From time to time we hear that a certain devotee is “mature”. We know it is a positive thing, but what does it really mean? How can we become the kind of devotee that others will call “mature”? What is the evidence regarding “maturity” in our revealed scriptures?

I will tell you how I found out about it, and this story is a classic example of the dreadful reality faced by all the suffering souls of this material world. It also shows clearly what Srila Prabhupad has saved us from and why we should feel eternally indebted to him. It all started when I received a phone call from my parents saying that Dad was sick with cancer. I believe in omens, and my right eye started twitching profusely, so I knew that the outcome wouldn't be good. That was in the beginning of November. But Dad was optimisti...

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada perfectly exemplified flawless devotion of the highest order, yet many are his severe cautions and stern admonishments against the impatient and impetuous impudence of those exceedingly foolish persons who are mistakenly disposed to consider themselves pre-eminently qualified to automatically ascend to the highest spiritual stratosphere of spontaneous devotion merely because of the apparent extent of their own imagined penultimate fitness to receive the most intimate connection conceivable with topmost Divinity.

Have you heard kirtana leaders say “Chant from the heart!”? What do they mean by this? We have three hearts: the physical pump, the emotional heart and the spiritual heart. Whenever we want to align ourselves to the chanting of the Holy Name we refer to the third heart, the heart in which we experience spiritual feelings. For instance, when you read the Srimad-Bhagavatam or chant, have you noticed that you feel relieved? You feel as though you are above the clo...

Why should one surrender to someone? Can’t one be independent? It’s within everyone’s experience that there are problems in this world. One tries to solve them by one’s own efforts, and to some extent, one becomes successful too. However, material solutions are temporary. Because the problems arise again and again. To permanently solve them, one needs help from superior powers. So, like Gajendra, one should surrender to God (madrk prapanna). This proposal, or rather this conclusion of all scriptures, doesn’t seem palatable to an average human engrossed in material pursuits. ...

Because Suniti herself was a great devotee, she could inspire Dhruva to take to devotional service. Although Dhruva was ambitious, because he received the guidance of great devotees like Suniti and Narada, he was purified and elevated. Although Uttanapada neglected his glorious wife and son, he honestly repented for his misdeeds and took to good behavior soon. Although Suruci was envious and proud, the kindness of Suniti and spiritual success of Dhruva brought positive transformation in her.

"Prabhus," the temple president said, "I have incredible news. I have just been told, without any room for doubt or question, the following. A pure devotee is amongst you!" Vaishnava das, a faithful servant of Srila Prabhupada, for many years serving as temple president in a temple community of devotees, had just returned from a visit to a nearby hut which an older sannyasi had chosen as his base for his writing in preparing for his next preaching tour duties. He had approached him with heavy...

One of Srila Prabhupada's early disciples, Malati dasi, saw a small figure in an import store, Cost Plus, and brought it to Srila Prabhupada. When Prabhupada saw the figure, his eyes opened wide. He folded his palms and bowed his head in respect

The original roots of an organisation – the regional headquarters or a national office – serve its branches and the branches serve the head office, or in our case the head temple or national ISKCON structure. If the head office provides nothing for the branches, they become weak and stop growing. If the branches provide nothing for head office it also becomes weak, or in many cases, begins to conserve valuable resources for itself. It gets weak all the same; it just takes a little more time. ...

The Srimad-Bhagavatam contains many beautiful gitas or songs sung by various illustrious personalities. These songs inspire and enlighten us with spiritual knowledge of various levels. The following is a brief summary of the popular gitas found in the Bhagavatam, along with the contexts in which they appear. The titles of these gitas as presented below are found either in the Bhagavatam directly or in the commentary of the great acarya Srila Visvanatha Cakravart...

Management is a headache. It can be a very big headache. But I’ll tell you why I’ve taken up such a responsibility for so many years. It’s because I see it in relationship to serving Srila Prabhupada’s mission; because, I’m one hundred percent convinced that Srila Prabhupada wanted an institution. Institution means headaches. There’s just no way around it. I saw Prabhupada take those headaches. And I saw many other leaders, under Srila Prabhupada, taking...

