suddhabhakti

It is believed that on Gopastami, Lord Krishna became a skilled cowherd. Previously, He used to handle the calves only. In the month of Kartika, the 8th lunar day is considered as the Gopastami by the associate authorities. When boys stepped into the age of 6 years, they are called pauganda and that time they also got the charge of handling the cows as well. This was the day Nanda Maharaja sent his children Krishna and Balarama to herd the cows for the first time. It was a celebration meant only for men and boys. As Srimati Radharani and Her friends wanted to enjoy the fun, and because of Her resemblance to Subala-sakha, She puts on his dhoti and garments and joined Krishna. The other gopis joined in too. Devotees remember this sweet pastime on Gopashtami day. During this charge, Lord Krishna and his elder brother Balarama went across the Vrndavan bare feet. It is said that they purified the land of Vrndavan by leaving the prints of their lotus feet. It is also described in the Kartika...

 The Prophecy Fulfilled After arriving in New York city in September 1965, Srila Prabhupada struggled alone for a year to establish the Krishna Consciousness movement. He lived simply, lectured whenever and wherever he got an opportunity, and gradually began to attract small interest in his teachings. On February 2, 1966, he bought a reel-to-reel tape recorder for $54.02. On February 19 and 20, he recorded his Introduction to Gitopanishad. In July of 1966 Srila Prabhupada founded a spiritual society intended for worldwide participation. He called it the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (abbreviation: ISKCON). At the time of incorporation, Srila Prabhupada had not attracted even one committed follower. In New York’s Tompkins Square Park, under a big tree, Srila Prabhupada chanted the Hare Krishna mantra and slowly many people joined him in his kirtana. This tree is still preserved as a monument and is considered to be of spiritual significance. In a storefront in the ...

 Journey to America A few days before his sixty-ninth birthday, Srila Prabhupada set out for America. He got a free ticket to travel to New York from the proprietor of Scindia Steamship Company, Smt. Sumati Morarji. He was the only passenger on board that small weathered cargo ship named Jaladuta. In his possession were a suitcase, an umbrella, a supply of dry cereal, about seven dollars’ worth of Indian currency (approximately Rupees Forty) and several boxes of books. The Jaladuta, under the command of Captain Arun Pandia, whose wife was also aboard, left at 9 A.M. on Friday, August 13, 1965. Srila Prabhupada sat in his stuffy cabin which rolled back and forth with the motion of the sea. He suffered from sea sickness, dizziness and vomiting. He also had two heart-attacks but survived by the mercy of Lord Krishna. When the Jaladuta arrived in New York Harbor thirty-seven days later, Srila Prabhupada was utterly alone. He had come to America knowing no one, with absolutely no visibl...

 Preaching the message of Krishna After taking initiation from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada was contributing to his spiritual master’s mission by donating money as he was doing earlier, but now he wanted to do more to please his spiritual master. He could not give up family commitments and take sannyasa. He wrote to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in December 1936 humbly asking if he could offer some more direct service. He received a reply on December 31, 1936. His spiritual master had already passed away two weeks before the letter arrived. Srila Prabhupada opened the letter. To his astonishment, the letter reiterated the same order he had been given in 1922 when he had first met his spiritual master: You try to preach whatever you have learned from me to the English-speaking people of the world. That will be good for you and for the people to whom you preach. That is my instruction to you. Srila Prabhupada took this as the final order from his spir...

Srila Prabhupada became a student of philosophy at the Scottish Churches’ College in 1916. It was a prestigious college. In 1918, when he was in the third year of his college, his father Gour Mohan De got him married to Radharani Datta. In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi announced the non-cooperation movement, to fight against the British through non-violent means. The call was to give up English education, English court and English-manufactured goods. Many people accepted his call and joined the movement. Influential leaders surrendered their honorary posts and titles. Motilal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, C.R. Das, Vallabhbhai Patel, and C. Rajagopalachari were some of them. Motilal Nehru, the father of Jawaharlal Nehru was a very rich lawyer earning $500 every day. Mr. C. R. Das, another lawyer, was earning $50,000 every month. They renounced everything and joined Gandhi’s movement. Gandhi appealed to his countrymen to reject all foreign cloth and wear only khadi produced from India’s own cottage in...

A Biography of Srila Prabhupada Srila Prabhupada is the Founder-Acharya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) which brought a spiritual dimension to the lives of thousands of his followers. He was a rare personality who appeared on the earth and dedicated his life to spreading God consciousness all over the world. The scriptures recommend the chanting of the holy name of Lord Krishna (Harinama sankirtan) as the devotional practice best suited for the present age for spiritual perfection. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who appeared over 500 years ago in West Bengal, India was the greatest exponent of this method. He predicted that His message will be carried to every town and village of this world by a powerful spiritual ambassador. The life and activities of Srila Prabhupada prove beyond doubt that he was the empowered personality who appeared to fulfil this prediction. You can read a brief biography of Srila Prabhupada by clicking on the links given below. Childhood in...

  Lord Krsna's father Nanda Maharaja once inquired from his brother Upananda how Govardhana Hill had appeared in the sacred land of Vindavana. Upananda replied that King Pandu, father of the Pandavas, had asked this very question to Grandfather Bhisma, who had narrated the following story from the Garga Samhita: One day in Goloka Vrndavana, Lord Krsna informed Srimati Radharani that She should now appear on earth as it was time for Them to perform Their transcendental pastimes within the material world. Radharani replied that unless Vraja Dhama, the Yamuna and Govardhana Hill were present there, She would not be very happy. Krsna then told Radharani that She need not worry, as Vraja Dhama, along with the Yamuna and Govardhana Hill had already appeared on earth. Many years before this incident, in the land of Salmali-dvipa, the wife of the great mountain Dronacal gave birth to a son named Govardhana. At the time of Govardhana's birth all the demigods appeared in the sky and show...

  The First Day of  Deepavali The first day of Deepavali is Dhanvantari Trayodasi, when Lord Dhanvantari appeared, delivering Ayurvedic medicine for mankind. This day marks the beginning of Deepavali celebrations. At sunset, devout Hindus bathe and offer oil lamps along with  prasada  (sanctified food) to Yamaraja, the Lord of Death, and pray for protection from untimely death. The Second Day of  Deepavali The second day of Deepavali is Naraka Chaturdasi. On this day Lord Krishna killed the demon Narakasura and liberated the 16,000 princesses the demon held captive. The Third Day – Actual  Deepavali This is the actual day of Deepavali, commonly known as the Hindu New Year. The faithful cleanse themselves and join with their families and priests to worship the goddess Lakshmi, consort of Lord Vishnu, to receive blessings of wealth, prosperity, triumph of good over evil, light over darkness. This is also the day Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya, h...