brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151)
Life after life, we are travelling through this material universe. Sometimes we reside in higher planetary systems and sometimes we reside here, in the middle planetary systems. Krsna is said to be neutral. This is very interesting because elsewhere in the Gita it says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram hetunanena kaunteya jagad viparivartate (Bhagavad-gita 9.10), that everything in this
Verse 4.20: Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independent, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings.
As someone who spent numerous years studying Science, the scientific method is ingrained in my head. You start off with an objective, follow it up with a hypothesis, design the tests and run the experiment, collect and analyze your observations and draw a conclusion.
You can imagine my surprise when I realized t
Of late, there are some devotees I know, who are having difficulties in life; health issues, impoverishment, depression, etc. Sometimes I am asked for advice or support. I generally don’t like to give advice, as I consider myself fallen by nature. But thinking along these lines of ‘advice and support’ I did a search in Srila Prabhupada’s books to see how a devotee of the Lord deals with suffering. I have posted a couple of nice verses that deal with the Lords Mercy.
The mountains, although bein
Verse 4.21: Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions, and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions.
Although we have so much in terms of technology, facilities and entertainment, dissatisfaction is running rampant in the world today. Conversations seem to be peppered with the phrase "Life is really complicated these days," and are frequently
Srimati Radharani, the eternal divine consort of Sri Krishna, is known as the Queen of Vrindavan. Vrindavan is where Krishna loves to be, because of Her love – and the love of all those who live there.
Vrindavan is at the center of the lotus of the spiritual world – no place is sweeter or more beautiful because it is saturated in the purest, most intimate love for Krishna. It is there that every word is a song, and every step is a dance. And the flute is Krishna’s constant companion.
As we appr
Verse 4.22: He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady in both success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions.
One's desires and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps
For regular readers, you might recognize this phrase. It's one of my favorites and one that I quote often.
Today though, I viewed this phrase in a whole new light which caught me off guard. Ever feel like you've got
The Sacred Texts tell us that without receiving mercy from the Spiritual Master and from the Supreme God it's impossible to overcome for good the egoistic attachment toward mundane things. In order to succeed, not only we need to have received divine benevolence, we must have kept it too.
In which way we can receive mercy? Firstly by seeking it ardently, and behaving consequently, by dedicating ourselves with diligence and faith to spiritual practices and so awaken Love and Awareness.
And in wh
The following is an excerpt from a lecture given by Srila Prabhupada in London in 1969:
So our today prayer to Rādhārāṇī…We pray to Rādhārāṇī because She is the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means “all-attractive.” But Rādhārāṇī is so great that She attracts Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, and She is attracts Kṛṣṇa. So what is the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī? We should try to understand this today and offer our obeisances to Rādhārāṇī – Rādhe vṛndāvaneśvarī.
tapta-kāñcana-gauraṅgī rādhe vṛ
Verse 4.24: A person who is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.
When reading this verse today, my attention was captured by the word "offer".
In one sense, the whole world revolves around offerings. Whether working or in school, we are constantly "putting forth something for consideration or accept
Dear devotees, please accept my obeisances;
All glories to Shrila Prabhupada and Shri Shri Radha Govinda Deva.
Jaya Shri Shri Nityananda Gauranga!
Jaya Shri Jagannath, Shri Baladeva, Subhadra Maharani Shrimati!
I hope to find you in good health and spiritually inspired.
Some days ago my dear disciple - Omkrishna Mataji - left the body and this mortal world and headed for the supreme eternal abode of Shri Krishna.
The two sons, daughters in law and grandchildren attended to her all the time
We are not free to live life just as we want to: prakrteh kriyamanani, gunaih karmani sarvasah, the bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities which are in actuality carried out by nature, Bhagavad-gita 3.27.
Rather, there is a script and this script is going along even though we have so many desires. In the middle of all that, “I want this, I want that. I want to be here, I want to be there. I want to do all th
Of course the dying always make us stop
those dying and those left behind
stuck in a time frozen into itself
as the everyday world disappears
and we are at once pushed into the present
and all that facing an ebbing life brings.
Life totters like a drop of water on a lotus flower
sparkling in it’s beauty while present
and then gone, in an instant
gone forever in that form it took
but not gone completely
the soul begins a new journey and we ask
where do we come from and
where do we go?
destiny is
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Identity of Lord Chaitanya
By A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magazine 1960 Vol. 3 Part 16
Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is no other than the combined form of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. He is the life of those devotees who strictly follow the footprints of Sri Srila Rupa Goswami.
Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami both are principal followers of Sri Swarup Damodar Goswami who acted as the most confidential servitor and constant companion of Lord Sri Krishna Chaita
Always Engage in Lord’s devotional service is the prayer of every devotee utter to the Lord. In every circumstance, devotees beg that they could serve the Lord. As Srila Prabhupada mention in his letter that “Simply pray to Krsna that you may be able by His grace to serve Him nicely. Our prayer of the Hare Krsna mantra means addressing Radha and Krsna for being engaged in Their service. Hare Krsna means, ‘O Hare, O Radharani, O Krsna, please engage me in Your service so that I can get relief fr
The influence of the devotees on American culture is clearly shown in this mid-1980’s TV Guide ad for an ABC channel 7 news report by Dr. William Rader called ‘Krishna’s Kids’.
The ad’s illustration was based on an iconic painting by American painter Norman Rockwell for the cover of the June 4, 1921 issue of the Saturday Evening Post.(https://goo.gl/yPkDlb)
We would like to cordially invite you for the occasion of Sri Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra on 17th October,2016 (Monday) in Mathura Dham. It is located about 11 kilometers, a short bus or auto-rickshaw ride from Vrindavan Dham.
ISKCON Vrindavan (Namhatta) is organizing this grand Rath Yatra festival in Mathura to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON. The event co-ordinates with the 2016 Braja Mandal Parikrama with the parikrama devotees gathering in Mathura that very day to attend the festivals
According to the Bhagavad-gita, one’s activities can either be in goodness, passion, or ignorance.
There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from these three modes born of material nature.
Bg. 18.40
Teachers will be affected by the modes of nature. Their style of teaching and discipline will, therefore, also be affected. In this chapter we analyze how the spectrum of discipline techniques are influenced by the three modes of
Kadamba Kanana Swami: Our purpose is fixed and we should not let obstructing circumstances to block us permanently. Somehow or other, we must find a way to fulfill our purpose which is to chant sixteen rounds and to follow four regulative principles. This is our first austerity, to chant these rounds and to follow the principles.
But we also need support. It is not just a matter of the right frame of mind. It is also a matter of favourable conditions so that it becomes feasible and possible. On
Excerpt: The samosas were very tasty. They also had rice and sabji, raita, pasta salad, halava, and coconuts balls in three flavors.
As part of our scheduled program there was a question and answer session with a senior devotee who could not make it that day. I had figured they would just ask another senior devotee to do it, but they announced they would just continue chanting. I had already left the stage, thinking the chanting was over, so I decided to use the bathroom before returning for mo
