Narcissism is all around us, and research shows it's on the rise. Millennials are more likely than their parents to claim they're above average in just about every way, from their leadership skills to their academic achievements to their drive to succeed. And while more millennials are getting straight A's and making plans for graduate school than previous generations, there's no evidence that they're actually any more productive or educated than their elders. This week, Shankar talks with psychologist Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me and The Narcissism Epidemic, about...

Sunday Open House Talk at ISKCON of DC. The six Bhagavad-gita values. What is the relevance of our tradition. How can we include the teachings of the gita in modern day life. Millions of people actually practice the gita every day. So let's bring it into the world we live in.

Sunday feast lecture in London Iskcon Temple. How to install the Srimad Bhagavatam in your house. Those persons who worship the Vaishnava literature Srimad Bhagavatam in their house are freed from all sins and they become worshipable by even the demigods. In the age of Kali, I become very pleased with those who regularly worship Srimad Bhagavatam in their house and dance without fear.

Although Lord Krsna, being the possessor of infinite powers, is the only cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of innumerable living beings, He simply did not desire to keep His body in this world any longer. Thus He revealed the destination of those fixed in the self and demonstrated that this mortal world is of no intrinsic value. (SB 11.31.13)

The most important and uncontrollable sense is the tongue. If one can control the tongue, then there is every possibility of controlling the other senses. The function of the tongue is to taste and to vibrate. Therefore, by systematic regulation, the tongue should always be engaged in tasting the remnants of foodstuffs offered to Kṛṣṇa and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Although one may conquer all of the other senses, as long as the tongue is not conquered it cannot be said that one has controlled his senses. However, if one is able to control the tongue, then one is un...

After giving up the company of the Vraja-gopis, Vrajendranandana performed His pastimes in Dvaraka. When Sri Kṛṣṇa visited Kurukshetra during a solar eclipse, He was accompanied by Baladeva, Subhadra, and other Dvarakavasis. At Kurukshetra, Kṛṣṇa again met the Vrajavasis, especially Srimati Rādhikā and His beloved sakhis. Bhakti Charu Swami recently visited Dubai and on 26th June 2017, Maharaj gave a very nectarian class on the sweet pastimes of Lord Jagannath.

Always remembering Me, one should perform all his duties for Me without becoming impetuous. With mind and intelligence offered to Me, one should fix his mind in attraction to My devotional service. All of one's love and affection should be devoted to pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not indicated here that one should try to relish selfish satisfaction in devotional service, but rather that one should be attracted to the Lord's own satisfaction, which one achieves by faithfully executing the order of a bona fide spiritual master coming in disciplic su...

Lecture of Garuda Prabhu in Los Angeles. His Grace Garuda Prabhu is a disciple of A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada and known as Dr. Graham M. Schweig, at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Garuda was one of the first ISKCON devotees to pursue a formal education. He saw a great opportunity to reach educated circles by inaugurating the field of Vaishnava studies. He earned his doctorate in Comparative Religion from Harvard University. Princeton University Press has published his thesis under the title ...

Chaitanya Charan is author of sixteen books on various spiritual subjects including science and spirituality, Bhagavad-gita and self-help. He is an associate-editor of Back to Godhead, ISKCON's global magazine, and a member of ISKCON's prominent intellectual body, the Shastric Advisory Council. He writes daily on the Bhagavad-gita at gitadaily.com where he has written over 2000 articles and answers questions at thespiritualscientist.com, where he has answered over 4500 questions. He is the author of twenty books. He has spoken at colleges, corporates and conferences all ove...

A recent lecture by Hanumatprekasa Swami in Iskcon Silicon Valley. ('Hanumat Preṣaka' is in Sanskrit and it means 'One who sent Hanuman as a messenger', i.e. Lord Rama".) Hanumat Presaka Swami's interests are toward individual education in techniques, introspection and meditation. He is actively participating in seminars, lectures and his organizations. He also holds a black belt in Uechi Ryu and Okinawan Karate.

Gopa Kumara goes from one planet to another planet. But what helped him stay focussed in chanting the mantra? Elements of Bhakti to reach suddha bhakti stage: Receiving mantra is important Having faith in the mantra is important Having gratitude to the giver of mantra is important Gradual education is important The determination in saying Yes to Krsna in the form of His name with great faith and wishing to have the fullness of gratitude to those who have given the mantra in disciplic succession.

Refining our ways of presenting Krishna consciousness as a movement according to time, place and circumstances, without compromising our principles. Subjects discussed: Equality, women's position, ecology, interfaith discussion, prasadam distribution, protecting cows and children and more. Becoming efficient without losing our purity. From a talk given in Boston's Iskcon temple.

