From Canto 11 of the book, Bhagavatam, I spoke on the Chapter ‘Aila Gita’, which details the teachings and realizations coming to an affluent king, Pururava. Oh, how in love he was with his lady, Urvasi, a heavenly beauty! At one point in the relationship, deciding to terminate it all, Urvasi left him, and the separation for him was too much. Time lapsed and he realized just how attached he was to this world and to his body, a mass of marrow, bones, sinew, blood, etc. "This body," he reflec
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The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is very happy to announce the release of a new website, www.bbt.info, your ultimate guide for all things BBT. Visit this website to learn more about BBT, its mission, organization, and governance, the unique relationship between BBT and ISKCON, and more.
Other key highlights from this website:
1. BBT Global’s Financial Statements, as well as more information about BBT Grants.
2. BBT Affiliates with information about BBT Media—the reliable source for BBT ebooks and a
The Ministry of Education invites devotees to a symposium designed to bring together the many ISKCON-members involved in Education:
"Dear ISKCON educator and leader,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
We are delighted to inform you that the ISKCON Ministry of Education, will be hosting its 2nd Annual International Symposium of Education “Viplavah 2020” on February 21st & 22nd, 2020, at ILS Venue in Sridham Mayapur.
We were very encouraged by the huge numbe
I sat in seat 16 F, on an Air Canada flight—en route to Washington’s Dulles Airport—which was slightly delayed, and outside my window was the right wing of the plane. It was ever so inviting to walk that wing had the window been open. The aircraft stood there so long, and I felt rather crammed in the seat with no motion happening. A deterrent to walking the wing was the fact that it was just de-iced. Imagine the slippery nature of that dynamic; It might be the only meaningful stepping for
I was distributing in Byron Bay, Australia. When I approached a man, he asked, “Do you remember me?”
“No, sorry, I don’t.”
“Three years ago, you gave me the Bhagavad-gita, and I gave you a donation.
I thought it might help me through my troubled times. I had lost my business and my family, so I was drinking a lot. Basically I wanted to drink myself to death. Miserable.
“I would drink and then read a few words from the Gita. Then I would drink more, then would read more. This went on for quite a
HG Satyasena prabhu ACBSP left the mortal world yesterday evening in Belgaum (India). By Krishna’s mercy, just before leaving the body, he was in the temple – all good, chanting, listening class and all of a sudden he left!
He left his body in Uttarayan (Makar Sankranti was just the day before yesterday) in the temple – while chanting, listening katha in the association of devotees, his family was there, HH Bhakti RasamritaSwami was also there – so surely he has gone back to his eternal service
1. Study Sanskrit Pronunciation Guide and learn how all the letters are pronounced and what consonants and the long and short vowels are.
2. Read the English translation of a memorable verse and become familiar with it.
3. Study word-for-word meanings for the first line of verse.
4. Determine the meter of the first line of the verse (more below).
5. Chant the first line of the verse repeatedly until memorized, always keeping the meaning of each word in mind.
6. Proceed to the second line, then
By Damodarleela dasa and Arjuna Krishna dasa
Recently the Maharashtra Padayatra was at Koregaon in the Sangli district, a village enriched with devotees. Cintamani devi dasi, the daughter of a brother of Lokanath Maharaja, stays here and as part of a Vaishnava family she naturally follows the same spiritual path. Her son, Caitanya dasa, who studies in gurukul, was also at home to welcome padayatra and he sang and performed kirtan with us. They have a combined family, a rarity nowadays, and all
To assist the vision of Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee to develop spiritual tourism in the Ganga Sagar belt, ISKCON is ready to launch a permanent, semi-mechanized, modern and compact kitchen, which will be capable to prepare up to 10,000 meal per day at the Sagar Island, West Bengal, India, during the Ganga Sagar Mela in 2020. ISKCON’s management hopes this initiative will be helpful to serve the pilgrims and devotees by fulfilling their prolonged demand to have an adequate prasadam faciliIt was at Tyendinaga, in Mohawk Territory—where in the summer of 2012, I napped in between the rows of soy beans, and swam in a creek for a break, and where the fish bit Daruka's chest—that Jaya and I had a great breakfast this morning. Yes, indeed, Jay and I stopped at "the Twins’ farm" (as we call it) and took food for fuel.
