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Question: How do we determine our prescribed duty? As the socio-spiritual structure of varnasrama is not prevalent today, we seem to have some liberty to choose for us our profession, according to our talents and propensities which can be introspected to a certain extent. So, can our professional duty be regarded as our prescribed duty? According to the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is verse 2.47, what type of activities are included in "prescribed duty" and what activities are not included in it? Are we

Judging a person does not

          define who they are.

It defines who you are! 

Hello Friends, Happy monsoon! :)

Do you love rains? Like going out,dancing and dangling like trees and getting wet. wow In early childhood we all have done such crazy things especially on first rainy day, ya? :)

A 20 years old guy was screaming in ecstasy as he looked through the window of a moving train, “Pappa, pappa see the buildings so big, pappa see the trees, they are so green and fresh, mummy see the rains they

Mayapur, West Bengal, the birthplace of Lord Caitanya. It’s a very special and beautiful place, lush and green and filled with pilgrims and kirtan. Starting at 3.30am every day a devotee ringing a bell will walk through the large guest ashrams and call us to life. This poem is for him.

The Bell Ringer of Mayapur

The bell ringer of Mayapur
Banishes the night
His bell grows from soft to loud
As it reaches my door
‘Jiva jago! Jiva jago!
Awake awake spirit soul
Do not sleep in the lap
Of the witch

I open the door to the early morning air. It’s 4am and all is quiet. I pull my beads out of their bag and find the starting point. Deep breath. Short prayer of respect to my teacher, another short prayer to the giver of this chanting meditation, Sri Caitanya. Then I begin my daily walk of 16 rounds.

The dark night sky welcomes me.  Most of the world sleeps.  My mind also sleeps, thankfully.  Thoughts of yesterday and later today have not begun to line up for attention.  It’s just me and Krishna

I remember well the first time I received the Bhagavad-gita. Someone gave it to me as a gift, and I was ready for it. I thought it the most practical and common sense book I had ever read. It confirmed a lot of my suspicions about the material world – there had to be more than this life of birth and death, there had to be answers for the unfairness that I saw everywhere, the concept of many lives, the broader details of the world and the universe, and the understanding of consciousness being th

When I arrived at the homeless shelter for men in Rockville there was no shortage of hands to help me carry the hot, freshly cooked prasadam supper into the building. The men, of various ages and backgrounds, were grateful and thanked me many times. We had cooked for one hundred.

As I drove away I felt light-hearted and happy. I had taken time to help others in need. I was also grateful  – that I am not homeless, that I have the opportunity to serve, and that I am part of movement that actively

We wait for trains, planes and summer rains
we wait in line all the time,
we hold our breath and wait for the score
we wait as a loved one moves to breathing no more
We wait wondering what it’s all about
this life between birth and death and throughout
We wait as we chant for the ego to lift
We wait as we serve for love as the gift
We wait before judging, trusting the good
we wait for grace, knowing we should
Too often we wait till the end of our life
to question the craziness, question the str

Srila Prabhupada: If a devotee once utters the holy name of the Lord, or if it penetrates his mind or enters his ear, which is the channel of aural reception, that holy name will certainly deliver him from material bondage, whether vibrated properly or improperly, with correct or incorrect grammar, or properly joined or vibrated in separate parts. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.60)

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=29890

Annual Radha-Krishna Boat Festival and Family Picnic at Mission Bay, San Diego

New Govardhana Family Picnic 2016
Srila Prabhupada: Worship of the Lord, whose name is like the sun, for just as a slight appearance of the sun dissipates the darkness of night, so a slight appearance of the holy name of Krishna can drive away all the darkness of ignorance that arises in the heart due to greatly sinful activities performed in previous lives. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.62) 
Find them here

Interviewer: Do you think most of the Hare Krishna members will participate in the election in November? Do you think they will register and vote?
Prabhupada: Personally I never give votes.
Interviewer: Will they follow your example and not vote?
Prabhupada: I do not know, but our principle is that I vote for this man or that man if there is some spiritual benefit. That is our point. (Interview with the religion editor of the Associated Press in New York, 16 July 1976)
I have never given vote.

