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When Hadai dropped me off at the Vancouver Airport, he joined me in the queue to get my boarding passes.  I expressed my gratitude and a point of realization. "In life, we are always standing in some queue for a ticket, a coffee death."  It seemed an impetus for reflection.  
 
We kept talking, and one issue raised was how he had to deal with cockroaches in former residences.  "Our building also had bed bugs," he said, unceremoniously.  
 
One more epiphany surfaced.  "There will always be a
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Citing the Lord’s Version

By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada

Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) – Canto 2: The Cosmic Manifestation – SB 2.9: Answers by Citing the Lord’s Version
Verse – 33

aham evasam evagre
nanyad yat sad-asat param
pascad aham yad etac ca
yo ’vasisyeta so ’smy aham

Synonyms: aham — I, the Personality of Godhead; eva — certainly; asam — existed; eva — only; agre — before the creation;na — never; anyat — anything else; yat — all those; sat — the effect; asat — the cause; param — the supreme;

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What is Gratitude? By Radhanath Swami

 

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Gratitude is a divine virtue that is so important that other divine virtues could not exist without it. Spirituality grows like seeds within our heart. The goodness of our lifestyle protects that seed. Our spiritual practice of chanting God’s names, reading scriptures, doing seva for God and others waters that seed. But gratitude is what makes the ground fertile so that all these other virtues will actually have its maximum effect. A fertile soil allows the seed to have deep roots and grow ve

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Mistakes cannot be endorsed, but our disapproval of wrongdoings need not make us apathetic to the wrongdoers.
 
To err is human, to forgive divine. Looking beyond the mistake is not the same as overlooking the mistake.
 
“Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner!” is the golden principle exemplified by great people.
 
DISAPPROVED BUT NOT DISOWNED, the latest book by Gauranga Darshan Das is a breath of fresh air for all those needing a sensible sense of direction in dealing with wrongdoers.
 
Order your c
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We began our fourth Indraprastha ISKCON Noida to Vrindavan padayatra on September 29, but the preparations had been started long before. We planned for an ox cart sankirtan rath and an advance party to about fifteen villages and this year included arrangements for the ladies, whereas for the past three years it had been for prabhujis only. The number of participants on this year’s walk was set at thirty devotees.

The inauguration ceremony took place at 2pm after the Sunday love feast. About 20

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Prayers required for the imminent departure of Cyavana Swami, a pioneer disciple of Srila Prabhupada, presently in coma.

Cyavana Swami was born in Cincinnati Ohio in 1945.

At the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard and was stationed aboard a Cutter based at Boston Harbor. That’s where he first encountered his Spiritual Master A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami when he arrived in America in 1965 aboard the Indian steamship freighter Jaladuta.

“I stood frozen in time as his ship

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Request for prayers by Ramesvara dasa

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Dear Respected Devotees,

Hare Krsna. Please accept my most humble obeisances at your feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-guruve namah

I have been thinking of all the countless moments in this life that I feel so grateful for, and how they all are connected to Srila Prabhupada and His society of devotees. Those moments are all filled with amazement, spiritual joy and transcendental purpose and hints of real love. I c

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IS God a Person or Energy?

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Excerpt from the Bhagavad-Gita As it Is 7.7:

Chapter 7: Knowledge of the Absolute

TEXT 7

mattah parataram nanyat
kincid asti dhananjaya
mayi sarvam idam protam
sutre mani-gana iva

SYNONYMS
mattah—beyond Myself; parataram—superior; na—not; anyat—anything else; kincit—something; asti—there is;dhananjaya—O conquerer of wealth;mayi—in Me; sarvam—all that be; idam—which we see; protam—strung; sutre—on a thread; mani-ganah—pearls; iva—likened.

TRANSLATION

O conquerer of wealth [Arjuna], there is no T

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Sri Narahari Sarkara Thakura

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The Disappearance day of Srila Narahari Sarakara Thakura. Sri Narahari Sarkar Thakura was born at Sri Khanda. Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes that the residents of Sri Khanda formed a branch of the desire tree of love of God. "Sri Khan davasi (the residents of Sri Khanda) Mukunda and his son Raghu nandan were the thirty ninth branch of the tree, Narahari was the fortieth, Chiran Jiva the forty first and Sulocana the forty second. They were all big branches of the all merciful tree of C

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Saradiya: Swamiji? When we go to Krsnaloka to be with Krsna…

Prabhupada: Just see this girl, little girl, is aiming for going back to Krsnaloka. Just see.

(Srila Prabhupada lecture, Montreal, June 16, 1968)

Prabhupada: How you are feeling, Saradiya? Nice?

Saradiya: I’m fine.

Prabhupada: You are going to Europe? No? You have got to attend your school? That’s nice.

