Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace! All glories to your great
movement.
With great joy and gratitude, we present this annual report of ISKCON Bhopal BYC, sharing
the wonderful activities and progress we have made in the past year in service to you and Śrī Śrī
Rādhā-Govinda Dev.
One of the most historic milestones for ISKCON Bhopal BYC this year was the grand bhūmi-
pūjān ceremony held on March 2, 2025, for our new temple land. This auspicious event was
graced by the presence of His Holiness Guru Prasād Swami Mahārāja, the GBC Chairman, His
Grace Mahāmān Prabhu, and the Honorable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Following this
divine ceremony, we successfully started all temple activities on this new land, where devotees are
enthusiastically engaging in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh named
an important major road Swami Prabhupada Marg.
In 2024, we were blessed to conduct Jagannātha Ratha-yātrās in two major locations in Bhopal.
Thousands of devotees participated, making these festivals grand successes. The streets of Bhopal
echoed with the holy names of the Lord as Lord Jagannātha, Lord Baladeva, and Subhadrā
Mahārāṇī mercifully showered their blessings upon all.
Our outreach efforts have expanded significantly. Weekly programs are being conducted in
seven different places across Bhopal, bringing more people closer to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We
humbly pray for your blessings so that this new project flourishes and becomes a beacon of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness in this region.
Furthermore, we have established four student hostels dedicated to college youth preaching –
something we are striving to expand further. Our Vaishnavi Forum classes and camps are pro-
gressing nicely, providing a nurturing environment for women devotees. Many devotees are grow-
ing in their spiritual lives, regularly participating in classes and book-reading sessions,
deepening their understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Our goshala, with its ten cows, has now been relocated near the temple, ensuring the cows’
proper care and well-being in a spiritually enriched environment.
Our devotees have actively participated in various yātrās to holy places and other service initia-
tives. About forty of our devotees traveled to Prayagraj Kumbha Mela, rendering a week of dedi-
cated service in various capacities. Looking ahead, a group of 120 devotees is set to embark on a
Nepal tīrtha-yātrā in 2025. Additionally, a group of a hundred devotees successfully completed a
sacred pilgrimage to the four holy dhāmas in Badrinath. Such spiritual journeys continue to uplift
and inspire our congregation, strengthening their faith and devotion.
We regularly invite your disciples, ISKCON sannyāsīs, gurus, and other senior devotees to
regularly guide and enlighten us with their divine wisdom. Last year we had the great fortune to
associate with His Holiness Lokanath Swami Mahārāja, His Grace Mahāmān Prabhu, His Holi-
ness Guru Prasād Swami Mahārāja, His Holiness Bhakti Kevala Gopendra Mahārāja, His Grace
Rādheśyama Prabhu, and many other senior devotees. We humbly pray for your continued bless-
ings so that, united as a team, we can further expand your movement. Our aspirations include
establishing more centers in nearby areas, constructing a larger temple, and providing better
facilities for all the devotees who visit the temple. Your causeless mercy remains our beacon of
hope and inspiration. May we always walk the path illumined by Your Divine Grace.
With hearts filled with gratitude and determination, we pray for your continued guidance and
blessings. May ISKCON Bhopal BYC continue to serve your mission with unwavering enthusi-
asm, and may the new Kolar project grow into a thriving center of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, bringing
countless souls to the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda Dev.
Your humble servant,
Rasānanda Dāsa
On behalf of the devotees of ISKCON Bhopal BYC
Asia-Eurasia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace!
With deep gratitude and a sense of responsibility to serve your divine mission, we, the devotees of ISKCON Bhopal BYC, humbly present this year’s offering, reporting the progress of your movement in Bhopal and seeking your continued blessings.
Last year, by your mercy, we witnessed a historic beginning with the grand bhūmi-pūjā of our new temple land. This year, that seed has begun to take visible form. After the bhūmi-pūjā, by the end of March all the devotees had gradually shifted to the new temple land, embracing many austerities and challenges with enthusiasm simply to assist in establishing your mission here. Since then, construction has been steadily progressing, and by your causeless mercy we have successfully completed Phase 1 of the project.
