By Gauranga Das
Festival for the soul
During the extended lockdown due to the pandemic situation, the residents of Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV) took to an in depth study of Srimad Bhagavatam, making the most of the collective opportunity.
GEV is the home for many scholarly devotees who share the wealth of their Vedic wisdom across the world. As circumstances would have it, many of them like Sanatkumar Prabhu, Gauranga prabhu, Chaitanya Caran prabhu, Damodar prabhu, Gauranga Darshan prabhu, Balara
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us, na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye. (Siksastaka 4) Dhanam means wealth . . . But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, na dhanam: “I don’t want money.” Just the opposite. Everyone wants money. He says, “No, I don’t want money.” Na dhanam na janam: “I don’t want many men as My followers.” Just the opposite. Everyone wants. The politicians, the yogis, the swamis, everyone wants, “There may be hundreds and thousands of my followers.” But Chaitanya Maha
atho maha-bhaga bhavan amogha-drk
suci-sravah satya-rato dhrta-vratah
urukra masyakhila-bandha-muktaye
samadhinanusmara tad-vicestitam
“O Vyasadeva, your vision is completely perfect. Your good fame is spotless. You are firm in vow and situated in truthfulness. And thus you can think of the pastimes of the Lord in trance for the liberation of the people in general from all material bondage.” (SB 1.5.13)
Each and every word of Srimad-Bhagavatam is full of volumes of explanation—each and every wor
The 2020 worldwide Bhadra Campaign saw devotees triple the Srimad-Bhagavatam set distribution of previous years, obliterating their initial goal of 10,000 sets. All told, over 22 countries and 150 cities participated to distribute more than 23,000 sets despite the challenges of COVID-19.Happy recipients of Srimad-Bhagavatam in North America
The Bhadra Campaign was launched in 2017, inspired by the Srimad-Bhagavatam verse 12.13.13, which states, “If on the full moon day of
Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.13.13) states, “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.” As explained in the purport, “One should place Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne because it is the king of all literature. On the full-moon day of the month of Bhadra, the sun, which is compared to this king of literatures, is present in the constellation Leo and looks as if raised u
Today is Bhadra-purnima. Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.13.13) states, “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.” As explained in the purport, “One should place Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne because it is the king of all literature. On the full-moon day of the month of Bhadra, the sun, which is compared to this king of literatures, is present in the constellation
In the Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13.13 it is stated:
prausthapadyam paurnamasyam
hema-simha-samanvitam
dadati yo bhagavatam
sa yati paramam gatim
“If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.”
In the Varaha Purana it is mentioned that -
mamotsavesu sarvesu, srimad bhagavatam param,
srnvanti ye naraa bhaktya mama prityai ca suvrata
bastra alankara maihpuspair, dhupa
Something amazing happened last Sunday, 23 August 2020. More than 500 sankirtana leaders from across the world joined a global Zoom call* 1at 7:30 PM IST. The occasion? “Go To Goloka” – a concerted campaign for the upcoming Bhadra Purnima (2 September 2020) when more than 10,000 sets of Srimad Bhagavatam will be distributed and placed around the world, flooding these dark and turbulent times with the transcendental light of Srimad Bhagavatam.
Led by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaja, HH Bhakti Raghav
The higher planetary systems have heavenly planets where one can enjoy, but above these celestial planets are planets of sages – the Maharloka and the Tapaloka, and ultimately the Brahmaloka. So, the Maharloka is the residence of the manus according to the Brhad-Bhagavatamrta. So the manus are basically prajapatis – they are forefathers of mankind. In the beginning, the universe is empty and only Brahma is there within the universe. Then from the mind of Brahma, various sages manifest and finall
Many devotee parents are often wondering how to meaningfully engage their home-bound children in devotional activities, which is especially relevant during the weeks of school closures. A great remedy could be a book series by Aruddha Dasi, entitled as Srimad Bhagavatam: A Comprehensive Guide for Young Readers.
