Author Archives: H.H. Ramai Swami

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, and raising of the Flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. In … Continue reading →

On one day of the Family festival all the devotees headed down to Whangarei where Buddhimanta and his crew of enthusiastic devotees arranged a Ratha-yatra parade through the streets of the city. A new cart was made and Their Lordships … Continue reading →

The devotees around Auckland organised a 6 day family festival that saw nearly 80 devotees travel to Waitangi in the north of New Zealand. Waitangi is the famous place where in 1840 The British signed a treaty with the Maori … Continue reading →

It’s always a pleasure visiting the Wellington yatra. We have two centres here, one down town known as Gaura Yoga and the other at Newlands, a nearby suburb. When I visit the devotees usually come from both centres to attend … Continue reading →

It has been over three years since the first of the big earthquakes struck Christchurch and the city is still pulling down damaged buildings and constructing thousands of new ones. I have been told that it will take at least … Continue reading →

Venugopal Prabhu, from New Govardhana, is a devotee of more than 40 years standing. He has been a temple president in Brisbane and Cairns where he served in those roles with distinction. Currently, he is the co-director, along with Ajita … Continue reading →

For over 10 years the devotees from New Govardhana have been catering at the Woodford Folk festival. It is said that a few hundred thousand people attend this festival over a 6 day period. This year it was especially hot … Continue reading →

The Adelaide temple management organised programs every night at the temple for my last visit there. It was nice to see so many devotees attend even though the temperature outside was over 40 degrees that week. Luckily, there is air-conditioning … Continue reading →

The Meredith Music Festival is a three-day outdoor music festival held every December at the “Supernatural Amphitheatre”, a natural amphitheatre located on private farmland near the town of Meredith in Victoria, Australia. This event was started in the 90’s and the devotees have been involved for the last 10 years. … Continue reading →

Christmas eve for many around the world is celebrated in preparation for Christmas Day, a commemoration of Lord Jesus’s appearance more that two thousand years ago. Jaya Sri and Pratapana, who run the Lotus Room centre in Darlinghurst Sydney, decided … Continue reading →

New Govardhana is host to Wwoofers, (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) from all over the world. At any given time there are 35-45 who stay there from one week to two months. For 6 hours a day they work in … Continue reading →

Isvara prabhu, formerly from the UK, now living at New Govardhana for the last 25 years, heads up a weekly Harinam party that chants from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast. There are also other kirtan parties that leave the … Continue reading →

Jyotisar is the exact spot where Lord Sri Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita. There is a Banyan tree in this place under which Krishna explained Bhagavad-Gita 5000 years back to Arjuna – his greatest friend and devotee. On a board placed on the … Continue reading →

Hare Krishna Food for Life has been operating in Canberra since 1989. Two or three times a week the devotees cook a nice spread of rice, subji, pappadam, halva or cake, custard and drink and take it to the Griffin … Continue reading →

Thursday night programs at the Liverpool Street preaching centre, Kings Cross, are always well attended. Usually, there is a mix of interested persons from the kirtan nights at the Lotus Room, people who have been regularly attending, and live-in ashram … Continue reading →

The Annual Bondi Yoga Festival took place on Sydney’s Bondi Beach at the Bondi Pavilion. This is a famous landmark where people from all over the world take part in cultural activities such as art and music. On a sunny … Continue reading →

Tulasi Vivaha is a famous festival where it is said that tulasi devi, in this world in the form of a plant, marries Krsna, in the form of Saligram Sila.  Briefly, the story is that tulasi took birth as the … Continue reading →

Fremantle, Western Australia, is a port suburb 30 minutes south of the city of Perth. It was settled in 1829 and was named after Captain Fremantle who was the commander of the HMS Challenger. It has a lively shopping area, … Continue reading →

On November 14, 1977, at 7:25 p.m., Prabhupada opened his eyes, which were very clear, more so than in many months.  His mouth opened, his tongue moved, and then he became still.  The kaviraja took Prabhupada’s pulse and held a … Continue reading →

Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after a 14 year exile, and a war in which he killed the demon king Ravana. It is believed that the people of Ayodhya lit ghee lamps along the way to light their … Continue reading →

Mahabaleshwar is a holy place about 240 Kilometres south east of Mumbai on top of the Sahyadri Mountain Range. Srila Prabhupada visited this place in 1976 and stayed at one life member’s house. Many thousands of years before, Dhaumya Rsi, … Continue reading →

