Author Archives: H.H. Indradyumna Swami

Yesterday I wandered around Mathura alone. To my delight, I found many old temples and interesting people – just like in nearby Vrindavan. The glories of the holy dhamas never cease to amaze me. “By speaking the name ‘Mathura’ one attains the same result as chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna. By hearing the […]

After our month-long parikrama finished, I just kept walking … [ Photos by me 🙂 ]

I have benefited so much from my stay here in Sri Vrindavan Dhama. But today I realised that to obtain the love of God I aspire for I must leave Vrindavan soon and preach again in the west, for Srila Prabhupada writes: “Maya’s is all these newspapers. Preach that throughout the whole world. Sitting alone […]

Pani Gaon means the Village of Water. It is where the great sage Durvasa Muni had his asram 5,000 years ago in Vrindavan. Our parikrama party travelled for two hours in boats down the Yamuna river to visit the ancient and spiritually potent site. We ha…

A special trip to Surya Kunda where Srimati Radharani goes to worship the Sun God daily. There She meets Her beloved Krsna and They have Their sublime pastimes. We prayed to one day have the eyes to see those divine lilas.

“Govardhan Hill is like a flag of intense sweetness placed in the opulent land of Vrindavan. As the king of mountains Govardhan Hill offers very pleasing royal service to the young prince of Vraja.” [ Vraja-riti-cintamani, Chapter 3, v. 1 ]

The other day we visited a quiet and isolated place in Vraja up the Yamuna river. Nanda Ghat is where Krsna’s father was caught by a servant of Varuna for bathing too early in the morning. Devotees loved hearing the pastime how he was rescued by Krsna. The people of the village were curious seeing […]

Lord Balaram is also original Spiritual Master. So duty of Spiritual Master is also to purify the heart of the disciple.

1. He whose body was dark now has a fair complexion. Leaving Gokula He came to Nadia. Putting down His flute He sings the holy names. 2. Leaving the Yamuna He enjoys pastimes on the Ganga’s banks. Relinquishing His yellow garments He wears the saffron cloth of a sannyasi. 3. Sweet-faced Radha is no longer […]

A visit to Varsana brought our parikrama party to one of Vraja’s most special places – the home of Srimate Radharani. We prayed for Her mercy every step of the way. [ Photos by Ananta Vrindavan dasa ]

Yesterday our group walked a short distance down the Vrindavan parikrama path and climbed up a small hill to visit the temple of Madan Mohan and the samadhi of Srila Sanatana Goswami. We stayed for 5 hours chanting and discussing the pastimes of that h…

The lake of Mansarovara was formed by the tears of Radharani when She was angry with Krsna for arriving late at the Rasa Dance. The natural scenic beauty of the spot was perfect for our bhajans and discussions on the pastime. We all enjoyed a surprise …

Our parikrama party celebrated Govardhan Puja next to Radha Gokulananda temple in Vrindavan. BB Govinda Maharaja spoke and we had hours and hours of kirtan with him, Bada Haridas and Madhava. Simply sublime!

Of all the holy places in the universe, Vrindavan is most sacred. Of all sacred places in Vrindavan, Govardhan Hill is supreme. The topmost places on Govardhan Hill are Radha kunda and Syama kunda. Our great fortune was to traverse such transcendental grounds – all the while begging for mercy.

By analyzing these three aspects of God – Bhagavan, Paramatma and Brahman from different angles of vision our faith in Him becomes strong.

The waters of Prema-Sarovara are the combined tears of Radha and Krsna in feelings of intense separation from each other. Though such pastimes are far beyond our understanding, our parikrama party had kirtan, discussed the lilas and bathed in the sacre…

Vrinda-rani dasi was requested to dance for Radha Raman. No doubt, it is every Odissi dancers dream to perform personally in front of the Lord. She stunned the audience with her performance and surely Radha Raman was pleased as well.

