ac-bhaktivedanta-swami | The Hare Krishna Movement

Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender

14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta-swami, Devotional Service, faith, Gajendra, garudha, God, Krishna, Krsna, prayer-of-surrender, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam, Visnu

click on image to enlarge

The following are the prayers by Gajendra, the King of the elephants, offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, during his difficult struggle with the crocodile. It appears that the King of the elephants was formerly a human being known as Indradyumna and that he learned a prayer to the Supreme Lord. Fortunately he remembered that prayer and began to chant it. First he offered his respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because of his awkward position in having been attacked by the crocodile, he expressed his inability to recite prayers nicely. Nonetheless, he tried to chant the mantra and expressed himself in the prayers that follow.

…It is imperative that all devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice chanting some mantra. Certainly one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is the mahā-mantra, or great mantra, and also one should practice chanting cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu or the Nṛsiṁha strotra (ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ). Every devotee should practice in order to chant some mantra perfectly so that even though he may be imperfect in spiritual consciousness in this life, in his next life he will not forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if he becomes an animal. Of course, a devotee should try to perfect his Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, for simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa and His instructions, after giving up this body one can return home, back to Godhead. Even if there is some falldown, practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness never goes in vain. For example, Ajāmila, in his boyhood, practiced chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa under the direction of his father, but later, in his youth, he fell down and became a drunkard, woman-hunter, rogue and thief. Nonetheless, because of chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa for the purpose of calling his son, whom he had named Nārāyaṇa, he became advanced, even though he was involved in sinful activities. Therefore, we should not forget the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra. (From Purport to text 1)

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Canto 8, Chapter Three, Text 1-29

The Practice of Yoga

13 Mar 2026 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta-swami, health, Krishna, Krsna, mental-health, milk-for-life, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada, vegan, vegetarism, wellness, yoga

The gopis remembered their pastimes with Krishna p208

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This morning as I was making a breakfast offering, and was offering a nice glass of fresh milk, my mind just seemed to go to this picture of Krsna milking a cow. And I thought ‘milk is such a wonderful food, miraculous really. One can live on milk, and as small children milk is all that is required, and as we develop as yogis, we can subsist on the gifts of God, such as fruits, grains and milk, without a need for killing.

The above picture is one of my very favorites from the Krsna Book, because it is so simple and sweet, and there is a noticeable absence of technology.

The following are two verses from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is describing the healthy diet, and activities of the yogi.

There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogī, O Arjuna, if one eats too much, or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

He who is temperate in his habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system. (Bg. 6.16-17)

Full text and purport

Devastating Rainfall in Vrndavana

22 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta-swami, God, govardan-hill, govardan-puja, India, Indra, Krishna, Krsna, Krsna Book, prabhupada purports, religion, spirituality

Today we celebrate Govardhana-puga, when Krishna exhibited His transcendental pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill to protect the inhabitants of Vrndavan.

…The sacrifice known as Govardhana Pūjā is observed in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Lord Caitanya has recommended that since Kṛṣṇa is worshipable, so His land, Vṛndāvana and Govardhana Hill, are also worshipable. To confirm this statement, Lord Kṛṣṇa said that Govardhana Pūjā is as good as worship of Him. From that day, the Govardhana Pūjā has been still going on and is known as Annakūṭa. In all the temples of Vṛndāvana or outside of Vṛndāvana, huge quantities of food are prepared in this ceremony and are very sumptuously distributed to the general population. Sometimes the food is thrown to the crowds, and they enjoy collecting it off the ground. From these instances, we can understand that prasādam offered to Kṛṣṇa never becomes polluted or contaminated, even if it is thrown on the ground. The people, therefore, collect it and eat with great satisfaction. (from Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, chapter 24)

On this auspicious day, we like to read from KRSNA Book, and I have included the entire 25th chapter emtitled, “Devastating Rainfall in Vrndavana”.

Instructions to the Devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement

27 May 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta-swami, Chanting Hare Krishna, India, Krishna, religion, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Movement, vishnujana swami

Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magizine

New York City, March 31, 1974

by His Holiness Visnujana Svami.

“One may artificially repress the desires of the senses, although the taste for sensual enjoyment remains; but by ceasing such enjoyments, experiencing a higher taste, one is fixed in consciousness.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.59)

Visnujana Swami: “When one experiences ruci, which, means a taste for Spiritual life, he can rise above the attraction of the illusory energy by the mercy of the Lord. Then he is able to feel vairagya. Vairagya is the strength that protects us, even when we are neophytes in Krishna consciousness, from breaking the Krishna conscious regulative principles and being attracted to the flickering sensual enjoyments of the mundane world. Ruci, and vairagya-the taste for spiritual life and the strength to maintain it-are rarely achieved.

