(A retired British Army officer living in Taiwan) "I had made the trip with an open heart and mind, but never imagined quite how huge a transformation this journey would have on me." I started planning my pilgrimage to Vrindavan and Mayapur early last summer at my home in Taiwan. As my dates were becoming fixed, Sankirtana Dasa, my friend and mentor from the Taipei temple, told me he would also be visiting Vrindavan around the same time, and we synchronized our outbound flights so we could travel together. The weeks flew by, and suddenly i...

Saranga Thakura had vowed never to accept any disciples. But again and again he received messages from within encouraging him to make disciples. On one occasion, after reprimanding Devananda Pandita, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was on His way home, accompanied by Srivasa Pandita. Lord came across Saranga Thakura. Lord Gauranga asked him why he had never initiated any disciples. Sri Saranga replied that he had not found any suitable person. Lord Gauranga blessed him saying, "Whoever you shall choose as a disciple will be most suitable." ...

When I first saw the monk from a distance, all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind. "What a loser," I thought, and wondered if he'd flunked out of school, or if he'd graduated from university but had such low marks that he couldn't get a job. I thought of myself as the epitome of what every young man should be, or if they were not, then at least they should aspire to be. I was very proud of my excellent marks in school and my prestigious job, for which I had beaten thousands of other qualified engineers. I was proud of the money I ha...

The inquisitive human mind naturally yearns to understand the universe and man's place within it. Today scientists rely on powerful telescopes and sophisticated computers to formulate cosmological theories. In former times, people got their information from traditional books of wisdom. Followers of the Vedic culture, for example, learned about the cosmos from scriptures like the Srimad-Bhagavatam, or Bhagavata Purana. But the Bhagavatam's descriptions of the universe often baffle modern students of Vedic literature. Here Bhaktivedanta Instit...

In the 5th Canto 11th Chapter Text 17 in conversations between Jada Bharata and Maharaj Rahugana the answer presents itself. “This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. O King, please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus feet of the spiritual master and of the Supreme Personality of Godh...

Adapted from a paper delivered at a seminar on "Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Universal Brotherhood," hosted by the Gaudiya Mission and held on February 20–21, 2012, in Kolkata, India. The post-industrial world is international and multi-cultural. Thoughts can be shared at the speed of light, communication between individuals or groups anywhere on the surface of the globe happens instantaneously, and technology transcends what were once insurmountable barriers. In the last century, colonialism has been shunned, the exertion of rac...

The Seattle ISKCON temple is a happening place.  When someone enters on a Friday or Saturday, it feels like a Sunday feast.  The classrooms are filled with teachers presenting a successful seminar called Discover Yourself, a crash course on the Bhagavad Gita that wets their appetite to delve deeper into the ancient wisdom of Lord Krishna.  In the main temple hall there is a Bhagavad-gita class for curious visitors. Currently there are eight Bhakti Gita (systematic Bhagavad Gita study) and 5 Discover Your Self classes...

"It's not about whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." In the United States, most children have heard this cliche at some point in their lives, most likely after losing an athletic competition. Parents may intend it as a reminder that following the rules and losing is preferable to breaking the rules and winning. Participants certainly have several options in how they approach any sport or game, often determined by their level of maturity. Let's consider three approaches as they might apply to tennis.

Technology often increases quantity, but can potentially end up eroding quality. In ancient times, for example, sacred scriptures were few and far between, hand-copied, and in the possession of only the most fortunate. One saint’s manuscript of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the crest jewel of India’s spiritual wisdom, was blotted, smudged, and rendered practically unreadable due to the tears of love which were shed during his reading. Today, such priceless books are readily available at our fingertips; read them anywhere and anytime on our IPhones, IP...

A very popular half-truth promoted by the priests of the new age is the concept that: “We are all one.” “The manifest universe is the body of God ... all people are incarnations of the One Spirit.”. - Ernest Holmes. Many people appreciate that regardless of what body, nation, time or place we were born all of humanity shares common needs, emotions, and basic instincts. That is what gives the Oneness movement its credibility. Vegetarians in particular are able to extend this Oneness doctrine to all other forms of life and those w...

