A vaisnava has to be balanced: “There is no possibility of one's becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.” Krishna gives the formula for success, “He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.”

To disregard religious practices and rituals as foolish and primitive is a great disservice to the society. Some people who are firm in their faith will disregard these statements in the movie as irrelevant since they know the truth, some people who are atheist and don’t care for religion at all, will take this as an assertion to their beliefs, but many of the people who are innocent will have many questions and these movies will add to their confusion.

His love for us is not based on who we are – how virtuous we are, how inclined we are towards him or what we have done for him. Even if we have done nothing for him, even if we are not in the least inclined towards him, even if we are stooped in sin, he still loves us.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s parable of the astrologer and the poor man shows us how to uncover the ultimate treasure hidden within our hearts. Do you know that you are the heir to an immense fortune? The ultimate treasure lies buried within your heart, and you only need to know how to dig for it.

Alauddina Saiyada Hussain Shah Seripha Makka who ruled Bengal from A.D. 1509 to 1532, had two expert and trusted ministers in the brothers Dabhir Kas and Sakara Mallik. The Nawab had recruited the brothers from the aristocratic Karnatic brahmana community, given them Muslim names, and taken satisfaction in seeing them shed Hindu ways and adopt Muslim dress and customs.

The gunas are a feature of reality described only within the religious traditions of India (the Three Fates of ancient Greece being a possible exception;), yet they are not a technical detail or arcane subtlety; rather, the gunas play a pivotal role in shaping the world as we know it. Krishna speaks of them throughout the Bhagavad-gita, and every extended prayer in the Srimad-Bhagavatam refers to them. In fact, so essential and pervasive is their function that one can use the gunas to different...

Along with the pollution of our rivers, we must give attention to the pollution in our hearts. If you successfully clean the air, the sky, every river and every ocean, it is for certain that people will pollute them again unless they reform the ecology of their hearts.

Following the success of New Vrindavan in West Virginia, founded in 1968, Prabhupada's disciples bought a 350-acre farm in Port Royal, Pennsylvania in 1974 and named it Gita Nagari. They planned to model it on Prabhupada's 1956 prophecy. He had envisioned an environment of peace and prosperity, where devotees could live simply, drink pure, healthy cow's milk, and cultivate the principles of Krishna consciousness.

When we look at the major theistic religions of the world we can see that they all emphasize approaching this supreme consciousness through prayer and supplication, with the highest goal of developing love for Him. In other words our petty abilities have no capacity to impress this Supreme Being to force Him to reveal Himself to us, but our love does.

Not everyone likes religion, and even when they do they like the one they know, not a foreign brand. And something as alien-looking as Hare Krishna with its strange-smelling incense, flowers, ‘tambourines’ and blue-coloured gods is as foreign as they come. Consequently, there are many who just want to express their considered theological opinion by throwing something – and its not always rose petals.

Pleasure can turn into pain and celebration can turn into tragedy within no time. Srimad Bhagavatam narrates the story of Gajendra, a gigantic elephant, who was happily wandering in the valleys of Trikuta Mountain with his family members and friends. To relieve his fatigue he entered a lake, which was filled with beautiful lotus flowers, for a bath but was soon caught by a death personified crocodile. His life changed within few seconds.

New Vrindaban, May 20th, 1969 – A small cluster of devotees waited at the entrance to the rural West Virginia property, hearts beating with anticipation. As the Lincoln town car turned the corner, they hit the gravel driveway in obeisance. Srila Prabhupada stepped out of the car. “Oh, there are many waiting here,” he said, looking around with a smile that lit up his entire face. “Jai Sri Krishna!”

The very question of "who came first" is problematic, given that God is beyond time. Vishnu and Krishna exist eternally, though it might be said that one is the source of the other, much like the sun and its rays: The sun globe is "prior" in the sense that its rays emanate from it, and not the other way around. But they both exist simultaneously: As soon as there is a sun, there are sunrays. The question, then, becomes this: In the case of Vishnu and Krishna, who is the sun and who the rays?

Although Ambarisha could understand that by Vishnu’s grace he had become powerful, he was not interested in material opulence. He wanted only to serve the Lord. By that service the king had fully realized the Absolute Truth. For him even the highest material planet is no better than hell. Absorbed in thoughts of Vishnu, he accepted the vanaprastha order to engage only in spiritual practice. After handing over the kingdom to his sons, he dressed in simple clothes and made his way to the for...

The body of God is not material. It is a spiritual or transcendental form – sach-chid-ananda-vigraha, an eternal form of bliss and knowledge. Though differentiated by limbs or parts, a spiritual body is nevertheless completely unified and identical with its own possessor. Therefore, in God there is no difference between body and soul, mind and body, soul and mind. Every limb or part of that body can perform all functions of every other limb.

When we tell someone that we worship Lord Krishna, they are often taken by surprise: “How can you worship a God who is immoral?” They refer to Krishna’s stealing the garments of the young gopis (the cowherd damsels of Vrindavan) and later dancing with them. How could Krishna dare to take away the clothes of young girls and force them to stand naked before Him? How could He dance with other men’s wives in the middle of the night? And for all this, He is worshiped as God? That’s outrageo...

We found that no reading program supported values such as vegetarianism, reincarnation, simple living, spiritual life, and love for Krishna. Indeed, all existing programs promoted the opposite. This problem is not new, and Prabhupada expressed concern about it in 1970: "What one learns as a child is not lost throughout life. So [producing children's educational books] is a very important business. Please execute it with great care and seriousness of purpose."

In her prayers, Queen Kunti speaks of attaining the Lord through pure devotion: “Your Lordship can be easily approached but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of material progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education, and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.”

The hundred participants created a powerful atmosphere by their common intention: to improve the quality of their chanting and make progress in their spiritual lives. The devotional mood of acceptance and support made me feel emotionally and spiritually protected. It seemed we'd left our emotional baggage outside the retreat center and had entered with expectancy and hope for spiritual renewal, clarity, and discovery.