Creating a balance between the temporary and eternity
One of the essential activities of the sadhu, and of the most successful people, is creating “sacred space,” daily quite time. Some suggest this is the time to become more clearly focused on your material goals, and what you wish to accomplish in your day. This is important. We need sacred time every day where we put our external world on hold and make a connection that transcends this world. In our modern materialistic world and life, doing
By Nrsimhananda das
My mother, Mimi Jaffe, departed peacefully March 7 at the ripe old age of 100. Her pastimes with Srila Prabhupada are inscribed by his letters to her in response to her many challenges. They are in the Vedabase. From being a founding member of the anti-cult movement in 1972 to celebrating her 77th birthday in Vrndaban in 1999, her journey to Krishna was full of transcendental pastimes. She provided the seed money for the Pyramid house land and was therefore responsible for f
The importance of being thoughtful
One time, a simple elderly man came into a shop.
And the merchant was selling him some grains and the merchant asked the man, “Why is your head shaven? You come here every day. You never shave your head. Why are you wearing dark clothes today?”
And the old man, he was very serious. He said, “Oh! You have not heard? Sargal Singh is dead!”
The merchant, he didn’t want to reveal that he was ignorant – because the way he said “Sargal Singh is dead. You have not hea
Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.
—Mahatma Gandhi
Srila Prabhupada said that “Krishna consciousness (spiri tual truth) is so simple you can miss it.”
I have noticed that what researchers often discover after half a decade of research are simple truths missed by modern man, yet well known in the past. Truth may be profound, but it is usually simple.
One of the biggest selling books on marriage is Men Are From Mars,
By Rasikendra das, Nama Rasana dd & Jahnavi dd
On Thursday 25th of February we watched the news with horror and we knew at that very moment our next door neighbours will need our help. On the same day we got a call from Ukrainian temple in Kiev, asking “If we were to send our woman and children would you look after them?” Our reply ” Of course, but what about you? We need to stay back and fight and protect our homeland and our temple and our elderly who don’t want to leave their homes.”
We saw t
“According to Vedic civilization, the perfection of life is to realize one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or God.… All living entities are parts and parcels of God. The parts are meant for serving the whole, just as the legs, hands, fingers, and ears are meant for serving the total body. We living entities, being parts and parcels of God, are duty-bound to serve Him.”
This class on Srimad Bhagavatam 8.22.24 is given by HG Kalakantha Prabhu on Tuesday, January 26th, 2021, at Bhakti Center.
The crux of the issue is this: Will I serve the Lord with whatever money He has allotted to me, or will I use it to try to please myself. My consciousness, and not on the amount of money I have, determines my decision. Prabhupada explains: “Materialism does not mean that one has to possess so many things. The actual fact is one may be a perfect transcendentalist or spiritua
As we come closer to Gaura Purnima, the most auspicious appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we celebrate the ‘Be a Gardener Campaign’, as we sow and water the seeds of Bhakti. Now, we have an opportunity to do good for others, to nurture them as Lord Chaitanya tells us in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita—by becoming a gardener. Be a gardener and plant the seed of bhakti in others’ hearts. As a gardener, we read Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, and share it with others.
Srila Prabhupada put his hea
ISKCON News Report
Anuttama dasa
6 PM EST
March 7, 2022
Events in Ukraine are changing daily, if not by the hour. Here are updates that ISKCON News has confirmed.
Devotees Among Those Cut Off in Mariupol
The direst situation faced by Ukrainian Krishna devotees may be in the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. “The devotees have been cut off,” reported Nirananjana Swami, ISKCON Governing Body Representative for Ukraine. “More than one hundred fifty devotees have been forced to leave their h
In 2019, the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) sponsored its initial cosmology workshop, “Taking the 5th… Canto!” This gathering explored the study of Puranic cosmography within ISKCON as an outgrowth of interest raised by the development of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) in Mayapur, West Bengal. The second workshop in 2020, “Models and Memes and Maps: A Modern Journey through Ancien
On March 4, in Kharkiv, by the grace of Krishna, we came to distribute Krishna prasadam in the subway. Guys, it’s just like in a movie of post-apocalypse. People live right on the floor, with dogs, cats, and things. On different types of bedding. Crowds of people. They sleep, chat, read books. They said there were 2,000 people in the subway station. There was a huge queue. We fed at least 500 people.
Today there was soup, 110 liters; drinks of two types, 80 liters; a lot of bread, two types; an
Sanjay is from Nepal but he has the look of an indigenous person from North America. It is simply an observation. He has a humble disposition and he was willing to walk with me for a short stretch in the Timberlea district where I’m staying, at the residence of Angiras and Anchal. It is gorgeous with nature all around. This walk constituted a second stroll for the day; the first one being along the harbour at Dewolf Park, which is also appealing.
One of the main reasons for the trip here was to
In his stunning paintings, Haridas Thakur das is able to capture life in his subjects in such a vivid way, they almost come across as photography. He captures realism in his paintings so true to life, one feels that they are in the presence of Srila Prabhupada himself.
Haridas Thakur das is a monk, artist, art teacher, and inspirational speaker. He is a disciple of Radhanath swami. He had studied mechanical engineering at Karnataka University and after a short stint in the industry, he chose t
I like to offer a little analogy of a group of people who were living in an oasis in the middle of a desert. One day, a stranger appeared there. This stranger brought very exotic fruits, very nice and tasty, something they had never tasted in the desert, something extraordinary. So everyone was impressed because desert life is limited to some dates, dried fruits and some camel milk. What else do they eat in the desert? Maybe some stewed cactus! But all in all, it gets a little bit limited after
I just wanted to share a letter that Prabhupada, our guru, wrote 50 years ago about the right attitude and the right action. So much of our spiritual advancement depends on attitude. Written to his disciple, Jayapataka Swami, but applicable to all.
“Yes, the co-operative spirit of working together without any argument is especially prominent in Mayapura, more than other places in India. Therefore, you are successful, and the work is going on quickly to completion. That is because all of you wor
Hare Krishna. Many devotees and friends are asking how they can help the devotees caught in the middle of the deadly and devastating fighting in Ukraine.
ISKCON has over 3,000 initiated devotees in the country, over a dozen temples, and three beautiful farms. I have attached a few photos of the main temple in Kiev.
ISKCON’s international governing body is in regular, daily contact with the Ukrainian devotees. Because of the very delicate and dangerous nature of the situation, we cannot say more
As of this morning, March 3rd, 2022, 8:30 AM EST it has been reported that some of the Kyiv devotees are traveling to ISKCON Farm(s), other cities, and other areas of the country for their safety.
UPDATE: March 2nd, 2022 7:30 AM EST
This Report has been confirmed by Anuttama Das through Ukrainian devotees who are involved.
Vamsi Madhava das, who was shot on February 26th, is ok and is recovering fine. He was able to be taken to the hospital the next day and is recuperating now.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/breaking-news-ukrainian-devotee-shot/
