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Developing the quality of empathy has many benefits for aspiring devotees of the Lord.

When I was doing my clinical psychotherapy internship in graduate school, a supervisor stressed connecting with our clients through realized empathy. Most of his interns came from privileged backgrounds, and he felt we needed more than just a theoretical understanding of our clients’ pain.

My first session in “experiential empathy” was with Doris, who suffered from schizophrenia. A slight woman in her early 3

When hungry a child not only cries but tries to put anything and everything in his tiny little mouth. Once fed, he becomes quiet and either peacefully plays or simply sleeps. Our hungry heart also always creates tantrum like a child. A mother is aware of her child’s wants but we are unaware about our heart’s needs. Being constantly starved our heart soon makes our life miserable. And we anxiously search for the elixir to calm the angry heart. But none of our attempts completely succeeds. Our so

Can Krishna and Guru be found within one’s heart? Then sent to find you, no matter where you are?

I remember the amazing story of a boy who went into an old Cathedral in Melbourne on February 18th 1972 to desperately pray to God within his own heart and within the Church for guidance and direction, crying out within, ‘Oh my Lord, please show me the way’.

He had entered that church in a totally helpless condition, prayed, and begged to God to ‘please’ show him the way. He felt totally useless a

By Chaitanya Charan Das

Our heart is filled with whatever we love the most. As devotees love the Lord the most, we understand that their heart is filled with love for Kṛṣṇa. Yet it remains an esoteric mystery how that love fills and floods their heart, inspiring them to give themselves completely to the Lord, putting aside all other considerations. The more we understand the workings of their heart, the more we can get the inspiration and the direction to make our heart work similarly, even if

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

HH Bhakti Charu Swami’s sudden departure has left an empty space in my heart.

Up to the last moment, I was praying and hoping that Maharaja would be able to overcome this disease.

I was always cherishing his association because it filled me with warmth, with a feeling of a close family member that was always there for me when something would go wrong. A hug from Maharaja was a booster in my Bhakti.

Maharaja’s ou

By Rajesh Hirani

Finally, when Srila Prabhupada said to you strongly:

“I will get better only when I die”
You broke down crying.

But he wished to bind you even closer:
“Is this what you have learnt from me?
The soul is always there – immortal!”

Although your heart ached with constant agony
you always lived with the understanding –
that Srila Prabhupada is constantly there…

Like a mother hiding behind a curtain
who wishes to teach her son to walk
by urging him to search for her: “Come, come…I am

Good chanting does not depend on our adherence to mechanical rules. It is not a matter of just doing the dos and avoiding the don’ts and then our job is done. No, not at all! Chanting is an offering of the heart – a heart filled with feelings of humility, a desire to surrender and a sincere service attitude. It is ultimately a loving call to Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. This means we need to chant with a firm understanding of our relationship with Them (sambhandha). “My Lord, I have a relationship

My heart is like a desert, hot with the rays of the sun. This is my internal mental condition. The desire for temporary, material things cannot satisfy me because by nature they are death producing. And not one or two, but thousands of such death-producing desires have taken shelter in my mind. So, my subconscious region is always burning. This is my condition. But somehow, by the grace of sadhu and my guru, the holy name of Krishna with its infinite prospect has entered through the holes of my