Author Archives for Vrindavana Das

Interview with Ranaka das


  Where is your hometown?  I was born in Norfolk, VA where my father was in the Navy.  After his discharge from the duty, we relocated to my family’s home town in NW Iowa when I was 2 weeks old.  I lived in my family’s farm near Paullina IA until I graduated from High School […]

Interview with Rasalila


Where is your hometown? I am a New Yorker by birth. I was born in Brooklyn and brought up in the rural area of Rockland county, near very small town called Spring Valley. At the age of ten, I moved back to NY and lived in Queens. What initially attracted you to Krishna Consciousness? I […]

Syama Kunda’s Brijabasi Spirit Interview – November 2017


Where is your hometown?  Syama Kunda was raised in Cambridge, Maryland. When & where did you get married?  While living in Maryland in 1969, Syama Kunda met his wife Girindra Mohini, the youngest girl of 10 siblings. When he was 16 and she was only 15, they were married by her minister father. When did […]

ISKCON New Vrindaban Takes Steps to Rebuild Local Relationships


By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications At the second annual Rathayatra in Wheeling, West Virginia – New Vrindaban’s neighboring city – on July 8th, over two-and-a-half thousand locals delighted in Lord Jagannath’s parade. When interviewed they said they loved the energy, prasadam, trying out japa meditation, and the family-friendly activities. Wheeling Mayor Glenn […]

Devotee Who Grew Up in New Vrindaban Returns to Serve His Community


By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications     Born to a devotee family in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in 1977, Bhagavan Bauer lived and attended gurukula there until the age of eighteen. While he developed great friendships with the other gurukula students and has good memories of fun times with them, he also […]

New Vrindaban Invites All North American ISKCON Farmers To Second Annual Farm Conference


By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications   ECO-Vrindaban and ISKCON New Vrindaban are extending an invitation to every Hare Krishna temple and farm in North America to attend the 2017 Annual North American ISKCON Farm Conference from October 13th to 15th. The Conference will be hosted at INV in West Virginia, and is […]

Prabhupada’s Palace Gardens Enter Sustainable New Chapter


By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications The gardens at Srila Prabhupada’s Palace have always been jewels that enhance the beauty of this place of pilgrimage; while themselves becoming more beautiful by serving the pure devotee. In 2014, after a long and illustrious history, they began their transition from chemical to organic. And today, […]

Canadian Family’s Journey in Simple Living Takes Them to New Vrindaban


By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications   Neither Filippo Paonessa nor his wife-to-be Sukhayanti Dasi had any previous experience in cow protection or agriculture when they met at the Toronto ISKCON temple. But they found that they were both inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s words on simple living and shared a desire to follow […]

New Vrindaban Kids’ Camp Makes Spirituality Fun


By Madhava Smullen “We never thought a spiritual event could be so much fun – we would love to come again!” wrote one family after attending the Children’s Summer Camp in New Vrindaban last year. “Wonderful event – we can’t wait till next year,” wrote another. “Our son says he will miss New Vrindaban very […]

Srila Prabhupada and His Palace


By Madhava Smullen  for ISKCON New Vrindaban Communications Archival Research by Chaitanya Mangala Das It’s a crisp, frosty November day in the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia, bare trees silhouetted against a clear blue sky. On one hilltop, an unusually royal building stands out, sunlight glinting off its gold-filigreed domes and spires. Participants of ISKCON […]