By James Cooper
In 1786 Sir William Jones, a Welsh philologist and judge of the supreme court of Bengal, sent shock waves throughout Europe with the following speech he gave in his address to the Asiatic society of Bengal.
“The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than c
If a devotee child grows up to be a non-devotee, is this evidence that the parents mood at the time of conception was anything but Krishna conscious? Are the parents to be blamed, or are there other factors that determine this outcome?
Is it possible that in spite of the parents best interest and loving Krishna conscious attention given to their children, that such children can turn their backs altogether, to pursue life, as they desire most? Would there have to be a major problem for this to o
By HH Sacinandana Swami
A gift that the Lord has given to everyone is the opportunity to choose, and especially to make enlightened choices that bring us out of the dark periods of our lives back to a life of enthusiastic Krsna consciousness. It is never appropriate to say “I am a victim of circumstances.” I have seen in my life: no matter the circumstance we can always take shelter in Krsna. You may not always find relief, but you can always find shelter. What do I mean by that? When we are ti
A group of forty devotees have completed the first one-year GBC College Course in Latin America, which included online classes and two residential courses, preparing them to become ISKCON’s future leaders.
The program began in April last year, and the second residential course, lasting fourteen days, just concluded on April 27th.
The men and women participating ranged in age from twenty-five years old up to their mid-fifties, and hailed from Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Chile,
Sri Radha Nila Madhava Satsang
ISKCON – Trivandrum
14th Annual Rathyatra was celebrated with pomp and splendor in the state capital. Hundreds of devotees pulled Sri Jagannath Rath with loudly reverberating Holy names. Sri Vimal, Asst DGP inaugurated the Rath. Inaugural ceremonies took place in SFI union building, which is a landmark. HG Vaishnava seva prabhu (ISKCON Rajkot TP) and HG Kalachakra prabhu inaugurated the ceremony.
Hundreds of Srila Prabhupada’s books were distributed during the pr
In this presentation, Hari-dhama dasa discusses an important social issue for the Society: that of providing care for the terminally ill in the movement. Since Vaisnava hold very dear the hope of dying in the association of devotees and at a place of pilgrimage, ISKCON faces a challenging task in providing this facility and care for its members. The author argues that both spiritual care and medical care should be available to patients, be they in a secular hospice or in a religious institution
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
The development of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness is very interesting. Srila Prabhupada at an old age was very mature and brought everything – the perfection of spiritual life, the maturity of age and his vision and experience. All his followers were in their twenties with an exceptional one in his thirties. By the time Prabhupada left there were a number in their thirties, but basically there was a fifty year gap. We are looking at a fifty year gap, a
By Srutakirti dasa
October 7, 1972, Berkeley, California
One evening, Srila Prabhupada spoke at the University of California in Berkeley, the heart of the hippie capital. The San Francisco devotees enthusiastically received him and relished his lecture. They prepared barrels of popcorn and distributed it following Srila Prabhupada’s lecture.
“What is that?” His Divine Grace asked.
“Popcorn, Srila Prabhupada,” Jayananda explained. “Would you like some?”
“Yes, give me some,” Srila Prabhupada said
A talk by Giriraj Swami, September 5, 2010, Sri Vrindavan Dham, Kazakhstan.
Hearing His Holiness Niranjana Swami’s wonderful talk, I felt we were being elevated to the spiritual world. He quoted from Vishnujana Maharaja. Vishnujana had a program in which he went by boat along the Ganges River, in Bengal, and chanted the holy names all day, stopping at villages along the way and chanting and speaking and distributing books about Krishna. Once, when I was in Los Angeles recovering from being sick
The Glories of Varuthini Ekadasi: Sri Yudhisthira Maharaj said, “Oh Vasudeva, I offer my most humble obeisances unto You. Please now describe to me the Ekadasi of the dark fortnight (krsna paksha) of the month of Vaisakha (April-May), including its specific merits and influence.”
Lord Sri Krishna replied, “Oh King, in this world and the next, the most auspicious and magnanimous Ekadasi is Varuthini Ekadasi, which occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Vaisakha.
Whosoever observes a co
Vrndavana Dasa was born in Mamagachi in the Navadvipa area of West Bengal. His mother was Narayani, the niece of Srivasa Pandita.
Vrndavana Dasa’s father, Vaikunthanatha Vipra, was from Sylet in East Bengal. However, it is said that his father died before he was born and so his mother moved to the house of Srivasa in Mayapur.
In his youth Vrndavana Dasa took initiation from Lord Nityananda and he was apparently the last disciple that Nityananda accepted.
In 1535, Vrndavana Dasa wrote the Chaita
By Kadamba Kanana Swami
In the Eleventh Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam there is a chapter entitled the Bhumi Gita – the song of the earth. The earth is explaining, “So many have tried to possess me, to control me, lord it over me. And now what remains of them? Only names.” So we see that influence of time which destroys everything and takes everything away. It is painful to lose one’s influence, to lose one’s power. It is painful to become old, but there also is an advantage, if one is engaged
