By Manjari Gauthie
…The crowd presses forward, a mass of bodies all straining to get a better view of the altar. The curtains are still closed, but thin wisps of frankincense smoke can be seen curling from behind their edges. The sweet smell permeats the room and fuels my eagerness to finally see Their Lordships in our temple for the first time. Balabhadra is leading an intense kirtan. The vibration of hundreds of voices in the air is almost too much to stand. I’m sure I’m not the only one fe
For the most auspicious celebration of Sri Radhastami, we read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three: “Pure Devotional Service.”
TEXT 23
jivan chavo bhagavatanghri-renum
na jatu martyo ’bhilabheta yas tu
sri-visnu-padya manujas tulasyah
svasan chavo yas tu na veda gandham
TRANSLATION
The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasi leaves
Srimati Radharani appeared on the eight day of the waxing moon of Hrsikesha (Bhadra) mase, at noon.
“Srimati Radharani is as fully spiritual as Krishna. No one should consider Her to be material. She is definitely not like the conditioned souls, who have material bodies, gross and subtle, covered by material senses. She is all spiritual, and both Her body and mind are of the same spiritual embodiment. Because Her body is spiritual, Her senses are also spiritual. Thus Her body, mind and senses f
भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक
अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान
स एवायं मया तेSद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः ।
भक्तोSसि मे सखा चेति रहस्यं ह्येतदुत्तमम् ।। 3 ।।
सः– वही;एव– निश्चय ही;मया– मेरे द्वारा;ते– तुमसे;अद्य– आज;योगः– योगविद्या;प्रोक्तः– कही गयी;पुरातनः– अत्यन्त प्राचीन;भक्तः– भक्त;असि– हो;मे– मेरे;सखा– मित्र;च– भी;इति– अतः;रहस्यम्– रहस्य;एतत्– यह;उत्तमम्– दिव्य।
There are 3 energies affecting us all
As real and organic as nature’s call
They are at play practically all the time
Like wind, rain, moon, and sunshine
They influence our mood, action, and thought
If we analyze them it can help us a lot
Let us explore the names of these energies
And come to grips with their bold tendencies
The first one is SATTVA, its Sanskrit name
It is positive power we should welcome and aim
The special feature here is to be very mindful
Sensitive, patient, rational, thought
भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक
अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान
एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदु: ।
स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परन्तप ।। 2।।
एवम्– इस प्रकार;परम्परा– गुरु-परम्परा से;प्राप्तम्– प्राप्त;इमम्– इस विज्ञान को;राज-ऋषयह– साधू राजाओं ने;विदुः– जाना;सः– वह ज्ञान;कालेन– कालक्रम में;इह– इस संसार में;महता– महान;योगः– परमेश्वर के साथ अपने सम्बन्ध का विज्ञान, योगविद्या;नष्टः– छिन्न-भिन्न हो गया;परन्तप– हे शत्रुओं को दमन करने वाले, अर्जुन।
Glimpses of brilliant Sri Krishna Janmastami 2024 celebrations at my parents' in-laws place in Pune. Even at their advanced age it very inspiring that their devotion to Lord Krishna has been unflinching for over four decades.
The Bhaktivedanta Archives, a vital service for preserving Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and related materials, has recently celebrated a significant achievement: the completion of the new freezer/cooler/acclimatization rooms. Parama-Rupa Dasa, the Founder of the Bhaktivedanta Archives, and Nitya-Trpta Dasi, who serves alongside him, recently discussed the importance of this new facility and its impact on their preservation efforts. “Our photo vault is a major milestone,” said Parama-Rupa. “It al
By Aditya Devi Dasi
On the eve of Sri Krishna Janmashtami, ISKCON New York City unveiled a beautiful work of art, a mural of Sri Maha-Vishnu hand painted on the north-west facing side of the temple building.
Bhakti street artist Jamuna Pritti spent one week finalizing this artwork which took several weeks of preparation. She describes it as “a fusion between the Sri Isopanisad cover and the mantra mandala I created back in 2015, with a little zine street art vibe.”
There's no one more important in my life than guru, Prabhupada. I posted my offering of gratitude to him on August 23/24. I didn't want to be late so I reached out early instead. I did complete, on this day, my latest poem based on the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita, "The 3 Energies."
There are 3 energies affecting us all
As real and organic as nature’s call
They are at play practically all the time
Like wind, rain, moon, and sunshine
From Back to Godhead
Every December, the book marathon promises to be an exciting event. While travelling from door to door, village to village, through remote parts of India, we invariably meet someone who has been miraculously touched by Krishna’s mercy. One such person was Chandu, whom we met in Srirampur, Maharashtra. His tall posture and heavy built contrasted with his soft, humble demeanor. Curious to know his background, I requested him to narrate his story of choosing the path of Krishn
From Back to Godhead
Through the ages Western man has alternately
pondered or ignored death, the most
persistent yet least understood fact of our existence.
