Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 2.41 during the Sunday Krishna Fest.
“Keep in mind that when Srila Prabhupada was reading this verse in the Bhagavad-gita with the commentary, that was the moment that his firm resolution took place that. ‘Yes, now I must leave everything and follow the orders of my spiritual master and go to America.’ And, because of that order and his faith in that order we are all here, this temple is here and Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji is here.”
“Srila Visvanat
Perception of animals.
Question: What divides animals and humans in Hinduism? How are animals perceived in Hinduism? Are they treated differently?
Romapada Swami: First I would like to offer some background on the word “Hinduism”.
Srila Prabhupada, the founder-Acarya of ISKCON, explains, people from Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Persia mispronounced the name of the river “Sindhu”, calling the river “the Hindu” and the people living in and beyond its valley “Hindus.” (Please refer to Science of
Wheat Alternatives.
Kurma das: Sheila from New York writes:
“Can you suggest some flours that I can use instead of wheat, especially for the grain-fast on the sacred Ekadasi day?”
My reply: “Yes. Here’s my list of non-wheat flours, some you may not have encountered.”
Amaranth flour: Milled from the seeds of the amaranth plant, this flour boasts a higher percentage of protein than most other grains, and has more fibre than wheat and rice. It is also higher in the amino acid lysine, which some f
We were on an airplane from Mexico City to Caracas and Prabhupada started taking his puffed rice, puffed rice and peanuts. He ate for about 10 minutes or so, and then he just looked and said, "OK." So I moved the puffed rice over and I gave half to Paramahamsa, the other half I had in front of me. After a few minutes, there was this stewardess, she was walking down the aisle and she stops right in front of us and she reached over, put her hand in my plate and grabbed a handful of puffed rice an
For a hundred years this elegant American elm at the center of Tompkins Square Park was just a tree. Then, in 1966, the Hare Krishna mantra was chanted under its sprawling canopy for the first time, and it became the birthplace of a religion.
To Hare Krishnas this tree is a sacred site. For everyone else it would be easy to stroll by the old elm in Manhattan’s East Village and have no idea it’s a religious landmark. It’s a handsome tree — American elms are quite rare now, known for their wide-s
When Lord Krishna played on this Earth as a child, He lived in a community of cowherds in the region known as Vraja, in northern India. He was in charge of the young calves and took them out each morning to the pasturing grounds.
Accompanied by dozens of His friends, and with hundreds of calves each, Krishna would walk through the Vrindavan forest in search of lush vegetation. The cowherd boys’ herding and adventurous play went on all day, stopping only for a picnic, when they’d happily share t
The three steps of anything: 1) Initial enthusiasm, 2) doubts, disinterest and struggle 3) eventual reward for the committed. This seems to be the standard pattern for most things in life: studies, career, relationships, hobbies, and yes, even spirituality. The beginning of our spiritual journey is often characterised by idealism. Everything is fresh and fascinating, a whole new world to explore and unlimited opportunities to pursue. We can’t imagine any problems, since it all seems so simple a
There is a lot of emphasis nowadays on the need for love and trust among devotees. We can cite the six loving exchanges between us. We can also use the strength of the often quoted, “your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate.” In spite of our efforts to promote this ideal, can we ever expect a situation where love and trust dominates in all of our devotee interactions?
Are we too big as an organisation to assume that this will happen? Can each of us get by simply by being polite to ea
The VIHE in Vrindavan was established to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s desire for an educational institute in Vrindavana. The VIHE in the holy Dhama provides an ideal facility and atmosphere for you to improve your sadhana, develop your devotional qualities, engage in serious study, associate with senior devotees, and receive training in practical skills relevant to management and preaching.
The VIHE also aims to preserve and disseminate standards Srila Prabhupada set for acting in Krishna conscio
On Saturday morning, April 9, 2016, the quaint Florida costal town of St. Augustine hosted the Lord of the Universe, Jagannatha, along with His sister Subhadra and brother Balarama, for Their traditional, annual Rathayatra parade and festival. The weather was perfect, the townspeople curious and friendly, and the devotees jubilant to be participating in the first Rathayatra of the year.