Aruddha dasi, a dedicated disciple of Gopal Krishna Goswami, is well known within the entire ISKCON community as the homeschooling pioneer,
Devavrata Prabhu writes: Recently, I asked a boy whom I have been cultivating during the Corona-virus shutdown to write a testimony of his experiences in Krishna consciousness. I hope that devotees are finding it inspiring to reach out to the people we have met and to nourish the relationships.
Here is what Chris wrote:
When I met my wife, she was practicing an Indonesian martial art known as Poekoelan Tjiminde Tulen. It was deeply traditional, and I was struck by its cultural authenticity. I,
By Madhava Smullen
Devotees from the Five Truths Pancha Tattva Center in Omsk, Siberia organized a Srimad-Bhagavatam online marathon, in which the translations of all 18,000 verses were recited over ten days, from April 10th to 19th.
The marathon, which aimed to inspire devotees and benefit the world during the current dark times under a global pandemic, was entitled Spiritual Victory in Seven Days. This time period was also set to be the original length of the event, based on how long it t
March 21, 2020
Invitation to Participate
Dear devotees,
Please accept my humble pranams. Jaya Srila Prabhupada!
This is to inform you of a Vaishnava community writing project in which you are invited to participate. In brief, it is about sharing your thoughts, reflections, and inspirations on the basis of some portion of the Second Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, by writing (a maximum of 1200 words).
One very powerful way of fixing one’s attention on shastra is to read with the aim of responding-in
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.19 while on a Zoom conference with devotees in Spain.
“Through parental care, through remedies for different kinds of disease, and through means of protection on the water, in the air and on land, there is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds of suffering in the material world, but none of them are guaranteed measures for protection. They may be beneficial temporarily, but they afford no permanent benefit. Despite the presence
sri visnuduta ucuh
yuyam vai dharma-rajasya
yadi nirdesa-karinah
bruta dharmasya nas tattvam
yac cadharmasya laksanam
“The blessed messengers of Lord Visnu, the Visnudutas, said: If you are actually servants of Yamaraja, you must explain to us the meaning of religious principles and the symptoms of irreligion.” (SB 6.1.3) The Yamadutas had challenged, “Who are you, interfering in our business? We have come to arrest him.” So, the counterchallenge was, “You said, ‘We are servants of D
Speaker: HG Vaisesika Das
Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.14
ity uktvadri-dari-kusja-
gahvaresv atma-vatsakan
vicinvan bhagavan krsnah
sapani-kavalo yayau
“Let Me go and search for the calves,” Krsna said. “Don’t disturb your enjoyment.” Then, carrying His yogurt and rice in His hand, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, immediately went out to search for the calves of His friends. To please His friends, He began searching in all the mountains, mountain caves, bushes and narrow passages.”
This is
In the introduction to the Srimad Bhagavatam, Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes a very famous verse (SB 1.5.11):
tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api
nāmāny anantasya yaśo ‘ńkitāni yat
śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ
This is the verse that speaks about viplavo, a revolution, so that attracts me because I like the revolutionary spirit, the spirit of making changes, something dynamic. Prabhupada is pointing out it is the discussion of Krsna that would bring about the chan
HH Radhanath Swami expounds the intricate workings of the modes of material nature in his Srimad Bhagavatam class on SB 11.25. 06 at ISKCON Chowpatty on 5th Jan 2020.
It was right there in the centre of the universe where the Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken. In this way, we know that the Srimad Bhagavatam is in the centre of this movement. It is the essential literature which is really the purpose of the movement. The Srimad Bhagavatam is showing us the path which the devotees took. It is showing us the nature of the spiritual world in great detail, which is our ultimate goal. This is why the Srimad Bhagavatam is in the centre of our movement.
We cannot say, “I
The habit of criticizing devotees is like cancer. One may think that I'm doing it for many years but nothing has happened. Cancer can stay in the body for many years undetected before it finally strikes. This habit of fault-finding and duplicitous behavior keeps increasing with time. Under the influence of Maya we think everything is alright but actually the disease is spreading before it finally strikes.
Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.23
(- By H.H.Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj 31.01.17 in Juhu
