The Bhagavad-Gita is an authoritative statement given to Arjuna by Lord Krishna. It must be borne in the mind that the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken on a battlefield. Before the battle, Arjuna declined to fight with his own kinsmen.
In London on Soho Street just off Oxford Street, English devotees of Lord Krsna have opened a new cultural center that includes a temple, a theater, and a vegetarian restaurant.
The original consciousness of the self cannot be awakened as long as it is contaminated by material affection. The soul in his pure state does not want anything material.
Knowledge is the solution. And for knowledge we have to go to the right person, the one who has actually seen or experienced the Absolute Truth. Unless we find such a person there is very little chance for our making spiritual advancement.
Something of a minor marvel is taking shape in the hills of Marshall County, where members of the Hare Krishna religious community have sacrificed over the past four years to complete a “labor of love”—a temple in honor of their spiritual master.
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.
After instructing the sculptor on the few changes I wanted made, I saw two rough chunks of marble—one white and the other black—that were to become the Deities of Balarama and Krishna. I was spellbound.
I first learned of Srila Prabhupada’s plan for a “heaven on earth” in Vrindavan, India in May of 1970. He asked me to investigate a report that the king of Bharatpur wanted to give us one of his many Vrindavan palaces.
We want to attract people from all over the world to visit the holy land of Lord Krishna’s birth—and to provide nice facilities for them when they come. Vrindavan is a land of great spiritual potency. Anyone who visits will automatically chant the holy names of the Lord.
It was at Sridhama Mayapura, almost five hundred years ago, that the Supreme Lord descended to this world as the great teacher Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu to propagate the chanting of
People chant Hare Krishna for lots of reasons. Some people are just curious. Some want material benefits, or relief from anxiety. But the best reason to chant Hare Krishna is to get to know Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Some hesitate to join the Ratha-yatra parade, remembering God commands, “Thou shalt not worship a graven image.” What about this? Are the Hare Krishna people really idol worshipers?
Over the past nine years Prabhupada has established ISKCON centers in over seventy major cities. His message is clear: Chant Hare Krishna, and your life will be sublime.
Many of the spiritual seekers who come to Denver don’t really know what they’re looking for. They may sense that material happiness isn’t enough for them, and they may be looking for spiritual life, but they have only a vague idea of what that spiritual life might be.
A few blocks from the house of Mexico’s president lies the Mexico City Hare Krishna Temple, one of the many centers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness that have appeared in Latin America in recent years.
In New York the airlines advertise, “Enjoy peaceful Puerto Rico.” And in Puerto Rico they say, “Find satisfaction in New York.” But, really, going from one place to another in this material world won’t help us find the peace we want.