As Krsna displays His attractive three-fold bending form, His left side stretches up broad and straight, without showing the three lines on His belly. His right heel is raised, and His left foot appears to be kissing the earth. His well-shaped left knee is slightly contracted, and His waist is gently curved. His garland and thin caddar are swinging to the left side. It is very pleasant to see His arm pit as He effortlessly holds His strong left arm aloft. ... The pollen fell on His right cheek and He looked so ...

Some may consider that in this age the pancaratra is not so relevant and that it is sufficient to simply focus on the chanting of the Lord's holy name. Some misunderstand the appropriate mood of temple worship in ISKCON temples. This is manifest in different ways. How the deities are dressed, the mood of worship, or our interpretation of our relationship with the Lord, the way we interact with the deities, how strictly we follow the worship process and the rules a...

“This is possibly the only temple in China where we are still praying to a Hindu God,” says Li San Long, a Chedian resident, with a smile

The concept of evolution of species, generally attributed to Charles Darwin, actually had its origin thousands of years ago in ancient India, and formed the basis of the illuminating philosophy of the Vedas. Since Darwin lived at a time when the profundity of the Indian wisdom already made an indelible impression on the minds of the western savants, it is hard to imagine how Darwin could possibly have escaped the compelling influence of the Indian thoughts while formulating his theory of evolution. Darw...

Material desires comprise a similar gravity force that acts on us by dragging our consciousness down to the material level. If we neglect this force, our consciousness will naturally, obviously, inevitably, be pulled down by it to sensual contemplations, and we will fall from our devotional standards to disaster.

Implicit in current theories of evolution are two basic assumptions: first, that the myriad living forms have come into being exclusively by chance and the action of natural laws; and second, that consciousness and all life processes are nothing more than physiochemical interactions. In many arenas, both within and without the academic world, a debate is raging to determine the truth or falsehood of evolutionary theory and its implied assumptions. And for good reason. For if it is indeed true that li...

During my visit to Central New Jersey, Govinda Prabhu and I spoke at Princeton University on the topic of “Tragic Hero? Lessons from the life of the Mahabharata character Karna.” Addressing the Karna-Duryodhana friendship, I spoke on how a low self-esteem makes us emotionally vulnerable to be manipulated by whoever seems to offer us respect. After the talk, on seeing the intense interest throughout of a pan-Indian and a non-Indian audience, I felt reinforced in my conviction realized ...

Lekhasravanti met with Prabhupada the next day and mentioned how her parents were both killed in a plane crash in 1970. Prabhupada immediately consoled her, quoting a Sanskrit verse that her parents were still alive somewhere, as the self (spirit soul) never dies. Srila Prabhupada then asked Lekhasravanti if she wanted to get married. Lekhasravanti tried to be philosophical and replied, "Oh Srila Prabhupada, whatever Krishna desires." Prabhupada chuckled, "Every girl wants to get married." Lekhasravanti explained her parent's had a life insurance policy from which sh...

From a multi-billionaire to pauper in the street, everyone is seeking the wealth of love. The gaudy gizmos, exotic holidays, luxury cars, sports bikes, late night dance parties, Valentine ‘s day, thousands of friend lists on Facebook, millions of followers on Twitter and 70 mm celluloid screens, may titillate or stimulate the senses and mind, but in the real reel of our life it cannot quench the thirst of love in our heart. This thirst can be better apprehended by the analog of the gardener. As when the gardener waters the root of the...

There have been some people who have declared that the worship of Deities or images or the murti in the temples is but a recent invention of Vedic culture. However, that is not an accurate point. It is true that according to the different yugas or ages (such as Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga) there are different processes for spiritual development that have been more recommended than others. For example, meditation was the recommended process for Satya-yuga, when people lived much longer and could sit in meditation for long periods of time. Then in Treta-yu...

Vrindavan is wonderful. The two sweet fair and dark splendors named Radha and Krsna are wonderful. Pure love for Their lotus feet is wonderful. He who has faith in Them and rises to the spiritual world is wonderful. The rare soul who understands these truths is wonderful. I worship two splendors who are more handsome than millions of Rati-Kamadevas, who have stolen the glory of millions of Laksmi-Narayanas, whose forms are effulgent as gold and sapphires, and who enjoy pa...

