Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Stepping into an ISKCON center during Kartik, where vibrant celebrations and spiritual experiences await, one might encounter an unexpected challenge—keeping hold of your shoes. The lively and crowded ambiance of these festivals often leads to unintentional shoe separations. Here’s a lighthearted guide to help you navigate the festivity without losing your beloved footwear. 1. The […]
The post A Light-Hearted Top-Ten Guide to Keeping Your Shoes During Kartik appeared first on ISKCON News.
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Festival-goers enjoy the famous hay ride at New Talavana’s 17th Annual Cow Festival. Nestled in the serene heart of Mississippi, the New Talavana community has embarked on an ambitious endeavor to construct a grand new temple, marking a significant milestone in their spiritual journey. This dynamic community, part of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness […]
The post New Talavana Building a Spiritual Haven in Rural Mississippi appeared first on ISKCON News.
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 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
It was nice to have the transcendental association of so many senior devotees in one place and the kirtana in the temple was ecstatic. The Pune devotees organized wonderful prasadam for all, much to everyone’s appreciation.
The Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (VIHE) is going to start its fresh batch of the Bhakti-sadacara course from 27 December 2023 to mid-April 2024. The Bhakti-sadacara course is especially designed to give systematic knowledge to new devotees and to train devotees who did not have a chance for such systematic training before. The course […]
The post VIHE Offers Systematic Bhakti-sadacara Course 2024 appeared first on ISKCON News.
On October 29th, devotees held their first Kirtan Mela in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. “It was very ecstatic and many devotees came,” said Shilpa-Karina Devi Dasi, “The event was arranged by the ISKCON Serbian yatra team and held at the Lotos Yoga Studio, as there is no temple yet in the capital.” The event […]
The post Belgrade Serbia Hosts First Kirtan Mela appeared first on ISKCON News.
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, but a friend of ISKCON who was a Sri Vaisnava donated a substantial amount so the property could be bought. He begged the devotees for an exception to be made so the Lord could be installed before he passed away.
The temple is very beautifully constructed in South Indian style and worship is performed daily according to ISKCON standards. At the front there is a deity of Garuda who faces the Lord as one enters the temple.
Brajasundari Dasi, a venerable retired educator, has meticulously crafted educational resources called Shastra Sheets designed to engage and enlighten kids. Drawing inspiration from the profound literary works of His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, these worksheets brim with spiritual wisdom. Each sheet is like a […]
The post Shastra Sheets: A Treasure Trove of Knowledge for Devotee Kids appeared first on ISKCON News.
Guru Prasad Swami, a member of the Governing Body Commission (GBC) Executive Committee highlights some of the topics and issues discussed at the recent GBC’s Mid-Term Meeting held October 25-29th in Pune, India. You can watch his short summary here.
The post GBC EC Member Guru Prasad Swami Shares Highlights from Mid-Term Mtg in Pune, India appeared first on ISKCON News.
The North American Regional Governing Body (NARGB) eagerly anticipates the opportunity to provide support and service to all temples and centers in North America. As previously discussed during our in-person meeting in Houston, we are in the process of establishing an administrative office to enhance our services. We are delighted to announce several available positions […]
The post New Service Opportunities with North American RGB Available appeared first on ISKCON News.
Everywhere in the material creation, there is duality. Light and dark. Hot and cold. Wet and dry. Happiness and suffering. And much, much more. The external person we present to others through our behavior also contains duality. Our positive side is how we want to behave and be viewed. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung used the term […]
The post COMING OF AGE #9 – Shadows that Go Bump in the Night! appeared first on ISKCON News.
Bhaktivedanta Manor President Visakha Dasi speaking to Diwali in London attendees. The 22nd Annual Diwali in London (DiL) celebrations brought thousands of people to Trafalgar Square for the annual “Festival of Lights” on Sunday, October 29th. ISKCON’s Bhaktivedanta Manor was this year’s hosting organization for the joyful event, a partnership between the DiL Committee and […]
The post 2023 Diwali in London Hosted by Bhaktivedanta Manor appeared first on ISKCON News.
