From Back to Godhead
Why hearing is the first and most important of the nine kinds of devotional service to the Lord.
When I first read that hearing is the most important of the nine kinds of devotional service, I was confused. I was twenty-one at the time and had been hearing all day every day for my whole life. What was so special about hearing? Then I read that the “hearing” prescribed wasn’t meant for mundane topics but for the activities and qualities of Krishna and His devotees. This hea
Frustration gives way to illumination during one extraordinary night in the life of a prostitute.
While prostitutes are often depicted negatively in traditional literature, some religious texts depict them positively as testimonies to the transformational potency of divine grace. Thus, in the Gospel is found a story of a prostitute (considered by some to be Mary Magdalene) who was redeemed by Jesus. In Gaudiya Vaishnava literature such as the Chaitanya Charitamrita comes the story of the saint
By His Divine Grace Srila A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada
sri bhagavan uvaca
abhayam sattva-samsuddhir
jnana-yoga-vyavasthitih
danam damas ca yajnas ca
svadhyayas tapa arjavam
ahimsa satyam akrodhas
tyagah santir apaisunam
daya bhutesv aloluptvam
mardavam hrir acapalam
tejah ksama dhrtih saucam
adroho natimanita
bhavanti sampadam daivim
abhijatasya bharata
Srila Prabhupada: The first thing is that bhagavan uvaca. These things required for purification. Sattva-samsuddhih. The human life is meant for sat
“Sripada Madhvacarya took his birth at Udupi, which is situated in the South Kanarada district of South India, just west of Sahyadri. This is the chief city of the South Kanarada province and is near the city of Mangalore, which is situated to the south of Udupi. In the city of Udupi is a place called Pajaka-ksetra, where Madhvacarya took his birth in a Sivalli-brahmana dynasty as the son of Madhyageha Bhatta, in the year 1040 Sakabda (A.D. 1119). According to some, he was born in the year 1160
Madhvacharya was born into a Brahmana family in the coastal town of Udupi, South India. His early life was marked by extraordinary events and displays of divine power, such as turning tamarind seeds into coins and defeating a snake demon with a touch of his toe.
His exceptional intellect and insatiable thirst for knowledge led him to embark on a spiritual journey at the age of twelve when he accepted sannyasa, a renounced way of life. Madhvacharya traveled extensively across India, seeking wisdo
Lord Vishnu imparted the knowledge of reaching Him to four great personalities – Lakshmi Devi, Lord Shiva, Sri Brahma, and the four kumara. These four personalities imparted the knowledge to four great devotees who started the four Sampradayas. Lakshmi to Ramanujacharya – Sri Sampradaya, Shiva to Vishnuswami – Rudra Sampradaya, Brahma to Madhvacharya – Brahma sampradaya and the four Kumaras to Nimbarka – Kumara Sambradaya.
Today is the appearance day of Sri Madhvacharya. Madhvacharya (acarya me
I wish to offer my gratitude to everyone who has so kindly assembled today on this auspicious occasion of Dussehra. Today all over the world there are millions and millions of people celebrating this day. But like most spiritual occasions not so many know why? – It is a characteristic of kali yuga that even very sacred things are perceived very superficially. Often times religious festivals of all religions are more of an opportunity for some sort of social entertainment than for genuinely cult
By Jagdish Shyam Das
The ISKCON Youth Forum (IYF) Gaya, hosted its grand annual Youth Festival, “VIPLAVA – Glories of Vedic India,” on September 15, 2024, at Gaya, Bihar. Over 1,000 enthusiastic young devotee participants from across Bihar gathered for this transformative experience.
IYF has spent the last decade empowering young minds through seminars, festivals, and personal development initiatives. Its mission is to inspire the next generation to tap into their inner potential, cultivate serv
By Nandita Mehta
ISKCON’s Congregation Development Ministry is continually working to help temples and devotee communities grow and flourish by providing various preaching programs, such as Bhakti Vriksha, programs for children, and more. They also want to highlight the success stories from communities and events worldwide that would inspire devotees.
