Sri Shrinivas Acarya–The First Book Distributor

Shrinivas Acarya is one of the most important acaryas in the generation immediately following Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He was an illustrious disciple of Gopal Bhatta Goswami and Jiva Goswami. His achievements include leading the very first book distribution party in the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism; converting a king and his entire kingdom to the Vaishnava religion, originating the Manohar Shoy style of kirtana, developing elaborate techniques of Manjari-sadhana and co-organizing the first Appearance In a small village of ...Read More

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, Lecture (1)

DOWNLOAD Now, you American boys and girls who have taken to this movement, please take it more seriously and… That is the mission of Lord Caitanya and my Guru Maharaja, and we are also trying to execute the will by disciplic succession. You have come forward to help me. I shall request you all that I shall go away, but you shall live. Don’t give up pushing on this movement, and you’ll be blessed by Lord Caitanya and His Divine ...Read More

Spiritually There is No Difference Between Appearance and Disappearance

DOWNLOAD Although this is the disappearance day of Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, so there is nothing to be lamented. Although we feel separation, that feeling is there, but spiritually, there is no difference between appearance and disappearance. There is a song, Narottama dasa Thakura’s song, ye anilo prema-dhana. Do you know, any one of you? Can you sing that song anyone? His Divine Grace ...Read More

Questions About Initiation and Preaching

When someone is initiated they have received transcendental knowledge and their past karma is burned up, they must be a bit like a new born baby. Why is it they still appear and behave the same and even fall down, where has that divine knowledge gone? Dear Prabhu Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! It’s wonderful to receive your questions as it gives me a chance to think about how to answer them. It’s inspiring to both ask ...Read More

Knowledge is the solution–First Find A Bona Fide Guru (MP3 Audio from 1966)

DOWNLOAD For knowledge we have got to go to the right person, one who has actually seen or experienced the Absolute Truth. Unless we find such a person who has actually seen the Absolute Truth or who has in his experience what is Absolute Truth, there is very little chance of our spiritual advancement. [Bhagavad-gita 4.34-38 New York, August 17, 1966] tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah For knowledge we have got to go to the right ...Read More

Prabhupada on his Disciples Becoming Gurus

It is not that you have become a student and you’ll remain student. No. One day you shall become also guru and make more students, more students, more. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, not that perpetually… Yes, one should remain perpetually a student, but he has to act as guru. That is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. 76-09-01.Jag Letter: Jagajivana Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 27, 1976 and have noted the contents ...Read More

The Guru Is A Pure Devotee!

During Srila Prabhupada’s physical presence there was no confusion in ISKCON over the qualifications and qualities of a bona fide guru. Srila Prabhupada was personally present and he exhibited all the qualities perfectly and all the devotees understood the spiritual master was a pure devotee. Yasodanandana: Before you came, many gurus came, but they did not make any pure devotee of Krsna.Prabhupada: How they can? HE IS NOT PURE DEVOTEE OF KRSNA. HOW CAN HE DO? Krsna-sakti vina nahe nama pracara: ...Read More

With All the Humility at My Command

It is February 1936, in Bombay. The pure devotee who three decades later will become the world-renowned spiritual master of the Krishna consciousness movement glorifies his own spiritual master. Here we learn the time-honored meaning of the spiritual master, the disciple and their relationship… saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya vande guroh sri-caranaravindam “In the revealed scriptures it is declared that the spiritual master should be worshiped like the Supreme Personality of ...Read More

The Life of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada

Absolute is sentient Thou hast proved. Impersonal calamity Thou hast moved. This gives us a life Anew and fresh. Worship thy feet Your Divine Grace. Oh! my Master The evangelic angel. Give us thy light, ...Read More

Initiation Into Spiritual Life

The bad preceptor is a familiar character. It is inexplicable how those gurus who live in open sin contrive never-the-less to retain the unquestioning allegiance of the cultured portion of their disciples… Initiation into Spiritual Life by His Divine Grace Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati An article from Sree Sajjana Toshani December 1928 The ceremony of diksha or initiation is that by which the spiritual Preceptor admits one to the status of a neophyte on the path of spiritual endeavor. The ...Read More

Srila Prabhupada Guru Tattva

It is widely known that Srila Prabhupada instituted a ritvik or representative (proxy) initiation system throughout ISKCON as early as 1971 in order to meet the growing need to initiate his disciples worldwide. However what is not widely known is that he instructed his disciples to continue initiating new disciples on his behalf even after his physical disappearance. He called those disciples who performed the initiation ceremonies ritvik representatives of the acharya (officiating acharyas). Below are quotes directly from Srila ...Read More

