ISKCON NewsThe News Agency of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

For those of you would keep track of such things, last week’s celebration of Human Rights Day in Reno, Nevada was another indication of the growing acceptance of Vedic Culture around the world.

Has anyone heard the story of a devout atheist who became convinced that he was God after meeting a Hindu? While certain free-thinkers and skeptics are susceptible to changes of belief, many of them are intelligent and caring people, in the material sense.

Venezuela celebrated on November 11th, when one of their most cherished singers and composers, Ilan Chester, won an award for “best folk or traditional album of the year” for his collection “Tesoros de la música Venezolana” ( Treasures of Venezuelan Music) at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Russian authorities have finally allocated land for the construction of a Krishna temple in a northern suburb of Moscow, after many years of petitioning from the ISKCON and Hindu communities.

A “Global Conference on Cosmologies – Perspectives of the Universe” took place from December 2-4, 2010, at Bangalore. Three ISKCON devotees, Basu Ghosh Das (ISKCON Baroda), Rasaraj Das (Bhaktivedanta Institute) and Antardwip Das (Bhaktivedanta Academy) were invited to speak.

On November 29, three Vaishnavas from Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia died in a car accident. The devotees - Ananga Mohan Das, Adhi Yagya Das and Bhakta Lev Khramilov - were in a hurry to Izhevsk, taking part with enthusiasm in the traditional Srila Prabhupada book distribution marathon.

A new edition of the Bhagavad-gita by Visakha Dasi, a disciple of ISKCON's founder Srila Prabhupada, has arrived just in time for Gita Jayanti, which commemorates the day, 5,000 years ago, when Lord Krishna instructed the warrior Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra.

It’s easy to take mothers for granted. Some researchers recently followed around one such mother for a week in an attempt to estimate the monetary value of her ‘motherly love’. After crunching the numbers, they concluded that to employ such a mother would set you back in the region of £150,000 a year!

Book distribution is sankirtana. `Kirtana` means `glorification` and `sam` means `complete`. Glorification of Krishna is complete when many devotees participate. Who worships Lord Caitanya by sankirtana? Those who are highly intelligent. Of course, sometimes someone might not be so intelligent–he might just be fortunate.

Being a ‘fresher’ at university is an unforgettable experience. Taking this spirit to heart, the award winning Pandava Sena Krishna Consciousness Society (KC Socs) University Team is offering students the chance to experience a real-life ‘University Challenge’ - or as the Pandava Sena motto goes, ‘A Life Less Ordinary’!

The story of the Three Wise Men is one of the most familiar and beloved parts of the Christmas story. But for all of their popularity, the mysterious travelers from the East — known as the Magi — appear in only one short passage in the New Testament. Many religious scholars aren't even sure they really existed.

India said Wednesday a home-grown Islamist group with ties to Pakistani militants was behind a bomb attack in one of its holiest cities, and local media reported two people were questioned over the attack.

A new study finds that 64 nations - about one-third of the countries in the world - have high or very high restrictions on religion. But because some of the most restrictive countries are very populous, nearly 70 percent of the world's 6.8 billion people live in countries with high restrictions on religion, the brunt of which often falls on religious minorities.

Dwarka has been submerged in the sea six times in its history. Environment specialists agree that restoring mangroves will help protect the coastline, support the shore life and beautify the area.