My obeisances. Jaya Prabhupada. All glories to his book distributors.
In 1967, I paid Prabhupada $16 for a set of three books that comprised the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. That was the amount he charged, and it was more than a day’s work for an hourly employee.
In 1971-72, I was privileged to witness an explosion in book distribution. A number of devotees came up with innovations concerning how to sell books, evolving new methods, strategies, and sales pitches. Prabhupada told the distri
“Humility of great souls is the purity within…” This statement reveals the humility of Srila Prabhupada. Although he is the Founder Acarya of a worldwide Organization, he never considers himself to be the best of the Vaishnavas; rather he considers himself unqualified and insignificant. This is one of the shining characteristics of great souls.
Great souls see smallness in themselves and greatness in others. Small souls consider themselves the best devotees. A Kanishtha Adhikari feels, “I am th
‘Srila Prabhupada’s Aphorisms of Logic’
⁃ by London College of Vedic Studies
HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is known and respected for his exceptionally well structured and academic presentations on the Vedas. This special seminar ‘Srila Prabhupada’s Aphorisms of Logic’ was no exception to the high standard that he always delivers.
Maharaja explained that an aphorism is a concise and catchy expression of a general truth or principle. An aphorism is referred to as a ‘sutra’ in the Vedic teachings. Th
There is no perfect time or place,
so if we wait, we will never accomplish,
or sing the song which vibrates our heart
meant to nourish every cell in our body.
To breathe out, one only has to breathe in,
but we can’t hold our breath forever;
so begin today while you are still breathing
because there are no tomorrows or could-bes.
Only a string of nows, do-days giving potential
at least one step of progress on the miles ahead
though even a step back can help us go forward
on our forever journey of
While I was chanting japa this morning, my mind was flooded with a verse from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s song Gurudeva!:
jogyata-vicare, kichu nahi pai, tomara karuna sara
karuna na hoile, kandiya kandiya, prana na rakhibo ara
“Upon examining my value, I find that I have none; your mercy is essential to me. Therefore, if you are not merciful I will constantly weep and I will not maintain my life any longer.”
Later, I saw just how appropriate and relevant the rest of the song was to my effort
For the first years of our devotional life we may not give much attention to
the topic of the false ego. We may not even be aware of how it affects us –
every day, prompting us to say things which we should better not say, and do
things which we should better not do. We may not realize the existence and
impact of this constant companion, because the false ego works in very
subtle ways. It can so easily remain hidden.
In due course of time, we may come to understand just how important this
topic
While in Bali I was able to go out and visit the newly completed Visnu Garuda monument in the Nusa Dua area. This is the fourth highest of its kind in the world standing at 120 metres tall. An amazing architecture and sculptural achievement, although actual worship of the Lord would have been even better.
I also had the opportunity to be with my god brother and co-GBC for Indonesia, HH Kavicandra Maharaja. We attended the Rathayatra and other preaching programs together and it’s always nice t
WELCOME TO SRI KSHETRA PARIKRAMA
PURI DHAMA
14-17TH NOVEMBER 2019
On behalf of ISKCON Mayapur, we would like to welcome you to celebrate our 15th anniversary of Sri Kshetra Parikrama. This parikrama dates back to the time of Vidyapati, who was one of Lord Jagannatha’s most intimate worshippers, serving under the great King Indradyumna. Following the footsteps of our previous Acharyas, ISKCON Mayapur has been organizing this parikrama for the last 14 years. Honoring this tradition ISKCON Mayapu
After graduating from gurukula, a student of TKG Academy in Dallas has been accepted into the Eric Jonsson School of Engineering at the University of Dallas Texas at just seventeen years old.
Vraja Kishor Schomaker has also been awarded a Comet transfer scholarship, and is entering his third year of college with over seventy-five credits. All this despite a terrifying battle with a brain tumor in 2017 that left him temporarily unable to read.
His mother, Gopi Gita, who
While singing the Nrsimha prayers today, I was struck by the juxtaposition of two very different moods of the Lord—prahladahlada-dayine: He gave bliss to Prahlada, and hiranyakasipor vaksah-sila-tanka-nakhalaye: He cracked the stonelike chest of Hiranyakasipu with His sharp chisel-like nails.
namas te narasimhaya
prahladahlada-dayine
hiranyakasipor vaksah-
sila-tanka-nakhalaye
“I offer my obeisances to Lord Narasimha who gives joy to Prahlada Maharaja and whose nails are like chisels on the sto
Diary of a Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 4 July 22, 2019 “Summer of Love”
During my teenage years, I was living in San Francisco during 1967’s “Summer of Love” when hippies were trying to establish the brotherhood of mankind without any positive lifestyle alternative or anyone to guide them. History shows that the young people of my generation fell hopelessly short of the goal of universal peace and love, for true love and peace can only be experienced on the spiritual platform.
The summer
The ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry (IDWM) acts on behalf of the GBC to ensure that the worship in our temples and centres is done according to the standards as given by Srila Prabhupada. It also provides training for devotees interested in developing their skills and abilities as Pujaris and brahmanas. The Ministry is also presently compiling ‘position papers’ that address often asked questions related to worship. By closely studying and researching Srila Prabhupada’s books, conversations and le
The New Govardhan ISKCON community in Murwillumbah, Australia is famous for the many outreach activities, especially catering and prasadam distribution programs they organize all year round.
This year the prasadam distribution management team utilized a Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) shaped pandal at one of the largest festivals in Australia, Splendour in the Grass 2019 Music Festival, in Byron Bay, attracting thousands of festival-goers to the beauty of the TOVP and the wonderful pras
There is a culture within this movement. Srila Prabhupada brought the transcendental knowledge from India and brought the culture from India as well. Seated on the floor, eating with the right hand, chapattis, puris, sabzis and so on. In the philosophy that we get through the scriptures, the knowledge is preserved. In the culture we get from the devotees, the knowledge is also preserved.
What Srila Prabhupada brought from India was the establishment of this ISKCON culture and many such things c
Diary of A Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 5 July 27, 2109
”Bonds of Brotherhood”
During the month of June I visited ISKCON’s temple in Skopje, Northern Macedonia. Macedonia is a small, land-locked country in Southeastern Europe with a population of just 2.7 million people. I had been invited to speak and hold kirtan at the country’s International Yoga Day Festival.
While we were waiting at a red light on the way to the festival, a horse-drawn wooden cart driven by a teenage boy and holding a
