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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

From Back to Godhead

By Cintamani Dhama Devi Dasi

“ONE WHO CANNOT deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother, or a worshipable demigod” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.18).

As a parent I often wonder if I am up to the task. After all, full engagement in devotional service is the only way to become free from the cycle of birth and death. Prahlada Maharaja instructs us in nine methods of devotional service: “Hearin

Hearing Srila Prabhupada speak about why danger is required, I thought of the coronavirus pandemic. In a talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.33, April 25, 1973, Los Angeles, Prabhupada said:

“We have got natural devotion. Just like father and son, there is natural affection. The son has got natural devotion to the father, mother. Similarly, we have got our natural devotion. And when we are in danger, even the scientists pray to God—though when they are not in danger, they defy God.

“Therefore danger

From Back to Godhead

In a unique form, Lord Krishna is worshiped in a famous temple in Puri, India, and at Rathayatras (chariot festivals) there and around the world.

I was born in a conservative Orissan Vaishnava family in Puri, on the east coast of India. The Supreme Lord Jagannatha and His devotees were at the center of my life. As a child, I played with dolls of Jagannatha, Baladeva (Balarama), and Subhadra, the deities in the famous Puri temple. I still remember how my mother gave me enorm

From Back to Godhead

When Krishna leaves Vrindavana to become the ruler of a great kingdom, He remains the same Krishna, the treasure of His devotees’ hearts.

The Krishna deity worshiped at the Hare Krishna temple in Los Angeles, where I live, is named Dvarakadhisha, “the Lord of Dvaraka.” Dvaraka is the pristine island Lord Krishna rules in His adult years. (Although Krishna lived in Dvaraka when He was present on earth five thousand years ago, Dvaraka exists eternally in the spiritual world.

How can we chant in a way that it makes us forget the material world and run to Krsna? When you sit down to chant, there will be moments in which you notice that your mind wandered somewhere else – ‘Uuups, I was thinking about my shopping list, that I have to close this deal to get more money and that Suresh Patel said something bad about me – well, he can just wait – I will show it to him!’ You will notice, ‘Where was I? I am sitting here in saintly company, chanting, but what happened?’ What

In Calcutta, 1971, the temple was in quite a bad state because the temple president had become preoccupied in an incense business he had started to raise funds. In the course of his absorption in the business, the devotees in the temple were being neglected. He hardly spent any time with them, and they really had no one to look after them. They were barely surviving. A strong-bodied devotee named Sudama Vipra, who had belonged to the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang, was so famished that he would

When we say Krishna we mean God. When we say God it is not a Hindu God or Muslim God or Christian God and so forth or an Indian God or Russian god or Chinese God. God is God. He is the only one. He is the Supreme Personality. Although He is one but He has innumerable names according to His innumerable pastimes and innumerable qualities. Even in English we notice God is addressed as the Almighty or Omnipotent. Almighty and omnipotent are the names of God. As God is all powerful, He is the Almigh

February 1971: BENARES, INDIA Festival glorifying Lord Chaitanya

Radha Govinda Swami: I was in Benares at that time when Srila Prabhupada was touring, traveling India with his 40 disciples. I read in a newspaper in America Krishna-bhakti is preached. Naturally, I was a devotee of Krishna so I liked this topic. So I went there. Then there was a procession from Dashashvamedha Ghat to Tapan Misra’s house that is now in Benares.

When the procession finished, I approached Srila Prabhupada and I spok

By Vijaya Prabhu

One Muslim boy was reluctant to take a book from me because it was from outside his tradition. I saw him another day, and he said, “I had this dream the Bhagavad-gita came to me glowing.” I again encouraged him to get the book, and after repeated attempts, he finally accepted it.

This knowledge can pull people out of the modes of material nature.

We are still tinged, but we have come a long way.

We are not distributing paper and ink but jewels.

I tell the people, “You cannot pu

The influence of maya is very difficult to overcome. In our scriptures, the material energy is therefore compared to an ocean. When you sail the ocean you never know when the weather will become stormy and high waves will make it impossible for you to continue your journey. Material life is similar – you never know when difficulties will shake you. Krishna explains this fact to Uddhava and then says: “Devotees are like a strong boat that comes to rescue those persons who are repeatedly rising a

An old brahmin priest lived in a holy place, at an ashram, with his seven disciples. There they worshipped some very old and famous Deities of Radha and Krishna. Many people would come to see these Deities and make donations for Their worship.

The guru, however, was growing weak due to old age. He knew it was time to soon leave his body, but did not feel confident to hand over to his disciples the entire service of these Deities.

One day a pilgrim donated a large ruby to the Deities.

I think it

By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Lecture given in San Francisco on September 11, 1968

Only one person can rightfully claim to be beyond all control.

jñanam te ’ham sa-vijñanam
idam vakshyamy asheshatah
yaj jñatva neha bhuyo ’nyaj
jñatavyam avashishyate

“I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know.” – Bhagavad-gita 7.2

Knowledge means to know how this universe is working

Just from a logical deduction perspective, Sri Krsna has to be the Original Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, one without a second. There is no one in the history of the universe that can compare to Him, in transcendental beauty, paraphernalia, qualities, pastimes etc.

(The following are names of some of His exquisite paraphernalia; His milk bucket, His signet ring, His earrings and locket, even His scissors.)

(from Srila Rupa Goswami’s Radha-Krishna-ganoddesha-dipika)

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