16 Feb 2025
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1972 Edition, Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, Krsna, Prabhupada, Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Arjuna, Bg 10.14, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Krishna, Krishna and Arjuna, Srila Prabhupada
This morning as I was looking at a picture of Srila Prabhupada, this verse from the Bhagavad-gita just came into my mind:
O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality. (Bg 10.14)
And I was thinking, that is exactly how I think of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, to us. “I totally accept as truth all that You have told me“. Ever since I picked up my first book by Srila Prabhupada, I have just accepted every thing he has written as truth. I didn’t always believe my school teachers, or the nuns, or my parents for that matter. Sure they knew some things, and much of it true, but they didn’t know everything.
For some reason I just accepted as truth everything Prabhupada told us. He told us who was God (Krsna), then he told us what God looked like, what God was doing, where God lived, who’s Gods friends were, and much much more. There wasn’t a question he couldn’t answer, and he backed it up with sastric evidence. These were questions I asked of the nuns and priests, of parents and college professors, but I never got a reasonable answer from anyone when I asked; ‘Who is God, who am I, what is my relationship with Him?’
But Srila Prabhupada could.
Full text and purport Bhagavad-gita 10.12-14
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14 Feb 2025
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in 108 Bhagavad-gita slokas, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1972 Edition, Slokas, Uncategorized
Tags: 1972 Edition, A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Arjuna, bagavad-gita slokas, Bhagavad-gita, Krishna, slokas
I am sure that many of you have your favorite Bhagavad-gita slokas, and I was thinking about it this morning. I was trying to recall my top 8 slokas, (which is hard to select only 8). But I have listed them below, in no particular order.
For the list the 108 most important Bhagavad-gita slokas click on following link: 1972 Bhagavad-gita
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.
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11 Feb 2025
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, faith, God, Krishna Consciousness, Lord Caitanya, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada, the-special-kindness-of-lord-caitanya
Yesterday was the Appearance Day of Lord Nityananda, but this morning I was still thinking about some of His pastimes. One was the story of the deliverance of Jagai and Madhai. Nityananda Prabhu reminded Lord Caitanya of His mission to deliver the hopelessly fallen souls of the age, of whom Jagai and Madhai were typical examples. Ninety-nine percent of the population of the age resemble these brothers, despite high birth and apparent respectability. We also include the story of the Lord Caitanya “Inspiring the Jungle Animals” to chant the holy names of the Lord.
The Special Kindness of Lord Caitanya
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, appeared in India in the fifteenth century. His mission was to freely distribute pure love of God to everyone without considering who was qualified or unqualified. He predicted that the whole world would one day hear the chanting of the Lord’s holy names. The first of the following two narratives is excerpted from Srila Prabhupada’s introduction to Srimad-Bhagavatam. The second taken from his English translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, an extensive account of Lord Caitanya’s life and teachings.
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06 Feb 2025
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, bakti-yoga, Devotional Service, India, meditation, mindfulness, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam, yoga
…The process of meditation recommended in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not to fix one’s attention on something impersonal or void.
The process of meditation should begin from the lotus feet of the Lord and progress to His smiling face. The meditation should be concentrated upon the lotus feet, then the calves, then the thighs, and in this way higher and higher. The more the mind becomes fixed upon the different parts of the limbs, one after another, the more the intelligence becomes purified. (SB 2.2.13)
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Canto Two, Chapter 2, Text 13-14
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13 Jan 2025
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Mukunda das Goswami, The Science of Self Realization
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, India, Krishna, MIchael Grant, Mukunda das, religion, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada, The Science of Self Realization
I love reading these memories of the very early disciples of Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada once said that Krishna sent some of you to assist me in this movement, and some of you were just lucky. I guess I was just lucky.
The following is the Foreward to “The Science of Self Realization” written by Mukunda das Goswami. I have read this countless times. Very Beautiful.
