Satyavrata Muni is raising the perennial philosophical conundrum of predestination versus free will. In reply, Lord Matsya explains that three elements—fate, effort, and time—conjointly affect the course of one’s life. He gives the example of a farmer, whose crop depends on three factors: planting, rain, and time. Planting represents effort, and rain represents fate. If the farmer plants but there’s no rain, he’ll have no crop. And if it rains but he hasn’t planted, he’ll have no crop. Both fate and effort are required, as is time. If we act properly and per...

Be it Greek Latin English Hindi Lithuanian – Sanskrit is the mother of all Languages. Even Scholars like Voltaire, Immanuel Kant, etc believed that Sanskrit was the root of all Indo-European languages. “I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges” said Voltaire. He believed that the “Dynasty of Brahmins taught the rest of the world”.

This paper is engaged with the topic of reincarnation in the Bhagavad gītā, better termed “rebirth”. It first looks into the epistemological aspects of rebirth, and highlights the type of knowledge or terminology underlying the vision of rebirth, as opposed to a different type of knowledge that is not suitable for this purpose, and which leads to a different vision of reality. It then looks into the ontological aspects of rebirth, and having highlighted some Upaniṣadic sources, it highlights major Bhagavad gītā sections describing the soul and rebirth. Fina...

Some people hold that, having been prophesied by scripture, by Lord Chaitanya and by the previous acharyas, if Srila Prabhupada had not spread Krishna Consciousness, some other devotee, or some group of devotees, would have been empowered to do so in Srila Prabhupada's place. In other words, the prophecy to spread Krishna Consciousness around the world relied on empowerment, rather than an empowered individual, for its fulfillment. It is similar to saying that if we were empowered like Hanuman, we could also jump to Lanka. But is empowerment all that is needed? Can anyone ...

It's a scene that has been repeated countless times on the thoroughfares of cities throughout the Western world-from Hollywood Boulevard and Fifth Avenue in America, to London's Oxford Street and the Champs Elysees in Paris. There, in the midst of traffic, shops, restaurants, and movie theaters, people suddenly find themselves confronted by a group of young persons singing and dancing to the beat of cylindrical drums and the brassy cadence of hand cymbals. The men are dressed in flowing robes and have shaven heads; the women wear colorful Indian saris. Of course, it's the Hare Krsna people, ...

In the lives of great persons there is always opposition and apparent road blocks in accomplishing their goals or mission in life. Whether through another person, an accident, their own body or mind, or some natural disturbance, what appears on the surface to be an impediment is passed through and the glory of the person is revealed. Practically we can see that great success in any undertaking or field is not accomplished without passing through many setbacks and even...

Power, such a seductive thing. It begins when we are infants and learn that a shrill cry can get you immediate attention. First we cry because we need something. Then we cry because we want something. Soon we cry just because we know we can. A younger, weaker sibling has to do what we tell them to - we borrow power from our strength. When the skinny girl finds her curves she realises that a look in the right direction and a casual flick of her hair can turn the biggest chunks of muscle into putty - she borrows power from her beauty. A frustrated father, worked to the gri...