On June 22, 2008, the Hakim of Zhetisu district, Almaty Province, Orynbay Zhanedil, intimidated the worshippers at the Sunday service of the Society for Krishna Consciousness.

As the Krishna congregation arrived by bus, on the territory of the commune in Zhetisu district, the Hakim arrived accompanied by a car of local policemen.

This month sees the BBT release a unique publication — Bhagavad-gita As It Is in Braille. A complete Spanish edition has been printed by devotees in Argentina, while Croatian devotee Dvaraka-gamana Dasi has produced a two volume edition in her native language. Initial copies number only one hundred for each volume, but a larger print run can be expected according to demand.

As a young man in Lille, France, Anandamaya Dasa probably never expected to live most of his adult life in India. But in 1971, he took an epic journey that would change his life, driving thousands of miles from his home to the mystical Eastern country, where he planned to spend a year traveling.

Rath yatra is a few days away and the entire city of Jagannatha Puri, Orissa, India is gearing up for the festival billed for July 4. But Jagannath Temple authorities are worried about ‘incongruous celebrations’ organized by ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) on different days across the country. In 2007, the institution organized rath yatras in October and December instead of the official dates in June.

Vaisnava culture emphasises renunciation therefore ISKCON has many people who have accepted a role as a sannyasa, or traveling monk. However, in the past many aspirants have had difficulty maintaining their vows which created controversy and scandal. ISKCON responded to the issue by developing a system by which we can better ensure the maturity and qualification of candidates.

ISKCON News approached Prahladananda Swami, GBC minister of sannyasa, to help clarify the system by which an ISKCON member can take sannyasa.

Jai Shree Krishna, a new show on Krishna will hit the TV screens on July 21. Though Krishna has not been finalized, the rest of the star cast has already started the shoot. The producer of the show Moti Sagar gave us the details.

”We made Krishna in the 90’s but a lot has changed now so we felt the need to come up with a new series.

Have you ever wondered why the consumption of processed meats is so strongly linked to cancers of the colon, breast, prostate and pancreas? The evidence continues to mount, as demonstrated by a recent study showing a 67% increase in pancreatic cancer for people consuming moderate amounts of processed meat on a frequent basis.

Ditching your gas guzzler is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but if you really want to do something about global warming, get a used car. You'll be putting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

As Matt Power notes in this month's issue of Wired, hybrids get great gas mileage but it takes 113 million BTUs of energy to make a Toyota Prius.