Tamala Krsna : What is the way to draw the line between the following three things: blasphemy, fault-finding, and calling a spade a spade? Prabhupada: A spade a spade... Just like I am saying that "What you are? You are small fig only." That is reality. And what is the other? Tamala Krsna : The other is fault-finding and... Prabhupada: Fault-finding, that is another fault, that... vranam icchanti, maksika vranam icchanti, madhum icchanti(?) Just like the flies, they are finding out where is sore, and the bees, they are finding out where ...

I am a member of the Governing Body Commission for the Hare Krishna movement and I wanted to share the Code of Honour which is printed and placed on our seats during meeting times. It’s good and can apply to other organizations. There are ten points.

"That place, time and condition one must resort to which are favorable for mental concentration. He should resort to that place only, seize that hour only, place himself in that condition only, see those comforts only, which are favorable to securing serenity of mind. For by time, place, etc., there is no peculiarity said to be wrought in meditation, but all inquiry about time, place, etc is meant for making the mind serene.’’

Marriage is like a fortress created by the husband and wife to protect themselves from the powerful enemies of the uncontrolled senses so that both of them may peacefully advance spiritually. “The bodily senses are considered plunderers of the fort of the body. The wife is supposed to be the commander of the fort, and therefore whenever there is an attack on the body by the senses, it is the wife who protects the body from being smashed.” (SB 3.14.20) “There is no difference between a good wife and good intelligence. One who possesses ...

I didn’t know it at the time, but Jarreau’s music would soon inspire me to go hear many of his concerts & also meet him in person. Then, a few years later when I met Krsna, bhakti and Srila Prabhupada, the deal was sealed. I decided to stay close but not too close to thought-provoking, mode of goodness music like his. In fact, The Director of Wanderers had me travel 3,000 miles to meet Al in person & give him several of BT Swami’s world-famous, super popular books. Though I’m surely not the doer, through me Jarreau received the ...

Vrindavana, 1974-5: It might have been the always-blissful English brahmachary Gunarnava or maybe the philosophical Scottish devotee Smara Hari who approached me with the news. “Hey, Patit,” he called, “A sadhu just asked Shrila Prabhupada for initiation.” “Wow, good luck to that Maharaja,” I chuckled pessimistically. After all, we had both been Prabhupada’s disciples for a number of years, and had been in India long enough to know that most sadhus preferred to keep their distance from us “phoren bhaktas”. Sure, most ...

Men can go to the gross moon but not to the subtle, heavenly dimension described in the Veda. The Srimad Bhagavatam describes the subtle dimensions of the universe, even when describing the Earth (or Bhu-mandala). That dimension will be shown in the TOVP- Temple of Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur. The TOVP will not show anything of the gross realm- visible by the gross eyes and telescopes, although the gross and subtle dimensions are related.

From the moment that the living entity is born, he has a desire to enjoy. With cute smiles and cries of discomfort, the cute little baby forces his parents to dote on him. From the moment a conditioned entity is born, he believes that this world is meant for worshiping him. His awakening years start when he grows and is no longer little and adorable. Having left childhood behind, worship becomes more difficult to acquire. The living entity has limited experience and a poor fund of knowledge. Much of this is due to the memory at the end o...

If a case of illicit sex between a man and an unmarried woman were brought before Prabhupada, he never blamed the woman. He said it is the man's fault because the man is supposed to be strong and intelligent, and that a woman naturally and innocently follows a man. A man’s role is to protect and provide. Protection and exploitation are opposites. So if a woman went along with a man's sexual aggression, Prabhupada wouldn't blame her.

Krishna is possessed of an unlimited intellect (84.22) Krishna is inaccessible to sensuous knowledge (16.46). Krishna is the Lord of the infinity of worlds (69.17). Krishna wields the power of creating the unlimited (87.28). Krishna carries the impress of limitless power (87.14). Krishna is possessed of inconceivable potency (10 .29). Krishna is unborn (59.28, 74.21). Krishna solves all heterogeneous views (74.24). Krishna is vanquished by exclusive devotion (14.3). Krishna is the Inner ...

