Author Archives: Madhava Smullen

As jack-o-lanterns, comedy gravestones, and zombies crop up on our neighbor’s lawns, and every kid in town shakes with excitement about their candy haul, ISKCON devotees may be wondering whether or not to take their own children out tri…

Fall is the perfect time to look at one of those areas – fashion – where ISKCON is seeing a second-generation-led explosion lately. That explosion is being embraced by the ISKCON devotee congregation, as well as reaching the yoga …

Back with new album K 2.0 and touring the U.S. for the first time in seventeen years, British rock band Kula Shaker are concluding a euphoric set of hits at New York City’s Rough Trade venue the same way they always do: with “Govi…

Political pundits last weekend were calling the second presidential debate “the darkest and nastiest in modern history,” full of scandals, personal attacks and insults. And the ongoing drama may be what’s taking over the new…

Now in its fiftieth year, ISKCON continues to delve deeper and deeper into the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition members devote themselves to, finding new reservoirs of inspiration and wisdom. The latest effort is a new two-volume edition of Sri Ma…

Around 200 people attended the European event at the prestigious Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels on September 27th. The evening was entitled “Fostering Peace and Cultural Diversity in Europe through Service, Community and Spiritu…

The official ISKCON 50 magazine “The Hare Krishnas: Celebrating 50 Years” cites Srila Prabhupada’s society as having 65 farms and eco-villages, and 650 centers, temples, schools and colleges worldwide. That’s a surpris…

Already ISKCON communities in Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Alachua, Maine and New York are mobilizing large contingents of devotees to attend what promises to be an historic event this October 8th – Chant 4 Change.Kirtan chanter and o…

A two-and-a-half hour musical production of India’s ancient epic the Ramayana entitled “Ramayana: Past in Present” premiered from August 25th to 28th in the Kelley Theater at West Liberty University, West Virginia,…

“Mayapur is so huge, and so many pilgrims come for the main Radhastami celebration at the temple, that it’s not really a community celebration,” says parent and teacher Noam Hillel. “So we decided to hold our own festi…

Some ISKCON temples have been adding new experiences to their biggest festivals to sweeten and deepen devotees’ absorption in serving the Lord, including this year’s Radhastami festival.In Dallas, USA, there were two Radhastami fe…

Over 300 people attended the Gala event, seventy-five of them special VIP invitees including religious leaders, religious liberty experts, members of the media, government representatives and political leaders. The keynote speaker was Co…

“Vaishnav Songs!”, a new app for Android smartphones, promises to bring users deeper into the meaning of prayers written by our Vaishnava Acharyas. The app was created by Jay Prakash, who completed his Bachelor of Technology at II…

In the hopes of launching a support network for ISKCON farms around the world, the GBC Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture is holding conferences on simple living in four continents this year. The first two, in South America and North…

Devotees at ISKCON New Vrindaban, West Virginia are in the midst of major renovations on Srila Prabhupada’s Palace. And they’re launching a campaign to help them continue restoring the renowned Smriti Samadhi, or memorial shrine t…

As many as 10,000 people from multiple faiths and backgrounds are set to sing God’s names together in what could be the biggest chant gathering in American history on October 8th, exactly one month before the U.S. presidential election….

A unique type of event for ISKCON devotees, the Bhakti Yoga Health Retreat from September 11th to 18th this year in Bulgaria will care for participants’ physical health as well as their spiritual wellbeing. The retreat will be held at t…

Growing every year in size and popularity under a second generation team, Toronto Rathayatra has inspired younger devotees to take on more and more leadership in their community, and senior devotees to hand more and more to them. Today, the f…

This year’s Gita Nagari Labor Day retreat, set to run from Friday September 2nd to Monday September 5th, will tackle an intriguing subject: Varnashrama Dharma. The topic was  very important to Srila Prabhupada, who in his later day…

Running from July 15th to 17th this year, Krishna’s Village is an ISKCON success story, one of the biggest outreach efforts in the world. It’s been part of Woodstock since the music festival’s inception 22 years ag…

