In spite of the fact that everything comes from the Supreme Being, He is still aloof from it all. He does not disengage Himself from His eternal pleasure pastimes with His devotees in the spiritual realm. So, in the process of creating the material worlds, the Supreme expands Himself into various forms, which are His plenary parts. Krishna is the primeval Lord, the original Personality of Godhead, so He can expand Himself into unlimited forms with all potencies. They are no different from Him, but may exhibit differences in form. He first expands Himself i...

The Bhagavad-gita is no doubt a major spiritual treatise and one of the world’s greatest classics. Understanding that a hierarchical concept of reality characterizes the Gita can help us see coherence of the Gita’s message. The Bhagavad-gita speaks on two major levels of reality and a third, intermediate, one. We can use the Sanskrit words dharma and moksha to treat the two main levels, and the word yoga for the third. Dharma refers to a set of values repres...

The transcendental land of Vrndavana is always spiritual. That spiritual land is populated by goddesses of fortune, who are known as gopis. These are all beloved of Krsna, and Krsna is the only lover of all those gopis. The trees of that land are kalpa-vrksa, wish-fulfilling trees, and one can have anything he wants from them. The land is made of touchstone and the water of nectar. In that supreme abode, all speech is song, all walking is dancing, and one's constant companion is the flute. Sur...

A successful model Evgeniya Fedorova from Saint Petersburg, representative of the Vaishnava Culture, shared with the HARE KRISHNA lifestyle blog her story about how to turn non-sattvic business into a sattvic one, how to be a vedic and a modern girl at the same time and what kind of mantra she has been waiting for all her life.

Over 35 years ago I sat before the fire and took the same vows. I am grateful to still be practicing. Later that day I heard a talk which shared 4 reasons why devotees sometimes give up the process of Krishna consciousness, the one they once started so enthusiastically. Turning them into positives, here are 4 things, if we do them well, that can bring us success in our spiritual endeavor, which is to awaken love for Krishna and live to in congruence with that wholesome truth. Humility, offenses, sanga, knowing the path.

Krishna is present in His Name. He is there when we are chanting. Sometimes when we chant, by His mercy, we really feel His presence. We know He is there and the kirtan becomes very wonderful. I experience this in different ways, never quite the same. The Lord in His deity form, Srila Prabhupada, or other spiritual personalities, appear in the mind. Sometimes spiritual feelings arise. RadheShyamAlachua2 Although Krishna is always there, sometimes we don’t feel His presence. He keeps Himself hidden, and I feel like a stone and the chanting seems empty. Krishna does this so...

The Vaikuntha residents while travelling in their Airplanes condemn the fragrance of Madhavi flowers in ponds, which indicates that they don’t care for insignificant sense gratification in comparison to the joy they derive in Lord’s service. The only desire the Vaikuntha-vasis have in their hearts is eternal loving service to Lord and nothing else. They have no desire even for Mukti, what to speak of Bhukti or Siddhi. Such purity of desire renders one’s heart clean, fit and offerable to Supreme Lord.

Anyone who comes through these doors of this temple, we should know they are special guests caring to visit the Supreme Personality of Godhead and it is expected of us to give them such hospitality, without discrimination, what their material status in society may be. They should be given affectionate loving words. They should feel wonderful. Srila Prabhupada explains this principle is so important. When a guest comes to the house of a king, he gives them royal treatment, but even if you are ve...