Cleaning the Heart: The Life of a Traveling Kirtaniya
“Let’s go clean the toilets,” said Aindra Das, head of Krishna Balarama Mandir’s 24-Hour Kirtan Mandali in Vrindavana. “It will clean your heart. And when your heart is clean, you can actually chant Hare Krishna.” Eighteen-year-old Madhava Naidoo was taken aback. He was a hotshot mridanga player. He was in the 24 Hour Kirtan. Why should he do something so menial? “No way,” he retorted.
The specially commissioned sculpture was created for ISKCON’s 50thanniversary celebrations in 2016. Designed by Russian devotee Madan Mohan Das and sculpted by Ukranian artist Volodymyr Zhuravel, the beautifully detailed bronze piece depicts Srila Prabhupada disembarking from the Jaladuta cargo ship at Boston’s Commonwealth Pier.
Now, in time for the upcoming Janmasthami and Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja festivals, ISKCON Communications Ministry offers centers around the globe the opportunity to entertain and inspire their congregation by screening the hour-long ‘The Joy of Devotion’ film. Now, the film also available in Spanish.
Prabhupada disciple and Gainesville Krishna House leader Kalakantha Das may not be your typical rapper. He is, after all, in his words “a sixty-four-year-old white guy.” But his new book “Bhagavad-gita: The Rap of God” is already getting rave reviews from contemporary audiences.
The internationally renowned street and fine artist Kardami Kapila Das, a former of the K. Art Collective recently visited St. Petersburg to paint a mural by invitation of ‘Fortunate People’ team - worldwide mantra flash-mob dedicated to spreading Love & Peace.
The documentary film Hare Krishna!, about the life and teachings of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada, will be released on digital, DVD and Blu-Ray worldwide on August 21st– just two weeks before Prabhupada’s appearance day.
The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is filled with extraordinary devotees continuing Srila Prabhupada’s legacy and bringing us the works of the acaryas. Translator Mukunda Datta Das is now working on the Sat-Sandarbhas and Bhakti-Rasamrita Sindhu.
Nandapriya Das, born Zaza Ujmajuridze, was born in Tbilisi, Georgia – a country beautifully set between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea with a culture as ancient as its language, came out with his new music album. Besides being a musician, he is a successful oncologist, working in Denmark.
Nearly every track’s lyrics comprise entirely of the Hare Krishna mantra, set to infectious tunes, uplifting beats and synths, and soaring backing vocals. Quite different from the usual big releases from the kirtan world, it’s an attempt by creator Chandrashekhara Acharya Das (Cyril Wohrer) to reach a broader audience and “dovetail” a lifelong dream into service.
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.
Wise-Love by Pranada Dasi has been named the 2018 Winner in the Spirituality category at the National Indie Excellence Awards, which celebrates the best in self and independent publishing.
The allegorical story takes readers through practical, emotional, and psychological steps from beginning curiosity and longing to enlightenment.
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.
The Jaguar’s Story, a brand new children’s book by Kosa Ely (Kosarupa Dasi) about the plight of Jaguars in the Amazon rainforest, was released on April 21stat the Earth Day Festival in Orlando, Florida. The book, which inspires care for Mother Earth, had its own booth at the festival’s Kids’ Zone, with large posters of its stunning artwork attracting passersby
ISKCON leaders probably didn’t expect some of their biggest preachers to be playing earsplitting hardcore punk music, doing high kicks and hurling themselves offstage into a crowd of wild teenagers. But in the 1990s, Shelter inspired countless young people to take on a sattvic lifestyle and even join the Hare Krishna Movement.
A concise introduction to bhakti, Wise-Love is arranged in seven sections titled after different phases of the moon, that cover different levels of self-realization.
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.
The Hare Krishna! film is finally arriving in Latin America. Currently, there are 92 theaters scheduled the film’s screening throughout the continent starting in March.
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.
Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura's Sri Gauranga-Lilamrita is a full day in the life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prior to His accepting the sannyasa order. A very sweet and rare manuscript.
Mahaprabhu Das presented the Prime Minister with a copy of the book Forms of Devotion - The Spiritual in Indian Art, a two-volume set published by MOSA.
When photos started cropping up of the Radhadesh Mellows Kirtan festival in Belgium this January, one thing in particular caught devotees’ eyes. Towering behind the kirtaniyas was a thirteen by nineteen foot acrylic painting on wooden board, depicting Lord Nityananda dancing in the moonlight, draped in blue silks and garlands and glowing in the dusky purple haze.
The Radha Krishna Temple at ISKCON of Soho Street, London inaugurated London Mellows, an annual 24-hour kirtan weekend, in 2016 as an offering to Srila Prabhupada on ISKCON’s 50th anniversary.
