The reason why we chant without taste or without being attentive is because we are chanting without remembrance of Krsna. The more we remember Krsna in our daily lives, the more naturally we will be inclined to chant with taste. For instance, while Srimati Radharani was churning yoghurt to make butter, she was remembering Krsna constantly. And as she was remembering Krsna, she was also chanting Krsna’s name. So it is this remembrance of Krsna that is really lacking in us. When we are not feeling
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Chapter Ten: Spiritual Marriage and Balanced Training
“The soldiers in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life. What constitutes a normal condition will not be the same for everyone, and therefore there are divisions of varṇāśrama—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa.” (SB. 8.2.30, purport).
Śrīla P
From Back to Godhead
A life that allows us to reunite with mother earth and offer her products to Krishna favors our spiritual growth.
Srila Prabhupada writes, “Whatever is taken from the earth either from the mines, from the surface of the globe, or from the atmosphere should always be considered the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and should be used for Yajna, Lord Vishnu. As soon as the process of yajna [sacrifice] is stopped, the earth will withhold all productions vegetabl
Indira Nayee passed away from cancer. She was a great devotee, wife, parent and a devout member of our community. She moved to Canada from Africa with her husband, Tusti Mohan and their two boys (my Sunday school students) decades ago. Here is my poem—a tribute to her:
Indira—Remarkable
Our obeisances to a dear lady
Of refinement, nothing short of holy
Quietly she would move about
Not raise her voice, nor even a shout
Carrying the pure nature of a mother
Hard-pressed we are to find another
Foc
The opening salvo of the preface for The Nectar of Instruction begins thus: “The Krsna consciousness movement is conducted under the supervision of Srila Rupa Goswami.” What does it mean to have this role? How actively involved is Srila Rupa Goswami in our everyday lives? Is he literally supervising all of us?
Before understanding this supervisory function, we need to know who Srila Rupa Goswami is in relation to ourselves, our spiritual masters, and the previous acaryas going back to the time
Perhaps one of the more endearing images in the Bhagavad-gita is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, driving the chariot of His friend, the warrior Arjuna. When we accept the notion of God as a person then we can begin to ask, What does he do? How does he interact with us, and especially how does he interact with his pure devotees, such as Arjuna? Krishna chooses to be the chariot driver of Arjuna in the Battle of Kurukshetra where the Bhagavad-gita was spoken.
This role of charioteer
By Srila B.R Sridhara Maharaja
In his last days for some time he told us his heart was damaged and then some sort of treatment, by a Kaviraji and other party that was arranged. But gradually he became weaker and weaker. Then October of ’36 he went to Puri along with some of us to Purusottama Math on the Catak Parvat. There is one sandhill, hillock there and he lived there in his bungalow and so many of us also went with him.
He was very fond of hearing that sloka of Dasa Goswami, nijane katim va
A new day was just about to come,
And a new year lapsed when the cold made us numb.
We rough and ready were all bundled up,
We held back conserved energy like a young pup.
In anticipation, which was so very high,
Our drum mallet beats began entering the sky,
At location—Old City Hall—with its new face,
Still on Queen’s Street at its usual place.
Everyone was appareled in holiday cheer,
For an annual rite set for the New Year.
Hope was triggered for a better tomorrow,
Putting behind any of yester
Srila Prabhupada: In 1936, just on the 13th, December, I wrote him one letter. Not 13th. I think by the beginning of December, 1936, I wrote one letter to Guru Maharaja. I knew he was little kind upon me, so I wrote that “Guru Maharaja, you have got many disciples. I am also one of them. But they are doing direct service to you. Some of them are brahmacaris, some of them sannyasis, but I am a householder. I cannot…” Of course, I was giving sometimes some monetary help, but I could not give any
Some devotees seldom use the word ‘mystical’ when describing other worldly subjects, due to obscure hazy connotations; preferring instead to use terms like inconceivable, transcendental or spiritual. Srila Prabhupada quite often used the word in the context of performing sincere devotional service, and the benefits derived from Bhakti.
