Going to Vaikuntha. We had a very interesting discussion on today's SB verse 4.12.36: "The self-effulgent Vaikuntha planets, by whose illumination alone all the illuminating planets within this material world give off reflected light, cannot be reached by those who are not merciful to other living entities. Only persons who constantly engage in

Two months prior to 2006 Gita Jayanti festival, I requested inmates, who regularly write to me, to write down a few lines about how they received the 1st copy of Bhagavad Gita As It Is and what they learned from the Gita and what are their favorite verses. I have tried to keep the inmates responses as it is in order to keep the originality of the t

Five thousand years ago Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, spoke the Bhagavad-gita (the Song of God) which contains information about God, the living entities, karma (action and reaction in this world), time, and the material energy. The Bhagavad-gita is one of the Vedic literatures. The word veda (from which the word Vedic comes) mean

Sigmund Freud believed that human beings were motivated by two inner drives: eros and thanatos. Eros was the drive for life, for more of it, for the abundance and fullness of it. Thanatos was its opposite, the urge to overcome the disappointments of life by craving forgetfulness and, ultimately, oblivion through death. While most of Freudi

Many people relegate psychics and clairvoyants to an age long gone. The dark ages were full of magical and mystical explanations for both common place and unexplained phenomenon. What has changed that we no longer look for divine answers to mundane questions? Simply put we now define our existence using the scientific method. The modern technoc

As soon as we are born the learning process begins. First we learn to eat, talk, walk etc from our parents. Then we learn from our neighbors about certain social norms and the wider world outside our immediate home. Our school teachers then put the icing on the cake, by giving us knowledge of different subjects. As we progress up the academic ladde

Also we find in the Gita that on the brahman platform cravings are non-existent, and one is qualified to transcend this world and perform pure devotional service. Also one experiences true happiness of the self. I personally experienced this with my diet. I was thinking that life without cheese would be miserable, a life-a life not worth living!

Reincarnation means that the soul is changing bodies. This change of bodies occurs not only at death, but throughout life; from boyhood to youth to old age, then to a baby's body. These moment by moment changes are too small for the person to be aware of, but when we consider greater amounts of time, then the change of bodies is obvious. The change

Hiranyaksa means one who has his eyes always on gold! What a name. Many years ago when I first joined the movement I would feel a definite antipathy towards persons like Hiranyaksa. Now I feel quite different (hopefully I have not become a demon!). When I read about Hiranyaksa and his ilk I feel sorry for how they are suffering due to their grea

I just arrived in Houston, Texas for our North American GBC and leadership meetings which will last 4 days. Management is not a sannyasi's traditional duty nor is it something that is high up in my list either. When I first joined the movement, I definitely had a desire to control and wanted to have a position within ISKCON. Part of the desire to c

Hiranyaksa means one who has his eyes always on gold. Many years ago when I first joined the movement I would feel a definite antipathy towards persons like Hiranyaksa. Now I feel quite different (hopefully I have not become a demon!). When I read about Hiranyaksa and his ilk I feel sorry for how they are suffering due to their great desires an

The following is a compilation of inmate's quotes about their experience reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Srila Prabhupada's books. The first I knew of Bhagavad Gita As It Is was from word of mouth and then from the quotes from books and magazines. When Bhakta Bill sent me a copy of Bhagavad Gita, I fell in love with the first chapter of the B

Krishna, the Supreme Lord, has three types of energies: 1. Material, 2. Spiritual, and 3. Marginal. The material energy is the dull matter that has no consciousness. The spiritual energy is the conscious energy that is devoted to His service. The marginal energy consists of the living entities--individual souls, such as ourselves, that have the cho

There are three basic methods of obtaining knowledge, two of which are faulty, and one which is faultless when properly applied. The two faulty methods are: 1. Direct perception, and 2. Induction (making general conclusions from limited experience). The faultless method is the descending process by which one hears from the proper authority who is f

Several decades ago, Mohandas K. Gandhi warned against what he called the seven social sins: politics without principle, wealth without work, commerce without morality, pleasure without conscience, education without character, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice. Gandhi's social sins point to the crucial relationship between