Author Archives: H.H. Ramai Swami

Srila Prabhupada once explained the festival this way: “Krishna was just a toy in the hands of the Gopis, so one day the Gopis decided that we shall decorate Him. Pusya abhisheka means a ceremony to decorate the deity profusely … Continue reading →

In Vraja there was a dancer named Candrahasa who was very expert in the tasting of rasa. In Chaitanya-lila, he became Jagadisa Pandit who also took great pleasure in dancing for the Lord.(Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 143) Jagadisa Pandit is considered to be … Continue reading →

Appearing as the nephew of Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis, Sri Jiva Gosvami displayed all the charming features of a mahapurusa (divine person). He had lotus eyes, a high nose and forehead, broad chest, long arms, and a radiant golden body.  In … Continue reading →

Locana Das Thakur was born in 1523 in Kograma, in the Katwa block of Burdwan district.  His father’s name was Kamalakara Das, his mother’s Sadanandi. Locana Das studied at his maternal grandfather’s house. He displayed devotion for Mahaprabhu from his … Continue reading →

“He who was previously a very munificent cowherd boy has now appeared as Mahesa Pandita. In ecstatic love, he dances like a madman as though intoxicated to the beat of a kettle drum. [C.C. Adi 11.32] According to Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, Mahesa … Continue reading →

Living in Kuliya during Sri Chaitanya’s pastimes, Sri Devananda Pandit gave professional readings of Srimad Bhagavatam tainted with Mayavada philosophy. One day Shrivasa Pandit heard his Bhagavata-katha, began crying, and fell to the ground. Becoming disturbed by this display, the … Continue reading →

The Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks are world famous and they were let off at 9.00pm (for children) and 12.00am to usher in 2024. There were 58 different locations around the harbour, including the bridge, where they were sent off … Continue reading →

His Divine Grace Paramahamsa Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja, the great leader of the Gaudiya movement, made his appearance in Jagannatha Puri on the fifth day of the dark lunar fortnight of the month of Govinda, at 3:30 pm. He was … Continue reading →

In 1974, near ISKCON’s center in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, Śrīla Prabhupāda and several of his disciples took a morning walk with father Emmanuel Jungclaussen, a Benedictine monk from Niederalteich Monastery. Noticing that Śrīla Prabhupāda was carrying meditation beads … Continue reading →

Gita Jayanti is the auspicious day of the advent of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. This is the day on which Lord Krishna imparted the essence of Vedic knowledge to Arjuna over 5000 years ago and enlightened him about the ultimate goal of … Continue reading →

I haven’t visited Melbourne temple since earlier in the year and it was blissful to see Their Lordships and the devotees. Radha Vallabha maha-prasadam is famous so I got that mercy as well. I attended the student program, which has … Continue reading →

I haven’t visited Melbourne temple since earlier in the year and it was blissful to see Their Lordships and the devotees. Radha Vallabha maha-prasadam is famous so I got that mercy as well. I attended the student program, which has … Continue reading →

It was good to visit our Adelaide Temple again and take darsana of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Syamasundar and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. Many people visit the temple, especially in the evenings to see the deities. One highlight this … Continue reading →

I have attended Rathayatra festivals in Perth for over 30 years and was fortunate to be visiting when this year’s parade was held. For many years we were over at Fremantle but the last few have been held downtown in … Continue reading →

Shri Narahari Sarkar Thakura was born at Shri Khanda. Shri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami describes that the residents of Shri Khanda formed a branch of the desire tree of love of God. “Shri Khan davasi (the residents of Shri Khanda) Mukunda … Continue reading →

Good to be back at Perth temple and have darshan of Their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Srila Prabhupada. The deities are beautiful as is the temple room with its octagonal shape. We are out in the Kalamunda hills, … Continue reading →

Amit and Neetu Sharma had moved into a new apartment in a developing suburb of Canberra. He works for the federal government and told me that the family only arrived in Australia five years before. Taking advantage of the month … Continue reading →

Sri Nimbarka Acarya comes in the line of the Kumara Sampradaya and is believed to have lived around the 11th and 12th centuries. Born in the modern Murgarapattam in the southern Dravidian province, he was the son of Aruni and … Continue reading →

All the unmarried gopīs in Vṛndāvana used to daily worship goddess Kātyāyanī early in the morning after taking a bath in the river Yamunā. Kātyāyanī is another name for goddess Durgā. The goddess is worshiped by preparing a doll made of … Continue reading →

