Chanting the holy name and engaging in Bhakti-yoga (Krishna consciousness or devotional service) is the ultimate process of purification and healing in our tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The process of counseling should be seen as an adjunct to the process of Krishna consciousness, and although it can be helpful for some devotees, it is not in itself the panacea for all our problems. The reason for bringing this up is that sometimes the question arises: “Why do we need anything other than our spiritual pract...

Sectarian and political disputes are common not only today but occurred even during the time of Sri Parashurama, an empowered incarnation of the Supreme Lord who appeared several ages before Lord Ramachandra, millions of years ago. The kings at that time, proud of their strength and fighting for absolute power, revolted against the spiritually advanced sages, who generally guided government. Since these kings had offended the devotees of Lord Krishna and deviated from the path of righteousness ...

When devotees look at their obstacles to advancement in Krsna consciousness, they sometimes doubt whether they will ever be able to overcome all of them. It is easy to become discouraged and thus feel it may not even be worth praying to overcome obstacles. What is another impetus for change? Prabhupada said that when one has great love for his spiritual master, he will follow all of his instructions. The greater the love, the greater the impetus to follow. The proper attitude is that, “I may not want to do something...

We are always on the razor’s edge, even when, by the mercy of Krsna-Guru-Vaishnava, we return back home, back to Godhead. Our original existence there is also on the edge of a razor – there is no room for inattentiveness or imperfection. Consider this statement by Srila Prabhupada: “Usually anyone who has developed his relationship with Krsna does not fall down in any circumstance, but because the independence is always there, the soul may fall down from any position or any relationship by misusing his independence” (Letter to Jagadisa February 27 1970).

Krishna selected banyan tree, the example of nature, to make easier our understanding how material entanglement is intricate. Banyan has one unique feature – from its branches grow secondary roots, which in time grow down to the ground to grow in the ground. In this way, in due course of time, from one tree whole forest will grow, so that the original trunk of the tree and the original root, from which everythinng grew up, can not be found any more. Similarly, living entities falling into material world loose orientat...

While it is the role of the parents to assist the child in making spiritual progress, children also inadvertently assist in their parents’ progress as well. One of the most dramatic examples of this is the story of King Citraketu, recounted in Srimad-Bhagavatam. King Citraketu was a respected king with great riches and power, but no children. His many wives were all barren. Seeing the king’s distress, Angira, a great sage, visited the king and blessed him...

On July 29, 1971, Srila Prabhupada was interviewed on television at the University of Gainesville in Florida (which His Divine Grace described as "a remote corner of the world, thousands of miles from the birthplace of Lord Caitanya"). At one point, Srila Prabhupada was asked the following question: Interviewer: How would I recognize a true follower of the Krishna consciousness movement by his behavior? What would his traits be? What would his outward expressions be? Srila Prabhupada: He'd be a very perfect gentleman, that's all. You could not find any fault in him. What'...

The Krishna conscious gifts Srila Prabhupada brought to the West are for everyone. Srila Prabhupada left us with a dynamic legacy in his books, through his devotees, in the development of his communities, and in his teachings of how to expertly apply Krishna consciousness of his communities, and in his teachings of how to expertly apply Krishna consciousness in every situation. If we simply use our intelligence to claim our relationship with Prabhupada by practicing Krishna consciousness in the mood in which he taught it, we will inherit the most wonderful relati...