The hill named Govardhan is the king of the kings of mountains. It was born from Lord Hari’s own chest. It has come here by the power of Pulastya Muni. By seeing it one becomes free from having to take birth again in this world. Sri Indra said: You are the master of the demigods, the supreme controller, the Lord who is perfect and complete, the oldest, the supreme person greater than the greatest and above the material energy, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Hari. O master of...

A lot of Bengali devotees lament that even though A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada instructed a number of his senior disciples to preach in Bangladesh, he personally never visited Bangladesh. However, devotees would be happy to know that Prabhupada’s Guru, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur visited Bangladesh/East Bengal several times. His preaching pastimes in Bangladesh will be described herein. Born on February 6, 1874, in the holy Jagannath Pur...

Such is the influence of holy places. They can elevate one’s consciousness, even the consciousness of one habituated to low thoughts. And people who go to holy places—Mayapur, Vrindavan, Jagannath Puri—can immediately feel the difference. The Nectar of Devotion, with reference to the power of living in Mathura-Vrindavan, explains, “Srila Rupa Gosvami has described Mathura-mandala: ‘I remember the Lord standing by the banks of the Yamuna River, so beautiful amid the kadamba trees, where many birds are chirping in the gardens. And these impressions are always givin...

Wherever in this world there were great manifestations of love between Radha and Krsna, not only was it an extraordinary experience for those who were present there, but actually that entire place also became transformed. Various places in Vrindavan, where Radha and Krsna had great exchanges of love, are very potent with powerful mercy that becomes available to us as well. The appearance of Radha-kund, the lake of Srimati Radharani, is a most special occasion, as it is said that Radha kund is the most sacred space in the entire univer...

The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control. Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic means for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions. The integration of these three – prayers composed poetically and sung individually or collectively – is a powerful and joyful way to channel human emotions towards the divine. In the world’s great theistic traditions are found many examples of beautiful prayer-songs. Such...

Have you ever been on a road trip and knew where your destination was but didn’t know exactly how to get there? You switched on Google maps and got directions but closer to your destination, you felt you knew a better way and ignored the GPS only to get lost and ultimately added thirty minutes to your trip. I find spiritual life to be much the same. We naturally want to be controllers in our in lives. We sometimes ignore instructions and do things our own way. When we do this we hit roadblocks, get stuck in traffic, or get totally lost. Our teachers are like the GPS, they ...

Vows like the urja-vrata are pleasing to the Lord and they come highly recommended by sastra, guru and sadhu. Just by following these simple vows during Kartika month, no matter where one resides, a devotee will gain rapid spiritual advancement by the grace of the Lord. Sastra confirms: Harim vina naiva srtim taranti: “Without the blessings of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot stop the continuous chain of birth and death within this material world.” Trying to find happiness outside of devotional service and without the blessings of Lord Hari is futi...

During the Kartik of 1972, Srila Prabhupada stayed at the Radha-Damodara temple and we stayed at Kesi Ghat where the palace of King Bharatpur is located. We would wake up early in the mornings and take bath in the Yamuna River along with some very big tortoises, kacchap. Srila Prabhupada’s plan was not to give public programs or host public functions, but instead to give classes for the benefit of the devotees. This is how the famous Nectar of Devotion lecture series came about. Every morning he would give a class on Bhagavatam and every evening he would give a class on...

Revealing the Land of Krsna. Among the sacred cities of the world, Vrndavana is probably the least well known. Yet this small town in northern India ranks with Rome, Jerusalem, and Mecca as a center of worship. It was in Vrndavana that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, displayed His transcendental pastimes during His appearance on this planet some five thousand years ago. Over the course of centuries, the places of Krsna's pastimes were lost to human memory, until they were rediscovered in the sixteenth century by Sri Caitan...

The mega-merciful month of Karttika is fast approaching each and every one of us. Are we ready for it? Some of us may be – especially if we are painfully aware of our crucial need for a heavy dose of causeless mercy – and we know something of Karttika’s boundless grace and potency. In that case, we may well be already planning our Karttika “mercy-begging” schedule to attract the blessings of Sri Krsna

“I was coming into a lot of conflict within myself about the hedonistic lifestyle I was leading. Although I had lots of money and lots of things that people tick off their bucket list, I wasn’t genuinely finding deep, profound happiness.” By then, his best friend and his wife were already part of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The two of them were making a quarter of Jai’s salary, and that was just fine with them.