I looked around. “Wait, is this the hospital?” I thought to myself. “Why does everyone look so…happy?” I smelled incense and camphor. There was BBT art on all the walls. Everyone was wearing vaisnava attire and tilak. There was a book stall on the left. Srila Prabhupada’s chanting of the mahamantra was softly playing in the background. And, it was immaculate. For the next five weeks, I stayed at the hospital and spoke to a number of staff, patients, and their families.

Jue is scheduled to receive first initiation this month from HH Kadamba Kanana Swami. When asked what influenced her to become first a WWOOFer, then a devotee, she replied, "The first thing was the Sunday feasts; it was the best food ever, so I decided to stay on as a WWOOFer. The next was Prabhupada's books. He was answering all of my questions so perfectly. I just have to follow his instructions because everything he said makes so much sense! In addition, the devotees on the farm showed me a good example of what life is like living ...

In 1981, Venu teamed up with Ramai Swami’s Travelling Bus Party, eventually taking over that service. The visits to Cairns were found to be lucrative for the preaching mission and Venu was encouraged to take up the role of Temple President there. In 1986 he returned to New Govardhana to manage Krishna’s cows. Inwardly he nurtured a desire to populate the herd with the very transcendental Gir cows. Venu works closely with Madreya dasa in the WWOOFer programme; looks after the worm farm; ploughs the land; and maintains the fencing. ...

"Chanting clears the mind; it's a way of attracting God to us," said Trivikrama Swami, the temple's elder acolyte. "People falsely believe they are at the center of the universe, so Krishna created the physical world to fulfill that belief. Chanting reminds us that we are not the center of the world, that there are things greater than us in the cosmos." Trivikrama Swami has been an initiated member of ISKCON since 1966. Since his initiation, when he swore to remain celibate and devote his life in service to God, he has traveled the world ...

Love is not to want peace but service. To want service is a selfless motivation. Our nature is to love and serve eternally. The need of the soul is love not peace. Peace is a neutral state where there are no problems. It is not positive. Just like when two countries are fighting and they want peace. Peace means they are just not fighting anymore. But the soul is dynamic and part of Krishna. The soul’s nature is to love. Nitya siddha krishna prema…So when they say om shanti shanti shanti they want peace but a devotee understands the re...

A devotee in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, especially one who takes up the brahmacari asrama, is almost certain to hear an oft stated, yet philosophically unsound, assumption about the will of Krishna and the guidance He gives the living entity from within the heart. The concept is this: that the first place one begins one’s devotional service at, generally the first temple or preaching center one steps foot in, is automatically one’s “prabhu-datta desa”. In other words, the place in which one first begins t...

Many people who seek pleasure predominantly from mundane sense gratification eventually discover towards the end of their life that it just doesn’t satisfy the soul. We see the results of this when we observe the elderly. Many have lost their zest for life. They have been to see Santa Clause, the beach, amusement parks, ballgames, fairgrounds, political conventions, group protests, pumpkin hay rides, prominent site seeing and all the other pleasures of life enough already. Their interest in all the phantasmagoria of this world has dwindled...

As we all know, in these modern days there has been an increase of violence and aggression towards women. We can understand this to be the direct result of the fact that women don't receive protection any longer. And of course, ladies can only be protected if they desire to receive protection. It also includes that we have to give up our independance - the price to be payed in order to receive protection. The whole idea of equality of men and women makes this difficult, if not to say impossible. To begin with, let us remember that this re...

Tony Kaye (Pratapana Das), 67, and his wife Janet (Jayasri Dasi), 55, joined the Hare Krishna movement in the 1970s. They run a restaurant and art house-cinema in Sydney's Darlinghurst. The couple have two adult children, Srirama and Vraja. Tony was asked to run the temple in Sydney, and to marry me. The leaders asked if I would be interested, especially considering there's an 11-year age difference between us. I said I would, because I knew who they were talking about and I felt under Krishna's protection. And so we got married along with th...