Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-09-14 14:12:00 →

1974 September 14: "Now they have become expert doll makers. Give them all facilities. Let all those with artistic talent assist them. I want very extensive doll exhibits in every center. My Guru Maharaja spent lots of money on doll exhibitions on Srimad-Bhagavatam. So make doll exhibitions very prominent and many visitors will throng to our temples."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Preaching program in Kiev, Ukraine (Album 41 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Krishna says that his devotee is never vanquished. Therefore all the disciples practicing Krishna consciousness should obediently follow the regulative principles and remain fixed in chanting the holy name of the Lord. Then there need be no fear. Otherwise, one's position is very dangerous, especially in this Kali-yuga. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.1.58 Purport) Read more ›

Guess what a group of Hare Krishna devotees do in a New York subway… (4 min video)
→ Dandavats.com

In Kali-yuga, a drunk, half-naked woman embracing a drunk man is a very common sight, especially in the Western countries, and restraining oneself after seeing such things is very difficult. Nevertheless, if by the grace of Krishna one adheres to the regulative principles and chants the Hare Krishna mantra, Krishna will certainly protect him. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.1.58 Purport) Read more ›

2nd Annual Jagannath Festival, 6th Sept 2014 at the Milliken Park in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada (Slide show, 490 pics)
→ Dandavats.com

"My heart is always burning in the fire of material existence, and I have made no provisions for getting out of it. The only remedy is hari-nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka-Vrndavana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.22 Purport) Read more ›

New transcriptions uploaded
→ The Spiritual Scientist

The Following transcriptions have been uploaded

If the son practices bhakti, then will his non-devotee parents’ get a good next-life destination due to their son’s bhakti?

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/05/if-the-son-practices-bhakti-then-will-his-non-devotee-parents-get-a-good-next-life-destination-due-to-their-sons-bhakti/

How does attachment to result make us the cause of action, as the Gita 2.47 purport states?

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/05/how-does-attachment-to-result-make-us-the-cause-of-action-as-the-gita-2-47-purport-states/

During preaching, how important is it to provide relevant material information in addition to the paramapara’s message?

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/05/during-preaching-how-important-is-it-to-provide-relevant-material-information-in-addition-to-the-paramaparas-message/

Can we preach without using technology as such use can distract one from Krishna?

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/05/can-we-preach-without-using-technology-as-such-use-can-distract-one-from-krishna/

Value Education and Spirituality 3 - The Spiritual Foundation of Values 1 - The end is not the end

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/05/value-education-and-spirituality-3-the-spiritual-foundation-of-values-1-the-end-is-not-the-end/

Value Education and Spirituality 4 - The Spiritual Foundation of Values 2 - Karma shows the sense in life's seeming senselessness

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/05/value-education-and-spirituality-4-the-spiritual-foundation-of-values-2-karma-shows-the-sense-in-lifes-seeming-senselessness/

Value Education and Spirituality 1 - What we value determines our values - and our values determine our value

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/04/value-education-and-spirituality-1-what-we-value-determines-our-values-and-our-values-determine-our-value/

Value Education and Spirituality 2 - Our values serve as protecting fences and as focusing default settings

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2014/04/value-education-and-spirituality-2-our-values-serve-as-protecting-fences-and-as-focusing-default-settings/

I Wanted To Chant With Care
→ Japa Group


I wanted to chant with care in my moral and spiritual feelings toward Nama Prabhu. Seeing Radha-Govinda helped because They are tenderness personified. I wanted to chant like a lover. I chanted in a subdued way, because I had to because of my head. But it also lent itself towards feelings of warmth and sympathy, gentle and delicate. One should handle the holy name in that way. It was a nice feeling. I’d like to always chant in that way.

