02 Apr 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Radha-kunda, Spiritual World, Srimati Radharani
Tags: divine hand, Govardana Hill, Lord of Gokula, loving pastimes, Mathura, Nectar of Instruction, Radha Kund, rasa-lila, Rupa Goswami, Srimati Radharani, transcendental world, Vaikuntha, Vrndavan
Radha Kunda
“The holy place known as Mathura is spiritually superior to Vaikuntha, the transcendental world, because the Lord appeared there. Superior to Mathura-puri is the transcendental forest of Vrndavana because of Krishna’s rasa-lila pastimes. And superior to the forest of Vrndavana is Govardhana Hill, for it was raised by the divine hand of Sri Krishna and was the site of His various loving pastimes. And, above all, the superexcellent Sri Radha-kunda stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Sri Krishna. Where, then, is that intelligent person who is unwilling to serve this divine Radha-kunda, which is situated at the foot of Govardhana Hill?”
More
02 Apr 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Bhakti Caru Swami, Devotee's, Remembering Srila Prabhupada
Tags: Bhakti Caru Swami, devotees, disappearance day offering, disappearance pastimes, final instructions, His Divine Grace, just maintain what I have given you
Disappearance Day offering to Srila Prabhupada
June 16, 2010
By Bhakti Caru Swami
Why do we hesitate to tell a new comer who is searching for a guru that Srila Prabhupada, the best guru the world has ever seen, is still here, and one can surrender unto him and go back to Godhead very easily? When we have such a great good fortune, why do we not take full advantage of it?
…Prabhupada did not say anything and then in a very soft voice he told me, “Didn’t I teach you that the spirit soul is eternal and he never dies?”
That one statement gave me a profound realization: how could the person who taught me that the spirit soul never dies ever die himself? He will always be with us, although some day he may disappear from our mundane vision.
But today, when I look back, I can see that soon after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance we took it for granted that Srila Prabhupada is not here any more – like any other mortal, as he left his body, he is no more. I very strongly feel that this is the greatest mistake we have made. And as a result, ISKCON today is in such a critical condition. Now that we assembled here to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance pastime, once and for all let us recognize that Srila Prabhupada has not gone away.
More
01 Apr 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Diksha
Tags: bangalore, Chennai, diksha ceremonies, harinam diksha, Hubli, ISKCON Bangalore, Madhupandit das, Mysore, second initiation, Vrindavan
Harinam Diksha Ceremonies held in Srila Prabhupada’s Temples
Vrindavan, Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore and Hubli, On March 19th 2011
by prabhupadanuga news
Harinam Initiation Ceremony ISKCON Bangalore March 2011
It was a very emotional and historic day for all followers of Srila Prabhupada, as hundreds of them formally accepted him as their diksha guru. The formal diksha ceremony was held in Hare Krishna centres of Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli, Vrindavan and Chennai. The respective Presidents of the temples conducted the harinam diksha and second initiation ceremonies.
The ceremony consisted of each of the devotees taking an oath in front of Srila Prabhupada’s deities that they will follow the four regulative principles and chant at least sixteen rounds of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra daily. Following which each of them were given japa beads which were already chanted on by the GBC appointed rtviks and the temple presidents announced the initiated disciples’ names declaring to all present that these devotees were accepted formally as disciples of His Divine Grace.
More
01 Apr 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Book Changes, Punya das
Tags: Bhumi, book changes, global movement, guru, Gurudas, Krishna devotee, Laxman, Punya das, pure devotee, Radha Krishna, sound incarnation, Vayu, Visvasvan
Glorification of the Guru Who Lives in His Books
Mar 29, 2011 — BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, USA (SUN)
By Punya das
Guru das watched Prabhupada laughing while reading his Krsna book.
Guru Das: “Prabhupada, you’re laughing at your own books.”
Prabhupada: “I did not write these books, Krsna wrote them!”
Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet Your Divine Grace. My words cannot begin to show my gratitude for all the things you gave this world. Anyone is fortunate enough to be able to have the association of Krishna’s pure devotee, THE guru who lives in His books. Inspired by your association, your global movement continues to give birth daily to billions of sound incarnations of Radha-Krishna, 24/7/365. They are dancing round the universe and purifying it. You said when we chant Hare Krsna, the Divine Couple personally appear. It does not get any better than that, to be in the presence of Krsna, being purified by His Personal Association.
More
01 Apr 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Devotee Books, Jayananda Thakur
Tags: Jayananda, Krishna, San Francisco temple, sankirtan festivals, spiritual relationship, Srila Prabhupada, The Beautiful Life of Jayananda Thakur, tribute, Vishoka das
The following is the introduction to the new book, soon to be released, on Jayananda Thakur, beautifully written by Sriman Vishoka Prabhu. Many of you remember Vishoka’s first book; “The Beautiful Life of Jayananda Thakur”, which was Vishoka’s tribute to Jayananda and portrays the beauty of something rarely seen-a genuinely happy man, experiencing a perfect life and death.