Hearing good news about others affects people in different ways. Personally, the feelings it evokes within me serves as a barometer of how emotionally healthy I am and my relationship with the individual. Feelings of joy and "they totally deserve it" are what I aim for. However, in instances where it dredges up not so pleasant emotions, I realize I have internal work to do. As an aspiring practitioner of bhakti this is what I too long to be: the happy well-wisher to others, especially in their time of success and joy. I have b...

Due to uncontrolled love for Visvambhara, the Ganga rushed rapidly, spilling over her banks in order to gently touch the body of the Lord. People wondered why the Ganga seemed much more beautiful today.

Imagine if a message suddenly flashes on the sky: “Due to a technical fault the supply of oxygen will remain unavailable for some time all over the world. Next update about the issue in another hour”. What would happen to us? There won’t be just utter chaos but soon the earth will become a graveyard. Not even vultures and jackals would be alive to feast on the dead bodies. But has it ever happened? Never. Can it happen in future? Sceptics and agnostics ...

We all know that Krsna’s birthplace was a prison cell. Not many of us, however, know that before Srila Prabhupada left for the West, Srila Prabhupada brought Krishna’s message to the Tihar prison, Asia’s largest prison based out of Delhi, in the 1960s. Little did I realize that my own journey of transformation would start from a prison, albeit one for children. By the year 2012, I had had a journey that many materialists would envy to have. Rising from a very humble beginning, I rose fast in the material world with my resume marked with glob...

Here is my little contribution on preparing & offering food to Krishna with love & devotion. I have developed all these recipes with special care & effort. I believe it will be of great help to everyone to learn & cook for Krishna. It is a collection of recipes, for everyday cooking as well as for the festivals & other special occasions

Genuine spiritual teachers are friends to everyone, they do not see anyone as an enemy; rather, the enemy is the illusory energy. To act on this platform, one must understand that the spirit soul can never possess material qualities. It simply contacts matter and carries it like air carries earthly aromas. This explains a seeming contradiction. The Lord and His devotees relieve conditioned souls from the “us and them” mentality by sharp words which sever material attachments. This may seem like criticism; but criticism is condemned by Krishna. There is no contradiction be...

When I work in hospitals I am always very moved by the great suffering and despair of the souls who by circumstance happen to be there, whether patient or hospital worker. Because of this, as I traverse the various stairwells, elevators, corridors and rooms I whisper Hari! Hari! over and over again

Whether you like it or not, Jehovah’s Witnesses are always ready to do two things (1) Distribute books (2) Sit down and talk with you, and help you to understand. ISKCON has many book distributors, but we need more gurus.

Nowadays the great innovations of medical and scientific science can maintain patients alive, even those that in the past were given no hope to survive. These innovations can prolong the patient’s existence artificially even knowing that they will never regain acceptable health and life conditions. This situation is commonly called over-medication. The definition of cerebral death, since the end of the sixties has allowed for the development of transplant surgery. Before that time, the extraction of ...

Sayyed Martuza (1590-1662), a Muslim fakir born in the Murshidabad district of Bengal, wrote poems adoring Krishna. The style of his composition is simple and rhythmic. Here is his Bengali poem that was compiled in Pada-kalpa-taru by Satishchandra Raya in 1915: Timely Compassion Syama! O friend! My afflicted life is assuaged only by You I cannot forget that auspicious day when I happened to meet You As I beheld Your moonlike face, I was overcome by restles...

To control the elephant is humanly impossible. So as soon as the baby elephant is born, the elephant trainer ties him with a rope to a pole. Initially the baby elephant tries his best to break the rope but because of his tender body he fails. The newly born elephant tries again and again but every time he fails. The baby elephant gets convinced that he is not strong enough to break it. He accepts it to be his destiny and continues to be tied. And even when he gr...