Shabari was a tribal lady and had unflinching devotion for Lord Rama. She took the shelter of great sage Matanga Rsi as her spiritual master. During the last days of sage Matanga, Shabari served him with great attention and care. Pleased by her service, Matanga Rsi blessed her that one day certainly Lord Rama along with His bother Laxmana will come to meet her. Having undeterred faith in the words of her spiritual master, every day, Shabari collected Ber (berries) from nearby forest in great anticipation that Lord Rama will come to meet her

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a personal relationship with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu? To talk with Him face-to-face, and have loving exchanges with Him? It’s not something we can speculate about or artificially induce. But we can hear about such loving exchanges, learn from them and become attracted and attached to entering into them as a humble servant of the servant. Today, let’s visit the world of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His very dear associate and servant, Srivasa Thakura.

Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs. “Why me?” he always asked until he discovered that God had chosen him for a purpose. Because of his disability, he was able to reach out to people and give them courage. Nick’s zest for life and faith in God’s will drove him to learn to swim, surf, travel the world, and do things that even able-bodied people fail to do. He touched people with his conviction that God loves us unconditionally and that whatever He does is for our highest good. He exemplified that faith in God should not depend on what He dishes out ...

Sri Gaurasundara said that sankirtana is the only duty of humankind. This is proof of His magnanimous nature. Human beings can attain what it is impossible even for the best of the demigods to attain. Sri Gaurangadeva does not cheat and does not mix material enjoyment with spiritual understanding. He has preached what is most beneficial to all living beings. If one hears His teachings he will understand that all other teachings in this world are incomplete and weak. Sri Gaurasundara has not descended to cheat people as the mental speculator...

The philosophical sections of the Vedic hymns are meant to enable one to distinguish the Supreme Personality of Godhead from Maya. After indicating the position of Maya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is approached in pure devotional service. That is the purpose of philosophical speculation. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita in the 7th Chapter, Bahunam janmanam ante… "The philosophical speculators and empiric philosophers, after speculating fo...

Avatars of Sri Krishna Bhagavan must: 1. Comply with predictions in authoritative scriptures 2. Display 32 auspicious markings on the body and feet 3. Have long arms that past the knees. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is 7 ft tall and also known as Sri Gauranga because he has the complexion of molten gold. He has auspicious markings on His body and His feet and his slender arms extend down to His knees which are further evidence that He is an avatar of the Supreme Lord.

We know a great deal about the life and teachings of Lord Caitanya because His immediate followers wrote many books, all authoritatively based on the Vedic scriptures. His chief literary followers were known as the six Gosvamis. Among them, Jiva, Sanatana and Rupa especially wrote dozens of scholarly spiritual books proving bhakti, or love of Krsna, to be the ultimate goal of the Vedas. Krsnadasa Kaviraja and Vrndavana dasa Thakura also wrote authoritative biographies of Sri Krsna Caitanya, and many of their learned followers have...

Reflecting back I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my four months stay and I will be forever grateful for being asked to perform this rare service for the Lord during a time of need. Luckily I have been able to continue my pujari service, even though somewhat limited because of ongoing UK lockdown rules and the responsible policies of the Temple management.

Eight Verses Glorifying Srila Prabhupada by Sriman Kusakratha dasa, inspired by a Sanskrit poem, with versification by Dravida dasa. An ocean of compassion, he has taken shelter of Sri Nanda's Son with all his being in everlasting love. He lives on by his words, with him his followers remain The vast renown of Srila Prabhupada I now proclaim. I pray that those who hear this hymn, which shines the brilliant light Of Srila Prabhupada's renown in Kali-yuga's night, Will soon attain firm faith in his instructions so that they May one day join him in Golok, and there with Krs...

To launch Sacred Street Party’s mission to distribute 108 sets of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta as part of the BBT’s Be A Gardener campaign, HG Sutapa Das took us on a journey to connect with this most important scripture. The story of how Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami was empowered to write.

Victory to the sacred sound, that cleanses all around. There’s filth in the heart, piled up from the start. Many births of desires, have burst up like fires. Therefore, the kirtan charge, is for humanity at large. It’s a practice so cool, like the rays of the moon. It’s the fruit of wisdom, with joy that’s arisen, So sweet to the taste, we go there in great haste.

It was good to see a scholar tackling the uncertain area of morality in Vaishnavism, as did Ms Chatterjee with her essay, 'The Chaitanya School: Role of Ethics'. I found her essay thought provoking and a valuable contribution to what I feel is an area requiring much discussion. Although, as Ms Chatterjee rightly pointed out, Vaishnavism holds that 'spiritual progress is hardly possible without moral endeavour', the first requirement being of course the 'four regu...