By Niranjana SwamiThe intelligent Queen Kunti here points out that even though Lord Krsna is dealing with her affectionately as a relative, He is not compromising His position as the well-wishing Soul of the universe. In other words, the Lord doesn’t play favorites. As He says in the Bhagavad-gita (9.29), samo ‘ham sarva-bhutesu, “I am equal to everyone.” So while the Lord reciprocates with all souls, it is natural that those who love Him intensely receive His special attention, for they want Him and nothing else.
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- 11 Mar 2022
By Rasikendra das, Nama Rasana dd & Jahnavi ddOn Thursday 25th of February we watched the news with horror and we knew at that very moment our next door neighbours will need our help. On the same day we got a call from Ukrainian temple in Kiev, asking “If we were to send our woman and children would you look after them?” Our reply ” Of course, but what about you? We need to stay back and fight and protect our homeland and our temple and our elderly who don’t want to leave their homes.”
...- 9 Mar 2022
Nrsimhananda das: My mother , Mimi Jaffe, departed peacefully March 7 at the ripe old age of 100. Her pastimes with Srila Prabhupada are inscribed by his letters to her in response to her many challenges....
- 7 Mar 2022
By Badrinarayan SwamiHare Krishna. Many devotees and friends are asking how they can help the devotees caught in the middle of the deadly and devastating fighting in Ukraine. ISKCON has over 3,000 initiated devotees in the country, over a dozen temples, and three beautiful farms. I have attached a few photos of the main temple in Kiev. ISKCON’s international governing body is in regular, daily contact with the Ukrainian devotees. Because of the very delicate and dangerous nature of the situation, we cannot say more than this.
...- 4 Mar 2022
By Vijaya DasaIn Ukraine, there is usually nice book distribution. There are fifty-four centers and thousands of devotees, many of whom came because of getting books. Maybe some determined devotees are distributing in places where there's no invasion. Let's pray to Krsna that this unfortunate circumstance soon ends, so that devotees may continue distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and living happily in Krsna consciousness.
...- 4 Mar 2022
By Bhakti Vighna Vinasa Narasimha SwamiIn the six principles of surrender, two are of interest, namely, 1) being convinced of Krishna's protection, and 2) keeping the Lord as one's only guardian and master. I am confident that Krishna is protecting me, and that whatever happens will be for my highest good.
...- 3 Mar 2022
By Sankirtana DasSanctimony is not necessarily reserved for the righteous. It’s a condition that could affect anyone: the right wing, left wing, atheists, and even “the sinful.” It means “making a show of being morally superior to others.” We all fall into it at one time or other, sooner or later.
...- 1 Mar 2022
By the GBC ECThe devotees wake up to a changed reality -- tanks rolling through the streets in some places, explosions in their neighborhoods in others, and the sound of gunshots in the distance. While the tendency for a living entity in such a situation is naturally to be overcome with fear, our devotees are finding that Srila Prabhupada has offered them an extraordinary alternative -- they are taking shelter of the Holy Names, of the association of the Vaisnavas, and of the most merciful Sri Sri Radha-Madhava who have appeared in Kyiv in their beautiful deity forms.
...- 27 Feb 2022
By Dhira Gaura DasShri Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) one of the most renowned and influential personalities of India, stayed in ISKCON Ujjain campus for 3 days from 19th February to 21st February. RSS organized their 2 days meetings in the temple's auditorium. A total of 170 RSS men including their leaders, volunteers and security guards stayed in the temple's Guest House and Apartments.
...- 25 Feb 2022
By Bhurijana dasaOne fundamental requirement for active listening is the capacity to suspend the judging-propensity. Resist the temptation to immediately offer words of advice or throw out pat preachy lines. The general rule is to not advice unless you are quite sure the listener wishes to accept your words: “advice only when hired” is a saying used by professional counselors in this connection. Instructing one who is disturbed is usually not effective because the troubled person's turbulent mind will not al...
- 23 Feb 2022
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaKrishna's abode in the transcendental kingdom is called Goloka Vrindavana. The city in India named Vrindavan, where I have come from, is called Bhauma Vrindavan, which means the same Goloka Vrindavana descended to earth. Just as Krishna descends to earth out of His own internal potency, His dhama, or His abode—Vrindavana dhama—also descends.
...- 23 Feb 2022
By Mayapur Sasi dasaFor the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of January 2022. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5
...- 20 Feb 2022
By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati ThakurSrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada speaks about proper mood for devotees towards the society's temples. It is more intelligent to create a living Matha rather than to build a Matha for comfortable living. Creating a living Matha means to attract faithful persons to surrender at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. The highest welfare activity is to attract living entities to serve the spiritual master’s lotus feet by describing to them the spiritual master’s glories and service. For this we spend gallons of blood. Such preachin...
