Message from UK Prime Minister Tony Blair

"I am glad to have this opportunity to convey my support for the 36th annual Ratha Yatra Festival and to signal the Government's strong commitment to diversity and the contribution it can make to Britain today.

We are determined to see the kind of dynamic society in which people from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds can truly celebrate what we have in common as well as retaining and being proud of our distinctive identities.

I very much welcome events such as this, which will help us all to celebrate the values and benefits of diversity whilst developing a greater sense of shared values.

This festival sees different communities coming together, but also shows the positive expression of belief that is characetristic of the Krishna consciousness movement and of British Hindus more widely."

www.rathayatra.co.uk

Sri Sri Krishna Balarama In New York City

We the members of the Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mandir of Queens, New York are pleased to share the darshan of the largest Krishna Balarama Deities in North America with the community of devotees and well wishers. By their Own mercy, Their Lordships have manifested themselves and we feel obliged to accept Their blessings, and humbly extend it to everyone.

www.chakra.org

World dance tour hits T.O.

Disabled children hail from India
They've attracted sell-out crowds

Playing to sell-out crowds on a world tour is pretty heady stuff — especially when you're just 8 years old and it's your first trip out of India.

Kajal, who plays the role of Lord Krishna, is in Toronto with a troupe of 10 other disabled performers, some in wheelchairs, to present Colours of Ability: Glimpses from the Epics — a 90-minute show depicting scenes from Hindu holy texts, including the Bhagavad-Gita, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Saurav, 22, who lost both arms at the shoulder while playing near electrical wires at age 2, will perform a sword play using his feet.

www.thestar.com

London Rath-Yatra

Ratha-Yatra will take place on the Sunday 18th June 2006. The procession will begin at 12pm at Hyde Park Corner in London.

We have been informed that many Maharajas and senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada will be attending London Rath-Yatra. Here are few names that we have been informed of, HH Bhakticharu Swami, HH BV Goswami, HH BV Madhava Swami, HH Gopal Krsna Goswami, HH Indradyumna Swami, HH Jayapataka Swami, HH Kavicandra Swami, HH Mahavishnu Swami, HG Hari Sauri Prabhu & HG Devi deva Prabhu. Other special guests will be attending are HG Sri Nathji Prabhu & HG Devakinandana Prabhu.

Rathayatra UK | Festival of the Chariots

WVA Secretary meets Indian President

The President of India Abdul Kalam, recently made a visit to the Philippines. The general secretary of the WVA Acharya das, was invited to a dinner in his honor. Several days later Acharya das was invited by the Indian ambassador to the Philippines, to be the guest speaker at a function in her house. The function was attended by ambassadors from different countries to the Philippines, local civic and business leaders, and leaders of the local Indian community. Acharya das was invited to speak on the relevance of Vedic wisdom in the modern world.

www.vina.cc

WVA: True evolution - Spoon revolution

At the WVA managerial meeting, the WVA General Secretary Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti introduced to the assembled acharyas, WVA secretaries and sannyasis the concept of preaching through the Spoon Revolution. Swami said that in the western world more people are taking to vegetarianism and also becoming open to hear the message of Lord Chaitanya. The Internet page and project spoonrevolution.org is developing an increased awareness and enthusiasm in people to become vegetarians and to find out about karma-free food, which is nothing other than prasadam, food offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He also mentioned that unfortunately in India today vegetarianism is in decline. Young Indians think it is more modern to follow the degraded ways of the West and eat all kinds of meat. Their conception of vegetarianism is without scientific basis. They think it is the custom of antiquated grandmothers that one should eat only vegetarian food, and they have no idea about the health and environmental hazards factory farming is producing in the world. Shanti Ranjan Prabhu from the Gaudiya mission argued that if we spread pure bhakti, people will automatically become vegetarians. A similar concern was made by the president of Srila Bhakti Kumud Shanta Maharaja's new Math in Mayapur. Nevertheless, the overall opinion was that an increase in vegetarianism would be very good for the world.

www.vina.cc

First Hindu temple opens near Madrid

Iowa's first Hindu temple, nestled at a bend in the Des Moines River near Madrid, was consecrated in a five-day ceremony in early March.

