Diary of a Traveling Preacher
Volume 8, Chapter 4
March 16 – April 16, 2007
By Indradyumna Swami
As a devotee grows older, he becomes more and more aware, by the grace of the Lord, that his life is coming to a close and his time to achieve perfection in Krsna consciousness is running out.
Sometimes the signs come in disconcerting ways. A few months ago several of my disciples approached me and asked if I would tell the history of each of the salagram silas on my altar.
“Perhaps another day,” I
Becoming One!
“Friday, 7 April 1972 - Melbourne Temple, 14 Burnett Street, St. Kilda
Although Prabhupada took it as his primary business to work solidly on his writing, he was generally always available to talk to guests. But whenever someone would come to see him, he wouldn’t waste time - he talked philosophy and logic. He constantly argued against atheism and impersonalism and, to prove the existence of God and the universality of Krsna consciousness, he often spoke strongly.
Later in the m
New Raman Reti: Vegetable Gardens in the Winter.
Dvarkadisa das: For those of us from up north growing vegetables in the winter takes some mental adjustment. For Janamejaya das and Sanka das it’s part of the program. The produce they produce on the farm throughout the year is all for the Deities’ pleasure. It is used for Deity offerings, the devotee lunch at the temple, Sunday Feasts, and occasionally for the Santa Fe College Krishna Lunch program. It is never for sale.
Of course, the winter r
Preparing Ourselves Spiritually.
Question: How can an aspiring spiritual practitioner prepare for something disastrous that can happen at any moment, and how can he or she tackle the situation of uncertainty?
Radhanath Swami: Our whole life should be prepared for each moment. If we have a strong foundation, when a storm comes you will have strength. If we have the wisdom and intelligence that is coming from hearing the great scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Chaitanya Char
Happiness that is unending, increasing, interesting, and pure: Is it possible?
By HG Urmila Devi Dasi
Can one find happiness in this world? For most of us what we call “happiness” is the temporary mitigation of distress, or sadness. Without sadness, there is practically no meaning to happiness in a material conception of life.
First, all that we term “happiness” depends on some sort of prior suffering. We enjoy eating because we feel the pain of hunger; without any hunger or appetite, eating w
Today is Makara-sankranti, the date of the opening of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s temple and cultural complex at Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Mumbai. The following is adapted from a talk by Radhanath
Swami.
I am grateful and honored and happy to be with all of you this evening. This event is traditionally held on Republic Day, and one of the reasons Republic Day is remembered and celebrated is the challenges, the sacrifices, even the sufferings that people had to endure for India’s independence.
As
Bhismadeva, lying on the bed of arrows after being shot by Arjuna, was very peaceful and was saying that one can conquer anger by learning to forgive. So this the problem – that one cannot forgive! But why is it that we cannot forgive!? It is very hard to forgive others but it is very easy to forgive ourselves! When we do something wrong, we can give a hundred reasons to justify it – we say that we were forced to do it, that it was not actually wrong… but when someone else does a little thing,
Dear Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to your devotional services.
This year 2016 is a very special year for all of us, Srila Prabhupada’s followers. We are celebrating the 50th anniversary , the silver jubilee of ISKCON this year.
Iskcon took birth in 1966 and has just reached the 50th year of its manifestation on the earthly planet. Devotees all over the world are preparing to hold many celebrations for this 50th anniversary of ISKCON. I
Bhakti Vikas Swami
(The Board of ISKCON News does not necessarily agrees with the views presented in the "Opinion" section.)
Undoubtedly, several senior women devotees in our movement are as learned, dedicated, and in other ways spiritually qualified as many of their godbrothers. Why then should there be any hesitation to induct them as diksa-gurus?
An important consideration is that the role of a guru, although wholly spiritual by nature, also has an inescapable social dimension. No one can liv
One day while Krishna was playing with His small playmates, including Balarama and other sons of the gopas, all His friends came together and lodged a complaint to mother Yasoda. “Mother,” they submitted, “Krishna has eaten earth.” Upon hearing this from Krishnas’s playmates, mother Yasoda, who was always full of anxiety over Krishna’s welfare, picked Krishna up with her hands to look into His mouth and chastise Him. Her eyes fearful, she spoke to her son as follows. Dear Krishna, why are You s
To give or not to give? Answer by Radhanath Swami.
