(This article was originally written by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupadaand first published in the 8th volume of Dainik Nadiya Prakasa on 29th October 1933 under the title, Rasa Yatra).

Today is Rasa-purnima. Many people have gathered in Navadvipa, Santipura, Vrndavana, Puri and other holy places. The purpose of these pilgrims is to take darsana of Sri Krsna’s rasa-lila. It is the opinion of those who are knowledgeable of their spiritual identity that there is no other greater s

There is no exact equivalent in the English vocabulary to explain the Sanskrit term ‘rasa’ as used in the context of transcendental relationships. The closest English word for rasaused by our acaryas in rendering English translations of Sanskrit literatures is ‘mellow’. Certainly, enough thought has been given before stopping at the word, ‘mellow’ for rasa. The origin of this word in English stems from the sense of ‘ripe’, ‘sweet’, and ‘juicy’ and is used to define something that is tempered by

Every one of us wants to be happy. In fact every moment we strive hard to achieve happiness but most often we find that in spite of achieving all what we had desired to achieve we still remain unhappy. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha i.e. eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. We being parts and parcel of the Lord we also have desire for eternity, bliss and knowledge. Every jiva be it in Svargloka, brahmaloka, bhuvarloka etc. wants to be happy. The level of happine

So the darkness is there, and the light is also there. Simply we have to be awakened. Therefore Vedas, they instruct us that "Don't sleep! Get up!" Uttisthata prapya varan nibodhata jagrata. Similarly, Bhaktivinoda Thakura also sings, kota nidra jao maya-pisacira kole. Jiv jago, jiv jago, gauracanda bole. Gauracanda means Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He says, "O the living entities, you get up! Be awakened!" We may say, "Now we are awakened." This is not awakened. This is also slumber in darkne

Anyone Can Take a Book

by Caitanya Chandra Das (Porto Alegre, Brazil)

As I distributed books last Sunday morning in the park, I saw one guy who seemed a bit gloomy. I stopped him and started my usual mantra: "Hello, I'm from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. We're distributing some books about spiritual knowledge. They"

He interrupted me and said, "I'm looking for a girlfriend. Can you help me?"

Before I could reply he repeated the question, adding a note of desperation: "I reeeal

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

When Srimati Radharani first saw Krishna, She suddenly became conscious of all transcendental happiness, and the functions of Her different limbs were stunned. When Lalita, Her constant companion, whispered into Her ear, the holy name of Krishna, Radharani immediately opened Her eyes wide. (Nectar of Devotion, pg 259)

"One day, in a joking mood, Krishna informed Radharani, 'My dear Radharani, I am going to give up Your Company.' Upon saying this, He immediately disappeared, and because of this, R

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

I’ve written or called hundreds of people during my career who have never written back or returned my call. I’ve learned that people are often overwhelmed and overcommitted, and therefore unable or unwilling to help me. 

Instead of feeling defeated, I try to focus instead on how grateful I am that many other people have returned my calls or answered my letters.

Many years ago, I wanted to get in to see a certain professio

So Krsna orders only maya that "Give this living entity a body like a demigod, or a dog, or a pig, or a tree." So there are 8,400,00 varieties of body. He has to manage all these. How He is managing? Is He managing personally? No. He is managing through His potency, atma-mayaya. Here it is said, atma-mayaya. Samanvety esa sattvanam bhagavan atma-mayaya. Maya means energy, energy, tricks. This is called maya. So everything is being done by His potency. So the Mayavadi philosopher, they says, "Whe

The thought that we can become God is very dangerous. God is eternally God and we are eternally His parts and parcels, His servitors. It is true that qualitatively we are same as God but quantitatively there is an ocean of difference. Scriptures says that Krishna, God, has six opulences in full: all wealth, all fame, all beauty, all power, all knowledge and all renunciation. We the jivas, the living entities, too possess these qualities but in very minute quantities. Krishna has 64 qualities and

Why does our consciousness come down to this plane? Why doesn't it have a higher conception of higher spiritual existence. Instead our attention is drawn to some material thing on the mundane plane. We think that some medicine, or some intoxication can help us. When we cannot raise my consciousness to the finer and higher conscious substance, then we come to seek help in the material world. "These substances will help me." It is suicidal.

We cannot manage to have a connection directly with the hi

How can one define faith? Is it a feeling or a function of the brain? Or is it just unfounded belief? The English word ‘Faith’ is associated with many things. The word is used to define a trust or belief in someone or something, but more commonly it is used in association with religion and God.

The definition of the word faith in the unabridged Oxford Dictionary is:

 1- Complete trust or confidence. 

 2- Strong belief in a religion. 

 3- A system of religious belief.

The English word faith origina

(The Following article is based on a class given by Srila Narasingha Maharaja at Sri Sri Radha-Damodara Temple in Vrndavana on October 20th 2009)

In his illumination on the eighth verse of Sri Upadesamrta, Srila Sridhara Maharaja discusses faith in relation to what faith is and what it is not. This is the Vedic process of learning. When you learn about something you must also understand what it is not. Take gold for example – when you learn what are the qualities of gold, you must also learn what

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

In Krsna's instructions to Arjuna, He emphasizes duty both 
for the common man and for the self-realized soul.

sva-dharmam api caveksya
na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyad dhi yuddhac chreyo 'nyat
ksatriyasya na vidyate

"Considering your specific duty as a ksatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

TEXT 23

yotsyamānān avekṣe 'haṁ
ya ete 'tra samāgatāḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher
yuddhe priya-cikīrṣavaḥ

SYNONYMS

yotsyamānān—those who will be fighting; avekṣe—let me see; aham—I; ye—who; ete—those; atra—here; samāgatāḥ—assembled; dhārtarāṣṭrasya—the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; durbuddheḥ—evil-minded; yuddhe—in the fight; priya—well; cikīrṣavaḥ—wishing.

TRANSLATION

Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

PURPORT

It was an open secret that Duryodhana wan