Author Archives: H.H. Ramai Swami

This year’s Rathayatra at Whangarei, about 160 kilometres north of Auckland, was wonderful. Their Lordships Sri Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra Devi looked magnificent and the three metre Lord Chaitanya was especially blissful. Many devotees came with special guests, Janananda Maharaja, … Continue reading →

On my recent visit to New Varshana in Auckland, I had the opportunity to associate with my godbrothers, Janananda Maharaja, Mahavisnu Maharaja and Darmatma Prabhu. One day there was a celebration of Janananda Maharaja’s Vyasapuja and many disciples and other … Continue reading →

Shri Gopal Bhatta Goswami, one of the six Goswamis of Vrindavan, was born in 1503. He lived for 75 years and left this world to enter into the eternal pastimes of the Lord in 1578. He was the son of … Continue reading →

King Sagara performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice to declare his sovereignty over the neighbouring kingdoms. The 60,000 sons of Sagara were following the horse when they saw it enter a cavern where the sage Kapila was meditating. Not seeing the horse, … Continue reading →

Shyamananda Krsna das, Premabhakti devi dasi and their daughter, Radhika, moved to Newcastle last year. He is a professor of environmental science at a local university and his wife works nearby. For the previous 11 years the family was in Adelaide … Continue reading →

Most people take their holidays between Christmas and New Year’s and like to go down town for shopping or go to the beach and other areas. Hare Krishna devotees take advantage of this opportunity to increase Harinama Samkirtan and book … Continue reading →

Brajanandana das and family are originally from Malaysia but have been living in Perth for many years. He is now the Vice President of our temple and organises temple and community programs. I had the good fortune of being invited … Continue reading →

“If one loves Krishna, he must love Lord Jesus also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus he must love Krishna too. If he says, “Why shall I love Krishna? I shall love Jesus,” then he has no knowledge. And if … Continue reading →

Our Radha Govinda temple at Puncak, in the hills outside of Jakarta, has a growing devotee community. This includes quite a few children of devotee families. Besides the beautiful deities, temple, asrama and guest house, there’s a small goshala at … Continue reading →

We have over a hundred devotees living in Lombok, which is the next island over from Bali, Indonesia. The population is mainly muslim but there’s about 10-15% Hindus living there as well. About 15 years ago, the devotes got together … Continue reading →

Five thousand years ago, on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, delivered the most confidential and topmost knowledge of devotional service in the form of the Bhagavad-gita to His dear-most devotee Arjuna and to humanity at large. … Continue reading →

The devotees assembled at our beautiful Radha Rasesvara temple in Bali to celebrate Srila Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Goswami’s Vyasapuja. His holiness left our association for the eternal abode in 2006 but visited Indonesia many times and made hundreds of disciples … Continue reading →

Seven years ago, the Bali Klungkung area devotees bought some land and constructed a beautiful temple and asrama. Sometime later they installed Sri Gaura Nitai, Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra and Sri Radha Kunjabihari. I had the privilege of attending the … Continue reading →

Four or five new bhaktas arrived from Kalimantan, (formerly Borneo) to join the asrama at Jagannatha Gauranga Mandir in Denpasar. Although not yet initiated brahmanas, they are learning how to serve the deities from the brahmanas at the temple so … Continue reading →

Krsna Kirtan das is from Croatia and his wife Amala Prema devi dasi from Turkey. They came to Australia about a year ago and served at New Gokula farm. They have now transferred to the Bhakti Tree in Newcastle and … Continue reading →

Vijaya and Kiran are from the Punjab in India. They have lived in the Murwillumbah area since 1977. Vijaya’s grandfather first arrived here in 1901 and grew bananas and kept dairy cows. For the last few years, Vijaya has headed … Continue reading →

During the month of November, every day early in the morning the young daughters of the cowherds would take one another’s hands and, singing of Krishna’s transcendental qualities, go to the Yamuna to bathe. Desiring to obtain Krishna as their … Continue reading →

It’s been a few months since my last visit to New Govardhana and in that time many new projects are starting and others have come to completion. There are about 10 new cabins for guests – the last recently finished … Continue reading →

Lord Krishna detected some pride in Lord Indra and wanted to teach him a lesson. Instead of worshipping Indra, He convinced the inhabitants of Vrindavan to honour Govardhan Hill instead. Outraged, Indra retaliated with terrifying thunderstorms. The Supreme Personality of … Continue reading →

Srila Prabhupada, residing in the holy Dhama of Sri Vrindavan, at 7:30 pm on Monday November 14th 1977, gave up his mortal frame surrounded by loving disciples engaged in ‘Harinam-sankirtan’, the congregational chanting of the Holy Name. Translating Srimad Bhagavatam … Continue reading →

