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In the philosophy of Bhakti Yoga, the Absolute Truth is known as a person. His name is Krishna, a Sanskrit word which means “all attractive”.

Krishna is the all attractive object of the soul’s love. Every living being is seeking pleasure. The essence of pleasure is the pleasure of love. We need it. Without loving someone and being loved by someone, life is very empty and superficial. The origin of that love is the soul’s love for God and God’s love for the soul. We are attracted by someone who is

By Kadamba Kanana Swami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 March 2013, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 2.7.52)

Humility is something alien in the modern world. We had a comic in Holland; I saw it as a kid but it made an impression on me. It was a simple man; he had a cap on – a labourer type – and he was coming for a job interview which was happening in a big hall. The interviewer was sitting behind a glass with a screen so you couldn’t see him but his voice was coming out through a loud speaker

“One who is inquisitive to understand the ultimate goal of life must approach a proper guru,” says Srila Prabhupada in this lecture given in Mumbai, India, in November of 1974. Then he explains what that ultimate goal is, how that approach must be made, and who is the proper guru.

suta uvaca
dvaipayana-sakhas tv evam maitreyo bhagavams tatha
prahedam viduram prita anviksikyam pracoditah

“Sri Suta Gosvami said: ‘The most powerful sage Maitreya was a friend of Vyasadeva’s. Being encouraged and pl

Active Listening

Adapted, with permission, from The Art of Teaching, by HG Bhurijana Prabhu

Who Owns the Problem?

The first step in trying to solve a problem is to identify who owns it, because you need to approach the situation differently if you own the problem or not. The owner is whoever is tangibly and concretely affected by the problem.

If the problem belongs to the other person, it is appropriate to listen, trying to understand exactly what is going on. If you own the problem, the counse

We may not be fully Krsna conscious, our love for Krsna may not be so deep and there may be other desires. But this is just restlessness. How much faith do we have in these other desires? Which devotee can claim to have full faith in sex life? We may be attracted to sex life but do we have full faith that it will make us happy? After having heard transcendental knowledge, it is hard to have full faith in material enjoyment. Still, we may have a flirtation with these desires here and there somet

By Kenneth R. Valpey (Krishna Ksetra Swami)

Introduction

In recent decades we witness increasing public awareness about the profoundly damaging effects of accellerating human production, consumption, and mobility on ecosystems of the world; and this awareness is accompanied by a deepening sense of urgency that “something” must be done to stop the current trends of environmental destruction. Environmental activism is now a mainstream activity for all sorts of individuals and groups, not least pe

On the 28th of February devotees will arrive for Sravana Utsava & Kirtan Mela, followed by the Pancha-Tattva Haha-Abhishek, festival inauguration, various festivities, Navadwipa Mandala Parikrama, and the grand celebration of Gaura Purnima on the 21st of March.

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By Karnamrita Das

Everyone falls short, or doesn’t progress as fast as they would like, on their spiritual journey. Can we ever think we love or serve Krishna sufficiently, when even great souls consider themselves deficient in devotion? Therefore, I always feel it is essential to portray my struggles as well as successes, so that devotees will be comfortable accepting and acknowledging where they fall short—at least with a select group, or a confidential friend. It is a sad truth that too

By Sri Nandanandana das

As the age of Kali-yuga moves forward, many people are wondering how bad social conditions will get before they improve, and what can we do about it now. Yet the Vedic texts contain a specific prescription for staying free from the heavy influence that this age of Kali-yuga brings.

In spite of all the changes predicted to happen in society and on the planet, there are still many ways, both material and spiritual, to stifle or even get free of Kali-yuga’s influence. If we

By Sacinandana Swami

Recently I received a letter in which someone wrote: “I am struggling with the concept that Krishna fully loves the living entities. When I look at the way He deals with someone who does not surrender to His desires, it seems He is quite annoyed and punishes him with heavy circumstances like war, rape, death, doubts about the purpose of his life and many other sufferings. Is someone who creates cruel circumstances for all those who don’t do His will really full of unconditi

By Nila Kamala das

On Sunday 16th December, devotees in Bali, Indonesia celebrated one of the biggest events of the year. Gita Yoga was the event and preparation for this event had taken months of determination and dedication. What is Gita Yoga?

Gita Yoga is an attempt by ISKCON Indonesia to share the teachings and importance of the Bhagavad Gita to the public. The event was held in the famous Bajrasandi Park. The day started early at 6am where the general public who flocked in by the hundreds

By Chaitanya Charan Das

If we see two people fighting over something trivial, we would naturally wonder: Why are they making such a big issue of this?
People fight not just because something is a big issue but also because they have nothing important in their life and so end up making something trivial important. The Bhagavad-gita explains that we all are pushed around by the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. And those who function in the mode of ignorance are giv

Mayapur International Preaching – Srila Prabhupada’s Dancing Elephants

“Preaching can be a difficult, thankless task, but a preacher must follow the orders of the Supreme Lord and be unafraid of materialistic persons.”

- Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.39, purport

His Grace Sudama Das (ACBSP) recalled when Srila Prabhupada was leaving Tokyo to go to India. “He (Srila Prabhupada) said, ‘I have opened the West. Now I will take my dancing white elephants to India.’” Srila Prabhupada wanted to show the people h

By Purushottam Nitai Das

Neither Krishna likes to be worshipped as God and nor his pure devotees want to worship him as the Supreme Lord. Krishna prefers an informal relationship with his very close devotees as friend, as son and as a paramour. He enjoys joking, laughing, playing and eating with his friends at the bank of Yamuna. He rejoices teasing and dancing with the girls of Gokula. And at home he is a naughty little child of Mother Yashoda and Nanda Maharaj. In Vrindavan Krishna is the cen

By Madhava Smullen

“Anyway, print books, distribute profusely, and that will be the best preaching work. What will your three minutes’ preaching do?—but if they buy one book, it may turn their life. So make this your important task, to print our books…and distribute widely, and that will please my Guru Maharaja. Never mind it takes little time to make progress, our process is slow but sure, and we are confident that if we continue in this way we shall go one day back to home, back to Godhead.”

– Srila Prabhupada

Gita Jayanti is the anniversary of Lord Krsna speaking Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna. It is celebrated all over the world, especially in ISKCON temples.

The first ISKCON Kurukshetra temple was built in the main part of town. The second ISKCON Kurukshetra temple is at the Jyotisar, where Krsna spoke Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna 5,000 years ago.

His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wanted to build a temple at this spot many years ago. The Haryana State Government kindly gave ISKCON 6 acres o

In present days, the word “jayanti” is loosely used for someone’s birthday. However, this word is not meant for mortal beings. What most people don’t know about Gita jayanti is, when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, it was not the first time that He spoke it. Gita jayanti is not the birthday of Bhagavad Gita. It is the day when Bhagavad Gita was spoken the first time on this planet during this particular yuga cycle.

This is clearly mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita itself when Lord