This album gives us a glimpse into the material and spiritual opulences of India that are quickly disappearing. We were in awe visiting both Nathdwar and Udaipur, where Ananta Vrindavan das expertly captured the emotions of people and places with his c…

Pushkar, in Rajasthan, is the home of the only major temple of Lord Brahma in India. As Brahma is the head of our sampradaya [ Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya ] we visited his temple and asked his blessing’s to carry on the mission of our disciplic succession. In that spirit we held a blissful harinama […]

We created quite a stir as our party of 300 devotees visited the famous deities and holy places of Jaipur. People were impressed that so many foreigners have seriously taken up Krsna consciousness. It is all the desire of Lord Caitanya and the mercy of…

The city of Jaipur is steeped in culture and history. Most important, it is the home of several important Gaudiya Vaisnava deities, including Radha Govindaji – the beloved deities of Srila Rupa Goswami. As our parikrama party visited the various temples and historic places in the Pink City we felt enriched in devotion and enlightened […]

The town of Karoli is 3 hours south of Vrindavan. It is of special interest to ISKCON devotees because Madan Mohan, the deity of Srila Sanatan Goswami, is worshipped there, along with His beloved Radharani, in great opulence. The town itself is steeped…

Parikrama around Govardhan Hill reveals the natural beauty of Vrindavan and helps the pilgrim to awaken love for the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha Krsna. Our parikrama photographer, Ananta Vrindavan das, truly captures the spirit of Vraja in this album.

The superexcellent Sri Radha-kunda stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Sri Krsna.

A trip across the Yamuna river to Baelvan, one of the 12 forests of Vrindavan, reveals many wonderful secrets of the holy dhama. [ Photos by Ananda Vrindavan dasa ]

On the auspicious disappearance day of Srila Narottam das Thakur our parikrama party heard his glories from Sitala dasi in a beautiful park next to the temple of Vraja Mohan. Vraja Mohan was one of 7 deities Narottam das Thakur installed in Keturi. Aft…

Yesterday we went back to Radha Gokulananda for kirtan and a talk by Sitala dasi on Lokanatha Goswami, who’s samadhi is in the courtyard of the temple. Then more kirtan in the nearby samadhi of Gopal Bhatta Goswami and yet another darsan of the ever-merciful Radha Raman. A wonderful day in the auspicious month of […]

Pundarikaksam das, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada from the USA, is terminally ill in the Bhaktivedanta Hospice in Vrindavan. The doctors have given him 2 months to live. Today our parikrama party visited the hospice to encourage him in his final days. …

Today we visited the temples of Radha Raman, Radha Gokulananda and the sacred samadhi of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The devotees were deeply touched. May our prayers to all the saints and deities be answered, for such prayers were for the welfare of a…

Yesterday, by the Lord’s grace, we walked the sacred grounds from Yavat to Ter Kadamba and on to Asesavan. It’s one of the most beautiful and mystical journey’s through Sr Vrindavan Dhama.

Yesterday we visited the asrama of Subhari Muni, which is hidden deep in the Vrindavan forest, next to the Yamuna river. Devotees relished bhajans with Bada Haridas and an instructive talk on Subhari Muni’s pastimes. All glories to Sri Vrindavan dhama!

One may not be able to always physically live in Sri Vrindavana dham. But one can always remember Vrindavana and see Krsna everywhere by remembering and hearing His pastimes.

Our Kartika parikrama continues as we tread the sacred path from one holy place to another in the association of loving devotees.

On the first day of Kartika here in Vrindavan our parikrama party walked to the courtyard where the sacred samadhis of Srinivasa Acarya, Ramachandra Kaviraja and Hemalata Goswami are located. We had many hours of kirtan and katha and felt our souls greatly purified. We feel so fortunate to be here in Vrindavan – the […]

“Having retired from all my duties and being freed from all expectations, when will I enter the abode of Sri Vrindavan alone and pass my days discussing topics of Sri Krsna, the Lord of Vrindavan, and topics of Sri Radha, the goddess of Vrindavan?” [ Srila Prabhodhananda Sarasvati, Sri Vrindavan Mahimamrta, Sataka One, text 97 […]

In Vedic culture sannyasis [ monks in the renounced order ] did not conduct weddings. But our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, did in order to encourage his young disciples and help pioneer his fledgling Krsna consciousness movement in the early day…

Sincerity means whenever you have a choice between maya and Krsna, you always choose Krsna.

Yesterday we took our harinam party into the Muslim quarter of Skopje, Macedonia. A little concerned I asked the samkirtan leader if there was any risk involved. “In our country,” he replied, “the problems are between Muslims and Christians. So far the Muslim community has not shown any hostility towards us.” Whatever apprehension I had […]

Yesterday I was invited to speak on national television. The popular talk show aired at prime time throughout Macedonia. The host was very gracious and we discussed the basics of Krsna conscious philosophy. Most important, I went into great deal about …

Every day we do the same thing; get up, shower, have a morning program and go on samkirtan. It’s been going on like that for 40 years, to be exact. But we never become bored, tired or satiated because it’s devotional service to the Lord and always new and fresh. And it always will be! […]