First you have to accept and understand that there are a few different typesof statements in śāstra. Some of them are literal information. Others are analogs / analogies. Others are motivational. Others are told through fiction. You have to check the context of the statement to know whether it is a part of a literal, figurative, motivational, or fictional (etc) conversation.
Knowing this, you should be able to make sense of what you’ve quoted below.
Motivational statements are not “incorrect” n
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the U.S.A. in 1965.
Several years after Srila Prabhupada first arrived in America, a disciple discovered the diary he had kept during his passage from India on the steamship Jaladuta. Inside was a poem, handwritten in Bengali, which Srila Prabhupada had written on board the ship just after it had arrived in Boston harbor. The poem beautifully captures Srila Prabhupada’s first impressions of Western civilization and reveals his hear
Damodarananda Das: We celebrated our 5th Festival of Chariots on Sept 18 in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. It was attended by more that one thousand people. The procession started with prayers and sweeping of the road by the Mayor of the City, Tari Ranner.
One devotee drew Rangoli in front of the Ratha at every stop. The event was well received by the community and was bigger than previous years.
The term conversion is typically used in the context of people changing or forced to change their allegiance from one religion to another. Religion in this context is one of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and so on. The reason for such conversions is always material.
Some forceful converters consider it their right and duty to convert others by force to their religion because they have dogmatically decided that all other religions are demoniac. Others who share such beliefs try to co
Even though typical conversions have no spiritual aspect, they can harm genuine spiritual causes if they take people away from genuine spiritual paths. For this reason, due to their compassion, genuine spiritual organizations are pained by seeing forced conversions that make it more difficult for the converts to take to genuine spirituality.
Source:http://thebandwagonofmoltengold.blogspot.in/2014/12/conversion-concerns.html
The saṅkīrtana movement inaugurated by Lord Caitanya is a transcendental pastime of the Lord. “By it I live simultaneously to preach and popularize this movement in the material world.” In that saṅkīrtana movement of Lord Caitanya, Nityānanda and Advaita are His expansions, and Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa are His internal and marginal potencies. The living entities are also called marginal potency because they have, potentially, two attitudes-namely the tendency to surrender unto Kṛṣṇa and the tenden
Excerpt: Did You Know? By Vrindavani Briant. You may have noticed the two new buildings at ISKCON New Govardhana. These buildings mark the spot for the new and improved brahmacharini ashrama. Each building contains rooms with upgraded facilities for the brahmacharinis, including air conditioning and individual bathrooms. A third building will be erected to provide a common area that includes a kitchen and laundry facility, and verandahs will be added to all three buildings. Plans also include r
Suraiya Ali: I grew up going to many types of religious houses, but I had never been to a temple sanctioned by ISKCON. I had met the cowherd Lord in books and in my relationships, but now I was going to His house, for the very first time. So we dressed up, as my best friend said that evening, “there is no such thing as being overdressed to the temple, as you’re dressing for the pleasure of Krishna.”
In blue and pink hues and traditional Indian earrings, we ran into aarti about five minutes late
There is only one religion - to love God.
Different denominations like Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, etc. and even denominations within these denominations present this one religion in different ways and to different degrees. Since people of this world are more or less selfishly (materially) inclined, every denomination presents its teachings considering the material conditioning of the people it is talking to. What's more, new denominations arise when new ways of materialism get mixed with ex
Sri Haridas Thakur is an eternally liberated associate of the Lord. The associates of the Lord are worship-able wherever they make their appearance.
Just as Garuda appeared as a bird, and Hanuman as a monkey, Haridas Thakur appeared in a family of Yavanas. From his very birth he was very deeply devoted to the Holy Names of Sri Krsna and later became known as “Nama Acarya.”
When Lord Caitanya went to Jagannatha Puri, Haridas also went and took up residence there. Everyday, after attending Lord
Spiritual life can be received in any state of mind. If the seed of bhakti is received when we are in ignorance, when there are unwanted activities, actions, etc. then these other “creepers” choke the “devotional creeper”. Even in the mode of passion, there are disturbances. We will become insensitive because of our selfishness; we exploit the world, other living beings and so on…
That is what is going on in the world today!
Madness is a result of uncontrolled senses and we get entangled in thi
Living in a temple is nice – it is simultaneously the material world and the spiritual world. I compare temple life to a blanket. I travel a lot and have different blankets all the time and sometimes, the blanket is too long, too short, too thick or too warm. So in the same way, the external feature of the temple may also look like that. There may be many things about it which we do not like – people, facilities, food and so on… But that is all insignificant, all temporary and will change. BUT
Discipline methods should be in harmony with our educational goals. And what is the goal of gurukula education? Many devotees have proposed their own objectives. Here are a few: to produce moral citizens, to produce “not hippies,” to produce productive members of the outside society who can maintain devotional principles, to produce book distributors, to produce temple devotees, or to produce varnasrama members.
To help us decide the proper goal of gurukula, let’s look at the often quoted desc
ISKCON New Vrindaban is warmly inviting everyone to attend its Srila Prabhupada Festival this September 30th to October 2nd. As an offering of love and appreciation for their service and sacrifices, current and previous New Vrindaban residents, as well as all Prabhupada disciples, will have their lodging and prasadam completely covered for the weekend.
The festival is a revival of the historical Prabhupada Festivals that began in the West Virginia rural community with the opening of Srila Prabh
Today marks Srila Prabhupada’s acceptance of Sannyasa. Thanks to Prabhupada Connect for so nicely putting together this list list of quotes by Srila Prabhupada on Sannyasa, which we have re-posted here.
Srila Prabhupada’s Sannyasa Initiation
Srila Prabhupada accepted the order of sannyasa from Sri Srimad Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Maharaja on September 17, 1959 at the Kesavaji Math in Mathura. Included below are some relevant quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and letters.
“When I was househol
Many international religious and political leaders honored ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada’s achievements and contributions at a special ISKCON 50th Anniversary Gala Event in Washington D.C. on Tuesday September 13th.
The event took place in the Presidential Ballroom at the Capital Hilton Hotel on 16th Street. Three blocks from the White House, the Ballroom has hosted every president since Harry S. Truman and features a permanent eight-foot presidential seal on its wall.
Over 300 people atten
On 10th september a workshop on “Building a humane and peaceful society” was organized at Gaya college campus. The organizer of the program had invited a leader from each religion to present the teachings of their religion about peace. They invited ISKCON Gaya to represent sanatan religion though there are numerous hindu organizations and leaders in Gaya. ISKCON Gaya’s presentation was appreciated by all the leaders of different religions as it was the only PPT presentation with so much interac
ISKCON Leicester will host Kirtan Fest, 24 hours of Kirtan on 17-18 September, 2016…continuing the 50 year celebrations of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Hundreds of devotees from around the UK and further afield will participate in the two-day festival at the Centre at 31 Granby Street, Leicester, 9am-11pm on Saturday, and 9am-7pm on Sunday, which coincides with the 51st anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the US.
The cream of kirtan leaders from around the world
As you walk towards the twin-towered Complexe Desjardins, in the heart of downtown Montreal’s popular festival district, just opposite the prestigious Place-des-Arts, you are beckoned by the elegant Bharatnatyam dancer on the 15 x18 ft. banner at the main entrance to come inside to explore the exotic cultural event of Sept. 2-3 : Journey to the Heart of India. Upon entering the impressive central foyer with its 80 ft. ceiling adorned with skylights and saffron/yellow flower umbrellas, you can g