We will continue to post the chapters as they are released, so stay tuned.
More
30 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Devotional Service, Narada-bhakti-sutra
Tags: devotional service, immortal, path of perfection, peaceful, perfect, pure love of God, transcendental devotion
Narada-bhakti-sutra
Purport & Translation By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Text 4
TRANSLATION
Upon achieving that stage of transcendental devotional service in pure love of God, a person becomes perfect, immortal, and peaceful.
PURPORT
The part-and-parcel living entities are entangled in the conditioned life of material existence. Because of their diverse activities they are wandering all over the universe, transmigrating from one body to another and undergoing various miseries. But when a fortunate living entity somehow comes in contact with a pure devotee of the Lord and engages in devotional service, he enters upon the path of perfection. If someone engages in devotional service in all seriousness, the Lord instructs him in two ways—through the pure devotee and from within—so that he can advance in devotional service. By cultivating such devotional service, he becomes perfect.
More
30 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Books by Srila Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Movement
Tags: 1970 Edition, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindu, Krsna, Lord Caitanya, Sanskrit, Srila Rupa Goswami, The Hare Krishna Movement, The Nectar of Devotion
Original 1970 Edition
The Nectar of Devotion
by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
This book is especially intended for those who are engaged in The Hare Krishna Movement. The text is flooded with nectarean stories, philosophy and poetic verses about Krsna and His pure devotees-all taken from the Vedic literatures, It is a summary study of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, which was written in Sanskrit by Srila Rupa Goswami, the chief of the six direct disciples of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Caitanya, who apeared in India 500 years ago, is revealed by Vedic scriptures to be an incarnation of God in the role of His own devotee. He and His followers are thus most authorized to teach us how to become perfect in spiritual life.
The subject matter is love of God. the Basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. At the present moment, human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is God or Krsna. The Nectar of Devotion teaches us how to stimulate our original love for krsna and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life. The presentation of this authoritative information about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna and our relationship with Him is simply the mercy of His pure devotee, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the acarya for the present age, who is coming in disciplic succession from Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself.
“The funds for printing this book have been kindly donated in loving memory of Her Grace Gangamayee Devi Dase and Her Grace Krsna Krpa Devi Dasi by their friends and families. We continue to be inspired and are grateful to those fortunate souls who, with loving devotion, present and distribute the literary works of Srila Prabhupada” -Annada Devi Dasi, December 5, 2009 Vrindavan
30 color plates
495 pages
High Quality Hardcover Edition
Glossary
Also Available Wholesale by the case!
Available online at http://www.theharekrishnamovement.com/nectar-of-devotion
More
30 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in The Hare Krishna Explosion
Tags: Buddhist, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Christian, gopis, Haight Ashbury, Harsharani, Janaki, Jayananda, Jewish, Lilavati, Malati, Moslem, Mukunda, Shyamasundar, Subal, Swamiji, Upendra, worship in seperation, Yamuna
The Hare Krishna Explosion
By Hayagriva Prabhu
Part II: San Francisco, 1967
Chapter 9
Mad After Krishna
Golden Gate Park is redolent with March flowers. The morning fog disperses early, and the days are cloudless and blue. Thousands continue to flock to San Francisco from the midwest and east, and our Sunday kirtans attract big crowds.
Sunday is always a day for strolling in the park, and as soon as we start ringing cymbals and chanting, people follow. Christian, Moslem, Jewish, Buddhist and ISKCON banners, flying from long poles, proclaim our ecumenism. We stake these in the field below Hippy Hill and set up the kettledrum. Haridas, Mukunda, Shyamasundar, Subal, and Upendra sit in a circle on the grass. We beat the rhythm slowly on the kettledrum, the cymbals clash, and the kelp horn announces the beginning of kirtan.
After we chant about an hour, Swamiji walks over from his apartment and enters the center of the circle, clapping his hands and dancing, appearing wonderfully bright in his saffron robes. He leads the chanting, playing his own personal set of cymbals, a large pair with slightly flared rims that resonate loudly. Although he is a half century older than everyone around him, his presence is dynamically youthful. As the kirtan soars, Swamiji is a child amongst children, dancing with hands upraised to the blue sky, placing one foot before the other, dipping slightly, encouraging everyone to dance.
Then something remarkable happens.
