Sound Bhakti

The main objective of varṇāśrama, is to surrender to Kṛṣṇa ultimately—but while we’re practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there are ways in which we can also make sure that we have, so to speak, "two feet on the ground." Consider the fact that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is sufficient for going back home, back to Godhead; nothing else is needed. That’s proved in the last verse of the Śaraṇāgati by Bhaktivinod...

(1) nadīyā-godrume nityānanda mahājana patiyāche nām-haṭṭa jīvera kāraṇa (2) (śraddhāvān jan he, śraddhāvān jan he) prabhura ājñāy, bhāi, māgi ei bhikṣā bolo `kṛṣṇa,’ bhajo kṛṣṇa, koro kṛṣṇa-śikṣā (3) aparādha-śūnya ho’ye loho kṛṣṇa-nām kṛṣṇa mātā, kṛṣṇa pitā, kṛṣṇa dhana-prān (4) kṛṣṇaera saḿsāra koro chāḍi’ anācār jīve doyā, kṛṣṇa-nām—sarva-dharma-sār TRANSLATIO...

Kṛṣṇa likes it when we care about other peoples' consciousness and we take steps to help them. He says so in the Bhagavad-gītā; He says, "One who preaches the Bhagavad-gītā to others is the most dear to Me." And when we do it, we achieve a kind of realization that's not available when we just keep it to ourselves. There is a way in which, when we give mercy to others, we get a superior kind of rea...

As I was driving over here to your famous school of economics, I was thinking about opportunity cost. Because, of course, any choice we make leaves something aside; at its most advantageous, we can then compare what we took to what we left behind. The first principle that I’m taking from this to give to you as a practical matter for your lives is: guard your attention. In the book The Four Questio...

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā “In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.” ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www....

If we want to serve Kṛṣṇa in a particular way, then Kṛṣṇa accommodates that. Take for example the Daṇḍakāraṇya ṛṣis; they thought, "Oh, He’s so beautiful! I want to be in a relationship with Him—a very deep, conjugal relationship." And Kṛṣṇa reciprocated. Prabhupāda points out here in the purport that the jñānīs wouldn't appreciate this verse. Jñānīs wouldn't appreciate that the devotees are paine...

The real issue is not time management; it’s self-awareness management. Just as you’re saying: how do we manage our awareness? In essence, that is our sādhana. It goes back to that little mantra that I use for myself: "What’s the best investment of my attention right now?" Anyway, it’s another slide; I won’t go too much further, but yes, to answer your question, it’s really to know where to put our...

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the saṅkīrtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously. (SB 6.3.31) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connec...

(1) (kiba) jaya jaya gorācāńder āratiko śobhā jāhnavī-taṭa-vane jaga-mana-lobhā jaga-jana-mana-lobhā (Refrain 1) (gaurāńger ārotik śobhā jaga-janer-mana-lobhā) (2) dakhiṇe nitāicāńd, bāme gadādhara nikaṭe advaita, śrīnivāsa chatra-dhara (3) bosiyāche gorācāńd ratna-siḿhāsane ārati koren brahmā-ādi deva-gaṇe (4) narahari-ādi kori' cāmara dhulāya sañjaya-mukunda-bāsu-ghoṣ-ādi gāya (5) śańkha b...

A prostitute came to Haridāsa Thākura's āśrama to try to distract him. She was put up to it; they paid her to do it to try to defame Haridāsa Thākura. And what did he say? He didn't say, "Get out of here." He just said, "Okay, sure. Later, after I finish my rounds." So, "justice delayed is justice denied," and "Māyā delayed is Māyā denied." If you get the urge, the phone's calling to you and says...

Chapter Twelve Devotional Service TEXT 1: Arjuna inquired: Which are considered to be more perfect, those who are always properly engaged in Your devotional service or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested? TEXT 2: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith a...

TEXT 1 arjuna uvāca evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate ye cāpy akṣaram avyaktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ TEXT 2 śrī-bhagavān uvāca mayy āveśya mano ye māṁ nitya-yuktā upāsate śraddhayā parayopetās te me yukta-tamā matāḥ TEXTS 3-4 ye tv akṣaram anirdeśyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate sarvatra-gam acintyaṁ ca kūṭa-stham acalaṁ dhruvam sanniyamyendriya-grāmaṁ sarvatra sama-buddhayaḥ te prāpnuvanti m...

Our goal for 2026 is 100,008 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatams; this is not a new goal. We set this goal five years ago, in 2021, and said, "By 2026, we develop the capacity." We have the capacity to distribute worldwide at least 100,008 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets. So, how would we do this? With Jaladūta consciousness. Prabhupāda got on a boat and came all the way to America with the expectation of spreading Kṛṣṇa c...

