From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 11:
“In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa there is the following statement about self-surrender: ‘My dear Lord, a person who has surrendered himself unto You, who is in firm conviction that he is Yours, and who actually acts in that way by his body, mind and words, can actually relish transcendental bliss.’”
“In the Nrsimha Purana, Lord Nrsimha-deva says, ‘Anyone who prays unto Me and takes shelter from Me becomes My ward, and I protect him always from all sorts of cal
Pressman: Do you know how many followers there are in the United States now?
Prabhupāda: Unlimited. (devotees roar) Some of them admit and some of them do not admit. That’s all. (laughter) Everyone is eternally servant of God, but some of them admit and some of them do not admit. That is the difficulty. But anyone who does not admit, he is servant of somebody. That is a fact. He cannot be master. Everyone is servant. But one who knows that “I am servant of Kṛṣṇa,” his life is perfect. That’s al
Based on a story from Canto 11 of the Bhagavatam, I have this literary piece to offer the readers:
Twenty-four Gurus
A monk had come to visit a king in his royal town
And the king asked the monk why he wanders around
“You are wise, wonderful, and ever so competent
What is it that molded you to be ever so confident?”
The monk replied, “Your majesty, nature sent me twenty-four gurus
Each one taught me a lesson, so they became my truths
If you have the time, I’ll reveal my meaningful list
Fo
We want to use this opportunity to warmly invite you for this year Nityananda Trayodasi celebration which falls on the 14th of February 2022. With pleasure we want to invite you and your family to participate in this festival and receive the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. We hope you will join us in serving Lord Nityananda Prabhu with your time, energy, and donations.
Sri Nityananda Trayodashi is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna appeared in N
Srila Prabhupada Conversation.
The following conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and a guest took place in September 1968 at the Seattle Krsna center.
Guest: Can you explain subordination?
Srila Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada: Subordination? Yes, it is simple. Everyone must be subordinate to somebody else. Are you not subordinate to somebody?
Guest: Yes, in a material sense. But in the spiritual sense, I don’t feel subordinate to anyone.
Srila Prabhupada: When
The Sanskrit language is rich in words to communicate ideas about spiritual life, yoga, and God-realization.
Aham brahmasmi. This is an aphorism from the Vedic literature, expressing the essential identity of each living being. Aham means “I am.” What am I? Aham brahmasmi: I am Brahman, or spirit.
In materialistic life, one identifies himself with bodily designations thinking, “I am American” or “I am English,” “I am black” or “I am white.” One has to become free from such bodily designations
A few weeks ago I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen for nearly 40 years, way back then he was an old school friend of mine and he had some interesting thoughts on all things Hare Krishna!
He began by letting me know (in colorful language), that at the time he thought I was ‘nut-job fruitcake’ when he heard I had become a Hare Krishna devotee, however now he considers that it was not so strange after all. His logic went something like this – it now seems that half the people he knows are private
Perhaps it’s the season, winter, that permits sounds to be more crisp and distinct. Whether inside or outside, noises subtle or loud had somehow got my attention today. Thank God for noise, sweet or sour.
Practically every hour the train just north of our temple/ashram shakes the window panes ever so lightly and with its companion is the gritty noise of its wheels gripping against the tracks.
You’d be lucky to hear the choo-choo whistle. While I sat, momentarily at a bench near those tracks, I
Prabhupāda: Everyone who will commit sinful activities will be punished. That is nature’s law. Exactly like that if you infect some disease, you must suffer from that disease. The nature’s law is so strict, and it is going on. It doesn’t require any supervision. The supervisions are already made so perfect. You infect this disease: you suffer from it. That’s all.
Devotee: In… in the society, if somebody would be…
Prabhupāda: Anywhere, if you break the laws, you suffer. Anywhere.
