Valmiki Ramayana mentions that Dashratha desired to go to the forest with Rama. He wanted to take all the royal resources with him, as conveyed in his desire to make “the forest into Ayodhya and Ayodhya into the forest” with the forest-like Ayodhya left for Kaikeyi to enjoy.
But Kaikeyi opposed him rabidly, saying that when he had promised her the kingdom, it meant the kingdom with its resources. She accused both Dashratha and Rama of underhandedly going back on their word.
Rama was pained to
Source: http://mayapurvoice.com/svagatam/importance-of-guidance-in-spiritual-life/
What is Gratitude?
Radhanath Swami: Gratitude is a divine virtue that is so important that other divine virtues could not exist without it. Spirituality grows like seeds within our heart. The goodness of our lifestyle protects that seed. Our spiritual practice of chanting God’s names, reading scriptures, doing seva for God and others waters that seed. But gratitude is what makes the ground fertile so that all these other virtues will actually have its maximum effect. A fertile soil allows the s
When the vedas was first spoken by Lord Brahma (the first created being of this universe), it was understood by his sons in different ways. Later, Mahamuni Vyasa took birth to translate these esoteric timeless sound into text format especially favoring kali yuga residents. Vyasa also wrote the succinct version of the vedas by taking its conclusions and coding it in short texts called the sutras. Because it contained the conclusive truths in coded form, it was called vedanta sutra.
Later, a gre
When the students at the school in India (where I was Principal) wanted me to switch on the AC, they would pull this card – We are followers of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It’s bonafide! Clever boys. But the essential point is correct. When you have a solid spiritual practice you have to tools to stay cool no matter what life throws at you.
Here are 5 ways to beat the burning heat of living life:
1. Pull back inside – When you feel some pressure building, remind yourself of who you are,
It is an odd development of the modern world that being excessively anxious about our children is considered a virtue. We consider ourselves good parents if we make life easy for them, reward them for the smallest achievement, and are anxious for their safety and well being at all times.
There is, however, a hidden message in all of this anxious attention and it’s not good. As a teacher and school principal for 20 years, I saw all kinds of kids and all kinds of parents. For those who had confid
When I took up Krishna bhakti many years ago it was like my life moved from black and white to color. Before then, I had a very limited understanding of, and interaction with, the world in general and spirituality in particular. I was smitten by an existential boredom and saw little adventure in the everyday grind of eating, sleeping, and working.
And then I met Krishna. My life was splashed with color and depth like never before. There were new angles of vision, invitations to broader thought,
When Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of ISKCON, was recorded in a morning japa practice with his disciples, at one point on the tape we can hear him admonish someone – “Sit properly!” His voice is strong and makes us all sit up. It’s a reminder that how we do our chanting practice is as important, if not more important, that just doing it.
When we chant we are inviting Krishna into our day, our moment. It’s a big deal, a big opportunity to connect with the source of all life and to allow h
Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 07, Chapter 10, Text 18 by HH Romapada Swami on 22 Dec 2015 at ISKCON Chicag
(Romapada Swami‘s first encounter with Krishna consciousness came in Buffalo, in the shape of a lecture at the State University of New York in 1969. The lecturer was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The following year, Romapada Swami joined the movement in Boston and was initiated in 1971.)
To Listen and Download - click here
Lecture on Life is a Deep Well by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami on 07 Nov 2015 at Hyderabad
(Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 07, Chapter 05, Text 32)
(HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON’s founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. )
To Listen and Download - click here
Lecture on Seeking Krishna to fulfill your Desires by HH Candramauli Swami on 19 Dec 2015 at ISKCON Chowpatty
(In 1986, Candramauli Swami accepted the sannyasa order and began preaching in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. In the early 1990's he became involved with the ISKCON Prison Ministries in America, and began visiting inmates, holding programs, along with writing letters to inmates and sending in Srila Prabhupada's books. )
To Listen and Download - click here
His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda’s Disappearance Day, Lecture
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Los Angeles, December 13, 1973
Prabhupāda:
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhūtale śrīmate bhaktisiddhāntasarasvatīti nāmine
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura passed away from this material world on 31st December, 1936. So almost forty years past. So there are two phases, prakaṭa andaprakaṭa, appearance and disappearance. So we have not
We are working in such a way that we may cover many areas of the finishing work simultaneously, few of which have commenced as you have been able to see in the previous updates.
Next step- The Chatris.
The TOVP has a total of 8 chatris on top of the staircases surrounding the temple.
We begun by placing GRC ribs on the chatris and now between each rib, we are laying blue ceramic tiles.
The GRC ribs are produced here in Mayapur and we are using a special custom made ceramic blue tile. These same
|
Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10, Chapter 82, Text 31-35 by HH Romapada Swami in 11 May 2014 at ISKCON Alachua
(Romapada Swami‘s first encounter with Krishna consciousness came in Buffalo, in the shape of a lecture at the State University of New York in 1969. The lecturer was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The following year, Romapada Swami joined the movement in Boston and was initiated in 1971.)
To Listen and Download - click here
Lecture on Bhagavat Katha Day 01 by HH Lokanath Swami on 25 Dec 2015 at Pune (Hindi)
(Lokanath Swami born in Aravade, a small village Maharashtra, Indian, he went to Mumbai for studying. In the year 1971, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was touring India with his foreign disciples and had organized a pandal program in Mumbai.Intrigued, maharaj attended the whole Hare Krsna Festival and heard from Srila Prabhupada.)
To Listen and Download - click here
Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 06, Chapter 18, Text 31-34 by HG Hrdaya Caitanya Prabhu in 23 Dec 2015 at ISKCON Mayapur
(When he was thirty years old Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa, a disciple of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, left his teaching job in 1980 in order to become a full time member of the Hare Krishna community in Amsterdam. He returned to his native Belgium where in 1986 he took up the post of temple president at the devotee community known as Radhadesh, one of ISKCON’s most significant Europea
By Bhaktividya Purna Swami
Today, we’ll try to look at a different angle or go a step a little further in trying to understand the culture. If we’re accepting our premise that culture means following the Vedic rules and regulations with a desire to please the Lord and these rules and regulations then come to us in the form of this varnasrama culture –this dharma. Things become a little bit more easy to categorize if you have a framework to work in.
Dealing with varnas and asramas.
Now then the
