The story goes that Hanuman was sent by Rama to Ayodhya the day before Rama’s arrival as prearranged with Bharat to let the residents of Ayodhya know how Sita and Rama and all Their retinue were returning.
This was five days before Diwali, and after the Vijaya dasami (victory of Rama ) celebration.
THE STORY BEHIND “DIWALI”
King Dashrath ruled the rich and prosperous city of Ayodhya. He had three wives and Kaikayi was his favourite. She saved his life in a war at a very crucial time. Dashrath
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Implicit in current theories of evolution are two basic assumptions: first, that the myriad living forms have come into being exclusively by chance and the action of natural laws; and second, that consciousness and all life processes are nothing more than physiochemical interactions. In many arenas, both within and without the academic world, a debate is raging to determine the truth or falsehood of evolutionary theory and its implied assumptions. And for good reason. For if it is indeed true
matala hari jana kirtana range pujala raga pathe gaurava bhange
“With reverent regard we must always consider the path of spontaneous devotion far beyond our own reach. Rather, while worshipfully placing this topmost conception on our heads with utmost fervent regard, take shelter of Sri Hari-kirtan as so mercifully given by Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu’s eternal sankirtan.”
From the Teachings of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada and his successors I have learned what is sahajiya. An
Damodarastakam, Verse 1
To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who (due to the offense of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behi
By Adikarta das
When I joined ISKCON in 1974, I immediately felt relief from material suffering. I was, and am, to be honest, a real Kali yuga specimen. The first service I had was working in the garden at Bhaktivedanta Manor. It was nice, after some of the other things I had done,prior to my attempt at becoming a devotee, but I may not be still trying to be a devotee, if I had had to do that my whole devotional life.
After about 10 days, I was asked to go out on book distribution, which, right
By Guru Gauranga Das
Radha-Govinda Temple in Brooklyn, NY, also known as Bharati Center, has been restored to the control of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna Movement, due to arecent decision of the New York State Supreme Court for Kings County. See the full text of Governing Body of ISKCON v. David Britten et al., Index No. 524895/2017 (Sup. Ct. Kings County 2018).
In brief, the Court held that the directors authorized by the
From Back to Godhead
By Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
If God is inconceivable, as the scriptures state, can we really know anything about Him?
Sri Isopanisad states that Krsna is simultaneously very far away and very close. The Vedic scripturesencourage us: The best way to know Krsna and bring Him closer is to hear about Him.
As we open any book about Krsna, we’ll immediately feel the richness of the clear and scientific knowledge it contains. We’ll also come to understand that Krsna is by nature inc
By Mahatma das
Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other. ~ Mark Twain
The first thing Srila Prabhupada explained to a friend of mine in their three hour meeting on how to run his business was this: “Don’t compromise your principles.”
Srila Prabhupada often said, “I never compromised my principles. If I compromised I could have attracted more people, but then I would have given them a watered down product that would have neither been genuine nor pure. I was
Penny-wise, pound-foolish – that’s definitely me. I’m the kind of person who buys the cheapest goods, and then forks out double the amount to replace them. Whether its shoes, gadgets, clothes or cars, most things I buy seem to break down, play up or fall apart, costing me a small fortune in the process! One acquisition, however, that has stood the test of time, is the wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita. In 20 years of study, it has never let me down once. Some may question the utility of such ancient
Mohini Madhavi devi dasi: Trembling voice; moving train; eyes seemingly will be showered with tears; feeling of a warm hand and compassionate glance;
Glance of a loving Mother!
My friend Nilam, her sister Nisha, their mother and I were going in the train to the station. It was time when I visited Mumbai for the first time.
I was studying in Mysore. But on the first vacation I decided to visit one of the world famous Temples - Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir in Girgaun, Mumbai. Temple is famous n
Ananda Vrindavana Devi Dasi: Being austere is not highly regarded in contemporary culture. We over eat, oversleep, over mate, and over defend. The concept of having less or doing less is something that may be admired from a distance but generally not considered so welcome when it’s closer to home.
In yoga teachings, austerity is considered the wealth of those who seek self-realization and an understanding of how to discover our love for Krishna. Wealth. Think about that for a moment. Who does n
Karuna Darini Dasi: I got my first book from a book table near the Los Angeles Ratha-yatra site. I took the Teachings of Queen Kunti home with me and read it. I liked the beautiful, classic prayers, but did not want a personal God in my life again, having renounced Christianity.
Some friends, recently turned devotees, were regularly bringing me prasada. They were patient with and kind to me, but I had a lot of excuses not to join them. One major excuse was my pregnant pet cat. One night I came
Lecture on How to Taste the Nectar of Krishnas Name by HG Sankarsana Prabhu on 05 May 2016 at Riga Latvia
(In obedience to Srila Prabhupada, Sankarshan Das Adhikari has fully taken up the banner of pure devotional service to the Supreme Godhead, and made it his life's mission to spread the Krishna consciousness science as far and wide as possible throughout the world.)
To Listen and Download - click here
When a friend described his father-in-law as a cheerful realist, I thought it a good disposition to have while navigating this world in search for understanding and realization of why we exist.
The holy books tell us that the reality of material life is birth, death, disease, and old age. Each of these carry inherent suffering. Along with that we have the three sources of misery – from others, from nature, and from our own mind. The mind is actually considered the source of all our unhappiness.
Swarup Hebel: 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 Prab
By Madhava Smullen
Established by the late ISKCON guru Bhakti Tirtha Swami, IFAST (Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology) operates on the idea that it’s not enough to simply give people spiritual knowledge – we must teach them how to apply it.
IFAST already offered several programs locally in the U.S. But since this August, Inter IFAST now offers an innovative online course for international students too. Entitled “The Journey Within: Uncovering Your True Self,” it purports to use Ve
By Anuttama Dasa
Terrible darkness moved out of the shadows and into our national and global psyche last weekend in Pittsburg. Spurred on by hatred, ignorance, and a growing culture of civic unrest that increasingly divides, alienates, and deprecates those different than ourselves, a gunman attacked the Tree of Life Jewish Congregation killing eleven men and women, and injuring more.
The thoughts and prayers of members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) reach out
We are gathered here in the auspicious month of Kartika, which is also known as Damodara. Srila Prabhupada wrote in The Nectar of Devotion that just as Lord Damodara is very dear to His devotees, so the month of Damodara is also dear to them. And in the month of Kartika, in the year 1974, Srila Prabhupada completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, in Juhu, Bombay.
When Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, we used to go to his quarters every morning after mangala-arati, because at around s
By Haresh Govinda Das
On 19th October 2018, we had a great privilege to have chief minister of Gujarat Sri Vijaybhai Rupani to inaugurate new Govinda’s restaurant. The newly opened Govinda’s restaurant at ISKCON Ahmedabad will be one of the biggest restaurant of Ahmedabad. H.G Jashomatinandan Pr facilitated the chief minister of Gujarat throughout the function. After inaugurating the Govinda’s restaurant the chief minister gave a small speech at the place were effigy of Ravana was to be burned
