In the interactions between the Lord and His devotees, both relish the highest happiness. Bhagavad-gita and other scriptures praise Arjuna for his close relationship with Krishna. Arjuna is known for his mood of friendship (sakha-bhava). Since relationships are by definition reciprocal, not only is Arjuna known as Krishna’s friend, but Krishna is known as Arjuna’s friend. Krishna drove Arjuna’s chariot and is therefore called Partha-sarathi, the “charioteer of Partha.” This name shows Krishna’s special relationship with His devotee Arjuna.

Lord Caitanya says: one should offer ALL respect to others and should not demand or seek respect for himself. When your peers do better than you, are you happy? Do you appreciate what they’ve done or do you feel concerned or upset that you are not getting as much attention as they are? Do you sometimes not even acknowledge that they have, in fact, been successful (“Anyone could have done that. It’s no big deal”)? Do you seek more to be appreciated than to appreciate? Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that grass doesn’t resist when it is walked on or thrown around. It doesn’t complain or...

We all have heard Srila Prabhupada warn us that television and media strengthen our materialistic mentality and divert us from service to Krishna—our consciousness being formed largely by our association. However, it is often difficult to keep our children away from the influences that are so pervasive in our culture. Aggression and Television Viewing: The problems associated with children watching TV go beyond moral and spiritual concerns. There is mounting evidence of the many negative psych...

Sir Isaac Newton once made a remarkable model of the solar system. Thanks to a clever hand-cranking mechanism, all of the tiny spinning globes orbited a small "sun." On entering Newton's study, one of his colleagues, a materialist, couldn't help noticing the model. He was flabbergasted. "Dr. Newton," the man stared, "who made this wonderful contraption? The planets move with utter precision, you know. Why, it's ingenious. Who made it?" "No one," Newton replied. "One da...

Action is what catches our attention. For example, in a cricket test match, when the action slows down as the batsmen start playing defensively, our interest sags. But when the action rises – the bowler delivers a googly that clean bowls the batsman or the batsman hits a huge six, for example – then our attention peaks effortlessly.

One morning, soon after our arrival at Kailash Seksaria’s home, Srila Prabhupada called on a male devotee to chant the new melody of Gurvastakam. After two lines of the prayer, he asked him to stop and then requested another devotee to continue. The same thing happened, and he asked another devotee to chant, with the same result. Then he asked me to lead the prayer, and he did not stop me. So later, I asked him why he had done that, and he replied: Learn to listen. You cannot follow nicely unless you hear nicely, and you cannot lead nicely ...

Journalist Thomas Paine in 1776 sparked the American Revolution by writing and widely distributing his pamphlet, Common Sense. Fidel Castro – while in a Cuban prison – crafted his speech History will Absolve Me, had it smuggled it out of the prison and distributed to the masses. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati encouraged his followers to distribute books, saying: “As soon as a single person will have conceived the sincere desire of undertaking the promulgation of the tidings of the Gaudiya literature to the ...

The recognition of our dependence on a higher source for our very existence is also central to Srila Prabhupada’s argument. This higher source is referred to as intelligence: “Intelligence gives one direction like some higher authority, and the living being cannot see or move or eat or do anything without the use of intelligence” (SB2.2.35, purport). But this intelligence is beyond our control, and refers, in this context, to a super self, a portion of God that maintains our existence. ...

And then it happened. As I looked on, I saw two trucks, one behind the other, speeding at about 60 to 80 kilometers per hour along the highway. Unseen to me – and probably to the truck driver too – was an autorickshaw, just ahead of the trucks, loaded with people and going at its own snail’s pace. The three-wheeler had no tail lights and its black colour accorded it near zero visibility. The first truck rammed into the three wheeler from behind, with ...

The efforts, austerities, and practices involved with the acceptance as a disciple do not end with initiation. Rather they begin, in a formal sense, at that point. Whatever outer challenges or inner demons we have, will be overcome by Krishna’s grace for those who persevere in their vows. It is only those who quit who will suffer defeat. Even as the connection and dependency between the words “disciple” and “discipline” are obvious, some devotees tend to be more attentive to the f...

I watched the happy look on my friends face and gave her, her first assignment, “Please take that pan from this mataji and you go to that part of the barn and fill it up with cow-dung.” With an amazed look her face, she turned to me, “You can’t be serious!” she said. After giving her a practical demonstration, she went down on her knees and picked up her first handful of cow-dung. And in no time she had the pan filled up. She was having so much fun; she then carried it on her head and took it to the area where it would be made into cow-dung cakes. Sitting among the ladies who were...

Some Conclusions based on Vedic Descriptions Subtle body has a subtle form with subtle senses to perceive . Subtle body not subject to gross physical laws of space and time Subtle body changes according to present experiences and thoughts Thought forms become more permanent if desires and thoughts are strong. Attachment to the subtle body of another person can lead to attachments in future bodies Sinful, selfish or violent acts create disruption in the subtle body. This determines t...

Fifty years on and the movement has grown and changed. The philosophy and practises remain the same, but most of the members do not live in small communal clusters. There is still communal living – in around 600 locations internationally – but the majority of ISKCON’s members now live in their own homes, visiting a nearby temple or group if there is one. Preserving Srila Prabhupada’s request for his responsible senior disciples to provide spiritual leadership and to ‘teach by example’ has needed some careful re-designing for a n...

In a famous story from the Mahabharata, Krishna once met with Yudhishthira Maharaja and Duryodhana. Desiring to glorify His devotee Yudhishthira, Krishna requested him to find a person lower than himself, and asked sinful Duryodhana to find a person greater than himself. Yudhishthira had all good qualities. He was peaceful and self-satisfied. No doubt he had healthy self-esteem. Yet he could not find anyone he considered lower than himself. Again, this is the example of an advanced Vaishnava who...

According to many pure devotees, nama-sankirtan is not only the best means of devotional service but the final perfection itself. Of course, prema is the final goal of bhakti, but nama-sankirtan so quickly and infallibly leads to prema that the two are considered virtually identical. Wherever prema is seen to have developed, one can presume that nama-sankirtan must have been performed. Nama-sankirtan is the necessary and sufficient cause of prema.

Krishna is described as akhila-rasamrita-sindhu, "the ocean of rasas." There are five primary rasas. Rasa means the mellow or the taste we enjoy in every activity. Everything is done with some taste. Whatever you do, you must enjoy some taste out of it. There are twelve rasas, out of which five are primary and seven are secondary. They are described in this book. For example, we can consider Bhishma, the grandfather of the Pandav...

“The soldiers in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life. What constitutes a normal condition will not be the same for everyone, and therefore there are divisions of varṇāśrama—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa.” (SB. 8.2.30, purport)