THE UNVEILING OF THE BRONZE BAS RELIEF PANELS DEPICTING THE LIFE, WORKS AND MISSION OF HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA FOUNDER-ACHARYA OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS
TOOK PLACE AT THE KRISHNA BALARAMA MANDIR IN THE DIVINE SAMADHI AT RAMAN RETI, VRNDAVANA, DT. MATHURA, U.P. ON 29 OCTOBER 2011, 5 P.M.
Nothing of this magnitude, import and beautiful artistry has ever been produced before anywhere in the world at any time. They are around half ton of
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THE OPULENCE OF LORD KRISHNA
Is the reservoir of all conceivable opulence
“Sachidanand Vigraha” is the title which is rightfully His
Which means “eternally full of knowledge and bliss”
His beauty is beyond compare in the entire creation
His appearance and His smile is the antidote for this material condition
The cows, the calves and the deer, snuggle at His feet
Not afraid of He Who provides the universe with heat
The flowers are enchanted and
Dear devotees,
The following story shows how sankirtan devotees (knowingly or unknowingly) can be instrumental in bringing someone to the lotus feet of Krsna's representative.
Beginning of 2009:
Billy, a 24-year-old English traveler, comes across a male devotee distributing books in Sydney. Billy rejects the book (for now).
August 4, 2010:
Billy arrives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Wednesday, August 11, Billy's 7th day in Auckland:
I had been on Queen Street, Auckland's busiest, for three hours.
Tonight I shall speak about Srila Prabhupada's dear friend and staunch devotee Mr. P. L. Sethi. When Srila Prabhupada first came to Bombay with his disciples from America, Mr. Sethi read a notice about them in the newspaper, which said that Srila Prabhupada had arrived with sadhus from foreign countries who chanted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Mr. Sethi was part of a group that also chanted Hare Krsna, and so he wanted to meet Prabhupada, and he got the address and came to see him.
At their fi
by Krishna-kumara Dasa (USA)
I'm out traveling again, and yesterday our party visited the University of Santa Barbara in California. After a full day of sankirtan, it was time to go back to the van. So, praying to do something to please my spiritual master and Krsna, I decided to try to distribute one more book. As I passed by a young couple, I didn't even seriously approach them because they appeared to be stereotypical athlete-cheerleader people. At this point I was just hunting for an obvio
Recently I was in Pune, a three-hour drive southeast of Mumbai. We've all heard of the glories of the Chowpatty temple, "the simple temple." Although the Pune temple is almost an exact replica of Chowpatty, it's not as well known. There are 150 brahmacaris living in the ashram, with 40 waiting in line to join. One hundred twenty of the brahmacaris have university degrees. The way it works is that if they're in school when they get interested in Krsna consciousness and they want to join, they ha
Book Excerpt—When the West Loved India
On first encountering India, European and American scholars were often deeply moved by the wisdom, breadth, and eloquence of Vedic philosophy.
By Devamrita Swami
IN 1784 THE ASIATIC Society of Bengal was established in Calcutta, to publish and disseminate historical, linguistic, and literary studies. William Jones, Charles Wilkins, and Thomas Colebrook emerged as the pioneers of Western Indological studies. Charles Wilkins had been the first to learn San
I was distributing books at a university when I motioned for a student to come to my table. He came over, and I began explaining some of Krsna's teachings in the Bhagavad-gita. He didn't show much interest. From his bulging muscles I could tell he lifted weights and worked out a lot. I said, "It's good that you're taking care of your body, but did you know that while we're talking right now your body is dying? Every second you're getting closer to death, and in a relatively short time your bo
In Russia a thirteen-year-old received one of Srila Prabhupada books, became attracted to the philosophy, and went to the temple and loved everything. The devotees gave him beads and more books.
He became more interested and became a devotee. But he knew his parents wouldn't approve, so he secretly continued his Krsna consciousness. He heard about a three-day festival a few hundred miles from Moscow. He really wanted to go, so he told his parents that he was going camping with a friend. He
While distributing books at Purdue University (in West Lafayette, Indiana), I met a student who told me his mother was very interested in Vedic ideas and that she was a counselor in Purdue's Office of the Dean of Students. He suggested I go to her office and present her a copy of Bhagavad-gita As It Is. So I did just that.