Paramahamsa Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji Maharaj was born into a vaishya family on the banks of the Padma River in Bagayan village in Faridpur district in what is now Bangladesh. His given name was Vamsi Das. He was born … Continue reading →

Gopastami is the festival when Lord Krishna together with His cowherd boyfriends officially took up the task of tending cows as cowherds. It is stated in the Kārttika-māhātmya section of the Padma Purāṇa: śuklāṣṭamī kārttike tu smṛtā gopāṣṭamī budhaiḥ tad-dinād … Continue reading →

Srila Prabhupada was born Abhay Charan De on September 1st 1896 in Calcutta, India. His father was Gour Mohan De, a cloth merchant, and his mother was Rajani. His parents in accordance with Bengali tradition, employed an astrologer to calculate … Continue reading →

govardhano jayati śaila-kulādhirājoyo gopikābhir udito hari-dāsa-varyaḥkṛṣṇena śakra-makha-bhaṅga-kṛtārcito yaḥsaptāham asya kara-padma-tale ’py avātsīt Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.7) All glories to the emperor of all the principal mountains, Śrī Girirāja-Govardhana, who is exalted in all splendor; who the gopīs proclaim … Continue reading →

Kartika (Damodar)…The Holiest Month…Kartika (Damodara) is the best, the purest of purifiers, and most glorious of all months. Kartika month is particularly dear to Lord Sri Krishna. This month is full of bhakta vatsalya. Any vrata, even the smallest, will … Continue reading →

The beautiful ISKCON Pune temple has parks, a big guest house, function halls, asrama and administration block in its compound. Underneath the guest house there are three types of prasadam restaurants. One is a bakery where one can get all … Continue reading →

The main purpose for my visit to Pune Temple, India, was to attend the midterm GBC and Indian leader’s meeting. Devotees came from around the world to discuss various topics about how to best spread the samkirtan movement of Lord … Continue reading →

At a side part of the Radha Vrndavancandra Pune temple property is a temple of Sri Balaji, where you need to climb quite a few steps to get to. Normally, ISKCON temples don’t worship this specific form of the Lord, … 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 →

I was invited to the Pune temple opening in 2013 and attended with many other devotees from around the world. It was a grand affair that went over 3 days with dignitaries like the President of India and Chief Minister … 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. Once a fierce tiger attacked Madhvacharya’s sannyasa disciple, Satya … Continue reading →

The mundaners are mostly worshipers of Durgā-devī, the external energy of Kṛṣṇa, but they do not know that Durgā-devī is but the shadow energy of the Lord. SB 2.4.6, Purport:  Those who are in control of the external energy of … Continue reading →

After a thirty-five-day journey from Calcutta, the Jaladuta reached Boston’s Commonwealth Pier at 5:30 A.M. on September 17, 1965. The ship was to stop briefly in Boston before proceeding to New York City. Among the first things Srila Prabhupada saw … Continue reading →

On September 2nd, 1838 on a Sunday in the ancient village of Biranagara (Ulagrama) located in the district of Nadia, Thakura Bhaktivinoda took his birth in the family of Raja Krishnananda Datta, who was a great devotee of Lord Nityananda. … Continue reading →

The Singapore devotees took me to a couple of our restaurants that I had never seen before. One was called The Holy Cow and the other Svarg, as in the heavenly abode. The first restaurant, operated by Krishnacandra prabhu was … Continue reading →

I lost count of how many times I have transited through Singapore Airport to other countries. However, it’s been years since I actually went inside to visit devotees and participate in programs. This time I did just that and was … Continue reading →

Seattle is a large city so could have a lot of ISKCON temples in different areas. To accommodate a growing devotee community a property was bought in the Bellevue district, which is an important business area just outside downtown Seattle. … Continue reading →

It was good to be back at Sri Sri Radha Nila Madhava temple, Seattle. Many years ago there were so few devotees here that the leadership was thinking to move the deities to a temple where They could be worshiped … Continue reading →

On the occasion of Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasapuja ceremony, I would like to offer some of my homage to him: It became apparent the movement would spread Because Śrīla Prabhupāda was at the head On and on to every village and … Continue reading →

We celebrated Sri Krsna Janmastami this year very blissfully at Jagannatha Gauranga temple in Bali. There are six major temples in Bali and each one had their own festivities. There were yajnas, abhisekha, kirtana, dancing, lecture, midnight aroti and feast … Continue reading →

Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple is nestled in the hills about two hours away from Jakarta. I visited here after doing some programs at our temple in the city. It was good to be back after an absence of 3 … Continue reading →