With many cases of religious extremism tormenting or instilling fear into people we can hardly blame certain bright thinkers for their agnosticism: “Religion is a fashionable substitute for belief.” (Oscar Wilde) With all these quotes we can better understand the frustration of thinking people. If given a credible, intelligible presentation of genuine spirituality they may happily apply themselves. They want the truth just as much as spiritual seekers want it: “There’s something in every athei...

If Srila Prabhupada visited you, Maybe just for a day or two, And came by unexpectedly, I wonder what you'd do. Oh, I know you'd give your nicest room, To such an honored guest, And all the food you'd offer, Would be the very best. And you would keep assuring him, You're glad to have him there, That serving him within your home, Is a joy beyond compare.

Recently, I was given the honour of spending some time with His Holiness, Bhakti Charu Swami. Bhakti Charu is a spiritual master having dedicated over 40 years of his life to selfless duties within the ISKON organisation. During our time together, we explore Hindu beliefs and understandings, how their applications can greatly help reduce one’s stresses, anxieties in our modern world. Let’s explore these truths together, and discover some answers to happiness. Bhakti Charu Swami Everybody needs ...

But this is where the real test of authenticity should be applied. We should ask, “So, you are loyal to Srila Prabhupada…do you value his teachings, his aggregate teachings?” The obvious answer will be yes. Then probe further. “Do you value his followers who are members of ISKCON, who are cooperating together in spite of many challenges and difficulties?” At this point, though the representative appears to be meek and humble, he or she will probably engage in anti ISKCON rhetoric and aim p...

Much of what Ali revealed to Bhaktitirtha Swami were his woes and complaints about how some bad choices of his led to a lot of pain and frustration. There was even a brief period that Ali complained to BT about all the burdens of fame. Ali point blank told him that his own boyhood desires of wanting great wealth, fame and popularity were still sometimes haunting and sabotaging him. The many wives & properties he wanted in youth seemed to be the most complicating of his desires. For sure, Ali ...

Prabhupada references his use of the “life comes from life” argument to Brahma-samhita 5.1. This verse proclaims that “Krishna who is known as Govinda . . . is the prime cause of all causes.” As Prabhupada explains it, Krishna is life, and life comes from life. Prabhupada boldly asserts that this “is not theory; it is fact.” Interestingly, Prabhupada also mentions, “Now we have to prove it.” Even though professional science falls short in facilitating the conclusive p...

Krishna, the Supreme Lord, met with both Maharaja Yudhisthira, a pure devotee of the Lord, and Duryodhana, an extremely envious king who had acquired his position through cheating and deceit. Krishna asked Maharaja Yudhisthira to go out into the kingdom and return after finding someone less qualified than himself. And He asked Duryodhana to search the kingdom for someone better than himself. When wicked Duryodhana returned, he told Lord Krishna that he couldn’t find anyone better than...

A few months after I started working with ISKCON Prison Ministry, I received a letter from an inmate which helped drive home to me the nature of this service and just how important it is. “I only know what I read in your letters and Prabhupada’s books,” was part of his response to me, regarding my reply to a question he had posed. His words brought me a sudden, clearer understanding and. I’ve often since reminded myself of them. Although I had some idea of the nature of this serv...

“If I ever decided… like… not to be a devotee” the words caught in my throat, “would you be disappointed?” “You shouldn’t let me influence what direction you take your spiritual life” she said, “You need to do what you feel is right, regardless of what anyone might think”. “Don’t worry about it. This place is meant to be a shelter; somewhere where you can come to rest and plug in, not where you have to worry about living up to expectations. We’re not here to make you ...

On the 4th of May, 2016, I graduated from the school and now along with my two good friends Baladev Śrīman dāsa and Krishna Caitanya dāsa we are helping as trainee principals and headmasters of the Academy. I hope that I may be a servant of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission and be an instrument in the gurukula educational system we all know was so dear to him. In conclusion, my experience of gurukula was by far the greatest thing I could have ever imagined. I love my gurukula, my li...

The Indian Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working on modalities to bring in a new law to combat illegal cow transport and slaughtering. Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Radha Mohan Singh (Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare) called for restrictions on killings saying even in old age cows can be financially viable. He also said that “cow hostels and sanctuaries are being established across the country, and five new veterinary colleges have been set up to take care of o...