Devotees at ISKCON of Leicester, England, publicly inaugurated their temple and presented new renovations to Srila Prabhupada as an offering for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary on Saturday July 30th. It was a special moment for Leic…

“Last year, this was just a dream of mine, but I was confident that Krishna would help me find a way to do something relevant for this historical anniversary,” says Villa Vrindavana President Parabhakti Das. “Sure enough, my…

As it outgrows its current facilities, the Mayapur Institute is beginning to build a new campus on ten acres at ISKCON’s headquarters in Mayapur, West Bengal. Manager Anantashesh Das says that the new campus for the Institute – wh…

On June 15th, on the auspicious day of Ekadasi, construction began on a new temple complex in the city that probably needs it most: Las Vegas. It may come as a surprise to some that ISKCON has already had a strong presence in Sin City, Nevada…

ISKCON of Soho St, London and Bhaktivedanta Manor have been setting the standard and celebrating ISKCON 50 in style this July – the month when in 1966 Srila Prabhupada incorporated his society. On Saturday July 2nd, performing arts grou…

During its ISKCON 50 festivities this month, Indonesia added some rich local culture to proceedings as its over 5,000 devotees focused on uniting together to serve Srila Prabhupada.Celebrations included a brahmachari sankirtan party touring w…

Among their many plans for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary, ISKCON Mumbai’s four temples – Juhu, Mira Road, Khargar and Chowpatty – have launched a website that allows devotees to submit their written offerings to Srila…

Three ISKCON devotees participated in a week of faith-based climate change leadership training in New Orleans last month. Gopal-Lila Das from England, Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies’ Bhumi Project, was a facilitator at …

The Grihasta Vision Team (GVT) has done many things: provided counseling services; written a book, Heart and Soul Connection; offered seminars at many ISKCON festivals; and established a website, vaisnavafamilyresources.org, that offers many …

From September 20th to November 10th in 2015, Bhaktimarga Swami walked from Boston’s Commonwealth Pier, where ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada first reached the U.S. in 1965, to Butler Pennsylvania, where he stayed with sponsor…

On June 18th, nearly one hundred and sixty yoga teachers attended a Mantra Festival in Buenos Aires in honor of ISKCON’s 50th anniversary. The free cultural event was held at the Valle Tierra yoga center in Palermo, a hip alte…

The first Kulimela, held in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in 2006, was an effort by ISKCON’s second generation to move away from party-style gurukuli reunions and explore their identity and what they could accomplish both materially and …

This summer and fall, for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary, the GBC Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture will run conferences on simple living in four continents. It hopes that the conferences will also launch a support network for…

This year saw the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, the biggest ISKCON kirtan event in North America, continue its remarkable growth while offering up something special for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary.  It immerses participants in the H…

After years of planning for its 50th anniversary, and nearly six months of celebrations this year so far, ISKCON is now gearing up for its Golden Jubilee Incorporation Day on July 13th, 1966. And temples, centers, and individual devotees…

Back in January 1967, Mukunda Goswami was instrumental in putting on The Mantra Rock Dance in San Francisco, a key counter-cultural event of its time that put Srila Prabhupada and his disciples on the map. Now, nearly fifty years later, he ha…

For years, devotees have been struggling to hold on to 26 2nd Avenue, the small storefront in New York City where ISKCON was born. And a steep rent increase this year threatened to take it away from them, just as they were celebrating IS…

A brand new exhibit of artwork from Kim Waters and Chris Murray’s classic 1980 book, Illuminations from the Bhagavad-gita, opened at the Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) in Radhadesh, Belgium on May 28th. The exhibit features all Kim’s…

ISKCON of Radhadesh, Belgium hosted the 2nd European Yoga Congress from May 27th to 29th, sharing insights and techniques with thirteen different yoga schools from twelve countries. The seeds of the event were sewn in November 2014,…

With ISKCON’s 50th anniversary year nearly halfway gone, and the date of its incorporation on July 13th, 1966 in New York fast approaching, temples throughout the society are working hard to make a splash for founder Srila Prabhupa…