By Thomas Haribol
In April, we reported on a crowdfunding campaign to fund the installation of a commemorative bench and plaque in honor of Srila Prabhupada at San Francisco’s Stow Lake within Golden Gate Park. The picturesque park was a favorite spot for Srila Prabhupada to circumambulate during his daily morning walks. “One of the great pleasures for devotees in San Francisco was taking these early morning walks with Srila Prabhupada,” said Malati Devi Dasi. “The main place where that occurre
Markine Bhagavata-dharma – Boro Kripa Koile Krishna – by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
Most of us glorify Srila Prabhupad daily by reciting ‘namaste Saraswate deve Gaura vani pracarine, nirvisesa suyawadi paschatya desh tarine’….paschatya desh tarine means deliverer of Western Countries.
Forty Six years ago, on Sep 17th 1965, Srila Prabhupad arrived in USA to preach the timeless message of Krsna Consciousness to Western World. He wanted to start with USA. He stepp
I will begin by reading a couple of exchanges with Srila Prabhupada about his coming to America. Once, Srila Prabhupada was asked, “Your godbrothers who came to the West went to England and Germany. Why did you choose to come to America?” And he replied, “They went and came back to India without accomplishing anything. So I thought, ‘If I am going to fail, at least let me fail in a different place.’ ”
And on a morning walk in Los Angeles, a disciple said to Prabhupada, “When you came to the Wes
Srila Prabhupada: I planned that I must go to America. Generally they go to London, but I did not want to go to London. I was simply thinking how to go to New York. I was scheming, “Whether I shall go this way, through Tokyo, Japan, or that way? Which way is cheaper?” That was my proposal. And I was targeting to New York always. Sometimes I was dreaming that I have come to New York.
Then Bhaktivedanta Swami met Mr. Agarwal, a Mathura businessman, and mentioned to him in passing, as he did to alm
Here is our Video offering on the historical occasion of the 52nd anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s departure for America by Jaladuta ship……
This is not only Srila Prabhupada’s journey, this is also your, mine and everybody else’s journey. Imagine if Srila Prabhupada would not have gone on this perilous voyage, where would I, you and many others be today!
There is a need for ISKCON members to be aware of this song as this profoundly presents the mood of our beloved founder Acharya. The extraor
By Giriraj Swami and Sri Prahlada dasa
To commemorate the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America, we shall sing and discuss the second poem that he wrote on the ship Jaladuta when he arrived in the Boston harbor on September 17, 1965.
Poem [translation]:
1: My dear Lord Krishna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.
2: But I guess You have some business here. Otherwise, why would You brin
Visvarupa-mahotsava marks the occasion on which Lord Chaitanya’s older brother, Visvarupa, took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. And on the same date some four hundred and fifty years later, our own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, also accepted sannyasa.
According to Vedic literatures, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come in the present age in the role of a devotee. In the previous age, Lord Krishna came in His original feature and spoke the Bhaga
By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada
By Thomas Haribol
Insider Travel, with over 8 million followers on Facebook, published their 2023 roundup of the 40 most beautiful places to visit in the US, and Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold is on this prestigious list. Their recommendations are selected, in part, from a wide variety of travel sites and visitor reviews of must-see locations that span the US coast to coast.
Most of the 40 places recommended are natural sites like the California Redwoods, the Kenai Fjords of Alaska, or Acadia Nati
The universe around us appears to be orderly and symmetrical. The planets rotate perfectly in their orbits. Our bodies possess complex circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems. Even the atoms are highly structured. All this suggests that the universe was created not by chance, but by an intelligent person. If human beings can create houses, skyscrapers, and many other structures, it is plausible that a person far more powerful than any human created the universe and everything in it.
A V
Srutakirti dasa: We were on an airplane from Mexico City to Caracas, and Prabhupada started taking his puffed rice and peanuts. He ate for about ten minutes, and then he just looked and said, “Okay.” So I moved the puffed rice over, and I gave half to Paramahamsa and had the other half in front of me. After a few minutes, a stewardess was walking down the aisle and she stopped right in front of us and reached over, put her hand in my plate, and grabbed a handful of puffed rice and threw it in h
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
Expression reflects and reinforces emotion. The celebration of Vyasa-puja is an expression of the gratitude that the disciple feels for the spiritual master. And that feeling becomes reinforced when a disciple expresses one’s own gratitude and hears other disciples’ express their gratitude.
The spiritual master’s guidance and grace are indispensable for elevating and liberating souls caught in this dangerous and treacherous material existence. The spiritual master is non-different from the Supr
My dearest Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my most humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to you on this most auspicious day of your Vyasa-puja.
In 1969 you wrote the following in a letter to one of your disciples:
Just as you have already understood the benefits of this Krsna Consciousness Movement, try to realize and assimilate it more and more and distribute it to the suffering humanity. Our movement is the greatest gift to the human race. They may not immediately app
My dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble, prostrated obeisances at your all-merciful lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
When an interviewer once asked you, “What is the goal of life?” you replied, “The goal of life is to enjoy.” The effort to enjoy materially, through the mind and senses, leads only to frustration and misery. But spiritually one can enjoy in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that pleasure, unlike the temporary so-called happiness of the mate
By Demian Martins
Srila Prabhupada’s appearance and accomplishments are a turning point not only in Gaudiya Vaisnavism, but in the very history of human civilization, so it is not surprising that they were predicted many centuries ago. In several ancient religious traditions, the sacred scriptures usually include passages or whole sections dealing with predictions. Some of these passages are marked by a veiled language and are often interpreted in different ways. Interpretations are subjective a
The next day was Vyasa-puja day, the celebration of Prabhupada’s seventy-fourth birthday. That morning a package arrived from New York containing several copies of the Vyasa-puja booklet, a twenty-five-page paperback filled with homages from Prabhupada’s disciples.
Months before, one of the devotees had discovered an old issue of a magazine published by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati; the magazine contained a Vyasa-puja homage Prabhupada had written commemorating the appearance day of his own
Video: Click here
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami or Srila Prabhupada, born Abhay Charan De, was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder-preceptor of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the “Hare Krishna Movement”. Members of the ISKCON movement view Bhaktivedānta Swāmi as a representative and messenger of Krishna Chaitanya.
Earlier this year, I visited the city of Kolkata and was taken by a kind devotee to an old building on a short backstreet known as Ultadanga Junction Road. I had never been there before, but had heard about the place for forty years. The square, brown brick, rather plain three storey building was formerly known as Bhaktivinoda Asana and it was here, on the flat roof-top, that Srila Prabhupada met his spiritual master for the first time. I had always been intrigued by the idea of a sacred meetin
A talk given on Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja seeking to understand the unparalleled contribution he has made to the history of Gaudiya Vaisnavism This picture showing Srila Prabhupada with godbrothers and friends is both rare and revealing. Rare as it is one of a kind. Revealing because Prabhupada is very animated, with most others setting their gaze on him. While we cannot be certain, it is reasonable to assume that this conversation could be about the epic journey that Prabhupada was soon to
