A group of us were talking about addictions. We all know of people or are self-confessing victims of addiction, which can range from hoarding of things to substance-taking, pornography-gazing, to sex addition, cell-phone usage, coffee consumption, etc. The range is broad and broadening more with the advances of materialism and enhancement of Kali yuga pleasures.
I opine that with the lowering of spirituality in one’s life, the tendency to grab for things over God simply increases. Once you bri
From Kapila Dev Das:
How much knowledge do we actually need in order to serve the mission of Shri Caitanya Mahaprabhu? What if we are complete fools – can we still act as divine instruments?
For some years, I was managing a theatre company in South Africa called “The Bhaktivedanta Players” We would perform all the standard ISKCON plays, like “The Touchstone”, A-Class prisoner, C-Class prisoner” “Boatman, Boatman”. Then we started getting into more serious theatrical productions like serious por
From Back to Godhead
By Mayapur-shashi Dasa
Reflections on an article written by Srila Prabhupada in 1956 and on how we as Vaishnavas should think of Lord Buddha today.
In the May 5, 1956, issue of Back to Godhead, Srila Prabhupada published his article “Lord Buddha: The Emblem of Theism.” The opening paragraph informs us of the transcendental poet Sri Jayadeva Acharya’s worship of Lord Buddha. Srila Prabhupada then quotes the poet’s Sanskrit prayer to the ten incarnations of the Personal
Argentina devotees approached me for a Zoom call on the topic, “Personal Journey,” so I delivered what I could about my early days of contact with monks while I was at college. I was a fine arts student but more than eager to be a student of life in becoming more acquainted with who I really am and what is my purpose. I felt, at the time, that it was rather futile to just “follow the herd” and then end up dying. I was looking for human depth, so those five brahmacaris (monks) got me going.
The
I love the Gita chats that have become part of my covid reality. Regular groups are hosted from Florida, Cleveland, Halifax, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Mississauga, Hamilton, Toronto, Mauritius, Niagara Falls, and Buenos Aires. And it looked like South Africa was on the list, but I’m not so sure now. I can’t forget Ottawa.
While I conduct these chats, I like to keep them as such, keeping them interactive as much as possible. I want to hear from the participants. Similarly, I also want to listen in o
At this wintry time it makes absolute sense to communicate with those whom you share the same roof. With our resident monks we shared Vedic wisdom. Hara Kumar, who in some ways is my senior, delivered this morning’s class on being like an ocean. The ocean receives plentiful water in the form of flowing rivers, yet it remains grave. In a similar way HK explained that desires may flow into our mental lake, however, one must stay level-headed in thought and action.
With recent new residents, Mahad
If you have read or heard even a small sampling of the vast Vedic literature, you have come upon the name of Narada, who is depicted on the back cover of this issue of Back to Godhead. He is a great bhakta (devotee) of the Supreme Lord Narayana, or Krsna. Etymologically analyzed, nara means of Narayana or the Lord (Krsna), and da means deliverer. Narada is the deliverer of the Lord and the Lord's message. Of course there are countless preachers, gurus, evangelists, mendicants and religious repr
By HG Srutakirti Prabhu
HG Madhusudana Prabhu (ACBSP) left his body around 1pm today, February 18, at home in San Diego, Calif surrounded by loving devotees chanting the Holy Names of Krsna. Prabhupada was chanting too day and night in his room.
He was one of Srila Prabhupada’s earliest disciples. an exemplary devotee, husband and father. He was known for his gentle nature in preaching and seeing the best of everyone.
He was always very kind to me and a pleasure to be with. A true Vaisnava that
By Sunanda Das
What is known as the ‘bhajan kutir’ in ISKCON Mayapur is the first structure built on the property. It was also the original ‘temple’, functioning as chota Radha Madhava’s first place of worship when They arrived in Mayapur in 1972. An entire day is dedicated to this ‘temple’ during the Radha Madhava Golden Jubilee Festival from March 2 – 5, the 50th Anniversary of that arrival.
