Among the most striking of these passages from the Vedic sastras are the following:
In the Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be the deciding factor of nobility [in place of birth, righteous behavior or merit].And brute force will be the only standard or deciding what is righteous or just.
Mutual liking [and not family pedigree, social status, etc.] will be the deciding factor in choosing a partner in marriage; cheating will be the order of the day in business relations; satisfaction of sexual pleasu
Official update about the mega-movie “Acharya”
Dec. 20, 2016
Dear Devotees and Friends,
Greetings and Hare Krishna!
Our team is in the final completion stage of the 90 minute documentary film Acharya on the life of Srila Prabhupada. By Krishna’s grace, we have the funds to finish the film. Thanks to those donors who came forward with their support and especially the anonymous donor who matched donations up to $60,000!
The big news is, we have a distributor who wants to represent our film for
Initial count shows the Hungarian congregation and full-time distributors distributed around 52,500 books for the marathon.
Sutapa Das: The 200k effort ended yesterday. Today is the day of rest. We have now reached 110,000 registered books… but fear not, there are many scores still to come in.
Thank you to everyone. It is amazing… how these books travel to every corner of the country, touching people’s hearts and changing their life… whether they realize it or not. My words don’t count for muc
Ancient Vedic scriptures extensively talk about the power of chanting mantras on mind and its various functions. Modern science faces serious difficulties explaining the difference between mind and brain. The biggest challenge they face is, mind is invisible. Schizophrenia is a disease connected to mental disorder and affects how a patient thinks, feels, wills and finally acts.
Some of the symptoms of Schizophrenia include inability to distinguish between what is factual and what is imaginary;
From the tourist streets of London, to the beaches and universities of California, to the subways of NYC -- more specifically, throughout the USA, Canada, UK, eight countries in Europe, Australia, and even in India -- book distributors worldwide are relishing the truly unique nectar of Arabic book distribution. They are directly tasting the very special mercy that Srila Prabhupada specifically reserved just for Arabic book distribution, and once tasting it they definitely don't want it to stop!
By Narottama Dasa
This journey started with an intense eagerness to bring back enthusiasm, life and energy to our brahmacari ashram. So, my friend Mukharavinda Dasa and I decided to walk 654kilometers from the city of Johannesburg to the city of Durban in South Africa. We had never done anything like this before and we were not athletes, but the idea to raise funds to buy a sankirtana bus became the driving force behind our bravery.
As part of our preparation to walk the 654kilometers, we pract
About this, Srinivasa Acarya writes:
Sankhya-purvaka-nama-gana-natibhih … “The Six Goswamis performed their daily sadhana in a scheduled manner, carefully counting their chanting, bowing down, and so on.”
Srila Prabhupada calls the Goswami’s measured approach: “Maintaining a numerical strength.”
Those who are serious about spiritual advancement may take advantage of this technique by setting daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for their spiritual lives.
Once you set a goal and you write it
Lots of walking is good for your health.
Walk away from maya when she invites you to play with her.
Walk away from your mind when it invites you to do something that is not Krsna consciousness.
Walk away from arguments, anger, envy, jealousy.
Walk away from those who criticize devotees.
Walk away from any thoughts that discourage you.
Walk away from fears that stifle your goals.
Walk away from people whose association is detrimental to your bhakti.
The more you walk away from anything that is n
Nrsimhananda Das: Srila Prabhupada’s morning walks were an institution while he was present with us. In fact, his pace was so brisk, some of us nearly had to job to keep up. But certainly, running was clearly better for health, right? More cardio, burned calories, deeper respiration. Having always been an avid jogger myself, I have been somewhat condescending toward the complacent “walkers.” I excused Srila Prabhupada’s example because he was “older” and doing japa. I should have added “but wis
With Christmas upon us, we take a look at what our Founder, Srila Prabhupada said about Jesus. The title is from a letter Prabhupada wrote in 1965 to a Mrs. Sally Agarwal. Prabhupada stayed with Sally and her husband Gopal in Butler, Pennsylvania when he first arrived in America. Sally told the background story of the name:
“One time something happened with our little girl, Kamala, who was only three years old. I used to take her to Sunday school, and she learned about Jesus in Sunday school. T
Pusta Krishna das: Today I had a personal epiphany, a realization that can help us all remember Krishna with affection.