The Science of Self Realization
Foreword By Mukunda Das
From the very start, I knew that His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda was the most extraordinary person I had ever met. The first meeting occurred in the summer of 1966, in New York City. A friend had invited me to hear a lecture by “an old Indian svāmī” on lower Manhattan’s Bowery. Overwhelmed with curiosity about a svāmī lecturing on skid row, I went there and felt my way up a pitch-black staircase. A bell-like, rhythmic sound got louder and clearer as I climbed higher. Finally I reached the fourth floor and opened the door, and there he was.
About fifty feet away from where I stood, at the other end of a long, dark room, he sat on a small dais, his face and saffron robes radiant under a small light. He was elderly, perhaps sixty or so, I thought, and he sat cross-legged in an erect, stately posture. His head was shaven, and his powerful face and reddish horn-rimmed glasses gave him the look of a monk who had spent most of his life absorbed in study. His eyes were closed, and he softly chanted a simple Sanskrit prayer while playing a hand drum. The small audience joined in at intervals, in call-and-response fashion. A few played hand cymbals, which accounted for the bell-like sounds I’d heard. Fascinated, I sat down quietly at the back, tried to participate in the chanting, and waited.
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11 Jan 2025
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Bhagavad-gita, Bible, california-fires, chant Hare Krishna, Kali-yuga, Krishna, material-exestince, nature, samsara, spirituality
I am so saddened by the news coming out of California. Such a tragic loss for so many. Beautiful homes and forests, lives lost, lives disrupted. Our hearts go out to all who have been affected by the utter devastation.
This morning as I was singing the morning prayers:
.samsara-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-
tranayakarunakarunya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyana-guṇārṇavasya
vandegurohsri-caraṇāravindam
“The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as the cloud pours water on the forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master.” (Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam, Verse 1)
I was again reminded of the California Fires and how this material world is often compared to a forest fire in Srila Prabhupada’s books. From the small paperback book entitled “Elevation to Krsna Consciousness” we read:
This material world is often compared to a forest fire which takes place automatically. No one wants a forest fire, but there is often lightning, or carelessness, or friction, or whatever, and the fire immediately takes place. Similarly, this material world is beset with a blazing fire of problems. Everyone wants to live here peacefully, but situations develop in such a way that this is not possible for anyone. We struggle very hard to adjust things in so many ways, but nature’s laws are so cruel and dangerous that in spite of our hopes and plans the blazing fire of the problems of material existence continues.
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01 Jan 2025
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, George Harrison, Krishna Consciousness, Krsna Book, Krsna Consciousness, Sriman George Harrison
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, George Harrison, Hare Krishna, India, Krishna, Krsna Book, My Sweet Lord, new-year-resolutions, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada
Happy New Year everyone, hopefully This will be a good year.
Ya know, every year I make New Years’ resolutions, to be a better person, or to wake up early every day, stop eating so much white sugar and white flour, practice yoga, exercise, walk, chant my 16 rounds, etc. Typically my resolutions don’t even make it past the first week in January. But this year I am going to try something a little different. Keeping it simple. I am going to try to love God [Krishna] more.
I am reminded of the George Harrison song “My Sweet Lord”
My Sweet Lord
…I really want to see you
Really want to be with you
Really want to see you, Lord
But it takes so long, my Lord
My sweet Lord
My Lord
My Lord
I really want to know you
Really want to go with you
Really want to show you, Lord
But it won’t take long, my Lord (Hare Krishna)
full song below
But I am also reminded of the words of Srila Prabhupada in the KRSNA Book;
...Since Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, one should know that all his desires should be focused on Kṛṣṇa… if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Kṛṣṇa only, then immediately universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized. When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers; when one supplies food to the stomach through the mouth, he satisfies all the various parts of the body.
The art of focusing one’s attention on the Supreme and giving one’s love to Him is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (from Preface)
And from the Introduction of the KRSNA Book;
The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is also described in the Brahma-samhita as the abode of cintamani. That abode of Lord Krsna known as Goloka Vrindavan is full of palaces made of touchstone. There the trees are called desire trees, and the cows are called surabhi. The Lord is served there by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. His name is Govinda, the Primeval Lord, and He is the cause of all causes. There the Lord plays His flute, His eyes are like lotus petals, and the color of His body is like that of a beautiful cloud. On His head is a peacock feather. He is so attractive that He excels thousands of Cupids.