In the year A.D. 138, the great Roman emperor Hadrian lay dying in a villa overlooking the Bay of Naples. For many years he had been the mighty ruler of the Western world, governing an empire that stretched for thousands of miles. In the course of his eventful life as soldier/statesman, he encountered diverse peoples of many customs and f
Cause and Effect are the natural phenomenon in this material world. Every Cause is followed by an Effect and every Effect has a Cause. This phenomenon of cause and effect is explained in Vedic texts as well as in the modern science alike. Newton’s law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction and similarly in Vedanta Sutra, the Cause and effect phenomenon is explained in great detail. Knowing this truth, we generally tend to look at the cause and effects with our limited visi
भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक
अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान
श्री भगवानुवाच
इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् ।
विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेSब्रवीत् ।। 1 ।।
श्री-भगवान् उवाच– श्रीभगवान् ने कहा;इमम्– इस;विवस्वते– सूर्यदेव को;योगम्– परमेश्वर क्र साथ अपने सम्बन्ध की विद्या को;प्रोक्तवान्– उपदेश दिया;अहम्– मैंने;अव्ययम्– अमर;विवस्वान्– विवस्वान् (सूर्यदेव के नाम) ने;मनवे– मनुष्यों के पिता (वैवस्वत) से;प्राह– कहा;मनुः– मनुष्यों के पिता ने;इक्ष्वाकवे– राजा इक्ष्वाकु से;अब्रवीत्– कहा।
भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक
अध्याय तीन कर्मयोग
श्री भगवानुवाच
काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः ।
महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥ 37 ॥
श्री-भगवान् उवाच– श्रीभगवान् ने कहा;कामः– विषयवासना;एषः– यह;क्रोधः– क्रोध;एषः– यः;रजो-गुण– रजोगुण से;समुद्भवः– उत्पन्न;महा-अशनः– सर्वभक्षी;महा-पाप्मा– महान पापी;विद्धि– जानो;एनम्– इसे;इह– इस संसार में;वैरिणम्– महान शत्रु।
भावार्थ : श्रीभगवान् ने कहा – हे अर्जुन! इसका कारण रजोगुण के सम्पर्क से उत्पन्न काम है, जो बाद में क्रोध का रूप धारण करता है और
The last two days functions were held for remembering Krishna on His birthday, however, today was the official Janmasthami and we celebrated it in the city of Halifax. Since our community here is fairly new, we do not yet have a building of our own, so we are left to secure a rented place. Now, where are you going to find a place large enough and late enough (remember Krishna bhaktas celebrate His birth at midnight), so like last year a community hall was secured at a hockey arena site, It cert
Friday September 3rd, a few of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were called for a meeting in HDGs room in the lotus building
These beautiful gifts were lovingly presented to the assembled direct disciples of HDG, and the details were explained. The project is called “Give Prabhupad”
Melted into the brass murti is an alloy containing coins received directly on book distribution around the world. (Fortunately we had some coins from book distribution in sridham mayapur that we were able to contribute f
Shri Sita Thakurani is to be worshiped just as much as Sachidevi herself, as the mother of the universe. She is the eternal wife of Shri Advaita Acharya. She was the daughter of Shri Nrishinga Baduri. She was married to Shri Advaita Acharya in Phuliya Nagara. After their wedding, Advaita Acharya went to Nadiya, to live in Shantipura. Sita Thakurani was always absorbed in vatsalya prema for Shri Gaurasundara Prabhu, and, out of parental concern used to instruct Jagannatha Mishra on how to care f
This is an excerpt from lecture from Tattva Darshan 13 titled – Ganesh Glories given by His Holiness Mahanidhi Swami.
Ganesh Chaturthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesh, is one of the most popular Indian festivals. Lord Ganesh is Half Man Half elephant - Elephant’s head and a human’s body. He is a very enigmatic and very famous Indian demigod India - Ganapati.
He is the lord of inconceivabilities. He wants to show people how when you approach transcendence, when you approach God, the impossible is po
From Back to Godhead
Lord Ganesha is well known for removing obstacles from the path of pure hearted souls.
Gokarna, a temple town in Karnataka, also known as Gokarna Mahabalesvara, is famous for the presence of one of the twelve jyotirlingas of Lord Siva. Lord Ganesha is said to have established this linga. The glories of the deity of Vinayaka Ganesha of Gokarna are described by Sri Vadiraja Mahan in Tirtha prabandhah, paschima prabandhah:
dustanam vighnakarta sucarita
sujanastoma vighnapahar
