How Srila Prabhupada was Received in Mexico

27 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: God, Krishna, spirituality, srila-prabhupada-in-mexico, travel, writing

HOW WAS PRABHUPADA RECEIVED IN MEXICO

A memory by Citsukhananda das

I didn’t expect so many people. But literally there were five to six hundred people in the temple room and more were standing outside, and they were all very, very much anxious to see Srila Prabhupada. So Srila Prabhupada gave a wonderful lecture. I wish I could remember some of the things that he said, but one of the things they asked was, “Why do you wear these marks on your forehead?” And he said, “So this is simply to make people chant Hare Krsna, that when they see these marks on our foreheads they will remember, ‘Oh, that is a Hare Krsna devotee.’ And therefore they are beginning to chant, and by chanting they can become happy. The only way to become happy is to chant. So our business is to make everyone chant by one way or another.” So everyone was very pleased with his answers.

Sri Aparadha-shodhana

25 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized

Sri Aparadha-shodhana
(Verses for Requesting Forgiveness for One’s Offences)

mantra-hinam kriya-hinam bhakti-hinam janardana
yat pujitam maya deva paripurnam tad astu me

O my Lord, O Janardana, whatever little puja or worship that has been performed by me, although it is without devotion, without proper mantras, and without the proper performance, please let that become complete.

yad-dattam bhakti-matrena patram puspam phalam jalam
aveditam nivedyan tu tad grihananukampaya

Whatever has been offered with devotion–the leaf, the flower, the water, the fruit, the food offering–please accept it out of Your causeless mercy.

vidhi-hinam mantra-hinam yat kiñcad upapaditam
kirya-mantra-vihinam va tat sarvam kshantum arhasi

Whatever has happened without the proper chanting of the mantra, or without following the proper procedure, kindly forgive all that.

ajñanad athava jñanad ashubham yan maya kritam
kshantum arhasi tat sarvam dasyenaiva grihana mam

sthitih seva gatir yatra smritish cinta stutir vacah
bhuyat sarvatmana vishno maidyam tvayi cestitam

Whatever inauspicious things I have done out of ignorance or unknowingly, please forgive that, and accept me as Your insignificant servant. Let my normal condition be service, let my movement be holy pilgrimage, let my thought be remembrance of You, let my words be glorification of You. O Vishnu, let my activities with my whole mind, body and soul, be engaged in You.

aparadha-sahasrani kriyante ‘har-nisham maya
daso ‘ham iti mam matva kshamasva madhusudana

Thousands of offenses are performed by me day and night. But thinking of me as Your servant, kindly forgive those, O Mashusudana.

pratijña tava govinda na me bhaktah pranashyati
iti samsmritya samsmritya pranan sandharayamy aham

O Govinda, Your promise is that Your devotee will never perish. By remembering this over and over again, I am able to retain my life-airs.

These Prayers can be found in the Deity Worship Manual Sri Krsna-Balarama Mandir

Sastra Sadhu and Guru

22 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Book Changes, faith, God, guru, Krishna, sadhu, sastra, Srila Prabhupada

Sastra Sadhu and Guru

God’s word cannot be changed. Then what will be the difference between God and ourself? He is always perfect. He is always perfect. What He said forty millions of years ago, what He said five thousand years ago, that is also correct up to date. That is sastra. Not that “So many years have passed and it has become old. Now let us reform it and put it into new way.” No.

Chant the Holy Name of Krishna

17 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta, Chanting Hare Krishna, hansadutta das, Hare Krsna, Hare Rama, India, Krishna, religion, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada

The Holy Name Is All There Is
by Hansadutta das

Although Srila Prabhupada wrote many books, he one day asked me, “So why did I write all these books?” I said, “So we can know the philosophy, learn the philosophy.” He said, “No, the purpose of all these books is to convince you to chant the holy name of Krishna.”

Chanting is exactly like the simple method of inhaling and exhaling. Although it seems like a very simple act, it is nevertheless the essence of the whole thing. Without that inhaling and exhaling, none of the other activities can take place. We also understand that no one simply inhales and exhales, but all the other activities are supportive of the inhaling and exhaling.

