The Temptations, a wildly popular Motown singing group, released their biggest hit song in 1965.
The following lyric from that long-forgotten song came to me as I was considering a very important and encouraging principle of bhakti yoga:
“I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.”
One might wonder how there can be sunshine on a cloudy day. (Moreover, one might justifiably ask how this lyric relates to the practice of bhakti!)
I found out.
In San Francisco, the summer months tend to be cloudy because i
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No walking. Being a passenger in a car—yes. From Tampa area, a group of us drove south to Miami. Temperatures are in the high 90s and it's humid. Upon arriving at a rented space on a floor in Coconut Grove, every AC unit and every fan was on, full-blast, to address this northern swami's needs.
The apartment filled up with guests, very quickly, for an evening sangha. My choice excerpt of reading was a passage from Shyamasundar's book, Chasing Rhinos with the Swami. Here is a quote from s
Although little known in the western world, Mount Kailash is one of the most sacred spots on Earth. It is a holy pilgrimage site for people of the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Bon faiths.
For modern day travelers it offers an adventure unparalleled to any other adventure on the planet. In ancient scriptures Mount Kailash has been described as the center of the universe and the abode of Lord Shiva, the greatest of Vaisnavas.
Mount Everest is 8,848 meters in height and its summit has been scaled by
It is said that when it comes to the material energy, Krsna is not directly controlling this energy. He is jagad avyakta murtini (Bhagavad-gita 9.4) – He is the form in this universe who is non-manifest. Yet He is also known to be mayadekshana prakrti suyate sa caracaram (Bhagavad-gita 9.10) – He is still known as the one who is controlling everything! But He controls by His desires and He controls by His energies. Scientists like to discover how the nature works and how there are laws in the u
I had read from the book, Chaitanya Charitamrta,where Nityananda expresses that the body and soul are one, but the prana / atma / the soul is more important. My reading with the follow-up verse and purport was the subject of discussion. Naturally it led to the philosophical conclusion of acintyabedabedatattva: the inconceivable, simultaneous oneness but difference principle. The subsequent discussion among those who sat there, thirty-five or so people, was very interesting.
From that templ
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
One time a few guests came to meet Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada pointing to his disciples told these guests very proudly, "Just see, these boys and girls are so dedicated to this Krishna consciousness movement and me that even if you give them a million dollars, they will not leave me."
One time a few guests came to meet Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada pointing to his disciples told these guests very proudly, "Just see, these boys and girls are so dedicated to this Krishna consciousness movement and me that even if you give them a million dollars, they will not leave me."
The guests were highly impressed with the disciples commitment to Srila Prabhupada
This journey is documented in undated Hindu sacred texts known as the Puranas written a few thousand years ago
One of India's biggest religious festivals, the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, gets under way on Thursday. The festival is unique in that three Hindu gods are taken out of their temples in a colourful procession to meet their devotees. The BBC's Priyanka Pathak explains the legend behind the festival and its significance.
The biggest of these processions takes place in Puri in the eastern
The subject of self-offering to God should be critically analysed and examined. The word 'self' here means all the three bodies ( physical, subtle and casual bodies) of men together with the soul, and offering means surrender. The things over which we exercise our right of proprietorship, to offer them all unreservedly to God is self-offering. This is one of the principal items of surrender to God. It may also be described as an essential item of Devotion. There are four states or phases of surr
Hare Krishna dear devotees,
Let us churn a verse from the nectarean milk of Srimad Bhagavatam on Ekadasi and see if we can get some butter from it!
kañcit kālam athāvātsīt
sat-kṛto devavat sukham
bhrātur jyeṣṭhasya śreyas-kṛt
sarveṣāṁ sukham āvahan
Thus Mahātmā Vidura, being treated just like a godly person by his kinsmen, remained there for a certain period just to rectify the mentality of his eldest brother and in this way bring happiness to all the others.
Thus Mahātmā Vidura:
Bhagav
By H.H. Chandramauli Swami
Question: Sometimes when we come from a different culture were we are trained to accept authority never mind what is the problem with the authority still we have to remain faithful to encourage that person to get his qualification or realize his offences or Krsna will take him away
HH Candramauli Swami: Krsna will take him away. That is usually the case. That happens. There was a situation were the temple presidents wife was not so much trained in devotional life, she wa
TEXT 15
sarira-van-manobhir yat
karma prarabhate narah
nyayyam va viparitam va
pancaite tasya hetavah
karma prarabhate narah
nyayyam va viparitam va
pancaite tasya hetavah
SYNONYMS
sarira—body; vak—speech; manobhih—by the mind; yat—anything; karma—work; prarabhate—begins; narah—a person; nyayyam—right; va—or; viparitam—the opposite; va—or; panca—five; ete—all these; tasya—its; hetavah—causes.
