Devotional Service | The Hare Krishna Movement

Spiritual Advancement

28 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Devotional Service, hinduism, India, Narada-bhakti-sutra, Nectar of Instruction, philosophy, religion, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada

I was looking through my notebooks the other day, and I happened to find my very first devotee journal. I had written that there are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service. And six activities that can spoil ones devotional service. This was a good reminder.

There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service:

(1) being enthusiastic,

(2) endeavoring with confidence,

(3) being patient,

(4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam (SB 7.5.23) — hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa],

(5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and

(6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas.

These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.

And the six activities that can spoil ones devotional service:

(1) Overeating or collecting more than needed

(2) Over endeavoring for mundane things

(3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters

(4) Practicing the spiritual rules and regulations only for the sake of following them, or rejecting them and acting whimsically

(5) Associating with worldly minded persons who are not interested in Krsna consciousness

(6) Being greedy for mundane achievements

These were taken from The Nectar of Instruction and The Narada Bhakti Sutra

Full text and purports follow

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

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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

Jaya Radha Madhava

15 Jun 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Uncategorized Tags: Devotional Service, faith, God, Hare Krishna, Jaya Radha Madhava, Radha-Madhava, Srila Bhaktivinoda, srila-prabhupada-purport

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Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī
gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī

jaya–all glories to: rādhā-mādhava–Rādhā and the Lord of sweetness; kuñja-bihārī–He who enjoys loving pastimes in the groves of Vṛndāvana; gopī-jana-vallabha–the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja; giri-vara-dhārī–the holder of the great hill named Govardhana;

Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana.

yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana
yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī

yaśodā-nandana–the beloved son of mother Yaśodā; vraja-jana-rañjana–the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja; yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī–who wanders in the forests along the banks of the river Yamunā

He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja, and He wanders in the forests along the banks of the River Yamuna!

Purport to Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava

Transcendental Affection-Servitude (Dasya-rasa)

23 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Nectar of Devotion, Rasa's (relationships), Uncategorized Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Devotional Service, hinduism, India, Krishna, Krsna, Nectar of Devotion, religion, servitude, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada

So today we are exploring the Servitude stage of Love of God (Dasya-rasa) as explained in chapter 36 of “The Nectar of Devotion”.

Each soul, according to its constitutional nature, possesses a unique loving relationship with Krishna in one of five principal categories. When devotees return to the spiritual world, they engage in direct loving devotional service to Krishna in their particular rasa.

Devotees engaged in servitude are attached to Krishna in the affection of reverence. Some of the inhabitants of Gokula (Vrindavan) as exhibited on earth) are attached to Krishna on this platform of affection in reverence. The inhabitants of Vrindavan used to say, “Kṛṣṇa is always manifest before us with a complexion like a blackish cloud. He holds His wonderful flute in His lotus hands. He is dressed in yellow silks and bedecked with a peacock feather on His head. When Krishna walks near Govardhan Hill with these personal features, all the inhabitants of the heavenly planets, as well as the inhabitants of this earth, feel transcendental bliss and consider themselves the eternal servants of the Lord.”

The Process of Meditation

06 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

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