In 1989, my parents came to visit me in India. I took them to the popular Elephanta Caves, on an island near Mumbai. After disembarking from the ferry, we walked along a dirt footpath through a forest. Suddenly a large monkey leaped from tree and grabbed my mother’s purse. This was culture shock for a Chicago […]
Meditation can give us better sleep, reduce our stress, make us more peaceful, help us to deal with the conflicts of the life with a more focused mind. But that’s not the true gift of meditation. Meditation is meant to awaken the true potential within all of us. To understand who we are, what is […]
One time I was going to a lot of trials in my life because everyone does. Whether you’re living for a spiritual purpose or a material purpose or anything else. The nature of the world is, there’s going to be challenges, there’s going to be setbacks. Because just like there’s two sides of a coin, […]
A truly happy person does not find his or her happiness in the ever-changing circumstances that surround them. This is a problem with the way people perceive life. We’re seeking happiness in all sorts of temporary fleeting experiences that are so often beyond our control. Real happiness is not determined by the external situation; it’s […]
I remember in a place called Vrindavan where I had connected with my own spiritual teacher Srila Prabhupada. And he was explaining how everything within this world is potentially spiritual according to our consciousness. Oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ. Isopanisad tells everything is emanating from the one supreme truth, therefore everything is connected. When we […]
Sometimes, the solutions to our problems if they are not seen in the larger perspective of who we really are who other people really are and what is the actual nature of the environment we’re living in and what is our relationships with each other and God if we don’t see that perspective. Our solutions […]
Question: Kevin,”Radhanath, how did you discover your clarity through the confusion of all that you learned on your journey?” Answer: It’s through confusion, it’s through challenges that often inspire us to search deeper. Obstacles are actually great aids to enlightenment and to a deeper meaning in life. When we’re content and satisfied with superficial things, […]
A humble heart can appreciate what others are giving us. Can appreciate what others are doing. One of the greatest obstacles in creation is envy. If somebody does something better than us we become envious, or we become depressed. If I am doing something greater than others, we become arrogant or condescending. These qualities create […]
It is important that we understand that true peace is within ourselves. We have all seen people even in the most peaceful natural environment, who are agitated, who are disturbed, who are suffering. And we’ve also seen people in the apparently most distressing circumstances of life, who are at complete peace. Because the experience of […]
My beloved Guru Srila Prabhupada would use an analogy. When you see through green colored glasses everything looks green. And if you see the same sight through yellow colored glasses it looks yellow. And if it’s blue colored glasses it looks blue, and if it’s clear glasses you see it for its actual color. So […]
Pleasure is something of the heart. Things can give some degree of satisfaction to the mind and senses, but nothing – no thing – can give any gratification to the heart. Only love can give satisfaction to the heart. Unfortunately, we are so distracted to things that we compromise the integrity and values that make […]
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.” Every year in January, the Flower Festival is held at Radha Gopinath Temple. The deities of Radha and Krishna are bathed with fragrant flower petals. The ceremony is held in […]
Those pleasures springing from sensual contacts are indeed nothing but sources of misery; moreover, they have a beginning and an end; as such the enlightened do not rejoice in them. (Bhagavad Gita 5.22) Bob Dylan’s famous song of the 1960’s “Like a Rolling stone” was rated as the top of “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” […]
Whatever one’s past may be, when one is situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge, one will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries. (Bhagavad Gita 4.36) We all face struggles – that’s life. Do we see them as curses or do we try to turn them into blessings? Are we discouraged, or […]
When one offers me in devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I accept that loving offering, as it is rendered out of a pure heart. (Bhagavad Gita 9.26) Flowers are a beautiful creation of God. Why not offer them back to the creator with love and gratitude? The annual flower festival at the Radha […]
It is my very great honor and pleasure to be with all of you this evening. Special gratitude to our esteemed guests, organizers, and to all of you. One time my beloved guru Srila Prabhupada while in London was challenged by a journalist, “Why have you come to our country?” and Srila Prabhupada responded that, […]
My special gratitude to you, Srimati Kiran Bediji for your incredibly transforming words, and my sincerest gratitude to the very sincere dedicated speakers throughout yesterday’s sessions, who were really sharing their realizations, their knowledge, their skills, and my special gratitude to each and every one of you who have come to our Govardhan Eco […]
SB 10.70.4-5 brāhme muhūrta utthāya vāry upaspṛśya mādhavaḥ dadhyau prasanna-karaṇa ātmānaṁ tamasaḥ param ekaṁ svayaṁ-jyotir ananyam avyayaṁ sva-saṁsthayā nitya-nirasta-kalmaṣam brahmākhyam asyodbhava-nāśa-hetubhiḥ sva-śaktibhir lakṣita-bhāva-nirvṛtim Word for word: brāhme muhūrte — during the most suitable period of the day for spiritual activity, before sunrise; utthāya — rising; vāri — water; upaspṛśya — touching; mādhavaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; dadhyau — meditated; prasanna — clear;karaṇaḥ — His mind; ātmānam — upon Himself; tamasaḥ — ignorance; param — beyond; ekam — exclusive;svayam–jyotiḥ — self-luminous; ananyam — […]
The other elephants who are my friends and relatives, could not rescue me from this danger, what then to speak of my wives, they cannot do anything. It is by the will of providence that I have been attacked by this crocodile and therefore I shall seek shelter of the supreme personality of Godhead, who […]
I am very grateful to be with all of you on this very special and holy day. 50 years ago, Friday, 13 August 1965 His divine grace A.C Bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupada boarded the cargo ship Jaladuta at the King George dockyards here in Calcutta. There were only four people to see him off. No one […]
The ‘Radhanath Swami Explosion’–the exponential growth in the popularity of Radhanath Swami–might be a recent phenomena, but the origin of this ‘Big Bang’ go back to 1971.
But Radhanath Swami was little known until 1986 when he returned to India after spending a couple of years in an austere monastery in North America. It was then that the Radhanath Swami that we now know began to emerge in the eyes of the world... Read More
