The MAN-tra Retreat is back. Excitement is ramping up as devotee guys pack their bags and head to the hills of New Vrindaban for a weekend of rejuvenation, association, learning and empowerment from September 21st to 23rd.
“There’s never been a more manly way to be engaged in Krishna consciousness,” grins kirtan leader Gaura Vani, who will be participating. “This is the kind of sanga that will put hair on your chest.”
Over 135 men from the UK, Canada and the United States are expected to to
Even Mother Yashoda could occasionally, for some moments, understand that Krsna was the Supreme Lord. But then, she would forget it once again. That is how it works with the eternal residents of Vrndavana. We also forget that Krsna is the Supreme Lord again and again, but in a different way. We forget that Krsna is the Supreme Lord and then we also forget Krsna Himself. The residents of Vrndavana however forget that Krsna is the Supreme Lord, but they still think of Krsna Himself all the time!
By Giriraj Swami
“Because He is as powerful as Lord Krsna and can bestow spiritual power to the devotees, He is therefore known as Baladeva. In the Vedas also it is enjoined that no one can know the Supreme Lord without being favored by Baladeva. Bala means spiritual strength, not physical. Some less intelligent persons interpret bala as the strength of the body. But no one can have spiritual realization by physical strength. Physical strength ends with the end of the physical body, but spiritu
Gour Govinda Swami offering arati to Srila Prabhupada after his installation in 1991
namo om visnu-padaya
krsna-presthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktivedanta-
svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve
gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa sunyavadi-
pascatya-desa-tarine
Srila Prabhupadaji Maharaja ki jaya!
It is the causeless mercy of Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga that I came here to meet you all, I am very happy at such causeless mercy of Guru and Gauranga. Unless one gets such mery, how can one cross
By Chaitanya Charan das
A search for God or for the ultimate truth underlying existence has characterized thinking people in various traditions all over the world. Among various conceptions of God that have been revealed, the conception of Krishna is special. One aspect of his specialty is the specialty of his devotees, especially the devotees of Vrindavan, the Vrajavasis.
The claim to specialty is a matter of not subjective sectarian sanctimony, but objective theological reality. After all, ho
Dearest Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you!
This year marks the 123rd anniversary of your appearance in this world. Somehow, by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord, I am connected to you through initiation as one of your spiritual sons. This can never be disputed in the chronicles of time because on December 10, 1971, you wrote the following to my temple president:
“I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 22, 1971, along with beads a
Vyasa-puja is an annual celebration by devotees of Krishna to offer homage to their guru, or spiritual teacher. Krishna says, “. . . one who claims to be My devotee is not so. Only a person who claims to be the devotee of My devotee is actually My devotee.”
In the system of bhakti-yoga, the first duty is to accept a devotee as spiritual master and then to render service unto him.
Each year, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust publishes a limited number of copies of a Vyasa-puja book—a collection of ho
Sri Krsna Janmastami
A Talk by Giriraj Swami
We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”
TEXT 18
tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam
samahitam sura-sutena devi dadhara
sarvatmakam atma-bhutam
kastha yathananda-karam manastah
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, accompanied by plenary expansions, the fully opulent Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is all-auspicious for the entire universe, was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of
Srimad Bhagavad-gita is the greatly enlightening philosophical song sung by Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to instruct the bewildered Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. Bhagavad-gita systematically presents the knowledge of the soul, karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, astanga-yoga, bhakti-yoga, the modes of material nature, the virat-rupa and so on. The five truths that embody the teachings of Bhagavad-gita are isvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entities), prakrti (mate
I was working in the Soviet army. I spend quite some years also in the Afghanistan war. It was such a nasty experience that I wanted to orient myself to a more peaceful atmosphere. So I joined the Moscow Institute that trained KGB staff. Of course it is not publicly known to be in that function. I chose the justice line, for to become some spy in the foreign countries did not fit with my mind either.
Once I had a discussion with one of my friends. He was a son of a highly placed KGB man. His fa
By Kalakantha Das
Q & A From Each Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā
How do you deal with an impossible situation?
Before just bailing out without thinking about our future or other’s needs, Krishna advises us to first consider the consequences of quitting and carefully look at all options.
Our bodies change all the time—baby to kid to teenager to adult to senior—yet we remain the same “I” inside. We remain the same person internally despite our bodies changing externally.
Srila Prabhupada spoke in an interview in 1968:
“We have got so many branches, they want to hear me, my singing, my speech, therefore they record it and send it to different branches.”
Interview – February 1, 1968, Los Angeles
In June of 2019, the Bhaktivedanta Archives completed the release of all of Srila Prabhupada’s audio files. It is now confirmed, there are over 2,400 hours of audio in 3,804 files to be listened to attentively. This is a great victory for his devotees!
Indeed, the devo
Ratha Yatra is a festival of ecstasy because Lord Caitanya knew very well that Krsna cannot be happy outside of Vrndavana. Vrndavana is the place where He belongs! Vrndavana is the place where everything is designed for Krsna, and therefore Krsna can only be happy in Vrndavana. So Krsna had to be brought back to Vrndavana.
How could Krsna be in Dwarka? That is not the place where Krsna is at home. In Dwarka, Krsna is in separation. In Dwarka, Krsna can never be satisfied. Dwarka is so opulent t
16 years ago, after graduating from UCL with a management degree, I opted to leave it aside and embrace monastic life instead. Ironically, it’s all come full circle; dealing with people, projects and practicalities is a sizable section on the modern monastic menu. I must have some management karma to burn off. Balancing spiritual immersion and practical politics, however, is incredibly challenging.
You have to be alert, streetwise, tuned in, and sensitive enough to deal with the complexities an
Pravin Wakle Prabhu and his team of young Youth Forum devotees at ISKCON Chowpatty very enthusiastically distribute books after work. Pravin works at a software firm in Lower Parel. After work he and his devotee friends put up stalls at either D-mart or at some spiritual event happening around the Thane / New Mumbai area.
Here’s one of the heart-warming experiences he told us about.
On a Sunday we were in Juinagar distributing books near a pandal put up on the occasion of a major spiritual disc
How often you shout at your friends not to tag you on Facebook photos?
Did you ever had thoughts of wearing burka?
Did you ever fasted to loose weight & then after 1-2 days because of hunger ate whole fridge then sat & wept?
If you practice spirituality, did ever your yearning for God increase seeing a fresh line on your face?
Or did you once went out with your beloved. You both enjoyed & captured lots of photos. Both of you were so happy. But the next day you saw your photos to remember the pr
After graduating from high school in 1966, my friend and I went to the Village in New York City to check out the scene. While there, we heard a, ‘ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching’ and turned around. Looking through the intense heat waves we saw, in double file, a group of somebodies or somethings in saffron orange clothes, singing, playing instruments, and floating down the hot sidewalk. I turned to my friend and said, “New York sure is a weird place. Let’s get out of here!” She and I c
After a decade-long struggle with the West Bengal government (formerly Communist-dominated), some good news is finally underway.
The 700 acres of Sridham Mayapura land, in titles of individuals, is soon to be amalgamated so that ISKCON can official own all of it. The land is valued at approximately 300 million US dollars. The stamp duty, registration and other transfer fees, totalling about 6 million dollars, is being waived because of ISKCON’s non-profit status.
The ISKCON Mayapur city, h
