What is the appropriate response of a Vaisnava or person of faith during a time of national or global crisis? The examples of great souls and of scripture can help us understand what a Vaisnava response can look like. From a certain perspective, we are always in a time of crisis. In the material world, there is danger at every step. Although the material world is the wonderful creation of the Divine, it is not our home, and our material position is never secure. A large part of spiritual practice is meant to help us realize this, and to seek to connect wi...

Prabhupada never accepted anything for himself, nor did he ever enjoy the facilities offered to him by his disciples and followers. Those who had the good fortune to personally serve or spend time with Srila Prabhupada all attest to this fact. He was cent percent engaged in the service of Krishna 24 hours a day. It was his total surrender and dedication to the Lord's service which inspired so much love and adoration in the hearts of his followers. Srila Prabhupada not only talked the talk, but he walked the walk. Everyone respected Prabhupada, even those who didn't agree wit...

"One should become like the ocean. The ocean is filled by many thousands of rivers, and millions of tons of its water evaporates into clouds, yet the ocean is the same unagitated ocean. The laws of nature may work, but if one is fixed in devotional service at the lotus feet of the Lord, he is not agitated, for he is introspective. He does not look outside to material nature, but he looks in to the spiritual nature of his existence; with a sober mind he simply...

Discussion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which describes the character and pastimes of devotees and the Lord, is very quickly effective. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been organized for this purpose. In every center of this Society—not only in the morning, evening or noon, but practically twenty-four hours a day—there is continuous devotional service going on. Anyone who comes in contact with the Society automatically becomes a devotee. We have actual experience that many karmīs and others come to the Society and find a ...

What are the various definitions of inattention while chanting? A. O Lord! All anarthas are produced when we do not pay attention to our chanting. The exalted devotees have defined inattention as indifference, laziness, and restlessness. (Harinama-cintamani) Q. What is the symptom of a restless chanter? A. Those who are afflicted with restlessness try to finish their prescribed rounds as soon as possible. One should be extremely careful not to commit such an offense while chanting. (Harinama-cintamani)

"Both the Vaishnava theists and the materialists each present their own set of amazing stories. The choice is . . . which set of amazing stories to believe." It is the grand conceit of the materialistic worldview that “man is the measure of all things.” When we dig a little deeper, we find that this premise is based on a profoundly arrogant presumption, namely, that all reality can ultimately be subordinated to our sense perception and intellect.

Sometimes people think that the ancient Vedic literature no longer has any real usefulness in this day and age. That it is little better than an antique of foregone days. However, this article shows the universal and ever-relevant nature of the Ramayana, and how it explains the symptoms of society when there is no ruler, or when there is an unqualified leader. This is from the discussion between Markandeya and the great sages and Visishtha when they urge him to install a proper king onto the throne. When there is no such ruler of a country, they describe an assortmen...

In the Dallas temple, before the devotees and the Deities in early 1983, H.H. Tamal Krsna Goswami read out a letter from Srila Prabhupada: "My dear Tamal, the temple is likened to a military training camp where persons come and are trained as soldiers. After being trained they are sent out into the field to live an ideal devotee life preaching and living by example, or they remain in the temples to serve in one of many varieties of service. Those who are not strong enough to live outside the temple maintaining sadhana they can remain in the...

In Srimad Bhagavatam in ninth canto, there is a story of Shaubhari muni. He was a very powerful yogi. Millions of time more powerful than any materialist today in his ability to fulfill his material desires. He had attained very great mystic powers. And of course when one becomes very powerful spiritually or materially, the tendency is to become very proud and in pride, the greatest danger is that we can offend saintly persons. So Shaubhari Muni, as it is described, ...

Part of our ISKCON folklore is a story of early devotees wondering who were those māyāvādīs Śrīla Prabhupāda always rallied against - because no one knew any particular māyāvādī at the time, and then it hit them - they (we) are the māyāvādīs! Not by our professed ideology but by our attitudes and by the quality of our relationships, which were often very impersonal in nature. A lot of Bhāgavatam classes were spent on uncovering impersonalism in our lives afterwards. Otherwise a question arises - why would Śrīla Prabhupāda travel to the western countries to fight māyāvād...