I remember well the first time I received the Bhagavad-gita. Someone gave it to me as a gift, and I was ready for it. I thought it the most practical and common sense book I had ever read. It confirmed a lot of my suspicions about the material world – there had to be more than this life of birth and death, there had to be answers for the unfairness that I saw everywhere, the concept of many lives, the broader details of the world and the universe, and the understanding of consciousness being th

When I arrived at the homeless shelter for men in Rockville there was no shortage of hands to help me carry the hot, freshly cooked prasadam supper into the building. The men, of various ages and backgrounds, were grateful and thanked me many times. We had cooked for one hundred.

As I drove away I felt light-hearted and happy. I had taken time to help others in need. I was also grateful  – that I am not homeless, that I have the opportunity to serve, and that I am part of movement that actively

We wait for trains, planes and summer rains
we wait in line all the time,
we hold our breath and wait for the score
we wait as a loved one moves to breathing no more
We wait wondering what it’s all about
this life between birth and death and throughout
We wait as we chant for the ego to lift
We wait as we serve for love as the gift
We wait before judging, trusting the good
we wait for grace, knowing we should
Too often we wait till the end of our life
to question the craziness, question the str

Srila Prabhupada: If a devotee once utters the holy name of the Lord, or if it penetrates his mind or enters his ear, which is the channel of aural reception, that holy name will certainly deliver him from material bondage, whether vibrated properly or improperly, with correct or incorrect grammar, or properly joined or vibrated in separate parts. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.60)

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=29890

Annual Radha-Krishna Boat Festival and Family Picnic at Mission Bay, San Diego

New Govardhana Family Picnic 2016
Srila Prabhupada: Worship of the Lord, whose name is like the sun, for just as a slight appearance of the sun dissipates the darkness of night, so a slight appearance of the holy name of Krishna can drive away all the darkness of ignorance that arises in the heart due to greatly sinful activities performed in previous lives. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.62) 
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Interviewer: Do you think most of the Hare Krishna members will participate in the election in November? Do you think they will register and vote?
Prabhupada: Personally I never give votes.
Interviewer: Will they follow your example and not vote?
Prabhupada: I do not know, but our principle is that I vote for this man or that man if there is some spiritual benefit. That is our point. (Interview with the religion editor of the Associated Press in New York, 16 July 1976)
I have never given vote.

Villa Vrindavan, in Italy, almost looks too old to have a future, but the humble devotees there are confident it will. ISKCON’s oldest building probably, the villa is four centuries old. Naturally, not everything works. A sunken semicircular fountain does not spout. The front roof nobly displays a stopped clock; the bell over it no longer chimes times. When devotees moved in with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, putting their faith in the Lord’s names and graces they named the hundr

Before I pick up my beads to do my chanting meditation, I have 3 points of focus – I’m not this body, God is a person, and I have a relationship with Him.

I’m not this body is one of my favorite meditations. I like to sit quietly and hold my body still. I am the observer. I am conscious of my hands, my breath, my thoughts. I remember – yesterday, years ago, minutes ago. I think ahead – tomorrow, old age, the next hour. When I remember I am not this body I feel relief, more complete, and a real

Vaiyasaki das: On our way back driving through the Himalayas, we passed an apiary with beehives, and, knowing that Prabhupada was in Vrindavan, we thought, “Wow, wouldn’t that be great to get Prabhupada some real Himalayan honey?”
We got a big bottle. Jagadish was Prabhupada’s secretary at that time, and he knew Satyanarayan and me, so he arranged for Prabhupada to see us.
We went into Prabhupada’s room when Prabhupada was sitting with Gopal Krishna and speaking to an Indian gentleman. When we

Uddhava is very broadly described in our scriptures. Uddhava was a devotee of the Lord from his childhood. Advanced souls get the chance to take birth in a devotee family; the liberated soul never forgets Krsna. Vidura is actually Yamaraj who had been cursed to be born as a sudra. When Vidura met Uddhava and inquired about Krsna, Uddhava would get overwhelmed.

