After reading “GBC Amends and Affirms Law Allowing Vaisnavis To Initiate,” I thought to myself that you can always get to the same place from a different direction. The debate in ISKCON for the last few years has been about women gurus. But this article will show the reader that Srila Prabhupada did not approach this issue from a man vs woman perspective.
No one dared to really consider what Srila Prabhupada was saying when he was still physically with us. Some of the young men devotees in the
How can one define the concept of family?
To me it’s a framework of two strong pillars
Of ideal role models who are complementary
And who function as life’s wisdom fillers
Moreover, I think it’s a microcosm structure
With moral foundations as the base
A kind of roof and walls housing a culture
Of warmth in the middle of its place
Let’s consider a family a boat that’s riding waves
Tackling small waves and tall ones
With a floating crew of sailors so brave
Comprised of parents, daughters and
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Krsna describes different yoga systems in the Bhagavad-gita,
but He clearly points to one as the best.
A lecture in Stockholm on September 10, 1973
sri-bhagavan uvaca
mayy asakta-manah partha
yogam yunjan mad-asrayah
asamsayam samagram mam
yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: ‘Now hear, O son of Prtha [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in
By Yogendra dasa (BMS)
January 7, 2020
Maybe you are one of the millions of people who question whether education should be student-centered or teacher-centered. Perhaps, you have gone a step further, and are among the thousands who promote the idea that education should be knowledge-centered. If you are really rare, perhaps you sense that education is perfected when it becomes relationship-centered. Even if you find yourself among this particular crowd, to say you know the actual central purpo
I learned how to offer at a young age. When I didn’t want to carry the freshly ironed clothes upstairs my mother would cheerfully say, “Offer it up!”. There was no choice about having to do it but she was suggesting where I put my mind in the process. She was teaching me to offer this small activity to God. Those three words stayed with me, and when I was later introduced to Krishna consciousness, the same concept from my childhood appeared to me in Krishna’s teachings.
What does it mean to off
When walking by the Christmas trees in Yorkville, Toronto, I was contemplating on how responsive people were in Cuba during our recent week-long visit. Their nods, smiles and, “Olas” are endearing, but I should not fail to neglect the many tourists from Quebec, Ontario and other designations, also showed receptiveness.
For instance, as our group at the resort in Varadero were waiting for our airport bus, a person by the name Vince came to us with the greatest curiosity. You wouldn’t think that
I could swear I was in Vaikuntha (heaven). White sands, aqua-coloured water calm as anything, the sky boasted multiple blues to purples. The air was clean.
It was 7am when Ugresh, Urvi, Vallabha, Emile and I dove into the sublime liquid of ocean minerals. We were submerged, as were the school of fish milling around our legs. We were early.
Practically no one else was out. It’s understandable. There is entertainment at the resort and rum is freely given, so judging by the night excitement and no
“Sharing that’s the heart of Christmas!” chimes Better Homes and Gardens. “To celebrate, people share traditions from gift-giving to party-going with family, friends, and acquaintances too. And food plays a special part in these yuletide activities. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the aroma of the festive bird and baked goods wafting through the kitchen! … Once the sharing begins, and you’ve sampled our treats, you’ll realize that fellowship and food go hand in hand in making your
“Now these Christmas holidays have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you’ll observe nice festivities. Why? It began with God consciousness. Jesus Christ came to give you God consciousness, and in relation to him these festivities are going on. It may have degraded into another form, but the beginning was God consciousness. Now we may have lost it. But people cannot be happy without reviving God consciousness. It may be named differently—‘Krishna consciousness’—but th
I was pleasantly surprised to see a recent article on ISKCON News: “Christmas Drama Has Audience Enthralled.” I understood immediately that the Bhaktivedanta Players wanted to bring the sacred elements from the East and the West together in their performance from the East The Bhagavad Gita,and A Christmas Carol from the West. I understood because these texts also hold a special connection for me. I’ve offered performances based on them, playing the roles of Arjuna and Ebenezer Scrooge respect
If I wrote an article telling you how to double your money in ten days, would you be interested? Of course you would. Well if I knew how I’d tell you. But I don’t, so sorry.
