As soon as you press play on the title track of Supersoul’s new EP “He Can Dance,” and hear the irresistibly catchy melody, funky rhythms, brass, and smooth harmonies, you’re likely to find that you yourself, and possibly your whole family, can do nothing but dance.
A devotee children’s club in Australia, with about 80 children, decided to bring the holy land of Vrindavana, Krishna’s birthplace, into Brisbane.
Melbourne Food for Life distributes meals with contactless delivery to elders, children, students, the unemployed, as well as people who are isolated or in quarantine, and anyone in need.
Altogether, the Kingscliff location is the eighth Hare Krishna restaurant between New Govardhana and the Gold Coast, demonstrating the Australian appetite for prasadam.
When devotees at the ISKCON temple in Sydney, Australia, couldn’t organize their regular full-fledged outdoor Rathayatra festival due to COVID-19 restrictions, they decided to bring the whole city of Puri and a new custom-built chariot into their temple room for a small indoor Rathayatra.
After months under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some ISKCON temples around the world are gradually starting to reopen in phases, with safety restrictions in place according to their local government recommendations.
Jaya Vijaya Prabhu had been serving as Temple President of the Brisbane ISKCON Temple for several years and was an appreciated member of the Australian National Management Council.
Starting in September last year, bush fires have been causing widespread devastation in Australia, particularly in New South Wales. According to ISKCON Australia Communications Director Bhakta Das, no devotees have been injured, as the fire is some distance from ISKCON’s farming communities.
Four young sister entrepreneurs aged 8-13, from Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia, join forces to end the devastation caused by harmful plastic and chemical products by creating environmentally sustainable products in their business ‘The Eco Sisters’.
The first Australian Kulimela, held from late December 2010 to early January 2011, was a major success, drawing around 300 kulis for seminars, devotional entertainment, kirtan, water sports and nature exploration. The same team has now scheduled a ten-year reunion event, which will run for five days from October 1st to 5th 2020.
The main cake featured the name “Prabhupada” cut into individual letters. These were surrounded by twenty-six small cakes, each with one of his qualities artfully inscribed upon it.
This four-day music and arts festival attracts 40,000+ people, and as usual the prasadam distribution was a great success.
“There are many vegan and vegetarian places on the Gold Coast – but the most successful ones are the Hare Krishnas,” says Nitai Chandra.
Presenters at the conference were devotees who are developing Vaishnava community welfare services including mentoring, counseling, mental health support, youth support, widows support, palliative care and caring for the sick, women’s support, social justice and more. The conference was attended by just under 100 devotees.
News of the peaceful death of former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke on May 16that the age of 89, has evoked praise of the charismatic leader. Dominating Australian politics in the 1980s, he is credited with introducing universal healthcare, modernising the economy. A lesser known achievement is his 1987 intervention to help free the Hare Krishna devotees from state persecution in the USSR.
The horrific massacre that unfolded in Christchurch New Zealand on Friday 15th March, in which to date 50 human beings have lost their lives, is truly a very dark moment in history, not only for Muslims but for all who treasure the gift of life.
Cow protection has been going on at Australia's thousand-acre farm in some form since its establishment in 1977.
Surfers Paradise, a suburb of the city of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A vivid blue sky reflects in glass skyscrapers rising behind a beach of golden sand. Sparkling turquoise waves crash as cool young people ride the crest on their surfboards.
Succession is currently a hot topic in ISKCON. So recently we spoke to Janardan Kewin, an Australian alumnus of Vrindavan Gurukula, who now works professionally as a regional manager at the University of Queensland, serves as Vice President at ISKCON Brisbane, and is known for his sweet kirtans.
While most Year 12 students plan a week of partying at Surfers Paradise to mark the end of their school years, seven students from the Hare Krishna School at Eungella are planning something completely different.
Remarkably, devotees from New Govardhana Farm have set up a Govinda’s prasadam stall there with a theme representing the TOVP itself as the shape of the stall.
