Sound Bhakti

Nowadays, the world is literally built for distraction, not direction. There is a concerted effort to catch your attention from all sides. Of course, there’s not just social media, but people advertise everywhere for the latest styles and ideas. I haven’t seen too many billboards about Kṛṣṇa. Most people start strong but quit early; and it’s not from a lack of talent, but a lack of systems to stay...

Once my godbrother, Vatsala, gave his Bhagavad-gītā class, and he gave the example of yogurt. How do you make yogurt? Well, first you get some milk from Bhakti Farms—because there’s no better milk on the planet! I’ve watched Nirkulā make yogurt all the time—you get the right kind of pot, and you have to use a thermometer to find out the exact temperature. Then you put in some culture of yogurt fro...

I'll give a final point and a tip. The final point is that your pledge is your wedge. What it really means to be brave is to write down a number and make it bigger than the last time. That takes a lot of guts. You’ve got to write it down and then commit to it. That's when the energy starts to flow—not before, but only after you make the pledge. So, make the pledge. Whatever you think you can do, g...

We want to advance, so we have to have courage; and that’s the theme of this campaign. It’s based on what Prabhupāda said when he told a couple of his disciples—Gurudāsa and Śyāmasundara—that when he was a child, he had gone to the Victoria Memorial which was being built and had scaffolding on it still, and he climbed to the top. Brahmānanda or Gurudāsa (I can’t remember which one) said, 'Prabhupā...

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has also cited the Cāturmāsya-māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa concerning the necessity of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in this age: tathā caivottamaṁ loke tapaḥ śrī-hari-kīrtanam kalau yuge viśeṣeṇa viṣṇu-prītyai samācaret “In this way the most perfect penance to be executed in this world is the chanting of the name of Lord Śrī Hari. Especially in the Age of Kali, one can satisfy the Supre...

In the Bhāgavatam, it said that the universe is working in a uniform way, which means that everything works perfectly because it's all under the guidance of Kṛṣṇa and His energies. So if something happens to you because of somebody else, we can see it as the universe working in a uniform way, and I'll give you an example. Peter Burwash was a friend of mine. He was a businessman. Passed away a few...

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/12/3/52/ --------------------------...

Chaitanya Mahāprabhu said: yadi vaiṣṇava-aparādha uṭhe hātī mātā upāḍe vā chiṇḍe, tāra śukhi’ yāya pātā (Cc Madhya 19.156) When growing the creeper of devotional service, it starts to grow in the heart. Rādha means to perform service to Kṛṣṇa; aparādha means the opposite. And Vaiṣṇava-aparādha means to make an offense to devotees He said Yadi—if, you do something that is contrary to proper service...

Kṛṣṇa has already an intimate relationship with all living beings, because he’s feeding them. Nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnām yo vidadhāti kāmān—He feeds everybody, and there’s not one person you can find anywhere that doesn’t have food available to him or her, because Krishna is all-powerful, and he’s feeding every living being. But he wants more than that; not just this "supply and...

People who are bought and sold in politics, for instance, they may go along with treachery or despotism because they don't want to lose their job. Happens all the time. People just hang on because they think, "Well, anyway. Maybe it will blow over. Nobody will notice," but they just don't want to lose their job. And I mentioned, maybe the other night, that when the demigods were observing the figh...

In 1972, Śrīla Prabhupāda made a down payment on the land in Juhu beach, Bombay, intending to build Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, a beautiful temple there. Even though Śrīla Prabhupāda had made a down payment on the land, the owner, who had a past history of shady dealings, had not yet handed over the land deed to ISKCON as he had promised he would do. Śrīla Prabhupāda saw indications that the owner might...

Priorities determine what comes first when things compete. I don't know about all of you, but I've noticed there are a lot of competing philosophies. There are a lot of competing activities, different kinds of attitudes. So, when there's a confluence of all these things, we can feel overwhelmed. But if you have decided ahead of time what's most important in your life, and you have it ordered—that'...

I was reading about a scientist named George Washington Carver, and was struck by his observations about science and how to realize the deeper levels of material phenomena. He said, "Anything will give up it's secrets if you love it enough." And I am paraphrasing what he said, "Attention and love reveal understanding." So he presented that love is a method. Then he gave a definition of love, which...

