From Back to Godhead
Though conceived of in various ways, ultimately the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person who shares intimate loving exchanges with the best of His devotees.
By Srila Jiva Goswami
Here we present an excerpt from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust edition of Srila Jiva Goswami’s Sri Tattva-sandarbha. Jiva Goswami was one of the famed Six Goswamis, leading contemporary followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Tattva-sandarbha is the first of six sandarbhas (treatises) explaining the ph
Living with Srila Prabhupada
“Communication is the key to healthy relationships.” If we are truly serious about someone’s presence in our lives, then no matter how challenging, we will make an endeavor to contribute all we can and more to share our grievances and good news with them. Spirituality is a key contributing factor to our sense of self. Regarding matters of faith, ancient Vedic texts speak of vandanam or prayer as a means of communication with the Lord.
Vandanam is an intrinsic part o
A very nice explanation about the 3 levels of happiness and their symptoms by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami
We see that the residents of Vrndavana may forget Krsna’s divine nature, but they never forget Krsna Himself. And that is the thing, we should always remember Krsna. So whether we come together with many and sit in a pandala and discuss how Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or whether we are alone. There is no difference, because in reality, we are never alone. We are always with Krsna. In this way we realise that loneliness is actually maya. Loneliness is illusion. When we are feeli
Think of a businessman who instructed by his boss to expand their business and establish branches of the company throughout the world. Besides that, long ago the founder of that company also predicted - one day their company will have branches all over the world and flourish with millions of dedicated employees and enthusiastic customers. Even though these are mere instructions and predictions, this gentleman took very seriously and decided to dedicate his life to fulfill those predictions. Only
It was something I had never seen before. One calf was peeing. It was a bull calf. A second calf came right to his underside and began drinking with great relish the pure liquid coming out. Perhaps to calf Number Two it must have been like a smoothie. Incidentally, a third calf was looking on. All three were nestled together.
“Sravananada Das served in various capacities in India, for many years, with passionate enthusiasm and vigor. He was very close to Bhavabhuti Das, another wonderful godbrother of ours, and they were like two brothers. When they were serving in Assam, they got married to two sisters from a very high-class Assamese family. Sravanananda's wife's name is Ananda Gopi. They were married for many years, and both served Srila Prabhupada faithfully as a couple.
Bhavabhuti Das
I heard a lively argument between Srila Prabhupada and Dr. Patel on a morning walk on Juhu Beach, February 23, 1974. Srila Prabhupada was criticizing so called gurus who are actually Mayavadis and say, “I am God. Let me now have rasa dance. Send your children. Send your wife, send your daughter. We’ll dance.” “These are all rascals,” Prabhupada said. “Mayavadis. Mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa. This is the statement of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. As soon as one hears the statements of Mayavadi
Ahi nir-lvayanī nyāyaḥ (cast off serpent's slough)
After a serpent strips off its skin, he disregards it even though once it was part of his body.
In the same way, an intelligent man sees a difference between his own self and the material body he possesses. Once the body utterly stops cooperating with the soul, it is stripped off of the living entity, to be nothing better than food for worms. This is well known as death. The soul then continues on, taking up new body, just like snakes do, until
Anandini Dasi passed away on August 18th at the age of 84. She was one of the first communications devotees in Russia.
“Krishna is grateful. He never forgets what a person does for Him. He takes care of his fate. And Srila Prabhupada has said that Lord Caitanya would personally come for the preacher and neutralize all his faults. Srimati Anandini remained a preacher until her last days and did so much for Lord Caitanya's movement in our country.
She joined the movement at the height of the p
How do we identify how much time to spend on going deep and fully researching verses while we are reading?
I think that there is a time to read the Srimad Bhagavatam and there is a time to study the Srimad Bhagavatam. When we are simply reading the Srimad Bhagavatam, we are meant to just read it through and not go research things in too much detail like, “Let me look up on the Mahabharata about Bhismadeva. Let me check this in the Puranas and let me then have a little look at what the acaryas s
By Sesa Dasa
“Do I have to repeat myself young man?!!” Oh, how I hated it when my mother would say that. Not because she was being mean, rather because she was being right. It’s hard to hear someone when they’re right and you’re wrong. Most of the time she was correctly pointing out my selfish behavior, “Share with your brother … don’t boss others around,” she would say.
My mother had a good heart. She was a professional social worker, a career of public service that focused her energies on ben
Ahibhuk kaivarta nyāyaḥ (Ahibhuk and boatman)
A man named Ahibhuk wanted to cross a river. He got aboard a boat on which there were a plenty of passengers. Ahibhuk thought for himself that if there are so many persons on the boat that it would be no wonder if he loses himself and becomes changed to one of them. In order to avert such a calamity, Ahibhuk wrapped his foot with a piece of rope to keep a mark upon him, and then feeling easy in his mind, fell fast asleep. The boatman chanced to overh
My dear Gopal Krishna Maharaja,
Congratulations on your seventy-fifth appearance day!
My first vivid recollection of you is from 1973. I had heard about you how you had studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and then at McGill University in Montreal and then held responsible positions with Pepsi Cola and Bristol-Myers, and how you would come to the New York temple every day and were so humble that you would go around the temple room and offer obeisances to all the spiritual paintings on the walls. S
