Taking Shape A report from the birthplace of the Hare Krsna movement. by Mandalesvara dasa On a verdant stretch along the bank of the Ganges, in India’s province of West Bengal, lies the village of Mayapur. As history shows, Mayapur has long been a center for spiritual understanding and culture. Here, in 1486, Sri Krsna […]
A look at the worldwide activities of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) 66 Million Books Now In Print Just-released Bhaktivedanta Book Trust figures (for the period October 1966 to March 1978) show that Srila Prabhupada’s translations of India’s Vedic literatures now appear in some twenty-seven languages and have gone well over the sixty-six-million […]
On the United Nations This conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Mr. P. Sharma, a former United Nations worker, took place in Paris. Srila Prabhupada: Suppose I ask the United Nations, as an organization, to explain the purpose of this cosmic manifestation. I am created a man, another is created an […]
Some personal recollections by his disciples. The first day I saw devotees chanting was October 16, 1966. They were at Tompkins Park in New York City. Initially I was captivated by the dancing. Some minutes later, though, I noticed Srila Prabhupada. He was sitting inconspicuously on the ground at the edge of the circle of […]
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (translated from the Bengali by Jayasacinandana dasa). O Lord, there is nothing that I call “mine.” You alone are my father, friend, and brother. My friends, wife, sons, and daughters are actually Your servants and maidservants. So whatever care I take for them is only to please You. If I go […]
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Q. What is the Hare Krsna maha-mantra? A. A mantra is a transcendental sound vibration that delivers the mind from material anxieties. Of all mantras, the Hare Krsna mantra is the maha-mantra, the great mantra. Composed entirely of God’s […]
“With promiscuity as a norm and even a commodity, no wonder it’s hard to draw the line between ‘tolerable’ and ‘criminal.’ “ Child prostitution is on the rise in cities all over America. Los Angeles police estimate that in their city alone, more than three thousand boys and girls under fourteen are involved, and for […]
With oil running out and no substitute in sight, we need more than stopgap solutions. by Balavanta dasa Recently thirty-five of the world’s leading scientists met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and predicted that our civilization will definitely run out of oil by the year 2000. Corroborating this warning, the Institute of Human Relations, […]
VedicViews on Western Thinkers Carl Jung (1875 -1961) Psychologist Carl Jung felt he had searched for his real self in past lives but had “not fulfilled the task” and never would. (A discussion with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.) Hayagriva dasa: Carl Jung once asked himself this question: “Have I lived before in […]
Old age means a bit more than having to cut out baseball and tennis. It means we’re going to die. So before we get too far along in years, we have to start a spiritual fitness program. We have to exert ourselves strenuously for self-realization.
King Pariksit was cursed to die within seven days. Yet he took it all as Krsna’s will, and at once he went to the Ganges to fast till the fatal moment. On hearing the news, great sages came from all over the universe to witness his passing.
In December of 1971, I arranged speaking program for Srila Prabhupada in Madras, India. Thousands of people came to hear him, and the leading newspaper carried a summary of his lecture every day.
Can I chant Hare Krsna while I’m doing yoga? I don’t understand Sanskrit. Will the Hare Krsna mantra work for me? Would it be a good idea to tell a dying person to chant Hare Krsna? Why so much talk about death? What about happiness here and now?
You are trying to know things rationally, but you are not going to the proper teacher. That is one more kind of ignorance—because you do not know that you are imperfect.
Srila Prabhupada didn’t want just an ordinary farm, and he certainly didn’t want an agribusiness. What he did want was a self-sufficient spiritual community where all kinds of people would want to live and work.
In this Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, the Lord explains that the eightfold yoga system is a means to control the mind and the senses. However, this process is very difficult for people in general to perform, especially in this age of Kali [quarrel and hypocrisy].
The Personality of Godhead Sree Krishna informed Uddhava that neither good works even without any desire for fruitive action, nor spiritual knowledge, nor the system of caste and creed nor the studies of scriptures, nor penances, nor even renunciation can satisfy Him, as do the devotional activities themselves.
I advise all to preach the teachings of Rupa-Raghunath (disciples of Lord Chaitanya) with all energy and resources. Our ultimate goal shall be to become the dust of the lotus feet of Sree Sree Rupa and Raghunath Goswamins. You should all work conjointly under the guidance of your spiritual master with a view to serve the Absolute Knowledge, the Personality of Godhead.
When Pralhad Moharaj, the celebrated devotee of the Personality of Godhead Vishnu and the son of Hiranyakashipu the well-known atheist—was a mere boy of five years old, was seen one day by his fellow playmates, chanting the transcendental name of Hari (The Lord). The boys, who were all born of atheist family and thereby known […]