The worldwide activities of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
World News
North America
A new book exposes a coverup of extensive scientific evidence for a picture of human origins radically different from the one most scientists accept. The book, The Hidden History of the Human Race, was written by Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa Dasa) and Michael A. Cremo (Drutakarma Dasa), both frequent contributors to BTG. It is a briefer version of their Forbidden Archeology, which was previewed last year in our May/June issue.
Forbidden Archeology has been creating a considerable stir. Wrote the renowned anthropologist Richard S. Leakey, "Your book is pure humbug and does not deserve to be taken seriously by anyone but a fool." Among the many scientists who disagree is Dr. David Heppell of the Department of Natural History at the Royal Museum of Scotland. The book, he writes, is "a very comprehensive and scholarly compilation and appraisal of the available information on the subject. Whether one accepts the evidence presented or not, it certainly looks as if there will no longer be any excuse for ignoring it."(Please see the ad on page 23 for more information.)
The Hare Krsna movement's Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology, in Washington, D. C., offers Krsna conscious lectures, workshops, and seminars in such diverse areas as stress management, time management, conflict resolution, male-female relationships, and health and fitness. The programs at the Institute, headed by Bhaktitirtha Swami, attract people from all walks of life.
Govinda's Buffet has re-opened, next door to the Hare Krsna temple in Los Angeles. The restaurant had been located a block away.
Devotees thwarted a thief's attempt to rob Govinda's Gifts last May in Los Angeles. The gift shop is located above Govinda's Buffet. The man had held a handgun to the head of a devotee saleswoman and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire. As the thief tried to run, two devotees caught up with him and subdued him until the police came.
Devotees produce and broadcast monthly Krsna conscious programs for four cable channels in Los Angeles.
Govinda's Restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, serves 150 people a day. The restaurant, opened two years ago, also trains managers and cooks for Krsna conscious restaurants in other locations.
The Bhaktivedanta Archives is planning its next major project: reprinting all the back issues of Back to Godhead, in hardbound volumes. Look for details in upcoming issues of BTG.
September programs at ISKCON's Pennsylvania farm: Labor Day retreat, September 3-5. Gita Nagari Institute seminars, September 6-11. See page 58 for details.
Europe
Devotees in Zagreb, Croatia, now worship Deities of Gaura-Nitai (Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu). About a hundred guests attended the installation ceremony in May.
India
The Bhaktivedanta Institute has received formal approval to start a one-year Master of Science degree program in Consciousness Studies, in collaboration with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) at Palani. BITS is one of India's top technical schools. The program will run at Bombay, starting from Fall 1995. The BI staff will design and teach the courses. BITS will award the degrees.
A devotee-run nature-cure hospital has been established on a six-acre plot in Manipur. The hospital has two doctors and six assistants.
The Vaisnava Institute for Higher Education will hold fall semester (October 7-November 1) at the Krsna-Balarama Mandir in Vrndavana. Students can choose from more than a dozen courses. Open to all. See page 59 for details.
Devotees from around the world will walk on pilgrimage through the Vrndavana area during the month of Kartika (October 20-November 18). Lokanath Swami, coordinator of Padayatra Worldwide, will lead the tour, known as the annual Vraja Mandala Parikrama.
Srila Prabhupada Centennial 1996
When twenty-five devotees traveled in June to Gangotri, the source of the Ganges, they collected water each ISKCON temple can use to bathe its figure of Srila Prabhupada on his appearance anniversary in 1996. Devotees plan to go all over India to collect water from a thousand sacred places. Each ISKCON temple will receive a kailasa (covered metal pitcher) with a mixture of all one thousand waters to bathe Srila Prabhupada.
Padayatra News
Padayatra India
In Pandharpur, Maharashtra, devotees will celebrate the tenth anniversary of Padayatra India on Radhastami, the appearance day of Srimati Radharani. A group of devotees began walking from Dvaraka, on the west coast, in 1984.
Padayatra Mauritius
At the end of May one hundred devotees danced, chanted and walked to the village of Dagotiere, the fiftieth village the Padayatra has visited in Mauritius. The walk marked the Padayatra's second anniversary. Devotees plan to visit every village in Mauritius by the end of 1996.
Encouraged by this Padayatra, the devotees now plan to walk across Brazil at least three thousand kilometers for Srila Prabhupada's Centennial, in 1996.
For more information about Padayatra, contact:
Padayatra Worldwide
62, Sant Nagar, New Delhi 110 065, India
Phone: +91 (011) 646-9633; fax: +91 (011) 647-0742
Padayatra England and Europe
Bhaktivedanta Manor, Letchmore Heath, Watford,
Herts. WD2 8EP, England. Phone: +44 (92) 385-7244