By Kadamba Kanana Swami
We all feel friendship in our relationship with Krsna where we feel great trust that Krsna will always protect us and that he is acting as our friend and our well-wisher. No matter happens, we are not alone in this world, Krsna is with us.
It is said that in the past, sannyasis would give up the world and go into the forest to become fearless. There were two duties for a sannyasi. One was jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ (Bhagavad-gita 16.1), to develop knowledge and the other is
This morning as we were reading from the Sri Caianya-caritamrta a sentence jumped out at me and I had to reach for my yellow highlighter pen. We were reading…
…how a brahmacārī should behave under the care of a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not an enjoyer of facilities offered by his disciples. He is like a parent. Without the attentive service of his parents, a child cannot grow to manhood; similarly, without the care of the spiritual master one cannot rise to the plane of transcende
By Damodar das
“The Krsna consciousness movement therefore issues a supreme call to all kinds of religionists, asking them with great authority to join this movement, by which one can learn how to love God and thus surpass all formulas and formalities of scriptural injunction. A person who cannot overcome the jurisdiction of stereotyped religious principles is compared to an animal chained up by his master. The purpose of all religion is to understand God and develop one’s dormant love of Godh
By Damodar das
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 8.16.
“After meeting with Srila Prabhupada, Tamal Krishna Goswami informed the devotees, ‘Prabhus, Srila Prabhupada just said that we should go back to Godhead in this lifetime. We should not waste another birth. We should finish up now. However, if we need more time, Krishna will add more years to our life. If we are sincere and serious, Krishna will add more years to our life so we can finish up in this very lifetime.’ Krishna is
By Parasurama das
London is not the oldest city but certainly it is one of the most important cities in the world.
The *Romans* founded London about 50 AD. Its name is derived from the Celtic word Londinios, which means the place of the bold one.
So we will attempt to be bold for Krishna. Over the last two weeks so may volunteers came together to build the Krishna Castle in the heart of London’s Holborn.
One of the main builders was “Bhima the Giant” (over seven foot seven tall, a famous movie
By ISKCON-London Communications
Food for Life in London, an initiative from London’s Radha-Krishna Temple, has been feeding hot meals to the homeless for over 20 years, and in 2017 expanded its usual Monday to Thursday offering to include Fridays and Saturdays. Its incredible efforts were officially recognised in December 2017 when the chief organiser of the London-based service, Acyuta Charan dasa (Asish Soni), was honoured with a British Empire Medal (BEM) for voluntary and charitable service
By Madhava Smullen
Lovers of spiritual inspiration may want to set a weekend aside this summer for the Heart of Yoga retreat, to be offered in New York for the sixth time from June 1st to 3rd.
The event grew out of the Bhagavad-gita classes senior Prabhupada disciple Yogesvara Das taught at Jivamukti for ten years.
“We wanted to expand the quantity and variety of activities people could participate in to enhance their bhakti life,” he says. “So we scheduled walking tours, potluck dinners, gues
International director of Food for Life Global www.ffl.org, the world’s largest network of plant-based food relief projects, Priyavrata das has released a new book in the self-help genre called SOUL POWER - Five Noble Truths for a Successful Life that draws from his 35-years of experience as a practitioner of the Bhagavad-gita.
This is a follow-up to his earlier book, the 5-star rated FOOD YOGA - Nourishing Body, Mind & Soul in which he became world famous as the food yogi.
"One evening in Ne
By Damodar Das
Giriraj Swami read Srila Prabhupada’s purport and discussed the song Nitai-pada-kamala by Narottama Dasa Thakura during an evening program.
“We talk about association, but what does that mean? In The Nectar of Instruction, verse 4, Rupa Gosvami discusses:
dadati pratigrhnati
guhyam akhyati prcchati
bhunkte bhojayate caiva
sad-vidham priti-laksanam
Guhyam akhyati prcchati means ‘revealing ones mind in confidence.’ It is very important that devotees are able to do that. Otherwise t
By Purushottam Nitai Das
Tens and thousands of people were out on the streets in the night carrying torches in their hands ready to be part of an extraordinary movement. If they remain silent, lock themselves in their houses and give in to the draconian dictum of the Muslim magistrate of Nabadwip, West Bengal then they would never be able to live freely. They would be like slaves without shackles. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, brahmanas and non-brahmanas, so called upper caste a
By Madhava Smullen
Fortunate People, a project started in the UK by Russian devotee Shaktyavesha Avatar Das, began in 2016 as an offering to Srila Prabhupada for ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary. Participating devotees distribute books and then film the recipients chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra for the first time.
