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Devotees often find themselves immersed in conflict with other devotees and thus see their development come to a halt. This has certainly happened to me. By the mercy of Hari-Guru-Vaisnava, this is changing and I am slowly progressing in my spiritual life. I simply try to focus on chanting the holy name and on not committing offenses against any living entities, especially against devotees. I will share with you some excerpts from three books that have profoundly changed my life. I take the opp

By the EuroGBC

This paper aims to present the contribution of Bhaktivinoda Thakur to the establishment and development of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). It regards his personal life as the role model for the practitioners of Vaisnavism, and it considers his input in expanding preaching techniques, both innovative and traditional ones.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur: role model for ISKCON members

Being born in a non-Vaisnava family, educated in Christian and Westernized Hindu

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान

वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः ।
बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः ।। 10 ।।

वीत– मुक्त;राग– आसक्ति;भय– भय;क्रोधाः– तथा क्रोध से;मत्-मया– पूर्णतया मुझमें;माम्– मुझमें;उपाश्रिताः– पूर्णतया स्थित;बहवः– अनेक;ज्ञान– ज्ञान की;तपसा– तपस्या से;पूताः– पवित्र हुआ;मत्-भावम्– मेरे प्रति दिव्य प्रेम को;आगताः– प्राप्त।

भावार्थ : आसक्ति, भय तथा क्रोध से मुक्त होकर, मुझमें पूर्णतया तन्मय होकर और मेरी शरण में आकर बहुत से व्यक्ति भूत काल में मेरे ज्

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोSर्जुन।। 9 ।।

जन्म– जन्म;कर्म– कर्म;च– भी;मे– मेरे;दिव्यम्– दिव्य;एवम्– इस प्रकार;यह– जो कोई;वेत्ति– जानता है;तत्त्वतः– वास्तविकता में;त्यक्त्वा– छोड़कर;देहम्– इस शरीर को;पुनः– फिर;जन्म– जन्म;न– कभी नहीं;एति– प्राप्त करता है;माम्– मुझको;एति– प्राप्त करता है;सः– वह;अर्जुन– हे अर्जुन।

भावार्थ : हे अर्जुन! जो मेरे अविर्भाव तथा कर्मों की दिव्य प्रकृति को जा

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ।। 8 ।।

परित्राणाय– उद्धार के लिए;साधूनाम्– भक्तों के;विनाशाय– संहार के लिए;च– तथा;दुष्कृताम्– दुष्टों के;धर्म– धर्म के;संस्थापन-अर्थाय– पुनः स्थापित करने के लिए;सम्भवामि– प्रकट होता हूँ;युगे– युग;युगे– युग में।

भावार्थ : भक्तों का उद्धार करने, दुष्टों का विनाश करने तथा धर्म की फिर से स्थापना करने के लिए मैं हर युग में प्रकट होता हूँ।

तात्पर्य: भगवद्गीता के

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ।। 7 ।।

यदा यदा– जब भी और जहाँ भी;हि– निश्चय ही;धर्मस्य– धर्म की;ग्लानिः– हानि, पतन;भवति– होती है;भारत– हे भारतवंशी;अभ्युत्थानम्– प्रधानता;अधर्मस्य– अधर्म की;तदा– उस समय;आत्मानम्– अपने को;सृजामि– प्रकट करता हूँ;अहम्– मैं।

भावार्थ: हे भरतवंशी! जब भी और जहाँ भी धर्म का पतन होता है और अधर्म की प्रधानता होने लगती है, तब तब मैं अवतार लेता हूँ।

तात्पर्य : यहाँ पर सृ

By Atma Tattva Das

ISKCON Lisbon, a community with deep roots in the Portuguese capital, is steadily growing, with a strong influx of young people. Many are drawn by the dynamic programs that blend traditional Krishna Conscious practices with modern outreach methods. But facing the potential loss of its current space and the absence of a permanent temple for over four decades, the dynamic community is now appealing to the international Krishna Conscious community for help.

As temple president S

Shyamasundar Das (Sam Speerstra), one of Srila Prabhupada’s first disciples and a friend of the Beatles, recently spoke to “The Fest for Beatle Fans” convention, the oldest and largest annual Beatles gathering of its kind. This year was their 50th anniversary.

The event, held in Chicago from August 8 to 10, featured an impressive lineup of famous figures connected to the Beatles and contemporary figures who continue to be inspired by the iconic band. Syamsundar, who joined the fest on August 10t

Hare Krishna
Please accept my humble obeisance
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

On the auspicious occasion of Radhastami 2024, ISKCON Mayapur is excited to announce the launch of the ‘Navadvipa Mandal’ feature on both the Mayapur App and Website. This offering is dedicated to Srimati Radharani, who manifested the sacred land of Navadvipa. We warmly invite all devotees to explore and immerse themselves in the divine glories of Navadvipa Mandal through this new virtual experience.

