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Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs the disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on. So this is how a bonafide spiritual master illuminates one’s heart with transcendental knowledge through diksha and through shiksha as described in Srila Prabhupada’s own words from his books. This is another point that we want
“Nectarean glimpses of Mayapur’s divine atmosphere — thousands of devotees illuminating the temple with golden lamps, offering their love to Lord Damodara in a sea of devotion and light.” Kartik Deep Daan Sri Dham Mayapur Day-25 #DamodarMonth Mayapur.TV Click on the photo to see the complete post.
We recently had the good fortune to visit Siddha Bakula, the place in Jagannath Puri where the famous Bakula tree stands – the very spot where Srila Haridas Thakura spent many years chanting 192 rounds daily. In that sacred atmosphere, we chanted japa, had katha and kirtan remembering this great acarya of the holy names.Celebrate H.H. Radhanath Maharaja’s 75th Vyasa Puja this year with a specially designed commemorative medallion and help support TOVP construction. Maharaja has been one of the biggest promoters and pillars of this project from its very inception, and the TOVP Team wishes to honor his dedication.
“By the grace of Srila Prabhupada we are all being given this most invaluable opportunity to participate in manifesting the TOVP. Let us all with great enthusiasm make a sacrifice to participate in this great mission.”
H.H. Radhanath Swami
Whether you have already given a donation to the TOVP or not, take this opportunity to sponsor a beautiful 3″ wide, 75th Vyasa Puja anniversary Radhanath Swami medallion. Your funds will go to help complete the next phase of construction, completing the main wing in preparation for the Grand Opening starting on Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, November 1, 2027. All our beloved Mayapur Deities will be relocated into Their new home.
Sponsor a Radhanath Swami 75th Vyasa Puja medallion today!
Note: In the US, Canada and India, medallions will be shipped to you. All others can be picked up at the Mayapur TOVP office. If you cannot arrange this, please contact us at tovpinfo@gmail.com
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gṛhāṇeṣa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ
Receive me, Lord, though lost in night,
And grant my eyes your saving sight.
Though foolish, still to you I run,
Let me see you, O radiant one.
(Damodarashtakam — Verse 6, Line 4)
My dear Lord, you are ever present everywhere, but I can’t see you anywhere because my eyes are blind. Yet even when I am blind to you and your glory, you are never blind to me—nor to my misery.
You tirelessly extend your mercy toward me, offering me opportunities to remember you.
And when I cherish and cultivate your rememberance, I begin to sense your presence.
O enchanting Lord, your all-attractiveness is so extraordinary
that even the faintest perception of you evokes two opposite effects—
it both enriches and impoverishes me.
It enriches me because even a slight contact with you—through remembrance alone—
fills my heart with a joy so deep that all the world’s pleasure feels unnecessary, even unappealing.
Yet it also impoverishes me,
for each experience of you kindles within my heart a deeper longing—
a flame to know you more, to experience you more intimately.
That is why I long to behold you with my eyes,
though I know, O Lord, that I am far from qualified for such a vision.
O supremely wise Lord,
may these twin longings—to hold your remembrance internally
and to behold your presence externally—
purify my heart completely, directing it toward you fully and irrevocably.
And whenever you so desire, please, O Lord, grant me your darshan:
the vision that fulfills all visions.
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Sri Gadadhara Goswami is a united form of Chandrakanti gopi (an expansion of Radharani’s effulgence) and Purnanada (an expansion of Lord Balarama’s dear girlfriend). Thus, Gadadhara Dasa was an associate of both Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Krishna Dasa Kaviraja describe Lord Chaitanya as radha-bahva-dyuti suvalita, “characterized by the emotions and bodily luster“Men doubt what they cannot see,” an archival story from The New York Times quotes the Kolkata-born founder of the Hare Krishna movement, Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, telling a group of his rapt followers in that masthead’s home city in the early 1970s.
He had come to New York from India in the hippie, trippy decade prior, founding the religion that would go on to spread worldwide, including to Australia, in 1966.
Sixty-odd years later, I am in Kalna, less than 80 kilometres north-east of the swami’s birthplace, and while I can’t see what’s alarmed our guide, there’s no doubting what’s heading our way.
It’s unmistakable: the melodic ting-ting-ting of brass manjira, the thrum of drums, the euphoric clapping and signature chanting of, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare; Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.”
