Author Archives: H.H. Ramai Swami

It was in Srivasa Pandita’s house that Sri Caitanya enacted His pastimes of sankirtana. Those four brothers (Srivasa, Sri Rama, Sripati and Srinidhi) were continuously engaged in singing the names of Sri Krsna. They worshipped Sri Krsna and bathed in … Continue reading →

Sri Vakresvara Pandit was present with Sriman Mahaprabhu during His pastimes in Navadwipa and after his acceptance of Sannyasa he also accompanied Him to Jagannath Puri. During the time of the Lord’s residence in Puri he continued to live with … Continue reading →

On the full-moon day, sixteen days before Rathayatra, Lord Jagannatha is bathed. He becomes sick and is confined to rest for fourteen days. He is then offered special care until He comes out for Rathayatra. A special bath of Jagannatha takes place … Continue reading →

Bhimasena said to Srila Vyasadeva, “Only when I eat to my full satisfaction does the fire in my stomach become satisfied. Oh great sage, I might possibly be able to fast only once, so I beg that you tell me … Continue reading →

Disciples of Vedavyasapriya Maharaja organised a boat cruise for the devotees. I was also invited and more the 170 devotees booked on the boat named “The Lady” which left from Southport Marina on the Gold Coast. The cruise, which lasted … Continue reading →

Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana appeared in the 1600’s near Remuna, Orissa. In his youth, he mastered Sanskrit grammar, poetry, and logic. After carefully studying the commentaries of Sankara and Madhva he took initiation in the Tattva-vadi disciplic succession of Sripad Madhvacarya. … Continue reading →

On the last day of Purusottama month, many devotees in Adelaide assembled at the temple to worship and offer candles to the Lord. A deity of Lord Purusottama was placed on the altar and devotees came forward to worship Him, … Continue reading →

On a recent visit to New Gokula farm the devotees told me that the area was experiencing the worst drought in the last one hundred years. There had been some light rain but not enough to change the situation much. … Continue reading →

Shyamananda Krsna and family have been living in Newcastle for the last couple of years. Previously they were in Adelaide but moved when he got a new job as a lecturer at Newcastle University. The family started off in a … Continue reading →

The ancient Vedic calendar is calculated by the movement of the moon. Lunar months are shorter than solar months so every three years a month is added called Purushottama month.  Once, long ago, Sri Narada Muni reached Badrika Ashram, the … Continue reading →

The meeting of ISKCON Australia leaders takes place every year at one our temples or rural communities. This time it was held at ISKCON Mahaprabhu Mandira in Melbourne and went for three days. As usual, there was robust discussion about … Continue reading →

Every year, devotee leaders from around New Zealand meet at New Varshana, Auckland, for the AGM. This is held near the library at the school. Many devotees who live in the area, taking advantage of the leaders presence, come to … Continue reading →

On Friday before our AGM in Auckland, two devotees, Krishna das and Sangita Priya dasi had their wedding ceremony in the temple room. Both are from devotee families. Their Lordships, Sri Sri Radha Giridhari, Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra and Gaura Nitai … Continue reading →

ISKCON Wellington’s Higher Taste restaurant has been operating for many years and is still going strong. There are lots of people who come throughout the day, right up until 8.00pm, Monday to Saturday. TP Jagjivan took me in one evening … Continue reading →

Five hundred years ago in the district of Puri, in the village of Bentapur, there lived a great devotee named Bhavananda Raya. Bhavananda had five sons, the eldest of which was Ramananda. It is said that Lord Caitanya visited the birth-place of … Continue reading →

I was fortunate to be able to attend Lord Nrsimha’s appearance day festival at New Govardhan, which was a wonderful experience. Around five hundred devotees and guests participated in watching a play by the children, beautiful dance and sumptuous prasadam. … Continue reading →

Lord Nrsimhadeva’s appearance festival was celebrated with great enthusiasm at the Southport Centre on the Gold Coast. Over 100 devotees and guests came for the arati, lecture, drama, puspanjali, feast and prasadam. The drama was especially nice with some of … Continue reading →

The annual Brisbane Rathayatra is becoming a more popular festival every year. There were probably a thousand devotees and friends chanting and dancing in front of Lord Jagannatha as His cart was pulled through the streets of the city. Kalasamvara … Continue reading →

Madhu Pandit, a disciple of Sri Gadadhara Pandit, established the temple of Gopinatha in Vrndavana, India. Before Srinivasa Acharya, Narottama dasa Thakura, and Syamananda Prabhu went to bring the books of the Goswamis from Vrndavana to Bengal, Madhu Pandit blessed … Continue reading →

