Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The Annual General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society will begin in February 2027. Following the ISKCON GBC Society’s Rules of Order, the GBC Secretariat requests proposals, duly sponsored by two GBC members, to be submitted by January 1, 2027. No proposals will be entertained after this date. Also, please note that proposals may or may not be voted on this year as there is a backlog of proposals from earlier years.
Please follow the format for GBC Proposals, using the fillable PDF you can download here:
We wish you all a happy Diwali. Diwali, or Dipavali, marks the end of the year, and by the year’s end we want to pay our debts and rectify our relationships—and then try to do better the next year.
The Vedic literatures inform us that in the present age, Kali-yuga, the recommended process for self-realization, or God realization, is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. Lord Krishna appeared about five thousand years ago and spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and at the end of the Gita (18.66), He instructed:
sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah
“Give up all varieties of religiousness and just surrender unto Me. I will deliver you from all sins. Do not fear.”
But how do we surrender to Krishna—practically? It is a big question. Therefore Krishna Himself came again about five hundred years ago as Sri Krishna Chaitanya and showed us how to serve Krishna and develop love for Krishna, especially in the present age of Kali. He quoted one verse from the Brhan-naradiya Purana (3.8.126):
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
“One should chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Lord Hari. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in the present age of Kali.”
Lord Chaitanya Himself demonstrated how to chant the holy names. Actually, there are two methods: In japa, one chants softly but loud enough that at least one can hear oneself. Our acharyas have recommended that we chant on beads, japa-mala. I suggest that as a New Year’s resolution you all begin to chant at least one mala (round) every day, and that those who are already chanting try to increase. Suppose someone is chanting two malas every day. In the New Year that person can decide to do four malas, or whatever he or she can manage. One mala will take five to ten minutes. So, that is japa.
The other method is kirtan. Kirtan means loud chanting, all together, usually with musical instruments such as mridanga, kartals, and sometimes harmonium. That collective chanting of the holy names of God is very effective in the present age of Kali.
What does chanting do? As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains, ceto-darpana-marjanam: chanting cleanses the dirt from the mirror of the mind. If you want to know what you look like, you have to view yourself in a mirror. But if the mirror is covered with dust, you cannot see. So we have to cleanse the dust from the mirror of the mind; then we can know who we are. In ignorance, we may think that we’re the body. We may think that we’re black or white or red or yellow; man or woman; American, Russian, Chinese, or African. We have so many designations based on our falsely identifying with the body. But ceto-darpana-marjanam—when we clear the dust from the mirror of the mind by chanting, we can actually see who we are: not the body but the soul within the body. The soul is not black or white or male or female or Russian or Chinese. The soul is pure spirit, part and parcel of God, the Supreme Spirit, Krishna.
So, chanting will cleanse all the dirt from the mind, from the heart. But how does chanting work? A verse from the Padma Purana (quoted as Cc Madhya 17.133) explains:
nama cintamanih krsnas caitanya-rasa-vigrahah purnah suddho nitya-mukto ’bhinnatvan nama-naminoh
“The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krsna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical.”
The holy name of Krishna is Krishna Himself. Abhinnatvat nama naminoh: there is no difference between the name and the person who has the name. In the material world, the relative world, there is a difference between the name, or word, and the object. For example, if I am in the desert dying of thirst and chant “water, water, water, water,” my thirst will not be quenched, because the word water and the substance water are different. But in the spiritual world, the absolute world, the name of the thing and the thing are the same. So, when we chant the holy name of Krishna, Krishna is actually present, dancing on our tongue. Thus, because Krishna is all pure, when we associate with Him by chanting His holy name, we become purified (ceto-darpana-marjanam). And when we become purified—when we become Krishna conscious—we automatically develop all good qualities.
At present we have qualities that are good and we have other qualities that are not so good. Often, at the end of the year people make resolutions for the new year—how they will improve. It may be that one will try to not lose one’s temper, or try to not overeat. We make so many resolutions, but after some time, because of weakness in the heart, we may fail in our determination. The one resolution that will eventually help us develop all good qualities and keep our other, secondary resolutions is the resolution to chant the holy names of God.
Diwali also commemorates the return of Lord Ramachandra to Ayodhya. You all know the history of how Rama was banished from His kingdom into the forest. In the forest Ravana kidnapped Sita and took her to Lanka. Then Rama and Laksmana searched for Sita. They made alliances with many monkey warriors, and over time They came to the southern tip of India. They built a bridge across to Lanka, and eventually Rama killed Ravana, which is commemorated by Dasara, or Rama-vijaya-dasami. Then Mother Sita was tested in fire, and she emerged pure. And Rama, Laksmana, and Sita, accompanied by other associates, returned to Ayodhya. To prepare for the Lord’s arrival, the residents of Ayodhya placed lamps on the rooftops and balconies and celebrated His return. And Lord Ramachandra was installed on the throne.
We too want to welcome Lord Rama (Lord Krishna) into our hearts. And just as, before we install a Deity, we clean the temple so that it is a fit place for the Lord to reside, similarly we each want to welcome Lord Ramachandra into our heart, to install Him on the throne in our heart. But to make our heart a proper, fit place for Him, we have to cleanse it. Therefore, on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, we chant the holy names of Rama and Krishna—Hare Krishna, Hare Rama—so ceto-darpana-marjanam: the heart is cleansed. Then we can welcome Lord Rama into our hearts and install Him on the throne of our hearts and celebrate His presence.
So, this should be our resolution: to purify our hearts so that the Lord will have a proper place to sit there. And who could be more fortunate a person than he who has Lord Rama, or Krishna, with him?
There are many Ramayanas, histories of Ramachandra, but the most authorized in Sanskrit is the Valmiki Ramayana. Consistent with that version, the Ninth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam also contains a short Ramayana. And at the end of the Bhagavatam’s Ramayana, there is a statement that during the reign of Lord Ramachandra all of the citizens were peaceful and happy, just like in Satya-yuga. There are four ages that repeat in cycles, like the seasons. Satya-yuga is the best of the ages, the golden age. Then come Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga. The Bhagavatam describes that during the rule of Lord Ramachandra all of the citizens were religious and completely happy, healthy, and peaceful, just like during Satya-yuga, although it was actually Treta-yuga. Srila Prabhupada comments that by God consciousness, Krishna consciousness, one can invoke Satya-yuga, or Rama-rajya, even in Kali-yuga. Therefore, the same Krishna who appeared in Treta-yuga as Lord Ramachandra appeared in Kali-yuga as Lord Chaitanya to introduce the chanting of the holy names—Hare Krishna and Hare Rama.
