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It is our goal to always be one in thought with Krsna. One of the symptoms of surrendering in devotional service is to have no other interest other than the interest in Krsna. Of course, it is not that our thoughts are always aligned with Krsna, what to speak of our actions, however our meditation remains to cultivate pure devotional service so that we can be one in thought with Krsna. We have the following words – anukulyasya sankalpah, accepting whatever is favourable to devotional service; pr

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

Context and Crux of Uddhava-gita

Bhagavad-gita is the great philosophical song by Lord Krsna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra to motivate His bewildered friend Arjuna. There is yet another Gita that Krsna sang in Dvaraka to pacify another of His friends named Uddhava. Famous as Uddhava-gita it forms the longest philosophical section of the magnum opus literature Srimad Bhagavatam.

Lord Krsna’s descent into this world was requested by the devatas headed by Brahma, to reduce the burden of the ear

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.2.23

Translation: Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Putana] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

Purport: Here is an example of the extreme mercy of the Lord, even to His enemy. It is said that a noble man accepts the good qualities of a person of doubtful character, just as one accepts nectar from a stock of poison

Janmastami is just one day, but how we spend it can deeply inspire us for the whole year.
Krishna consciousness mean we are conscious of Krishna. He becomes an active part of our life – like a close friend or an affectionate family member we love to be around. Krishna consciousness, then, is loving to be around Krishna.
Here are 5 ways to love and be with Krishna on his birthday:
1. Come early, stay late – be close to Krishna today, close to the Temple. This is our day with Krishna. There will

Janmastami is coming up… we celebrate the appearance of Lord Krsna in this world. Remember that this week is especially a week for serving Krsna, and the more we do so then the more Krsna will reveal Himself and we begin to see right here and now, and at the end of our life, we can go back the spiritual world!
In this world, there are churches, mosques, temples – there are so many different religious groups. Sometimes, in the airport, I see Jews with their black hats and curls on the side of th

The glorious advent of Lord Krishna or Janmastami is celebrated with charming grandeur and magnificent pomp worldwide by millions of exuberant Vaishnavas. Due to the outbreak of a global pandemic, the entire devotee community has been urged to celebrate Janmastami at home.

Since the pandemic, the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team has been providing useful resources online. For this Janmastami we have compiled a celebrate-at-home Janmastami portfolio, which is a compilation of guidelines and in

While attending the Janmastami festival at the ISKCON farm in Czechoslovakia several years ago, I was asked to give a lecture about the appearance of Lord Krishna. Afterwards I asked for questions and an elderly, red-haired lady raised her hand. Since almost all the devotees there spoke only Czech, I was surprised when she began to speak in English. She said, “Satsvarupa Gosvami, could you tell us something about Prabhupada, because you knew him very well?”

I started out by remembering Janmasta

Vasudeva and Devaki were within Kamsa prison when Lord Krsna, in His Visnu form, appeared before them as their son. He appeared from the heart of Devaki in the dense darkness of night, like the full moon rising on the eastern horizon. The newborn child had very wonderful lotus-petal eyes and bore in His four hands a conchshell, disc, club, and lotus. On His chest was the mark of Srivatsa, and on His neck the brilliant Kaustubha gem.

Vasudeva could understand that the child was the Supreme Person

For many devotees in our movement, Krsna is anything but a friend. They do not dare to think in this direction. Some feel it is sahajiyaism, or taking things too lightly, while others think, “He is so far away and inaccessible. A friend is someone I can call with my smartphone or write a whatsapp to. Krsna is a friend? Is this just a swami-hype? How can we relate to this?” My dear devotees, you can only find peace in your life if you become aware that:

Krsna is your best friend and there are de

The Temple in our Hearts

A Guide for celebrating Krsna Janmastami At  home

Śrī  Kṛṣṇa  Janmāṣṭamī  mahā-mahotsava, the  advent  of  Lord  Kṛṣṇa  on  this  earthly planet  is  the  biggest  religious  festival  in our vaishnava calendar and it is celebrated by  hundreds  of  millions  of  people  around the  world.  On  this  day,  devotees  flock  to various temples including the holy land of  Vrndavana  to  take  darshan  of  the Supreme  Personality  of  Godhead  in  his arca  vigraha  form 

Chanting the Hare Krishna maha – mantra isn’t a mundane activity but is in fact a means by which we can experience exponential spiritual pleasure.

Chanting connects us to Krishna provided we chant with utmost sincerity and seriousness. One of the most important requirements of chanting is that we should pronounce each syllable of the maha – mantra clearly and loud enough so that we can hear what we chant.

But many a times we the spiritual seekers chant inattentively without bothering if we are

This Krishna consciousness movement is spreading quickly all over the world—within four, five years. Is it my credit? No. It is Krishna’s credit. But because I have tried to do this business, people are automatically giving me the credit. They say, “Swamiji, you have done wonderful.” I have done nothing wonderful. It is Krishna’s business. Krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana. (Cc Antya-lila 7.11) Without Krishna’s strength, nobody can spread. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta.

Krishna

From Back to Godhead

Bir Krishna the calf loves coconut fudge, and Sita the teamstress knows it. Her pockets bulge with the sweet as she and Bir walk to the training ring. Today the calf will learn his first call: “Get up!”

The earth is soft from the recent rain. Sita carries a lash and leads Bir with a rope tied to a blue halter. The calf bounds through a cluster of gnats, then slows as they come to the ring. What’s this?

The gate opens, and Bir walks in to explore. He treads the edge and snif

By Damodar das

Giriraj Swami spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.6:

etevan sankhya-yogabhyam
sva-dharma-parinisthaya
janma-labhah parah pumsam
ante narayana-smrtih

“The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.

Remember Krishna at the End of Life (Right click to download)

Source: http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=1

In difficult times like these, I feel the urgent need for Srila Prabhupada’s books to be distributed in large numbers, for only such literature can enlighten people how to proceed in the right way.

Srila Prabhupada’s preface to Srimad-Bhagavatam is profoundly relevant:

“We must know the present need of human society. And what is that need? Human society is no longer bounded by geographical limits to particular countries or communities . . ., and the world tendency is toward one state or one huma

Krsna is everywhere because He is all-pervading. Not only is the brahmajyoti (effulgence) of Krsna present everywhere, on which everything is resting, but Krsna Himself is present everywhere in different forms. Sometimes He is in the form of Nrsimhadeva, sometimes He is in the form of Varaha and other times He is in His sweet form playing His flute. So basically, Krsna’s mercy is constantly there.

The dust jacket of the First Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam is very special as Srila Prabhupada de

Question: Maharaj, I have not done anything for Krishna. Why would He care about me?
Kadamba Kanana Swami:Long before… what happened is this… One day, you were in a street and you did not remember your name. You stood there, looking and you did not know your name or where you are from. You were suffering from amnesia! You had lost your memory and your identity. Anyway – some people saw you and they kind of took care of you. They noticed which languages you spoke and someone of the same language

Many people say “By your mercy, I will surrender” or “Give me your blessings so that I will surrender” or “When Krishna wants”. Srila Prabhupada says these are spoken under “FALSE PRETENSE”–These are just “PLEA’S” Not to Surrender.

Srila Prabhupada: Surrender is willing. If you don’t like to surrender who can make you obliged to surrender? Surrender is voluntary. “Yes I surrender.” Determination, “Yes I surrender.” Who can make you obliged to surrender? Nobody can make. Even Krsna can not work.