Author Archives: H.H. Ramai Swami

Leaders from the various temples in New Zealand attended the annual general meeting at New Varshan in Auckland. Each year topics are discussed ranging from temple management issues to strategies on how to push forward Krsna Consciousness locally and nationally … Continue reading →

In the Nrsimha Sahasra Nama it is said: simhaya simha-rajaya jagad-vasyaya te namah atta-hasaya-rosaya jala-vasaya te namah “O Lord who is a lion, the king of lions and the master of the universe, obeisances unto You! O Lord who laughs … Continue reading →

Hari Katha and Krsna Katha, from Melbourne, are two brothers who are disciples of Devamrta Maharaja. They work hard in their travel agency business and now have bought a two story terrace building opposite the main campus at Melbourne University. … Continue reading →

The Urban Yoga program in Melbourne is still going well. It is held on the next floor up from our Crossways restaurant downtown. The devotees teach yoga as well as having kirtan and lecture nights. I was asked to give … Continue reading →

The Melbourne temple devotees go out on regular harinama downtown and to various suburbs. While the people in the city are used to seeing the kirtan party, people who live in the suburbs don’t see the devotees that much. This … Continue reading →

A couple of years ago the Govinda Valley devotees opened up the “Heart and Soul” restaurant in Cronulla, Sydney. This is a beachside suburb that is very busy, especially in summer.  Although in the beginning business was slow, now it … Continue reading →

Friday night kirtana at Lotus Room Asrama in Darlinghurst is always looked forward to by guests and devotees. The evening starts with a bhajan sit down style of chanting then by the end everyone is up swaying and dancing. After … Continue reading →

There’s always a lot of action at Sydney temple, even during the week, both in the day and at night time. On my recent visit I was requested to give some classes on temple worship and on the last night … Continue reading →

Whether one is a demigod or a demon, a man or a creature other than man, such as a beast or bird, everyone should worship Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears on this earth just like a … Continue reading →

Abhaya Carana das and his wife Jayanti devi dasi lived in New Zealand and were rendering service at the Wellington temple at Newlands. Last year Kaliya Krsna from New Gokula Australia asked if they could come to the farm and … Continue reading →

Janmejaya Das has made many Rathayatra Carts including the ones at New Govardhana, New Varshana and Christchurch temple. This year, Jamal Arjuna from the Bhakti Centre on the Gold Coast, asked him to make a smaller cart for the Rathayatra … Continue reading →

  Krsnagana das, who formerly lived near Cairns in North Queensland, became a devotee seven or eight years ago and joined the asrama at New Govardhana. After a while he began traveling with Braja Gauranga das all over Australia doing … Continue reading →

The Brisbane temple celebrated Gaura Purnima with great pomp. The devotees erected a big marquis in the front yard where the abhiseka of Gaura Nitai was performed. There was also kirtana, lecture and drama of Lord Caitanya gathering a samkirtan … Continue reading →

We had the pleasure of attending two Gaura Purnima festivals, one at the Bhakti Centre on the Gold Coast and the other at Brisbane temple. Lord Chaitanya manifests the audarya bhava, or the most munificent and merciful aspect of the … Continue reading →

The Bhaktivedanta Academy, established in 1984, is an educational institution based in Sri Mayapur Dhama, India, which provides education for boys, girls and adult students on the principles of the Vedic Gurukula system. The educational programs aim to provide a … Continue reading →

Svananda Kunja is Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s house at Sri Godrumadvipa Mayapur. From the verandah of Thaku­ra Bhaktivinoda’s house, one day while chanting Hare Krishna, he saw the horizon of Mayapur light up under the effulgence of, ” One exceedingly wonderful temple which … Continue reading →

The tenth anniversary of the Panca Tattva installation at Sridam Mayapur was celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm by the devotees attending the festival. The morning’s class was given in the courtyard in front of the temple so the temple … Continue reading →

Bhakti Vijnana Maharaja, our GBC from Russia, presented a seminar at the ILS entitled, “A Culture of Empowerment.” He talked about leaders needing a humble service attitude, inspiring trust, showing by example, setting a clear vision and ultimate goal. One … Continue reading →

VANDE, which stands for Vaisnava Arts For A New Devotional Era, is headed by Bhaktimarga Swami and a dedicated team of ISKCON thespians. Maharaja travels the world encouraging devotees to spread Krsna Consciousness through this ancient medium. Srila Prabhupada said … Continue reading →

One of the seminars at the ISKCON Leadership Sanga was how to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s incorporation. Srila Prabhupada came to Mayapur in 1965 to seek the blessings of his Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja. He … Continue reading →

The 2014 ISKCON Leadership Sanga was attended by around 1000 devotees from all the world. This was the second time this event was organised and almost double the amount of devotees came from the first one. Also, whereas in the … Continue reading →

Srila Prabhupada said, “utsava priya manavaha, people like festivals. We are inherently attracted to festivals because every day in the Spiritual World is a festival, every step is a dance and every word is a song.” This year on Nityananda … Continue reading →

The devotees working at the ToVP offices in Mayapur will be very busy in the coming years finishing off not only designs for the main structure but for the internal and external ground plans as well. The team of about … Continue reading →

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 →