Do you remember me?
I was distributing in Byron Bay, Australia. When I approached a man, he asked, “Do you remember me?” “No, sorry, I don’t.” “Three years ago, you gave me the Bhagavad-gita, and I gave you a donation.
I thought it might help me through my troubled times. I had lost my business and my family, so I was drinking a lot. Basically I wanted to drink myself to death. Miserable.

“Bless My Son”
Living with Srila Prabhupada.
By Rukmini Devi Dasi.
The ultimate anxiety for every parent is how their child will fair in the world. Srila Prabhupada’s mother wanted him to study in London and become a barrister, akin to the current day I.T. specialist who scores a job in the USA. However, Srila Prabhupada lovingly describes how his father’s ambition differed. Gour Mohan De wanted Abhay (Srila Prabhupada ’s birth name) to be skilled in mridanga and the art of knowing and sharing the sacred scripture, Srimad Bhag...

Deity worship by Vaishnavis.
Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Amsu das on 13 August 1974:
“Regarding the worship of our Gaura Nitai by women pujaris, we worship Lord Chaitanya in His householder life when He was with His wife, and not as a sannyasi. So, it is alright for women to do this service. But, besides this, service is spiritual and there can be no material designation. In Bhagavad-gita it is stated by Lord Krsna: striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te’pi yanti param gatim. The principle is that everyone who is properly initiated and...

The following is a chapter from Modern Culture–a Dangerous Experiment by DAYANANDA DAS ADHIKARY.
This section discusses human greed as the root cause of environmental disasters. Many consider the problem to be systemic,[1] and they advocate changing fundamental values to those that would provide genuine reverence toward nature.
The solution presented in this book is to adopt the essential values and practices of Vaishnava culture, specifically those related to yajna.

Contradictory views in scriptures about Lord’s nature & the way to understand it! (video)
Lecture by HH Bhanu Swami at Iskcon Chennai.

How to Get Through Tests.
All of us will encounter tests on our way. Once Indradyumna Maharaja told me a pertinent story: many years ago Maharaja was on sankirtana with a group of brahmacaris. They were planning to sing in the streets of Paris. It was a particularly difficult day: first the petrol in the car ran out in the middle of the highway. After they solved this problem by walking to the nearest gas station to bring more fuel, they continued to drive until one of the tires punctured. Finally, after a mechanic repaired the tire, they arrived in P...

After Akrura was instructed by the evil king, Kamsa, to bring Krishna and Balaram from Vrindavan to Mathura, he boarded his chariot. Along the journey, Akrura struggled to fathom the good fortune that had befallen him. He was about to see the object of his meditation, the essence of his life - Krishna and Balaram. As his chariot rode along, inching closer and closer to Vrindavan, he thought of seeing the beautiful forms of Krishna and Balaram. He thought of Krishna’s face and His enchanting smile framed by His captivating reddish lips. He thought of ...

Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Badrinarayan Swami in San Diego, Ca

Krishna doesn’t promise a stormless sea – he provides an unsinkable ship (Based on Gita 18.58)

How to be positive in all circumstances – the third perspective. It is not enough to maintain physical hygiene – we need to take care that our mind and our heart remain pure. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura once said, “Negativity will only control you if you allow it to enter your mind.” In other words, if you think negatively, if you always look into the abyss, the abyss will stare into your face. This is very important. On the other hand, if we think that everything is possible, everything will be possible for us – b...

“Be Happy When Others Are Glorified” by HG Mahatma Prabhu - (5 min video)
Mark Twain said, “It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to not deserve them and have them.” Sometimes we do something praiseworthy but receive no praise. And it may happen that others less deserving of praise receive it. We should not be unhappy. As devotees, we are not looking for praise.

Helping others get close to Krishna (video)
Srimad Bhagavatam Class by H.G. Anuttama Prabhu at ISKCON Vrindavan

Hankering after the lotus feet of the Lord.
(1.11.25-26) The inhabitants of Dvārakā were regularly accustomed to look upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, yet they were never satiated. His lotus feet are the refuge of pure devotees who never talk or sing of any subject except His Lordship.

7 Quotes to Remember in Difficult Times. During difficult times, our mind is usually disturbed, our intelligence confused, and our ego hurt. Of these seven quotes from Radhanath Swami’s book The Journey Within, three are for the mind, two for the intelligence, and two for the ego.

In any condition you can become purified!
Srila Prabhupada: The real point is that narayana-paranmukham. Without thinking of Narayana or Krsna or Visnu, no method will be able to purify you. Vita-raga-bhaya-krodha, mam upasritah… [Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me – and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me. (Bhagavad-gita, 4.10.)] – the simple process to become purified. And that simple proces...

Will God be understood by science in the future?
The word “science” originally meant knowledge i.e. to know. When Newton postulated the law of gravity he did not call himself a scientist, he was considered as a natural philosopher. The word “scientist” is an eighteenth-century invention. The word “science” is used in a specific sense today. In science, we look for explanations of natural phenomena. Science has its own limitations when it comes to explaining natural phenomenon. The idea that science will be able to u...

Vaisesika Dasa: My dear false ego,
It has taken me quite some time to find the courage to write you this letter, and I realize that it may come to you as a surprise since we have been together for so long and we’ve been through so much.
I know also that I’m the one who started this relationship in the first place, but I’ve changed. I now know that what we had was unhealthy: especially my depending on you to watch and appreciate every move that I made, and your telling me that I was great, wise, clever and so on, even when I wasn&...

Physician heal thyself!
Sanatana Goswami Das: In this age of Kali-yuga, the uncommon sights similar to the Srimad-Bhagavatam’s description of the Ajamila’s episode have become a commonplace. The incident took place in an earlier millennium when the Vedic culture was prominent and people in general, adhered to the injunctions of the Vedas while being dutiful in their prescribed duties. Ajamila himself, for that matter, was a strict brahmana, consistent in his daily practices and rituals. Thus, it is apprehensible that such a sight to be vis...

Dare to Think of Krsna as Your Friend!
HH Sacinandana Swami: For many devotees in our movement, Krsna is anything but a friend. They do not dare to think in this direction. Some feel it is sahajiyaism, or taking things too lightly, while others think, “He is so far away and inaccessible. A friend is someone I can call with my smartphone or write a whatsapp to. Krsna is a friend? Is this just a swami-hype? How can we relate to this?” My dear devotees, you can only find peace in your life if you become aware that:
...

With his passport and sponsorship papers, Bhaktivedanta Swami went to Bombay, not to sell books or raise funds for printing; he wanted a ticket for America. Again he tried approaching Sumati Morarji. He showed his sponsorship papers to her secretary, Mr. Choksi, who was impressed and who went to Mrs. Morarji on his behalf. “The Swami from Vrindavana is back,” he told her. “He has published his book on your donation. He has a sponsor, and he wants to go to America. He wants you to send him on a Scindi...

A similar rasa-līlā was going on. You know that story? Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was magistrate, and one person in Orissa, he declared himself that "I am Viṣṇu," and in the village he was enticing young women and girls to dance at night.

Candramauli Swami and his pera.
A Prabhupada pastime at the New Vrindavan farm community in West Virginia, July 1974.

A recent seminar by HG Suresvara Prabhu presented in Iskcon Melbourne.

Does a virus or some teeny bacteria have a soul?
——–
Prabhupada: So similarly, soul is everywhere.
Brian Singer: And in the animal also? In the dog?
Prabhupada: Oh, yes.
Brian Singer: Yeah? And how far down in the animal world? Like you have the worm and also bacteria and the virus. Is also true?
...