This first phase has given us a functional residential facility for temple devotees, guest rooms for visiting and senior Vaiṣṇavas, a proper kitchen, and a prasādam hall where devotees and guests can honor sanctified food together. Additionally, a new Matchless Gifts shop has started, attracting visitors and giving them an opportunity to connect with Kṛṣṇa consciousness through books and devotional items. All these developments are small but significant steps in manifesting your vision in this part of the city.
Last year, we were also blessed to organize a grand Ratha-yātrā festival, which concluded at the new temple land. Many people from across the city participated, and the atmosphere was surcharged with the holy names. For many, this was their first connection with your movement at this new location. Shortly after, we celebrated Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī for the first time on this new land, and to our great surprise and joy, the number of visitors far exceeded our expectations. It became evident that by your blessings, this new center is naturally attracting sincere souls eager to connect with Kṛṣṇa.
With this encouraging response, we have now begun working on Phase 2 of the temple project: a large satsaṅga hall that will be able to accommodate a significant gathering of devotees and guests. Work on the foundation has already begun, and we are hopeful that within the next year it will be completed. This hall will not only enhance the beauty of the temple but will also greatly strengthen preaching activities by providing a proper space for large programs, festivals, and classes.
Although the number of devotees is still limited, we are sincerely trying our best to continue all aspects of devotional service. Regular saṅkīrtana, book distribution, weekly programs, and dhāma-yātrās are ongoing. A new small saṅkīrtana van has been acquired, which regularly goes out for book distribution, helping to expand your mission and reach more conditioned souls.
Our outreach preaching centers are also gradually growing, and new connections are forming in different parts of the city. The seeds of Kṛṣṇa consciousness are being planted in many hearts, and we can see that with time and proper nurturing, these will grow into strong devotional communities.
We are especially grateful that many senior sannyāsīs and spiritual leaders of ISKCON continue to visit this new center, offering their guidance, association, and blessings. Their presence inspires all devotees and strengthens our conviction to serve you sincerely. This year, for the first time, initiation ceremonies were also conducted at this new temple land, where many devotees received initiation from their respective spiritual masters. Seeing devotees from different gurus living together, serving cooperatively, and striving to please you as the founder-ācārya is a great source of inspiration and hope for the future of your movement here.
Following the same spirit as last year, our youth preaching, Vaiṣṇavī forums, weekly congregational programs, and scriptural study sessions are continuing steadily. Devotees are becoming more serious in their practices, regularly attending classes, chanting, and reading your books. We understand that real success lies not only in physical expansion but in developing pure devotees, and we are trying to keep this focus in all our efforts.
Our goshala service is also continuing near the temple, where cows are being cared for with devotion, contributing to the spiritual atmosphere of the dhāma we are trying to establish here.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, as we reflect on all these developments, we clearly see that everything is happening only by your mercy. At the same time, we also understand that this is just the beginning. Being a new project, there is still so much to be done: construction, preaching expansion, devotee care, training, and establishing a strong spiritual foundation.
We humbly admit that we have many shortcomings, both individually and collectively. Still, with whatever little capacity we have, we are trying to serve your mission sincerely. We deeply feel the need for your constant blessings and guidance so that we may perform all services in the proper mood – free from ego, with cooperation, humility, and a desire to please you.
Kindly bless us that we may develop strong unity among devotees, remain fixed in sādhana and Vaiṣṇava etiquette, expand this center as a powerful preaching hub, and most importantly, become instruments in fulfilling your desire to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness to every town and village. Please continue to reside in this project and guide us from within our hearts.
We pray that this new ISKCON Bhopal BYC center becomes a place where thousands of conditioned souls come, take shelter, and transform their lives through your teachings.
Your insignificant servant,
Rasānanda Dāsa
On behalf of devotees of ISKCON Bhopal BYC
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Beloved Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most respectful obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to Śrī Cai-
tanya Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana movement!
On this auspicious day of Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā, on behalf of our ISKCON Bogotá community we
want to give enormous thanks for your mercy and compassion toward us and all conditioned
souls in this material world. In this year 2025, we are celebrating eight years of having started
this humble preaching project which, thanks to your blessings, we have been able to carry out
throughout these years. We have managed to build a beautiful community, which has become
established as the main axis for the distribution of your transcendental books, the congregational
chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, and the transcendental distribution of kṛṣṇa-prasādam.
