I tried my best to help my own mother in spiritual life.
Unfortunately, throughout most of her life she never showed the slightest interest in religion.
I once asked her if she believed in God, and she replied, “Something may be out there.”
Whenever I visited her we would often debate the existence of the soul, life after death, karma, and similar topics.
Throughout the years I continued cultivating that little “something” in her heart by sending her Srila Prabhupada’s books, which invariably e
Dear devotee, I pray you are well. Here in India, we are in a War Zone!
Here is a lecture I gave yesterday with a number of Krsna’s sweet pastimes in Vrindavan. It may soothe the hearts of devotees in these difficult times. On Srimati Radharani’s request we’ll hear how Krsna began to play His flute causing His cows to soak the ground with endless streams of milk, which in turn created an ocean of milk. Moments later Lord Ananta-sesa appeared on the ocean singing Krsna’s glories with His thousand
Diary of a Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 10
January 31th, 2020
By Indradyumna Swami
“These Are All Krsna’s Arrangements”
I was on my morning walk on the beach in Durban, South Africa, last week when my cell phone rang.
“Hey, Maharaja. This is Craig! Craig from high school!”
“Wow, Craig! I can’t even remember the last time we were in touch! How are you doing?”
“Just fine,” he replied. “I heard through the grapevine that you’re recovering from a big surgery and I just wanted to call and wish
I am now situated in my house in Vrindavan, India where I will stay in isolation for as many days, weeks and months as required during the Coronavirus pandemic. This is what governments around the world are recommending and even imposing upon their citizens. Social distancing is one of the practical keys to alleviating the Coronavirus. At the same time it poses a problem for devotees who thrive on sadhu sanga – associating with other vaisnavas, which is a key to spiritual advancement. To encour
Diary of A Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 9
January 23, 2020
“Fortune in Misfortune”
My dear spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to you!
This letter was originally written as a private offering to you, but these days my life is an open book. Because I act as your representative in all that I do, I want to open my heart and share with you the realizations I have gained while dealing with two of life’s greatest challenges: old age and diseas
Indradyumna Swami: Last week here in Durban, South Africa, I visited my dermatologist – a skin specialist. Unfortunately, he found a Malignant Melanoma skin cancer on my face. The tumor was very near to the first one I had five years ago. It is called recurrence cancer. I had a PET/CT scan to see if this second tumor had metastasized (spread) throughout my body. The result came back clear. It had not spread. Nevertheless, as a precaution, my oncologist (cancer doctor) asked that while surgicall
Diary of a Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 8
September 3, 2019
I nodded off to sleep on the way to one of our last summer festivals along the Baltic Sea coast in Poland. I woke just as Guru Kripa dasa was parking behind our large Ratha Yatra chariot at the festival site.
“I’m so tired I don’t even know what town we’re in,” I said, laughing.
“The name of the town isn’t so important,” said Guru Kripa. “What’s significant is that this is our forty-sixth festival of the summer!”
“Forty-six fest
Dearest Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you!
This year marks the 123rd anniversary of your appearance in this world. Somehow, by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord, I am connected to you through initiation as one of your spiritual sons. This can never be disputed in the chronicles of time because on December 10, 1971, you wrote the following to my temple president:
“I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 22, 1971, along with beads a
Diary of a Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 4 July 22, 2019 “Summer of Love”
During my teenage years, I was living in San Francisco during 1967’s “Summer of Love” when hippies were trying to establish the brotherhood of mankind without any positive lifestyle alternative or anyone to guide them. History shows that the young people of my generation fell hopelessly short of the goal of universal peace and love, for true love and peace can only be experienced on the spiritual platform.
The summer
Diary of A Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 5 July 27, 2109
”Bonds of Brotherhood”
During the month of June I visited ISKCON’s temple in Skopje, Northern Macedonia. Macedonia is a small, land-locked country in Southeastern Europe with a population of just 2.7 million people. I had been invited to speak and hold kirtan at the country’s International Yoga Day Festival.
While we were waiting at a red light on the way to the festival, a horse-drawn wooden cart driven by a teenage boy and holding a
