Chanting Japa – Mantra Meditation

Benefits of Mantra Meditation When one is out and about in daily life, things tempt to knock one off balance emotionally, which can lead to one getting angry and stressed and developing negative sentiments towards other people.  Such sentiments and emotions are not healthy for one’s body, mind, or spirit. They cloud the mind, pushing one into unproductive mental circles of negative thinking. They cause tension in the body, which leads to disease. They degrade the quality of one’s consciousness, work, ...Read More

Instruments of Kirtan: Harmonium, Mridanga, & Kartals — and Where to Learn

Enhance your Kirtan Experience Along with being one of the main forms of Hare Krishna worship, Kirtan can be great fun — dancing and singing with friends and others. Playing an instrument in kirtan can enhance the experience for you, and everyone present. The traditional instruments for kirtan in India are the harmonium (like a pump organ), the mridanga (2-headed clay drum), and the kartals (small hand-cymbals). Harmonium The Harmonium is a pump-powered reed organ. In India and other parts of South Asia, ...Read More

Raising Krishna Conscious Kids

Raising Krishna Conscious Kids What a challenge, huh? Raising Krishna Conscious children has tested many. From observation of many devotee parents raising kids, I have come to see that being too extreme does not work if you want to raise balanced, Krishna Conscious children. There is a famous saying, about tuning a musical instrument. It goes something like this: “If the string is not tight enough, it will not play. If you tighten it too much, it will snap.” This can be analogous ...Read More

Vegetarian Cooking – The Art of Indian Sweets

Delicious Treats of Indian Cuisine Have you ever tasted some well-cooked Halava? A Laddhu, or Sandesh? Have you ever popped a whole Gulab-jamun into your mouth and had the sweet syrup burst out of the cake-ball into your mouth in a delightful explosion of sugary goodness? If so, then you probably know how wonderful Indian sweets can be. If not, then it may be time to experience. Preparing Indian Sweets Preparing Indian Sweets can be a challenge. Getting them just right requires the ...Read More

Vegetarian Cooking – How to Cook Delicious Vegetarian Meals

Making Vegetarianism Work for You If one is new to the vegetarian way, and they are used to cooking with a lot of meat, it may be a little bit challenging to make nice, satisfying, wholesome meals, suitable for a vegetarian diet. One way to make it work is to understand how to make wholesome meals which can meet all of your nutritional needs. There are many delicious varieties of combinations of foods to do this. Some of my personal favorites are Rice ...Read More

Indian Sari’s – Traditional Ladies’ Attire for Temple, Party, or Street

What is a Sari? Saris, or Sarees, are traditional women’s clothing in India. They have been such for thousands of years. Saris are very beautiful, elegant and fashionable. In modern times, they have become used by people internationally, not just Indians. They have become a very recognized part of Indian culture, and even celebrities in the Western world have made appearances wearing Saris. A sari is pretty much a strip of cloth, wrapped around the waist, and donned in a particular way ...Read More

Krishna Art – “Windows to the Spiritual World”

Krishna Art   During the earlier years of the Krishna Consciousness movement in the west, many devotees of Krishna were artists. Some of them used their talents to make extraordinary paintings of Krishna and his pastimes, as well as paintings depicting other stories from the Srimad Bhagavatam. There is a quote by Srila Prabhupada about these Krishna Art paintings. He referred to them as “Windows to the Spiritual World.” Much of this art is featured as illustrations in his books. ‘Krishna Art,’ while it ...Read More