Essential to Bhaktivinoda’s revolutionary view was the understanding that Lord Chaitanya was not exaggerating when He said that His name would be sung in every town and village around the world. Bhaktivinoda wrote in his monthly journal Sajjana-tosani, “Sriman Mahaprabhu did not descend with His associates to deliver a certain number of human beings in the land of India, but rather His purpose was to deliver and uplift all living beings in all countries of the world by practicing the eternal religion of all souls.” He quoted a ve...

As visitors to India travel north by car from Kolkata, the landscape gradually shifts from urban sprawl to pastoral farmland. High-rise housing and industrial construction sites give way to a flat horizon of villages and rice paddies. Four hours and eighty miles later, visitors enter the district of Mayapur on the banks of the Ganges River, at the point of its confluence with the Jalangi. Here at Mayapur, in the early sixteenth century, Lord Krishna in His form as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu popularized the public chanting of Hare Krishna, Ha...

How long will you sleep in the lap of the ugly witch Maya? How long? You have already slept for such a long time, lakhs and lakhs of lives. Do you want to sleep in the lap of the ugly witch Maya? Mahaprabhu is your only well-wishing friend. He loves you so much that He descended here! Krishna says, jivanam sarva- bhutesu - I am the life in all living entities." If you are not carrying Krishna in you, have you love? You have no life. You are dying at every moment. You are...

The husband as the guru of the wife is an interesting topic. Some men operate under the paradigm that since I am the guru of my wife, she is duty-bound to do anything I ask of her. I am not saying it is not the duty of the wife to submissively serve the husband, but the idea that a husband has a right to be over-demanding of his wife reflects a misunderstanding of the duty of the husband. You might think, "Are there really many men today in Iskcon who are that demanding...

“This idea of love in relation to the Supreme Person can be compared with the ‘universal love’ mentioned in many UFO communications. These communications often define the ultimate One as an impersonal energy or force. Yet love is something having to do with persons. If the One is impersonal in nature, then how can love have a truly universal role? Note that this problem does not come up in modern scientific theories. According to modern science, love is simply a recent outgrowth of hominid evolution in Africa, and it has nothing to...

Normality and illness only exist in the illusionary vision of man. In reality, there is only the immense path of spiritual evolution, characterized by vicissitudes, incidents, stages, progresses, stasis, deviations, falls and imprisonments. Certain incidents are isolated and classified by medicine and psychology as “illness”. Then medicine and psychology study them under an unconscious perspective and do not take under account the evolution context in which they are inserted. These sciences can still obtain respectable, considerable a...

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami: You have no right to chastise, no right to correct anyone. You are not guru. Guru has that right. If you see something and you have a good heart, “He is doing something wrong that is detrimental to his bhakti.” Then go to him, pay obeisances, and tell him confidentially, not in front of others, “O my brother, I see this thing and it pains me very much that you are doing this and this. This is a great impediment on the path of devotion. I fear you will not be...

A devotee asked Prabhupada for help, saying that he was not able to follow the four rules. Prabhupada looked sternly at him and said, "If you do not follow the regulative principles, then no one can help you'.” Following the practices of Krsna consciousness is the platform from which help comes. It is not that we attract mercy by virtue of the fact that we are so fallen that we can't follow or don't try to follow. To think this way only perpetuates the problem. Devotees feel in great need of mer...

Through their inspired and enlightening writings, the world can now drink deeply at the inexhaustible fountain of truth of Gaura-vani, His perfect theistic revelations. Although amply confirmed in many Vedic scriptures, His divinity has been further demonstrated through the amazing lives and pure character of His many Godly followers, full of compassion and dedication to the salvation of all souls. These rare souls perfectly embody Sri Caitanya's divine sentiment of audharya, of God's intense desire to uplift all mankind. They were thus e...