Opinion Archives

Can There Ever Be Free Speech?

Krishna Dharma Das

“It is by the goodness of God that we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them,” wrote Mark Twain. Wise words from the esteemed author, although some of us may well doubt their wisdom, among them Mr. Elon Musk, who just purchased Twitter for a spectacular sum, vowing to make it a platform for “free speech”.

Celebrate Earth Day by Promoting Vegetarianism

Kamala Radha devi dasi

We've been commemorating Earth Day for 52 years every April 22nd to show our support for environmental protection. This month, approximately 1 billion people will celebrate Earth Day, and today alone, scores of people will plant trees, clean rivers, not use single-use plastics, and recycle. Of course, all of this is beneficial, but it will not save the earth. To genuinely be "green," we must eliminate meat consumption from our diets and demonstrate to others that vegetarianism is the finest thing we can do for our planet and our souls.

Prabhupada Mayapur Quotes

Sunanda Das, Temple of the Vedic Planetarium

The TOVP Communications Department has collected a large number of Srila Prabhupada’s known quotes relating to the Mayapur project and the TOVP taken from lectures, conversations, morning walks, his books, and other books. It covers a wide range of topics and illustrates how important and dear ISKCON Mayapur, the World Headquarters of the Hare Krishna Movement was to him. He personally said of Sridham Mayapur, “Mayapur is my place of worship.”

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

ISKCON Child Protection Office

Leading up to the appearance of the original child protector - Lord Nrsimhadeva, this is the perfect time of the year to focus on the Lord as the protector and ourselves as His instruments.

The Prostitute

Bhaktimarga Swami

In the city of Videha lived a very beautiful woman Whose profession involved a regular change of linen For almost every day there was a new man No long-term relationships ever began

Japa Affirmations // Part 2

Payal Shah

Sound has the ability to affect our consciousness in a very profound way. The quality of sound vibration that goes into our ears determines the quality of our consciousness. The Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, is a transcendental sound vibration which connects us directly to a spiritual platform and enables us to recover our original spiritual identity.

Making Room

Ananda Vrindavan Devi, ISKCON of DC

So there I was, driving on a five lane highway, a good speed mind you, when a car moseyed up behind me. The driver wasn’t putting a lot of pressure on me to get out of his way, but still I thought, let me move over and make room. So I did and it felt good.

William Hurt the Oscar Winning Actor Temple Visit

Sikhi Mahiti das, Dandavats.com

It has been in the news that Oscar winning actor, William Hurt, passed away Sunday, March 13th from cancer. What was not reported is that he spent one week in the guest house of our ISKCON Atlanta temple in 2010.

War and Peace

Krishna Dharma Das

“War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” So sang Edwin Starr in his famous 70’s anthem, ‘War’. Few would argue with that stark assessment as we watch the scenes of yet another conflict with horror. Heartbreaking images of anguished people and their shattered lives in Ukraine flash across our screens, and we pray to Lord Krishna that peace may soon prevail.