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By Baladeva Dasa

In this interview, we meet Caitanya Priya Devi Dasi and her husband, Govinda Damodara Das, who have dedicated their lives to a unique and special form of service. They share their inspiring experience of bringing the holy names of God (Hare Krishna chanting) directly into the classrooms of educational institutions for people with disabilities.

Discover the challenges, joys, and profound spiritual lessons they have learned by connecting with these special souls and witnessing the

First Meaning: –

Srila Jiva Gosvami reveals the meaning of each of the sixteen Names in the Hare Krishna Mahaamantra in his Mahaa-mantrartha Dipika as follows: –

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

(1-Hare)
Krishna steals the minds of everyone, yet Radha steals even His mind by Her divine expertise. Thus She is known as Haraa.

(2-Krishna)
He forcibly attracts Sri Radha with the sweet sound of His flute, therefore that Lord of all enchantin

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

Srimad Bhagavad Gita: A Pathway to Inner Awakening

This article on Srimad Bhagavad Gita has been written by Premanjana Das (Pranjal Joshi)

Premanjana Das (Pranjal Joshi) is a writer, blogger, healer, spiritualist, software engineer and a management graduate who has been writing for more than two decades in various magazines, websites, newspapers, and forums.

I have read several books in my life. Each one of them had a message to give and a purpose to serve, since words have immense power to re-

We are all very fortunate, whether we are present in person or whether we are present through electronic means, because it does not really matter. It is transcendental sound vibration and it is the connection with this sound that is very important. Srila Prabhupada was very unique because he had faith in recordings and he recorded the Holy Name and he had faith that all the potency was in this Holy Name. This was revolutionary! Prabhupada would give second initiation by tape where he would spea

So, let us just look at the phone. Because that is the issue of the day. It is the phone that is being used in the name of pushing on this movement, that is destroying this movement. It is a crisis, an addiction. Very addictive thing. Try not to touch it and see how long you can. How long can you not touch it? Do not touch it! There, we can see how it creeps in little by little. We are using all these electronics in the service of Krsna. And then these electronics are taking over our life and gr

 “‘Hare’ can refer to both Hari, or Krishna, the Supreme Lord, and Radha, known as Mother Hara. When perceived in the latter sense, common in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, it is an address to God’s energy, specifically His spiritual pleasure potency (hladini-shakti), who is also known as His female manifestation: Radhika. The word hari also means “thief.” In relation to Radha and Krishna, it refers to Their stealing of each other’s hearts, and the hearts of all living beings.”

[Note: The quo

Let us try to learn the fundamentals of chanting of the Holy Name from Srila Prabhupada as our founder acharya explains its importance, the dos and don’ts and also the remedy if we commit offenses while chanting.

How should we do chant the Holy Name?

It is recommended that such chanting be performed very loudly. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nārada Muni says that without shame he began traveling all over the world, chanting the holy name of the Lord. Similarly, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised:

tṛṇā

Human society is brought before the big question mark, “Does this all make sense?” the moment it is confronted with death – the existential dilemma. Vaisnava scholars hold that the teachings of Srila Sukadeva Gosvami begin in all earnestness after king Pariksit asked his urgent question: “What should I do now that I am at the brink of death? What should anyone do in this situation?”

We all live differently, but one thing is certain: each and every one of us will land before the threshold of dea

There are sixteen words that encompass the maha-mantra, which is taken seriously by those of the bhakti persuasion, and preferably uttered in the morning for setting a good spiritual note; though the sound is welcome anytime of the day. There is no hard and fast rule for chanting, however, it should be noted that one makes the effort to communicate with the Divine through this medium of chanting at some time. I spend a portion of my night chanting on my beads but I also fix myself (usually on a

There is a great connection between stillness and listening. “Don’t move” we say when we hear some noise around the house in the middle of the night. In yoga we hold the body still in order to hear the breath. We will hold the shoulders of our child while we tell her something important.

In the tradition of mantra meditation, the repetition of a sacred sound, how we listen, how we hear the mantra is the difference between a successful practice or not. Although in the Krishna Bhakti practice the

From “On the Holy Name” at Kirtan-mela in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Oct 5, 2019:

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains that if we are humble will seek the help of another. Otherwise, we will not be inclined.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that “trnad api” is the siddha-pranali, the mantra to attain perfection.

Lord Caitanya said to string that verse on the garland of the holy name and wear it around your neck.

Lord Caitanya says that even if a tree is drying up, it does not ask for

Since last few months I have come across devotees who have lost their chanting beads. If this in itself was not bad enough, then what was even more painful for them was that in all the cases, save one, their spiritual master declined to chant again on new chanting beads.

For the devotees the most precious and dear most treasure are their chanting beads- on which their spiritual master has chanted and which they had been given at the time of their initiation ceremony. If the chanting beads are m

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

Devotees who are always hesitating in completing the sixteen rounds of chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra may say, “You know, I just cannot do it. It is too difficult!” These people do not advance very much even if they are having difficulties in chanting. We are tolerant, we understand that it can be difficult to immediately go to sixteen rounds, but one must still get there. One cannot just remain on eight rounds because that is just not good enough! Eight rounds means another birth; eight me

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

Kadamba Kanana Swami: What happens when you chant Hare Krsna? There is a change if you chant Hare Krsna. You look at me, everyone looking? Okay, look now, “Hare Krsna!” Did you see any change?

Devotees: Yes.

Kadamba Kanana Swami: Okay, what did you see? 

Devotees: “Happy!” “Lots of energy!” “Enthusiasm!” “Blissful!” “Positivity!” “You made us all chant!”

Kadamba Kanana Swami: No, you got it all wrong, sorry. No, what really happened is that the subtle body has changed. Yes I may smile, but I do

In the Gaudiya way of bhakti, you offer everything to Krsna, the good, the bad – your life. You share everything with someone you are close to, the barriers are low, close friends are intimate. In bhakti this is called mamata, a strong sense of ownership, or relation to the Lord, that “He is mine and I’m His”. This type of love can be attained by two types of devotional service, as it is stated by Narada Muni in Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta: “One develops that love by practicing the devotional servi

“I am happy to hear that you continued to chant despite so many doubts and skepticism. That is the process. Even there may be doubts and skepticism, but if one continues the chanting process, the doubts will all disappear, and real knowledge will be revealed by the grace of Krishna. The example is given of the jaundice patient. He is suffering from disease, and when given sugar candy, which is the cure, he finds it very bitter and distasteful. But that does not mean the sugar candy is not sweet