Noted for her welcoming smile and joyful service as a book distributor, Malini Priti Devi Dasi (Meera Thuraisingam) is an exemplary disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami, serving locally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but inspiring devotees worldwide. 

Last month, devotees from the Harinama Ruci Team* completed a historic preaching tour across the Caribbean region, visiting nine far-off islands and countries rarely seen by the missionaries of Lord Chaitanya's movement. The group’s members include Vicaru Das and Sandipani Muni Krsna Das from Harinam Ruci team, and they combined with Gopinath Das from Trinidad.

Iskcon East London, a community of Krishna consciousness devotees, has been actively spreading the teachings of Lord Krishna in South Africa's Eastern Cape region since 2013. The project began when devotees traveling to Grahamstown for the annual National Arts Festival stopped in East London and arranged for a small, spontaneous Ratha Yatra procession in Braelyn. After the event, Nimai Das, Acyuta Keshava Das, and Vrajabasi Das mutually agreed to initiate programs in East London. 

Meet Loka Manohara Giridhari Das, a devotee who finds great joy in distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books a few years after discovering them with his family. Today, he is a seasoned book distributor working in Johannesburg’s central business district, an area often associated with high crime rates.

Wake up South Africa (WuSA) is a newly established initiative by African devotees explicitly focused on African preaching in university settings. The active non-profit, recognized as an ISKCON affiliate for creative initiatives, is dedicated to sharing the principles of Bhakti Yoga to benefit society through five main objectives: mantra meditation, timeless knowledge, ethical leadership, Vedic lifestyle, and positive recreation. 

When weather reports predicted snow and cold on the day of the legendary Festival of Colors at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, this year, Caru took the optimistic approach, “The Festival of Colors has been held ‘rain or shine’ for 28 years continuously,” Caru remarked. “Some of the best, most fun times have been had in rain and snow. It’s a messy event anyway, so what’s the problem? Going to be cold? That’s why we dance!”

Our global team continues to distribute unprecedented numbers of Srimad Bhagavatam sets through the Bhadra Campaign. This year, 250+ communities from 50+ countries distributed 45,800 sets of Srimad Bhagavatam, smashing the worldwide goal of 43,000 sets. The long-term goal is to reach 100,000 sets by 2026. This Bhadra Campaign was launched in 2017 by the BBT MCI Team (Marketing, Communications, and Innovation) under the leadership of HG Vaisesika Prabhu. By uniting a global team around this common goal, Bhagavatam distribution has skyrocketed from 7,007 sets in 2018 to 45,880 this year. The campaign runs annually from Gaura Purnima to Bhadra Purnima. Vaisesika Prabhu commented, “Congratulations teammates, we smashed it together. The globe will never be the same. How did it happen? Because Lord Chaitanya wanted it to happen. We're just cooperating; we're just instruments. The more we advocate for this, the more we assume it can be done and do our part methodically, the more this will increase and bring pleasure to Srila Prabhupada.”

Krishna Bhava Das, from ISKCON Punjabi Bagh community in Delhi, is 68 years old, strongly built, having a sharp gaze of determination yet having an air of humility around him. He is the eldest in his family of 30 members, untouched by modern flare, who prefers to keep to his village roots and culture. He is strong businessman and has also been one of the most enthusiastic devotees when it comes to book distribution. Over the last ten years, he has distributed lakhs (hundred thousand) of Srila Prabhupada's books and contributed to various projects of ISKCON. He was introduced to devotees by one of his relatives approx 14 years ago and his life took a different turn at that point. He was initiated in 2010 and heard through devotees how much Srila Prabhupada and his spiritual master, H.H Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, love book distribution. Taking inspiration and gathering courage he started going door to door with his study class for three years during the December book marathons and they would distribute a total of 250 Bhagavad-gitas as a group.

This last Live to Give campaign from the BBT ran from September 21st, 2021 through January 7th, 2022. Informally known as the December Marathon, communities across the globe come together to share and distribute the Bhagavad Gita in a collective effort. Each year, a global goal is created to enthuse, inspire and measure our successes in sharing this wisdom. This year, the goal was placed at 2.2 million Bhagavad Gitas.