By Giriraj Swami
In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami says that the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya are like a lake with many beautiful lotus flowers, which are love for Krishna—Radha and Krishna. As our acharyas tell us, the Caitanya-caritamrta is perhaps the most important of all the books of the followers of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and on this date thirty-seven years ago, Srila Prabhupada completed his translation of the Caitanya-caritamrta.
Whenever Srila Prabhupada was
April 6, 2003
Gargamuni: The background was very interesting because Prabhupada for some reason, I don’t know why, he made me treasurer. I guess he saw that I had business abilities. I used to keep my little office, which consisted of cashier’s books and vouchers, and I used to keep my little office in his room where he lived and translated. So while he was working, he would want me to sit there and do my accounting work. And if I had any questions I should ask him because it was very important
By H.H. Mahavishnu Goswami
(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)
“Ashram doesn’t matter really, whatever ashram we are, we have to remember Krishna’s words.”
caatur-varnyam mayaa srstam
guna-karma-vibhaagasah
tasya kartaaram api maam
viddhy akartaaram avyayam
“According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet
From Back to Godhead
The Golden Avatar delivered the gold standard of spiritual practices for this age.
In general, people like gold. It represents wealth and success. A golden age refers to an era of goodness and plenty, acknowledged in Greek, Roman, and Indian cultures. If you have everything, you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth. The Golden Rule is the epitome of cosmic justice or fairness: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. As the saying goes, “As good as gold.”
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
Hearing Srila Prabhupada Solves All Our Problems
Srila Prabhupada once said that when devotees give up practicing Krishna consciousness it is ‘fifty percent their fault, and fifty percent ISKCON’s”. In this article I would like to explore what I perceive as a systemic problem contributing to our society’s fifty percent of the blame.
It is surely surprising that someone should get as far as seriously following the process of Krishna consciousness, only to give it up again. Most of us experienc
From Back to Godhead
What is the effect of chanting Hare Krishna?
The names of the Lord in the maha-mantra Hare, Krishna, and rama are invested with His full potencies. Singing God’s names, therefore, is to contact Him through the medium of transcendental sound. Thus, the effect of chanting is the same as the effect of directly associating with the Lord. The following beautiful verse, written by Lord caitanya, describes the seven effects the Hare Krishna mantra has on chanters.
ceto-darpana-mar
Kartika month is observed this year from 16 Oct – 14 Nov , the most important month in our calendar, as it is very dear to Sri Sri Radha-Madhava. Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. During the Kartika month, millions of devotees worship Damodara Krishna with ghee lamps and devotional bhajans, glorifying His playful childhood pastime of stealing yogurt. And traditiona
1.) First let us analyze what our relationship is with Vrndavana and then see how we can develop it. Lord Caitanya explained that these are the five most important aspects in devotional service, which if even a little bit performed, can quickly bring one to the stage of love of God.
sadhu-sanga, nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana, mathura-vasa, sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana
One should associate with devotees, chant the holy name of the Lord, hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, reside at Mathura and worship the
By Héctor Rosario, PhD
As followers of Srila Prabhupada we all know his prescription to chant a minimum daily quota of 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mahamantra. This is the minimum standard that he set for his followers and which all ISKCON devotees accept. This standard is actually based on the traditional Gaudiya Vaisnava minimum standard set by Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Of course, that standard is 100,000 names of Krishna daily, roughly equivalent to 64 rounds of Hare Krishna japa, acc
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
To honor Srila Prabhupada’s historic arrival at Boston Harbor on September 17, 1965, Inner Voice Productions has created a 12-minute film featuring rare footage and dramatic recreations of his 1965 voyage aboard the Jaladuta and his first month in Butler, Pennsylvania, with the Agarwal family. The video premiered today, September 17th, on the YouTube channel Hare Krishna Film Classics.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/cTOlD7o_5dU
Source: https://iskconnews.org/new-short-film-celebrates-prabhupad
The Deep Ecology movement is rooted in the conclusions of Professors Lynn White and Arne Naess. By the late 1960s, Prof White, a historian and university president who had studied the development of technology from medieval times to the present, published “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis”. In that influential article, he identified society’s mentality of anthropocentrism (human-centrism) as the root cause of the ecologic crisis. Shortly after that, Prof Naess, philosopher and enviro
From Back to Godhead
Sri Brahma-samhita is one of the oldest Vedic scriptures, and it is accepted by Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu (an incarnation of Krsna Himself who appeared 484 years ago) as the essence of Vaisnava (Krsna conscious) philosophy. The first verse of the Fifth Chapter of Sri Brahma-samhita reads: “Krsna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the Prime Cause of
From Back to Godhead
From Back to Godhead
Lessons on life, death, and living in a spirit of devotion
ISKCON devotees commonly use the phrase, “Going back home, back to Godhead.”Have you ever thought about what this means when a traveler is anxious to return home? Home is where our family is, where there are people who love us, who trust us. It’s the place we’re comfortable and happy. It’s the place we feel most natural.
The world we live in is foreign to the soul; we are strangers in a foreign land. In this alien p
By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
On August 14, 2025, the newly formed Srila Prabhupada Connection–Mayapur Team, coordinated by Janmastami Das, in collaboration with Bhaktivedanta National School (BVNS), Mayapur, organized a special children’s competition to commemorate the Vyasa Puja Mahotsava of Srila Prabhupada. The event drew 779 enthusiastic participants from across the ISKCON Mayapur campus and surrounding areas.
Students from four educational institutions participated in the competition,
From Back to Godhead
Why hearing is the first and most important of the nine kinds of devotional service to the Lord.
When I first read that hearing is the most important of the nine kinds of devotional service, I was confused. I was twenty-one at the time and had been hearing all day every day for my whole life. What was so special about hearing? Then I read that the “hearing” prescribed wasn’t meant for mundane topics but for the activities and qualities of Krishna and His devotees. This hea
When it comes to understanding the meaning of Sanatana-dharma, we have to be aware of its Sanskrit definition. The root of the word dharma comes from dhri, which means to uphold or maintain. The Sanskrit says dharayati iti dharmaha, which translates as dharma is that which upholds. However, not only what is supported is dharma, but that which does the supporting is also dharma, dhriyate iti dharmaha. So dharma consists of both the force that sustains as well as what is sustained. It can a
Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America marked the beginning of a transformative journey that would lead to the establishment of ISKCON and the spread of Krishna consciousness worldwide.
His journey aboard the Jaladuta was marked by significant challenges, including sea sickness and two heart-attacks. Despite these difficulties, Srila Prabhupada remained steadfast in his mission, relying on the guidance of Lord Krishna to navigate his way through the challenges.
Upon reaching New York, he was alon