So, if we take up the chanting of the holy names, we can not only invoke the presence of Lord Rama within our hearts, welcome Lord Rama into our hearts, but also recreate the situation of Satya-yuga, the situation of Rama-rajya. Sometimes Srila Prabhupada remarked, “People want the kingdom of God without God.” But we cannot have the kingdom of God without God. We cannot have Rama-rajya without Rama. But if we invoke the presence of God, of Krishna, by chanting His holy names, we can have the same experience of Satya-yuga in Kali-yuga. We can have the same experience of Rama-rajya when, as described in the Bhagavatam, Rama loved all of the citizens just like a father loves his children, and all of the citizens loved Lord Rama and obeyed Him just like children love and obey their father. By Krishna consciousness, we can have the same situation even today. And if on this Diwali you can take a vow, make a resolution, to chant every day in the next year—and in all the years to come—that will bring you all auspiciousness.
We pray that the Lord will bless all of you in the year to come, and that you will also take the blessing of chanting into the New Year.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Diwali, October 25, 2003, Houston]
Through inconceivable divine mercy, we obtained divine grace to enter the sacred Dham of Sri Radha Kund. Sri Radha Kund is the highest of all holy places. Only by Srimati Radharani’s mercy, we were able to take darshan of the many spiritually rich places situated along the banks of Sri Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda.
TOVP Presents: Be Part of the PanchaShat Koti Nama Yajna!
Join devotees from around the world in the Panchashat Koti Nama Yajna, a collective offering of 50 billion Holy Names to the Lord on Srila Prabhupada’s 50th Disappearance Anniversary, November 1, 2027, at the Grand Opening of the TOVP.
Offer your regular rounds or chant extra rounds and become part of this sacred offering as we look forward to the TOVP Grand Opening in 2027. Registration is open now and the yajna begins on Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day.
Register today and offer your rounds: https://50billionmahamantra.com/home
While Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas recognize that bhakti is the ultimate solution to the world’s miseries, they do not use spiritual practice as a shield to ignore social injustice. In a world plagued by exploitation, a difficult question arises: How do we balance the spiritual necessity of avoiding faultfinding with the moral duty to protect the innocent? Answering this requires absolute honesty. Devotees must cultivate personal integrity and practice deep self-reflection regarding their own inner turmoils and psychological struggles, rather than artificially trying to ignore or suppress them. In his purport to Bhagavad-gītā (16.1-3), Srila Prabhupada draws a sharp line: “…to call a thief a thief is not faultfinding, but to call an honest person a thief is very much offensive for one who is making advancement in spiritual life.”
Integrity is a core principle of bhakti. Devotees should avoid spiritual escapism and the evasion of worldly duty. Such behavior is phalgu-vairāgya — incomplete or false renunciation. Some contemporary persons address this with the term “spiritual bypassing”. Although that phrase was not used by Srila Prabhupada, the underlying concept is deeply relevant to devotees. It addresses the danger of using spiritual practices to evade fundamental human responsibilities, or worse, to excuse the mistreatment of others.
Although criticism can be highly detrimental to one’s spiritual development, exposing the misdeeds of others is simultaneously necessary to safeguard society. If a person ignores a sinful act, they become complicit in its reaction. In the Sambhava-parva of the Mahābhārata (1.171.12), the sage Aurva declares:
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jānann api ca yaḥ pāpaṁ śaktimān na niyacchati īśaḥ san so ’pi tenaiva karmaṇā samprayujyate
Even if a person is powerful, if they know that a sin has been committed and they fail to restrain it — despite having the authority to do so — they become equally entangled in the reaction to that deed.
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A similar principle is highlighted in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (madhya 5.90) during the narration of the pastime of Sakshi Gopal. The young Brahmin informs the elder Brahmin about the dharmic law regarding a broken promise of marriage: jāni’ sākṣī nāhi deya, tāra pāpa haya — “A person who knows things as they are and still does not bear witness becomes involved in sinful activities.”
Based on these instructions, some argue that devotees must actively speak up and chastise wrongdoers. They remind us that “Krishna told Arjuna to fight!” and that “Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said to boldly speak the truth.” Supporting this view, Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode wrote in Sajjana-toṣaṇī:
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“The scriptures do not forbid one from discussing others’ faults if one has good intentions. Good intentions are of two kinds:
1. If some auspiciousness comes to a person by discussing their sins, then it is good to do so.
2. If the result is beneficial for the world, one may speak about sinners and their activities. Such an act is considered pious.” (Sajjana-toṣaṇī 5.5, published in August of 1893. Article entitled, “Vaiṣṇava-nindā”)
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These points may appear to be at odds with the previous issue of Bindu, which stated in the article “Overlooking Faults and Finding Virtues” that:
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By continually dwelling upon the defects of others, their mind remains bound to the very impurities they seek to condemn. Conversely, one who abandons the search for others’ faults and instead accepts their virtues receives saintly instruction everywhere and at all times, both through anvaya — direct example, and vyatireka — instruction through contrast.
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There are many statements in śāstra that support the later perspective. For instance, in the Mahābhārata, (udyoga parva 34.74) Vidura tells Dhritarastra:
The ignorant seek to injure the wise by malice and back-biting; by doing so the critic takes upon himself the load of the wise man’s sins, which he, the wise man, casts off by forgiving the ignorant.
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Two parvas later (36.5) Dattatreya tells the Sadhyas:
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ākruśyamāno nākrośet manyur eva titikṣataḥ ākroṣṭāraṁ nirdahati sukṛtaṁ cāsya vindate
A person being criticized should not criticize in retaliation, for the pain felt upon receiving criticism, if endured, will itself consume the critic and bring in exchange the results of his good deeds.
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The exact same warning is delivered by Yamaraj to King Bhagirath in the Nārada Purāṇa:
sa yāti narakaṁ ghoraṁ yāvac candrārkatārakam pāpināṁ nindya-mānānāṁ pāpārddhaṁ kṣayameti ca
O king, if the faults being counted are real, the critic becomes equally sinful. If the faults are falsely imagined, the critic receives double the sinful reaction. One who falsely attributes sins to the innocent goes to a terrible hell for as long as the sun, moon, and stars endure. Meanwhile, the sinner who is being criticized has half of their own sins washed away. (1.15.115-116)
Furthermore, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.8.17), Suniti instructs her young son Dhruva Maharaja:
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māmaṅgalaṁ tāta pareṣu maṁsthā bhuṅkte jano yat para-duḥkhadas tat
“My dear son, don’t wish for anything inauspicious for others. Anyone who inflicts pains upon others suffers himself from that pain.”
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Does this mean that if a person points out the criminal deeds of a wrongdoer, they will be forced to absorb that person’s bad karma? How do we reconcile these apparently differing scriptural instructions? Can it genuinely be considered detrimental for a whistleblower to alert the community to the dangers of an abusive or dangerous individual? As cited above, Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode clarifies: “If the result is beneficial for the world, one may speak about sinners and their activities.”