Krishna is so attractive, that it shouldn’t be hard to love Him more. Maybe this is a New Year Resolution I can actually keep.
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29 Dec 2024
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, India, lotus feet, spiritual master, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada, Swami Prabhupada, travel
Sri-Guru-Carana-Padma
by Narottama dasa Thakura
From Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
śrī-guru-caraṇa-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma,
bando muñi sāvadhāna mate
jāhāra prasāde bhāi, e bhava toriyā jāi,
kṛṣṇa-prāpti hoy jāhā ha’te
The lotus feet of our spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I bow to his lotus feet with great awe and reverence. By his grace one can cross the ocean of material suffering and obtain the mercy of Krsna.
guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriya aikya,
ār nā koriho mane āśā
śrī-guru-caraṇe rati, ei se uttama-gati,
je prasāde pūre sarva āśā
My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires.
cakṣu-dān dilo jei, janme janme prabhu sei,
divya jñān hṛde prokāśito
prema-bhakti jāhā hoite, avidyā vināśa jāte,
vede gāy jāhāra carito
He opens my darkened eyes and fills my heart with transcendental knowledge. He is my Lord birth after birth. From him ecstatic prema emanates; by him ignorance is destroyed. The Vedic scriptures sing of his character.
śrī-guru karuṇā-sindhu, adhama janāra bandhu,
lokanāth lokera jīvana
hā hā prabhu koro doyā, deho more pada-chāyā,
ebe jaśa ghuṣuk tribhuvana
Our spiritual master is the ocean of mercy, the friend of the poor, and the lord and master of the devotees. O master! Be merciful unto me. Give me the shade of your lotus feet. Your fame is spread all over the three worlds.
09 Dec 2024
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caaitanya-caritamrta, humble, Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Caitanya Caritamrta, Hare Krishna, humble, humility, India, Krishna, more-tolerant-than-a-tree, spirituality
“To chant the holy name always, one should be humbler than the grass in the street and devoid of all desire for personal honor, but one should offer others all respectful obeisances.
“A devotee engaged in chanting the holy name of the Lord should practice forbearance like that of a tree. Even if rebuked or chastised, he should not say anything to others to retaliate.
“For even if one cuts a tree, it never protests, and even if it is drying up and dying it does not ask anyone for water.
PURPORT
This practice of forbearance (tṛṇād api sunicena) is very difficult, but when one actually engages in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the quality of forbearance automatically develops. A person advanced in spiritual consciousness through the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra need not practice to develop it separately, for a devotee develops all good qualities simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra regularly.
“Thus a Vaisnava should not ask anything from anyone else. If someone gives him something without being asked, he should accept it, but if nothing comes, a Vaisnava should be satisfied to eat whatever vegetables and fruits are easily available.
“One should strictly follow the principle of always chanting the holy name, and one should be satisfied with whatever he gets easily. Such devotional behavior solidly maintains one’s devotional service.
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”
PURPORT
The grass is specifically mentioned in this verse because everyone tramples upon it yet the grass never protests. This example indicates that a spiritual master or leader should not be proud of his position; being always humbler than an ordinary common man, he should go on preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 17.26-31)
08 Oct 2024
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Politics, truthfulness
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Bhagavad-gita, faith, God, Krishna, Krsna, philosophy, satyam, Srila Prabhupada, truth, truthfulness, Vedas
There has been so much misinformation lately, on the news networks, on social media, in politics, etc. about election results, relief funds for hurricane victims, eating pets in Springfield Ohio, etc., that it got me thinking about truthfulness. The English definition is simply: the quality of being honest and not containing or telling any lies. However according to the Vedic definition which goes a little deeper: Satyam, truthfulness, means that facts should be presented as they are for the benefit of others.