When I handed her the book, she said, "Oh, the Bhagavad-gita!" We talked for a couple of minutes; she wanted to know who I was and what I was doing on campus. She then as
No matter who we are or where we live we have someone (or something) to thank. Perhaps we thank the sun for brightening our day, or our car for starting without trouble. We may thank Krishna for our connection to Him, or our co-worker for helping us out. We thank because we are dependent on others in all aspects of our life. We thank because it is good for us, especially for our spiritual practice.
To make our thanks genuine and communicate our gratitude in the best way possible we can consider
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has three kinds of internal potency, namely the hlādinī-śakti, or pleasure potency, the sandhinī-śakti, or existential potency, and the samvit-śakti, or cognitive potency. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.12.69) the Lord is addressed as follows: “O Lord, You are the support of everything. The three attributes hlādinī, sandhinīand samvit exist in You as one spiritual energy. But the material modes, which cause happiness, misery and mixtures of the two, do not exist in Yo
To our book distributors, I would like to say this. When you are distributing books on the street, it is tough because people are not waiting for you. They did not come out to the streets to buy books. They came for another reason and then suddenly some ‘extra-terrestrial’ comes in his orange dress and tries to put a book in their hands, “Woah. Noooooooooo! Not interested.”
But sometimes, somebody is just a little absent-minded and you just like, “Bang!” put the book in his hands. You know, he
Vedic culture is all about dharma. The kshatriya is not to become non-violent but they should use their violence only to protect the principles of religion thus they are protectors and not aggressors – not just big guys with big muscles; big bullies where you cross the road when you see one coming down the street. No, this is a sudra with muscles and there are plenty of them. It is not that everyone with big muscles is a kshatriya. The proof of that is Ekalavya who was practicing shooting targe
By Sri Nandanandana das
I feel there needs to be some clarification about the use of the words “Hindu” and “Hinduism.” The fact is that true “Hinduism” is based on Vedic knowledge, which is related to our spiritual identity. Many people do accept it to mean the same thing as Sanatana-dharma, which is a more accurate Sanskrit term for the Vedic path. Such an identity is beyond any temporary names as Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or even Hindu. After all, God never describes Himself as belonging t
While distributing books at a college, I met a really favorable kid named Edward. He told me he was a Bhakti Buddhist. I'd never heard that before and found it pretty cool. I gave him a set of books (seven different titles), and he gave a very nice donation. A few minutes later he came back and asked to take a picture together. We exchanged numbers and became friends.
Two days later, the Minister for Book Distribution, Vijaya Prabhu, was at the same school and met Edward again. This time he to
If we are at all aware of how dependent we are on God—for the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and our very ability to eat and drink and breathe, to think and feel and do everything else we do—we will feel grateful and want to reciprocate God’s kindness. We will want to do something for He (or She or They) who has done, and continues to do, so much for us.
We often take things for granted until we lose them. I use my right hand to chant on meditation beads, and one morning I
In the midst of the lush, green Grihasta Para housing area of ISKCON Mayapur the Sri Mayapur International School is situated. The school campus features an idyllic combination of brick buildings, pathways, and tree-filled grounds, and those living nearby can often hear the children at play, performing kirtan, or practicing mridanga.
The Sri Mayapur International School, one of the educational institutes of ISKCON Mayapur, has been educating the children of Mayapur since it was founded in 1988
TEXT 2
bhavapyayau hi bhutanam
srutau vistaraso maya
tvattah kamala-patraksa
mahatmyam api cavyayam
srutau vistaraso maya
tvattah kamala-patraksa
mahatmyam api cavyayam
SYNONYMS
bhava—appearance; apyayau—disappearance; hi—certainly; bhutanam—of all living entities; srutau—have heard; vistarasah—detail; maya—by me; tvattah—from You; kamala-patraksa—O lotus-eyed one; mahatmyam—glories; api—also; ca—and; avyayam—inexhaustible.
TRANSLATION
O lotus-eyed one, I have heard from You in detail about the appearance and disappearance of every living entity, as realized through Your
