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  Read the Kirtan Blog: All about the kirtans This short film was made in Russia in October 2015, by a small team of filmmakers who are passionate about sharing the culture of bhakti yoga with the world. It was shot on location in Moscow and Sochi, and profiles Jahnavi Harrison, who grew up with bhakti yoga and serves in the capacity of a kirtan (devotional call and response chanting) leader. Producer: Shaktyavesha Avatara dasa Director of Photography: Raghunatha Prana dasa 2nd Camera: Hari Mohini dasi Additional Camera: Nityananda Rama dasa Po

The Kirtan Course students, along with the teacher Jahnavi Harrison, spread the holy names around a bonfire. Continue reading →

My favorite instrument is harmonium. Since coming home from the course, I continuously learn new melodies. I ask devotees who have mastered the art of kirtan to teach me new things all the time. I must admit, it’s not easy and it takes a lot of practice and dedication. Continue reading →

by Cintāmaṇi Mādhavī Devī Dāsī (Kirtan Course Alumna 2014) In 2014 I had to move from the town where I was born in Chile to the capital, Santiago, to continue with my studies of journalism. I rented a little room in the downtown of the city. When I arrived, a student living there warned me: “This place is nice. The only thing that may annoy you is that your window is right next to a Hare Kṛṣṇa temple, and they chant the whole day.” Maybe he’s exaggerating, I thought. But the first week, I knew he was telling the truth. From early in the mornin

“We were able to convince the leadership across the country that we don’t want to just perform marriages anymore – we actually want to support and nurture marriages,” says Partha. “We’re trying to create a culture where premarital education is an integral part of marriage in ISKCON.” “It’s important that you look for someone with similar values, personality and lifestyle,” says Uttama. “For instance, someone who shares your work ethics, family values, and the way you practice Krishna consciousness.” Of course, she acknowledges, it is fine and natura

Splendid Instructions to the Mind (Sri Manah-siksa) is at once both hopefully inspiring and blatantly honest. To read it well entails an authentic appraisal of the state of one’s heart and mind, an experience of recognition and acceptance that is at once sweet and sour, comforting and uncompromising. Continue reading →

Of course we all know that our main devotional activity is chanting the holy name. We understand this is the yuga dharma, the dharma for this age. It’s a very disturbed age, the age of kali and it’s known to be an ocean of faults, but there’s one good quality in this age. When one chants the names of Krishna, one is free from material existence. So as we chant Hare Krishna, we can come into a prayerful mood. There are many kinds of prayer and technically one may consider chanting Hare Krishna as having the characte

  It’s a prestigious position that brings to mind a gruff, silver-bearded elder. But Radhika Ramana flips that idea on its head. At a youthful 34, he’s got a beaming smile of pearly whites and a full head of black hair. He’s also disarmingly unpretentious despite his astonishing academic journey. Homeschooled by his mother Aruddha Dasi at his home in Boise, Idaho, Radhika followed a highly unconventional curriculum based mostly on Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, from which he learned reading, writing, comprehension, grammar, and critical

Bhaktivedanta College Belgium hosted the 2nd European Yoga Congress from May 27th to 29th, sharing insights and techniques with thirteen different yoga schools from twelve countries. The seeds of the event were sewn in November 2014, when many different yoga organizations met at Yoga Vidya in Germany, Europe’s largest yoga ashram, to explore commonalities and possibilities for cooperation. That gathering resulted in the creation of the European Yoga Confederation, and an agreement to hold a European Yoga Congress every two years. This year’s event i