Freedom of Religion — A Spiritual Challenge for Hare Krishnas
West Virginia Sheriff Robert Lightner doesn't like people to shave their heads and wear long robes. "When the founding fathers wrote about freedom of religion," he says, "they didn't have…
The Religion Beyond All Religions
The perfect socio-religious system is explained by Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita. (This system differs from the prejudicial system of caste by birth.)…
American Religious Life — A Vital Transition
the largest number of new groups have come from India—so much so that the phenomenon can almost be considered a missionary movement from India to America.…
Decent, Hardworking “Misled” People — Notes from the Editor
A regular occurrence around here is that each year the local newspaper carries an article commending us for our hard work and decency but condemning us for not being Christians.…
Defining The Religious Principle
Religion is something you participate in; it's not a spectator sport. Because it is based on faith, there's no question of understanding it from the outside. Of course, it is…
Speaking Out
What Is the Best Spiritual Process? After giving a lecture in Bombay in April 1979 Srila Hrdayananda dasa Goswami Acaryadeva answered a probing question from the audience: ‘All over the…
How I Was Saved From Being “Saved” — The Vedic Observer
Strange that these Baptists should discover, looking back at them under a shaven head marked with the twin clay lines of tilaka—the signs of a servant of Visnu—such a disconcertingly…
Can Religions Compete?
He considered how a religion, as a whole, measures up to narrow expectations drawn from Christianity. Thus he complained, "India has no 'expiator' [referring specifically to Jesus], no Golgotha [the…
Hare Krsna Confronts B’nai B’rith — Fighting Religious Defamation
Devotees of Krsna were surprised, therefore, when they recently found a B'nai B'rith pamphlet rife with stereotypes of Krsna devotees as cultists and brainwashed robots. Such caricatures, the devotees thought,…
Celibacy—Exquisite Torture? — The Vedic Observer
I had watched as one Catholic priest after another abandoned their vows to take up secular life. Some got married; others simply hit the streets.…
The Aim of All Faiths — One truth ties all religions together
The aim of any scripture of any country—not only the Bhagavad-gita, but any scripture—is simply to get us back to Godhead. That is the purpose.…
A Monastic Encounter — Hare Krishna Meets Priest
My friend came back for a second visit to our monastery more recently. I was very favorably impressed by the spiritual growth that I witnessed in him. It was quite…
Vedic cuisine — The Taste of Another World
Delicious, traditional Vedic cuisine was part of the legacy Krsna consciousness brought to Western shores. Eating, like everything else for Krsna devotees, is a part of the complete spiritual experience…
Exposure to the “Cold Cruel World”
Gurukula, "the school of the guru," has no equivalent in Western education. It is all at once a place of spiritual formation, character development, academics, and vocational training.…
Pope Receives Bhagavad-gita As It Is — Every Town and Village
His Holiness Pope John Paul II received a copy of Bhagavad-gita AS IT IS, the scripture that sets forth the basic philosophy of the Krsna consciousness movement. …
Hindus in the West: The Challenge to Spiritual Roots
Indians in the West can succeed materially. But the challenge remains: will they be able—and willing—to retain their cultural origins?…
Christ Is Our Guru — Srila Prabhupada
Jesus Christ is our guru. Christ is preaching consciousness of God. So he is our guru, our spiritual master. That's a fact. Don't take him otherwise. He's our guru.…
Why Our Schools Don’t Have a Prayer — Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out
It is all cheating. You have left God out. That is the height of cheating. So naturally the rest of your so-called schooling must also be cheating.…
“Here is Something Very Beautiful and Lovely”
My first impression of the Hare Krsna temple was, "Here is something that is very beautiful and lovely." As far as the worship was concerned, it was the happiness of…
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