Villa Vrindavan, in Italy, almost looks too old to have a future, but the humble devotees there are confident it will. ISKCON’s oldest building probably, the villa is four centuries old. Naturally, not everything works. A sunken semicircular fountain does not spout. The front roof nobly displays a stopped clock; the bell over it no longer chimes times. When devotees moved in with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, putting their faith in the Lord’s names and graces they named the hundr

Before I pick up my beads to do my chanting meditation, I have 3 points of focus – I’m not this body, God is a person, and I have a relationship with Him.

I’m not this body is one of my favorite meditations. I like to sit quietly and hold my body still. I am the observer. I am conscious of my hands, my breath, my thoughts. I remember – yesterday, years ago, minutes ago. I think ahead – tomorrow, old age, the next hour. When I remember I am not this body I feel relief, more complete, and a real

Vaiyasaki das: On our way back driving through the Himalayas, we passed an apiary with beehives, and, knowing that Prabhupada was in Vrindavan, we thought, “Wow, wouldn’t that be great to get Prabhupada some real Himalayan honey?”
We got a big bottle. Jagadish was Prabhupada’s secretary at that time, and he knew Satyanarayan and me, so he arranged for Prabhupada to see us.
We went into Prabhupada’s room when Prabhupada was sitting with Gopal Krishna and speaking to an Indian gentleman. When we

Uddhava is very broadly described in our scriptures. Uddhava was a devotee of the Lord from his childhood. Advanced souls get the chance to take birth in a devotee family; the liberated soul never forgets Krsna. Vidura is actually Yamaraj who had been cursed to be born as a sudra. When Vidura met Uddhava and inquired about Krsna, Uddhava would get overwhelmed.

Uddhava mentioned that Krsna had just left Vrindavan recently and is in Mathura. He had already killed the elephant and popped-out Chanu

Throughout 2016, our international Hare Krishna movement has been celebrating our 50th anniversary.  While the teachings of our Hare Krishna culture have existed for thousands of years, the modern "Hare Krishna movement" was incorporated in 1966.  Grand celebrations have been taking place all around the world!

Wednesday, July 27, 2016 marks the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON's incorporation, as calculated by the lunar calendar model.  We invite you to join us for small celebrations at our temple f

As I write this it is snowing yet again. It’s early morning and along with the silence of the snow I can hear birds sing. It’s as if they are trying to bravely hold on, waiting for spring to fully arrive. Today they are my heroes.

There is an analogy that compares the soul to a bird in a cage, the body being the cage. If we just take care of the cage and neglect to feed the bird, then the bird will die. Similarly, our soul will “die” if we don’t nourish it. As the Bible says, “What good is it f

In a humble attempt to glorify Srila Prabhupada and the ISKCON movement on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, ISKCON, Navi Mumbai with the auspicious blessings of HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja and encouraging direction of the temple President, HG Sura Das Prabhu celebrated a week long festival. The festival was graced by the keen presence of HH Amiya Vilas Swami Maharaja. Wholeheartedly detailing and serving under the guidance of the HG Vaishnavanghri Sevak Prabhu (the Director of Bhaktive

Our beloved Pashupati Prabhvi (ACBSP), known for many years as an exemplar of care and compassion, has just been in a terrible car accident. She was not at fault and sustained injuries including 12 broken ribs; a fractured collar bone, hip and pelvis; and a collapsed lung. 

Pashupati has thrived through painful physical challenges for many years and has demonstrated such care and compassion for many. In spite of her own health challenges, she was known for driving community members in need to

The tussle between “freewill” and “destiny” has been primordial. There is one famous Greek play titled “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles. The main character Oedipus has the tragic destiny of marrying his own mother revealed to him by the soothsayer. Shaken by the revelation, he decides to escape his fate by leaving his royal parents and his kingdom, but ironically the more he tries to give a slip, nearer he gets to the prediction. Finally the fate takes the better of him. He later learns of the commis