Peter Leggieri, the editor-owner of “The East Village Other” (EVO), wrote the “Save Earth Now” article about the Hare Krishna movement in 1966 under the pen name Irving Shushnick. Here’s an excerpt from the EVO website where he mentions how that article came to be.

No sooner do chanters begin their meditation session than the mind becomes restless, digging into past memories, running again and again over present worries, and exploring the future. Much of this mental life is fantasizing about all the ways we can enjoy and all the ways we can suffer-reliving experiences, painful or pleasant,and planning endlessly. Anything but being present while we’re chanting. We have to wonder why chanting makes the mind so defiant. To an...

If Parikshit maharaja had killed Kali instead of forgiving him, we wouldn’t be suffering the effects of Kali now.’ Isn’t this a sensible argument? Let’s analyze… Parikshit maharaja, wanted to protect his citizens from the onslaught of Kali, but at the same time, he did not want to act against Lord’s will of allowing Kali yuga to take its own direction of destiny. Also it is said, that Parikshit did not become envious of Kali, but he kept Kali in bay by admi...

The maya of the material world has two main functions: It lures us away from our natural position of service to Krishna, and it deludes us into full forgetfulness of that position. But that maya, often referred to as maha-maya, has a spiritual counterpart its source, yoga-maya. Because yoga-maya is also an energy of Krishna’s, it too can overpower us. But yoga-maya connects us with Krishna. Another meaning of maya is “mercy.” By devotional service to Krishna we place ourselves under the influence of yogamaya and in time awaken to our e...

Some time in 1972-73 Srila Prabhupada saw that the East Indians were not carrying on the tradition of making the original mridangas and kartals. The younger generation who would normally take over the arts from their fathers were becoming more and more interested in going to school and going to the cities. They were thinking that working with leather making the drums and such was a lower class of activity. So Srila Prabhupada sent out a letter to all the GBCs indicating that some men should be sent t...

Selfishness is closely related to the inability to hear, as our preoccupation with our self makes us deaf to another's voice. To overcome this, we can learn to consider all matters thoughtfully with due respect to our spouse’s point of view. This honest approach, which avoids manipulation and partiality to one’s own insights, facilitates finding a better conclusion than one person could have attained alone. It is unlikely that the best possible decision will be made if one person imposes his or her will on the other. After all, our will, our deep conviction of what is...

So at times like this we should remember Lord Dhanvantari to become free from disease, yet at the same time we must always remember that death is inevitable as long as we have a material body and Krishna will always do what is best for us. "My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have forgotten their real constitutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous of material happiness in the form of society, friendship and love. Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the ...

Are we the makers of our destiny or is life pre-destined? In the Mahabharata, Vidura explained to Dhritarastra, “Destiny determines the consequences of our actions, not our actions themselves.” This means that we are not like programmed robots that have no free will, or no choice. Our past karma does determine what will happen in our life, but it does not determine how we will react to it. Destiny is something like a weather forecast on a journey. A weather f...

In the Fourth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam Narada Muni states: "My dear King, in the place where pure devotees live, following the rules and regulations and thus purely conscious and engaged with great eagerness in hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in that place if one gets a chance to hear their constant flow of nectar, which is exactly like the waves of a river, one will forget the necessities of life -- namely hunger and thirst -- and become immune to all kinds of fear, lamentation and illusion." (SB 4.29.39-40) That’s what the...

We may not realize how our aural organs play a vital role in determining our spiritual destination. The human body is equipped with five senses through which one is connected to the external world. These five knowledge-acquiring organs, known in the Vedas as jnanendriyas (jnana, “knowledge”; indriya, “senses”), are the ears, eyes, tongue, nose, and skin. Through them we receive information about the external world, and based on that information we act and react. Among these senses, the ears are more active than the other four. Srila Prabhupada explained the s...

Bhattacarya: ‘Swamiji, I want to tell you something. In Vrindavan temple, they are having your deity on the altar. And all kinds of people are coming and praying to it, and offering flowers to it, and you are still living. According to Pancaratra, when the Acarya is living, if he puts his deity on the altar, then all the sufferings people are having come to his body through the deity. So you please tell your disciples to worship your deity only after you leave your body.’ He was speaking as if he was giving some information to Prabhupada, which Prabhupada did not note. Prabhupada: ...

How do we upgrade our home to a sacred space or temple? A temple is a place of worship, centred around spiritual activity. When I speak to resident devotees at the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple about their lives there, the common thread is that they are grateful to live in the Supreme Lord’s house, and that His presence is always felt. When we visit temples, we do not enter with our shoes on as they are unclean. We trod everywhere in them, touching all types of dirt. Removing our shoes immediately elevates our mind, making us recognise that we are now entering a sp...

In recent decades we witness increasing public awareness about the profoundly damaging effects of accellerating human production, consumption, and mobility on ecosystems of the world; and this awareness is accompanied by a deepening sense of urgency that “something” must be done to stop the current trends of environmental destruction. Environmental activism is now a mainstream activity for all sorts of individuals and groups, not least persons and organizations whose motivations may be termed “religious.” Religious traditions are being seen as potential reso...

What should a Sadhaka do while encountering Conflicting roles? Sati faced a tug of war between her desires to go to father’s house V/S Fear of disobeying Lord Siva her husband. Her desire got better off and that impelled her to go ahead, making a bold decision. Srila Prabhupada clearly draws a conclusion that in husband-wife relationship, it is better for wife to co-operate with the husband in a bitter situation than to quit the scene and take shelter of parents seeking a sweet relationship with them. If one considers this matter seriously, one can see that any par...

“Shoot him,” said the man with the crowbar. Kshudhi felt the cold metal against his skull and chanted Hare Krishna like never before. His nimble nineteenyear old body was tucked under the bed. The other four men with guns hesitated. They attacked the house knowing that a Johannesburg vegetable merchant had kept cash there, but were they ready to kill for it? Less than two years before, Kshudhi had purchased a copy of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya from a book store in Los Angeles. The book introduced him to bhakti, the means of approaching God selflessly. One day, he sa...

Simply by hearing about Krishna and His devotees, we will lose our longtime desire to control and enjoy this world, and as we gradually reduce our desire to dominate, we will proportionately enjoy spiritual happiness. A Vedic mantra says that as we associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we proportionately relish our eternal blissful life. So, eternal blissful life can be ours if we desire and pray for it. “When will Nityananda bestow His causeless mercy upon me so that my desire for material enjoyment will become very insignificant? When will that time...

“Man proposes, God disposes” has been the cause of immense frustration for humanity since time immemorial. The best plans are often foiled forever in a single moment by factors beyond human control. Misery can be said to be the condition in which we are unable to get what we want and / or are forced to accept that which we don’t want. A thoughtful person can perceive that misery is an unavoidable, inescapable companion during the sojourn through this world (Bhagavad Gita 8.15). Everyone is put repeatedly in the unenviable position of watching helplessly all of ...

In this age of Kali married life will be accepted on the consideration of sex only; when the boy and girl are pleased in sex, they get married, and when there is deficiency in sex, they separate. Srila Prabhupada spends most of his purport describing the accordance of marriage as a basis for practicing spiritual life and how that combination is a feature of the success of ones Krishna consciousness. Herein it is mentioned how character should be matched up and if i...