TRANSLATION
Whatever right or wrong action a man performs by body, mind or speech is caused by these five factors.
PURPORT
The words "right" and "wrong" are very significant in this ve
Some time ago I received what I considered to be a very nice compliment right here on Facebook. Someone wrote in a personal message, “I have been reading your posts and comments for the past two weeks and it seems to me that you don’t have a single solitary original thought or idea in your head and that you are completely brainwashed by Swami Bhaktivedanta.” Such praise coming from a complete stranger touched me deeply.
In a lecture given in Vrindavana, October 22, 1972 Srila Prabhupada said …
I delivered three classes, the same as I did yesterday. At the Alachua ISKCON Centre, the class followed by discussion was in regard to a sage by the name of, Markandeya, who meditated, and performed austerities, which invoked the attention of the great Shiva and his wife, Parvati. At their sudden appearance, he executed the most humble of yogicasanasor sitting postures. Basically, he bowed to them and took a humble stance.
Our discussion then led to good behaviour within the Vaishnava cul
By Madhava Smullen
A fire has caused major damage to Govinda’s restaurant at ISKCON of Tucson, Arizona, depriving the community of its income. The temple has also lost power; however no devotees or Deities were harmed.
The fire originated in the neighboring Tire Shop at 7pm on Tuesday July 2nd, and quickly spread to the back of the Govinda’s property. There, it engulfed and completely destroyed the walk-in, food-storage shed, bathrooms, and altar paraphernalia room, where all the temple Deit
I hardly walked. It's too humid. To compensate for the loss, I swam 3 kilometres in one of those fabulous springs that the area is known for. After a lively morning program in Gainesville, one of the members of the facility called "Krishna House," took me to Ichetucknee Springs State Park.
Now, what is so unique about these springs? Here's what a brochure tells me: "Springs are amazing natural phenomenon where vast underground caves and caverns form to hold water. They are the window
"One who has faith in the inconceivable potencies of the Lord has no doubt that God can do anything." - Radhanath Swami, Author and Spiritual leader
The night after the subjugation of the great serpent Kaliya, Lord Krishna and His cowherd friends decided to rest on the banks of the Yamuna river. In the middle of the night, a huge forest fire enveloped them. It appeared that the fire would soon devour all the inhabitants of Vrndavana. As soon as they felt the warmth of the fire, they immediate
The night after the subjugation of the great serpent Kaliya, Lord Krishna and His cowherd friends decided to rest on the banks of the Yamuna river. In the middle of the night, a huge forest fire enveloped them. It appeared that the fire would soon devour all the inhabitants of Vrndavana. As soon as they felt the warmth of the fire, they immediate
By Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur
The history of the establishment of the great temple in Puri, and the hypocrisy of temple priests as opposed to sincere devotional worship in pure love of God. Written by the Thakur in English, 1871.
There is not a Hindu who has not heard the name of this temple. The old and the young, the male and the female, the Rajah and the ryot, and the weak and the stout, all visit this temple out of a religious curiosity. Three hundred and one miles south-west of the Vice-Reg
Hare Krishna dear devotees,
Its summer time, the ideal time to get around churning some butter. Let us try to churn the following benediction given by Lord Narasimha to Prahlada maharaj on hearing their pastime.
य एतत्कीर्तयेन्मह्यं त्वया गीतमिदं नरः
त्वां च मां च स्मरन्काले कर्मबन्धात्प्रमुच्यते
ya etat kīrtayen mahyaṁ tvayā gītam idaṁ naraḥ
tvāṁ ca māṁ ca smaran kāle karma-bandhāt pramucyate
One who always remembers your activities and My activities also, and who chants the prayers you have offered
By Madhava Smullen
In an inspiring show of cooperation, six ISKCON-affiliated organizations in the New York area collaborated to put on a hugely successful Rathayatra festival this summer – Brooklyn’s Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, the Bhakti Center in Manhattan, 26 2nd Avenue, ISKCON of Queens, New Yoga Pitha in the Bronx, and the Yuga Dharma Ashram.
The festival ran from June 7th to 9th, beginning on Friday with two special kirtan events. The first took place in Tompkins Square Park at the
Now that summer is around the corner, people already have plans for doing some serious summer camping. At an evening program at the home of Nandini Kishori, there was a sizeable gathering of especially young boys and girls, all of bhakti yoga parents. I was asked to share stories about my adventurous walks; the most intriguing one was about the grizzly encounter. There was also the time when a brahmachari and I met up with a black bear, whom, we were not aware, had her cubs nearby. She was