More
28 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Chanting Hare Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, The Hare Krishna Movement
Tags: chanting Hare Krishna, Iskcon, krishnasmercy.org, Lord Caitanya, Srila Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Movement
By Krishna’smercy.org
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, more affectionately known as Srila Prabhupada, is the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON, or more popularly known as The Hare Krishna Movement. The movement was inaugurated in India by Lord Caitanya almost five hundred years ago. The age that we currently live in is full of quarrel and dissent and the only means of self-realization is through the constant chanting of the holy name of God.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
More
28 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Beyond Birth & Death
Tags: Beyond Birth & Death, bhagavad-gita, Hare Krishna Hare Rama Hare Hare, Liberated souls, spiritual sky, Vaikuntha planets
Beyond Birth & Death
Chapter 5
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The inhabitants of the Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual sky are all liberated souls.
“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt. He who meditates on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Pārtha [Arjuna], is sure to reach Me.” (Bg. 8.5, 8.8) Such meditation on Kṛṣṇa may seem very difficult, but it is not. If one practices Kṛṣṇa consciousness by chanting the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, he will be quickly helped. Kṛṣṇa and His name are nondifferent, and Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental abode are also nondifferent. By sound vibration we can have Kṛṣṇa associate with us”.
More
28 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krishna, Teachings of Pralada Maharaja
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, all-pervading, all-pervasiveness of the Supreme Lord, God is Everywhere, illusion, material nature, maya, Prahlada Maharaja
Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 5
Realizing that God Is Everywhere
Mahārāja Prahlāda informed his classmates about the all-pervasiveness of the Supreme Lord. But although the Supreme Lord is all-pervasive by means of His expansions and His energies, that does not mean He has lost His personality. That is significant. Although He is all-pervading, still He is a person. According to our material perception, if something is all-pervading, then it has no personality, no localized aspect. But God is not like that. For example, the sunshine is all-pervading, but the sun also has a localized aspect, the sun planet, and you can see it. Not only is there a sun planet, but within the sun planet is a sun-god, whose name is Vivasvān. We get this information from Vedic literature. There is no way to understand what is taking place on other planets except to hear from authorized sources. In the modern civilization we accept scientists as authorities in these matters. We hear a scientist say, “We have seen the moon; it is such and such,” and we believe it. We have not gone with the scientist to see the moon, but we believe him.
More
26 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Devotee's, Jaganatha das, The Hare Krishna Movement
Tags: chanters, Christmas, Hare Krishna Devotees, Iskcon, Jagannatha das, shaved heads, Srila Prabhupada's books
Minor History of ISKCON
BY: JAGANNATHA DASA
Mar 25, 2011 — USA (SUN) —
Part 2 – First Times
The first time that I saw the Hare Krishna devotees was in 1969. My father took me to his job in Manhattan. He was employed as a printer for a public relations company on Lexington Avenue and 59th Street. I spent the day collating stacks of papers. I was 14 years old at the time.
My father took me out to eat during his lunch break. We were walking down a typical crowded city street when I was stopped in my tracks.
A group of about a dozen young men and women wearing pink, white, orange and different colored robes were dancing and singing. They were lined up in a row along the curb, men on one end and ladies on the other end, swaying side to side in rhythm with the music. The men all had shaved heads. They were playing drums and cymbals.
More
26 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Srila Prabhupada Conversations
Tags: bhagavad-gita, disciples, eternal relationship with God, materialistic persons, spiritual movemnt, Swamiji
This exchange between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and reporters took place at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Reporter: Swamiji, what special message would you have for people who don’t know anything about your movement and would like to know something about it?
Srila Prabhupada: It is a little difficult to understand this movement, because it is a spiritual movement. Unfortunately, people have practically no information about what spirit is and what a spiritual movement is. They can simply understand that the body is there — but the body is a machine, and the driver of the machine is the spirit soul. So we are beginning our movement from this platform. People are very much engrossed with the machine only, but they have no information about who is driving the machine. That is what we are teaching.
Reporter: Swamiji, your movement has received much attention because many of your followers dress in what, for the West, is an odd fashion. Why have you asked your followers to dress in this fashion and play drums on the streets?
Srila Prabhupada: This is our preaching method — somehow or other to draw people’s attention, so that they may have the opportunity to revive their eternal relationship with God.
More
25 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krishna Consciousness
Tags: Advaita, Gadadhara, Hare Hare, Hare Krishna, Hare Rama, krsna consciousness, Lord Caitanya, Nityananda, Padmapani das, Prabhupada's instructions, simple method, Sri Panca-Tattva, Srivasa
The Simple Method
by Sriman Padmapani Prabhu
Sometimes it appears very difficult to make advancement in Krsna consciousness, and we become impatient. If we expect immediate results and they aren’t forthcoming, we can easily become discouraged. For those of us who are unable to live in a temple (or even near a temple), this is especially true. So what’s the solution?
