In 1969, when I was a student of psychology at Brandeis University, I met my spiritual teacher, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In 1970, after studying with him for a year and a half, I accompanied him to India. And in 1977, he taught us by his example how to leave the world in proper, pure consciousness. He retired to Vrindavan, a holy place in India, and surrounded himself with devotees who were always chanting or reading to him from sacred literature. Being in such a holy place was ...

In a recent interview with the GBC Strategic Planning Team, Sesa Prabhu, my father, spoke about ksatriya training. I found the letter that was referred to in the interview which he wrote to Jagadish Maharaj on the topic in 1983. Being an educator myself, I found this a relevant subject to today’s world in ISKCON and want to put it forth for publication on Dandavats.

Through the ages Western man has alternately pondered or ignored death, the most persistent yet least understood fact of our existence. In the year A.D. 138, the great Roman emperor Hadrian lay dying in a villa overlooking the Bay of Naples. For many years he had been the mighty ruler of the Western world, governing an empire that stretched for thousands of miles. In the course of his eventful life as soldier/statesman, he encountered diverse peoples of many customs and faiths. From these people he had perhaps heard various ideas on the supreme challenge that now faced h...

The swami arrived in Los Angeles the day before the show and spent the afternoon recuperating from the flight in his apartment on Saturn Street. The following night, we headed down to the studios for our first television appearance. March met us at the door and led us through a warren of corridors to a small room. “We’re going to start with a warm-up interview so you get used to how the show is run.” She opened the door to a larger room and motioned for us to go in. There were already two ...

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 and ma...

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 religious-min...

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 love

As devotees and followers of the Vedic path, we already accept the premise that Lord Krishna appeared 5,000 years ago and spoke the Bhagavad-gita in the Mahabharata war. But it is always nice when scholars, other researchers and science can add support to what we already propose. So let’s take a look at this. One aspect that can show us the early nature of Vedic society, and with a little more reliability, is highlighting the time when Lord Krishna was present. This is another point that has generated man...

Cause and Effect are the natural phenomenon in this material world. Every Cause is followed by an Effect and every Effect has a Cause.  This phenomenon of cause and effect is explained in Vedic texts as well as in the modern science alike. Newton's law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction and similarly in Vedanta Sutra, the Cause and effect phenomenon is explained in great detail. Knowing this truth, we generally tend to look at the cause and effects with our limited vision and blame or praise certain cause for the effects that we may enjoy or suffer during the ...

I started out by remembering Janmastami 1966 in the storefront. “The room we are in now reminds me of that storefront,” I said. “It was about the same size. 1966 was the first year Prabhupada observed Janmastami in America. In 1965, he left India and observed Janmastami at sea a few days later. By 1966, ISKCON had just begun. So he asked the devotees to stay all day in the storefront and fast. “His request seemed like a very difficult proposal. Some of us expressed doubt ...

Cymbals, damru drums, bherries, and big drums vibrated auspicious sounds in specific melodies. A celestial concert of precise poetical meters, proper rhythms, and metrical compositions suddenly manifested there. The musical ensemble inspired the society girls to sing and dance in mirth and merriment. Though not good singers, by the will of the Lord they sang with great virtuoso. Then" wonderful songs filled Nanda Maharaja's heart with joy. The combined vibration...

At his father's request, Gopal Agarwal had done as he had done for several other sadhus, none of whom had ever gone to America. It was just a formality, something to satisfy his father. Gopal had requested a form from the Indian Consulate in New York, obtained a statement from his employer certifying his monthly salary, gotten a letter from his bank showing his balance as of April 1965, and had the form notarized. It had been stamped and approved in New York and sent to Delhi. Now Bhaktivedanta Swami had a sponsor. But he still needed a passport, visa, P-form, and travel fare.