LEARN Teachings o

In a recent interview with the GBC Strategic Planning Team, Sesa Prabhu, my father, spoke about ksatriya training. I found the letter that was referred to in the interview which he wrote to Jagadish Maharaj on the topic in 1983. Being an educator myself, I found this a relevant subject to today’s world in ISKCON and want to put it forth for publication on Dandavats.

Attached is a picture of my father in uniform during his time at West Point Military Academy. I thought the photo was a good pair

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान

अजोSपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोSपि सन् ।
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया ।। 6 ।।

अजः– अजन्मा;अपि– तथापि;सन्– होते हुए;अव्यय– अविनाशी;आत्मा– शरीर;भूतानाम्– जन्म लेने वालों के;इश्वरः– परमेश्वर;अपि– यद्यपि;सन्– होने पर;प्रकृतिम्– दिव्य रूप में;स्वाम्– अपने;अधिष्ठाय– इस तरह स्थित;सम्भवामि– मैं अवतार लेता हूँ;आत्म-मायया– अपनी अन्तरंगा शक्ति से।

भावार्थ :यद्यपि मैं अजन्मा तथा अविनाशी हूँ और यद्यपि मैं समस्त जीवों का स्वामी हूँ, तो

By Nandan Dasa

On the auspicious occasion of Radhastami 2024, ISKCON Mayapur launched the “Navadvipa Mandal” feature on both the Mayapur app and website. This offering is dedicated to Srimati Radharani, who manifested the sacred land of Navadvipa. We warmly invite all devotees to explore and immerse themselves in the divine glories of Navadvipa Mandal through this new virtual experience.

LEARN Teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Srila Prabhupada said, “My idea is to attract people of the

Radhastami || Srimati Radhika’s Appearance Day!
Date: 11th September 2024

Sri Radhashtami, the festival celebrating the appearance of Srimati Radharani, is coming up on September 11th. Srimati Radharani is the pleasure potency of Sri Krishna, and without Her mercy, one cannot approach Madhava. As Srila Prabhupada reminds us in His Radhashtami lecture, “Krishna is difficult to approach directly, but He is bhakta-vatsala, always eager to please His devotees. The devotee’s mood is to invoke the c

By Manjari Gauthie

…The crowd presses forward, a mass of bodies all straining to get a better view of the altar. The curtains are still closed, but thin wisps of frankincense smoke can be seen curling from behind their edges. The sweet smell permeats the room and fuels my eagerness to finally see Their Lordships in our temple for the first time. Balabhadra is leading an intense kirtan. The vibration of hundreds of voices in the air is almost too much to stand. I’m sure I’m not the only one fe

Srimati Radharani appeared on the eight day of the waxing moon of Hrsikesha (Bhadra) mase, at noon.

“Srimati Radharani is as fully spiritual as Krishna. No one should consider Her to be material. She is definitely not like the conditioned souls, who have material bodies, gross and subtle, covered by material senses. She is all spiritual, and both Her body and mind are of the same spiritual embodiment. Because Her body is spiritual, Her senses are also spiritual. Thus Her body, mind and senses f

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान

स एवायं मया तेSद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः ।
भक्तोSसि मे सखा चेति रहस्यं ह्येतदुत्तमम् ।। 3 ।।

सः– वही;एव– निश्चय ही;मया– मेरे द्वारा;ते– तुमसे;अद्य– आज;योगः– योगविद्या;प्रोक्तः– कही गयी;पुरातनः– अत्यन्त प्राचीन;भक्तः– भक्त;असि– हो;मे– मेरे;सखा– मित्र;च– भी;इति– अतः;रहस्यम्– रहस्य;एतत्– यह;उत्तमम्– दिव्य।

भावार्थ: आज मेरे द्वारा वही यह प्राचीन योग यानी परमेश्वर के साथ अपने सम्बन्ध का विज्ञान, तुमसे कहा जा रहा है, क्योंकि तुम मेरे भक्त तथा

There are 3 energies affecting us all
As real and organic as nature’s call
They are at play practically all the time
Like wind, rain, moon, and sunshine

They influence our mood, action, and thought
If we analyze them it can help us a lot
Let us explore the names of these energies
And come to grips with their bold tendencies

The first one is SATTVA, its Sanskrit name
It is positive power we should welcome and aim
The special feature here is to be very mindful
Sensitive, patient, rational, thought

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय चार दिव्य ज्ञान

एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदु: ।
स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परन्तप ।। 2।।

एवम्– इस प्रकार;परम्परा– गुरु-परम्परा से;प्राप्तम्– प्राप्त;इमम्– इस विज्ञान को;राज-ऋषयह– साधू राजाओं ने;विदुः– जाना;सः– वह ज्ञान;कालेन– कालक्रम में;इह– इस संसार में;महता– महान;योगः– परमेश्वर के साथ अपने सम्बन्ध का विज्ञान, योगविद्या;नष्टः– छिन्न-भिन्न हो गया;परन्तप– हे शत्रुओं को दमन करने वाले, अर्जुन।

भावार्थ: इस प्रकार यह परम विज्ञान गुरु-परम्परा द्वारा प