It is now customary that, while still in the dark just before dawn, I go for a notable stroll with comrades, across the street from the temple, The usual features are there in that modest residential neighbourhood—the potholes in the road, half-built homes, and canines who bark and gather like a bunch of gangsters. They, the gangsters, are not much to worry about. They can be loud. They can come forward to huff and puff, but they are not a match for our bhakti brigade. We are merely walking
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Hare Krishna Vaisnavas!
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I write poems and monthly put them in a chapbook for the pleasure of Guru and Gouranga,
the devotees, and anyone who doesn't know about Krishna, but likes poetry.
A devotee suggested I share with you, and so, for your consideration, here it is =)
our life, in time
later, a stranger
will wear your shirt,
buttoned all the way,
while another leafs
through your favorite book
without liking it.
finally, some
Krsna is so attractive, yet our material desires constantly bounce back up like a ball in water. We push it down, but then it always pops back up. How about that? Krsna will always win in the end because Krsna is the most attractive, however maya also appears to be attractive. Not as attractive as Krsna, but enough to make you think, “Yes, you can have Krsna, but He is far away. But I am here right now. You also have to live now. I mean of course, pure love of God is a beautiful and desirable t
Mosquitoes are something that bother me and very often as an unconscious reflex action and many times as a conscious action, I catch myself killing many of them. This is just one of the many sins and offenses I commit, mentally, verbally and physically. How can I then not expect any reactions for these actions of mine. Why should I pray for a life of no difficulties. Rather, I should be praying to God to give me my quota of reactions so that I learn my lessons quickly and rectify my offensive a
After a good catching-up rest at the Longdenville ISKCON Centre, I, along with a good number of devotees, hopped into another one of those colourful Chariot Fest events in the downtown of nearby Chaguanas. My dear Godbrother, Guru Prasad Swami, and I were whisked into a devotee-owned warehouse and office for quick, simultaneous interviews by two TV stations. Another one followed after our parade.
It was a hot one - both the weather and kirtan. Somehow in Trinidad, overcast conditions had p
By Madhava Smullen
The Bhakti Center in New York City’s Lower East Side has had an impressive 2019, laying the foundation for its community to have an extremely transformative year in 2020.
The Center’s annual report (https://issuu.com/bhakticenter/docs/journeyofselftransformation), released this January, highlights many exciting achievements, led by devotees paying off their mortgage in full to outright own the 25 First Avenue building.
Two major fundraisers in December 2018 and June 2019 he
From Back to Godhead
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was always absorbed in thoughts of Sri Vrindavan, often enquiring in a deep devotional mood, “Where is Vrindavan?” On several occasions, His devotees, fearing separation from Him, diverted, discouraged, or dissuaded Him from visiting Vrindavan.
The Lord’s first attempt to go to Vrindavan occurred shortly after He accepted sannyasa, the renounced order, at age twenty-four. Nityananda Prabhu, His chief associate, tricked Him into thinking that the Ganga,
Here is a recent video of him trying to encourage the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books with a Tulabhara.
Tula means scale and bhara means weight. Traditionally, someone sits on one side of the scale and on the other side rice with shell, coconut, banana, different fruits will be stacked, until it is equal to the weight of the person. Then this bhoga is offered to the Lord. Here it seems that the weight of His Holiness in books will be distributed to lucky souls!!!
Video: http://bit.ly/2R
As I drive up to the Alachua Temple, I take in the beautiful grounds with newly planted trees, fresh flowers, and a well-maintained temple. I enter the Temple, pay my obeisances, gaze at the beautiful forms of our Lords, praying that They bless me and my family throughout the day with Their remembrance. They’re so merciful, exquisitely dressed, and the devotees marvel and discuss Their beauty when the curtains open for Guru Puja. I appreciate the fact that guests are well-received and cultivate
The flight to Port of Spain was early, and got me landed in plenty of time for some fun happenings within the range of devotional yoga. I’m looking forward to the next ten days which will include a quick trip to Tobago. We have been contemplating for years on doing a visit to this touristy island. Also, on the list, is my second journey to Suriname where everyone speaks Dutch.