The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa is the realization of a four-decade-old dream of about 1,000 Indian families who have settled here, according to Sri Krishna Kumar Pandey, priest of the temple.

desmoinesregister.com

Please Watch This Video And Call Amnesty International

Kazakhstan Protest

It is a video of the devotees in Kazakhstan being forcefully harassed as they peacefully protest the demolishment of their homes.

Apparantly Kazakhstan has tried in recent years to profile their government as a model for religious tolerance even to the extent of hosting an international conference called The First Congress of World and Traditional Religions in 2003 where they've highlighted their good relations with the Hare Krishna movement.

www.gopala.org

New York Ratha Yatra Festival - June 10-11, 2006

New York ISKCON cordially invites all devotees and friends for the ecstatic annual Ratha-Yatra and Festival of India in New York City on June 10-11, 2006

Sri Jagannath Ratha-Yatra Parade - June 10, 1006, starts at 12pm at the SE corner of Central Park 59th Street and Fifth Ave. The Parade will continue down Fifth Ave. for 50 blocks culminating at the Festival of India in Washington Square Park.

www.chakra.org

Detroit Devotees - Please Come Home for Our 30th Reunion

Thirty years ago, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada requested us to purchase the Fisher Mansion as the new home for Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari and the Detroit Hare Krishna movement. The media loved the Ford-Reuther connection, and Srila Prabhupada gave Detroit His blessings. Prabhupada instructed us to make Devasadhan Mandir a showplace for Krishna consciousness. He was very proud of our temple, considering it one of ISKCON’s crown jewels.

www.chakra.org

Ranganiketan To Perform ISKCON Benefit In San Jose, California On June 4, 2006

ISKCON of Silicon Valley is proud to present "Journey to the Foothills of the Himalayas," an exciting and beautifully devotional dance and martial arts performance by the Ranganiketan Manipuri Cultural Arts Troupe.

Showtime is Sunday June 4, 2006, from 7:30 p.m. - 9:45 p.m. at Le Petit Trianon Theatre, located at 72 North Fifth Street in downtown San Jose, California. Tickets are $25 for general and balcony seating, $30 for preferred seating, and $35 for V.I.P. seating. Delicious snacks and drinks will be sold in the Theatre's banquet room during intermission.

www.chakra.org

Was Duryodhana really stupid or what?

Besides the fact that the battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas was already fought, decided and over before it even began, as revealed by Krishna in his visvarupa to Arjuna, the reason the Kauravas lost was basically due to an act of apparent stupidity which can be traced back to one pivotal incident.

Krishna was taking an afternoon nap when both Duryodhana and Arjuna came to his place. Duryodhana came a little earlier and, being a proud person, felt his place should be at the head of the sleeping Krishna. Arjuna, who came a few moments later thought his rightful place should be near the feet. So when Krishna awoke and sat up he saw Arjuna first and let him have the first say.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rebuilding its temple

Like most Hare Krishna temples in North America, New Vrindaban now depends on Indian professionals for donations and new blood.

Indians comprise at least half the congregation in several North American temples, including Los Angeles, Toronto, and Washington, D.C., as well as most New Vrindaban visitors.

Gauranga, 36, a Bombay monk and former computer programmer leading the seminars, said he puts the lessons of the Bhagavad Gita scriptures in terms the new followers can relate to: "How does the hard drive of the mind crash, and how do you restore it?"

"It really doesn't matter who the temple builders are, if they're Indians or Americans. It's the same god, and all the prayers go to him," said Sai Chandrasekharan, 29, an electrical engineer who drove up from North Carolina with his wife for the weekend.

www.pittsburghlive.com

Indian dish aromatherapy you can eat

At its best, food draws people together. Think of gathering at a table with friends and family -- or strangers, as in the case of restaurants that offer community seating.