On June 16, 2018, ISKCON Melbourne had the privilege to receive very distinguished guests Hon Matthew Guy, Leader of the Opposition from Victorian State Parliament, Andrew Bond local candidate from Albert Park, and Katie Allan a candidate from Prahran and other prominent members from Indian community.
Due to the arrival of the Australian royalty in an entourage of four cars and a Mercedes limo, the main thoroughfare (Rajadhirsen Marga) adjacent to ISKCON's Radha Partha-sarathi Mandir, was blocked off. Sir Peter Cosgrove, along with his wife, Lady Cosgrove, was the first ever Governor General of Australia to visit an ISKCON center,
On November 11th the TOVP Tour Team brought Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari to the original Capital City of Australia, Melbourne. Although Canberra is now the Capital, Melbourne is one of the largest cities in Australia and this showed by the incredible response of the devotees who pledged over $500,000 U.S. to the TOVP.
This November, 2017 the TOVP Tour bringing Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Padukas (Divine Shoes) and Lord Nrsimhadeva's Sitari (Sacred Helmet) from Sridhama Mayapur will be setting foot in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
A day on the beautiful New Govardhana farm in NSW, Australia.
Australia’s national news agency, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has reported vandalism at the Brisbane Hare Krishna temple. Visiting in the night, vandals spray painted walls and smashed a window. ISKCON News spoke to temple president, Jaya Vijaya Dasa, who said he doesn’t think the devotees are being targeted.
The devotees of ISKCON Melbourne were asked to participate in this year’s 2017, 5 days Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show at the wonderful Melbourne Exhibition Centre. A team of devotees came up with the concept of presenting Radha and Krishna in the groves of Vrindavan with their Gopi and Gopa friends. The title of their display was “SPIRITUAL VISION”. The organizers don’t usually select religious organizations as entrants but because the Hare Krishna Movement is known for their use of beautiful flower arrangement they made an exemption.
Over Easter weekend devotees from all over Australia, and beyond, came together at the New Govardhan community to chant and dance in ecstasy to the holy names of the Lord. A video by Ananta Vrindavan.
Just as Europe has Radhadesh Mellows in Belgium, Asia has the Mayapur Kirtan Mela in India, and North America has the Sadhu Sanga Retreat in North Carolina, organizers hope to make Sacred Sound the major kirtan festival for Australia and New Zealand, where devotees can dive deep into the nectar of the Holy Name and recharge their spiritual batteries. Around six to eight hundred devotees from New Zealand, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and along the east coast of Australia are expected over the four-day weekend for this year’s festival.
“Transcendental Journey: Hare Krishna Celebrates 50 Years,” an historic variety stage production put on by Australian devotees for ISKCON 50, is now available on Youtube and for pre-order on DVD. The film is a nearly two-hour presentation that cuts together the best bits from the show’s matinee and evening performances at the famous Sydney Opera House on August 20th, 2016. Professionally shot with ten cameras and edited by technical director Deva Gaura Hari Das, the film seamlessly blends live acts and narrative slideshow segments.
Kirtaniyas & Sufi Soul Sangeet in Australia just after our debut tour of Australia. Video produced, filmed and edited by Nila and Sundari Vanwolf (AUS).
ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary was commemorated in style in Sydney, Australia from August 19 to 21 with a weekend of celebrations. The weekend’s events started on Friday night with Bhakti Film Fest and a patron’s dinner. The highlight of the weekend was a theatrical, musical, and multimedia performance at the iconic Sydney Opera House with 800people attending two performances.
In the 21st century more and more emphasis is being placed on the protection of animals, the reduction of violence towards animals, changes in the consumption of animals as food for humanity and the understanding that animals are sentient beings possessing feelings and emotions. In fact the rights of our animal brothers and sisters are being discussed and debated within society as never before. A new booklet is an offering written by Mukunda Goswami and Mandira Mani Dasi and an important contribution to this worldwide change of consciousness toward animals.
