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Perfection of Life



When one goes to prison he has to put aside his usual dress and take the prison dress. Similarly, anyone who comes into this material world has to take a material body. This is the law. Unless you have this material body, how can you feel pleasure in material sense enjoyment? It is just like performing on stage: if you are going to play a certain part, you have to dress accordingly. Therefore, this material body is compared to a dress. For example, every lady and gentleman; every one of us; has
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Obama or Rama?

Obama or Rama?


People are very fond of the pattern of Rāma-rājya, and even today politicians sometimes form a party called Rāma-rājya, but unfortunately they have no obedience to Lord Rāma. It is sometimes said that people want the kingdom of God without God. Such an aspiration, however, is never to be fulfilled. Good government can exist when the relationship between the citizens and the government is like that exemplified by Lord Rāmacandra and His citizens. Lord Rāmacandra ruled His kingdom ex

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Why Not Just Chant "Krishna"?

Question: Why Not Just Chant "Krishna"?


As Krishna tells us to chant His name in the ninth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita and that we should constantly chant His names 24 hours daily, why don't we just chant, "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna" repetitively instead of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, which if I am right, was not told by Krishna but was told by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. 

I am questioning this because I wish to follow the instructions of God (Krishna) rather than instructions from anywhe

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Chronology of Shri Chaitanya's 24
years in Jagannatha Puri:

 

Jan-Feb- In West Bengal, Lord Chaitanya accepts Sannyasa (renounced order of life)

Feb-March- Moves to Jagannatha Puri, Orissa.

April-May- Liberates Sarvabhauma by His preaching.

May June- Left Jagannatha Puri for South India tour. (M7/intro)

Lord Chaitanya lived in the Navadvipa area (West Bengal) for His first 24 years, and he induced every person to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra, and thus merge in love of Krishna.

For the remaining 24

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The Atheist and the Wind

The Atheist and the Wind

Volume 11, Chapter 15
April 7, 2011

HH Indradyumna Swami Maharaja

 

I spent most of the winter chanting and studying in Vrindavan. Then, in the early spring, I headed for South Africa for a number of preaching programs, including the Ratha-yatra festival in Durban.

I was also looking forward to writing again. In Vrindavan I had been sitting in one place, so there had been little material for new chapters. Several devotees had written to ask if I’d stopped writing.

“As much as I

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Nice Story : The Blind Well

The Blind Well
Once a prince went to forest for hunting. Suddenly a tiger attacked him. Prince fell down from his horse. As his bow was not in his hand, he quickly ran to save his life. While running, his feet got stuck in a creeper and he fell into a dry blind well. As he was felling down, he managed to hold two tree branches, which were hanging into the well. He looked up and found that the tiger is waiting for him on the top of the well. As his eyes got accustomed to see in dark, he found two

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Shelter Beyond Duality


HH Indradumna Swami Maharaj

This is the story of my life. Or better yet, the story of two lives: the one my spiritual master saved me from, and the one he gave me. Both concern the same person, but one life was temporary, ignorant, and full of suffering, and the other is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss. This is the story of the miracle, for me at least, of how I was delivered from the ocean of material life.


You could say my story begins within the womb. But I know it goes back many lifeti

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There’s an alarming trend taking place: People who have had some degree of good fortune and success tend to lose their humility and become at least slightly arrogant. This is very unfortunate for many reasons. First, and most obviously, no one really wants to be around someone who is arrogant. It’s boring, and it’s annoying! Arrogance implies a lack of gratitude. The assumption is, “I did this all by myself; it’s all about me.” Factors such as Lord’s blessings, good fortune, and so on are forgot
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A Swami and His Father

A Swami and His Father

 

I was recently blessed with the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with Dr. Cornel West -- a brilliant thinker and someone I have come to regard as a heartfelt friend and spiritual brother. Among the many profound things Dr. West spoke that evening at Princeton, one thing he said struck me deeply. "I am who I am," he said, "because someone loved me." As I reflected on his words, images of various mentors and teachers flashed in my mind. I thought of all the ki

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mahamantra

"Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare 
  Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare"

[ Pronounced as:  Hare - ( Ha'ray),  Rama - (Raa'maa)   & 

Krishna - ( Kri-Sh'-Naa) ]

'Hare Krishna' is the mantra which  is known to maximum number of  western seekers thanks to the commendable work done by His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad (founder of  ISKON - International Society for Krishna Consciousness in spreading its awareness world wide.  George Harrison, the popular sing

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Change Your Thinking

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.


