We have the most complete philosophy, and Srila Prabhupada has given us the wonderful process of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Part of that process is taking care of the devotees. Actually, Krishna says that He has nothing else to do but to take care of His devotees. And since His devotees are always thinking about Him, He is also always thinking about His devotees. So actually, devotee care is one of the primary angas or aspects of Krishna consciousness.

There are two tracks (vidhis) required to walk safely on the spiritual path, as Srila Prabhupada often mentioned: In the same way as the physical train needs two parallel tracks, also the train of bhakti needs two tracks: one is the bhagavatvidhi or the path of sravanam and kirtana, also known as rag-marg and the pancaratrika-vidhi or the path of arcana, also known as vidhi-marg. When Srila Prabhupada came to the West to teach Krishna-consciousness, he first...

Many devotees ask how we are to understand the Ulta, or Bahuda - return Ratha-yatra in Jagannath Puri? If (as Gaudiya Vaishnavas state) we consider the Gundica-yatra, or Ratha-yatra to respresent the ecstatic emotions of the residents of Vrindavan taking Krishna home from Kuruksetra. How do we then understand the return Ratha-yatra? Is it a festival celebrating taking Krishna away from Vrindavan? There are two sides, two answers, that can be offered to this question. To understand them, one f...

When we talk about the planet's earliest civilization, we are talking about the world's earliest sophisticated society after the last ice age. This means that according to the Vedic time tables, various forms of civilization have been existing for millions of years

One barrier to acceptance of interactionist models for mind/body dualism is a shortage of conceptual resources. Turning to the ancient Sanskrit writings of India, we find in the Bhagavata Purana of India the allegory of the City of Nine Gates, which provides a complex model from mind/body dualism. This model, rich in imagery, allows one to account for such varied phenomena as phantom limbs, out of body experiences, past life memories, traveling clairvoyance, and perception of qualia. Is there a ...

Reading or hearing about Krishna’s astounding pastimes in Vrindavana will satisfy our innate spiritual need to be connected with the supreme spiritual person, Sri Krishna. Mundane tales bind us to the material sphere, whereas spiritual tales uplift us. They are ever fresh and purify our hearts. When we are in contact with Krishna’s name, form, abode, and pastimes, we are in direct contact with Him. Our spiritual nature becomes uncovered, and we begin to see things as they are. Free from illusion, we see beyond the purview of the material mind and senses. Wh...

The lotus feet of the Lord are the quintessential bodily feature by which He is worshipped. The conclusion of the Vedas is that there is no better topic of discussion than Krishna’s lotus feet, for they bestow the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are truly meek and humble believe they have no recourse in life other than to approach the service of His lotus feet.

Life is no less than a roller coaster ride: we cannot expect what we’ll have to face next. Life may pull us down into its deep and dark gorges, or it may make us soar high in the open blue sky. Naturally, all that most people are concerned about is how to lead a more comfortable life tomorrow, and thus schemes are hatched for this end which may not always be honest, sensible or thoughtful. The efforts for obtaining material comforts become moral and spiritual pitfalls and one is pulled down instead of being able to rise.

She went to a Sunday feast, spent the night, and never left. In 1972 she was initiated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and received the spiritual name Ragatmika-devi dasi. For many years, Ragatmika dedicated herself to distributing her spiritual master’s books. Daily she experienced the satisfaction of offering to countless people a practical solution to all of their problems: knowledge of the soul and service to God. Yet Ragatmika was not merely giving out books of philosophy; she was also imbibing the same...

To love means to be concerned for the other person's benefit. That is real love. I love you for your benefit; you love me for my benefit. If I so-called love you for my benefit, that is lust. In this material world there cannot be love. It is not possible, because the so-called love is for our own sense gratification. A young boy loves a young woman for his sense gratification, not for her sense gratification. Similarly, she also...

My heart is like a desert, hot with the rays of the sun. This is my internal mental condition. The desire for temporary, material things cannot satisfy me because by nature they are death producing. And not one or two, but thousands of such death-producing desires have taken shelter in my mind. So, my subconscious region is always burning. This is my condition. But somehow, by the grace of sadhu and my guru, the holy name of Krishna with its infinite prospect has entered through the ...

Even a child can manifest symptoms of sincere devotion. About fourteen miles from Jagannatha’s temple stands the temple of a deity named Ålarnatha. Lord Brahma installed this four-armed deity in Satya-yuga, millions of years ago, and since then the worship has been the responsibility of certain brahmana families. Once, it was the responsibility of Sri Ketana, who had a son named Madhu. When Sri Ketana had to go out for several days to beg alms for the templ...

A Vaishnava derives joy by glorifying devotees. Devotees are the reservoir of good qualities. If out of hundreds of good qualities, someone displays one bad quality, it should not be magnified. Make it a point to create a very nice atmosphere by glorifying others. That is what Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted. Desiring no respect, glorification, adoration for ourselves, we should offer all respect, glorification and adoration to the Vaishnavas: “See how wonderfully he is rendering his service. He has offered himself to Srila Prabhupada.” That is how we should see ev...

One aspect of the Vedic culture—knowledge of the future—may seem at first glance to contradict free will, but this is not so. In fact, St. Augustine’s explanation of this phenomenon in relation to the omniscience of God parallels the Vedic understanding. Others had argued that if God already knew what we were going to do, that would prevent us from having free choice; we could not help but act in the way God had foreseen. In response, Augustine explained that God’s vision of the future does not cause anything to happen. Rather, it is akin to human vision of the past. W...

Within Krsna’s heart arose the great desire to satisfy the hearts of His most beloved devotees. At that time on the bank of Yamuna, under the holy Vamsivata tree, Krsna played the fifth note of His flute. The essence of the love of His heart came through His lips into the holes of the flute and formed into a beautiful song. It filled the atmosphere, entered the gopis’ ears, through their ears it entered into their hearts, and within their hearts it plundered the treasure of their entire consciousness. The song of Krsna’s flute sto...

Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes the six practices of those serious about dedicating their lives to Krishna: accepting things favorable to devotional service, rejecting things unfavorable to devotional service, accepting that Krishna is our only maintainer, accepting that Krishna is our only protector, developing a deep sense of humility, and fully giving ourselves for the purpose of guru and Krishna.