The world around us is changing at an ever-increasing rate. The notion of keeping up with the changing world may have relevance in devotional service. But is this perspective relevant in all areas of our practices of bhakti? Are there some elements of devotional service that must always be constant? Srila Prabhupada wrote:
The greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create our own process for worshiping the deities. … Whatever is going on, follow it just to the exact
By His Divine Grace ACBS Srila Prabhupada
A conversation about the Hare Krsna mantra between Srila Prabhupada and John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison
Montreal Star, June, 1969:
Reporter: Where do you get your strength?
John Lennon: From Hare Krsna.
Yoko: That’s where we get it from, you know. We’re not denying it.
In September 1969. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya (spiritual master) of the Hare Krsna movement, arrived as a house guest at Tittenhurst Park, the beautifu
(Bhaktivedanta Research Centre: This is a one of a kind original photo of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj found by BRC while going through Sri Sundaranand Vidyabinode’s collection.)
Today is Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja’s disappearance day. He comes in the Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic succession after Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana. He was a renounced ascetic, fully engaged in chanting the holy names of Krishna and meditating on His pastimes. For
At the GBC Annual General Meeting 2026 in Mayapur, Madan Mohan Dasa shared a report with the gathered leaders on the “Gift Prabhupada” project, an initiative designed to honor and reconnect with the living disciples of ISKCON’s Founder-Acarya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Additionally, in an interview with GBC Communications Director Parijata Devi Dasi, Madan Mohan, a GBC deputy and initiating guru, explained that the project’s goal is to present each of Srila Prabhupada’s surviving disci
Though Prabhupada was present for only the first eleven years of ISKCON’s fifty-year history, he continues to guide and inspire his followers to expand what he began.
“It’s an astonishing story. If someone told you a story like this, you wouldn’t believe it. Here’s this person, he’s seventy years old, he’s going to a country where he’s never been before, he doesn’t know anybody there, he has no money, has no contacts. He has none of the things, you would say, that make for success. He’s going
By Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami
From Back to Godhead
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, appeared in India in the fifteenth century. His mission was to freely distribute pure love of God to everyone without considering who was qualified or unqualified. He predicted that the whole world would one day hear the chanting of the Lord’s holy names. The first of the following three narratives is excerpted from Srila Prabhupada’s introduction to Srimad-Bhagavatam. The fina
By Gargamuni Das
October – November 1966: NEW YORK CITY, “Happiness on 2nd Ave.”
We used to make these leaflets called “Stay high forever.” People really got a kick out of those.
Gargamuni das: We had a big tape recorder that weighed 50 pounds. I was in charge of that.
Brahmananda would bring it down from Prabhupada’s closet every night.
So my job was to set up the tape for Prabhupada’s lecture.
Prabhupada was very insistent in having his lectures tape recorded – so much so that when the tape r
We are afraid to make chanting our number one priority in life because of the fear of failure.
Chanting Hare Krishna can be the most humbling experience, especially if we make it the most important goal of our life. Krishna is inaccessible to the conditioned souls; those who are not qualified won’t get access to Krishna’s intimate association. He reserves the right of not being exposed to the conditioned souls. Thus chanting can expose us to our own disqualifications; chanting can reveal to us
On the all-auspicious disappearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati we should all try to remember His divine instructions and make them our life and soul – guru mukha parma vakhya cittete koriya aikhya ara na koriho mane asa. This philosophy that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati epitomises and that he expounded is well worth remembering on this day when the prediction of Padma Purana –
sri-brahma-rudra-sanaka vaisnavah ksiti savannah
catvaras te kalau bhavya hy utkale purusottamat
“In Kal
Dhruva Maharaja dasa: I put this slideshow/video together for a class on Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s Appearance day this Saturday at the Alachua Temple of Srila Prabhupada explaining his famous Vyasa-puja Offering poetry from 1936. I think devotees may appreciate Prabhupada explaining reasons for using various phrases in that offering.