So I thought, “Boy, how am I going to show Prabhupada how to use this thing? He’s from the village. In Vrindavan, they don’t know what a Dictaphone is.” So I brought it up to Prabhupada’s room, and I showed it to him. I showed him the mike, and he looked at it. I said, “Prabhupada, there’s an instruction book here how to use it. I’ll go through it with you.” He said, “No, that’s OK, I know.” I was shocked. And sure enough, Prabhupada knew. He pr...

"It's an astonishing story. If someone told you a story like this, you wouldn't believe it. Here's this person, he's seventy years old, he's going to a country where he's never been before, he doesn't know anybody there, he has no money, has no contacts. He has none of the things, you would say, that make for success. He's going to recruit people not on any systematic basis, but just picking up whomever he comes across and he's going to give them responsibility for organizing a worldwide movement. You'd say, 'What kind of program i...

When Lord Caitanya was preaching in the town of Navadvipa, two of His closest associates, Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura, approached a noisy crowd on the main road. They learned from passers-by that two brothers, Jagai and Madhai, were once again causing a disturbance in a drunken condition. These two brothers had been born in a respectable brahmana family, but due to bad association they had become debauchees of the worst type. Not only were th...

He who sees an object is called the seer, and an object seen by the observer is called the seen. The instrument of seeing, is called sight. It is a common error to deem the sense of sight the actual seer. Whatever we can measure by any of our senses we also call a seeable object, and he who senses it is called the seer. It is best that the jiva see himself as the object of Krishna's enjoyment. Thinking himself the seer, he sees the world as the object of his enjoyment. But thinking himself the enjoyer, under the influence of the false ego, will result only in his misfortune. It is not fitt...

When Sarvabauma denounced himself as an offender and took shelter of Lord Caitanya, the Lord wanted to show him His mercy, so He manifested His four armed Visnu form. Then, just after this, He manifested His original two-armed Krsna form, with a blackish complexion and a flute near His lips. When Sarvabauma Bhattacarya saw this, he prostrated himself before the Lord. Then he arose and with folded palms offered Lord Caitanya prayers of glorification. By the Lord's mercy, all truths were re...

This realization can be a painful experience. Hence to avoid this realization, we may prefer to believe that chanting is one of the many things to be done in devotional service. If we profess that chanting is the most important activity, immediately we are exposed to the painful reality of our own poor chanting. It seems hypocritical that on the one hand we declare chanting to be most sacred, but on the other hand, our actions are contrary to the reality we preach about. The more we glorify the Holy Names, the more we have to face the stark truth of our own inadequacies of chanting. And th...

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura called this place “Vrindavana Pattan”, which means the place where the forest of Vrindavana is manifest. By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s spiritual potency, Syama-Kunda, Radha-Kunda and Giri-Govardhana of Vrindavana are all manifest here. Established by Sarasvati Thakura in 1918, this temple was the headquarters of his Krishna Consciousness preaching throughout India. During its peak time, there were 800 devotees here to cope with the daily influx of visitors.

Every spot on earth where discourses on God are held is a place of pilgrimage. Possession of objects not related to Krsna is our main malady. Those favored by God find their paths set by thorns. We are put to test and trial in this world. Only those who attend the kirtana of the devotees can succeed. Let me not desire anything but the highest good for my worst enemies. As dalliance with the body in luxury increases, so wanes the spirit of service of the Lord. Those favored by God find their paths set by thorns.

1. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instructions in Sikastakam, “param vijayate Sri-Krishna -Sankirtanam” is the only motto of the Gaudiya math. 2. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna is the only enjoyer. Everyone and everything else is the object of his enjoyment. 3. Anyone who does not serve Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is ignorant and a killer himself. 4. To learn to tolerate is one of the most important responsibilit...

The care of the house where Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was born was later taken on by the Gaudiya Matha. Now the entire house has been developed nicely, with a beautiful temple, devotee quarters, etc. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s murti is worshipped in the same spot where he took birth. When devotees were digging the soil to construct this temple, a nice smell of candana manifested from the place where he took birth. Six months after Bimala Prasada’s appearance was the event of Lord Jagannatha’s Rathayatra. As t...

When we talk about sankirtana, we are, of course, talking about the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names, specifically in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. For many people, this is the first way they come in contact with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, and with Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana movement, by hearing the devotees chanting the holy names. But what is it about this process that makes it so effective, and so important in the way people are first exposed to it?