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By HH Sacinandana Swami

As I’m sitting here in Vrindavan, as the minutes, hours and days go by, I am more and more interested in the close God, not so much the distant God. I’m less interested in the God, Who is only thought about, but not experienced, Who is philosophized about, but not seen. As I chant, I think deeply about how to establish real contact with the Lord.

What he says is, “My Lord, I am directly calling out to You now, I am directly approaching You now, by Your various names. And

Nature was conjuring up a storm of water. Ominous clouds were ever present in the sky and lightning made its periodic flash, accompanied by the rumble of thunder. Hey, that’s the name of this place!

It was at this time, early afternoon, that I began my mere two kilometre walk (my physiotherapist suggested I reduce daily treks and work on stretches to counteract stiffness). In any event, I decided to go at strides at a critical hour of nature. I don’t mind the reminder to be humble. The elements

By Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

The pure devotee’s first month in the West. “Who would expect to meet a svami in someone’s living room in Butler, Pennsylvania? It was just really tremendous. In the middle of middle-class America. “

Srila Prabhupada was met at the dockside by a man from Travelers Aid who escorted him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. New York’s midtown streets were far more intense than the Boston pier. Assisted by the guide, Srila Prabhupada got on the “Pittsburgh” bus. Travelers

I was distributing books in Melbourne and approached a young man wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I was showing him the Science of Self Realization and explaining the contents. He was interested and wanted to take the book, but said he had no money. I mentioned that we use card readers for credit cards.

He said, “I can only take money out from the bank.”

So I thought, “Oh well, I guess he won’t be taking a book, because not many people go all the way to the bank to withdraw money.”

But th

Hare Krishna and pranams dear devotees,

The current worldwide lockdown situation is unprecedented in recent history and presents a challenge to all humanity, including devotees. At this time material energy is very strong and sharp. She is continuously testing our faith. Doubts, which are anarthas, can easily enter our hearts, further weakening us spiritually, making us lax and lethargic. And an indiscriminate decision, material or spiritual, can very quickly land us in trouble. However, if we s

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=89220

Jim is a First Nations person, who had cycled over the creek’s bridge when he stopped to ask, “Are you a monk? Have you been to Tibet?” So I answered. He knew I was about to cross the bridge myself and mentioned there are lots of spirits that go to this bridge. When I handed him my mantra card and the mantra’s translation, he liked the word, “Creator.”

“Do you believe in a creator?” I asked.

“Yes.”                         

A young man, about twenty-five, Ray, was my next encounter. There was no

It’s been six months since my last plane ride. A West-Jet aircraft took tabla player, Ananda, and me to Thunder Bay. Before embarking on this two hour, seven minute flight, the attendant at the entrance offered each passenger a sanitized white cloth.

 “This is for your seat,” she said. However, the mask over her mouth muffled the sound that came out. I thought I heard her say, “This is for your feet.” I heard her say it to the passenger in front of me, to me and to Ananda just behind me. “For yo

Gunagrahi Maharaja gave everything he had to Srila Prabhupada. He served ISKCON continuously for forty-nine years. He was a master at engaging people in Krishna consciousness. He made friends quickly and for life. He was largely responsible for the successful spreading of Krishna consciousness among the straight-edge youth. He didn’t complain and he didn’t lament. He had a flair for designing tasteful and novel ways of presenting Krishna consciousness. He innovated incredible Govinda buffet rest

By Mahatma das

Dear Maharaja,

You were special. I have never met anyone like you. You were so cool, totally real, and uniquely funny; and you had this unusual sixth sense for making people Krishna conscious. You just knew how to get into people’s hearts, both devotees and non-devotees, and you knew exactly what was needed to do this in every situation. You touched the lives of many, many people because you were both a special person and deeply cared for others. You related to everyone and thus e

My dear Gunagrahi Maharaja,

Please accept my loving obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

You have always been most kind and a dear friend to me and so many others. When we met in 1978 you had established the beautiful San Diego temple and were transitioning to being the bhakta leader so you could concentrate on recruiting and training new devotees there. As I had the same service in Los Angeles, we naturally began visiting and calling each other regularly to compare no

Staying true to ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s, vision that peace and prosperity be brought to the world through the distribution of sanctified vegetarian meals prepared with love and devotion, ISKCON Melbourne has continued to reach wide and far taking part in the distribution of nutritious FREE vegetarian meals.

Maintaining the goal, also expressed by their Founder, that no one within a 10-mile radius from an ISKCON centre should go hungry the Melbourne Hare Kr

From Christie Pits Park we took ten minutes for contemplation. Sanjit, Chris and I sat on a bench, tilted our heads back and did a bit of stargazing. The moon, Jupiter and Saturn were close to each other. Clouds, white ones, skirted by, obscuring those luminaries. The wind was just the best of breezes. It was a wind bath. “Of purifiers I am the wind,” Krishna states.

The morning began with contemplation on Krishna’s words from 13.21 of the Gita:

“Nature is said to be the cause of all material ca

“One should be more humble than a blade of grass.” OK, another “one should.” Becoming humble is difficult enough, what to speak of becoming humbler than a blade of grass. I know “I should”, but how do I actually do it?”

In this article I look at one often overlooked and extremely helpful way this is possible.

Do Not Resist
Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that grass doesn’t resist when it is walked on or thrown around. It doesn’t complain or scream out, “How dare you step on me or throw me here an

Rasa, when you talk about rationality. How to approach religion. Questioning assumptions. Faith. Debates, setting the terms of a debate.

Video: Click here

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=89058

“Govinda’s,” the dining facility, which some people call “the restaurant,” was open today for the first time since the Covid-19 closure, and patrons are back. It has been a patient wait for folks. Over the months past I’ve been approached plenty of times by Govinda’s fans, in the course of my evening walks. It has been tough to tell people, “We’re closed!”

But now, that’s over. We’re closed on saying “we’re closed.” The food (prasadam) is the big attraction, as well as the atmosphere being a spa