Love of Krishna Cannot Be Stopped
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Prabhupāda: Love of Kṛṣṇa cannot be stopped by any material reason. That is love. Nobody can say that “For this reason I could not love Kṛṣṇa.” There is no reason. There is no impediment for anyone. Any circumstances. So any religious principle which helps a person to love Kṛṣṇa and God, in that way, without
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Join the Bhakti Center Team!
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The Bhakti Center is a spiritual-cultural center in New York City’s Lower East Side with a talented staff devoted to sharing the experience of self-transformation through the timeless culture and practices of Bhakti-yoga. If you or someone you know has the required skill sets for the jobs provided below and would like to be a […]

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Remembering Urvasi Dasi
Giriraj Swami

Urvasi Dasi was Srila Prabhupada’s beloved disciple and my dear godsister. His Divine Grace said that when a Vaishnava departs, we feel simultaneously happy and sad—sad because we will miss the Vaishnava’s association, and happy because we know they have gone to serve Krishna.

In the last few months, I have had several programs at my ashram in Carpinteria, and Urvasi attended—and enjoyed—all of them. Her presence—her humanity and divinity—uplifted our spirits and consciousness. She was always pleased to attend our programs, and we were happy to attend hers.

On November 7, 2017, I wrote Urvasi, “The latest issue of The New Yorker has an article about Tulsi Gabbard, and considering that she is a devotee, I thought to read it. The first few pages were mundane, all about politics, and I wondered whether I was just wasting my time—but then the whole last half of the article was about Tulsi’s association with Krishna consciousness. In case you want to see the article, here is the link: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe.”

She replied, “Thank you, Maharaja. It was very interesting reading this, as I was right in the thick of Chris Butler’s transformation into a spiritual teacher. When I moved to Hawaii, he was the only person I knew there, and he picked me up from the airport. I became part of his family of friends, and gradually he became more and more of a spiritual teacher figure, although he was always enlightened, as were the circle of friends. Later I managed one of his retreat centers on the island of Maui, and eventually the historic moment arrived when we gradually converted it to a very successful ‘independent’ Hare Krishna center dedicated to the teachings of only Srila Prabhupada. This was the beginning of his heart’s desire to surrender himself, his status, and everything he had established to Srila Prabhupada. His only concern was to bring all his disciples along with him and not lose any of them.

“It is so wonderful and Krishna’s mercy to have a rising star like Tulsi Gabbard make so much progress in such a broken and corrupt political system. We all pray for her success and steadfastness in her convictions.

“All glories to our beloved Srila Prabhupada!

“Always thankful for your association . . .”

I was always thankful for Urvasi’s association, and I look forward to having it again in what Srila Prabhupada called “the ISKCON in the spiritual sky.”

Mother Urvasi, I love you and miss you, and I pray to please you by my service in separation.

Hare Krishna.

Your eternal servant,
Giriraj Swami

Thou Shall Not Kill
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Prabhupada: Jesus Christ said, “Thou shall not kill.” So why is it that the Christian people are engaged in animal killing and meat-eating? Cardinal Danielou: Certainly in Christianity it is forbidden to kill. But we believe that there is a difference between the life of a human being and the life of a beast. The
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