It's also possible to cook, eat a delicious meal and learn about a culture at the same time. Which is what Manjuali Devi's cooking classes at Kalachandji's are about. Held in the Hare Krishna temple's community hall in Dallas, they're an opportunity to sample vegetarian Indian dishes and learn about the people who make them.

www.ledger-enquirer.com

Achieve Eternal Premananda By Becoming A Gopi

An inspector-general of police in Lucknow recently dressed himself up as a gopi and danced about as one would in Krishna's rasa lila. People reacted with amusement, asto-nishment or shock. Some even declared the IGP crazy.

To evolved Krishna devotees, however, it was very much a part of Vaishnava devotional tradition — Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana — that is practised by some sects in Vraja to this day. Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana was first presented and elaborated by Srila Rupa Goswami, a disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, around five centuries ago in his treatise Bhaktirasamrtasindhu or Ocean of the Nectar of Devotion.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

L. Kent Wolgamott: Make a passage to India (at the Lentz Center)

As India becomes ever more present in the American consciousness, an exhibition such as “Miniature Works: Art from India” becomes especially important, providing a link to the history, religions and culture of the vast South Asian nation.

Made up of 43 small paintings and 22 tiny sculptures from the Leland C. and Paula Wyman Collection purchased for The Art Complex in the late 1960s, the national touring exhibition is at the Lentz Center for Asian Culture through May 25 and shouldn’t be missed.

www.journalstar.com

Vaishnava Arts Network International (VANI)

The Vaishnava community is blessed by the presence of many artists who are sharing their realizations with devotees, and Krishna Consciousness with the public, through their art. We have designed VANI according to an enlivening vision of our Vaishnava society as a dynamic network of devotees who continuously manifest interpersonal depth and cultural richness. In this environment, cultural expressions and devotional art forms are natural extensions of our dedication to Guru and Krishna. Our appreciation of each other is also communicated and celebrated through these exchanges.

www.chakra.org

Festival transcends into expectations

With free East Indian vegetarian cuisine, live music, mantra-chanting and information on spirituality, the 2006 Festival of Transcendence attempted to fine-tune students' minds on the South Oval Wednesday and Thursday.

Carl Clemens, a member of Yoga Circle, the student group that hosted the festival, said they organized the event in order to inform students on the different philosophies of the Hare Krishna religion and the benefits of creating harmony between one's mind, body and soul.

"What most Americans don't realize is yoga means 'religion' in Sanskrit," Clemens, a graduate student in public administration, said. "And religion is another way of saying 'to connect.'"

www.thelantern.com

Yet another monument of love

It is a magnificent offering of love for the divine couple. This single piece of architecture is a signature of Lakhnawi, Italian and Rajashthani sensibilities in architecture - all beautifully rolled into one.

The palace is designed to suit Sri Radha Krishna's varying dispositions. The idols of Radha Krishna or Chote Radha Ramanji as they are nicknamed here, have access to all parts of the building.

They give audience in their drawing room, sleep in their bedroom, perform raas in the different verandahs, front and back aangans, and the landscaped garden.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Singing of Krishna

Narsi Mehta, the 15th century saint-poet of Gujarat, began his spiritual journey with a highly mystical experience. One day, walking to the forest in deep contemplation, he came upon a secluded Shiva temple and sat down to pray. He spent seven days there, without food or water, lost in contemplation. At the end of the week, he had a vision of Mahadeva.

“What do you seek from me?” Shiva asked. “I am an ignorant man; I do not know what to ask for. I shall accept whatever you give me,” replied Narsi.

Shiva granted him a glimpse of Gokul, where Lord Krishna was lost in ecstatic song and dance with the gopis. Krishna blessed Narsi, saying, “You have been witness to the divine rasa-lila. Go forth and compose poetry and spread the word of the Lord.”

www.dnaindia.com

IC Meetings Podcast

ISKCON Communication Europe Leadership Team (ICELT) meetings are an annual sanga and think-tank that provide thoughtful analysis in a devotional atmosphere. These meetings are an opportunity to step back and consider the implications and direction of our preaching.

www.iskcon.com

Ratha Yatra Panama 2006

On the behalf of ISKCON Panama we humbly request you to accept our invitation to kindly attend Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra as an honorable Special guest on Saturday, June 10 th 2006 to honor the ceremony.

