By Chaitanya Charan Das
“Merely having an open mind is nothing; the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” – G K Chesterton
Contemporary ethos exhorts us to be open-minded and excoriates the follies and perils of close-mindedness. Given that many people with narrow-minded, black-and-white view of things are intolerant and even violent, we do need reminders to be open-minded.
And yet overemphasizing the danger of one extreme can push us to t
During the past weeks, I have frequently thought of the following verse and purport from Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.5.2):
vidura uvaca
sukhaya karmani karoti loko
na taih sukham vanyad-uparamam va
vindeta bhuyas tata eva duhkham
yad atra yuktam bhagavan vaden nah
“Vidura said: O great sage, everyone in this world engages in fruitive activities to attain happiness, but one finds neither satiation nor the mitigation of distress. On the contrary, one is only aggravated by such activities.
By Ananta Gauranga Das
When Alexander the Great lead his men through the Gedrosian Desert, the loss of life was colossal. He sent phalanxes of his army in search of water. After many hours they came back with just enough to fill a helmet. The parched army handed over the precious liquid to their commander. He clasped the helmet in both hands and to the dismay of his troops, poured its contents onto the sand. Alexander proclaimed, “If the men don’t drink, then I don’t drink”. This selfless act f
By Sri Bhakti Das
Hare Krishna dear Vaishnavas/is, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The 2017 Santiago’s Ratha Yatra was a great experience.
Some time ago we had the opportunity to give a Srimad Bhagavatam compendium to the Major of the Municipality of Providencia, Mrs. Evelyn Matthei. This year, together with Pundavanika Devi Dasi (Co-Director of the Festival), we had a meeting with the Management of Neighborhoods, Heritage and Tourism of the same local gover
By Urmila Devi Dasi
Proponents of contraception claim it solves many social problems. Are they right? Thirteen-year-old Jenny broke the silence. “Rhoda, I was a birth-control baby.” “Birth-control baby? I never heard of that.” “The birth control my mother and father used didn’t work, and the result was me.” “You mean you weren’t wanted.” Jenny didn’t answer. She hunched the covers over her shoulders. Rhoda leaned across the beds to touch Jenny’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said su
There was an auspicious event last Sunday in Istanbul. In the past, we had Govinda Istanbul functioning in Turkey between late 2010 and mid-2013 and distributed a lot prasadam and met wonderful people. It was one of our basis of our preaching activities in Turkey and then we had yoga center and couldn’t find suitable circumstances to run a restaurant. After we moved our Goranga Yoga Centre to a new location last year we got better facilities and opportunity to start a restaurant in Turkey again
One of the first books that I read by Srila Prabhupada was Easy Journey to Other Planets. At the time UFO’s were a big thing. Television programs like Star Trek, The Outer Limits and Twilight Zone were all the rage. Everyone was talking about the latest sightings of flying saucers in their part of the country. As a youngster my imagination ran wild. I used to wonder what it would be like to transfer myself to another planet or dimension. It seemed within the realm of possibility.
Over the years
I love to read books and especially love the practice of ‘lectio divina’ which is a slow reading of sacred literature. It’s the process of allowing the text to speak to you (so to speak) and staying with words, passages or verses that stir some feeling, some emotion. Here is the verse that I felt curiously moved by and drawn to again and again last year.
“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings, nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” Sri Krishna, Bhaga
An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and…
Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is this God good then? Hmm? (Student is silent.)
Prof: You can’t answe
It is often difficult to keep secrets, especially about one’s health, so after due consideration, I am publically sharing that after preliminary tests, secondary cancer has been discovered in a swollen lymph node in my neck. There is at least one more test in conventional medicine that could be performed—a PET or full body scan—to try to find the primary cancer. Unfortunately, I have found that just mentioning the word cancer freaks everyone out, as if this is a death sentence. However, this is
We are pleased to announce the 8th Annual International Vaishnavi Retreat at Govardhana .
The Retreat was started jointly in 2011 by the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (VIHE) and the GBC Vaishnavi Care sub-committee with the aim of facilitating spiritual association among women in bhakti. This retreat offers a wonderful opportunity for women from all over the world, who are eager for sadhvi-sanga. Our compact schedule is designed to maximize devotional synergy throughout the retreat.
Enough has been said and done in Gujarat during last two months for winning one of the most prestigious elections both Congress and BJP have ever fought. False promises, blatant lies, speculations, dirty manipulation of Gujarati sentiments, unethical media coverage and foul language have been some of the highlights. Now when reality has slapped on the face of falsehood, question arises as to whose fault it is? Rahul Gandhi, a trainee leader, or the Congress, the grand old scandal ridden party?
By Mahatma das
Since the new year is around the corner, it’s natural to talk about new year’s resolutions. You might be thinking about doing something you’ve put off or making some changes for the new year. You might even be making the same resolutions you made last year at this time. Or maybe you just don’t make them anymore because you never follow through on them anyway.
“There’s hope”
Do You Just Want It or Are You Committed to Get It?
Srila Prabhupada cites Dhruva Maharaja as a perfect exa
“Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami who started it all” is a fascinating and informative documentary that is shrewdly crafted, giving a one-sided, favourable account of the Guru who spread Krishna consciousness globally. The film tells us how Prabhupada, a fol
By Padmapani das
Sometimes it appears very difficult to make advancement in Krishna consciousness and we become impatient. If we expect immediate results and they aren’t forthcoming, we can easily become discouraged. For those of us who are unable to live in a temple (or even near a temple), this is especially true. So what’s the solution?
In November of 1969 while speaking in London’s Conway Hall, Srila Prabhupada stated the following:
“The process is very simple. Just keep a picture of Lord C
Is it wrong to want to taste Krsna? Wouldn’t that desire be sense gratification? Shouldn’t we just serve without any personal desire? These are important questions to address.
There is a difference between taste in Krsna consciousness and sense gratification, although they can seem similar, and thus difficult to distinguish. We discuss this difference, as well as the necessity of developing the proper taste for Krsna consciousness.
Mahatma Das: The Goal is to Gratify Krsna’s Senses
What is the
There is one price that one must pay to get Krsna. That price is intense eagerness. This intense eagerness is called laulyam , “greed.”
In his Padyavali, Rupa Goswami has composed the following verse:
“Pure devotional service in Krsna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price—that is, intense greed to obtain it. If bhakti is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.”
Here Rupa Goswami says th
By Vraja Kishor
QUESTION: Another thing which I wanted to ask you was regarding Chanting. Japa as I have understood is a Dhayana Yoga with Dhayana being done on Sri Naam which is non different from Sri Hari. So whatever Krishna has said in Chapter 6 can be taken as an aid towards Sri Naam Dhayan.
This is true but remember what he says later too. For example in Chapter 12 at the beginning.
Krishna nāma mantra is basically like any other form of meditation (dhyāna), and therefore should follow th
By Subhag Swami
I am very happy to hear that devotees are gathering together in Penang to pay their homage to His Holiness Bhakti Vrajendra Swami Maharaj and showing their love, affection, dedication and loving service to the cause of our society, mission of Sri ChaitnyaMahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada. He is definitely a great soul, Mahatma… I know him from Birmingham from early 70’s. He used to come to the Birmingham centre and whatever he gets, he used to help the centre as the temple used to