This is a complex and important topic that demands careful introspection. As Thakur Bhaktivinode notes in Kṛṣṇa-saṁhitā (8.20): “Subtle discrimination is extremely important for vaiṣṇavas.” While it is beneficial for the world to expose a dangerous criminal — and a sin to silently watch an evil deed unfold — what qualifies as “beneficial” heavily depends on the spiritual maturity of the speaker. A neophyte may quickly appoint themselves as the judge and jury of others under the guise of world beneficence. However, if they criticize another devotee for entering a liquor shop, and it turns out that they were only going there to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books, then there is no benefit for the world — only spiritual ruin. Srivas Thakur exemplified the standard of advanced vision when describing the character of Lord Nityananda:
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madirā-yavanī yadi nityānanda dhare jāti-prāṇa-dhana yadi mora nāśa kare
“Even if Nityananda holds a pot of wine, associates with women, and spoils my caste, life, and wealth, still my faith will not waver. This is a fact I am telling you.” (Cb.madhya 8.15-16)
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Srivas Thakur’s unshakeable faith highlights a dangerous concern: a neophyte’s attempt to right a worldly wrong can inadvertently lead to vaiṣṇava-aparādha. We should avoid assuming that we know the motivation of someone else. In general, it is proper to speak about the principle and not the person. Exposing danger is a duty when driven by genuine compassion to protect others, but it becomes a trap when driven by malice or self-righteous judgment. True reconciliation relies on what Thakur Bhaktivinode calls “subtle discrimination” — ensuring our speech is anchored in protecting the pure, rather than poisoning our own hearts by dwelling on impurity.
To conclude, we can summarize the vaiṣṇava path of subtle discrimination on this issue through three essential principles:
Protect the Innocent: When it is possible to effectively safeguard our community, we must boldly speak out against sin and exploitation that we are aware of, and particularly when we have some authoritative position.
Avoid Self-Righteousness: In the guise of public benefit, we should avoid feeding our own personal malice or false ego by indulging in pronouncing judgments of others.
Focus on Principles: We should stick to addressing the philosophy and wrong actions rather than attacking the person, thereby avoiding the possible severe reactions of vaiṣṇava-aparādha.
By walking this narrow line with genuine humility, we can fulfill our moral duty to protect society without jeopardizing our own spiritual journey.
[Painting: A depiction of the famous philosophical dialogue from the Katha Upanishad between the young seeker Nachiketa and Yama, the Lord of Death. Pahari. Circa 1760–1765
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 22, No. 44 By Krishna Kripa Das (Week 44: October 29–November 4, 2026) New York City, Stuyvesant Falls (Sent from Stuyvesant Falls, New York, on November 7, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
For the first three days of week 44 of 2026 I was based at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn, and I chanted Hare Krishna with Rama Raya Prabhu’s NYC Harinama party every day.
Saturday was Halloween, and many, many people enjoyed playing shakers and dancing with our party, both at Washington Square Park and on the sidewalks of Greenwich Village.On Sunday I took the train upstate to assist the caretakers of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. There I would wake the deities, put them to rest, make the breakfast and dinner, and help clean up the kitchen after lunch as well as do a little shopping. Wednesday I attended the evening program in Chatham, and I got to lead a Hare Krishna kirtan as well as “Damodarastakam.”My aspiration is to dramatically improve my attention in chanting Hare Krishna japa during my time upstate. I am slowly improving.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’sKrishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and The Teachings of Queen Kunti,and from three of his lectures on Śrimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 3, Chapter 26, given in Bombay in December of 1974 and a 1972 room conversation of his. I share quotes from Improvisations to Music, Book 3 and Dream Notebook by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and notes on classes by Arcita Prabhu, Caitanyananda Prabhu, and Rasananda Govinda Prabhu.
Thanks to Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu for picking me up at the train station. Thanks to Janardhan Prabhu for giving me a ride to the Chatham Wednesday Program. Thanks to Shyamasindhu Prabhu for sending me all my Halloween harinama videos via the Interet. Thanks to Krishnendu Prabhu for doing the evening offering and the put to rest so I could go to the Chatham program.
Itinerary
September 23–December 31: NYC Harinam – November 1–???: serve Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami at Stuyvesant Falls
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
One day I had an unusual conversation with a young Indian-looking couple watching our Hare Krishna chanting party from the distance. Early on the guy said, pointing to the woman, “She is a nastik. Do you know what a nastik is?”I tried to think of a nice way of defining nastik, but nothing came to mind, so I said, “That means she is an atheist.”Then I said, “People have so many speculative philosophies, but if they chant Hare Krishna, they will experience the reality of Krishna.” Neither of them supported nor contested that statement. I offered them prasadam cookies. The guy accepted one, but the woman did not. maha-prasade govinde nama-brahmani vaisnave sv-alpa-punyavatam rajan visvaso naiva jayate
On Halloween as I walked from the West Fourth Street subway station to Washington Square Park, I was surprised to see how many policemen were on duty that night. I had never seen so many!
On Halloween, some of the devotees also wore costumes.
As devotees chanted Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park in New York City on Halloween, many folks played shakers and danced (https://youtu.be/zEektPa-p50):
Here I share the many individual clips from which the previous video was generated:
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Halloween in Manhattan, and people dance side to side (https://youtube.com/shorts/FrbF9miSIOI?feature=share):
After the police kicked everyone out of Washington Square Park, we spent about two and a half hours chanting all over Greenwich Village, first a couple of blocks to the southeast of the park, and then all the way up to Union Square.
Some people were happy to see the devotees and took photos or videos of them.
In this video I show how many people enjoyed participating in the kirtan during that Greenwich Village walking harinama (https://youtu.be/pKI50U8ee_4):
Here are the individual clips from which the above video is compiled:
While Locanananda Prabhu was chanting, the police relocated the devotees, who were chanting in a street on which vehicles occasionally traveled (https://youtube.com/shorts/RowHQPlgUIA):
Keshava Madhava chants Hare Krishna in Greenwich Village on Halloween, and onlookers dance, part 2 of 5 (https://youtube.com/shorts/8IuM8abJEYo?feature=share):
Sunday I played my harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna for ten minutes at the Hudson railway station, while waiting for my ride.
Sometimes I get it together to play my harmonium and chant Hare Krishna for an hour a day on the porch of the residence of my guru, but this time I have been too busy. I hope to resume that at some point.
I do chant Hare Krishna for the Gaura Nitai deities here. I sing "Gurvastakam" and ten minutes of Hare Krishna in the morning and the Gaura Arati song and ten minutes of Hare Krishna in the evening. Also between one and four of us gather in the evening and chant "Damodarastakam" and offer lamps.
