23 Dec 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Damodara dasa, Hayagriva das, Remembering Srila Prabhupada
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Bhagavad-gita on the Bowery, Damodara das, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna, Nandimukhi devi dasi, Remembering Srila Prabhupada, swami
Spiritual Bongos And Neighborhood Beats
By Damodara Dasa
Adapted by Nandimukhi Devi Dasi from Remembering Srila Prabhupada (copyright 1998 Daniel Clark)
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, my spiritual master, enacted his life’s activities from his birth in 1896 to his passing in 1977. I knew him for the last eleven years of his exemplary pastimes. But to say I knew him is going too far. I watched him. I listened to him. I talked with him and corresponded with him. I followed him and obeyed him—and disobeyed him. I learned from him. I bowed down before him and prayed to him. I loved him, and still do. Through those eleven years, that person I first knew as the Swami, then as Swamiji, and then as Srila Prabhupada guided my life.
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20 Dec 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Vegetarianism
Tags: animal slaughter, Back to Godhead Magazine, economics, ethics, health, meat-eating, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarianism
The Case Against Animal Slaughter
From Back to Godhead Magazine 1976 Vol. 11 No. 1
From the standpoints of health, economics and ethics, animal slaughter and meat-eating are detrimental to human society.
Health
Although meat is certainly a source of concentrated protein it is a very poor source of other food elements like minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates. In addition, eating flesh from the cow or any other animal is detrimental to the health of human beings for many reasons. For example, if a human, who has a much longer colon than the carnivorous animals, eats flesh, the following problems will ensue:
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11 Dec 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Brahmananda das, Spiritual Life, Spiritual World, Vrindavan
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Brahmananda dasa, devotional service, Krishna, Land of No Return, Srila Prabhupada, Vrindavan forest, Vrndavan
Vrndavana—Land of No Return
By His Holiness Brahmananda Swami
Originally Published in Back to Godhead 1975 Vol. 10, No. 11
Part 2
I once visited Vrndavana, India with His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. As I accompanied him on his daily walk one morning we suddenly came upon a particularly beautiful spot. The cool sands were thick with foliage; the tall trees full of singing birds. As the sun brightened the clear morning sky, peacocks filled the air with their peculiar call.
Srila Prabhupada looked over his shoulder and said to me, “So, Brahmananda, this is Vrndavana. How do you like it?”
“It’s wonderful, Srila Prabhupada,” was all I could reply. I felt that he was actually revealing the glories of Vrndavana to me even though I had no particular spiritual qualification.
Vrndavana is the place where the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna appeared five thousand years ago. Lord Krsna descended there from His own spiritual planet, Goloka Vrndavana to attract us by displaying His supernatural pastimes. Srila Prabhupada has explained that when Krsna descends to the material world, this same Vrndavana descends with Him just as an entourage accompanies an important personage. Because when Krsna comes His land also comes, Vrndavana is not considered to exist in the material world. Therefore devotees take shelter of the Vrndavana in India, for it is considered to be a replica of the original Goloka Vrndavana.
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08 Nov 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, Krishna Consciousness
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead Magazine, bhagavad-gita, Freedom in Krsna, krsna consciousness, yoga, yogi
Freedom in Krsna
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Re-printed from Back to Godhead Magazine 1973, Vol. 1, No. 48
vande rupa-sanatanau raghuyugau sri-jiva-gopalakau.
We are following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in order to understand Krsna consciousness. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is said in Sri Isopanisad to be very far away from us yet at the same time to be very near. Isvara, the supreme controller, is situated in everyone’s heart, not only in the hearts of human beings, but also within the beasts, birds, aquatics, and even within the atoms themselves. We simply have not realized Him. Actually anyone, however, can find Krsna within his heart.
The process of finding Krsna is called yoga. There are many types of yoga. In the Western countries people are generally familiar with the process of hatha-yoga. This is an approved method and is described in the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. At the present moment, however, people are short-lived, they are not very fortunate, and they are always disturbed by many external affairs, and therefore it is not possible to properly execute this hatha-yoga. Even five thousand years ago when Krsna advised His friend Arjuna to accept the hatha-yoga process, Arjuna said, “Krsna, this practice is impossible.” He further said that to control the mind is as difficult as to control the wind. The mind flickers from one engagement to another and changes so swiftly that it is very difficult to control it in this age. Therefore Arjuna said that for him this process of hatha-yoga was not possible.