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Question: During online outreach if we rely on say YouTube guidelines or analytics or view counts then does that take away from our dependence on Krishna?And Krishnas arrangement whatever he makes for our outreach.
Answer:Yes, that’s certainly a possibility which we need to be cautious about guard against.
But it doesn’t have to be that.
Using our intelligence.Using contemporary strategic planning methods.And retaining our dependence on Krishna.Sentillions and dependence don’t have to be mutually exclusive.If you consider right going back to the time of the Mahabharata.
Arjuna.Did land strategy.Before especially the.Kurupshit raw and every morning.They would have a.Planning meeting and every evening after the war got over.For that day, they would have the review meeting.And the planned who would be confronting which enemy.
So war is extremely serious business and without strategy it’s unlikely that one can be effective leave alone successful.
So.Physically also.
His whole vision of going to the west.When things are not working out in India.Was strategic planning.And it did work, of course, it’s not that in the west, he got success immediately.I was in a certainly not that.In the profit not Arjuna were not dependent on Krishna.
Profile would often tell devotees, double it.With respect to book distribution, he said that I will come to the temples where there is maximum solution being done.And that way.
He felt that he would be able to.Encourage devotees to distribute more and more books.
Now, it is true that.Somebody would have got so consumed by Buddha distribution that they forgot other things. Sometimes they would try to.Sabotage other people devotees book distribution, so that they could be the ones who distribute the maximum number of books.
That certainly was.Counterproductive and anti-spiritual.
What to speak of entity devotional.
Krishna is pleased by the offering of our heart and Krishna provides us facilities.For us to make that offering.At the same time is a matter of the heart.It’s not just a matter of the heart.Because that heart is to be expressed in this world.And while expressing in this world.
A certain level of competence in certain level of success are essential.If we want.Our service to benefit the world.So if we consider.
Sharing spiritual wisdom to be like.Sharing a spiritual therapy or treatment to people who are sick with everybody in the material world being sick with materialism though, they may not be sick of materialism.That means they don’t think that materialism is the cause of the problem, they don’t want to give it up but still materialism is a part of their problem.
Then we should then we are meant to be like the medical support staff.With surgeons doctors nurses whatever who are meant to heal people.Now.The more people are healed.The more it is fulfilling for us but then healing has to be a holistic parameters not just that we give some pain medication cover up the pain and people say that I feel good and now we are successful.
So,If medical research shows that particular ways of treating people.Particular methods and modalities.Are more effective than others then.Using those nothing wrong at all.If you maintain our service attitude, and if we try to.Consider that various strategies are simply aids for us in serving Krishna.
Then we can move forward in that direction.With studyers.If.Statistics and numbers become the soul definer of our success, then definitely we could.We couldn’t we will get distracted from Krishna that will be entirely a material conception of service. But just as in the book the philosophy matter is not intrinsically Maya.
Matter is also energy of Krishna.And depends on our vision whether we see matter as connected to Krishna or separated from Krishna.Similarly.
Material success.Can also be a parameter of.For measuring our devotional success, but it should be the sole parameter.You destroy Maharaj became an emperor of a performing large and performed yeah as a means of glorifying Krishna his material success was also in that at that context a part of a spiritual success later on when he lost his entire kingdom and the entire welfare had got to go to the forest at that time also he was spiritual successful because you still connected with Krishna and depending on Krishna and absorbing Krishna.
But.That didn’t lead that time doesn’t the opposite of material success.So.We couldn’t conclude talking about a pendulum where one extreme is to equate devotional success with some material success, even that some even more narrowly some numerical success or.Equate spiritual effectiveness of our service with with to reduce spiritual effectiveness of our service to somebody else strategies.
The other extreme the pendulum is to.Oh consider that spiritual service has nothing to do with material strategies at all.But at the balance of the pendulum would be if we understand that Krishna.Is.
A part of who that Krishna the material world is also included in in Krishna and with and within our domain of service to Krishna and material strategies and material statistics.Are one parameter of success not the sole parameter of success and the intelligence to utilize the statistics also comes from Krishna.
