The Ancestral Home Of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami:
Several days ago we visited the ancestral home of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur in Choti, Orissa. We are continuing the efforts of Fakir Mohan prabhu, a friend of ISKCON, to acquire the original land that Bhaktivinode Thakur resided on there for many years. We hope to build a small temple on the property to accommodate his deities, Sri Sri Radha Madhava. We met with the mayor of the village and a number of landholders in the area. They were very favorable to the project. In his book, Maths of Orissa, Bhaktivinode Thakur writes: “I have a small village, Choti Mangalpur, in the country of Cuttack, of which I am the proprietor.” In his autobiography, Sva-likhita Jivani, he writes, “In Choti we have six or seven big thatched houses. Radha Madhava and Jagannath are being worshipped in one of these houses. Behind these houses is a pond named Uasa Pokhari. There is a fence of kanta ( bamboo ) around the palace.” Though Bhaktivinode Thakur took birth in his maternal uncle’s house in Ula, West Bengal, his native place is the village of Choti in Orissa. Srila Bhaktisiddhata Sarasvati would sometimes visit this place. While there he would stay in the compound of a local Durga temple because being a sannyasi he would not stay in the hereditary property. Choti is also know as Tulasi-Ksetra, because of the many Tulasi plants nicely worshipped by the inhabitants of the village. I have added comments to a number of photos so devotees can appreciate them. Jaya Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur! Jaya Sri Sri Radha Madhava! Jaya Srila Prabhupada!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/81u0fD
This symbol they created for Food For Life Global instills a devotion to spiritual equality, respectively drawing inspiration from the famous ‘Tilak’ symbol that shows a sacred commitment to the teachings of Krishna. This is a mark the Food For Life community already identifies with and the way in which the Tilak has been structured, it can be interpreted as a person with their arms reaching out – suggesting openness, joy, and acceptance.
The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was present at the American College and Research Library Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, held March 22nd - 25th 2017. This event was attended by thousands of College Librarians and Faculty Administration looking to add new books into their universities and research libraries. A total of 250 books were distributed at this event, including 3 complete Srimad Bhagavatam sets! We hope the colleges will implement these books into their curriculum. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! 
Mukunda dasa: The Shastra Dana programme has now existed for almost eight years. From August 2009 - March 2017 we have distributed approx 18,550 books Srila Prabhupada wrote to Cyavana das on the 26th December 1971: ”Distribution of books and magazines is our most important activity. Without books, our preaching has no solid basis”
Gaurangi Hillel: We teenagers go through a very special phase in life. We want to gradually establish ourselves in this world, and we want to be accepted as individual and almost grown-up personalities, with our own desires, talents, inclinations, hopes and plans for our future. We don't like to be corrected and instructed by our parents any longer – we have heard this for so many years! Now we need other role models, heroes and mentors, who guide and inspire us. It does not mean that we are ungrateful to our parents - no, we are forever grateful for all the care and love our parents have given to us, but now we want to be treated and respected as adults, and we want to see our parents as friends to whom we may turn whenever we feel like.
By Anand Caitanya das
By Iskcon vrindavan
By Mayapur Sasi dasa
By Kalakantha Dasa
By Burijana dasa
By Purushottam Nitai Das
Today being Ekadasi, I was considering whether or not to go out on an errand, and I recalled an incident that took place on Ekadasi in Madras in 1971. Achyutananda, Bhavananda, and I were based in a supporter’s house, and Bhavananda and I were in the mood to go out and preach. Acyutananda, however, said, “No, it’s Ekadasi. We shouldn’t go out. It’s inauspicious. And besides, it looks like rain.” But we thought, “Oh boy, he is so attached to external rules and regulations. We have the real spirit of preaching. We are not going to worry about Ekadasi or some rain.”
When we went out, there was only a light drizzle, but within minutes the sky poured down rain. And the rain didn’t stop; it came down heavier and heavier. In Madras then, at least where we were walking, there was not much of a drainage system—just an open ditch two or three feet deep, lined with concrete. And as the storm continued, the channel filled with water, and soon we couldn’t distinguish between the water on the street, the water in the ditch, and the water in the fields beyond.