Uddhava mentioned that Krsna had just left Vrindavan recently and is in Mathura. He had already killed the elephant and popped-out Chanu

Throughout 2016, our international Hare Krishna movement has been celebrating our 50th anniversary.  While the teachings of our Hare Krishna culture have existed for thousands of years, the modern "Hare Krishna movement" was incorporated in 1966.  Grand celebrations have been taking place all around the world!

Wednesday, July 27, 2016 marks the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON's incorporation, as calculated by the lunar calendar model.  We invite you to join us for small celebrations at our temple f

As I write this it is snowing yet again. It’s early morning and along with the silence of the snow I can hear birds sing. It’s as if they are trying to bravely hold on, waiting for spring to fully arrive. Today they are my heroes.

There is an analogy that compares the soul to a bird in a cage, the body being the cage. If we just take care of the cage and neglect to feed the bird, then the bird will die. Similarly, our soul will “die” if we don’t nourish it. As the Bible says, “What good is it f

In a humble attempt to glorify Srila Prabhupada and the ISKCON movement on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, ISKCON, Navi Mumbai with the auspicious blessings of HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja and encouraging direction of the temple President, HG Sura Das Prabhu celebrated a week long festival. The festival was graced by the keen presence of HH Amiya Vilas Swami Maharaja. Wholeheartedly detailing and serving under the guidance of the HG Vaishnavanghri Sevak Prabhu (the Director of Bhaktive

Our beloved Pashupati Prabhvi (ACBSP), known for many years as an exemplar of care and compassion, has just been in a terrible car accident. She was not at fault and sustained injuries including 12 broken ribs; a fractured collar bone, hip and pelvis; and a collapsed lung. 

Pashupati has thrived through painful physical challenges for many years and has demonstrated such care and compassion for many. In spite of her own health challenges, she was known for driving community members in need to

The tussle between “freewill” and “destiny” has been primordial. There is one famous Greek play titled “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles. The main character Oedipus has the tragic destiny of marrying his own mother revealed to him by the soothsayer. Shaken by the revelation, he decides to escape his fate by leaving his royal parents and his kingdom, but ironically the more he tries to give a slip, nearer he gets to the prediction. Finally the fate takes the better of him. He later learns of the commis

It is not desirable to worship out of fear… out of fear of the Lord or out of fear of reactions that may come. To be God-fearing is not advertised as a great ideal in our Krsna consciousness movement. Rather our aim is to serve Krsna out of love – to appreciate how Krsna is kind, how Krsna is merciful and how Krsna cares about all living beings. Not only are we concerned with our own little lives but we are concerned with the welfare of the world as a whole so let us see if we can contribute so

The ramification of samskaras and the environment on our vows.

Analyze your daily activities in relation to vows you have taken by determining if the way you live supports or undermines your vow. For example, do you ever feel that the way you live, act or think makes it difficult to keep some of your vows? If so, these are red flags you need to heed.

Prabhupada describes a mahatma as one who will not allow himself to be in a situation that doesn’t support the realizations he needs to remain in Krs

Recently a friend of mine and Life Coach, Akrura Das,  visited Alachua and we recorded a number of talks on subjects such as responsibility, connecting with your dharma, possibility thinking, limiting beliefs, etc. I think you will find them very valuable, so I have decided that the upcoming newsletters will all be audio newsletters of these recordings.

In this audio newsletter we discuss the comfort zone, a place which is actually not really comfortable because it’s not where we want to remain.

Possibility thinking means there is always more than one way of approaching a situation. Generally we have patterns of thinking which lock us into seeing situations in a narrow way or the same way over and over again. But there is always more than one way to deal with a situation. By being open to other ways of viewing the situation, we begin to see possibilities we didn’t know existed.

Think “what can I do to improve my service to Krishna in this situation?”

If we really believe in Krishna, we sh