By Madhava Smullen
In a model similar to that of Gainesville’s Krishna House, thirty-five students from local universities are currently living and developing their spiritual lives at the Hare Krishna Training Centre (HKTC) in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Meanwhile 10 to 15 each are staying at satellite centers in nearby Eldoret and Juja, while many more attend on a daily basis.
So far the HKTC has connected around 400 students with Krishna consciousness and helped them build character g
“Are you a Christian monk?” is what I heard when sauntering on Cumberland St. I turned around and stopped to see four young men looking wholesome and fairly clean cut.
I responded with, “A Krishna monk!”
“Oh! Hindu!” said one of the fellows.
“That’s the kind of little box theologians like to put our group in, but in truth we represent an ancient wisdom that dates to thousands of years. I was born and raised Christian but I added onto my life more information and ways of an enhanced experience.”
Srila Prabhupada – “So everyone can know that independence means one can use it properly, or one can misuse it. That is independence. If you make it one way only, that is not independence, that is force.” (Los Angeles, June 23, 1975)
Srila Prabhupada – “You have got little independence therefore you can violate. Because you are part and parcel of God you have got independence, proportionately, therefore if he likes he can return. That independence has to be accepted, little independence. We CAN m
I took a stroll to Yorkville where cafes are cool and people are too. For me it’s always interesting to see people’s reactions to some monk gliding through at an early night hour. The place is pretty harmless.
Two young men were passing in front of me. One looked back and spotted me. He touched the waist of his buddy and mildly moved him out of the way. He turned around and immediately got out of the way. “Make way for the monk.”
I passed by a man and his companion dog and said to his pet, “Now
The weather these days could not be better. Though we were met by an exhilarating storm overnight, replete with lightning, thunder, wind and rain. Thankfully the storm settled down by the moment Krishna Chandra and I took to a stroll before dawn. We found an atmosphere of peace. The calm was incredible. Bushes, flowers, plants and trees were happy. They had a good bath. They were shining in a kind of splendour as the light reflected from city lampposts. It was indeed a wet look and most beautif
In his Discourse on Sanskrit and Its Literature, given at the College of France, Professor Bournouf states, “We will study India with its philosophy and its myths, its literature, its laws and its language. Nay it is more than India, it is a page of the origin of the world that we will attempt to decipher.”
In History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature , Max Mueller observed, “In the Rig-veda we shall have before us more real antiquity than in all the inscriptions of Egypt or Ninevah. . the Veda is
Lessons about the Inner World & Social Psychology
A Frequent Flyer devotee recently expressed to me his liking of one particular airline for the broad choice of good movies and rock music they offer. He meant what he said, and I wondered: “Is he aware of his compromised standard and honestly confessing, or is he denying his weakness and making light of the ideal which we aspire for?” I know many devotees who are stricter and who earnestly attempt to internalize a more elevated ideal. As a resul
Somehow, we are struggling to surrender in this movement. And in the end, for our half-baked surrender which was there anyway, we get glorified for it. Who can say that they have surrendered out of pure love for Krsna? I was a pujari for three months and I fell asleep during the pujas. I kept nodding off. I was not a very good pujari at all. I was doing it mechanically, it was completely clear to me. I had no feeling there. I was just waving the lamp and falling asleep during an aarti.
However,
there's nothing in the world so sweet
as Krishna's early childhood play
please hear this transcendental treat
and let it take your heart away
intended to invoke our love
and leave our sorrows far behind
inviting us to rise above
the plane of our conditioned mind
when Krishna was a little child
He was a naughty cowherd boy
He liked to play and always smiled
to spread around His bliss and joy
surrendered to His mother's care
Yasoda Mata was her name
He happily engaged to share
His glory and His widespread fame
pa
a stunning case of faith and glory
revealed within this nice ballade
presenting you the wondrous story
about the little boy Prahlada
a noble and enlightened soul
of great appeal and little needs
devoted to his only goal
to please the Lord in all his deeds
his evil and nefarious father
the dire Hiranyakasipu
was geared to give him so much bother
and even tried to kill him too
he harshly ruled the universe
and filled each tender heart with fright
his presence was an outright curse
that turned each day into a nig
he came across the ocean with a superhuman mission
to liberate the people from this world of hollow dreams
establishing the culture of a genuine tradition
he sacrificed his livelihood and went to great extremes
with unsurpassed devotion and determined to succeed
he patiently endured the many troubles on his way
presenting holy scriptures and to teach us what we need
reminding us of Krishna in whatever he would say
his generous endeavor was a truly matchless gift
an act of real compassion just to save the
What qualifies a person to obtain the rare gift of a life of devotional service to the Lord?