At the Chatham Wednesday program, Malati, daughter of Krishna Kumari Devi Dasi, who runs the program, chanted the first Hare Krishna kirtan. Then I chanted Hare Krishna and "Damodarastam."
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 5:
“In this material world it is to be understood that we are always living in a contaminated state. We therefore have to purify the duration of our lives, our possession of wealth and our self. We can purify our duration of life by taking daily bath and cleansing the body inside and outside and accepting the ten kinds of purificatory processes. By austerities, by worship of the Lord, and by distribution of charity we can purify the possession of wealth. We can purify our self by studying the Vedas in order to understand the Absolute Truth and achieve self-realization.”
“Vasudeva continued: ‘My dear friend, it is very difficult for us to live together. Although we have our family and relatives, sons and daughters, by nature’s way we are generally separated from one another. The reason for this is that every living entity appears on this earth under different pressures of fruitive activities [karma]; although they assemble together, there is no certainty of their remaining together for a long time. According to one’s fruitive activities, one has to act differently and thereby be separated. For example, many plants and creepers are floating on the waves of the ocean. Sometimes they come together, and sometimes they separate forever: one plant goes one way, and another plant goes another. Similarly, our family assembly may be very nice while we are living together, but after some time, in the course of the waves of time, we are separated.’”
[Vasudeva continued:] “Therefore, it is everyone’s duty to see that his fellow citizens and the cows are not put into difficulty. One should see to the peace and comfort of his fellow man and the animals.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 6:
“It is said that wherever the chanting of the holy name of Krishna is done, even negligently, all bad elements—witches, ghosts and dangerous calamities—immediately disappear. And this is certainly true of the place where the chanting of the holy name of Krishna is done seriously—especially in Vrindavan when the Supreme Lord was personally present.”
“Devotional service in Krishna consciousness is so sublime that even a little service rendered to Krishna, knowingly or unknowingly, gives one the greatest transcendental benefit. The system of worshiping Krishna by offering flowers from a tree is also beneficial for the living entity who is confined to the bodily existence of that tree. When flowers and fruits are offered to Krishna, the tree that bore them also receives much benefit, indirectly.”
“Devotees therefore pray that if simply by offering something as an enemy Putana got so much benefit, then who can measure the benefit of worshiping Krishna in love and affection? Therefore only Krishna should be worshiped, for so much benefit awaits the worshiper.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 20:
“Actually, one should undergo severe austerities and penances only to achieve spiritual happiness. In Śrimad-Bhagavatam it is recommended that tapasya, or austerity, should be accepted for realizing the Supreme Lord. By accepting austerity in devotional service, one regains his spiritual life, and as soon as one regains his spiritual life, he enjoys unlimited spiritual bliss.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 21:
“Persons who are advanced in transcendental knowledge take pleasure in seeing their descendants engage in the service of the Lord.”
“Although the gopis were village cowherd women and girls, they had extensive Vedic knowledge. Such is the effect of Vedic civilization. People in general would learn the highest truths of the Vedas simply by hearing from authoritative sources.”
“Another gopi said to her friends, ‘My dear friends, the cows are also charmed as soon as they hear the transcendental sound of the flute of Krishna. It sounds to them like the pouring of nectar, and they immediately spread their long ears just to catch the liquid nectar of the flute. As for the calves, they are seen with the nipples of their mothers pressed in their mouths, but they cannot suck the milk. They remain struck with devotion, and tears glide down from their eyes, illustrating vividly how they are embracing Krishna heart to heart.’ These phenomena indicate that even the cows and calves in Vrndavana knew how to cry for Krishna and embrace Him heart to heart. Actually, the perfection of Krishna consciousness can be culminated in the shedding of tears from the eyes.”
“While Krishna was engaged in tending the cows in the forest of Vrindavan or on Govardhana Hill, the gopis in the village were always absorbed in thinking of Him and discussing His different pastimes. This is the perfect example of Krishna consciousness: to somehow or other remain always engrossed in thoughts of Krishna. The vivid example is always present in the behavior of the gopis; therefore Lord Caitanya declared that no one can worship the Supreme Lord by any method which is better than the method of the gopis. The gopis were not born in very high brahmana or ksatriya families; they were born in the families of vaisyas, and not in big mercantile communities but in the families of cowherd men. They were not very well educated, although they heard all sorts of knowledge from the brahmanas, the authorities of Vedic knowledge. The gopis’ only purpose was to remain always absorbed in thoughts of Krishna.”
From The Teachings of Queen Kunti, Chapter 4:
“This is not civilization. Civilization means calmness, prosperity, and shanti, peace. In peace and prosperity one should be Krishna conscious always.
People work so hard, day and night, simply for a little food, not knowing that their food has already been provided. Avidya-karma-samjñanya trtiya saktir isyate (Vishnu Purana 6.7.61). This material world is full of ignorance (avidya). Therefore our endeavor should be to become free from this ignorance. It is only for this reason that we should work—to come out of ignorance.”
“Kuntidevi, therefore, is pointing our attention toward Krishna, the Supreme Person, who is alaksya, invisible to all. Who is that invisible person? Here—Krishna. ‘Oh, Krishna,’ one may say. ‘There are so many Krishnas.’ Therefore Kuntidevi says, ‘I am offering my prayers to Vasudeva, the son of Vasudeva.’ ‘There are many Vasudevas.’ ‘No. Nanda-gopa-kumaraya: [SB 1.8.21] I am praying to the foster son of Maharaja Nanda.’ In this way, three times she points out, ‘Here is Krishna.’”
“We are looking for sense gratification, and if we associate with Krishna we shall enjoy our senses abundantly, just like the gopis who are dancing with Krishna. Thus there is no scarcity of sense gratification, but this sense gratification in association with Krishna is not gross sense gratification; rather, it is the spiritual sense gratification enjoyed in the spiritual world.”
From a lecture on Śrimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.1 in Bombay on December 13, 1974:
“If Krishna sees that ‘one is presenting My message as I have given,’ then He is pleased.”
“Spiritual world means there is full consciousness of the existence of God, and material world means to full forgetfulness of God. This is the difference between material world and the spiritual world. So if you bring, in the material world also, Krishna consciousness, then it is spiritual world. How it is possible? Yes, it is possible. Just like you put one iron rod in the fire, it will become gradually warm, warmer, warmer, then the iron rod will be red hot, and if that redness you will touch anywhere, it will burn you. It is no more iron rod; it is fire. So you keep yourself always in Krishna consciousness, then even if you possess this material body, you will be in the spiritual world.”