The devotees publicized the pandal very widely, in newspapers and on billboards. In the advertisements, Srila Prabhupada's disciples were described as American, Canadian, European, African, and Japanese sadhus (saintly devotees). This was unprecedented. Previously, whenever the word sadhu had been applied to someone, it was understood that the person was Indian. There could be no other consideration. But these advertisements were talking about sadhus from all over the world. This was indeed a n...

“Therefore every one of you should become pure devotee, first-class devotee. First-class devotee is that... In this age it has been made very easy. Simply keep yourself cleansed, not to indulge in the four principles, prohibition, and chant Hare Krsna. Then you will be all first-class devotees. And wherever you will go, you will be able to purify there. Wherever you go. Wherever you speak, wherever you'll sit. So keep this spiritual strength intact. Tirth...

A colleague, Andrew, began to have headaches at the end of January. It took about 3 weeks to discover that he had a brain tumour and needed urgent surgery. Andrew's father died of cancer and had spent a year travelling the world because he had feared that he never wanted to be like his father who had always put off enjoying life until later because it was not meant to be. Andrew had a successful operation and within days was at home recovering. However, the tumour was malignant. Andrew was devastated but determined to fight. On Tuesday 18 A...

Devotee parents need to be aware of the big impact that secular teachers have in the religious education and spiritual development of their children. Neither a course of moral values or positive education can bring a permanent feeling of happiness or prepare children and teens for lost and grief that they might face at certain time in their lives. It is only through a loving personal relationship with Lord Krishna that a persona can face the hardest moment of life with integrity.

200+ participants! 600+ attendees! 12 hours of non-stop kirtan! First time in the history of ISKCON, a dedicated Kirtan Mela for the children & by the children of the age group 6 – 16 years. The whole idea of training children of initiated devotees in Kirtan skills started with summer camp of children in July 2007 where they got trained by Mayapur International school teachers and soon after that in Jan 2008, Damodardesh yatra leader HG Sri Vallabha dasa prabhu announced weekly classes named “Dridha Bhakti “classes for children of initiated devotees.

They asked Srila Prabhupada, ‘Why are you converting the Christians into Hindus?’ Prabhupada’s response was, ‘No, I am not converting Christians into Hindus or Muslims into Jews. I am simply making better Christians out of Christians, better Jews out of Jews and better Muslims out of Muslims, better Hindus out of Hindus. Prabhupada is situating them in their perfect identity. Jesus came and spoke. Who is a Christian? A true follower of Jesus Christ is a Christian. And what did Jesus preach? Jesus simply spoke about God, the Father. Who is God the Father? Are the...

As we devotees would say in the early days of ISKCON, “Chant Hare Krsna and stay high forever!” Krsna is known as Stavyapriya, one who likes being praised, so it is natural that we also find it uplifting. Srila Prabhupada often replied in letters, “I am very much happy to hear your kind appreciation, and it is very much encouraging to me.” By hearing appreciation from Srila Prabhupada about their devotional service, disciples would be encouraged for their whole life. Srila Prabhupada’s letter of appreciation of the seva of New Gokula’s arc...

By His Divine Grace I would learn what true broadmindedness really was from the great heart of someone so transcendentally magnanimous that he could "build a house the whole world could leave in." Without being intimidated by other's beliefs or converting anyone to anything but pure God Consciousness Itself. Unconditional friendliness towards all jivas reaches it’s zenith and is perfectly exemplified by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his boundless affection which suffused all his dealings. My favorite story of His Divine Grace is how ...

Another verse from the Bhagavad-gita confirms the notion of chatting on spiritual topics. Such activity brings about the greatest joy. If we talk of practical matters we may get bored. If we talk of purely mundane matters that are demeaning to others one may find stimulation but such subject matter serves to backfire. Then there are philosophical talks, as pandits do - talks which perk the intellectual side of the brain. Finally when one takes shelter of spiritual talks, it compels one to...