One who undergoes any endeavour seeks out an auspicious beginning, hence the most popular of the gods of Rome was ‘Janus’ the god of beginnings, whose wise old face looks to the past, a book one can easily read, while his youthful face seeks out the future, a book yet to be written, … Read more
Once a Bhagavad Gita was distributed to an elderly lady who would eventually become known as Pada Sevanam. Such was the impression Gita made she embraced it heart and soul and immediately set out to meet the devotees. At the temple the devotees escorted her to a guest room which was filled with other … Read more
Cambodia along with its neighbours Burma and Thailand was once part of the ancient Vedic Kingdom. The original name of Cambodia is Kambhoja, which according to Vedic tradition was named after a powerful Vedic King from the Bhoja dynasty. In the ancient classic of India, the Srimad Bhagavatam, we find this verse “Thereafter, … Read more
    I have often been asked how to grow vegetables without using violent methods. The short answer to that question is there is no such thing as non-violence, ahimsa, in Horticulture and Agriculture. The short answer according to Srila Prabhupada is that “eating vegetables is violence.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.29.15.) From the text and from … Read more
    By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back To Godhead Vol. 17, No. 12, 1982.   An explanation of a song by the great spiritual teacher Narottama dasa Thakura, some fourteen years ago in the Los Angeles Hare Krsna center.   Narottama dasa Thakura, who has written this song, is a famous … Read more
 
 
The following is an article by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, published in Back To Godhead magazine Vol. 14, No. 14, January 1, 1979.
 
The Vedic literatures are full of references to God’s form. For example, it is said that God has no hands or legs, but that He can accept anything you offer: apani-pado javano grhita. Also, it is said that God has no eyes or ears, but that He can see everything and hear everything. So, these are apparent contradictions, because whenever we think of someone seeing, we think he must have eyes like ours. This is our material conception. Factually, however, God does have eyes, but His eyes are different from ours. He can see even in the darkness, but we cannot. God can hear, also. God is in His kingdom, which is millions and millions of miles away, but if we are whispering something conspiracy He can hear it, because He is sitting within us.
 
So, we cannot avoid God’s seeing or God’s hearing or God’s touching. In the (Bhagavad-gita 9.26) Lord Krsna says,
 
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
 
“If somebody offers Me flowers, fruits, vegetables, or milk with devotional love, I accept and eat it.” Now, how is He eating? We cannot see Him eat, but He is eating. We experience this daily: when we offer Krsna food according to the ritualistic process, we see that the taste of the food changes immediately. This is practical. So God eats, but because He is full in Himself, He does not eat like us. If someone offers me a plate of food, I may finish it, but God is not hungry, so when He eats He leaves the things as they are. Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate: God is so full that He can eat all the food that we offer and still it remains as it is. He can eat with His eyes. This is stated in the Brahma-samhita. Angani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti: “Every limb of the body of God has all the potencies of the other limbs.” For example, we can see with our eyes, but we cannot eat with our eyes. But if God, simply sees the food we have offered, that is His eating.
 
Chapter one
“Of the splendid I am the splendour. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.” This is the declaration of Krsna in Bhagavad-gita. When I think of the Amazon and preaching where no other devotee had been before; and how Krsna took control and gave us all facility and protection, this sloka comes alive for me. I had been a travelling sannyasi in the Krsna consciousness movement for eight years and had just completed a preaching tour of the United States of America. The time had come to make a decision where to go next. A number of options were open to me but I was still undecided.
In a discussion with Hridayananda Maharajah he suggested my going to Brazil. “Although there are thirty-eight temples and hundreds of devotees, sanyasis rarely get there. I think the devotees would be in ecstasy if you went.” “Brazil” I thought. “I never thought of going to Brazil.” The idea began to attract me. “Do they speak English?” I asked. “No. Portuguese, but some people speak English and there are devotees who will be able to translate for you.” It’s appeal was increasing and after more discussion I agreed to the proposal. The necessary arrangements were made and soon I was boarding a plane for Rio de Janeiro. As I fastened my seatbelt, I noticed a pamphlet on Brazil in the pocket of my seat. I saw on the map that the top of Brazil was coloured a lush green. In the middle of this area I read the words, “Amazon.” A thought passed through my mind. I wondered if anyone had ever been there to preach Krsna consciousness?
Upon landing, I was met by Isvara Maharajah who was in charge of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Publications for Brazil. It was in his association that I began my tour of the temples in Brazil. We started with the southern temples gradually making our way north. As we got closer to the equator, I again reflected on the idea of preaching in the Amazon. This idea intrigued me, as I had never heard of anyone doing it before. Upon our arrival in Recife, Maharajah suggested that next I visit a preaching centre in Manaus. It had been two and a half years since the devotees in Manaus had seen any other devotees. They hadn’t been out and nobody had been in. I decided to go.
    Pradyumna:   srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah hrdy antah stho hy abhadrani vidhunoti suhrt satam [SB 1.2.17]   Translation: “Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is also the Paramatma in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, does cleanse the desire for material enjoyment in the heart of the devotee who … Read more
 
 
The following is an interview with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
 
Journalist: I think an awful lot of our readers, and an awful lot of people in the United States, are terribly confused with the many people who claim to be gurus and gods and who pop up in this country, one after the other, after the other, and they say that …
 
Srila Prabhupada: I can declare that they are all nonsense.
 
Journalist: I wonder if you could elaborate on that a little bit.
 
Srila Prabhupada: I can say, furthermore, they’re all rascals.
 
In preparation of the global March Against Monsanto, you are invited to watch the award-winning documentary Seeds of Death. March Against Monsanto The leaders of Big Agriculture – Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta – are determined that the world’s populations remain ignorant about the serious health and environmental risks of genetically modified crops and … Read more