Last year, Iskcon’s Radha Rasabihari temple in Mumbai, opened a brand new school about 15 minutes drive from the temple and named it Bhaktivedanta Mission School. The school, which is 7 floors high, comprises many classrooms, an assembly hall, performing … Continue reading →

Each night after the strategic planning meetings ended at Radha Rasabihari temple in Mumbai, there were kirtan sessions that all the devotees were invited to attend. There is nothing more satisfying than to get together with advanced devotees for blissful … Continue reading →

  Tamohara Prabhu, the current GBC Chairman, who holds a PhD in psychology,  inaugurated the GBC strategic planning meeting at Radha Rasabihari temple in Juhu Beach Mumbai. Other than the GBC members, there were 60  leading devotees from all over … Continue reading →

Maharati das, Govinda devi Dasi and Ravinjaya are all second generation devotees who live in Bali. Maharati is studying for his masters in pharmacy, Govinda works in management with a local company and Ravinjaya is finishing off his studies at … Continue reading →

Samudra das and Nagara devi dasi run a surf, dive and clothing shop in the Sanur area of Denpasar, Bali. Actually the shop is in the front of the family house that Samudra and his brother Padma grew up in. … Continue reading →

Echoes of Peace is a festival that has been held for eleven years in one of the main parks of Denpasar. Each year, leaders from spiritual groups in Bali come together and show cooperation under the banner of the Hindu … Continue reading →

Radha Rasesvara temple is located in a coconut tree and cocoa plant area in the hills outside Denpasar. The devotees were able to buy a good amount of land to build an asrama and temple. Since then more land has … Continue reading →

This year World Holy Name week was celebrated between September 19th and September 26th. In Bali, the devotees decided to extend it an extra week up until October 2nd. The Balinese devotees are very attached to kirtan and there’s a … Continue reading →

Locanananda, Radha, Mohit and Pooja are some of the devotees who help organise the many programs at the Bhakti Centre on the Gold Coast. On Janmastami there were so many guests that they streamed right out the door, down the … Continue reading →

In the Brihad-Gautamiya Tantra, Radharani is described as follows:  devi krishna-mayi prokta radhika para-devata sarva-lakshmi-mayi sarva kantih sammohini para “The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses … Continue reading →

As usual, Dvija Vara and Vrajadhama do a great job of overseeing the Brisbane Govinda’s Sunday feast program. Although they are both busy working in the restaurant 6 days a week, they still find time to come and lead kirtan, … Continue reading →

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jaya! The Prabhupada Vyasapuja celebration at New Gokula was very sweet. Even though it was in the middle of the day on Friday still there were quite a few guests and devotees who came to observe the … Continue reading →

New Gokula is a very beautiful farm situated two hours north of Sydney and one hour west of Newcastle. The deities of Radha Gokulananda are wonderful and They looked even more so on the occasion of Krsna Janmastami, which was … Continue reading →

We are very fortunate because Sri Krsna appeared in this 28th millennium, during the seventh Manu, in one day of Brahma.  Previously, people followed the system of varnasrama,  worshiped the Devas and attained  heaven, or if they worshiped Lord Visnu … Continue reading →

The SAKKHI, or International Society for Krsna Consciousness in Indonesia, recently had a meeting at the headquarters of the Hindu Parisadh in Denpasar. Devotees and devotee leaders were invited to hear reports and give input into the activities of Krsna … Continue reading →

Nitai’s Pizza and Pasta is an organic vegetarian restaurant run by Dhrumila das and his wife Nitai Carana devi dasi. Although situated in a busy area of Denpasar, the menu is not of local food style. The ingredients are totally … Continue reading →

What was formerly a rice field near Gianyar, Bali, has been transformed into a beautiful temple, ashram, goshala and gardens for Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhava. The devotees still grow vegetables, fruits and grains but instead of it being … Continue reading →

Visiting the Radha Kunjabihari Mandira in Klung Kung is always a pleasure. This temple, which was designed by a local devotee architect, is very beautiful with an asrama, gardens, pond, kitchen and hall. The deity room and simhasam are made … Continue reading →

Vyasapuja das from Jakarta manages the affairs of the Indonesia BBT. He told me that recently he printed ten thousand Bhagavad-gitas and twenty thousand  small books like Chant and be Happy and Coming Back. He is also a good artist … Continue reading →