Presentations from the ISKCON India Scholars Board to Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb and Scholars of the Jagannatha Shreemandira on the question of allowable dates for celebrating the Jagannatha Ratha-yatra

March 29, 2025Posted inEssays, TranslationsNo Comments
These presentations were made by members of the ISKCON India Scholars Board (IISB) before Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb, Dr. Aravind Padhee, Chief Administrator of the Shri Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA), and scholars representing the SJTA on 20th March 2025 in Bhubaneswar, India, on the occasion of a discussion between IISB and SJTA scholars. The presentations are made available both in English and Oriya.

Research on Authorized Dates for Observing the Jagannatha Rathayatra around the world

March 29, 2025Posted inEssaysNo Comments
These essays were presented by members of the ISKCON India Scholars Board (IISB) to Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb, Dr. Aravind Padhee, Chief Administrator of the Shri Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA), and scholars representing the SJTA on 20th March 2025 in Bhubaneswar, India, on the occasion of a discussion between IISB and SJTA scholars. These long-form essays address the topic of whether the Shri Jagannatha Rathayatra may be performed on dates other than the Ashadha-shukla-dvitiya, the 2nd day of the bright fortnight of the month of Ashadha (June-July), or dates near enough to it. This is the day for the Rathayatra stipulated in the Skanda Purana.
IISB Scholars meet SJTA Scholars in Presence of the King of Puri

IISB Scholars meet SJTA Scholars in Presence of the King of Puri

March 20, 2025Posted inCommunicationsNo Comments
A significant and insightful meeting took place on March 20, 2025, between His Majesty the Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singh Dev, the revered King of Puri, who was accompanied by the Shri Jagannath Temple (Puri, Odisha) Chief Administrator, Shri Arvind Padee, IAS, and representatives of the ISKCON India Scholars Board (IISB) at Bhubaneshwar, the capital of the Indian state of Odisha. The head of ISKCON's delegation, His Holiness Guru Prasada Swami, former Chairman of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission, could not be present; in his place Mukunda-datta Das, disciple of Srila Prabhupada and IISB Head Scholar, lead ISKCON's delegation.
The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan

Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 15.442 with Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā

August 30, 2024Posted inTranslationsNo Comments
TRANSLATION: "The Holy Name of the Lord that one has received personally (through dikṣā) should be chanted by putting it in fourth case (caturthi vibhakti), prefixed by oṁ (praṇava), and suffixed by namaḥ. The mantra that is thus formed should be used by all the dvijas to worship the Lord. Women and śūdras (should worship the Lord) without mantra (mantra-vivarjitāḥ)." COMMENTARY [Dig-darśinī commentary of Sanātana Gosvāmī] Mantras to be used in the worship (pūjā) of Śrī Vāsudeva etc. are being explained in this verse that starts with the words "sva-nāmabhiḥ..." The implementation (of mantra) here is as follows: oṁ vāsudevāya namaḥ. The word mantravivarjitāḥ (without the mantra) here means without the praṇava (oṁ)—which means these mantras should be uttered by them without uttering the praṇava (oṁ). Although not specifically described here, the detailed description of this worship's krama (sequence of different accesories) and vidhi (procedure and statements injuncting its procedure) will be described later in this book by referring to various texts from several Purāṇas and according to sampradāya. (Click Read More for Sanskrit, word-for-word synonyms, and notes.)
Srila Prabhupada with Books

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Authority in his Books and Other Contexts

July 31, 2023Posted inEssays, ISKCON, Research8 Comments
The intuition that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words are perfect, without defect, even when not explicitly backed by śāstra is definitely the correct understanding. When a devotee is perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, like Śrīla Prabhupāda, he not only perfectly sees Kṛṣṇa, but also perfectly sees Kṛṣṇa’s material energies as well. A pure devotee has none of the four defects of conditioned souls. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says: bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsā, karaṇāpāṭava, ārṣa-vijña-vākye nāhi doṣa ei saba, “Mistakes, illusions, cheating and defective perception do not occur in the sayings of the authoritative sages.”
Srila Prabhupada dictating.

Did Śrīla Prabhupāda commit mistakes?

July 30, 2023Posted inEssays, ISKCON11 Comments
On page 46 of his book, Kaunteya Prabhu states that we should accept Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words as perfect whenever he is stating from the “original text” (śāstra), and not necessarily perfect (potentially mistaken) if the source of information is not based on the “original text.” And on page 408, Kaunteya also says that we will “never know to what extent the false information Srila Prabhupada received affected his views on women,” but Kaunteya appears to be certain that the extent is not “never.” Indeed, to even consider the possibility that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s views could be influenced by false information, one must necessarily presume that Śrīla Prabhupāda himself is a conditioned soul. This idea is at the heart of Kaunteya’s book.