Author Archives: Thomas Haribol

Devotees in Arizona have recently opened a home temple and community outreach center called Mantra Oasis on the east side of Tucson. The 3-bedroom house is located in a nice eastside neighborhood that has a very large family room which makes a perfect …

Photo courtesy of Pixabay. The Radhadesh community has restarted its community beehive project and has installed a new electric car charger to encourage sustainable transportation. These two projects are part of its overall environmental initiatives, a…

The Hare Krishna Movement is arguably among the world’s most misunderstood spiritual paths, externally appearing biased along sectarian lines but with an inclusive and non-sectarian core philosophy. Srila Prabhupada faced the monumental task of deliver…

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa presents a gift to High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda, joined by Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa. In May, Milinda Moragoda, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner Designate to India, visited ISKCON’s Akshaya Patra Foundation‘s world…

On May 31st, ISKCON devotees in Jos, Nigeria, spoke to over 100 university students in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Jos. The 2.5-hour presentation, “Krishna Consciousness: An Aspect of Hinduism,” offered by Salika Das, was i…

Class by His Holiness Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami, Founder of The Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture. Nrsimhananda Das, a dedicated and influential devotee within ISKCON South Africa, has embarked on a remarkable journey of spiritual growt…

Photo by Vrindavan Priya.  All other photos are courtesy of Indradyumna Swami. May 26-29, 2023, was the 10th anniversary of the Sadhu Sanga Kirtan Retreat held this year at the Marriott Dallas Allen Hotel and Convention Center in Texas. The sold-out ga…

After nearly 25 years of preaching and service in California’s Sacramento and Folsom areas, devotees are delighted to announce the imminent arrival of a new temple building to meet the needs of their growing community and outreach. Sacramento, Ca…

Beginning this Saturday, June 3rd, 2023, ISKCON’s Congregational Development Ministry will offer an online “Bhagavad Gita Course For Children.” The exciting new offering, provided in both English and Spanish, will be taught by Nikunja…

In a dynamic effort to strengthen and support women within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), The Women’s Collective – South Africa has emerged as a platform for empowerment, conversation, and sisterhood. Led by t…

Govinda Dev Das announces Simhachalam Education Program with Krishna Kshetra Swami. In a groundbreaking move to spread the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam and advance Vedic education, the renowned ISKCON Bhagavata Mahavidyalaya has launched a new educat…

all photos courtesy Chris Norris. Nearly 100 fresh-faced devotees in their late teens and twenties flocked to New Vrindaban on Mother’s Day weekend for the Vaishnava Arts Festival on May 12-14. The largely Western-raised crowd enthusiastically attended…

On Saturday, May 20th, devotees celebrated the 22nd year of the Festival of Chariots at the beach and Seawalk Pavilion in Jacksonville, Florida. The popular gathering, attended by devotees and locals alike, served out more than 1,200 plates of prasad t…

The Lebanese Bhakti Community after a kirtan at the center. The famous Cedars of Lebanon have been prized for thousands of years for their resiliency and strength.  Most famously, they were used in the building of ancient houses of worship (temples). T…

Wanting to recognise and honour the contribution of diverse faith communities to modern Britain, as well as to encourage harmony amidst such communities, King Charles III of the United Kingdom featured leaders of different faiths in the regal pageantry…

Last month, devotees from the Harinama Ruci Team* completed a historic preaching tour across the Caribbean region, visiting nine far-off islands and countries rarely seen by the missionaries of Lord Chaitanya’s movement. The group’s members inclu…

Sukhavaha Devi Dasi will be presenting “Detecting and Disarming the False Ego” online on May 24th, 6-7:30 pm (EDT), as part of the ongoing education offered by ISKCON’s Karuna Care Education Ministry. According to their website, &#822…

Laghuhari Das’s most recent works in both art and altars. Laghuhari Das, a multi-disciplined artist passionate about creativity, believes that art is a universal language that can bring people together and foster a deeper understanding and apprec…

Once, a friend asked me how it is to live in Mayapur. I answered that it is just like living beside a door that goes to the spiritual world. If we are attentive, we can listen to what is happening on the other side. We sometimes see other devotees cros…

