Congratulations to Vrinda devi Sheth and her mother Annapurna Johannson, illustrator, on the launch of their first book in the trilogy, Sita’s Fire. The first book, Shadows of the Sun Dynasty, is now available for sale through Amazon.com or with the publisher. The mother-daughter team have pushed their individual crafts to their limits to invite every reader into this magical world.
There will be a launch party here in Gainesville on Saturday, August 27, 2016. For details about the mantra and d
We all like a good story. It makes our day, inspires our heart, and we experience a gamut of emotions. When it comes to Krishna’s birth story He doesn’t disappoint. In Sanskrit, stories about God are called Lila. This is to remind us that His stories are not of the world, although sometimes taking place in the world.
There are many reasons Krishna comes here, and they converge, layer upon layer, story upon story, to create ”Lila”. For his birth Lila, Janmastami, we’ll pick up the action in the
For most of the Croatian people (or as they call themselves, Hrvati) when it comes to defining their origins and tracing their ancient roots they turn towards the land of Iran and Persia. According to academia the name Hrvatcomes from Hrovat which comes from the Slavic Horvat which originates from the Indo/Slavic Harvat and which is ultimately traced to Persia and the name Harahvaiti.
Harahvaiti however, is the corrupted name of Sarasvati, the great Vedic Goddess, the Mother of Sanskrit, the gr
The Jhulan yatra festival celebrates Radha and Krishna’s pastime of sitting on a swing. Deities are brought out and given a swing to sit on and in temples around the world devotees wait patiently in a queue and take turns swing Their Lordships.
The Hari-bhakti-vilasa mentions the swing festival saying the devotees should please Radha and Krishna by applying sandalwood on their body, fanning then with chamara, decorating them with jeweled necklaces, offering palatable foodstuffs, and bringing t
THE Hare Krishnas don’t need an excuse to party. Joyful celebration is a sacred feature of their devotional practices, ordained by the Supreme Lord Krishna thousands of years ago in the Bhagavad-Gita.
But it was the society’s 50th birthday recently – and that calls for a special shindig.
The community in Murwillumbah rose to the occasion, with 1800 guests, a hand-pulled chariot, dancing, feasting, chanting and music, the performers projected onto a giant screen befitting a jam-packed rock conce
Today marks the auspicious appearance of Lord Balaram. We honor it with a half day fast and celebration. Our post today includes a few select excerpts, as well as a slide show on images of Sri Balarama in various pastimes.
…Mahā-Viṣṇu is actually an expansion of Balarāma, who is Kṛṣṇa’s first expansion and, in the Vṛndāvana pastimes, His brother. In the mahā-mantra-Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare-the word Rāma refers to Balarāma. Since L
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, along with Balarāma, played like a human being, and so masked He performed many superhuman acts. (SB 1.1.20)
Full Text and purport
Srimad Bhagavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Canto One, Chapter 1, Text 20
kṛtavān kila karmāṇi
saha rāmeṇa keśavaḥ
atimartyāni bhagavān
gūḍhaḥ kapaṭa-mānuṣaḥ
kṛtavān—done by; kila—what; karmāṇi—acts; saha—along with; rāmeṇa—Balarāma; keśavaḥ—Śrī Kṛṣṇa; atimartyāni—superhuman; bhagavān—the Per
Gargamuni said: This child, the son of Rohini, will give all happiness to His relatives and friends by His transcendental qualities. Therefore He will be known as Rama. And because He will manifest extraordinary bodily strength, He will also be known as Bala. Moreover, because He unites two families—Vasudeva’s family and the family of Nanda Maharaja—He will be known as Sankarnana.
sri-garga uvaca
ayam hi rohini-putro
ramayan suhrdo gunaih
akhyasyate rama iti
baladhikyad balam viduh
yadunam aprt
Schooling Krsna’s Children
The doctrine Of evolution is difficult to hide from. It is so pervasive in textbooks of science, geography, history, and literature that the reader, numbed by repetition, hardly notices the constant drone.
Our children need help to remain awake to spiritual life amidst this sleepy cloud of propaganda. We need to teach them the truth. And we need to show them, clearly and specifically, how evolutionists are lying.
