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You cannot follow nicely unless you hear nicely, and you cannot lead nicely unless you have learned to follow nicely.

Yamuna: From the very beginning of our programs in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada became known as one “who is startling India with kirtan.” Our kirtans were full of so much excitement they were so thrilling that we were like one throbbing heartbeat, the heartbeat of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission of Krishna Consciousness.

It is difficult to describe how much potency we felt in the

We concluded our last discussion on the existence of the self with the recognition that accepting our own existence somehow or other implied the existence of God, quoting Srila Prabhupada’s words “One can understand the nature of the Supreme by thorough study of oneself” (Bg 2.16, purport) (http://www.dandavats.com/?p=12367#more-12367).But by what process can this understanding be achieved?

Descartes concludes from his first two meditations that the self exists. He begins to ponder the nature o

Srila Prabhupada says that Narada is a great personality and he was so pleased by the devotional attitude of Dhruva, that he could have just given him everything. He could have given Dhruva exactly what he wanted. Why didn’t he do it? [a devotee replies that it was because he wanted Dhruva to surrender to Krishna]. Yes, essentially that’s correct. He wanted him to follow the correct path, he wanted him to engage in devotional service.

You see, and this helps us to develop our perspective about

By Mohini Radha Devi Dasi

In the interactions between the Lord and His
devotees, both relish the highest happiness.

Bhagavad-gita and other scriptures praise Arjuna for his close relationship with Krishna. Arjuna is known for his mood of friendship (sakha-bhava). Since relationships are by definition reciprocal, not only is Arjuna known as Krishna’s friend, but Krishna is known as Arjuna’s friend. Krishna drove Arjuna’s chariot and is therefore called Partha-sarathi, the “charioteer of Partha

By Parsada dasi

During kartik last year, a very dear friend of mine, Padma visted Sri Vrindavan Dham, and a sincere devotee for many years. She arrived a day after the much celebrated Gopastami festival. As we made our way to the ISKCON goshala that afternoon, I described to her our Gopastami festival, where our Srimati Radharani is dressed as the cowherd boy Subal and at this time Her devotees relish the sweet darshan of Her lotus feet, the only time in the year except Radhastami. On this wo

suklastami karttike tu
smrta gopastami budhaih
tad-dinad vasudevo ‘bhud
gopah purvam tu vatsapah

“The eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartik is known by authorities as Gopastami. From that day, Lord Vasudeva served as a cowherd, whereas previously He had tended the calves.”
-Srimad Bhagavatam 10.15.1, translation

Many important pastimes take place on Gopastami. One pastime takes place on this day a few years after Krishna first started tending the cows. On this day, Jat

Origin of Govardhan:

In the western coast of India, in the island of Salmali, lived Dronachala, the king of the mountains. Once a sage by the name of Pulastya Muni, came to him to take his son Giriraja with him to Kashi  Varanasi). After offering some initial resistance, Giriraja, somehow agreed to go with him only on condition that he should not put him down on the earth in between. If he does so, he would stay there forever.

When they were flying over the Vraja bhumi, Giriraja increased his

From Back to Godhead

Variety is said to be the spice of life. Imagine a life where you eat the same vegetables daily, wear the same clothes, meet the same people, and visit the same places. So boring, right? This world is full of varieties seasonal changes in the form of summer, winter, autumn, spring; periodic appearance and disappearance of the sun and the moon; cultural differences among people of different nations; the language, the dress, and the eating habits in different parts of the wor

From Back to Godhead

Sri Brahma-samhita is one of the oldest Vedic scriptures, and it is accepted by Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu (an incarnation of Krsna Himself who appeared 484 years ago) as the essence of Vaisnava (Krsna conscious) philosophy. The first verse of the Fifth Chapter of Sri Brahma-samhita reads: “Krsna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the Prime Cause of

From Back to Godhead

After years searching and struggling, she finally found the right place to develop the natural connection she felt with God.