Graham and Dhyanachandra are identical twins, who used to live in Toronto, and do janitorial services at the Krishna centre. Dhyanachandra is spending the winter in
I had the opportunity to visit Mauritius for a few days along with a few devotees from Goa. I am sharing my experience of being in this small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean for those who haven't had the opportunity to be here. Mauritius is very much like India or more specific, very much like Goa but it is definitely more beautiful than Goa.
THE BLUE ISLAND
One of the most striking feature of this place that really stands out is the colour of the ocean here. The crystal blue, transp
If one has drunk the poison of offending a devotee, one should, with that same mouth, drink the life-giving nectar of sincerely praising (and serving) that devotee. Haridasa Thakura says, “If anyone offends a sadhu in a moment of delusion and madness, he must fall at the sadhu’s feet and bitterly repent; weeping with full contrition, he must beg for forgiveness. He should declare himself a fallen wretch in need of a Vaisnava’s grace. A sadhu is very merciful; his heart will soften and he will e
One of the monks visiting at the Montreal ashram did not wake up at the usual time. I went to him reminding him of the hour.
"It's 6:30 a.m."
"I was thinking to rest a little more," he said.
Not argumentatively, but with a slight firmness, I expressed, "Well, that's eight and a half hours. That's not enough, really?" This chap is actually a good person but just once in a while….
The excuse was: "I woke up in the middle of the night so my sleep got disturbed."
My response was: "I
Are you still wondering if God exists or not? And if you know He exists, are you still not sure who He is and how to find Him? Waste no more time. After many years of in-depth research, the scholars at Vedic schoolsh have given their conclusion for the benefit of all sincere seekers of spiritual perfection. Based on the evidences found in the scriptures they confidently declare that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Later on in this article we will see how they com
By Madhava Smullen
A popular Zoom conference, Wisdom of the Sages, has gone public and become a daily podcast, delivering transformational wisdom, Bhakti-yoga philosophy, and profound stories with fun and energy on Youtube, Instagram and most podcast platforms.
Hosts Raghunnath Cappo and Kaustubha Das have a comfortable chemistry, having both grown up in the New York Hardcore Punk scene of the early 1980s, found Krishna consciousness, and begun living as brahmacharis in 1988.
When Raghunath
“The Supreme Controller loves to be controlled by the love of His great devotees.”
God is defined as the Supreme Being and understood to be the source, master, and controller of everything that be. Thus many people worship Him in reverence and depend on Him for protection. However, even God also sometimes desires to be controlled by someone else. Such a controller can only be His pure devotee, who conquers Him by the power of his or her loving devotional service. Various devotees and poets like
In the introduction to the Srimad Bhagavatam, Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes a very famous verse (SB 1.5.11):
tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api
nāmāny anantasya yaśo ‘ńkitāni yat
śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ
This is the verse that speaks about viplavo, a revolution, so that attracts me because I like the revolutionary spirit, the spirit of making changes, something dynamic. Prabhupada is pointing out it is the discussion of Krsna that would bring about the chan
King Sagara performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice to declare his sovereignty over the neighbouring kingdoms. The 60,000 sons of Sagara were following the horse when they saw it enter a cavern where the sage Kapila was meditating. Not seeing the horse, they presumed that Kapila had hidden it.
They did not kill Kapila as he was a sage but they started disturbing his meditation. Annoyed at being disturbed, Kapila, with a curse burnt the 60,000 sons of Sagara. Time passed and later Bhagiratha, the gre
1) Bhagavata Subodhini Canto 8
Author - Gauranga Darshan Das
About the book - ‘Bhagavata Subodhini Canto 8 is the sixth volume of the series, and gives a bird’s eye view of the expanse and the depth of the enchanting episodes in the Eighth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. The Eighth Canto of the Bhagavatam vividly presents the theme of Manvantara or the reign of the Manus. This book presents the amazing activities of Gajendra, Samudra Manthan, Mohini Murti, Lord Siva, Bali Maharaja, Lord Vam
By Binoy Sri Gouranga Das The second most popular mela after Kumbh Mela is the Ganga Sagar Mela. It is India's biggest fair held in Sagardwip, West Bengal, and witnesses a large number of people pouring in. Celebrated with great vigor and enthusiasm, the festival has a cultural and spiritual significance where pilgrims dip themselves in the holy waters of Ganga to purify their souls.
Held during the winters, the Mela is an annual gathering of pilgrims which see a number of rituals, lit lamp
