CHANT Hare Krishna!
In Sanskrit, man means “mind” and tra means “freeing.” So a mantra is a combination of transcendental, spiritual sounds that frees our minds from the anxieties of life in the material world.
My Encounter With the Art of Perfection
The promise of art is illusory. Art cannot save us, no matter how beautiful and well wrought its objects may be. They are, essentially, fictions. At best, art may palliate the pains of life, but even in this it dangerously misleads.
Coming to Krsna — A New Day, A New Life
A pretty girl wearing an exotic Indian dress and carrying a handful of flowers and a shoulder bag full of books pinned a flower on my lapel and asked, “Have you ever read the Bhagavad-gita? This book will answer all your questions about life.”
A Different Kind of Ice Cream
Ice cream, the ingredients don’t vary much from one brand to another. But ice cream that’s been prepared for Lord Krsna and offered to Him with love and devotion stands above all others.
Liquid Beauty
Why is the attraction between male and female so powerful? What is the essence of this attraction? And why does the Vedic literature call it illusion?
From Judaism to Krsna
I was Jewish, and my early education was steeped in the lore and culture of Judaism. Weekly my mother would send me for my violin lesson and dance class.
Reflections At The Zoo
I spent an afternoon at the Zoo with my two-year-old son. As I carried him from the elephant compound to the lion house to the bird sanctuary, I began to wish I had heeded my wife’s advice to bring along the stroller. “Why He knows how to walk.”
CHANT Hare Krishna!
The name Krsna means “the all-attractive one,” the name Rama means “the all-pleasing one,” and the name Hare is an address to the Lord’s devotional energy.
Simply Wonderful Sweets!
The art of making these sweets has been preserved through generations of specialized sweet-makers in India. There the sweet repertoire is extensive and elaborate, and although preparing such sweets may appear simple, to do it masterfully requires great skill.
Poem by Kirtanananda
Govinda, Krishna—awaken me, I plead. Cut off these ears, Pluck out these eyes, That I might hear and see indeed. Take all I have, my brief life, And then I shall live in Thee.
Krishna: the Divine Lover
Krishna is our Lover. We are His creation, and He is the Lover of the creation. Like the clever Lover that He is, He hides Himself from us at times so we may long for Him and call to Him.
True Happiness Must be Eternal
There are those who will say, “Ah! These Hare Krsna people are just escapists. They cannot face up to life.” And our reply is simply, “Yes, we are escapists. You stay here; we will leave!”
The Spiritual Master: Emissary of the Supreme Person
How can one know that the spiritual master is bona fide? What is the duty of the spiritual master? What are his symptoms? These and other questions concerning the spiritual master and Krsna are discussed herein by way of authoritative evidence.
Karma-yoga-Action in Krsna Consciousness, Part 5
As the Fifth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita opens, Arjuna is asking Krsna practically the same question he asked at the beginning of the Third Chapter, namely whether there is a difference between renounced action and inaction or between knowledge and devotional service.
Poem by Kirtanananda
Thy Name, Dear Krishna, is music. They Name is holy food. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Poem by Kirtanananda
O Savior of the Lotus Eye, I am unworthy of Thy Form Divine, Whisper but Thy Name sublime, Govinda, Govinda, Govinda.
The Scientific Reality of Spiritual Life
The soul transmigrates at every moment as our body changes from childhood, to youth, and then to old age. When the body disintegrates at death, the soul start s another round of transmigration in a new body.
Perfect Question Perfect Answer
My whole life is going to waste, to my mind—I am still not very clear what is the aim of my life. A lot of people have been benefited by this great movement [ISKCON], by chanting, but I still feel that this is all the means to the end.
The Scent Of Happiness — A lesson in pleasure seeking.
The search for happiness is natural, because it is the constitutional position of the spirit soul to be eternally joyful. But our search for happiness in the external, physical world is always frustrated; we look everywhere, never realizing permanent pleasure.
The Bible and Vegetarianism
In that kingdom of perfect peace, where the knowledge of God will dissolve all evil, we won’t kill animals for food, because our food will be provided by God Himself.