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Krishna is absolute. Krishna the person, and Krishna’s words, Bhagavad-gita—there is no difference. Advaya-jnana, no duality. Everything is one, absolute. Krishna is absolute, Krishna’s instruction is also absolute, Krishna’s pastimes absolute. Everything. That is Absolute Truth. There is no difference. In the material world, the name and the thing are different. Suppose here is mango—mango the thing and mango the name. If I simply say “Mango, mango, mango,” there is no mango. There must be the

Real Vaishnavism is something very deep and something sublime, it’s not simply a type of dress or a type of hairstyle, it’s the substance of our consciousness.
What is our character?
Materialism is the consciousness of wanting to exploit, wanting to enjoy. Thinking oneself above another, that is material consciousness.
The consciousness of a Vaishnava is to serve. This body exists not to enjoy, this body exists to serve. The words I speak are not meant not just to talk, what I want to talk, the

From Back to Godhead

Far from being a sentimental activity, devotional service is based on well-defined principles that systematically guide a practitioner to ultimate perfection.

Discussions about the relationship between science and religion usually end in a stalemate: Scientists accuse religionists of relying too much on faith, which they say is experimentally unverifiable, while religionists accuse scientists of relying too much on physical and chemical laws, which they say fail to measure

      sri visnuduta ucuh
yuyam vai dharma-rajasya
  yadi nirdesa-karinah
bruta dharmasya nas tattvam
  yac cadharmasya laksanam

 “The blessed messengers of Lord Visnu, the Visnudutas, said: If you are actually servants of Yamaraja, you must explain to us the meaning of religious principles and the symptoms of irreligion.” (SB 6.1.3) The Yamadutas had challenged, “Who are you, interfering in our business? We have come to arrest him.” So, the counterchallenge was, “You said, ‘We are servants of D

A day in the life of Shri Krishna is filled with numerous activities: tending cows, playing pranks on the women of the village, feasting on sumptuous food with the cowherd boys and vanquishing an ill-fated demon whose misfortune brings him wandering into Krishna’s abode. Considering all this, one might ask why Krishna would choose to lose sleep over dancing with a group of mere milkmaids.

The Adi Purana narrates a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. The Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna, describe

From Back to Godhead

Pradyumna Dasa, Srila Prabhupada’s Sanskrit editor, begins reading The Nectar of Devotion, Introduction: “Invoking auspiciousness: Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Per

Krishna has given us a little independence, because we are part and parcel of Krishna. Krishna is fully independent. He does not depend on anyone. We have got independence to a certain extent, but under the control of maya. In the spiritual life there is also maya. That is called yoga-maya. And in the material life there is also maya. That is called maha-maya, Durga. So we, being very little . . . Just like a small child: he is given either to the mother for taking care or to the nurse for taki

Krishna is fascinated with the land and people of Vrindavan.
The Bhagavatam says (10.1.28): “The city and district of Mathura,” Vrindavan is part of that, “are very intimately connected with Krishna, for Lord Krishna lives there eternally.”Nityam sannihito harihi – He is there eternally.

“It is there,” writes Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur, “that Krishna appears and becomes visible to the people of the world. And He stays there forever.” He does not descend from Vaikuntha, one of His many spirit

Chanting Krishna’s name in mantra meditation is a concentrated effort. Although we remember Krishna here and there throughout the day, japa is a focused and full immersive experience in hearing the holy name.

The invitation to japa is to listen. To listen to the sound of the mantra through our own voice chanting it. Just hear, Prabhupada once said, Just hear yourself chant sincerely.

Our mind and body tend to get restless with extended listening to the mantra. The body may ache as we sit, or

Love is our innermost longing. Gita wisdom declares that our longing for love is best fulfilled when we learn to love Krishna. Let’s understand this central Gita teaching in five parts:

1. Loving Krishna enables our love to break free from all limitations,
2. Krishna is eminently lovable,
3. Krishna loves all of us impartially,
4. Krishna’s love for us is unconditional and
5. Krishna engages his omnipotence to help us when we choose to love him.

1. Loving Krishna enables our love to break free from all limi

We might wonder what is going on in the heart of the Lord when someone turns to Him. Any information about this would increase our desire to connect with Him manifold – but is there any reliable description, an example, a real incident?

This is very nicely answered in the following texts, where the Lord welcomes Gopa Kumara when he finally comes before Him.

The Supreme Lord said: “Welcome, welcome, My dear boy! I am fortunate – most fortunate – to meet you here. For so long I have been eager to

From Back to Godhead

A brief analysis of Bhagavad-gita 9.4, 9.5, and 9.6.

The Bhagavad-gita is one of the world’s perennial wisdom texts. Because it offers knowledge of the Absolute Truth, some of its texts can be difficult to understand. Few are as difficult as verses four and five of Chapter Nine: “By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them. And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Alth

Those who are intelligent know that everything is supplied by Krishna. So why not depend on Krishna only? Why so many other attempts? Therefore Krishna says,

vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-sakha hy anantas ca
buddhayo ’vyavasayinam
        [Gita 2.41]

Vyavasayi means one who knows business particularly. Vyavasaya. Or one who knows confidently, “This is the cause; this is the effect.” Those who know that Krishna is the origin of everything are fixed up in Krishna. Vyavasayatmika

In a talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.51, on December 28, 1973, in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada spoke about bhagavat-priyanam, those who are very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“Bhagavat-priyanam. There is a common saying in English, ‘If you love me, love my dog.’ That is very important. If you love such person who is very dear to Krishna (bhagavat-priyanam), then Krishna is more pleased.

“There is a version in the Padma Purana. Parvati was asking questions to Lord Shiva, and he was

From Back to Godhead

Why we should surrender to Lord Krishna’s lotus feet.

At the junction of two ages, amidst two immense armies arrayed on the battlefield at Kurukshetra, Arjuna scans his foes and becomes confused. When Krishna expounds eternal dharma to enlighten him, Arjuna addresses Krishna as pavitram paramam: “the purest of the pure.” (Bhagavad-gita 10.12) Arjuna adds, “All the great sages . . . confirm this about You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.”

Apart from the Bhagavad

According to the shastra, the way to counteract the very deeply strong tendency for possessiveness in the grihastha life is to giving charity to the Vaishnavas and the brahmans, to the mission of the guru. According to the shastra, the first fifty percent you have give it to your guru’s mission. And then whatever else you have, maintain, that is the ideal standard. You never be possessive if you do that, because the first priority with whatever you get goes to Guru and Krishna. You cannot do fi

From Back to Godhead

“What’s it like to go back home to Krishna?” wondered ten-year-old Kiran at the weekly gathering for children from our congregation.

I responded by speaking about Goloka Vrindavana, our real home, where we aspire t

(from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter 8)

Whether he is offensive or inoffensive, anyone who even now chants “sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda” is immediately overwhelmed with ecstasy, and tears fill his eyes. Simply by talking of Nityananda Prabhu one awakens his love for Krsna. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges.

There are offenses to be considered while chanting t