Author Archives: H.H. Ramai Swami

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 →

Devotees at our temple in Puncak, near Jakarta, Indonesia, are very keen on not only worshiping the deities but also looking after the cows and growing vegetables, fruits and flowers. There is only two or three acres but they still … Continue reading →

The GBCs for Mayapur, along with other leaders, attended a five day meeting to discuss various issues of Sridam Mayapur development. For a few days the overall master plan was discussed. Omkara das, a town planner and his wife Yadurani … Continue reading →

We are here in Mayapura during the rainy season. As anyone who lives here knows, it is very hot and humid. Nevertheless, every day many devotees come to the temple for darshan, class and kirtan. There is also continuing construction … Continue reading →

This year the Brisbane temple community observed the Jagannatha Rathayatra in the nearby park at the bottom of the hill. This park has been developed by the city council to facilitate nice water, lawn and playground areas for families. The … Continue reading →

Rathayatra at New Govardhana is celebrated twice a year, in July and in January. Many years ago the Australian devotees asked Srila Prabhupada whether it would be alright to hold a Rathayatra parade in January because in Australia that is … Continue reading →

In July, Madreya Prabhu from New Govardhana, organised a Bonfire and Kirtan night at the school hall . The activities kick started at 4.pm with stalls that featured arts and crafts, shadow puppets, yoga classes and Indian dance lessons. There … Continue reading →

The city of Newcastle has a population of over half a million people and is situated about two hours north of Sydney. It was once the headquarters of mining giant BHP, which has now ceased most of its operations. The … Continue reading →

Many devotees came to New Govardhana to observe the Snana Yatra of Lord Jagannatha. Millennia ago, King Indradyumna started the ceremony of bathing Lord Jagannatha with 108 pots of sandal-scented well water. At that time, Lord Jagannatha told the King … Continue reading →

Leading the chanting on kirtan nights at the Sydney Lotus Room is always enjoyable. Usually, devotees like Tribhuvanesvara, Yasodeva, Braja Kumari and others precede me with their own styles of kirtan and join in when it’s my turn. I’m always … Continue reading →

Hari’s Vegetarian Restaurant is the new restaurant that was opened by the Sydney Temple around 3 months ago. It is located in the Broadway area of Sydney, about a block from the University of Technology Sydney and half a kilometre … Continue reading →

Prabhupada began to tell a story. “Krsna said to one old lady, ‘You are so ugly, you should marry a monkey.’ “‘No’, said the old lady, ‘I have given up all material desires. I will marry you, Krsna!’
”‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ … Continue reading →

Yasodeva das, a disciple of Devamrta Swami and Caitanya Ballabha Das, a disciple of Janananda Swami, live in Sydney and do service for the Lotus Room centre in Kings Cross. At the moment they reside in a new property that … Continue reading →

New Govardhana temple began renting a premises in Smith Street Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast a few years ago for a restaurant. They called it Govindas and right from the very beginning it was a great success, so much … Continue reading →

Sri-nrsimha, jaya nrsimha, jaya jaya nrsimha prahladesa jaya padma-mukha-padma-bhrnga All glories to Nrsimha-deva! All glories to Nrsimha-deva, who is the Lord of Prahlada Maharaja and, like a honeybee, is always engaged in beholding the lotus like face of the goddess … Continue reading →

The Australian National Council met at Govinda Valley in May for their annual general meeting. There were about 20 participants who came from the temples to discuss various issues pertaining to development of the Australian yatra. Govinda Valley, a property … Continue reading →

The Wellington Temple Higher Taste Restaurant is in Willis Street in the Lampton Quay area. This is a very busy area of downtown, especially during lunchtime. It has been operating for over ten years and before that we had another … Continue reading →