The story of how the Hare Krsna movement came to Africa starts in 1971 in the United States. I was in Tallahassee, Florida, teaching an experimental course in Krsna consciousness at the state university, when I received a letter from my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, instructing me to go immediately to West Pakistan for preaching work. I had very little money, and I knew the trip to Pakistan would be long and arduous. However, a disciple takes his spiritu...

It is said that the souls in the spiritual world are nitya-siddha, eternally liberated souls, and no one falls from the spiritual world. The souls in the material world are nitya-baddha, eternally conditioned – thus they can never become liberated – and that their conditioned state is anadi, or without any beginning; But it is also said that we conditioned souls have fallen from our original position we can regain our original Krsna consciousness and in so doing go back to Godhead. How t...

The Swami sat between us. He was unassuming, comfortable in all situations, and smiled a lot. His jolly manner was infectious, so I smiled a lot from being around him. If someone gave the Swami any money he would immediately use it for printing, either books or magazines, never for his own self. He lived simply, but he would accept gifts as tools if it helped him to serve Lord Krishna. He awoke at 2:00 a.m., bathed, chanted 250,000 Holy Names, or sixteen rounds on a rosary of 108 beads. He encouraged u...

It is considered an act of divine grace to be attracted to the lotus feet. By taking refuge at the master's lotus feet, the devotee can receive innumerable spiritual benefits, just as he might attain through making pilgrimages, fasting, doing charitable acts, performing austerities and engaging in yogic disciplines. Sometimes the lotus feet are referred to as "a pool of sacred nectar that grants salvation to the world-weary pilgrims on the path."

We can think of our heart as a palace with many rooms. Slowly, we open more rooms and we have to turn all these rooms into temples. But as long as we have any ideas of wanting material things, that means that we still lock out some rooms from Krsna – that is where our obstacles are. Everyone has some barriers otherwise we will all be ecstatic prema bhaktas, rolling on the ground in ecstasy. So, we may have some personal agenda but we minimize it more and more.

As ISKCON moves forward in time, there will be parallel types of sadhana-bhakti practiced – vaidhi and raga, side by side – it is unavoidable. It must be happening today even. Do we think that Srila Prabhupada wants us all to remain as internal vaidhi-practitioners forever? No. He simply wants us to be careful about it. If being careful is to be cautious to the point of polite prohibition, another danger of ignorance will arise due to neglect of it. In reality, there is no official pr...

Srila Prabhupada explains that we are indebted in so many ways. We are indebted if we take milk from the cow. We are indebted to other living beings, demigods, family, parents and to everyone who has made a sacrifice for us. We are indebted to our teachers for whatever knowledge we have taken from them. Like this, we are indebted, indebted, indebted! Therefore, we have a duty to repay. It is a karmic duty and not just a moral duty! If we do not repay that duty then there are reactions. It ...

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited this temple in 1510 AD during His South India tour. This is the temple where Lord discovered the 5th chapter of Sri Brahma-samhita. Brahma-samhita is said to contain 100 chapters. This scripture is so old and so sacred it was practically lost to the general population. But Lord Caitanya understood the supreme importance of this scripture and He found it in the Sri Adi Keshava temple at Thiruvattar.

We want to thank the devotees from around the world for their care through prayers, yagnas, kirtans, chanting, and all around devotional services rendered. Please maintain and increase your intense prayers for Jayapataka Swami. All glories to Srila Prabhupada who has given us many commanders, one of whom is Jayapataka Swami, who are inspiring ISKCON and devotees worldwide. Thank you again for all your prayers and for your genuine care.

King Puranjana had a very beautiful wife, who was the center of his enjoyment, and of his very existence, Captivated by his wife's attractive features, the King became preoccupied with pleasing her and tasting the pleasures of sex, He became extremely attached to his children, his home, and his material possessions, Desires for enjoyment filled his mind, and pursuing their satisfaction became his main occupation. Meanwhile, the King's youth quickly expired, and soon his kingdom was attacked by...

Lecture by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami. “After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.9.29)

Why don't you come back to Me and dance and sport with Me?" "Why you are rotting in this rotting dance, in false lila, temporary lila, or hellish lila.? “Krishna's business is rasadi-vilasa. He's busy in dancing with the gopis. He has no other business. Just like we try to imitate Krishna. Big, big rich men, they go to the ball dance, to the night club for dancing. So wherefrom this propensity comes, dancing? That comes from the Supreme Lord. Rasadi-vilasa. Because Krishna has the business ...

As Vaishnavas, we observe ekadashi (11th day of the lunar cycle) fasting twice a month - which means that we avoid grains and beans on that day. As per my understanding, fasting is not compulsory for children - especially below 5 years. But I preferred giving him non-grain meals. While the spiritual benefits of this are immense, I personally find Ekadashi days to be a great opportunity for my son to eat some non-grain super foods like quinoa, samo and amaranth.

The principle of gratefulness grew clearer in my heart during the seminar given by Urmila Devi, another ISKCON veteran. She gave the example of the gopis, who didn't give up on Krishna. With His flute He invited them to the rasa dance. But when they arrived, He told them to return home – even though they had performed severe austerities for millions and millions of years, intensely longing for Krishna to reciprocate with their desire for intimate loving exchanges. When the time finally arrived...

Certainly, we have a right to our emotions – we are sentient beings and we can’t just do away with our emotions. Still, our life is too precious to be dissipated by living in the past, wallowing in self-pity, sighing about the way things could have been and begrudging the way they have turned out. The Bhagavad-gita (18.28) cautions that such morose living characterizes the ignorant. Thankfully, Gita wisdom counters such ignorance with an empowering insight: we are bigger than our presen...

In an old temple tucked away in a street near Loi Bazar in Vrindavan is the oldest existing copy of Srila Krsna das Kaviraja Goswami’s epic Caitanya Caritamrta. Over 350 years old, it sits in a cabinet in a room near the alter. In 1982, Sri Harishan-kara dasa, the head priest, donated 475 precious manuscripts that had been with the temple for 400 years to the Vrindavan Research Institute. But he kept the Madhya-lila portion of the Caitanya Caritamrta. His son, Govinda Sankar Sharma kindly in...

In the Caitanya-caritamrta Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has quoted more than 90 different sources (among them he quoted Srimad-Bhagavatam the most – 404 times). The book consists of 62 chapters (“paricchedas”) divided into three parts (“lilas”) and 11.555 verses, out of which 97 Sanskrit slokas were composed by the author himself, 933 Sanskrit verses were quoted by him from many different sources and the remaining 10.525 bengali verses (“payaras”) were, of course, composed by Sri...

Srila Krishna dasa kaviraja Goswami, the author of Sri Chaitanya Charitamritam (CC), allowed his readers to know the date of completion of scripture’s compilation in the book itself through the final verse of Antya Lila, which reads as, “In Vrindavana in the year 1537 Shakabda Era (A.D. 1615), in the month of Jyaistha (May-June), on Sunday, the fifth day of the waning moon, this Chaitanya Charitamritam has been completed” (CC. Antya Lila 20.157). Thus the great scripture completes...

HG Rupa Goswami prabhu who earlier took care of Iskcons All India Padayatra successfully for around a decade decided to take the service of developing Iskcon Vrindavans Eco Farm near Radhakund. It is said that this was the place where the Demon Aghasura was killed. If you ever thought Vrindavans ground water is salty, you should try tasting it here. It might even beat the salty Ocean water. Locals say that it is the blood of Aghasura that made it like that. This caused many people to leave ...