From a lecture on Śrimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.2 in Bombay on December 14, 1974:
“Suppose a foreigner is in America, an Indian is in America, or an American is in India, so he is conscious that ‘I am American,’ or ‘I do not belong to this country.’ Or Indian, when he goes to America, he knows, ‘I am Indian. I do not belong to this country.’ Similarly, when you realize, when you understand that you do not belong to this material world, you belong to the spiritual world, that is self-realization. Atma-darsanam.”
“In the spiritual world, the purusa, the living entity, enjoys with Krishna, not alone. Therefore you will find Krishna is always accompanied by someone else—either Radharani or cowherds boy, or the gopis, or Mother Yasoda, or Nanda Maharaja, or the cows and the calves, like that. Or even with the monkeys.”
From a lecture on Śrimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.3 in Bombay on December 15, 1974:
“We are rendering service. Either you are rendering service in office, or to your family, or to your cat, or to your dog, or to your government, or to your society—you must be giving some service. There is no escape. But that is saguna service, under these material laws. So you have to give nirguna service. If you give nirguna, then you become nirguna. Then what is that nirguna? When you render service to Krishna.”
“So far individual living entity, soul, is concerned, he is also all-pervading. All-pervading means within this limited body. So long I am present within this body, anywhere of the body I feel, I am present here. You pinch; you feel, “Yes, there is pain.” That means I am present here. I am present there. This is called consciousness.
“But there is another consciousness—so don’t mix it up—that Krishna consciousness. That consciousness, sarva-ksetresu bharata: that Krishna is present everywhere. Sarva-ksetresu. That is the difference between Krishna… Krishna says, ksetra-jñam ca, ksetra-jñam ca aham: ‘I am also ksetra-jña. I am also soul, but I am Supersoul.’ How? Now, sarva-ksetresu bharata: ‘I am present in everyone’s body.’ I am not present in your body. You are not present in my body. I am present in my body. Dehino ’smin yatha dehe [Bg 2.13].
“But Krishna is present, everyone’s body. That is the distinction between Krishna and me.”
“If you can understand everyone’s pains and pleasure, then you are God. If you cannot say what is my pains and pleasure and you come as God, then I am not going to accept. What kind of God you are? God must be present everywhere.”
“So this human life is meant for self-realization, not simply wasting time like cats and dogs, eating, sleeping, mating and… No. That is not human life. Athato brahma-jijñasa. Everyone should be interested to understand himself, God and his relationship. Then the life will be successful.”
From a lecture on Śrimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.4 in Bombay on December 16, 1974:
“If one surrenders to Krishna, then he becomes free from the clutches of maya. So how Krishna can be caught by maya? This is contradictory. If anyone surrenders to Krishna, he becomes free from the influence of maya, simply by surrendering. Then how Krishna can be influenced by maya? It is common sense.”
“So this is called tattva, to know about Krishna perfectly. And the informations are there in the sastras. And simply to understand it, we require a little qualification. We require little qualification. Otherwise, everything is there. That qualification is to increase the, I mean to say, temper of your devotion, or increase the quality of your love for Krishna. Premañjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilo… [Bs 5.38]. And that love can be increased by the process:
“So our this Krishna consciousness movement is giving, educating people how to become Krishna conscious, how to know the science of Krishna.”
From a Room Conversation in Dallas on September 13, 1972:
“So our bhakta philosophy is we are all individuals. God is individual and we are all individuals we live together and along with the supreme person we also enjoy. Just like the gopis are dancing with Krishna, that is the highest perfection. To keep your individuality and dance with the supreme individual person.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Improvisations to Music, Book 3:
“Some want it to be only between themselves and Jesus.
Is this true of Jesus?”
“We were human, we wasted time, we lasted a little longer.”
“The ‘argument’ with God and self means I do love Him. I try but I fail. Lord, let me see You, be with You.”
“Now ISKCON is the solid river
and anything branching from it is suspect
although we’ll always be kind to brothers
who claim allegiance to our master.”
“Krishna consciousness makes sense you goto eternal glory of service andeven if you have to come backyou’ll know what to do—chant God’s namesand seek shelter for quiet workand give out good advice forpeople who ask for it.”
“Let’s just write I say it’s mybhajana I say it’s my way to prayas others do through music or mantradirect service or cookingI do in words that playlike cooking blues—it’s the same thing.”
“Don’t say ‘chant and readand follow guru’ if you’renot doing it with your whole heartuntil it hurts.”
“Just that if we can find it—if we were to look in all the right places—we could see Krishna everywhere.”
“The extra daring, the best thing I could have done was to have seen through the whole system and not taken disciples in 1978. But Krishna wanted it this way.”
“I want thegoodness transcendental which isfixed on Krishna
holy service specific to Krishna in His two-hand form. I’ll place him there in any context I’m forced into.”
“It’s nice to hear people say‘Krishna’ in their speech naturallywhen they visit you in prison evenif they are kanisṭha or whateverbecause you too are …”
“We are normalfolks following impossible ideals.”
“You can be free forserving the Lord that’s possibleand the best thing there is.”
“Krishna is the way and wheyHe’s the song and dayHe’s the night and playand as for work and hell
they’re from your misuseof free will—fromyou.”
“That Japanese monk said his peaceand quiet might cheat him of salvation,so he shouldn’t have praised his tinyhut his renunciation and all …But he said he would chant thename of Buddha instead of talkingand poor as his chanting washe knew he’d win something.”
“On my knees before Him it’salmost His breakfast timeand I know He never suffers fromindigestionor depression, unhappiness evenwhen You put down Your flutemaybe lift off Your turbanornamentedand receive Your devotee’s bhaktieven from this earnest but pig-like foolwho comes before You twice orthrice a day and never strays sofar away.”
“Freedom. Peace and Love. Fight for those. Peace andLove?Who said that?But it’s true. They just don’t know how to go about it.Do I? Krishnaize the universe. run out and do it.How? Oh, just sing in the streets—a great sacrificeof your so-called respectable anonymity.”
“Work it out for Krishna consciousness. This is the life so
short so cagey—cat and mouse with pain—but get your licks in before you get kicked out—and make
as much progress as you can.Heretofore.You are bluetrueto masterin own wayI want to say I never quit.And neither do so many brothers. I admire them eachfrom across the Grand Canyon of our livesalthough we all have sufferedblues in the night.”
“O Krishna Youare the source of all good times andbad, and I pray to stick with his books.A man tells me he’s crying and I do toosometimesbut I know You will rescue us all.”
“It’s a crazy place. O Kesava, how strange are wecreatureswho inhabit this space.”
“And when it rains or headaches come
or real worse, I pray Lord preserve some inner turning to You.
They say you should make hay while the sun shines,and I interpret that in my life to meanread and chant against the endbecause even nowall we have is the hopethat He will come to us.”