This is one of the first exercises for developing your constitution for 2026. You could take some time to examine what values means, and look at some of the values. This is a nice list from Brené Brown of values that we may look forward to developing. It's not necessarily values we have now, but it just means what we consider worthwhile, where we'd like to put our attention. You know, the word "wo...

I brought a quote with me this morning that I found Śrīla Prabhupāda speaking about chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. He says, "In this age, hearing is more important than thinking, because one's thinking may be disturbed by mental agitation, but if one concentrates on hearing, he will be forced to associate with the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and the sound vibration Kṛṣṇa are non-different. So if one lou...

Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! rakṣa mām Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! pāhi mām That is, “O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please protect Me and maintain Me.” He also chanted: Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! rakṣa mām Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! pāhi mām That is...

(1) jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī (2) yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī TRANSLATION 1) Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana. 2) He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the...

My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires. (Translation, Sri Guru Vandana Verse 2) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ----------------...

During our lives, we'll go through various eras, and in some of the eras we're required to work. It's not going to be possible to dedicate the same amount of time that others can at different periods in their life. Let's use Śrīla Prabhupāda as an example. He had a family, children, and he was also working as an employee in a chemical company in high-level management. He expressed how little time...

I had to drive to an early morning appointment, and here in my area, on the 101 freeway, which is the main thoroughfare, they have put up this system where the fast lane has signs above it that tell how much it's going to cost you to drive in the fast lane, and it's constantly changing according to how much traffic is there. It's become very sophisticated. You can see early in the morning it's pra...

1) 'rādhā-kṛṣṇa' bol bol bolo re sobāi (ei) śikṣā diyā, sab nadīyā phirche nece' gaura-nitāi (miche) māyār bośe, jāccho bhese', khāccho hābuḍubu, bhāi (2) (jīv) kṛṣṇa-dās, e biśwās, korle to' ār duḥkho nāi (kṛṣṇa) bolbe jabe, pulak ha'be jhorbe āńkhi, boli tāi (3) ('rādhā) kṛṣṇa' bolo, sańge calo, ei-mātra bhikhā cāi (jāy) sakal' bipod bhaktivinod bole, jakhon o-nām gāi TRANSLATION...

(1) parama karuṇa, pahū dui jana nitāi gauracandra saba avatāra-sāra śiromaṇi kevala ānanda-kanda (2) bhajo bhajo bhāi, caitanya nitāi sudṛḍha biśwāsa kori viṣaya chāḍiyā, se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari (3) dekho ore bhāi, tri-bhuvane nāi, emona doyāla dātā paśu pākhī jhure, pāṣāṇa vidare, śuni' jāńra guṇa-gāthā (4) saḿsāre majiyā, rohili poriyā, se pade nahilo āśa āpana karama, bh...

(1) parama karuṇa, pahū dui jana nitāi gauracandra saba avatāra-sāra śiromaṇi kevala ānanda-kanda (2) bhajo bhajo bhāi, caitanya nitāi sudṛḍha biśwāsa kori viṣaya chāḍiyā, se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari (3) dekho ore bhāi, tri-bhuvane nāi, emona doyāla dātā paśu pākhī jhure, pāṣāṇa vidare, śuni' jāńra guṇa-gāthā (4) saḿsāre majiyā, rohili poriyā, se pade nahilo āśa āpana karama, bh...

You receive the mantra from a spiritual master who is in disciplic succession, who has a spiritual master, who has a spiritual master, etc. And from that process, he (Lord Caitanya) says that anyone can become a brāhmaṇa and become purified. And I already quoted earlier Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's acceptance of this principle. He said, "dīkṣā-kāle bhakta kare ātma-samarpaṇa"—when you surrender to t...

Balarāma, Gopāl Prabhu, I came to your house in that little enclave called SLO, San Luis Obispo. It's a little isolated place. You have to airlift in all supplies. If you fly there, you have to drop in by parachute. It's a little place surrounded by reality. And we came to your house and saw that because of your sincerity, you had facilitated hundreds of young people, non-traditional, as Devavrata...