But we are not just our intelligence we are souls and these are hard that is to be offered to Christiana if you keep that in mind.And.Make sure that strategies and statistics and material successes total consumer consciousness.But are just one part of our consciousness then.We can perform bhakti.
In a way that is both going to connect our heart with Krishna and also.Connect us with the world so that we can take Krishna’s message.And mission.From our heart to their heart.
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Despite the ongoing warfare and shelling, programs for devotees in Tel Aviv are still being held every weekend. According to ISKCON Israel, “Devotees continue to gather almost every day, offer wicks to Lord Damodara and to have kirtan.” In the midst of their travails, they are redoubling their efforts to extend their “Food for Life” […]
The post Israel Devotees Seeking Help to Extend Their Food for Life Efforts to War-Affected Families appeared first on ISKCON News.
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Lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ, gokule bhrājamanam
My dear Lord Krsna, as I try to remember You, You are not just a generic reality; You are a specific person with specific attributes. Just as Your beautiful earrings, kuṇḍala, have charmed the heart of Satyavrat muni, my dear Lord, may Your specific attributes charm my heart. With those specific attributes—Your bluish-black complexion, Your flute, Your threefold bending form—some or the other, may my heart be captivated towards You. Gokule bhrājamanam, my dear Lord, beyond this world of constant agitation is your eternal abode of unending love. May I be able to turn away from this world and immerse myself in You, knowing that Your world is the Supreme shelter.
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Hare Krsna
Meditating on the Damodarastakam as a prayer for improving our remembrance of Krsna and our chanting. So, in this meditation, we can take one line from each verse and meditate on that.
namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ
īśvara refers to the controller. Oh Krsna, You who are the Supreme controller, please help me to control my uncontrollable mind. Alone I cannot do it, but You can control my mind, for You and how do You control the mind, oh Lord sac-cid-ānanda-rūpam,̇ You are all attractive. You can attract my heart and thus control the mind, not by force, but by beauty, by the attractiveness of Your divine form.
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The day four of the GBC Mid Term Meeting, hosted at ISKCON Pune, commenced with Srila Prabhupada Guru Puja prayers followed by a presentation on the new ‘Transcend‘ app from the BBT. The meeting was presided over by the GBC Executive Committee, consisting of Revati Raman Das (Chair), Guru Prasad Swami, and Tapana Misra Das. […]
The post Day Four of the GBC Mid-Term Meeting in Pune, India appeared first on ISKCON News.
Chaitanya Charan Das, “The Spiritual Scientist,” is one of ISKCON’s premiere teachers and prolific authors. He graciously agreed to share his two-part reflections on the Damodarashtakam with ISKCON News to help devotees enter this month of spiritual auspiciousness more fully. Here is Part II: Verse 5: Devotion catapults us to the summit of yogic meditation […]
The post Meditating on the Damodarashtakam with Chaitanya Charan Das (Part 2 – Verses 5 to 8) appeared first on ISKCON News.
We invite you to observe the Sri Damodar Month, a time of heightened devotion and spirituality, from October 30th to November 27th, 2023. This auspicious month is dedicated to deepening your spiritual connection and offering heartfelt prayers to Lord Krishna.
During this special month we invite you and your family to visit Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Temple an offer a lamp (diya) to Their Lordships.
🌟 Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day 🌟
Join us on Friday, November 17th, 2023, as we honor the life and teachings of Srila Prabhupada on his Disappearance Day. This special festival is dedicated to remembering and celebrating the legacy of our beloved Founder-Acharya.
🐄 Sri Govardhan & Go Puja Festival 🌿
Immerse yourself in the sacred festivities of Sri Govardhan & Go Puja. Join us for this spiritually enriching event on Sunday, November 19th, 2023, starting at 11:00 AM.
📅 Date: Sunday, November 19th, 2023
🕚 Time: 11:00 AM Onwards
Here are the highlights of the event:
🐄 Go Puja: Experience the deep reverence for the sacred cow, symbolising nourishment, protection, and motherly love. You're invited to actively take part in the Go Puja with your friends and family.