I was reading a book by Pope John Paul II given to me by an acquaintance. It is entitled “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.” It is a collection of answers to questions posed by a religious journalist. One question was: How Does the Pope Pray?” in his answer, he says: “Prayer is a search for God, but is also a revelation of God. Through prayer God reveals Himself as Creator and F
Hare Krsna. If you’re having a problem, even if it’s a big one, you’re not alone. Dhruva Maharaja, the great devotee mentioned in Bhagavatam Canto Four, is also within the group of “problem-havers”. When Dhruva left home (Bhag. 4.8.24), Srila Prabhupada in his purport spoke of a common solution to all problems. We all may not immediately be able to fully follow Prabhupada’s instructions, even if due to important spiritual responsibilities, but let us deeply cherish his wise advice as ideal.
“Bo
By Jaganmohini devi dasi
What follows below is the S.B. morning class given by H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami during his last visit to Juhu, ISKCON on 18th June 2006. This was his last S.B. morning class delivered at ISKCON temple.
H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami visited Mumbai during the period 14th June night to 18th June evening and left behind lot of instructions and wonderful memories for his disciples at Mumbai.
Verse from SB 3.25.36
TRANSLATION
Upon seeing the charming forms of the
By Matsyavatara das
I believe that family life, the grihastha asrama, is a theme of universal interest. Some will get married and some will not, some will have children and some will not. But also those who don’t get married and those who have already surpassed this phase of life will greatly benefit by knowing the basic dynamics, the rapport of weights and measures, the values of family life in the Vedic-Vaisnava civilization. In the past so much damage has been done by people—who had no posit
New Vrindaban’s fifth Service Appreciation Ceremony, held on Sunday November 13th, began with some impressive statistics.
The semi-annual ceremony, launched in November 2014, has so far honored 22 individuals for their unique contributions to the development of New Vrindaban. And it has recognized over 700 years of collective service.
Started by ISKCON New Vrindaban and ECO-Vrindaban board members, the ceremony is inspired by Verse 4 of Rupa Goswami’s Nectar of Instruction. The six loving excha
Austerity in itself is not a limb of bhakti. Bhakti has sixty-four limbs; this means that there are sixty-four types of activities which give us bhakti but austerity is not amongst them.
However, austerity is glorified in the scripture that by performing sacrifice, by giving in charity and by engaging in austerity even saintly men are being purified. So in this sense, austerity is held in high esteem in the scripture. It is also said, nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke, kastan kaman arhate vid-bhuja
Two copies of the Hindi edition of Watering the Seed just arrived from India, and we offered them to our deity of Srila Prabhupada here in Carpinteria. The volume appears very nice, and I am indebted to Radha Charan, Charan Renu, Dhananjaya Krishna, Radha Priya, Hari Priya, and all the other friends and devotees who worked to bring the project to fruition. And I must also acknowledge Kalachandji, Visakha Priya, Varsabhanavi, Nikunja Vilasini, Mayapriya, and all the others who helped with th
The Global Office for ISKCON 50 has released a 50th anniversary overlay that can be used over your profile picture on Facebook. The overlay was developed by a team in India led by Advaita Das and Toshan Nimai Das to conclude the 50th anniversary with a high note on social media.
“We have seen several successful social media campaigns such as Digital India and the Paris solidarity movement after the bombings when people overlaid their profile pictures with a flag,” explained Toshan Nimai Das. “
In a sea of inspiring memoirs by ISKCON devotees about Srila Prabhupada and coming to Krishna consciousness, Visakha Dasi’s new book is unique because it’s aimed not internally but at a broad mainstream audience.
“The book starts where I started, which was entirely materialistic life, and then goes gradually through the experiences and thoughts that I went through, with the hope that readers will come with me each step of the way,” she says. “Then, even if they don’t agree with my conclusion,
“The Time of the Sages,” a documentary film currently in production, will aim to bring the same kind of worldwide recognition to the Srimad-Bhagavatam as is awarded to the Bhagavad-gita.
The hour-long film will follow scholar Krishna Kshetra Swami (Dr. Kenneth Valpey), a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, as he interviews fellow academics and visits key places in India relevant to the Bhagavatam.
“The Bhagavad-gita has become quite widely known – since it was first translat