It is known that Srila Prabhupada had a number of mystical experiences which he would tell to his close friends. Being aware of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s order to
By Madhava Smullen
Devotees in the Czech Republic read the entireity of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is online during a nonstop 27-hour live broadcast on the sacred occasion of Gita Jayanti, December 25th.
The idea was originated by Loka Saranga Das and moderated by Madhu Pandit Das, while Priya-kirti Das advertised the livestream. The reading, conducted via Zoom and broadcast on Youtube, was also inspired by Vaisesika Das’s Live to Give Campaign.
More than thirty devotees read from th
A Talk by Giriraj Swami
December 19, 2005
San Diego
We are gathered on the most auspicious occasion of the disappearance anniversary of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada, the spiritual master of our Srila Prabhupada. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was born in Jagannatha Puri as the son of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who was a magistrate and the superintendent of the Jagannatha temple in Puri. At that time, during the British rule, the position
By Giriraj Swami
“For us, every day is a New Year. Nava-nava-rasa-dhamany. Our Krishna consciousness is so nice, the more you advance, the more you see new year, new year. That’s all. Nothing is old. People are seeing that ‘They are simply chanting the same old slogan, Hare Krishna.’ But we are feeling new pleasure in every moment. Take any other chanting, you cannot chant more than a few hours. But the Hare Krishna mantra we can chant perpetually. So, unless there is new enlightenment, how we c
2020. It’s been a rough year. Brutal for some. Revelatory for others, especially that the leaders in the Kali-yuga (the age of quarrel and hypocrisy) are pretend leaders. There is no proper training on how to be a leader. This pretending has been going on for quite some time, and now it has only become more evident.
In Mahabharata, the teacher, Dronacarya, sent the two prime candidates for leadership into the city to perform a task. Duryodhana is sent to find someone better than himself. Yudhist
How to Change this Year? You Need to Freak Out!
Our cultural conditioning tells us we should make resolutions for the new year. Of course, the perennial problem is that most of us haven’t followed through on our previous year’s resolutions. And it can even get depressing to think about how many times this has happened. So maybe it is better we don’t make any resolutions this year. This way we’ll have nothing to lament about in early February when we haven’t followed through.
Well, actually I th
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2) To see myself as a survivor rather than a victim.
3) To see how I truly am the architect of my own destiny and how my feeling, thinking and willing determine how my life takes shape.
4) I resolve to reaffirm my dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON with a view to take very seriously his statement that ISKCON is his body and become determined to heal that body or die trying.
5) I resolve to set my sights on the highest possible goal. Srila Prabhupada said he would know his mov
Most resolutions take the form of “do’s”—things I resolve to do—and “don’ts”—things I resolve to not do. And Vedic wisdom tells us that all do’s and don’ts should support one main do—always remember Krishna (God)—and one main don’t—never forget Him.
Now, practically, what can we do to always remember Krishna and never forget Him? The item most favorable for remembering Him is chanting and hearing: chanting and hearing His holy names—the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—and chanting and hearing His trans
By Janananda Gosvami
Hey that’s not what Prabhupada said. You’ve got it the wrong way round. He said ” resolution, then revolution, then dissolution—no solution!
What do you mean revolution? Another ISKCON reform, a changing of the guards, change the structure of the management, get rid of the tyrants at the top, throw out the guru system, bring in the uttama bhagavata, a philosophical revelation. Aha! An unveiling of the hidden mysteries of ISKCON history, the latest solve the problems techniq
A Talk by Radhanath Swami January 2, 2010 Bhaktivedanta Manor England
When we asked His Holiness Giriraj Swami what tonight’s topic would be, he said, “I will lead kirtana and see what emerges from my heart.” I will try to speak a few words on some of the primary themes of His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja’s beautiful dissertation.
Maharaja was stressing how much suffering comes to us in this world when we individually and collectively forget the purpose of life. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thak
I would like to express a happy new year to all the readers and also say that we should not be so torn by the social circumstances of these days. This is the play of the mundane world. There is always some agitation.
At noon I had lunch with one of our ashram residents, Uttamananda. He brought up a topic that is indeed upsetting. As he is driving through the day he sees how the big chain box stores are permitted to be open for business. However, “The small persons doors are required to be shut d
