ISKCON NewsThe News Agency of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

A gathering in India of different religions and different people offers hope for the unity of religions.

I recently spent nearly two weeks as a vegan, interfaith explorer and peace-pilgrim at the world headquarters of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness, more popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement) at Sri Mayapur, West Bengal, India.

The latest addition to Jersey City's vegetarian cavalcade is Krishna Cuisine. It occupies a rather grand space a few steps up from the colorful hubbub of Newark Avenue, where greengrocers hawk vegetables unfamiliar to Westerners, vendors roll unguent spice combinations into betel leaves, and shops display the gold jewelry that constitutes an Indian bride's dowry.

When Hitler began using the swastika as the symbol for his Nazi party in the 1920s, he brought about the death not only of millions of innocent people, but also of an innocent symbol. His use of the beloved Hindu religious sign instilled so much hate for it in the Western world that I wonder if its true meaning will ever be reclaimed.

It may be that instituting a bicameral system for the GBC could help to continue a healthy and dynamic managerial process for ISKCON into the future; allowing for the preservation of ISKCON's strength and traditions, while facilitating the next generation to take responsibility for expanding the mission.

As reported by CNN, a group of atheists and humanists’ organizations are legally challenging Barack Obama's right to make any references to God or religion at his upcoming presidential inauguration ceremony. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., plaintiffs demanded that "so help me God" be not added to the end of Obama's oath of office.

A sustainable global food system in the 21st Century needs to be built on a series of "new fundamentals", according to a leading food expert.

Tim Lang warned that the current system, designed in the 1940s, was showing "structural failures", such as "astronomic" environmental costs.

If I’m serious about keeping my New Year’s resolutions in 2009, should I add another one? Should the to-do list include, “Start going to church”?

This is an awkward question for a heathen to contemplate, but I felt obliged to raise it with Michael McCullough after reading his report in the upcoming issue of the Psychological Bulletin.

President Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan has sent a repressive new law severely limiting freedom of religion or belief for review by the country's Constitutional Council, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Meanwhile, the government continues to repress the exercise of freedom of thought, conscience and belief.

President-elect Obama has promised to build on the faith-based initiative of President Bush and, by adding key reforms, to make it “the foundation of a new project of American renewal.” But to do that, his administration will need to resolve constitutional and other tangles that have made Mr. Bush’s effort so controversial.

KATHMANDU (AP): University students angry at the government's decision to appoint the head priests at Nepal's most revered Hindu temple blocked traffic and threw bricks at cars in Katmandu on Monday.

The nearly 200 students were demanding the government, led by the country's former communist rebels, withdraw the two priests named last week to lead Pashupatinath temple in Katmandu. No one was hurt in the protest.

Many people are unaware that even smoking away from babies or pregnant women presents a risk, according to US research.

Poisons in cigarette smoke can linger on fabrics or hair, but a survey of 1,500 households found that fewer than half of smokers knew this.

Orbiting 350 kilometres above Earth, the International Space Station is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Manuel Mitternacht asks if it's worth the massive expense.

The multinational effort to establish a permanently manned space station is epic in its scope. It's also mind-bogglingly expensive. A consortium of 16 nations will spend $US100billion ($142billion) building and maintaining the largest spacecraft ever built.

As we welcome in 2009, ISKCON News Weekly takes a look back at ten stories that helped to shape the last twelve months. It was hard to narrow the list down to just ten, and we wanted to make sure that we tried to capture the diversity of people, places, and things that made headlines in 2008. From the inspiring to the informative, the tragic to the heart-warming – these are ten stories, listed chronologically, that changed ISKCON, and us, forever.

Last September saw the first ever US Brahmacari Conference held at San Diego’s ISKCON temple.

In the Gaudiya vaishnava culture followed by ISKCON devotees, four stages of life are central to a regulated devotional life: Brahmacarya, wherein the celibate student is trained in discipline and respect; Grihasta, wherein the householder raises a Krishna conscious family; Vanaprastha, wherein the older married couple focus more on spiritual life and prepare themselves for renunciation; and Sannyasa, or complete renunciation.

As Barack Obama begins his first term this January, the world is hoping for change.

But on January 19, the night before the inauguration, a group of kirtan singers will bless the event with what they believe is the real solution to all problems, political and otherwise – the holy names of Krishna.