The day begins early for visitors to Sridhama Mayapur. They wake many hours before the sun rises, anytime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., to bathe and prepare to go to the early morning mangalarati. At the temple, the pilgrims get in line and wait to enter the temple. Sometimes, the lines can reach up to 400 or 500 meters!
After mangalarati is finished, the devotees in the Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir disperse to various places to chant their japa or do service. The pilgrims are encouraged to stay
Srila Prabhupada’s ingenuity!
Ramesvara das: What Srila Prabhupada did was so ingenious, it has to be appreciated from a historical point of view. No one in modern history has ever made philosophy books popular for the mass market. So what Prabhupada did was a stroke of genius and he should be described as…this should be understood to be part of Prabhupada’s genius in knowing how to popularize Krsna consciousness. That he combined the world’s deepest philosophy with paintings. And the paintings
George Harrison placed a Hare Krishna sticker on the headstock of Eric Clapton’s famous guitar—the red Gibson ES-335 that he played throughout his career until auctioning it for charity to benefit his Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a residential-care facility dedicated to the treatment of drug and alcohol dependency and addiction.
“‘I think this is the star of the show,’ Clapton said prior to the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Auction at Christie’s, where it sold for $847,500. Even though the guitar was
An artist realizes his dream of finding the perfect form.
During my school days in the 1960s, it wasn’t difficult to see that the modern education system was a kind of slaughterhouse for the mind and intellect, a place where individuals were reduced to packaged goods to be consumed by an exploitative society. At age fourteen I decided to become an artist/naturalist, which meant spending lots of time absent from school but present in my local library, and exploring riverbanks, shorelines,
Lecture given in Vrindavan, India, November 12, 1976
To attain bhakti, or pure devotional service to the Lord, one must come to the point of desiring nothing else.
matto ’py anantat paratah parasmat
svargapavargadhipater na kinchit
yesham kim u syad itarena tesham
akinchananam mayi bhakti-bhajam
[Lord Rshabhadeva said:] “I am fully opulent, almighty, and superior to Lord Brahma and Indra, the king of the heavenly planets. I am also the bestower of all happiness obtained in the heavenly kingdom
There has been an attempt to explain the origins of such languages as Sanskrit, Greek and Roman for many years. This is because there has been a recognition of many similarities between them, but the exact original language which they have derived from has never been identified. So they say that it is now extinct, but they call it the Proto-Indo-European Language (PIE). This has now given way to the groupings of many other languages that are now included in what has become the “family” of 439 l
Balabhadra Das: The photo of Srila Prabhupada eating Sugar cane was taken in the first preaching center in Hawaii in an area named Kaaawa in March of 1969. It was Srila Prabhupada’s first visit to Hawaii and Govinda Dasi had arranged many preaching programs. We had borrowed Vamanadadev’s car and driven Srila Prabhupada into town(Honolulu) to KPOI radio station where Srila Prabhupada was going to be interviewed and talk about the chanting of Hare Krsna. Goursundar drove and Govinda dasi sat in t
Dear Srila Prabhupada, please accept my most humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to your international mission to bring the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Love of Sri Krishna to all the people suffering in this material world.
This is called a ‘Tribute’; formally “an act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration.” One can barely scratch the surface.
Srila Prabhupada, thank you for giving us the Holy Name of Hare Krishna. Without this simp
Hail, Srila Prabhupada, full of grace!
Empowered to save the human race.
Had you not come with vigor and brace,
Humanity’d fall into utter disgrace.
Following your order, there’s a hope
We can live up to and manage to cope.
Simply we have to accept in our heart;
Your order will certainly give us the start.
This order is sweet, so don’t retreat.
The end will offset the worst defeat.
Eternal life, full of knowledge and bliss:
This is the goal. Who would dismiss?
If we simply follow your clear e
In a bid to make the inauguration ceremony of Tehatta sub-divisional court building in Nadia district auspicious, the devotees of International Society for Krishna Consciousness Mayapur were invited by Hon’ble District Judge Smt. Rai Chatterjee on 1st of September 2018. The function was attended by top notch dignitaries from legal field, government ministers and administrative machinery. The guests included Hon’ble Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Sri Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, Zonal Judge Hon
The Greatest Friend of Everyone
Birbal, the favourite minister of Emperor Akbar, was an uncommon man of sound common sense. Many were the scintillating conversations the two had together; time seemed to fly when Akbar was in his company.
One day Akbar said to Birbal, “I marvel at some of the fantastic beliefs that you Hindus hold. You believe that the Lord comes to this earth in the garb of a human being – what an absurd notion this is!”
“What is so absurd about it, sire?” asked Birbal. “The Cr
Dearest Srila Prabhupada: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you!
Today we are celebrating my favorite day of the year: the day of your advent within this material world 122 years ago. In a moment of intimacy you once shared with one of my godbrothers the reason for your appearance. You were sitting in the quarantine hall at Bombay airport after arriving from Africa. Immigration officials had denied you entry because your servant had forgotten your yellow fever vaccination card.
"Dear members of ISKCON!
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to the Previous Acharyas! All glories to the divine appearance day of Lord Sri Krishna!
I have been asked to speak a few words on the occasion of Lord Krishna’s appearance day; Krishna Janmastami. Just now some of you are distributing books, some are taking care of the Deities, some are chanting, some are cooking, in all different parts of the world. As members of ISKCON, we are all parts o
Cancer is becoming a more and more common disease, also amongst devotees. Infact, it is becoming one of the main causes leading to death. Dealing now with this diagnose for the second time inspires me to try and share some little insights, hoping that it might help others who will be facing a similar situation.
As a rule, this diagnose of cancer is the most horrifying news to people, leading to utter bewilderment, depression and devastation. However, a devotee can nicely turn such material cala
Srila Prabhupada’s appearance and accomplishments are a turning point not only in Gaudiya Vaisnavism, but in the very history of human civilization, so it is not surprising that they were predicted many centuries ago. In several ancient religious traditions, the sacred scriptures usually include passages or whole sections dealing with predictions. Some of these passages are marked by a veiled language and are often interpreted in different ways. Interpretations are subjective and may be relativ
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 mercy, how can one cross o
ebe nama sankirtana tikshna khadaga laiya
antara asura jivera phelibe katiya
“Taking the sharp sword of the congregational chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, (nama-sankirtana) I will root out and destroy the demoniac mentality in the hearts of all the conditioned souls.”
yadi papi chadi dharma dure dese yaya
mora senapati-bhakta yaibe tathaya
“If some sinful people escape and giving up religious principles go to far off countries, then my senapati-bhakta (military commander) will come at that t
What is Janmashtami?
Janmashtami commemorates the earthly appearance of Krishna, who is described in India’s sacred writings as God Himself. One of the biggest religious festivals in the world, it is celebrated by nine hundred and thirty million people around the world–and tw
Revisiting the Still Point!
Today I would like to describe what has to happen for a normal conditioned soul to become a devotee. I would like to present the dynamics of transformation – how they are explained in the Vedas.
It is not an easy transformation. Someone who wants to keep things the way they are cannot really enter into spiritual life and undergo transformation. Sometimes spiritual life is seen as an addition to ordinary life, but if we take it seriously it becomes our life and the o
Does the small group in ISKCON serve the local temple, or does the temple serve the small group? Who serves whom?
It’s a question that’s often asked in organisations, especially in charities or campaigning groups: Does the local branch of a charity serve the national office, or does national office serve the branch? Do finances and resources flow from the branches back up to the head office, or from head office down to the branches?
In many organisations that are not functioning all that well,
