Blog

Why do we fast? 

Most devout people fast regularly or on special occasions like festivals. On such days they do not eat at all, eat once or make do with fruits or a special diet of simple food. Fasting in Sanskrit is called “Upavaasa”. Upa means "near" + vaasa means "to stay". Upavaasa therefore means staying near (the Lord), meaning the attainment of close mental proximity with the Lord.

Then what has Upavaasa to do with food?
A lot of our time and energy is spent in procuring food items, prepa

Why do offer food to the Lord before eating it? 

Indians make an offering of food to the Lord and later partake of it as prasaada "a holy gift from the Lord”. In our daily ritualistic worship (pooja) too we offer naivedyam (food) to the Lord. The Lord is omnipotent and omniscient. Man is a part, while the Lord is the totality. All that we do is by His strength and knowledge alone. Hence what we receive in life as a result of our actions is really His alone. We acknowledge this through the act of

Why do we apply the holy ash? 

This shows extreme case of applying ash (not commonly done). The ash of any burnt object is not regarded as holy ash. Bhasma (the holy ash) is the ash from the homa (sacrificial fire) where special wood along with ghee and other herbs is offered as worship of the Lord. Or the deity is worshipped by pouring ash as abhisheka and is then distributed as bhasma. Bhasma is generally applied on the forehead. Some apply it on certain parts of the body like the upper arms, c

Why do we not touch papers, books and people with the feet?

To Indians, knowledge is sacred and divine. So it must be given respect at all times. Nowadays we separate subjects as sacred and secular. But in ancient India every subject " academic or spiritual " was considered divine and taught by the guru in the gurukula.

The custom of not stepping on educational tools is a frequent reminder of the high position accorded to knowledge in Indian culture. From an early age, this wisdom fosters in us a

Why do we not touch papers, books and people with the feet?

To Indians, knowledge is sacred and divine. So it must be given respect at all times. Nowadays we separate subjects as sacred and secular. But in ancient India every subject " academic or spiritual " was considered divine and taught by the guru in the gurukula.

The custom of not stepping on educational tools is a frequent reminder of the high position accorded to knowledge in Indian culture. From an early age, this wisdom fosters in us a

Why do we wear marks (tilak) on the forehead? 

Tilaka refers to the markings which Vaisnava devotees apply to their bodies, to remind themselves and others that we are all eternal servants of Lord Krsna. The U-shaped mark represents the heel of Lord Visnu, and the oval part represents the Tulasi leaf. Tilaka is applied to twelve parts of the body, and the twelve names of the Lord are recited with each application. To apply tilaka, start with a little Ganges or Yamuna water (if you don't have any,

Why do we prostrate [Dandavats] before God, parents and elders? 

 कृष्णायवासुदेवायदेवकीनन्दनायच।   
नन्दगोपकुमारायगोविन्दायनमोनमः।।

Prostration, again and again, to Lord Sri Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, the Delighter of Devaki, the darling of Nandagopa, the protector of the Cows

Vaishnavas prostrate before their parents, elders, teachers and noble souls by touching their feet. The elder in turn blesses us by placing his or her hand on or over our heads. Prostration is done daily, when we meet e

Why do we have a prayer room?

Most Indian homes have a prayer room or altar. A lamp is lit and the Lord worshipped each day. Other spiritual practices like japa (repetition of the Lord's name), meditation, paaraayana (reading of the scriptures), prayers, and devotional singing etc is also done here. Special worship is done on auspicious occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, festivals and the like. Each member of the family young or old communes with and worships the Divine here.

The Lord is th

Why do we do namaste ?

Namaste!!!
Vaishnavas greet each other with namaste. The two palms are placed together in front of the chest and the head bows whilst saying the word namaste. This greeting is for all people younger than us, of our own age, those older than friends, even strangers and us. There are five forms of formal traditional greeting enjoined in the shaastras of which namaskaram is one. This is understood as prostration but it actually refers to paying homage as we do today when we gr

Why do we light a lamp?

In almost every Vaishnava home a lamp is lit daily before the altar of the Lord. In some houses it is lit at dawn, in some, twice a day at dawn and dusk and in a few it is maintained continuously (akhanda deepa). All auspicious functions commence with the lighting of the lamp, which is often maintained right through the occasion.
Light symbolizes knowledge, and darkness, ignorance. The Lord is the "Knowledge Principle" (Chaitanya) who is the source, the enlivener and the

How prabhupada books saved me from customs officer at Chicago Airport

Moscow temple and Prabhupada marathon

True story & Two Lessons: Crying Bull

Follow it and be successful in preaching and expanding your congregation.

Queen Elizabeth II Appreciates Sri Chaitanya’s Message During Krishna Avanti School Visit

Queen Elizabeth II Appreciates Sri Chaitanya’s Message During Krishna Avanti School Visit

New Book!!!

Hare Krishna

Dear  devotees,

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

We are happy to inform you that after 14 years, we printed out The Bhakti Vrksa Manual (Second Edition).

It is a revised and enlarged edition of the previous book. The advantages of this book are the following:  it is much more practical and has several devotees’ personal experience on running Bhakti Vrksa programs, the problems they faced and how they overcame them.

It also has ways on how t

New Book!!!

Hare Krishna

Dear  devotees,

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

We are happy to inform you that after 14 years, we printed out The Bhakti Vrksa Manual (Second Edition).

It is a revised and enlarged edition of the previous book. The advantages of this book are the following:  it is much more practical and has several devotees’ personal experience on running Bhakti Vrksa programs, the problems they faced and how they overcame them.

It also has ways on how t

Just like the son inherits the quality of the father, similarly... We are supposed to be sons of the Supreme Person. Therefore, in minute quantity we have got all the qualities of God. Not all. Seventy-eight percent. In very minute quantity. That is our perfection. If we revive godly qualities seventy-eight percent, in minute quantity, that is our perfection. That is there, already there. Simply it is covered by this material energy. Otherwise everything is there. So the feelings of affection, t