As Srila Prabhupada entered the storefront one evening, he was surprised to find Umapati there to greet him. Umapati had left Krsna consciousness almost a year ago, and Prabhupada had not seen him since. Spontaneously, Prabhupada went forward and embraced Umapati. A few months before, Umapati had written, indicating that he was thinking of returning; so his arrival was not a complete surprise to Srila Prabhupada. As Prabhupada took his seat, he asked Umapati about the dev

On the appearance day of Srila Prabhupada's spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Prabhupada gathered some of his disciples-Aniruddha, Govinda dasi, Gaurasundara, Nandarani, and a boy named Sankarsana-for a special celebration. In the kitchen of his apartment, Prabhupada cooked a feast for his spiritual master. Nandarani brought flowers, and Prabhupada led the devotees in a ceremony of offering flowers and chanting prayers in honor of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasva

Govinda dasi had been complaining to Aniruddha that Swamiji's apartment was too noisy and crowded and that there were no private bathroom facilities for Swamiji. She kept insisting Aniruddha find a better place. Aniruddha, however, was getting only two hundred dollars a month from Dayananda, and with Prabhupada plus so many visitors, there was a financial strain. "Swamiji is very uncomfortable," Govinda dasi nagged. But Aniruddha didn't know what to do.

When Aniruddha as

One day after a walk, Prabhupada told Aniruddha that Los Angeles reminded him of Bombay and that he wanted to build a very big temple in Los Angeles. Although Aniruddha was not one to endeavor hard for building a big temple, Prabhupada still told him his vision. Another day Prabhupada called Aniruddha in and showed him the Deity of Radha and Krsna that Gaurasundara and Subala had carved. Prabhupada's eyes were shining. "I want to have Radha-Krsna Deities in everyone's home," he s

One day on a walk, Prabhupada discovered a special place across the street from his apartment. There on a neighbor's front lawn stood a broad, tall tree. Taking a few disciples with him, Prabhupada went over and sat down beneath the tree. On a warm Los Angeles afternoon, this was a great but simple luxury, sitting in the pleasant sunny atmosphere beneath the shade tree. Raya Rama considered the occasion something to write to the devotees in New York about.

This afternoon I

It was only four days after Prabhupada's arrival. He had just risen from an afternoon's rest, walked into the front room... and there was Subala. Prabhupada was surprised. Subala was supposed to be in Santa Fe.

"My wife has left me," Subala burst out. And a sad tale followed. Subala told how he had left his wife, Krsna-devi dasi, alone at the Santa Fe temple for a few days and gone to New York to visit his parents. Meanwhile, Krsna-devi had run away with a boy who ha

Prabhupada said his health was still not good. His sleep was often disturbed, and he spoke of a "gong-gong-gong" sound in his head. He had occasional headaches and a ringing in his left ear. An Ayur-vedic doctor in India had told him to take cinnamon buds, and he had seen a doctor in San Francisco. But the doctors' prescriptions had not helped.

I may inform you in that connection that I am at the present moment physically unfit; I am having always a buzzing sound in my brain. I cannot

Los Angeles January 6, 1968

The building at 5364 West Pico Boulevard was a small storefront in a middle-class black neighborhood of Los Angeles. With his key, Aniruddha opened the rear door, and Srila Prabhupada entered, followed by a few disciples.

The room was stark. A Brijabasi print of Lord Krsna sat atop the altar, which was no more than two orange crates covered with an old madras. A tamboura and a mrdanga on end stood in one corner, and a curtain hung ov

There is a saying in India that a mother teaches her daughter-in-law by teaching her daughter. In other words, the mother will most readily give corrective instruction to her own daughter, but the instruction will apply equally to the less accessible daughter-in-law. Similarly, Prabhupada gave many instructions not only during class lectures but in daily dealings with his servants, such as Upendra. Any exchanges with the acarya are themselves teachings both by precept and

Lilavati: He called me into his room. He was sitting on his bed talking to Mukunda. When I arrived, he stopped speaking with him and turned to me and said, "So how are you liking this Krsna consciousness?" And I said, "Oh, Swamiji, my life has changed completely." He bowed his head and said, "Thank you very much." He was very pleased. Then he continued his conversation with Mukunda. He was asking him, "So, Mukunda, you have cast so many pairs of karatalas from the o

Mukunda was also present with Prabhupada in his room, along with a small group of devotees, when an earthquake took place. The telephone poles and wires began moving outside the window. The building trembled. No one said anything until Prabhupada said, "What is this?" A devotee replied, "It's an earthquake, Swamiji." Prabhupada said, "Oh." And then the earthquake suddenly stopped. Everyone present was very intent on Prabhupada's reaction. He said, "We can just sit down and cha

The sastras enjoin, "One can never know the mind of the acarya." Since this is true, then how can we know Prabhupada? How can we share his inner life in those pleasant homecoming days of December 1967 and January 1968 in San Francisco? In one sense we cannot. As Krsnadasa Kaviraja says, "I do not know the deep meaning of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's activities. As far as possible I shall try to explain them externally." But sometimes Prabhupada reveals himse

One thing Prabhupada liked about California was that it was easy for him to obtain eucalyptus twigs there. Prabhupada used them for brushing his teeth in the morning. He liked them cut the thickness of the little finger and about six inches long, and they were soaked in water overnight before he used them. At this time Krsnadasa was going out in the morning to pick them. He would keep a good supply wrapped up in tin foil in the refrigerator. Hearing that eucalyptus

"The greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create our own processes. Unless I order you to change, just follow to the exact standard as I have given you, that's all."

1972 January 5: "I am very encouraged by your enthusiasm for preaching. You are Sannyasi so preach in this way and become parivrajakacarya. The intelligentsia and leaders must be preached to. Kirtana will soften their hearts."

1973 January 5: "Everything we have done has rested on these books. Without book

How to Distribute Many Books

I always remember Prabhupada's words "think big". If I want to distribute many books, first I count how many books I want to distribute, how many points I want to win. For example, I make my plan to distribute 100 books a day. Then I take with me 100 books. The more you take, the more you distribute. Remember, books of Krishna do not like to lie in your bag, and psychologically you do not like your bag is heavy. Therefore you try to distribute them as soon as possibl

   A very happy and prosperous New Year 2013 to all of you! 
There are various different New Years according to different calendars. This New Year is based on the Christian Calendar, but in India there are various types of calendars used. Generally we follow the Gaudiya Calendar which marks the New Year from the appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Celebrating New Year is important because itcomes with a new hope. It is a feature of when we leave the old year behind and use those experie

A cow tied to a pole with a rope has the independence equivalent to the length of the rope. The cow can do whatever within the periphery of the rope but beyond that she has no independence unless and until the master is ready to increase the length or untie the rope.

Our independence is akin to that of the cow. We may feel that we are the controller & the proprietor of our body, our senses, our home and our dependents but our control is very limited. Our pitiable condition can be gauged from the

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada