TEXT 26-27

sad-bhave sadhu-bhave ca 
sad ity etat prayujyate 
prasaste karmani tatha 
sac-chabdah partha yujyate

yajne tapasi dane ca 
sthitih sad iti cocyate 
karma caiva tad-arthiyam 
sad ity evabhidhiyate

SYNONYMS

sat-bhave--in the sense of the nature of the Supreme; sadhu-bhave--in the sense of the nature of devotion; ca--also; sat--the supreme; iti--thus; etat--this; prayujyate--is used; prasaste--bona fide;karmani--activities; tatha--also; sat-sabdah--the sound sat; partha--O son of Prtha; yujyate--

Is Religion the Opium of the Masses?

Close examination of this old charge against religion raises the opposite question: Might atheism be the opium?

By Chaitanya Charana Dasa

“Religion is the opium of the masses” is the argument often used by atheists to dismiss religion without addressing the substantial issues it deals with. Though others before Karl Marx had promoted the idea, he made it famous: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, the soul of sou

Chariot Festival at Galtare

On February 22nd, 2015, Radhanath Swami led the celebrations of the Rath Yatra, an ancient traditional chariot procession, at Galtare Village, Maharashtra, India. Galtare Village is the home of Radhanath Swami’s project, Govardhan Eco Village, a model farm community and retreat center highlighting the importance of spiritual ecology. The procession, with a chariot carrying a Deity of Krishna, passed through the narrow streets of the village, as 2000 villagers pulled

Chariot Festival at Galtare

On February 22nd, 2015, Radhanath Swami led the celebrations of the Rath Yatra, an ancient traditional chariot procession, at Galtare Village, Maharashtra, India. Galtare Village is the home of Radhanath Swami’s project, Govardhan Eco Village, a model farm community and retreat center highlighting the importance of spiritual ecology. The procession, with a chariot carrying a Deity of Krishna, passed through the narrow streets of the village, as 2000 villagers pulled

What Men Always Wanted to Know About Women

By Devaki Devi Dasi

During January the Institute for Spiritual Culture in Mayapur launched for the very first time the course “Men in Spiritual Culture – what Men Always Wanted to Know about Women”. A wonderful group of around 40 intelligent men attended all five sessions of three hours each with great eagerness and interest. The audience was very mixed: a couple of Prabhupada disciples were there, a few school teachers from the Mayapur Community, B

Radhanath Swami Speaks at Divine Life Society’s International Headquarters

Srila Prabhupada’s Ecstatic Symptoms–Srutakirti das,

March 1975, ISKCON Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir Many joyful adventures took place daily while traveling with Srila Prabhupada. So much nectar flowed from the regulated activities of personally serving our glorious Gurudeva. Who could imagine anything more wonderful than cooking, massaging and tending to the needs of His Divine Grace, except for being present when His Divine Grace exhibited ecstatic symptoms? It was the rarest of treasures. Thes

By the TOVP Team

The TOVP Team is making a 108 day tour of North America, starting March 14 2015, to commemorate the arrival of Srila Prabhupada in USA in 1965. This tour has been organized by the leaders of the North American yatra as an opportunity for the congregation to participate in building the Mayapur Chandradoya Mandir as a collective effort of all the vaisnavas to offer this temple to Srila Prabhupada, as their gratitude for giving the world this wonderful ISKCON society.

The tour ope

Expressing Our Wishes Before Death: The Importance of Advance Directives By Mahavisnupriya devi dasi Srila Prabhupada appeared in this world on Lord Krishna’s request to teach us how to live a pure life of Krishna consciousness which also includes how to finally pass away from this world. For us, planning for our final chapter of life involves getting many material decisions made beforehand. Planning ahead or laying out a road map lets our transitioning from this mortal world move more smoothly

TEXT 25

tad ity anabhisandhaya 
phalam yajna-tapah-kriyah 
dana-kriyas ca vividhah 
kriyante moksa-kanksibhih

SYNONYMS

tat--that; iti--they; anabhisandhaya--without fruitive result;phalam--result of sacrifice; yajna--sacrifice; tapah--penance; kriyah--activities; dana--charity; kriyah--activities; ca--also; vividhah--varieties; kriyante--done; moksa-kanksibhih--those who actually desire liberation.

