Tilak and Book Distribution

Dear devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to book distribution, which “is the essence of ISKCON” (letter by Srila Prabhupada to Tamal Krsna Goswami.)

I wrote the following paper after the December marathon which I did in the LA airport. I showed it to my spiritual master, His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami, and he wrote the following note about it:

To all my disciples and friends,

Please accept my best wishes. All glories t

Illuminations- The Balance Between Effort and Mercy

What is the relationship between effort and mercy? How much of our advancement depends upon our own efforts and how much depends upon the mercy we receive? In other words, can mercy actually be earned, and if so, how? And if it is earned, is it actually mercy? How much control do we have over our spiritual advancement? It seems like we have a lot of control. After all, our choices affect our future. Yet Bhaktivinoda says, "Your mercy is everythi

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

The Sanskrit verbal root of Veda can be interpreted variously, but the purport is finally one. Veda means knowledge. Any knowledge you accept is Veda, for the teachings of the Vedas are the original knowledge. In the conditioned state, our knowledge is subjected to many deficiencies. The difference between a conditioned soul and a liberated soul is that the conditioned soul has four kinds of defects. The first defect is

Hare Krsna dear devotees!

It's my great pleasure to present a new addition to the IPM website; article about prison preaching programs outside USA!

Here is the link you can follow to read the 3 articles just added: http://www.iskconprisonministry.us/taxonomy/term/68

Be sure to click on the titles or on "read more" so you can see all the pictures included.

Thank you all for your amazing support!

If you want to receive IPM NEWS, our monthly electronic newsletter, please send us an e-mail with “Subscrib

The Godfather Gets the Higher Taste

I would like to preface the story by relating how I came to shake people's hands on sankirtana while exclaiming "ARooo!!" I would say this very loudly, like a buzzer going off, when they didn't expect it. It would make people laugh and disarm their false egos. I picked up this "ARooo" handshake in Laguna Beach from a devotee named Bhaya Hari Dasa. One day he shook my hand while saying something serious, but then he suddenly grabbed my hand tightly and let out a

INTRODUCTION

vihaya kaman yah sarvan

pumams carati nihsprhah

nirmamo nirahankarah

sa santim adhigacchati

Bg 2.71

A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego -- he alone can attain real peace.

Krishna consciousness and desirelessness

To become desireless means not to desire anything for sense gratification. In other words, desire for becoming Krishna conscious is actually desirelessnes

When Krsna speaks, we must understand that whatever He says is not limited but is universally true.  He claims to be the father of all living entitites-even the animals, the aquatics, the trees, plants, worms, birds and bees are all claimed to be His sons.  Sri Krsna asserts that the entire universe is illusioned by the interactions of the three qualities of material nature, and we are under the spell of that illusion; therefore we cannot understand what God is .

What is the nature of this illus

Shree Balarama Jayanti

Lord Balarama ki Jaya!
It is noon on this auspicious day of Balarama's appearance day...so this meditation and nectar....

Pada Sevana Book Reprint - mail orders welcome

Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisancies.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

PADA SEVANA (Serving the Lotus Feet) book by Padmalochan Das is now in reprint.
Printers promissed that the book will be available by RADHASTAMI.

This book is giving description and pictures of signs on lotus hands and feet of Radha-Krishna and Lord Chaitanya, Nityananda and Advaita. PADA SEVANA is 43 pages, good quality printing and binding.

Mail orders are welcome now,

Holy Name Retreat for(gentle)men at Pundarik Dhama/Bangladesh

All Prabhujis are kindly invited to join our Holy Name Retreat at Pundarik Dhama in Bangladesh.....

* Deepen your relationship with the Holy Name!

* Spend these days in seclusion - away from all the usual distractions and in the supportive environment of the Holy Dham!

* Hear the glories of the Holy Name in the association of like-minded devotees and apply what you have learned in kirtan and japa!