Devotee (2): P
“So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). This is Sanskrit word. It is meaning that ‘This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra will cleanse your heart.’ Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. So as soon as the heart is cleansed, then all our material problems are solved. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni, the Sanskrit word, means that 'This material world is just like a forest fire.’ So forest fire… I think all of you must have got some knowledge
Many people haven't given much thought to the question of whether there is life after death, and many even prefer to ignore death. Still, we all must die. Like a tiger, death stalks each of us. Sooner or later it will strike.
So what happens after death? In the West there has been much speculation about reincarnation, the existence of repeated personal lives. Plato, Emerson, Thoreau, Jung, Schrodinger, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Ford all believed in reincarnation, and their idea
By Acarya dasa, All-India Padayatra leader
We padayatris were in Vraja-mandala parikrama from October 20 onwards while our Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar’s chariot remained parked in the courtyard of the Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram temple. Our oxen were on vacation at the Bhaktivedanta goshala and having completed parikrama we were then staying in Vrindavan dhama. I regularly visited the oxen at the goshala and they were all in good condition. One day I suddenly got the news that Vitthala had left his bo
As I turned the corner at Yonge and Bloor, on my evening walk amid corporate giant edifices, I was drawn to the actual writing on the wall of one of them. Below street level, where now exists a bustling commuter train called the subway, was an underground non-denominational cemetery called Potter’s Field. It’s hard to believe that just less than 200 years ago was a sprawling 2.4 hectares of this burial ground where 6, 700 people were buried at what was then the edge of “The Woods.”
It’s a good
From Back to Godhead
By Sacinandana Swami
This little-known holy place played a major role in the inauguration of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana movement.
During the month of Karttika, which falls across October and November in the lunar calendar, devotees of Lord Krishna are advised to increase their concentration on His worship by dedicating their daily devotional hearing and chanting to Srimati Radharani, His eternal consort. This advisory for Karttika is best carried out in a secluded
Section 700: Gurus and Disciples
701.2 ISKCON Spiritual Masters Conditions for Second-generation Diksa-gurus — 2019 [Governing law]
Whereas ISKCON Law 7.3.2 now reads: “As taught by Srila Prabhupada, the etiquette of not initiating in the presence of one’s diksa-guru will be upheld in ISKCON. However, Srila Prabhupada and historical precedents also teach us that disciples may sometimes initiate in the physical presence of their diksa-gurus, if so directed by them. In such a case, the disciple s
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The 2021 GBC Resolutions have finally been released. Due to the global pandemic, it was not possible for the GBC Body to conduct in-person meetings and therefore the AGM 2021 was conducted online. Similarly, the 2022 AGM will also be conducted online.
To ensure online resolutions become final and binding, two resolutions were passed to change the GBC’s Rules of Order. These are included in the Resolution file.
D
The area outside ISKCON Mayapur campus is underdeveloped and has no waste management system. Owing to this, Murari Mohini Devi Dasi has taken up this initiative and started Mayapur- Clean And Green. She supervises groups that clean the streets of Mayapur, collect the garbage, and transport it to the waste and recycling areas.
Source: https://iskconnews.org/mayapur-clean-green/
Nature did us a wonderful favour when she dumped tons of snow on the ground, on rooftops, trucks and automobiles as well as on snow. Yes, snow upon snow. It engulfed the north-eastern front of the continent. Perhaps for the first time in months the public had a break from hearing about covid and omicron. What came more in the minds of motorists, in particular, was, “Will I get home safe in this storm?”
From my window, I could see people stuck in deep snow and others with tires spinning, but the
"Everyone must perform sacrifice," Lord Krsna says. And He comes
as Caitanya Mahaprabhu to show us how easy it can be.
A lecture in London on September 5, 1973
yajna-dana-tapah-karma
na tyajyam karyam eva tat
yajno danam tapas caiva
pavanani manisinam
"Acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity, and penance purify even the great souls." (Bhagavad-gita 18.5)
There are four stages of spiritual life: brahmacarya [celibate stude