🎶 Kirtan: Immerse yourself in the captivating melodies of kirtan, the heart-soothing devotional songs that connect us with the divine.
🪔 Maha Arati: Witness the grand arati, creating an atmosphere of purity and spiritual awakening.
🍛 Bhoga Offerings to Govardhan Hill: Participate in the offering of sumptuous bhoga (food) to our own Govardhan Hill !
🍽️ Maha Prasadam: Indulge in a delectable feast of Maha-Prasadam, a sanctified meal that nourishes the body and soul.
This event is a unique opportunity to deepen your spiritual connection, learn more about the profound significance of Go Puja and Govardhan Hill. Bring your family and friends to share in the blessings and joy of this auspicious occasion.
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, the vraja vasis leave pots of sweet rice exposed to the full moon for the whole night, to turn the sweet rice into ambrosial amrta.
The Pune temple devotees decorated the area just in front of the altar with a beautiful depiction of Vrndavan forest with the small Radha Krsna deities and the gopis.
Chaitanya Charan Das, “The Spiritual Scientist,” is one of ISKCON’s premiere teachers and prolific authors. He graciously agreed to share his two-part reflections on the Damodarashtakam with ISKCON News to help devotees enter this month of spiritual auspiciousness more fully. “Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. […]
The post Meditating on the Damodarashtakam with Chaitanya Charan Das (Part 1 – Verses 1 to 4) appeared first on ISKCON News.
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The TOVP Fundraising Department would like to let all devotees know that we will soon be winding up the Nrsimha Brick Campaign. During the historic Grand Opening of the Nrsimhadeva Wing at the 2024 Gaura Purnima Festival, from February 29 – March 2, all the Nrsimha Bricks with engraved donor names will be placed under the Lord’s altar to remain for hundreds of years.
This is the last call to action to sponsor a Nrsimha Brick with the name of your choice engraved on the top. Put your name, a family members’, gurus’ or departed relatives’ name and receive the benefit of such a sankalpa to help build Mayapur Nrsimhadeva’s new home in the TOVP. You will also be an instrument in completing the largest Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva temple in the world, the effect of which will influence the whole of humanity far into the future.
Go to the Give To Nrsimha Fundraiser page on the TOVP website TODAY! Installment payments are available so you can spread out your pledge fulfillment over time.
Miracle in the Making ~ Home of Our Divine Protector
Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
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Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/
OCTOBER 28 – The Mid-Term (MTM) GBC Meeting is being held this year at ISKCON Pune from October 25-29th to discuss a broad range of topics and proposals. GBC Communications has shared the following details: “25 October, 2023 – The GBC Mid Term Meeting, hosted at ISKCON Pune, commenced with Srila Prabhupada Guru Puja prayers […]
The post Ongoing Details Shared from the GBC Mid-Term Meetings in Pune, India appeared first on ISKCON News.
An important judgment was announced by the New York State Court on October 25, 2023. Below is a previous ISKCON News press release from Oct. 16, 2017, which summarizes the case: “A North American legal case that has lasted almost two decades took a decisive turn in favor of ISKCON this past week. This long-running […]
The post “It Is So Ordered” – NY Supreme Court Judge Ruled in Favor of ISKCON Ending an Almost 20-Year Ordeal appeared first on ISKCON News.
Dear Worldwide ISKCON Devotees and Congregation, Please accept our obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. We would like to wish you a happy Kartik month full of divine service to Lord Damodar and hope you and your family are well and in blissful Krishna-conscious spirits. This time of the year is always greeted with great […]
The post Kartik and the TOVP- A Message from Ambarisa and Braja Vilasa Prabhus appeared first on ISKCON News.
After WWII, a new hopefulness was in the air. The United Nations had been established to help solve the world’s problems. The economy was booming. Suburbs were being built at a fever-pitch rate. The G.I. Bill allowed returning veterans free college educations, and there were more students in college than ever before. Every family wanted […]
The post The Ugra-Karma Wasteland appeared first on ISKCON News.