Los Angeles January 6, 1968

The building at 5364 West Pico Boulevard was a small storefront in a middle-class black neighborhood of Los Angeles. With his key, Aniruddha opened the rear door, and Srila Prabhupada entered, followed by a few disciples.

The room was stark. A Brijabasi print of Lord Krsna sat atop the altar, which was no more than two orange crates covered with an old madras. A tamboura and a mrdanga on end stood in one corner, and a curtain hung ov

There is a saying in India that a mother teaches her daughter-in-law by teaching her daughter. In other words, the mother will most readily give corrective instruction to her own daughter, but the instruction will apply equally to the less accessible daughter-in-law. Similarly, Prabhupada gave many instructions not only during class lectures but in daily dealings with his servants, such as Upendra. Any exchanges with the acarya are themselves teachings both by precept and

Lilavati: He called me into his room. He was sitting on his bed talking to Mukunda. When I arrived, he stopped speaking with him and turned to me and said, "So how are you liking this Krsna consciousness?" And I said, "Oh, Swamiji, my life has changed completely." He bowed his head and said, "Thank you very much." He was very pleased. Then he continued his conversation with Mukunda. He was asking him, "So, Mukunda, you have cast so many pairs of karatalas from the o

Mukunda was also present with Prabhupada in his room, along with a small group of devotees, when an earthquake took place. The telephone poles and wires began moving outside the window. The building trembled. No one said anything until Prabhupada said, "What is this?" A devotee replied, "It's an earthquake, Swamiji." Prabhupada said, "Oh." And then the earthquake suddenly stopped. Everyone present was very intent on Prabhupada's reaction. He said, "We can just sit down and cha

The sastras enjoin, "One can never know the mind of the acarya." Since this is true, then how can we know Prabhupada? How can we share his inner life in those pleasant homecoming days of December 1967 and January 1968 in San Francisco? In one sense we cannot. As Krsnadasa Kaviraja says, "I do not know the deep meaning of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's activities. As far as possible I shall try to explain them externally." But sometimes Prabhupada reveals himse

One thing Prabhupada liked about California was that it was easy for him to obtain eucalyptus twigs there. Prabhupada used them for brushing his teeth in the morning. He liked them cut the thickness of the little finger and about six inches long, and they were soaked in water overnight before he used them. At this time Krsnadasa was going out in the morning to pick them. He would keep a good supply wrapped up in tin foil in the refrigerator. Hearing that eucalyptus

"The greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create our own processes. Unless I order you to change, just follow to the exact standard as I have given you, that's all."

1972 January 5: "I am very encouraged by your enthusiasm for preaching. You are Sannyasi so preach in this way and become parivrajakacarya. The intelligentsia and leaders must be preached to. Kirtana will soften their hearts."

1973 January 5: "Everything we have done has rested on these books. Without book

How to Distribute Many Books

I always remember Prabhupada's words "think big". If I want to distribute many books, first I count how many books I want to distribute, how many points I want to win. For example, I make my plan to distribute 100 books a day. Then I take with me 100 books. The more you take, the more you distribute. Remember, books of Krishna do not like to lie in your bag, and psychologically you do not like your bag is heavy. Therefore you try to distribute them as soon as possibl

   A very happy and prosperous New Year 2013 to all of you! 
There are various different New Years according to different calendars. This New Year is based on the Christian Calendar, but in India there are various types of calendars used. Generally we follow the Gaudiya Calendar which marks the New Year from the appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Celebrating New Year is important because itcomes with a new hope. It is a feature of when we leave the old year behind and use those experie

A cow tied to a pole with a rope has the independence equivalent to the length of the rope. The cow can do whatever within the periphery of the rope but beyond that she has no independence unless and until the master is ready to increase the length or untie the rope.

Our independence is akin to that of the cow. We may feel that we are the controller & the proprietor of our body, our senses, our home and our dependents but our control is very limited. Our pitiable condition can be gauged from the

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

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

Shortly after Prabhupada's arrival he continued the process of initiating disciples. Kim and his younger sister were initiated at the same time. A few days before, Kim had suggested his sister should go to Prabhupada's apartment and ask to be his disciple.

"Are you following the four rules?" Prabhupada asked.

"Yes," she replied. And then he said it was all right.

"I just wanted to say something else," she continued, "that is, I heard that you had taken birth

One night in his room on Willard Street, Prabhupada was talking about seeing Krsna. "Don't try to see Him," Prabhupada said, "but act in such a way that He will come and see you... Suradasa was a blind man, yet due to his sincere chanting-"O Krsna, Krsna, Krsna'-Krsna came to see him. So Krsna is there whether we see Him or not. All we must do is become sincere, and He will present Himself whether we see Him or not. Krsna hugs the cow. What does a cow know? He is a dumb animal.

Walking through Golden Gate Park one day, they heard a scratching coming from a garbage can. Prabhupada went over and looked in, then pulled back in repulsion. A big city rat had somehow become trapped in the garbage can and was scratching, trying to get out. Prabhupada shook his head and said, "He is doomed." He walked on. Prabhupada commented that later the garbagemen would come, see the rat, and kill him. Prabhupada was always after the philosophical and Krsna cons

Another time a devotee picked a pretty bluish-colored flower and handed it to Prabhupada. Prabhupada took it, smelled it, then held it far away and looked at it, saying, "Oh, this is like a beautiful man without any qualifications." He then tossed it away. It had no aroma.

Upendra liked to ask Swamiji questions on the morning walks.

"Swamiji," Upendra asked, "what does the spiritual master or pure devotee see as he walks through the park?"

"He sees Krsna," Prabhupada replied.

For about the first week on his morning walks, Prabhupada talked frequently about the existence of the soul, explaining Krsna's arguments in the Bhagavad-gita.

One morning a car was parked near where they walked, and seated in the driver's seat was a dejected-looking man who sat slumped over, with a long, drawn, unhappy face. Day after day this car appeared there, and the man sat unhappily while the devotees walked past in the company of Srila Prabhupada. Finall

Prabhupada had a small band of disciples in San Francisco-not more than fifteen-but they were becoming intensely attached to him, especially since his poignant departure and now his return into their midst. Each of them wanted to engage more in Prabhupada's personal service, although only his secretaries, Gaurasundara and Govinda dasi, and his servant, Upendra, were allowed to be with him constantly. One of the devotees asked Prabhupada about feelin