TRANSLATION

One should perform sacrifice, penance and charity with the word tat. The purpose of such trans

Hare Krsna, PAMHO, AGTSP

ISKCON's purpose one is - "To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world."

Please go like our facebook page for our very helpful forthcoming book we will publish by Lords and Vaisnava mercy. It is now called "Heal Addiction with Bhakti Yoga and Stay High Forever" - there is science, expere

Hare Krishna,

21st March, 2015. Gurgaon

Almost a year back someone asked me`What is your opinion on ahaṁ brahmāsmi ? I gave a reply but I  wasn’t happy with my answer and realised that my own understanding of this important statement is in not very clear. I looked for a reply and found that Srila Prabhupada often spoke about it in his lectures and also wrote about it in his books as well. I finally found the time today to post this long written blog, I hope it helps everyone in their own understan

HH Bhakti Charu Swami Hare Krishna. When Srila Prabhupada went to the West, Krishna actually created the perfect arrangement for Srila Prabhupada. The United States of America, at that time, was in a perfect situation to receive Srila Prabhupada. If we look at the history of America, then we can see that soon after the second world war, America reached the height of it's material prosperity. At the same time, the youth of America became disillusioned. They saw that money cannot buy everything.

Florida Is “The Rathayatra State” With Over A Dozen Festivals

For many, the season of Rathayatra, or the Festival of Chariots, won’t start until the summer. But Florida, which has become “The Rathayatra State” with a record-holding one dozen festivals in-state and more organized by Florida devotees out-of-state, is already kicking off its celebrations.

Most of the festivals are organized by devotees from Alachua county’s New Raman Reti, the largest ISKCON community in North America. They include

Baladeva Vidyabhusana Project Update and Rupa Gosvami’s Hari-namamrta-vyakarana

Baladeva Vidyabhusana Project Update

and Rupa Gosvami’s Hari-namamrta-vyakarana

By Dr. Demian Martins

I am glad to announce that while searching for Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana’s works, I found a manuscript of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Hari-namamrta-vyakarana. Just as Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Sat-sandarbhas were based on Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s notes on the Srimad-Bhagavatam, similarly Srila Rupa Gosvami’s grammatica

TEXT 24

tasmad om ity udahrtya 
yajna-dana-tapah-kriyah 
pravartante vidhanoktah 
satatam brahma-vadinam

SYNONYMS

tasmat--therefore; om--beginning with om; iti--thus; udahrtya--indicating; yajna--sacrifice; dana--charity; tapah--penance; kriyah--performances; pravartante--begin; vidhana-uktah--according to scriptural regulation; satatam--always; brahma-vadinam--of the transcendentalists.

TRANSLATION

Thus the transcendentalists undertake sacrifices, charities, and penances, beginning always with om, t

VIP Visits Mayapur

Mr. Cesare Bieller, Consul General of Italy at Kolkata, visited ISKCON Mayapur. Around 40 different nationals live peacefully as a community in Mayapur. We have few devotees from Italy residing at Mayapur and they came together to welcome and meet the Italian Consul General. Ganga Das (an Italian National), our Deputy Director had invited Mr. Cesare Bieller to visit Sri Mayapur. Ganga das took him on a tour inside the campus, temple and had organised a meet with Italian

VIP Visits Mayapur

Mr. Cesare Bieller, Consul General of Italy at Kolkata, visited ISKCON Mayapur. Around 40 different nationals live peacefully as a community in Mayapur. We have few devotees from Italy residing at Mayapur and they came together to welcome and meet the Italian Consul General. Ganga Das (an Italian National), our Deputy Director had invited Mr. Cesare Bieller to visit Sri Mayapur. Ganga das took him on a tour inside the campus, temple and had organised a meet with Italian