The Supreme Mercy of The two Lords
In Vedanta Sutra there is a famous – “anandamyo bhyasat”. This sloka explains the constitutional position of every living being. Everyone is looking for pleasure. The soul and it’s natural condition is Sachidananda, eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, full of ecstasy. Therefore the heart of every living being is constantly seeking beauty, charm, and ecstasy. Therefore the Lord descends into this world to distribute prema bhakti divine love. Becaus
So on the occasion of Varaha’s appearance day, we are reading a verse in relation this pastime. This is from Canto Three, Chapter Eighteen “The Battle Between Boar and Hiranyaksa”, Text number two.
dadarsa tatrabhijitam dhara-dharam
pronniyamanavanim agra-damstraya
musnantam aksna sva-ruco ’runa-sriya
jahasa caho vana-gocaro mrgah
Translation:
“He saw there the all-powerful Personality of Godhead in His boar incarnation, bearing the earth upward on the ends of His tusks and robbing him of his
Excerpt from the lecture by HH Nirañjana Swami
Baltics Winter Festival, January 17, 2014
The following is a partially-edited transcription of an excerpt of a lecture given on January 17, 2014, at the Baltics Winter Festival – Chanting with Feeling
Today I wanted to read and speak from a few quotes about the Holy Name. Some of them I have read recently and found a lot of significance to them, not only to myself but those with whom I shared them. A lot of times the devotees struggle to make their
Live From Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir!
Date: January 30th, 2012 Topic: Sri Advaita Acarya’s Appearance day Verse: C. C. Adi 6.5 Speaker: H. H. Bhakti V. V. Narasimha Swami
So today being the occasion of the appearance of Advaita Acarya we will speak on the pastimes, some of the significant events in relation to Advaita Acarya. This is from Adi Lila, chapter 6 – The Glories of Advaita Acarya, text 6.
advaitam harinadvaitad acaryam bhakti-samsanat bhaktavataram isam tam advaitacaryam asraye
TRA
Today we are observing Advaita Acarya’s appearance day, which is on saptami tithi in the month of Magha.
Advaita Acarya appeared first, then He made Mahaprabhu, Krishna, appear. By Advaita Acarya’s calling Krishna appeared. Therefore it is a very auspicious day so we should speak something on Srila Advaita Acarya and beg for His mercy. If He bestows His mercy on us then we can get Caitanya Nitai, otherwise we cannot.
He Is the Lord and the Incarnation of the Lord’s Devotee
First we should know w
In Kingdom of God, there is no hunger, thirst, birth and death, old age, disease, etc. Thus without these sufferings that draw our consciousness in the material world, keeping us absorbed in sorting out problems of life in material world, one can simply focus on service to Supreme Lord without any impediments.
The Vaikuntha residents while travelling in their Airplanes condemn the fragrance of Madhavi flowers in ponds, which indicate
Quotes from Radhanath Swami
1) From letters
“The culmination of all our preaching efforts is when a sincere soul experiences his or her spiritual home when they visit our temple. I cannot overestimate the great importance the service, which you have accepted as a guest receptionist. I am most indebted to you for taking this service so seriously. Any person who ever visits our temple should feel so personally welcomed that they feel they have made a true friend. A devotee who genuinely is con
Today, Makara Sankranti, is the anniversary of the grand opening of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s temple in Juhu, Bombay—after many years of intense struggle by Srila Prabhupada and his devotees.
And Makara Sankranti is significant for other momentous events as well. The auspicious day of Makara Sankranti, which falls in the Krishna paksha of Magha mas, this year the month of January, marks the sun’s entering the zodiac sign of Capricorn, or Makara. Although in ancient times all Sankrantis were obs
I grew up in a very simple, rather poor uh family in rural Minnesota. My father was a small dairy farmer and um the family was not really religious, although the most of the kids and I did go to church whenever we could. My dad was so busy that he was never able to go. Um and um it was um it was a little austere. You know, I always kind of wanted to wish that I was living in the city so I could get out and do more things and be more active. But um in retrospect, it was a very u idyllic upbringin
