Don't build your house in shifting sand, build it on a solid rock foundation." - Paraphrased from the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Happy Vasanta Panchami, Vrindavan’s first day of spring, which is the appearance day of Srimati Visnupriya Devi, Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi, Sri Raghunandana Thakura, and Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami; the disappearance day of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. May they shower their mercy upon us all.
Hare Krishna.
jaya jaya sundara nanda-kumāra
saurabha-sańkaṭa-vṛndāvana-vihita-vasanta-vihāra
“O handsome son of Nanda, O Lord who enjoys springtime pastimes in the fragrant forest of Vrndavana, all glories to You! All glories to You!”
- Srila Rupa Goswami
Vasanta Pancami usually takes place during the month of January or February, and marks the first official day of spring. The spring season signifies new life and joy, and Mother Nature shares that jubilation in the form of blossoming flowers and flour
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
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
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
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
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
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