Does it really matter? Is it important for our children
From Back to Godhead
The ancient Greek writer Aratos tells the following story about the constellation Virgo, or the virgin. Virgo, he says, may have belonged to the star race, the forefathers of the ancient stars. In primeval times, in the golden age, she lived among mankind as Justice personified and would exhort people to adhere to the truth. At this time people lived peacefully, without hypocrisy or quarrel. Later, in the age of silver, she hid herself in the mountains, but occasionally she
Between 2012 and 2016, the number of Australian adults whose diet is all or almost all vegetarian has risen from 1.7 million people (or 9.7% of the population) to almost 2.1 million (11.2%), the latest findings from Roy Morgan Research reveal. While it is a nationwide trend, the shift towards vegetarianism has been most striking in New South Wales, where there has been a 30% growth in this kind of diet.
This is a significant surge in the movement away from the standard Australian meat based die
We invite you to join us in the celebration of Balarama Jayanti, the appearance day of Lord Balarama, on the 18th of August. Find the details on the web site of your closest temple.
Who is Lord Balarama?
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarama is His second body. They are both one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Balarama is the first bodily expansion of Krishna, and He assists in Lord Krishna’s transc
On 14th August 2016, ISKCON Chandigarh celebrated the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s first public Harinama procession led by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada from 26 Second Avenue in New York to Washington Square Park. The highlight of the celebration was a palanquin procession with Srila Prabhupada that concluded at Nehru Park, where the Mayor of Chandigarh, Arun Sood, plated a red sandalwood tree to commemorate the occasion.
“Srila Prabhupada lectured for five days at a pand
Today is the appearance day of Lord Balarama, the Personality of Godhead who
is the first expansion of Lord Krsna, the original Personality of Godhead.
As Krsna states in the Bhagavad-gita (4.7):
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O
descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion–at that time I
descend Myself.” Lord Krsna says, srjamy aham: “I manifest Myself.”
Once upon a time, Vasudeva, the son of Surasena, just after marrying Devaki, was going home on his chariot with his newly wedded wife. At that time, Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena, in order to please his sister, Devaki, had voluntarily taken the reins of the horses of Vasudeva’s chariot and was driving. While the bride and bridegroom were passing along on the chariot, suddenly a miraculous sound vibrated from the sky which announced that the eighth child of Devaki will kill Kamsa. Immediately Kamsa
Lord Balarama did not participate in the fratricidal war in Kurukshetra. He went for a pilgrimage and visited many sacred places in India. This pilgrimage is elaborately explained in the 79th chapter of the Krishna Book. A brief account of the same is presented here.
Lord Balarama took permission from the brahmanas assembled at Naimisharanya and, accompanied by other brahmanas, went to the banks of the River Kausiki. After taking His bath in this holy place, He proceeded towards River Sarayu an
Lord Balarama is the first expansion of Lord Sri Krishna. The Supreme Lord, although one without a second, expands Himself in many forms. The vishnu-tattva forms are expansions of the Supreme Lord, and all of them are qualitatively and quantitatively equal with the Lord. This is described in Brahma Samhita as follows:
diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya
dipayate vivrta-hetu-samana-dharma
yas tadrg eva hi ca visnutaya vibhati
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
The light of one candle being
HARE KRISHNA!
We all are aware how our Lord Sri Krishna tried his very best, convincing the wicked Kauravas the devastating effects of the war but after every persuasion was fruitless, war was the only solution. The war of unrighteousness vs truth......
If we ponder for a while and interpret that Kurukshetra is not merely a place but our mind where we constantly battle our various thoughts good and bad at every moment. Many times despite loving our Lord to the core,at a human level, we are
When ever we want to thank someone who has helped us , we either reciprocate by giving gifts or express our gratitude by repeatedly bringing to their notice that their timely help contributed to our well being. This is with regards to the mortals who have helped us but how to thank our dearest creator Lord Sri Krishna , the supreme personality of godhead? We all seek answers , in how to please Lord Sri Krishna, what are the things that our lord will feel the most happy when we offer him at hi
Question: How to cope up with envy in this competitive world? I am working for a software company which is always full of competition and peer pressures. Even if I try to ignore the peer pressure, at times this attitude itself is leading me to inefficiency in work or stagnation. How to develop the right attitude at work place without yielding to envy and at the same time improving the efficiency? I need some practical tips that I can follow on a day to day basis.
Romapada Swami answers: The best
