The Essential Qualifications

The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa establishes the essential qualifications of a spiritual master based on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.3.21 and 11.10.5:

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam

“Therefore, one who is desirous of the ultimate good should turn to a guru who is immersed in scripture and in the Supreme Brahman, and sheltered in the highest peace.”

mad-abhijñaṃ guruṃ śāntam upāsīta mad-ātmakam

“One should turn to a guru wh

What qualifies a person to obtain the rare gift of a life of devotional service to the Lord?

“Ajñata-sukriti means doing pious activities without knowledge. So we give everyone a chance to act very piously without his knowledge. This is the Krishna consciousness movement.” (Srila Prabhupada conversation with Bob Cohen, February 1972, Mayapur)

It’s usually better to do something in knowledge than in ignorance. Bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is no exception. But everyone, in every field of e

» January

06 Jan 2020 - Putrada Ekadashi
07 Jan 2020 - Sri Jagadisa Pandita Appearance Day
10 Jan 2020 - Sri Krsna Pusya Abhisheka
15 Jan 2020 - Makar Sankranti (Sun entering Capricorn)
15 Jan 2020 - Ganga Sagara Mela
15 Jan 2020 - Sri Ramachandra Kaviraja Disappearance Day
15 Jan 2020 - Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami Appearance Day
16 Jan 2020 - Sri Jayadev Goswami Disappearance Day
17 Jan 2020 - Sri Locana Dasa Thakura Disappearance Day
20 Jan 2020 - Sat-tila Ekadashi
30 Jan 2020 - Vasanta Panca

In the Gaudiya way of bhakti, you offer everything to Krsna, the good, the bad – your life. You share everything with someone you are close to, the barriers are low, close friends are intimate. In bhakti this is called mamata, a strong sense of ownership, or relation to the Lord, that “He is mine and I’m His”. This type of love can be attained by two types of devotional service, as it is stated by Narada Muni in Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta: “One develops that love by practicing the devotional servi

By Jaganmohini devi dasi

Sri Ramanavami day was special for us this year. As I was doing our regular morning worship in our altar with flowers, fruits and incense, we offered special prayers to Lord Ramachandra. Recalling that the abhishek of the Lord was the first festival that we participated in ISKCON temple few decades back, and also reminiscing our childhood days, when my father would daily narrate us(children) different stories from this great epic Ramayana, I expressed to Lord, it has be

Lecture given by HH Tamal Krishna Goswami on 11th July 1991 in Dallas.

Today is the disappearance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Gadadhara Pandit. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura worshipped the deities of Gaura Gadadhara and chose to leave this world on the same day as his worshippable deity Gadadhara Pandit also left.

We cannot calculate the debt which we owe to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Practically this Krishna consciousness movement is based upon his design because it is he who revived

In the morning, I sing the words of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur from Arunodaya -kirtan to millions of suffering jivas as I ride through the pre-dawn darkness on my way to work. I follow with Sri Rupa’s famous prayer of extreme self-abnegation (mat tulyo nasti papatma) and Srila Kaviraj Goswami’s obeisance to all the Gurus, Vaishnavas and the diverse aspects of the Divine Lord Who is recognized in completeness as Shree Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Then I sing some verses from Sri Brahma-samhita g

By Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

When the acarya disappears, a dark period comes, just as a patch of black cloud covers up the effulgent sun. It is an unfortunate time, but it is temporary. That cloud will go away. A violent storm may come and disperse the cloud, and then the effulgent sun will come out. If you trace out history you will find that after the disappearance of an acarya, this period comes. That period came after the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. Then his discipl

By Jagabandhu dasa

In the morning, I sing the words of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur from Arunodaya -kirtan to millions of suffering jivas as I ride through the pre-dawn darkness on my way to work. I follow with Sri Rupa’s famous prayer of extreme self-abnegation (mat tulyo nasti papatma) and Srila Kaviraj Goswami’s obeisance to all the Gurus, Vaishnavas and the diverse aspects of the Divine Lord Who is recognized in completeness as Shree Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Then I sing some verses from S

By Bhakta Nikhil

Friends, disciples and well-wishers of HH Subhag Swami Maharaj gathered in the holy land of Jaipur to participate in a festival of hearing, chanting and sadhu sanga between the dates of 15th ~ 20th October 2015. This is the 5th annual parikrama Maharaj has been holding in various holy places across India. Jaipur, also known as “Gupta Vrindavan” plays hosts to our Gaudiya Sampradaya’s most cherished deities’: Radha Govindadev and Radha Gopinath. As stated by Maharaj on a n

Srila Prabhupada writes to one his disciples about Lord Vamanadeva:

Montreal 3 July, 1968

My Dear Satsvarupa,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June 28, 1968, and I thank you very much for it. Regarding Bali Maharaja: He is born in the same atheistic family of Maharaja Prahlada. He happened to be the grandson of Maharaja Prahlada, and as his great grand-father, Hiranyakasipu was very powerful, and as there was animosity between the demigods and the demons, Bal

The sastras proclaim three avenues of relation and purification for the jiva; guru seva, gau(cow) seva and dhama seva. Of course the yuga-dharma, the harinama, is the foundation activity for all, supporting the other three that have unique characteristics and varying spiritual potencies.

The guru seva is the first prescription given in the Vedas and every devotional work is obviously done as a credit to guru, and sometimes sadly in this field there is possibility of offense. Gau seva, cow pro

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Once upon a time, the cowherd men of Vrindavana, headed by Nanda Maharaja, desired to go to Ambikavana to observe the Siva-ratri ceremony. The rasa-lila was performed during the autumn, and after that the next big ceremony is Holi, or the Dolayatra ceremony. Between the Dolayatra ceremony and the rasa-lila ceremony there is one important ceremony called Siva-ratri, which is especially observed by the Saivites, or devotees of Lord Siva. Sometimes the Vaishnavas also observe this ceremony because