The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end...

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..


Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window co
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My Initial Resolve for Bhajana

Was it not possible for me to stay in my normal worldly life to practice devotional service to Krishna?

Of course I certainly could have remained there, but I would have had to cater to the tastes of others. This was the main obstruction I faced in living amongst those who were antagonistic to shri Krishna’s service. That was unpleasant. I never wanted to make my valuable life unsuccessful by spending even a moment of it in activities other than serving shri Krishna.

To attain the opportunity to c

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Sevak
baroda3.jpg
Jul 06, 2011 - INDIA (SUN) —  On Sunday, July 3, 2011, corresponding to "aashaadh shukla dvitiyaa" (the second day of the waxing fortnight of the month of aashaadh), ISKCON Baroda observed the thirtieth annual Jagannath Rathayatra mahotsav ("festival of the Chariot").

The Rathayatra began at 2:30 PM, the traditional time, at the traditional place, the Baroda Railway Station. The Honorable Mayor of Baroda, Smt. Dr. Jyotiben Pandya, inaugurated the Rathayatra by performing arati to Their Lordships
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Sevak
Motel%20Gita%20A.jpgOn June 16-17, 2011, ISKCON devotees from the Motel Gita Project attended the annual convention of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) in Las Vegas, Nevada, requesting the owners of hotels and motels to include a copy of “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” in their guest rooms, as is commonly done with Gideon’s Bibles. The Motel Gita project previously had booths at AAHOA’s annual national conventions last year in Chicago and in 2009 in Washington, D.C., as well as in smaller, regional conv
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Enlightening Others With Krishna Consciousness


Thank you so much for sacrificing so much of yourself in helping others revive their original consciousness and in so doing taking them out of their miseries. 

Maharaja, I wanted to ask how to enlighten others in the science of Krishna consciousness. I am trying to give Krishna consciousness to my eldest brother, but I think I am coming across as fanatical. It hurts to see him stuck and bewildered by this material world. I want to give him the tool by

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Please do not misrepresent us

During Prabhupada's stay in Auckland, it was his habit to regularly see anyone and everyone who came to his room. Practically any time of the day, whoever would come to his door, Prabhupada would gesture warmly and say, "Come on," indicating them to come in and sit down, no matter whom he was speaking to at the time. His mood was always peaceful and relaxed; it seemed like he had time for everyone. After the engagement at the art gallery, all the devotees again crowd
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Second coming

Prabhupada concluded that if one actually wanted to become an artist, he should try to understand, or try to be intimately associated with the greatest artist, Krsna. And for this purpose the International Society for Krsna Consciousness has been established, wherein the members are trained to see in everything the display of Krsna's artistic sense. "That is Krsna consciousness. In everything the devotee sees the artistic hand of Krsna."

Prabhupada encouraged the attentive crowd to a
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I am like a lion when I am preaching

The remaining questions confirmed the audience's gross misconceptions of Vedic philosophy. One man suggested that as one became more advanced in spiritual life, the chanting would drop away as being less important. Prabhupada's answer drew laughs from the devotees: "No. No, chanting is eternal. After you become perfect, you will also chant more loudly."

An argumentative guest brought the program to a close. "I have one question. Swamiji, you accept Krsna as the
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As he did not accept me, I did not accept him

Saturday, 15 April 1972

Srila Prabhupada received a letter from Jadurani dasi, his artist disciple in America, along with an enclosed sketch for the proposed cover of the upcoming unpublished volume of the Fourth Canto, Volume One of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The sketch showed Lord Visnu sitting on the back of his eagle carrier, Garuda. In his eight arms he held, in a clockwise direction, a conch, an arrow, a bow, a disc, a lotus, sword, shield and club.
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Preaching at Auckland Town Hall

The Auckland Town Hall was an ornate, Victorian-style building standing beside the Square in the centre of the city. The smaller of its two halls, the concert chamber, had been booked as the venue for an evening lecture by Srila Prabhupada.

Aksayananda's stepfather, Hector (Robbie) Robertson, had volunteered to drive Prabhupada to the hall. Early in the evening, the same quaint old car that had picked up Srila Prabhupada at the airport that morning coughed and splut
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