Back in January 1967, Mukunda Goswami was instrumental in putting on The Mantra Rock Dance in San Francisco, a key counter-cultural event of its time that put Srila Prabhupada and his disciples on the map. Now, nearly fifty years later, he has been a driving force in organizing the hugely ambitious Transcendental Journey, a spectacular show at Australian landmark the Sydney Opera House in celebration of ISKCON’s 50th anniversary.
A promotion video of Govinda Valley retreat, just south of Sydney, New South Wales. A video by Nick Collins.
Alone and penniless during his first years in America, Srila Prabhupada’s early pastimes were ideal examples of powerful grassroots preaching. Sitting on a park bench in New York City, he revealed to one acquaintance that so many devotees and temples existed – it was simply time that separated them.
15 teenaged youth hailing from Australia, New Zealand and Bali, were inspired in Krishna consciousness as they traveled across Australia.
A world-class show celebrating ISKCON’s 50th anniversary is set to play at the iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia on Saturday August 20th, 2016.
After receiving both triple bypass heart surgery and hip surgery, his Holiness Mukunda Goswami has returned safely home to ISKCON’s New Govardhana farm in New South Wales, Australia. His occupational therapists expect him to be “back to his normal self in no time.”
On 16th May, ISKCON held its annual Ratha Yatra Festival it Parramatta, Sydney. The program was a great success, it was also attended by Julie Owens Member of the Australian Parliament. On May 27th, Julie Owens in a speech given in the Parliament House expressed her heartfelt appreciation of the Ratha Yatra festival
As part of ongoing efforts to establish good relations with the wider Hindu Community, ISKCON’s Melbourne Mahaprabhu Mandir Temple was honoured to welcome Swami Baba Ramdev, the famous yoga teacher from India, on Friday 10th April. It was just a short visit (part of an official welcome to Melbourne) as Swami Ramdev gave his yoga programs elsewhere.
In Australia, devotee academic Padma Dasi was chosen to receive first prize in a Bhagavad-gita As It Is Essay Competition amongst 200 university and tertiary education students across the country. The competition was organized by Satya Armstrong and other disciples of ISKCON guru Bhakti Charu Swami to encourage people to delve more deeply into the ancient spiritual text.
The Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula School (New Gorvardhan, Australia) is currently seeking to employ Primary School Teachers for the continuation of 2015 academic year.
A film about the Hare Krishna School at New Govardhana Community, Australia.
An armed man took 17 hostages in a cafe in Sydney's central business district on Monday. Two hostages as well as the gunman died in the incident. Sydnyers are coming to terms with the tragic loss of life during the siege on Tuesday, by adding to a rapidly expanding floral tribute in Martin Place. To help the healing process ISKCON devotees led by Indradyumna Swami have been chanting and doing Harinama nearby.
On 22nd Oct 2014 the Victorian Government awarded a $500,000 grant to ISKCON Melbourne (Australia) for the Temple kitchen’s upgrade. The Temple kitchen has been distributing sanctified food to the poor and needy of Melbourne through the Temple and various other outlets such as Crossways Hare Krishna Food for Life, for over thirty years.
On August 5th, 2014, one of Srila Prabhupada's earliest disciples, Madhudvisa Das, passed away at the age of 67. He took his initiations in 1968; the first in San Francisco, and the second in Los Angeles. Srila Prabhupada once described him as the "Emperor of Kirtan." When Srila Prabhupada himself was departing this world he said, "bring my son Madhuvisa here."
In the picturesque Tweed Valley in New South Wales, Australia, ISKCON’s New Govardhana farm began work on the final stage of its five-part self-sufficiency plan in late May of this year. Once the plan is complete, it won’t immediately render the community fully self-sufficient; however it will set the farm on the path towards gradually reaching that goal.
"The Hare Krishna's First Second and Third Generation. Where are they Now?" On Australian TV Show "Compass".
For the first time ever ISKCON Adelaide Hare Krishna Temple celebrated Jagannath Ratha Yatra (Jagannath Chariot Festival) on Sunday 26th January as part of the Australia Day celebration which included a parade, concert & fireworks.
Archival video clip from 1986: gurukula children from New Govardhana, Australia, taking part in the campaig to free the Russian Hare Krishna devotees from prison and religious persecution.