The mayor of St. Augustine, Nancy Shaver, was delighted to attend. She said, “The Festival of Chariots is a m
From Back to Godhead
By Urmila Devi Dasi
Pure chanting of God’s names requires reverence for God in all His forms , including revealed scripture.
Esteem For Sacred Writings
This article discusses the offense of blaspheming Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.
IT IS FASHIONABLE in modern secular societies to regard sacred literature as the mythological musings of undeveloped people. Schools teach that with our current understanding of physics, medicine, psychology, d
My first connection with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra happened during the “Summer of Love” in August, 1967 in the course of a wedding within a three-room apartment in Powelton Village, the budding hippie district in Philadelphia. The wedding epitomized the time and place.
The groom and I had become close friends during our travails as fellow philosophy majors at the nearby University of Pennsylvania. Thin, angular, his pale beak-nosed face densely hedged with a curly black beard, Steve presente
After the disappearance of Jayananda Das on May 1, 1977, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada instructed devotees all over the world to commemorate the event every year as they would any great Vaishnava’s disappearance day.
Therefore we respectfully submit these pages to all devotees and friends of ISKCON as a means to remember and understand more about Jayananda’s devotional service. Of course, we will see how he joined ISKCON and how he left this mortal world. More importantly, we shall see the
In Vedic culture, the welfare of the cows and the welfare of the brahmanas are essential. Without a proper arrangement for developing brahminical culture and protecting cows, all the affairs of administration will go to hell. - Srila Prabhupada in purport to S.B. 7.3.13
Mistakes why we make them and how we can rectify them?
To err is human … ” so goes the saying. Safely we can add three more details to the list: tendency to fall under illusion, cheating propensity and imperfect senses. A conditioned soul is bound by these imperfections, but in this article I will focus on the tendency to commit mistakes. All of us make mistakes. Srila Prabhupada says that to make a mistake is not wrong, but to make a mistake and not learn from it, that is wrong.
In this regard
Hariiiiibol!
Join The Hanumen this summer for any (or all) of 3 amazing weekend retreats for old school community gatherings immersed in nature and song. At these beautiful heartfelt events there will be lots of swimming in beautiful lakes and chanting and story and poetry and kayaking and more. These have become annual love fests of music, beauty, bhakti and fun.
July 14-17 ~ Hanumania in Damarisscotta ME.
July 22-24 ~ the Adirondacks. Camp Sagamore NY.
Aug 1-5 ~ Kripalu Center, MA / Rasa Viny
Appreciation only costs you a few words, but what it buys is priceless. When Dale Carnegie said to be appreciated is the greatest human need, those who paid attention found appreciation one of the greatest motivating forces known to man.
Years of research has taught us this important lesson: if you don’t pay people enough that they feel secure in life, you will get a small percentage of their creative abilities because they are worried about their future. So, it would seem logical that if those
Radhanath Swami: When I was a little boy, my mother taught me a lesson. She always emphasized, more than anything else, the quality of gratitude. She told me, “If you are not grateful for whatever you have, you receive, you can never be happy. Because if you are not grateful, whatever you get, you expect something else, or you expect more, or you think that you deserved it. But when you are humble and grateful, then whatever comes to your life, the apparent fortune and misfortune, you can actua
Today is the most auspicious occasion of Sri Gadadhara Pandita’s appearance day. As many of you know, Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself in the role of a devotee. He is Krsna, but with the complexion and mood of Srimati Radharani. There are different purposes for the Lord’s advent. The internal reason for Lord Caitanya’s appearance was that He wanted to experience the glory of Srimati Radharani’s love for Him, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happines
I saw this photo and post yesterday on the Prabhupada Connect web page. It was such a special photo that I thought we should share it with you all here as well.
“The Lord is seated in the heart of all living beings, and thus, He knows very well the movements of all individual persons. As soon as the Lord finds that a particular soul is very eager to go back to Godhead, the Lord at once sends His bona fide representative. The sincere devotee is thus assured by the Lord of going back to Godhead.
