Judging others is always tricky. Much of what we do, say, or believe is based not on objective truths, but rather on the relative value we place on a particular activity, thought or behavior. Yet, judgment or discrimination is a necessary function in our lives. So, perhaps the best way to judge someone or something is to evaluate the person or the activity in terms of the values or standards they set for themselves.

YPT, a recent youth outreach training course at ISKCON Pune, India proved a grand success, with 68 senior devotees taking Level 1 from April 19th to 22nd, and 58 taking Level 2 from April 23rd to 26th.

The courses taught self-purification and practical youth outreach strategies, emphasizing the importance of balancing service and spiritual practices to achieve enduring success.

American Atheists, a group that advocates on behalf of atheists in the U.S., will hold its national convention later this month. According to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, 5% of American adults say they do not believe in God or a universal spirit, but only about a quarter (24%) of these nonbelievers actually call themselves atheists.

ISKCON devotees in India are continuing to help clean and restore the adjacent sacred lakes Radha-Kunda and Shyama Kunda, assisting a project that began in early May.

The project is part of an ongoing effort by locals and the Indian Government to maintain Braja, the holy land in India where Lord Krishna was born, and is the first time Radha and Shyama Kundas have been cleaned since 1987.

Europe's first Kulimela will be held at Radhadesh castle in the Belgian countryside from Thursday 31st July 2008 until Sunday 3rd August 2008. The event is expected to be the largest ever gathering of European second and third generation Gurukulis, and will include conferences, seminars, networking, feasting, theatre, music, dancing and sports.

USA - Prominent Hindu organisations here have exhorted the Indian government to prevent destruction of the Ram Setu, a bridge sacred to Hindus that is threatened by a proposed navigable waterway in the narrow sea between India and Sri Lanka.

Reincarnation, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is "rebirth in new bodies or forms of life; especially: a rebirth of a soul in a new human body." This ancient belief, a core belief of more than 800 million Hindus, has been in the news, most recently because of allegations in Andrew Morton's new book, "Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography."

Karl and Dorsey Gude of East Lansing, Mich., can remember simpler mornings, not too long ago. They sat together and chatted as they ate breakfast. They read the newspaper and competed only with the television for the attention of their two teenage sons.

That was so last century. Today, Mr. Gude wakes at around 6 a.m. to check his work e-mail and his Facebook and Twitter accounts. The two boys, Cole and Erik, start each morning with text messages, video games and Facebook.

Pune - Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are giving up the old fashioned way of raising money for charity from the corporate sector that has of late been facing turbulence.

They are going hi-tech to reach out to the masses instead. For starters, they've begun using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems and mobile-based applications to receive donations over cellphones.

Barack Obama, Democratic candidate for President of the United States of America, has been compared to a number of great men before him.  The charismatic young politician has been likened to president John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, as well as to civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.  But here's one that the mainstream media is not likely to catch: it seems Barack Obama has something in common with Lord Krishna's dear friend and devotee Arjuna.

Genetic research indicates that Australian Aborigines initially arrived via south Asia. Researchers have found telltale mutations in modern-day Indian populations that are exclusively shared by Aborigines.

Dr Raghavendra Rao worked with a team of researchers from the Anthropological Survey of India to sequence 966 complete mitochondrial DNA genomes from Indian 'relic populations'.

The good news: Kirtan, it seems, has finally hit the American mainstream. In the lead story of Wednesday’s New York Times Fashion & Style section, “Yoga Enthusiasts Hear the Call of Kirtan,” Times reporter Sara Eckel gives an overwhelmingly positive – albeit cheeky – glimpse into the practice of meditative call-and-response chanting. Festive, enjoyable, soothing, even relatively inexpensive – kirtan sounds like a pretty good deal in our troubled, stress-filled times.

This is a spicy, all-American favourite dessert. Select highly flavoured, dark-fleshed pumpkins for optimum flavour. For Australian readers, butternut, or especially Jap pumpkin, is highly recommended.

Leading policy makers for the Prince’s Trust, a British charity that helps young people aged 14-30, visited London’s Bhaktivedanta Manor on April 11.

Formed by Prince Charles of Wales in 1976, the charity provides training, business start-up support, and ongoing mentoring and advice to young people who would benefit from additional help.

On May 22 this year, devotees in the West African city of Lome, Togo, inaugurated their new vegetarian restaurant with a celebration and feast.

The restaurant’s origins go back five years ago when devotees, encouraged by their late guru Bhakti-Tirtha Swami’s directions on simple living and high thinking, established an active Food For Life program in Lome and surrounding areas.

In today’s environmentally aware world, it may shock guests to find out that some ISKCON centers – while claiming to represent a society of spiritual welfare workers and self-sufficiency exponents – serve their vegetarian meals on Styrofoam dinnerware.

A new biography of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, a highly influential teacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and the guru of ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada, has been completed this June.

Prabhupada disciple Bhakti Vikasa Swami spent over twenty years researching the book, titled Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava, and at three volumes and 1,500 pages, it’s clear his efforts have paid off.

Guwahati, May 12 (ANI): A Vedic library instituted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at Guwahati in Assam has met with encouraging response from the youth in the state.

Named after ISKCON's founding spiritual master Swami AC Bhaktivedanta, the library is specially meant for the student community and all communities irrespective of any faith, colour, caste and creed.

WASHINGTON: National Vegetarian Month is kicked off on October 1st by World Vegetarian Day. In response, The Humane Society of the United States—the nation's largest animal welfare organization—is encouraging consumers to try delicious meat alternatives that are not derived from the routine abuses billions of farm animals endure.

In Vrindavana, India, work is underway on repairing and remodeling the Samadhi (mausoleum) of Sanatana Goswami, a great sixteenth century saint and author.

Sanatana was a principle disciple of Gaudiya Vaishnavism founder Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and the seniormost of the famous Six Goswamis of Vrindavana. The Samadhi of his younger brother, Rupa Goswami, was remodeled by ISKCON in 2007.