I think I have acquired a spiritual guru…

Actually, I think it might be more accurate to say that he has acquired me.

I’m a scientist (astrophysicist to be precise) and I’ve been agnostic for as long as I can remember, so I’ve always struggled with the idea of God and the purpose of religion. But a few months ago, I had a spiritual experience, and since then, I’ve been on a quest to understand the being known as God. To learn more, I’ve studied and participated in various religious systems, a

Kirtan is the call-and-response form of chanting that characterizes the Hare Krishna movement. It is the fundamental religion of the age – the soul crying out for God as a means to reunite with Him.

Robert Gass, author of Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound, believes that ritual chanting is among the most universal of human impulses, as well as one of the first: “We have no recordings of the earliest humans,” he writes, “but when we encounter indigenous tribes who’ve had little contact with m

By HH Bhakti Raghava Swami

I was walking down Rideau Street in the city of Ottawa some time during the summer of 1973. Although I had still not found what I really wanted in life, I was somewhat relieved that I had been able to walk out of the expected social pressures of modern day society.

I had already finished my university studies, graduating from Ottawa U in 1968, had worked for three years as a Social Worker with the Children’s Aid Society in my home town of Timmins in Northern Ontario,

When I boarded Delta Airline enroute to Atlanta, as a stopover for Buenos Aires, I had a little chat with the flight attendant. I remarked that customs were so long and so slow. “Unacceptable!” I said.

Her remark, “It’s always like that here (Toronto). I love the city, but the airport…” And as she said this her eyes were rolling. I thought to lodge a complaint next time I had the chance, regarding an improvement in service that could happen at the Toronto Airport. Afterall service is everything

This Sunday was exciting. Sundays usually are. One of the reasons is that I get very busy with people. Today, it was three locations, so that makes it three presentations. The theme for all these venues, in addition to chanting sessions and prasadam (blessed food), was the topic of “shelter.” The first gathering was actually in the Conference Room of ISKCON Toronto. There I presented a borrowed story about shelter and the nature of a cat or a dog. Perhaps you have heard it before?

A dog thinks,

All the wealth we can accrue from a whole lifetime of service is insignificant compared to the blessings of our spiritual master. It is blessings that are the principal factor and not only of our spiritual master but of the entire sampradaya, of the previous spiritual masters. One should however not jump over though. One should approach through the lineage and through the Vaisnavas and therefore, one has to become soft.

In the beginning, we make distinctions between Vaisnavas, thinking, “This Va

In downtown San Antonio there is a a large blackboard on the side of a building that reads “Before I Die…”. Beneath the heading there are spaces for people to fill in the blank – Before I die I want to ___________.

Death is surely the great milestone of our life. It hovers close by, although we do our best to forget about it because of fear and pain. And so, even though we hear of others dying daily, we somehow think we will never die. Or that it won’t happen to us for a long time. When it does

My dear devotees,

Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

In a letter to me dated December 1971, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Go on increasing books, and go on increasing my pleasure.” December is a special opportunity to focus on Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we distribute books—and thus increase his pleasure. As he wrote in the same letter, “I am most pleased especially to hear that you are distributing many books.”

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
  yasmin prati-slokam ab

By H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami

Perfection means becoming a devotee of Lord Krishna.

It is stated in the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam (1.2.28-29),

vāsudeva-parā vedā vāsudeva-parā makhāḥ

vāsudeva-parā yoga vāsudeva-parāḥ kriyāḥ

vāsudeva-paraṁ jñānaṁ vāsudeva-paraṁ tapaḥ

vāsudeva-paro dharmo vāsudeva-parā gatiḥ

“In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. The purpose of performing sacrifice is to please Him. Yoga is for re

Road rage is very much on the rise. On the previous night, while on the freeway, two drivers involved in a collision were almost at each other’s throats in a shouting match, blaming each other for the accident. They used unholy terms. Not surprising is that this overall “etiquette” on our roads is on the rise. Too many cars. Not enough roads. Levels of speed are up. More and more motorists cut each other off. Check out the words kama, krodha and lobha in the scriptures and where these traits le

By Krsnanandini devi dasi

Picture this: Srimati devi comes home from school one afternoon so quietly that her mother senses a problem. “Srimati”, she calls, “Are you okay? How was your day?”, When she doesn’t hear a response, Sudevi, Srimati’s mata goes to the ten year old’s bedroom, takes one glance at her daughter’s tearful face and hugs her. “Mata, today some of the children in my class said I was crazy because I don’t eat meat. One girl put a meat sandwich in my face and I pushed her away f

“They [the masses] must have their illusions at all costs; they turn instinctively, as the insect seeks the light, to the rhetoricians who accord them what they want. No truth, but error has always been the chief factor in the evolution of nations…. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduces them.” (Gustave Le Bon, 1995: 132).

The advent of ‘modernity’ saw the eradication of the ancien regime

I received an email from someone who wanted to hear about my struggles as a devotee and how I have gotten through them, since he finds himself struggling with his chanting and feeling allured by the material world. Though I think most of the readers here are seasoned devotees, I thought I would share this in the hope that someone might find it useful, even though these are basic understandings.

Any physical life is a long journey, and so is cultivating a life of devotion. Lord Chaitanya has com

ISKCON Gurugram Temple near Badshahpur, on Sohna Road, hosted their inauguration this weekend. The grand ceremony took place from 26th to 27th November. Haryana Governor, Sri Bandaru Dattatreya, was present as the Chief Guest at the event. As well as many ISKCON GBC leaders such as Gopal Krishna Goswami, and Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami.

Rain had dominated the sky; not a major wash out, but a pleasantly quiet, meditative send-down of moisture. Umbrellas become popular on such days. I put mine to good use with small errands in the downtown area of T.O., which is where I actually live.

But for the evening I was destined for the suburbs, to Mississauga to be specific. To get there, the plan was to take the subway train. As I entered the east-west line of the subway at St.George Street, I was met by a TTC (Toronto Transit Commissio

The Lord’s mercy comes in many forms and the story behind Odana Sashti is one amongst many to tell.

On November 29th we will have the festival of Odana Sashti is one that marks the beginning of winter. During the Odana-sasthi festival the devotees dress Lord Jagannatha and Balarama with starched cloth. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to the Lord. That covering is directly purchased from a weaver, and freshly purchased cloth is usually starch

By Ekachakra Prana Dasa 

The Prabhupada Marathon has inspired book distribution throughout ISKCON since 1972. Now it is being celebrated as the Live to Give campaign. 

This year our global team has set an unprecedented goal to distribute at least three million Bhagavad-gitas between September 11th and January 7th, 2023. Last year we distributed 2,805,444, smashing the goal of 2.2 million.

Vaisesika Prabhu said, “The purpose of the campaign is to carry on the work of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a

Imagine for a moment that all the cars in Vrndavana are replaced by cows. The Parikrama path would no longer be a road, but it would a nice soft sandy path like it used to be before. A Vrndavana filled not with vehicles but with cows. Bullock carts would become the natural means of transport. And in this way, the whole society becomes centered around the cows. Not only the Vaisya community, but obviously all the other various ashramas are also depending on the cows. Without ghee, there would be

By Giriraj Swami 

Last night I was blessed to visit with my dear godbrother His Holiness Partha Sarathi Das Goswami at his residence at Govardhana. Upon my arrival, he graciously greeted me with the verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.10)

bhavad-vidha bhagavatas
  tirtha-bhutaù svayam vibho
tirthi-kurvanti tirthani
  svantah-sthena gadabhrta

“My Lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all plac