But I can tell you something better. I can tell you how to double your blessings in ten days. Are you as interested? I hope so. After all, the more blessings the merrier, right? So read on and learn how to have a doubly blessed Christmas and thus make Christmas really, really merry.
May you always think of Krsna.
By Mahatma
By Mayesvara Dasa
In 1992 Locamangal prabhu performed the extraordinary Nandula play with Peter Konikow prabhu in my back yard for the devotee audience. Peter had applied all the blue makeup in LA before coming to Ojai and he said he caused a lot of head turning attention as he drove up the Ventura Highway with Lokamanga for the evening performance. It was an extra ordinary event that charmed everyone beyond belief. If you are not familiar with this extraordinary performance of this charming t
Srila Prabhupada speaks about the qualifications to see God, who is all around us.
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, lecture given on April 9, 1971, in Bombay
Although Krishna is invisible to ordinary persons, He tells us how we can become extraordinary and thus able to see Him always.
“Srimati Kunti said: O Krishna, I offer my obeisances unto You because You a
By Maharishi Das
My customer ( friend ) Rob drove four and a half hours from Devon to pick up a bespoke hand crafted amplifier. When he arrived HG Titiksu Prabhu was just leaving and greeted him as he walked by on his way out. Rob paused for a moment, then commented “All your friends seem special,” and when I asked why, he said, “They have a certain glow.”
I explained that Titiksu Prabhu has a certain glow as he has been selflessly serving God for many years. I mentioned to him that prior to co
There was a sweet briskness in the air as we set out for a 7am exercise session of Chi Gong in the zoologico. The local folks, mostly retirees, were in Chinese silk garb, while us visitors from Canada were attired in our usual Indian dhoti and kurta. The session, held in gorgeous, natural greenery, was so relaxing. I wish that our temple and ashram had sessions like this, even for fifteen to twenty minutes a day.
It was time for our taxi to arrive and to bid farewell to Laksminath, who has been
The words “religion” and “Hindu” are problematic. Both are confusing, inaccurate, and not useful words.
Religion
Depending on the context, the use of the word religion can be ill-defined and even offensive—for example, when someone says that religions cause all wars or when someone says, “Science is logic; religion is belief.”
These two statements are ignorant because the person using the word religion has defined it in an arbitrary manner when in fact the word religion defies definition and th
I met a pathologist recently who works with cancer patients. She explained to me that there is a certain kind of pancreatic cancer that is most deadly and that one who contracts it can survive only a few months, at the most.
She said that because of the often-depressing nature of her job, she and her colleagues have a way of speaking among themselves to lighten the emotional impact when they receive bad news about a patient’s prognosis.
For example, when they read a patient’s lab results and fi
What is the process of sense control by Krishna Consciousness? In fact, what are senses in the first place and why is it so important to control them?
Senses are compared to venomous snakes (BG 3.58 purport). Snakes are known to be hypnotic, sneaky, fast and extremely poisonous. They have no mercy. Doesn’t sound very friendly, right? But nonetheless, all the conditioned living entities within this material world are constantly trying to satisfy these cruel masters lifetime after lifetime in o
I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Goloka’s door;
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the light or its decor.
But it was the devotees in Goloka
That I was amazed to see;
I knew them all on the earth
But they had so little bhakti.
There stood my sankirtan leader
The one who stole Krsna’s money twice;
Next to him was my old TP
Who was never ever nice.
Krsna Das, who never preached,
Who seemed so insincere,
Was sitting ecstatically with Krsna,
To whom he seemed so dear.
I asked my guru,
ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) today released a resolution regarding Anirdesya Vapu das (formerly known as Bhaktividya Purna Swami). The decision, while overlapping with the Child Protection Office’s (CPO) earlier decision (see article here), sets restrictions on Anirdesya Vapu das that are self-standing. The resolution also clarifies the status of the former guru’s disciples. Like all GBC resolutions, this decision is pending SABHA review before becoming ISKCON Law. The full resoluti
