ISKCON NewsThe News Agency of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

The highlight of my visit to Mayapur this year was Anuttama Prabhu's seminar on leadership and management—an extremely valuable course, which teaches so many important skills and principles of effective leadership and management.

The ISKCON Governing Body Commission has recommended to the BBT trustees that we insert endnotes or appendices into Srila Prabhupada’s books to explain statements Srila Prabhupada makes in Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.25.41, 4.25.42, and 4.26.26 concerning a woman’s attitude towards the aggressive advances of a man and towards a man who is “expert at rape.” The GBC has also recommended that the endnotes or appendices explain “other such statements.”

The streets of London are used to seeing juggernaughts rumbling through their streets, but this was a very different kind of heavy traffic.

It was a riot of colour in the heart of the capital - three 40-foot-high wooden chariots pulled from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, accompanied by a colourful crowd singing, chanting and dancing their way along the route.

When a large group of deaf tourists took a guided tour through Trafalgar Square this June 22nd, they never expected to not only chance upon an ancient Vedic festival, but be explained its meaning in detail.

Intrigued by the colorful chariots and tents of London’s annual Rathayatra festival, they had come over only to take a look. Naturally, they didn’t expect anyone to be able to explain it to them.

The New Vraja Dhama Farm Community in Hungary hosted the first ever annual ISKCON Farm Conference this May.

Devotees from America, England, Belgium, Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden, and Hungary attended, many of them cowherds and farmers.

European CPA (Cow Protection and Agriculture) Minister Syamasundara Dasa organized the event, aiming to reverse the decline in ISKCON Farm development within the last ten years.

The verdict was unanimous. You could hear it all around: "This is the best festival I've ever been to!" "These kirtans are so ecstatic that I can't believe they're happening!" "I've never felt so enlivened in my whole life!" "I've been dancing for hours and hours, and I don't want to stop!"

It was a mass revelation that harinama sankirtan is the safest and most exciting place to be in the world for the hundreds of devotees who descended on New Vrindaban Dham in West Virginia for the 2008 24-Hour Kirtan Festival, recently held on June 21-22, 2008.

This week the ISKCON New Govardhana farming project in Australia received organic certification from the national Organic Growers Association. After several rigorous inspections, the farm was granted a certificate of compliance which allows all fruit and vegetables grown to carry the official OGA logo.

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.