Lord Krsna with His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani. Krsna is eternally a young boy, and Radharani, His dearmost devotee, is eternally a young girl. Their pure, spiritual love is the quintessence of all devotional exchange.
The soul transmigrates at every moment as our body changes from childhood, to youth, and then to old age. When the body disintegrates at death, the soul start s another round of transmigration in a new body.
In 1969 I saw the devotees of Krsna on the television program Top of the Pops. Disgusted by the shaved heads of the men, I turned to my mother, “You’ll never catch me joining that bunch.”
These sixteen words—Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—are especially meant for counteracting the ill effects of the present age of quarrel and anxiety.
In that kingdom of perfect peace, where the knowledge of God will dissolve all evil, we won’t kill animals for food, because our food will be provided by God Himself.
There are sweet spices, like cinnamon and cardamom, pungent ones like cayenne, and mixed tastes like cumin and coriander. Spices influence not only the taste of food, but also the appearance, texture, and aroma.
Obstinacy. Dog’s obstinacy. Now they are busy manufacturing various types of religious systems so that one may not have to surrender to Krsna. This is going on. Big, big swamis are saying, “Yes, whatever you manufacture, it is all right.”
The a pada-yatra, or “walking festival,” is traveling a four-thousand-mile pilgrimage route, passing through all the holy places Lord Caitanya visited on His South Indian tour.
The philosophical question of fate versus free will is an old one. Are our thoughts and actions completely determined by forces over which we have no control? Or, are we free to decide for ourselves, to be the captains of our fate?
We want to teach from the vantage point that we are not our bodies, we are spirit souls, there is a God, He has a personality, a form, and we have a relationship with Him. All this is taught along with academics. This is the foundation of a gurukula education.
The search for happiness is natural, because it is the constitutional position of the spirit soul to be eternally joyful. But our search for happiness in the external, physical world is always frustrated; we look everywhere, never realizing permanent pleasure.
My whole life is going to waste, to my mind—I am still not very clear what is the aim of my life. A lot of people have been benefited by this great movement [ISKCON], by chanting, but I still feel that this is all the means to the end.
Generally people pray, perform rituals, and so on, in hopes of attaining temporary goals: better health, a good marriage, success in business. But in Bhagavad-gita Sri Krsna advises that those who practice religious life by seeking material boons are missing the real point.