I started chanting the holy names of Krishna, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and began to follow the four regulative principles. It was amazing to see how I could easily give up my nasty habits. My family members were initially skeptical, unable to understand the change in me. Earlier all my actions were under the influence of alcohol, but seeing this miraculous transformation in my life, they were wondering if I was acting under the influence of something more dangerous. Every morning I started...

Our family goals - Our principle: * To serve Srila Prabhupada and the Vaisnavas: chadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payeche keba (without being a devotee of a devotee, one cannot be released from material entanglement, Narottama Dasa Thakura) Our methods of service: * To serve the mission of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (ISKCON) * To share our good fortune with others * To set a good example as individuals and as a family * To extend ourselves to help others with whatever qualifications or facilities Lord Krsna has bestowed upon us...

"You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty". The above mentioned verse is one of the most famous verses in Bhagavad Gita, although many know this verse and probably might have recited and heard them many times, very few of us are able to take it to heart and follow it as it is. The verse here is directing us on the art of working, in...

"...certainly we will come out successful because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself and whatever He desires will certainly be done. So, as parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we can become instrumental in carrying out the plan of the Lord and be benefited and be beneficial to all others by the progressive march Back to Godhead. So do not feel discouraged but carry on with perseverance and Krishna will help you. (SPL to Kirtanananda, Nov. 24, 1970, Bombay)

We have all heard a great class or read something that really motivated us to change. But why do we often fall back to our old ways within a few days or weeks? It can be because we have not associated significant amounts of pain to holding on to some anartha(s). Unless something disgusts you, unless you feel you can’t take it anymore, it’s unlikely you will change. Think about something you have put off for a long time - years perhaps - that you could have easily done by now. Why haven’t you done it? It is becau...

Lord Balarama is an expansion of Lord Krishna glorified in the Vedic Puranas and Itihasas. Krishna is the spiritually manifest Supreme Person, whose internal spiritual energy is the all-pervading Brahman. He is glorified as Narayana, Vasudeva, Mahavishnu, Hari, Vishnu, and many other names. Shiva and Brahma are said to be His qualitative expansions. He is the Supreme Lord, the Lord of all universes. Everything emanates from Him and dissolves back in Him. He is the cause of creation, maintenance, and dissolution of everything and every living entity. His chatur-vyuha (four-handed) expansions ar...

Sometimes people ask who is Lord Balarama? And the answer is that He is the brother of Lord Krishna. However, He does many things besides that. How we understand this is to first recognize that, according to Vedic scripture such as the Srimad Bhagavata Purana, it is described that Lord Krishna is the primeval Lord, the original Personality of Godhead, so He can expand Himself into unlimited forms with all potencies. They are no different from Him, but may exhibit...

Those uninitiated into the spiritual knowledge of the Srimad Bhagavad – Gita might consider Arjuna as a very gifted and talented warrior (like Bruce Lee or Dara Singh or an Indiana Jones of ancient times), who ‘killed’ so many enemies on the battlefield. But in reality, Arjuna was fighting for a cause beyond his own personal needs or wants. In fact he came into the battlefield very reluctantly and initially refused to pick up his weapons. His eventual entry into the battle was an act of yoga, which went beyond ...

The material world is but a small portion of God’s kingdom and a place for those who wish to become the center of enjoyment. The material world and its suffering is not really God’s desire, just as a government would prefer that there were no prisons. Though the government provides and organises the prison service, the criminal is responsible for his or her situation. Similarly, though God creates this world, the soul creates his own happiness and distress. The world is a place where fallen souls attempt to enjoy existence separately from God. The ...

"Mathura-vasa to reside at Mathura or Vrndavana." So we must become a resident of Vrndavana. We must realize that Vrndavana is our home. Now you are in Czech republic and I am in New Govardhana, Australia. But part of us is always in Vrndavana, because Vrndavana is our home. We are now far away from home in foreign countries Czech or Australia, and even although it may be very nice at times still how can we be fully satisfied it is just not like Vrndavana, being in a foreign country we are always feeling the desire to go back to home. In my passport my "place of res...