gopala.org

Today is Bala Gopala’s birthday. He’s headed up to the temple for giving darsan and an abhisek this evening.

Janmastami is the celebration of the advent of Lord Krishna, when He appeared on Earth to perform His pastimes. Devotees of Krishna and Hindus the world over celebrate Janmastami with pomp and circumstance equal to Christmas. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna states: “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious principles, and a predominant…

The following story, told by Salya to Karna, from the forty-first chapter of the “Karna-parva” of Mahabharata nicely illustrates the dangers of pride. There once lived a wealthy vaisya by the side of the ocean. He performed many sacrifices and gave generously in charity. He was quiet, observant of the duties of his order, and…

“The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is in the sensation of the mystical. It is a shower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, he who can no longer stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of…

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.18.5 tān anādṛtya yo ‘vidvān arthān ārabhate svayam tasya vyabhicaranty arthā ārabdhāś ca punaḥ punaḥ SYNONYMS tān—those; anādṛtya—neglecting; yaḥ—anyone who; avidvān—rascal; arthān—schemes; ārabhate—begins; svayam—personally; tasya—his; vyabhicaranti—do not become successful; arthāḥ—purposes; ārabdhāḥ—attempted; ca—and; punaḥ punaḥ—again and again. TRANSLATION A foolish person who manufactures his own ways and means through mental speculation and does not recognize…

SALAGRAMA SILA TOYAM YAH PIVET VINDUNA SAMAM MATUH STANYAM PUNAR NAIVA SAPIVET BHAKTI BHANG NARAH (HARI BHAKTI VILASA 9/22 from PADMA PURANA) “Any person, if he has even taken one drop of water which has washed Salagram Sila, he will not have to suck a mother’s breast again in the future.” BHAKTYA BHUNAKTI NAIVEDYAM SALAGRAMA…

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.13.2 pṛṣṭhe bhrāmyad amanda-mandara-giri-grāvāgra-kaṇḍūyanān nidrāloḥ kamaṭhākṛter bhagavataḥ śvāsānilāḥ pāntu vaḥ yat-saḿskāra-kalānuvartana-vaśād velā-nibhenāmbhasāḿ yātāyātam atandritaḿ jala-nidher nādyāpi viśrāmyati TRANSLATION When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Kūrma, a tortoise, His back was scratched by the sharp-edged stones lying on massive, whirling Mount Mandara, and this scratching made the Lord sleepy. May you…

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.20.4 na hy asatyāt paro ‘dharma iti hovāca bhūr iyam sarvaḿ soḍhum alaḿ manye ṛte ‘līka-paraḿ naram SYNONYMS na — not; hi — indeed; asatyāt — than compulsion to untruthfulness; paraḥ — more; adharmaḥ — irreligion; iti — thus; ha uvāca — indeed had spoken; bhūḥ — mother earth; iyam — this; sarvam…

I am continuously trying to publish books, as suggested by my spiritual master. I am neither a great scholar nor a great devotee; I am simply a humble servant of my spiritual master, and to the best of my ability I am trying to please him by publishing these books, with the cooperation of my…

“Kirtana means whatever we hear from the Spiritual Master we repeat it again nicely. One who can reproduce the sound vibration heard from the Spiritual Master, he will be a good preacher.” Prabhupada Letters – August 17, 1969

I wish that it will be noted that this Krishna Consciousness Movement is responsible for saving the world. Practically, our Movement is the only hope for saving the world from complete disaster. So you have got all good opportunity now, do everything nicely. – Srila Prabhupada letter, January 1, 1972

Took the Jung Typology Test and came up with similar results to the more reputable Star Trek analysis. 🙂 These things are kinda fun – like reading the horoscope in the paper. I wonder how they take into account that people change and mature over time. I used to be quite socially radical in my…

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.2.33 śrī-kavir uvāca manye ‘kutaścid-bhayam acyutasya pādāmbujopāsanam atra nityam udvigna-buddher asad-ātma-bhāvād viśvātmanā yatra nivartate bhīḥ Śrī Kavi said: I consider that one whose intelligence is constantly disturbed by his falsely identifying himself with the temporary material world can achieve real freedom from fear only by worshiping the lotus feet of the infallible Supreme…

This test says you are an ISFJ (Introvert, Sensor, Feeler, Judger).* In Star Trek, you share a basic personality configuration with the characters of Beverly Crusher and Chakotay. “Why don’t we look at this from a mosquito’s point of view?” – Crusher Qualities People like you are generally highly nurturing and caring. You’re gentle and…

404 – Someone who is clueless. From the Web error message, “404 Not Found,” which means the document requested couldn’t be located. “Don’t bother asking John. He’s 404.” Adminisphere – The rarified organizational layers above the rank and file that makes decisions that are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant. Alpha Geek – The most knowledgeable,…