Making sense of Vedic Rituals. Are traditional rituals mere acts of blind faith, or are there scientific reasons behind following them? An envelope protects and carries something valuable. It is the inner content of the envelope that’s actually precious. Similarly empty, meaningless rituals are like an empty envelope: devoid of any substance at best or downright offensive at worst.

Loving Krishna means loving everyone because Krsna is in their heart. Conversely, applying that logic backwards, if you don't love everyone, it means that you are not loving Krsna. Using the root and leaves example, if the leaves are looking healthy, it is to be understood that the root is receiving nourishment. In SB, eleventh canto, it is explained that only the kanishta or neophyte sees Krsna in the temple, but not in the hearts of all, and fails to respect and develop loving relationships with them. In my experience, the leaves and root example has been used in our preaching to di...

"No one is born hating another because of the color of his skin/ his background/ or his religion. People must learn to hate/ and if they can learn to hate/ they can be taught to love/ for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. II – Nelson Mandela. How does one begin hating anything else? What is the origin of this feeling? Let us begin by trying to understand the origin of 'hate'. Hate of course is an emotion directly opposing love and therefore it is part of material nature's duality. Duality means two, or pair, as love-hate, like-dislike, day-...

You see these temples that we are living in, they are not in Kali-yuga. So long as the devotees are taking shelter of Holy name. this is Satya in this room as soon as you go out it is Kali. Why? because everyone here is simply surcharging everything with the holy name of Krishna. As soon as we forget the name, we are in Kali-yuga. As long as we are remembering, we are in spiritual world. We are liberated. Srila Prabhupada used to tell us in the earliest days, that all my disciples are liberated. We were just looking at each other like, we are liberated..? (laughter) we had so many h...

Is There A Conscious Self distinct from the physical mechanism of the body? Is there a mind distinct from the brain? Those who answer yes to such questions are called dualists, and they are rare in contemporary science and philosophy. Dualistic solutions to the mind/body problem are perhaps hampered by, among other things, inadequate analogies and allegories on the topic in Western thought. Whether we turn to Plato's cave, to the formulations of Descartes, or to the proverbial little green man in the brain, there is apparently not enough substance to inspire the modern ...

Do you want to live? Then come to drink from the nectarine river of the Holy Name. According to the Upanisads, we are all born in the ocean of nectar. We are not meant to be satisfied with anything else but nectar. This is our birthright. By appearing in the land of Navadvipa, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed the chanting of the Holy Names as the means of obtaining this nectar of immortality and by taking on the role of a teacher He has revealed how to chant the Ho...

If one hears about the uncommon activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His various incarnations, he is certainly elevated to the higher planetary system or even brought back home, back to Godhead. These narrations are transmitted by exalted personalities, and they eradicate all sinful reactions. Whoever hears these narrations attains all good fortune. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the dearmost objective of all auspicious benedictions. A human being who sings this song sung by me can please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ...

Complacency is a dangerous element in the progress of Spiritual Life. It is very essential for an endeavoring spiritualist to always remember that the material world is not a place of comfort. It has been certified by the Creator, Lord Sri Krsna himself as dukhalayam and asasvatam, which means it, is full of misery and temporary

With the advancement of the ages, human consciousness had changed too. It is believed that today modern society has advanced far more than the ancient civilization. With more technology and equipments available at disposal, everything has become fast paced and instant. Material science has achieved a lot of progress than the yester years. This progress is thought of as an advancement in Civilization and is looked upon as a great achievement by the society

Panihati Chida-dahi Mahotsav, also known as the Chipped Rice Festival, is a yearly celebration of the pastimes of Srila Raghnnatha dasa Gosvami and Lord Nityananda Prabhu. This astonishing pastime took place on the banks of the Ganges at Panihati, which is about 1 hour drive from Kolkata airport. (Ask for ‘Panihati Boat Ghat’, Sodepur.) Lord Caitanya and His associates enjoyed many transcendental pastimes here. Chida-Dahi Mahotsav remembers how Lord mercifully reciprocated with His devotees by arranging, through Nityananda Prabhu and Raghunatha dasa, to provide an ec...

At the junction of two ages, amidst two immense armies arrayed on the battlefield at Kurukshetra, Arjuna scans his foes and becomes confused. When Krishna expounds eternal dharma to enlighten him, Arjuna addresses Krishna as pavitram paramam: "the purest of the pure." (Bhagavad-gita 10.12) Arjuna adds, "All the great sages . . . confirm this about You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me." Apart from the Bhagavad-gita, other books of wisdom are the Upanishads, essential Vedic texts t...

Madhu means sweet. It means honey. Krishna is also called Madhu. In this material world there is one type of honey and in the spiritual world there is also a type of honey. The sweet honey in the spiritual realm is the real honey which we should hanker for. In this material world there is Kandarpa (Cupid) but in the eternal world, Madan (Cupid) is Krishna and everyone is attracted by Him. The holy name and Krishna are non different. Even great personalities such as Brahma chant the holy name in ecstasy with his four mouths. Narada Muni joyfully plays his vina melodiously ...

With spiritual fasting, you may not make headlines, but you'll make headway on the path back to Godhead. What do Mahatma Gandhi, Dick Gregory, Jane Fonda, Norman Mailer, Bolivian dissidents, British suffragettes, and Irish revolutionaries have in common? Well, for one thing, at one time or another and for one reason or another, they've all fasted. Materially their fasting was somewhat successful, whether it was undertaken to free India from British domination, turn public opinion against the Vietnam War, lose weight, win amnesty for political prisoners, get the right to v...