Satyam, truthfulness, means that facts should be presented as they are for the benefit of others. Facts should not be misrepresented. According to social conventions, it is said that one can speak the truth only when it is palatable to others. But that is not truthfulness. The truth should be spoken in a straight and forward way, so that others will understand actually what the facts are. If a man is a thief and if people are warned that he is a thief, that is truth. Although sometimes the truth is unpalatable, one should not refrain from speaking it. Truthfulness demands that the facts be presented as they are for the benefit of others. That is the definition of truth. (from purport Bhagavada-gita 10. 4-5)
20 Jan 2017
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Lectures, Uncategorized
Tags: 2017 Presidental inauguration, A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Ascot England, everyone should be humble, humility, Srila Prabhupada lectures, Tittenhurst Park
With today being the 2017 Presidential Inauguration, this instruction by Srila Prabhupada, “Everyone should be very humble”
seems like timely advice.
… Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others. The material conception of life makes us very eager to receive honor from others, but from the point of view of a man in perfect knowledge-who knows that he is not this body-anything, honor or dishonor, pertaining to this body is useless. One should not be hankering after this material deception. People are very anxious to be famous for their religion, and consequently sometimes it is found that without understanding the principles of religion, one enters into some group, which is not actually following religious principles, and then wants to advertise himself as a religious mentor. As for actual advancement in spiritual science, one should have a test to see how far he is progressing. He can judge by these items. (from purport Bhagavad-gita As It Is 13.8-12)
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18 Nov 2016
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Madhudvisa das (ACBSP), Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada Conversations
Tags: 71-09-15, A.C. Bhaktivedanta, democratic goverment, Dr. Bali, goverment injunction, Madhudvisa Maharaja, rascals without any knowledge, Srila Prabhupada letters, Srila Prabhupada morning walk
Democratic Government
…Regarding the government injunction, that is the worst situation of this age. The so called democratic government means some of the sudras, rascals without any knowledge of the highest aim of life. By hook and crook they get some votes and get the responsible chair in government. Naturally they can whimsically enact any law which is against the interest of the people in general. According to the Vedic literature, the government’s first duty is to see whether people are following the rules and regulations of varnasrama dharma. That is explained in Bhagavad-gita also. Without coming to the system of Varnasrama dharma there is no question of human society. (Letter to: Madhudvisa Kenya 15 September, 1971)
Prabhupāda: (laughs) That’s all. This kind of election is rascal election. It has no meaning. Therefore the public must know whom to elect and how to elect. That should be our propaganda. Because nowadays it is democratic government, teach people how to select the real leader. Real leader means who does not commit mistake, who is not illusioned, who does not cheat and who has no imperfect senses, who has, or, other words, one who has got perfect senses. So if you say, “How it is possible for the conditioned soul?” “Yes, it is possible if you follow the perfect.” Just like we are doing. We are following Kṛṣṇa. He does not commit mistake, He is not illusioned, His senses are not imperfect, and He does not cheat. We are following. Therefore, although we are imperfect, because we are following the perfect, our proposition is perfect. A child may be illiterate, but when he’s taught, “Write A like this,” and he follows that, he becomes literate. This is the policy. (Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk Conversation December 12, 1973, Los Angeles)
Full letter follows More
21 Mar 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Kapila, Transcendental Knowledge
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, books of His Divine Grace, Devahuti Desires Transcendental Knowledge, Kapila Muni, Lord Kapila, Srila Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Kapila, transcendental knowledge
The following is chapter six in our series on the Teaching of Lord Kapila entitled “Devahūti Desires Transcendental Knowledge”. This chapter contains the timeless instructions on receiving spiritual knowledge. It is very difficult to get out of this entanglement and attain freedom, but if one is fortunate enough to get the association of a spiritual master like Kapila Muni or His representative, then by his grace one can be delivered from the mire of ignorance. The spiritual master is therefore worshiped as one who delivers the disciple from the mire of ignorance with the light of the torch of knowledge. We are fortunate in this age to have the books of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to guide us. Human knowledge was originally preserved through oral tradition, but today we have this knowledge preserved in the books of His Divine Grace.