We are around one hundred people or more who make up this vibrant community, and for
three years we have been operating from a beautiful house located in an exclusive sector of our
city of Bogotá – a place we consider an attempt to worthily represent the caliber of your position
as founder-ācārya. We take this auspicious opportunity to humbly plead for your blessings to
overcome all the challenges that currently arise and that could jeopardize the continuity of this
preaching project. We know that any difficulties that arise are nothing more than the result of our
lack of experience and low level of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but since we also know that your heart
is unlimitedly merciful, we beg you to forgive our mistakes and allow us to continue to have the
great privilege of representing your glorious ISKCON mission in this city.
Always aspiring to remain your servants,
ISKCON Community in Bogotá
(written by Harināma Gaurāṅga Dāsa, temple president)
Canada & USA, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Please accept our humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to you and to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Baṅkebihārī, the presiding Deities of Boise.
On Your Divine Grace’s most auspicious 130th Vyāsa-pūjā day, at New Biharvana in Boise we are reflecting upon three anniversaries:
- Sixty years since the establishing of ISKCON
- Fifty years since your disappearance from this planet
- Forty years since we opened the Boise temple
60, 50, 40
In your biography, Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, Satsvarūpa Mahārāja quotes you as you set foot in New York City, in September 1965: “I did not know whether to turn left or right.”
Now sixty years later, one can go to any corner of the world and walk left or right – nay, in any of the ten directions – and one will bump into a devotee quietly walking with a beadbag in his hand, kaṇṭhī-mālā on his neck, and tilaka on his forehead. Or perhaps he’ll have a bright yellow Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in hand, beseeching unfortunate souls to take one. Or maybe your ears will catch the singing of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. I have personally experienced all of these in my travels throughout the world.
Thanks to your determination and conviction, in sixty years Hare Kṛṣṇa has permeated the entire world:
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe more nāma
In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.
Lord Caitanya predicted it, Lord Nityānanda predicted it, the preceding ācāryas wanted it, and then you, empowered by your guru, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Gosvāmī, fulfilled it. During the last two years, in my travels to the End of the World Route at the southern tip of Chile, next to Antarctica, I was amazed to see Lord Jagannātha-Baladeva-Subhadrā being worshiped and devotees holding their first Ratha-yātrā. Going north, near the Arctic Circle in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, devotees are almost finished building a four-story temple. In the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal, devotees are distributing books as far north as Muktinath, the place where people go to get liberation.
Ten years after you left us fifty years ago, you had established the yuga-dharma under the ISKCON banner, where the oldest religion had become the newest religion; the eternal sanātana-dharma has been rebranded as ISKCON. From 108 temples now, there are more than 1,008 temples, farm communities, Govinda’s restaurants, and countless bhakti-vṛkṣas. By the time you had left us, you had inspired many of your disciples, who inspired the second-generation devotees. The result of such inspiration is the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Baṅkebihārī temple in Boise, Idaho.
In Boise, we are now celebrating forty years of the birth of this temple. It is a very small offering to Your Divine Grace, a small cog in the wheels of the giant ISKCON ratha. With your permission and for your pleasure, on behalf of the devotees in Boise, I would like to present to you our salient contributions to ISKCON.
The temple started as a preaching center in 1986 in a 600-square-foot family room under the guidance of four of your exalted disciples: His Holiness Gaṇapati Swami, His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami, His Holiness Hanumāt Preṣaka Swami, and His Holiness Badrinārāyaṇa Swami.
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Baṅkebihārī is the only Baṅkebihārī in ISKCON in the Western hemisphere. Based on Their pastimes in Boise, They are nondifferent from Baṅkebihārī in Vrindavan and the Deity you installed in Nairobi. The temple ceiling is the only ceiling in ISKCON temples that has the entire spiritual sky and material sky painted on it, as depicted on the cover of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 1.
We celebrated the first Holi in ISKCON in the US in 1987. Your exalted disciple, Cāru Prabhu, picked up on the idea and made it a worldwide phenomenon.
We held our first twenty-four-hour kirtan in ISKCON in the US in the 1990s – an idea picked up from another of your exalted disciples, His Holiness Hanumāt Preṣaka Swami, who had held a twenty-four-hour kirtan in Nashville and then it spread elsewhere.