You’ll find in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that Lord Caitanya says the Holy Name doesn’t wait for initiation; it’s sufficient for everything. And it is. However, because we’re affected by the modes of material nature by dint of taking birth in the material world—especially in Kali-yuga—it’s unlikely that one is born as a liberated soul. Therefore, there’s provision within the process to maintain a hig...

We’re an organization meant only for pure devotional service, and it’s important to keep a humble attitude and be "the servant of the servant of the servant," and remember that we’re all here by the grace of Śrīla Prabhupāda, Lord Caitanya, and the great ācāryas. It’s important to—as Kṛṣṇa says in the Gītā—be kind. He says, "You should be a kind friend to all living beings." It’s really important,...

Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is a transcendental activity meant to revive our original consciousness. Our original consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and we’re in a sleeping state. We’ve forgotten our identity, and we’ve forgotten our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. The sound of the Mahā-mantra is non-different from Kṛṣṇa’s flute. It descends from the spiritual world; it is not a sound of this world. It requir...

Even going to Jaipur—it was like one of those bumpy roads that we went on yesterday, but for the whole way. Now it’s nicer, but it still takes an extra eight hours to go to Karaulī. But going to see Madana-mohana there is a heartfelt experience—to see the devotees and how they love that Deity. Madana-mohana represents attraction to the spiritual world; this is sambandha-jñāna. In many philosophica...

(1) udilo aruṇa pūraba-bhāge, dwija-maṇi gorā amani jāge, bhakata-samūha loiyā sāthe, gelā nagara-brāje (2) 'tāthaī tāthaī bājalo khol, ghana ghana tāhe jhājera rol, preme ḍhala ḍhala soṇāra ańga, caraṇe nūpura bāje (3) mukunda mādhava yādava hari, bolena bolo re vadana bhori', miche nida-baśe gelo re rāti, divasa śarīra-sāje (4) emana durlabha mānava-deho, pāiyā ki koro bhāva nā keho, ebe n...

To achieve the highest success in life by becoming a gosvāmī and then a pure devotee of the Lord, one must follow the instructions known as Upadeśāmṛta, which have been given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has given many other books, such as Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Vidagdha-mādhava and Lalita-mādhava, but Upadeśāmṛta constitutes the first instructions for neophyte devotees. One should f...

The Swāmi watched his visitors eat the lunch he had prepared for them, monitoring their progress through their meals and replenishing the preparations as they disappeared from their plates. I took my place beside one of the other guests on the floor, and Janice, the guy helping the Swāmi serve the meal, gave me a plate piled high with food. I had drifted into vegetarianism several years ago, but t...

My point is: you should assimilate what you have first. We already have so much, and it’s highly assimilatable—but not many people have assimilated it. Who has fully assimilated the Śrī Īśopaniṣad? What is assimilation? What does it look like? Assimilation means you spend some time going deeply within the book: researching it, learning all the verses, and knowing the purports backwards and forward...

Yesterday, I had a conversation with Judson Brewer. He’s a psychiatrist and a neurologist, and he has written several books. He teaches at Brown University, and in his writings he talks about a “bigger, better offer.” You have to give your mind a bigger, better offer—he calls it a BBO—in order for it to let go of worry and anxiety. So the bigger, better offer we have is the Personality of Godhead....

Song Name: Bhaja Re Bhaja Re Amar Author: Bhaktivinoda Thakura Book Name: Gitavali Language: Bengali (1) bhaja re bhaja re āmār mana ati manda (bhajan vinā gati nāi re) (bhaja) braja-bane rādhā-kṛṣṇa-caraṇāravinda (jñāna-karma parihari’ re) (bhaja) (braja-bane rādhā-kṛṣṇa) (2) (bhaja) gaura-gadādharādwaita guru-nityānanda (gaura-kṛṣṇae abheda jene’ re) (guru kṛṣṇa-preṣṭha jene’ re)...

Vijñāpti-pañcaka - Padma Purāṇa 437 mat-samo nāsti pāpātmā nāparādhī ca kaścana parihāre ‘pi lajjā me kiṁ bruve puruṣottama yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnām ca yuvatau yathā mano ‘bhiramate tadvan mano me ramatāṁ tvayi O Puruṣottama, no sinner or offender is as bad as I am. How can I describe my shame? Just as the minds of young ladies take pleasure in a young man, and the minds of young men take pleasu...

We heard that in the invocation verse that we sang—yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā | mano 'bhiramate tadvad mano me ramatāṁ tvayi—that’s a verse in the Padyāvalī Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī wrote, giving this idea of the reflection. He says, 'In this world, we see how boys and girls are naturally attracted to one another.' It’s the main power of the material world. This attraction—no one needs...