* Experience a different reality - associa

The people of this age, they are short-living and manda, very slow in everything, not interested. Actually human life is meant for understanding the spiritual value of life, but on account of the people being sudras, they are not interested. They are forgetting the real purpose of life. Manda. Manda means slow and bad. Everyone is bad or slow. Mandah sumanda-matayah. And they have got... Everyone has got a particular type of understanding. Sumanda-matayah. That is not bona fide. Sumanda-matayo m

Vaishnav Apradh

Guru, Disciple and Offenses
By His Holiness BRS Swami

*********************************************************************
PLEASE NEVER CRITICIZE, NEVER HEAR CRITCISM & NEVER SUPPORT CRITICIZM
OF ANY VAISHNAVA(S) FOR YOUR OWN SAKE AND FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR GURU!
*********************************************************************

(I) THE RESULTS OF VAISHNAVA-APARADHA FOR DISCIPLE AND GURU

sulapani sama yadi vaishnavere ninde
tathapiha nasa paya -- kahe shastra vrinde ohmy.gif

"Even i

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

As I was passing by the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg.

No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. I saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no atte

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Why is a highly posted government officer given better facilities for a comfortable life than an ordinary clerk? The answer is very simple: the important officer has to discharge duties of a more responsible nature than those of an ordinary clerk. Similarly, the human being has to discharge higher duties than the animals, who are always busy with filling their hungry stomachs. But by the laws of nature, the modern anima

If one is unable to follow a regulative principle after many years of chanting, should one give up chanting due to guilt and shame?

This verse answers this question

jata-shraddho mat-kathasu nirvinnah sarva-karmasu
veda duhkhatmakan kaman parityage 'py anishvarah
tato bhajeta mam pritah shraddhalur dridha-nishcayah
jushamanash ca tan kaman duhkhodarkamsh ca garhayan

Having awakened faith in the narrations of My glories, being disgusted with all material activities, knowing that all sense gratific

Lord Balarama is Krishna ‘s elder brother and His appearance day takes place on the full moon day (purnima) in the month of Sridhara month Balarama, two weeks before Krishna Janmashtami. This day is celebrated in Vrindavana and Mathura region. Particularly at the Dauji Temple, where Balarama resides with His consort Revati.

Krishna and Balarama were the darlings of Vrindavan/ Vraja. Together They would spend the day enjoying the company of the cowherd boys in the forests of Vraja. Their wonderfu

The material world is pervaded by the three qualities of material nature.  All living entities are influenced by these qualities.  If they are primarily influenced by the mode of goodness, they are called brahmanas, and if they are influenced by the mode of passion, they are called ksatriyas.  If they are influenced by the modes of passion and ignorance, they are vaisyas, and if they are influenced by ignorance, they are sudras.  This is not an artificial imposition due to birth or social status

Soon after Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, soon after I said Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa at the age of 24, He was just 24 years old. Of course could Lord be just 24 years Lord? I was also 24 years old at some time. So that is age of my body, Lord's body is eternal. This is how; we end up saying, yes! He was 24 years old! He took sannyasa for the benefit of the whole world. That sannyasa initiation arouse additional devotion within heart of the Lord while He is playing role a devotee.

Sri Krishna C

Lord Balaram

Vanquishes Ignorance

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Mathajis,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Just thought of sharing a nice pastime of Lord Balarama killing Dhenukasura as a meditation for the upcoming appearance day of Lord Balarama and the important lessons to be learnt from this pastime.

Once when Krishna and Balaram were sporting in the forest of Vrindavan along with Their cows and frien

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Gour Govinda Swami: Rules and regulations are needed at the beginning, that'ssadhana-bhakti. Therefore we have two paths: sadhana-bhakti and raganuga-bhakti. Therefore, Balaram's plow and Krishna's flute. Balaram has a plow in his hands and Krishna has a flute in his hands. Why? Balaram will cultivate. Sädhana-bhakti is cultivation. The cultivated field is the heart. After being pro