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 not blind faith. It is reasonable faith.
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 world, Christians are living and dying for their Christian faith. How is it that you young people-their progeny—have embraced another faith?” Srila Acaryadeva: Actually, you’ve […]
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 familiar American Protestant face.
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 hill upon which Jesus was crucified], and no Cross.”
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, had been discredited long ago.
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 of life.
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.
Back To Godhead November 1979 PDF Download
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 evident that his serious commitment to the monastic life was bearing fruit.
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 it, the joy of it, that I noticed.
Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out on the Secular State
In America and India and so many countries all over the world, they have a “secular state.” The government leaders say they don’t want to favor any particular religion, but actually they are favoring irreligion.
Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out on The Absurd Dialectic
It will be settled at death. That’s all. A rascal may think foolishly that life is absurd—but death will not be absurd. Lord Krsna says, “Everyone must finally accept Me—as death”
Faith Healer, Heal Thyself — Notes from the Editor
In recent years thousands of religious figures have taken up faith healing. They use all kinds of approaches, but basically they claim that through their charismatic prayer and laying on of hands, God acts: He cures everything from cavities to brain tumors, releases sexual inhibitions, and even increases earning capacity.
Rascals, Bluffers and Show-bottle Spiritualists
From his behavior I can understand he is rascal number one. I do not want to know about him, but what he has done makes it obvious. But the wonderful thing is that people in the Western countries are supposed to be so advanced—how they are befooled by these rascals?