“There is no harm. If one could not proceed, it doesn't matter. Failure is the pillar of success. Then try. Again you will try.” - Room Conversation with Madhudvisa and others -- August 17, 1977, Vrndavana
By then the ropes attached to the back of the cart had been retracted and the Gurukula kids dispersed into the crowds, hopefully under the supervision of their respective teachers. Jayapataka Maharaj had been waiting on the top of the deck with the d
A new book is being released this summer featuring the individual voices of 108 women in the Bhakti tradition. Over the last three years, Krishna Kanta Dasi—founder of the Vaishnavi Voices Poetry Project—has been collecting the poetry of vaishnavis, or female practitioners of bhakti, from all over the world to produce Bhakti Blossoms: A Collection of Contemporary Vaishnavi Poetry.
This rare collection of poems offers honest and inspiring glimpses into the spiritual journeys of contemporary wome
Many things are considered justified in the name of sankirtan. You know, in the name of sankirtan, you can do any damn thing! I wouldn’t think so.
I think that even in the name of sankirtan, sankirtan devotees should be careful and should avoid unnecessary suffering to other living beings. We should be strict about what we eat, we should read the E-numbers and if they’re the wrong ones, we should not eat it.
(Australian accent) “Anyway, who cares about these things! Can’t be fanatic. You know,
People from Panamanian, Colombia and Venezuelan backgrounds attended the talk in the five-star Hotel El Panama
Talks on intriguing subjects at five-star hotels in Panama are drawing professionals, and attracting them to become regulars at ISKCON’s Bhakti Yoga Center in the Central American country.
On May 7th, well-known “spiritual scientist” Chaitanya Charan Das, a former engineer who has an online following of some 400,000 spoke on the topic “Reincarnation – Myth Versus Reality” at the f
At the end of the day, we are not going to be super-devotees. We would like to be but the reality is that we are not. There is Srila Prabhupada. We cannot imagine the magnitude of Srila Prabhupada´s love for Krsna, his surrender in service to Krsna and how Krsna empowered him. It is inconceivable!
We should know that whenever we do some service for Srila Prabhupada, everything will become magic. We know what he wanted. He wanted the whole world to become Krsna conscious – nothing less and it
The following conversation between Srila Prabhupada and Mr. Malhotra recorded in Poona, December 22, 1976, is a good instruction on our relationship between guru and disciple.
Prabhupada: Not equal; representative. Not equal. I send one representative of this man, and he may be very expert, doing very good business, still he cannot be equal with me. He is acting as my representative, that’s another thing. But not that he has become the original proprietor..
Disciple Never Becomes Equal t
Devotees in Newcastle have been catering for lunches at the University of Newcastle for years. The tradition is still going on with the Bhakti Tree supplying wonderful prasadam for students during their break.
Three days a week devotees head out and the students and staff eagerly line up for a plate of rice, subji, koftas, drink and alternatively veggie buns or samosas. Needless to say, everyone is very satisfied.
These two files are scans of Srila Prabhupada’s original notebooks of his initiated disciples which was maintained while he was on the planet.
These notebooks have surfaced recently on the internet, and the links to veiw and save them are as follows:
Disciples of Srila Prabhupada Receiving their Initiated Names
A total of 1,679 first initiates are listed below. There are 1,142 initiated men an
In short, I have summarised what I desire and what I request of you. I also thank you all for coming. I do this festival here every year because of the Kingsday. It is just too big an opportunity to let go by. Although in a way, I feel it is quite intense with all those drunken, intoxicated people. And not just ten of them, but more like ten thousand, many, so it is intense!
But every year, miracles do happen on Kingsday. We see people literally having the time of their life in a kirtan – chant
“We should always be enthusiastic to try for capturing the rhinoceros. That way, if we fail, everyone will say, “Never mind, nobody can catch a rhinoceros anyway,” and if we succeed, then everyone will say, “Just see what a wonderful thing they have done!”