Traditionally, each year in Puri (India), millions of people gather to pull the Rath (Chariot) for the pleasure of Lord Jagannatha and dance with great joy. ISKCON has since 1967 carried that ancient festival to all corners of the world and all major cities. It is therefore our pleasure to inform you about the Jagannath Ratha Yatra which will take place on Saturday, 10th June, 2006 in Panama City.

www.chakra.org

Invitation To the 15th Annual Prabhupada Memorial Festival - Los Angeles May 27 & 28th

"It's that time again! If you've never made it out to the Prabhupada Festival, this is the year to re- unite with devotees in Los Angeles, for 2 days of sharing memories, ecstatic kirtans, sumptuous feasts, a mini-Rathayatra, Maha Harinam, entertainment, and much more...

The festival will be held at the Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarakadish Temple over Memorial Day week-end (May 27, & 28th, 2006) in glorification of his Divine Grace.

www.chakra.org

Finland´s First Ratha Yatra Festival In Helsinki May 27th 2006

Finland's First Ratha Yatra Festival in Helsinki May 27th 2006*ISKCON Helsinki arranges Finland's first Ratha Yatra festival in Helsinki May 27th 2006. Ratha Yatra is a part of World Village festival arranged in Kaisaniemi Park and Railway Square.

www.chakra.org

Interactive Satellite Pictures

Govardhana Hill - Click here
Govardhana, Vrindavan, Mathura, Varsana - Click here
Sri Vrindavan Dham - Click here
Sri Mayapura Dham - Click here

Radio Indraprastha - Digital Internet Radio In the Uk

The Hare Krishna Centre in Leicester UK has launched its Digital Internet Station, Radio Indraprastha. The station broadcasts 24 hours 365 days a year and is available at: www.gauranga.org/indraprastha.htm

Broadcasts consist mainly of Krishna Bhajans and Krishna Katha. It is a tribute to the worldwide audience of the Centre's 'Real Audio Page', which attracted over half a million listeners in the past few years.

Kula Shaker Reforms

The biggest rock bands in the U.K. in the 1990's were Oasis and Kula Shaker. Kula Shaker was an all Vaisnava rock band led by singer guitarist Crispian Mills who is the son of Vaisnavi movie, television and stage star Hayley Mills. Kula Shaker shot to stardom in the U.K. on the release of their first album "K" in 1996 which spawned 4 hit singles and made them the hottest band in Britain. They were also quite popular in the rest of europe and hugely popular in Japan as well. They had success in America but nowhere near the popularity they enjoyed in the U.K, Europe and Japan.

www.harekrsna.com

Swami Bon visits German Universities

Swami B.H. Bon of the Gaudiya Mission who has been working in Europe for the last two years has started a Hindu centre in London with the Marquess of Zetland as its President, was recently invited by different Universities and Societies of Germany to deliver lectures on the various aspects of Hinduism. The Swamiji delivered three lectures in Berlin at the Lessing Hochschule, the Berlin University and the Indian Club on "The Indo-Aryan Message of the Gaudiya Mission", "The philosophy of Sree Krishna Chaitanya" and "The Hindu view of life" respectively. The first two lectures were in German and the third was in English.

www.vina.cc

Capturing Krishna in his many moods

Bangalore: As many as 252 photographers from across the country are participating in a national-level photography contest, "Capture Krishna", organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The two-week camp for photographers at the temple comes to an end on Wednesday.