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

2014-09-12 pictures of the Turkish Iskcon yatra retreat (Album 71 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

The mango fruit is different from the name of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting, "Mango, mango, mango." But the devotee who knows that there is no difference between the name and form of the Lord chants Hare Krishna, and realizes that he is always in Krishna's company. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.2.36 Purport) Read more ›

Mahatma prabhu’s latest live recording of Brahma Samhita in Argentina (42 min. audio)
→ Dandavats.com

The Brahma Saṁhitā is a Sanskrit Pañcarātra text, composed of verses of prayer spoken by Brahma glorifying the supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa or Govinda at the beginning of creation. It is revered within Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavism, whose founder, Caitanya Mahāprabhu (1486–1534), re-discovered a part of the work, the 62 verses of Chapter 5, at the Adikeshav Temple in Thiruvattar, Tamil Nadu, South India in the 16th Century which had previously been lost for a few centuries. Read more ›

Daily Association with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura through His Divine Songs (16 min video)
→ Dandavats.com

All over the world thousands and thousands of Gaudiya Vaishnavas take daily association with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura through His divine songs. What are those songs and how devotees get a chance to hear or sing those songs in their daily devotional service are narrated in this theme. The theme has been composed by HG Vaishnavanghri Sevaka Das. Read more ›

The Turning Point
→ Matsya Avatar das adhikari


Thirty-eight years ago, on 30 August 1976, for the first time  I met Shrila Prabhupada in a personal darshana... it was a turning point of my life, a wonderful inner journey!
I was in an ashram in Rishikesh, at the foot of the Himalayas, studying the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In Italy I had been a successful designer, the manager of six companies. Upon returning from the trip I was supposed to get married, but at the time, in that place, I was seriously thinking of leaving everything and settle in India. That pseudo worldly success made me feel like prison, as not only it was no longer a source of satisfaction, but it became clear to me that it was the biggest obstacle to achieving happiness that I have been aspiring.
The recurring thought was to start a new life dedicating myself to the search of God and my spiritual essence. When I became aware of the voice of my soul I felt a strong appeal - it was an urgent need to revise my life, to think over my motivations and purposes. I understood that it was a turning point.
On that trip I was with a friend who has been always sick. Feverish, he remained for most of the time in our ashrama right on the banks of the Ganges. There was no furniture in the room, only two mats on the floor, his huge suitcase, my smaller one, a small window with a grate and a door with a latch. Each time we left the room, through the grates of the window the monkeys came in; they were having a lot of fun, especially with the bottles of medicines that the doctor had given to my friend.
It was in that ashrama that I met a sadhu, the person who has changed my life. Instead of attending the lectures on Patanjali, we walked together on the banks of Mother Ganga.
One day he said: “If you do not discover Bhakti, nothing will satisfy you.” Bhakti, Bhakti ... I asked to explain the meaning of this word.
"If I explain its meaning to you, you won't understand me.”
This sadhu spoke English with difficulty, but there was no need in too much words, it was a kind of telepathic communication.
"Bhakti is difficult to explain, only your heart can define it." And he began to chant this mantra:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
We would spend hours chanting along with this mantra, then we would immerse in the waters of Mother Ganga: a rushing stream that takes away everything.
"You have to meet Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: he will make you know Krishna. Go to Vrindavan to meet him."
Hearing that voice deep inside me, without pondering too much, I left for Delhi along with my sick friend. From Delhi we took a train to Mathura and then in Mathura we took a cart for Vrindavan. Having arrived to Vrindavan in two days, I began to look for Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

The Essence of Srila Prabhupada’s New Vrindaban Vision in One Sublime Sentence – January 1973
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

New Vrindaban Prabhupada, Radha Damodara Janmastami Vyasa Puja 1972

Srila Prabhupada seated to the left of Their Lordships Radha Damodara & Jagannath, Baladeva & Subhadra during the New Vrindaban Janmastami & Vyasa Puja celebrations – September 1972.

“You are actually learning in New Vrindaban the self-sufficient mode of living, simple living, high thinking, that is our policy, and as long as Krsna remains in the center of all these activities, then you are actually in Vrindavan.”

Click here to read the rest of the letter.

Thanks to Vanipedia for the source material.