ISKCON NewsThe News Agency of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

With the kind of dazzling spectacle that ISKCON Mayapur has become famous for, this Diwali saw the entire campus illuminated by thousands of oil lamps.

Diwali, a cross-cultural festival that is celebrated in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, commemorates the return of Lord Rama to the city of Ayodhya after rescuing his wife Sita Devi from the demon Ravana.

This December, while most of us are nursing cups of hot tea and trying to keep warm, a group of intrepid ISKCON youth adventurers will be hitting sunny beaches and exotic locales across Mexico.

But theirs is not just any holiday—it’s the fifth annual Kirtan Yoga Festival Tour. Starting life as a Krishna conscious way for youth to get together in between ISKCON Youth Ministry’s longer summer festival tours, this winter excursion has grown into a powerful outreach tool of its own.

A troupe of second generation ISKCON artists performed for Kartik Vandanam 2, the second in a series of annual classical music and dance evenings, this October 17th in Vrindavana, India.

Held in honor of Kartik, the most auspicious month of the Vaishnava year, the devotional “garland of prayer” was performed under the stars in ISKCON Vrindavana’s Bhaktivedanta School Gardens, which were lit with hundreds of lamps.

After what was a spectacular Diwali firework display on Sunday 18th October at Bhaktivedanta Manor near London, numerous community leaders and festival revelers released 1000 lanterns into the sky in a bid for world peace.

On the Sunday, 15,000 people attended the Diwali celebrations at the Temple. Other highlights of the festival included colourful dances, plays and free vegetarian meals for everyone.

On a clifftop above the sea, on the Mediterranean island of Crete, a young man meditating at sunset heard a voice inside say “Go to India.” He climbed down to his cave and there met his childhood friend and fellow traveller, who had been meditating on the seashore. This other young man had heard, at the same time, a voice telling him to “Go to Israel.”

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Kharghar visited Taloja prisoners and explained the science of Krishna consciousness recently.

The programme was organized to offer relief to all the inmates of the Taloja prison in the form of spiritual knowledge.

The ultra liberal Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles J. Jon Bruno offered a formal apology to Hindus for centuries-old acts of religious discrimination including attempts by Christians to convert them.

He then authorized a joint Hindu-Anglican service at St John's Cathedral in Los Angeles permitting Hindu devotees to receive the consecrated elements.

Mathura, Oct.18 (ANI): Hundreds of religious-minded people from different parts of the country arrived in Mathura town of Uttar Pradesh on the occasion of annual Govardhan Puja which was celebrated here on Sunday.

Celebrated on the following day of Diwali, the festival of lights, Govardhan Puja holds its own significance among Hindus.

THEY'RE faithful, friendly and furry - but under their harmless, fluffy exteriors, dogs and cats, the world's most popular house pets, use up more energy resources in a year than driving a car, a new book says.

In their book Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, New Zealand-based architects Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a medium-sized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000km a year in a 4.6 litre Land Cruiser.