(Srila Prabhupada conversation, Montreal, October 27, 1968)

Saradiya: Simply by Your Divine Grace, on Krsna’s appearance day in S

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Devotional Psychology by Ananta Gauranga Das


The demon king Ravana - the quintessence of an intelligent fool had expert knowledge of the Vedas. However, he abused his knowledge because his selfishness and lack of EI and S.I stole his wisdom. As a result, he exploited his subjects. People with high I.Q more book knowledge and low E.I and S.I result in characters without character. When we engage in spiritual subject matter it should not just enter into our heads. Rather it should penetrate our

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By Indravali Devi Dasi

His Excellency Ram Nath Kovind President of India and his wife Savita Kovind visited the temple of ISKCON Sri Sri Radha Madhava Mandir in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines in the afternoon on  October 20th, 2019.

This was the President’s first visit to the Philippines and devotees were jubilant about being able to host him. 

What made Ram Nath Kovind’s visit truly auspicious is that it happened during the month of Kartik, which is considered to be a special period of t

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To Remember by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Before I took to my American Airlines flight to Los Angeles, and then on to Argentina, I just had to get some footsteps in at 3:00 a.m.  I ventured off to the Chinese farm enclave near the ISKCON temple in Burnaby.  It was quiet for sure, favourable for stepping out and mantra meditating.

I turned at Willard Street, and just about landed on some roadkill.  It was an ‘oops moment’.  Missed it.  It was hard to determine what kind of species it was.  A muskrat perhaps?  In any case, it brought to
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[During a lecture Srila Prabhupada interrupts his discourse on the Srimad-Bhagavatam verse when he notices some of his disciples leaving the
lecture, apparently to attend to other services] Srila Prabhupada: Why they are going? They are busy in some other work? Eh? Ugra-karma.
Without hearing, what will he do?
Nonsense? Sravanam kirtanam, this is our main business. If you don’t hear, what will you do? You will simply
do sense gratification. That’s all. So this is the difficulty, that we are not

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1. One should never kick cows, for one who does so will have to suffer in hell for a hundred lives. Cows are the abode of all auspiciousness. For this reason, they always deserve worship.

2. Bullocks should never be struck harshly with a goad or whip.

3. One should not proceed through the midst of cows.

4. When cows are grazing or lying down, one should not disturb them in any way.

5. When cows are thirsty and are refused water [ because a person is obstructing their access to a water tank or r

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HG Mekhala devi dasi ACBSP has passed away

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In Memoriam.
HG Kurma Das: My Godsister from Australia Mekhala devi dasi has passed away.

In the picture, left to right: Mekhala dasi, Satyavati dasi (white sari) Padmavati dasi (wife of Vegavan dasa), Sukla dasi Shari Zielinski (between Padmavati and Sanaka), Sanaka dasa, Stavros Steve Vergis Dhaumya dasa, Krishna Premi dasi, Cittahari dasa (with hair, behind Krishna Premi), Kurma dasa

This photo was taken in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday 6 April 1972, Hare Krishna Temple @ 14 Burnett Street,

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If You Only Live Once by Kesava Krsna Dasa

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Many people in the world think they live only once. With only one life, how does this affect lives and society? How is a one-life concept going to affects ambitions, goals and outlook? There is one-life spirituality and multi-birth spirituality – which of these enable a full understanding of the soul, and why good or bad things happen? Is God to blame, or us? If there is no God, why do people lament the loss of loved ones if they are simply bags of chemicals?

With only one life, there must be a

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The final wrap-up to our weekend discussions came in the form of a walk through the valley with those who had not left for their respective homes. A couple from Athabasca, a mother and son from the village in Saranagati, devotees from major cities, and Ramnath from the end of the valley were with me. Off we strolled.
 
“Ramnath, can you tell us the types of trees we are seeing on both sides of the trail? Some of us know models of cars, but we don’t know our trees.”
 
Ramnath was happy to resp
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Hare Krishna,
 
I have compiled an Index of Sri Krsna's Holy Names from the Bhagavad-gita. Currently, the index lists, explains and cites sastric locations for 239 names occurring in the texts and translations of Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
 
There are different categories, the main one being Names of Sri Krsna with fifty-seven entries from BG as of Nov 2019. Also names of His devotees, paraphernalia, etc. I have also started compiling lists from the Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), Sri Cait
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By Madhava Smullen
 

The second annual Diwali celebration at the Bhakti Center in New York City not only drew around 350 festivalgoers including 200 new guests, but was also covered by the CBS News New York television station.

Since the Bhakti Center is the only temple with Radha Krishna Deities in Manhattan, it was an obvious choice for Diwali. A CBS News camera crew filmed first on Thursday October 24th, before the event, and then again on Diwali day itself, Monday October 27th.

The first

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