Please Don’t Be a Blind Follower! What Does Blind Following Mean? Blind following means: “Oh, there is a swami. So many thousands of people are following. Let me become his disciple.” This is called blind following. You do not know what is that swami, whether he is a swami or a rascal. You do not know. But because everyone is going, “Oh, let me become his disciple.” This is blind following, without any knowledge, blind following. —Bg Lecture 4.34-39, Los Angeles, January 12, 1969. Everyone who
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Transformative Contributions to Lord Chaitanya’s Movement.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (1874–1937) stands as a monumental figure in the revitalization of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the devotional tradition inaugurated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in 16th-century Bengal. His life’s work redefined the propagation of Krishna consciousness through strategic reforms, technological innovation, and unyielding opposition to religious corruption. This report
Many people think that science and spirituality will always be at odds, but true religion must be supported by science, and true science must be supported by religion.
Real religion is sanatana dharma, or eternal duty. It is based on universal truth rather than rituals or superstition. Real religion is about truth because God is truth. When religion is true, it is applicable to the material world and can be used to explain natural phenomena. Here’s how by taking three science courses (astronomy,
Continuing on with my padayatra (festival on foot), the district west of the capital city becomes more rural with indigenous exotic trees. Ninety-three percent of the landcover in Suriname is trees, making it the most foresty nation in the world. That’s pretty cool!
Sanjaya and I covered 10 kilometres, 16 rounds of japa meditation in humid 27 º Celsius temperatures. Dogs make their presence known. Most of them are on the other side of the gate. Those that aren’t get kind of close. T
Srila Prabhupada came to the Western world to give us the holy name. He did so on the order of his spiritual master, with full faith in the holy name, that if people like us would just chant the holy name, everything else would follow.
Srila Prabhupada had a godbrother named Akinchana Krishnadasa Babaji, whom Prabhupada said was a paramahamsa, a liberated soul. Babaji Maharaja approached another godbrother of Prabhupada’s, who had been sent by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to England
The Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2024, held from September 20th to October 11th in Warsaw, Poland, focused on critical human rights and fundamental freedoms across the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region.
This 10-day event, organized by the 2024 OSCE Maltese Chairpersonship with support from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), provided a platform for participants to evaluate current challenges and trends affecting regional secu
Recently Baroness Scott, Minister for Faith at the House of Lords, honoured the faith leaders who participated in the Coronation of King Charles with a Coronation medal commemorating the event.
Eight faith leaders, including Visakha Dasi of Bhaktivedanta Manor, joined the Baroness in the House of Lords, where she spoke of the King’s pluralism and how it was necessary in the diverse demographics of today’s United Kingdom.
Then each faith leader had a chance to speak; Visakha Dasi spoke of the ne
The Monk’s Podcast with Radhika Raman Prabhu is an immensely penetrating and relishable discussion on Harmonizing faith and reason in bhakti.
Faith and reason are both sources of authority upon which beliefs can rest. Reason is generally understood as the principles for a methodological inquiry, whether intellectual, moral, aesthetic, or religious. Faith, on the other hand, involves a stance toward some claim that is not, at least presently, demonstrable by reason. Thus faith is a kind of attit
Krishna Kshetra Swami – teacher, writer, and traveler – is a disciple of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
He has served as a missionary, temple priest (pujari), and counselor for bhakti-yoga practitioners from the time of his formal initiation in 1972. From 1972 to 1976 he was based in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark; then he began to participate in Vaishnava missionary activities in cen
By Giriraj Swami
On October 3, 1974, in Mayapur, Srila Prabhupada spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.23, Queen Kunti’s prayer:
yatha hrsikesa khalena devaki
kamsena ruddhaticiram sucarpita
vimocitaham ca sahatmaja vibho
tvayaiva nathena muhur vipad-ganat
“O Hrsikesa, the master of the senses and the Lord of lords, You have released Your Mother Devaki, who was long imprisoned and distressed by the envious King Kamsa, and myself and my children from a series of constant dangers.” (SB 1.8.23)
And
For decades, the usual academic hero was depicted as the detached, unbiased, value-free, objective observer revealing the secrets of nature to us. This view is now largely regarded as a pious myth. We can’t get away from it even if we tried: knowledge is state-specific. Our state of consciousness determines what we can know. Devamrita Swami elaborates on the yoga of subjectivity in a lecture given at New York University:
I’d first like to present to you the possibility that in your studies you’
Faith is the unflinching confidence that upon attaining one thing — Krsna-bhakti — one is provided with all other desirable achievements. Absolute faith, unflinching faith, rests in Krsna-bhakti only. Faith in any other result or any other process will be unavoidably transient and ultimately disappointing. Attaining this faith rests upon guru-kripa, which includes very careful guidance and training. Similarly, one cannot move forward on this path while holding tightly to a bodily or a material
With theories being established, taught, and discarded like disposable napkins, a father wonders whether his child will get a real education.
In the summer of 1970, I felt for the first time the fear that parents know when their child ventures out into the world. My daughter Emily wasn’t even three years old, a toddler. Yet one morning, as I watched her walking down the street to play, I suddenly saw her facing the whole sweep other future.
At moments like this, a person really comes face-to-fa
Faith is not bhakti but is a very important part of bhakti. The Cambridge dictionary defines ‘faith’ as, “a great trust or confidence in something or someone.” Srila Prabhupada has explained that “faith means unflinching trust in something sublime” (Bhagavad-gita 2.41, purport). He further explained, “Faith means firm conviction that if I become transcendentally engaged in the service of the Lord, then my life becomes successful. This is called faith. And that conviction must be firm, not totte
It is the Holy Name of the Lord that awakens our natural love for Krsna. So by hearing and chanting the Hare Krsna Mahamantra, we will awaken our pure love for Krsna. We have faith, somehow or other, to make this our desire. We have the good fortune that by the association of devotees we got faith because faith is the key to everything.
One time, I was in Mayapur and there was one person that arrived who looked like the twin brother of Salvadore Dali. He had a little pointed beard and a moustach
In observance of the World Holy Name Festival.
Srila Prabhupada came to the Western world to give us the holy name. He did so on the order of his spiritual master, with full faith in the holy name, that if people like us would just chant the holy name, everything else would follow.
Srila Prabhupada had a godbrother named Akinchana Krishnadasa Babaji, whom Prabhupada said was a paramahamsa, a liberated soul. Babaji Maharaja approached another godbrother of Prabhupada’s, who had been sent by Sri
Rasa, when you talk about rationality. How to approach religion. Questioning assumptions. Faith. Debates, setting the terms of a debate.
Video: Click here
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=89058
The sraddha-bindu, the drop of faith that we get from the devotees, is the greatest possession of a devotee. The main thing about a devotee is his deep faith in Krsna. As a result, he has no faith in anything else. Having strong faith in Krsna means that we lose our faith in the material energy. We do not believe anymore that the material energy will bring us the greatest benefits. No, when we have sraddha-bindu, when we have a drop of faith in Krsna consciousness, then all other faith will be d
It is important to always turn to Krsna and remember that Krsna will decide. Krsna has His plan. We can think of a chess board where we are a pawn on the chess board. So as a pawn on the chess board, we can see the squares that are closest to us. Oh, there is a horse coming! We can see that, so then we must watch out. But while there are a few squares around us that we can see, we cannot oversee the whole board. We cannot oversee the whole game. Krsna, however, is the chess player and He can se
