Blog

Dagdha dahana nyāyaḥ (burning the burnt)

The fire can not burn anymore that what is already
incinerated.

The common sense of this is clear. There is no meaning to perform fruitless work or execute that what already was executed. Yet men attempt this vainly, in a sense getting a quality and permanent happiness from dead matter, which is fruitless work with much labor, or stealing, and imitating the works and ideas of that what has been already done. The best example of this is the existence of this

Once a bunch of Muslim youngsters sat next to me some place in West Bengal. They asked me: "Why did you choose Krishna." I answered: "I did not choose Krishna. He chose me." This prompt response left them speechless.

​

The meaning of it is that even we like God, spiritual world, and everything, still it is up to Him how near and who will He allow into His company.

(from https://www.kasyadas.com/qestions-answers)

I was working in the Soviet army. I spend quite some years also in the Afghanistan war. It was such a nasty experience that I wanted to orient myself to a more peaceful atmosphere. So I joined the Moscow Institute that trained KGB staff. Of course it is not publicly known to be in that function. I chose the justice line, for to become some spy in the foreign countries did not fit with my mind either.

Once I had a discussion with one of my friends. He was a son of a highly placed KGB man. His fa

By Kalakantha Das

Q & A From Each Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā

1. How do you deal with an impossible situation?

Before just bailing out without thinking about our future or other’s needs, Krishna advises us to first consider the consequences of quitting and carefully look at all options.

2. Do we live on after death?

Our bodies change all the time—baby to kid to teenager to adult to senior—yet we remain the same “I” inside. We remain the same person internally despite our bodies changing externally.

1. When the Wright brothers announced to the world that they were going to make a flying

Srila Prabhupada spoke in an interview in 1968:

“We have got so many branches, they want to hear me, my singing, my speech, therefore they record it and send it to different branches.” 

Interview – February 1, 1968, Los Angeles

In June of 2019, the Bhaktivedanta Archives completed the release of all of Srila Prabhupada’s audio files. It is now confirmed, there are over 2,400 hours of audio in 3,804 files to be listened to attentively. This is a great victory for his devotees!

Indeed, the devo

Andha go lāṅgūla nyāyaḥ (blind holding bull's tail)

A blind man wanted to go from his village to a neighbouring city. He met a barber, who was fond of practical jokes. The barber suggested the blind man that he will find him an able guide. Afterwards he took him to a field, where bullock was grazing, and let him catch his tail. He told the blind: “Here is a good guide for you, Don't let him go whatever happens.” Bull recognized that some stranger has grasped his tail. Started to run. Instead of g

Ratha Yatra is a festival of ecstasy because Lord Caitanya knew very well that Krsna cannot be happy outside of Vrndavana. Vrndavana is the place where He belongs! Vrndavana is the place where everything is designed for Krsna, and therefore Krsna can only be happy in Vrndavana. So Krsna had to be brought back to Vrndavana.

How could Krsna be in Dwarka? That is not the place where Krsna is at home. In Dwarka, Krsna is in separation. In Dwarka, Krsna can never be satisfied. Dwarka is so opulent t

श्री ईशोपनिषद् (हिंदी)-.pdf

From Back to Godhead

Through the ages Western man has alternately
pondered or ignored death, the most
persistent yet least understood fact of our existence.

In the year A.D. 138, the great Roman emperor Hadrian lay dying in a villa overlooking the Bay of Naples. For many years he had been the mighty ruler of the Western world, governing an empire that stretched for thousands of miles. In the course of his eventful life as soldier/statesman, he encountered diverse peoples of many customs and fai

16 years ago, after graduating from UCL with a management degree, I opted to leave it aside and embrace monastic life instead. Ironically, it’s all come full circle; dealing with people, projects and practicalities is a sizable section on the modern monastic menu. I must have some management karma to burn off. Balancing spiritual immersion and practical politics, however, is incredibly challenging.

You have to be alert, streetwise, tuned in, and sensitive enough to deal with the complexities an

Pravin Wakle Prabhu and his team of young Youth Forum devotees at ISKCON Chowpatty very enthusiastically distribute books after work. Pravin works at a software firm in Lower Parel. After work he and his devotee friends put up stalls at either D-mart or at some spiritual event happening around the Thane / New Mumbai area.
Here’s one of the heart-warming experiences he told us about.

On a Sunday we were in Juinagar distributing books near a pandal put up on the occasion of a major spiritual disc

After graduating from high school in 1966, my friend and I went to the Village in New York City to check out the scene. While there, we heard a, ‘ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching’ and turned around. Looking through the intense heat waves we saw, in double file, a group of somebodies or somethings in saffron orange clothes, singing, playing instruments, and floating down the hot sidewalk. I turned to my friend and said, “New York sure is a weird place. Let’s get out of here!” She and I c

How often you shout at your friends not to tag you on Facebook photos?
Did you ever had thoughts of wearing burka?
Did you ever fasted to loose weight & then after 1-2 days because of hunger ate whole fridge then sat & wept?
If you practice spirituality, did ever your yearning for God increase seeing a fresh line on your face?
Or did you once went out with your beloved. You both enjoyed & captured lots of photos. Both of you were so happy. But the next day you saw your photos to remember the pr

By Jagat Sakshi dasa

Former Minister of foreign affairs Sri Sushma Swaraj ji is no more among us.
May Lord Krishna grant His mercy to this soul. In 1998, Sushma Swaraj ji inaugurated our ISKCON Delhi Temple with the then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji.
Iskcon will always remember the work she did. He helped Moscow temple and Geeta as well. She behaved with great humility and she used to be interested in learning about the spreading of ISKCON.
Condolences: 
We pray at the Lotus feet

Bhismadeva was lying on a bed of arrows. I do not know if you ever had any injuries, but if you did, then usually you call the ambulance and that is it; off you go to the hospital. One arrow is enough. You can tell that one arrow or one bullet will do. But hundreds of them is far too intense! But somehow, Bhismadeva was lying on this bed of arrows, and he was totally self-contained. He was not overwhelmed whatsoever. He was able to do this not just by sheer willpower, but by not identifying wit