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09 Feb 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna's flute, Spiritual World
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, damsels of vrndavana, gopis, His flute, Krishna's Flute, Lord Krsna's flute, Madhya 21.140-148, social etiquette, spiritual sky, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Srila Prabhupada, vibration of Krsna's flute, Vrajabhumi
click on image to enlarge
“His slight smiling and fragrant illumination are compared to camphor, which enters the sweetness of the lips. That sweetness is transformed and enters into space as vibrations from the holes of His flute.
“The sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute spreads in four directions. Even though Kṛṣṇa vibrates His flute within this universe, its sound pierces the universal covering and goes to the spiritual sky. Thus the vibration enters the ears of all inhabitants. It especially enters Goloka Vṛndāvana-dhāma and attracts the minds of the young damsels of Vrajabhūmi, bringing them forcibly to where Kṛṣṇa is present.
“The vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s flute is very aggressive, and it breaks the vows of all chaste women. Indeed, its vibration takes them forcibly from the laps of their husbands. The vibration of His flute attracts even the goddesses of fortune in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, to say nothing of the poor damsels of Vṛndāvana.
“The vibration of His flute slackens the knots of their underwear even in front of their husbands. Thus the gopīs are forced to abandon their household duties and come before Lord Kṛṣṇa. In this way all social etiquette, shame and fear are vanquished. The vibration of His flute causes all women to dance.
“The vibration of His flute is just like a bird that creates a nest within the ears of the gopīs and always remains prominent there, not allowing any other sound to enter their ears. Indeed, the gopīs cannot hear anything else, nor are they able to concentrate on anything else, not even to give a suitable reply. Such are the effects of the vibration of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s flute.”
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta 1975 Edition
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Madhya-lila, Chapter 21, Text 140-148
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02 Feb 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Human Prosperity
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, devotional service, fruits, gigantic industrial enterprises, godless civilization, grains, herbs, human life, human prosperity, industrial enterprises, jewels, milk, minerals, sufficient grains, vegetables, water
Farmland
Gasland
Human Prosperity
Currently at the New Vrindavan Farm Community, there is debate underway over the signing of a new Gas Lease. The devotees have presented argument and discussion on both sides of the Gas Drilling Issue. This is what Srila Prabhupada has to say on the matter of Human Prosperity.
…Human prosperity flourishes by natural gifts and not by gigantic industrial enterprises. The gigantic industrial enterprises are products of a godless civilization, and they cause the destruction of the noble aims of human life. The more we go on increasing such troublesome industries to squeeze out the vital energy of the human being, the more there will be unrest and dissatisfaction of the people in general, although a few only can live lavishly by exploitation. The natural gifts such as grains and vegetables, fruits, rivers, the hills of jewels and minerals, and the seas full of pearls are supplied by the order of the Supreme, and as He desires, material nature produces them in abundance or restricts them at times. The natural law is that the human being may take advantage of these godly gifts by nature and satisfactorily flourish on them without being captivated by the exploitative motive of lording it over material nature. The more we attempt to exploit material nature according to our whims of enjoyment, the more we shall become entrapped by the reaction of such exploitative attempts. If we have sufficient grains, fruits, vegetables and herbs, then what is the necessity of running a slaughterhouse and killing poor animals? A man need not kill an animal if he has sufficient grains and vegetables to eat. The flow of river waters fertilizes the fields, and there is more than what we need. Minerals are produced in the hills, and the jewels in the ocean. If the human civilization has sufficient grains, minerals, jewels, water, milk, etc., then why should it hanker after terrible industrial enterprises at the cost of the labor of some unfortunate men? But all these natural gifts are dependent on the mercy of the Lord. What we need, therefore, is to be obedient to the laws of the Lord and achieve the perfection of human life by devotional service.
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