In Search of Relief - Vraja Vihari Das (audio)
Karl Marx is famous for saying, “God is the Opium of the masses”. Is there truth to Marx’s statement? What does the Bhagavad-gita say in this regards? We will discuss these questions and look at the key difference between seeking relief via spiritual pursuits and pursuing a true, intimate relationship with the Absolute Truth.
Listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/iskconofdc/in-search-of-relief-vraja-vihari-das?in=iskconofdc/sets/sunday-open-hou
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The renowned International Society for Krishna Consciousness(ISKCON) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding by revered spiritual leader A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with an elaborate black-tie gala in Washington DC late last month. The event brought together scores of religious, academic and political leaders from across the country to celebrate the life of Swami Prabhupada and the influential, global organization his work inspired.
Founded in 1966 in New York, ISKCON boasts mo
Divya Alter noticed there weren’t many places to sit down and enjoy a meal based on Ayurvedic principles in New York City. Enter Divya’s Kitchen.
Her new vegetarian restaurant, opening Wednesday in the East Village at 25 First Ave., is located in the same building as Alter’s Ayurvedic culinary school, Bhagavat Life, which she runs with her husband.
The menu items have been pulled from those classes, 100 of which will be published in April 2017 in Alter’s cookbook, “What to Eat for How You Feel
I began my service with the Mail Order Department in September of 1969 and although two and a half years had gone by since that ad not much had changed nor was there much growth. The address had changed from 26 Second Avenue to 61 Second Avenue and two more books, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya and the abridged edition of Bhagavad-gita had become available.
The fledgling order dept. operated out of the “office” on East 10th Street where Brahmananda and previously Rayarama had worked. The very f
Did you know about the “septic tank of Iskcon”? “Mother Yamuna’s tears made me a devotee!” Lord Chaitanya never had a chilly pepper. As devotees we are the greatest personalists hypothetically, theoretically, scripturally but how many of you are lonely? How should we treat the protective “wire-mesh” that Srila Prabhupada installed around our tender plant of devotion? I was very bewildered, every one was telling me to do everything, some would say the most important is the chanting, others, rea
Kadamba Kanana Swami: Vedic culture says that nature will respond according to the behaviour of people. The behaviour of nature is directly related to the behaviour of people on the planet. This is something that I never thought of before coming to Krsna consciousness, it had never occurred to me. And the reason for this correlation is because nature has a divine origin – behind nature is the Supreme Lord and everything in this world is going on under the control of the Supreme Lord. As the Bh
The microprocessor giant Intel Corporation invited Radhanath Swami to speak at their headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The event was organized and coordinated by the Intel India Association.
Speaking on the topic ‘Growing Through Adversity”, Radhanath Swami began the talk by quoting Winston Churchill, “Success means going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” He then narrated the story of Sindhutai Sapkal, a woman he had met who runs many orphanages around India and has n
By Namhatta ISKCON Vrindavan:
The Transcendental Pastimes Of Lord Jaganatha’s 2nd Rathayatra in Mathura Vrindavana.
17th Oct 2016, During the auspicious month of Damodar, ISKCON Vrindavana Namhatta Department organized the 2nd grand Rath Yatra festival in Mathura to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON. The event co-ordinated with the 2016 Braja Mandal Parikrama with the parikrama devotees gathered in Mathura that very day to attend the festival on Oct 17, 2016. Due to the overwhelming sup
This morning I was reminded of the importance of chanting sixteen rounds. Sometimes I think my work or service is more important than my chanting…but in the following verses and purports Srila Prabhupa makes it very clear; “One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds.”, and I thank the devotee who reminded me of this important instruction.
…There are many regulative
Srutidharma das was invited to the Diwali function at Number 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister, Theresa May MP.
Along with the Prime Minister and other dignitaries such as the Indian High Commissioner Mr Dinesh Patnail, Srutidharma das lit the ceremonial lamp before being invited to say a few words and lead the Diwali prayers.
He shared three meditations:
Diwali is all about giving to our families, community and our country.
Through forgiveness we can have a ne
Dedicated father and pujari Ragunath Das Zaldivar is currently celebrating an incredible 14 consecutive years of Kartik festivals at his and his wife Yamuna Devi’s home in Alachua, Florida.