The photographers used their skills to capture the various moods of the temple festivities, particularly the colourful 13-day Brahmotsava.

www.hindu.com

Mayapur Journal Lives Again

After a break in production of three years, Mayapur Journal, has been relaunched. The Journal's new editor, Braja Sevaki Dasi, sees it as a way to, `enhance, encourage, and broadcast the many cultural aspects of Mayapur through poetry, art, literature, cuisine, dance, philosophy, and more.'

www.iskcon.com

Modern Buddha and Vishnu Avatar Buddha are different

The Vedas encode instructions according to the eligibility or qualification of various living beings, especially human beings. But in the course of time, ignorant men took the tamasika orders to be the only instruction of the Vedas and engaged in the extensive killing of animals, sometimes even sacrificing human beings during worship of the demigods. At that time, the Supreme Lord descended in the form of Buddha and outwardly rejected the teachings of the Vedas for the welfare of human beings incapable of comprehending the true teachings of the Vedas. This implies that He disputed and cancelled His own prior teachings, propounded the futility of belief in God and preached to human beings four noble truths, to free them from their violent practices. This act of Buddha provided instantaneous benediction to mankind of that period. As Lord Buddha was the Supreme Lord Himself, many people resolved to follow ahimsa-dharma—the path of non-violence, due to His influence. As a result of non-violence, the hearts of human beings became pious and their qualifications gradually increased, so Lord Siva appeared as Sankaracarya. He re-established the supreme authenticity and decorum of the Vedas, and founded the philosophy of ‘brahmakarana-vada’ (Brahman as ultimate cause). In later ages, the Vaishnava stalwarts built the philosophy of bhakti upon this same foundation stone. From the personal and aggregate point of view, these are the steps of progress.

Srila B.B. Tirtha Maharaja

www.vina.cc

Book Review: Here Comes the Sun by Joshua M. Greene

Greene was, like Harrison, a student of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Prabhupada was the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the largest part of the "Hare Krishna" movement. Harrison purchased an estate in London for use as a Krishna retreat that was named Bhaktivedanta Manor and recorded an album of Hare Krishna chants (on which Greene was one of the chanters and played harmonium) sung by members of a temple for which Harrison guaranteed the lease.

As such, Greene does not view or treat Harrison's interest in Eastern religion as the dalliance of a wealthy but eccentric rock star. Instead, the book looks seriously at Harrison's views and worship of Krishna and the role its tenets and practices played in Harrison's day-to-day life. Greene takes us from Harrison's first trip in India 1966 to his various return trips up to his death. He also discusses the philosophical and spiritual discussions Harrison had with Prabhupada and other teachers and devotees.


blogcritics.org

Getting Empowered with Humility and Tolerance

To experience ceaseless spiritual happiness Chaitanya Mahapra-bhu advocated "Being humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree and offering all respects to others and expecting none in return, chanting the holy names of the Lord constantly".
He explained that we are spiri-tual beings, eternal loving children of God. We can find lasting happiness — not in acquiring material positions and possessions, but in reviving our innate love of God.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Fifth Annual Himalayan Performing Arts Festival

The 5 th Annual Himalayan Performing Arts Festival will be held Saturday June 3rd. at the Krishna Temple one mile south of Spanish Fork on Main St. Performing artists will take the stage from 6 pm, and present a menu of folk dance, classical Indian dance, drama, music and songs.

One presenter will be Anju Thapaliya (her photo is on the poster) from Nepal, who, along with her students, will demonstrate the folk dancing of this mountain kingdom.

www.vina.cc

Being a monk doesn’t mean I can’t party —Bolaji Rosiji, PMAN boss

He is at home with anything Hare Krishna and the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, PMAN. His best reads are the ancient books written more than five thousand years ago in Sanskrit, now an obsolete language. His immediate duty is to bring peace and justice to PMAN, an association he was elected to head last year.

Bolaji Rosiji is at once a monk and an entertainer, the only Nigerian, as far as is known, to combine the unique duties as head of an association that has to do purely with entertainment and as a devotee of a religious order that encourages just the opposite.

www.sunnewsonline.com

New Book: Sri Siksastakam of Sri Caitanya

Sri Krsna Caitanya is perhaps the best example the world has seen of devotional ecstasy in love of God. He was a towering figure of golden complexion from whose lotus eyes hot tears of spiritual rapture poured constantly--a golden mountain erupting in ecstasy, its lava consuming everything in its path. He melted hearts as he heralded the holy name of Sri Krsna, swooning, dancing, and distributing the method to his spiritual madness--Sri Krsna sankirtana.

