Odana Sashti – Lord Jagannath Accepts A Winter Cloth
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The Lord’s mercy comes in many forms and the story behind Odana Sashti is one amongst many to tell. Once, Sri Gaurasundara accompanied by all His devotees came to see Lord Jagannatha on Odana Sasthi. Musical bands with numerous instruments, mridangas, conch shells, bells, etc. echoed all around and the entire town wore a festive […]

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CPO NA Restrictions on BVP
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The ISKCON North American Council (NAC), headed by five members of the Governing Body Commission (GBC) with geographical responsibility in the United States and Canada, fully endorses and will comply with the 28th October 2022 ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection (ICOCP) restrictions on ISKCON’s relationship with Alan Ross Wexler, also known as Bhaktividya Purna, […]

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Sri Saranga Thakur Disappearance
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Vraja’s Nāndimukhi became Sāraṅga Ṭhākura in Gaura-lila.

Śrī Saranga Ṭhākura is mentioned in the listing of branches of the Chaitanya trunk of the tree of devotional service along with Rama Das, Kavidatta, Gopal Das and Bhāgavata Acharya (Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.10.113). He is also known as Sarnga Ṭhākura, Sarngadhar and Sarngapani.

He used to live in Modadrumdvīpa, which is the island in Nabadvīpa that represents, of the nine types of devotional service, the service attitude. The name of the town is Mamgachi. He would sit in a secluded place by the banks of the Ganges to perform intense bhajan. Through these practices he obtained many miraculous powers.

At first, Saranga Ṭhākura did not want to make any disciples for fear of disturbances to his bhajan, but Mahāprabhu repeatedly encouraged him to do so. The following account is given in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Abhidhāna, “When the Lord was returning after criticizing Devananda Pandit for having offended Srivas Pandit, Saranga Ṭhākura met Him on the streets of Nabadvīpa. Mahāprabhu ordered him to give up his determination to never take disciples.”

Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupad writes in his Anubhāṣya in Chaitanya Charitamrta: “Having been ordered by Mahāprabhu to take disciples, Saranga Ṭhākura decided that he would make a disciple of the first person that he met the following morning. As fate would have it, the next morning, a dead body washed up against him while he was taking bath in the Ganges. He revived the corpse and made him his disciple. This disciple was known as Ṭhākura Murari, or sometimes as Saranga Murari.

In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Abhidhāna, it is further said that Murari was a boy who had been killed by snake bite and his parents had set his uncremated body afloat on a raft in the Ganges, as was the custom in that time. Saranga Ṭhākura revived him by giving initiation to him. Thus, his name Saranga Murari, who became an empowered preacher of Mahāprabhu’s dharma by guru’s grace. Descendents of Saranga Murari’s disciples still live in a village named Shav.

Saranga Ṭhākura’s deities were served in the town of Mamgachi. The original temple was built in front of a bakula tree. The deities of Radha Gopinath worshiped by him can be seen in this temple, as can the deity of Mahāprabhu’s other associate, Vasudeva Datta Ṭhākura, Śrī Madana Gopal. The devotees who do parikramā of Nabadvīpa Dham visit this temple for darshan. Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura established a temple not far from the above-mentioned home of Saranga Murari at the birthplace of Vrindavan Das Ṭhākura.

Saranga Ṭhākura disappeared on the thirteenth day of the waning moon (kṛṣṇā trayodaśī) in the month of Agrahayan. An alternative opinion is that he disappeared on the Asharh kṛṣṇā caturdaśī.

India’s Top Businessmen Visit ISKCON Juhu’s Nilachal Vedic Village
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(Photo names left to right) H.G. Radharchana Mataji (MC), H.G. Surangi Mataji (wife of DN Pr.), Ms. Manju Gupta (Chairman of Lupin group of companies), H.H. Guruprasad Swami Maharaj (Vice chairman of GBC), Sri Balkrishna Goenka (Chairman of Welspun group), Sri Ashok Goel (Chairman of Essel group), H.G. Devakinandan Das (GBC minister for Fundraising & […]

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Ratha Yatra Makes History in Sao Paulo, Brazil
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photos by Bhakta Ronaldo Canale and Lourieni Corrêa.   On December 6, 2022, Iskcon Cidade São Paulo held another Ratha Yatra, which took Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra to Avenida Paulista, where thousands of people watched and followed the parade of the Deities. Despite the unpredictability of the weather, roadblocks that could have prevented […]

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Standing Against Gender-Based Violence
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November 25, 2022, marks the UN’s International Day to End Violence Against Women.  This year, ISKCON’s Vaishnavi  Ministry will join the UN’s global 16 days of activism against gender-based violence As Vaishnavas, we are mandated by our scriptures and tradition to protect the vulnerable and those placed in our love and care, including “the brāhmaṇas, […]

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