A second-generation devotee and disciple of Radha-Govinda Swami, Ragunath began holding Kartik for his home Deities Sri-Sri Radha-Madan-Mohan in 2003, the same year he began worshipping Them.
He has not missed a single year since. And during Kartik – running from October 15th to November 13th this year – he
Members of the New Vrindaban temple in Moundsville, W.Va., chant and dance during a celebration on Oct. 22. Temple members belong to the Hare Krishna faith, more formally known as ISKCON or the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. ISKCON turns 50 years old this year. (The Washington Post)
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — The Ramkumar family piled into their van early Saturday morning and drove five hours west from their home in the Washington suburbs into the American heartland.
They passed c
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. – The Ramkumar family piled into their van early Saturday morning and drove five hours west from their home in the Washington suburbs into the American heartland.
They passed cows and horses, church after church, Trump-Pence yard signs. And then they arrived at the Palace of Gold.
They parked, took off their shoes and entered the temple. They lowered themselves all the way to the ground, foreheads touching the floor in obeisance. Then they took their seats and began to chant
Nityam Bhagavata-sevaya is a Fortnightly E-magazine for serving Srimad Bhagavatam.
If you ever desire to cross over this ocean of material existence and achieve the lotus feet of Supreme Lord Sri Hari then please take shelter of Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures.SrimadBhagavatam is declared to be the essence of all Vedanta philosophy. One who has felt satisfaction from its nectarean mellows will never be attracted to any other literature. Srila Vyasadev c
Once, this Azerbaijan devotee, Garuda Vahana Das and I were at the University of Utah, where practically everyone is fixed up in Mormonism, and we approached a student reading outside on a bench.
Garuda: (Russian accent) Excuse me, I have book for you, about Yoga, you know, meditation.
Student: That sounds great, but I think I’m okay.
(Garuda always wears common cloth, and I always go in dhoti, so at this time the kid starts seeing me and begins to understand what’s up)
Garuda: No this is a spi
Compiled by Mother Gandhari dasi – Ayurvedic Lifestyle and Bhakti Yoga Instructor
Diwali comes from the word Dipavali which has two words dipa means light and avali means carrier. Therefore Dipa or Diya (1) signifies ‘coming to light’. In the Vedic Literature it is mentioned: “Tamasa Ma, Jyotir Gamaya” means ‘Do not remain in Darkness, Come to Light’, meaning ‘come to spiritual awareness or awakening’.
In the Bhagavat Gita Chapter four verse seven and eight Lord Krsna says: ‘yada yada hi dharma
Kartik is a very special month when the mercy of the Lord is easily available for all of His devotees. My spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada told us that even ‘unserious persons’ who execute devotional service during this month are easily awarded the Lord’s personal service. To follow the kartik vrata (vows) can be as simple as offering a light to Lord Damodara each morning or evening, or both. Of course, for devotees who already have a daily spiritual practice (sadhana) kartik is a time when t
Processed fast food is very popular in the world today, and even devotees often take bread, chips and other items. You may be aware that many of those products are not healthy, but what some people don't know is that many of them are also not vegetarian.
Even if you read the label, it can be misleading. For example, "natural flavors" can often refer to non-veg items. Such ingredients are very common in processed food today. An article last year on CNN reported:
"In the Environmental Working Grou
* DAMODARA VRATA – His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada speaks about some devotional activities for the month of kartika.
* DIVINE DEEDS OF DAMODARA – Some comments from Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja about the pastime of Krishna being tied to the wooden grinding mortar.
* BINDING THE BOUNDLESS – A fresh translation done for this issue of of an excerpt from Srila Jiva Goswami’s Bhakti-sandarbha.
* BLIND, DEAF, AND DUMB IN VRINDAVAN – Another fresh translation from Srila
Srila Prabhupada:
From a lecture on Bhagavad-gita on December 25, 1975 in Sanand:
When we speak of knowledge, jnana, it must be learned from a person.
Vyasadeva does not say “Krishna uvaca [Krishna said],” but “Bhagavan uvaca [the Supreme Personality of Godhead said].” This is because sometimes people have differences of opinion about Krishna.
“If we approach some speculator, we cannot get real knowledge. So those who are speculators, they cannot understand what is God. Therefore they commit mi
