Srimad-Bhagavatam Eleventh Canto Chapter 31: The Disappearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Dāruka delivered the account of the total destruction of the Vṛṣṇis, and upon hearing this, O Parīkṣit, the people became deeply distraught in their hearts and stunned with sorrow. Feeling the overwhelming pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa, they struck their own faces while hurrying to the place where their relatives lay dead.

In the book The Seventh Goswami, a biography of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura , it is stated that Thakura Bhaktivinoda prayerfully invoked the Lord, and expressed his heartfelt desire, “When will that day come when the fair-skinned foreigners will come to Sri Mayapur-dhama and join with the Bengali Vaisnavas to chant ‘Jaya Sacinandana, Jaya Sacinandana!’ … Very soon the chanting of Harinama sankirtana will be spread all over the world. Oh, when will that day come when people from America, England, France, Germany, Russia will take up kartals and ...

A confidential thought gets exposed as soon as it reaches six ears. (This means that the confidential thought should stay always between the two ears of the speaking friend and the two ears of the listening friend. As soon at the thought reaches a third person, it has reached six ears and is now exposed). As a good friend, we should know how to keep secrets. These secrets are something which can cause immense public embarrassment to our friends if revealed. These are weaknesses that have been confidentially confided in us.

Though since childhood, I was used to being called “gopi” by my classmates and coworkers as my surname had been “Gope”, however, that never made me uncomfortable. I knew those karmi people did not have any clue what they were referring to. But my devotee girlfriends surely know what they are talking about. Or do they? To my surprise, I found out that it has become quite common among young ladies in ISKCON to call each other gopi, even call each other Srimati Radharani! I was in a dil...

Prabhupada’s Palace was the first Samadhi to be completed for Srila Prabhupada in the world. To this day, it remains the only one of its kind in the West, a renowned Smriti Samadhi, or memorial shrine to ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya, and a monument to the love between Prabhupada and his disciples. Today, as the crown jewel of New Vrindaban, Srila Prabhupada continues to reside in his Palace, embodied through both his murti form and his instructions. There, his sincere followers can still associate with him. And that connection cannot be underestimated. As Srila Prabhupada...

Bhakti Vinode, head gardener at Krishna Eco Farm in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, on past lives and plants with souls. "I have been on the farm since 1989, having first been to a Krishna farm in Watford in 1981. Back then, I was living in a squat and hanging around the West End of London, drinking and getting into trouble. But the Krishna way of life gave me a new goal, rather than always thinking about where I could get my next fix from. I live right next to the farm in Lesmahagow. We’re on a long, winding hillside. We’ve converted the old farmhouse at the top of the hill i...

I made a seminar presentation, in which I shared my experience of attempting to help terminally ill devotees to prepare for death, I asked the seminar attendants the question: “What would you do if you were told you have terminal cancer and you have two or three months to live?” Some devotees replied that they would go to Vrindavan or Mayapur to prepare for leaving their body. Others said that they would chant constantly and hear Krishna Katha without interruption. Bhakta Pol was able to visit the holy dhamas and intensify his s...

Tirupati is the place of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy, who is the all-pervading Lord of the Universe also known as the Lord of the Seven Hills. Tirupati is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage where Lord is worshiped in the mood of awe and reverence. Tirupati is the home to the world’s richest temple, where thousands of pilgrims visit daily to take darshan of Sri Venkateswara Swamy, also popularly known as Balaji. The magnificent temple of Lord Venkateswara Swamy is located on the 7th peak, Venkatachala (Venkata Hill) of Tirumala. It...

Modern civilization achieved great results in countless fields, nevertheless it produced a shadow culture inclined to obsessive identification with the body, and the need to acquire richness in order to satisfy ambitions of power and exorcise fear, even knowing that, by definition, richness is like the sea water: the more you drink it the more thirsty you are. The fake myth of an easy life based on sense pleasures is the heaviest of calamities, the most painful and dreadful of all. Richness, aging, youth, beauty do not guarantee happiness, otherwi...

Unless we simplify our dietary habits, it is not possible to achieve self-sufficiency in our village community projects and it is not possible to become simple. Our conditioning with opulent food that comes from three thousand different destinations is what we look to replicate in our agricultural practices. Even if by some intelligent arrangement if this is possible, we loose the purpose - the simplicity. How much true is Srila Prabhupada's statement - "Use ONLY what you produce, produce ONLY what you need"! Our conditioning, thanks to "Green revolution" and other ongoing effort...

One day of Brahma equals 4 billion, 320 million years. Since Brahma’s night is of the same length, and he lives for 100 Brahma years, in earth time, his age is 310 trillion years. According to Vedic estimates, Brahma has lived about half of his life so far, and a similar period will elapse before he dies, Brahma also being under the control of kaal (time) and mahamaya (the Lord’s external creative potency). Both are insurmountable potencies of the Supreme Lord Visnu. Brahma’s present age is about 155 trillion earth years.

My Glorious Master is an excellent and well written history of an era of Krishna consciousness that would be lost to memory except for the few rare and valuable accounts scribed by far-sighted devotee-writers like Bhurijana. The author’s literary skill captures the reader’s interest in such a way that his journey into spirit is not only shared, but the reader becomes gradually Krishna-ized through the association. The book is rightly titled, for what greater glory can there be for a genu...

