Blog

By Giriraj Swami

To honor Sri Advaita Acharya’s appearance day, we present Srila Prabhupada’s talk about him in Mayapur on April 6, 1975.

advaitam harinadvaitad
acaryam bhakti-samsanat
bhaktavataram isam tam
advaita acaryam asraye

“Because He is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Lord, He is called Advaita, and because He propagates the cult of devotion, He is called Acarya. He is the Lord and the incarnation of the Lord’s devotee. Therefore I take shelter of Him.” (Cc Adi 1.13)

So, gradually

You can read the British Prime Minister, Mr Rishi Sunak’s message in honour of Bhaktivedanta Manor’s 50th anniversary. (1973 – 2023)

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=105654
 

Start your spiritual journey on a sound footing

Introductory Course

If you have recently come in contact with Krsna Consciousness and wish to understand its philosophy and practice, this course is perfect for you. You will learn about Krsna, Lord Caitanya, Srila Prabhupada and the timeless process of bhakti yoga, the path of devotion. You will clearly understand the goal of Krsna Consciousness. Moreover, you will learn about lifestyle in the mode of goodness.

When facilitating a “Kirtan Standards Workshop” like the one we conducted for thirty or so people, the two themes I like to emphasize are “Prabhupada’s standards” and “inclusiveness”. I have had a good support by others on the past, the likes of Dhruva from Calgary, Rukmini from Toronto, as well as Kevala Bhakti.

What the attendees here in Trinidad gained from this workshop, amongst many benefits, is some clarification on what our acharyas or teachers in our lineage have preferred in the way o

Shri Mukunda Dasa, Shri Madhava Dasa and Shri Narahari Sarakara Thakura were three brothers who lived in Shri Khanda. Shri Mukunda Dasa Thakura’s son was Shri Raghunandan Thakura.

Shri Raghunandana Thakura made his appearance within this world in Shri Khanda. In his home, he became acquainted with the worship of Shri Gopinatha from an early age. One day his father, Mukunda Dasa, who was a doctor, had to go away on medical business.

He called Raghunandana to his side. He told Raghunandana to see

My roomates know that I practice krishna consciousness, and being non devotees they try very hard that I get angry or that I get irritated, but I resist them somehow and restrain myself. But lately I get very violent thoughts. Today after 4 months I finally got a little irritated at them and showed it. They got happy that I got irritated. Now I feel very guilty and feel that my sadhana has reduced to such a level that I get irritated by measly things. What should I do? Please help me.

“Now, how am I going to scale that formidable gate? It looks like someone forgot to leave me a key for that safety lock that I see before me.” These were my thoughts. I gave a sight push to the gate, but nothing was budging. I wanted to make it on time for 4:30 am meditations at the temple.

Okay! I surrender. I did the climb and that seven foot gate was kind to me afterall.

Then I hit the road, or rather, the moon crater terrain. The roads are so bad here. Locals say it’s because huge trucks ar

Whenever I meet any of my friend’s mothers, I usually address them as “aunty” out of due respect. I have been told by many of them to not call them aunty, as they feel old when I address them in that manner. I have been requested many times to just address them by their name. For example “don’t say lata aunty”, instead say “just lata”. I feel this to be very odd, because it is our custom to address anyone elder to us with respect and calling someone just by their name isn’t respectful. Along wi

By Dayal Gopal dasa, Nepal Padayatra leader

The Nepal Padayatra restarted in the Jhapa district in southeast Nepal on November 17, 2022, following a gap of two months while the padayatris went on Vraja-mandala Parikrama.

Our first stop was at Kerkha village near the Kamala River. A family in the village welcomed us and arranged for our accommodation and prasadam at a Shiva temple. We performed nagar sankirtan in Kerkha and had a house programme at the family’s residence. The next day as we were

In the span of fifteen days, graffiti and vandalismhavebeen daubed on three Hindu temples in Melbourne, Australia.  The attacks have taken place at BAPS, Shri Shiva Vishnu, and ISKCON temples. The Hindu community feels devasted by such vandalism and frustrated with the authorities. The Australia Today’s Editor-in-chief Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj reporting live from ISKCON Temple in Melbourne.

Video source: The Australia Today   

Source: https://iskconnews.org/third-temple-vandalized-in-australia/

I am very encouraged by the crew we have to help me in my services to guru and God. Cooperation, humility, good listening, good advising, good intelligence are some of the ingredients that make our product. The main ingredient is bhakti. It is that agent that causes ‘the cake to rise’ or our consciousness to rise.

Our product or project is our production. Drama. Theatre. Teatro. A play called Big Fish Little Fish!

Not only are we experiencing the blossoming of talent, but intelligence as well.

A few days ago, while doing some writing at the University of Florida library, I took a break to chant my midday Gayatri, and as I looked out from the 4th floor over the Plaza of the Americas, I felt Srila Prabhupada’s presence very strongly. I could almost visualize him walking down the path between the library and the old chapel (now auditorium).