ISKCON New York City will be hosting a Deity Worship Bootcamp from June 23-July 2nd, facilitated by Nṛsiṁha Kavaca Dāsa, ISKCON’s Global Minister of Deity Worship, and Murli Manohara Dasa, Deity Worship Ministry Representative for the UK. The int…

“Narasimhadeva is the eternal protector, still this year, we were able to offer him a golden Kavacha armor,” said Govindadeva Dasa, who worked endlessly for weeks in South India alongside the experts to ensure the Golden Kavacha was made to perfection …

NBC’s Channel 5 Texas Today recently featured Kalachandji’s Restaurant at the ISKCON Temple in East Dallas. Host Kristin Dickerson noted that the restaurant is the area’s longest-serving and highest-rated vegetarian restaurant. She re…

Food for Life-East London Team – Right to Left, Acyuta Keshava, Vrajabasi, Bimal Ramnunan,  Anakulya, and children of Acyuta and Anakulya. The ISKCON East London community has been actively spreading the teachings of Lord Krishna in South Africa&…

Artist Raghu Vyas chats with the Ambassador Santosh Jha, his wife, and Mahaprabhu Dasa, Director of MOSA. Photos courtesy of Brocco Photo. On Saturday, May 6th, MOSA (The Museum of Spiritual Art), located at the Radhadesh Temple, inaugurated its latest…

Thousands of devotees live partially or full-time in Mayapur, India, the international headquarters for ISKCON; hence, a very well-equipped hospital is a grave need that has been felt by residents and visiting devotees alike. Therefore, in 2022, ISKCON…

On April 21-23rd, Gopal’s Glorious Gang (GGG), a children’s club in Brisbane, Australia, gathered over 100 children (ages 4-16) at Tyalgum Ridge Retreat Centre, New South Wales, for a Bhakti Boost Camp. Gauranga Darshan Das, a well-known ed…

The Kadamba Foundation, a registered charity founded by His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami, focuses on fundraising for South African-African preaching projects and more opportunities for Africans to embrace Krishna consciousness. The foundation’s …

On May 9th, a group of nine monks from Vietnam visited Govinda’s Restaurant in Tucson for lunch. While on a tour of North America, these traditional vegetarian monks found the temple’s restaurant via Google, which rated it the #1 Vegan/Vege…

The Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) was established in Kolkata in 2009 by Hari Sauri Das and Pranava Das. Currently, the administrative affairs are under the supervision of Gauranga Das and Balaram Lila Das. Pranava Das and Dr. Sumanta Rudra direct…

Krishna Culture Festival Group at Lake Louise, Banff National Park Since 1995, ISKCON Youth Ministry volunteers have led the Krishna Culture Festival Tours (aka Youth Bus Tours) across North America to inspire youth in Krishna consciousness. Hare Krsna…

The coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla was held at Westminster Abbey. Visakha Dasi, President of Bhaktivedanta Manor Temple, was among the invited guests at the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla held at Westminster Abbey in…

The ISKCON Batam Center in Indonesia held a successful Indian Music Festival outreach in beautiful Ocarina, Batam, on April 15th, 2023. The celebration of music, dance, and spirituality attracted 250-300 guests.  Locals, expatriates, and Singaporeans w…

Bhakti Kids Sangha is an initiative started by Abhidheya Devi Dasi and her eleven-year-old son Krishna Balaram that includes a broad number of inspiring initiatives. Some of these include establishing libraries for children, creating resources for pare…

New cover design next to devotee translator Govinda Charan Das Govinda Charan Das, a South African-African Hare Krishna devotee, has recently completed the translation of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It into the isiZulu language for BBT Af…

Bala Krsna Das, formerly known as Bongani Mazibuko, has been creating art since childhood. Unfortunately, his impoverished situation prevented him from studying art at university. He explains, “I could not afford to attend university, but I think…

On Saturday, April 22nd, almost 50 North American leaders and managers gathered online for the first-ever virtual Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA) Prevention Program, which introduced new tools and resources to assist ISKCON leaders in dealing with domesti…

New Mayapur rolls out their “Be a monk for a week” programme for young people to acquaint them with the practice of bhakti yoga. The programme gives hands-on training and direct immersion in the Vedic lifestyle to participants, mainly consi…