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Question: Spiritual wisdom-traditions often glorify forgiveness as a virtue, but isn’t it impractical and foolish to forgive someone who repeatedly hurts us?

Answer:

When someone hurts us, forgiving that person is our best response. But often our indignant emotions make us overlook the subtle but vital line that differentiates forgiving a person from trusting a person: forgiveness is for the past; trust is for the future. We are urged to immediately forgive, but not immediately trust, the wron

“A person is not considered a great sage unless he disagrees with another sage”.

This adage suitably describes the career of La Mettrie, whose contentious writings during the eighteenth century were almost universally reviled by his contemporaries during the age of the Enlightenment. Even Frederick the Great, who afforded him protection and patronage following his banishment from France and Holland, declared that one could attain peace of mind by not reading La Mettrie’s works. Notwithstanding

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय 2 : गीता का सार

त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन ।
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ।। 45 ।।

त्रै-गुण्य– प्राकृतिक तीनों गुणों से सम्बन्धित;विषयाः– विषयों में;वेदाः– वैदिक साहित्य;निस्त्रै-गुण्यः– प्रकृति के तीनों गुणों से परे;भव– होओ;अर्जुन– हे अर्जुन ;निर्द्वन्द्वः– द्वैतभाव से मुक्त;नित्य-सत्त्व-स्थः– नित्य शुद्धसत्त्व में स्थित;निर्योग-क्षेमः– लाभ तथा रक्षा के भावों से मुक्त;आत्म-वान्– आत्मा में स्थित।

भावार्थ: वेदों म

Video: Click here

Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami or Srila Prabhupada, born Abhay Charan De, was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder-preceptor of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the “Hare Krishna Movement”. Members of the ISKCON movement view Bhaktivedānta Swāmi as a representative and messenger of Krishna Chaitanya.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88382

Expression reflects and reinforces emotion. The celebration of Vyasa-puja is an expression of the gratitude that the disciple feels for the spiritual master. And that feeling becomes reinforced when a disciple expresses one’s own gratitude and hears other disciples’ express their gratitude.

The spiritual master’s guidance and grace are indispensable for elevating and liberating souls caught in this dangerous and treacherous material existence. The spiritual master is non-different from the Supr

Srila Prabhupada’s 128th Vyasa-puja Book has been released in advance of the 2024 Vyasa-puja of our Founder-Acharya. Devotees are encouraged to “share the file widely so all followers of Srila Prabhupada can avail [themselves] of this shower of nectar in glorification of His Divine Grace,” said the VP Book Team, made up of Mukhya Devi Dasi, Praghosa Das, Satyamedha Gauranga Das, Ananda Tirtha Das.

This latest offering can be read online and is also available in a high-resolution format for prin

My dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my humble, prostrated obeisances at your all-merciful lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.

When an interviewer once asked you, “What is the goal of life?” you replied, “The goal of life is to enjoy.” The effort to enjoy materially, through the mind and senses, leads only to frustration and misery. But spiritually one can enjoy in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that pleasure, unlike the temporary so-called happiness of the mate

By Demian Martins

Srila Prabhupada’s appearance and accomplishments are a turning point not only in Gaudiya Vaisnavism, but in the very history of human civilization, so it is not surprising that they were predicted many centuries ago. In several ancient religious traditions, the sacred scriptures usually include passages or whole sections dealing with predictions. Some of these passages are marked by a veiled language and are often interpreted in different ways. Interpretations are subjective a

Earlier this year, I visited the city of Kolkata and was taken by a kind devotee to an old building on a short backstreet known as Ultadanga Junction Road. I had never been there before, but had heard about the place for forty years. The square, brown brick, rather plain three storey building was formerly known as Bhaktivinoda Asana and it was here, on the flat roof-top, that Srila Prabhupada met his spiritual master for the first time. I had always been intrigued by the idea of a sacred meetin

Dear Devotees,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

With Srila Prabhupada's 128th Vyasa-puja just a few days away, please take the opportunity to download and read the 2024 Vyasa-puja book which was created from all your hearfelt homages:

https://gbc.iskcon.org/srila- prabhupada-vyasa-puja-books/

Please also share the file widely so all followers of Srila Prabhupada can avail of this shower of nectar in glorification of His Divine Grace. A high-res version i

An excerpt from the Prabhupada Lilamrta about Srila Prabhupada’s mother, Srimati Rajani Devi.