- 18 Feb 2022
By Drutakarma DasaCosmology is defined as the study of the origin, purpose, structure and functioning of the universe. Vedic cosmology gives a vast amount of information about not only the structure of the phenomenal universe as we see it, but also a clear idea of the source of the manifested universe, its purpose, and the subtle laws that govern its operation.
...- 18 Feb 2022
By Bhakti Caitanya Swami Narottama Dasa Thakura appeared in Kheturi which I believe is in current day Bangaldesh. Eventually in his late youth or so he went to Vrindavan and in Vrindavan he met Srila Jiva Goswami and took shelter of him. Then he met Srila Lokanath Goswami and was very deeply struck by the character of Lokanath Goswami and his standards as a devotee and just who he was as a devotee
...- 16 Feb 2022
By the GBCRESOLVED: The GBC hereby states their commitment to increase the number of diksa-gurus in ISKCON by systematically and promptly increasing the number of diksa-gurus before we lose the present gurus. The GBC also accepts the principle that the number of diksa-gurus must reflect, as closely as possible, the actual size of ISKCON, and that the future system leans to having many local diksa-gurus with fewer disciples, rather than having a limited number of international gurus with many disciples. Furthermore, the GBC members will support and promote prominent siksa-gurus initiating while their diksa-g...
- 15 Feb 2022
By Indradyumna SwamiThough we are visiting remote areas of Orissa to document ancient temples, we couldn't resist a pilgrimage to Jagannatha Puri. We spent the day visiting numerous sacred temples and places associated with the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, such as Siddha Bakula, where the Lord visited Haridas Thakur and planted a Bakul tree to give His devotee shade while chanting the Holy Names. That sacred tree still exists.
...- 14 Feb 2022
By Parasuram DasA Krsna conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brahmana and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow, or an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramatma, is present in everyone's heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge.
...- 14 Feb 2022
By Krishna dharma das“One should learn how to associate with the devotees of the Lord by gathering with them to chant the glories of the Lord. This process is most purifying. As devotees thus develop their loving friendship, they feel mutual happiness and satisfaction. And by thus encouraging one another they are able to give up material sense gratification, which is the cause of all suffering. The devotees of the Lord constantly discuss the glories of the Personality of Godhead among themselves. Thus, they constantly remember the Lord and remind one another of His qualities and pastimes. In this way, b...
- 7 Feb 2022
By Giriraj SwamiTo honor Sri Advaita Acharya’s appearance day, we present Srila Prabhupada’s talk about him in Mayapur on April 6, 1975. So, try to follow the path of acharya process. Then life will be successful. And to become acharya is not very difficult. First of all, become a very faithful servant of your acharya: follow strictly what he says and try to please him and spread Krishna consciousness. That’s all. It is not at all difficult. Try to follow the instruction of your guru maharaja and spread Krishna consciousness. That is the order of Lord Chaitanya. Amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa...
- 6 Feb 2022
By Kripamoya DasaLord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa simply to reach out to those who would only take His messages seriously if He did so. The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were known as the greatest philosophers, and yet they took the time and trouble to extract the essence from all the dharma sastras in order to convey a simple message to ordinary people. The result was that common people were able to follow their simplified teachings, and loved them for giving them Krsna. It is perhaps interesting to note that even though the Six Goswamis were usual...
- 4 Feb 2022
By Bhakti-lata Dasi From time to time I send books to inmates who haven't contacted us. I never had a response but I still try once in a while. Back in February 2018, I saw a documentary entitled Death Row: Inside Indiana State Prison. One inmate, in particular, caught my attention. His tiny cell was packed with books and he had written thoughtful words on his walls, such as: Industry, Perseverance, Frugality. In this documentary he also said, "Those books allow for a great escape, to be able to leave the confines of the walls." It seemed to me that there was a great chance of him appreciating the Bhagava...
- 3 Feb 2022
By Praghosa DasaWhile we may consider the Hare Krishnas a rather obscure group, the truth is their impact on the world we occupy today is massive. They are the ones who originally brought the likes of meditation, mindfulness and good diet to us all. So while it may generally be thought that the Hare Krishna movement has not taken the world by storm and achieved mass global domination, secretly their core teaching and activities have. This is shown wherever you look in society now, where you will witness Hare Krishna-isms everywhere, even if they might be a little on the diluted side. Inde...
- 2 Feb 2022
By Vijaya DasaWow! So many outstanding scores from the Prabhupada Marathon in December. Pune was on fire. Under the able guidance of Radhe Shyama Prabhu, Pune was the No. 1 temple in the world, with 856,826 book points. It was a close competition with New Delhi, in second place, with 813,294 book points. In the Medium Temple category, Punjabi Bhag in New Delhi was No. 1, with 369,346 book points. The capital of India was getting the mercy of Krsna in a big way, with thousands of big hardcover books going out to people.
...- 2 Feb 2022