If you had a huge diamond and were carrying it around with you on the street, people might flock to see such a diamond. Ruci and vairagya, however, are much more valuable diamonds. But although you are all walking through the streets with these valuable gifts, unfortunately no one is interested, in following you to take advantage of them. Ruci and vairagya are such wonderful gems, however, that if you give them away to others, these gems will still stay with you.

Relationships With God (Krishna)

21 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1972 Edition, Devotional Service, Dharma, Rasa's (relationships), Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta-swami, bg-8-14, India, Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, prabhupada, religion, spirituality

This morning I was thinking about the different relationships one can have with the Lord. In “The Nectar of Devotion”, Srila Prabhupada describes the five primary kinds of devotional service-namely, neutrality, servitude, fraternity, parenthood and conjugal love. Over the course of the next five posts, I want to explore these five primary relationships.

But for today, I want to start with this nice verse from the Bhagavad-gita, where these five types of relationships are mentioned in purport.

For one who remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Pṛthā, because of his constant engagement in devotional service. (Bg 8.14)

…Bhakti-yoga is very simple and pure and easy to perform. One can begin by simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is very merciful to those who engage in His service, and He helps in various ways that devotee who is fully surrendered to Him so he can understand Him as He is. The Lord gives such a devotee sufficient intelligence so that ultimately the devotee can attain Him in His spiritual kingdom.

…Generally, the bhakti-yogīs are engaged in five different ways: 1) śānta-bhakta, engaged in devotional service in neutrality; 2) dāsya-bhakta, engaged in devotional service as servant; 3) sākhya-bhakta, engaged as friend; 4) vātsalya-bhakta, engaged as parent; and 5) mādhurya-bhakta, engaged as conjugal lover of the Supreme Lord. (from purport)

Full text and purport

The Evolutionary Process

05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta-swami, Evolution, God, heaven or hell, philosophy, science, spirituality, Srimad Bhagavatam, the evolutionary process

Some years back I was reading from one book and the author was explaining how within each of us, we have the Keys to the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, and we also have the Keys to the gates of Hell. It is our choice at every moment which we choose to use. Evolution can work both ways.

The Evolutionary Process

…All living entities within this material world are undergoing the cycle of birth and death according to the laws of nature. This struggle of birth and death in different species may be called the evolutionary process, but in the Western world it has been wrongly explained. Darwin’s theory of evolution from animal to man is incomplete because the theory does not present the reverse condition, namely evolution from man to animal.

Human life, which is obtained in the course of the evolutionary process, is a chance for elevation (svargāpavarga) or for degradation (tiraścām punar asya ca). If one uses this human form of life properly, he can elevate himself to the higher planetary systems, where material happiness is many thousands of times better than on this planet, or one may cultivate knowledge by which to become free from the evolutionary process and be reinstated in one’s original spiritual life. This is called apavarga, or liberation. (from purport to SB 7.13.25)

Consciousness

20 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1972 Edition, Changing Bodies, consciousness, Soul Tags: ac-bhaktivedanta-swami, Bhagavad-gita, consciousness, philosophy, psychology, soul, spirituality

This morning as I went out to feed the birds, I saw a dead bird on the patio who must have crashed into the window, and it just got to thinking about what is the difference between a dead body and a live body? Consciousness. So I did a little research on that word. The simple definition of the word is:

“Consciousness is the state of being aware of oneself, one’s body, and the outside world.”

OK that is the simple definition. But in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada gives us a more advanced understanding:

“Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.” (Bg. 2.17)

PURPORT

This verse more clearly explains the real nature of the soul, which is spread all over the body. Anyone can understand what is spread all over the body: it is consciousness. Everyone is conscious of the pains and pleasures of the body in part or as a whole. This spreading of consciousness is limited within one’s own body. The pains and pleasures of one body are unknown to another. Therefore, each and every body is the embodiment of an individual soul, and the symptom of the soul’s presence is perceived as individual consciousness…

…This very small spiritual spark is the basic principle of the material body, and the influence of such a spiritual spark is spread all over the body as the influence of the active principle of some medicine spreads throughout the body. This current of the spirit soul is felt all over the body as consciousness, and that is the proof of the presence of the soul. Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration. Therefore, consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination, but to the spirit soul. . Neither Vedic knowledge nor modern science denies the existence of the spirit soul in the body, and the science of the soul is explicitly described in the Bhagavad-gita by the Personality of Godhead Himself.

So we can conclude, that that consciousness is the presence of the soul.