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Acknowledge your blessings

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.
      
My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.' I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on  voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.
    

Favorable Judgment
 
In a court of justice two lawyers put forward their respective relevant arguments taken from the authorized law books to decide a point, but it is up to the judge to decide the case in favor of one of the litigants. When the opposing lawyers put forward their arguments, both of them are legal and bona fide, but the judgment is given as to which argument is applicable to the particular case.
 
Lord Caitanya gives His judgment on the authority of sastras that the chanting of the

Peace formula

The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon others' property as though it were one's own and to thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature. These laws are very strong. No living entity can violate them. As a state is protected by the department of law and order, so the state of Universe, of which this earth is only an insignificant fragment, is protected by the laws of nature.

This material nature is one of the different potencies of God, who i

In his final class, speaking on Srimad-Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada gave an elaborate and careful analysis of the great responsibility that is afforded by the human form of life. Along with human life, he explained, came great intelligence and resourcefulness; but if that was not utilised in the proper cultivation of spiritual knowledge, then humans were no better than cats or dogs. If we instead chose to associate with other cat and dog-like human beings, then we would become infec

Madhudvisa spoke up. "Srila Prabhupada, this concept that everything belongs to God, it can't work unless everybody believes that everything belongs to God."

"Then everybody may be mad," retorted Prabhupada with a grin. "That does not change the fact. If some madman comes in this room and he fights, 'I am the proprietor, you get out', so that is not the fact."

Wally was trying to grasp Prabhupada's point. "I understand, you know you were talking about the sea and so on, b

In the evening, three close associates of the Melbourne temple visited Srila Prabhupada: Raymond Lopez, a prominent Melbourne criminal barrister, and Wally Strauss, a solicitor, had both defended the devotees in many legal cases; Bob Bourne, a professional photographer, who had taken many beautiful photographs of the Deities, had taken the group photograph in the temple the previous day. Madhudvisa introduced them all as they took their seats before Srila Prabhupada who

Devotees arrived for their special afternoon darsana with Srila Prabhupada with garlands, fragrant bouquets and other gifts. Soon the shiny parquet floor of Prabhupada's room was covered with devotees. Srila Prabhupada sat in their midst, appearing relaxed as he sat on his chaise longue, his left leg folded over his right knee, his right leg pointing downwards in front of him. One by one, devotees came forward and offered their garlands, flowers and various gift-wrapped

Towards the latter half of 1974, a large Melbourne advertising agency had approached the devotees. The company had asked them if they would like to feature in a massive advertising campaign for the Wrangler clothing company. Some devotees feared that the offer was maya. Others, considering that the devotees would be well-paid for their participation, thought that it sounded like a good idea.

Madhudvisa Swami and Ugrasrava especially thought it an excellent proposal. So on two

After breakfast, Srila Prabhupada wrote to three of his disciples, acknowledging receipt of their gifts of money. By such letters, Srila Prabhupada established and illuminated the path of Krsna consciousness for his sincere followers. These letters from Prabhupada were treasured, for they contained instructions that offered encouragement and direction for the disciples' devotional lives to come.

To Rasarani he wrote:

I thank you very much for your note and offering. Alw

Sentimental and vague ideas about rules and regulations amongst some of Srila Prabhupada's disciples continued to divide the Australasian zone. That, coupled with the confusion about living inside or outside the temple, caused Prabhupada on-going concern. His stance on the issue, however, especially for those who heard him attentively, continued to be absolutely clear.

Srila Prabhupada stressed temple life. This was evident from the way he answered the

All the visiting devotees from New Zealand attended the morning walk. One of the questions posed by a devotee highlighted the confusion that still remained about the need to take to the formalities of spiritual life. Srila Prabhupada had already confronted this apparent hesitancy the previous night when the boy had suggested that one could just accept one's guru in his heart, without going through the actual physical motions of initiation. And now -- more confusion. A devotee asked

Ganesa had just returned from a full day on the street selling books. Receiving permission from Srutakirti to briefly see Prabhupada, Ganesa, still dressed in his street clothes, knocked on the door, entered Prabhupada's room and found him alone sitting upright on his chaise longue. Ganesa offered his full dandavats on the floor in front of him. As he rose to sit down, Prabhupada said, "Oh, you are not in the kirtana?"

"No, Srila Prabhupada," replied Ganesa. "I've been out distri

Harsha, a young initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada for the last two years, had chosen to live outside the temple. Many others, both initiated and uninitiated who lived in similar circumstances were present for the class. Harsha spoke in a soft voice. "Srila Prabhupada, how does one associate with the devotees?"

Harsha's question appeared to some as "loaded". Perhaps Harsha was hoping that Srila Prabhupada might give an answer that condoned his habit of keeping himself

The theme of the evening class on Srimad-Bhagavatam was pravrtti-marga and nivrtti-marga -- the path of advancement in sense gratification versus the path of progression in self-realisation. Srila Prabhupada expanded on some of the points he had brought up in his room after speaking with Mr. Moore.

"There are two paths. Material life and spiritual life. Material life means sense gratification, as much as possible. And the central point of sense gratification is sex. There are differe

The flow of the conversation turned.

Prabhupada: Now suppose if we instruct a man, 'Please do not have illicit sex'. Have you got any objection?

Mr. Moore: Pardon?

Prabhupada: If I advise someone that, 'Do not have illicit sex', have you got any objection?

Mr. Moore: Yes, I have... I like sex, and my wife likes sex. We just enjoy, we couldn't live without it. Our marriage is happier because we have sex.

Prabhupada chuckled and looked around the room.

Mr. Moore: That

Sabhapati had tried to arrange a meeting between Srila Prabhupada and the State Minister for Social Welfare. The Minister was unavailable, but had agreed to send someone in his place. After a light Ekadasi breakfast, Srila Prabhupada was visited by the director of research from the same government department.

Mr. Moore, a balding, immaculately-dressed man in his late fifties, listened politely as Prabhupada chose to carefully point out the defects in modern soci

The air was chilled as Srila Prabhupada and his disciples alighted from the cars parked on the perimeter road of the Botanic Gardens. The pathway was lined with massive Moreton Bay fig trees, their roots bulging out of the sidewalk. Entering the gardens, the warmly-dressed group passed cabbage palms and tall bamboos that creaked and scratched in the breeze. A song thrush piped its exquisite melody from a nearby bush; an occasional willie-wagtail flitted and perched for a

Wednesday, 21 May 1975

A little before 4.30am each morning, the devotees would head for the temple room to attend the mangala arati ceremony. Sometimes, before entering the temple, they would look up to see Srila Prabhupada's form silhouetted behind his blue curtains as he sat translating, or sometimes standing at his door which led out to the veranda.

Gaura-mandala-bhumi: A devotee had begun to lead the chanting of Gurvastakam -- the eight prayers to the spiritual master -- in a non

A number of devotees had been assigned the task of standing guard outside Srila Prabhupada's room. For them, the special highlight would be the chance to see Prabhupada as he occasionally walked between rooms at various times of the day and night.

At 10 or 11pm, after a full day of preaching, Srila Prabhupada would stand, step into his slippers that he kept inside the door to his main room, and walk out to the small adjoining bedroom, simply furnished with a bed, rocking chair and almir

Srutakirti was not a fancy cook, but his preparation of Prabhupada's daily lunch -- split mung dal, rice and chapatis and a couple of simply spiced subjis -- was always predictably punctual, hot and palatable. Srutakirti used the same three-tiered cooker that had accompanied Prabhupada for several years. Having had a lot of practice, he was able to efficiently cook everything in a very short time. Srila Prabhupada sometimes took pleasure in telling people: "Srutakirti coo