In this article, they highlight the expanding devotees’ service in the Whitefield area of Bangalore, which has grown into a large congregation of
By Kumari Kunti Sherreitt
At the end of the year Malati Devi Dasi will officially resign as a GBC member. In New Vrindavan, at the North American Leadership Conference’s final day of events, a ceremony in the temple room was held to thank her for endless service to ISKCON in this capacity. Anuttama Dasa, Praharana Dasi, Kuladri Das, and Jaya Krsna Das each spoke of her glories and dedication to ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada. As part of the appreciation, she was given a gift and plaque.
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ISKCON released the following statement to the media, “A video of some altercation at ISKCON Patna surfaced yesterday night. It is unfortunate and painful that some differences between different members of the community escalated into something that doesn’t represent the teachings and values of ISKCON, which are practiced by lakhs of its members across the world.
The affected members from yesterday have been offered support by ISKCON.
Being a responsible institution, all grievances are taken se
Here is a poem found in my recently published set of literary work called “The Walking Monk Poems. 1 available through Amazon or myself. This piece is called “Love and Marriage,”
Partnership is when two are one
In pain and in fun
Sharing any burden
Is the method to learn from
Listening is that skill
Requiring just the will
Complementing each other
Helps one to discover
Sacrificing is the key
In a mutual ‘we agree’
Compromising is forever
Simply say ‘no’ to ‘never’
Being gentle is
From Back to Godhead
The metaphysical technologies listed here are simple yet profound tools that you may want to incorporate into your management style. To reap the greatest benefits from these principles, you can include meditation on these ten technologies in your daily regimen.
1. What is it? What for? So what?
This meditation is designed to help us realize that many illusions can influence or enslave us. Leo Tolstoy once wrote about a transition in his life when he began to question ev
Why is devotee care important in our society?
We have the most complete philosophy, and Srila Prabhupada has given us the wonderful process of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Part of that process is taking care of the devotees. Actually, Krishna says that He has nothing else to do but to take care of His devotees. And since His devotees are always thinking about Him, He is also always thinking about His devotees. So actually, devotee care is one of the primary angas or aspects of Krishna consciousness
By Jaya Govinda Das
After five months of intense traveling throughout North America to solicit support for the Mayapur Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP), the dedicated team of Jananivas Das, Sunanda Das, and Braja Vilas Das arrived last week on the Canadian West Coast, the final leg of their journey.
While in Vancouver, they also drove four hours to visit the interior community of Saranagati Village. In addition to their desire to visit the community, they also made the long journey to pre
During the prestigious World Food India 2024 event, held in New Delhi on September 19-22, 2024, Haribol Foods made a significant impact with its strong presence and innovative offerings. The event, known for attracting global leaders in the food industry and thousands of attendees, provided an ideal platform for the company to showcase its commitment to ethically sourced and traceable food products. Haribol’s participation included displaying its wide-ranging products, which feature cruelty-fre
I am still reflecting on the laughter and tears that come out of our viewers at Saturday’s performance of “The Jagannath Story”. It appears that some version of joy and melancholy shapes our world. I was saddened to hear upon my return from West Virginia, the place of the performance, that one of our young boys, 7, passed away in our Montreal community. That’s young and innocent. And while there in W V I witnessed a happy-go-lucky Annasuya, our sound cue girl, being so cheerful. That made me ch
From Back to Godhead
A look at Lord Caitanya’s “Eight Instructions” and their relevance to japa, the individual practice of chanting Hare Krishna.
A friend once told me this analogy about spiritual life: a flock of geese share strength by flying in a V formation, but if one goose goes down, the others can’t help. Similarly, though seekers of enlightenment help each other, success ultimately depends on personal effortand the kindness of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna.
Krishna’s kindness appears i
The desire to see God, to touch God, to talk to God is in itself probably the strongest argument for His existence; besides the logic and evidences from the scriptures, this direct experience is very significant indeed. Bringing Deity Worship from the insiders circle of elderly pujari-priests and making it part of the congregational development is probably the only way it may become part of the positive future for many places in ISKCON. While everyone hankers for direct experience of God in per