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada comments: "In this material world, everyone thinks that he has conquered his enemies, not understanding that his enemies are his uncontrolled mind and five senses (manah sasthanindriyani prakrti-sthani karsati [Bg. 15.7]). In this material world, everyone has become a servant of the senses. Originally everyone is a servant of Krishna, but in ignorance one forgets this, and thus one is engaged in the service of maya through lusty desires, ang...

After a Bhagavad-gita lecture Srila Prabhupada was asked if he was in this world. He replied, "Just like I am in America. It is very easy to understand. I am not adopting any ways of life as the Americans. So I am not in America. Not only myself, all my disciples who are following me, they are also not Americans. They're different from American behavior, American ways of life. In that sense I'm not in America. I am in Vrndavana because wherever I go, in my apartment or in my temple, I live with...

That brings in the question of whether an individual can form a genuine relationship with Krishna without committing their physical body to any activity. There is some room for this in Vaishnava philosophy. For example, influenced by the 1999 Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix, In Maya- The World as Virtual Reality Sadaputa das compares the Vedic view of this observable universe to an advanced virtual reality program. In his book, virtual reality is used as a metaphor for our situation as conscious beings. The basic theme is that what we can imagine doing in a virtual realit...

"How is it possible to be healthy and happy in a place where the weather is constantly dreary and cold?" I thought. I remembered Srila Prabhupada's statement in a purport to the Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.24.36): "When there is sufficient sunshine, the mind remains clear and transparent in other words, the sun-god helps the mind of the living entity to become situated on the platform of paramahamsa ['topmost swan,' or transcendentalist]." Does it not follow, then, that with insufficient sunshine the mind becomes hazy and opaque and stays on the platform of a crow? After all, ...

It was the Thursday before Christmas, and London's Oxford Street (the longest shopping street in the world) was brimming over with Christmas shoppers. Twice already that week plainclothes police had arrested devotees chanting Hare Krsna there, but today we were intending to avoid any trouble. The five of us took a new route, profusely distributing the holy name to everyone within earshot. As we made our way through Piccadilly Circus (London's "Times Square") and then along crowded Regent Street, we brought smiles to many faces and raised eyebrows on many others. Finally ...

My purpose for providing this facility was manifold: 1) to give devotees struggling with sadhana the opportunity to become more accountable for their sadhana practices, 2) to give devotees struggling with sadhana the opportunity to keep a record of their own performance in order to better see for themselves where they are lacking and where they need to improve, 3) to encourage devotees who either were or currently are struggling to come up to the prescribed standards, to maintain steadiness… even if it’s to a lesser standard, 4) to encourage devotees to increase wh...

Those who have come to the platform of human civilization should be divided into a society of brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. The brahmanas should follow the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as stated in Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures. The criterion must be guna and karma. In other words, one should acquire the qualities of a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra and act accordingly. This is the civilization accepted by the Aryans. Why do they accept it? They accept it because they are very much eager to satisfy Krsna. This is perfe...

Cosmology has been of great interest to devotees ever since Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed his disciples to construct the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. However, since the Vedic cosmic model is so different from the modern one, devotees often struggle with many common differences such as heliocentric vs. geocentric models of the “solar system”, flat vs. round descriptions of the planets, rotating vs. stationary models of the Earth, the enormous mountains which cannot be observed, etc. Somewhat surprisingly though, devotees unquestioningly accept “higher” and “lower...

Davis is Hindu. His family is a part of the Hare Krishna community in East Dallas and is heavily involved at Kalachandji’s, the Hare Krishna temple that moonlights as a vegetarian Indian buffet. He was afraid the other students would spurn him if they found out. “My family is weird because I have an Indian religion, I live in America, but my dad’s side of the family is African, so my middle name is African,” he says. “Because of my religion I’m vegetarian, so that’s kind of weird.” He went to TKG Academy in elementary school where he was surrounded by other...

Much has been said about the power of positive thinking, that the secret to success is to think positively about what you want to achieve and that such thoughts will attract positive results--practically without limit. Such claims may foster a sense of optimism about the possibilities for material success, but how realistic are these claims, and how beneficial are these approaches and techniques? I have always been impressed by Srila Prabhupada's bold, frank realism and find it a refreshing relief from so much naive, sentimental optimism. After all, we are in the material world, and w...