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By Bhaktimarga Swami

Reveal One’s Impressions

At the final session of our monk sanga (gathering) our facilitator asked us to write down a statement revealing our impressions. This was my off-the-cuff rendition:

“Krishna is fond
When we do bond
In sharing views
We destroy our blues.”

Another verse from the Bhagavad-gita confirms the notion of chatting on spiritual topics. Such activity brings about the greatest joy. That verse is 10.9.

If we talk of practical matters we may get bored. If we talk

Once we were in Mayapur. We had an old—I think it was a 1948 Hudson or some old, big car. And I was driving. We had left the main road. If you have been on the main road you know how bad it is. You can imagine how bad this secondary road was like. We were going to visit Lalit Prasad, who was Bhaktisiddhanta’s living brother, who was a very old man then. We didn’t know the road, and we didn’t know the way very well. We knew that it was up that road somewhere. And we drove halfway up or so, and

From Back to Godhead

From the Vedic literature: the history of King Prthu,
the incarnation of the ruling potency of the Supreme Lord.

Long ago, the normally peaceful wise men of a Vedic kingdom forcibly deposed an intolerably corrupt ruler. But instead of replacing him with another unprincipled politician (as has so often happened in the history of the world), they selected a perfect chief executive to command the state. The story of this ancient coup d’etat holds many lessons for the people of

The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Brahma Purana and Brahmanda Purana are other two Puranic texts that deal with Ganesha.

Lord Ganesh is known as the son of the Shiva and Parvati, and is the god of luck and of “opening the way.” That is why many people pray to Ganesh before starting a new project, in order to proceed with as few obstacles as possible.

Ganesha became the Lord (Isha) of all existing beings (Gana

Think of a businessman who instructed by his boss to expand their business and establish branches of the company throughout the world. Besides that, long ago the founder of that company also predicted - one day their company will have branches all over the world and flourish with millions of dedicated employees and enthusiastic customers. Even though these are mere instructions and predictions, this gentleman took very seriously and decided to dedicate his life to fulfill those predictions. Only

namo om visnu-padaya

krsna-presthaya bhutale

srimate bhaktivedanta-

svamin iti namine

namas te sarasvate deve

gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesa sunyavadi-

pascatya-desa-tarine

Srila Prabhupadaji Maharaja ki jaya! 

It is the causeless mercy of Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga that I came here to meet you all, I am very happy at such causeless mercy of Guru and Gauranga. Unless one gets such mery, how can one cross

Dearest Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you!

This year marks the 123rd anniversary of your appearance in this world. Somehow, by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord, I am connected to you through initiation as one of your spiritual sons. This can never be disputed in the chronicles of time because on December 10, 1971, you wrote the following to my temple president:

“I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 22, 1971, along with beads a

Vyasa-puja is an annual celebration by devotees of Krishna to offer homage to their guru, or spiritual teacher. Krishna says, “. . . one who claims to be My devotee is not so. Only a person who claims to be the devotee of My devotee is actually My devotee.”
In the system of bhakti-yoga, the first duty is to accept a devotee as spiritual master and then to render service unto him.

Each year, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust publishes a limited number of copies of a Vyasa-puja book—a collection of ho

Janmastami is Krishna’s day. More than any other day of the year we should make an effort to meditate on Him on this day. Meditation means to engage in contemplation or reflection. In Bhakti Yoga we contemplate upon Krishna through the use of all the senses – which makes it a most enjoyable practice. In sanskrit it’s called ‘kevala ananda-kanda’ – the path of happiness.
The following list of the 64 qualities of Krishna is a delightful source of meditation. It is taken from the Nectar of Devotio

Srila Prabhupada spoke in an interview in 1968:

“We have got so many branches, they want to hear me, my singing, my speech, therefore they record it and send it to different branches.” 

Interview – February 1, 1968, Los Angeles

In June of 2019, the Bhaktivedanta Archives completed the release of all of Srila Prabhupada’s audio files. It is now confirmed, there are over 2,400 hours of audio in 3,804 files to be listened to attentively. This is a great victory for his devotees!

Indeed, the devo

“Shoot him,” said the man with the crowbar. Kshudhi felt the cold metal against his skull and chanted Hare Krishna like never before. His nimble nineteenyear old body was tucked under the bed. The other four men with guns hesitated. They attacked the house knowing that a Johannesburg vegetable merchant had kept cash there, but were they ready to kill for it?

Less than two years before, Kshudhi had purchased a copy of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya from a book store in Los Angeles. The book introdu

After graduating from high school in 1966, my friend and I went to the Village in New York City to check out the scene. While there, we heard a, ‘ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching’ and turned around. Looking through the intense heat waves we saw, in double file, a group of somebodies or somethings in saffron orange clothes, singing, playing instruments, and floating down the hot sidewalk. I turned to my friend and said, “New York sure is a weird place. Let’s get out of here!” She and I c

How often you shout at your friends not to tag you on Facebook photos?
Did you ever had thoughts of wearing burka?
Did you ever fasted to loose weight & then after 1-2 days because of hunger ate whole fridge then sat & wept?
If you practice spirituality, did ever your yearning for God increase seeing a fresh line on your face?
Or did you once went out with your beloved. You both enjoyed & captured lots of photos. Both of you were so happy. But the next day you saw your photos to remember the pr

By Nandini Radha devi dasi

From Caitanya Mangala by Locana Das Thakur (Chapter 2)

Narada Muni Visits Dvaraka

Murari Gupta continued, “Thus the great sage Narada, seeing the miserable condition of the people in Kali-yuga, thought deeply about their deliverance. Knowing that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna Himself, could rectify the situation, Narada Muni set out for Dvaraka, in the spiritual world.

“At that time, Lord Dvarakadisa, having just spent the night with Queen Saty

h

Hare Krishna and pranams dear devotees,

This is the third in the series of articles and letters by great acharyas in Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic succession. In the previous blogs we read the amazing article of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur on Lord Jagannath and the incredible letter written by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur to one of his disciples giving multiple gems on what should the mood a practicing devotee.

Today I am posting a letter by Srila Prabhupada to India’s then prime ministe

While I was chanting japa this morning, my mind was flooded with a verse from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s song Gurudeva!:

jogyata-vicare, kichu nahi pai, tomara karuna sara
karuna na hoile, kandiya kandiya, prana na rakhibo ara

“Upon examining my value, I find that I have none; your mercy is essential to me. Therefore, if you are not merciful I will constantly weep and I will not maintain my life any longer.”

Later, I saw just how appropriate and relevant the rest of the song was to my effort

There is a culture within this movement. Srila Prabhupada brought the transcendental knowledge from India and brought the culture from India as well. Seated on the floor, eating with the right hand, chapattis, puris, sabzis and so on. In the philosophy that we get through the scriptures, the knowledge is preserved. In the culture we get from the devotees, the knowledge is also preserved.

What Srila Prabhupada brought from India was the establishment of this ISKCON culture and many such things c