New Magazine “Spirit Soul” Makes Bhakti Yoga Accessible
A common observation by both the secular media and internal critics about ISKCON today is that while it is providing a home away from home for many Indian nationals, it is reaching less young Americans, as Srila Prabhupada desired.
To make the ISKCON50 film more suitable for educational purposes and special events, the filmmakers have released a hour-long version of the documentary feature.
Hari Sauri, well-known for his Transcendental Diary book series about his time as Srila Prabhupada’s personal servant, served with the BRC since its inception in June 2009. From the beginning he was instrumental in its work collecting and preserving important historical documents of ISKCON’s Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage, according to Srila Prabhupada’s instructions.
ISKCON Food Relief Foundation (IFRF) provides midday meals to 250,000 children of more than 2,000 government schools in the four districts of Haryana- Gurugram, Palwal, Kurukshetra and Faridabad. The main objective of IFRF is to provide healthy and nutritious food to the children which helps them in physical and mental development.
Vaisesika launched the plan for a One World Team with a message that at first may seem counter-intuitive: “Be dissatisfied.” He ecouraged devotees to shoot for “a higher goal than you think you can attain.”
This year in Sridhama Mayapur between the 16thof May and the 13thof June, the resident devotees will make their way to the temple each evening through the summer heat for an opportunity that only comes once every three years.
Until now, dialogues in Washington D.C. have been held in neutral, non-religious spots such as retreat centers and community halls. But with such deep friendships and trust built up over the years, the dialogue was held last year at a Catholic monastery, and this year – for the very first time – at an ISKCON temple.
An initiated ISKCON devotee, Yasodamayi devi dasi (Ieva Zasimauskait), disciple of Sankarshana Dasa Adhikari from Lithuania, has made it to the Grand Final of EuroVision, the most popular international song contest, which is taking place in Lisbon, Portugal.
Over the past few years, the ISKCON Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture (IMCPA) has been bringing ISKCON farms together for biannual continental conferences. Now, the Ministry is beginning strategic planning meetings every other year, to foster team building.
Srila Prabhupada disciple Deena Bandhu Das, who is renowned as a pilgrimage guide, storyteller and scholar of Vraja area folk tales and temple histories, has re-released his book Vraja Lila Part One in print and Kindle editions.
In Cuba, street distribution of Prabhupada’s books is forbidden, and devotees have been searching for legal ways to present them there for many years. This year, at last, saw a breakthrough opportunity: the Havana International Book Fair.
This year the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (VIHE) has scheduled its English Bhakti-sastri course for the period starting July 5 and ending November 6, 2018, in Vrindavan, India.
Trinidad’s first ever Rathayatra was celebrated in Chaguanas in 1991 with a flatbed truck used as the chariot. In 1994, devotees put on the first Rathayatra in Port of Spain, building a float onto a truck chassis. But it wasn’t until 2006 that organizer Baladeva Das built the first proper Rathayatra cart with the help of a friend.
An ISKCON center full of new, young American devotees, completely self-sustained through book distribution, in 2018? To some, this may sound like a pipe dream. But Philadelphia’s Mantra Lounge is proving that Srila Prabhupada’s model for ISKCON’s family business still works today – and it works very, very well.
Children from any cultural background or religion may join the school, and Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and ISKCON children learn and grow in harmony, having equal respect for each others’ religion and background.
Around fifty spiritual leaders, lawyers, civil society leaders, government officials and scholars attended the meeting.
Prince Mangusutho Buthelezi (leader of the Inkhata Freedom Party and Prime Minister of the Zulu Nation) visited the festival on Saturday, 31 March. Prince Buthelezi who will turn 90 years old in August this year is currently the most senior statesman in the government cabinet.
The managers of the spiritual city of Mayapur are doing their best to keep the ISKCON premises clean from garbage waste.
As an official Dallas Arts District event, Festival of Joy will be advertised on all Arts District websites, email lists, newsletters and Facebook pages. The Festival is also partnering with Fun Asia radio, which reaches 200,000 people, as well as with a number of local yoga centers and businesses.
Nueva Vrajamandala’s Instituto de Estudios Bhaktivedanta, which is hosting the course, wanted present and future generations of devotees to learn the proper standards of kirtan.
On this occasion, the production team of ‘The Stolen River’, a 40-minute documentary about the sacred Yamuna, has made the film available for public screening for communities, temples, educational- and other organizations.
A series of PDF activity books by Urmila Dasi, now available online, teaches children about Krishna consciousness through the joyful celebration of Vaishnava festivals. Extremely popular with parents and teachers, the series is set for a more elaborately produced print version soon, and may become part of a new official ISKCON Sunday School curriculum.
A recent remodel of the Plaza of the Americas, the leafy main crossroads of the University of Florida (UF) campus, includes a sign reading “Krishna Lunch Lane” to commemorate the prasadam distribution program that has served students there for the past forty-five years.
Among the audience members were the former President of the country, His Excellency Kailash Purryag; MP the Honorable Santaram Baboo; former Minister of Social Integration Suren Dayal; and former Ambassador to the United Nations Milan Meetarban.
A series of video blogs, or “vlogs,” featuring ISKCON guru Sivarama Swami giving a Krishna conscious perspective on current issues, have racked up over 20 million views on Facebook. Devotees behind the project see it as a way forward for outreach in the Hare Krishna Movement.