During the recent Prabhupada Marathon of December 2017, the project reached a milestone, collecting 10,375 videos of people chanting around the world.
The project is inspired by Srila
By Mahananda dasa
Our beloved Srila Prabhupada warns us that the material world is a very dangerous place. Krsna promises His devotee in the Bhagavad-gita that if he takes complete shelter of Him and fully depends on Krsna for protection, then He will certainly protect His devotee without a doubt. One should be convinced of this.
The body is not free and independent, but is under the strict laws of material nature and is in the tight grip of the three different modes of nature. The body is in t
By Sadbhuja Das
In less than a month the Grand Installation Ceremony of the remaining two Chakras onto Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s domes will take place. This historic occasion will be ISKCON’s most important event to date and represents almost a decade of effort on the part of all devotees to fulfill the vision of Srila Prabhupada to manifest the adbhuta mandir predicted by Lord Nityananda Prabhu.
Sponsoring one or both Chakras is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve th
Creation of Navadvipa Dhama
So in a discussion between Parvati and Lord Shiva on the creation of Navadvipa Dhama, Mahadeva explained that Srimati Radharani manifests Navadvipa Dhama as Her masterpiece of creative art work to lure Krsna back from a competitor. Of course, transcendental competition is different than anything in this world. It’s all for the pleasure of Krsna. There’s no rivalry. There’s no jealousy. There’s no loser. Everyone wins and is stunned with intimate understanding
Q. One of my close friends has stopped chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra saying that since the mantra destroys all material desires, as a grhastha (householder), he needs the material motivation to support his family, and also that chanting the maha-mantra while maintaining material desires is offensive. He has taken to the chanting of Sri Lakshmi Suktam, which awards material prosperity and also indirectly reminds him of Lord Vishnu. How do I explain things properly to him?
Romapada Swami
Govinda’s Restaurant has been listed as one of the best vegan food places in London by London Evening Standard. If you haven’t tried it, check it out the next time you visit us.
“Tucked away in Soho Square, just around the corner from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street, Hare Krishna restaurant Govinda’s is known for serving a wide range of delicious vegan curries. Its location makes it a pretty ideal lunch spot for shoppers in the area and the healthy, affordable menu is one to try out. 10
Frustration gives way to illumination during one extraordinary night in the life of a prostitute.
While prostitutes are often depicted negatively in traditional literature, some religious texts depict them positively as testimonies to the transformational potency of divine grace. Thus, in the Gospel is found a story of a prostitute (considered by some to be Mary Magdalene) who was redeemed by Jesus. In Gaudiya Vaishnava literature such as the Chaitanya Charitamrita comes the story of the saint
By Mahatma Das
You may be wondering why I chose “No One Can Help You Like You Can” as the title for this article. This statement comes from a conversation in which a devotee asked Prabhupada for help, saying that he was not able to follow the four rules. Prabhupada looked sternly at him and said, “If you do not follow the regulative principles, then no one can help you’.”
Following the practices of Krsna consciousness is the platform from which help comes. It is not that we attract mercy by v
By Indradyumna Swami
Three days ago I flew to Australia to pay my final respects and say goodbye to my godbrother, Venu Gopal dasa, who is dying of cancer. A senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Venu Gopal prabhu has been instrumental in pioneering the Krsna conscious movement in Australia since the early 1970’s. Each day a steady stream of devotees visit his home, situated near the beautiful New Govardhana farming community, to show their love and appreciation for this most wonderful devotee.
By Vaikunthanath
The Montreal temple was going very well, but we always had a difficult time paying the monthly rent, and there was some danger that they would lose the temple at one point because they just didn’t have the rent money.
Prabhupada actually proposed the idea to me and Pradyumna that we should go out and meet people in the Indian community and explain to them that we are trying to establish this Radha-Krishna temple here and maintain this temple and that we would like their support