Question: While traveling by trains I see many children begging. They seem hungry and I can’t bear the sight. When they ask for money, one side of me says I shouldn’t give them the money, for they might give it to people who’ll misuse it. My other side says that I should. What should I do?
Radhanath Swami: Real joy comes through service – through serving without expecting anything material in return. When we do something and we get something in
Are "real" yogis immune to despair? Is despondency somehow antithetical to yoga?
Popular wisdom, from doctors and moms alike, is that yoga and happiness go hand in hand. Photographs and renditions of enlightened yogis often wear beatific smiles. So ingrained is this image, of the peaceful, blissful yogi, that sometimes even dedicated practitioners are lured into a false imitation of the state of brahma-nirvana (transcendence) or samadhi (trance), seeking to meet the expectations of a yoga cu
In his upcoming new book “Our Family Business: The Great Art of Distributing Srila Prabhupada’s Books” – out February 24th -- veteran distributor Vaisesika Das shares the history, key principles and techniques of book distribution, drawing from a lifetime of experience.
Vaisesika, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, is known for strategizing innovative ways to distribute his spiritual master’s books on spiritual knowledge, and for teaching these methods to devotees around the world.
The ISKCON spir
The Amazon Prime ad stated in bold letters : No Patience Required. Wow, I thought. That is the antithesis of spiritual life. Patience is the delightful component that moves us forward on our inner journey. Patience makes us wait, and in the practice of waiting we become ready to receive. In the quiet and stillness of patience we hear and see better. Patience is our friend and guide to going home. Much patience required!
My herbal tea bag later gave me another message: Recognize that you are the
Ravana wasn’t all bad. He, by all accounts, was educated, ran a good kingdom, worshiped the demigods and was good looking. In other words, he wasn’t your typical demon – horribly ugly, angry, with horns coming out the side of his head.
He was just a big materialist who got in over his head. And this can happened to the best of us. There are many Ravana’s lurking in the shadows, and yes, some inside of us.
Pride comes before a fall. Ravana had that. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. He had th
As long summer days
make us believe
that life can last forever
Falls bring change
and cool reminders
of the movement of time
pushing us on as we
swim against it
unwilling to grow
one year older
we live in movement
in the minute by minute rhythm
of the great order of things
fall brings change
and we are surprised
by the colors of life dying
we marvel and awe
forgetting that we too
will finish and fall
chant now, and chant well
so that when our time is up
we can fall upward, into grace
and move
When I saw Bhakti Chai (as in ‘i’) listed on the vegan menu, I knew immediately what it was – both because of living in India for so many years and also being a practitioner of Bhakti Yoga. Chai is the Hindi word for tea, and bhakti means divine love, or more specifically the love exchanged between Krishna and each one of us.
The word chai is also used elsewhere – pronounced differently and with different meanings. Chai (here as in ‘say’) is part of the name Chaitanya, which means ‘living force
I eyed the help button as I travelled up and down the elevator. In truth, being stuck in a small space makes me nervous and I am always relieved when we reach the landing floor. If the elevator got stuck I would jump on that help button. I would likely press on it many times, with an anxious prayer for rescue.
The balance between independence and dependence is one we all walk. The goal of parents and teachers is to bring a child to independence – so they can function on their own and not need
For the pleasure of their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Pancatattva, Prahlad Nrisimha Dev, Srila Prabhupada and for all the readers Mayapur Bhakti Vriksha happily informs that, for the first time there was a Training class arranged by Mayapur Bhakti Vriksha on‘Bhoga offering and Aroti performance’ for one day (2 times class) on 6th December, 2015 to facilate those upcoming Bhakti Vriksha members in order to help them regarding daily Bhoga offering and Aroti performance in their home.
It too
Papayyapalem is one of the oldest villages in Chirala region and our 46th village in a row. It was located at a mere distance of 2 kms from the Bay of Bengal. It is said that in bygone ages it was a part of big prospersous city and there are rumors that in many parts of village there are still hidden treasures of gold and silver ornaments. But presently the village presents a picture which is in stark opposition to the old one with open drains and thorny bushes. Even the temples are in neglect