The rapture of Prabhupada’s followers is clearly still going strong …
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This lecture continues the series on the divine pastimes of Radha and Krishna, focusing on Krishna’s playful and mischievous nature during the month of Kartik. The episode recounts a humorous and spiritually rich story where Krishna disguises himself as the son of an elder gopi, Pavati, to escape punishment for stealing butter. Through divine trickeryboro-kṛpā kaile kṛṣṇa
adhamer prati
Such immense mercy have you shown,
O Krishna, upon this soul, fallen and forlorn.
My dear Lord, how stunning is the consciousness of the saints devoted to you—as seen in Srila Prabhupada, who declared that he had received immense mercy from you. Yet, to any ordinary eye, no mercy is visible. He stands alone—no followers accompanying him, none awaiting him. He has no institutional support. His material means are almost nothing—just forty rupees. The only resource he possesses—his own body—has endured two heart attacks on successive nights during his voyage.
In such dire circumstances, what does he see as your mercy, O inconceivable Lord? Simply the fact that he has reached America after that perilous journey. He now has a chance to fulfill his spiritual master’s instruction—to share bhakti with the Western world. Though he has no facility to carry out that mission, he is profoundly grateful that he has, at least, the opportunity.
O Lord Almighty, a heart devoted to you sees beyond the circumstantial to the transcendental—from scarcity to sanctity, from trial to trust. Help me focus on what you have done, not on what you have not yet done—or what may seem to have been undone by you. Inspired by your pure devotee’s vision, bless me, during my moments of test, to manifest even a fraction of such devotional appreciation—focusing on what I have, not on what I lack.
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Today is Gopastami, the day on which Krishna and Balarama and other boys Their age, who previously had tended the calves, were given charge of the cows. This event is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.15.1):
tatas ca pauganda-vayah-sritau vraje
babhuvatus tau pasu-pala-sammatau
gas carayantau sakhibhih samam padair
vrndavanam punyam ativa cakratuh
“When Lord Rama and Lord Krsna attained the age of pauganda [six to ten] while living in Vrndavana, the cowherd men allowed Them to take up the task of tending the cows. Engaging thus in the company of Their friends, the two boys rendered the land of Vrndavana most auspicious by imprinting upon it the marks of Their lotus feet.”
As stated in the purport, “Since Lord Krsna’s spiritual body had apparently grown slightly in age and strength, the senior men of Vrndavana, headed by Nanda Maharaja, decided to promote Krsna from the task of herding calves to the status of a regular cowherd boy. He would now take care of the full-grown cows, bulls, and oxen. Out of great affection, Nanda Maharaja had previously considered Krsna too small and immature to take care of full-grown cows and bulls. It is stated in the Karttika-mahatmya section of the Padma Purana:
suklastami karttike tu
smrta gopastami budhaih
tad-dinad vasudevo ’bhud
gopah purvam tu vatsapah
The eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Karttika is known by authorities as Gopastami. From that day, Lord Vasudeva served as a cowherd, whereas previously He had tended the calves.’
“The word padaih indicates that Lord Krsna blessed the earth by walking on her surface with His lotus feet. The Lord wore no shoes or other footgear but walked barefoot in the forest, giving great anxiety to the girls of Vrndavana, who feared that His soft lotus feet would be injured.”
The celebration was meant for only the cowherd men and boys, but Srimati Radharani also wanted to enjoy the fun, and so, because of Her resemblance to Subala-sakha, she donned his dhoti and other garments and joined Krishna. Thus, on this occasion, in temples in Vrindavan and elsewhere, Srimati Radharani is dressed as a cowherd boy.
The Lord is very kindly disposed toward the cows and the brahmans (go-brahmana-hitaya), and whoever serves them becomes dear to Him, too. Knowing this, devotees observe a special festival on the Gopastami day, dedicated to the worship of cows. In Vrindavan especially, but also the world over, devotees begin the festival by brushing the cows, painting their horns and bodies with artistic designs, and hanging flower garlands around their necks. Then a cow and her calf are selected, and an arati is offered to them. During the arati, devotees sing the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and then they feed the cow, her calf, and indeed the entire herd, bananas, balls of gur (jaggery), and fresh grasses. Some devotees also recite the following mantra (Hari-bhakti-vilasa 16.252):
agratah santu me gavo
gavo me santu prsthatah
gavo me parsvatah santu
gavam madhye vasamyaham
“May cows stay in front of me. May cows stay behind me. May cows stay on both sides of me. May I always reside in the midst of cows.”
