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By Kadamba Kanana Swami

Devotional service binds us to Krsna in responsibility. The first time we do little seva, we gradually start to develop our service and the more service we take, the more we continue to develop our service. For example, Srimati Radharani came from Yavat to Mother Yashoda’s house everyday to cook for Krsna. Radharani took that service very seriously. It was her responsibility to cook for Krsna, and she was bound to that service. So one might think, what freedom is there in

By Lokanath Swami

The auspiciousness of the month of Kartik

Srila Prabhupada and Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu declare this month to be the best. In 1972, considering the importance of this month Srila Prabhupada put all his engagements and travel plans aside to spend this time in Vrndavana.

“My plan is come to Vrndavana for Kartik,” he wrote.  “I want to stay in Radha Damodar temple until nearly end of November. I will lecture daily in the courtyard.” 

In the year 1972, Kartik started on October 15 

Reach out to Krishna’s heart by intensely longing for his mercy, so much so, that it blends out all other projects.
DAY 2 . 14 OCTOBER, 2019. The Great Longing.
The most important question on the spiritual path is: when is my experience real? When do I have substantial insights that can even carry me through troubling times? In other words, we are searching for a substantial and a very very real connection with Krishna, an experience of the Lord.

The Damodara-lila, which took place in this mont

By Kadamba Kanana Swami

In the Bhagavad-gita 10.35, Krsna says that of all the months, “I am marga-sirsa,” which is a name for the November-December period. It is said that before Krsna, first comes Radha… Radha-Krsna, Radha-Syam, Sita-Rama, like that. First the consort of the Lord is mentioned. Therefore the month of Kartik, which comes before this month of marga-sirsa, is a month of Radharani. It is a month when we are meditating on pure devotional service because she is the proprietor of pur

By Vasanta Das

The Pastimes of Lord Damodara.
Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. Even unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Karttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathura (or Vrindavana) in India, are very easily awarded the Lord’s personal service". During the Kartika month millions of devotees

By Ananda Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi

As my bare feet hit the cold marble floor of the altar during the early morning service hours I whispered, ‘Oh, so cold!’. My fellow pujari turned and smilingly whispered back, ‘Austerity!’

It wasn’t the first time I was reminded that there is a sweetness to doing something difficult for Krishna. Actually, it’s only by intentional practices that we can begin to access spiritual tastes and emotions that are less obvious and more refined.

My recent experience of

Today is Sharad Purnima- Beginning of Kartik month Deep dhan festival.

Kartika month is observed this year from 13 oct to 12 Nov-the most important month in our calendar, as it is very dear to Sri Sri Radha-Madhava.

Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. During the Kartika month, millions of devotees worship Damodara Krishna with ghee lamps and devotional bhajans, glori

Candracandrikā nyāyaḥ (glare of the moon)

The lustruous glare of the Moon is inseparable from the body of the Moon itself.

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭikoṭiṣv
aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

This is described in Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.40. This limitless glittering material world (aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam) rests or is manifested from the supremely-lustrous glare called brahmajyoti (tad brahma), which belongs o

From the very beginning, the body was given by father and mother. In the childhood, as the father and mother say, “Sit down here, eat this, don’t go there,” everything is controlled by the father and mother, and originally given by the father and mother. So how we can claim, “This is my body”? From the very beginning. Then, somebody else maintains you. Suppose you are working in an office, in a factory. So actually that body belongs to him, the maintainer. In this way, up to the point of death,

By Acarya dasa, All-India Padayatra leader

This year is a special year: All-India Padayatra was at Srila Prabhupada’s office in Juhu Beach, Mumbai, for the World Holy Name Week which began on September 17. Just as every year, the padayatris celebrated the occasion with enthusiasm but being in Juhu meant that at every step we were reminded of Srila Prabhupada.

On an overcast September 16 we left Kharghar and walked towards Koparkhed, dancing and singing in the rain along with a few local devote

By Manorama das

Peter Leggieri, the editor-owner of “The East Village Other” (EVO), wrote the “Save Earth Now” article about the Hare Krishna movement in 1966 under the pen name Irving Shushnick. Here’s an excerpt from the EVO website where he mentions how that article came to be.

“I was the anonymous Other, the one editor-owner unknown to the public. I did not party. I did not schmooze with the literati or seek publicity. I had no time for such things. I worked seven days a week, 20 hours a d

By Lalitanatha dasa

For the past 13 years ISKCON’s Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture (IMCPA) has organized a European conference for ISKCON farmers and anyone interested in agriculture and cow protection. The idea is to create networks and unite everyone towards Srila Prabhupada’s goals for cow protection and simple living. This year, 2019, the conference was hosted at the Krishna Dvur community in the Czech Republic between the 30th of August and the 1st of September. The participant

I heard a beautiful talk by Srila Prabhupada, Los Angeles, January 5, 1974, on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.8, which says, “Living beings who are under [Yamaraja’s] grip should take advantage by hearing the deathless nectar in the form of this narration of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord.” And Srila Prabhupada glorified Srimad-Bhagavatam and the importance of book distribution:

“This is the Bhagavata. There is no comparison. There is no literature throughout the universe like Srimad-Bhagavata