“What’s happening? What’s all that noise?
I just want a little peace so I
can concentrate on God in my
heart
but the neighbors and my roommate
have different ideas makes
it seem like the
earth is quaking
and I’m telling you this
because I
can’t seem to drown it out with
the sound of my own
concentration.”
“You can just imagine.Krishna is the Lord of sixesand sevens and twenty-fours andChristians and Muslims and politiciansof no particular religion.He’s Death—can you beatthat?”
“I don’t own anythingbut my singing and danceO Lord, let me dancefor You.”
“I walk alonecreek bubbling—I callmy soul to be present and hear mechant the Lord’s names.”
“Up in clouds in sky on eartha tiny person walking thinkshe’d like to love his Lord.”
“Who Am I?Am I an Irishman? No!A transvestite? NoA club card holder ofBritish Airways Business Class? Nonor a Russian nyet, a new disciple
of Muni Maharaja. A friend ofSatsvarupa(now you’re getting close).
A one ten-thousandth the upper portionof a hair a soulwho can blast through solidstone
not any of the twenty-four elementsor a herring sad and blessedby some Jewish-American deli owneror a student turnedprofessor evena wanna-be best-selling author.”
“Krishna is the one who givesRain and sun—you can’t figure Him outso don’t trytake info from sastrasand guruand just execute it.”
“‘reading your book I forgotit was by a Hare Krishna author.’Good—disarm them and thengive them Krishna”
“Each moment of the day is blissfulif you attend it.”
“I’m happy know why’cause I’m a loyal sonnot much butnot kicked out.”
“Or better yet go straight to Golokaand serve Śrila Prabhupada back at the beginningwhatever he wants me to doI am willing and he says you’re myeternal son, here take asandesa and go work withthis devotee. I’m happyto do it.Would you?”
“You read and acceptResolutions nosolution schisms andinvasions allsuperficialand turn backto your own work”
“We’ll keep on tryingwin first prizesometimes in a Hawaii paradeor when a mayor shows up to cuta ribbonor better yetwhen a serious persontakes to the processand we feel satisfied to knowthat Prabhupadawould smileon usinsisting wecontinue.”
“Don’t let that old mayabeleaguer megive me the KC bluesany dayand not maya’s joy.”
“Rain beating hard Iopened the window and saw the Popefly by he said, ‘We’ll doall we can to help ISKCON.’”
“I’ll find my Krishna and dust Himoff, I mean, my forgotten Krishnaconsciousness. I’llclean it from the modesthe drossbut nihil obstatthere are no real obstacles.”
“I have God’s namesas a giftto say and finger beads andbe awareor not.”
“Don’t you see? It had to go willhave to gosooner or laterbut God’s namesare eternal.Do you know whatthat means?”
“Strength of sadhanaprotects me fromindulging in art world,world love,because that’s how it has to befor us sadhu soldiers,us recruits.”
“God gave me the ability to ride this penthe words come out fromHim so direct them to Himin praisebut howif you don’t love?”
“This is the toad’s sonnetand I try to shape thewords away from their possibleworst but nothing can come outin praise of Krishnauntil you loveand serveand there’sthe truth.”
“I am not going to learnfrom doctor or shrinkor priest or new guruon my own …stay with the one
who taught me in youthand sustains mestill.”
“I like to walkand think that Heis with me everywherewill teach meand love me andprotect methat He is doing thatfor everyone.Maybe they’re not wrongwhen they ask to be acceptedas they accept Him.”
“Our only asset our guru’sservice even offered in thisbroken and whimsical conditionself-righteous each oneof us.”
“I don’t want to livein a cage of my own makinglike I did before July ’66.”
“Truth descends like a mango handedfrom guru’s venerable handsfinally to you.Receive it withfaith and reverence.”
“O Krishna, You in all times.I missed our midnight rendezvousbut You will offer yet another.Will it be the same—no, latemorning and midnight are different,but You are kind andeverything is absolute inthe Bhagavatam at least.”
“I want to be a devotee, in there with my brothers, defending the movement. This is a big concert, and Śrila Prabhupada (the maestro) points in my direction for a solo sound. I let it rip and depend
on the rhythm section. Then he turns to the main groupwho roar into action and harmonizeI’m expected to join inwith no more solo partsuntil the end.Do you so much want the solo thatyou’d leave the orchestra to play ona corner under a street lamp?No, I won’t leave this family reunion. I’ll be a part.”
“I know how people are weak and Idispense compassion.”
“You have to withdraw your heart whereyou placed it in a woman’s care,because she touched you withher earnest devotion to guru andGod that sure commends herbut there’s no scope forbodily affection in theseRanks.”
“I am yours to say KrishnaKrishna, Krishna You let me sing butplease let me sing withpure devotionbut I knowthe answer to that—Youwant to know whether I can paythe saint’s priceor am I just out herefor a walka funny man-boy whocan’t go deeperwhere it hurts togive up self and seeGodas my guru does.”
“But Death has me marked as hemarked J. S. Bach centuries agoand caught him despite his lovelysongs and violin and harpsichord notesand that people still playhis sonatas hundreds of years later.”
“Please please pardonenlightenand may Iget going growingkinder workingwithout complaint.”
“grace has given himthis sacred space and stillhe wants more becausea person’s never satisfied
until he knows God as hisprotector. The poor affectedfellow will do better ifhe recites scripture butwhich holy bookto choose?”
“We old men gather in this precious groupand quibble instead of celebratethat Krishna is revealed and weshould desire Him only.”
“We are scared of hellso we praise Godnot devotees really becauseReal devotees don’t fear anythingthey sing in heaven orhell—wherever they go.”
“carrying rocks of burdensstill praying to Himto resolveand absolveand to set me straight.”
“At any rate it is now Kali’s age andwe can simply chant the Lord’s nameto avoid the pain of arthritic knees—not the painas if we think Hari’s nameis an analgesicit’s notbut to lose the painof an arthritic kneeby becoming absorbedin soul-solacing soundand waiting with thatinstead of Nyquil or Prozac.”
“wise ones turn to God and seeketernal life but not only for the sakeof safety. They seek God’s pleasureknow His plans for them or notbut trust and love Him.”
“I can only thank Krishnafor my present bountyof a bhakti-directed life. Icould not take advantageof Mathura, the Lord of,but let it be said that He keptme, my connection with the Swamiuntil all fool ladies and gentsand cattle and housesand cold misty mornings passed.”
“I’m on my own with a fewfaithful Hare Krishna friends—weare writing our way to deathour comic tragedy. No, notragedy but progressto the pointof no return—to Goloka.”
