We generally think that we're in control of our actions and that we're making our own decisions, but the supreme authority, Krsna, declares that this is not the case. He says that we are acting as puppets victims of the forces of nature. In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna says, "All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment." (Bg. 3.5) Not just you and I, but "no being existing, anywhere in the material world, is free from the three modes of materia...

"For various reasons, common people do not easily develop faith in exalted persons who are still living, whereas they tend to develop great faith in the activities of mahajanas who have passed away." (Jaiva Dharma chapter 22) The proud practice of using our dull material senses to try to judge who is sadhu and who is not is the same as the neti neti endeavor of the impersonalists. The impersonalists try to understand what is spirit by using their material senses. "Net, neti" means, "not this, no...

In this article, I compare the origin of universe as described in the Srimad Bhagavatam (SB) and the Big Bang (BB) theory . 1. The initial state According to SB, the initial state of matter immediately previous to its manifestation is called pradhana (SB 3.26.10p). In the BB theory, this initial state is called the singularity. The table indicates a clear similarity between these two initial states. Both states, i.e. pradhana and singularity, refer to a condition where no matter/space is manife...

King Prthu and Queen Arci ascended to the spiritual world, Vaikuntha, in spiritual airplanes. They ascended in spiritual bodies, their material bodies having been consumed by the fire of the funeral pyre. The sage Maitreya, narrating this history in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, said, "Any person who describes the great characteristics of King Prthu with faith and determination whether he reads of them himself or helps others to hear of them is certain to attain the very planet Maharaja Prthu attained...

Over 175 selected analogies from Srimad Bhagavatam (Cantos 1‑4 & 9‑11), Bhagavad‑Gita As It Is, Teachings of Queen Kunti, Teachings of Lord Kapila, Life Comes from Life, and Path of Perfection. Activities (material and spiritual) & milk preparations 1 Atheists and criminals 1 Authorities and lawyers 1 Bodies and firewood 2 Body and fortress 1 Body in Krsna consciousness and iron in fire 2 Body's occupant and apartment's tenant 2 Conditioned soul an...

The arduous sea voyage from Calcutta to Boston was finally over. The lone passenger aboard the cargo ship Jaladuta, a seventy-year-old Indian holy man, had been given free passage by the owner of the Scindia Steamship Company. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada arrived at Commonwealth Pier on September 17, 1965. For thousands of years krsna-bhakti, love of Krsna, had been known only in India, but now, on the order of his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada had come to awaken the natural, dormant Krsna consciousness of the American people. On his arrival day onboar...

In 1970 Dhanajaya Prabhu came with a group of devotees from London to the 'Festival of the Midnight Sun' in Sweden In this video you will see some unique film clips and photos from the festival outside Jönköping 50 years ago. Enjoy!

ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada visited New Vrindaban four times, giving the devotees there his association and dispensing practical advice for simple living that remains invaluable not only to New Vrindaban, but to all ISKCON rural farm communities to this day. During his first visit, running for over a month from May 20th to June 23rd 1969, Srila Prabhupada encouraged the small group of devotees to embrace the austerity of New Vrindaban life. He praised thei...