a fortnight at a set time. The idea was to go through the Gita verse by verse however a senior devotee suggested […]

It was a great fortune to have been asked to go with friends to Birmingham 24 hour kirtan, what an amazing way to spend a weekend. Fine association and the coming together of devotees simply for the pleasure of singing the great song of deliverance the Mahamantra. Over the weekend I managed to take a […]