“He saidKrishna liked it when Bhisma piercedHim with arrows that flew like kisses.There are so many ways toexpress bhakti.”
“I saidI don’t want the worst thruston me just yet. It will come, Iknow, so I pray to rememberKrishna at all times and onall occasions.”
“O Krishna, I hold up my handsand You reassure me. I am novoidist but I am still crazy withfalse ego. Still, I want neverto leave my Swami’s shelter.Some words from a person in retrospect.”
“O master, it’s July 4, and todayI don’t want to be independentof your rule.I declare myself eager forthe simple things you gave.”
“‘Why is there anything?’For ananda, the Swami said inMexico.”
“And who knows myjoy except He who reignsin my heart and the heartsof all moving and nonmoving entities?”
“‘They make thisworld seem real,’ thoseNewsweek guys, butKrishna is with us and will protectHis devotees from such illusions.”
“O Govinda,I stretch and strain butbetter I transfer myenergy to bhakti’sprinciplelimbs.”
“But if I simply turn to KrishnaI’ll find rest there eternalthe Vedas say it and I believe.I live according to guru’scode hoping always to rememberKrishna in Goloka.”
“As I grow older Isee in a different waythat nothing in my life will lastand that I have achieved so little.”
“Down the scale He callsand I say I am coming Krishnajust let me hear You andI will not tarry.”
I’m not cheerful? I runthis way in rain gearsinging for the life of meknowing my masterwill at least claim me as his ownslow son the onehe picked upand shaved and dressedwho stays that way stillin recognition of that day.
From Dream Notebook:
“Take to the external reality of Krishna consciousness, which is all you can get. You can only scratch the surface of it, but be true to it and do the regular duties and hope to develop love of Krishna and believe in Krishna.”
Arcita Prabhu:
Jimmi Hendrix became famous in 1966, the year Srila Prabhupada started. Unfortunately he was addicted to drugs, and he died in 1970.
Comments by me:
Regarding the purifying association of Srila Prabhupada, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami said after hearing Srila Prabhupada give just one lecture at 26 Second Avenue he gave up illicit sex and intoxication.
Regarding materialists doing the same things because they have no alternative, when I was 27 I spent Thanksgiving with my relatives. My mother asked me about getting married. It occurred to me that my mother was married, but now she was widowed, my aunt was married, but now she was widowed, and my cousin was married, but now she was divorced. So I said, “You were all married, but now you are single. Which one do you like better?”
They all said they liked being single better, so I said, “Then why are asking me to get married?”
They had no answer, and they did not ask again.
Thank you for all the verses stressing the importances of nama-sankirtana. Here is one more:
“Then the Bhaṭṭacarya asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, ‘Which item is most important in the execution of devotional service?’ The Lord replied that the most important item was the chanting of the holy name of the Lord [nama-sankirtana].” (Cc. Madhya 6.241)
Caitanyananda Prabhu:
We are drowning in the material ocean. We see the life raft, yet we make no endeavor to reach it. How foolish is that!
Krishna is the only one who is always with us.
Narottama Dasa Thakura teaches that we must learn to cry for Krishna.
Unless we take this crying mood, Krishna will not take us seriously.
Even if we are chastised by senior devotees there is some sweetness in that because we are becoming free from our anarthas [qualities not favorable for spiritual realization].
If we practice devotional service seriously, senior devotees will want to spend time with us.
It is said that Narottama Dasa Thakura left his body after writing “Je Anilo Prema Dhana,” because the separation was unbearable for him.
We may think we are doing something alone, but actually the whole parampara is watching and appreciating.
Rasananda Govinda Prabhu:
Why does the Lord remain in the heart? One swami explains that He is waiting there for that moment when we decide to surrender to Him so He can give us the full protection which He promises.
If there is some apparent inconsistency in the scripture, then just say that it happened in another kalpa.
Lord Krishna’s first expansion to actually touch maya is Lord Shiva.
Bhakti gives auspiciousness in the form of divine qualities, good character, and spiritual happiness.
Just like we do not give our phone number to just anyone, Krishna does not give bhaktito just anyone.
We gossip because we are not going deep in our spiritual practice, and our minds need some engagement.
If we talk about a devotee with a malicious intent, that is offensive.
-----
In the Hare Krishna movement it is common for people to chant this verse before meals, although previously only the prasadam song by Bhaktivinoda Thakura was chanted. Although we often chant this Sanskrit verse, we practically never say its English translation, and thus many people may not know the meaning or significance of this verse.
maha-prasade govindenama-brahmani vaisnave
sv-alpa-punyavatam rajanvisvaso naiva jayate
“Persons who are not very highly elevated in pious activities cannot believe in the remnants of food [prasadam] of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor in Govinda, the holy name of the Lord, nor in the Vaishnavas.” (Mahabharata and Skanda Purana, quoted in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Antya 16.96)
In addition to chanting Hare Krishna in public and distributing the transcendental literature of Srila Prabhupada to the people in general, we also often offer people some kind of prasadam, spiritual food. We see practically that although we all value prasadam and consider it a great blessing of God, not everyone is able to appreciate it, and this verse tells why. The chanting of Hare Krishna, however, is so powerfully purifying that those who hear it repeatedly will develop faith in the transcendental nature of prasadam, the Lord Himself, His holy name, and His devotees, the Vaishnavas. They are all sources of transcendental pleasure for the pure soul.
The Fearlessnesss of Sri Radha | ISKCON Durban | Svayam Bhagavan Keshava Maharaja
Channel: Tattva by Keshava Maharaja
Svayam Bhagavan Keshava Maharaja delivered a special Radhastami class titled 'The Fearlessnesss of Sri Radha’ at ISKCON Durban, South Africa, in September 2026.
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“Stay High Forever” Reaches a National Seminar on De-addiction: ISKCON Navi Mumbai Shares Srila Prabhupada’s Higher Taste
By Purushottam Das (Dr. Pawan Kumar Upadhyay), Bhaktivedanta Ayurvedic Healing and Research Centre, ISKCON Navi Mumbai
Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
In the autumn of 1966, a small typed flyer went around New York’s Lower East Side. “Stay High Forever — No More Coming Down,” it said, inviting the young people of the neighbourhood to chant the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra with Srila Prabhupada in Tompkins Square Park. Many of those young people were trying to find God through LSD. His Divine Grace gave them something they could not find in a chemical: the holy name, prasadam, the Bhagavad-gītā and the association of devotees. Thousands gave up intoxication — not because they were forced to, but because they had found something better.
The original “Stay High Forever” flyer, 26 Second Avenue, New York, 1966.
Sixty years later, by the mercy of Sri Sri Radha Madanmohanji, ISKCON Navi Mumbai had the opportunity to carry that same message to a national gathering of naturopaths, yoga therapists and doctors here in Kharghar.
