By Parasuram Das
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world to preach in every town and village. In the Caitanya-sampradaya those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the words of Krsna–Bhagavad-gita–and Srimad-Bhagavatam. The more the devotees preach the principles of krsna-katha, the more people throughout the world will benefit.
Devotees like the
By Madhava Smullen
On behalf of BBT Marketing, Communications and Innovations Department
The Go Matsya project aims to save and preserve Vedic culture through distribution of full Srimad-Bhagavatam sets, as the Bhagavatam is the essence of all Vedic literature. Now the project has spread from the US to the UK, where it is taking off in new and exciting ways.
Launched in ISKCON Silicon Valley, California in January 2017 by BBT Trustee Vaisesika Das, Go Matsya is a kind of spiritual multi-level m
By Kesava Krsna Dasa
Here are some thoughts and mediations of Sri Gaura-Hari as we approach His glorious appearance day:
Who Can Dance Like Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?
The dancing of Lord Chaitanya was so astounding that even the Lord of the universe, Sri Jagannatha was astonished. Lord Jagannatha who has seen the best of everything within and outside of the universes, how can He be astonished? Dance in Vaikuntha and Goloka must be beyond compare. The dance of destruction by Rudra must be inexpli
From Back to Godhead
By Gour Govinda Swami
Bhubaneswar, India, March 17, 1992 – The Appearance Day of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
WE SHOULD KNOW the cause for the appearance of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, Lord Caitanya. There are two causes: external and internal. The external cause is to teach Kali-yuga dharma, the religion for Kali-yuga, the Age of Quarrel. That religion ishari-sankirtana, the chanting of the holy name.
kali-yuga dharma haya hari-sankirtana
etad arthe avatirna sri sacinandana
Sa
Every year, in the month of Phalguna (Feb-March), the birth of Lord Chaitanya is celebrated as Sri Gaura Purnima. Lord Chaitanya advented Himself in Navadipa, West Bengal in the year 1407 of the Shaka Era on the Purnima (full moon) of the month of Phalguna corresponding to 18th February 1486 AD. He exhibited His transcendental pastimes for forty-eight years and disappeared in A.D. 1534. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived in grihastha ashrama for twenty-four years and in sannyasa ashrama for the next t
The word Chaitanya means “living force.” As indicated in the revealed scriptures, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Kṛiṣhṇa Himself, the supreme living entity. As the Supreme, He is full in six opulences: wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.
As the Personality of Godhead, Lord is the reservoir of all spiritual and cosmic manifestation (animate and inanimate). He is the fountainhead of all incarnations. He is the complete for
Lord Chaitanya is the teacher of the religion of transcendental love of Sri Krishna. He was born at Sridham Mayapur in the year 1486. For a long time it was believed that the real site of birth of the Lord were washed away by the river Bhagirathi. However these places were later discovered with painstaking effort by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in the year 1887. In 1893, Bhaktivinoda Thakura established Yoga-pitha as the actual site of Lord Chaitanya’s appearance. He personally collected the fund
Gaura Purnima is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (who is also known as Gauranga due to His golden complexion), and this year we are celebrating the 531st anniversary of His appearance on March 12, 2017. This festival also marks the beginning of the New Year for Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to establish Sankirtana (chanting of the Holy Names) – the Yuga Dharma for this age of Kali. He appeared on Phalguni Purnima,
By Anandini Padayachee
“They [the masses] must have their illusions at all costs; they turn instinctively, as the insect seeks the light, to the rhetoricians who accord them what they want. No truth, but error has always been the chief factor in the evolution of nations…. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduces them.” (Gustave Le Bon, 1995: 132).
The advent of ‘modernity’ saw the eradicatio
I was reading in the Uddhava Gita where there is a whole list of qualities given. One quality given is heroism. It is said that heroism means to overcome the natural tendency to enjoy the material life; that is a hero! Men and women alike, are heroes and heroines when they give up this tendency to enjoy material life.