Hare Krishna.
Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami
Sri Gadadhara Goswami is a united form of Chandrakanti gopi (an expansion of Radharani’s effulgence) and Purnanada (an expansion of Lord Balarama’s dear girlfriend). Thus, Gadadhara Dasa was an associate of both Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu.
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja describe Lord Chaitanya as radha-bahva-dyuti suvalita, “characterized by the emotions and bodily luster of Shrimati Radharani.” Gadadhara Dasa is this dyuti, luster. Gadadhara Dasa is sometimes called “the personification of Sri Radhika’s divine effulgence.”
While traveling with Lord Nityananda, Gadadhara would sometimes become absorbed in madhurya prema and begin acting and speaking like a Vraja gopi. Putting a clay pot of Ganges water on his head, as if he were a gopi, he would call out, “Who wants to buy milk? Who wants to buy yogurt?”
As one of Lord Nityananda’s chief preachers in Bengal Gadadhara Dasa delivered countless sinners and yavanas. Once, while tasting Krishna prema he began dancing madly and chanting Krishna’s Holy Names outside the Kazi’s mansion.
The irate Muslim magistrate stormed out of his house to chastize him for “disturbing the peace.” But beholding the dazzlingly attractive form of Gadadhara Dasa, the Kazi became stunned and dropped his anger.
Gadadhara affectionately embraced the Kazi and said, “Gaura-Nityananda have appeared to deliver everyone with divine love by distributing the sweet nectar of the Holy Name of Hari. Why don’t you chant this sweet name of Hari?”
“Tomorrow I shall chant the name of Hari,” replied the Kazi. Hearing the Kazi inadvertanly chant the Holy Name filled Gadadhara with happiness. He said, “Why tomorrow? You have already chanted today. And this powerful name of Hari will destroy your sins and purify your existence.” From that day on the Kazi took shelter of Sri Gadadhara Dasa Goswami. His samadhi is in the 64 Samadhis Area.
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu
Your heart is so kind, so deep,
You alone can wake me from illusion’s sleep.
Cast upon me your merciful glands
So this soul can awaken and dance.
(Damodarashtakam — Verse 6, Line 3)
My dear Lord, by your omniscience and by your omnibenevolence, your glance is already on everyone. For those who already have love for you, your glance is love-filled and heart-captivating. For those who do not yet have love but sincerely seek it, your glance is merciful and heart-cleansing—and thereafter, heart-captivating too.
O supreme enchanter, your large, beautiful, lotus-like eyes, shaded by exquisite eyebrows, shine with irresistible charm; as you tilt your head and cast a side glance, streams of nectarian love flow from your eyes—uplifting, enriching, intoxicating—making nothing else in existence matter anymore.
O my beloved Lord, I beg for one such glance. Please bestow it upon me—not because I am qualified, nor because I imagine my lack of qualification itself to be a qualification. I seek it not from ego, nor from self-pity, but simply because of your generosity and my scarcity. Out of your fullness, you desire to give mercy; out of my emptiness, I need it. And in one sense, you have already given me your mercy—or at least its first installment—by which I have come to recognize that need. Please, accept my feeble and faltering prayer as an expression of that need.
May your beautiful, bewitching glance, O merciful Lord, free me from the witches of illusion that now rule and ruin my heart—and restore me to your loving service.
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prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
Be merciful, Lord, I’m drowned in pain,
In sorrow’s sea I cry in vain.
O master, lift me from despair,
And keep me safe within your care.
(Damodarashtakam — Verse 6, Line 2)
My dear Lord, help me realize that pain is inevitable in any life directed toward anything but you. The cause of that pain lies not merely in the mortal nature of this world—which makes life an inescapable sentence—but also in the uncertainty and anxiety that precede it.
Please, O supreme guru, let the false promises of worldly pleasure no longer fill me with hope, for they lead only to deeper entrapment and endless suffering. Let me see such pleasures for what they are—treacherous baits that keep me adrift in the ocean of misery, battered and broken by the waves of worldly existence.
I need your mercy, O unfailing Lord, to turn my heart wholly toward you. The more I become attached to and absorbed in you, the more I realize that the greatest ocean of suffering is not material existence itself, but the forgetfulness of you that defines it. I seek protection not from the pains of this world, but from the far greater danger of forgetting you—whether in pleasure or in pain.