We conducted the first New Year’s Japathon in Boise, chanting 300,000 names on New Year’s Day, which again was picked up as an annual activity on New Year’s Day in many temples, including Salt Lake City and Naperville, Illinois. Over the years we have now collectively chanted over one million names on New Year’s Day.
We started the homeschooling movement in ISKCON by homeschooling our children based on studying Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Right from the inception, our focus was on two areas: to raise Kṛṣṇa conscious children by homeschooling them, and to have a truly international congregation. In forty years, forty-two devotees were initiated, of which one third are Westerners. Our latest effort started three years ago, when we started a Thursday evening Kṛṣṇa Lounge program to attract Westerners.
COVID-19 slowed us down quite a bit, but we are rebuilding and rejuvenating now. We need your blessings to venture into our half century of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Boise.
Seeking drops of your mercy and shade under your divine lotus feet
in the dry parched desert of Idaho,
Your insignificant servant on behalf of the devotees in Boise,
Anantarūpa Dāsa
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
All glories to you. All glories to the most auspicious celebration of your Vyāsa-pūjā.
129 years ago, in the year 1896, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to fulfill the prediction He made as Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu that His holy name would be chanted in every town and village, sent you, one of His
close associates, to this material world.
You met your spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, when you were a
gṛhastha, age 26, and during your very first meeting with him, he gave you the instruction to
spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the English-speaking people in the Western countries. This instruc-
tion you took to heart and made it the mission of your life.
Despite the many challenges, you always had this instruction kept with all seriousness within
your heart, and you spent a lifetime preparing to fulfill your spiritual master’s instruction. And
among those instructions, the instruction to print spiritual books was the mission of your life. You
started printing BTG magazine in 1944. Singlehandedly, you conceived, wrote, edited, and typed
the articles for the magazine. Not only this, but you alone distributed this magazine to the people
of Delhi. Now by the grace of your disciples, BTG magazine is printed and distributed in millions
of copies around the world and in several languages.
In 1965, at the age of 70, you took the bold decision to fulfill your Guru Mahārāja’s instruction
and went to America to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At that time, you were residing at the Śrī Śrī
Rādhā-Dāmodara Mandir, one of the most desirable places one can imagine to live. You had every
reason to remain there for the rest of your life, especially at your advanced age, when one nor-
mally thinks of a peaceful retirement. However, you chose to sacrifice your comfort and take all
risks and trouble to travel to America aboard a cargo ship – it wasn’t even a passenger ship. You
had two heart attacks along the way, but these did not prevent you from pursuing your mission.
While in America you encountered countless obstacles in your mission, but because you had
full faith in Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His holy name, you were able to surpass all difficulties and suc-
cessfully establish Kṛṣṇa consciousness in America and around the world. You are indeed the
greatest personality of the modern era.
By your grace, we were also touched by this most contagious Kṛṣṇa consciousness through
your devotees and have thus been saved from going down into the dark pit of ignorance.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we also are trying to share Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy with the people
around us through harināma and other means here in Mauritius, and we feel ourselves blessed
to be part of this most important mission, which was inaugurated by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself in the
form of Lord Caitanya.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, please bless us that we can pursue this most noble mission and share
the fortune of Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the people of Mauritius. Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! Śrīla
Prabhupāda Vyāsa-pūjā mahā-mahotsava kī jaya!
Your servant,
Rasika Chandra Dāsa,
Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Mandir, Bon Acceuil, Mauritius
Africa, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Our dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Please accept our most humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace, who descended into this world as the empowered representative of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to deliver the fallen souls of this age.
On this most auspicious day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we attempt, however inadequately, to glorify you by reflecting on the memories shared by your dear servant. Śyāmasundara Prabhu, memories that reveal not only your divine personality but also the spirit with which your early disciples served you.
Again and again, one theme shines through: you created pioneers. You did not simply instruct; you inspired, empowered, and transformed ordinary people into fearless instruments of Kṛṣṇa’s will. In those early days, your followers had nothing, materially, yet they possessed everything spiritually. They gave up all comforts – meat-eating, intoxication, illicit connections, and material ambitions – not because they were forced, but because they were attracted to the higher taste you embodied.