The eight stanzas of Siksastakam detail the spiritual practice of Sri Krsna sankirtana and the steps it takes its practitioner through in pursuit of spiritual perfection. Poetic and spiritually profound, these stanzas constitute the entire legacy of Sri Krsna Caitanya--an open letter of love of God that has the potential to drown humanity in an unprecedented flood of spiritual emotion.

www.vina.cc

People: Spiritual Warriors

Dorothy Stang was a Catholic nun and human rights activist in Brazil who recently met martyrdom. Less well-known is Hladini Dasi, a Vaisnava nun who met with a similar fate during her missionary work in Liberia twelve years ago. When I read of Dorothy, I couldn't help but be reminded of Hladini, and how their uncommon faith and conviction led them both to a state of fearlessness against even the most formidable opposition.

www.iskcon.com

Big Launch for South African Krishna Temple

The highly anticipated launch of the multi-million rand temple at the corner of Longbury Drive and Pandora Street in Phoenix takes place from December 30 to January 1.

The reason for opening the R10 million International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple is to render diverse cultural activity and teaching to people of this highly populated Indian suburb and to keep culture alive, according to ISKCON plans for the temple began in 1991 and construction began in 2000.

www.iskcon.com

Friends of India

We happily announce you the opening of a new club in Bulgaria under the name "Friends of India" in the town of Kardjali situated in the south region of Bulgaria in the Rodopi mountains.

The club is an initiative of Rositsa Sokolova who after her trip to India with the Inbound tour was inspired to continue her spiritual journey and to share her experience and the values she found there.

www.vrindanews.com

Hindus and Local Councils Launch First National Toolkit for Religious Education

The pilot project, which will initially see 72 schools of Harrow being presented official RE toolkits, will be expanded to include at least ten other Boroughs by the end of the year.

The Hindu Forum of Britain has adopted the Heart of Hinduism multi-media resource pack produced by ISKCON Educational Services and Teaching Hinduism in Schools textbook produced by the Vivekananda Centre as its official RE toolkits. The two packs provide interactive resources for teachers and students of RE to enable better understanding of Hinduism through GCSE-aligned books, posters, audio CDs, CD ROMs, websites and teacher training guides. The toolkits have been produced after considerable research and consultation with different sections and branches of the Hindu community in the UK. The national launch at Harrow will include demonstrations from the Vivekananda Centre and ISKCON Educational Services to an audience of RE teachers and students and an official endorsement of the toolkits by the Harrow SACRE.

www.clickwalla.com

Sri Dhameshwar

Dhameshwara, the controller of the Holy Dham, is always shining His loving smile on the devotees who come. Brahma, Shiva and Narada also came here to take darshan of Mahaprabhu.

www.vina.cc

South African Indians gear up for fun weekend

Durban: This South African city is set for a fun-filled weekend with a host of festivities planned including the Festival of Chariots, the biggest event for the over one million-strong Indian community in the country.

The biggest draw in this long Easter weekend, the Festival of Chariots, is organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at the Bay of Plenty. Over 200,000 people from different religions are expected to attend this event that starts Saturday morning.

www.newkerala.com

Hindu couple challenges US fiat

Six Hindu organisations have joined hands in support of an American Hindu couple who are challenging a court order that forbids them from keeping cows on their property.

The six Hindu organisations are the Hindu American Foundation, Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Pursushottam Swaminathan Sanstha (known as Baps), Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Arshya Vidya Gurukulam, Jaina: The Federation of Jain Associations in America, and the Pusti Margiya Vasihnav Samaj of North America (known as Vraj). Their Amicus brief has been filed in support of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) members Linda and Stephen Voith who live with their seven children in the village of Angelica in New York. A decade after joining ISKCON in 1977 and 1980 the Voiths identified a two-and- a-half acre property in Angelica and moved there with a handful of cows with the aim of operating a Vedic Cow Protection and Agricultural Centre.