Grant me, O merciful Lord, the constant remembrance of you—an unshakeable boat that will not only protect me from this ocean’s waves but also carry me steadily toward you, into the eternal, ever-expanding ocean of your supreme love and joy.
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Listen to a class given by Adikarta dasa on text 35 of the Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), canto 3, chapter 19, entitled “The Killing of the Demon Hiraṇyākṣa” given on October 23, 2025 at the Hare Krishna temple in Alachua, Florida. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is a sacred Vaishnava text from India that narrates the history of God
Responding swiftly to Gajendra’s fervent plea, Lord Vishnu, mounted atop his Vahana Garuda, hastened to the scene. Witnessing the divine approach, Gajendra, in an act of profound devotion, raised a lotus with his trunk. Pleased by this heartfelt gesture, Lord Vishnu wielded his Sudarshana Chakra, severing the crocodile’s head and liberating Gajendra from mortal peril.
There are different manifestations of the Lord. He is one, but He has become many. He divides Himself into two different expansions, one called kalā and the other vibhinnāṁśa. Ordinary living entities are called vibhinnāṁśa expansions, and the unlimited expansions of viṣṇu-tattva, such as Vāmana, Govinda, Nārāyaṇa, Pradyumna, Vāsudeva and Ananta, are called svāṁśa-kalā. SvāṁśaThe post Can violent fighting ever be selfless || Chaitanya Charan appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
There is one reason why we are here in the material world that needs to be confronted and then solved: envy. Envy of the success of others, and ultimately envy towards the Lord, which manifests in not wanting to give Him the position in our life that He has — the center of all our
If Krishna already knows everything that we’re going to do, if Krishna already knows the future, then what’s the point of acting because it’s going to happen anyway. So yes, in the Gita Krishna says, I know past, present, future, I know all living beings but Me nobody knows. So the question is that if
*Essence of the Yatra:* Kartik Yatra offers a unique opportunity to reconnect with Krishna through prayer, kirtan, and satsang. Each day deepens the devotee’s relationship with the Lord. ISKCON Chowpatty Kartik Yatra 2025 | Day 7 | Govardhan, Vrindavan | HH Radhanath Swami
It is stated in the Kārttika-māhātmya section of the Padma Purāṇa:
śuklāṣṭamī kārttike tu
smṛtā gopāṣṭamī budhaiḥ
tad-dinād vāsudevo ‘bhūd
gopaḥ pūrvaṁ tu vatsapaḥ
“The eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kārttika is known by authorities as Gopāṣṭamī. From that day, Lord Vāsudeva served as a cowherd, whereas previously He had tended the calves.”
The word padaiḥ indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa blessed the earth by walking on her surface with His lotus feet. The Lord wore no shoes or other footgear but walked barefoot in the forest, giving great anxiety to the girls of Vṛndāvana, who feared that His soft lotus feet would be injured.
Krsna said at that time that the cows are worshiped even by the demigods, and He practically demonstrated how to protect the cows. At least people who are in Krsna consciousness should follow in His footsteps and give all protection to the cows.
Cows are worshiped not only by the demigods. Krsna Himself worshiped the cows on several occasions, especially on the days of Gopastami and Govardhana-puja.
namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
O boundless Vishnu, O supremely bright,
O Dāmodar, of matchless light.
To you I bow; my soul’s desire,
To be lit forever by love’s pure fire.
(Damodarashtakam — Verse 6, Line 1)
My dear Lord, the concept of God is astonishing when contemplated in its abstract glory—the idea of a single supreme reality that unifies and underlies all existence as its origin, sustainer, and destination. Such a notion can leave any thoughtful, open-hearted person awestruck. Yet moving from abstraction to the personhood of divinity is even more astounding. That one being can be both all-pervading and personal—both infinite and intimate—fills the mind with wonder.
Yet, O enchanting Lord, what is even more inconceivable is that this supreme person—the ultimate reality—is not a distant monarch enthroned in majestic aloofness, but a small, tender child—running in fear, trembling, and shedding tears. Such a vision surpasses the grasp of intellect; it can be approached only through love. It is only the heart, softened by affection, that can appreciate the mystery of your duality—how the infinite manifests as an innocent child.