Google tells me that the first permanent settlement of Europeans in Suriname was established by a group of Briti
I recently read a very inspiring verse on dandavats. It spoke about unity among devotees. It was not only encouraging, as it pleases Krishna, it also gave a benediction to all the devotees who remain united despite differences in the group/society. Unity in diversity. let’s read the verse
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
varaṁ vṛṇīdhvaṁ bhadraṁ vo
yūyaṁ me nṛpa-nandanāḥ
sauhārdenāpṛthag-dharmās
tuṣṭo ’haṁ sauhṛdena vaḥ
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear sons of the King, I am very much pleased
By Madhava Smullen
Two hundred devotees from all over the U.S. are expected to attend “The Living Name Retreat Part 3: The Science of Achieving Full Absorption in the Holy Names of Krishna” from April 9th to 12th in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, and spots are filling up fast.
The retreat will be the only chance to see facilitator and ISKCON guru Sacinandana Swami in North America this year, as he will be canceling all other U.S. engagements, including Sadhu Sanga, to focus on projects in Germ
It is important to always turn to Krsna and remember that Krsna will decide. Krsna has His plan. We can think of a chess board where we are a pawn on the chess board. So as a pawn on the chess board, we can see the squares that are closest to us. Oh, there is a horse coming! We can see that, so then we must watch out. But while there are a few squares around us that we can see, we cannot oversee the whole board. We cannot oversee the whole game. Krsna, however, is the chess player and He can se
I picked up a few sayings which very much resonated with me.
Sayings such as:
“You may not always be called upon to be successful, but you will always be called upon to be trustworthy.” Mother Teresa.
Another very reflective one:
“The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.” Norman Vincent Peale.
I take a special liking to this one:
“You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do.” Henry Ford.
Corrado and I went for
By Madhava Smullen
When the late Sridhar Swami introduced Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to ISKCON in 1995, Serbian-born Akrura Das was intrigued, and began to take leadership training seminars.
Starting a newsletter called Leadership Excellence, which was read by many top leaders of ISKCON, he was further inspired by the leadership books of Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and learned that people need personal coaching as a follow-up to help them apply their leadership training.
Tomorrow is Pancha krosa Parikrama – going on Parikrama by walk in and around Mayapur. We will leave from Srila Prabhupada bhajan kutir on 25th Jan by 5 a.m., taking sankalpa ( spiritual vow) to perform this Parikrama. The Parikrama will proceed through Jagai -Madhai ghat, Ganga nagara, Bharadwaja Tila, entering Simantadwip and visiting Jagannath Mandir at Rajapur. After noon prasada and katha, Parikrama will return back to Mayapur. Senior devotees like HG Jananivas Pr, HG Pankjanghri pr, HH B
I rather surprised myself, on this second consecutive day, with a nighttime walk. Corrado has now moved into the ashram with us, and he and I set a spontaneous faster-than-usual pace. Both times I returned from a spritely trek in the neighbourhood, feeling no joint issues, especially with my knees.
What certainly contributed to the uninterrupted speed was the no-ice factor. We have been running on above-freezing temperatures, and I'm not complaining. Mind you, I am a bit of a sucker for t
"The world will value us as long as we are valid. As soon as we become invalid, the world stops valuing us."
In the epic of Mahabharata, one of the most important and powerful leaders was Bhismadev. As long as he was active, fit and fine, everyone came to him for consultation and dependent on his performance, skill and valour but as soon as he became incapacitated and incapable of performing and delivering results being fatally wounded by the arrows of Arjuna, he sort of became irrelevant. No
Diary of A Traveling Monk
Volume 15, Chapter 9
January 23, 2020
“Fortune in Misfortune”
My dear spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to you!
This letter was originally written as a private offering to you, but these days my life is an open book. Because I act as your representative in all that I do, I want to open my heart and share with you the realizations I have gained while dealing with two of life’s greatest challenges: old age and diseas
The Core of Anger
In 1976 I had my first boil. Beneath my skin emerged a red swollen protrusion about an inch in diameter. The inflamed mound soon had a snowcap as the infection made its way to the top. Eventually it erupted through the skin and the infection came gushing out relieving me of the pain. For the next few days the discharge continued to drain out and the boil receded. I was glad to have it over with until a friend of mine asked me “did you get the core out?” Since I hadn’t gotten t
