“Aargh! How deep is the heart of these saintly souls, just like the ocean bed.” — thinking in this way and angry due to being unable to fathom it, the cruel creator of the world filled the hearts of the saintly souls with the sorrows of other living entities." — Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Sajjana-praśaṁsā
This text uses a rhetorical expression to highlight its main message: the selfless compassion of the saintly. The rhetorical expression is: the creator is cruel. The mood here is reminiscen
There's a saying "You don't get a second chance for a first impression."So this devotee that the lady met made such a good impression on her
that she eventually took a book. The main rule that we should remember when engaging people is that everyone walks away with a good impression. Even
if they don't take a book, at least have them walk away with a good impression.
This kind, patient and respectful nature will come if we maintain good sadhana. Krsna says in the 5th chapter of the Bhagavad gi
Then Prabhupada came to New York. And there was a reception at the airport and then Prabhupada arrived at the temple, as I remember, a couple of hours late may be even more than a couple of hours. And of course everyone wasn't inside, but then Prabhupada arrived. And Prabhupada spoke on Prahalad Maharaj, that whole time actually Srila Prabhupada was speaking on Prahalad Maharaj extraction from Srimad Bhagavatam. And I remember that on this occasion Srila Prabhupada quoted maya-sukhaya bharam udv
It is 10.00 am in a conference room in Mayapur. A group of senior ISKCON leaders comprised of GBCs, sannyasis and gurus wait expectantly in anticipation of the morning’s proceedings. They are here for the third sanga, held here every second year to, amongst other aims, strengthen camaraderie in ISKCON leadership.
After a thoughtful prayer by Sesa Das (the GBC chairman), Gopal Bhatta Das (chairperson of the GBC strategic planning team) initiates the event with a short presentation. Today the dis
In modern, secular society religion is sometimes regarded as backward looking and the source of conflict and communalism. In this view, as scientific knowledge and technology develop, religion will fade into the past and people will leave behind a superstitious phase of their development. Yet in spite of this assumption religion continues to exert force in the contemporary world. In this talk we will explore one tradition, the Hare Krishna Movement, and its relationship with modernity, includin
So many times we have heard from friends, colleagues or from many others saying I felt in love with her/him or saying I have given my heart to her/him etc. Every now and then people talk about love, love stories and things related to love( although they may not know what’s the real love is?). Love and romance is also given top priority in any movie, in any song and in fact it’s there in advertisement and news too. On the name of love they package lust and vulgarity and deliver it to innocent, f
Shastrakrit Das: Was showing the Gita to Shannon from El Salvador and this Muslim girl Noor was more attracted to the books, she even bought one for her grandma in Arabic.
Srila Prabhupada: Actually we are all conditioned souls, so our demand from Krishna to accept us is unreasonable. From my personal point of view, I think that I am so sinful that I cannot even approach Krishna to show me any favor. But I have only one hope - my Spiritual Master - He is very kind. So some way or other He is dragging me towards Krishna. (Letter, 10 March 1969)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/KCMhSa
Even on the strength of good karma, one cannot maintain high standards. It is not possible but by the mercy of a pure devotee, it is possible. And that mercy is not just a once-off, it is ongoing. It must be on an ongoing basis that one must take shelter. Everyday is offered to the spiritual master. Then it is possible. It is not, (Indian accent) “Yes, yes. I got the mercy. Thirty-three years ago, I got that mercy. Yes, I still remember it like the day of yesterday…” No, that will not work. Fro
We must develop the spirit of compassion. Compassion, in a sense, is natural because we ourselves are experiencing suffering in this world and we know the pain of suffering. So if we see that someone else is going through what we are going through then naturally there is compassion. So first, one has to know what suffering is at least to some extent. If one has suffered, one becomes more compassionate because one begins to realise that this is too much. There are no exceptions in this world: n
The occasion was graced by the presence of several dignitaries and VIPs like Sri Vijendra Gupta Opposition Leader in Delhi Govt. & Former BJP delhi President, Sushil Kumar Indian freestyle wrestler (Olympics medallist ) and senior ISKCON Devotees.
On the following day, Delhi city witnessed one of the grandest ever Jagannath Rath Yatra.The auspicious event was inaugurated by Sri Vijendra Gupta Opposition Leader in Delhi Govt.and senior ISKCON Devotees Like HG Mohan Rupa P (President – ISKCON De
It is 10.00 am in a conference room in Mayapur. A group of senior ISKCON leaders comprised of GBCs, sannyasis and gurus wait expectantly in anticipation of the morning’s proceedings. They are here for the third sanga, held here every second year to, amongst other aims, strengthen camaraderie in ISKCON leadership.
After a thoughtful prayer by Sesa Das (the GBC chairman), Gopal Bhatta Das (chairperson of the GBC strategic planning team) initiates the event with a short presentation. Today the di
Question. It is still a challenge for me to wake up early, so it is often difficult for me to finish chanting my rounds before class, and I often need to finish them later in the day. I have found that I can finish my chanting in the morning if I do not have homework to do, but it is a challenge for me to motivate myself to wake up early enough to have time to do a lot of homework and also do all of my chanting. Do you have any advice that might help me to motivate myself to wake up earlier? H
Question: When Krsna appears in a devotee’s dream, does it have any spiritual significance?
Yes, of course, it does. It is mercy. However, when Krsna appears in our dream, it may not be Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, giving us a full darshan in the dream. It may just the drawing that we saw in a cartoon and that drawing is now sort-of moving in our dream. I just spoiled your dreams, right! I am really sorry to spoil your dreams. Then again, say that Krsna is revealing himself and th
The GBC body meets every year at Sri Mayapur Dhama to discuss proposals and strategies for the upcoming year.
Part of the meeting is dedicated to working in strategic planning groups that cover topics such as outreach preaching, devotee care, ISKCON constitution, Prabhupada’s position and so on.
Each morning the groups come together to discuss the previous day’s work.
Ragini Dasi, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple from France leaving this world soon.
Update. Mondakini Dasi: Protected and comforted by the nest of your loving prayers, appreciations and blessings from all over the world, she left her body on the Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur around 2:30 am French time, with the sound of Srila Prabhupada's voice. Our godsister Ilavati, who is near her, says it is very meaningful. Srila Prabhupada mission to his spiritual master was very muc
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
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was one of ten children born to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great Vaisnava teacher in the disciple-line from Lord Caitanya Himself. While living in a house named Narayana Chata, just near the temple of Lord Jagannatha in Puri, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was engaged as a prominent Deputy Magistrate and also served as the superintendent of the temple of Lord Jagannatha. Yet in spite of these responsibilities, he served the cause of Krishna with prodigious energy. While work
Audio Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O6tCYl9iFg
Transcription:
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
There is a saying, Srila Prabhupada even used it. There is a saying that a preacher is least appreciated in his own hometown. And I guess that’s just normal. So we shouldn’t get too upset if that thing happens to us.
Anyhow, I see most the devotees seem to be rather new devotees, so I don’t know, you know, how much you gonna be able to put this
Srimad Bhagavatam -7.10.4
TEXT 4
nānyathā te ’khila-guro
ghaṭeta karuṇātmanaḥ
yas ta āśiṣa āśāste
na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik
Translation:
Otherwise, O my Lord, O supreme instructor of the entire world, You are so kind to Your devotee that
You could not induce him to do something unbeneficial for him. On the other hand, one who desires
some material benefit in exchange for devotional service cannot be Your pure devotee. Indeed, he is
no better than a merchant who wants profit in exchange for serv