In youth, when still very young, when taking up Krsna consciousness, one may wonder “Don’t you know what you are giving up? Those few years that you have, you are so eager to sacr
No one is so powerful that he is not influenced by maya, the illusory energy. Even Lord Brahma can sometimes become bewildered by illusory energy. Therefore we can never think, “Oh well, now I have been a devotee for ninety-nine years and maya cannot touch me. What can maya do to me? It does not affect me. I am a bhakti yogi.”
No. We should understand what Srila Prabhupada mentions about Ajamila – Ajamila was a qualified brahmana, Ajamila went through gurukula, Ajamila was properly trained, he
By Mahatma das
Vengeance, envy, anger, and discord are often higher within religious groups than elsewhere (“We have enough religion to hate, but not enough to love”). We need to be careful about this in Iskcon.
Recently I came across this quote:
“Religious people often become self righteous, judgmental, resentful, condemning, etc. as they see more faults in man than other’s see. Psychologists have noted that piety can easily become an unhealthy form of neurosis rather than a healthy form of r
“The best time and place is Mayapur on Lord Caitanya’s Appearance Day. That is not only the best for me but for everyone. Mayapur is meant for that. If possible all devotees from all our centers should go for 8 days at that time.” – Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Tamal Krishna, Bhaktivedanta Manor 20 July, 1973
A few hours north of Kolkata is the holy land of Navadvipa, also known as Sri Dham Mayapur, which is celebrated and worshiped by Gaudiya Vaishnava devotees because it was in this very place
From Back to Godhead
Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita is the record of immortal activities of the Lord. In the first part 9th chapter of the book the welfare activities of the Lord is described in nutshell.
According to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, everyone who is born in the holy land of Bharat Varash or India must engage himself in the welfare activities for the human society. He says that one desirous of doing welfare activity must implant in his own life the real ideas of welfare. For witho
Lecture on Gaura Purnima Class by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on 27 Mar 2013 at ISKCON Phoenix
(Bhakti Charu Swami is from a Bengali family and spent most of his early childhood in urban Kolkata. He met with Srila Prabhupada at the end of 1976 after a long and intense search for a spiritual teacher. This initial meeting resulted in Bhakti Charu Swami being assigned to translate the books of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust into the Bengali language.)
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From Back to Godhead
Discover Krishna’s law of attraction, the real power behind the latest rage in the self-improvement marketplace.
The Secret, a book and DVD by Rhonda Byrne, is getting a lot of attention as sales soar. The author claims that if we apply the principles she lays out, we can achieve whatever we desire. People from all walks of life are excitedly latching on to her ideas.
In the beginning of the DVD, ancient-looking texts in a medieval ambiance invite us to discover secret know
Prasadam is All-Attractive
Someday the masses of people are going to find out about prasadam. It’s inevitable.
Prasadam is all-attractive, who could resist it? No matter who you are there’s some variety of prasadam which has the potency to captivate you, absorb you, make you forget about everything else that you hold dear. For no one can taste prasadam only once. After the first experience one is invariably forced to try it again and again until finally he gives up eating everything else. It
Less reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books, minimizing his position by more elaborate guru-pujas than SP’s guru-puja, introduction of new, unauthorized literature, demigod and non Vaishnava worship in Iskcon temples, Indian social customs like rakhi, minimizing prasadam standards, inappropriate items offered to the deities like frozen vegetables, relaxed sexual behavior, improper decorations of the Deities, non traditional kirtans by chanting names non associated with Lord Krishna and more.
Sourc
Some suggestions on how to stay inspired.
Somehow, it happens that our motivation in Krishna consciousness may falter. Usually that faltering comes in the form of lacking the desire to do some practical service, associate with devotees, or develop our spiritual practices, such as improving the quality or quantity of our chanting or of our reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Whenever this happens to me or a friend, I realize the urgency and fragility of devotional service and the importance of
Hare Krishna, please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
“Yes, my order still stands. Please organize Back to Godhead distribution and do it nicely. The sankirtana party and distribution of our magazines and books is our real program. Other things are secondary. So during the summer time you should utilize this program of sankirtana and book distribution vigorously. Attention diverted to incense business is not a very good sign. We should give all our energy for distri