Phishalni-shila: Krishna’s Slide

11 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: devotees, gopis, india-travels, krishna-slide, phishalni, sages, spirituality, travel

I have many happy memories of our last trip to India, but this day, our visit to Phishalina-shila (Krishna’s slide) was one of the most enjoyable. Hard to imagine that 5,000 years ago, Krishna and his friends slid down this very same rock, and that countless sages and saints, pilgrims and devotees, have slid down it since. Truly a remarkable site, and sacred place of pilgrimage. -V

Phishalni-shila

This is the stone slide known as Phishalni-shila where the sakhis used to enjoy sliding pastimes in their childhood. The word ‘phisalni-shila means ‘rock-slide’ One can also see the marks of alta or red lac, left behind from the footsteps of the sakhis, as they engaged in their various pastimes. Some locals call this place as Phishalini, as well as Shikalini, which are corrupted forms of Phishalni.

Kamyavan – Pichalini-shila (kalavati)

“The Bhakti-ratnakara says. “On Chandrasena-parvata is Pichalni-shila. At this place
Krishna plays along with His friends. Sitting in a bending form they slid down the rock again and again.” Situated on the side of a hill is this natural rock slide that is used even today by the local children. Krishna and His friends used to come here for herding the cows and would enjoy many long hours playing on this slide. The word ‘pichalni’ means ‘sliding stone’ and ‘shila’ means a ‘stone’ or ‘rock’. The hill on which the Pichalni-shila is found is known as Chandrasena Parvata, but is known locally as Pichal Pihari. The word ‘pihari’ means a ‘hill’. Locals also refer to this rock slide as Khisasini-shila or Pishalini-shila, which are both corruptions of the word Pichalni-shila.

The village of Kalavati is the place where the Pichalni-shila is located. The word ‘kalavati’ means the ‘place of the dance’ and it was here where the gopis assembled and engaged in singing songs glorifying Krishna and dancing in circles with one-another. When Krishna heard the rhythmic jingling of the gopi’s ankle bells and the sweet sound of their singing, He came here to witness the wonderful dance performance of the cowherd girls.”

Bhagavad-gita; Essence of all Vedic Literatures

11 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta, Bhagavad-gita, India, Krishna, religion, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada

”One cleanses himself daily by taking a bath in water, but one who takes his bath only once in the sacred Ganges water of the Bhagavad-gita cleanses away all the dirt of material life. Because Bhagavad-gita is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one need not read any other Vedic literature. One need only attentively and regularly hear and read Bhagavad-gita.

In the present age, mankind is so absorbed with mundane activities that it is not possible to read all of the Vedic literatures. But this is not necessary. This one book, Bhagavad-gita, will suffice because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures and because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It is said that one who drinks the water of the Ganges certainly gets salvation, but what to speak of one who drinks the waters of Bhagavad-gita? Gita is the very nectar of the Mahabharata spoken by Visnu Himself, for Lord Krsna is the original Visnu. It is nectar emanating from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Ganges is said to be emanating from the lotus feet of the Lord. Of course there is no difference between the mouth and the feet of the Supreme Lord, but in our position we can appreciate that the Bhagavad-gita is even more important than the Ganges.

The Bhagavad-gita is just like a cow, and Lord Krsna, who is a cowherd boy, is milking this cow. The milk is the essence of the Vedas, and Arjuna is just like a calf. The wise men, the great sages and pure devotees, are to drink the nectarean milk of Bhagavad-gita.

In this present day, man is very eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. So let there be one common scripture for the whole world–Bhagavad-gita. And let there be one God only for the whole world–Sri Krsna. And one mantra only–Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And let there be one work only–the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Bhagavad-gītā Introduction)

Krishna and the Gopis

04 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized

click on image to enlarge

Today marks the last day of the month of Damodara (Kartika). We focused on Krsna’s childhood pastimes most of the month, but on this last day we focus on his boyhood pastimes, of His dealings with the Gopis.

…In His boyhood at Vṛndāvana, Lord Kṛṣṇa was notorious as a teasing friend in transcendental love to all the girls His age. His love for them was so intense that there is no comparison to that ecstasy, and the damsels of Vraja were so much attached to Him that their affection excelled that of the great demigods like Brahmā and Śiva. Lord Kṛṣṇa finally admitted His defeat before the transcendental affection of the gopīs and declared that He was unable to repay them for their unalloyed affection. (from purport to SB 3.2.14)

Full text and purport