It was the third day in the hospital. The IV was still in my right arm. As I gazed through the window, a few leaves, colored yellow and red by the season, fell from a nearby tree. It was a beautiful fall day in Montreal, I was twenty, and I was trapped in here. How did it come to this?

I was raised in a middle-class, French Canadian, Catholic family

It’s still early morning, the sun is starting to rise over the horizon, and it’s reddish—it reminds me of Srimati Radharani’s tilak upon Her beautiful broad forehead. And the glowing of the sun, the rays that it casts everywhere, paint the village nearby and the field in front of me a golden color.

There are flowers everywhere, and those flowers are growing in tall grass, knee-high grass, which sways to one side and then another. It’s like the way the Brijbasi’s sway under the winds of their pr

From Back to Godhead

A look at Lord Caitanya’s “Eight Instructions” and their relevance to japa, the individual practice of chanting Hare Krishna.

A friend once told me this analogy about spiritual life: a flock of geese share strength by flying in a V formation, but if one goose goes down, the others can’t help. Similarly, though seekers of enlightenment help each other, success ultimately depends on personal effortand the kindness of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna.

Krishna’s kindness appears i

Like a beautiful palace with a closed door the dhama also requires a key to grant us entrance. This is chanting the Name. According to Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura it is chanting the Holy Name with loving affection.

“Dham is Nam”. That is the very first manifestation for the sincere sadhaka.

You remember, Indra was very afraid. He offended Krsna to a very bad degree.

Krsna does not forget such an offense to a devotee – He waits till this person goes to that devotee and gets forgiveness, satisfies t

FIRST CONTACT WITH THE HOLY SOUND

My life took an apical turn when I stumbled across the Hare Krishnas. Being born in India I had some knowledge of “Krishna” but I was like most Indians are – conscious of Krishna but not Krishna Conscious. Being just “conscious of Krishna” didn’t mollify my thirst for happiness. When I was introduced to the programs conducted by the Hare Krishnas near our college campus new hope dawned upon me. What mesmerized me the most in these programs was the chanting of t

From Back to Godhead

In many places in his books Srila Prabhupada describes the wonders of prasadam, food prepared with devotion and offered to Krishna. Prabhupada discusses such merits of prasadam as how it effectively immunizes one against the contamination of the material nature, how it frees one from becoming a ghost after death, and even how it is considered ecstatic nectar from the lips of Lord Krishna. In the Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila, 4.93, purport) Srila Prabhupada writes:

Th

By Payal Shah

(Adapted from ‘Japa Affirmations’ by His Grace Mahatma Dasa)

Ancient Vedic texts address the notion that no amount of material accomplishments can deeply satisfy us. Our consciousness has been polluted by the material atmosphere, and as we try to exploit resources, we are in fact getting more and more entangled in complexities. Vedic wisdom attributes this condition to a lack of spiritual awareness. These Vedic wisdom texts share with us that we are all spiritual beings and that w

By Giriraj Swami and Sri Prahlada dasa

To commemorate the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America, we shall sing and discuss the second poem that he wrote on the ship Jaladuta when he arrived in the Boston harbor on September 17, 1965.

Poem [translation]:

1:  My dear Lord Krishna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.

2:  But I guess You have some business here. Otherwise, why would You brin

In honour of the Temple’s 50th anniversary, from early this year Bhaktivedanta Manor’s harinama procession team made a special effort to share the Holy Names far and wide.

Between July 28th and September 9th,  the team managed to chant, sing and dance along the streets of  more than 50 towns and villages, which had never been visited before. From Bovington to Boxmoor, and from Hazelmere to Hockliffe it was a magnificent achievement! The most distant location from the Manor was Flackwell Heath ne

The universe around us appears to be orderly and symmetrical. The planets rotate perfectly in their orbits. Our bodies possess complex circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems. Even the atoms are highly structured. All this suggests that the universe was created not by chance, but by an intelligent person. If human beings can create houses, skyscrapers, and many other structures, it is plausible that a person far more powerful than any human created the universe and everything in it.

A V