From the moment we are born we are knowledge-seekers. We want to know where we can find food, shelter, love, and happiness. We want information to help us avoid pain, suffering, and loss. We spend our lives building on that knowledge, adding information gained by study and experience.
Perhaps in earlier times society was more inclined to seek knowledge of truth. Today it seems we are after happiness, more than truth or no matter what the truth. And of course, the search for the self is generall
Pure devotees of the Lord are only interested in satisfying the senses of the Supreme Lord, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.2). They are not concerned with the material world because they appreciate that in the material world, everything is only temporary and therefore any relationship that we have with the material energy, will not endure and therefore it will be painful.
Whatever we have, we become attached to and then it will disintegrate in the course o
In one of the early Back to Godhead magazines, there was a cover with a butcher slaughtering an animal and Prabhupada asked, “Why did you put this? Why did you put this?”
The editor said, “Well, aren’t we against meat-eating?”
Prabhupada said, “We are not against anything. We are for Krsna!”
So our business is to be for Krsna, not just against this or against that. For Krsna, means to do what is pleasing to Krsna. In one lecture, Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, Krsna said patraḿ puṣpaḿ phalaḿ toy
Gaur Gopal Das delivered a keynote speech at first ever BRICS Alliance Business Forum on 21st of May, 2018. The talk was attended by an audience of around 400 from over 37 nationalities.
The BRICS Alliance Business Forum is a focused initiative that primarily brings together Multinationals, Large, MSMEs, SMEs and Start-ups across economic sectors. It provides them a platform to extend their business and network across BRICS Countries and Partner countries through strategic partnerships and coll
The Srimad Bhagavatam gives us full descriptions of Krsna’s appearance, of Krsna’s character and of his activities. It is in this way, by absorption in the Bhagavatam that we get everything, everything to know who Krsna is. First, it describes how of all the incarnations, Krsna is the Supreme Lord, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28). Then finally in the tenth canto, it gets into detail. In this way, by reading, we can gradually understand and begin to a
ISKCON was officially recognized and registered in the Soviet Union on May 20, 1988, ending years of persecution of the Hare Krishna devotees by the Communist regime.
On May 17, 2018, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his congratulatory message for the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of ISKCON in Russia, which is presented in full below:
"I am delighted to know that the Moscow Society for Krishna Consciousness is celebrating the 30th year of its registration in Russia.
Many socio-spiri
Dear Devotee,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
Agtsp!
Please find attached audio links to two lectures delivered by HH Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Swami Maharaja.
Recording 1 –
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qgDuk9X7wsfahAo5QJDbxUnQhnks6QmG”
This is a very extraordinary explanation of the 1st verse of the Siksashtakam teaching of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Recording 2 –
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1vvLSUDH-Q8vvRvKX4W7rQjb9MxOtstTt
This is a wonderful explanation of the 1st Mantra of the bo
My disciple Rohini-nandana Dasa, from Israel, who has helped tremendously with my book about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu, and his devoted wife, Vrinda Devi Dasi, a wonderful disciple of Bhurijana Prabhu (she took the picture), have come to spend eight days with us in Carpinteria. We are truly relishing their association, and look forward to more of it whenever time and circumstances—and Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy—allow. They and other devotees are rendering invaluable s
By Anuradha Imseng
On Thursday, 17 May 2018, a second VIP event was held at ISKCON New Vrindaban to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary with dignitaries, supporters, friends, and local and worldwide devotees. It was an opportunity to thank the guests for their unrelenting support during New Vrindaban’s fifty-year journey.
The pre-event began with a tour of Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold, the breathtaking memorial shrine (Smriti Samadhi) of Srila Prabhupada, while the lady guests were treated to h
Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudevaya
narayanam namaskrutya
naram caiva narottamam
devim sarasvatim vyasam
tato jayam udirayet
nashta prayeshu abhadreshu
nityam bhagavata sevaya
bhagavathi uttama shloke
bhaktir bhavati naishtiki
Before reciting Bhagavatam, one should offer respectful obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead Narayana, unto Nara Narayana Rsi - the supermost human being, unto Mother Saraswati - the goddess of learning and un
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 May 2012, Sydney, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.11.14)
I remember when the Australian devotees used to come to Vrindavan. I used to be in charge of allocating rooms in the ashram. For the Australian brahmacaris, I used to give them a whole room for themselves which was pretty good and they had somewhere to sleep. In India, basically you have a room with a cement floor and they said to me, “Is this our room? Where is the carpet? It’s just a bare floor! But okay, let’s
It is extremely nice to explore Krsna because he is a personality who constantly moves between being very human-like and also very super-human. It is the human element however that brings him close to us because we can recognise ourselves in Krsna and his experiences. And yet, his solutions are sometimes very super-human in nature which is purely amazing. So in this way we become close to Krsna – the Supreme Personality.
Krsna’s all-pervading universal form is described in the eleventh chapter
By Giriraj Swami
In a talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.13, on May 30, 1972, in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada spoke about the qualities of a devotee, and I was struck by the following:
A devotee is sympathetic and friendly. “Sympathetic. We should be very much sympathetic. If some of our fellow men fall sick, we must take care of them, give help to them. Because after all, we have got this body; sometimes we may fall sick. So, we should be sympathetic. And friendly. Everyone’s friend. As Krishna is
By Rasananda das
“How any spiritual activity should be done is understood from three sources: saintly persons, standard scriptures and the spiritual master”. (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.28.4, purport)
Proper sankirtan – a phrase used by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati in his Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam and by Lord Caitanya Himself – means certain tunes, certain instruments, a certain musical style, certain dress and certain kinds of dancing by the members of the chanting party. In Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sank
Habit can be terribly powerful. When people get caught in some bad habits such as smoking or drinking, they find quitting those habits almost impossible – it appears that habits have a power bigger than theirs.
The key in dealing with habits is understanding that even if habits can’t be rejected, they can be replaced. Whatever habits we have, they serve some need. To the extent we cultivate a positive habit that fulfills the need fulfilled by a negative habit, to that extent freeing ourselves f
In Sansktm language and in English language, all days of the week are named after demigods:
Sunday -- day of the Sun, means father's day
Monday -- day of the Moon, means mother's day
Tuesday -- day of the Tyr, belongs to justice.
Wednesday: day of the powerfull Woden.
Thursday: day of the Thor's Day.
Friday: day of the powerfull Odin's wife
Saturday: day of the Saturn
Ravivara -- day of the Sun, means father's day
Somavara -- day of the Moon, means mother's day
Mangalavara -- day of the Mangal
Once a king called upon all his wise men and asked, “Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and at every time, something which can help me when none of you are available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?”
All the wise men were puzzled by the king’s question. One answer for all questions, something that works everywhere, in every situation, In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought
In so many ways, maya (the illusory energy) is infiltrating our lives. Maya is everywhere. They say maya is a witch. For the male, maya takes a female form and for the female, maya takes a male form. In this way, maya has only one purpose which is to bind the living beings. Different chains are being used; chains of greed, chains of anger but the strongest chain of all is known as mayy āyuṅktām anugraham (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.14.11), the chain of sex! That is maya’s most powerful weapon because
