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Jananivas Prabhu’s service was to bring frankincense to Srila Prabhupada’s room in the evening. He mentioned that usually after you fill a room with frankincense, you open the doors and windows so that the mosquitos go out with the smoke. Srila Prabhupada however liked to keep the smoke within the room and stopped Jananivas Prabhu from opening the doors and windows. Since it was Srila Prabhupada’s darshan time, there would usually be many western devotees in the room and these western devotees

The Lord is known as Bhava-grahi Janardana because He accepts service in devotional emotion if we are sincere, humble, and fully surrendered at His lotus feet (Bhagavatam: 8.23.2). The Lord is most pleased by the attitude of service rendered by a devotee, with unalloyed devotion. Devotion is a process that attracts Krsna and directly connects one with Krsna. The Lord reciprocates by inundating that devotee with His infinite mercy.

Practicing unalloyed devotional service to the Lord is practical

My last festival here was in 2019 and now that I’m back at the same service of giving class, leading the chant and directing a drama, it almost seems like I have not missed a beat. The last item is the biggest but happiest challenge.

First of all, there is a language barrier. I know little Spanish. So, how does one direct a play written in English to a Spanish-speaking group? Getting the script translated was accomplished, but, as most people know, intent can be lost in translation. A lot of th

Among the most striking of these passages from the Vedic sastras are the following:

In the Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be the deciding factor of nobility [in place of birth, righteous behavior or merit].And brute force will be the only standard or deciding what is righteous or just.

Mutual liking [and not family pedigree, social status, etc.] will be the deciding factor in choosing a partner in marriage; cheating will be the order of the day in business relations; satisfaction of sexual pleasu

Delhi, Wednesday 20th June, 1956 (Series #8)
Edited and Founded
Under direct order of His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhakti-Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada
By Goswami Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta
____________

In the Secretariat Buildings in New Delhi there is an inscription on the stone that Liberty does not descend upon a people but it has to earned before it can be enjoyed. Actually this is the fact and we have seen it that much sacrifice had to be rendered by the people of India before the

I just meditate on mercy. The point is this – we have to appreciate that this is a mercy movement and we somehow or other just take shelter constantly. We do not measure ourselves all the time, because if we start measuring ourselves, we will always fall short and then we will become increasingly frustrated. So, there is no need for measuring, instead, we just take shelter. Take shelter of the Holy Name, take shelter of the Srimad Bhagavatam, take shelter of the devotees, take shelter of prasad

A very kind-hearted Markandeya was at arrivals to pick up my check-in, my carry-on and myself. The airport at Buenos Aires has very much improved with its renovations. I got through the customs with a cinch. On the freeway, I could see the usual tall hardwoods and, with it being spring, good fragrances are in the air. Colours too. The purple-flowering jacaranda is stunning. There’s also the very red santa rita, which gives life just by looking at it. However, in man’s world of duality there is

Srila Prabhupada appeared to Prthuputra Swami, the first French sannyasi, just before Prthuputra died. Maharaja had done a lot of service for Srila Prabhupada’s preaching mission. But after Srila Prabhupada’s physical demise, Prthuputra left Krishna consciousness. He broke the regulative principle and went back to the sinful lifestyle he had led before. Nevertheless, he never criticized ISKCON or Krishna consciousness.

Some years later Prthuputra contracted AIDS. As the disease progressed, he en

Kirtan is the call-and-response form of chanting that characterizes the Hare Krishna movement. It is the fundamental religion of the age – the soul crying out for God as a means to reunite with Him.

Robert Gass, author of Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound, believes that ritual chanting is among the most universal of human impulses, as well as one of the first: “We have no recordings of the earliest humans,” he writes, “but when we encounter indigenous tribes who’ve had little contact with m

By HH Bhakti Raghava Swami

I was walking down Rideau Street in the city of Ottawa some time during the summer of 1973. Although I had still not found what I really wanted in life, I was somewhat relieved that I had been able to walk out of the expected social pressures of modern day society.

I had already finished my university studies, graduating from Ottawa U in 1968, had worked for three years as a Social Worker with the Children’s Aid Society in my home town of Timmins in Northern Ontario,

When I boarded Delta Airline enroute to Atlanta, as a stopover for Buenos Aires, I had a little chat with the flight attendant. I remarked that customs were so long and so slow. “Unacceptable!” I said.

Her remark, “It’s always like that here (Toronto). I love the city, but the airport…” And as she said this her eyes were rolling. I thought to lodge a complaint next time I had the chance, regarding an improvement in service that could happen at the Toronto Airport. Afterall service is everything

My dear devotees,

Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

In a letter to me dated December 1971, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Go on increasing books, and go on increasing my pleasure.” December is a special opportunity to focus on Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we distribute books—and thus increase his pleasure. As he wrote in the same letter, “I am most pleased especially to hear that you are distributing many books.”

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
  yasmin prati-slokam ab

All the wealth we can accrue from a whole lifetime of service is insignificant compared to the blessings of our spiritual master. It is blessings that are the principal factor and not only of our spiritual master but of the entire sampradaya, of the previous spiritual masters. One should however not jump over though. One should approach through the lineage and through the Vaisnavas and therefore, one has to become soft.

In the beginning, we make distinctions between Vaisnavas, thinking, “This Va

Road rage is very much on the rise. On the previous night, while on the freeway, two drivers involved in a collision were almost at each other’s throats in a shouting match, blaming each other for the accident. They used unholy terms. Not surprising is that this overall “etiquette” on our roads is on the rise. Too many cars. Not enough roads. Levels of speed are up. More and more motorists cut each other off. Check out the words kama, krodha and lobha in the scriptures and where these traits le

“They [the masses] must have their illusions at all costs; they turn instinctively, as the insect seeks the light, to the rhetoricians who accord them what they want. No truth, but error has always been the chief factor in the evolution of nations…. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduces them.” (Gustave Le Bon, 1995: 132).

The advent of ‘modernity’ saw the eradication of the ancien regime

ISKCON Gurugram Temple near Badshahpur, on Sohna Road, hosted their inauguration this weekend. The grand ceremony took place from 26th to 27th November. Haryana Governor, Sri Bandaru Dattatreya, was present as the Chief Guest at the event. As well as many ISKCON GBC leaders such as Gopal Krishna Goswami, and Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami.

Rain had dominated the sky; not a major wash out, but a pleasantly quiet, meditative send-down of moisture. Umbrellas become popular on such days. I put mine to good use with small errands in the downtown area of T.O., which is where I actually live.

But for the evening I was destined for the suburbs, to Mississauga to be specific. To get there, the plan was to take the subway train. As I entered the east-west line of the subway at St.George Street, I was met by a TTC (Toronto Transit Commissio

The Lord’s mercy comes in many forms and the story behind Odana Sashti is one amongst many to tell.

On November 29th we will have the festival of Odana Sashti is one that marks the beginning of winter. During the Odana-sasthi festival the devotees dress Lord Jagannatha and Balarama with starched cloth. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to the Lord. That covering is directly purchased from a weaver, and freshly purchased cloth is usually starch