Sita devi, the wife of Lord Rama, was not born in the normal way, but of the Earth Goddess, Bhumi devi herself. In Maharishi Valmiki’s own words, Ramayana is known as the noble story of Sita — “Sita-Ayah Caritam Mahat”. … Continue reading →

Recently, I attended a fund raising dinner for the Sydney West temple construction project. The dinners are organised three times a year as a means to raise much needed laksmi. Special guest was my godbrother, Yasomatinandana das, who is the … Continue reading →

vedavyaso ya evasid daso vrindavano’dhuna sakha yah kusumapidah karyatas tam samavishat Srila Vedavyasa became Vrndavan Das Thakur. Krishna’s friend Kusumapida also entered into him for special purposes. (Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 109) Vrndavan Das Thakur’s famous book was first called Chaitanya Mangala, but … Continue reading →

I recently visited our New Gokula farm and although there has been a severe drought in the area for last few months, finally a good downpour of rain came. As you can see from the pictures, Radha Gokulananda’s cows and … Continue reading →

Christian, Mohammedan, Hindu – it doesn’t matter. If he is simply speaking on behalf of God, he is a guru. Lord Jesus Christ, for instance. He canvassed people, saying, “Just try to love God.” Anyone – it doesn’t matter who … Continue reading →

Feeling very sad (dukhi) over losing several children before his birth, his parents named him Dukhi Krishna Dasa. Upon taking diksha from Hrdaya Chaitanya he became known as Krishna Dasa. In Vrindavana, he joined Narottama Dasa Thakura and Shrinivasa Acharya … Continue reading →

The appearance of Lord Ramacandra, Rama Navami, is enthusiastically celebrated in India and around the world. The devotees in western Sydney invited me for the Rama Navami at a hall they hired for the evening. I led kirtana and gave … Continue reading →

On the way to the Saturday evening Brisbane temple program I stopped off for a lunch program at Rupa Vilasa’s house on the Gold Coast. He and and his family operate a preaching centre in Southport, which has been going … Continue reading →

Rupa Raghunatha is well known to devotees all over Australia. He has been regularly going out on book distribution for over 25 years. Some time ago he moved to Murwillumbah near our New Govardhana temple. When gurus, sannyasis and senior … Continue reading →

Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula at New Govardhan is in the process of constructing more high school facilities. This includes relevant earthworks and building of eight classrooms, science lab, art studio, hard court outdoor basketball court, play areas and a toilet block. … Continue reading →

The Bhakti Tree in Newcastle recently celebrated its third year since opening with a special program for the evening. Prasadam was served first from 6pm and over a hundred guests came. This was followed by a wonderful kirtan led by … Continue reading →

The Canberra Bhakti Vrksa program has been going on for over 10 years. I was a guest at the last one and quite a number of devotees and friends attended. What is a “Bhakti Vrksa program?”. It is when a … Continue reading →

This year, I was fortunate to be at our Sydney Temple for Gaura Purnima. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Mayapur in the town of Nadia just after sunset on the evening of the 18th of February 1486. The moon … Continue reading →

Mahaprabhu’s seniors, His parents and gurus, are all His servants and eternal associates and they take their birth prior to His appearance in order to serve Him in their own way. Srila Madhavendra Puri appeared in the 14th century. Sri Advaita … Continue reading →

The GBC members again came to Mayapur for the annual general meeting, which lasted around eleven days. Different topics were discussed and ministers gave their reports in the areas of health and welfare, devotee care, deity worship, book distribution, communications, … Continue reading →

As always, the Mayapur Kirtan Mela is immensely popular and devotees come for all over to attend the 5 day festival. There are a variety of leading devotees who inspire everyone to follow their ecstatic kirtans, which are interspersed with … Continue reading →

The 2018 ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) in Mayapur spanned a period of eight days and was attended by more than eight hundred devotees from all over the world. Devotees enthusiastically went to numerous seminars given by leaders involved in various … Continue reading →

Devotees from all over the world travelled to Mayapur to see the Chakras of the ToVP installed on the domes of Their Lordships, Sri Sri Radha Madhava/Panca Tattva and Lord Nrsimhadeva. The ceremony started around 9.00am with a welcome from … Continue reading →

Lord Nityananda appeared in the village of Ekachakra, in West Bengal, India, around 1474. In the Caitanya Caritamrita He is declared to be the avatar of Lord Balarama, the direct expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. His father … Continue reading →

Australia Day is a national holiday and many parades are held in cities and towns across the country. I was invited to participate in the multicultural procession by the Adelaide co TP, Adi Purusa Krsna das. The devotees brought our … Continue reading →

Ambarish Maharaja das and Ananga Manjari devi dasi have been serving at the Wellington temple for ten years since coming from Pune, India. Although both working, they seem to have boundless energy for preaching. In the last few years they … Continue reading →