Author Archives: Chaitanya Charan das

Why were prostitutes present in Ayodhya?
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In the 9th canto, it is explained that beautiful prostitutes went to welcome Sri Ram on his return to Ayodhya from the war. SB 9.10.51 mentions how everyone was religious and completely happy during his rule. Then why were there prostitutes in his kingdom? Surely the customers of the prostitutes were not religious. Ram Rajya […]

SB 8.3.17 The Lord never tires in connecting with us; why should we tire in connecting with him?
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Is the Gita’s message life-negating?
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Question: The Gita says that life is miserable, and all the pleasures of life are traps that we need to escape. With such a gloomy picture of life, what is left to live for? Isn’t this a terribly life-negating message?  Answer Summary: Not at all. The Gita’s message is profoundly life-affirming – life is a […]

Materialists are conspicuous by their ability to exploit others
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Materialists who have neither faith in the plan of God nor any aspiration for higher spiritual development misuse their God-given intelligence only to augment their material possessions. They devise many systems—such as capitalism and materialistic communism—to advance their material position. They are not interested in the laws of God or in a higher goal. Always […]

07.13 – Krishna is concealed, but not contained, by the modes
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When we come to know that Krishna is everywhere, we may naturally wonder: “Why can’t I perceive him everywhere or, for that matter, anywhere?” The answer, Gita wisdom says, lies in nature. We are by nature spiritual, but at present our desire to enjoy material things has placed us in material nature. To help us […]

How can Parshurama be affected by sinful reactions?
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” Lord Parasurama is an avatara of Sri Krsna. Srila Prabhupada has mentioned that when chant the mahamantra, Rama can indicate Balarama, Rama or Parasurama. In SB, 9.16.9, Prabhupada mentions in the purport: Lord Parasurama was also infected by in because of killing Kartaviryarjuna although this was not very offensive. Therefore whether one be Kartaviryarjuna, […]

If rains come due to kirtan, then are floods due to too much kirtan?
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Question: I was telling my friends that rains come due to kirtan and an atheist snapped back, “Now we are having too much rains, so that means you have done too much kirtans. So please stop it.” How should I respond? Answer podcast 

SB 8.3.16 We need purification to approach the Lord, but he can approach us through revelation even when we are impure
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15.03 – As long as we desire to bring matter under our captivity, we remain in its captivity
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Our bad habits, our attachments to base material things, are often extremely difficult to give up. The resulting struggle may raise the question: “I am a soul who being conscious am superior to unconscious matter. How then can inferior matter bind me?” Because our consciousness is captivated by inferior desires, answers Gita wisdom. The Bhagavad-gita […]

Is the bridge between India and Lanka Rama-setu?
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From Rupa Gaura P If that Lanka was on another plane as you told in your answer, how is it that we see the Rama setu still there in the sea, from Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka? Is it that just as size of people decrease in subsequent yugas, the earth itself shrinks, and so the […]

The natural principle for bodily maintenance
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Everyone requires possessions such as food grains, clothing, money and other things necessary for the maintenance of the body, but one should not collect more than necessary for his actual basic needs. If this natural principle is followed, there will …

SB 8.3.15 Use philosophical contemplation to discover the connection of everything with Krishna
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05.20 – The biggest battle in life is to keep the biggest battle the biggest battle
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 Life is like a battle. Each day we have to overcome obstacles to achieve our goals. Among these daily battles, the biggest battle is in ensuring that we give our best energy to fighting our biggest battle. Otherwise, irritation occurring in small battles can make us bungle in big battles. A reckless driver cuts across […]

Mistaking spiritual focus as old-fashioned is unfortunate
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If people are advised not to collect too many goods, eat too much or work unnecessarily to possess artificial amenities, they think they are being advised to return to a primitive way of life. Generally people do not like to accept plain living and high thinking. That is their unfortunate position. Human life is meant […]

SB 8.3.14 The unreal appears real because of the real; so be attracted to the real, not the unreal
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What is the basis of the authenticity of those Chaitanya Charitamrita teachings that are not present in the Vedic scriptures?
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What is the disciplic succession by which Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami got the knowledge to write the Chaitanya Charitamrita?
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From: Praveen Could you please provide the disciplic succession in which the knowledge has come down to Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami to be able to compile Chaitanya Charitamrita, especially there are some intimate past times of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu like showing the universal form which was shown only to Advaita acharya and Nityanand prabhu – […]

How can I understand and apply the Gita?
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From: vivek
how can i best understand the gita and its practical application? do you have a book or lectures that i can listen to which explains the gita the best?
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If all living beings are God’s children, then isn’t killing plants but not animals like killing the handicapped child of a parent while sparing the healthy child?
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Why do we get the same karmic reactions in hell, lower species and human form too?
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From Anand if one has suffered his part of karma in heaven or hell . then why that karma of previous life act in this life also. my point is that it is better to get a fine when you actually break the signal then to get fine years after when you have totally forgotten […]

04.04 – When we give Krishna the benefit of doubt, he gives us the benefit of freedom from doubt
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When things go wrong in our life, doubts may assail us: “I am trying to be a good person, a good devotee. Why isn’t Krishna doing anything to help me? Does he care? Does he even exist?” How do we deal with such doubts? By learning to give the benefit of doubt to Krishna. Instead […]

Distress doesn’t disturb a devotee’s devotional service
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A devotee of the Lord does not forget his devotional service and other favorable activities, even when he is in a most distressful condition.
Srimad Bhagavatam 5.10.2 purport

How can we remember Krishna constantly and also do our work properly?
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From: Rahul Lord Krishna says Always think of him while doing work also. According to my experience while working I only concentrate on work and I am finding it difficult to think of Krishna while doing work.So can you tell me a way where I can simultaneously think of Krishna constantly and also do my […]

What’s the significance of “new” in the “New Vedic Cultural Center”, the ISKCON temple at Pune?
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Is their some other old VCC somewhere? Do we refer to the old temple that way? Or is the “new” primarily for ornamental purposes, tapping people’s fascination with newness? Answer podcast Pune Temple President Radheshyam Prabhu’s answer: It is called  ‘Vedic Cultural Center’  because this center will bring all the benefits meant for the ultimate […]