www.deccanherald.com

New Hinduism Textbook

Greenwood Press, one of the world's leading publishers of reference titles and academic texts, released a new textbook on Hinduism last week. Written by independent scholar Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa), it is the final volume of a six-part series called Introduction to the World's Major Religions. Rosen is the author of over twenty books on Hindu-related subjects and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies, a peer-refereed academic journal. He is also a practitioner of Vaishnavism and a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna movement.

www.iskcon.com

Ratha Yatra Festival in Berlin

Once again, it's time for the incredible Ratha Yatra Carparade in Berlin with Sripad Van Maharaja and other special guests! All you beautiful souls are much invited to come for Sri Sacinandana Gauraharis amazing pastime of tasting the highest devotional moods in front of Lord Jagannath together with His eternal near and dear associates. Experience how patita-pavana Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subadra are showering the world with their extraordinary mercy as they tour the public roads of Berlin amidst hundreds and thousands of onlookers.

www.vina.cc

ISKCON Convention 2006

For the sixteenth year running, the Radhadesh ISKCON Convention will bring a speakers from around the world to share their knowledge on topics ranging from cooking to Western civilisation.

These seminars have become an essential date on many calendars as an opportunity to recharge the batteries and to hear from and associate with open-minded devotees. As always, they start on the first Tuesday of July and run for five days (4–8 July). They cost _180 for shared accomodation or _130 for dormitory accomodation. Prices include meals, accomodation, and all seminars.

www.iskcon.com

Krishna rap: Yes, its time has come

AT a moment in pop musical history when hip-hop's foremost MC (Eminem) is white, reggae's most high-profile performer, Matisyahu, is a Hasidic Jew — and musical genres are defined by color and creed less and less — it was probably only a matter of time before the pop canon opened to include a Hare Krishna rapper.

www.calendarlive.com

Sri Rathayatra Mahotsav

This year the Ratha yatra festival of the beloved Jagannath deity of Gaura Parshad Sri Murari Gupta, will take place on 26/27 June 2006.

All devotees are invited to participate and also to contribute some service/donation to the festival.

www.vina.cc

Bhajan singing preserves Indian traditions

It’s Friday evening and the bhajan singers are arriving at the home of Vikas and Nisha Padhye. Women in flowing Indian dresses with colorful sashes and scarves. A few men in what westerners like to call Nehru shirts or jackets, but most are all-American in jeans or khakis, T-shirts or plaids.

They leave their shoes at the door — within an hour some 60 shoes are stacked there — and gather in the basement recreation room. They sit cross-legged or on their knees before an altar adorned with pictures of Hindu deities. The evening begins with slow intonations of the sacred word AUM, followed by a half hour of unison chanting of ancient Hindu prayers.

www.journalstar.com

Do prayers really work?

Not the preserve of the Christian faith only, the Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Book of the Hindu faith describes prayer as an experience of sheer ecstasy.

www.eastandard.net

Canwalk 2006 - Bhaktimarga Swami Reprises his Cross Canada Walk for Spiritual Healing

He's at it once again! Bhaktimarga Swami, 53, a Canadian born monk, or sannyasi, of the Hare Krishna religion, is endeavouring on his second cross-Canada walk, seeking to get in touch with his own personal and spiritual roots -- and to underscore the need for fellow Canadians to stay in touch with their own spirituality. He calls it, "a spiritual healing walk for Canada."

travelvideo.tv

Iskcon culture camp

The Iskcon is organising the third batch of its Culture Camp from May15 - June 4. The camp will include interactive classes on the Bhagavad Gita, puppet show, personality development, animatronics show, games and quiz among others. In addition, opportunity will be provided for enhancement of skills too. The fee for the three-week course to be held at Iskcon premises at Rajajinagar is Rs 500.

www.deccanherald.com

Looking for the Ocean in A Small Cup of Water

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: "O Arjuna, this body is akin to a field". In Sanskrit, field is kshetra farmland innocent and pure, for it takes on whatever character the farmer chooses to give it.

