Blog

Travel Journal#11.18: Boston, New York City, Albany

By Kaunteya das

Govardhana Ecovillage, Mumbai, Sept 28 – Oct 9 – The first group of participants to GBC College for Leadership Development completed the second residential session, thirteen days of training and association.

The GBC has been reviewing the zonal configuration of the world and has identified and ratified more than 150 zones (and more are coming, as the bigger zones get gradually subdivided into more manageable sizes). At present the GBC College course focuses on preparing Zonal S

Hare Krishna

12th Oct, 2015. Gurgaon

I read so much, and hear even more so, on being humble and not just simply humble but humbler than a blade of grass. It feels nice as I read such terms and collect more ‘information’ on how to get into the ‘mood’ of being humble but whenever I am put into a test I fail miserably, a deadly mixture of hardheartedness, passion and ignorance takes over my consciousness. I simply remain a puppet in the hands of three modes of nature.

Many a times I wonder, and now a

We all have seen and practically experienced the popular adage, 'What goes around, comes around'. A very simple example of this would be if we smile at someone, under normal circumstances, we too would receive a smile. However, if we happen to abuse another, most likely the favour would be returned in the same coin. Material nature itself is constituted by three qualities: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. Above these modes there is eternal time, and by a combi

We are often misled by the externals or the outward appearance of people or things. Due to our limited and imperfect senses, we tend to quickly judge others and come to wrong conclusions abruptly. Before reacting to an apparently visible circumstance, we need to dive deeper to uncover the truth. 

Here is a beautiful narrative which would help us understand this fact. A cruise ship met with an accident at sea. Aboard the ship was a couple. After having made their way to the lifeboat, they realized

On the most auspicious occasion of the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead - Lord Krishna, I wish to offer my most humble obeisances.

May the all merciful Lord bestow His unconditional love, causeless mercy and divine blessings on you and your loved ones.

My prayers at His Lotus Feet, to ignite the fire of devotion in our hearts, to wipe away results of our past misdeeds, to purify our consciousnessby giving us the intelligence to constantly remember His glories, to give us countless

The Supreme Lord Krishna's conchshell whose sound strikes raw terror in the hearts of evildoers, but the innocent and the repentant feel the magic vibrations. The redness of the white conchshell due to the lip-touch of the Lord is a symbol of spiritual significance. The Lord is all spirit, and matter is ignorance of this spiritual existence. Factually there is nothing like matter in spiritual enlightenment, and this spiritual enlightenment takes place at once by the contact of the Supreme Lord S

Let's understand this with an illustration from our Vedic texts. The Supreme Personality of Godhead and the beloved Lord Krishna was away from His own prosperous metropolis of Dvaraka for a considerably long period because of the Battle of Kurukshetra, and thus all the inhabitants were overcome with melancholy and desolation due to the separation. When the Lord descends on the earth, His eternal associates also come with Him, just as the entourage of a king accompanies him. Such associates of th

The Lord observed the religious principles regularly during His transcendental journey on this planet exhibiting His divine acts on this material platform. There are certain philosophical speculations that even the Lord is under the obligations of fruitive action. But actually this is not the case. He does not depend on the action of any good or bad work. Since the Lord is absolute, everything done by Him is good for everyone. However, when He descends on earth, He acts for the protection of the

As revealed by the Lord in 'Bhagavad-Gita As It Is', the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be known in His real nature by dint of pure devotional service only. Thus, only the great devotees of the Lord who are able to clear the mind of all material dust by rigid devotional service can experience the Lord as He is. 

'Jitendriya' means one who has full control over the senses. The senses are active parts of the body, and their activities cannot be stopped. The artificial means of the yogic process

The standard of material education is sense gratification, but the highest standard of spiritual education is knowledge of the science of The Supreme Lord. Srimad Bhagavatam (4.29.49) states: “That work which pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest work, and that science or knowledge which places one in full Krishna consciousness is the highest knowledge.” 

Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja, while instructing his childhood friends at school, stated that hearing of the Lord, chanting

There are many worshipable objects. For example, the impersonalists worship the brahmajyoti, but by such worship one becomes bereft of life’s symptoms and becomes just like a tree or other nonmoving living entity. Those who worship the so-called void also attain such results. Those who are after material enjoyment (bhukti) worship the demigods and achieve their planets and thus enjoy material happiness. 

Here a fundamental question arises that those who are after material happiness and those who

To be nonviolent to human beings and to be a killer or enemy of the innocuous living entities is Satan's philosophy. In this age there is enmity toward poor animals, and therefore the innocent living creatures are always anxious. The reaction of these innocent animals is being forced on human society, and therefore there is always the strain of cold or hot war between men, individually, collectively or nationally. 

During the previous Yuga when the holy Vedic Civilisation was prevalent, during th

This world is compared to a forest fire caused by the cohesion of bamboo bushes. Such a forest fire takes place automatically, for bamboo cohesion occurs without external cause. Similarly, in the material world the wrath of those who want to impose their supremacy over material nature interacts, and the fire of war takes place, exhausting the unwanted population. The Lord has nothing to do with Such fires or wars that take place. But because He wants to maintain the creation, He desires the mass

Sitting by the beach this morning, after I finished my power-chanting, marvelled by the Lord's incredible natural creations, I decided to spend some more time relishing nectarean kirtans as the beautiful, glowing sun rose slowly over me, bringing a gleaming light to the beautiful white sand and blue sea. Its glittering, golden rays  felt like Lord's soft touch on my head. The cool coast breeze and the tiny droplets of water splashing against the rocks, which brushed my face felt like God's divin

Fear keeps us focused on the past and constantly worried about the future. It creates desperation and indecision that paralyzes our logic, thinking and actions. We can’t live freely because we can’t stop living in fear - fear of the unknown, fear of the future.

The control by time lays its inevitable hands all over the space within the universe, as there is control by time all over the planets. All the big gigantic planets, including the sun, are being controlled by the force of air, as the cloud

The whole material world is thriving on the delusion of becoming independent of the laws of nature. 

Beginning from Ravana, who wanted to prepare a direct staircase to the planets of heaven, down to the present age, we are trying to overcome the laws of nature. We are trying now to approach distant planetary systems by electronic mechanical power. But the highest goal of human civilization is to work hard under the guidance of the Lord and become completely dependent on Him. 

The greatest attainme

In the material world, to be dependent on the mercy of someone else is the utmost sign of misfortune, but in the case of our transcendental relation with the Lord, it is the most fortunate case when we can live completely dependent on Him.

As we can envision from our holy scriptures, that the sagacious Pandavas are most fortunate because with all good fortune they were entirely dependent on the mercy of the Lord. The material disease is due to thinking of becoming independent of everything. But t