In recent years there have been many philosophies based around the premise of the nonexistence of God. One such philosophy, existentialism, which emerged in a shattered France during World War II, maintains that the universe is purposeless and that there is no supreme controller.
This Ratha-yatra festival is very old—at least five thousand years old. Lord Krsna, along with His elder brother, Balarama, and His sister, Subhadra, once rode in a chariot from Dvaraka to Kuruksetra, and this festival commemorates Krsna’s riding with His family on the chariot.
Have you ever met a Hare Krsna devotee in an airport, a parking lot, or on the street distributing books and collecting donations? Many people wonder why we do this. I’ve been distributing books for over six years, and I’d like to tell you something about the origin of book distribution.
At the great chariot festival in the holy city of Jagannatha Puri, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced in ecstasy before the chariot of Lord Jagannatha, revealing a most intimate pastime of the Supreme Lord.
ISKCON’s temples in Tokyo, Sydney, London and Paris have met with instant success simply by sankirtana. The devotees of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are distributing this bliss free of charge to all who will take it.
On request of Srila Prabhupada, his disciples are carrying this joyous spiritual plan to everyone they meet, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that the holy names will be sung in every town and village.
The sankirtana party is a transcendental festival for all people, inviting them to enter the spiritual sky in fully blissful consciousness. Everyone can achieve love for God, and this can be practically experienced by the practice of sankirtana.
War is inevitable: an eye for an eye, dog eat dog, kill or be killed. Human history is a history of wars. Lust, anger and greed run amok in our minds, and for the sake of power and increased facilities for sense gratification, we become less than the animals.
When Krsna comes He shows us His Vrndavana pastimes and invites us: “You can dance with Me also. You can play with Me just like the cowherd boys. And I shall give you protection.”
We have been forced to think about nuclear war. Our leaders have tried to convince us that there is really nothing to worry about, because they have this wonderful materialistic formula that prevents nuclear war by making it too horrible.
At 4:30 am Los Angeles Hare Krishna Temple resounds with drums and cymbals as four hundred men, women, and children, wearing bright dhotis and saris sing the holy names of God and dance before the Deity.
The family meal has hardly survived in our suburban lives. Dad now leaves home early to the office, a communal breakfast is out of the question. As for dinner . . . well, the kids aren’t hungry anyway.
I am speaking about Pariksit Maharaj. As you know, he had only seven days to meet his death. He was a young man, but somehow or other he was cursed by a brahmana boy that he would meet death within seven days.
Narada Muni is eminently distinguished. His pupils include the greatest devotees. Also, he is not restricted to one planet, but has the facility to travel to any part of the universe without the aid of a spaceship.
The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon other’s property as though it were one’s own, and to thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature.
When the Sankirtana Party arrived at Griffith Park on this sunny day, the purpose of its members was to spread the holy name of God to their brothers and sisters.
We are trying to spread Krsna consciousness, but it is a very difficult task because people are so much addicted to material enjoyment. Generally, they do not like this Krsna consciousness movement, although reviving our Krsna consciousness is the ultimate goal of human life.
On the Ganges plain ninety miles north of Calcutta, the world headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) rises in Mayapur, the land of Lord Caitanya’s birth.
A frequent criticism of the Krsna consciousness philosophical tradition is that it places too much emphasis on authority. This is not surprising, seeing as how philosophy in the modern world is based on a revolt against authority.