Many people know what their problems are, but are unwilling, or don’t believe it is possible for them, to do the difficult work of change and transformation. Or there may be too much secondary gain for staying the same, regardless of their unhappiness or dissatisfaction. We may wear our past wounds like a badge of honor, hoping to get sympathy strokes from other, as in "woe, is me.” Some call this "wound-ology." Being creatures of habit the thought of change, even positive, beneficial change, is challenging for most people, even if they are currently miserable, and thin...

My dear god brother H H Purna Candra Goswami went to his samadhi some time back and we heard many praises. HH Bhakti Vijnana Goswami was lamenting that Purna Candra Prabhu was not so well known world wide since he had much to offer. He did leave us a very beautiful book that I think should be studied by anyone who is serious about spiritual advancement while serving, in any position, within ISKCON. The book is titled, UNSPOKEN OBSTACLES ON THE PATH TO BHAKTI. The title says a lot. Most of the devotees who spoke at his samadhi function mentioned his deep philosophical thinking e...

Intricate sentiments symbolise the grand Rathayatra festivities connecting the event with the return of Lord Krshna to Vrindavan from His pompous life in Dwaraka to meet His heart throbs. The palace of Dwaraka represents the residence of Jagannatha, an enticing enactment of Lord Krshna's scintillating pastime. At Puri, Krshna and His fraternal associates dwell as living Deities to wipe off the sufferings of His devotees in this mutilated age of kaliyuga. The Gundicha represents the Vrindavana, where His eternal assoc...

However fast world may progress towards automation and robotics, every individual will still require an another human to love him because machines can not fulfil the most basic urge of the heart, that is 'to love and to be loved'. Relationships are the most important but simultaneously difficult to cultivate if not cared properly. “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.” “We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics.” “When you stop expectin...

I worship the one absolute truth, Krsna, who is eternal bliss and supreme consciousness, (Nityananda, Advaita-Caitanya), personified as the eternal Bhagavatam which is the complete form of Brahma-sutra, in its most embellished form and who resides with eternal bhakti and the eternal devotees in the eternal spiritual abode. I take shelter of the eternal form, name and qualities of Krsna known from Bhagavatam, which I studied for a long time by the mercy of guru. After having studied the Vaisnava-tosani of Sanatana and after having understood the conclusions of Lord Caitanya fro...

This message was given to me on a magnet many years ago from a friend who sold it at her store. It is a cute and funny saying, but never more true for me than at this time. For those of you in anxiety trying to figure out your life mission or calling, take some solace that I am still figuring that out for myself at 67! You can do it at a much younger age than I have. I am learning what I want to do when I grow up, and for me that time is now, and every day thereafter! I just got pushed out of the nest and I have to fly, or die! We all have our time to flower. The past is o...

For many years I have wondered why it is so difficult to find devotees who are inspired to not only correspond with inmates but to do so steadily as well. It’s been quite a bottleneck since there are far more inmates who write than there are volunteers to reply to them. It seems that often the devotees who volunteer with IPM have an unrealistic, romantic view of what this service is and they get discouraged when reality turns out to be different. I am wondering if, in some way, this IPM NEWS itself contributes to this misconception. Why?

The significance of rathayatra reached the far corners of the globe now and especially where ISKCON temples are located ever since Srila Prabhupada organised the first rathayatra in San Francisco in 1967 as briefed below. The rathayatra was scheduled on a Sunday the 9th July. On Saturday, 8th July, Jagannatha Deities were brought from Stinson Beach and draped in cloth. Although some rathayatra posters were the only official announcements, everyone in the Haight-Ashbury was talking about the festival. A Krishna parade to the beach! A love feast! Bring flowers, wear bells, paint up, chant, and ...

An ambitious multi-year and multi-million dollar renewal effort is in the works, with an enthusiasm that rivals the Palace’s initial construction. The Palace Restoration Committee, established in 2010, is focusing first on the outside Palace wall, and then will move on to the Palace and the grounds. Gopisha Dasa, project manager for Palace restoration, says, “I was absolutely overwhelmed when I first saw the Palace. It was so beautiful. But what was most exciting to me was the spirit of cooperation, to see so many devotees working together for the pleasure of Srila Pra...

One time, Jiva Gosvami heard a flute playing, and then Damodar called out and said, “Jiva! Come; I am playing the flute for you.” And Jiva Gosvami came to the altar and there he saw Damodar dancing! The Deity of Damodar was dancing - His three fold bending form playing upon His flute beautiful, sweet music for the pleasure of His devotee. Jiva Gosvami saw the beautiful form of Damodar, whose eyes were like lotus flowers. His head was decorated with a peacock feather, a garland of beautiful forest flowers was around His neck, and lovely ornaments decorated His body. H...

In this article, I begin with a confession of what I experience as a common experience for men with an addiction to pornography, based on my life and deep empathetic conversations with others. I will share what I believe to be the way to overcome this addiction in Krishna consciousness. This includes the necessity of an environment with minimal temptations, knowing of the science of overcoming anarthas, and the value of being genuine in relationship with others. I will take the liberty of writing on these topics as a commentary to the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, 1.2.16...