Washington, DC – For the more than fifty ISKCON devotees who gathered here to attend the “Building Bridges” conference last month, there was good news and bad news. The bad news was that – judging by comments made by almost all of the conference’s esteemed presenters – the “good old days” of ISKCON’s in-your-face preaching have been officially declared dead. The good news, of course, was that the “good old days” of ISKCON’s in-your-face preaching have been officially declared dead.

Marian Thomas, a devotee who attended ISKCON’s Festival of Inspiration in New Vrindaban, West Virginia this May, has passed away due to injuries sustained after a car crash.

Marian had served at ISKCON Columbus and had recently moved to Athens, Ohio. She was returning to Athens from New Vrindaban following the Festival of Inspiration.

In our latest photo-journalism piece blogger Manoj, an Indian living in Australia, shares a highlight of his recent trip to ISKCON’s headquarters in holy Mayapur, India. There, he caught a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how the hard-working temple cooks prepare food for thousands of devotees.

Last month devotees gathered at ISKCON New York's 1st Avenue center to reunite the small deities of Sri Sri Radha-Murlidhara with Their larger forms after many years of separation. Below is a media presentation that attempts to capture the heartfelt essence of the event.

Bhaktivedanta Manor-resident Sutapa Dasa visited Amsterdam, Holland on Queens Day (April 30th, 2009) -- reputed to be the world’s largest street party -- and witnessed an ISKCON harinama (street chanting) group there, where he says he realized that ISKCON is the only organization in the world that is truly free from ageism, nationalism, sexism and even species-ism, because the chanting of Hare Krishna breaks all barriers.

Karma. You could say it's just bitten Marc Ellis on the bum. He's been in a Charlie's juice company board meeting all morning, and he can tell it's going to go way over time.

Mate, he says, give me till 12. At 12, they've just broken for coffee and we're looking at maybe another hour. Give me till one, the former All Black-cum-lad about town suggests.

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.

Devotees in Karlovac, Croatia, installed Sri Sri Nitai Gaurachandra, their first deities, earlier this month.

The Karlovac ISKCON temple was established eight years ago, when devotees began holding spiritual programs in the Croatian towns of Križevci, Kalnik, and Lička Jesenica. They also prepared for the monumentous event years ahead of them by travelling to the USA and India to learn how to conduct traditional rites and care for deities.

Krishna lunch at the University of Florida means more than just grabbing a quick bite to eat; for some students, it has become a tradition.

The Krishnas have been there, in the same spot at the plaza, for more than 38 years. Every day, rain or shine, students can enjoy a healthy vegetarian, all- you- can- eat buffet, for a donation of $4. Students can also buy lunch cards, which drop the price to a mere $3.33.

As part of an ongoing effort to maintain Vraja, the holy land in India where Lord Krishna is said to have been born, the adjacent sacred lakes Radha-Kunda and Shyama Kunda are being cleaned for the first time since 1987.

ISKCON devotee Devaki Prana Dasa, who has lived and served at Radha-Kunda for many years, says, “The water is over twenty-two steps down at present, and the full cleaning will take about a month and a half to complete.”

The Amar Ujala, a daily Indian newspaper ranked 34th in the world in circulation, has selected ISKCON’s Bhaktivedanta Gurukula and International School in Vrindavan (BGIS) as the top school in the Mathura district and the second best school in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

Every year at the ISKCON Center in Mayapur, India a festival is held where the presiding deities are covered in sacred sandalwood paste (candana) and decorated beautifully.

What does Lord Nrsimhadeva, whose appearance day Vaishnavas around the world will be celebrating this week, have in common with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the fourteenth century founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism?

In Vaishnava theology, Nrsimhadeva is one of the ten main incarnations of Lord Krishna who, as is explained in the Bhagavad-gita, descends to this world to annihilate the miscreants and please his devotees. However Lord Chaitanya does not fit into this categorization, although he is Krishna himself, because he comes disguised as a devotee.

Poland, Czarnow – It was 10:30pm on Friday April 17. Prema Bhakti Dasa, his wife Mayamari Dasi, and their two young sons were returning to their home at ISKCON’s New Shantipur farm after a spiritual get-together in the city.

Home was a flat above the barn where Prema Bhakti and his family cared for the community’s cows full-time. And as their car neared it, they saw huge flames leaping from it, angry and orange in the night.

Subhangi Devi Dasi lives in Vrindavan, India. Recently she was awoken early in the morning to witness a site none of us would even dream could be happening. Krishna’s cows are being violently kidnapped in the night. It is believed the cows are killed and sold for their flesh and leather products.

“I was sleeping,” Subhangi Devi Dasi says. “At 2.00 am I hear cows crying, people screaming and yelling. I run out to my balcony and see a truck backing away and cows franticly running in all directions down the lanes, all crying. I have never seen that in Vrindavan.”

Another ISKCON restaurant opened in Burleigh Heads, Queensland Australia on the 27th of April, 2009. The seating capacity of the new facility, located at 20 James Street, is 30.

The ground-level café appeals to what Australians would call an ‘up-market’ clientele.

ISKCON’s Food for Life branch in Ecuador, South America braved the rainy season’s flooded roads to visit a nursing home in the city of Guayaquil late this March. Known as “The House of the Dying Man,” the home’s numerous assistants care for 60 elderly people with terminal diseases.

Durban, South Africa – To those of the Christian faith, Easter represents the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead. For many Christians, it is a time for celebration and a time for feasting. Much like the Christians, Easter also represents a time for celebration for members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Durban, South Africa, but for a different reason. For the past 21 years, ISKCON Durban has held its annual Ratha Yatra festival over the course of Easter weekend.

Nityananda Chandra dasa lives in the USA he is a devotee of Krishna and pujari at Sri Sri Radha Kalachandij’s in Dallas, Texas.

On Wednesday, April 8th, Nityananda Chandra dasa represented Lord Krishna and all the devotees when he gave the invocation at the Dallas City Hall council meeting. The invocation is a prayer given to open the council meeting and ask for the Lords blessings.

A Holy Name seminar was organized for the first time at ISKCON Ludhiana, India from 17th April through 19th of April. This event was led by Sudama Dasa from ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai.

Several topics were covered in the sessions such as how one could best focus when chanting the Holy Names and how to set the correct ambiance for achieving better satisfaction.