The “Acharyadeva” has no Bhakti… ISKCON’s False “Acharyadevas”

You are trying to introduce people to a different Acharayadeva. And that is a great disaster. Because your “Acharyadeva” and all the other so-called “Acharyadevas” in ISKCON are presenting a different message to the message we are getting from the real Acharyadeva, Srila Prabhupada. Dear Mataji   Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!   I am very sorry to hear of your husband’s experiences leading him to temporarily lose faith in Srila Prabhuapda and the ...Read More

Prabhupada Desires His Disciples to Become Qualified Like Him

Lord Caitanya says that Under My order, you become a spiritual master. To become a spiritual master under the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not very difficult. Unless we adulterate, mix in something nonsense in His teachings, if we simply present, as it is, then every one of us can become a spiritual master. So many people say, “Oh, Swamiji, you have done wonderful.” So I say, the secret of my wonderful activities is that I have not tried to ...Read More

Difficult times for new Bhaktas…

Krishna consciousness is a lifestyle which is about as different as possible from the lifestyle we have been trained up to lead in the West. To make the transition training is required. So Prabhupada created ISKCON where he could train his disciples to live a life centered around Krishna and where they could practice pure devotional service… Hare Krishna My Dear Madhudvisa dasa Please accept my utmost respect and devotion for your kindly preaching this Krishna consciousness movement. Your articles ...Read More

First-class devotee (Mahabhagavata, uttama-adhikari) does NOT fall down

You are correct when you say that when the Spiritual Master speaks it should be taken that Krishna is speaking. That is a fact. A Spiritual Master must be liberated. Madhya 22.71 It should be understood that a madhyama-adhikari, a second-class devotee, is fully convinced of Krsna consciousness but cannot support his convictions with sastric reference. A neophyte may fall down by associating with nondevotees because he is not firmly convinced and strongly situated. The second-class devotee, even though he ...Read More

Sri Vaisnava Acharya Rules with Love

The Vaisnava acharya is always situated in his original spiritual nature. He is situated in permanent liberation, as said in Srimad Bhagavatam: Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies. Srimad Bhagavatam 2.10.6 Pure souls always come to the same conclusion Sri Vaisnava Acharya is always in agreement with all other acharyas and self-realized souls, who are free from all contamination of material logic. Pure souls always ...Read More

Ritvik–Representative of the Acharya, For the Purpose of Performing Initiations–Both First Initiation and Second Initiation

His Divine Grace has so far given a list of eleven disciples who will act in that capacity… Madhya 24.330 Similarly, a disciple’s qualifications must be observed by the spiritual master before he is accepted as a disciple. In our Krsna consciousness movement, the requirement is that one must be prepared to give up the four pillars of sinful life-illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. In Western countries especially, we first observe whether a potential disciple is prepared to follow ...Read More

The Future of the Krishna Consciousness Movement is in Srila Prabhupada’s Disciple’s Hands

DOWNLOAD So we have got this message from Krsna, from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, from the six Gosvamis, later on, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura. And we are trying our bit also to distribute this knowledge. Now, tenth, eleventh, twelfth… My Guru Maharaja is tenth from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, I am eleventh, you are the twelfth. So distribute this knowledge… Prabhupada: (airport noises) (leads Prema-dhvani; says “Los Angeles bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!”) So my dear boys and girls, about six years ago I came to your ...Read More

WHAT IS INITATION?

This seems like a simple question since so many devotees have taken initiation. But I have asked a few devotees and they seem not to really understand what is real initiation. So this is my humble attempt to try to understand what is real initiation. It seems that initiation is two fold, but that’s when we look at it from the material point of view. First we have the initiation ceremony or ritual. The ceremony seems fairly simple to understand that ...Read More

Gurudrohi, Offences and Rectifying Them

To the devotee his guru is all and all, more important than God to him. There is no God without guru, No Krishna without His Divine Grace Abhaya Charanaravindadas Bhaktivdanta Swami Prabhupada. HareKrishna Madhudvisa dasji, Humble pranams to you. Many many thanks for your kind e mail. Are you the same Madhudvisa das who I used to see in GG Park in 67,Michaek Morrisey? [No. I joined in 1986 and took ritvik initiation from Srila Prabhupada through Jaya Dharma ...Read More

Next Page »