A handful of grain turns into a harvest. We can choose to create a garden that will delight the hearts of all who visit it or turn it into a dumping ground for people to come and unload their garbage.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Curious times

A radical new theory proposed by theoretical physicists suggests that the universe may be infinitely old and infinitely large. The new study suggests that time did not begin along with the Big Bang 14 billion years ago, but that "big bangs" happen repeatedly in a never-ending cycle of universal expansion and contraction.

Under this new theory, the universe must be at least a trillion years old and have experienced innumerable "big bangs" and "big crunches." (By the way, this theory has been lifted directly from the Bhagavad Gita.)

"I think it is much more likely to be far older than a trillion years though," said Professor Neil Turok, a theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge. "There doesn't have to be a beginning of time. According to our theory, the universe may be infinitely old and infinitely large." Fortunately, the next big crunch won't gobble us all up for at least 10 billion more years. (The Guardian)

web.bcnewsgroup.com

Knowledge belongs to everybody

For several centuries, only Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas were held to be eligible for the study of the Vedas, though in practice, Vedic studies have been the privilege and prerogative of male Brahmins alone. However, this practice has neither theoretical foundation nor Vedic sanction. Rather, the Vedas emphatically assert that the knowledge contained in them is meant for all.

Vedic knowledge and practices are universal in character, says the Atharva Veda: “"O man! I, being of the nature of truth and being unfathomable, have revealed the true Vedic knowledge; so I am he who gave birth to the Veda. I cannot be partial either to a Daasa or an Arya; I save all those who behave like myself, that is impartially, and follow my truthful commands”.

www.hindustantimes.com

Merging the Tiny Drop With the Mighty Ocean

Patanjali's work is a reformulation and compilation of what is in the Upanishads — that the purpose of life is to realise the Self. To know the Self, thought waves have to be controlled.

The Bhagavad Gita says that to control the mind made of manas, buddhi and ahamkara, you need to practise non-attachment. The eight limbs of Patanjali yoga are yama, niyam, asana, pranayama, pratyahar, dharna, dhyana and eventually samadhi.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

4,500 year-old bricks found near `Mahabharata' battlefield Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra (Haryana): Huge bricks belonging to the ancient Indian Kushan Dynasty have been found near the famous Kurukshetra battlefield, around which the Indian epic, Mahabharata, involving a fatricidal conflict between the Pandavas and Kauravas, is centered.

According to the Haryana Archaeology Department, the significant archaeological find was found at Brahamsar Teeratha, about 40 km from Kurukshetra. Officials said that the bricks are as old as 4,500 years and measured 70 by 47 by 10 cm.

www.newkerala.com

Diamond Publications launches Hanuman Comics

Hanuman, the animated film from Sahara One Motion Pictures, may well have cast a magical spell on children today, and it is time that kids swore by comic book heroes as Hanuman is Back.

After the success of Chacha Chowdhary, Sabu, Billu, Pinki, Phantom, Mandrake and Tarzan, who all ruled the imagination of the childrens and fired their fantasy and again with computers, video games and extra curricular activities taking up most of the kiddie brigade's time, comic culture has now been pushed into oblivion and so why can Diamond Publications not empower the power of Mythology.

www.televisionpoint.com

Jaya nrisimhadeva

This was in Alaminos Laguna, Philippines Temple last May 12-15.



community.livejournal.com/iskcon

Can plants feel?

THE DEBATE over whether plants have feelings is about to be reopened with the publication of research by scientists in Italy and Germany. Their findings suggest that plants under threat can marshal a positively devilish measure of cunning. They communicate the danger to plants nearby; and also call in help from other creatures.

Biologists at the University of Turin and the Max Planck Institute in Jena were yesterday reported to have found evidence that plants sensed — and reacted to — the presence of hungry, leaf-chomping grubs. Their response was to emit an odour similar to lavender. This alerted other plants to the presence of a predator.But it also served to call in what modern military planners would term air support. Wasps, the natural enemies of grubs, were drawn by the odour to the plant where they either devoured the grub or injected it with eggs that later killed it.

vedic-science.blogspot.com