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28 Oct 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Devotee's, Giriraja Swami, Remembering Srila Prabhupada
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Giriraja Swami, photo by Gurudas, Sarasvati, Srila Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada with little Sarasvati
…Srila Prabhupada’s grave voice broke the silence. “Sarasvati, where is Krsna?”
Sarasvati began again to look anxiously all over the room, but still she could not find Him.
Then a devotee said, “Sarasvati, where is Krsna? Who has Krsna?” Sarasvati’s mind awakened with a realization. She opened her eyes wide, raised her eyebrows, and exclaimed,
“Prabhupada has Krsna!” She immediately turned to Srila Prabhupada and rushed to his lotus feet. “Prabhupada has Krsna!”…
Remembering Srila Prabhupada
A Personal Recollection
By Giriraja Swami
In December of 1971, I arranged a speaking program for Srila Prabhupada in Madras, India. Thousands of people came to hear him, and the leading newspaper carried a summary of his lecture every day. Then the Chief Justice of Madras invited him to speak before a large gathering of High Court judges, advocates, and other leading citizens. Srila Prabhupada appealed to the audience to follow the examples of Sri Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami, who in the sixteenth century had given up their exalted posts as prime minister and finance minister in the Bengal government to help Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu spread the Krsna consciousness movement.
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02 Oct 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Quotes by Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, BTG 1978, disciples, final instructions, Srila Prabhupada Speaks out
Remembering Srila Prabhupada
Back to Godhead Magazine
Volume 13, Number 102, 1978
During his last months, Srila Prabhupada was not very active physically, and he spoke relatively little. Yet when he did speak, his words were full of spiritual strength. These excerpts from Srila Prabhupada’s last statements reveal the mind of the pure devotee and universal teacher. And they show that Srila Prabhupada is indeed a transcendental personality, whose devotion to Lord Krsna and to the mission of spreading love of Krsna is undying.
“There is nothing new to be said. Whatever I had to say, I have already said in my books. Now you must all try to understand it and continue with your endeavors. Whether I am present or not present doesn’t matter. Just as Krsna is living eternally, the living being also lives eternally. But especially… kirtir yasya sa jivati: ‘One who has done service to the Lord lives forever.’ You have been taught to serve Krsna, and with Krsna we’ll live eternally. Our life is eternal. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire: the disappearance of this temporary body doesn’t matter. The body is meant for disappearance. So, live forever by serving Krsna. Thank you very much.”
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02 Oct 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Brahmananda das, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Brahmananda Swami, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam, The Books of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
“The words of Srimad-Bhagavatam are Your incarnation, and if people repeatedly hear them in submissive aural reception, then they will be able to understand Your message.”
The Books of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Originally published in Back to Godhead No. 52
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust 1973
By Brahmananda Swami ISKCON East Africa
Part 4
In the opening sentences of Srila Prabhupada’s introduction to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, he affirms that the word “God” refers to the supreme controller and that a controller cannot be impersonal. In the first sloka of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, obeisances are offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
om—O my Lord; namah—my respectful obeisances unto You; bhagavate—unto the Personality of Godhead; vasudevaya—unto Lord Krsna, the son of Vasudeva.
O my Lord, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Whereas others have translated the Sanskrit scriptures conveniently to suit their interpretations, Srila Prabhupada always gives word-for-word English equivalents for each Sanskrit verse, and thus the translations cannot be disputed. This is a painstaking process, considering the length of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, but it is in keeping with the heritage of the Gosvamis to present the literature of devotional service authoritatively and scientifically. Furthermore, the English-reading public can easily learn the meanings to the Sanskrit words from this format.
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22 Sep 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, Devotional Service, Krishna Consciousness
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, devotional service, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna, krsna consciousness, materialism, spiritual endeavors, Supreme Personality of Godhead
The Urgent Need for Krishna Consciousness
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
This very important Krsna consciousness movement is meant to save human society from spiritual death. At present human society is being misled by leaders who are blind, for they do not know the aim and objective of human life, which is self-realization and the reestablishment of our lost relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the missing point. This Krsna consciousness movement is trying to enlighten human society in this important matter.
According to Vedic civilization, the perfection of life is to realize one’s relationship with Krsna or God. In Bhagavad-gita, which is accepted by all authorities in transcendental science as the basis of all Vedic knowledge, we understand that not only human beings but all living entities are parts and parcels of God. The parts are meant for serving the whole, just as the legs, hands, fingers and ears are meant for serving the total body. We living entities, being parts and parcels of God, are duty bound to serve Him.
