By Radhanath Swami
The Appearance of Lord Vamana
“Bali Maharaj, very intelligent personality. He was the son of Virochana, grandson of Prahlad, great grandson of Hiranyakashipu, great grand-nephew of Hiranyaksha. A very mixed up type of family heritage!”
So he performed yajna to please his guru Shukracharya, and his guru-maharaj was very pleased with him. In fact he arranged for the descendents of Bhrigu Muni to come to perform this yajna. And his disposition, his good qualities, was so pleasin
I should mention as a prelude to this blog that while I am a follower of the basic processes given by Shrila Prabhupada and our Gaudiya Vaishnava acharyas regarding the practice of sadhana bhakti--and am in that sense traditional or conservative--in regards to the stage of "anartha-nivritti," or retiring our unwanted habits of thinking and acting, I am rather eclectic, and to some unconventional. However, please don't let that scare you away! There is a method to my madness.
I follow the maxim
By Kripamoya Das
Lord Vamanadeva appeared within this world from the womb of Aditi, the mother of the gods. He appeared at midday on the shravan-dvadasi, the 12th day of the lunar month of Shravan when the moon is waxing.
There are many lessons for Vaishnavas to learn from the narration of His activities, as found in the 8th canto, 18th chapter of the Bhagavat Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam). Amongst the lessons are these:
1. That God comes to this world in many forms; not just once, in one form, or
By Bhadra Rupa Dasa
This article is a reflection on my experiences in learning musical traditions in four cultures: Latin America, Japan, India, and Europe. By describing what I learned through these different approaches to music, I suggest that music is an effective educational tool to develop one’s whole personality.
I was born in Peru in a family of practicing Catholics. I was strictly educated in a primary and secondary school run by Canadian Catholic priests. At the age of five, by observing
Campakalata Sakhi is one dayyounger to Srimati Radharani. Her appearance is celebrated a day after Radhastami.
Just before the annual Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur in 1986.Campakalata Devi, along with three other sakhis, was installed and joined Sri Sri Radha Madhava on the altar. She stands next to Lalita Devi, second gopi on Madhava’s right.
Sri Campakalata Devi is the one of the eight principle gopi friends of Srimati Radharani. Her father is Arama, her mother is Vatika-devi and her husba
Suresvara Prabhu: When another GBC man wrote to inform Prabhupada of more dissension in the ranks, Prabhupada was philosophical: Material nature means dissension and disagreement… . But, for this Krishna consciousness movement its success will depend on agreement, even though there are varieties of engagements. In the material world there are varieties, but there is no agreement. In the spiritual world there are varieties, but there is agreement.
Different individuals have different ways of eng
Very recently, we have celebrated various appearance days of the different incarnations of the Lord. Most recently, it was of Lord Ramachandra, the embodiment of dharma. Each of our main books has an overriding theme. In the Bhagavad-gita, we find the dilemma of Arjuna. Arjuna who is somehow or other having a personal agenda and Krsna wants him to act according to his will and it takes the entire Gita for Arjuna to finally say, “Yes, I will do as you say.”
In the Ramayana, we find this endless
By Karnamrita Das
I have written so much about writing because it has helped me greatly in my development as a person and devotee. The process of writing forces me to think and reflect, an activity that doesn’t come easily for me. I rarely took time to think or ponder the deeper questions of life—or my life—growing up, and didn’t begin in earnest till my existential crisis between 18 and 19. Then, after taking up the life of bhakti at 19 ½ I went back to my old pattern of not thinking or refle
Radhastami is also the appearance day of Sri Visakha Devi -Srimati Radhika’s dearmost friend.Just prior to the annual Gaura Purnima festival of 1986, Srimati Visakha Devi, along with three other principle sakhis, was installed in the Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir and joined Sri Sri Radha Madhava on the altar. She stands directly next to Srimati Radharani.
Sri Visakha is the foremost gopi, along with Lalita devi, among the eight principle sakhis, or girlfriends, of Srimati Radhika. Visakha’s fat
By Karnamrita Das
Many successful people, both religious and secular, accept the idea that we all have to take 100 % responsibility for our lives—though for many of us, this can be challenging at times. Responsibility means accountability in whatever situation we may be in for our behavior and its consequences. We may think the life circumstances we were born into were just a chance occurrence or our karma, but regardless of our perceived reasons for our birth, we are responsible for how we dea
By Gopika-Kanta Dasi (Gopika Sharma)
Professional Teacher
I am a second generation devotee who went to public school. I excelled as a devotee child by reciting verses, knowing philosophy, singing bhajans, and leading temple activities. I also succeeded in school. I received straight A’s and participated in a variety of extracurricular activities.At school, I would never answer questions about my own religious beliefs. I also never shared with my school friends that I was heavily involved with t
By Hanumatpresaka Swami
Prof. H. H. Robinson (Hanumatpresaka Swami), lamenting that there was not an academic institution in ISKCON that related to such areas as cultural anthropology, as the Bhaktivedanta Institute related
We are delighted to inform you all that the grand Asta Krosa Parikrama (November 16-19th, 2018) is being organized by ISKCON Mayapur to fulfil the desire of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
Devotees of Lord Sacinandana Gaurahari will reap the tremendous benefits of participating in the Parikrama of Sri Navadvipa during the most auspicious month of Karthika by taking part in this parikrama.
His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja would like all the Vaisnavas to take this great opportunity to please t
By Karnamrita Das
THE MIRACLE OF FORGIVENESS:
Much has been written in spiritually themed literature, Vedic scriptures and Prabhupada's translations, and personal growth/self-help books about forgiveness. As a young person and devotee I had no idea how important forgiveness could be. It was only after years of introspection and prayer that I personally understood how important it was for me to forgive important persons in my life and myself.
The topic came up in my reading of the last few days,
In 1986, just before the annual Gaura Purnima Festival, Sri Indulekha devi and three other sakhis were installed in Sri Dham Mayapur and joined Sri Sri Radha Madhava on the altar. Indulekha Devi stands next to Visakha Devi, second gopi on Srimati Radharani’s right.
Sri Indulekha Devi is one of the eight principle gopis, or Asta-sakhis, the most confidential associates of Srimati Radharani. Her father is Sagara, her mother is Vela Devi, and her husband is Durbala. Indulekha Devi’s complexion is
By HG Bhuvana Pavani Devi Dasi
Lord Caitanya then inquired: What is the most profitable thing in the world, the essence of all auspicious events? Ramananda Raya replied that there is nothing as profitable as the association of pure devotees.” (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Page 341)
When did I meet Srila Prabhupada? The year Srila Prabhupada arrived in Butler, Pa. (Sept. 1965). Is it possible I was visiting my Grandparents in Butler? Did I happen to catch a glimpse of Srila Prabhupada? Or the fol
Just before the annual Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur in 1986, Campakalata Devi, along with three other sakhis, was installed and joined Sri Sri Radha Madhava on the altar.
Sri Campakalata Devi is the one of the eight principle gopi friends of Srimati Radharani. Her father is Arama, her mother is Vatika-devi and her husband is Candaksa. She has a yellow-white complexion, just like the colour of a full-blown champaka flower. Her garments are described as chataka, or brown like a sparrow’s feat
Just before the annual Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur in 1986, Campakalata Devi, along with three other sakhis, was installed and joined Sri Sri Radha Madhava on the altar.
Sri Campakalata Devi is the one of the eight principle gopi friends of Srimati Radharani. Her father is Arama, her mother is Vatika-devi and her husband is Candaksa. She has a yellow-white complexion, just like the colour of a full-blown champaka flower. Her garments are described as chataka, or brown like a sparrow’s feat
