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A millionaire kept live alligators in the pool behind his mansion. He had a beautiful unmarried daughter, and decided to throw a huge party for potential suitors. During the party he announced, “I will give one million dollars or my daughter’s hand in marriage to the man who can swim across this pool full of…

kiṁ ca pradakṣiṇaṁ ca yaḥ kuryāt kārttike viṣṇu-sadmani pade pade ‘śvamedhasya phala-bhāgī bhaven naraḥ kim- ca-furthermore; pradakṣiṇam-circumambulation; ca-and; yaḥ-who; kuryāt-does; kārttike-in Kārttika; viṣṇu-sadmani-in the abode of Lord Viṣṇu; pade pade-at every step; aśvamedhasya-of an asvamedha-yajna; phala-bhāgī-attaining the result; bhaven-is; naraḥ-a person. “By circumambulating a temple of Lord Viṣṇu during the month of Kārttika one attains…

The bonafide guru will simply present what the supreme guru, God, says in bonafide scripture. A guru cannot change the message of the disciplic succession. We must understand that we cannot carry out research to find the Absolute Truth. Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself said, “My Guru Maharaja, My spiritual master, considered Me a great fool.” He…

“What if I told you that there was a magic bullet—something that would improve the quality of your daily life, your children’s chances of success in the world, your family’s health, our values as a society? Something that is inexpensive, simple to produce and within the reach of pretty much anyone? Miriam Weinstein begins her…

Quote from Srila BV Narayana Goswami Maharaja (June 1997, Badger, California): “So, my instruction is, as is that of Srila Rupa Gosvami, that we should never criticize anyone. If someone is doing something bad, then he is doing something bad for himself. But we should not criticize anyone. If you criticize anyone thinking, “This is…

kiṁ ca gīta-śāstra-vinodena kārttikaṁ yo nayen naraḥ na tasya punar āvṛttir mayā dṛṣṭā kali-priya kim- ca-furthermore; gīta-śāstra-vinodena-by happily reading Bhagavad-gītā; kārttikam-in Kārttika; yaḥ-who; nayen-pass; naraḥ-a person; na-not; tasya-of him; punaḥ-again; āvṛttiḥ-return; mayā-by me; dṛṣṭā-seen; kali-priya-O Narada. “O Nārada, I have personally seen that a person who happily reads Bhagavad-gīta during the month of Kārttika does…

My friend Pandu Prabhu is hurting. I can empathise with him because I’ve had similar hurts before. Here is his original post with others’ comments and my response below. Please note that my views don’t necessarily represent anyone else or anything other than my current views on things. But what can I do? My experience…

From an article by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura entitled, “The Temple of Jagannath at Puri (India)”, published September 15, 1871 We do not mean to say that Reason is a foolish principle. On the contrary we do not find better admirers of Reason than our humble selves. We hold that man’s superiority amongst all created beings…

sādhu-sevā gavāṁ grāsaḥ kathā viṣṇos tathārcanam jāgare paścime yāme durlabhaḥ kārttike kalau sādhu-to the devotees; sevā-service; gavām-of the cows; grāsaḥ-feeding; kathā-talking; viṣṇoḥ-of Lord Viṣṇu; tathā-so; arcanam-worship; jāgare-vigil; paścime-to the last; yāme-yama; durlabhaḥ-rare; kārttike-in Kārttika; kalau-in Kali-yuga. “During the month of Kārttika serving the devotees, feeding the cows, talking about and worshiping Lord Viṣṇu, and keeping…

A pure devotee is kept in the hand of Krishna just like a precious jewel. When you hold something precious in your hand, you are very careful, and similarly, Krishna holds the devotee and takes care of him. – from “Teachings of Lord Kapila” (376KB )

Srila Prabhupada was in the garden with the parents of a young devotee. Being responsible for landscaping the garden for Prabhupada they had the good fortune to please His Divine Grace. Kirtanananda Maharaja and I were also present. “A devotee is very proud that we are Krsna’s servant,” Srila Prabhupada said, “A devotee has that…

Here’s an incident that happened to me about 4-5 years ago … I was in Govinda’s during the lunch rush one afternoon dressed in dhoti and tilaka. A group of three obviously gay men approached me quite abruptly (as per the West-Australian demeanour) and demanded, “Does your religion condone homosexuality?” I wasn’t much taken back…

One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds. In our Krishna consciousness movement we have recommended that the neophyte chant at least sixteen rounds. This chanting of sixteen rounds is absolutely necessary…