Some days you are a friend
Some days you are foe
You swing moods up
You swing them low
I can’t always trust
You’re not in one place
You respond well to lust
Big dose or a trace
You lead me to greed
It’s not what I want
You convinced it’s a need
In truth it’s a taunt
When there is anger
Pent up inside
You then do hanker
To push it outside
I don’t know why
You are so cruel
Cunning and sly
And wanting to rule
You’re some kind of clown
Silly and joking
A laugh or a frown
Nabbing and poking
Yet you
"We can remember Krishna in every moment. We can remember Krishna while taking a glass of water because the taste of water is Krishna. We can remember Krishna as soon as we see the sunlight in the morning, because the sunlight is a reflection of Krishna's Bodily Effulgence. Similarly, as soon as we see moonlight in the evening we remember Krishna because moonlight is also reflection of sunlight. Similarly, when we hear any sound we can remember Krishna because sound is Krishna, and the most per
Some restrictions becoming relaxed on Covid discipline has made it more possible for a flow of freedom in places like High Park. From noon until 4 pm, a small group of us bhakti yoga followers gathered at what Nick called “the Hill” for kirtan performance. It’s a great spot in a great park where people come to chill.
I managed to catch the last few minutes of the blissful chant before embarking on a trip (by car) north to Caledon and to a farm. Visiting this sixty-four-acre land in the rolling
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
HG Pankajanghri Prabhu, ISKCON’s most beloved Nrsimhadeva pujari, has
departed from this world in Sri Dham Mayapur.
Having joined ISKON in the footsteps of his twin brother, HG Jananivasa
Prabhu, in 1973, the two brothers dedicated their lives to serving the
Lordships of ISKCON’s International Headquarters in Lord Caitanya’s divine
abode of Sri Mayapur.
Pankajanghri Prabhu served not only the Lord, but devotees
By Kesava Krsna Dasa
There is a lot of emphasis nowadays on the need for love and trust among devotees. We can cite the six loving exchanges between us. We can also use the strength of the often quoted, “your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate.” In spite of our efforts to promote this ideal, can we ever expect a situation where love and trust dominates in all of our devotee interactions?
Are we too big as an organisation to assume that this will happen? Can each of us get by simply
By Bhakta Bhupendra Solanki
Devotees from a small preaching centre in the UK, ISKCON South London, have taken the spirit of Srila Prabhupada’s words to heart. They have embarked on an ambitious project to show that the spirit of co-operation is well and truly still alive in ISKCON, 125 years after Srila Prabhupada’s appearance.
Kirtan 125 is an offering of 125 hours of kirtan bringing together all the temples and centers in the UK. Live broadcasts on YouTube and Facebook will take place on the
A Dubai commuter, stuck in traffic, muses on how modern inventions have failed to improve the quality of our lives and have added to our distress.
It’s 7:00 P.M., and I’ve been driving for more than an hour. As I head home from work along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, I’m caught in the usual evening traffic jam. Like the car ahead of me, my car starts, stops, and starts again. While my car moves slowly, my mind races. I do mental mathematics with the number on the car plate in front of me. The tr
From Back to Godhead
By Madhava Smullen
A Hare Krishna Community Radio station based in Alachua, Florida had a soft launch on Christmas Day, broadcasting a series of devotional programs on the holiday as well as over four days at New Year’s. The project, run by Sudharma Dasi, aims to grow into a full-time digital radio station and eventually to reach out to listeners beyond the ISKCON community with devotional music, interviews, discussions, meditations and more.
Sudharma Dasi, a Srila Prabhupada disciple, previousl
By Giriraj Swami
“Now these Christmas holidays have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you’ll observe nice festivities. Why? It began with God consciousness. Jesus Christ came to give you God consciousness, and in relation to him these festivities are going on. It may have degraded into another form, but the beginning was God consciousness. Now we may have lost it. But people cannot be happy without reviving God consciousness. It may be named differently—‘Krishna cons
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us, na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye. (Siksastaka 4) Dhanam means wealth . . . But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, na dhanam: “I don’t want money.” Just the opposite. Everyone wants money. He says, “No, I don’t want money.” Na dhanam na janam: “I don’t want many men as My followers.” Just the opposite. Everyone wants. The politicians, the yogis, the swamis, everyone wants, “There may be hundreds and thousands of my followers.” But Chaitanya Maha
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
This is the month of Kartik and I was asked to speak on the month of Damodar but although Damodar is so much on my mind, even more than that is the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada actually.
We will have arati in Srila Prabhupada’s room, by his bed. At the end of the arati, Srila Prabhupada’s chadar goes around, the big grey woollen chadar and it is heavy. When I felt that heavy chadar, I felt the weight of responsibility – now we have to do something; we have to do something to take up this m
“So at the time of death… Of course, those who are devotees, their position is different. People may say, “The devotee is also dying, and the nondevotee, sinful man, is also dying. What is the difference?” So there is much difference. The example is given: just like a cat catching a rat in his mouth and at the same time carrying his cubs in the mouth. Superficially, we can see that the same mouth is being used, but one is feeling comfortable being carried by the mother, and another is feeling t
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said: “Of the nine processes of devotional service, the most important is to always chant the Holy Name of the Lord. If one does so, avoiding the ten kinds of offenses, one very easily obtains the most valuable love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 4.71)
One might ask, “Then why do we hear so many lectures on the Bhagavatam in our movement. Why don’t we simply sing and dance instead of listening to so many explanations?” The answer is: the other eight process
Written by Pranjal Joshi
Journey of a young millionaire, who blends spirituality with entrepreneurship.
It's evening; a young Bengali gentleman sitting in his office in Kolkata completes a webinar on entrepreneurship and moves on to an online TV interview. Interviewer asks him questions relating to investment, business and startups and he answers them all with fervid expressions. Being in limelight, guiding budding entrepreneurs, focusing on resolving queries and making people think differently
Candramauli Swami:
In the kirtana of the holy name, so much mercy is easily available, but we can miss it if we do not do two things: be eager for it and appreciate it.
Our consciousness is what makes this sangha (spiritual gathering).
We want to glorify Krishna in the form of the holy name.
I pray that I can never forget the value of the association of devotees, especially when we get together for kirtana.
We have our favorite kirtana leaders and our favorite melodies, but these our secondary t
Let us try to learn the fundamentals of chanting of the Holy Name from Srila Prabhupada as our founder acharya explains its importance, the dos and don’ts and also the remedy if we commit offenses while chanting.
It is recommended that such chanting be performed very loudly. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nārada Muni says that without shame he began traveling all over the world, chanting the holy name of the Lord. Similarly, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised:
tṛṇā
By HH Sacinandana Swami
As I’m sitting here in Vrindavan, as the minutes, hours and days go by, I am more and more interested in the close God, not so much the distant God. I’m less interested in the God, Who is only thought about, but not experienced, Who is philosophized about, but not seen. As I chant, I think deeply about how to establish real contact with the Lord.
What he says is, “My Lord, I am directly calling out to You now, I am directly approaching You now, by Your various names. And