You, O all-attractive Lord, long for intimate exchanges of love and therefore create settings where such uninhibited reciprocation can unfold. You let your mother love you fully, fulfilling her need to be needed. Thus, you—O supremely invulnerable Lord—become endearingly vulnerable.
O supreme connoisseur of love, may my heart be churned and charmed by memories of your love for love.
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Event Highlight: The post promotes the Kartik Nabadwip Mandal Parikrama 2025, a spiritual pilgrimage organized by ISKCON Mayapur. Kartik Nabadwip Mandal Parikrama 2025 Contact: 8016401401 https://www.facebook.com/share/1FaAcN6Nrj/?mibextid=wwXIfr Mayapur.TV Click on the photo to see the complete post.
A story from Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada The King of Vidarbha, Maharaja Bhismaka, had five sons and a young daughter known as Rukmini. Many saintly persons used to visit the King’s palace, and from them Rukmini obtained information about Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of
When we sit in kirtan, we can shut out all the other lamps that light our path to the world—our fame, our money, our material attachments and desires, our plans, aspirations, inclinations, etc., and make this a time with Krishna. One good practice that I always like to do is to imagine myself sitting before
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī states that in response to Bali’s prayers, Śrī Kṛṣṇa invited him to choose some benediction, and in this verse Bali submits his request. Bali begs to be relieved of the entanglement of material life so he will be free to leave home and wander in the wilderness, with only the Lord’s lotusmanasy avirāstām alam lakṣa-lābhaiḥ
May he within my heart remain,
Beyond all wealth, beyond all gain.
No fortune vast, nor heavens high,
Can match the love that will not die.
(Damodarashtakam — Verse 5, Line 4)
My dear Lord, love for you absorbs your pure devotees so deeply that you become their supreme value—without doubt or deviation.
I, however, have chased many alternatives—pleasures and pursuits that seemed promising but have left me unfulfilled at best and frustrated, degraded, or even devastated at worst. O merciful Lord, I am so far from the unshakable realization that you alone are the best of all that can be desired. Yet let me not be discouraged but instead encouraged to take concrete steps toward that conviction. Let me value not only the final vision of conviction but also the slow, seemingly small steps I take toward it—each conscious choice, each moment of remembrance.
Even if I cannot sustain that remembrance always, O all-inclusive Lord, let me at least cherish every opportunity in the present moment to turn away from the world and turn toward you. Let my journey be one of constant returning—so that every time my mind turns away due to fickleness, it swiftly turns back to you through the firmness of my intelligence, strengthened by the mercifulness of your infinitely loving heart. Through such repeated realignment, may my mind become purified—seeing only you and seeking nothing but you.
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Barsana – the divine abode of Srimati Radharani. Come, let’s walk together through the enchanting, winding paths of Barsana — a sacred wonderland where the divine mercy of Srimati Radharani showers unconditionally. Our journey takes us through the narrow pass of Sankari Khor, where Krishna playfully stopped the gopis, demanding butter as tax before letting
Our parikrama group spent several days in Kolkata, visiting the sacred and historic sites associated with Śrīla Prabhupāda. During our stay, we observed Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance day at his birthplace. We also visited Ulta Danga where he first met his spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. The property is now owned by ISKCON, which has
Arcita Dasa added photos to the album titled ATLANTIC Antic | 05 October 2025, taken at Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. The post includes 23+ photos. Arcita Dasa added photos to the album: ATLANTIC Antic | 05 October 2025 — at Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. Arcita Dasa
The Lord awards all benedictions according to the heart’s desire of a devotee, so the Lord informed Kardama Muni, “The girl who is coming to be married with you is a princess, the daughter of Emperor Svāyambhuva, and so just suitable for your purpose.” Only by God’s grace can one get a nice wife just
The selfless love of Godhead exhibited by the gopīs cannot have any parallel. We should not, therefore, misunderstand the carefulness of the gopīs in their personal decoration. The gopīs dressed themselves as beautifully as possible, just to make Kṛṣṇa happy by seeing them. They had no ulterior desires. They dedicated their bodies, and everything they
Pari Vidha: A few months ago, a song from the sixties kept popping up in my mind. From past experiences I felt that I might have to transform it into something Krishna conscious. Reflecting on the lyrics, I thought I thought it could be turned into a song to Prabhupāda. I kept the first verse