Prahlad Maharaj, he is the best example of someone who is so happy in devotional service. Prahlada, Pra lada is a joy or pleasure, like we have the personified pleasure potency, Haladini Shakti who is Radharani herself. So Prahlada refers to pleasure, and Prahlad as Prabhupada explains pra is pratista rupena , which intensifies the meaning of the word, so Prahlada means one who is so happy so blissful, that even the ongoing assassination attempt cannot, you know ,make him feel bad, this is really amazing. Such a level of happi...

We are very limited. We have tiny knowledge and tiny happiness and tiny free will. We don’t miss our free will, proof is, here we are the place people reside who misused their free will. Some few rathayatras ago I was introduced to a Chinese lady, married to an Indian man. That was a very interesting combination. An elderly, little older and when introduced to her she said I just have one question. What is that? Why creation? I said fantastic question. And the short answer is two parts. We wanted it, when we make a mistake isn’t there a good reason for wanting it? Try t...

So Prabhupada had taken great risk and voluntary accepted tremendous inconvenience in coming to the west to preach Krishna Consciousness to people who really, if you stop and think about it, were not qualified to receive it and didn't really appreciate it. Nothing discouraged Prabhupada. He didn't get discouraged by that. An ordinary person wouldn't have even started the whole thing in the first place. An ordinary person, after coming over on a boat, having two heart attacks on the way over, would have thought you know what, maybe I'm biti...

A recent class given 19th of February 2017 in Bhaktivedanta Manor, UK. My friend I am severely struck and all my sense departs, when Krishna’s name enters my ears and lodges in my heart. And then there is another one whose flute enchants my mind, seizing it with such madness that I can no peace find. Again there is a third one, whose brilliance I see in pictures of purest beauty that are entrancing me. Shame upon my sinful self for loving all these three at once, and thus I think it best if death does now take me.

This is, this is the poetry and also the full knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam, and so we can get that by milking the surabi cow of Srila Prabhupada purport. That’s what happens in the opening statement by Srila Prabhupada, it’s in once sense it’s a shocker I don’t know if you caught that. It’s a shocking statement. I will read it again because that’s why I like to go through these purports incumbently because that way we can milk the most out of it. We will cover the whole purport but want to make sure this extra...

It needs to be clear for all the members of Krishna Consciousness movement, when we are talking about Srila Prabhupada as the founder Acharya, it means that Srila Prabhupada is our Mahajan, and Srila Prabhupada‘s teachings in textual for us and his teachings, his examples, his instructions, all the instructions of the other Mahajan. Otherwise Prabhupada will use the other example, you cannot jump over. Jumping over means, you think, well Srila Prabhupada said this but such and such Acharya, Jiva Goswami, Vishwanath Cakravarti Thakura, sai...

Srila Prabhupada gives the analogy that just like a parent, especially a mother, if they see shoes in the street, they are not very much impressed. Just like when you go outside here, there are so many shoes on the shoe rack. Most of us won't fall over in ecstasy seeing the shoes. Maybe we could trip over them and fall but not out of ecstasy. But if a mother puts the little tiny shoes of her child on one of those racks, when she sees the little shoes her heart will melt. Why? Because she remembers her little tiny child. Her affection f...

Prahlada Maharaja said: O Supreme Lord, because You are so merciful to the fallen souls, I ask You for only one benediction. I know that my father, at the time of his death, had already been purified by Your glance upon him, but because of his ignorance of Your beautiful power and supremacy, he was unnecessarily angry at You, falsely thinking that You were the killer of his brother. Thus he directly blasphemed Your Lordship, the spiritual master of all living beings, and committed heavily sinful activities directed against me, Your devotee....

Bondage of karma. Karma bandana. Karma bandana is the problematic reactions in our lives. Unless we drastically change these reactions, by the means of hearing and chanting, unless we change this, we cannot claim that we are free and safe and that our salvation is guaranteed. If our reaction is the same for good or bad, if I'm really late and in a bad mood or really put down by certain circumstances or even the slightest provocations from material nature, then it basically means that there is something wrong in my practice of Krishn...

Remember, right before Prabhupada’s departure he said something very extraordinary, because devotees were concerned, they have the big concern, how they would know what to do after Prabhupada’s disappearance in this world. I’ll speak in the context of what previous speakers have informed you that during our sanyasi GBC guru Sanga, so many senior Vaishnavas brought up the point that reading Srila Prabhupada’s book. How we get tremendous renaissance when reading Prabhupada’s books. So, if you recall right before Prabhupada’s depa...

If we are Krishna Conscious, any type of occupation will suit me and we shall always be satisfied. Therefore, I recommend you to read books more and more and try to understand the subject matter from different angles of vision and be always discussing it with your godbrothers even while you are working at the press. Letter to Bhargava -- Los Angeles 13 June, 1972: So I am requesting all of my students to read my books very seriously every day without fail. In this way, if your mind becomes absorbed at least one or two hours daily in the ...