From Back to Godhead
Not getting what you want? Perhaps that’s good for you.
“Please cancel my tickets,” I said to my friend on the phone. “I won’t be able to go.”
I hung up the phone and sank down onto my bed, my head in my hands. My friend had arranged my tickets for the trip to Jagannatha Puri and Mayapur I had been so eagerly looking forward to, and now I had to cancel. The past few weeks in my life had been very turbulent, so when my friends proposed a spiritual retreat to these two holy p
By Madhava Smullen
The long-awaited new book, “Yamuna Devi: The Study of Seva-Puja,” is here. The work presents and expands upon the original “Deity Book,” a parchment-paged binder about deity worship and dress which Yamuna Devi, a much-loved ISKCON pioneer, and early Prabhupada disciple, created and brought with her to each ashram she resided in.
Guests frequently asked her to publish the book, and now, nine years after her passing, Dinatarini Devi, her companion in devotional life for 37 yea
Hare Krishna dear devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Re: Health update of H.H.Bhakti Chaitanya Swami Maharaj
Maharaj had a Doppler ultrasound today which showed that he has Deep Vein Thrombosis(DVT) of his left lower limb (blood clots in the veins of the lower limbs). There are various contributing factors. The DVT has resulted in a pulmonary embolus and this is the reason for his breathing difficulty over the past few days. He is currently on trea
“Don’t let any opportunities go by! What if you are missing out in life? You may never get that opportunity again!” This is a common worldview, whereby this life is all there is considered to be. There is nothing after it and everything that you want to possibly experience has to be experienced in this one little life. Time is moving and you have to be quick. And that creates anxiety. You now have choices to make, and they better be the right ones because if you make the wrong choice, then, you
We had a nice discussion from The Gita, chapter 10, text 27, highlighting at least three representations of God. The chapter is entitled “Opulence of the Absolute.” Our Thursday Zoom group delved into the super horse Uccaisrava, the elephant, Airavata, and lastly the king.
The super horse was invoked from the event of the churning of the ocean of milk. The super elephant, Airavata, was also born from the churning. He became the chief among elephants and has Indra riding on his back. Indra is t
Krishna is self-satisfied and does not need anything, but out of His mercy He will accept our offerings of love and devotion.
Krishna’s supreme opulence surpasses all description and comparison. Millions of goddesses of fortune serve Him in the spiritual realm. He is the supreme controller, the ultimate refuge, and the proprietor of everything. Yet, because of His love for His devotees, the all-powerful Lord accepts their loving offerings.
Krishna consciousness helps us recognize and reestablis
By Jaganmohini devi dasi
Sri Ramanavami day was special for us this year. As I was doing our regular morning worship in our altar with flowers, fruits and incense, we offered special prayers to Lord Ramachandra. Recalling that the abhishek of the Lord was the first festival that we participated in ISKCON temple few decades back, and also reminiscing our childhood days, when my father would daily narrate us(children) different stories from this great epic Ramayana, I expressed to Lord, it has be
In mid September as the summer drew to a close, 55 of the Manor youth gathered in the Sri Krishna Haveli to meet old friends and new at the aptly named “Reconnect” event. The gathering saw both Manor nursery and Gurukul alumni, and many others who have also been born and raised in the Manor community, get together to engage in energising activities, deep discussion, rocking kirtan and delicious prasadam. This event came about after a longing of the youth to gather more frequently and connect mo
My walk to the shiatzu centre was a pleasant movement through the rain under an umbrella. It was a few minutes of contemplation. I find that rain often does that; heightens the pensive nature in us. As long as it’s not too long. I recall days on the marathon walks when a full eight hours was with rain and in the rain. Few motorists stop to talk. It’s just me and the rain, or rather Krishna.
That’s always the way to think of it. It’s Krishna.
Only today I contemplated on His devotee and his pure
How can we chant in a way that it makes us forget the material world and run to Krsna? When you sit down to chant, there will be moments in which you notice that your mind wandered somewhere else – ‘Uuups, I was thinking about my shopping list, that I have to close this deal to get more money and that Suresh Patel said something bad about me – well, he can just wait – I will show it to him!’ You will notice, ‘Where was I? I am sitting here in saintly company, chanting, but what happened?’ What
So, let us just look at the phone. Because that is the issue of the day. It is the phone that is being used in the name of pushing on this movement, that is destroying this movement. It is a crisis, an addiction. Very addictive thing. Try not to touch it and see how long you can. How long can you not touch it? Do not touch it! There, we can see how it creeps in little by little. We are using all these electronics in the service of Krsna. And then these electronics are taking over our life and gr
Even when there is duty, we have to see what will be the effect of the duty. Not everything should be done very blindly. This is devotee. Devotee means he’s not blind. Yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah. (SB 5.18.12) [“All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge, and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva.”] Bhagavad-bhakta means he w
For the first time in ISKCON history, and to honor the 125th Appearance Anniversary Year of Srila Prabhupada, the TOVP management is organizing an online Sampradaya Samelan (summit) that includes the head acharyas of the four Vaishnava sampradayas.
On October 14, during the first day of the Welcome Ceremony of Srila Prabhupada’s new murti to the TOVP, a ZOOM call will ensue for this purpose and be broadcast by Mayapur TV as part of the two-day welcome event. All four acharyas as well as other s
Coco is a household super dog at the Mississauga home of Pusta Krishna and Tejasvi. He is a 2-year-old full of energy who recognizes strangers. Well, when I went to visit the family, he singled me out, but soon got used to me. Unique about this fellow is that he loves prasadam, food blessed by Krishna. He was happy to lick my fingers clear after I completed my meal of asparagus tofu subji, salad and puris.
Smarta brahmans are an orthodox-type of priests and if any of them would see the eager ca
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
Hearing Srila Prabhupada Solves All Our Problems
Srila Prabhupada once said that when devotees give up practicing Krishna consciousness it is ‘fifty percent their fault, and fifty percent ISKCON’s”. In this article I would like to explore what I perceive as a systemic problem contributing to our society’s fifty percent of the blame.
It is surely surprising that someone should get as far as seriously following the process of Krishna consciousness, only to give it up again. Most of us experienc
When we talk about sankirtana, we are, of course, talking about the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names, specifically in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. For many people, this is the first way they come in contact with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, and with Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana movement, by hearing the devotees chanting the holy names. But what is it about this process that makes it so effective, and so important in the way people are first exposed to it?
To answer th
Wednesday morning, after clamoring aboard a United 747 Jet, I flew over the Pacific Ocean, crossed the international dateline, and landed in Tokyo, Japan at 2:30pm Thursday afternoon.
Ten minutes before our jet landed in Tokyo, our chief purser asked the passengers - who had been without sunlight for nearly eleven hours - to open their window shades.
The instant the passengers opened the shades we were treated to a most magnificent sight: the green earth below with all its majesty and variety.
From Back to Godhead
When Krishna leaves Vrindavana to become the ruler of a great kingdom, He remains the same Krishna, the treasure of His devotees’ hearts.
The Krishna deity worshiped at the Hare Krishna temple in Los Angeles, where I live, is named Dvarakadhisha, “the Lord of Dvaraka.” Dvaraka is the pristine island Lord Krishna rules in His adult years. (Although Krishna lived in Dvaraka when He was present on earth five thousand years ago, Dvaraka exists eternally in the spiritual world.
