Question: Maharaj, sometimes we try to restrain our urges such as eating less. For some time we can but after a while we feel dissatisfied and cannot continue with our practices. How can we practically apply this in our lives and maintain the standard?
Answer: Everything should be done with moderation. There is a famous saying: ‘Haste means waste. Slow and steady wins the race.’ If we are given something very palatable we may say, ‘No, no. Take it away.’ But inside we are meditating on that sen
Every civilized person is familiar with the concept of seva or service. Service can be of different types and of different qualities. At home, every member of the family is serving everyone else. Traditionally, the father traditionally earns for the family and is therefore known as the “breadwinner,” while the mother takes care of the home itself by cooking, cleaning, and creating a comfortable and congenial atmosphere. The children obey their parents and perform basic chores or run minor erran
In the Srimad Bhagavatam 7 canto it is said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee know how to use properly lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride and envy.
In the Bhagavad Gita 3.37, Srila Prabhupada says: “…Therefore the origin of lust is also in the Supreme. If, therefore, lust is transformed into love for the Supreme, or transformed into Krishna consciousness – or, in other words, desiring everything for Krishna – then both lust and wrath can be spiritualized.
Hanuman, the great
Srila Prabhupada visited New Vrindaban four times. One of the significant sites of his pastimes is the house in Madhavan where he resided during his last visit in 1976.
The house in Madhavan (where Sankirtan Prabhu now lives) is the site of the last darshan Srila Prabhupada gave to the New Vrindaban plow department. Darshans were scheduled according to department, and I was a member of the plow department. The last darshan is very exceptional because Srila Prabhupada was commenting spontaneous
Srila Prabhupada’s Penetrating Vision
Nara Narayan: The minute I sincerely begged, his eyes floated around to the side and he looked at me. I froze. That moment seemed like an eternity. He neither beckoned nor rejected, just observed. My whole system collapsed from the inside out. I said, “Oh my God.” All sorts of confusing emotions ran through me. I thought, “I must straighten myself out and think things through. I am not ready to become his disciple yet.”
Harivilasa: Prabhupada looked at me f
By Shyamasundara Dasa
[The following history from the Valmiki Ramaya is full of import for anyone who wants to be a guru, GBC, temple president or leader in ISKCON or any spiritual institution.]
The incident of Lord Rama and the Dog
From Valmiki’s Ramayana Uttara Khandha between chapters 59-60
Part one
Thereafter in the bright morning Sri Rama, of lotus-like eye having performed forenoon rites, took his seat in the Royal Council-chamber along with the Brahmanas, who were masters of the Vedas th
We usually feel that there will be another day but what if there is no other day? What if this is our last day on this planet, the last day in this body? Did we accumulate sufficient blessings in this life to make it our last? Spiritual life is about accruing blessings throughout one’s devotional life; blessings from the Supreme Lord and His devotees. These blessings are the building blocks in our spiritual life, through them we develop saintly qualities.
Blessings help us become humble, tolera
We usually feel that there will be another day but what if there is no other day? What if this is our last day on this planet, the last day in this body? Did we accumulate sufficient blessings in this life to make it our last? Spiritual life is about accruing blessings throughout one’s devotional life; blessings from the Supreme Lord and His devotees. These blessings are the building blocks in our spiritual life, through them we develop saintly qualities.
Blessings help us become humble, tolera
A young devotee named Bhakta Kevin, serving at the Los Angeles New Dvaraka temple, has broken multiple book distribution records enthusiastically distributing stacks of Srila Prabhupada’s books newly translated into the Farsi language. As soon as the new books arrived at the BBT warehouse from the port of Los Angeles, Bhakta Kevin immediately made beautiful, ribbon-tied stacks of them, which were named the “Four Kumara Stacks.” He drove straight to a local area called “Little Persia” and proce
We often get questions about surrender, like “how can we surrender”. Recently I was reading one old BTG, 2001, and found a nice practical statement from Srila Prabhupada. If we search “surrender” on the vedabase we find 7445 hits, so we know it is an important topic. And we all know the conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita:
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami mä suca
TRANSLATION
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall de
August 21, 1976, Hyderabad
Prabhupada: You were selling Back to Godhead on the street?
Gargamuni: Yes, in the pushcart.
Prabhupada: That time how many copies you were printing?
Gargamuni: We were printing 500 to 1,000. We started at 500 then to 1,000.
Prabhupada: Then when Brahmananda proposed that “We can get it printed from Japan, but they want order for 20,000 minimum.” So I said yes. Five hundred, 1,000 we were selling, and he proposed 20,000. “Yes. You order.” [laughs] Now, two million
From Back to Godhead
One of the basic principles of Krsna consciousness is that one may utilize whatever talent he has in the service of the Supreme Lord. And it is a symptom of a bona fide spiritual master that he is expert in engaging everyone in practical transcendental devotional service. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has thus engaged a number of very talented artists in the service of the Lord by asking them to use their natural artistic inclination in painting pictu
From Back to Godhead
Dear Sivarama Swami,
Hare Krsna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I hope you do not mind my writing to you. I have never written to a spiritual master before. You do not know me. My name is Bhaktin Dora and I live in Pecs (Hungary). I am 14 years old, and I live at home with my mother and older sister.
Some years ago I went to the Hare Krsna Festival with a friend. I was not very interested, but I enjoyed the chanting and dancing at the e
Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 7: The Science of God Chapter 14: Ideal Family Life
Summary
Maharaja Yudhisthira inquired from Narada Muni: O my lord, O great sage, kindly explain how we who are staying at home without knowledge of the goal of life may also easily attain liberation, according to the instructions of the Vedas.
Narada Muni replied: My dear King, those who stay at home as householders must act to earn their livelihood, and instead of trying to enjoy the results of their work themselves,
“Is chanting all that your religion does? Don’t you do welfare or anything like that?”
Alex, my barber, works at the Pilatos salon in Queens, New York, on the cusp of a Hispanic neighborhood. The salon has mostly Latino hairdressers and clients, and it is bright and upbeat, with salsa music often playing softly in the background. On a recent visit there, instead of salsa, I heard the chanting of om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, which means “obeisance to the Supreme Lord Krishna.” I remarked to Ale
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,
So on the occasion of Varaha’s appearance day, we are reading a verse in relation this pastime. This is from Canto Three, Chapter Eighteen “The Battle Between Boar and Hiranyaksa”, Text number two.
dadarsa tatrabhijitam dhara-dharam
pronniyamanavanim agra-damstraya
musnantam aksna sva-ruco ’runa-sriya
jahasa caho vana-gocaro mrgah
Translation:
“He saw there the all-powerful Personality of Godhead in His boar incarnation, bearing the earth upward on the ends of His tusks and robbing him of his
(Excerpt from “Advancements of Ancient India’s Vedic Culture”)
By Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana dasa)
When we talk about the planet’s earliest civilization, we are talking about the world’s earliest sophisticated society after the last ice age. This means that according to the Vedic time tables, various forms of civilization have been existing for millions of years. But the first record of an organized and developed society was the Vedic culture that arose in ancient India with the Indus Sa
Translation (SB 11.10.17)
Although the performer of fruitive activities desires perpetual happiness, it is clearly observed that materialistic workers are often unhappy and only occasionally satisfied, thus proving that they are not independent or in control of their destiny. When a person is always under the superior control of another, how can he expect any valuable results from his own fruitive actions?
Purport
Although materialistic persons reject Kṛṣṇa consciousness and instead pursue t
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