Dipavali or Diwali means “a row of lights”. It falls on the last two days of the dark half of Karttika (October-November). For some it is a three-day festival, others a five day festival. There are various alleged origins attributed … Continue reading →

Every night at our ISKCON Juhu temple during Karttika month, thousands of people offer lamps to Their Lordships. It is said in the Hari Bhakti Vilasa: “O tiger of sages, a person who during the month of Karttika eagerly hears … Continue reading →

The mid-term GBC meeting usually comprises strategic planning sessions with the leaders discussing a range of topics on how to develop and spread Krsna Consciousness all over the world. The local devotees, headed by TP Brajahari das, provided all the … Continue reading →

Srila Prabhupada struggled in the early 1970s to acquire the ISKCON Juhu property. He promised Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari, who were then housed in small shack, a beautiful temple. The complex opened in 1978 and now includes a spacious marble … Continue reading →

The first full moon of the autumn season marks the celebration of Krsna’s dancing with the gopis. On this day the deities of Vrndavana are nicely decorated in white. Krsna lila dramas are enacted. Because the moon is very auspicious, … Continue reading →

Shri Madhvacharya appeared in 1238 A.D. near Udupi, Karnataka in South India. He was considered an incarnation of Vayu (wind god). He had an unusually strong physique and extraordinary intellectual power. Madhvacharya took diksha at age five, sannyasa at twelve … Continue reading →

The fourth Sydney Temple fund raising dinner for the year was attended by about 150 devotees and guests. Special speakers were HH Bir Krsna Maharaja, Gaura Gopal from Mumbai and myself. The evening went well with kirtan, dance, progress report … Continue reading →

Our Bhakti Tree Centre in Newcastle is going from strength to strength. Apart from catering for Newcastle University 3 days a week, it is also a fully fledged restaurant operating 5 days a week. On top of that, there are 2 … Continue reading →

One of the recent events celebrated for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary by the Brisbane devotees was a boat ride on the Brisbane River. About 140 devotees ( that’s all the boat could fit ) assembled at a Southbank jetty in central … Continue reading →

Recently, it was the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival into Boston on the ship Jaladuta. In 1922, when Srila Prabhupada first met his future guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, he was requested to spread the message of Sri Caitanya to … Continue reading →

Sri Haridas Thakur is an eternally liberated associate of the Lord. The associates of the Lord are worship-able wherever they make their appearance. Just as Garuda appeared as a bird, and Hanuman as a monkey, Haridas Thakur appeared in a … Continue reading →

Sri Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura appeared in 1838 in a wealthy family in the Nadia district, West Bengal. He revealed that he is an eternal associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by his extraordinary preaching activities and prolific writing. The original appearance … Continue reading →

After the disappearance of Shri Rupa and Shri Sanatana Goswamis, Shri Jiva Goswami became the Gaudiya Sampradayacharya to guide all Vaishnavas in Navadwipa, Vrindavana, Jagannatha Puri. Although he was the undisputed leader, he always acted as a humble servant of … Continue reading →

Srila Prabhupada wrote: Srimati Radharani is described in the sastra: radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini-saktir asmad [Cc. Adi 1.5]. That is Krsna’s hladin-sakti. She gives pleasure to Krsna. So She is very kind. And today is Radhastami. If we pray to Srimati Radharani… … Continue reading →

Govindas Asrama in Darlinghurst has had regular programs for years. Many visiting devotees like Devamrta Maharaja, Janananda Maharaja, Kadamba Kanana Maharaja and recently Syamasundara Prabhu lead kirtana and speak. I am also a regular visitor and often attend to head … Continue reading →

Visnucaran and Sravaniya are originally devotees from Singapore but have been living in Canberra for over 10 years. They are regular attenders at the temple and also run a weekly program at the Australian National University where they have kirtan … Continue reading →

This is an excerpt from a poem I wrote for Srila Prabhupada: Srila Prabhupada, by all adored A true follower of the lord He toiled hard with every limb Around the world were signs of him There was no person … Continue reading →

Krsna is the embodiment of love and affection. He sees the good qualities of a living entity, overlooking the bad. Even if someone is in a lowly position Krsna is so kind that He can raise him to the topmost … Continue reading →

The idea for “Sadhu Sanga Sunday” was conveyed by HH Mukunda Maharaja to Pratapana as a follow up to the Sydney Opera House program. It was held at the Arts Centre in Darlinghurst that was decades ago a local prison. … Continue reading →

Hundreds of devotees and guests attended two programs at the Sydney Opera House. One in the afternoon and the other at night. The theme was, “The Transcendental Journey,” which depicted Srila Prabhupada’s coming to America and incorporating ISKCON 50 years … Continue reading →