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad changed the world. When he came to America from India in 1965, few Westerners knew the deep spiritual truths behind ancient Vedic culture and civilization. Within a decade most h
On 10th of May, Kadamba Kanana Swami came to England after an incredible Sri Nrsimha Caturdasi festival in Simhacalam temple, South-West of Germany. Sutapa and Vaisnava Sarvabhauma Prabhus picked up Maharaj and took him to Krishna Kirtan’s house where he rested well and had some informal talks with them for that day.
The next morning Maharaj came to the Bhaktivedanta Manor to give the morning Srimad Bhagavatam class on the 10th Canto, chapter 11, verses 33 to 35. Maharaj straight away pulled out
Srila Prabhupada explained that this material world is just a tiny little corner of the spiritual sky and that tiny little corner of the spiritual sky is covered by a cloud, therefore we feel disconnected from the sunshine of the spiritual world. But the effulgence of Krsna, the brahma-jyotir, is pervading in all directions and then there is this little corner of the spiritual sky which is covered by a cloud of illusion, thus we think that we are separated from Krsna and that Krsna is far away
“Krsna is giving you chance because you want to serve. It is all Krsna's grace. Krsna says "tesam satatam yuktanam . . .'' Anyone who is sincerely engaged in My service I give him the intelligence. So if Krsna gives the intelligence who can compete with you? Krsna is the most intelligent.” -Letter to: Madhavananda: Vrindaban 16 September, 1974
Almost as if he was reading my mind Jayapataka Maharaja then said that he had been brainstorming with the devotees for a vari
“In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the word dainya (humility) is explained as follows: "When unhappiness, fearfulness and the sense of having offended combine, one feels condemned. This sense of condemnation is described as dinata, humility. When one is subjected to such humility, he feels physically inactive, he apologizes, and his consciousness is disturbed. His mind is also restless, and many other symptoms are visible." The word nirved
Within such a huge organisation like Iskcon, it is not surprising to sometimes experience less of the affection we expected. There are several reasons for this. But if a disciple feels this way about his or her guru in good standing, does it indicate a neglect of some sort?
The worldwide preaching mission of Iskcon is still a novelty in historical vaisnava terms. This is the first successful attempt, and still very much work in progress. Often we hear that other religious organisations have old
In many of Srila Prabhupada’s lectures he exclusively explains about the two topics sreya and preya. He explains that sreya means the ultimate benefit and preya means immediate profit. Just like children want to play all day long that is preya, but the parents know that they must go to school and learn in order to become educated, which in the long run will be beneficial for them, so that is sreya.
In Bhagavad Gita Lord Sri Krsna talks about sreya and preya in terms of happiness, he says
Sragen is regency in the eastern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Sragen, located about 30 km to the northeast of Surakarta. Sragen is bordered with East Java Province to the east. Presently there are no devotees that are staying in Sragen.
The first time devotees held the Ratha Yatra festival in Solo, Indonesia, a few months prior, they met the Tourism leader of Sragen. The Tourism leader of Sragen requested the devotees to join in their annual city parade and hold a
We all have attachments in this material world. The secret of success is to dovetail these attachments to Krishna. This is easy said, than done. However, if you have access to a mature devotee, then the doors of detachment will start to open into the garden of Bhakti.
We have five senses which are controlled by the mind, anyone of these senses can be captured by the illusory nature we live in. When one goes through a phase of addiction, it is a way to escape from the realities of life. We can s
Last week I was asked, “What’s the most important practice for advancing in spiritual life?” Srila Prabhupada said chanting of Hare Krishna is most important. Some have suggested that devotee association is more important because without it, most of us wouldn’t have the strength to chant Hare Krishna.
I agree. But I think there is a principle even more fundamental than this.
OUR VERY DESIRE TO ADVANCE IN SPIRITUAL LIFE IS THE CORE CONDITION UPON WHICH OUR ADVANCEMENT IS BUILT.
“One’s devotion a
“My father and the coach at UCLA were pleased with my volleyball successes, and my mother was satisfied with my academic work. But I wondered if Krishna was pleased.”
I was born in Los Angeles in 1949. My parents were avid volleyball players. My father had been one of America’s best, and my mother had been a third-team All-American. I started playing volleyball when I was four. I passed through school easily. Sports dominated my free hours, and generally my childhood was a happy one. With ado
