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My wife and I once stayed at her friend’s apartment. We knew that she was an avid collector of clothes, but we were amazed to find not only closets full of unused clothes – many with price tags still attached – but also boxes and boxes of unworn shoes.

As it turned out, my wife’s friend had a compulsion to find the perfect jacket or pair of shoes. She believed that if she were to succeed, her social image would be rightly aligned, and she would feel joy.

Unfortunately, when she got home her new

The curve that sets everything straight.

Nowadays I find myself increasingly cautious when sending emails or pinging my friends on messengers. This is not because I’m worried about privacy or security, but because of the danger of misinterpretation. Occasionally I’ve messed up a relationship because of a reckless choice of words or an inconsiderate presentation of thoughts. The written word is a serious form of communication. It’s archived, allowing us to revisit it. But it’s limited, since it l

Yesterday, December 2nd, at about 5:30 am California time, during the auspicious Brahma Muhurta period, His Grace Sura Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and long-time servant of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), left his body in Los Angeles. He had been hospitalized since November 26th, after being diagnosed with Covid-19. His son, Ram Nomi, and his daughter, Sitapriya, were in the room chanting when he departed. Srila Prabhupada’s chanting was also playing softly in the background. Sura

This conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples took place at New Vrindaban, West Virginia, USA, on June 24, 1976.

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, once you said, “The tractor – this is the cause of all the trouble. It took all the young men’s farm work. It forced them to go into the city and become entangled in sensuality.” You said people had to leave the country and the simple life of goodness and God consciousness. And so they went to the

From a devotee who is distributing Bhagavad-gita and other books in Hungary:

“I was going door to door. A lady opened her door, and I showed her books. She invited me in and said she would get a donation for me. I was astounded at what I saw in her house. There was a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ, 2.5 meters high (about 7 feet tall). I was awed. It was so nice. The lady returned and saw me appreciating the picture.
She said, “I think you will understand what I’m going to tell you since you l

By Anuttama Das

Close to 5:30 a.m. this morning, December 2nd, 2021,  my dear Godbrother and neighbor for the last 26 years left his body in a room at Southern California Hospital (near the New Dvaraka temple). He had been hospitalized since November 26th, with Covid-19. His son, Ram Nomi, and his daughter, Sitapriya, were chanting with him when he departed. Srila Prabhupada's chanting also accompanied him. Sura had his japa beads and was wearing a Nrsimha pavitra from Mayapura.

We are all uniq

“Then we come to Bhāgavata, then we come to Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in this way. So from next year, unless one passes bhakti-śāstrī, he cannot be second initiated.”
Morning Walk – January 6, 1976, Nellore
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Dark, ominous clouds set in and at the corner of Guy and Maissoneuve Streets in downtown Montreal, thousands of Concordia University students were making their way to destinations – classrooms, apartments, or coffee shops. Snowflakes hit our faces, but just momentarily, at this busy student hour as we chanted away letting the nippy nature of the night not bother us too much.

Students were curious. With a big percentage being from India they are indeed familiar with the sound. We received smiles

- Srila Prabhupada and George Harrison, London, 1973

“I liked Prabhupada’s humbleness. I always liked his humility and his simplicity The servant of the servant of the servant is really what it is, you know. None of us are God—just His servants. He just made me feel so comfortable. I always felt very relaxed with him, and I felt more like a friend. I felt that he was a good friend. Even though he was at the time seventy-nine years old, working practically all through the night, day after day, w

The last time George associated with a large group of devotees was when he and his wife, Olivia, visited the Manor in the summer of 1997. We had invited him to a celebratory dinner a few days after we got permission to build the new approach road.

This dinner was held shortly after we had another amazing fundraising dinner called “Prabhupada’s Dream”, during which guests and patron members of the Manor were invited to raise funds to buy the land for the approach road. That evening the target was

I wanted to offer my congratulations to the four new initiates from Mauritius. This last Sunday, we got plugged into the Zoom system with the community in Bon Accueil, in that country which apparently holds the post of having the most covid deaths per capita in the world at present. There is no way that I would be physically present in this otherwise lovely nation with the virus being too infectiously in the atmosphere. Things are done in separation these days.

Kudos go to Akilesh who received t

An Early Essay by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
A pure devotee is just like the Desire-Tree from whom we can have on request everything desireable. This is no myth or bluff but it is actual fact. The devotee can deliver to us the mercy of God and what is not obtainable by one who has got the mercy of God? Therefore the devotees are the most magnanimous in their charitable disposition of mind. They are also the deliverer of the fallen souls and we need to offer our o

The Sacred India Gallery in Perth, created by Jagtarini and his other associates, gives a glimpse of India’s important shrines. In Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi praised her devotion to Krishna and said that people visiting her Sacred Art Gallery in Perth will be able to see the art of Jagtarini and get a glimpse of the traditions and cultures of India’s famous pilgrimage cities of Vrindavan, Nabadwip and Puri. is seen.

Jagtarini Dasi’s husband Bhurijana Das is the head of the project ‘The Sacred India G

Preaching is the essence. Devotees preach by the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the order of the spiritual master. Those who sincerely try to follow the directions of the spiritual master and the Guru-paramparā earn unlimited blessings and strength to execute their service. Even a sincere attempt in the service of the ācāryas, irrespective of it being a success or a failure, is sufficient to draw profuse blessings of the Guru-paramparā.

There are some devotees who serve in difficult situat

In October a very special event happened at the TOVP, the arrival of Srila Prabhupada, the installation of the Srila Prabhupada Murti. On the same date, Hari Sauri Das made the official announcement of the arrival of his latest book - Back to Vrndavana: Srila Prabhupada's Final Lila – and it is now available for purchase.

“Srila Prabhupada spent his last 6 weeks on this planet in Vrndavana Dhama, and I was fortunate enough to spend the month of October serving him while chronicling every event,

From Back to Godhead

Lord Krishna’s words made their way to us after a long historical journey.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Although many articles have been written about the Gita as a philosophical poem, exploring its meaning and theological implications, and although both devotees and nondevotees have written elaborate studies of Srila Prabhupada’s translation, few articles deal with the text as a historical phenomenon, something that

By Srimati Dasi

Let’s face it. It’s not easy trying to live Bhagavad-gétä in today’s world — it’s tough! And the taste is more often bitter/sweet than sweet/sweet. Govindadeva gives the practical essence of living Bhagavad-gétä in verse 18.66. The Kali-yugian heart has no trouble with the first half of the equation — abandon all varieties of religion. That’s very much in tune with today’s life standards. But the second half — surrender unto Me — that’s the tough part. Why do we find it so tough