Actually our position is that we are always rendering service to someone, either to our family, country or society. If we have no one to serve, sometimes we keep a pet cat or dog and render service to it. All these factors prove that we are constitutionally meant to render service, yet in spite of serving to our best capacity, we are no more satisfied. Nor is the person to whom we are rendering that service satisfied. On the material platform, everyone is frustrated. The reason for this is that the service which is being rendered is not properly directed. For example, if we want to render service to a tree, we must water the root. If we pour water on the leaves, branches and twigs, there is little benefit. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is served, all other parts and parcels will be automatically satisfied. Consequently all welfare activities as well as service to society, family and nation are realized by serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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14 Sep 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, Sankirtan, The Hare Krishna Movement
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead Magazine, Great Apostle of love of God, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya, Origin of the Hare Krishna Movement, sankirtan movement
Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya's Sankirtan Movement
Origin of the Hare Krishna Movement
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Back to Godhead Magazine Volume 01, Number 20, 1968
Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Great Apostle of love of God and the Father of the Sankirtan Movement, advented Himself in the City of Nabadwipa in Bengal, India. This was in February, 1486, by Christian reckoning.
By the will of the Lord there was a lunar eclipse on that evening. It is the custom of the Hindu public to bathe in the Ganges of any other sacred river during the hours of eclispe, and to chant the Vedic mantras for purification. When Lord Chaitanya was born during the eclipse, then, the whole India was roaring with the holy sound of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
These sixteen Names of the Lord are mentioned in many Puranas and Upanishads, and they are described as “Tarak Brahman,” the Names for this age. It is stated in the “Shashtras,” the accepted Scriptures, that offenseless chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord can deliver a fallen soul from material bondage. There inumerable Names for the Lord both in India and elsewhere, and all of them are equally good because all of them indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But because these sixteen Names are especially recommended for this Age, called Kali Yuga, it is better for people to take the path of the great Acharyas, the saintly teachers who attained success by practice of this system.
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24 Jun 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Madhusudana, mission of Lord Caitanya, Prabhupada books, Prabhupada Letters, Srila Ghaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Prabhupada
…sometimes even a liberated person like Arjuna plays the part of a conditioned soul in order to play some important part. Similarly, Bhaktivinode Thakura for sometimes was associating with the impersonalists. And then he exhibited himself in his true color as pure devotee, exactly in the same way as Arjuna exhibited in the beginning as a conditioned soul, and then as a liberated soul. So there is nothing to be misunderstood in this connection. Krishna and His devotees sometimes play like that, as much as Lord Buddha although an incarnation of Krishna, preached the philosophy of voidism.
Letter to: Madhusudana
Los Angeles
20 November, 1968
My Dear Madhusudana,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of Nov. 16, 1968, and have noted the contents carefully. Your sentiment is very much appreciated by me, and your service attitude is very nice. It is very good that you are helping to put out our magazine Back To Godhead, and whenever I see the new magazine mailed to me each month, I am so pleased to go through its contents and see all the nice work you have done, and you are always in my thoughts as I read through it, as well as Rayarama, and all your other co-workers. To make this magazine a great success is very very important to the mission. And you along with your co-workers are doing it very nicely. And Krishna will bless you, please continue to do it.
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06 Mar 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Book Distribution, The Hare Krishna Movement
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Book Distribution, books by Srila Prabhupada, bookseller, devotee, sankirtan, Seva devi dasi, The Hare Krishna Movement
Why We Distribute Books – A devotee-bookseller explains.
By Seva-devi dasi
Back to Godhead Magazine # 19-08, 1984
Have you ever met a Hare Krishna devotee in an airport, a parking lot, or on the street distributing books and collecting donations? Many people wonder why we do this. I’ve been distributing books for over six years, and I’d like to tell you something about the origin of book distribution.
Devotees are not ordinary booksellers; their bookselling is transcendental. It is sankirtana, the glorification of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sankirtana can be executed very easily, without great endeavor or expense. One can simply chant the Hare Krishna mantra by himself or with others. Or one can read about and discuss the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees. When we give someone a book, we allow him to get in touch with the philosophy and pastimes of Krishna. Any donation he gives helps support the book publication and the temples of the Krishna consciousness movement. Temples worldwide distribute prasadam (spiritual food) free of charge and give people the opportunity to come and take part in spiritualactivities. And all of this is sankirtana, the glorification of Lord Krishna, which is what Krishna consciousness is all about.
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