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This Is How We Should Preach

(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)

The following is what I have written down from a short, but most valuable instructive class with His Holiness Mahavishnu Gosvami Maharaja, on the Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1.15, given in London, July 9,2008.

kecit kevalayaa bhaktyaa
vaasudeva-paraayanaah
agham dhunvanti kaartsnyena
nihaaram iva bhaaskarah

kecit -- some people; kevalayaa bhaktyaa -- by e

There was a king who was a great admirer of art. One day an artist came and said to the king, “Oh King! Give me a blank wall in your palace and let me paint a picture on it.”

The artist was given the job. Just then, another young man said, “Oh King! Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I too am an artist.”  The king said, “What would you like to make?” The man said, “My Lord, I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so, without looking at hi

Yudhisthira Maharaja describing the glories of forgiveness cited the verse spoken in ancient times by the Rsi Kasyapa: 

‘Forgiveness is virtue, forgiveness is sacrifice and forgiveness is the Vedas. Forgiveness is purity and penance; it is truth, piety, religion, and the holy Narayana. Through forgiveness the universe is sustained, and by practicing forgiveness a man can attain to everlasting regions of bliss.’

“How then can I renounce forgiveness, O Draupadi, in which is established spirituality,

If you gathered up all the fearful thoughts that exist in the mind of the average person, looked at them objectively, and tried to decide just how much good they provided that person, you would see that not some but all fearful thoughts are useless. They do no good. Zero. They interfere with dreams, hopes, desires, and progress.

Fearful thoughts take many different forms. Sometimes they sound reasonable: “I’m just being careful, so I’m taking my time.” Other times they are tied to your past: “I’v

Before leaving for the airport, Prabhupada called a final, brief meeting with the temple leaders. Prabhupada sat behind his desk. Leaning forward, he looked intently at Yasomatinandana.

Yasomatinandana: I had been planning to return to Australia straight after Prabhupada left Auckland. So it came as quite a shock to me when Prabhupada gave me his last instructions. "So you must stay here in New Zealand," he said, "and take care of these people. There are some good prospects amongst t

Wednesday, 28 April 1976

Another early-morning fire sacrifice was scheduled, this time to accompany the installation ceremony of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra. Since he was due to leave for Fiji after breakfast, Prabhupada's schedule was tight. He did not take a morning walk, and received his massage well before the sun rose. After bathing, Srila Prabhupada put on fresh silk clothing and went downstairs for the ceremony. He sat on the elegant vy

During question-time, a strange, dishevelled hippy with long hair, but dressed in devotional apparel, stood up at the back of the audience and spoke to Prabhupada in a challenging tone. "Is it possible to see Krsna right now?"

Prabhupada appeared grave. "Why don't you see Him in your back?" he said, indicating that the Deity of Krsna was right behind him.

But the man's mood was confrontational. "But can't I just see Him?"

"Well, you have no eyes to see."

"Can I see Him within?"

"Y

Srila Prabhupada attended the 7pm arati ceremony and kirtana. Many gifts lay at the base of his vyasasana as he sat, playing his karatals, while the devotees chanted and danced together in the long narrow temple room. After arati, Prabhupada, looking grave and scholarly in his dark-rimmed spectacles, and ruling forth as Lord Caitanya's representative, spoke on Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya Lila Chapter 20, verses 98-102.

"So this evening I shall speak to you about Sanatana Goswami,

On the previous night, Prabhupada had asked Tusta Krsna Swami that he and his men should visit the temple daily. Tusta Krsna Swami explained that they couldn't really do that because they lived so far away on the North Shore. Besides, Tusta explained, they were regularly holding their own daily program. Prabhupada became lenient. "At least you should bring fresh milk and cream and vegetables to the temple to be offered to the Deities daily," he had said

While in Melbourne, Prabhupada had heard news that some of Tusta Krsna Swami's men had spread the rumour that Prabhupada would visit their farm in Auckland, but not the ISKCON temple. This was proof, they said, that they were correct in the long running dispute. On hearing this, Prabhupada had immediately cancelled his plans to visit Tusta Krsna's farm, adding that anyone who wanted to see him in Auckland could come to the temple.

Prabhupada was well

New York - Sri Krishna Balarama Ratha Yatra on Sunday, August 5, 2012!

The devotees of Queens invite all to come and celebrate our annual Ratha Yatra parade. It will begin at 1:00 pm sharp from the corner of Liberty Avenue and 123rd Street, and will continue all the way to our Mandir at 111-14 101 Avenue at 3:00 pm, followed by a Festival of India until 8:00 pm. Free sumptuous prasadam will be served all day long and we will have a full afternoon packed with dramas, dances, bhajans, devotional ta

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Everything has beginning and everything has an end. Every tree begins with a seed and will eventually transform back into earth. In our modern world, this means that every car, every machine, every piece of clothing is created and all will wear out and crumble; it’s only a matter of time. Our bodies are born and they will die. A glass is created and will eventually break. All of life is in a constant state of change.

Whe

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

(1)
śuddha-bhakata-caraṇa-reṇu,
bhajana-anukūla
bhakata-sevā, parama-siddhi,
prema-latikāra mūla

(2)
mādhava-tithi, bhakti-jananī,
jetane pālana kori
kṛṣṇa-basati, basati boli',
parama ādare bori

(3)
gaur āmāra, je-saba sthāne,
koralo bhramaṇa rańge
se-saba sthāna, heribo āmi,
praṇayi-bhakata-sańge

(4)
mṛdańga-bādya, śunite mana,
abasara sadā jāce
gaura-bihita, kīrtana śuni',
ānande hṛdoya nāce

(5)
jugala-mūrti, dekhiyā

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Pavitropana Ekadasi (Putrada Ekadasi)
from Bhavishya Puran
Date of fasting:  Sun, 29 July 2012
Breakfast :  05:41 AM - 10:12 AM Next day***
-----------------------------------------------------

Shri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, "Oh Madhusudana, Oh killer of the Madhu
demon, please be merciful to me and describe to me the EkAdasii that occurs
during the light fortnight of the month of Shravana (July-August)." The
Supreme Lord, Sri

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

A research done in England found that a baby smiles 400 times a day, an adolescent 17 times and an adult doesn't smile at all!  The more successful one keeps a very stiff face.  Is roughness a sign of success?  Is being stressed a sign of prosperity, growth or dignity? 
  
You should smile more.  Every day, every morning, look at the mirror and give a good smile to yourself.  You know what happens when you smile?  All the

Helpers needed for Nectar seva on the Kirtan Mela in Germany!

Dear devotees all over the world,

please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

H.H. Sacinandana Swami was requesting that there should not be any event without nice care of Krishna´s children. So also on this Kirtan Mela 2012 do we want to offer this important seva.

We have two age groups. One group are parents and kids from 0 to 4 and the other group are kids from 5 until 12 years of age.

The programme will be work

The Meaning of Initiation

(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)

The day of spiritual initiation is a very important day in all our lives. Initiation is actually a second birth for the human beings. In this second birth, the spiritual master is our father and the scriptures are our mother. It is a very auspicious and memorable occasion in our lives. We are all born in the darkness of ignorance and on the day of i

Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

A 'devotee' wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to the temple. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 mantras. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the priests are wasting theirs by giving services at all."This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to