I felt disillusioned by the whole show of this world. Nothing seemed attractive. I didn’t care much for anything anymore. I started reading some semi-spiritual books that served to tantalize me but were not nearly potent enough to satisfy my inner hunger for the Absolute Truth. I felt myself waiting for something to happen. One fine afternoon Marc stumbled upon an old friend of his he had been searching for ever since we had met. As it turned out, this friend had become a Hare Krishna d...

I recently read one of the latest books by Ian Stevenson, entitled European Cases of the Reincarnation Type. Dr. Stevenson is a research professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia, and he has been doing research on the subject of reincarnation for more than thirty years. Over this period, he has accumulated several hundred accounts of young children who consciously remember details of past lives, exhibit birthmarks or phobias connected with a former person’s death, or even speak f...

The seven subterranean planets, i.e. those are below the earthly plane (not to be confused with the earthly globe) known as Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala and Pātāla (SB 5.24.7) are, in fact, more opulent than the Heavenly planets!!! In those subterranean heavens, known as bila-svarga, “there are very beautiful houses, gardens and places of sense enjoyment, which are even more opulent than those in the higher planets because the demons have a very high standard of sensual pleasure, wealth and influence”. (...

How we value, acquire, use, and relate to money reflects our inner state of being. Krishna determines how much money each of us receives. It may appear accidental that one person is born into wealth and another into poverty, or that one person goes from rags to riches and another doesn't, but Krishna's law of karma destines these things. Srila Prabhupada says, "Everyone is thinking, 'If I become greedy, I shall get more.' That is not possible. You cannot get a farthing more than what you are destined." (Lecture, October 3, 1973) And he...

A Krishna conscious person should not be a fool. He can explain how these universal planets are floating and how the soul is evolving through different species of life. There are different departments of scientific knowledge – physics, botany, chemistry, astronomy, and so on. Krishna says, yaj jñatva: “If through Krishna consciousness you understand the knowledge I’m presenting, then you'll have nothing left to know.” That means you'll have complete knowledge. We are hankering after knowledge, but if we are in knowledge of Krishna consciousne...

"The word ‘envy’ is applied in many places and is used in connection to various things – envy of another’s good fortune, being disturbed at seeing the wealth of others, displeasure and jealousy etc. are some of the various examples. Wherever the word ‘matsarya’ (envy) has been explained in the Vaisnava scriptures, it is fully understood that its influence is the competitor of divine love (prema). dharmah projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmats...

Providing a strong challenge to established academic perception and methodology, Drutakarma Dasa presents the Vaisnava Hindu worldview on the fundamental concepts to the approach to and interpretation of the archaeological record. His presentation is articulate and thorough and the extensive research he has undertaken to support his thesis is very impressive. He contrasts the currently accepted time concept, which closely resembles the Judaeo-Christian model, with the ancient Puranic model and shows us how each tends to supports its own world view. But Drutakarma argues ...

For centuries man has been growing deluded by wealth and the material, but the disintegration and degeneration of society caused by this materiality is reaching a turning point. The plague of natural disasters, the growing numbers of civil wars, the increase in refugees, the global recession, inabilities of governments to provide basic amenities to the poor and security to nations are signs of the effects of how through the propagation and promulgation of greed and aspiration for material greatness, so...

"Make Homes Into Centers" Congregational development is an untapped field that presents new opportunities for all kinds of preachers,. It incorporates a systematic method for contacting and cultivating new devotees and engaging them in service. New people and potential devotees should, as far as possible, be brought into the loop, their details taken and follow-ups commissioned. As Srila Prabhupada said, we have to fan the fire and cause it to burn.

Lord Ram constructed a bridge to Lanka across the Ocean. Lord Ramchandra does not require a bridge to cross over the ocean, he is God, but in order to glorify his followers, good devotees like Hanuman and others including the little squirrel, Lord Ramchandra constructed a bridge to Lanka across the Ocean. Lord Ram gave them a chance, they simply chanted 'Jai Shri Rama' and threw stones into the water and the stones started floating, such is the potential of the holy name.