Betrayed by the Basic Four Four? Three? Whatever the count, a balanced diet should nourish not only the body but the spirit as well. by Visakha-devi dasi I remember how we learn about it in elementary school. Mrs. Pile had a colorful, authoritative chart divided into four sections—the Basic Four. Twenty-two young, innocent faces gazed […]
It so happens that 1971 is the year that Srila Prabhupada initiated me. He explained to me then that to become qualified to go back to Godhead, one must hear about Lord Krsna, chant His holy names and serve Him and His devotees.
From Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle learned the doctrines of vegetarianism and continence, to which they both adhered throughout their long lives; and Aristotle taught these doctrines to his pupil Alexander the Great, who was a strict vegetarian.
If you had known Mr. Griesser in 1920 and then were to see him again today, after a lapse of fifty-eight years, you probably wouldn’t recognize him.
In Ancient India’s Vedic literatures we find a cosmic calendar that shows the cycle of ages—and how to break out of it. by Visakha-devi dasi How long we live greatly depends on what kind of body we have. For example, an insect might stay around for only a month, while a human being sometimes lasts […]
If there was ever a turning point in our lives, this month in Vrindavan must have been it. John had always been neutral on spiritual matters, but I was an avid atheist, so much so that I had converted some of my friends to my way of thinking.
For thousands of years devotees in India have known that we can personally see and serve the Lord in His Deity form. Now, to the Western mind this idea may seem unfamiliar, but it’s easy to understand.
Introducing people to Krishna is a full-time job for the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. They chant Hare Krishna on San Francisco Bay and on Parisian boulevards, give out free pineapples
We milk the cows at two o’clock, and as soon as we’re done milking, we go into the temple and attend the morning functions. We’re busy all the time this way, and we don’t fall down to a mundane level.
This Age of Kali is an ocean of faults. But in this age there is one great advantage—simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, one can be freed of all material contamination.
At Mayapur the devotees will chant and visit the places where the Lord performed His pastimes. But most importantly, they will hear from their spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.
For the anti-material particle, which is the vital force, there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does it ever cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. When the material body is annihilated, the anti-material particle is never affected.
Public chanting of the holy names of God is now commonplace in the streets of cities throughout the world, and Lord Caitanya’s famous prediction, “In every town and village the holy name will be sung,” is quickly being fulfilled.
He’s probably logged as much flight time as any other traveling emissary. Prabhupada has circled the globe twelve times visiting his ISKCON centers, lecturing and insuring a high standard of spiritual life among his disciples.
At the same time that Lord Jagannatha was being pulled through Jagannatha Puri in three giant carts with millions of pilgrims in attendance, Srila Prabhupada and his young friends would pull their small cart through the streets near their home in Calcutta.
We generally think that we’re in control of our actions and that we’re making our own decisions, but the supreme authority, Krishna, declares that this is not the case. He says that we are acting as puppets—victims—of the forces of nature.
Prasadam means God’s mercy, and specifically refers to food that’s been offered to Krishna. Prasadam has been offered to Lord Krishna in love by one of His devotees, whereas ordinary food has not.
A study of material nature, for the purpose of distinguishing matter from spirit, is known as Sankhya philosophy.
In New Vrindavan, the devotees find that by following the Lord’s example of living with what the land and cows provide, they can easily be free of all economic problems.
Vrindavan is a simple village unlike all other places in the world, for this is where Lord Krishna, the Supreme Godhead, comes to earth with His associates to display His pastimes.