Serving the seminar
The MTC National Seminar on Yog-Naturopathy was held on 24–25 October 2026 at the Dr. G.D. Pol Foundation in Kharghar, on the theme “Drug De-Addiction Through Yog-Naturopathy.” It was organised by the International Naturopathy Organisation, the Surya Foundation and the Dr. G.D. Pol Foundation, in association with the Ministry of Ayush.
Many of the delegates stayed with us as guests at the Sri Sri Radha Madanmohanji temple, just a few minutes from the venue, and all delegates were invited for darshan, a tour of our Ayurvedic centre and prasadam.
At the inauguration on 24 October, I had the honour of delivering the inaugural address. I shared the national picture from the AIIMS survey for the Ministry of Social Justice — about 16 crore Indians use alcohol, more than 5.7 crore with harmful or dependent use, and over 2 crore using opioids — and then the hard truth every clinician knows: “We can clean a body in a week. Yet many people treated for addiction go back to the substance.”
The reason, I submitted, was explained five thousand years ago by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself:
“Though the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 2.59)
Remove the substance, and the body is freed. Give a higher taste, and the person is freed. I made three requests to the gathering: to integrate rather than compete with medicine, to build evidence together, and to reach the youth where they already gather.
Presenting Srila Prabhupada’s solution
On 25 October, in Session IV, I presented “Beyond the Body: Mind, Intelligence and Consciousness in Lasting De-addiction — From 26 Second Avenue to Nasha Mukt Yuva.”
The talk began with Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in New York in 1965 — alone, aged 69, with about forty rupees, after surviving two heart attacks aboard the Jaladuta. I showed the original “Stay High Forever” flyer and the September 1966 Midnight headline, “New Indian Religion Sends You Higher Than LSD!” The press could describe bhakti only in the language of drugs. But Srila Prabhupada was not offering a better trip. He was offering a higher taste, with no coming down.
From the very first day, “no intoxication” was one of the four regulative principles for every initiated devotee. De-addiction was not added to ISKCON later; it was in the movement’s DNA. In San Francisco in 1967, the Haight-Ashbury temple became a refuge for young people coming down from LSD. The artist Michael Bowen recalled: “Bhaktivedanta had an amazing ability through devotion to get people off drugs, especially speed, heroin, burnt-out LSD cases.”
I then placed modern addiction neuroscience beside the Bhagavad-gītā. The staircase of Bg. 2.62–63 — from dwelling on sense objects to attachment, lust, anger, delusion, bewildered memory, lost intelligence and the fall — maps step by step onto what researchers now call cue-reactivity, craving, withdrawal stress, attentional bias and failed prefrontal control. Bg. 2.67 describes how even one roaming sense can carry away the intelligence, like a strong wind sweeping a boat off course. And the remedy Srila Prabhupada gives in his purport is not dry restraint but engagement: the senses are curbed “only by keeping them engaged in the service of the Lord.”
I also shared the “5-D” summary of Srila Prabhupada’s method — Discipline (chanting the holy names daily), Discrimination (sādhu, śāstra and saṅga), Detachment (honouring prasadam, control of the tongue), Determination (the strength of devotee association) and Dedication (continuing to serve for life). In today’s language, Srila Prabhupada built aftercare into a worldwide movement in 1966 — decades before the word entered addiction medicine.
The doctors and naturopaths in the hall heard the scientific evidence too: the strongest long-term results in addiction care come from approaches that reach the mind, meaning and community. As the psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote to the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1961, the cure is spiritus contra ispiritum — the true spirit against the false spirits. The Gita had already said it: paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate.
Tompkins Square Park, in Kharghar
The second day opened with Samuhik Yoga, community yoga for all the delegates, followed by congregational chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra. Naturopaths and yoga teachers from across India joined the kirtan.
It was a sweet reminder of how Srila Prabhupada began. He did not come to the West with lectures on what not to do. He sat under a tree in a park and chanted, and invited everyone to join. Six decades later, the same holy name was being chanted by health professionals gathered to find answers to addiction. The theory they had heard from the stage became, for a few minutes, something they could taste.
As Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to Bhagavad-gītā 2.59, restrictions alone are “something like restricting a diseased person from certain types of eatables. The patient, however, neither likes such restrictions nor loses his taste for eatables” — but “when one is actually Krishna conscious, he automatically loses his taste for pale things.”
The road ahead
At the Bhaktivedanta Ayurvedic Healing and Research Centre (BAHRC), we are trying to offer Srila Prabhupada’s solution in a form that doctors and governments can work with. Our Swastha NavJeevan programme cares for the whole person on four levels: the body through Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy; the mind through breath, mantra and music; the intelligence through the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā; and consciousness through kirtan, sevā and devotee association. Its first programme, the Holistic Cancer Healing Retreat, was inaugurated on 30 May 2026 by the Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Jishnu Dev Varma, in research collaboration with ACTREC–Tata Memorial Centre.
We now hope to extend this model to de-addiction, always alongside proper medical care, through a joint pilot study with the naturopathy community. The country is ready: ISKCON has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, and the government’s Nasha Mukt Yuva campaign now runs every Sunday with spiritual organisations as partners. ISKCON temples already gather young people every Sunday in every major city. What a person leaving a rehabilitation centre needs most — a loving community, for life — is exactly what Srila Prabhupada gave us.
In 1966, a sadhu with no money and no institution offered New York’s lost youth something better than a drug. Today, by his mercy, we have the institutions, the science and the nation’s call. Let us not only free India’s youth from intoxication. Let us give them something better to live for.
Please bless us that we may serve this mission sincerely.
How can we make a real difference in a world filled with conflict, injustice and uncertainty?
Radhanath Swami shares a powerful lesson from his early life, recalling the wisdom of a humble cook who taught him to focus on his responsibilities even when the world around him seemed trouble …
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During Kartik, devotees worldwide worship Krishna in His childhood form as Damodar, remembering the pastime in which Mother Yashoda binds Him with a rope. Offering a lamp is a traditional expression of devotion during the month. ISKCON London describes the observance as an opportunity to deepen one’s love for Krishna. ISKCON’s Congregational Development Ministry (CDM) […]
Sixty years after Srila Prabhupada founded ISKCON, devotees worldwide are invited to reflect on the movement’s journey and consider what it will take to fulfill one of his central instructions: re-establishing Varnasrama. The free, online festival will take place November 9–12, 2026, via Zoom, under the theme “60 Years of ISKCON: Re-Establishing Varnasrama — Looking […]
We wish you all a happy Diwali. Diwali, or Dipavali, marks the end of the year, and by the year’s end we want to pay our debts and rectify our relationships—and then try to do better the next year.
