The other day I had to make a long train journey to Manchester, some three hours north of London, so I took the opportunity to read Navadwipa Mahatmya by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura. In this book, which is an account of Nityananda Prabhu taking Jiva Goswami on a pilgrimage around the holy land of Navadwipa, Bhaktivinode Thakura describes the simultaneous oneness and difference of Sri Vrindavan Dhama and Sri Navadwipa Dhama. In Vrindavan Krsna dances with the gopis, and in Navadwipa, the holy pla
Devotee: Hiraṇyākṣa was taking the gold from the earth. Now they are taking the oil. So the weight, the oil makes weight in some parts of the globe, no? So when they take it and they put it some place else or they convert it in the earth, the earth is losing weights in some parts. That is no going to cause…
Prabhupāda: I think I have explained this. Instead of contemplating what will happen to this world, you have got a short duration of life, say fifty, sixty years. You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and go
Once a man was chased by an elephant in a forest. Seeing no respite, he climbed a tree but he slipped, was about to fall before he could hold on to a branch. He looked up and found that the elephant is waiting to devour him and two rats, one black and one white, were slowly nibbling the branch he was hanging on to. He understood that very soon the branch would fall to the ground.
As the man looked down, he discovered that there were many snakes. Suddenly a drop of honey fell on his face. He pull
From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 11:
“In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa there is the following statement about self-surrender: ‘My dear Lord, a person who has surrendered himself unto You, who is in firm conviction that he is Yours, and who actually acts in that way by his body, mind and words, can actually relish transcendental bliss.’”
“In the Nrsimha Purana, Lord Nrsimha-deva says, ‘Anyone who prays unto Me and takes shelter from Me becomes My ward, and I protect him always from all sorts of cal
Pressman: Do you know how many followers there are in the United States now?
Prabhupāda: Unlimited. (devotees roar) Some of them admit and some of them do not admit. That’s all. (laughter) Everyone is eternally servant of God, but some of them admit and some of them do not admit. That is the difficulty. But anyone who does not admit, he is servant of somebody. That is a fact. He cannot be master. Everyone is servant. But one who knows that “I am servant of Kṛṣṇa,” his life is perfect. That’s al
Based on a story from Canto 11 of the Bhagavatam, I have this literary piece to offer the readers:
Twenty-four Gurus
A monk had come to visit a king in his royal town
And the king asked the monk why he wanders around
“You are wise, wonderful, and ever so competent
What is it that molded you to be ever so confident?”
The monk replied, “Your majesty, nature sent me twenty-four gurus
Each one taught me a lesson, so they became my truths
If you have the time, I’ll reveal my meaningful list
Fo
I signed up with my daughter for a Mother’s Day yoga class in the park about 12 years ago. Being a beautiful crisp Autumn morning, we thought this would be a relaxing way to start our Sunday.
A girl named Ambarissa led the most peaceful class I had ever attended. I think that the kirtan at the end made it even more special. After meeting this girl just once, she invited us to a home kirtan, to have dinner and meet other like-minded people. Usually, I would be more likely to shy away from this ki
We want to use this opportunity to warmly invite you for this year Nityananda Trayodasi celebration which falls on the 14th of February 2022. With pleasure we want to invite you and your family to participate in this festival and receive the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. We hope you will join us in serving Lord Nityananda Prabhu with your time, energy, and donations.
Sri Nityananda Trayodashi is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna appeared in N
When first learning of bhakti-yoga and exploring the meaning, I asked a lot of questions. One answer came to me without the need to ask any question. My mentor advised me to offer everything in service to Krishna, in a mood of devotion. This she explained, is the way back to remembering our love for Krishna and going home to Godhead.
Srila Prabhupada Conversation.
The following conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and a guest took place in September 1968 at the Seattle Krsna center.
Guest: Can you explain subordination?
Srila Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada: Subordination? Yes, it is simple. Everyone must be subordinate to somebody else. Are you not subordinate to somebody?
Guest: Yes, in a material sense. But in the spiritual sense, I don’t feel subordinate to anyone.
Srila Prabhupada: When
The Sanskrit language is rich in words to communicate ideas about spiritual life, yoga, and God-realization.
Aham brahmasmi. This is an aphorism from the Vedic literature, expressing the essential identity of each living being. Aham means “I am.” What am I? Aham brahmasmi: I am Brahman, or spirit.
In materialistic life, one identifies himself with bodily designations thinking, “I am American” or “I am English,” “I am black” or “I am white.” One has to become free from such bodily designations
A few weeks ago I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen for nearly 40 years, way back then he was an old school friend of mine and he had some interesting thoughts on all things Hare Krishna!
He began by letting me know (in colorful language), that at the time he thought I was ‘nut-job fruitcake’ when he heard I had become a Hare Krishna devotee, however now he considers that it was not so strange after all. His logic went something like this – it now seems that half the people he knows are private
By Matt Richtel
“If we become too much attached for getting money, that is the material world. There is no satiation. Idam praptah, that Bhagavad-gita word: ‘I have got so much money, now my bank balance is so much, and I shall get further money and my bank balance will be like this.’ This is the demonic mentality. We shall require money, whatever is absolutely necessary, that much money I must get. That is an order.
“We cannot take more than what is necessary. This is actually spiritual commun
Perhaps it’s the season, winter, that permits sounds to be more crisp and distinct. Whether inside or outside, noises subtle or loud had somehow got my attention today. Thank God for noise, sweet or sour.
Practically every hour the train just north of our temple/ashram shakes the window panes ever so lightly and with its companion is the gritty noise of its wheels gripping against the tracks.
You’d be lucky to hear the choo-choo whistle. While I sat, momentarily at a bench near those tracks, I
Jai Shree Radhekrishna 🙏🌼🌼
Hari bol 🙏🌼🌼
Prabhupāda: Everyone who will commit sinful activities will be punished. That is nature’s law. Exactly like that if you infect some disease, you must suffer from that disease. The nature’s law is so strict, and it is going on. It doesn’t require any supervision. The supervisions are already made so perfect. You infect this disease: you suffer from it. That’s all.
Devotee: In… in the society, if somebody would be…
Prabhupāda: Anywhere, if you break the laws, you suffer. Anywhere.
Devotee (2): P
“So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). This is Sanskrit word. It is meaning that ‘This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra will cleanse your heart.’ Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. So as soon as the heart is cleansed, then all our material problems are solved. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni, the Sanskrit word, means that 'This material world is just like a forest fire.’ So forest fire… I think all of you must have got some knowledge
Many people haven't given much thought to the question of whether there is life after death, and many even prefer to ignore death. Still, we all must die. Like a tiger, death stalks each of us. Sooner or later it will strike.
So what happens after death? In the West there has been much speculation about reincarnation, the existence of repeated personal lives. Plato, Emerson, Thoreau, Jung, Schrodinger, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Ford all believed in reincarnation, and their idea
By Acarya dasa, All-India Padayatra leader
We padayatris were in Vraja-mandala parikrama from October 20 onwards while our Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar’s chariot remained parked in the courtyard of the Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram temple. Our oxen were on vacation at the Bhaktivedanta goshala and having completed parikrama we were then staying in Vrindavan dhama. I regularly visited the oxen at the goshala and they were all in good condition. One day I suddenly got the news that Vitthala had left his bo