In November of 1969, while speaking in London’s Conway Hall, Srila Prabhupada stated the following:
“The process is very simple. Just keep a picture of Lord Caitanya with His associates. Lord Caitanya is in the middle, accompanied by His principal associates — Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara, and Srivasa. One simply has to keep this picture. One can keep it anywhere. It is not that one has to come to us to see this picture. Anyone can have this picture in his home, chant this Hare Krsna mantra, and thus worship Lord Caitanya. That is the simple method. But who will capture this simple method? Those who have good brains. Without much bother, if one simply keeps a picture of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at home and chants Hare Krsna, then one will realize God. Anyone can adopt this simple method. There is no expenditure, there is no tax, nor is there any need to build a very big church or temple. Anyone, anywhere, can sit down on the road or beneath a tree and chant the Hare Krsna mantra and worship God. Therefore it is a great opportunity.”
More
25 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Hayagriva das, The Hare Krishna Explosion
Tags: Balarama, ephemeral glitter of psychedelia, Flowers for Lord Jagannatha, Golden Gate Park, Haight, hayagriva das, hippies, India's Brijbasi Company, Nalakurvara and Manigriva, psychedelic shops, Shyamasundar das, Subhadra, Swamiji, the hare krishna explosion, The Oracle, Vietnam War
The Hare Krishna Explosion
by Hayagriva das
Part II: San Francisco, 1967
Chapter 8
Flowers for Lord Jagannatha
The days of February are beautiful with perfect temperatures in the seventies, fog rolling off early, skies very blue and clear, sun falling bright and sharp on the lush foliage of Golden Gate Park. The park encloses the largest variety of plant and tree life to be found in any one spot on earth. We are at a loss to identify plants for Swamiji.
“When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu passed through the forests, all the plants, trees and creepers were delighted to see Him and rejoiced in His presence. Plant life is like that in the spiritual sky—fully conscious.”
“And these trees, Swamiji? How conscious are they?”
“Oh, spirit soul is there, but consciousness has been arrested temporarily. Perception is more limited.”
Swamiji strolls by men playing checkers, passes beneath the tall oaks, past the shuffleboard court, then stops and turns to speak.
More
23 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Book Changes, Devotee's, Locanananda das
Tags: bhagavad-gita, Gupta das, hansadutta das, Hare Krishna, Krsna Book, Locnananda das, Srila Prabhupada's original books, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, true potency of the Hare Krishna Movement
Why Not Just Print Prabhupada’s Original Books
By Sriman Locanananda Prabhu
Srila Prabhupada said that our purpose was unity, and even though the legal documents seem to create a workable arrangement by which both editions of his books can be made available, the true potency of the Hare Krishna movement will be manifested when the deviation is removed and we are all distributing the same Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the same Krishna Book and the same Teachings of Lord Caitanya, just as we all chant the same Mahamantra, offer obeisances to the same spiritual master and worship the same Supreme Personality of Godhead
More
23 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Poetry of Srila Prabhupada, Viraha Astaka, Vyas-puja
Tags: Dasaratha-suta das, Hindu ceremonies, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Lord Nityananda, materialists, maya, Poetry of Srila Prabhupada, Sankirtan mission, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur
Viraha Astaka
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Recently translated and published from the Bengali into English by Dasaratha-suta dasa, the following is an offering of eight prayers to Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur, composed sometime in December, 1958.
First Octet: The Flood of Krishna Prema
1) O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
to see the suffering
of the fallen conditioned souls.
On this anniversary of your separation
I am utterly despondent.
2) “The ocean of mercy was previously held back by a dam,
but Lord Nityananda personally cut a channel in it
and thereby released the outpouring flood
of pure ecstatic love of God.”
(from Lochana dasa’s song “Nitai Guna Mani”)
3) Those devotees to whom the responsiblity was given
to continue spreading this flood of love
somehow became overpowered by Maya
and were thus reduced to simply performing
ritualistic Hindu ceremonies
for the benefit of the materialists.
More
22 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Tags: Back to Godhead Nagazine, Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami, Gaudiya Vaisnavas, Lord Caitanya, Rupa-Raghunath
Message of His Divine Grace
from Back to GodHead Magizine 1944
His Divine Grace Sree Sreemad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Moharaj the celebrated Acharya (Spiritual Head) of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas spoke the following few lines as His Message just a few days (23rd December, 1936) before His passing away from this mortal world.
“I have most probably given many people troubles in the mind. Some of them might have thought about me that I am their enemy because I was obliged to speak the plain truth for service and devotion towards the Absolute Godhead. I have given them all those troubles only for the reason that they may turn their face towards the Personality of Godhead without any desire for gain and with unalloyed devotion. I hope some day or other they may understand me rightly.”
More
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
The Hare Krishna Movement 