By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)
In the Bhagavad-gita (4.7), Sri Krishna clearly explains, “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion–at that time I descend Myself.”
From all that we have learned in the previous chapters about the holy name of the Lord, we can understand that during this age of Kali-yuga it is the holy name, especially in the form of the Hare Krishna mantra, that is the present incarnati
I learned how to offer at a young age. When I didn’t want to carry the freshly ironed clothes upstairs my mother would cheerfully say, “Offer it up!”. There was no choice about having to do it but she was suggesting where I put my mind in the process. She was teaching me to offer this small activity to God. Those three words stayed with me, and when I was later introduced to Krishna consciousness, the same concept from my childhood appeared to me in Krishna’s teachings.
What does it mean to off
The Lord is known as Bhava-grahi Janardana because He accepts service in devotional emotion if we are sincere, humble, and fully surrendered at His lotus feet (Bhagavatam: 8.23.2). The Lord is most pleased by the attitude of service rendered by a devotee, with unalloyed devotion. Devotion is a process that attracts Krsna and directly connects one with Krsna. The Lord reciprocates by inundating that devotee with His infinite mercy.
Practicing unalloyed devotional service to the Lord is practical
Be personal. Honor each individual for who he or she is. This principle was repeatedly exemplified by Srila Prabhupada throughout his time with us. As he saw how everyone is spiritually equal and should have an equal opportunity to participate in his movement according to his or her qualifications and propensities, so can we. As he encouraged everyone, so can we. In the world today, there’s a dire need for this cutting-edge, spiritual vision, a vision that’s resonant with Krishna’s teachings, t
The bhakti tradition acknowledges the personal and impersonal aspects of the Absolute Truth, but values one of them as the more desirable of the two.
For hundreds of years, philosophers and theologians have debated whether God is ultimately personal or impersonal. After all, the nature of God plays a major role in our fate. If God is a person, then we have the potential for a loving, eternal relationship with Him. But if God isn’t a person and is instead impersonal, like a light we merge into,
Two hundred years ago, Americans fought the War of Independence to assure life, liberty, and happiness in a fledgling nation. In a conversation with the BACK TO GODHEAD staff, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that Americans can actually achieve these things only by maintaining a God conscious society, with God conscious leaders.
BTG: Thomas Jefferson put the basic philosophy of the American Revolution into the Declaration of Independence. The important men of the da
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God is a person, and out of His infinite kindness He allows us even in
our present condition to render Him personal service.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the devotee Prahlada Maharaja, a great spiritual authority, says, “Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia, and pastimes of Lord Visnu [Krsna], remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship…, offering prayers to the Lord, becomin
Recently while speaking to my eight-year-old cousin, I asked her what prayers they recite in their morning assembly. She sang many prayers, one of which was a Christian nursery rhyme that I found interesting. It said:
God’s Love is so wonderful,
So high you can’t get over it,
So deep you can’t get under it,
So wide you can’t get around it,
Oh! Wonderful love!
This song mentions three characteristics of God’s love. Let us discuss each of them separately.
“So high you can’t get over it”: Our exis
Pressman: Do you know how many followers there are in the United States now?
Prabhupāda: Unlimited. (devotees roar) Some of them admit and some of them do not admit. That’s all. (laughter) Everyone is eternally servant of God, but some of them admit and some of them do not admit. That is the difficulty. But anyone who does not admit, he is servant of somebody. That is a fact. He cannot be master. Everyone is servant. But one who knows that “I am servant of Kṛṣṇa,” his life is perfect. That’s al
I signed up with my daughter for a Mother’s Day yoga class in the park about 12 years ago. Being a beautiful crisp Autumn morning, we thought this would be a relaxing way to start our Sunday.
A girl named Ambarissa led the most peaceful class I had ever attended. I think that the kirtan at the end made it even more special. After meeting this girl just once, she invited us to a home kirtan, to have dinner and meet other like-minded people. Usually, I would be more likely to shy away from this ki
When first learning of bhakti-yoga and exploring the meaning, I asked a lot of questions. One answer came to me without the need to ask any question. My mentor advised me to offer everything in service to Krishna, in a mood of devotion. This she explained, is the way back to remembering our love for Krishna and going home to Godhead.
We are all looking for ways to progress in life, to be happy and to feel real love. From a young age, there is something deep within, that tells us that there is more out there, but we cannot find these truths alone. We must rely on the parampara, or the bona fide system of disciplic succession. Only through this unbroken chain of Vedic knowledge, can we realise the Absolute Truth.
While allowing ourselves to trust this Vedic knowledge is a challenge, and also the reward when we can realise the
Loma Hoffman, a Back to Godhead reader, wrote, "I was intrigued to read in the last issue that there existed a woman spiritual master in the Vaisnava tradition, named Srimati Gangamata." But Lorna complained that Srila Prabhupada omits mention of women in his writings. She quoted a sample:
" 'We can know God, however, because He has communicated with men …,' " and added. "Has Lord Krsna not communicated also with countless women and children?"
"I would join your movement tomorrow," Loma continue
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In believing our senses, how far do we go?
“Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!”
The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell was once asked what he would say if he found himself standing before God on judgment day and God asked him, “Why didn’t you believe in Me?” Russell replied, “I would say ‘Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!’”
When philosophers or scientists complain about lack of evidence, they mean empirical evidence or evidence that can be interpr
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The race for supremacy continues even in the virtual world
This is the age of internet.People are spending more and more time online. They are emailing, socializing, chatting, downloading, uploading, sight-seeing, blogging. And of course they are searching. In fact to perform all the previous tasks, one needs the help of a search-engine like Google. Google is so famous today for helping people find something on the internet that it is almost synonymous with a search-engine.
Lover of God- this term evokes different feelings or images in our hearts. Who is a lover of God? What are his symptoms? How does he behave?
And do we know that all of us, yes each one of us, has love of God within our heart and the perfection of our spiritual life is get eternally and permanently reinstated as a lover of God!
By nature, we are lover of God, but here, being illusioned, we think God as our enemy and we don’t like God. We like this māyā.
(SP Lecture, January
“O lotus-eyed one, Your sweet voice and charming words, which attract the minds of the intelligent, are bewildering us more and more.” – Gopis to Sri Krishna , Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.8
It Might seem naive to wonder what God sounds like, to speculate about the tone of His voice and the language He employs when communicating with those near and dear. Because He is transcendental, we know He is beyond mundane sounds. Most religious people would simply say that when God communicates, He does so in
If we are at all aware of how dependent we are on God—for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and our very ability to eat and drink and breathe, to think and feel and will, and to walk, talk, and sense—we will feel grateful and want to reciprocate God’s kindness. We will want to do something for He (or She or They) who has done, and continues to do, so much for us.
We often take things for granted until we lose them. I use my right hand to chant on meditation beads, and one
To Love God is a short English article written in 1871, describing bhakti (love) as the religion of the soul. The piece is based on Christ Jesus’ teaching “Love God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and love man as thy brother.
To Love God (1871)
by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
(Tajpur journal, Friday, August 25, 1871)
It was Christ Jesus who first said “Love God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and love man as thy
In Italy, near the city of Perugia, is the place called Assisi, the birth place of a very popular saint named Francis. He was the son of a wealthy merchant, but he took up the life of renunciation. Committed to a life of self-imposed poverty, humility, and devotion, he attracted many to follow.
“One day he was walking with one brother Leo from Perugia to a very famous temple, St. Maria of the Angel. He was walking for miles and miles, and it was freezing cold. It was raining and snowing. He ask