Śyāmasundara recalls how he skeptically observed your devotees, waiting for their “armor to crack.” It never did. Their conviction, born from your association, was unshakable. And when he finally met you, he experienced something beyond mysticism or spectacle – a deep, peaceful certainty. You did not need to perform miracles to convince anyone. Your presence itself was the miracle.
You engaged everyone practically in Kṛṣṇa’s service, often in ways they themselves never could have imagined. You taught bookkeeping to a reluctant treasurer, not merely to balance accounts but to engage a soul. You charmed your disciples into service, sometimes even tricking them, for their ultimate benefit. This reveals your deep compassion – you met each person where they were and gently elevated them.
But perhaps most striking is the mood of boldness and risk that you instilled. Śyāmasundara describes those days as a kind of spiritual adventure, almost like being part of a fearless crew led by a transcendental captain. You told them, “There is nothing to fear when you chant.” And they believed you.
They took risks that today might seem unimaginable. With no money, no security, and no guarantees, they spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness across cities and continents. When there was no rent, Kṛṣṇa sent money in mysterious ways. When there were obstacles, they pushed forward anyway. They truly lived your instruction: that if one takes risks for Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa personally helps.
Yet, as Śyāmasundara poignantly reflects, “This spirit has died down. We are too comfortable.” Śrīla Prabhupāda, this statement pierces the heart. Today, we have temples, books, systems, and global recognition – all by your mercy. But in having “everything on a plate,” we risk losing the very essence that built this movement: dependence on Kṛṣṇa, bold preaching, and willingness to sacrifice.
We hesitate where your disciples leapt. We calculate where they surrendered. We seek comfort where they embraced uncertainty for your pleasure. Your movement was not meant to produce complacent followers; it was meant to create spiritual revolutionaries.
Another aspect of your personality that shines through these memories is your extraordinary tolerance and love. You accepted your disciples not as perfected beings, but as they were – flawed, inexperienced, and often coming from chaotic backgrounds. You overlooked their “glaring outrages” and magnified their smallest service. What kind of spiritual master does this? Only one who truly sees the soul.
You corrected, but with purpose. You guided, but with sensitivity. Whether it was humorously instructing a disciple to stop smoking with a simple gesture of your cane, or compassionately reassuring one who was going to jail – “Kṛṣṇa was born in jail!” – you transformed every situation into an opportunity for spiritual growth. You were never harsh for the sake of control; you were firm for the sake of love.
And how intimate your relationships were! You made each devotee feel personally seen, valued, and connected. You laughed with them, encouraged them, and sometimes even played with them, like with little Saraswati. This human warmth, combined with your divine authority, created an atmosphere where surrender was natural and joyful.
One of the most beautiful pastimes described is how Lord Jagannātha came to you. Through a simple, almost accidental act – a small figurine obtained from a shop – you revealed a profound truth: the Lord desires to be with His devotees. When Mālatī showed you the Jagannātha figure, you immediately recognized Him and offered your obeisances. Where others saw an object, you saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And from that moment, Lord Jagannātha’s worship spread throughout your movement.
You engaged Śyāmasundara in carving Jagannātha forms, transforming raw wood into divine manifestations. This pastime perfectly encapsulates your genius: you took something simple, even unconventional, and turned it into a cornerstone of devotional culture.
Only you could establish Lord Jagannātha in the countercultural environment of 1960s San Francisco and have people joyfully accept Him without hesitation. This was your power – to connect the eternal with the contemporary, the absolute with the immediate.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your life is a call to action. Through these memories, we are reminded of what it truly means to be your follower. It is not enough to maintain what you built; we must embody the spirit with which you built it. We must rediscover that pioneering courage. We must be willing to take risks for Kṛṣṇa, to step beyond comfort, to depend fully on His mercy. We must learn to see opportunities where others see obstacles, and to act with faith where others hesitate.
At the same time, we must cultivate your compassion – seeing the potential in others, encouraging them, and engaging them in service with patience and love.
On this Vyāsa-pūjā day, we pray for the strength to move beyond complacency and to reconnect with that original spirit of fearless devotion. Please empower us to become instruments of your mission, just as your early disciples were.
May we never forget that everything we have is your mercy, and that the best way to honor that mercy is to use it boldly in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for everything – for your teachings, your example, your tolerance, your love, and your vision.
Your insignificant servants from the Botswana yātrā