Sri Prahlada share his thoughs on his lifetime mission of bringing people happiness.
Films on Bhakti filling up cinemas? Yes it is happening. In the Tweed Valley, Australia local devotees have just celebrated the second annual Bhakti Short Film Fest. The event has been held in the local Murwillumbah "Regent" Cinema.
The Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula School in New Gorvardhana Australia is currently seeking to employ Secondary School teachers of multiply subjects for the 2014 academic year.
A short video by Visnujana dasa and about the Ratha Yatra festival taken place in New Govardhana Farm (Australia) 07 Jul 2013.
A film about the Hare Krishna School at New Govardhana Community, Australia.
Produced and directed by Deva Gaura Hari Das.
Philip Wollen OAM (born 1950) is an Australian philanthropist. He is a former vice-president of Citibank and was also a general manager at Citicorp. Wollen became a vegetarian following his departure from Citibank and is a prominent member of the Animal Rights movement. He conducts intervention programs to rescue abused animals and funds outreach programs that promote animal welfare and abstinence. At age 34, Australian Business Magazine named him in the top 40 headhunted executives in Australia. In 2005 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia and in 2007 he won the Australian of the Year (Victoria) award.
Kirtan artist Madhava spends some time with us during the October 2012 Sacred India Kirtan Fest in Perth, Australia discussing the roots of Kirtan, its external adaptability, and its spiritual significance. He talks about his life in Switzerland and the many countries he's visited, his first meeting in Vrindavan with kirtan legend Aindra Prabhu, and his final moments with Aindra.
Full-time mom Nandini Zaldivar has put her creativity to use in transforming Barbie—the ultimate material girl—into a devoted Gopi doll that’s the perfect role model for ISKCON children.
In the 1980's the children of ISKCON Australia played a major role in setting the imprisoned Soviet ISKCON devotees free. A 12 year old boy Prahlada wrote a letter to president Gorbatchev, and along with other children he went on a campaign and regularly performed in the media inspiring people to join their petition.
The children's famous song was inspired by the letter Prahlada and Raman wrote to Mr. Gorbachev. The lyrics were then penned by the late Yasomatinandana dasa and Harii Bandhu wrote the music.
The other video is a live television program recorded on March 16th 1988, on Sri Prahlada's 14th birthday.
Kulimela Australia will be drug and alcohol free and will be packed with productive seminars focusing on Health and Medicine, Business and Management, Spiritual and Community Development, and Arts and Entertainment.
Sydney Australia: A garland of spiritual devotion weaved its way through the heart of Sydney today as the annual Sydney Ratha Yatra was celebrated by devotees and well wishers of Lord Krishna.
The Australian Commonwealth Government is funding $250,000 of a new $300,000 Multi-Purpose Community School Hall for the Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula on ISKCON’s New Govardhana farm.
On August 7th an 8th, 2010, almost 60 devotees gathered in Sydney, Australia to attend a Vedic Leadership seminar presented by Bhakti-Vidya Purna Swami. The seminar was held over two days with profits donated to the Mayapur Gurukula, to fund scholarships and other requirements.
ISKCON is set to contribute significantly to the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions, held from December 3rd to 9th at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
This December 3rd to 9th, the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions will be held at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia. The world’s largest global interfaith gathering, it will include 10,000 participants from over 80 countries and represent dozens of religious and faith traditions.
One of the oldest and most important Indian celebrations was held in the Liverpool CBD [Sydney, Australia] last Saturday when about 4000 people attended Rathayatra, the Festival of Chariots.
It was the second year the festival had been held in Liverpool and organisers said it could become an annual event.
World-famous Hare Krishna cook, Kurma dasa, is on the road again, teaching, cooking, and eating. The latest report comes from Adelaide, Australia.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). Willing Workers on Organic Farms is a loose network of national organizations that facilitate placement of volunteers on organic farms. The video was filmed at on the Hare Krishna Farm in Murwillumbah, New South Wales Australia.