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This Sunday on the Children at Home Show by Gopi Gita Schomaker, we invite Her Grace Vrindavaneshvari Aguilera, a dear disciple and spiritual daughter of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami and the Early Childhood Director of the Bhaktivedanta Academy Gurukula school in Alachua. She shares how her family has been touched by him, and how they navigate the natural grief that arises by his departure.
 

We are not at length going to study the Mayavada philosophy or the Buddhist philosophy because they are very extensive and academic philosophy. The Mayavada philosophy is basically appealing to the very root cause of the living entity being in the material world, namely the competitive spirit in relationship with the Supreme Lord, where the living entity wants to be the enjoyer and the controller, and this, in turn, causes lust and envy.  So it is said, as we are freeing ourselves from the maya

Dear Giriraj Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Here is a story that I would like to share with you—an experience with Srila Prabhupada in Germany in 1974. At that time I was in charge of managing the festival of Srila Prabhupada’s stay in Schloss Rettershof. For organizing all the devotees, I used a magnetic board with all the names of the devotees on magnetic nametag holders. So, while I was in my office managing the temple, all of a sudden I felt t

Judging by the amount of people in cafés and outdoor bars, things are opening up. At least that’s what Jivan Mukta, my walking companion for tonight, and I were observing. The problem with one, or two or more drinks is that you leave your guard down, and then social distancing can easily turn into social mingling. It looks like you could call it “opening up for trouble.” Oh well, I’m glad I don’t drink. I can’t, I’m a monk. Drinking toxins is a major taboo for us on the bhakti-yoga path. Drinkin

Sanjit and I decided to take a night walk going north to the Yonge and Davisville area, where walkers, runners and cyclists know the Beltline only too well. It was a former railway track and is now a trail used voraciously by feet and wheels—of a gentler kind. I mean to say no motorists here. The Beltline is characterized by a generous tree line on both sides, which is so much needed for a city like Toronto. I imagine many deer roamed here centuries ago. Not anymore.

I relayed to Sanjit that som

If Parikshit maharaja had killed Kali instead of forgiving him, we wouldn’t be suffering the effects of Kali now.’ Isn’t this a sensible argument? Let’s analyze…

Problems in Kali yuga:

Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali yugas with their respective symptoms are described in Srimad Bhagavatam in several places (11.5.19-32, 12.2.1-16). These ages are names as Golden age, Silver age, Copper age and Iron Age (1.1.21purport). This shows that the human beings who were provided an opportunity to purify the

The photo of Srila Prabhupada eating Sugar cane was taken in the first preaching center in Hawaii in an area named Kaaawa in March of 1969. It was Srila Prabhupada’s first visit to Hawaii and Govinda Dasi had arranged many preaching programs. We had borrowed Vamanadadev’s car and driven Srila Prabhupada into town(Honolulu) to KPOI radio station where Srila Prabhupada was going to be interviewed and talk about the chanting of Hare Krsna. Goursundar drove and Govinda dasi sat in the back seat behi

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About Guru Prasad Swami

Guru Prasad Swami was born in the USA and studied nuclear physics at Purdue University. After becoming disenchanted with science he transferred to the University of Texas where he made contact with the Hare Krishna movement; but it was later, during his military service in Panama when this encounter with ISKCON changed his life dramatically.
Upon concluding his military service Guru Prasad Swami joined a pioneering group of Krishna devote

The material world is dominated by lust. That is what this world is all about; lust somehow or another in so many varieties and forms. The spiritual domain however, is dominated by love.

Lust is self-centred; lust is ultimately asking, “What is in it for me?” Love on the hand is giving, love is aiming to please others. So that is spiritual consciousness, pleasing others. That is the essence of the spiritual world. This mantra that we are chanting, it comes directly from the spiritual world. And

“We have some questions,” asked a curious young couple, modest in appearance and child-like in inquisitiveness, as I sat there in the centre of the park. I slid over on the bench to make room for them.

“What do you believe?” they persisted.

“We follow an ancient way from India called bhakti, it is a form of yoga-devotion.” I replied.

“You’re not a Buddhist?”

“No, we follow Krishna.”

“Christian?”

“No, Krishna, the speaker of the, Bhagavad-gita. Do you both live here in Canada?”

“We just arrived.

We sometimes think of ourselves as being good adjudicators of who is serious in Krishna consciousness, and who is not. Who is pure, or not. Expecting that “More people will leave Krishna consciousness than stay,” we easily become proud of being one of the “privileged few” to remain.

Being of the surprising few and rationalising this way is certainly premature, and signals immediate complacency. The adage, “It is how you finish that counts; not how you start,” usually escapes our attention when

By Achyut Gopal Das

Being born in this world is not easy and being born as a woman is definitely not easy and being a chaste woman and trying to live a principle-centered life is definitely, definitely not easy. The struggles a woman goes through being a wife, raising children and running a family is many times beyond comprehension and very often, overlooked. Running an empire is easier than running a family. But probably the biggest challenge of womanhood is in being understood. Every woman loo

Raccoons can be seen during the day or night, but, like most party animals, they seem to prefer the nocturnal time of a twenty-four hour cycle. On my return journey from Bellevue Square Park, I heard the familiar sound of scratching claws against the bark of hardwood trees. There, at George Street, my eye captured three little guys at the same tree, each on different levels.  

Partying? I guess. Exploring? For sure.

Anyway, I had just come from the park and was personally disgusted with what hum

“Ocean of Mercy: A Search Fulfilled” is His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami’s memoir of his childhood and youth in India, his travels in Europe, his search for a guru back in India, his joining the Krsna consciousness movement in July of 1976, and his intimate service to Srila Prabhupada from then till Prabhupada’s departure in November of 1977. In honor of Bhakti Charu Swami and his greatly inspiring life of devotional service, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is making this book available in pdf form