“Ajñata-sukriti means doing pious activities without knowledge. So we give everyone a chance to act very piously without his knowledge. This is the Krishna consciousness movement.” (Srila Prabhupada conversation with Bob Cohen, February 1972, Mayapur)
It’s usually better to do something in knowledge than in ignorance. Bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is no exception. But everyone, in every field of e
By Mathura Lilesvari Devi Dasi
After almost two years of planning, the Bhakti Yoga Center opens in Downtown State College, a bustling college town about an hour away from ISKCON Gita Nagari in Pennsylvania, USA. Situated right opposite the main campus of Penn State University, the center offers a full yoga experience and is hoping to build a yoga and wellness community focusing on introducing the art of bhakti yoga practice to seekers. The Center is registered as ISKCON Centre County and is a no
The marginal living entities or jiva-souls are NOT called tatastha-sakti in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana as Prabhupada explains-
Srila Prabhupada - "So this material world is the "taṭastha" (conditioned characteristics), and the Spiritual Worlds are the "Personal" (Vaikuntha) characteristics" (New York City, December 28, 1966)
The word "tatastha-sakti" refers to the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) in their FALLEN conditioned state in both the material creation and when dormant in the (impe
Video: Click here
The richness and depth of Vedic scriptural tradition challenges and invites us to comprehend and realize our higher self in relation to the Supreme Self. In this interview, we will explore some important features of this process together with a longtime student of Vedic tradition and practitioner of bhakti-yoga.
Hermeneutics is the branch of theology which deals with interpretation. It discusses methods of interpretation with the aim of uncovering the intended meaning of the t
Tamal Krishna Goswami was such a brilliant person. He had a sharp brain and he was just such a general. He just knew what was the right thing to do and he was a leader in this way. He could just point and say, “Well I looked at all the options and clearly this is the way.” And everyone would say, “Yes, that makes sense.” So he was just so amazing in that way and pretty brilliant. Tamal Krishna Goswami was such a powerful man that he was Prabhupada’s man to develop things and do the impossible.
People are actually hankering after this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement because it is the natural function of the living entity. It is not artificial. The very, I mean to, vivid example are yourselves. Your contact with me is, utmost, for the last two years, but still, you are taking very serious interest in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Why? Because it is the fundamental necessity. Ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Every living entity is by nature joyful, spiritually, and because
Having "free will" is the constitutional make up of all marginal living entities (jiva-souls) that is ALWAYS part and parcel within their eternal character and personality in the Spiritual Worlds.
This means the jiva-souls can even choose to leave the Vaikuntha Planets or Goloka-Vrindavana if they want, this is also what free will allows and if it didn't, then they have no free will.
This is why it is foolish that big, big sannyasi and gurus claim once entering the Spiritual Worlds the jiva-souls
I get so much joy from being with the group of Ukrainian/Russian bhakti yogis. Today was about a year ago when Igor opened up his backyard to a host of us for the regular “devotee thing” — chanting, philosophizing, dancing, eating blessed food, etc. This group shows a lot of love and they were most enthusiastic to listen to the topic of “The Ills of Gossip.” It’s subject that resonates with most people. The consensus of people in general is that rumor mongering is one of the worst practices.
Wh
By Madhava Smullen
A new ISKCON Youth Ministry initiative, loosely based on the Mormon Mission trips and dubbed “The Krishna Conscious Gap Year Experience,” was endorsed by the GBC Executive Committee in a March 2021 letter to ISKCON leaders. Now, various international temples are piloting the program.
“The idea is to create incentives for our young people to spend a semester – three, six, or nine months – or an entire gap year, living at a temple,” says ISKCON Youth Minister Manorama Das. “Th