That’s when I realized that the UF campus is a holy place of pilgrimage! Srila Prabhupada actually did walk in that very place in June 1971 and gave

Ugrasrava is one of the most senior devotees of the Australian Yatra. He tells the story of the Wrangler ad.
Written by Aprakrita dasa
Ugrasrava: I had friends in the advertising industry, and one day they came to the temple and said, “The Wrangler Jeans Company wants us to advertise their product and we have the idea to use the Hare Krishnas’ in a sankirtan party – playing mridangas and kartals, wearing dhotis and full tilak, coming down Burk Street. One of the devotees will wear a Wrangler de

In America motherhood is considered old-fashioned. People are ashamed to be mothers. Women are taught to be professionals. Child care is given to other professionals, and thus children miss out on the love of a mother and have so many psychological difficulties. In America, 68% of couples get divorced. Of the parents of my friends I grew up with, my mother and father are the only couple that stayed together.

There is a need for ideal mothers, ideal fathers, ideal brahmacaris, ideal sannyasis, e

सीतानाथ समारम्भां रामानन्दार्य मध्यमाम्।
अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्तां वन्दे श्रीगुरू परम्पराम् ।।

Get clear view of Shlokā;

आत्मानं मानुषं मन्ये रामं दशरथात्मजम् || (६-११७-११)

Many of us some times get easily confused with this shlokā, as we think the word maanuSham here means human. But this is not true, earlier I have already explained it and you guys have given a very good response in that but this time let's see same Shlokā with a quite different meaning.

The actual meaning of Manushya is successors of

New Vrindaban’s outdoor Gaura Nitai deities are being carefully restored thanks to our generous donors
Restoration of the prominent and iconic Gaura Nitai deities began at New Vrindaban in the spring of 2022, led by Balaramshakti das and others. In October, Rukmavati devi dasi took over the project, starting with a surgical pressure washing to clean their surfaces and continue the painstaking process of removing old paint.
The giant deities were designed and created by a team of devotees, inclu

सीतानाथ समारम्भां रामानन्दार्य मध्यमाम्।
अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्तां वन्दे श्रीगुरू परम्पराम् ।।

Śrī Sītānavamī

॥ ॐ श्रीं सीतायै नमः ॥

उद्भवस्थितिसंहारकारिणीं क्लेशहारिणीम्‌।
सर्वश्रेयस्करीं सीतां नतोऽहं रामवल्लभाम्‌॥

(Ved Saar Śrīmad Rāmcharit Manas, Balkānd 5th Shlokā)

udbhava-sthiti-saṃhāra-kāriṇīṃ klēśa-hāriṇīm‌ ।
sarva-śrēyaskarīṃ sītāṃ natō'haṃ rāma-vallabhām ‌॥

“I bow to Sita, the beloved consort of Shri Rama, who is responsible for the creation, sustenance and dissolution (of the universe), removes af

Purushöttamā Prapattishatkam by Mahārishi Bodhāyan (Purushöttamāchārya)

रामिति बीजवान् नाथ मन्त्रराजो हि तारकः

तं जपामि तब प्रीत्यै पाहि मां पुरुषोत्तम ॥ 1 ॥

राम दोनोऽनुकूलोऽहं विश्वस्तोऽप्रातिकूल्यवान् ।

त्वयि न्यस्यामि चात्मानं पाहि मां पुरुषोत्तम ॥ 2 ॥

मामनाथे स्वशेषं च न्यासितं स्वार्थमेव हि ।

निर्भरं स्वभरत्वेन पाहि मां पुरुषोत्तम ॥3॥

यस्मिन् देहेऽहमानीतः कर्मणा स्वेन राघव ।

तदन्ते देहि सायुज्यं पाहि मां पुरुषोत्तम ॥4॥

न गतिजनकीनाथ! त्वां बिना परमेश्वर ।

परां गति प्रपन्नं त्वां पाहि मां पुरुषोत्

सीतानाथ समारम्भां रामानन्दार्य मध्यमाम्।
अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्तां वन्दे श्रीगुरू परम्पराम् ।।

First get clear that every deity is menifestation of Paratpār Par-Brahmā Śrī Rām as said by Vedas ITSELF, so according to that it's Śrī Rām alone who appears in every form;

एतेषु चैव सर्वेषु तत्त्वं च ब्रह्म तारकम् ।
राम एव परं ब्रह्म राम एव परं तपः ।।
राम एव परं तत्त्वं श्रीरामो ब्रह्म तारकम् ।।
वायुत्रेणोक्तास्ते योगीन्द्रा ऋषयो विष्णुभक्ता हनूमन्तं पप्रच्छुः रामस्याङ्गानि नो ब्रूहीति ।
वायुपुत्रं विघ्नेश