Blog

By Radha Mohan

On the auspicious occasion of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day, Srila Prabhupada’s disciples from throughout the UK were invited to Bhaktivedanta Manor to worship Srila Prabhupada, make offerings of gratitude to him, and receive a special gift.

The gift, made by devotees in Russia headed by Madan Mohana das, was a small deity of Srila Prabhupada in a box that opened into an altar.

Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were delighted to receive this treasured form of Srila Prabhupada a

The following incident, described in Watering the Seed, took place exactly forty-five years ago.

Almost every morning in Bombay Srila Prabhupada used to walk on Juhu Beach. One morning I was feeling especially wretched and miserable. Although so many other devotees were present, Srila Prabhupada began to speak as if he were addressing me personally.

He quoted a Sanskrit verse and said there are two words—a-natha and sa-natha. Natha means “master,” so a-natha means “without master” and sa-natha m

Sri Namamrta

1. The Holy Name Revives One’s Dormant, Eternal Krsna Consciousness
2. The Role of the Holy Name in the Progression of Devotional Service
3. The Holy Name Frees One from the Reactions to Sins
4. By Chanting the Holy Name, the Mind Becomes Controlled
5. The Holy Name Protects One from Pride
6. By Chanting, One Develops Forbearance
7. The Holy Name Eradicates Material Desires and Sinful Activity
8. The Holy Name Cleanses the Heart and Frees One from Material Contamination
9. The Holy

Since the vast majority of our readers are coming to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna Consciousness for the first time through Internet searches, and without access to devotee association or a nearby Hare Krishna temple, many people have inquired about how they can set up an altar in their homes and start practicing Krishna Consciousness at their own pace.

The first and foremost principle of Krishna Consciousness is chanting the Hare Krishna mantra:

“Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Har

By Gopika Radhika Devi Dasi 

Kolkata, being Srila Prabhupada’s appearance place, holds the unique distinction of being home to numerous special sites intimately associated with his life, particularly from his childhood and youth. One such place is his alma mater, Scottish Church College, where Srila Prabhupada studied as an undergraduate.

Srila Prabhupada often reminisced about his time as a student there, sharing vignettes of his relationships with his Scottish professors, particularly noting

DIWALI FESTIVAL: 10th October. 1968,
(Letter from Srila Prabhupada to Hamsadutta dasa written from Seattle., Letters book Vol 1. p.549.)

Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating 100’s of candles, indifferent parts of the temple, and offering a special Prasad to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the Kingdom of Lord Ramachandra, while Lord Ramachandra was out of His Kingdom due to His 14 years banishment by the order of His father. His young

When Lord Krishna was present in this material world, in order to manifest an attraction for the people at large to His pastimes in the transcendental realm of Goloka Vrindavan, He exhibited before Yasoda a unique image of subordination.

gopy adade tvayi kritagasi dama tavad
  ya te dasasru-kalilashjana-sambhramaksham
vaktram niniya bhaya-bhavanaya sthitasya
  sa mam vimohayati bhir api yad bibheti

“My dear Krishna, Yasoda took a rope to bind You when You committed an offense, and Your troubled

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

By Atma Tattva Das

Mauritius recently commemorated the 49th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s historic arrival in the country in 1975 with a week of celebrations that honored his legacy as well as set the stage for next year’s highly anticipated 50th-anniversary event. From heartfelt gatherings at Krishna Balaram Mandir to a vibrant beach kirtan at Pointe aux Sables, the spirit of devotion and gratitude for Srila Prabhupada’s contributions was palpable.

The festivities kicked off on September 29

By Thomas Haribol  

Often when I offer a lamp in this spiritually-charged season of Kartik, I am reminded of a time years ago when I was seated next to a woman on a plane who was visibly distressed and quietly weeping. I said to her, “You seem really upset. Is there anything I can do to help?” She said through her tears, “I’m approaching ninety; I will die soon and cease to exist.” “What do you mean?” I inquired.  She told me that, in her understanding, souls only continue to exist after death i

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

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

Prabupada: They do not know how to eat on the whole. India knows how to eat. I have traveled all over the world, and this is my experience. Nobody knows how to eat. Only India.>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk – August 31, 1976, Delhi

To read the whole article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/the-way-indians-eat-is-best-for-earth-wwf-living-planet-report/articleshow/114102748.cms
 

 
The WWF’s Living Planet Report highlights India’s food consumption patterns as the most sustainable am

From Back to Godhead

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

After years searching and struggling, she finally found the right place to develop the natural connection she felt with God.

It was the third day in the hospital. The IV was still in my right arm. As I gazed through the window, a few leaves, colored yellow and red by the season, fell from a nearby tree. It was a beautiful fall day in Montreal, I was twenty, and I was trapped in here. How did it come to this?

I was raised in a middle-class, French Canadian, Catholic family

From Back to Godhead

A look at Lord Caitanya’s “Eight Instructions” and their relevance to japa, the individual practice of chanting Hare Krishna.

A friend once told me this analogy about spiritual life: a flock of geese share strength by flying in a V formation, but if one goose goes down, the others can’t help. Similarly, though seekers of enlightenment help each other, success ultimately depends on personal effortand the kindness of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna.

Krishna’s kindness appears i

It’s still early morning, the sun is starting to rise over the horizon, and it’s reddish—it reminds me of Srimati Radharani’s tilak upon Her beautiful broad forehead. And the glowing of the sun, the rays that it casts everywhere, paint the village nearby and the field in front of me a golden color.

There are flowers everywhere, and those flowers are growing in tall grass, knee-high grass, which sways to one side and then another. It’s like the way the Brijbasi’s sway under the winds of their pr

The desire to see God, to touch God, to talk to God is in itself probably the strongest argument for His existence; besides the logic and evidences from the scriptures, this direct experience is very significant indeed. Bringing Deity Worship from the insiders circle of elderly pujari-priests and making it part of the congregational development is probably the only way it may become part of the positive future for many places in ISKCON. While everyone hankers for direct experience of God in per