The kutir was built by Acyutananda Swami in 1971 on the order of Srila Prabhupada, who personally inst
Take part in this historic inauguration of the reborn Bhaktivinode Asana at #1 Ultadanga Road in Kolkata.
100 years ago this year, on the roof of the building, the seed of ISKCON was planted in the heart of Srila Prabhupada by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.
ISKCON Kolkata acquired this historic property and has completely restored it as it was then.
Join us for a live broadcast of the inauguration on February 21st and be inspired by the power of the humble start of what is now a global
On July 29, 1971, Srila Prabhupada was interviewed on television at the University of Gainesville in Florida (which His Divine Grace described as “a remote corner of the world, thousands of miles from the birthplace of Lord Caitanya”). At one point, Srila Prabhupada was asked the following question:
Interviewer: How would I recognize a true follower of the Krishna consciousness movement by his behavior? What would his traits be? What would his outward expressions be?
Srila Prabhupada: He’d be a
“Hey,” said the rather bubbly guy, tall, middle-aged, jovial. “I haven’t seen you guys for a while. When I was a kid and we saw you bald and white fellows my dad would say, ‘They’re crazy.’Anyways, here I am now picking up a take-out dinner, seeing you guys again after all these years. We used to live one street over...”
Our new friend was amiable and talkative (in a most positive way). He kept Srikant and I very busy listening and we kept quite happy for his being there. He was a character, fo
On February 21 we are celebrating the 148th birth anniversary of Om Vishnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. This is the 100th year since our dear Srila Prabhupada met his guru maharaja on the rooftop of the building at 1 Ultadanga Junction Road. The Gaudiya Matha was there for twelve years, beginning in 1918, and it is from there, joined by his sannyasi disciples, that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati preached. Only three people lived there with him—I think Bhakti Pradip Tir
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura prayed to Lord Caitanya to send him an assistant and a successor from the Lord’s personal staff of preachers. Answering the prayer of the Thakura, a son was born to him on February 6th, 1874 while he was serving as the government magistrate in the holy city of Jagannatha Puri in Orissa.
Through various signs the Lord showed Thakura Bhaktivinoda and his good wife that this was the great soul that had been sent by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to carry on the preaching work t
Like an AM radio song or a first-run movie, a scientific theory has to be catchy if it's going to get anywhere. To begin with, it has to have a name that people will remember. Bright high school students should be able to make science fair displays out of it. Time and Newsweekreaders should want to tell their friends about it. Members of key congressional committees should be able to get the drift of it at the first or second briefing.
Take the big bang theory, for instance; the scientists have
Higher Education
"Maybe I Expect Too Much"
He was the consummate student, disciplined, industrious. He executed homework assignments with ritual precision, distrusted the frivolity of his peers, and adored the pursuit of knowledge. Eventually my friend Ralph, in his search for meaning, committed suicide at the age of sixteen. No one was less surprised than me.
Ralph would confide to me misgivings about his studies and the value of school in general. "It's not what they're teaching us," he would
The search for the source of inspiration in science, mathematics, and art
leads beyond the mechanistic framework of present-day biological theory.
SADAPUTA DASA studied at the State University of New York and Syracuse University and later received a National Science Fellowship. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in mathematics at Cornell, specializing in probability theory and statistical mechanics.
In this article we will examine how human beings acquire knowledge in science, mathematics, and ar
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
One resolution was inadvertently not included in the 2021 GBC Resolution file. This has now been corrected:
https://gbc.iskcon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2021GBCRES.pdf
The title of the missing resolution is “Increasing the Number of Diksa-gurus” and is on page 25.
My apologies for the omission.
Your servant,
Ananda Tirtha das (GBC Corresponding Secretary)
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=96713
On the wedding day of Krishna’s parents, King Kamsa led the chariot of the newly married couple through the crowds when a prophetic voice from the skies revealed his fate; being slain by their eighth son, who would be Krishna. Kamsa became very defensive, unsheathed his sword and was prepared to behead his sister right on the spot. Vasudeva, Kamsa’s new brother-in-law, stepped into action holding back Kamsa’s sword-held arm. The crowd was in a panic. Vasudeva tried to reason with the impulsive