Abhay’s mother, Rajani, was thirty years old when he was born. Like her husband, she came from a long-established Gaudiya Vaisnava family. She was darker-skinned than her husband, and whereas his disposition was cool, hers tended to be fiery. Abhay saw his mother and father living together peacefully; no deep marital conflict or complicated dissatisfaction ever threatened home. Rajani was chaste and re

भगवद्गीता यथारूप 108 महत्त्वपूर्ण श्लोक

अध्याय 2 : गीता का सार

भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् ।
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते ।। 44 ।।

भोग– भौतिक भोग;ऐश्वर्य– तथा ऐश्वर्य के प्रति;प्रसक्तानाम्– आसक्तों के लिए;तया– ऐसी वस्तुओं से;अपहृत-चेत्साम्– मोह्ग्रसित चित्त वाले;व्यवसाय-आत्मिकाः– दृढ़ निश्चय वाली;बुद्धिः– भगवान् की भक्ति;समाधौ– नियन्त्रित मन में;न– कभी नहीं;विधीयते– घटित होती है।

भावार्थ: जो लोग इन्द्रियभोग तथा भौतिक ऐश्वर्य के प्रति अत्यधिक आसक्त होने से ऐसी वस्तुओं से मोहग्रस्त

Janmastami; Lord Sri Krsna’s Appearance Day Lecture
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Montreal, August 16, 1968

So today, is the birth appearance ceremony of Lord Krsna. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says:

janma karma me divyam
yo janati tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti kaunteya
[Bg. 4.9]

“My dear Arjuna, any person who simply tries to understand about My transcendental birth or appearance and disappearance and activities, janma karma…” The Personality of Godhead is

The Temple in our Hearts

A Guide for celebrating Krsna Janmastami At  home

Śrī  Kṛṣṇa  Janmāṣṭamī  mahā-mahotsava, the  advent  of  Lord  Kṛṣṇa  on  this  earthly planet  is  the  biggest  religious  festival  in our vaishnava calendar and it is celebrated by  hundreds  of  millions  of  people  around the  world.  On  this  day,  devotees  flock  to various temples including the holy land of  Vrndavana  to  take  darshan  of  the Supreme  Personality  of  Godhead  in  his arca  vigraha  form 

Madhavananda das GGS (Gopal Jiu Publications – IN)

Notes from Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa

Texts 247 to 542 of the 15th section of Hari-bhakti-vilasa describe the glories of Janmastami and how to observe it. The introduction to this section describes three reasons for observing the Lord’s appearance day:

nityatvam ca param tasya bhagavat-prinanan matam
vidhi-vakya-visesac cakarane pratyavayatah

The observance of Janmastami is accepted as a regulative principle in three ways: 1) the Supreme Lord becomes

Janmastami is just one day, but how we spend it can deeply inspire us for the whole year.
Krishna consciousness mean we are conscious of Krishna. He becomes an active part of our life – like a close friend or an affectionate family member we love to be around. Krishna consciousness, then, is loving to be around Krishna.
Here are 5 ways to love and be with Krishna on his birthday:
1. Come early, stay late – be close to Krishna today, close to the Temple. This is our day with Krishna. There will

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”

TEXT 18

tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam
samahitam sura-sutena devi
dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam
kastha yathananda-karam manastah

SYNONYMS

tatah—thereafter; jagat-mangalam—auspiciousness for all living entities in all the universes of the creation; acyuta-amsam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never bereft of the six opulences, all of which are present in all His plenary expa

Janmashtami commemorates the earthly appearance of Krishna, who is described in India’s sacred writings as God Himself. One of the biggest religious festivals in the world, it is celebrated by nine hundred and thirty million people around the world–and two mill

Back in 1972 I was a 17 year-old sea cadet. My ship had docked in Bombay and I stepped onto that exotic shore in search of reasonably priced souvenirs. Under the intense encouragement of a shopkeeper I came close to purchasing a fine ivory chess set costing most of my week’s wages before I spotted a little figurine of Krishna. He exerted a strange attraction over me and after handing over my hard-earned rupees I left with him in my pocket. The god of love, I thought. I could do with a bit of lo